source: How Sarah Got Her Wings

20 October 2014. If one combined the immersive period atmosphere of the movie haunting classic of Peter Weir's Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) with the twists found in Ann Hathaway's performance in Passengers (2008) or Leo DeCaprio's performance in Shutter Island (2010) along with a twist to these twists one might replicate the themes and experiences found in The Awakening. However, such a twist as in this movie is much more subtle then Planet of the Apes (1968) or even The Sixth Sense (1999). Nor is this occult horror as shocking or deliberately blatant as class standard of horror films The Exorcist (1973). Instead using some of the same suggestive techniques of the surprise blockbuster The Blair Witch Project (1999) or The Lovely Bones (2009), The Awakening offers up a surprisingly entertaining, slowly evolving mystery thriller without the hard-hitting shocks that results in both a bitter sweet but nonetheless truly satisfying ending. In some ways, this is the counter point more uplifting version to Christian Slater's performance in He Was A Quiet Man (2007) or like Lesley-Ann Down's experience in Nomads(1986).

This is a hard movie to rate now. I am not a big fan of...let's refer to them as, "holiday romance movies"; preferring the Christmas Classics that became classics because of their Christmas magic. But this one looked like it was worth watching because of the fantasy aspects of the storyline. I was enjoying it (yes, it's not Oscar material...big deal), then BAM !!!!! who the hell came up wih that ending? I have to agree with one of the other reviewers, that the writer is the one who needs to be thrown under the bus. What a last minute disappointment, spoiled the whole movie.

I loved this movie! The humor cracked me up! I love when Sarah says wait why does he get to go in? The lady says don't you know, all dogs go to heaven. Lol!! The only thing I didn't like was the girl she was trying to get hooked up with her old boyfriend. She seemed fake and not really into the guy.

Without spoilers, the last four minutes of the movie UNDOES the message and the good of what was done for Sarah to "GET her wings". It's the Hollywood equivalent of Entitlement-- don't like the ending, the way things turned out, CHANGE EVERYTHING WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE OR NOT! A completely illogical ending! Had she got her wings and moved on-- or hey, even introduce the notion of God "giving second chances via reincarnation", but this ending KILLED the movie entirely. Way to go... NOT.

I loved this movie! The witty humor was so cute and funny. I loved the part where she says "Hey wait a minute, how come he gets to go in? The lady says "don't you know, all dogs go to heaven". Lol!! The only thing I didn't like was the girl her old boyfriend likes. I couldn't understand why Sarah wanted them to be together when she still had feelings for him.

Hot, Hot, Hot! The lead guy in this is soooo hot and when we first meet him, he is scantily clad. I like this film. It is a variation on the old classic "It's A Wonderful Life", but closer to its alleged predecessor "Unlikely Angel" starring Dolly Parton. After her death, Sarah is sent back to earth to earn her wings, where she is reunited with the very sexy Jordan and she has to work out what she needs to do for him, to enable her entry in to Heaven. It is a romance, but not necessarily the one you would expect. It's not OTT with Christmas as a theme, but it's a nice little story and I don't know if I mentioned it, but the guy who plays Jordan is super fit! (Derek Theler). Follow me for more shallow reviews that focus on the sexy men. Sometimes I think that it's the only reason the films score so high.

Sometimes I think reviewers ignore the genre of film they are reviewing: this is a TV-Christmas movie, with thwarted romance, second chances ... all the plot items you expect when tuning in Hallmark or ION in December. Two things set this apart: the characters are likeable, or course, but there is no "bad" boyfriend or girlfriend here. Secondly, the ending, which I will no spoil, was completely unforeseen and done very well. By the way, the heaven gate-keeper was also done really well. Look, everyone knows they are making a cheesy film, and it takes work to play these characters "straight." So I applaud the actors and director. Bottom line: I liked it.

It was sweet and heartwarming. Yes, there were cohesive issues. But, If you just want the holiday feels and you have 90 mins to spare, this is definitely not a waste of time.

This movie has a personality complex. It has no idea what it wants to be. That is sad that the film starts off so well but then goes off the rails fast. In this film a woman must perform a few good deeds before she can enter heaven. She only has a limited amount of time. If she fails she is stuck in purgatory. My main problem is that the protagonist is not a bad person. She was helping a man retrieve his dog when she dies. When she is sent back to earth she is sent to help her old boyfriend. When she reveals himself to him he can't believe that she is not dead. Later on in the story he can no longer see her but his girlfriend/love interest can. By the time the film ends you will be mad. The ending on the surface is nice but it causes a major loophole that is never disgust. The writer of this should be thrown under a bus!