A Monster Calls is an adaptation of a children's book with a title that makes it sound like a horror movie. Neither of these things should obscure the fact that it's the most mature film of the year -- and one of the most moving.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 26, 2017

It's a small, almost delicate film that will richly reward those who connect with it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 21, 2017

If you're in the mood for emotional catharsis, A Monster Calls is one of the weepiest experiences I've had at the theater this year.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 13, 2017

The movie delivers its meaning repeatedly to make sure that no one misses the point; its lessons, rendered even more explicitly than the ones in Conor's classroom, are missing only the chalkboard and pointer.

| Jan 23, 2017

Part fairy tale/creature feature/domestic melodrama, this adds up to far more than a 'one boy and his monster' story - and is a tougher emotional journey as a result.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 9, 2017

This is not just a film about grief; it's a film that immerses you in grief's journey.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 8, 2017

As the movie rumbled toward its inevitably devastating conclusion, the chief emotion I felt wasn't sadness but annoyance at the dashed grander potential.

| Jan 8, 2017

The movie is an emotionally cathartic marvel I was continually captivated by, its final moments as genuine as its title character is pretend, the overall spell it ultimately casts unforgettably pure.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 6, 2017

A Monster Calls is a fairytale about the bogusness of fairytales -- about the reality of unhappy endings and the darkness and light that lives within us all. Guess your kid has to learn about existentialism eventually, right?

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 6, 2017

Director J.A. Bayona presents appealing worlds (real and imagined) awash in color and detail, but while his movie and its monster are very interested in exploring and explaining humanity, they don't quite get people.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 6, 2017

The latest young-adult-novel-turned-film, A Monster Calls, approaches its narrative of grief and loss with equal parts nuance and ferocity, plus some beautiful animation.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 6, 2017

Too mature to lure in the younger set and too one-dimensional to make much of an impression on adult audiences.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 6, 2017

This is a tough movie that takes on adult issues and doesn't shy away from the grim realities of its subject matter. But that's what makes this grim children's story work. It's a work of lovely darkness.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 6, 2017

The movie starts off looking like a conventional children's fantasy story, but it morphs slowly into something surprising, and all its own.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 5, 2017

This is a complex, richly imagined film with a deep understanding, clear-eyed but compassionate. The stories it contains help us to be honest about our own.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 5, 2017

This makes for one overcrowded assemblage of issues.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 5, 2017

Filmmaker J.A. Bayona keeps things visually interesting at all times in A Monster Calls. On a storytelling level, he doesn't pull his punches.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 5, 2017

A Monster Calls is unconventional storytelling in the best way. But parents should be aware that it's not exactly a feel-good film to share with their kids.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 5, 2017

Why is it so rare to find films "for children" with this kind of maturity and attention to technique?

| Jan 5, 2017

Rich in folkloric symbolism, this fantasy from director J.A. Bayona starts promisingly but eventually sinks under a wave of pop psychology.

| Jan 5, 2017