Gavin Purtell 'Wish I Was Here' is a very touching film. My best advice is don't go in expecting a hilarious comedy, but nor is it a dour/depressing drama. Braff is steadily becoming an accomplished director, knowing when to lighten the mood, but importantly, when to keep it real and meaningful. In fact, I probably liked 'Wish I Was Here' more than 'Garden State'...The film basically follows Aidan (Braff) and his family as they struggle to live their lives in Los Angeles - he's an out-of-work actor, wife Sarah (Hudson) is in a dull admin job, they can't afford to keep the kids in expensive Jewish school, his brother's an ambitionless drop-out, and to top it all off, his dad has lung cancer. Sounds bad? That's the basic premise - how does the human heart overcome such adversity?Once again, a fantastic soundtrack - featuring Bon Iver, The Shins & Paul Simon - with plenty of lovely moments, whether it's a sight gag (pamphlet container) or a simple explanation of something odd (the contact lenses). There's definitely some funny moments, mostly thanks to the youngest kid, Tucker (Gagnon, from 'Looper' & 'Extant') trying to understand what he's being told. Oh, and Turk from Scrubs turns up briefly! Sure, it gets a bit dramatic in parts and perhaps doesn't have the strongest ending.But, that being said, Grace (King), Gabe (Patinkin) & Noah (Gad) all have some scenes that seriously pull at the heart strings/tear ducts! The delicate moments are handled exceptionally and there's plenty of overt and concealed meanings in most of the scenes.

Purwinator This Film was great, I love the way Zach Braff performs and the way some scenes are produced! I loved especially the scene in the end where Katie jumps into the pool and the moment is stretched into 5 minutes. One gets so soaked into the moment and just when its over you remember that she jumped and probably felt this range of introspections.

Ersbel Oraph I got this one at the local library. And said to myself I'd better do something while the movie builds up. In the end I guess I have felt the need to peek at the screen four times. I did it only twice. Once to see the costumes. Which were ugly. And credible. Meaning very amateur.There is so much religion in there. It takes a lot of time. But what is the point? An elegy of wasted life under the all seeing eye of god or something? The old man is a bigot. And quite an a hole. So what? All this to point out why things are not working out so well? This one was in the section of comedy. But I failed to notice the comedy. Maybe there was some visual gag that lacked the audible cue. It is not a drama either as nobody is struggling to do anything. SciFi B side movie maybe?Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

Troy Putland Zach Braff, as director, writer and actor, squeezes much in to an hour and a half slot, giving the five main cast members (Braff's Aidan, his wife, son, daughter and father) more than enough to do. It's a jumble at one time, and at utter harmony another.Aidan is a family man with little income. He relies heavily on his father Gabe (Homeland's Mandy Patinkin) paying for his children's schooling. But when Gabe becomes seriously ill, Aidan must reconsider the route his life is taking. I want him to do well, regardless of his actions towards bad news.Wish I Was Here is a drama with spurts of comedy. The humour's in the right places, never enlightening a rather somber tone.Braff is a popular man. The movie is chock full of cameos, including Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) and Donald Faison, who's a welcome sight after their Scrubs tenure. Josh Gad plays Braff's brother, his sub-story stretching out the running time.As joyful or sorrowful as it is to watch, Wish I Was Here cannot help but feel like a short series.