A Monster Calls

Focus Features | Release Date: December 23, 2016

7.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 252 Ratings

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TVJerryJan 8, 2017

A 12-year-old boy (Lewis MacDougall) is bullied at school, and to make matters worse, his mother (Felicity Jones) is dying. A giant anthropomorphic tree (voiced by Liam Neeson ) appears to tell the boy fables, which are animated in a lovelyA 12-year-old boy (Lewis MacDougall) is bullied at school, and to make matters worse, his mother (Felicity Jones) is dying. A giant anthropomorphic tree (voiced by Liam Neeson ) appears to tell the boy fables, which are animated in a lovely water color style. Although I heard a few sniffles in the theater, I found this film excruciatingly cloying. The atmosphere was morose from start to finish with nary a bright moment. While the subject matter is certainly sad, the film's eccentric story, listless pace and relentless gloomy approach result in a lack of any real emotional connection. EASTER EGG: Look for Neeson's foto in a quick pan across a table.… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

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MeritCobaFeb 12, 2017

Can you suffer cliches? If you can, then read on.

The movie has two worlds that interconnect. First is reality. Connor O'Maley is a pale pipsqueak single son of twelve. He has a sickly single-parent mother. Did you count the stereotypes?Can you suffer cliches? If you can, then read on.

The movie has two worlds that interconnect.

First is reality. Connor O'Maley is a pale pipsqueak single son of twelve. He has a sickly single-parent mother. Did you count the stereotypes? There are some more. He has a dad, living in America who is, of course, mostly unreliable. He has also a nasty grandmom, who seems more concerned with keeping her house in order than supporting her only grandson(as far as we can tell.) And Connor has no friends. And Connor is also the target of a bully. What is the cliché count by now?

Second is fantasy. Connor has strange dreams. He calls forth a monster(so it claims).It comes to tell him three stories during three nights and then Connor must tell him the fourth. Of course there are connections between the first and the second world, but unlike the cliché infested real world, the fantasy is far from straight forward and trite. In fact the stories follow unpredictable patterns and the lines are not that easy to follow. The three stories are told through animations and those work well. Eventually it gets all wrapped up at the end which isn't cliché but more realistic than you might expect.

All-in-all a movie with a nice well told story supported by good acting but hamstrung by clichés, overdone dramatic music, boring cinematography(overuse of slow cam shots and close-ups) and obvious tweaked scenes(watch the weather turn sour all of a sudden near the end so the impact of the drama is exacerbated by the rain). Some will see past it, others will flee the theater. A mixed bag therefore.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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43in2014Jan 12, 2017

Related media: The film is based on novel of the same name but I have not read it.
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What's it like?: An artistically-talented boy (Louis MacDougall) has to deal with a cancer-stricken mom (Felicity Jones) at home, bullies who beat him up atRelated media: The film is based on novel of the same name but I have not read it.
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What's it like?: An artistically-talented boy (Louis MacDougall) has to deal with a cancer-stricken mom (Felicity Jones) at home, bullies who beat him up at school and nightmares of losing his mum in a sinkhole at a church/graveyard. At 12:07 am, an old yew tree in the middle of a cemetery turns into a giant (Liam Neeson) and tells the boy that it will tell him one story per night, for three nights, after which it demands that the boy reciprocate with one story of his own. It is a film about growing up but a more central message of the film is a spoiler and would not be mentioned here.
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Pros:
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1. The film tells a touching story about dealing with family member that is about to die. It would greatly appeal to those who have experienced this in real life.
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2. There was generally good acting all around.
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Cons:
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1. Two major distractions are the casting of Sigourney Weaver as the boy's grandmother and Toby Kebbell as the boy's father. Clearly, the film has an English setting. While MacDougall and Jones acted like the English, Weaver and Kebbell, an American and a Brit in real life, only spoke with neutral accents. It is rather likely that Weaver's and Kebbell's characters should have spoken with English accents in the film, or have explanations of why they did not, in the form of their characters' backgrounds. That they did not, felt strange and it was a major distraction.
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2. The premise that a monster would tell you three stories and then demand that you reciprocate with one is somewhat silly. It was not as if the boy needed to cross a bridge and needed to pay with gold or needed to give a password, as in traditional fairy tales, and let's face it, this film is a fairy tale.
> 3. Not all three of the stories told by the monster were particularly special. The third story was told too quickly and was not memorable. >
4. This film does feel like a cry-bait. It would not work on those who have not lost loved ones before.
> How would the different age groups rate it?
Children: Average
Teenagers: Average
Young adults: Average
Medium age adults: Good
Old adults: Good.
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My rating: 3/5 (no half scores). Save your money and watch it on TV.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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KaptenVideoDec 25, 2016

