ParaNorman

[Beate]

The answer was no btw, not even in the haunted house he spent a night in.

[Celini]

Thanks to jeancomp for taking me along to a ParaNorman screening tonight which she won tickets to. Shame that the cinema wasn't overly full. I always thought the BFI Southbank is a classy cinema where the audience actually behave for once. Oh well. We had a family behind us where Dad constantly talked to son and a couple of mobile users dotted around but I guess you can't have it all. And there were loads of people leaving during the Q&A. You knew it came with a Q&A - you b*ght tickets for the event - why leave? I have done it myself before but usually only if I hated the film and I did it quickly at the first opportunity when the credits rolled - not halfway through usually, unless it's really really boring. I thought it was quite interesting, though there was too much nerdy talk about stop-motion, but I liked the question of the little (well-behaved) boy directly in front of me who asked whether the director had ever seen a ghost himself.

I was also very disappointed that NFT1 was only half full, especially when you see the very long guestlist for tonight ( a good 35-40 names!). So I'd assume most people did not actually p*y yesterday evening. My +1 was among those who left after the credits as he had some other plans right after the movie; I don't blame him and would not blame anybody sneaking out between credits and start of the Q&A.

[jeanelle]

Thanks to Beate for her company at ParaNorman at the BFI which I saw and enjoyed for the second time. As we were staying for the Q&A we sat through the interminable credits (there were even credits for the people who produced the credits!) but were rewarded at the end with an extremely brief but amazing piece showing the construction of Norman, ending with him standing up and walking away. I still find it difficult to believe that the majority of the film is stop-motion and to imagine the amount of effort this entailed.

[alythonian]

Saw this tonight in stormy wet Edinburgh - very atmospheric. Really enjoyed it. Not sure how many kids would have got 1/2 of it though!

Entertaining in a good way.

[Yinster]

Saw this in Glasgow Cineworld instead of Liberal Arts.

Wasn't sure what this film was about and OH knew even less. But we liked it and what a different preview customers are to normal customers. 6/10

[McG]

what a different preview customers are to normal customers. 6/10

In what way????
The biggest thing about ordinary screenings is the amount of time for adverts, not forthcoming films, but Pepsi, tickets.com, etc.
Last "normal" film had almost 25 minute delay due to adverts and previews. I couldn't be bothered with that every time I went to the cinema.

ps Are you saying that Fmukers are not normal???

[badcoverversion]

I loved Coraline so I have high hopes for this.
I think an Orange Wednesday outing is on the cards.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

I caught this film in its last rounds at the cinemas, on Thursday. I had high hopes for this film as the trailer promised a nice pastiche to 80s horror and you guys overall seemed to really enjoy it too. I didnt however b*y into the billed "from the makers of Coraline" because I dont see Henry Selick's name attached. If I did, I would have been watching this much earlier on its release or kidnap one of you fmuker's to bring me along on your +1

The first half of the film was an absolute joy, it had the feel of the 80s suburban horror films, the sort you would expect from say Joe Dante. The exposition and introduction of all the characters were very charming and funny including an exquisite scene of Norman walking down a street utilising camera rotation, swelling music and a glorious reveal (by far my favourite scene). The soundtrack by Jon Brion is terrific. However, this exposition reminded me a great deal of Monster House, another superb animated horror treat. In fact it pretty much steals a lot of its formula, right down to the fat kid sidekick, the gifted but bullied protagonist, the reluctant big sister looking for a boyfriend etc but I suppose that is the film's point. I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed the obvious nods to classic horror movies, mostly referring to zombie films and Halloween (very deliberate nods for that film in particular). There was quite a lot of adult innuendos too. Kids are smart these days, they'll catch on to those innuendos and giggle like hell, I'm pretty sure. All this talk about it going over their head...naa. The film makers know it too, in fact they blatantly have the child protagonist admitting flippantly he is watching sex and violence on tv to his parents.

But then somewhere past the half way point, the film loses the magic and ambience and transforms itself into a goofy, over zany, almost idiotic mess at a Loony Tunes level, akin to a typical hyperactive Simpsons episode where Springfield community runs riot. There is plenty of sight gags and comedy but it was all a bit forced and way too relentless for my liking (probably getting old for that sort of zaniness, as I had the same problem with this year Pirates). But this really killed the joy out of the film for me and it went on for far too long. However, it regained its ground towards the end which although predictable managed to pull me back in with a an emotionally ridden conclusion.

This falls short of being great due to the collapse of finesse in the third act, (reminds me of Joe Dante's Explorers, beautiful first half, mad silly second half) so doesnt compare to Coraline as a dark childrens fable nor Monster House. Children with a taste for horror and comedy will definitely love it, though.

7.5/10

[Rainey]

ParaNorman is the Vue Kids Am film this weekend but unfortunately only in Sheffield it seems everywhere seems to be The Lorax, which we've already seen twice.

[martadelas]

Watched it last night and thought it was adorable. I love how animated films tackle serious issues in accessible ways. This movie did it without being too preaching, so it gets two thumbs up from me.

8/10