Defending Your Life (1991)
In an afterlife resembling the present-day US, people must prove their worth by showing in court how they have demonstrated courage. (imdb)
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Directed By: Albert Brooks
Written By: Albert Brooks
Starring: Meryl Streep, Lee Grant, Shirley MacLaine, Rip Torn, Albert Brooks, Buck Henry, James Eckhouse, Gary Beach, Michael Durrell, Julie Cobb, Susan Walters, Mary Pat Gleason
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Defending Your Life belongs to 12 collections
1. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 36 stars)
2. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (public: moderated by Gregzilla - 34 stars)
3. Netflix Instant (public: moderated by somnivore - 28 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (public: moderated by Cinephile - 18 stars)
5. Director/star combination (public: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
6. 100 Noteworthy Films of the Romantic Comedy Genre and Beyond (public - 5 stars)
7. Heaven (public: moderated by BeeDub)
8. Leaving Criterion Channel 10/31/20 (public: moderated by CCLZA)
9. Ari Aster's list (private: ramynoodle - 1 star)
10. 1991: Year in Review (private: polanski28)
11. 90s fantasy (private: kikifas)
12. seen in 2020 (private: sproost)
Browse the full list of collections
| Date | User | Rating | |
| Jan 11 |  |
Barko | 78 64% |
| Jan 10 |  |
capodelnulla | 70 58% |
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I’ll pretend that ending has never happened.
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| Jan 07 | shureg | 80 73% |
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| Dec 30, 2020 | sfxy | 74 50% |
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| Dec 11, 2020 | nicolino | 57 28% |
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| Dec 05, 2020 |  |
RTAudience | 83 75% |
| Nov 20, 2020 | mattcbrown | 75 61% |
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| Oct 31, 2020 |  |
Florin92 | 65 55% |
| Oct 09, 2020 | yrwuc2b_97 | 85 95% |
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| Sep 28, 2020 |  |
Opio | 80 90% |
| Sep 18, 2020 |  |
inmate | 83 76% |
| Sep 14, 2020 |  |
NhanLa | 60 38% |
| Sep 13, 2020 |  |
kate_p | 78 48% |
| Aug 24, 2020 |  |
selingoknar | 70 42% |
| Aug 14, 2020 | posetitel | 70 50% |
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| Aug 13, 2020 |  |
coolcoolcool | 75 38% |
| Jul 26, 2020 | nyg500 | 79 47% |
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| Jul 05, 2020 |  |
jakartan | 54 11% |
| Jul 04, 2020 | kappeuter | 80 91% |
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| Jun 29, 2020 | thatgreatwar | 40 18% |
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| Apr 16, 2020 | titito | 0 0% |
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| Apr 09, 2020 | GavanRex | 85 34% |
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| Mar 31, 2020 | mjoc0723 | 50 40% |
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| Mar 26, 2020 |  |
WWallce4prez | 78 65% |
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Defending Your Life is two movies: A reflection of decisions made over a lifetime and a romance. The latter of these is brief and certainly not very compelling. While Meryl Streep is charming she just kind of happens. Albert Brooks is less smarmy than previous roles and is quite endearing as a confused, recently deceased, average guy. His "non-trial" is compelling and quite funny. I really liked this.
