Matilda (1996)

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1. 

   EvaVilaPacheco

   How can this not be on any list? Watched it when I was in 1st grade, still love it. 9 years 7 months ago
2. 

   kirameki

   Bought a chocolate cake with my roommates and watched this yesterday. Aww yeah. 11 years 9 months ago
3. 

   Siskoid

   Danny DeVito's directorial work always has a strange tone, even when compared to other black comedies, and that's often proven off-putting to audiences. Matilda is without a doubt his most successful (perhaps because Roald Dahl is also tonally askew), and I find a lot of little details to love in his adaptation of the story. Some comedy directors think it's enough to present a funny situation and have funny actors say funny lines, but DeVito understands that there are many more opportunities for comedy in film making, so you'll find humor in the set dressing, costumes, camera shots, editing, sound design, etc. Mara Wilson was THE child actress of the mid-90s and is great as the precocious girl who develops telekinetic powers that free her from an abusive home and school. Relatable in that I was a precocious reader too (just not, you know, A Tale of Two Cities in 1st grade), it's always great to see something that's about the power of reading. Aside from Wilson, there's a lot of great casting in the film, whether Rhea Pearlman getting to play DeVito's wife just like in real life, or the two FBI agents, for comic effect, but all the kids too, as well as Embeth Davidtz and Pam Ferris as the polar opposites of the school system. Matilda is a story about child abuse (or at least neglect), sure, but pitched from a child's eye view that makes it magical and fun. It might be a little scary for sensitive kids, but that's what gives it enduring appeal for older audiences. 1 year 8 months ago

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