Movie Club Season 2 Watch and Review movie !

[pcmaster]

So as some suggested I picked a movie. 3 movies won and since winner have to take care of Movie club Season 3 I chosed Jesters movie since hes the moest active and besides I already took care of Season 2 movie club.

So Movie to Watch and Review is a Martian Child (2007) Comedy, Drama, Family. From now on Timer have been started. Time to watch and review movie is 2 weeks. Since month is too much for this forum as it proved with voting already. Also From now one TheEvilJester is the boss. He can start a new poll or really do whatever he likes. Movie Club Season 3 is on his shoulders.

[MENTION=78034]breathe123[/MENTION]
[MENTION=71386]TheEvilJester[/MENTION]
[MENTION=68329]ParadiseLost[/MENTION]
[MENTION=79987]megvoh[/MENTION]
[MENTION=82185]PrincessKiara[/MENTION]
[MENTION=81349]topazlight[/MENTION]
[MENTION=70280]Jffs24[/MENTION]

Go guys !


2 weeks. You can still watch and review movie after 2 weeks period but at that time Movie Club Season 3 might start and you know eventually topics get locked if no one posts in them.

Note: Also together with review you can tell others how you watched the movie - Downloaded it for free or watched on netfix. Maybe some free movie site or just found it on youtube. That could help others to watch it.

[TheEvilJester]

As the movie was my suggestion, I actually already own it. So, watching it again will not be a problem for me. This movie first came out back when I was still with the ex. In addition to owning the movie, I also saw it in theaters. The ex had been given a pair of free tickets to a screening, so we saw it in theaters. So, I could probably review it without watching it again.... but I'm going to watch it again anyway. Probably this weekend.

Also, I will be glad to the MC, the ringmaster, the host with the most for the next round of fight club.... I mean... movie club.

Let's all watch and review this movie. Some time shortly after the two weeks, I'll get us ready for our next round.

[topazlight]

Congrats, TheEvilJester. I will have to source your movie this weekend and try to watch it and should be able to post a review my the middle of next week, I hope. Also in the main thread I will give you info on what you can do regarding your own hosting can take some ideas or ignore is all up to you.

[breathe123]

Grats, TheEviljester ~ does any one have any links online for the movie? Or are you just renting it?

[TheEvilJester]

I happen to own it, so I can't help you there. LOL! I didn't need to find it online.

I can't remember from last time. Do we use THIS THREAD to post our reviews, or will we be starting a new one? I am ready to review, but didn't want to do so in the wrong thread.

[TheEvilJester]

Since I own this movie (and it was my suggestion) it made it very easy for me to get a chance to watch it again. I re-watched it this weekend. I enjoyed this movie when I first saw it, and have watched it maybe a couple times since. The funny thing is, I always remember enjoying it.... but I always forget just how much I really do love this movie.

Maybe it is just because the whole thing strikes such a chord with me. Not that I was adopted or anything, but just the whole theme of being weird. Of not fitting in. Of trying to figure out the balance between finding a way to fit in with the world, yet at the same time not compromising who you really are.

We are introduced to an author (played by John Cusack, who I almost always enjoy) who is in sort of a rut in life. As we soon learn, this is largely in part due to the loss of his beloved wife at much too early an age. We learn that he and his wife had been on a list to adopt a child. As some may know, that can often take a long time until you are finally selected. Well.... as it would just so happen, David gets that call now.

Though, this is also in part due to the fact that he is somewhat friendly with one of the women who works for the adoption agency. As she knows him somewhat well, a new child comes to the agency that she feels would be a good fit for David. David, you see, is a fantasy author, famous for a very popular Science Fiction novel series he wrote. This child seems to believe he is from Mars. This kid is lost in his imagination, whereas David makes a living from his.

We first meet Dennis (in the titular role) from inside of a very large Amazon box. Apparently he is not a fan of the sun. (I can already relate. LOL!) David comes to visit him a few times, and each time Dennis begins to open up a little more until finally both David and his friend and the agency begin to feel it would be a good match.

From there, the movie is very much what you would expect, but I would not say that is a bad thing. Dennis tries to fit in, but doesn't really know how to do that. At such a young age, he's already considered "weird" by many people. It's hard enough learning where you fit in without already being set apart. David, for his part, tries to help Dennis learn his place in the world, as any parent would for their child. Part of the problem, though, is that David isn't entirely sure where HE fits in the world himself. In the movie we see how very much he loved his wife, and that without her he is not entirely sure where he belongs.

