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Nim's Island (2008)

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43 comments in total

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45 out of 56 people found the following comment useful :-
Great film, 31 March 2008

Author: the-gossip-king from Australia

While on holidays I managed to see this movie and I was pleasantly surprised. I have never liked Breslin but she is at her best in this movie and Jodie Foster will always be the magnificent Jodie Foster. Gerard Butler was also very funny and had me cracking up which is something a family movie has not made me do in a while. The story is good and witty and the movie is very family friendly. I think older teens would be bored because although I enjoyed it the story was a bit predictable at times. Overall I was very happy with the movie and would recommend it first and foremost as a family movies. Kids will love it and adults will be thoughtful enough to enjoy it.

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33 out of 40 people found the following comment useful :-
A good one for the whole family... Very creative!, 24 March 2008

Author: gcoast-1 from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I went and saw this movie at the world premiere. I will start out by saying this... It is a very good for the whole family to enjoy.

Storyline: A girl and her father are on a remote island. They are the only ones who live their. The father is a research scientist who is interested in microscopic creatures. Nim, the daughter, is very much in touch with nature and enjoys reading the tales of Alex Rover, an adventurer. The author, Alexandra Rover, is agoraphobic and hasn't left her apartment in a very long time. Dad goes to sea, storm makes him stranded. Nim is stuck alone on the island and is contacted by Alexandra Rover, and calls for her help. Well, you will have to watch the rest to find out...

Pros: A great family movie. It has the perfect recipe of drama, comedy, suspense and a touch of romance. The acting is great. The scenery is beautiful. The special effects are magnificent. The story of a father and daughter living on a remote island is very creative and lends itself to a really great story, which is what this movie is.

Cons: Being a family movie, it is predictable. There are also plot elements which go no-where. One being there is a huge talk about Nim's mother at the beginning, but then it really doesn't go anywhere after that.

Summary: If you have kids, of any age, this is a good movie to go and see with them. If you don't have kids, but are looking for something different from the usual movies, this is still one to consider. All in all, a good story, well told and with great characters.

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22 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Family Film, 4 April 2008

Author: tifferbear from United States

I loved this movie. I loved this movie so much that I came out of it with mascara smudges.

Jodi Foster as a neurotic writer who lives through her novels was just perfect. From anyone else without her chops it might have been over the top, but she was just brilliant. I for one was so glad to see her play an endearing character. Her past performances, and even her features lend a hard edge to people's perception of her, but I think this movie will give people a peek at the mom within the actress.

Gerard Butler was absolutely endearing in both roles that he played (Jack and Alex), and he was believable as a Dad.

Amber Breslin was believable as a capable young girl, and her extended family of animals were cute but not overly saccharine.

I am having a hard time writing a recommendation without spoilers, so let me conclude this by saying go see it. This is not only a cute movie, but the type of family movie that people should support. Good action, good story, and good values.

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17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Above Average Family Movie, 4 April 2008

Author: tabuno from utah

Nim's Island manages to never to go over the top and combines a nice comedy drama genre for the big screen. This movie has elements from The Last Action Hero (1993), Jumping Jack Flash (1986), and The Whalerider (2002), all fascinating looks at either imaginary or fantastical friends or exotic islands and a young woman's connection with marine life. What this movie is able to avoid is Home Alone (1990) dumb slapstick comedy. The script was very sensitive and careful with physical comedy and Jodie Foster's performance was dead on without becoming sloppy at all. Unfortunately, several of the plot points became close to cheesy, the volcano scenes had too much in the way of coincidental events, and the father's exploits teetered on unbelievable. Overall, though Nim's Island handled its material well, usually stayed within the bounds of acceptability in order to provide an entertaining, fun performance by Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin. Seven out of Ten Stars.

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18 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Great movie in more ways than one, 5 April 2008

Author: ryan_christopher from United States

I have read many comments about predictability, blah, blah, blah! I found this film refreshingly entertaining for all ages. There was something for everyone. Being a female around the same age, I can relate to Jodie Foster since I practically grew up with her!! And I do feel it was great seeing her in a lighter movie than she's been making lately.

Abigail Breslin was cute as always. She definitely can hold her own, but then she always has.

