Hearts In Atlantis MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -1

Based on a Stephen King novel set in the 1950s, this film has a lot more heart than horror. 11-year-old Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin) learns important lessons on life and love from a mysterious stranger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins). It's Bobby's 11th birthday and he desperately wants a bicycle, but Elizabeth (Hope Davis), Bobby's bitter, widowed mom, gives him an adult library card instead. When she cancels the birthday dinner with Bobby because her sleazy boss wants her to work late, distinguished Mr. Brautigan, who has just moved in the upstairs apartment, quickly perceives Bobby's disappointment. He befriends Bobby and offers to pay him $1.00 a week to read him the daily newspaper and to watch for strange men in flashy cars. As their friendship deepens, Bobby realizes Ted foresees events before they happen and can read minds. Who is Ted? Where does he come from and why is he afraid of the men in flashy cars? Intriguing and suspenseful as well as touching and uplifting, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS is one of this year's best movies for mature viewers.

Ted mysteriously appears when Bobby and Carol Gerber (Mika Boorem), Bobby's classmate and best friend, are threatened by the neighborhood thugs in a deserted park. Another time Ted takes advantage of his power by gambling on a professional fight to get money to escape his stalkers. Ted's supernatural powers attract suspicion and danger, making them more of a curse than a gift. Therefore, when Bobby reaches out to touch Ted, Ted tells him to stand back because his "powers" will transfer to the boy. Sure enough, at a carnival Bobby outsmarts the con artist at a card game because he can read the man's mind. However, there is no indication that Bobby has any lasting supernatural power. In a frightening scene, Bobby finds Carol semi-conscious after being beaten by cruel teenagers. Remembering one of Ted's stories about persevering, he is able to carry her out of the woods to safety. Eventually, even self-absorbed Elizabeth learns her son is a blessing and not a stumbling block. Several crudities, one obscenity and one regular profanity slightly mar the dialogue. With no gratuitous violence or sexual elements, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS still gets a negative acceptability rating because mind reading and psychic predictions are not endorsed biblically - only God knows our hearts and minds.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Warner Bros., 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522