He is somewhat lost in the world. In fact, throughout this movie we see that it is not just David helping Dennis to find his place in the world, but it is just as much the other way around. David learns just as much from being a new father to Dennis and Dennis does from having a consistent role model in his life. In many ways, I think David's friend with the adoption agency very much knew what she was doing. Really, there could have been no better role model for Dennis. Though he'd somewhat hit on a road block, here was somebody who had his own weirdness and eccentricities, and yet he had found a niche in life. He had found a way to become an adult in a world where he didn't necessarily feel he fit.

Dennis was very much attached to his fantasy of being from Mars. I didn't get the sense that it was entirely pretend. I do think that, to some degree he believed it. I also get the sense that Dennis was very intelligent. Possibly even of a genius level intellect. Frankly, highly intelligent people often are also a bit "weird." So, though he may not have realized it, the whole Mars fantasy was merely a child's way of making sense in a world that has only ever hurt him. Even at such a young age, he has struggled to fit in, so his child's mind invented this fantasy as a way for that to make sense. To some degree, he finds it acceptable to be unaccepted, because it makes sense if he has trouble fitting in if he is from another planet.

There are little quirks like his weight belt (made of taped together D cell batteries) that we learn have a deeper meaning to Dennis. More so than just being weird for the sake of weird, many of Dennis's quirks have reasonable explanations you can understand in the context of what the poor little guy has been through in life. He wears the weight belt, as he explains it, because Earth's gravity is weak. If he does not wear the weight belt, he fears that he will simply float away.

On the surface, that just sounds like more weirdness. In reality, he has bounced back and forth through many attempted new families only to always wind up back in the foster system all over again. With his imaginative young mind, he equates this to some uncontrollable force (like gravity), so he creates this "weight belt" to help him feel more grounded.

He has learned not to feel any sense of permanence with anybody in his life. We learn he has a problem with stealing things. That is, of course, wrong, but Dennis doesn't understand that he is doing something wrong. He only understands that these things mean something to the people to whom they belong. Pictures of loved ones and other important items. He wants to feel this same sense of having things in his life that are meaningful, but he has never been able to have a permanent enough situation to have that. It isn't the things he wants, it is that emotional feeling they represent.

David presents a very understanding parent to Dennis, something he very much needed. I think we get an obvious sense that too many people have been far too impatient with Dennis and the whole Mars thing. Though I do believe a part of Dennis really DOES believe he is from Mars, I also think that there is a large part of him that realizes he does not. It was just his way of understanding/copying with the fact that he does not fit in.... in a way only a child could come up with to explain it to himself. What he most certainly DID NOT need was to somebody to try to berate and belittle him and tell him things that basically amount to "Knock that Mars crap off already."

What he very much DID need was an understanding person who would allow him that fantasy while still helping to pull him into the real world. Eventually he will give up the fantasy, but he needs to do that in his own time. It is his coping mechanism at the time for understanding more suffering than anybody so young should ever have to experience.

Yes, there are a few moments were even David loses his patience, but honestly even that may have actually been for the better. There are a few moments like that (especially with the scene at the very end) where Dennis is able to learn that it IS okay for people to sometimes be upset with each other, but that for a real family, that does not change how much they love each other. Before, Dennis has only ever seen that when his foster families have become upset with them, it inevitably results in them giving up on him. So, when he sees David get upset, to him this means the same is inevitable.

For that reason, I think that those difficult moments between the two are even more important than their more joyous bonding moments. Dennis is able to learn a better sense of what is and is not acceptable, but also to see that true family are always there for you. That sometimes true family doesn't have to mean blood relatives.

For his part, David finally finds his way in life post-the loss of his wife. He finds his way through helping a young man find his way, in a way neither of them ever would have been able to alone.

I thought this was a really touching movie. Both funny, sad at times, and heart-warming all the same. I can also really relate to the film. I've ALWAYS somewhat felt much like Dennis. I've never, even as a kid, gone so far as to create an entire fantasy world for myself, but I really never did feel like I fit in. Honestly, I still don't to this day. So, in that way I found I related very well to both Dennis AND David. Much like David, I still really don't always feel I fit in this world, but I've learned how to do my best anyway as an adult.

