As Good As It Gets

Absolutely Fantastic

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This film was pretty well done. I do think they could have picked better people for some of the roles, but overall, good acting. Pretty good scripts and a good movie to sit down and engage yourself in. A good movie just to have on in the background while you're doing the dishes or cooking. This case is so fascinating to me, I really cannot say that it was a dull film. It was interesting the whole time and I felt I was part of the film. That I wasn't just watching, but I was connecting with Amanda Knox and feeling her pain. I cringe at some parts because they seem so painful to deal with. I give it a 7 because of these reasons, and because I know it could have been better.Kelsy

The film faithfully reproduces very well what happened to Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, and to the whole investigation. This was the purpose of the film, and this goal has been achieved. It is not a film to be re-made, or to be burned up. Maybe, the only inaccuracy in the film, for me was that Raffaele Sollecito has never said that Amanda had gone out the night of the murder, he only stated that he had smoked a joint that night, after seeing a movie ,and has confused memories,but for what he remembered Amanda had never left his house We recommend viewing, because it is interesting and well done. Very nice interpretation of Hayden Panettiere (Amanda)

Would Amanda be in jail today -- and for the next 26 years -- if she'd come home when her mother asked her to? True to her seeming sense of entitlement, Amanda had told her frantic mother no. She comes across as a child of privilege with a petty and envious dislike for her more studious British roommate. Though I wasn't sure whether she was guilty before seeing the movie, I felt more certain of her culpability upon viewing it.The performances are strong -- I knew this flick couldn't be all-bad when I saw Marcia Gay Harden in the cast. But the movie seemed somewhat sloppy by hinting at corruption in the Italian system but leaving the question open. (The fact the Italians want to put Amanda's parents on trial doesn't add to their credibility.) The movie is also ambiguous as to the guilt of Amanda's boyfriend.In all, a very-well-told tale about murder in a red-roofed town that looked too pretty to be the scene for it.

Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011) ** (out of 4) American girl Amanda Knox (Hayden Panettiere) travels to Italy to study but soon she's accused of murdering her roommate with the assistance of her boyfriend and another guy. Soon Knox's sex life and strange behavior become the key evidence in the trial, which she's convicted of but many seem to think a crooked Prosecutor is to blame. I first heard of this case soon after the real events happened and I remember that for the next year or so every media group was on the side that pointed the finger of guilt at Amanda. I lost track of the case until 60 Minutes did another episode on it and to my shock now everyone was saying that the girl was innocent and being framed by a questionable Prosecutor. This made-for-TV drama from Lifetime doesn't try to pretend to be a documentary and instead it purely wants to show that Amanda is innocent but for some strange reason the movie is never able to do this. There's no doubt that the intent behind this movie is to say that the Italian courts are full of evil people wanting to harm this angel-faced girl from Seattle but I personally need a lot more than just this. Not once are we ever really given an explanation for why Knox is innocent other than the Italians are bad people. This doesn't work for a number of reasons but the biggest one, in terms of this film, is that the Italian members are constantly made to give evil looks to the camera and after a while this just becomes laughable and it's a rather cheap way to try and make them look evil. I kept expecting the director and screenwriter to dress them all in black, put a mask on them and put knives in their hands. Another thing that doesn't work in the picture is that we never really get to understand the case, what actually happened or what might have happened. Yes, there are several re-enactments but they're all handled so poorly that you can't help but feel letdown. As with most "true story" movies, this one here changes a few facts around and tells a few lies of its own so needless to say people shouldn't be watching this thing expecting a documentary. I think the film should have tried to make its case a lot better and all in all it really does feel rushed and all over the place as if the filmmakers weren't sure what they wanted to tell or try to tell. The performances aren't too bad with Panettiere doing a nice job as Knox. I thought she was a lot better when she started to crack from the pressure and she's also quite nice when it comes time to address the courts. Vincent Riotta steals the film as the Prosecutor and Paolo Romio is good in his bit of Amanda's boyfriend. Marcia Gay Harden plays Amanda's mother and she's a tad bit too over-the-top during a few scenes. The story of Amanda Knox is far from over and let's hope a better movie will come out whenever the real story gets solved.