Reviews

This documentary is as outstanding as it is disturbing. Our elections are being stolen. It's not surprising that democrats are trashing it. They desperately don't want you to see it.

Mark Twain has always been my favorite author since I was a boy. I read voraciously but I always return to Mark Twain and if I was stranded on the proverbial deserted island and had to choose to take only books by one author, those books would be by Mark Twain.

This movie is wonderful although it takes great liberties with Twain's real life story. I have seen it several times over the years and, in fact, I am writing this review now because I just saw the last 20 minutes of it on a classic movie channel. The ending has to be the corniest tear-jerker of all times but it is also wonderful. Being a big, tough male, I have a total aversion to touchy-feely things and I am not one to cry even at funerals but the ending of this movie always makes me cry like a baby. It is shamelessly emotional but it is gets to me every time. If you haven't seen this movie, do so. The only problem is that I believe it is out-of-print on VHS and I don't think it has been released on DVD. Perhaps your local video store or your library has it. Don't confuse it with two more recent movies of the same name. One of those stars James Whitmore and I have not seen that one so I cannot comment on it. The other one is a claymation movie, presumably for kids.

Like another reviewer of this movie, Mark Twain changed my life. In fact, in many ways, he shaped my personality. That reminds me that I have not read any Twain works in a couple years so when I finish this review, I am going to start reading one again from my library. Those who only think of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn when they think of Mark Twain are missing so much. Many consider Twain to be the greatest American author of all time. I agree with those people. The world is a better place because of Twain.

Despite the other review here, this movie was quite good. I knew there was something wrong with the person who wrote the that review when they said that they would certainly avoid seeing this movie again but then went on to say that they like it less each time they view it (???!!!). Also, the ending was well done. The other reviewer found it "nasty" because they have a teenage daughter but they they go on to rip on the small boy that played the son in the movie. If anything, that is nasty and mean-spirited.

The movie was suspenseful and the story was interesting. The acting was quite good as well. My wife claims that she and I just saw an old b&w movie with the same plot even though I don't remember it. But she must be correct that such a movie was made because she could tell me precisely what was going to happen next.

This may very well be the worst movie ever made with the possible exception of Man's Best Friend. The story is idiotic, the acting is unbelievably bad and the special effects look like a 7 year-old made them on a PC. For example, at one point the shark, which looks like a cardboard cut-out (and probably is!), smashes the plate glass to the viewing area as Sea World and then, as the water rushes through the broken panel, the shark just sits there! All in all, a hilarious movie. I wouldn't have believed that it was possible for anyone to make such a bad movie in this day and age. What amazes me is why Dennis Quaid consented to be in this travesty since he is not that bad of an actor. But I guess to be consistent with the rest of the film, he acted horribly himself. What were they thinking when they made this movie? That is the mystery.

I rented this movie by mistake and oh what a mistake it was! This movie is nothing but pure, unadulterated re-born Christian Bible-thumping. From a technical standpoint, the movie was even worse. It looked like someone ad-libbed the lines as they went and filmed it with a $200 home video camera. It actually looked like they were reading off of prompt cards at times! Absolutely awful! If you have little patience for Christian bigotry and holier-than-thou Bible thumping, this movie is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure. Then again, you could just view it as a comedy - a very poor comedy. I don't like to make negative comments like this but this movie will be an exception. I actually feel like I was ripped off by renting this movie.