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| Mar 22, 2020 |  |
TheShiznit | 58 74% |
| Mar 13, 2020 |  |
FrancoGonzo | 13 65% |
| Mar 11, 2020 | matthagen | 43 31% |
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| Feb 26, 2020 |  |
sproost | 70 67% |
| Feb 10, 2020 | izzhov | 23 22% |
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| Jan 17, 2020 | johns32768 | 50 74% |
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| Dec 19, 2019 | hellerpop | 85 88% |
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| Nov 22, 2019 | tr0nllam | 70 58% |
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| Nov 11, 2019 |  |
AgentSnipe | 81 74% |
| Nov 05, 2019 | flipperrbm | 6 74% |
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| Oct 30, 2019 |  |
Lionel Hutz | 54 52% |
| Oct 21, 2019 | Guy... | 60 79% |
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| Sep 26, 2019 | Blondone86 | 65 13% |
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| Sep 25, 2019 |  |
julesfmb | 66 67% |
| Jun 26, 2019 |  |
VanillaSky | 65 64% |
| May 28, 2019 |  |
Dalboz | 70 49% |
| May 11, 2019 | MK10 | 70 58% |
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| Apr 19, 2019 |  |
kubrickvari | 70 63% |
| Apr 07, 2019 | TheRuins | 60 70% |
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| Mar 24, 2019 |  |
FutureCritic | 59 26% |
| Mar 22, 2019 |  |
chadisdanger | 75 39% |
| Mar 17, 2019 | moviereco333 | 70 75% |
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| Jan 27, 2019 |  |
mrkacmaz | 75 27% |
| Dec 10, 2018 |  |
biskotin | 75 37% |
| Dec 05, 2018 | mathiasa | 60 60% |
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| Nov 22, 2018 |  |
glumpy_99 | 74 40% |
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A fascinating, beautifully constructed satiric view of 'heaven' and the Afterlife starts out so intelligently, and provocatively, that it's a shame that it shifts focus to the less interesting romance between Brooks and Streep, who are never quite convincing as a couple; the reduction of 'life's worth' to abstractedly "conquering your fears" feels like the worst sort of glib leftover from the 80s self help craze. Still, performances are uniformly fine and enjoyable, especially Torn and Grant.
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| Nov 20, 2018 | microplast | 70 52% |
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| Nov 11, 2018 |  |
brianrobot | 4 62% |
| Oct 31, 2018 |  |
Dorkovsky | 4 45% |
| Sep 20, 2018 |  |
tonydal | 70 40% |
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The nicely spoofy tone at the outset left me looking forward to more of the same. Unfortunately though, we end up getting caught up in a goofy love story that seemed pretty much grafted on to the rest of the proceedings. Meryl takes her assignment in graceful stride, but Brooks appears to be trying awful hard to play up his big chance to make Christmas Movie history or something. At any rate, Streep is wonderfully attractive...and you can watch this one over and over without gaining an ounce. :)
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| Sep 09, 2018 | Zepheus | 50 34% |
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| Jul 26, 2018 |  |
CMQuinn | 70 49% |
| Jul 23, 2018 |  |
Gymnopedies | 60 35% |
| Jun 22, 2018 |  |
FreddieQuell | 72 60% |
| May 02, 2018 | coklas92 | 70 68% |
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| Apr 28, 2018 |  |
flake | 80 86% |
| Apr 23, 2018 | fictionfitz | 61 40% |
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| Apr 19, 2018 | kjones77 | 80 71% |
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| Apr 11, 2018 | bookert21 | 80 63% |
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| Apr 07, 2018 | cubswin2017 | 89 70% |
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| Mar 29, 2018 |  |
DeadFox | 84 70% |
| Mar 01, 2018 |  |
JimiAntiloop | 50 24% |
| Feb 01, 2018 |  |
beardobaldo | 80 62% |
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I like movies like where I can't exactly explain why I liked it so much. The 2 hours just flew by.
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| Jan 11, 2018 | M-B-M | 5 54% |
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| Jan 09, 2018 | cengaveri | 75 61% |
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| Jan 01, 2018 | steinbej4 | 83 75% |
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| Dec 22, 2017 | thirdeye42 | 70 42% |
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| Dec 20, 2017 | Systematicer | 80 87% |
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| Dec 02, 2017 | martj42 | 80 81% |
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| Nov 29, 2017 | Cocoa | 50 26% |
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| Nov 17, 2017 |  |
teaty666 | 60 70% |
| Oct 31, 2017 |  |
CCLZA | 60 33% |
