 You're the toughest kid in that school. Show them. You can't blend in when you were born to stand out. You know this film Wonder is the perfect counter-programming for the comic book movie that was just released this weekend. My name is Brandon Keith-Avery and this is just my opinion. Hey guys, I want to thank you so much for tuning in to my opinion slash review for Wonder. I really do appreciate it, but before we get into the review, help your boy out. Go ahead and click that subscribe button, become one of my subscribers, also click the bell so you can be notified when I do make uploads and also give me that thumbs up. Let's see if we can get this video to 100 likes. And just like I said in my intro, this is the perfect counter-programming for the big comic book movie that's released this weekend. I saw the trailer for this a long time ago, many, many months ago and I was really looking forward to it because it just seemed like it had Oscar worthy performances and storytelling written all over it. I love the cast, from the trailers I did, love the TV spots and what not, it seemed like something I would be able to relate to and for the most part, you know, it was. I love the cast in this movie, it stars Julia Roberts and Orrin Wilson as the mother and father of a young man by the name of August. And just the premise and plot of the movie, this is actually based on a true story and it is also based off of a best-selling novel that came out in 2012. And what it's about is, well the main star is named is Jacob Trimbley. And if you don't know who he is, he is the little boy that starred in Room that came out in 2015 and that movie did get some Oscar recognition, that's a great movie if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it. It's also been directed by Steven and I have to look down Shopsky, it's C-H-B-O-S-K-Y. So sorry that I am butchering your name. But this gentleman here directed Perkz and the Wildflower, which I did not see, but he was also responsible for writing the story for the Disney live action reboot of Beauty and the Beast that came out, I believe earlier this year or last year, but I think it was earlier this year. So, you know, he kind of knows what he's doing as far as the writing and directing because, you know, I haven't seen Perkz and the Wildflower, but the people I have talked to, everybody says that, you know, that movie is fantastic. So what this movie is about is we have Jacob Trimbley, who is his name in the film is August or Augie and he has a sister named Via and of course, not Matt Damon, but Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts is his mother and father. And one thing that I did like about the film straight off the back is the family dynamic, the family relationship that I had in this movie, it just felt so warm and cozy, you know, I was kind of like, man, you know, that's a nice family in this movie. I would not mind, you know, being a part of this family. Now, Augie was born with a rare disease by the name of Treacher-Collins syndrome. And what it is, it's a genetic disorder characterized by deformities in the face, the eyes, the ears, and the chin. And there are varying degrees, you know, to this disorder. And there's no cure for it, but you just have to go through a number of, you know, plastic surgeries and things like that to try to make the best of it. In August, he's never been in school before because, you know, he doesn't want to be ostracized in school and we all know that, you know, kids can be really cruel and mean and bully each other and things and I'm going to touch on that. And so he's never been in school before. He's been home school his whole life, you know, by his mother and loving family. And he's going into the fifth grade for the first time where he's going to be interacting with other students his age. So that's just the premise of this movie. And when you think about that, I mean, that's just scary as hell. You know, alone, just thinking about the fact alone that, you know, you've been home school your whole life and you haven't really interacted with anybody else, but then you have this disorder. So, you know, kids are going to be staring at you and making fun of you and things like that. And that's just really, you know, how the movie starts off. And another way that the movie starts off is to just really grab my attention and just drug me in is the narration of the movie. There was narration from August played by Jacob Tremley throughout the whole movie and not just narration by him, but narration from the rest of the cast. And I also say the rest of it, well, not the whole cast, but, you know, certain cast members because usually in America, in the Western society, film over here is put together in a three act structure. And this film is somewhat unconventional because it doesn't follow that same formula. I would say that this movie is divided into four chapters because, of course, we have the main character, Jacob Tremley played by August played by Jacob Tremley. And he's the main character, but this is all the rest of the supporting cast, whether his sister, his mother, his father, his friends at school that he makes or any other surrounding cast members. They all play a worthy role in this movie. And it's all equal. So you have, you know, August right here and then everybody else, no matter who they are, are like right there, secondary characters. And they all play a prominent role. And all those prominent roles, of course, we get the narration by August. We get a narration by one of his friends. I think his name was Jacob. What was his name in the movie? It's slipping me right now. Let me go back and look. And I really wouldn't be making a big deal about the name, but, you know, everybody did such a Jack, Jack Will played by Noah. Jude, we get a section base. So we get a section, folks and strictly on August, his perspective, which is, I guess, the most important. We get a perspective from Jack Will. We get a perspective from his sister, Via. And we also get a perspective from, what is his name? Charlotte, another friend of Via's or whatever. And I'll touch on that in just a second. And initially in the film, I was kind of turned off by, you know, these different chapters, because I just kind of felt like, you know, they could have just transitioned