A Monster Calls

When I first walk into theater, I was not expecting much of this. Yeah, the first moments were so cliché I thought this would just be a mediocre movie at best. But after the movie, everything changed, and this became one of the best movies I've seen in years The director use beautifully rendered CGI to deliver the emotions of a struggling young boy coping with reality. It was already a hard concept that few movie successfully delivered, and yet he make so many people I know broke down in tears. Moreover, he also make use of the visual to express the incredibly complicated yet meaningful plot of the movie, constantly changing between fantasy and reality, truth and lies, acceptance and the growing of a boy into adulthood. The main actor while only a young man has already show signs of greatness, you can only wonder if he had already gone through all of this. He also actually took the time to developed each character, making the audiences attach to each and everyone of them. Which is why the ending was even more dramatic and sad for many of us And the soundtrack, oh man, the soundtrack just hit me where it really feels, this is probably the best part of this movie. Whether it's total silence for contemplation of characters or full- on orchestral work for the climax or the sad violin, man, they totally nailed it.

A Monster Calls is the rare movie geared toward a younger demographic which refuses to pull an emotional punch. The movie explicitly states that the protagonist, Connor O'Malley, is "too old to be a kid and too young to be a man". The introductory tagline is the perfect way to relay the film's tone to the audience. From the brutally honest acting to the gorgeously animated "stories", A Monster Calls allows raw emotion to emanate from the experience. Magic on the screen happens due to the unique specificity of our hurt hero. The fantastical elements found in a typical family movie organically merge with the painful reality of adulthood. For example, a fight will begin building up in Connor and the anger will call out the monster. The monster is never a simple vicarious outlet for the young adult. Instead, the monster is a well-executed manifestation of perceived guilt towards a deeper truth. Liam Neeson's monster revels in the humanity of the moment while also holding a magnifying glass up to it. Life continues to get worse for Connor and each appearance leads to a gradual slip of harsh reality. Refreshingly, A Monster Calls never hides that uncovering important personal insight is a painful process. The climax makes up for one of the most touching revelatory moments in modern cinema. The value of the film is revealed in how both children and adults in the audience gain a better understanding of the inherently personal nature of grief. The way we deal with a loss can come across as something else entirely for ourselves. A wide release of the film will hopefully begin to kindle in an audience a desire for introspective cinema. In a sense, specific scenarios are able to paradoxically tap into a universally human truth. Movies like A Monster Calls show a better alternative to the next soulless generic blockbuster movie.

I do not know the novel of Patrick Ness. So, to define it as a good or bad adaptation is impossible. I know only than it is a simple amazing film. For so many reasons.

• I know, very well, the taste of angry. The film gives its nuances in almost cruel manner;

• I know the profound fear of loss. The film gives the fair nuances of it.

• Lewis McDougall is great as Connor. And , just great.

• It is a nice gift to discover the work of Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones. Or the short appearence of lovely Geraldine Chaplin.

• It is a film to remind and to feel it . A sort of confirmation of truths deep inside you.

• At the end, you know- it is a film about yourself . The connection with th family members, the selfishness, the so useful imaginary friend, the stories passing generation by generation.

So, more than a good film with spectacular special effects. A film about ...true truth.

As someone who had read the book and really liked it, I found the movie as compelling and it excels at additions that are not in the novel such as the last scene which happened after the ending of the book. However, they also removed some good parts from the book, but were offset by visuals and score and the spot on performances of the characters especially Lewis MacDougall (Conor) who nailed his role in the movie. He sure knows how to cry. And that needs pointing out as a lot of kids in movies are sometimes annoying and difficult to watch. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and Sigourney Weaver (Aliens) who were both Academy Award Best Actress nominees were as good as anyone would expect them to be. And Liam Neeson's voice was the perfect choice for the monster's. Haunting, cold, deep, and soothing. Also, the other thing I found striking was how the book played out as a movie. Aside from a few differences (the adds and minuses), almost everything else is as what the book is. Impactful scenes as how they were narrated and readers imagine them to be and dialogue and life lessons as how they were said in the book were same as in the movie. If you have read and liked the book, then watch this. If you have not, watch it still, as long as you have a heart and know what you're getting into, chances are you'll like this gem of a movie.

Stirring and tragical story based on a notorious novel and competently directed by Juan Antonio Bayona . Including an engaging screenplay by Patrick Ness , based upon the novel written by himself from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd . A devastating event happens in the life of a little boy , twelve-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) , as he seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mother's (Felicity Jones) terminal . Meanwhile , he must face his stiff-upper-lip grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) , his estranged father (Toby Kobbel) and the school bully . This is one family's moving story of sadness and love . As Conor is caught in a chaotic self-destruction , when he then is visited by the tree-like Monster (Lian Neeson) , who tells Conor it has to come to tell him three true stories . However , nothing is more powerful than the human spirit . Stories are wild creatures. Courage conquers all . Will he survive ?

It's a grade A picture , a gem , absorbing , riveting , highly moving , incredibly tense .This is a very touching story about a boy who feels very damaged , unsettling , guilty and mostly angry , as well as his relationship with a benevolent and wise tree-like monster that has points in common with Treebeard the Ent from Lord of the Rings . This is a psychological/exciting/thrilling drama in which a boy becomes involved into a terrible tragedy . It is a smart and sensitive flick filled with intense drama , thrills , emotion , tear-jerker , state-of-art special effects , and pretty entertaining , though overlong . The complex plot deals with a tree-monster who tells three tales and after which Conor must tell the Monster his own story: the truth behind his nightmare, which Conor refuses to do. Interesting and thought-provoking screenplay based on a novel that was originally started by Siobhan Dowd who left it unfinished, at her death. Patrick Ness finished the book with credits to her idea. This stirring pic is a tightly-knit drama centered on the relentless personal fight , as it follows an affected boy suffering extreme bullying , and a seriously wounded mother , as she struggles to survive . The picture makes up for it with an evolving atmosphere of anxiety and fear . Everything in Juan Antonio Bayona 's impressive film looks so real that you might think it's a highly fantastic movie full of imagination and color , thanks to the sensational animated images and cartoon resolution . And a great main and support cast , such as Lewis MacDougall , Sigourney Weaver , Felicity Jones , Toby Kebbell . And Liam Neeson, who provides the voice of the Monster , appears as Conor's grandfather in the photo of Conor's mother as a little girl being carried by her father .

Lavishly produced by Enrique López Lavigne , Belen Atienza , Patrick Ness , Bill Pohlad , Jeff Skoll , Patrick Wachsberger , among others.There is the urgent hand-held camera-work, a trademark refined and perfected by cameraman Oscar Faura , which lends an air of pseudo-authenticity to carefully staged reconstructions, putting us right there in the huddle of the action . Shot in various locations as Castlefield, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, Cabrils, Barcelona, Catalonia, Delph, Greater Manchester, England, UK , the school scenes were shot at Colne Valley High School in Linthwaite, Huddersfield, England. Furthermore , an emotive as well as enjoyable musical score by Fernando Velazquez .The motion picture was compellingly directed by Juan Antonio Bayona who proved his usual aesthetics and nail-biting filmmaking as well as he formerly made in ¨the orphanage¨and ¨The imposible¨or ¨Lo imposible¨ . Bayona has directed 1 actress to an Academy Award-nominated performance: Naomi Watts (Best Actress, Lo imposible or the impossible (2012) and Sigourney Weaver in this ¨A monster call¨. Rating : This excellent film results to be above average , a really magnificent movie . Essential and indispensable seeing . The picture will appeal to J.A. Bayona fans .