| Sep 11, 2017 | csetlow | 91 89% |
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| Aug 11, 2017 |  |
dobamuflon | 70 38% |
| Aug 03, 2017 | volt26 | 100 93% |
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| Jul 16, 2017 | robochaa | 50 14% |
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| Jul 16, 2017 | mattnawrocki | 80 72% |
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| Jul 11, 2017 | lkrobinson26 | 89 73% |
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| Jun 25, 2017 | xhuliodo | 50 40% |
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| Jun 24, 2017 |  |
hulot | 70 70% |
| May 17, 2017 | ionelrata | 80 88% |
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| May 11, 2017 | Anne Girl | 50 29% |
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| Apr 23, 2017 | smellyjoe | 60 30% |
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| Mar 29, 2017 |  |
robot2xl | 73 48% |
| Feb 24, 2017 |  |
RYM-byrates | 65 61% |
| Feb 08, 2017 | trickle46 | 80 87% |
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| Jan 20, 2017 | Robert Frost | 87 65% |
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| Jan 15, 2017 | cshadows2887 | 90 57% |
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| Jan 09, 2017 | fre | 40 12% |
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| Dec 01, 2016 | kupfertj | 85 87% |
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| Nov 15, 2016 | jerrywarton | 75 85% |
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| Nov 15, 2016 | Ronin22 | 64 77% |
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| Oct 07, 2016 | TheMarkle | 80 87% |
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| Sep 22, 2016 | mgoodwin | 70 43% |
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| Sep 12, 2016 |  |
Vansteph | 73 51% |
| Sep 09, 2016 | CParsons | 100 98% |
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| Sep 05, 2016 | isdn | 93 84% |
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| Sep 05, 2016 | Midaso | 10 97% |
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| Sep 01, 2016 | maddriver52 | 66 29% |
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| Aug 31, 2016 |  |
rklenseth | 80 80% |
| Aug 28, 2016 | skeller | 85 59% |
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| Aug 26, 2016 | blucthulhu | 70 58% |
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| Aug 20, 2016 |  |
Mewn | 76 74% |
| Aug 11, 2016 | ugur1980 | 60 59% |
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| Aug 09, 2016 |  |
CameronMB | 95 97% |
| Aug 07, 2016 | gabe5525 | 81 53% |
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| Aug 01, 2016 |  |
kastenm | 68 49% |
| Jul 19, 2016 |  |
jksterup | 85 55% |
| Jul 16, 2016 |  |
Walser14 | 90 71% |
| Jul 15, 2016 |  |
BeeDub | 85 63% |
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It has a very interesting premise, the cast is great, and there's a lot of decent humor, but the romance makes zero sense. Still enjoyable, though.
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| Jul 13, 2016 | eddiewinslow | 70 44% |
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| Jul 12, 2016 | lofficer | 100 0% |
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| Jul 08, 2016 | iammattr | 87 86% |
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| Jul 06, 2016 | critickerlan | 90 56% |
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| Jul 04, 2016 | Col_Needham | 70 47% |
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| Jun 04, 2016 | akilan | 70 69% |
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| May 22, 2016 |  |
sergebarber | 60 50% |
| May 17, 2016 | Mixtzin | 3 62% |
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| May 11, 2016 | jnydam | 40 20% |
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| Mar 12, 2016 | evilwhaleboy | 95 85% |
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| Mar 04, 2016 |  |
Moribunny | 53 41% |
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In the afterlife, Albert Brooks (long may he live) will probably be forced to answer for this foray into the cheesy afterlife-judgment comedy trope. In his version, the trial revolves around an association of intelligence with fearlessness which couldn't be more wrong, but was obviously construed to prop up the romantic finale. Not much of it works as intended, and it pales in comparison to his brilliant 80s stuff, but for a misstep, it's still an enjoyable movie.
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| Feb 22, 2016 |  |
recklessmess | 85 87% |
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How are you supposed to show improvement in your life if you don't remember anything from your past lives? At least he got to score some good afterlife sex with Meryl Streep, who would never sleep with a guy that looked like Albert Brooks in real life.
