Bookworm

I was really looking forward to this one. When i saw the trailer i thought it would be a really fun and funny movie to watch. They had advance screenings playing at Hoyts cinemas so iwent along. Unfortunately in terms of humour, most of the funny spots were in the trailer which meant the movie paced along like a humourless adventure movie with a lack of adventure. The actors did a good enough job with what they had to work with. The biggest problem was the movie didnt know what it wanted to be. The sub plot with the random couple tramping was stupid n took the movie way off track. And the behaviour of the couple in the tent (with one really dodgy line) followed by the video of them, i thought totally derailed the movie.

This had the potential to be a fun movie along the lines of The Hunt for the Wilderpeople but instead falls way flat. It definitely needed a Taika Waititi touch to it.

Elijah Wood was pretty good with the script he was given. The premise was good, a father/ daughter getting to know each other. The girls script was superficial and lacked depth. Not relatable at all. The sub plot with the was odd at best with the couple.

What I mostly couldn't get over was the multi-day hiking was the tent, the gear, the food, the size of the packs etc. There is no way they could carry that stuff with the bags they had. I know I should've got over it. But they were wearing denim? In the outdoors? Shocking.

The music and sound choices were very budget and lacked imagination. I'm guessing the director went online and downloaded all the free ones.

Very unusual movie with Elijah Wood (Hobbit) as a very bad magician father hoping to redeem himself to his estranged daughter while her mother is recovering in the hospital from an electrical shock accident. Nell Fisher (Mildred) is obsessed with proving a unique panther is roaming around the jungles and hopes to win 50000 dollars for proof of its existence. So the two of them, father and daughter go out on a journey to get a video of the elusive creature. The dialog is a bit strange, and Strawn Wise the father (Wood) is not to good at anything especially bravery. So it's kind of an offbeat redemption story of sorts. Nothing questionable, no nudity or violence, some rather stupid parts , but all in all it's an "ok" story and film. More for younger kids so don't expect much for adults. Enjoy.

Now, vanity projects can be good in theory, but this is decisively not one of those. Even for a movie about a circus magician, it relies on contrivances beyond any reason - from an implausible accident which sends Mildred's mother into a coma at the start of the narrative to the ludicrous complications introduced in its 2nd half - to be capped off with the similarly contrived ending.

It's hardly worth it to put up with those contrivances for the sake of (fairly flat) humour or characterization either. In particular, the pair of completely transparent villains have no real rational reason to be where they are, and are merely a vehicle for cheap drama and cheap jokes - whichever the script calls for at the time. While the scenes where tricks by Wood's character (Strawn Wise - had to look it up now) repeatedly fail to impress highly skeptical and rationalistic Mildred do get a chuckle, the overall father-daughter drama is fairly cringey.

And it really doesn't help that while Mildred has definite reason to dislike the absentee father, she ALSO never seems to either particularly like her mother, nor care for her well-being after the accident beyond the most cursory manner. Her fate matters so little to the narrative she is eventually forgotten entirely and never brought up again - something which I wish would happen to this film as well.

When a little domestic incident with the toaster sees her mum in hospital, the young "Mildred" (Nell Fisher) finds she is to be looked after by her dad. Thing is, she hasn't seen him before - ever, and so the arrival of the enigmatically clad "Strawn Wise" (Elijah Wood) who makes his living as an illusionist, proves distinctly underwhelming to this rather cynical young girl. He is keen to please, though, so when she suggests they go camping to try and spot a legendary black panther that's been marauding the countryside he readily agrees. Backpacks and camera at the ready, off they go on a trek that sees their relationship rather predictably, but entertainingly, evolve. Along the way, there's some scoring that's distinctly Morricone, they encounter the menacingly leprechaun-esque "Arnold" (Michael Smiley) and his sidekick "Zo" (Morgana O'Reilly) and there's plenty of adventure as they seek evidence of this big black cat (and earn the $50,000 reward that proof of it's existence brings). There's a jolly chemistry here between Fisher and Wood, the writing gives her plenty of opportunity for some sardonic wit and there is also an enjoyably mischievous joy emanating from a Wood who's clearly enjoying himself back in a NZ devoid or "Orcs". The cinematography shows off the countryside well and the whole story has something of the Children's Film Foundation to it. It's nice too see the emphasis of a film focus more on the script and the characters for a change, and with precisely no CGI and loads of mushrooms, this is quite good fun. Just how, though, did her legs get under that great big tree in the first place?