It's definitely worth a shot.
Francis Lawrence is one of my favorite directors. I feel like he has an eye like no other. From I Am Legend to the Hunger Games Movies, he knows how to capture scenes that have beauty and subtle pain behind them.
Slumberland follows suit. It's good at showing the fairytail-like quality of the "waking world" despite it being...well... the waking world. And where the movie really shines is in its performances. Marlow Barkley is really fantastic. She shows a shocking amount of maturity for her age and in the role she's playing.
The rest of the supporting cast does extremely well too. Pretty top notch for an outing like this.
I think my biggest disappointment in the film is when we're in the dream world. No matter how great your director or crew is, nothing comes across quite as well in front of a gigantic green screen (of which most of the runtime plays out).
I know where all supposed to be "in a dream" but I feel practical sets and CGI used sparingly would have been the better way to go here.
Just like Star Wars I, II, & III, and Oz the Great and Powerful... a huge computer generated world without sets is really off putting and takes me out of the story.
Overall it's good wholesome family film with some genuine heart. I think it just could have been a little bit better.
Francis Lawrence is one of my favorite directors. I feel like he has an eye like no other. From I Am Legend to the Hunger Games Movies, he knows how to capture scenes that have beauty and subtle pain behind them.
Slumberland follows suit. It's good at showing the fairytail-like quality of the "waking world" despite it being...well... the waking world. And where the movie really shines is in its performances. Marlow Barkley is really fantastic. She shows a shocking amount of maturity for her age and in the role she's playing.
The rest of the supporting cast does extremely well too. Pretty top notch for an outing like this.
I think my biggest disappointment in the film is when we're in the dream world. No matter how great your director or crew is, nothing comes across quite as well in front of a gigantic green screen (of which most of the runtime plays out).
I know where all supposed to be "in a dream" but I feel practical sets and CGI used sparingly would have been the better way to go here.
Just like Star Wars I, II, & III, and Oz the Great and Powerful... a huge computer generated world without sets is really off putting and takes me out of the story.
Overall it's good wholesome family film with some genuine heart. I think it just could have been a little bit better.