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Movies / On DVD / Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow

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Son of Rambow (2008)

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Reviews Counted:115

Fresh:85

Rotten:30

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Undeniable heart and charming young leads save the film's nostalgic storyline from suffering at the hands predictability.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:04-04-2008

Synopsis: Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE... Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, with the charming indie SON OF RAMBOW, a love letter to the movies. A success at such festivals as Toronto and Sundance, SON OF RAMBOW stars Bill Milner as Will Proudfoot, a shy, reserved young boy who is different from the other kids because his family is part of the Brethren, a religion that shuns the outside world, not allowing him to have friends at school or to watch television. While in the hallway in school one day because he can't watch an educational film in class, Will gets into a fight with Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a tough kid who gets into trouble all the time. Lee forces Will to help him make a homemade version of the Sylvester Stallone film FIRST BLOOD, but after watching the original, Will is captivated by the movie and writes his own sequel, casting himself as the son of Rambow (he misspells the name of the character). Will and Lee use their imagination and lots of grit to get the project off the ground, bonding as only blood brothers can. But soon the entire school wants to participate in the movie, including ultra-cool French exchange student Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk), jeopardizing the integrity of the production as well as Will and Lee's growing friendship. Milner and Poulter, both making their feature-film debuts, are engaging as the lead characters. Jennings sets SON OF RAMBOW in the 1980s, before cell phones, digital cameras, and YouTube changed the way people communicate. Amid a soundtrack that includes music from such seminal period bands as The Cure and Depeche Mode, the two young boys learn about family and friendship, jealousy and ego as their carefully controlled worlds threaten to implode. [More]

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon

Director: Garth Jennings

Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriter: Garth Jennings
Producer: Nick Goldsmith
Composer: Joby Talbot
Studio: Paramount Vantage

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Reviews for Son of Rambow

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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...an uneven film, but a special one that earns its ahs.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

If you, too, are a son of Rambow, or are from the era of The Lone Ranger or even the Power Rangers, this movie calls to you.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/05/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

SON OF RAMBOW is full of ideas and imagination, but I think Jennings buries himself with all of his ambition.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/04/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

Jennings has crafted a work that beautifully -- and humorously -- evokes childhood and the impact of movies on children.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
06/03/08
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A number of young boys attended the screening I went to, and none of them seemed to be quite sure when they were supposed to laugh.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
06/03/08
Michael Dance
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

Jennings is clearly having a wonderful time recreating the fantasies of his youth, but sometimes his perspective get a little too inbred, and the picture suffers for it.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
05/30/08
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com

Wistful and a little wonky, playfully recreating a fanciful early '80s UK summer, Son of Rambow definitely feels like someone's personal experiences reinterpreted for public consumption.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

The word is that even Sly Stallone gave this film a blessing, marking one of the few times that the guy involved with the likes of Judge Dredd and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot has displayed a modicum of good taste.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/28/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

It would be dishonest of me to say that it's more than an endearing, well-acted trifle with lovely intentions.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
05/23/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

What could have been an insightful look at how film and television mold our personalities is instead just another film about childhood friendship -- sweet, huggable and toothless.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
05/23/08
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

It's pretty good-natured, sweet and rather goofy.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/23/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The young performers, especially Milner and Poulter, are engaging without being cloying.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
05/23/08
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A funny, worthy film that -- unlike Sylvester Stallone's one-man army -- loses focus before it completes its mission.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
05/23/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

It serves as both a coming of age film and a love letter to the power of movies.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
05/23/08
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Inspiration comes in all forms and writer/director Garth Jennings gets that idea across with equal parts cliché and whimsy.

Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com | comment Comment
05/22/08
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com

It's subversively eccentric and poignant but lacks the punch that fully fleshed-out characters and a more cohesive story could deliver.

Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate | comment Comment
05/20/08
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate

Son of Rambow conveys the passion and imagination of these kids... But what the film also does is to place their fantasies in a very real context.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
05/19/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

...relies heavily on an audience's boys-will-be-boys tolerance.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
05/18/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

We cringe and laugh at -- and are ultimately moved by -- their clumsiness and innocence. And it endears us to the Rambo films in ways we never could have anticipated.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/16/08
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

You know the Sundance drill: Eventually, the whole school is caught up in their good-natured artistic high jinks, and all involved learn the heartwarming lesson that there's a place in the world for a group of loners.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
05/16/08
Graham Killeen
Graham Killeen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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