Conference bookie::movies

    I saw it 2 weeks ago and it was a VERY good movie.  A nice picture for
    the whole family as .1 said bring tissues!  If you have any kind love for
    music it's a MUST see.
    
    				Bart

    We saw it yesterday.  Great movie.  As someone else said
    previously, bring tissues.
    
    However, although our 9 year old son sat through it without
    complaining, he didn't find it particularily interesting.
    So, although it doesn't contain anything objectionable,
    it's not something young children will enjoy particularily.

    RE .2 -- My 5 year old son sat through the moving without objection 
    but my 8 year old daughter liked it and my 10 year old daughter thinks 
    it's the best move she has ever seen.
    
    This is a great movie.  A bit manipulative but it's so good you don't 
    mind the obvious tear-jerking plot devices.  The movie is beautifully
    filmed too (at least I think so but I was shoe-horned into the second
    row because the show I went to was just about sold out).  
    
    Go see it in the theaters and then buy the video when it comes out.
                        

    
    spoiler:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    So I wonder whatever became of Rowena. Surprised she didn't show
    up for the final scene. Too awkward maybe?
    She was played by Jean Luisa Kelly, the MCI, AT&t ad that runs on tv.
    Also, in Uncle Buck, the older sister.
    
    

    bring tissues?  I'll have to stop by the lab on my way in.
    
    steve :-)
    

I saw this with Ally, my 8-year old daughter, at a matinee on Saturday.  Ally
liked it, but she started getting antsy with about a half-hour left
to go.  As other noters said, the theater - one of two in which "Opus" was
playing in Framingham General Cinema - was crowded.

I thought it was great, and something of a tribute.  I probably shouldn't
say to whom the movie was a tribute because it's such a big part of
the story.  And whether or not it's a tribute is a matter of opinion.

I'd say it's good for kids 10 to 14 years, excellent for anyone older, and
probably too hard to follow for anyone much younger.

-Steve

    I saw this movie a couple weeks ago on a weeknight at 10:00 in
    Framingham and practically had the whole theater to are selves.
    Apparently this is the best time to go though not the most 
    convenient, but I really did like not having to deal with the crowds.
    JH

    When this movie was first in the "previews"...I knew I'd enjoy it for a
    number of reasons:  a love of music, an appreciation of how important
    the arts are and the need to keep them in the school systems, and knowing
    from experience, the value when even one student/person can be reached 
    by an enthusiatic, truly caring mentor/teacher.
    
    When I did see it, yes, Framingham was packed and everyone really
    seemed to enjoy it....Dreyfus is great in this role and so are all the
    supporting players.  (was so glad that a "relationship" didn't start at
    a certain point in the movie and thought the way it was handled was
    done well and realistically).  
    
    Oh, the son (name escapes me) was terrific wasn't he?
    
    My children's father is a genuine "Mr. Holland" and I can tell you there
    really are teachers like that in the real world.  As a music teacher 
    for elementary and junior high kids, he has so impacted and influenced 
    the lives of his students and their parents by his methods over the years 
    and has most important, fostered self respect and self confidence in even 
    the most "hardened" "problem" kids themselves.  
    
    No, I didn't write the above as a ploy to put in a boost for music ed.,
    Politics aren't my forte...it just really hit home and I wanted to express
    my enthusiasm!
    
    So, sorry for getting on a soapbox here but do go see this movie...come 
    out smiling and hopefully looking at this part of your kids education in 
    a different light.
    
    Thanks for "listening".
    Bonnie
    
    
        

    
    	I was very surprised to see all the references to John
    	Lennon.  "Beautiful Boy" is certainly one of John's most
    	tear jerking tunes.  
    	
    	The son's name was Coltrane - Cole - for the jazz sax
    	player John Coltrane.  
    
    	John ends the tune with "Beautiful Sean".
    

    
>    So I wonder whatever became of Rowena. Surprised she didn't show
>    up for the final scene.

Richard Dreyfuss was asked the same question at an interview in Tokyo.
I guess he answered this way:

	After all, it's a movie for Mr. Holland.  If she would show up 
	there in any form - that might be as a mother with her children or 
	as a great singer, whatever she might be - the movie would have 
	become her story.

_Tak

    
    
    I saw this movie on a flight back from Canada yesterday.
    I loved the movie and definitely related to it coming from a musical
    background. I also missed Rowena at the end and think that she should
    have been there. She was important enough for him to have named a 
    composition after her so it would have been fitting to see how she 
    turned out!!
    
    Chris
    :)