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Film reviews

The Sheep Detectives Review

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With flocks of sheep and a mystery surrounding, this is one that is family-friendly with many moments of joyfulness. There are also spy flick elements that continuously float in a humorous matter. The Sheep Detectives, directed by Kyle Balda, is quite stellar and I found myself intrigued. The involvement of talking animals and trying to solve a mystery lent an enthusiastic vibe tocreate a film that can only be described as a ride of joy. 

 

The man in charge of the sheep is George Hardy, played by Hugh Jackman. The sheep are Cloud (voiced by Regina Hall), Sir Ritchfield (voiced by Patrick Stewart), Zora (voiced by Bella Ramsey), Sebastian (voiced by Bryan Cranston), and Lily (voiced by Julia Dreyfus). There are more sheep, but these are the main ones that grasped my attention the most. George reads novels to his sheep every night until there comes a day when he goes missing. The sheep put on their police hats and go into search party mode. There is also an actual officer handling the case–Officer Tim Derry, played by Nicholas Braun. With George gone there is an amount of suspicion. The sheep do anything in their power to find him and the clues.

 

The ability of this film to encompass family values is extraordinary. It knows how to be in tune with what is going on and the type of audience to whom it is it is speaking. There are moments of confusion—primarily with the missing owner. Overall, though, there are wits and tricks from the sheep and the humans. There are also powers of authority to mix things up, including a greedy journalist named Elliot Matthews, played by Nicholas Galitzine. There is also a woman  named Lydia Harbottle, played by Emma Thompson. These two may havesomething to do with the vanishing of George. The sheep and Officer Tim feel they have mischievous aspects to the case as well. The writing lays out the storyline, but the sheep cross thatline to makes it enticing and highly entertaining.

 

The vastness of value is where The Sheep Detectives feels surreal. It is a film that creates a new era of talking animals in films. It incorporates the buddy side with lots of horn banging to go along with it. An authentic new direction from the mind ofBalda, as he delivers to his audience these sheep going into Sherlock Holmes territory. They do the best they can to play the detectives with some being ridiculous and others being smarter than their peers. Regardless, their actions get a response. Jackman is not in the film much, but his presence is of importance and matters to the story. Deep down, the talking sheep and Braun are the ones who are wonderful. They steal this film.

 

Joyful and remarkable, this is a movie not just for families. There are bits of mature humor, but overall it is a fun and unforgettable watch. The mystery of a disappearance brings more clarity and interactive feels with talking sheep. I admire The Sheep Detectives. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

 

Film reviews

The Son Review

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Depression is a normal human emotion. Some people struggle with depression and others are better able to handle it. Director Florian Zeller puts us in a world of depression in The Son which is an honest and faithful film that is about a teenage boy’s emotional distress. The filmis realistic in its portrayal of life as it authentically illustrates how feeling down can be a challenge to accept. The melancholy is highly saturated throughout the story.

I had difficulty with The Son at various times. The concepts of sadness and anxiety were the two factors that made me feel especially emotional. The Son reminded me of what it can feel like to be down about aspects of life. Given all the downer moments in the film, I wasalso reminded of how important getting help is.  It is clear, however, that the ones we love most may have to make tough decisions sometimes and those who are suffering may take offense to those decisions. By making these difficult decisions, the hope is to help the people we love ultimately live a better life.

In The Son, audiences are introduced to Nicholas (played by Zen McGrath). He is a teenage boy with divorced parents in New York City. He ditches school and begins to show signs that concern his mother Kate (played by Laura Dern). Nicholas then begs to stay with his father Peter (played by Hugh Jackman). Peter is remarried, and his new wife is Beth (played by Vanessa Kirby). Nicholas changes schools, and his dad tries to help him out. Nicholas acts like he is improving, but he is not well and hides his emotions. Peter and Kate do not know how to help their son. Even Peter’s father (played by Anthony Hopkins) does not know how to give Peter advice. Unfortunately, Peter’s father is self-absorbed and fails to admit to his own mistakes during Peter’s childhood. With all the tensions, frustrations, and worrisome factors, The Son is psychologically disturbing. The level of Nicholas’ sadness causes confusion and many questions for Kate, Peter, and Beth.

The Son paints a vivid portrait of mental health challenges and displays Zeller’s vision of realism as a director. Zeller knows how to grease the wheel of stress and apprehension in The Son. In a few fragments, Nicholas is shown in an average mood. There are moments where it seems he has more confidence in himself, and his father becomes immediately impressed. The essential ingredients to Nicholas’ mental health tend to come to a halt due to shocking discoveries by his parents. These scenes are portrayed with honesty and are familiar to those familiar with depression.  People who fight depression tend to keep covering their tracks and hiding their real problems. Can Nicholas stop lying to himself?

The Son left me with mixed emotions. I liked it for its realism, but its focus on mental health was hard for me to handle. Nicholas’ parents simply want their son to be happy. Despite how concerning Nicholas’s feelings may appear, tough love may have to come into play to help him recover.

The film left me quite down, but it reinforced the importance of my life. It reminded me of who has helped me to get my life back on track when I’ve faced troubles.  It also reminded me of the fundamentals of family. In the end, it is all about what people can do to help those they care about pick themselves up. Three stars for The Son.