THE LAST MIMZY-BEAUTIFUL MOVIE WITH A MESSAGE
Written: Mar 18 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Acting, direction, special effects
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: This is an excellent family film with an important message.
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| mike.holmes's Full Review: The Last Mimzy |
I just watched a "Sneak Preview" of "The Last Mimzy" on a rare Sunday afternoon "sneak". I had seen trailers for the film but really didn't know much about it. While it may or may not be "this generations' 'E.T.'", it certainly is an excellent film from beginning to end.
The story is relatively simplistic, yet extremely important in these days of environmental problems facing future generations.
THE PLOT
This is the type of film that I don't like to tell too much about as each event in the movie is filled with surprises. There is an important "introduction" to the film that represents people from the future. Then, we meet the main characters of the film, 6 or 7 year old Emma Wilder (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn-"Hulk") and her brother, 11 or 12 year old Noah (Chris O'Neil in his first movie). Emma is a bright, young student but Noah not only does not like school but has a very low opinion of himself.
The kids and their parents, David and Jo Wilder (Timothy Hutton-"Ordinary People", "Taps" and Joely Richardson), take a trip to their beach home on the Washington coast. Noah discovers an object in the water, and he and Emma gradually find out that the object gives them some amazing powers which they want to keep to themselves.
However, Noah begins to show an amazing ability in his science fair and both children begin to get involved in some "extraterrestrial" activity that, among other things, brings the "Homeland Security" folks to their house.
Among the objects that come from the item found on the beach is a stuffed rabbit by the name of "Mimzy" who immediately starts communicating with Emma. No one else can understand Mimzy but Emma learns about a very important problem that Mimzy is trying to correct.
I'm being rather vague here on purpose as I don't want to spoil the story. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of action in the film, some humor, and an excellent science fiction tale.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE FILM
The acting in the film is excellent starting with the two children. Both kids were naturals for their roles and they were completely likable. It was also good to see Timothy Hutton who has remained active but usually in fairly minor roles. Joely Rickardson is a fine actress from England but totally hides her accent. Rainn Wilson from "The Office" and "Six Feet Under" does an excellent job as an idealistic junior high science teacher.
The local "Homeland Security" boss is played by Michael Clarke Duncan and his powerful voice is as imposing as his physique. The only other character of note is "Naomi Schwartz" who plays the wife of the science teacher. She's big into meditation and palm reading but plays an important part in the action.
Director Robert Shaye is really more famous as the producer of the "Lord of the Ring" films but he does an excellent job here along with the quartet of screenwriters for the film. The writers are Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost"), Toby Emmerich ("Frequency"), James Hart ("Contact") and Carol Skilken. The music is the film is perfect and is provided by Howard Shore who composed the music for the "Lord of the Rings" movies as well as "Se7en" and "Silence of the Lambs".
Cinematographer J. Michael Muro also was superb as he was in "Crash" and "X2". And, although I frequently criticize special effects, Alex Burdett and his crew created some truly amazing effects which added to the story but were not overwhelming.
The primary reason I liked the film is its strong emphasis on the environment and the inclusion of some very interesting science. The story makes me hopeful that our world can be saved if we take steps now.
While it's advertised as a "children's film", I don't think small kids would really understand the film. However, children over 8 should enjoy it.
FIVE STARS
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Feel-good Movie
Viewing Method: Sneak Preview at My Local Theater
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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Epinions.com ID:
mike.holmes
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 in Music, Movies, Books |
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Member: Mike Holmes
Location: Odessa, Texas
Reviews written: 1241
Trusted by: 359 members
About Me:
TO HONOR TED KENNEDY, CONGRESS SHOULD PASS A MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE BILL
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