Though the movies was mostly Dennis and David, there was also a pretty stellar cast including the actor playing David's sister. That role must have been such a stretch for that actor, Joan Cusack. Their chemistry as brother and sister was so believable you'd almost think they totally really are brother and sister in real life or something like that.

Overall, I just personally loved this movie. It's quirky, it's funny, it's sad, and it is heart-warming. It tugs on so many different strings in its own way. Definitely one I am glad to have in my personal collection. I hope the other members of our club enjoy it just as much as I always have.

[topazlight]

Here's most of my review - in my odd format again I might be able to chat on it and others ( yours TheEvilJester at some point this weekend)

Notes for Martian Child

Again, this is how I review by watching and noting my comments as I go along, when others put in their reviews I will add more like in our first review.
To add, I enjoyed this movie, it was very heart warming and nice to see this type of story played from the male prespective.

Aw, the first scene where the lead David as a little boy gets smacked in the head with a ball and is being school yard bullied, starts right off expressing how he felt on the outside
of his life and probably why he was so drawn to the other little boy Dennis ( who also had his own unique way about him)

He even expresses him self as being a character in his book, one that isn't human another relating point to the little boy and who he thinks he is too.

That scene at the grave site seemed like it was improvised.

I love movies that features animal companions, especially for grieving purposes. That little girl was a blunt and harsh, but a good way to get Cusack's characters attention towards the little boy.

I like the siblings connection and banter, might have played that well because they are actually siblings but it worked for the movie because it came off a real dialogue between a brother and sister.

Interesting concept that we aren't shown the movie for awhile into the movie he is kept hidden by his protection cardboard box.

His sister is a debbie downer on him NOT adopting and having kids and she has few of her own, you know she just wants her brother to heal and not go through anymore hurt or pain, but everyone knows you can't stop pain it's going come at you regardless.

The ball toss scene was sweet and showed patience and compassion, something a good parent has, imo.

I agree with his fantasy analogy. I wonder why they had to think, I seriously doubt too many would take the time to foster or adopt a strange child.

The music overlay ( not sure if right wording) was too much in some scenes, made it distracting.

I laughed when the dog charged him and knocked him over, I thought the suitcase might knock him over too. Not sure why Dennis reminds me of macaulay culkin, anyone else think this?


Was Lucky Charms a product placement? lol

I liked when it tells the little boy, " I deserve you, I really do" - when the child says superstars don't really exist, only super novas and white dwarfs( not positive that was said, couldn't hear it clear enough) But they seem to be cut from the same cloth as in loving science.

I wouldn't mind one of his Martian wishes as well, like said, "who wouldn't want one" and not for green lights.

All the new father and son moments are nicely done, like learning to play baseball and the kiss when he sends him off to school. Odd timing of the in home visit as they are both destroying the kitchen and themselves, one of lifes poorly timed moments. I felt bad for him because he knew that would look bad on him since he is still in trial.


I cried at the dog dying scene, very sad for reasons I first stated about animals. When it rains it pours. "when you love somebody, it's really hard when you can't see them anymore " Yes.

We reach out because we all need to someone to matter and for us to matter too. Otherwise the loneliness would be unbearable.

It was a gentle love story, and in reality we are all alien in one way ot another to something that we have never done and others have in our lives, always feeling out of place or on the outside of life. I think Dennis and David were perfect for each other.
And sometimes being different is what makes you, you and why fight it.

[TheEvilJester]

Thanks, topaz. Great review. I'm glad you seemed to enjoy this movie. I know what you mean about the sister being a bit over-protective of her brother. I actually think that made me love that character a little more, though. Was she over-bearing and controlling? No, not really. She just, honest to God, loved her brother very much. She didn't want to see him get hurt any more than he already had. Poor guy certainly has been through more than his fair share of hurt in his life.

She was supportive of him. I never got the impression she didn't believe in him. She was just worried (probably overly so) about what it could do to him if things didn't go well. I actually tend to enjoy Joan Cusack's stuff in general as well. I've seen both of them in a bunch of movies, so it was really cool actually seeing them work together... and even neater seeing them playing siblings given that they actually ARE siblings.

