A Monster Calls (2016)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Review, Discuss, Debate, Celebrate.

[The Panda]

A moving and rather emotional story.  Not sure who the audience for it was, but it doesn't stop it from being very well done.

[Water Bottle]

Amazing and beautiful.

 

A

[Morieris]

I'm going to drop the U-Bomb here, but it truly is underrated and will be revered in the future. The first movie i've wanted to own and rewatch in a long time. 

 

It's the equivalent of having someone squeeze your heart very slowly over the course of two hours instead of outright waterworks. 

 

A

[Cinema-on-the-Sofa]

.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Cinema-on-the-Sofa

[Noctis]

A beautiful, heartbreaking film that deserves to be seen by all.

 

A

[Blankments]

A Monster Calls clearly has a lot of effort put into it. The filmmaking is excellent in a textbook way, which is a shame because the story really could have a more unique flavor. The tales the monster tells are excellent and told with a gorgeous animation style. Sadly, it makes the otherwise bland cinematography and script stand out more. The acting is overall good, with Weaver particularly making the most out of a small role. Neeson truly shines in a harsh yet warm vocal performance that truly makes this film worthwhile. A Monster Calls is a film that should be more memorable than it is but is still a good attempt at solid emotional filmmaking. C+

[Jake Gittes]

The opening 10 minutes had me worrying this would be terrible, but thankfully it mostly kept me engaged in a good way after that. Exactly like the monster himself it tells a story about how life is complex and unfair, then spells the message(s) out in the bluntest and most hamfisted way possible, but ultimately I appreciated that it was coming from an honest place and was focused on what it wanted to do. I also suspect I would have considered it the most profound thing ever if I saw it in my early teens, and for now at least I have a soft spot for movies like that. Hopefully it finds someone that age for whom it's going to be that formative movie. 

 

That bullying shit early on is godawful though. Nearly sank the entire thing for me before it even started. 

[aabattery]

This was pretty good. Any scene with the monster was fucking great and the rest was generally alright. The bully stuff was awful though. Definitely bought the movie down a grade for me. Those lines were so awkward. But despite that I was pretty engaged throughout.

 

B.

[Noctis]

Oh, wow, the bullying scenes brought it down a grade? That's fucking ridiculous. That wasn't even the focus of even 1% of the movie.

[CoolioD1]

Total Nonsense.

[Noctis]

38 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

Total Nonsense.

Explain, please. I genuinely want to know why it's "total" nonsense. The fact that my mother might have breast cancer and has to check up in the United States every six months makes me want to know how this particular movie is "total" nonsense.

 

Elaborate.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Noctis

[CoolioD1]

Don't try and guilt trip me cos I don't like the movie. That's weird.

[Ezen Baklattan]

TBH as soon as I left the theater one of my first thoughts was, "Well @CoolioD1 is going to HAAAAATTTEEE this movie." 

 

Seems I never got around to reviewing it either. Like Jake, it's one of those movies I probably would have adored if I was, say, 11 or 12, but it's just kind of a mess with some all-time bad bullying scenes and metaphors that couldn't be more subtle if they shouted right into your ear.

[Morieris]

How many of ya'll read the book before seeing this? Not that it should have any bearing on how you feel about it, separate entities and all, just wanna know. 

Edited September 4, 2017 by Morieris

[aabattery]

On 9/5/2017 at 6:30 AM, Noctis said:

Oh, wow, the bullying scenes brought it down a grade? That's fucking ridiculous. That wasn't even the focus of even 1% of the movie.

 

They were so bad tho

[Noctis]

On 9/4/2017 at 8:18 PM, CoolioD1 said:

Don't try and guilt trip me cos I don't like the movie. That's weird.

who the fuck said i was trying to guilt trip you, you pansy? 

 

i'm saying explain how it's "total" nonsense.

[Avatree]

noctis at his polite, rational, usual self.

[Noctis]

On 9/8/2017 at 3:44 PM, Manchester by the Tree said:

noctis at his polite, rational, usual self.

 

oh, yes, because you're just a bundle of joy and respect, right?