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| Feb 11, 2016 | Ildorio10 | 70 33% |
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| Jan 08, 2016 | Evan Waters | 88 47% |
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| Jan 07, 2016 |  |
MUBIvotes | 36 61% |
| Dec 24, 2015 | CROmagnon | 95 32% |
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| Nov 27, 2015 | coroner | 50 36% |
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| Nov 13, 2015 | rgandhi3k | 70 41% |
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| Nov 13, 2015 |  |
Oktay | 60 25% |
| Nov 01, 2015 | bubbacritic | 100 96% |
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| Oct 13, 2015 |  |
Ceku | 80 38% |
| Oct 05, 2015 |  |
guard.angel | 80 77% |
| Aug 24, 2015 | qfjp | 75 26% |
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| Aug 04, 2015 | elcalculator | 22 23% |
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| Jul 19, 2015 | bobble_hat | 59 19% |
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| Jul 17, 2015 | JontheLobste | 80 58% |
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| Jul 13, 2015 |  |
Amadeus | 76 85% |
| Jun 21, 2015 |  |
Inkerictus | 80 82% |
| Jun 12, 2015 | dhartle | 88 83% |
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| Jun 05, 2015 |  |
ashleylm | 70 68% |
| Jun 01, 2015 | anjos | 80 85% |
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| May 19, 2015 | zetes | 80 63% |
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| May 09, 2015 | FlashCalahan | 80 77% |
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| Apr 30, 2015 | cardsos01 | 60 69% |
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| Apr 25, 2015 | Seraphion | 60 55% |
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| Apr 24, 2015 | aerrich | 70 86% |
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| Apr 24, 2015 | OldAle1 | 100 95% |
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| Apr 08, 2015 | fungusgnat | 88 86% |
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| Mar 28, 2015 | goodedward | 64 45% |
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| Feb 15, 2015 | DocBrowne | 84 79% |
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| Feb 13, 2015 | thorn969 | 20 14% |
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I didn't really find much in this movie worth watching.
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| Feb 09, 2015 |  |
mike365365 | 50 16% |
| Feb 08, 2015 | mamadweezil | 90 78% |
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| Jan 26, 2015 | rkosiba31 | 63 44% |
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| Jan 19, 2015 | spiritofeden | 69 65% |
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| Jan 15, 2015 | metaller | 70 46% |
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| Dec 26, 2014 | zomgmouse | 80 71% |
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| Dec 24, 2014 |  |
lukemanics | 100 92% |
| Nov 24, 2014 | 10kfilms | 63 58% |
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| Nov 02, 2014 |  |
schwabe | 85 62% |
| Oct 06, 2014 | Camerastate | 80 64% |
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| Sep 27, 2014 | alexwilson | 97 93% |
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| Sep 27, 2014 | laughtermade | 3 0% |
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| Sep 25, 2014 | Tour | 65 48% |
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| Sep 15, 2014 |  |
RavynLoony | 62 65% |
| Sep 15, 2014 | cullen | 70 55% |
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| Aug 13, 2014 | estacado | 70 51% |
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| Aug 03, 2014 |  |
jackinthebox | 80 79% |
| Jul 31, 2014 | Deaths | 19 15% |
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| Jul 12, 2014 |  |
SickForay | 78 73% |
| Jul 10, 2014 | toro913 | 63 66% |
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| Jun 30, 2014 | estragon | 60 51% |
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| Jun 23, 2014 | pheinberg | 80 45% |
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| May 27, 2014 |  |
Jotalandim | 70 55% |
| May 12, 2014 |  |
RLadino | 85 37% |
| Mar 28, 2014 |  |
Evan D | 75 60% |
| Mar 20, 2014 |  |
Meowfresh | 8 71% |
| Mar 14, 2014 | joshuaizac | 95 96% |
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| Mar 11, 2014 |  |
drawingboard | 70 45% |
| Feb 18, 2014 | PaulSandell | 80 87% |
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| Feb 13, 2014 | robixsmash | 80 82% |
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| Feb 02, 2014 |  |
Fuentissimo | 40 37% |
| Jan 03, 2014 |  |
mindheart | 0 9% |
| Dec 25, 2013 |  |
GrimsChild | 55 66% |
| Dec 01, 2013 |  |
joachimt | 70 66% |
| Oct 31, 2013 | krogerman12 | 10 0% |
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| Oct 02, 2013 | Niksterino | 80 84% |
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| Sep 20, 2013 |  |
turkerme | 66 55% |
| Sep 14, 2013 | rikolai | 70 76% |
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| Aug 26, 2013 |  |
DivineMrE | 70 42% |
| Aug 16, 2013 | monoglot | 80 84% |
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| Aug 16, 2013 | nateamill | 85 62% |
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| Aug 16, 2013 | stonie | 80 81% |
