All the Wilderness

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Efrem M Subtle coming of age story. Well acted. Interesting story telling. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/25 Full Review farah r It's breathtaking cinematography and subtle editing create the proper mood for such a bleak story. But that's just it, the plot is a downer and the ending is depressing. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Great cinematography, clever editing and cool sound. The plot is paper thin and familiar, but everyone in the cast gives solid performances. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member A moody coming-of-age tale with virtually no plot or story, which is kind of admirable but in the end emotionally unsatisfying. It feels like an ad for some chewing gum company rather than a film, and I found its color-grading choice distracting. I hate its bullshit characters and bullshit dialogue; there's some great camerawork in there, and I like Kodi Smit-McPhee as an actor, but All the Wilderness is too ordinary and doesn't deliver anything new. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I really loved the trailer of this film (much like the film Comet, but that film is better than this one) and even though I liked this film, it wasn't nearly as good as its trailer. The film is made by a first-time writer/director and I thought the filmed looked beautiful and was shot very cool. I look forward to his next feature, but just hope its script is better than All The Wilderness. That being said, this script wasn't terrible, but he could have done much more with it, especially since it was only 75 minutes long, which is very very short for a feature film. The script tried to keep a secret for most of the film, but I'm sure most people figured it out in the first 5 minutes as they obviously hinted to it (so why not say it earlier in the film or even show the pivotal flashback). Overall I liked this film, just unfortunately it wasn't as good as it's trailer and I hope for a better next film from Michael Johnson. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member First-time writer/director Michael Johnson falls back on coming-of-age clichés. But overall, his sensitive, moody camerawork and the cast's strong performances go a long way toward making the familiar feel fresh. Kodi Smit-McPhee is excellent as James, a lost teen struggling to find solid ground after his father dies, in this drama that gets inside its young hero's rebellious mind. All the Wilderness seems tailor-made to play to the actor's strengths - Johnson's script is as lean as Smit-McPhee, both proving adept at doing more with less. The material is undeniably shopworn, but Johnson's spin on it is low-key and vivid. All the Wilderness is filled with moody grace notes, namely Malick-inflected nature shots and poetic asides delivered via voice-over. Debuting writer-director Michael Johnson wrangles uniformly solid performances from his cast. The images gorgeously embody both the fear and the beauty of James's exploratory experiments with socialization. The camera of cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra swoops beautifully through the canopy of foliage James explores, and captures the bruising colors of Portland in the early hours or at dusk. But in the midst of all this well-executed photography, atmosphere, and a well-pitched performance from Smit-Mcphee, there's a story to tell, and it's unfortunately it's ultimately very slight. VERDICT: "In The Zone" - [Mixed Reaction] These kinds of movies are usually movies that had some good things, but some bad things kept it from being amazing. This rating says buy an ex-rental or a cheap price of the DVD to own. If you consider cinema, ask for people's opinion on the film. (Films that are rated 2.5 or 3 stars) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

All the Wilderness

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