Reviews

I watched this with my partner. I've read the book, he hasn't.

My partner had no idea what was going on half the time. He said most of the movie seemed to be about a boy who was just a little bit naughty. There was no suspense, no emotion and no real storyline.

Having read the book I knew what was going on, but this was an incredibly poor telling. It doesn't convey Eva's thoughts (central to the story) and it misses out A LOT of crucial stuff (for those who have read the book, his preschool escapades, the school dance, the bike, the bridge, the photograph, and so on.) I can't believe they turned such a fantastic and emotional book in to such a dull and lifeless film.

Honestly, give it a miss. I can not believe it has been so well reviewed.

But highly biased.

yes, it showed all the terrible things that happen, but it didn't talk about the laws which have been put in place to protect animal welfare at all or explore the various laws in different countries. it didn't even tell you what you could do about it - except obviously trying to make you become vegan.

in my opinion it would have been a better documentary if it had also looked at good farming practices and shown people that there is a better alternative if you don't want to become vegan.

most people will not become vegan or vegetarian after watching something like this, but if it had mentioned the types of meat that are better to buy then people might remember and take it on board a little more.

the whole thing felt like a bit of a guilt trip to be honest. and i make sure i buy the little meat i eat from the local farmshop, where i know the animals are killed in a fairly humane way so i shouldn't have felt any guilt from it. it's not my fault that people like to bowl with pigeons or ride bulls is it?

I watched this show when I was much younger, 10 or maybe 11. I always loved the show and found it really funny, although watching it now (8 years on) I know there's a lot in it I probably didn't get back then. Either way, it taught me a lot about life in a way that made me want to listen. I really believe I'm a better person for watching this show when I was young - that may be a bit deplorable but there you go. I can't believe they took it off the air! I blame that for the corruption of todays youth =P

things the show taught me about: mean people, racism, homophobia, sex, STDs,alcoholism, animal cruelty, transsexuals, homelessness, leukaemia, relationships, prejudice, exorcism, that overweight people have feelings too, working, teen marriage, that sometimes conjoined twins might want to stay attached, about chickens, pregnancy, adoption, substance abuse, blackmail, ulterior motives........and the list goes on

even if it had taught me nothing I'd still have loved this show - maybe even just for Mary cherry =D

it annoyed that there was the 'in group', who were meant to be superficial and uncaring and the 'out group', supposedly the opposite. But the two groups were exactly the same. perhaps this was the point, i don't know.

next, the one character who was supposed to be individual because that's just who she really was was actually just trying to be different because she couldn't be popular or to seek revenge for petty stuff. i always hated her. but couldn't help but be mesmerised because she's beautiful

lastly, a really petty point - by the end everyone gets along. real life isn't like that. unkind people usually stay unkind. it shows kids the truth about so many aspects of real life and then goes and does that.....shocking.

the reasons it didn't get a 10

I gave this movie a 10 because it is a fantastic movie. However, it is very difficult to watch. Especially if you know that it will hit close to home. If you've been through things that you know are in this film and being reminded of it upsets you then i would really advise against watching this film. I normally find that watching these kinds of things help me but this was more upsetting than anything.

I got half way through the rape scene before i had to turn the film off. I was sweating and dizzy, almost at the point of panic attack. I was literally squirming from the moment the film began. That night I could hardly even stand to have my boyfriend touch me and decided that the next day i had to watch the rest of the film so that I didn't just keep thinking about the nasty bits.

one of the reasons that the rape scene is so hard to get through is that you've already seen the outcome - and you know that that doesn't come from rape alone. as he gets off her you have this sense of relief but at the same time a sense of dread.

close to the end of the film you find out something that changes your perception of the film that far. everything you think and feel about the characters changes. it might seem silly that the character development comes so close to the end but it gives you this huge rush of new feelings. in this last scene my opinion of this movie went from something that was graphic violence for the sake of pushing the boundaries to a tragic and sad movie which really touched me.