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| Aug 12, 2013 | Barkinson | 60 62% |
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| Aug 12, 2013 | dantebk | 100 98% |
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| Aug 10, 2013 |  |
Sheldrake | 70 68% |
| Jun 22, 2013 |  |
Dikke | 80 52% |
| Jun 02, 2013 | clegiath | 75 63% |
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| May 29, 2013 | kritof | 80 36% |
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| Apr 23, 2013 | PekkaVaino | 57 26% |
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| Apr 08, 2013 | DJ Dawg13 | 91 94% |
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| Apr 02, 2013 | hexpion | 86 83% |
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| Mar 31, 2013 |  |
FuzzyChicken | 76 41% |
| Mar 30, 2013 | axarca | 89 55% |
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| Mar 18, 2013 | Cronos | 80 86% |
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| Mar 10, 2013 |  |
dkbritt85 | 78 51% |
| Feb 22, 2013 | hwong557 | 70 44% |
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| Jan 28, 2013 | Jeffovon | 87 88% |
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| Jan 22, 2013 |  |
Joey_Washout | 73 59% |
| Jan 14, 2013 |  |
cryteno | 6 34% |
| Jan 12, 2013 | DePalma | 81 91% |
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| Jan 08, 2013 |  |
Woody92 | 86 48% |
| Jan 02, 2013 | dzawski | 65 17% |
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| Dec 24, 2012 | Empsall | 82 86% |
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| Dec 08, 2012 |  |
Chr. Bach | 60 27% |
| Nov 27, 2012 |  |
pandoraxsage | 100 70% |
| Nov 14, 2012 | Ronin21 | 78 64% |
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| Nov 06, 2012 |  |
sirphibes | 62 34% |
| Sep 30, 2012 | jyt84 | 53 33% |
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| Sep 21, 2012 | GoodMovie | 75 66% |
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| Sep 08, 2012 |  |
wetwillies | 85 57% |
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Great, unique romantic comedy with a strong cast and a great concept. Albert Brooks is seriously a genius and if you still haven't given his films the time of day, you should be ashamed of yourself as a fanatic of film.
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| Aug 10, 2012 | mdfleming80 | 83 60% |
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| Jul 25, 2012 |  |
tinysausage | 58 12% |
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Some typical Brooks self-deprecating laughs to be had, but this felt pretty clunky to me. The satire felt too watered down and the romance was unconvincin, even Rip Torn is not allowed to let rip.
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| Jul 15, 2012 |  |
hotsake | 68 65% |
| Jun 29, 2012 | dgeiser13 | 1 0% |
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| Jun 27, 2012 |  |
MedCityFlix (Med City Movie Guy) | 99 96% |
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Albert Brooks' best!
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| Jun 23, 2012 | Simon M. | 66 28% |
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| Jun 15, 2012 |  |
gwynplaine | 85 70% |
| May 28, 2012 | Dufftone | 65 27% |
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| May 01, 2012 | Bondo | 87 91% |
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| Apr 26, 2012 |  |
cat9man | 72 38% |
| Apr 24, 2012 | nrm4 | 55 37% |
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| Apr 16, 2012 |  |
Gordon Cole | 83 74% |
| Apr 16, 2012 |  |
mattorama12 | 79 86% |
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The premise is one of my favorites in any movie I've ever seen, particularly impressive given that it is a romantic comedy. It has some great jokes, as well. What prevents this from reaching its full potential is that the romance isn't nearly as well done as one would like.
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| Apr 07, 2012 | kevin.sheets | 95 84% |
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| Apr 02, 2012 |  |
stevekimes | 80 47% |
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Often funny, but just as often I wondered what they were doing that was entertaining here.
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| Mar 21, 2012 | mndt | 80 68% |
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| Mar 09, 2012 |  |
matilda | 85 90% |
| Mar 05, 2012 |  |
comepelicula | 60 51% |
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This is a light entertaining movie about afterlife; it is shown in in a somehow interesting scenario. The story and acting is not really something special, but I watched it when I was a child and some of its subjects have stuck like if you let fright command your life you will never advance
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| Mar 04, 2012 | BartonFink | 7 71% |
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| Feb 16, 2012 |  |
mjf333 | 80 57% |
| Feb 13, 2012 |  |
roujin | 70 78% |
| Feb 13, 2012 | dxmachina | 95 87% |
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| Feb 13, 2012 | SlicedBread | 100 60% |
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| Feb 08, 2012 |  |
Robart | 70 61% |
Displaying 1 to 250 of 507 total ratings: Prev | Next
| Average Percentile 58.2% from 507 Ratings |  |
