"Mom's not the person she once was. And I know she's not the person she wanted to be. But to me, she's much more than that."
Welcome to January Movies! Today we have...an above average Hallmark movie!
Penguin Bloom stars the incomparable Naomi Watts in the true story about the Bloom family. Sam, a young mother, has her world is turned upside down after a shocking, near-fatal accident leaves her paralyzed. Sam and her family are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin. The bird's arrival is a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, eventually making a profound difference on Sam's life, teaching her how to live again. As cheesy as this sounds, it's not as bad as you'd think. Even I found myself enjoying a good duration of it. Naomi Watts is great as always. Without her here, I don't think it would be as good as it is now. The adult cast does well, too. Jacki Weaver, Andrew Lincoln, and Rachel House are all developed well enough to like them. I should also add that the cinematography is actually really good. I like what this movie tries to do.
Where it falters is the story. It follows that Hallmark-like structure so its predictable and tries so hard to be emotional. Right away we're greater with a child giving a home movie where they address how everything was great until this moment. The kid, Noah, of course blames himself for the accident but it isn't explored enough why. There's a scene explaining, but we don't know him well enough to see the point. The script could've been better as well. If I could change one thing, it would be the length. It's an hour and a half long but it would've worked so much better as an hour long special or something. In 45 minutes it covers everything, really. Then not much happens until almost the end. It couldn't figure out what else to do so I began to lose interest. When the movie does finish, it's serviceable enough to be fine. I'm surprised that this is better than expected. It's on Netflix so for a casual watch, this should do.
Welcome to January Movies! Today we have...an above average Hallmark movie!
Penguin Bloom stars the incomparable Naomi Watts in the true story about the Bloom family. Sam, a young mother, has her world is turned upside down after a shocking, near-fatal accident leaves her paralyzed. Sam and her family are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin. The bird's arrival is a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, eventually making a profound difference on Sam's life, teaching her how to live again. As cheesy as this sounds, it's not as bad as you'd think. Even I found myself enjoying a good duration of it. Naomi Watts is great as always. Without her here, I don't think it would be as good as it is now. The adult cast does well, too. Jacki Weaver, Andrew Lincoln, and Rachel House are all developed well enough to like them. I should also add that the cinematography is actually really good. I like what this movie tries to do.
Where it falters is the story. It follows that Hallmark-like structure so its predictable and tries so hard to be emotional. Right away we're greater with a child giving a home movie where they address how everything was great until this moment. The kid, Noah, of course blames himself for the accident but it isn't explored enough why. There's a scene explaining, but we don't know him well enough to see the point. The script could've been better as well. If I could change one thing, it would be the length. It's an hour and a half long but it would've worked so much better as an hour long special or something. In 45 minutes it covers everything, really. Then not much happens until almost the end. It couldn't figure out what else to do so I began to lose interest. When the movie does finish, it's serviceable enough to be fine. I'm surprised that this is better than expected. It's on Netflix so for a casual watch, this should do.