Somewhere (or, as our Martian friend called him, Flomar) dying was a very sad scene. I LOVE animals, so that one definitely hit home for me. I think it was also a really wonderful scene because of the interaction between Dennis and David. It was a situation where Dennis was able to see that adults can still get upset too, and yet he can still also be the adult to be strong and be there for Dennis. In other words, it is okay to be sad sometimes, and even okay to show it. Sadness is, unfortunately, part of life. But it is also a part of life where those who love us the most can really be there for us if we let them.

Again, a wonderful and touching movie in my personal opinion.

And, I never thought of it before, but now that you mention it he does remind me a little of Macaulay Culkin.

[megvoh]

I guess I am not too late, only Jester and topaz have reviews in so far. So was mine one of the ties? Thanks to alls who gave me a vote.
I'll watch then review right after Easter break.
Congratulations, Jester.

[TheEvilJester]

Thanks. I forget what the other two were, but you could look back at the other thread. And no, of course you are not too late. Technically we give two weeks to get in your review. Honestly, though, even after that anybody can feel free to come back to this thread to continue to discuss for as long as the discussion goes on. We give the "two week" time limit just so that we don't spend too much time on one movie before moving to the next movie to watch and review.

[topazlight]

Thank you, TheEvilJester, same goes for yours. I enjoyed reading your review. I like to jot notes when I review and I usually just keep my first impressions as is when I post my initial review.

I like the brother and sister relationship because it wasn't one of those phony played ones Hollywood seems to create, it was a more honest not over the top portrayal and had a lot of love, probably because of them being siblings and actually loving each other. Made for really touching moments. I was hoping for more romantic moments between David and that other woman, but I guess that wasn't what the movie needed, it was him forging a relationship with Dennis.

The dog's death scene was well done, I agree. But it shocked me that it was even in the movie and that they had the dog die in Dennis's room The dog was a nice character I thought in the movie, and was surprising to remove him. I love animals too and especially as characters for the story line.

John Cusack is a really good actor, I like that he infuses his characters with a sense of humor and his gentleness with bringing Dennis out of his shell was heart warming.

I liked in the first flashback of David's school yard bullying he had a sweater in style similar to Dennis's sweater through the movie. Maybe was to portray their nerdiness, or also similarities?

For awhile in the movie I thought the end scene would be of showing us Dennis was actually from another planet, mainly because the child actor just played his part so well

[TheEvilJester]

I actually agree with you about the relationship between David and Amanda Peet's character (don't remember the character's name). I would really have loved to see more between them.... but I don't necessarily fault the movie for that because I don't think it was necessary to the movie. The movie was really more about David and Dennis. So, as much as I'd have loved to see it, it was probably better how little it focused on the romantic interest.

I HATE when animals die in movies because I LOVE animals so much. I'm like a big kid when it comes to animals. However, it can be forgiven in my eyes when done tastefully and when done in a way that is actually good for the story. As much as I agree with you and I would have loved for Somewhere/Flomar to be in the whole movie, that scene was very powerful, and I think it would have taken something away from the movie not having that.

I have to admit, there was also part of me that kind of wanted it to turn out Dennis actually WAS from another planet.... and yet also part of me that is glad the movie didn't go that route. Hey, I'm a Sci-Fi geek, so of course I would have loved that. At the same time, though, I think in the context of this movie, it's really better the way the movie did portray this. Okay, so they never really do come out and say it, and we never learn if Dennis himself ever gave up the fantasies, but it is pretty heavily implied that he is just a very special, very intelligent young boy with a vivid imagination who has been through some rough times and created this fantasy world for himself as a copying mechanism. The metaphorical significance behind just about every aspect of his fantasy was just too well woven for the story to go any other way. Otherwise it would have been a very different movie. LOL! ...And honestly, I'd have probably loved THAT movie too.

[breathe123]

I watched the movie from an online download found for me, tee hee? & I would rate the movie a 7/10. I didn't really know any of the actors in the movie, had I think seen the adult male lead in something before but I forgot what but I don't think not knowing anyone involved really affected my watching of the movie. I thought it was sad, funny, touching, quirky, cute & poignant all through out.

~ I felt for the two lead characters, both obviously suffering from losses, we never really got a full back story on Dennis's did we? But obviously to have the delusions he had & to be left in that home to be up for adoption it was clear he had losses too. I liked that The adult lead David, I think ~ he didn't care that the boy was a odd one, he embraced it even & wish more people were like that when considering fostering or adopting. People only want whats perfect or even babies also that are perfect nothing to deal with or work through. Life isn't without imperfections & because someone isn't to the mass " normal" doesn't mean they aren't full of as much worth & value as others.

