Overview
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
In my (very amateur) career of appreciating and reviewing movies I seemed to have hit a point where I rarely take notes on movies as I watch them. I think there are two reasons for this. The first reason is that I have seen so many movies that I am not nearly as motivated to write reviews, let alone taking notes as I watch the movies. I used to write long-form reviews of movies but that just wasn’t possible as life grew more complicated.
The second reason is that – after having gone back through the years and watch so many great movies – it is hard to find good movies in the present. Sure, there are three or four that come out every year that really grab me. Seeing as I watch 150ish movies a year, those three or four are very sparse (and usually towards the end of the year).
About twenty minutes into this movie I could easily tell that there was something extraordinary going on. On the surface this seemed like it would follow along the lines of other movies where someone was remembering their past. This movie isn’t that, and couldn’t be less that. As you probably know, the movie is written and directed by Spielberg and it is supposed to be an autobiographical account of his life growing up. Speilberg chose to come up with fictional names for the characters in the movie – that added a fantastic new dimension to the movie that is difficult to explain. I think where the movie really excels is that it isn’t a retelling of everything that happened to Spielberg and his family. The film has a three dimensional aspect to the story (accentuated by color and song) that I don’t think that I’ve ever seen before.
The movie can probably be broken down into two different themes. While it isn’t necessarily obvious, the first half of the movie is about his parents. While Paul Dano is amazing in an understated role as the father, it is Michelle Williams that is absolutely hypnotizing in her role as the mother. She is so incredibly magnetic in her scenes… I don’t think I’ve better from her in any of her other movies (and she has done so many amazing films). The second half of the movie is a bit more autobiographical as the young filmmaker begins to understand his family (and the world) through his amateur filmmaking. The entire movie is capped off with an incredible scene at the end that I won’t spoil here. For me, this was the best movie of the year.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews The Fabelmans
Movie title: The Fabelmans
Movie description: Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
Date published: 2023-01-28
Director(s): Steven Spielberg
Actor(s): Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Jeannie Berlin, Judd Hirsch, Julia Butters, Chloe East, Sam Rechner, Keeley Karsten, Oakes Fegley, Isabelle Kusman, Robin Bartlett, David Lynch, Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, Sophia Kopera, Birdie Borria, Alina Brace, Chandler Lovelle, Gustavo Escobar, Nicolas Cantu, Cooper Dodson, Gabriel Bateman, Stephen Matthew Smith, Lane Factor, James Urbaniak, Alex Quijano, Kalama Epstein, Connor Trinneer, Greg Grunberg, Jan Hoag, Carlos Javier Castillo, Ezra Buzzington, Paul Chepikian, Brinly Marum, Crystal the Monkey, Art Bonilla, Meredith VanCuyk, Nicole Alicia Xavier, Vera Myers, Larkin Campbell, Cody Mitchell, Caroline Anna-Kaye Green, Rob Shiells, Julyah Rose, April Elize, Jonathan Moorwood, Ari Davis, Jared Becker, Kendal Evans, Trang Vo, Mason Bumba, Mary M. Flynn, Adriel Porter, Tia Nalls, Harper Dustin, Alejandro Fuenzalida, Orion Hunter, Samantha Rose Gomez, Taylor Hall, Sarah Hamilton, Paige Locke, Marissa McBride
Genre: Drama
My Review
In my (very amateur) career of appreciating and reviewing movies I seemed to have hit a point where I rarely take notes on movies as I watch them. I think there are two reasons for this. The first reason is that I have seen so many movies that I am not nearly as motivated to write reviews, let alone taking notes as I watch the movies. I used to write long-form reviews of movies but that just wasn’t possible as life grew more complicated.
The second reason is that – after having gone back through the years and watch so many great movies – it is hard to find good movies in the present. Sure, there are three or four that come out every year that really grab me. Seeing as I watch 150ish movies a year, those three or four are very sparse (and usually towards the end of the year).
About twenty minutes into this movie I could easily tell that there was something extraordinary going on. On the surface this seemed like it would follow along the lines of other movies where someone was remembering their past. This movie isn’t that, and couldn’t be less that. As you probably know, the movie is written and directed by Spielberg and it is supposed to be an autobiographical account of his life growing up. Speilberg chose to come up with fictional names for the characters in the movie – that added a fantastic new dimension to the movie that is difficult to explain. I think where the movie really excels is that it isn’t a retelling of everything that happened to Spielberg and his family. The film has a three dimensional aspect to the story (accentuated by color and song) that I don’t think that I’ve ever seen before.
The movie can probably be broken down into two different themes. While it isn’t necessarily obvious, the first half of the movie is about his parents. While Paul Dano is amazing in an understated role as the father, it is Michelle Williams that is absolutely hypnotizing in her role as the mother. She is so incredibly magnetic in her scenes… I don’t think I’ve better from her in any of her other movies (and she has done so many amazing films). The second half of the movie is a bit more autobiographical as the young filmmaker begins to understand his family (and the world) through his amateur filmmaking. The entire movie is capped off with an incredible scene at the end that I won’t spoil here. For me, this was the best movie of the year.
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My Review - 9.5/10
9.5/10