Inclubabu Plot so thin, it es unnoticed.
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.
bazookamouth-221-898097 Other than a particulary creepy turn by Timothy Spall and a decent lead from Erana James this really is very average. First half of the movie is encouraging when Spall (who is has some sort of mortality to maintain and possesses children to continue this) has the upper hand over Erana and the little boy but tails off badly from around the time Erana James starts the process to become a witch via a secret coven of her boyfriends family. The boyfriend is a witch apparantely? I didnt know guys could be witches Latter stages of the movie it gets batshit crazy. Spall gets dissolved with Erana using some witch trick. Anyone watching for Melanie Lynskey beware, she has limited screentime (15 mins). Lucy Lawless was in the movie, I barely recognised her. She played one of the witches.
deelyjj I always love to watch tightly directed, well-acted, thought-provoking movies that transport me away from my normal life. I go to the movies to be challenged, make connections with characters and, most of all, become emotionally involved. Given these prerequisites, I often leave the movie theater dissatisfied with one element or another. Not so with The Changeover. Erana James and Timothy Spall (and the entire cast actually) engaged my attention to such a degree I almost forgot I was watching a movie. Broken-vein close-ups of Carmody (Timothy Spall) while professing his dastardly innocence gave me the creeps - wonderful thrilling creeps, but at the same time I sort of almost believed he was the simple, harmless good guy he feigned. (I like it when movies play with your mind.) Furthermore, I was so absorbed in the love Laura (Erana James) had for her brother that I found the extreme measures she went to in order to save him completely normal.I also liked the way the cheerless post-earthquake setting juxtaposed with the beauty of things like the huge moons and water scenery. There were many other special touches including art and imagery. Yes, unbelievably for me, this is a rave.
philgrieve Mum and I a bit jolted by The Changeover - this was a pretty classy film I thought. Especially loved the soundtrack but the performances crackled too, along with some fantastic imaging. It made for a compelling viewing experience. Erana James is staunch as, playing Laura (def one to watch for in the future as is The Inland Road's Gloria Popata) and a nice contemporary touch with the setting and the scripting too.Masterful storytelling by award-winning young peoples author Margaret Mahy (Carnegie Medal winner and Hans Christian Anderson Award fellow) has been adapted and contemporised and shot against the backdrop of a post-earthquake Christchurch which suits perfectly with the upheaval in the story. All navigated with seeming ease by the film's young heroine. Take a dive into a slightly different world view...
anniwatkins If I had to pick one, and only one thing about the movie, it would have to be cinematography. That movie was carried, emotionally, by stunningly skillful cinematography. The interaction between narrative and camera work was very close and very clever. It is worth seeing for the cinematography alone, but cinematography is not alone in making it worth seeing. It is magical. Magical realism. Totally believable, sensitively portraying the craft, but above all, simply, magical.Acting: You will love newcomer Erana James, and the chemistry between her and Nick Galitzine. But here I just want to pick out Timothy Spall for the fact that he can make you think, 'oh, come on, Carmody Braque's not so bad...' when you know full well that he is, he is that bad. Oh, and Lucy Lawless for command of silence. A big one, of course, for lovers of the book, is the screenplay. Yes, yes, yes, it absolutely had to be updated. It is a story about the craft in the now, so now it must be. This, I think, drove a lot of the decision making for the movie...? Of course it had to be Christchurch, the city is a character in the story. No, it is not 'the book' and I never expected it to be, nor should it be. It was tight, focused and tells the right story in the right way. What you experience is the emotional journey - a female story - told in emotional understanding and powerful imagery. OK, I am not a director and I don't know how to be one, but, like books and editors, I know when there has been one (or more)! The performances from the younger actors were surely created by the direction at least as much as by those actors themselves. That much is plain to see. What other magic was worked, I do not know, but I do know it was there from the result. And afterwards? What happened? I re-entered the world in a daze of sensitivity. Everything was hyper-real, every sound, every light ray, every colour, every sensation. I was.. in touch. Of course, it gradually faded, but I have not felt that alive in quite a while. Thank you.
