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.

I love wilderness adventure films, but I hadn't gotten too much of an idea of the plot before I watched it. The child actor was fine but came off as annoying. I'm glad the dad character gave her some comeuppance. The strange couple and illusionist side of the story intrigued me whereas the father-daughter relationship failed to engage me. And I gotta say, whys everyone dissing on the couple? I genuinely thought they were quite funny. The directors did a good job at capturing typical married west coast-ers. Sometimes I felt like this movie was borderline copying Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Oh, and the panther, forgot about that. Yeah, that was more of a subplot in the movie. In the end, though, it was pretty heartfelt and some fine family entertainment.

One of those film oddities where, at the halfway point, you get an entirely different second movie. The first movie, which fills the first 50 minutes, is a genuinely interesting father-daughter roadtrip romp, with the daughter (Fisher) gettting the best lines: (dialog) "Am I still dreaming .. or did a 42 year old man really just wake up an 11 year old girl to tell her that he heard a creepy sound in the night?" Wood, late in his career, still has star power and the vibe between the two is solid. Then the tone changes and, much to the chagrin of the N. Z. Dept. Of Tourism, a friendly couple encountered while camping turns out to be anything but. The two halves of the film do not match, and the sour notes of the second half suck all the joy out of the first half. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Much of what kept me watching this film was seeing Elijah Wood, carrying a backpack, tramping about the glorious scenery of New Zealand once more. It was not so long ago when he played a hobbit... I agree with reviewers that this film falls apart half way through, and the ending feels horribly forced. The acting is competent as are the technical elements, but the characters are caricatures and I found myself not really caring about them. There's a bit of unnecessary dialog at the end that's totally inappropriate for young viewers. Starts off with some good ideas but, like the trek in the film, completely loses its way.

I really wanted to like this, but nothing in this movie fits quite right. The child actress tries so hard, but her acting feels forced. The quirkiness of the whole premise doesn't resonate with the audience, unfortunately.

If they had incorporated more elements related to the title-like her being an actual bookworm-it might have created some meaningful connections and depth. Sadly, there's nothing here to tie the title to the story in any real way.

I'm not sure what the budget was, but it seems like most of it went into the panther CGI. Elijah is, well, Elijah-but even his performance doesn't add much value to the production. None of the characters are particularly likable or funny enough to carry the film. Overall, it's a disappointing watch.