Summary A feisty foster kid's outrageous scheme to be reunited with her birth mother has unintended consequences in The Great Gilly Hopkins, an entertaining film for the entire family. Gilly Hopkins has seen more than her share of foster homes and has outwitted every family she has lived with. In an effort to escape her new foster mother Maime Trotter's endless loving care, Gilly concocts a plan that she believes will bring her mother running to her rescue. But when the ploy blows up in Gilly's face it threatens to ruin the only chance she's ever had to be part of a real family.
Genre : Comedy/Family/Drama Country : USA
Cast : Sophie Nélisse: Gilly Hopkins
Kathy Bates : Maime Trotter Glenn Close : Nonnie Hopkins
Director : Stephen Herek
My opinion
"Both of us are smart and we know it. But the thing that brings us closer than intelligence is anger.”
Ready for another corny teen drama that'll move you to tears? One that has all the familiar clichés and where you'll know in advance how it will end? It's not a love story with a couple of lovebirds who first can't stand each other and in the end, in a moment of supreme bliss, they fall into each other's arms. It's also not a well-known story about a young criminal who's experiencing a drastic change of identity due to a certain trustworthy person and when he's converted he goes on a mission as a devout priest in poor Africa. No. This time it's a stubborn 12 year old girl (Sophie Nélisse) who changes foster homes one after the other because of her impossible behavior. Gilly Hopkins only has one wish. And that's to be reunited with her natural mother who left her behind while moving to San Francisco.
Then one day she's assigned to the religious Maime Trotter (Kathy Bates), who's a model of kindness and masquerades as the supreme mother-hen. Gilly does everything to come across as hateful and impossible to handle. She closes herself off, disclaims each friendly treatment, she treats W.E. (Zachary Hernandez) in a denigrating way, imitates in a ridiculing manner Maime's use of affectionate words, makes no effort to integrate and even steals from the nice neighbor Mr. Randolph (Bill Cobbs). In school she tries to keep up this rebellious attitude. The first school day ends already in a fight with six fellow students, she snubs at a young girl (Clare Foley as Agnes) who approached her in a friendly way and she acts aloof during lessons. It seems as if Gilly is trying to provoke with her behavior so everybody gets angry at her.
You could call her an obnoxious, disrespectful and rebellious teenage girl, to say the least. It amazes me that Kathy Bates hasn't tied her to a bed, pushed some logs under her legs and just like in "Misery" amputated her feet with a heavy ax. Despite Gilly's intense efforts to make Maime's (and others) life miserable, you can easily guess how she'll react when her wealthy grandmother Nonie Hopkins (Glenn Close) shows up and suggests to take care of her. That's the decisive moment when the rebellious girl breaks down emotionally and proves that deep down she truly has a human, sensitive heart. For most female viewers this is the right time to search for that handkerchief.
Although it's clearly a film meant for a youthful audience, I wasn't annoyed by it constantly. The way Gilly tackled the bullies at school was highly amusing. And the used subject about a teenager who wants to be united again with her natural mother (the mother's motivation to leave her, shows that she didn't have real maternal feelings) felt kind of mature. Maybe it was sort of Dickension, but I could live with that. Also, the performances were very worthwhile. Kathy Bates played a brilliant part as the caring foster mother who sees the good in every person. Her love for the outcasts in our society is endless. Therefore the goodness to invite the lonely neighbor to dinner every day. Also a splendid rendition of Bill Cobbs. Finally, Sophie Nélisse who nevertheless delivers a superb performance. Although she doesn't look 12 and isn't really sympathetic due to her behavior. The only thing that struck me was her rather rapid change of personality. The transformation from a rebel to a loving teenager was rather abrupt. "The Great Gilly Hopkins" is a perfect family film to watch together with your (older) kids.
Summary Ten-year-old Sophie is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant. Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the 24-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie's presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and other giants.
Genre : Fantasy/Family Country : UK/USA/Canada
Cast : Mark Rylance : BFG
Ruby Barnhill : Sophie Penelope Wilton : The Queen
Director : Steven Spielberg
My opinion
“Where am I? Giant country!”
Steven Spielberg knows how to bring the magical world of Roald Dahl to life on a screen in a masterly way. Occasionally I need to watch a not too complicated or weighty film. Such a film that takes you to an enchanting, carefree world and to forget about everyday worries for a while. This time it's a lovable little girl, Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who after seeing the big friendly giant wandering through the dark streets of London is kidnapped by him and taken to Giant Country. Just like Mowgli in "The Jungle Book", Sophie is surrounded by computer-generated animations. But not completely. The face of the BFG looked quite familiar. Afterwards I discovered that Mark Rylance, who recently starred as Rudolf Abel in "Bridge of Spies" (also directed by Spielberg and he received an Academy Award for it), was the one whose face was used to shape the friendly, vegetarian giant.