~ As much as David helped the little boy, the little boy as well helped David be a better stronger person & see a new life & a promising future for himself through these new changes. I would want a sister like he had in this film, not scared to voice her concerns but only out of a love filled heart for her brother & to join in on his new adventure with her own family, same for his lady friend who helped him out when he took custody of Dennis. It helps to have people who love you around to make life go a little smoother.

~ It was a lost & found movie for definite, I liked it's message as well. Message movies are far superior over big action blockbuster ones because they are like a good home cooked meal where the other is fast food that you eat. Home cooked meal represents love to me, the other something disposable.

I thought the end reveal was to be something showing he WAS an alien too. Sort of happy it didn't, grounded it in reality. A nice film.

[TheEvilJester]

Yeah, they didn't get too specific as to Dennis's background. There were hints and clues here and there, but they didn't get super detailed. I think I actually liked it that way, though. Some can be left up to the imagination. The definite implication is that he has bounced back and forth between a lot of foster homes that didn't work out. It also seems likely that others had little tolerance for his quirkiness, so rather than to stick with him and help him like a TRUE family would, they just send him back like he is disposable. Sad, when obviously all he needed was a little love.

Heck, he needed somebody who understood.... he needed David. I love the moment where David is talking about knowing that there are so many people in this world, that he almost ponders if it seems selfish to bring a child into this world..... but where is there anything wrong with loving one who is already here? I think that is a touching and wonderful tribute to the idea of adopting. I honestly agree with that mindset. I mean, I don't think it is selfish to want children, but I don't think adoption deserves the stigma it sometimes gets, and that is largely why.

Everybody deserves a loving family. Sometimes that family isn't related by blood. Hell, sometimes a family that IS related by blood is no real family anyway. So, it is touching that David can love this poor lonely little boy so much just as though he were his own flesh and blood. In that way, they give each other meaning and essentially save each other from an otherwise lonely existence.

[Jffs24]

****ing site logged me out when clicking submit for my review had to re write it, as best I could because like a dumb **** I never copied and saved it first lmao

I think on am reviewing right on the limit of the time aloted, not sure but if so I am going to add something so others don't have to wait for me to put something in.

Was a nice type of movie for families to watch, teaches a lesson of tolerance, patience and loss and gets kids maybe learning to be more tolerant in their school lives too. I like John Cusack, and most of his movies and pray he never goes the way of Nick Cage lmao. I like he does small movies and bigger ones, he has a good range and a sense of humor or way of delivering written lines that are humorous that makes you believe what ever character he is playing, no different in this movie. Like the main character out of our last review -- wasn't characters I could relate with, Dennis or David's early life but still got something of value out of watching the movie.

The kid in his hide - in - the - box scenes really had you feeling for him and hoping he gets someone to help him out of his pain. In the story David and his wife were to adopt before her death and he after some healing time decided to go ahead on his own, not too many men will do that. Credit to the dude. Dennis got himself a kindred spirit there. Liked Joan Cusack and Amanda Peet in their roles, would have liked to see even more interactions with David and Dennis from both. The science fiction and magical theme made the movie even more interesting and the is he or isn't kept you as a viewer interested. The ending was well done, you know they will have a happy life together as a new family, maybe he'll marry Peet and get a new dog to increase the family dynamic. I voted for this movie first and second vote, enjoyed it even though it isn't my regular kind of movie to watch.

TheEvilJester want to ask us who reviewed so far any questions on specific parts of the movie to see how we are similar or differ. Or does pc ask, I don't know because pc hasn't reviewed the movie yet along with meg, and princess and paradise.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote I liked, will add some pics like I did in other thread another time, peeps.

“Dennis, can I just say one last thing about Mars - which may be strange coming from a science-fiction writer - but right now, you and me here, put together entirely of atoms, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force that seems to trouble you, called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the milkyway at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its own tail at the speed of light; And admist all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own eminent demise - which is our own pretty way of saying we all know we’re gonna die - we reach out to one another. Sometimes for the sake of entity, sometimes for reasons you’re not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of the time we just reach out and expect nothing in return. Isn’t that strange? Isn’t that weird? Isn’t that weird enough? What the heck do ya need to be from Mars for?”