I Kill Giants (2018)

Expected more

Absolutely Fantastic

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I had no preconceptions about the film as I hadn't heard of it. Maybe a difficult genre for some.. superficially it seems to be directed towards adolescent girls (maybe adolescent boys put off because most characters and the lead are female?) As a 47 year old man, I'm sure like most adults, it seemed a very touching story of a child who has suffered serious trauma and how she tries to regain control over her life with no strong guiding parental figures. I was quite tearful at times, which suggests to me this is more a film that may have been created for teens, but more appealing to adults. I thought it was well paced, some interesting and beautiful scenery which blended well into the story, and though has some 'typical' elements (bully, sympathetic adult (Zoe S)) the way they are played and feed into the story are not typical. The acting, the storyline, the filming were all 8 stars, giving it a solid all round 8. Quite an original experience and I would highly recommend it, but as others have said, it's not a science fiction or action movie.. it's a touching movie about trauma in a young girl.

This movie feels like a merge of "Where the wild things are" and "My girl". The movie is about a young teen who battles a real life issue of a dying parent, an overwhelmed older sister trying to keep things together and a gamer brother . The teen displays alarming mental illness flags and is only aided by a school counselor. The movie had good base BUT it goes very wrong as the move doesn't allow for the viewer to become emotionally connected with the main character. Barbara is arrogant, spiteful, aggressive and mean spirited. Among those things there is also not enough back story early on to really FEEL the characters plight. The back story slowly unravels along the way in small chunks but doesn't do the main character justice as you can't really SEE her true self amid her coping mechanisms. The ending of the movie really wraps up nicely. If the producers had used some of that storytelling in the beginning the movie would have been a real success.

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :)This movie was released at the beginning of the year, but I skipped it at the time. Since it just came out in Portugal, I finally decided to watch it, and I wanna slap myself for not seeing this before. I Kill Giants is an incredibly emotional and heartfelt story which does not take the predictable path that is usually found in this genre.First of all, don't be fooled by the trailer. As you might know, if you have been following me, I stopped watching trailers in 2016, and this is yet another example for the endless list of "films ruined by trailers." Since that moment, I watch the movie first, and only then I watch the trailer(s) so I can get a notion of what I can write about or not. In this case, don't think of this film as a fantasy action story, like the marketing campaign wants you to believe. That's bait.What surprises me is that they didn't need to be misleading! This has such an important message to everyone but especially kids. Joe Kelly's screenplay is amazingly written, filled with little details that are very well explored throughout the runtime. It seems to follow a generic plot but the unexpected third act makes you rethink the whole movie. This is, so far, the most powerful story of this year. It goes through how to deal with tragedy, family issues, bullying and so much more. The message that this film brings is what production companies should focus on. Not brainless blockbuster action. Not excessive CGI. The story and its message to the audience, that's what's relevant!Madison Wolfe is incredible as Barbara. Undoubtedly, the best performance from a young actress this year, so far. She incorporates her character in such a realistic way, giving her the necessary emotions. Naturally, Kelly's script sure helps her a lot (even if some lines are too over-the-top for my taste) but Wolfe elevates it and nails her role. Barbara is a truly captivating protagonist, who quickly gets the attention of the audience with her mysterious yet relatable personality. What she goes through is an extremely delicate theme but how she gets through it, that is what makes this movie as great as it is.Imogen Poots (Karen) is also really good as Barbara's sister and her character also gets some sweet moments of screentime. Zoe Saldana plays Mrs. Mollé and her undeniable quality is shown on screen. She portrays Barbara's psychologist and their interactions contain some of the best dialogue in the entire film. Saldana's character has some good chunks of screentime, but they are not as important as the ones from another young actress.Sydney Wade plays Barbara's friend, Sophia. Unfortunately, her character does not get the same development that we witness on the others. Basically, she aims to get some information for the audience members. Anders Walter tries to escape as many exposition scenes as he can and Sophia helps him do that. She does not know if her friend is just crazy or if she is actually on to something. I wish that Walter and Kelly gave some more depth to this character since it just feels that she is there so the audience can understand the story and Barbara's personality.Switching to the technical part of the movie, Walter provides a few surprises. For a small-budget flick, it is outstanding what he and his visual effects' team are able to accomplish. Even though there is barely any action, which slows down the film a tiny bit too much, it is flawlessly filmed. The simple but very important cinematography in the scenes at night plus a surprisingly excellent CGI work on the giants, give the audience the so desired tension and thrill rides.The score is subtle but it beautifully encompasses every moment. It keeps its pacing well-controlled and its tone even more. It never stops being a dramatic movie to insert a joke here and there, it keeps the realism and the focus on Wolfe's character. I really don't have any significant flaws regarding the technical aspect of the film. It is a very well-made and well-filmed story, especially having in mind that this is not a huge blockbuster with a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars.I Kill Giants is one of the year's surprises and it has Madison Wolfe at the rightful center of it. Definitely, the best performance from a young actress so far. Barbara is an astonishingly captivating and exceptional protagonist, who goes through several of life's problems. The way she deals with them is how the movie triumphs. With a very talented cast at their disposal, Walter's direction and Kelly's screenplay provide a precious message not only to kids but to every single person out there. So, if you have the opportunity to watch this film, do it. Just don't expect blockbuster monster action. Expect, yes, a very passionate and genuine story at its core.

It's a slow start, and it is confusing for a while but you understand what is happening after a while. Yeah, it has holes in the story. Yeah, the little girl is full of crap, but the acting wasn't totally bad and other than one death it isn't totally depressing. One thing that drove me nuts, location. This is supposed to take place in Long Island, NY, I mean the kid from Leeds says how the main character is the only person she knows in all of the United States. But when they are at the cemetary, if you look off to the right, you will see a grave marker for Harry Gordon Selfridge. Being an Anglophile, I just happen to know that Harry Selfridge was buried in the UK, not the US even though he was a US citizen that moved to the UK to start his retail empire. At first, I thought there was some filmmaker tribute to him like some do, but no. It was because some scenes were filmed in the UK, all abroad none on the U.S. and that was more than likely Selfridges actual grave. I would have stuck this in the goofs/gaffers section but I didn't know how to start one and there wasn't one already. All in all though, not a bad little 'rites of passage' movie.