i got a little movie fix this past weekend. saw ghost rider on friday night with mike king, who was in town. and saw bridge to terabithia saturday with my family. let’s start with bridge…
this movie blew me away. a big part of it was that i really didn’t know anything about it, and had formed a completely wrong assumption about what the movie was about, based only on the trailer. i thought it was about some kids who actually stumble into a (real) alternative reality. you know, like, zathura. or something like that.
no, while that may have been fine, it’s much better than that. it’s really the story of two young teens who don’t quite fit in for one reason or another. they befriend each other, exercise their creativity (that’s the alternative reality of terabithia — it’s just their wonderful imagination) as a way of finding safety and adventure, and deal with some tough stuff. i don’t think this is a spoiler… but i will say i was sucker-punched by not knowing anything about the plot line, and boy-howdy did i cry. whew!
the acting was surprisingly good for a movie with kids, and there weren’t simple answers given, which i appreciated. my whole family enjoyed it. highly recommended.
and it couldn’t have been more different than ghost rider. mike had a good description for ghost rider: entertaining. was it a “good” movie? c’mon. of course not. that wasn’t the point, was it? were we entertained? absolutely. my friend steve case emailed me this hilarious list of questions he was left with after seeing the film, which i find substantially more funny after seeing the movie:
Ten Questions We Are Left Wondering At The End Of The Movie Ghost Rider
1. If you make a deal with the devil for “all the right reasons” will God give you a second chance?
2. If your superpowers are given to you by the devil (or some variation thereof) can you use them to fight for justice?
3. How come all the people who sign a “deal with the devil” have never seen a “deal with the devil” movie?
4. Why does the script writer make every possible joke about “skulls” and “hotheads” but not one “flaming” joke?
5. Is it possible that Peter Fonda and Nicholas Cage made a bet to see who could be the most “over the top” before getting fired?
6. Has Peter Fonda ever made a movie without a motorcycle?
7. How many more movies will Peter Fonda make before he morphs completely into his father.
8. If a flaming missile shot down the middle of the city why does no one call homeland security?
9. Do we, as Christians, believe in doing penence or not? Let’s get this settled once and for all.
10. Exactly what number tensel strength is the piano wire that they used to tie the button on the front of Eva Mendes blouse. If that thing pops, somebody is going to lose an eye?
I was pretty disappointed with Ghost Rider. The Marvel Comics movies are pretty hit and miss. You’ll have a couple good ones like the X-Men series and Spiderman…and then a few that just stunk it up like Hulk and The Fantastic 4. But I would agree with it being “entertaining”. Just not entertaining enough for me to sit thru again. :)
Mark,
The book of Bridge to Terabithia is even deeper and richer. Your kids might enjoy reading it with their dad :-)
The author, