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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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81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Overall, this is a funny and tough-minded slice of weird life, as well as a sweet if wayward ode to movie love.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/02/08
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

It never makes the mistake of condescending to its audience by turning its tykes into overgrown adults. The childhood experience feels emotionally accurate.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
05/02/08
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

So accurately captures how boys behave, you'd think Jennings planted his camera inside a 10-year-old's skull, then beamed the child's imagination directly through his saucer-wide eyes onto the theater's screen.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/02/08
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Filmcritic.com

A tedious movie about kids making an amateur film.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
05/02/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A likable, lightly sticky valentine to childhood.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/02/08
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

How many of us were first introduced to the giddy, gory glory of the movies at a friend's house?

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
05/02/08
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

After making his feature debut with the rather inspiration-challenged big-screen Hitchhiker's Guide, director Garth Jennings wisely shifts to a more intimate and personal canvas.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
05/02/08
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Christianity Today

As raw and a flight of adolescent fancy as Saturday Night Live's "Lazer Cats!" skits.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
05/01/08
Kent Turner
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

Son of Rambow maintains just the right tone throughout with its guileless, makeshift charm.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
05/01/08
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

A slight but infectious British comedy, Son of Rambow charms in spite of a slim plot and sketchy character development. The first ninety minutes may not be, but the last five are just about perfect.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
05/01/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

At least it's better than what Sylvester Stallone's doing now.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
05/01/08
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Full of quirk, slapstick and dry British humor, Son of Rambow is a delight, but too often forgets to stay true to its heart.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
05/01/08
Dezhda Gaubert
Dezhda Gaubert
E! Online

The team who made The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy display plenty of whirligig energy, if not much control or lightness of touch.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/30/08
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

While writer-director Garth Jennings is smart enough to realize he can’t merely traffic in nostalgia, the subplots he devises are painfully predictable.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
04/30/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

Son of Rambow evokes the rush of discovery that turns budding cinephiles into lifers -- that delight in finding a film that seems to express or coalesce some inchoate yearning, including a yen to share.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/30/08
Jim Ridley
Jim Ridley
Village Voice

It’s hard to make the leap from Stallone’s American jingoism to a nascent British graphic artist’s developing pop whimsy.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
04/30/08
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

The tone is light and unpretentious and it offers an opportunity for some '80s reminiscing. Ultimately, however, it's forgettable, disposable entertainment.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/29/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Until it dissolves into routine sentimentality, Son of Rambow proves a welcome corrective to the legion of post-Rushmore indies defined by their precious quirkiness and pathos.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
04/28/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

Though set in particular context (Britain in the VCR Age), this charming reverie displays some universal themes--the meaning of friendship, family ties, movie heroes (of good or bad, right wing or left wing adventures), attesting to the medium's power.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
04/27/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A really sweet film about growing up weird.

Full Review Source: UR Chicago Magazine | comment Comment
04/24/08
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
UR Chicago Magazine
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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