A mother seems to be dying, a boy is sad. He awakes the monster that wants to tell him three stories and hear one in return. Starring Lewis MacDougall as the boy, Felicity Jones as the mother, Sigourney Weaver as the grandmother and LiamA mother seems to be dying, a boy is sad. He awakes the monster that wants to tell him three stories and hear one in return. Starring Lewis MacDougall as the boy, Felicity Jones as the mother, Sigourney Weaver as the grandmother and Liam Neeson as the voice of the Monster.

There's are no more Tolkien or Potter movies left to show this year but every self-respecting holiday season needs a larger-than-life fantasy epic, so we have been given "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "A Monster Calls" instead.

I have commented on "Beasts" already (see my November 16 post) which is probably better of the two. Both are basically visual effects oriented family movies but "Beasts" aims lower on intellectual level which allows it to deliver with more ease on spectacle level. "Monster" tries to be both a thoughful story – think along the lines of "Little Prince" – and effects show. It does give us both, and both kind of work too, but the result feels more artificial than heartfelt, sadly.

To the director's credit, J.A. Bayona ("El orfanato", "Lo imposible") is adept on creating suitably ominous atmosphere and getting a solid performance out of newcomer MacDougall as a boy driven to the edge by hardships in life. All the other characters are more like part of the decorations, so no need to stop on them.

But surprisingly for a near two hour movie, storytelling feels rushed almost all of the time, so the characters and events lose most of the impact they could have had. The result has all the emotional heft of a good-looking music video. It's watchable enough but not really going places.

"Monster" has somewhat unusual approach which may work for its favor; animated sequences are cool, too. But in the end it's not more memorable than any other effects-laden family-oriented adventure.… Expand

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

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TyranianApr 12, 2019

Has some great visuals and an interesting premise but the story is very unsatisfying.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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amheretojudgeAug 25, 2019

Not only all the stories are messy and dark but they are awfully clean as well, this will tuck you right into sleep.

A Monster Calls Bayona is so focused, so invested in his characters that he might not even consider where they reside in.Not only all the stories are messy and dark but they are awfully clean as well, this will tuck you right into sleep.

A Monster Calls

Bayona is so focused, so invested in his characters that he might not even consider where they reside in. And frankly, he shouldn't, definitely not if this self-centered vision of his pitches a good assumption land for us to flex our muscles. The writer and director J.A. Bayona is famous for creating his views on the horror genre. Yet, I never felt him scare me. Yes, he does keep the camera up close to the events occuring, no matter how cringe worthy. And on that note what I think he does best is blend the practicality of a situation along with his fictional innuendos, that then pushes to a train of scary thoughts.

For neither in this film, nor in Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, could he water me down with his brilliant camera work. But in Lo Imposible, his silent pitches on the screen are impeccable. Hence, all the cliched emotional impact that we are spinning in, actually works more than the monstrous therapy sessions; which by the way is more engaging and fun to go through. And this is where you know Bayona's tricks are working. Just watch Sigourey Weaver take in all the damage done by Lewis MacDougall.

Your heart starts skipping as you are unaware of where all this has been or is leading towards. And after that act, the film grows clear. Similar to all the tales narrated and all different tracks going parallel-y this one remains the crux of the theme, and whispers everything in that bubble. More to it, the close up shot works also on amplifying the performance and their ticks to get us completely immersed in this fantasy world. A Monster Calls and you have to answer, that part has always been the subtextual gist of all the horrors, in here it is a loud- like in bold and in capitals- metaphor.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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