Gerard Butler - well I can never say enough about him. That's why I put great movie in more ways than one. To see him in two roles was just great. My daughter who is 15 got me into him from "Phantom" to "Dear Frankie" to "300" (and I hate war movies usually) to "Tomb Raider" to "P.S. I Love You" and now this movie. We went with 4 of her friends, and after wards we had a discussion on which "Gerard" we liked better. The vote was four for the swash-buckling Alex Rover (myself included) to two for the more clean-cut Jack! We all agreed that we loved this movie.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A nice "family" film that refreshingly helped bring out the kid in the adults., 4 April 2008

Author: cnet from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I had no idea what to expect of this film, and after reading the synopsis I wasn't to jazzed to see it. But I like both Jodie Foster and Gerald Butler, and the kids were bored so off to the movies we go.

I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. The movie was a great escape. It had humor, adventure, sharks, flying lizards, volcanoes, hurricanes, neurotic shrews, phantom heroes, and British tourists. All the makings of a classic family movie.

The film, for those unfamiliar with the book, revolves around Nim and her Father and the secret island the live on. When Nim's father goes missing while doing research, she reaches out to the neurotic, reclusive, and "borderline Agoraphobic" Alexandria Rover for help.

Comedy, fun, and adventure ensue.

One of the best parts of this movie was how it encouraged both reading and using one's imagination.

My kids (both girls, ages six and nine) enjoyed it and my wife and I also thought it was just great.

Update 4/11/2008 - My oldest daughter is about halfway through the book and reports that the movie stays very true to the book for the most part.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Certainly, an acceptable film for families, but a great film it is not, 27 April 2008

Author: Amy Adler from Toledo, Ohio

Nim (Abigail Breslin) and her marine biologist father (Gerard Butler) live on an island in the South Pacific. Dad's main area of study is microorganisms so this is a perfect venue for his work, in addition to being a kingdom where only the two of them rule. As Nim's mother died in an accident on the waters, it is also a good place for them to shut out the rest of the world and heal their spirits. Nim's only close friends are her beloved animals, a seal, a seabird, and a lizard. One day, father wants to make a boat trek nearby to look for a new protozoa and, for once, Nim convinces him to let her remain alone on the island. It turns out to be a bad decision, as father gets caught in a storm and can not return home at the appointed time. Nim appeals to an adventure writer named Alex Rover to come to the island and help look for her father (the island does have computer technology!) But, unknown to Nim, Alex is really Alexandra (Jodie Foster) and she is a shy agoraphobic who resides in San Francisco. Nevertheless, due to the gravity of the situation, Alex boards a plane and begins a journey to the island. Will she get there in time to save Nim and her father from destruction? On paper, this is a certain winner, for the basic premise of the movie is quite good and the undiscovered island setting is the stuff of dreams. Throw in the great threesome of Foster, Breslin, and Butler, and one could hardly ask for more, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case and it is difficult to say why, for the principal actors are quite good and the scenery is lovely. Also, there is some sly humor, as in the scene where a hula dancer is stopped in mid-wave to escape an exploding volcano! Perhaps, it is the story's inconsistencies and the slap-dash direction that are at fault, for the scenes seem put together in a mozaic that doesn't quite fit. Then, too, Butler takes on two roles, one as the father and one as the fictional alter-ego, Alex Rover, of Foster's books, with mixed results. To sum it up, the movie probably tries to do "too many things" and ends up lacking a real focus. However, it is absolutely an acceptable film for families, with enough adventure to please most age groups and a setting that is exotic and lovely beyond belief. Anyone searching for something new in the "child-friendly" category would find this one a good watch, but not a great one, alas.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Nim's comments, 10 April 2008

Author: Jahala_Dudley from United States

It was a cute movie. But, there were some parts that were 'too cute' to enjoy. Some of the animals used...though they were real, looked fake, cheesy, and unrealistic..like the bird.The seal was probably the most realistic acting animal and did a nice job. The lizards used in the film looked real but the the 'voices' they were given were way too cheesy and was the one thing that made them seem fake...although they got a giggle from the kids in the audience. Foster did a great job of portraying a character with agoraphobia, she hit it right on. The rest of the actors did quite well also, Breslin has proved herself to be a known name in the future. I definitely recommend this for the kids.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Bland, 10 April 2008

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

My friends and I decided to see Nim's Island tonite, I work at a theater and have walked in on a couple parts and it looked cute, so I figured it might be a fun watch. Honestly, Nim's Island is a good family film, decent enough for a watch, but I'm a little disappointed with what I was expecting. Just I think the ideas are a little beyond out there and I don't think this is the type of film that is going to keep a lot of kid's attention. It's just not memorable, it has it's cute moments here and there, now Abigail Breslin pulls in a decent enough performance to make the film watchable, but again, like her last film Definitely Maybe, it seems like she's getting the star's bug, which worries me because she has so much potential and her performances she doesn't seem to care too much since her Oscar nomination. But it's Jodie Foster's performance that majorly disappointed me, it was too forced and made the story more ridicules that what it already was.