into those perspectives. But the screen or the, yeah, the screen kind of blacked out and gave you like a giant subtitle of the character's name. And then we went there, but it actually flowed quite nice. So, you know, initially I was kind of turned off by, you know, but I did, you know, learn to gain some appreciation to it as the film passed along and progressed to the end. But one thing that stood out to me the most, cause I feel like I'm jumping back and forth here, is the perspective from August or August or August or whatever, because he has such great narration. And given the condition that he had, you know, he was afraid, of course, he was really timid. And, you know, I'm not gonna call him a camera. I do not blame him. You know, he would go around carrying this astronaut hat or a helmet or whatever to hide his face. And that just kind of was his comfort zone or whatever. And I could completely relate to his character because I think no matter what age you are, everybody has always been in a situation to where they're uncomfortable. To where he's like, man, I feel like all the spotlight is on me right now. And I wish everybody would just look away. I just want to come in and get in and get out. But everybody's looking at me right now. But, you know, we've all been there. But this character here in the movie, and I suppose in real life, had to kind of go through that every day at just a young age. And that just really spoke volumes to me, you know? And so when he's doing his narration, he just expresses how much that he is in love with being an astronaut and how he just wants to go to the moon and fly in space like that. And it just made me love his character even more. Because, I mean, everything in this movie could be, you know, exactly right. And, you know, as a true story, you know, down to the T. But, you know, there could have been some writing liberties that, you know, changed the story here and there and just kind of kept the basic premise, you know, grounded. But he really wants to be an astronaut. And that was one key line at the very beginning of the movie that stood out to me because he was like, hey, you know, my mom always said to her, if you're in a situation that you don't want to be in or whatever, just imagine where you want to be or imagine someone else that you want to be or something like that. So it was just really nice to see him use his imagination to where, when he was in an uncomfortable situation, especially like his first day of school, you know, he's afraid and he's timid, but he would imagine himself in like an astronaut suit or something like that, going around high-fiving people. And like, he was really into Star Wars. And so they kept like using the character Chewbacca or Chewie. And, you know, he kept coming in and out or whatever. And that was just something that, you know, gave his mind clarity and just was able to adjust to all the random situations and bullying that he had to go through. And I just think they did a really good job there as far as the storytelling is concerned. Now, initially, I do want to talk about his sister Via because I did not like her at first because I just thought that she was really selfish. I'm like, why are you not being sensitive to your brother here? I mean, you know, I understand that, you know, you're the older sister and you're the first born and, you know, you're a girl or a teenager and you want, you know, some attention, but, you know, your brother isn't a completely different situation. But when the fam transition over to her perspective, you know, we did get a nice glimpse to see where she came from and why she thinks that the way she does or whatever. And so it was just kind of like the director knew, like, hey, I know as I'm writing this to audience members are going to be asking these questions and I'm going to reveal the answers to them right here. And as soon as these questions popped in my head, of course, like I just said, the writers and the directors had everything under control and switched the narrative on you to give you the answers to the questions that you have as to why she was possibly being so selfish. I also was able to, like I said, I was able to relate to the family, something I was also able to relate to. I think we all are, it's like, you know, I'm a young man right now in my 30s or whatever. I'm not in my 40s. I'm not in my 50s. And I've dealt with a little bit of stress before, but, you know, my mom and dad always kind of joke with me now, like, Brandon, if you're stressed about things right now, you have no idea what's coming to you. And of course, you know, I believe them, and I believe every elder that tries to tell me that. But I say that to say is like, I think that every time or every, everybody, when they was in elementary and junior high or even high school or whatever, just a dumb, silly little drama that you go through when you're, you know, eight, nine, 10, 11 years old. I mean, it's so important to you. And you just think it's like, if this, you know, if Becky or Susie or Jonathan or Darrell or whatever, they don't talk to me or they're not my friend anymore, is this like the end of the world? Like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? And of course, as you get older, you just look back and you're like, oh my gosh, that was just so stupid. I can't believe I was stressing over that. Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada. They have all of that in this movie. And I really did like that. And I was able to relate to that as well. There's also a level of bullying in this film. And I was able to relate to that as well too. I mean, you know, of course, I've been made fun of a time and two as I was growing up. And I like how the film addressed this, you know, on the side of good parents to know how to deal with it in a mature manner. And they also had a set of parents that were just complete nasty, just monsters. I'm just like, oh my gosh, no matter, this is why your child asked this way is because, you know, you're raising them or whatever. Everybody is like a product of their environment. And so this, you know, the film was able to put a shining light on that as well. And I have so much that I wanna talk about. I just wanna make sure that I don't leave anything out. Also, just the acting across the board was phenomenal. From Jacob Trimbley, he did a great job in Rome in 2015. He did a great job here. It was kind of hard to see, and I'm not trying to sound insensitive, some of his facial mannerisms because there was a lot of prosthetic makeup on his face, you know, to, you know, I bring the point home of the syndrome, of the facial deformity that he had. But still, he was able to emote in necessary times and, you know, just do a great job. And also with him being the main character, like, you know, the film still was able to focus a lot on other characters as well that didn't even have to do with the family. Like I think her name was Charlotte, which was Via's friend or whatever. We got a nice glimpse of her or whatever. And, you know, why she didn't wanna be someone's friend in this movie either. And there's just like a ton of messages in this movie. I mean, you know, words are very powerful. You know, just, you know, you should just be kind to one another and, you know, have each other's back. You know, if someone's messing with you, fight back, stand your ground, defend those who you love. I mean, there's just like little notes like this here, a little notions like that throughout this whole movie. So I'm just smiling ear to ear throughout this whole picture. And it was also very funny too. I was laughing, you know, here and there, of course, by the main character, Aki. You know, he was a funny guy. He was very smart. You know, he didn't talk trash, but for the most part, if somebody were to, you know, talk bad about him, you know, he kind of had a quick jab, you know, that he would just kind of boom, you know, knock him out or whatever, not physically. I mean, you know, as far as a metaphor is concerned. So I just really liked that. I mean, there was really nothing that I didn't like about this film. And so for the very end, there was a scene or sequence that had to do with a camp. And I kind of felt like that was a little unnecessary because initially I was like, oh my gosh, this movie is so great. I'm going to be giving this like a 9.5 out of 10. You know, this has Oscar Bate written all over it, either for Best Picture or, I don't know, yeah, probably Best Picture. Yeah, I can't think of anything else. But I'm not saying that it should win Best Picture because there is another movie that I saw earlier this year that I did like better, but I at least feel that it should have some recognition. But towards the end of the film, it kind of lingered on. Like the film kept making me feel like it was going to end and it just kept going and going and going. And I was like, okay, I thought the film was going to end. Okay, I thought it was going to end again, but it just kept on going. But, you know, it finally did end and it had a very nice, lovely ending. You know, I didn't, you know, I wanted to just stand up and applaud, but you know, I kind of feel like I would have ruined the film for everybody else in the auditorium with me. Oh, whatever. But guys, it was a great film. I really did enjoy it and I think you will too. This is one of the best films that I have seen our year. There were a lot of people in the film that were crying towards the end because like I heard them sniffling and you know, oh my God, you know, things like that. I mean, seriously, I mean, there's a great cast in this film, great acting, great family dynamic, great storytelling. And there was another thing just about the storytelling, some things that they were able to do with the sound mixing and sound design and the soundtrack. Like, you know, I said before that he was an astronaut, he wanted to be an astronaut. So like one thing that I noticed at the very beginning of the film is where he was really scared going in through the courtyard at school or whatever. There was like a countdown in the background of like, you know, like a shuttle is flying in the space like, you know, five, four, three, you know, blast off and you know, all the effects of like a spaceship, you know, flying in the space or whatever. And so they was playing that in the background while, you know, he was walking in the school or whatever and I just thought there was really touching or whatever and really just, you know, hammered down the point or whatever. Or if there was a soundtrack or a score in the background and you just kind of think that was added in, you know, you see a character with some headphones as soon as she takes the headphones out the music were to stop. So you can focus on the dialogue or whatever between the characters and the dialogue was great. But it was just like a lot of little things like that that I really did appreciate and loved. And, you know, I really did love this film. It pulled on my heart. It didn't make me cry like it did some other people. It may make you cry. But it was overall a great film that I really did enjoy. If I were to rate Wonder out of one out of 10, I would give it a nine out of 10. Yes, a nine out of 10. But guys, that is just my opinion. Have you seen Wonder or do you wanna see it? Have I turned you on? Have I turned you off? Or do you agree with me or do you disagree with me? Let me know in the comment section below. Let's get this conversation going and keep it flowing. If you liked this video, go ahead and give me the thumbs up. And if you don't like the video, that's fine. Just leave me a comment below why. And still, give me the thumbs up. Since you're watching this on YouTube, go ahead and subscribe to my YouTube channel. So become one of my subscribers, get all the content that I have to provide. You can also click the bell so you can be notified when I do make uploads. Also, guys, go to my website, check me out there, justmyapin.net, justmyapin.net book market. I do have written reviews. I would really appreciate it. And also, guys, look me up on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It's right there at the bottom of my screen. And I made it very easy for you guys by providing a link down in the description box below. But guys, I just want to thank you again for tuning in to my Appian Slash review for Wunder, starring Jacob Trembly, starring Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts, directed by Stephen Shopsky. And before you go, don't forget, then my name is Brandon Keith-Avery. And that's just my opinion. Peace.