Again, it's admirable how a little puny girl must act in a void, because I think the whole country inhabited by the giant giants is just a room filled with blue screens. Especially the majestic scene where she goes hunting for dreams along with the gentle giant, is a prime example of technological magic. When the less peaceful giants start looking for Sophie, those images made me think of "Jack the Giant Slayer". And the made-up language used by the friendly giant, proves where J.K. Rowling took inspiration from so she could design the quirky lingo her characters spoke in the Potter series. But it's particularly the shaping and impressive design that you're gazing at with open mouth. The landscapes in Giant Country and the home of BFG is detailed and sharply imaged. But especially old London looks fantastic. Nocturnal London where the big friendly giant wanders around so he can blow his dream into the children's bedrooms and where he ingeniously (and sometimes hilariously) manages to hide for wandering night owls.
Most importantly is to let yourself be carried away in this wonderful world, otherwise it all looks rather childish. The film isn't particularly terrifying. This makes it suitable for little kids. And they'll amuse themselves when the gentle giant pulls out his home-brewed "frobscottle". Drinking this greenish substance results in a fairly serious form of flatulence. Normally you'll see comical situations with lots of farting or belching in a vulgar comedy. But here it produces some hilarious moments (even in the presence of the Queen).
There's actually nothing negative to say about this movie. Besides the fact that it was never really exciting or impressive. Maybe I'm not so easily impressed by something and are we already accustomed to these fabulous gadgets used in the world of movies. But I didn't experience that wow feeling when watching "The BFG". It wasn't like the first "Harry Potter" movie. Or the first part of "The Lord of the Rings". There wasn't that magical atmosphere that makes it seem like you were teleported to another imaginary world. And that's what I missed in this, especially charming, fairy tale. In a way it's also a touching story. The not so big giant, eating slimy cucumber-like vegetables instead of human flesh and thereby being bullied. And then there's that vulnerable little girl jumping into the breach for him. An engaging and simultaneously amusing story that younger children can enjoy. In other words, a suitable family film.
Summary : Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah, living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine, the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange... he is a prisoner of his own imagination - the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books.
Genre : Adventure/Family Country : USA/Australia Cast : Dylan Minnette : Zach Odeya Rush : Hannah Jack Black : R.L. Stine Director : Rob Letterman
My Opinion
“It's like stop trying to be Stephen King, man. Let me tell you something about Steve King. Steve King wishes he could write like me, and I've sold way more books than him, but nobody ever talks about that!”
Lets organize a pleasant afternoon and watch a soft horror movie with the whole family. Why wouldn't we use the oeuvre of R.L. Stine? This writer wrote a whole series of books known as the famous Goosebumps. And to circumvent the obstacle of choosing a book, they just used all of them in the same film. What you get to see is a horde of horror figures, planning to destroy the human world. From small, annoying gnomes to a giant grasshopper. There are some less successful creations and there are also some highly amusing creations like Slappy, the Yeti and the werewolf with basketball shoes. The end result is a Jumanji-like kids-movie in which the main actors must do their utmost best to straighten out this crooked situation.
I wasn't really impressed though. Probably because I'm not part of the target group. The bland romantic part and the attempt to make it adventurous, obviously wasn't meant for me. It might be a bit too scary for the youngest among us (although it wasn't overly creepy). Pubers however might think it's a bit too soft. I appreciated the rare moments when the humor became tremendously sharp and shrewd, like the opening scene and the Stephen King remark for example. Even the humorous interactions of the scrawny little fellow Champ (Ryan Lee) who tries to fix everything along with Zach (Dylan Minnette) and Hannah (Odeya "The Giver" Rush), was acceptable. The only thing that started to get on my nerves after a while, was him using that effeminate scream for the umpteenth time.
"Goosebumps" guarantees an entertaining afternoon at the local cinema for young people. Even adults who accompany them, could have some fun with it. There are some memorable parts such as the werewolf fragment in the supermarket. Long time since I've seen such a perfectly choreographed scene where real actors and animated characters interact with each other. Blood-curdling exciting and flashy. Yep it gave me goosebumps. Unfortunately in the end it turned into a real mess. It was a bit too much of everything. A flood of Stine's literary creations. And Jack Black, who plays the grumpy hermit Stine, stuck to his routine of not being funny. It's probably me, but if you want me to be depressed, just let me watch "School of Rock". Success guaranteed.
