ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
SnoopyStyle 10 year old T.S. Spivet lives on a remote Montana ranch. His father (Callum Keith Rennie) is an old fashion cowboy. His mother Dr. Clair (Helena Bonham Carter) has a rambling set of interests. His sister Gracie is eager to leave home where the only traffic comes from the ing trains. Ms. Jibsen (Judy Davis) from the Smithsonian calls to tell him that he won the prestigious Baird prize for a perpetual motion machine expecting an older scientist. He pretends to be speaking for his father and runs away to Washington D.C. riding the rails.Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed one of my favorite movies, Amélie. In that movie, he is able to use Paris' romanticism for his surreal touches. In this movie, he's a bit lost. He's out of his elements. The kid is fine but nothing more. The surreal touches remain. Sometimes it's fun like the fake RV family. Other times, it's out of place and really out of time. That ranch exists only in old movies. The brother is another issue that needs clarity earlier. It's not a thing to have a revelation. Jeunet's style of movie making needs a level of unreality which clashes with this story. At times, it makes this movie look cheap. I had higher hopes.
Marc Israel A chameleon of a film that borrows from Director Jean-Pierre Jeunets's adored filming bag of tricks but brings little fortitude by the films' conclusion. I am a huge fan of this director due to Amelie and A Very Long Engagement. Some of his other films, City Of Lost Children and the dark comedy Delicatessen, have left less of an indelible mark, but stayed inside their domain of post apocalyptic times. I bring these up as his last two, Micmacs, and The Young and Prestigious T.S. Spivet, certainly are related in their and-weapon statements but those messages are blooming in a comedic setting. Micmacs was irony that worked, but Spivet lost it's edge along the way. The former driven as "righting a wrong" and in Spivet, by finally talking about gun violence, even accidental, needed a reaction to T.S's story other than silly betrayal on live TV. As much as I want to love these movies, I am left unable to blend the message in the context of comedy. For me it was a futile attempt to mix oil and water. Both movies' messages get out through ironic media twists (humor) but the T.S. story feels too sad to leave up to a comedic actress playing a self important museum director. We wanted to care about T. S. but he's a rather stiff character and the young actor did not glow. The movie feels like it's going in a straight direction, like on his map of the United Staes. Once in Washington, the movies' strength, what's going on in T.S's mind, becomes something else. You can never allow for one actor or character to ruin your cin-experience, you can't ignore the sore thumb.
diggus doggus Let me make it clear, The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet is not a revolutionary film. It's still great and you should watch it.10-year old Tecumseh Sparrov Spivet is a young genius living on a ranch in Montana. His parents, entomologist (insect researcher) mother and rancher father don't think much of him, preferring his less smart but more cowboying-prone brother and his angsty teen sister.One day, TS sends to the Smithsonian Institute his schematic for a Perpetual Motion Engine, thus winning the Baird Prize. Now TS has to set off all on his own, to journey to Washington, of D.C., to receive his prize.Very easy script, everything else in this film is a joy to behold. The acting is very natural, the dialogue is excellent, the photography is stellar, direction is on point, the pacing is perfect, the characters are interesting, and while the script might be nothing revolutionary, everything is done so absolutely faultlessly, that you cannot fail to love this film.The film has moments of surrealism, but nothing stranger than the typical daydreamings we've all had when we were 10 years old. The story itself stay on track for the whole film, with the aforementioned perfect pacing. There are .. "emotional" moments, but nothing soppy or that drags on. This is very much a film about human existence, and yet it is successful in masquerading as the heroic adventures of a 10- year old kid.I recommend The Prodigious TS Spivet to everyone; aside from the top-notch cinematography, it has something for everyone, from the old to the very young.My vote: 8/10 - excellent film, superbly made.
siderite The film is about a young kid who loses his brother to a gun accident and how that pain and guilt affects him. However, the story is fun, original and happy. We go on a journey with a 10 year old that is obsessed with science, a kid who wants to get to the Smithsonian to get a science award everybody believes an adult will receive, but in the end we understand what he feels deep inside, beneath all the abstract thinking of a science geek.In some ways, the movie is charming and interesting to watch, in others it's a bit slow in that way movies are made about crazy people because when they do what is normal to them, to the viewer is new and exotic. It is clearly a good film, one that deserves a watch, however it sort of felt like the bastard child of Amelie and Budapest Hotel.
