Best movie of this year hands down!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Capra-corn. This moniker is often used for many of the films of Frank Capra. Are his films a little corny? A little too homespun? Perhaps a bit. But I see them as being a balance on the scales of Hollywood, which has a tendency -- all too often -- as painting Americans as less than admirable people. Of course, some of us Americans are less than admirable, and we see a lot of those types in movies. But some of us are a little corny and homespun. We don't see those folks in many films. So Capra and occasionally other producers and directors toss a few films on the scale to balance out our view of American life.This is a fine film, although not my favorite Capra flick; I prefer "Lost Horizon" and "It's A Wonderful Life". But this is so good. I find the early part of the film a bit slow, but the film continues to build and is ultimately quite inspirational.Gary Cooper is excellent here. As he career matured, and particularly because of "High Noon", we sometimes tend to think of Cooper as a star of Westerns. This film is a good reminder that he was in plenty of other types of dramatic films. In fact, at least for me, it was his films that were not Westerns that I tend to enjoy most. Some people jump to the conclusion that Frank Capra should have used Jimmy Stewart here. I disagree strongly, although I very much like Jimmy Stewart's work. Cooper was perfect for the role. Stewart could have done it, but it would have been that Stewart that we sometime saw as sneering that would have marked a Stewart appearance here.Barbara Stanwyck is also excellent here. In fact, I would have to say this was one of her better roles.James Gleason has the standout supporting role here. I always enjoy him, but here -- as the newspaper editor -- I think he had one of his best roles, and he really shines in the scene where he's drunk...and honest with John Doe.Edward Arnold made a fine villain. I think Walter Brennan got the short end of the stick here. He's too much an old grump in this film; I didn't find him very likable. Spring Byington is here in a small role as Stanwyck's mother; a rather typical role for her. Gene Lockhart has a significant role as a mayor, but gets little screen time. Regis Toomey doesn't have much screen time, but he has a fine role in a supporter of John Doe. J. Farrell MacDonald has a small role here as "Sourpuss", and he's a character actor we never saw enough of. Interesting that Ann Doran has a small, but significant role, but got no billing.

Capracorn it may be but it's still hard to resist this anti-fascist message simply because of the sheer professionalism on display from all departments beginning, of course, with the screenplay. Arguably Robert Riskin's finest hour was when - smarting from all the PR that spoke of the 'Capra touch' whilst completely ignoring the screenplays - he marched into Capra's office, tossed an unopened box of typing paper on the director's desk and said 'let's see you put the Capra touch on THAT', but this screenplay, like most of the others he supplied Capra with, is solidly constructed albeit manipulative, so that actors like Cooper, Stanwyck, Gleason, Brennan, Arnold, Byington, and the rest, could more or less have phoned it in. Working as an ensemble they add a high gloss to what boils down to little more than a sampler,love thy neighbour, but, as someone probably said, it's not the arrival, it's the journey, and this is a swell trip.

As Captain Sisko in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" put it in an episode "Beyond the Stars" "You can take away the story, but you can't destroy the idea, it exists in my mind, it's ancient knowledge, it's real." That's how I feel about ideas, to me their as real as the air we breathe, they are what drive us, keep us alive, and are capable of making differences in a person, people, a small or big portion of the world. This believe or not is my favorite film from Frank Capera.Like in most of his films there the kind that really speak to me and just give me a good feeling inside which I don't get nearly enough of which is part of what makes them timeless. You can also say this film is also kinda a Christian film since like most of his films have themes on selflessness as well as a Christian like protagonist whom like most have to endure a lot of hardship before triumph.I like the story, it's true it's kinda far fetched but I just rolled with it. To me like with most of Capra's films what really drove it are the characters and what they do.I really like the protagonist John Doe played well by Gary Cooper. You really do feel a heavy sense of pathos for the guy, because of how human he feels. At first when he takes this job on, he doing it for survival which is the money. Though I wouldn't say it's a totally selfish reason since he wanted that money to also help his friend. But also just simply as an opportunity for another chance, the guy isn't a bum as he stated he use to be a star ball player but as time went on has ran into hard times. But of course as he goes along with the role of playing a guy that doesn't really exist, as things grow he begins to realize the importance of what has been created as well as feel a sense of guilt over having to lie in order to retain hope for everyone but is still willing to admit the truth about himself. That I personally feel makes him a true hero and the real deal, willingness to revoke his title which shows he's not selfish but truly selfless.When we see John go though that as corrupt corporations rear their ugly head to destroy his character which they do, it just made me feel all the more pathos for him and hope he wins. He wasn't harming anyone but to some ideas are a threat because they evoke certain changes their selfish ambitions don't agree with. One really profound moments with John are the speech he gives the corporates which I thought was great, it says that people with ideas exist and it doesn't matter how many are struck down their will always be another or many.I even like the chemistry between both John and Ann Mitchell(Barbra Standwick) so this film is another one of the romance stories I like because they actually work. I thought it was believable because both had genuine interaction time, one of my favorite scenes is when John tells a story about his family to Ann which I found very touching because it shows that John truly does have a soul and isn't nobody. I even like the Ann character who is also human and whom was the one that created the whole John Doe phenomenon; her character I don't feel is a bad guy her head at first is just in the wrong place. At first when she created it it was simply for survival since she was being let go of, she needed a hot story fast to retain her career. Though I wouldn't say it was totally selfish since the paper she works for was going under so it was a way to keep them in business. But as the phenomenon grows she also grows a conscious about the whole thing realizes it's importance as well as ethical boundaries broken to keep it alive but the effect it would have on John which makes her concerned for his life. This just all the more makes us hope she might find some redemption for herself but also hope John can forgive her.To me the message is about ideas and dreams can never be destroyed, as long as good people, belief, and hope exists, ideas will always be fruitful and multiply.John Doe isn't a nobody, he is a somebody because he is everybody.Rating: 4 stars

This is the story of a fired newspaper reporter, Ann Mitchell, who make up a fake letter from an unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. She manages to get the letter published in the paper and she is rehired. Ann must find a John Doe for her letter and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement. The bosses take the made up story and the hired John to the brink. At the last everyone, even Ann, takes her creation seriously...but publisher D.B. Norton has a secret plan.This movies shows us why Gary Cooper is the consummate actor that he came to be. Paired with legendary actress Barbara Stanwyck, this picture is a lesson on their acting techniques. Nominated for Best Writing Original Story in 1942, the story can't help but remind you of Citizen Kane or Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. Standing up to the bigger than life acting of these heros of the screen is Edward Arnold as publisher DB Norton. His performance as the old rich man in charge is sparked with realism and is a heartfelt but flawed character. The story has over tones ranging from the political to the religious. Though the story may be hokey at times it still can resonate with today's times and some of the subject matter seems to come straight from the headlines of some of today's newspapers. Directed by Frank Capra, the sets and visuals are what you want from a movie like this that can rip your heart wide open. Capra's skills are as apparent here as other Capra work. The movie gets so real at times that during the riot you'll wonder how Capra kept control on the set.