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Posted by: Josh! 19th July 2017, 07:58 PM

I haven't seen that many Guillermo Del Torro films but the character design here seems very similar to Pan's Labyrinth in places so I hope the film is even half as good. I enjoyed Pacific Rim too but this doesn't seem all that similar really.

Sally Hawkins looks really good in this though, a bit of a longshot indeed but perhaps she could be an outside contender for awards contention. The Lead Actress category does seem pretty stacked this year though so it's probably unlikely - I'm rooting for her though after her Happy-Go-Lucky snub all those years ago

Posted by: Josh! 14th September 2017, 08:52 PM

New red band trailer for this and I keep getting more and more excited for this as the great reviews keep on rolling in.

I really hope Hawkins & Spencer get awards recognition for this because I love both actresses and watching their interviews and campaigns

Posted by: Jonjo 14th September 2017, 09:14 PM

Really excited for this. The reviews have been so good!

Posted by: Josh! 24th January 2018, 09:50 AM

The soundtrack for this is absolutely gorgeous, Alexandre Desplat nailing it yet again! That's really getting me even more excited to see this now - I've booked in to see the Unlimited Screening next week but I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to go or not yet...

Posted by: rafik4u 24th January 2018, 11:33 AM

Has this been released in the UK last year?

Posted by: Josh! 24th January 2018, 11:41 AM

It's released 14 February 2018 here in the UK !

Posted by: rafik4u 24th January 2018, 01:46 PM

Wow! So delayed. Reminds me of how Coco was postponed 2/3 months compared to the rest of the world.

Posted by: HarryEzra 24th January 2018, 02:59 PM

I Really want to see this and in fact I need to see many of Del Toro's work since Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorite films

Posted by: Jonjo 24th January 2018, 03:16 PM

Although not directed by him, but executive produced, I highly recommend 'The Orphanage'. But looking at his IMDB page, I can't recommend many more tbh. But Guillermo is very hit and miss. You're gonna either love it or hate it, I find.

Posted by: Josh! 31st January 2018, 10:28 AM

This was absolutely brilliant, really hoping it can upset Three Billboards at the Oscars and take home Best Picture on the night. I'm still yet to see Phantom Thread and Lady Bird but this is by far my favourite from the realistic winning contenders (as much as I love it, CMBYN stands no chance at this point ).

So many good performance especially. I thought Frances McDormand was great but this is the role of a lifetime for Sally Hawkins and she should be running away with it - they HAVE to use the scene where she's getting Richard Jenkins to read what she's signing aloud as her Oscars clip because she was spectacular there. Every little facial expression she did spoke a thousand words and it's crazy to think how polished her performance was in a language that she doesn't even speak. Octavia Spencer was hilarious in this too and so perfectly cast as a mute woman's sidekick, you warm to her here so quickly and my heart was beating out of my chest when Michael Shannon arrived at her house. I've never seen much of Richard Jenkins before either but I think he'd actually be my choice to win the supporting actor category, one of the most likeable characters in a film I've seen in a long-time and I was heartbroken to see how lonely he was at times.

Aside from the acting I thought it was a really beautiful story. Props to Del Torro for making a fish-man and human relationship seem rather beautiful after you get over the initial shock. You could totally believe and comprehend how much he meant to Elisa because she had finally someone similar to her. The ending was super thrilling too and Michael Shannon was utterly terrifying. His delivery of 'you are a God' was delivered perfectly too, especially because the fish-man looked towered above him, you could see the moment of realisation in his final moments that he had been wrong to mistreat the fish-man. I loved the ambiguity of the ending too, she may well have just died there and have been taken underwater by the fish-man but the ending suggested by Giles is perfect with the poem voiceover so it's what I'd like to think happened Also, can this win cinematography please for the shots of them underwater at the end alone - SO mesmerising *.*

I do think we were given some hints that Elisa herself was partly supernatural and not entirely human. The fact she was picked up as an orphan by the water, has suspiciously gill-shaped scars and seems to have an affinity with water (pleasuring herself in the bath/control over the water on the bus window) etc. definitely made me think that she wasn't just merely a mute woman.

Posted by: Jack 14th February 2018, 11:15 AM

I'm going to see this tonight, I don't know too much about it but the trailer didn't excite me THAT much. I hope it's not boring, that is my worst when going to the cinema .

