AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

calorne A not uninteresting story about a boy engaging in a difficult reality of parental ill health and problems at school, who is drawn into a fantastical segway with a tree monster who tells him three tales with a rider that the boy must respond with one of his own. (I felt short-changed by the third tale).The film did not flow seamlessly enough for my taste. I found it stilted and perhaps that is why I felt unconvinced by it at times.I did like the review from another contributor who mentioned that the film made her dog cry. (Perhaps her canine felt that sticks could be put to better use?).

Neil Welch Conor is having a bad time. Bullied at school, suffering a recurrent nightmare, and trying to cope with his mother's progressive illness, he is visited at night by a monster tree-man from the yew tree in the local churchyard who tells him three stories, and expects the true story of Conor's nightmare in return.This film takes Conor's real-life problems - very real, and all centred around his mother's illness - and smashes them face-first into the fantasy figure of the tree monster and his stories, fearsome and compassionate at the same time. This may not sound terribly convincing, but it works extremely well.The story came from a writer who died of the cancer which inspired her story before she was able to write the book: the author who worked her idea into a (childrens) book has also written the screenplay, and the stories-within-the-story are animated in the style of the watercolour illustrations in the original book. And this is some of the most beautiful animation you will see anywhere. Coupled with the CGI tree-man, there are some exquisite visuals on show here, interwoven seamlessly with the rather shabbily picturesque locations.Felicity Jones is good as the stricken mother, Sigourney Weaver does a brilliant job as the unsympathetic grandmother rather gracelessly making plans to take care of Conor afterwards, while dealing with her daughter's imminent death, a death which Conor is having such difficulty facing. Liam Neeson as the voice of the monster is amazingly good, and Lewis McDougal as Conor is stunning.All of which contributes to the emotional impact of this film, which is brutal. There is no niceness about what happens here, but it is dealt with compassionately and kindly as well as painfully. I sat in the darkness weeping as Grandma and Conor finally find a way to meet each other in a car stopped at traffic lights, and also as the Monster finally rips the truth of Conor's nightmare out of him. And as for the photograph of Mum and her father...This film hurt like hell, and I loved it.

schorschi100 In an imaginary world a monster comes to aid a kid to deal with his personal grief and makes him leave childhood behind.This moving story is deployed in a fairish atmosphere, which strongly reminded me of del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth": a bitter pill to swallow but with a cleansing aftertaste. Rarely such a feeling of catharsis overwhelms the audience. Protagonist is a little child who must cope with his mother's terminal illness. A monster awakes, the two worlds come together and the kiddo is challenged to discover the seemingly horrible, yet human truth inside him. A definite must, just a word of caution, however: prepare some tissues, and make sure you are not barely making it through a depressive phase in life.

Leofwine_draca A MONSTER CALLS is another film centred around the folklore figure of the 'tree man' already thoroughly explored in everything from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY to LORD OF THE RINGS and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. This time around he's a friendly creature who visits a mixed-up young boy to tell him stories in the dead of night. It turns out the kid's mother is dying of cancer, so the tree man is there to help him cope and grieve. Yeah, it's a rather cynical film that goes for the obvious approach throughout, but merely comes across as depressing. The actors fail to really get into their roles and a miscast Sigourney Weaver and her off-putting British accent don't help, although Toby Kebbell comes across well as always. The tree man scenes go overboard on the CGI and Liam Neeson merely reprises his Aslan role with a voice full of gravity. I found the whole thing hugely predictable, copying the likes of THE BFG somewhat shamelessly, and imparting a message that would take 10 minutes tops to film.