TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Savannah Clairmont I saw this movie last night, and it was excellent. Young Elle Fanning is gorgeous, and her acting is so good it's unfair. Patricia Clarkson plays the theatre teacher who is seemingly detached from reality, and plays it well. Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman both did well, but Pullman's role was, I felt, too small. Campbell Scott was both hilariously inept and depressingly realistic as a (presumably) elementary school principal unwilling or unable to see the beauty and talent in each of his charges. However, where this movie falls apart is the ending. Yes, it was cute and sweet, disgustingly so, but I had two problems with it. My first problem is that there's no way in hell that what Phoebe had was a simple case of Tourette's Syndrome. I saw another review saying that she showed symptoms of OCD, depression, and schizophrenia. I agree with this, and I have to ask what the writers were thinking when they decided that TS was an appropriate explanation for what was clearly so much more. My other problem is the way they ended the film. Yes, it's sweet, and cute, and it makes me want to puke, but it's not how a lot of these stories end. Lots of these types of stories end with the child killing or severely injuring themselves. This was also the direction I thought the movie was going to go, what with Mrs. Dodger constantly telling her students to "jump", and then Phoebe's comparison to jumping off a roof. While I don't think suicide or severe injury is a good thing, I feel that a more powerful message may have been conveyed had Phoebe died or been irreparably injured, and had the students, parents, and school faculty been forced to face and deal with the tragedy. I love this movie. Elle Fanning is an amazing actress, and unfairly gorgeous even at a young age, but I hate the ending, and it makes me sad to think that if this movie had been done today, and by a more talented writer, director, etc., it could have been perfect.

Kirpianuscus a charming puzzle. high performances. and admirable work of Elle Fanning. a film who remands the colors of childhood and, in same measure, the status of contemporary family. a film about refuges and the need of the other. fresh, amusing, melancholic, honest. about a girl and her strange world. about a teacher who gives more than inspiration. about a mother looking her role in her life. profound pledge for old fashion values, it is an open window to a magnificent definition of small things. and that fact does it special. because it is a trip in the heart of things with profound delicacy. a film about the sense of things. as child. as adult. as part of the others existence.

WakenPayne Independent film, they have been most known to be releasing things that are considered to be crap. However I am a huge supporter of indie film because there can be some great gems in the mix. This is one of them.The plot of this movie is that a 9 year old girl named Phoebe is something of a child prodigy. However lately she has been acting strangely and has behavioral issues at school of which she seems to have little restraint (despite her wanting to). She signs up for a school play adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. The rather odd drama teacher casts her for the leading role. She befriends a boy named Jamie who plays The Queen Of Hearts. As time goes on she becomes more attached to Wonderland, blurs the lines of fantasy and reality as well as dealing with a mental illness.The acting is phenomenal from everybody. I never knew Elle Fanning could act let alone act this well. She acted and felt like an outcast child with mental problems. Everybody else does a good job as well but at the end of the day it is Fanning's show and she carries the movie well.So to keep this review short, if you like the sort of drama film that involves anything about what I said above, then I think you should go see it. Previous reviews have said that the mental illness explanation wasn't very well done and reading about Tourette syndrome right now, it is. However if you can look past that for the final 5 minutes of the film (when they gave the mental illness a name) then this is definitely worth a look.

aimless-46 Back in 1998, Kate Beckinsale played the title character in a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The adult Beckinsale went into the reverse world behind the looking glass in a confusingly marketed children's film that many potential viewers believed was for mature audiences.Ten years later "Phoebe In Wonderland" provides another visit to the looking glass world. The title character is played by a child (Elle Fanning) and thanks to more confusing marketing, this time potential viewers think that it is a children's movie. I've even seen the DVD of this PG-13 film proudly on display in the children's sections of video rental stores.It's not a children's film although there are sequences in the film that would appeal to many children. It is a strange blend of "Girl, Interrupted" and Jena Malone's 1997 film "Hope"; with the same thematic structure as "The Dust Factory". Writer/Director Daniel Barnz has crafted a puzzling little film that seems to have a lot to say but doesn't do a very clear job of saying it. I suspect that much of the story is autobiographical. The story is told from the point of view of the title character and Barnz does an excellent job of acting for the camera direction with all members of his film's strong cast. Which means that the confusion seems to lie not in the execution but in the construction. Branz apparently intends the story to be more allegorical than real; with general themes about freedom, individualism, conformity, and expectations. The only clear message is the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest, to not let fear or the need for acceptance keep you from letting go of security and "jumping" (like Alice jumping down the rabbit hole although technically that is a different story).The Tourett's Syndrome stuff is inserted as a literary device. Everyone spends much of their interaction time suppressing the impulse to "spit" out a few assorted truths and unkind comments. These things are better left unsaid and the task of leaving them unsaid is more difficult for those who tend to resist conformity and have the least need for the approval of others.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.