The Magic of Belle Isle

Monte Wildhorn, a western novelist who started drinking and stopped writing after his wife died, spends a summer in a cabin by a lake. The single mother next door and her three daughters get in the way, and giving the middle one writing lessons pulls him back to work. Rob Reiner directed, with Morgan Freeman leading. The reviews were not warm. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 30 percent with a blunt consensus: neither Rob Reiner nor Morgan Freeman is able to conjure up their old magic in this dull trifle. Metacritic gave it 46. The box office was tiny: 102,388 dollars against a 5 million budget. Magnolia Pictures gave it a limited release on 6 July 2012 and it arrived on DVD and Blu-ray that September. Who it is for: people who want to watch Freeman, and viewers who like soft, event-free summer films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for conflict or surprise. The film takes no risk anywhere, which is exactly why critics called it dull.