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VERY underrated movie! A must see!

I bought this movie after it came out and pop it in every couple of months. "Practical Magic" is a wonderful, have-fun movie that is just right as a Halloween movie for any age (save maybe very, very young viewers.) I know because every Halloween party I've had, this movie has delighted my guests.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are wonderful as two sisters in this movie. Their on-screen chemistry is amazing. You can't help but smile as they joke with each other and interact because it reminds you of how you were with a close sibling or how you wish you could be with one.

Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are amazing. As supporting actresses, they almost steal the show as they are described as the aunts who are "sugar and spice" by the director, Griffin Dunne.

The story is about two sisters who are very close who live with their aunts in what I assume is a New England town. They have the reputation of being "witches" who curse any man who dares love an Owens woman. Of course, Gillian (Nicole Kidman) and Sally (Sandra Bullock) get into a bit of trouble as Gillian's evil boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnjic) accidently ends up dead at their hands through self-defense that can be deemed suspicious by anyone else and they try to figure out a way to cover it up. Things get stickier when the Officer Hallet (Adian Quinn) shows up to find the wanted Jimmy and sparks fly between Sally and Officer Hallet. Do they try to send him away and risk Sally losing her one true love? Or do they let him stay and risk Gillian and Sally getting caught while Jimmy's ghost continues to torment Gillian?

This movie is based on a third of Alice Hoffman's wonderful book by the same name. For those of you who have seen the movie (spoiler alert) and are curious about the book, you won't be disappointed. Remember the woman that wished to take another woman's husband? Well, you get to find out what happens to her as well as the adventures that Sally's daughters get into as they grow up. In other words, the book is better than the movie, but the movie is just as fun as the book.

As for those of you who like DVDs and their extra features, it is chock-full of them. From the game of "find the ingredients to mix the love potion" you have to search through the various features in the DVD to click on "ingredients" and get clues as to mixing the love potion which opens up a whole behind-the-scenes featurette. It also contains trailers, bios, and other little tidbits that were artistically designed well and accompanied by wonderful little chimes and music.

This "witch" movie is not quite as dark as "the Craft" (or ridiculous for that matter) as not as sex-filled as "Witches of Eastwick" but genuinely wholesome, fun and delightful. Especially the "Midnight Margaritas" scene which will have you humming the tune for days. A good recommendation for a Halloween movie for most ages.

Every woman has a little magic, fun and enjoyable

One doesn't need to be a witch to realize how crazy things can get out of hand and so innocently.Best friends like sisters have done things together that they will relate to in some matter.Every woman young at heart should see this. Laugh and enjoy!

Four stars (out of four)

I saw the movie several times before i read the book and when I read it, it was so different from the movie that I couldn't finish it. If I had have read the book first, I'm sure the opposite thing would have happened. Just looking over the other reviews on this site, I saw the term 'chick flick' several times, and it is one, and a good one at that. The screenplay was good, it offered wonderful performances from all of the very well-known cast members, and the special effects were almost believable. This movie is on my top five list, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Also, it is best seen late at night, in the dark, and under a blanket.

What a waste of time

This film was awfully boring. What is it with Bullock these days picking all these soppy good script films without absolutely no thrills or originality. This film was just a basic merger of Thelma & Louise and The Craft giving no laughs or food for thought.Between the two I thought Kidman just stole the acting credibility, but that didn't make up for what was a waste of six months to make and my Sunday afternoon to watch.If you're thinking of watching this drivel take my advice and rent one of these two:1. Speed (Reeves/Bullock) 2. Days Of Thunder (Cruise/Kidman)Far more interesting

I love this movie!!

I seen this movie at the theater and also rented it a few times and then watched it when my daughter rented it also, I now have it on order. I can't wait for it to arrive. This is a different view on witches these are good fun loving witches that get themslves in a bit of trouble when they try to bring back to life an abusive boyfriend they accidently overdosed with a sleeping herb. Their Aunts in this movie are great also. At the end even the town folk who shund this family give a helping hand.

Cute movie with an underlying mystical theme

This is a very cute movie that I enjoyed watching with my whole family. While some parts were a bit on the scary side, it never got too bad for little ones yet remained entertaining for one and all! Usually my tastes run to action movies or true sci-fi but I truly enjoyed the performances by Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock

A Magical Movie.

Do not pay any attention to the critics of this movie. I recently read a review from a very noted critic who payed more attention to the music and floorboards than the actual story. Forget him and everyone else who downs this movie. This is such a good film and always a treat to watch.The actresses are amazing and they come off really believable as sisters. It is always a pleasure to sit down and watch it because by the end of the movie you will be smiling.I love this movie. I think that it is entertaining and the music is just right for it. The orchestrated score is magical and will give you just the right feel for witchery. QUIT DOWNING THIS MOVIE!!!

