Gifted Hands

This review is for the movie, GIFTED HANDS, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. I wanted to make that clear because for some reason Amazon has mistakenly grouped all of the reviews for GIFTED HANDS (the movie) with all the reviews for GIFTED HANDS (the docummentary). I think I even saw some reviews here for the book. Just for the record, both the Feature Length Film AND the Documentary of the same name are excellent and both deserve 5 stars. The documentary stars the real Dr. Ben Carson as himself, while the Movie stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Ben Carson. Apparently, a number of people have ordered the documentary thinking it was the movie, and others have ordered the movie expecting the documentary. I am suspect that the trouble with these two products is even messing with the ordering process causing people to receive an item they didn't order. This confusion has resulted in a lot of people receiving the wrong product and are therefore dissatisfied - leaving unwarranted bad reviews. I really hope Amazon gets this mistake straightened out because there are a lot of people upset about this and they don't know what is happening. That being said, the FEATURE LENGTH FILM is an inspiring story that is well acted, moving and as far as I can tell, reasonably faithful to the truth. This is saying a lot because movie makers and screenplay writers are notorious for changing the facts to make a story more "interesting" . With a few minor exceptions, the spirit of Ben Carson's personal account of his life is pretty much what really happened. I am glad to find the real story more or less intact here. I would highly recommend this movie, AND THE DOCUMENTARY to anyone who likes a good TRUE story. I completely enjoyed watching this. Now, I need to read the book! ~Linda~

Great movie all the way through

This movie is truly an inspirational movie that everyone should watch such a inspirational movie, I wish there was more like this one that leaves you feeling that their is still good in this world! Cuba Gooding Jr. played a phenomenal job playing this part.

I watched this well-portrayed movie with my 11-year-old grandson. It was spell-binding from start to finish for both my A/B-student (mentioned only to indicate the level of intelligence as it may relate to understanding the movie) grandson. We both thoroughly enjoyed it: My grandson was actually cheering young Ben's academic successes! The fact that this movie is BASED ON A TRUE STORY made it even better: I was able to reinforce principles that my grandson's parents and I have planted into him. Cuba Gooding, Jr. does a MASTERFUL JOB of portraying Dr. Ben Carson, the main character. And the O.R. scenes are absolutely miraculous. Young Ben (whose grades are horrible!) is an EXCELLENT MOTIVATOR for even the MOST ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGED STUDENT, and his mother, Kimberly Elise, is a GREAT EXAMPLE OF A WISE PARENT. She constantly SPEAKS GOOD THINGS over her son, regardless of what she sees in the natural. She REFUSES TO ACCEPT FAILURE for her child. This DUO ROBS EVERY CHILD AND EVERY PARENT OF EVERY EXCUSE FOR THE LACK OF SUCCESS. This is a MUST-SEE MOVIE...especially if your child/grandchild/etc. is floundering academically, lives in a certainly-not-your-first-choice neighborhood, and/or is being raised in a single-parent (or two-parent) home where the lack of money is a factor. Dr. Ben Carson's life is PROOF that GREAT SUCCESS CAN BE ACHIEVED...IF YOU REALLY WANT IT.

As a mother, I was especially encouraged by the role Ben Carson's mother played in his remarkable life story. Mrs. Carson did not learn to read until later in life but she still saw to it that her boys had a first rate education. Amidst strong protests, she limited her boys' TV time and required them to go to the library and write a book report every week. She worked as a maid and suffered from bouts of severe depression but still had a fortitude that spurred Ben on to use his gifts to God's glory and the betterment of his fellow man. Later in the movie, we see that Ben and his wife have welcomed his mother to live with them in their beautiful home. These are just some of many highpoints in this movie. Having been raised in Detroit, I took special pleasure seeing some of my favorite old haunts, such as the magnificent Detroit Public library. I sent this dvd to a dear friend who struggles with drug addiction and who also grew up in Detroit. He has watched it multiple times and says it has greatly encouraged him as well. This story illustrates the Bible verse: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Ben Carson shines as a humble man exalted by God.

This is the life story of Dr. Ben Carson, chief of pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins University and considered the world's best pediatric surgeon. The story begins with Dr. Carson being asked to consider operating on the two sons of a German couple who are joined at the abdomen and skull. No one has ever performed this surgery successfully with both children surviving. The film then flashes back to the childhood of Dr. Carson. He was raised by an illiterate but very loving and determined single mother who married at the age of 13 and was divorced soon after when she discovered her 'husband' was married at the same time to another woman with another family. She was determined that her two sons would not turn out the same way she did. It is an amazing story of this mother and her love and determination. Ben, not realizing he needed glasses, consistently performed way below the other students in class until his mother used all their savings to get him a pair. That, along with her firm hand in making the two boys read two books a week from the library (along with written reports) as well as limiting TV watching to two programs a week turned Ben into the 'student of the year' in 8th grade. Even that, however, was tainted, as a teacher at the award ceremony berated the other students for letting a 'boy of color' with serious disadvantages and a single mother outperform them. The story continues with his achievements and struggles through high school and his scholarship years at Yale and on to his residency at Johns Hopkins. The story then takes us back to the conclusion of the decision whether or not to operate on the German twins. It is an incredible story of someone who not only had the 'gifted hands' needed to be a great surgeon but also the determination, humility and faith to make a life of great service to his fellow humans against great odds. The acting is outstanding. I would encourage everyone and every family to make this a 'must watch'. I would also highly recommend Something the Lord Made , another story about a great African-American surgeon, Dr. Vivian Thomas, who was born 30 years too early to be able to have the same opportunities as Dr. Carson, but nevertheless made a great contribution to medicine that is still being used today. Enjoy!!

Dr. Benjamin Carson's life story is truly remarkable. His first book GIFTED HANDS, tells the story of an almost unimaginable success of a young American being raised by a single mother in abject poverty and hardship to being the head of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital at the young age of 33. That book has been turned into a movie with Cuba Gooding playing the part of Dr. Carson. As in any movie, some of the important parts had to be cut but the jist of the story is there. His mother, Sonya, plays a key role in his upbringing, as well as his brother Curtis. She did not allow excuses for failure. She told them they had a BRAIN just like everyone else and not to give up just because something is hard. She told them over and over, that they could accomplish anything anyone else could do but do it better. This is am inspiring story for anyone, especially students eager to suceed.

Good Videio