Just perfect...

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Based on a novel of the same name A MONSTER CALLS was criminally under viewed in cinemas, bringing in less than 4 million dollars domestically at the box office - which might be why you haven't heard of it, because it certainly isn't down to its quality. The movie stars Liam Neeson voicing the monster, Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Sigourney Weaver (Aliens), and breakout star Lewis MacDougall. Conor is struggling at home while looking after his mother, struggling at school with bullies, and feeling trapped in his own head - the burdens of his life weighing him down. Until the monster calls. It is important to understand that this isn't a kid's film (I'd suggest ages 11+). The film explores grief and pain through the lens of a child. That child, Conor, whose mother is suffering from a serious illness which is apparent from the very beginning, is played brilliantly by Lewis MacDougall. For people who have dealt with family members with severe illness in the house, this film will be a very tough watch, but beautiful all the same.I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did. While some may consider it to be overly sentimental, I believe it is deeply meaningful and imaginative, with a poignant end.

A young boy is having visions of a tree like monster that visits him at night. The visitations coincide with him being bullied at school and his strained relationship with his mother and grandmother.The characters, effects, production and story are all great! You really get sucked into the life of the main character and there are quite a few anxious scenes where he is trying to come to terms his life.The monster dispenses some short stories in cartoon format which helps break up the relatively bleak and slow real action.I didn't find there to be many surprises but although I could see what was coming up ahead when the movie got there I was still gripped.This is an excellent movie, however, I don't think it is a spoiler to say that this film is not a barrel of laughs and it is quite slow.Watch this on a big TV with the sound turned up to get the most of the monster scenes.

In fact both the title and the poster of this film are quite misleading. At first I thought it's just another fairy-tale-like story about a boy and a monster. Than I decided it's something more like mild horror story. However this picture is neither.What you'll see on your screens - is a beautiful and sad story about a kid trying to put up with inevitable. The kid with teared apart heart. The kid fighting and reconciling with his inner monster. The way the story line is presented appealed to me a lot. Half-fairy, half-real world shows us the world and situation through the boy's eyes. And no matter how gloomy, dark or sorrowful the atmosphere and plot could seem the end of the film is happy - the boy managed to accept the loss of his mother and to let her go... which was exactly the thing he tried to do all the film.

The classic mistake of parents who simply never learn to communicate. Particularly in preparing a child for death.I am sure that the book must be amazing. I am sure that the author poured himself into this story. But this movie is just woeful. Yes, the tree is sensational, the special effects and particularly the fables and the animation utterly fascinating and wonderful.But the actors are WOODEN... unbelievably so... so much that I couldn't care less who lived, who died, who did what... Not only did the boy want it to be over but I couldn't WAIT FOR THIS BORING MOVIE TO BE OVER.Again, I'm sure the book is good but this isn't. 3 stars for the terrific stuff that had no real people in it.