I must be getting old. "Rogue One" didn't have a good enough story or script for me so all I was left with were the action scenes where, quite frankly, I had seen them all before. On the other hand, the production design was awesome and the visuals were top drawer. But even the usually reliable Felicity Jones couldn't save the screenplay. If I hear "feel the force" one more time .........
Although undeniably a great looking movie, "Silence" for me it was frequently boring, woefully unengaging,surprisingly repetitive and punishingly long. Can I add ponderous and shocking. It was as if Martin Scorsese wanted us to endure the same persecution and torture that 17th Century Japanese Christians and their foreign Jesuit priests experienced. Or as close as he could get to it on the big screen. But all the way through I couldn't help thinking about the similarly brutal cruelty in WW2 and that handed out by the Jesuits in earlier times. I found the acting of lead Andrew Garfield and the awfully accented Liam Neeson tiresome. The only one to come out with credit was Adam Driver, and strangely, the whole Japanese cast.
"A Monster Calls" is a superb movie. I was almost put off by the prospect of the fantasy and three animated stories, but in the end they were beautifully filmed and ultimately made perfect sense. In fact, there were times when scenes became close to real art. The opening credits are wonderful and over far too soon. Some of the watercolours are to die for. Lewis MacDougall as the troubled boy is outstanding and Sigourney Weaver is terrific in support despite not always catching the English accent. But it is J A Bayona, who directs with intelligence and sensitivity, that should attract all the plaudits for this remarkable piece of film making.
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