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Reviews
Jessie and the Elf Boy (2022)
A fun, summery Adventure, worth a watch.
Jessie and her elf friend (notably different from Will Ferrell's character) 'Ghillie Dubh' meet and have an adventure around the streets of a generic Scottish town. Attempts at family reconciliation ensue.
Expect lots of Scottish accents, some lovely drone shots and a story that is somewhat involved, but you soon grasp the concept. Some unexpected themes are tackled, which gives it some more credibility.
CGI is pleasantly lightweight, and doesn't burden on the viewer.
Acting is generally good, though some characters are better than others.
Some cheerful slapstick moments, some unexpected, most of which land well. Age range of seven plus seems about right, as one would expect from a family film.
Score is surprisingly good (no royalty-free soundtracks here) and I actually thought that the credits song was a Tidelines tune, before realising it too was original.
Worth watching.
The Gaelic King (2017)
All things considered, a feel-good watch
Firstly, when compared to other films in the indie/action/low budget genre, this is exceptional. It doesn't fall into the trap of pretending to be a Hollywood blockbuster, but accepts its limitations and works within them. The story is simple, but works well in its context, and is refreshingly satisfactory, though not at all deserving of a '15' rating (Interestingly my DVD copy has been rated a 12 by the IFCO- a much more appropriate audience) Also, it is really nice to see an good original score- makes a great change from the royalty-free tracks so often used! The beautiful Scottish countryside obviously inspired the producers, and seeing some of the shots you wonder why it isn't used more by higher budget movies.
When compared to the larger genre, the film still holds up against criticism, especially in its story and the quality of the editing and score. The visual effects are not fantastic, but don't massively impact the overall watchability of the film. Certainly not a retelling of history, but an interesting interpretation of the few details known about the period.
In many ways, a historical/fantasy action/adventure is an unlikely candidate for a budget production, but this film manages to pull it off.