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

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, Colombia...and ORLANDO, FL "The brain is a miracle!" Says Dr. Ben Carson upon being asked why he wanted to be a brain surgeon during his screening interview as an applicant for internship at prestigious John Hopkins Hospital. That Carson would become eventually, perhaps, the best and most renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon in the world is even a bigger miracle! These words are easy to identify with because "What the human mind can conceive and believe, it can ACHIEVE!"-Dr. Napoleon Hill.Every time I sit down to write a review, my goal is to find some aspect of the film that inspires me, and then manage to express that in a way that will, in turn, serve to inspire you! In the case of GIFTED HANDS, there is a lot of inspiration at its core! Dr. Carson's particular well-spring of inspiration is his faith in God.Unfortunately, there are always a few people who seem to find this religious source anathema to their continued existence on this planet! Why is that? I consider myself a spiritual person, but not really religious, in the traditional sense. Yet, I find this attitude just as baffling as those who cannot countenance a story line where inspiration is NOT faith-based. Inspiration is inspiration, no matter who, where, how, when or why! GIFTED HANDS deserves KUDOS for several things it doesn't do: Despite being about an African-American trailblazer starting out in the 60's and 70's, there is only one brief scene where Carson is dissed simply for being "different". Certainly, there must have been a number of times in his life where he encountered racism, but one scene was enough to underscore this. (One of the BEST scenes in the film, BTW) Cuba Gooding, Jr. was excellent (but not great) in the title role. Two Constructive Critiques: Even with his wrinkles digitally air-brushed out, at 41, Gooding was too old to play a 19 year-old college Freshman. Also, as is usually the case with TV productions, some aspects were slightly below par, causing me to rate this 9* as opposed to 10* .....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

This movie is about a young boy who lived with his single mother and his older brother. The movie begins in 1987, where Dr. Ben Carson goes to Germany to visit a couple who have conjoined twins. They are joined at the head and he is asked to separate the twins with out one of them dying. The movie then goes back to his childhood and shows the struggles he had as a child with his temper and having an uneducated mother. His mother spent time in a mental institution. Dr. Carson was willing to taking risk and at one point removed half of a patient's brain to stop them from having seizures.I would recommend this movie to people to see how to over some disadvantages and how having a mother who believes in you can help you go far in life.

Dr. Ben Carson is a 'real life' doctor who overcame many, many hardships and disadvantages to reach the level of Neuro-surgeon at John Hopkins Hospital where he still practices. The primary actor, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Carson and Kimberly Elise as the single mother of two boys are played extremely well. As they grow up in not the best of circumstances she is their constant motivator even thought, at first, she is illiterate. As a youngster and teen he is constantly pushed by her to succeed and in the end succeed and succeed he does, to the top of his field while his brother goes on to become and engineer. The story is brilliantly told and realistically shot, well directed and as the actors ages advance we see the portrayed by the next actor in a realistic manner. All in all a great movie to watch and in the end as about as rewarding to have seen as it gets.

I found this movie deeply moving. As a person of faith, I was impressed by the positive depiction of religion in helping Ben Carson and his mother to strive to overcome negative influences in their lives.In response to ctomvelu-1 who commented on "evil racist whites (what other kind could there be in a story like this?", I would like to point out that the psychiatrist who helps Ben's mother overcome depression, the science teacher who shows Ben another world in a microscope, the admissions counselor who is impressed by Ben's interest in classical music are positive white role models, just to name a few. The black teenage gang member is also depicted as the kind that holds fellow blacks back by berating those who strive for excellence for trying to be white. More people of all races should see this movie.