Sieben Minuten nach Mitternacht

A scary looking tree in the middle of a graveyard haunts the dreams of a little boy, Conor, who already has enough troubles while awake. A mother (Felicity Jones) with terminal cancer, bullies, absent father, dictatorial grandma (Sigourney Weaver) and now a threatening monster (Liam Neeson) to visit him at night; poor Conor does not have a lot going for him. On the plus side, the monster has only three stories to tell, yet when finished he insists that Conor tell a story of his own that reveals the truths in his heart. The monster's stories touch upon themes gnawing at Conor; the good and bad in every person, the consequences of actions and an invisible man who becomes more invisible by being seen. Still Conor refuses to acknowledge the truths. "You don't know me," he shouts "these stories are not real!" The monster then lays down the law, "I know everything about you, now speak the truth or die!"

A Monster Calls includes some amazing visual effects, fantastic scenes and brilliant dialogue. The film explores in compelling and thrilling ways how fantasy combines with reality, how people deal with their fears (for better and worse) and the tremendous power of stories. The actors are convincing and captivating and Neeson's voice is mesmerizing. You'd rob a bank if his voice told you to. Animation is used to illustrate the monster's stories. A Monster Calls is based on a novel by Patrick Ness. Seen at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Can't remember the last time I cried in a movie theater, but man A Monster Calls perfectly sums up my biggest anxieties of growing up: the fear of loss, fear of change, that moment when you feel like you are never entitled to express your frustration that you become violent. The existence of this movie is more than enough for me. It's not quite subtle, though, but I didn't mind. Either way, I needed this. So it's like... Inside Out... and ParaNorman... and Bridge to Terabithia... except it's better... way better... Did I mention that it's also incredibly stunning? The acting is great: Lewis MacDougall is one of the most impressive kid actors I've seen this year, he amazingly carries this film that it would be a shame if he doesn't get nominated along with probably Felicity Jones.

Overall, it's powerful. It also gets a little too devastating. Even with all the pretty colors, it just straight-up acknowledges the pain and complexities of life and humanity. Reality stinks, but life's a journey. And dealing with it has always been a part of it.

(Saw this movie last month, but again, better late than never.)

I don't know who you would market this movie to. It's not a kid's movie, tho it tries very hard to look like one. It's not an adult movie (a boy and a talking tree), tho its themes certainly are mature. Both child and adult will squirm under the relentless emotional requirement with only a faint wisp of humor to lighten things up. Melancholy overload anyone? No?

But if you make it to the end, you'll have received an unexpected cathartic cleansing and a life lesson in your pocket that is hard, but beautiful in its truth.

Once you stop blubbering, that is.

"There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between."

Before seeing the movie, I didn't know much about "A Monster Calls". The only information I got from it is that it's based on Patrick Ness novel and the trailer had a "Iron Giant" vibe to it. I also liked the director (Juan Antonio Bayona) previous movies, so I guess that's what peaked my interest in seeing it. And I came out pretty surprised of how good it was. Not just that, but how moving and heartfelt it was.

Juan Antonio Bayona is the type of director that knows how to tell a compelling story in his films. To screw lose the sentiment, until your eyes are filled with water to the point where you can't help but spill out. And in this movie he dose exactly that and how smart he was with it's decisions of the emotional scenes.

There's a lot of great actors in this and none of them are put to waste. Liam Nesson was excellent as The Monster. Sigourney Weaver was great as the Grandma. Felicity Jones and Toby Kebbell were also great as Connor parents. But I think the real stand is Lewis MacDougall as (Connor). Even at the age of 14 this kid literally carries this movie and really dose reflect Connor's inner conflict.

That's what I notice in Bayona movies. All of the kid actors in his movies are pretty solid and I would go as far to say that they better than the adults. This is very rare for me to say that, because most kid actors suck. Yes there are good ones out there, but only some, as most of them don't fully bring their all.

The visual effect's were pretty stunning and impressive of how it interacted with the real environment that it was in. In all honesty, I was pretty surprised. And what I mean by "surprise" is that I was expecting The Monster itself to be the only effect in the movie. Because The Monster tells three stories to Conner and all three are done in a visual dye artwork that's beautiful to look at. It's good to be surprise.

For problems I had with the movie are slim, but if I had to pick, I would probably say that films message can be a little repetitive and oblivious towards the end. I think that may bug some people. But still, it's a great message that's speaks the truth and actually sticks to it. I mean, if the message was terrible or nothing special, then this might be a big complaint. The film doesn't have an happy ending and neither a sad one. There's no Hollywood ending or anything like that. It would say it's mixed.

Overall rating: "A Monster Calls" is entertaining, sad, and unforgettable tale that sticks with you after it's over. The film tells the truth and nothing but the truth of life. You want everything to be alright for this kid, but you're left with a feeling of stillness. Like you can't do anything about it, even with all the magical things that's happening. It just gotta let it happen....

that's life.

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.