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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: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:May 2, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $1,612,881

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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Release:

Aug 26, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33
  • Letterbox - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital - English

Additional Release Material:

Featurette:

  • 1. Boys Will Be Boys: The Making of Son of Rambow
  • 2. Son of Rambow Website Winner

Audio Commentary:

  • 1. Commentary with Director Garth Jennings, Producer Nick Goldsmith, Bill Milner and Will Poulter

Shorts:

  • 1. Garth's Short Film "Aron"
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Son of Rambow

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101 - 115 (sorted by date)
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Although Jennings' screenplay skirts the edges of cliché at times, the young actors (both of whom are making their feature film debut) make every moment ring true.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/15/08
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

A delightfully eccentric fantasy, flush with laughs and displays of fantastical ink-stained escapism; an unforgettable triumph of heart and giggles. One of the few assuredly must-see films of 2008.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
04/08/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

A potentially disposable, tongue-in-cheek First Blood pisstake turns out to be a deeply effective, surprisingly touching tale of family and childhood friendship. If you only see one Rambo movie this year, make sure it’s this one.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/06/08
Dan Jolin
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine

You'd have to be a bigger cynic than Richard Dawkins not to have your cockles warmed by this gem.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies UK | comment 3 Comments
04/06/08
Orlando Parfitt
Orlando Parfitt
IGN Movies UK

This is a joyous film. It's about making friends, making movies and having a great time; a movie for anybody and everybody, especially those with a love of the '80s.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
09/14/07
Filip Vukcevic
Filip Vukcevic
IGN Movies

The script sizzles with humour, but more importantly... it carries an emotional weight.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
06/25/07
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

Money might buy bigger toys, but it can never replace heart, and that is something this terrific comedy has in abundance.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
02/17/07
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

Integrates its slapstick genre pastiche into a thoughtful story about peer pressure, neglect and yearning

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/03/07
Ben Walters
Ben Walters
Time Out

There lies a huge, beating heart that leads to a crescendo of joviality so flawlessly accomplished that your mental applause sign may light up before its all over.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/30/07
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

It’s charming and touching, and the best part is, it manages to be so without saccharine sweetness.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/30/07
Jamie Tipps
Jamie Tipps
Film Threat

It’s cute and it’s funny and its comic view of adolescence as a series of changed alliances and curfew violations is, for the most part, refreshingly free of sentimental cant.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/29/07
Ray Greene
Ray Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

Son of Rambow is pumped up with all the right kids' ingredients: slapstick, fantasy, alienation and severe adult authority figures. But screenwriter and director Garth Jennings has slammed them all together with little cohesion.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/26/07
Duane Byrge
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter

Giddy, goofy and heartfelt.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
01/26/07
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Cinematical

Bright and witty physical and optical visual touches spill off the screen, though the use of effects is scaled to the tale.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/25/07
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A charming and inventive film that's a real winner!

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
01/23/07
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net
 
 
101 - 115 (sorted by date)
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