Touches You

A lot of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The Secret of Moonacre is a beautifully constructed fantasy adventure film. I would describe it as rather charming with a sense of childlike playfulness. While it may not be made on a very big budget, they make do with what they have. The sets are interesting, the costumes are beautiful and there is a decent amount of shiny pretty special effects.While it may not be fast-paced it does continue on at a steady pace with a lovely storyline. It may seem similar to other fairy tales but the execution is what makes this movie special. Try to enjoy this one for what it is. It doesn't proclaim to offer you anything more than a lovely little movie set in a fantasy land and that is what it delivers.

Basically, this movie is about a young girl who moves to her uncle's house due to the death of her father. What she doesn't know that it includes a whole new world to her and she plays an important role in it.In my opinion, this movie was not completely horrible but filled with inaccuracies. At times I kept thinking to my self, "Why didn't he just do that?" An example came to mind when the young girl and an accomplice were found by the villain. They simply ran, or let's say jogged, away from him while he simply stood there yelling, "I will catch you!" Also, towards the end the Chef had miraculously said that he knew exactly where Maria had gone when Maria had never even mentioned any specific place she would be. She simply said, "I will know the place when I see it." And she was talking about one tree in a forest. A place filled with trees!One minute, the villain was in the forest and after another we see him in a scene a top an enormous cliff in some sort of temple. The group who were searching for Maria Merryweather were also in the forest when they suddenly entered the temple as well. Some stuff just doesn't make sense to me.The acting was below par. Dakota Richard's acting was acceptable compared to the adult actors. Juliet Stevenson put herself too much into the character that her expressions in specific situations were just awful. When this movie started out, I thought it had great potential. But the actors made the dialogue laughable and the resolution to the story was too much to bear. The scene with the horses and the wave was just completely random and extremely unnecessary. How the unicorn managed to solve the horrific conflict seemed a little too much. The setting was perfect for the story and the costumes were adequate for the time line but some aspects were useless. For example, Maria's tiny bedroom door that you almost have to crawl through. I cannot comprehend why that was necessary in the first place. Many more presented itself but none come to mind at the moment.To bring this review to a conclusion...I would recommend this movie to parents who want to entertain their kids with silly fantasy movies or just to show them a good time. Children would appreciate this movie. Overall acting was atrocious apart from the young Dakota Richards who continued to prove her skills and as for the story...It was a great story with a lot of potential but was shut down with the poor choice of actors, the horrible special effects, the humorous inaccuracies, and bad directing.If you have nothing better to do and happened to find this movie flipping through the channels, then it is an okay movie to pass the time.

In London, young, almost-a-teen Maria (Dakota Blue Richards) has just lost her father. Her nanny, Miss Heliotrope (Juliet Stevenson) tries to comfort her. When the will is read, Maria is dumbfounded to find out that she must move to the countryside and live with an unknown uncle, Benjamin (Ioan Gruffudd) at a remote estate called Moonacre. With no other choice, Maria and Miss H make the journey. Immediately, her uncle's gruff manner upsets the young lady. Yet, over the course of the next few weeks, magical things begin to happen to Maria. Elves appear and tell her of Moonacre's curse, that is, a pearl necklace was stolen from the Moon Princess long ago, by Maria's relations. In order to break the spell, the gems must be returned and are said to be hidden somewhere on the premises. Can Maria find them? The young girl also has to deal with dangerous, evil neighbors who inhabit a dark castle beyond the woods that separate the two properties. This family, headed by a horrid man (Tim Curry) wants to capture the girl to prevent her from breaking the curse. Also, living in the woods, is a beautiful lady (Natascha McElhone) who was once in love with Benjamin. Unhappily, their engagement went awry and the two are mild enemies, at present. But, since this beautiful woman knows the woods, can she help Maria in her fight against the wicked castle? This is one very lovely film, as beautiful as the moon, as they say. The art direction and special effects are superb, making the movie enchanting to watch. Also fine is the cast, from the stars to the supporting members. With very fine sets, costumes, script and direction as well, why wait for the moon's next appearance? Get this one today!

Firstly, I haven't read the book. In a way it works for my advantage allowing me to criticize the movie solely based on what was presented there and not be distracted by what was left out compared to book etc. I can think of two kinds of fairy tales: one is the kind you love when you're 7 but think it utterly stupid and childish when you're 30; the other type is the kind you find magical no matter how old you are. This movie here could've easily belonged to the first group but turned out to be something more valuable. The bicycle has been invented and now it's all about how you do it, not what you do. The whole movie in its being is one big cliché, BUT they have successfully managed to turn that weakness into a strong point. This could've easily been a cheesy Raspberry candidate and I am very picky about my fairy tales and fantasy and I was not disappointed. Several aspects made the story believable, starting from the level of acting and ending with props. When it comes to acting, the weakest link in the bunch was Natascha McElhone, who didn't always seem to be in it as much as the others (e.g the cursing part, people seem to agree on that part mostly). I was thoroughly impressed by Ioan Gruffudd, going from cold to heartbroken definitely moved my cruel heart. The milieu and the special effects were outstanding. No Lord of the Rings, don't get me wrong, but there was no half-hearted effort in that area. The Moonacre Manor and the many other scenes were picturesque and the costumes far-enough-out-of-the-box creative, mixing the traditional with a modern touch in perfect balance. All in all, I was left feeling satisfied and enriched and I reckon this movie deserves a rating above 7 of 10 the least, for it certainly wasn't a mediocre experience.