Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

DrMiguel-DeLeon Kingdom Hospital is a very good black comedy series, presented by and adapted for US audiences by Stephen King. That name should, shall we say, ring a bell for everyone. Briefly, a community hospital is built on the smoldering sites of a civil war-era clothing factory and a depression-era private hospital. Its neurology department is the focus of the show, complete with wacky characters reminiscent of M*A*S*H and some otherworldly shenanigans. The series spans 13 episodes, with good special effects and acting. Andrew McCarthy (80s Brat Pack member), Diane Ladd (Chinatown), Bruce Davison (Dead Man's Curve), and Ed Begley Jr. (This Is Spinal Tap) lead the cast. It's a serial series, meaning that the episodes build toward and refer back to one another. 12 of the 13 episodes are wonderful: funny, suspenseful, and quite enjoyable. The single exception is in the middle -- "The Passion Of Rev. Jimmy". Strongly recommended for Stephen King fans, M*A*S*H fans, E.R. fans.

arachnidzone Yes, a rarity nowadays, this is only one season, but its a complete series with an actual ending. Its quirky in places, weird all the time, it has enough suspense to keep you wanting more and its one of the best feel-good, "I love it when a plan comes together" endings ever. Thats when several of the series weirder bits all form a 'solid' ending ;) Who is it aimed at? lovers of horror, Stephen King, thrillers and the unusual. Yes its not exactly horrific, but most horror isn't. Its definitely fanciful, thrilling and a bit dramatic with a bit of comedy thrown in to the mix, but not in to your face.Its not got amazing acting, its so weird and wonderful of a storyline that its not particularly realistic, but its one of those rare times where the overall experience makes you totally forget any shortcomings.Best way to watch is all at once like me and my wife did. A long and gratifying experience that had me getting right online to get 'Red Dragon Tattoo' by 'Fountains of Wayne' and now every time I hear it I smile and think of the series and in-particular the ending, which by the way, I just re-watched the ending which I would consider a sad thing to do, but its what prompted this review. Corny as it sounds it warms your heart lol.Excellent.

Rd Stendel-Freels Let's get a few things out of the way here: 1) "Kingdom Hospital," although based on the Danish series "Riget," is NOT "Riget." 2) "Riget" is, indeed, a better production. 3) "Kingdom Hospital" is NOT horror. It can probably best be described as a black comedy/Gothic mystery featuring ghosts, but it is not horror.Like the best of Stephen King's works, "Kingdom Hospital" draws its inspiration from a combination of another work and autobiographical details of his own life, in this case, Lars von Trier's "Riget," and King's own 1999 experience being struck by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run accident. King wrote 8 of the 13 episodes himself and shares writing credit with his wife Tabitha on a 9th. The remaining 4 were scripted by his co-producer, National Book Award finalist Richard Dooling. "Kingdom Hospital" is not "Riget" and does not pretend to be. A straightforward remake of "Riget" would not have played well to mainstream American audiences, besides being redundant and unnecessary. If you want to see "Riget," you can rent "Riget," but don't look for it here. Instead, "Kingdom Hospital" uses "Riget" as the framework for a motherlode of subtext. From a modern re-telling of the Egyptian Anubis myth, to questions of Christian faith, from forays into the horrors of experimental medicine to frequent pot shots at American popular culture, from an exploration of obsessive attraction to biting commentary on the ways children have been treated historically--all of these things combine to tell a fascinating, multi-layered tale. While the villain, Dr. Stegman, is rather one-dimensional in his obsessions and hubris, he serves as a mirror to the more fascinating Dr. Hook, a man so haunted by his own internal demons and guilt that he strives to be better. Stegman's lack of guilt serves as his downfall, while Hook's guilt and mistakes define him. Peter Rickman serves as the mirror to Stephen King, as he realizes he has defined himself by his craft (he is an artist), and just as King revealed in his memoir "On Writing" how writing ultimately healed him, so does Rickman's artwork (he's so defined by it that he uses drawings to communicate while comatose) set the stage for his own healing, and, ultimately, the "healing" of Kingdom Hospital. "It's what I do," he says at the story's climax. "It's solid." "Kingdom Hospital" is much better suited to viewing on DVD without the endless commercial interruptions that slowed the narrative during its prime-time run. On television the story was slow to build and often seemed to take pointless, meandering side trips, but watched in a single sitting, it takes on a new life, and those side trips pay off marvelously in end. This is fascinating stuff, great character studies, and far better than the standard slop served up on American television. A definite must-see!

renyard01 Probably one of the best video representations of Stephen King's writing style (although he did not write the original novel), "Kingdom Hospital" definitely worth the watching! Granted, this mini-series is not for everyone. If you're into short, powerful horror films that end with all the loose ends neatly tied up, this one just won't be for you. Just as in his novels, King takes his time to explore characters, situations, the macabre, and so on. Like his novels, this is a rich exploration that takes the time and patience of the viewer.What I liked the most about this series were the running motifs that tied the numerous subplots together in very subtle ways. Things like secret hand-signs, recurring phrases, and soundtrack songs like "Red Dragon Tattoo" by Fountains of Wayne. I also like the way that black humor was woven into situations in ways that seemed appropriate, and yet not overdone.I'm sure that "Kingdom Hospital" will never win any artistic awards, but the quality of this piece surpasses much of what one can expect from American television miniseries.