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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: First Run Features
Salesrank: 75281
Released: June 19, 2007 |
| Our Price: $13.25 |
| Used Price: $5.75 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A film by Robert Jiras • Starring Robert MacNaughton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Robert Wagner (Austin Powers, Hart to Hart), and Hope Lange (The Ghost & Mrs. Muir)In this captivating adaptation of Robert Cormier’s best-selling novel, 14-year-old Adam Farmer seeks to uncover a secret lost in his subconscious that will allow him to locate his parents, who have disappeared mysteriously. Suspense mounts as Adam pieces together the fragments of the story with the help of his psychiatrist, uncovering fantastic clues which lead to a shocking conclusion. "It's DEAD POETS SOCIETY meets THE X FILES! MacNaughton is endearing, and the presence of the then-innocent Cynthia Nixon is a guilty pleasure." - FILMCRITIC.COM "Homespun simplicity! Robert MacNaughton, who played the older son in E.T., makes a gentle and sympathetic Adam." - THE NEW YORK TIMES DVD Bonus Features: Trailers • Director’s Bio • Photo Gallery. 100 minutes, color, Rated PG
I Am the Cheese Reviews:
Good story with nice acting by Robert M. 
2009-12-15 - Robert McNaughton does a nice job here as Adam, a young man trying to unlock secrets of his past which are locked away inside his own mind. There are also beautiful Vermont locations and a decent list of supporting cast members. The only drawback here is the excessive use of long tracking shots, mostly of Adam riding his bike all over the place. There is a twist related to this which we do not discover until it is almost at the end of the film.
This makes me want to read the book by Cormier.
I didn't want to like it as much as I did
2008-03-14 - Watching movies of books I love, I immediately concede two things:
1) There will be omissions. Anything longer than a novella is too long to fit into a feature-length film.
2) They will miss, to some extent, the tone, the mood of the book. Prose has powers film lacks, I guess, when it comes to affecting emotion.
Well, there were omissions, but not too many. They hit all of the major plot points with most or all of the dialogue straight out of the book.
And yes, they missed he tone completely for almost te entire movie. I mean it wasn't even close. But like I said, my expectations in this aspect were low coming in, so I wasn't surprised. And there were a couple of scenes, after all, most notably the diner scene with the bullies, that almost had me feel like I was back in the book.
Two things really p***ed me off about this adaptation:
1) The music. I know, it's nitpicky, and this complaint is due to a personal preoccupation with music in general. It might not bother you, but the score failed utterly to support any of the events. In fact, at times it was so diametrically opposed in theme to the action on screen I had to chuckle. This may not bother you the way it did me.
2) The ending. Yes, they f***ed with the ending. I won't tell exactly how, but, fans of the book, be prepared to be filled with the desire to throw heavy objects at the TV in the last 60 seconds or so. Screwing up the ending is another phenomenon common to film adaptations of books, so I wasn't shocked, but I don't excuse it like I can the two faults mentioned above. If you believe in the authors work enough to mke a film of it, then believe in it COMPLETELY.
However, while I was putting the DVD back in its case to go back to the library, I felt just little of what I had felt after reading the book, an intense sadness. Despite my complaints, the movie really did get to me. I can't say exactly why, maybe because it didn't try to get too fancy or cute, like it stayed out of its own way mostly. I'm not calling a great adaptation, but darn it if it didn't somehow reach me.
If you're a fan of the book, you might not like it. But hey, you might.
High Priced Movie 
2007-10-14 - This is one of my favorite movies. I dont understand why it is so expensive and so hard to find I have an old VHS version I bought for $5.00 It is a very good story but not worth the price.
I am the Cheese
2007-02-09 - I thought this movie portrayed the book very well. I would still HIGHLY recommend reading the book though before you watch the movie or you will feel "lost".
DISJOINTED 
2006-08-16 - This film is hard to follow. It keeps jumping back and forth in time and from scene to scene. It has some interesting segments, but it wasn't put together too well...and leaves a person wanting more answers at the end. Acting was pretty good, but some characters not developed enough.
