Easy to watch (or listen to) multiple times

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2007)

The first time I watched this was with a bunch of friends, none of which really liked it. I will admit that the movie has me shivering at the end. But as I was going home, the relatively simple music kept running through my head. I went to see it again, and found once I no longer was distracted my the many over-the-top silliness, the story / movie was actually really good. I have seen a few times more, as the movie is easy to watch (or should I say, listen to).
I would categorize the overall feel of this movie with The Last Mimzy, Millions, Princes Bride, perhaps even Whale Rider, and of course any Oliver rendition. The movie is as "sweet" as Searching for Bobby Fisher.
Unlike some recent "kid has/discovers/gets supernatural powers and learns to use them" movies which IMHO are far more "over-the-top" than this movie, this movie attempts to elicit real emotion from the story instead of simply inspiring what-if dreams.
So, with high expectations, I picked up the soundtrack. It contained about half of what I wanted. It does contain the Main Theam, August's Rhapsody, Keri King (August's Guitar Solo) songs, and some stuff never heard in the move. It does not contain:
* Leon Thomas's (Arthur) solo's in the park
* The Music heard when Evan hears when first arriving in New York
* The Organ Music (which IMHO is very simple but really hits the core of the music themes in the movie. Esp when all the stops are pulled)
I am thankful that every so often, Hollywood takes a chance on a silly escape-ism movie like this. If you, like me, appreciate good acting, fairly good music, sappy sweet story lines, this one is for you.

Michael.