Nim is a little girl who lives on an island with her dad who is an adventurer. Now they have not told anyone where they are and their living place, good idea if they need help, right? Well, her dad goes on a research assignment, and gets hit by a nasty storm stranding him in the middle of no where. When Nim gets an E-Mail from famous author, Alex Rover, who she thinks is a real life hero, Alex wants answers about volcano's for her next book, but Nim wants help since she's alone on the island and her dad hasn't returned. Alex has one problem, she's agoraphobic, but gets the strength to go on an adventure and help Nim out with the help of her famous character Alex Rover to get through this Indiana Jones ordeal.

Nim's Island is a cute movie, I would never ever say in a million years that this is a bad movie, because it is worth a look. Just I would recommend that you wait for the rental, this is not the Horton Hears a Who of the year, it's a movie that is forgettable unfortunately, it just needed more help with the script and the actors needed to bring it a little more down to Earth since the story is supposed to be fairy tale like, you'll see what I mean if you see this movie. But like I said, wait for the rental, it's a nice family film, but isn't the best movie of Spring 2008.

5/10

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Writer's Block, 6 May 2008

Author: couching_tiger_eatin_popcorn from San Diego, CA

Nim's Island is an adventure story about a young girl, Nim, who lives with her biologist father in a small volcanic island in the South Asiatic ocean. When her father goes missing out in the sea due to a storm, Nim asks for help from her favorite adventure novel writer, Alex Rover (Jodie Foster/Gerard Butler), via email. When Alex Rover finds out about Nim's predicament, she overcomes her agoraphobia to come to Nim's aid.

From the reviews I've read so far, it seems that this movie is mostly being judged on its merits as a children's film. Which is fair, because it is a movie based on a children's book of the same name. Its format and tone makes it apparent that it is intended for elementary school level children and it is marketed as a light, children's fare. But based on the narrative and structure, one can look at this movie as more than just a children's entertainment--personally, I see this movie as a statement about being a writer.

If viewed with emphasis on Alex Rover's character, Nim's Island becomes an interpretation of a children's book about an author going through a writer's block and dealing with mental illness. Although it may not be a direct representation of events in the author's own life, I believe that a writer writing about another writer is basically holding a mirror up to their reflections regarding their own state of mind. It's probable that the author of the book was addressing her own mental block when writing about the Alex Rover character. Perhaps she is also poking fun at herself as an adventure story writer stuck at home with a hackneyed domestic life.

Ultimately, the film is about the healing process, and finding equilibrium in one's life. When the film starts, Nim is a confident, adventurous, boisterous young girl with fresh memories of her father. Alex Rover, on the other hand, is a fearful woman with a mental problems whose alter-ego manifests himself whenever she is stressed. Most of the movie has story of one's adventure juxtaposed against the other's--their shared on-screen time is actually very short, appearing together only near the film's end. As the film progresses, you see both Nim and Alex Rover start shedding some of their old characteristics and taking on the other's traits. Their union at the end may indicate that all three (four) characters represent one person, the author. By the end, the truest manifestation of the author, Alex Rover, learns to be a healthier, more complete person.

There are not many negative things I can say about this movie, but there are some plot elements that you must swallow in order to enjoy the movie, such as the film's departure from laws of nature and the characters' disregard for safety and logic--it's virtually the same thing as watching a talking dog in a children's cartoon, but it's harder to accept because the movie is live-action. When ideas are drawn, it's immediately understood that it is an interpretation of something that's based in real life, but this is not the case for live-action films. Once you accept the premise that is movie is meant to represent a children's book, the faults should be easy enough to disregard.

On a side note, it was very welcoming to see Jodie Foster embrace the physical comedy involved in the role--she's no Charlie Chaplin, but it's an interesting excursion for her, acting-wise. She effectively used comedy to balance out the fear in her character.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable movie, and I highly recommend it to most adults as well as kids.

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