Posted by: Jonjo 15th February 2018, 10:31 PM

I saw this tonight. I really liked it. It was bizarre and odd but those quirks were a part of it's charm. Michael Shannon plays those kind of roles perfectly! I felt that Michael Stuhlbarg stole the show in this too tbh! He's been on a roll with this and CMBYN lately. But everybody was great in this. Not one weak link!

I think I'd like to see it again at some point, coz as much as I did like it, it was a bit TOO MUCH at times but now that I am more aware of what to expect from it, I think I'd enjoy it more.

Definitely up there with 'Pan's Labyrinth' in regards to Guillermo's work.

Posted by: Chez Wombat 16th February 2018, 06:20 PM

This definitely lives up to the hype It was visually amazing, the characters were all really well developed and I was really engaged with the story throughout. I really loved how they made what looks totally bizarre scenario into one that was completely believable, it's a really interesting take on love and finding a soulmate. It was fairly predictable as a whole (even though I like the ambiguous interpretation of the ending) and I kinda wish she hadn't had that singing scene, I know it was only a fantasy and fit in with the film, but I was so drawn to her as a mute that it felt out of place, but otherwise it was really quite beautiful. Not quite up there with Pan's Labyrinth, but not too far behind.

I would be very happy with this winning Best Picture, albeit I'm quite surprised as it certainly doesn't seem like traditional fare for Oscars. It's a Disney movie really removing the explicit scenes! Not that that's a bad thing at all

Posted by: T Boy 16th February 2018, 06:57 PM

I saw it on Wednesday, it was BIZARRE but also very lovely and well made.

Posted by: Joe. 16th February 2018, 10:33 PM

I'm a massive fan of GTD's earlier work but I was hugely disappointed by this. I felt for what it was it needed a sharper edge, because I didn't buy its tone at all. I actually thought it was surprisingly formulaic, and if one of them didn't happen to be a fish, it would have just been a regular tired love story.

Posted by: Jack 16th February 2018, 10:40 PM

I thought it was beautiful! Really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. A very strange film, but it was so gripping.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd February 2018, 08:58 PM

This was a goodie, another 8/10, great cast all doing well, and the movie had a bizarre mix of period piece style nostalgia, gritty grimness & cinematic beauty, but also a Pleasantville-style commentary on the period and human nature. The one bit I found impossible to accept was someone filling a bathroom with water and not expecting disaster to result, be exposed for a start in more than one sense....

Octavia Spencer continues to impress me after her great performance in Hidden Figures and others, and this one. I preferred her as a NASA mathematician to a cleaner though....!

Posted by: _jase 23rd February 2018, 11:18 PM

Is this basically about a woman falling in love with a fish?

Posted by: Joe. 23rd February 2018, 11:36 PM

Yes. And it doesn’t work quite as much everyone wants to believe it does.

Bestiality ain’t a cute look hunnies.

Posted by: Severin 24th February 2018, 05:19 PM

I enjoyed this mostly although I didn't love it. It's remarkable in places but quite formulaic in others. It's the plot that lets it down but the acting is superb, and although many have referenced Beauty & The Beast (and obviously Creature From The Black Lagoon) I couldn't help but be reminded of Splash in many ways.

It's good, nearly great, but not Best Picture worthy as I think both 3 Billboards and Dunkirk are better.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th February 2018, 07:53 PM

There is no suggestion he/it is a fish - it's left entirely open what exactly he/it is - other than he/it seems to be the last of his species, and is worshipped as a God in South America and lives underwater (but can, like Aquaman, stay out of water for a period) - think of him/it as Aquaman Plus...at least his feet are equipped for swimming, Aquaman has yet to explain how he swims so fast

Posted by: _jase 25th February 2018, 10:33 PM

I'm still not seeing where the hook for this film is?

"Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab's classified secret -- a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank."

I mean... I'm just a bit baffled!

Posted by: blacksquare 25th February 2018, 11:37 PM

The hook is acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro and an unconventional love story. It's a pretty simple film actually.

For me, it didn't quite work as it was too formulaic. I can understand why people are really enjoying it though.

Posted by: Anh Kiet 27th February 2018, 07:49 AM

Is this movie attractive? I still have not seen

Posted by: Severin 27th February 2018, 05:35 PM

The Production Design is brilliant, the effects are great and it's Del Toro so yes it LOOKS great.

Posted by: indielife 1st March 2018, 01:19 PM

I saw the trailer couple days ago and was very curious. Not sure I'm going to watch it, is it worth?