A Monster Calls [Blu-ray]

Wow. What an incredibly touching film. I think everyone involved in creating this film should be incredibly proud of what they managed to create. It's heart-breaking but uplifting at the same time and manages somehow not to be depressing or morose - just incredibly moving.A young boy trying to come to terms with the fact that his mother is dying whilst he at the same time feels incredibly isolated due to other issues around him helps himself cope in processing such a heavy mass of confusion and emotions by partly escaping through his artwork, dreams and a fantasy world where the monster in the title of the film supports him in processing his emotions. The split between the fantasy world and real life works extremely well and helps us to understand what he is feeling inside, but sometimes it's a pretty tough ride. This kind of film is rarely made by Hollywood as terminal illness (of any kind), and bereavement (pre and post death in these kind of scenarios) are very tough subjects to tackle in a meaningful way, especially without being patronising, whitewashing certain aspects of it or being oversentimental in a conceited way or giving it that Hollywood gloss, but this film does it and as a result it feels like an incredibly honest, moving and meaningful film.Asides from the absent father (who doesn't feature heavily) who I found a little jarring and not really up to scratch, the rest of the cast are all absolutely outstanding, giving very relatable, believable and moving performances - and as for the boy/lead character himself this was quite phenomenal really in how he managed to portray such a range of complex emotions at such a young age.I don't think this would be suitable for younger children due to the nature of the topics that are very realistically played out - I have never cried as much as I have watching a film before this (and still feel weepy about it now writing this!), but despite this the film is ultimately somehow an uplifting one and a great watch - just have the tissues at the ready!

Bought this as I have been reading the book with my class at school. It has some powerful storylines including cancer treatment, death of a parent, anger and bullying. The book was good and the film really was good a good comparison for the students. They totally enjoyed the text and we gave just about finished the book now.

I preordered this DVD on the basis of a couple of impressive trailers and I'm not disappointed.There's an impressive cast. Liam Neeson as 'the monster' is beguiling. Sigourney Weaver as the outsider grandmother is exceptional. But the true award goes to the young lead actor who plays the part as if he's living it for real. Hats off to him, he's a great guy and I hope destined for a remarkable future.This is a simple story, but filled with emotion. It explores the difficulty of accepting the inevitability of death, particularly from the POV of a young person experiencing illness of a parent. There's a thin line between recognition and acceptance and thud film explores the issues sympathetically and in a very dynamic and graphically rewarding way. There's an allegorical journey of questioning for the young traveller to follow and although simplistic, it's incredibly effective.This is due to outstanding performance by the mother, son and grandmother. The graphics, bringing the tree to 'life' are impressive and I really almost started to believe it had independent life. I loved the cutaways with cartoon graphics to demonstrate the folklore. But most of all, I enjoyed this film for the multi layers it offers. At face value, a simple story, well told. But below that the themes of familial love, loss, break up anger and ultimate acceptance are very well explored. An exceptional film and one which, for the graphics alone, I'll watch again.

An amazing film about a child's journey as he copes with an upcoming trauma in his life through a fantastical imagination. This film tugs at the heart strings in a senstive and highly effective way (grown man here crying both times he's seen it). The marrying of CGI, Art, and real life is astounding (and looked lovely on my high end TV).What is most amazing about it is the acting of the young man at the centre. Indeed, it is so good that it makes all of the adults look oddly wooden. I wasn't sure whether that was an intentional ploy or he really is that good. His portrayal of pain, anger, depression, humour, and of the horrifying anticipation of an approaching event he wishes to avoid is astonishing for one so young. He should have received an Oscar for it!Fleecy Mosswriting as Nia Sinjorina, End of a Girl, now available on Amazon.

In some ways this brings to mind Mr Holmes. It details, in some ways, loss, bereavement and social ill adjustment. Conor, bullied at school and having difficulty with the illness of his mother draws and writes and has haunting nightmares of grave events. His drawing and dreams conjure a monster (imagine Ents conjured from the darker corners of Tolkein's imagination). The monster offers to tell Conor three stories. These stories, obviously relate to the conquering of Conor's fears. The animation of the stories is great, looking a little like the dream state in Mirror Mask. The initial stages of the film are slow and it doesn't really hit its stride until the final act when the frenetic action cuts loose. I'm not sure who the audience would be, the action is cut with animation and that's all a little old hat in this 3D animation age. The actors, particularly Lewis MacDougall as the anger packed Conor sell the film. It's worth watching and fans of the book will adore this. It somehow outstrips the Spielberg BFG and for that we should be grateful.

Excellent film

Oh my what a film, sobbed my heart out as it was so close to home for me