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<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><FONT face=Impact size=6><U>AVON THEATRE EXTRA!
EXTRA!</U></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Hi Folks!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>For those of you who either know nothing about our film,
<U>HENRY POOLE IS HERE</U>, or are not sure whether you will like it, take
a look at ROGER EBERT's 3 1/2 star review!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><U><FONT face=Impact size=6></FONT></U> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=4><STRONG>Henry Poole is Here<BR>...but he
doesn't think Jesus is</STRONG><BR></FONT></FONT>
<P><B>Release Date:</B> 2008
<P><FONT size=4><B>Ebert Rating:</B> <FONT face=verdana><B>***½
</B></FONT> </FONT>
<P><B>// / Aug 14, 2008
<P></B>
<P>
<P><FONT size=3><B>By Roger Ebert</B><BR><BR><STRONG>"Henry Poole Is Here"
achieves something that is uncommonly difficult. It is a spiritual movie with
the power to emotionally touch believers, agnostics and atheists -- in that
descending order, I suspect. It doesn't say that religious beliefs are real. It
simply says that belief is real. And it's a warm-hearted love story.
</STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>It centers on a man named Henry Poole (Luke Wilson), who
has only one problem when he moves into a house. He is dying. Then he acquires
another problem. His neighbor, Esperanza Martinez (Adrianna Barrazza), sees the
face of Jesus Christ in a stain on his stucco wall. Henry Poole doesn't see the
face, and indeed neither do we most of the time, even if we squint. It's a
hit-or-miss sort of thing. </STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>Wilson plays Henry as hostile and depressed. Well, he
has much to be depressed about. "We hardly ever see this disease in the States,"
the doctor tells him. "It steamrolls through your system." Patience (Rachel
Seiferth), the nearly blind checkout girl at the supermarket, gives him dietary
hints when she notices he buys mostly vodka and frozen pizza. Although her
glasses are half an inch thick, she's observant: "Why are you sad and angry all
the time?" </STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>Henry starts hearing voices in his backyard. There is a
rational reason for this. He is being secretly recorded by Millie (Morgan Lily),
the 5-year-old who lives next door on the other side from Esperanza. Millie's
mother is the lovely Dawn (Radha Mitchell), who apologizes for her daughter,
brings cookies, also notices how sad and angry Henry is. He is especially angry
with Esperanza, warning her to stay out of his yard and stop praying to his bad
stucco job. But she has seen Jesus, and cannot be stopped. She brings in Father
Salazar (George Lopez), who explains that the church does not easily declare
miracles, but keeps an open mind. </STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>There are more details, which I must not reveal,
including certain properties of the wall. I will observe that the director, Mark
Pellington, uses some of the most subtle special effects you've probably seen
for some time, to fine-tune the illusion that the face of Christ is really
there, or really not there. I will now think of this movie every time I drive
through the Fullerton Avenue underpass of the Kennedy Exp., where since April
2005, people have said they can see the Virgin Mary in a wall stain.
</STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>The thing is, certain miraculous events take place, and
the people involved believe it is because they touched Henry's wall. Patience
the checkout girl even quotes the formidable intellectual Noam Chomsky, who, she
informs Henry, said some things cannot be explained by science. One critic of
this film believes it is anti-science and pounds you over the head to believe.
Not at all. It is simply that Chomsky is right, as any scientist will tell you.
What do I believe? I believe science can eventually explain everything, but only
if it gets a whole lot better than it is now and discovers realms we do not even
suspect. You could call such a realm God. You could, of course, call it anything
you wanted; it wouldn't matter to the realm. </STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>Another critic, or maybe it is the same critic, believes
the movie is a Hollywood ploy to reach the Christian market. Not at all.
Esperanza sees Jesus because the face of Jesus is ready in her mind, supplied by
holy cards and paintings. You might see the face of Uncle Sam. No one knows what
Jesus looked like. It is also strange that the Virgin's appearances always
mirror her holy card image. People from biblical lands at that time would have
been a good deal darker and shorter. The movie gets that right: The image is so
low on the wall that Jesus must have stood less than 5 feet tall.
</STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT size=3><STRONG>But I stray, and I do injustice to this film. I fell for
it. I believe the feelings between Henry and Dawn. I care about their tenderness
and loneliness. I think Millie is adorable. I think Father Salazar has his head
on straight. I love Esperanza's great big heart. And I especially admire the way
that Henry sticks to his guns. He doesn't believe there's a face on his stucco,
and that's that. And no, he doesn't undergo a deathbed conversion. That's
because ... but find out for yourself. </STRONG></FONT>
<P><B>Cast & Credits</B>
<P>Henry Poole: <B>Luke Wilson</B><BR>Dawn: <B>Radha Mitchell</B><BR>Esperanza:
<B>Adrianna Barrazza</B><BR>Father Salazar: <B>George Lopez</B><BR>Meg:
<B>Cheryl Hines</B><BR>Dr. Fancher: <B>Richard Benjamin</B><BR>Millie: <B>Morgan
Lily</B><BR>Patience: <B>Rachel Seiferth</B><BR><BR>Overture Films present a
film directed by Mark Pellington and written by Albert Torres. Running time: 99
minutes. Rated PG (for thematic elements and some language). Opening today at
local theaters. <BR></P></DIV>
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