"Goosbumps" won't be such a huge success as a fantasy and horror film. It seemed to me that the idea to cram Stine's creations into the same movie, wasn't exactly the most brilliant idea. The best is the enemy of the good. Fortunately, they didn't use this idea for the Harry Potter books. Perhaps the creators biggest intention was to promote reading a book again. Maybe they partially succeeded in that. Unfortunately this self-promotion also worked disadvantageous when you look at the special effects and the story structure. All in all it's a must see for ten year olds. Maybe I re-watch it with my son in five years. He can have his uninhibited opinion about my humble opinion!
Summary : Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as "Tomorrowland." Genre : Action/Adventure/Family Country : USA/Spain Cast : George Clooney : Frank Walker Britt Robertson : Casey Newton Raffey Cassidy : Athena Director : Brad Bird
My opinion
"If I was walking down the street and I saw some kid with a jetpack fly over me... I'd believe anything's possible. I'd be inspired. Doesn't that make the world a better place?”
Worldwide, there should be an obligation for doomsayers, negativists and pessimists to watch this film. I'm sure it won't make them happier, because most of them are hopelessly lost and trapped in their negative spiral. But maybe there will be a few individuals who'll understand the message of this action packed futuristic Disney movie. The message that positivism and optimism are better features to make a better world out of the present world. Perseverance and self belief will make you reach your goal. Such optimism luxuriated in the sixties. Because of that optimism progress was possible and the future looked brighter. In today's world, the future looks frightening and menacing.
And that's how we get to know Frank Walker. An eager young inventor who firmly believes that his jetpack could be useful. Even if it doesn't work flawlessly. We meet him during the World Expo at Flushing Meadows in 1964. With the aid of the lovable girl Athena (Raffey Cassidy) he discovers a futuristic world called "Tomorrowland". A safe world situated in a parallel dimension where technological progress hasn't stopped and serving as a shelter for visionaries and geniuses. However, they couldn't avoid one particular fact. The world we're living in, is heading towards a devastating catastrophe. And that's when Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) comes up. Together with the older Frank Walker (George Clooney), who's banned from Tomorrowland, and Athena, she tries to turn the tide.
You'll easily see this is a Disney product throughout the entire film. It's all beautifully visualized with breathtaking images and unparalleled special effects. It certainly would fit nicely as an attraction at a Disney theme park. Tomorrowland looks extremely futuristic and you won't be able to take it all in. It reminded me of futuristic cities from comic strips and went from one surprise to the next. You'll be awestruck by the dazzlingly spectacular images of flying vehicles driven by an unknown traction, floating pools and curved landscapes (same as in "Interstellar" and "Elysium") full of strangely shaped buildings. The "Eiffel Tower" moment is fantastic and grotesque at the same time.
Unfortunately the Disney input ensures that it sometimes feels rather childish. Towards the end, the message sounds quite moralistic. It gave me that 60s feeling full of values and standards which were applicable at that time. In our case we have to take care of the current environment and try to bend our egocentric thinking into a sense of solidarity. Of course in the end we got an obligatory emotional moment. Fortunately we could also admire some excellent performances. Clooney has omitted his pose as Nespresso charmer and appears as a capricious genius. But especially young Cassidy steals the show, both in the action-packed as the sentimental moments.
"Tomorrow Land" (or "Project T" as it's known here because the original title is a registered name of an eponymous music festival) for once isn't a book-based movie, prequel, sequel or reboot. It's a unique project targeting the whole family. It was pleasantly entertaining and exciting enough. Besides the corny, predictable end it was actually all right and I don't really understand all the negative criticism.
Genre : Adventure/Family/Fantasy Country : USA Cast : Angelina Jolie : Maleficent Sharlto Copley : Stefan Elle Fanning : Aurora Director : Robert Stromberg Summary A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well.
My opinion
“Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will fall into a sleep like death!”
The very firstfeature filmI've seen(as far as I can remember) was the originalWaltDisneyfilm "Snow White and the sevendwarfs" when I wasabout 6 years.Itwas in such atinyvillagecinema inthe pre-smartphone era. You could actually enjoy a moviewithout the feeling thatyou were insomekind of nightclubwith all these luminescentscreens.That movie made quite an impact on me. Maybethat's when my love forthe medium of filmwas created. Later in life, I read lots of books. Especially thefantasy genreappealed to me. A fantasy world asTerryPratchett, Feist, TerryGoodkindandTolkien(of course) described it. When reading a book about amythological andmagical worldpopulated bydwarfs, giants, wizards and knights, I spent hoursinthis imaginarysetting.Thefilm industryalso amused mewithgreat movies like "Willow", "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Chronicles of Narnia.". Ashamed I have to admitthat Iwas eagerto seethe first HarryPottermovie ,as if I was still a teenager. And nowadays, beinga father, I enjoy watching "Frozen" and oldWaltDisneyclassics with mytwokids.To makeit short: I still loveafairy tale once in a while!
