23 - spoiler warning!

I found this movie extremely well done and it stuck out as something different due to the playful scenes in the fictional world of the protagonist.

Note: the explaination after the climax is sort of needed - I'm sure it will be bashed for hand-holding the audience. After the wild ride through the story, twists, turns, and leads everywhere, the audience needs that slap in the face of a climax then guided walk through what just happened. It's the "click" for the audience ... what makes them realize - "ooooh. i get it".

This might occur a little before the hand holding if you're a savvy movie-goer and reader when the wife opens the box revealing her husband's name on the front - but for the rest of us - the summarization of the whole is needed and welcome.

The eerie tale centers with this dog that gives the audience a steady uncomfortable feeling - was it the devil? was it God? What ever it was - it seemed to me that it was a little more than just a dog who witnessed the murder years ago.

Overall the movie was something new for the audience, Jim, and genre. As a DIY filmmaker, I can't help but think that the marketing department didn't take enough advantage of the title and promotion opportunies it offered - I can imagine the number 23 everywhere ... they needed a street team to sticker everything!

Anyway, good movie!

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Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson's emotional childrens book was adapted very well by Jeff Stockwell and Katherine's son, David Paterson. Like the book, the story deals with two friend's adventures in the imaginary land of Terabithia where anything can happen. The life of Jesse Aarons reveals that he is a misfit character at home with the use of two bickering teen sisters and seemingly preoccupied parents as well as at school due to the school bullies that constantly pick on him and a music teacher he has a crush on.

The imaginative aspects of the story brought the audience back to when they were a kid playing make-believe in their backyard or fort they had built due to the realistic portrayal of how the imagination can work between two people. Unlike the trailer, which marketed the movie as more of a Narnia type adventure story, this really stuck close to the book and echoed the themes and lessons Paterson told years ago in the classic book.

The only problem I personally had with the movie was the ending. The reason I balked at it was because it felt alien when Jesse brings his little sister to Terabitha and makes her princess. It wasn't their story ... it was the friendship between Jesse and Leslie - but as time only tells, obviously the story is a classic because the author knew what she was doing. The imaginative creatures, most of which the audience has never seen before, reveal themselves in applause as the little sister enters and the audience wonders, "why?" The audience wasn't pulled from their seats in applause with the characters, like when watching the ending of Titanic, because the audience didn't care about the little sister as much as they cared about Jesse and Leslie. The audience wanted Jesse to see Leslie one last time in Terabithia, after all, it would be nice to know that she will live on forever in Jesse's imagination, as told in Finding Neverland. In conclusion, this movie is self-contained, well adapted, and climaxes fine when Jesse's Dad hugs him in comfort in Terabithia after Leslie's death ... but the movie keeps running in efforts of avoiding a downer ending. All I have to say about that is that it seems to have worked for the book, now known as a classic, and made the story different and well-heard because of it.

Christopher
www.ScriptDig.com

Norbit: A Review

Written By
Christopher
ScriptDig.com

The movie was a simple, fun, Friday night movie worth a few good laughs. It’s not to be taken seriously and its characters are dramatically exaggerated for comedic effect. The screenplay is an average romantic comedy with it’s up and down rollercoaster ride between the three main characters which keeps the audience holding on tight and rooting for Norbit.

This movie seemed to end a couple times which leads the audience into thinking the film is long – but it’s average. The film opens with the perfect image for the entire movie, reflecting the director’s talent, of a baby Norbit being thrown from a speeding vehicle in front of Mr. Wong’s … which reminds me, for those who don’t know, Eddie Murphy actually plays three characters in this movie!

The second act certainly puts Norbit in the tree of story and throws rocks at him. His wife, Rasputia is impossible to deal with and even breaks Norbit’s heart, which fuels the audience to laugh at the ‘fat jokes’ though out the movie as a way of saying ‘it’s okay to laugh … she’s really mean.”

Those who liked The Nutty Professor will enjoy Eddie’s new starring to the third power movie. Norbit’s a great guy and easy to root for. Check out the previous article and read about the Sea of Emotions including: sympathy, empathy, and antipathy - all of which drive Norbit's screenplay.