Urantia For me, Donovan's Echo was an inspirational reminder that the sovereignty of God is unlimited. The universe was not inevitable. It is neither an accident nor some self-existent entity of ethereal proportions exploding upon the empty stage of nebular nothingness. The universe is a work of creation and is therefore wholly subject to the will of the Creator. And unlike any documentary that may have attempted to encapsulate portions of these philosophical mysteries in a few condensed scenes featuring talking heads that move their lips in a rapid succession of lingual fireworks but who fail to say anything spiritually significant, this suspense-filled flick was enlightening and entertaining. By the way, God was never mentioned by name or even indirectly referenced in this movie although you might not know that after reading my review thus far (unless you have already seen Donovan's Echo). The topic that is dealt with has to do with how someone can be called upon to do something of the utmost importance that is beneficial to the long-term welfare of the planet perhaps by those Beings who are unseen and uncredited yet work diligently behind the scenes for the good of the many (and since they exist on a cosmic plane far above planetary mortals, they know more than any of us about everything there is to know). The chosen individual might be completely unaware that he or she has a supremely significant task to be completed during their mortal lifetime. At times when Doubt temporarily wins the tug-of-war with Faith, they might even think they are deluded or even crazy. Others who know them might share that opinion. But what matters in the end is only if the spiritually-guided person chooses to act or not to act (this going way beyond Shakespeare's "to be or not to be" since active participation can only be directly invoked by an act of will) and I choose not to mention anything more pertaining to what happens in this thriller so as to allow the ending to appear when scripted.

anniebwrites Of course, Danny Glover does an amazing job. Kudos to Bruce Greenwood for producing the film and for his understated but essential performance. He often plays the villain but here he is the best friend a man--especially one experimenting with alcohol and deja vu--could have. The location ambiance (Canada, I assume) brings a brooding northern chill to the watcher while at the same time the sensitivity of Terry Frewer's music score wraps the whole film together with its achingly ethereal, warm, beautiful themes. It's not a big high-concept car-chase adventure--it's an unexpected gem.

xzcgb I was hoping there'd emerge a darker side to this film, but alas not; it had a slushy feel throughout, and terrible anodyne music. The main character was potentially a lot more complex that the script allowed, I mean he could have been a bit insane, or even a pervert, and yet still be a good guy. BUT Oh Nooo! in the world of the righteous quasi-Christian genre things must seem to be black and white. Yes I said 'christian'...weird thing to say perhaps...but it seems to be that there is almost a sub genre of horror film, at least they start out as horror - that come from a supernatural or beyond the grave inspired subject matter (see Frequency or The Forgotten), - that quickly develop into a mishmash of worthy, feel-good crap, with to top it all off confirmation that there is life after death! No really, come on, this film would be much more powerful if at least one of the daft people who didn't initially believe in Danny's mad ramblings did actually die as a result of their scepticism. In fact the little girl seemed to deliberately place herself in dangerous life threatening situations - how irritating - yet still she survived, while Danny gets it in the heart...bleak as hell. Yeah Danny Glover gets it, no wonder they needed a heavenly epilogue. Even though the protagonist in The Dead Zone also died in the end I found that film a far more satisfying 'premonition' thriller than this Canadian production, I think because it had more balls. Unbreakable is also a superior movie. The main character, Donovan, comes across as very eccentric, and, in real life I don't believe he'd be allowed around kids at all. Also the girl's mother seems a bit thick; meanwhile her brother is apparently guilty of killing two lots of people in two car accidents thirty years apart, but the thing is his character (or the actor playing him) is obviously not much older than thirty, anyone can tell that just from his young face, ridiculous right?, and yet no one in the film says anything.There are some imaginative attempts at Donnie Darko style symbolism, but I don't think the film treats them seriously enough, or takes them to their conclusion, and they end up confused, too busy.The film doesn't seem to have a definite direction, or feel, at least for the first third; and thinking about it, Danny Glover's character is just not very likable.There were elements of Richard Matheson in here - and that great writer is sorely missed - but powerful ideas were thwarted by boring soap opera.

jrschulz-1 This film made its world premiere today as the Opening Gala presentation at the Calgary International Film Festival. Starring Danny Glover as Donovan Matheson, a dyslexic nuclear physicist who gave up his career upon the death of his family thirty years prior, and Canadian Bruce Greenwood as an RCMP Staff Sergeant and friend of Donovan's it is essentially a character study into deja vu as Donovan flashes in and out the present and past.It draw parallels between the tragic death of his wife and daughter and current catastrophes that are too closely similar for comfort, almost as if Donovan was predicting them. Everyone Donovan interacts with throughout the entire film appears to have a connection, what we never quite know until the last five minutes, to the loss of his family.This suspense film never reveals even a hint of the possibilities of its conclusion until the last ten minutes. The viewer is left with many unanswered questions but with enough closure to be comfortable with the outcome. A good production worth viewing but I would not call it a great production. The problem being it was disjointed for too long a period at the beginning even though it picks up rapidly mid film. Regardless, this atypical role for Glover should bring him honourable mention as he held the viewers' attention throughout and essentially was the only true star of the film, all others being supporting only. This was a great performance by Glover.