"Jack the Giant Slayer" and "Snow White and the Huntsman" already appealed to me. The first one because of the beautiful SE's and the impressive giants. The second film because of the gang of funny dwarfs. Sad enough the expression on the face of Kristen Stewart was again of the same level as a typical pancake. That disappointed me a bit. And that's the most successful part of "Maleficent":.. The wide range of expressions that Angelina Jolie demonstrates herein. No discussion. She was perfect for the role. That soft and sweet look while relaxing and during loving moments. The menacing, unyielding gaze during a confrontation. The devastating evil glance at the time she felt betrayed and hurt. Both facial expressions as body language are used by Jolie in a fantastic way. Those glittering eyes, those sharp cheekbones,the dominance and that demonic laughter. I never thought I would say this about Angelina Jolie, but this was really a beautiful rendition.
Everyone knows the story of "Sleeping Beauty", so it's a bit pointless to summarize it here. But if you assume that this is an ordinary film that doesn't deviate from the original story, then you are mistaken. This time they looked at it from a different angle. And I must admit that you can call it a fairly successful result. First of all the build-up to the story of "Sleeping Beauty" was magnificent. Although it looked more like the intro of "Settlers". It felt cartoonish. That feeling goes away the moment you enter the Moors. A magical land adjacent to the human civilization, where only peace and happiness prevails, and one does not know or understand the human traits of greed and envy. A magical landscape populated by all sorts of wondrous characters, including the small (but powerful) fairy Maleficent who lives in a huge tree. That she eventually becomes the evil and vengeful witch because of underhanded treachery, is a very creative brain twisted idea that the filmmakers have used here. And the denouement differs somewhat from the original fairy tale. But I must admit that I found it extremely fascinating and unique.
About the parts being played I can be short and concise. There is only one masterful rendition in "Maleficent" and that's the one Jolie takes care of. The whole movie revolves around this character and (I can not say it enough) she did it masterfully and professionally. An engaging and friendly character at the beginning, who's determined to defend the Moors against the humans. And then transforming into a nasty, evil witch with a devilish smile. The most striking imaginative scenes were the battle at the Moors and the christening. Then you see her slowly transform into an understanding person with remorse. For once I felt sorry for the wicked person from a fairy tale and sympathised with her.
The other members of the cast were reduces to meaningless roles that were necessary for the story because of this acting by Madame Jolie. Elle Fanning did well as Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) but was really annoying after a while with her innocent giggling all the time. Sharlto Copley was convincing as the power-hungry King Stefan. And the three fairies, who were given the task to guard Aurora until her 16th birthday, didn't look great when they were still mini. But they took care of the humor side of the story. The only one who could make an impression next to A. Jolie, was Sam Riley as Diaval. But I guess the successful effects when he transformed into a horse or dragon again, had something to do with that.
And then there is the second very important part of this film : the special effects. These were at times overwhelmingly great. The landscape of the Moors, the creatures living there, the battle against the humans with the living trees (immediately reminded me of "The Ents" from TLOTR), the dragon and the flying skills of Maleficent herself. Breathtaking and simply beautiful. With a budget of roughly $ 200 million it ought to be. And Stromberg as a director also guarantees that. He knows the craft of visual effects, looking at his impressive resume on IMDb.
An entertaining movie with a masterful interpretation. Nothing negative to say then ? Oh yes, it's sometimes so blandly and predictable. Immediately you feel where it's going and how the denouement will be. It's not very original and the surprising twist is actually obvious. But it's a long time since I was immersed in a fairytale atmosphere like this and momentarily I forgot I had already passed that age where you still believed everything. I believed in it again during 97 wonderful minutes.
Cast : James Franco : Oz Mila Kunis : Theodora Michelle Williams : Glinda
Director : Sam Raimi
Summary Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
My opinion Raimi making a fairy-like movie for children ...who couldhave thought that. The directorof "TheEvil Dead" directing atendertale. Personally, I think the original filmfrom 1939isunrivaled. Allthough I like thisonelot betterthanThe Wizfrom 1978withMichaelJackson andDianaRoss.
The introis quite originalandstronger than therest of the movie. It's clearly amovie in which thecreators ofthe digital imageshaveenjoy themselves a lot, so they werethe truemagiciansof this film.For therest it's alovelychildren's story.Chinagirlandthewingedmonkeycouldcharmme the most. ThewickedwitchesI foundextremelyannoyingafter a while.
I had hoped thatFrancowouldreturn back toKansasas inthe originalmovie.
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