Well done Halloween theme film

Sandra Bullock (Sally)is perfectly cast as the girl next door who just happens to be a witch. Her dark eyes and pure acting ability make her perfect for this role as the girl who likes everyone and does all she can for those she loves. Nicole Kidman (Gillian, Sally's sister) gave her best performance to date. She showed facial expression and a glare in her eyes in an amazingly wide range of emotion....from sultry to fearful to demonic and to pure loving. She won my admiration in this film as a great actress. Stockard Channing (Aunt Frances)dragged me right into the screen. I almost became her character. Her character is that of a loving aunt witch who teaches the greatest lesson by leaving the younger witches to fend for themselves.....only until her help is absoloutely required (the most challenging behavior for any parent). The sisters separate when Gillian runs off with an abusive man as Sally falls deeply for a local man and begins a fantastic family life having a wonderful husband and two daughters that resemble herself and her sister. There is trouble and this is where we begin to feel for the characters. Humor, family values, wild youth, abuse, love, hate, fear...it's all here in this great film. One fantastically fun scene occurs when the aunt witches appear to brew up some concoction for a spell when suddenly the nieces shout "Margaritas." They all dance to "The lime in the coconut" and the entire theater is rocking with this fun time!

Excellent Movie

I enjoyed this movie very much and after watching it only twice, I went out and bought the DVD. Everything was top-notch and I have nothing bad to say.The acting was extravagant, the storyline was intriguing, and the quality of the film was awesome.Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman gave wonderful performances that had me on the edge of my seat all the way to the very end. It was believable and made me want to view the movie all over again. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest did extremely well as the aunts and they had me laughing like no other. Aidan Quinn and Goran Visnjic were unlike anything I've ever seen before and they portrayed their characters better than I could've imagined. Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip were adorable as the little girls and made me feel like a young kid again. And the movie wouldn't be complete without the performances of the others cast in this wonderful film.Overall, I say this movie is definitely one of my faves and something I'll be watching for the rest of my life. I give this movie a 10 out of 10. I recommend that you go out and rent this movie. One of the best I've ever seen!!

GypsyBug.com approves

From time to time GypsyBug.com reviews movies for family value. This is a cute love story with a unique twist. We would say that it's a good one to have in your collection.

BEST I'VE EVER SEEN

I LIKE SANDRA BULLOCK AND NICOLE KIDMAN.THEY ARE THE BEST AND ALSO MY FAVORITE ACTRESS!

a wonderful movie

i loved this movie i had read the book before the movie had came out i love alice hoffman novels so i had to see the movie toatally different but both very enjoyable sandra bullock was wonderful as always and nicole kidman was suprisingly delightful a very good movie

I loved this movie.

No matter what religion you are or how you feel about witchcraft, if you enjoy good acting & a great storyline, you'll like this film. Both Bullock & Kidman are excellent & their characters are well-drawn, likable & familiar. Most women will relate to the loves & losses, trials & errors of these independent young women.

They are, of course, different in some ways. Born into a legacy of witches & dark history, the Owens females live under a curse that destroys any man who gets too close to them. (Then again, some of us may have felt 'cursed' more than once in our love lives...)

Bullock plays Sally, the levelheaded one who is determined to have a "normal" life. She falls in love early (w/a little crafty help from the aunts -Stockard Channing & Dianne Wiest), then marries & has two daughters who look exactly like she & 'Gillie' (Kidman). For a few years, Sally is blissfully happy until the day she hears the cricket chirp - a sign of impending death. After her husband is killed, Sally falls into a depression so deep that only her sister can pull her out.

They have an unbreakable bond - not only of blood & love, but of spirit. The strength of this bond actually saves Gillie's life, when she manages to hook-up with an evil madman who 'comes back' from death. The ending is quite well done.

This was a movie about belief, trust, family & a very old fight - good vs. evil. It was also about a love strong & pure enough to break a centuries-old curse, true enough to save a woman pulled in the depths of true evil. It is touching, satisfying & emotionally uplifting. Rent it! Then rent it again for the soundtrack alone!

movie

This is my favorite movie and I was so happy to be able to get it at such a great price. Thanks

zzzzzzzzz

Is there some Hollywood rule that says leading men and women must be involved in gratuitous smoking scenes in most movies? The number of smokers in the US is going down, yet most every movie shows the star sucking a cancer stick. I get pretty tired of this and wonder how much the cancer industry is paying Hollywood for each smoking scene. Add Nicole Kidman to the list of those with ashtray breath. Yummy. Aside from that - this movie bit the big one. Yawn.

amazing...best film I ever saw

This film had it all, laughter and tears. Amazing performance by Sandra Bullock. All the actors did a wonderful job

Inspiring

Thsi movie provides for the soul what chicken soup did for the common cold. It gives even us simple folks the belief that maybe we can find someone who knows what we're thinking before we think it, who knows what were feeling before we feel it and the hope that somebody will both understand and accept us for just as we are.

