The Rocket

Over-produced and shamelessly manipulative, The Rocket employs a cringe-inducing score that cues every desired audience response, including unalloyed uplift at the end.

[It's] a feel-good, triumph-over-adversity story involving a small boy and, although this outcome also isn't in any doubt, at least the journey is fascinating and it's been made with a heart that is warm.

In some ways, it feels like a throwback to many '80s teen movies, where everything comes down to a competition at the end, and the hero will finally get the chance to prove his worth.

Australian writer/director Kim Mordaunt brings a convincing tale of a young Laotian boy leading his family to a new home...