Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Izzy Adkins The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

Irishchatter I seriously felt sick in my stomach watching this but it honestly really happened! In the scene where the bomb exploded in the town, I felt like I was there and I was screaming. It really breaks your heart into pieces looking at the victims who were killed or injured in the blast. I say it's still very traumatizing for the families, friends and the survivors like it's such an evil act to do that. Sure the IRA don't give a toss whether they killed anyone or not, they think they are the gods of this universe! I was even more p*ssed off with the state for giving such little information to the families. Sure, as per usual, politician scumbags with our past Taioseach Bertie Ahern,Gerry Adams, the Gardai and other bodies involved in the case were and still are disgraceful. They even didn't want to catch the real perpetrators and still today, there hasn't been any improvement ever since. Seriously it's just a joke the way Ireland lets criminals rum around streets by letting them off easy for "good behaviour". Ireland is too nice for its criminals!Excellent movie!

gelman@attglobal.net I never heard of Peter Travis prior to "Omagh" but the direction in this film deserves more than equal billing with Gerard McSorley, who stars the bereaved father who becomes chairman of the Omagh Support Group. The mounting tension at the start of the film as the bomb is positioned, the police are warned and the crowd on the High Street is herded to the spot where the explosion takes place is enough to take your breath away. It doesn't matter in the least that the accents are difficult for these American ears to understand at the film's beginning because you somehow know exactly what's happening at every moment. The frantic search for the missing son, the dawning realization that he has died, the intense grief, the formation of the Omagh Support Group with McSorley emerging as its leader, the effort to ensure that the investigation is pursued, the determination of the politicians that the incident not be allowed to derail "the peace process," the evasions and downright lies of the police, the mysterious emergence of the truth, the condemnation of police conduct by the police ombudswoman -- all are rendered with controlled intensity that never flags. One device that Travis and his cameraman use repeatedly to great effect is the extreme closeup in which a portion of the character's face is shown, framed usually at an artful angle that a skilled portrait photographer might adopt for a still picture. Those pictures capture the emotions of the characters with particular force. The tragedy of Omagh is brought alive to devastating effect. Don't let the fact that it was made for TV deter you from seeing this superb movie.

Joel-Highbury What a moving experience watching this movie. You get a great idea of the troubles Northern Ireland went through, and how it affected England itself and Northern Ireland as well.You also get a glimpse of how it affected families of the dead and what they had to go through just to get recognition for these bombings. Gerard McSorley was superb in this film. It was almost surreal how good this man was in this film. Overall, this had to be the greatest film I have ever seen. And I was only 14 when I saw this film (15 at this moment) and I'm still touched by this movie.I recommend this movie to everyone not only interested in Northern Ireland and the troubles, but for someone who wants to see a moving, touching, and amazing movie.

Brigid O Sullivan (wisewebwoman) But not excellent. Shot in the fashion of "Bloody Sunday," but the jittery hand-held cameras and "natural lighting" come off as contrived here and do not enhance the unfolding of the horror story that was Omagh on August 15th, 1998. I was in Ireland then, but in the South, when we heard the dreadful news.This film helps to fill in some of the background and make it all very real. Gerard McSorley plays the reluctant hero, Michael Gallagher, a shy mechanic, who is thrust into the spotlight by the other victims' families and heads up the Support Group that hounds the government and police forces for answers and accountability.Sadly, to this day, there has been no one charged for the atrocity and it appears that the police on both sides of the border, at the urging of politicians, were complicit in not pursuing a thorough investigation. The story carries one along, both in sympathy and a slowly dawning disgust at the way these unfortunate families are treated.Many small bit parts - Brenda Fricker plays the ombudsman who brings truth to the group. Good television fare but hardly worth the high end rental for the above noted irritants. 8 out of 10.