A Monster Calls Review

Getting 2017 off to a great start, here is my review of A Monster Calls, a film that I was lucky enough to see at the London Film Festival last year. Bring tissues.

Connor is an artistic young boy struggling to come to terms with the terminal illness of his young mother (Felicity Jones). Bullied at school, left to run the home, and plagued by a recurring nightmare, he is soon visited in his dreams by the hulking great cross between a Transformer and an Ent. This ‘monster’ forces Connor to listen to three tales about kings, queens, pastors, and an invisible man. As Connor’s Mum’s illness worsens, Connor’s behaviour becomes more destructive, especially when his estranged father (Toby Kebbell) arrives from L.A. and Connor is forced to live with his uptight grandmother (Sigourney Weaver).

With a script by Patrick Ness, based on his own Y.A. book, A Monster Calls is a very mature affair. It’s dealing with death, fractured families and honest feelings of hopelessness, despair and worse make it refreshing even as it slides into melodrama. The characters around young Connor are not perfect, and though some are two-dimensional, it doesn’t detract from the emotionally-charged exchanges between Connor and his bullies, parents and grandmother...

If this sounds like something that might sway your branches, then head on over to Starburst Magazine to read the rest of my A Monster Calls review. 

Here's the trailer:


 
More from LFF2016:

Trespass Against Us [London Film Festival 2016]

It's Only the End of the World [London Film Festival 2016]

American Honey [London Film Festival 2016]

Trolls [London Film Festival 2016]

Down Under Review [London Film Festival 2016]

The Theory of Everything Review

After meeting the love of his life, young and brilliant Cambridge PhD student and physicist Stephen Hawking is diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Given two years to live but exceeding all expectations, Hawking goes on to develop new theories of space and time that will make him famous around the globe. His wife Jane meanwhile attempts to take the strain of attending to Hawking as they both learn to cope with his debilitating disease, while also bringing up their three children and putting her own studies on hold.

The Theory of Everything is based on Jane Hawking's own memoir which apparently was first published as a fairly angry expose of her difficult time with the genius behind the crippling illness. It was first written after they divorced (as depicted in the film) but then heavily revised after Stephen divorced his second wife and the pair have become very close again. On the one hand, that means we are getting a heavily sanitised view of Stephen Hawking, a rewritten version of events from a woman who has clearly mellowed with age. On the other hand, it also means that The Theory of Everything isn't a film driven by anger or the desire to destroy the reputation of a incredibly inspiring man, amd is all the better for it.

Yes Hawking has his faults (don't we all?) but this film isn't so much about trawling through his dirty laundry as it is a celebration of the love and the understanding that Jane brought to what must have been a difficult relationship. It is also not a relentlessly grim sob-fest that dwells continuously on the tragedy of Stephen's situation, inviting us to feel nothing but sympathy for him. It does have its moments of heartbreaking tragedy (the croquet game is sure to have audiences choking on their sobs) but more than anything, The Theory of Everything is an inspiring tale of a great mind, perfectly rendered by a powerful and mesmerising performance from Eddie Redmayne.

Watch the trailer:

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London Film Festival 2014

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The Invisible Woman Premiere with Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones

I got to interview Felicity Jones and Ralph Fiennes on the red carpet for Fiennes' new film The Invisible Woman on Monday night. The premiere was in London and I was there for Tastic Film in the freezing cold waiting for the stars to come out! I also got to interview composer Ilan Eshkeri who also worked on Fiennes' directorial debut Coriolanus and spoke briefly to producer Gaby Tana and the author of the book the film is based on Claire Tomalin. Kristin Scott Thomas was also present but I didn't get a chance to chat with her unfortunately. Below is the video of my short interviews with Felicity Jones and Ralph Fiennes:



I also wrote a quick article for Yahoo about getting to attend a red carpet event and meet the stars. Here is the link:

The Invisible Woman: Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones on the red carpet

Here are my pictures taken on my phone from the event:

Composer Ilan Eshkeri

Producer Gaby Tana

Author Claire Tomalin

Felicity Jones

Ralph Fiennes