FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Ian (Flash Review)Imagine you are an impressionable 12 year old or so and your father is taken from you in the worst ever attack on American soil? This is a story about how this boy, with some sort of OCD behavior, attempts to cope and deal with the loss of his father. Based on various factors and his father's influence, he searches all over Manhattan for a lock to a key he found in his father's closet and comes across all walks of life; needle in a haystack. This was a crisply and smartly edited movie with good emotional moments. And it took a unique a tasteful angle on a very tragic situation. The boy carries the movie as Hanks and Bullock, his parents, are only in a few scenes. Neat little take on that event.

Lee Eisenberg I'm not quite sure how to review Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close". It focuses on a number of different things at once: 9/11, Asperger's syndrome, and a quest for an answer. I understand that several reviewers found the movie exploitative in how it focused on the first two. I didn't see it that way. I guess that the gist of the movie is that sooner or later, we all must realize that it's a harsh world out there. In the protagonist's case, it took the 21st century's most famous - or infamous - event to make him realize that. As his mother reminds him, we can't always explain why these things happen.* As to the issue of whether the movie deserved its Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, I don't think that I would've nominated it. Of course, I haven't seen as many 2011 releases as I would've liked to, so I don't know what I would've nominated in its place. In the end, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and the rest turn in fine performances, so that saves the movie more than anything.*There have in fact been countless explanations as to why Osama bin Laden directed his followers to hijack the planes, but it would take too long to discuss here.

TheBlueHairedLawyer To be fair, I do think that most of the actors did a good job, and that the general plot of this film as well as its camera work, it was all done very well. But the main character, that annoying as hell little boy, he got on my last nerve and his behaviour (which by the way has been chalked up to autism in the film, because I suppose all autistic children must be little monsters who bother people and slap their parents and curse and swear) got on my last nerve every time. I loved the scenes with the various people who he meets on his journey through New York, from a friendly drag queen to a woman going through a messy breakup with her husband, but we hardly get much more than a glimpse into all their lives because the film is so focused on this self-indulgent, bratty and rude little snot of a child who whines repeatedly in narration about what a huge toll 9/11 took on his own life, but who is too focused on himself to see what the disaster did to his mother or to anyone else who lost loved ones when it happened. I think that the doorman (only a minor character) and the grandfather were both certainly some of the most interesting in the story, bringing some comic relief to various scenes, and later on profound sadness in the grandfather's case. 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is in many ways akin to the 2015 film 'The Rainbow Kid' with its journey of quirky characters met along the way, except that in the case of the latter, the main character was actually likable. I mean this boy in here is so pretentious and nasty and self-centered that it almost had me thinking he'd make a good villain! I felt horrible for his mother and kept wishing under my breath that she'd lock him out of the apartment during one of his little day trips just to teach him a lesson in respect.

zkonedog If you go to the cinema looking for pulse-pounding action and over-the-top antics, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" can be crossed off your "to watch" list. However, if you are entranced by emotions, adventure, and character development, this film will likely suck you in and not let go until the credits roll.For a basic plot summary, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" begins by showing the extraordinary loving relationship between Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) and his father Thomas (Tom Hanks). When Thomas is killed during the 9/11 attacks in New York City, little Oskar is devastated. In trying to re-connect with the presence of his father, Oskar finds a strange key in his father's closet and sets out on a quest to find out its meaning. Along the way, Oskar meets up with an older gentleman (played by Max von Sydow) who helps him along.The remarkable aspect of this film is how it sets up such an emotional bond between father and son in a matter of minutes. When Thomas is killed, you will feel a crushing sense of loss and as such root even harder for young Oskar to see through his epic quest. Even when the primary narrative may wane from time to time, the young boy's incredible love for his father will be what keeps you on the edge of your seat.The characters are also very well-acted in this movie. Horn carries the film in practically every scene, while Hanks is well, Hanks for the short time he is on screen. Sydow picks up a key role roughly half way through the movie, while Sandra Bullock ("Mom" Schell) plays the grieving widower with great passion.This is a very down-to-earth film, as well. Nothing is over-the-top or overly dramatic. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say that the ending of the film may not initially gratify you, but once pondered upon will reveal itself as the right kind of conclusion for such a real-world effort.Overall, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is likely to, at the very least, find you rooting on young Oskar Schell as step by step he gets closer to re-discovering his father. The experience will make you both think and feel long after the lights come up.