Sophie, an orphan in a shabby orphanage in England, is reading at 3 A.M. when she sees a giant. And, of course, the giant grabs Sophie and takes her to Giant Land. There Sophie learns that there are other giants who delight in eating children. Her giant, the BFG, is a Big Friendly Giant. Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book from 1982 doesn’t quite come to life for Stephen Spielberg in this new movie. Mark Rylance plays the BFG to perfection. Ruby Barnhill portrays the lovable Sophie. The hungry giants are suitably grubby and crude. But Spielberg sanitizes Dahl’s The BFG and takes much of the fun out of it. The script, by Melissa Mathison, doesn’t have the magic of E.T. GRADE: C+
That’s too bad, but I don’t think Spielberg and Dahl are a good fit. Their worldview was too different.
Jeff, exactly! Roald Dahl’s vision of the world doesn’t match Spielberg’s.
Sorry to hear this. Was tempted to try and get Kevin to go.
Patti, I think you and Kevin might be bored by THE BFG. FINDING DORY is way better.
Didn’t Melissa Mathison pass away a while ago? I suppose this movie has been in the works for some time. Anyway, I can’t say I’m interested in this one–especially since in the ads I’ve seen the BFG looks astonishingly like George W. Bush–which doesn’t sweeten the deal for me.
Deb, you’re right about Melissa Mathison, the ex-wife of Harrison Ford. She died of neuroendrocrine cancer in November 2015. Melissa Mathison was 65.
Maggie, you’re right. She died last November.
Jeff, while the script for E.T. was great, THE BFG lacked a lot.
That’s too bad. I wouldn’t have ventured to a theater for it, but liked the idea of it. I think my next theater one is Ghost Busters. I like all the cast, except for Kristen Wiig. I realize I’m in the minority there, but too many of her snl characters drove me up a wall (gilly, the target cashier to name 2)
Maggie, we plan to see GHOST BUSTERS and the new STAR TREK movie. And I’m going to watch the Blu-ray versions of the JASON BOURNE movies before I go see the new BOURNE movie opening on July 29.
Glad I’m not the only one who finds Kristen Wiig’s popularity baffling. She comes across as someone who thinks she’s better than you are and can’t understand why you don’t agree. Otoh, I love Melissa McCarthy and think she’s been underutilized in many of her movies.
I doubt I’ll see Ghostbusters. The trailer looks terrible and I’m not that fond of the originals. I don’t mind Kristin Wiig. But I can’t stand Leslie Jones. Looking forward to Jason Bourne. Wanted to see The Green Room but it never opened here. Comes out on Blu Ray in a week.
Steve, I think the reviews of GHOSTBUSTERS will be mixed.
Just saw this. I know box office is not the sole matrix for judging a movie (or even any kind of criteria), but it seems like most moviegoers were staying away in droves this weekend: http://m.newser.com/story/227646/the-bfg-is-spielbergs-biggest-flop-since-1979.html
Deb, movie attendance is down about 2.5% this Summer. Unless there’s a JURASSIC WORLD or GUARDIANS OF THE THE GALAXY lurking in August, this will be a disappointing Summer Movie season.
The story somehow reminds me of a Walt Disney comic I “read” as a boy – a firnd of the family collected all of them (in German). It was about a giant and a beanstalk …
I still remember the giant speaking/singing:
Illy quadrilly, ich bin der Riese Willy.
Mal bin ich groß, mal bin ich klein und manchmal bin ich gar nicht da …
Loosely translated:
Illy quadrilly, I am the giant Willy
Sometimes I’m big, some times I’m small – and some times I’m not there at all …
Dos that ring a bell?
Wolf, no bells are ringing here. But THE BFG has no beanstalks. It has dreams, instead.