"Is Anybody There?"

No. That title isn't a blatant attempt to get people to respond to my posts. (Really. It's not. Although... Now that you mention it, I wouldn't complain if I heard from some of you more often....) Instead, that title is the same as the title of a movie I went to last week Tuesday. 

"Is Anybody There?" is a relatively quiet little British movie which focuses on a young boy living in a house which has become an old age home as his mother has been searching for a way to bring in more money. The boy is obsessed with the idea of searching for ghosts -- and feels he is living in the perfect place to do just that. He frequently hides under the beds of residents on the verge of death to record their last breaths. 

Into this relatively-peaceful home comes The Amazing Clarence, an aging magician with memory issues, played by Michael Caine. He stirs up the boy's imagination, as well as refusing to let the other residents simply "go calmly into that good night." The title of the movie comes from the seance Clarence arranges for the young boy's benefit. It goes very well, thanks to some stage trickery.

I'd love to say that this is a surprising or exciting or stunning movie, but it's not. It is, however, quite a nice film. I tear-ed up a couple of times, even. 

Overall grade: B. It's nice enough, but sometimes nice isn't enough.