Practically TOO Cute

LIST FOR Making THIS MOVIE:: Take two young hip/sexy women of the 90's, Take two wonderful actress who are better than the script, A sexy Leading Man, Magic/dead bodies/weird stuff, One non-wonderful script, Mix until Box Office hitYou get Practical Magic! A somewhat strange idea for the movie. Two poor young witchs under the curse of some dead great great <too many greats> grandmother. The storyline/plot is not wonderful, but the book is always better anyway. The actresses try to pull this movie off with a script that just doesn't pull you in as much as it should. Details are very few and far between..with background story and what is going on. Dunne tries to bring out the best of the two leading ladies, but they just don't seem real. Good sister and bad sister just over play in this the movie. The love story is not strong as it should be. The end is somewhat weak..and makes this more about sisters than a love story. Still it's a cute flick to see with a bunch of friends on a Friday night

The Magic isn't There

This is a fantasy film about a family of witches in modern times. The Owens girls are hereditary witches, any man who loves one is doomed to an early death. There is a scene where a woman asks for a love potion, this requires the sacrifice of a dove. Two little girls watch. Years later they're grown up. One leaves to live with her boyfriend. But the curse returns and a boyfriend is run over by a truck (never stand in the middle of a road). We see scenes where the neighbor kids yell "witch", as if to symbolize something.

Sally goes when Jillian calls her; she has a problem with her boyfriend. But Sally uses a "magic potion" to eliminate the problem. Now Jillian wants to undo what was done. [The film began to lose me now, it wasn't funny.] The spell goes awry, they bury their mistake. Then there is a scene where the ladies are all giggles. Later an investigator comes around looking for Jimmy. [The story drags again.] More scenes follow; they are not funny or scary or even entertaining. But a scene in the attic will wake you even if you're snoozing! They call some friends over to cast a spell to drive a demon out of Jillian. It seems to work, even if they don't use the standard issue witches broom. There is a sort of happy ending.

Sandra and Nicole are good actresses, but they can't cast a spell to improve the script of one of the worst movies I've ever seen. "Bell, Book, and Candle" is a funnier film, "Blair Witch" is a scarier film. This falls between the cracks.

An Entertaining & Positive Story of Witches

In 1998, Griffin Dunne directed the fictional film "Practical Magic" centered on a family of witches living in New England. The family is descended from a persecuted, seventeenth-century witch named Maria Owens (Caprice Benedetti). A curse that she placed on any man that falls in love with an Owens woman has haunted generations of the family for centuries, including Frances Owens (Stockard Channing) and her sister Bridget 'Jet' Owens (Dianne Wiest). Together, they raised Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman) and taught them how to perform witchcraft. Knowing the family's curse, as a little girl (played by Camilla Belle), Sally cast a spell for a man to love that she believed could not possibly exist. However, as adults, Sally becomes unwittingly involved a very negative relationship that Gillian has had with an alcoholic boyfriend named Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic). Sally had previously married Michael (Mark Feuerstein), but his untimely death due to the family curse left Sally to raise their two daughters alone, Kylie (Evan Rachel Wood) and Antonia (Alexandra Artrip), and has given her a negative outlook towards witchcraft. When Gillian's relationship with Jimmy takes an even larger turn for the worse, Sally and Gillian meet Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn), who forces both of them to confront their deepest fears.

With beautiful cinematography (the film was actually filmed in the Pacific Northwest), endearing characters and great acting (especially from Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest), and a very positive and relatively accurate portrayal of witchcraft and the religion of Wicca, "Practical Magic" is a very entertaining film. (The most inaccurate portrayal of Wicca and witchcraft occurs when an animal is used as part of a spell, but a Wiccan witch would never intentionally harm an animal as part of a spell or ritual.) Other memorable characters include Linda Bennett (Margo Martindale), Carla (Chloe Webb), Patty (Martha Gehman) and Sara (Lucinda Jenney). Memorable scenes include young Sally's spell, Michael, scenes in the shop, the car, Gillian & Sally with Jimmy in the kitchen, Gary's arrival, Frances' & Jet's return, getting help, the circle and the closing scenes.

Overall, I rate "Practical Magic" with 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. Some may regard the film as a chick-flick, but it is certainly atypical and should be more entertaining to male viewers.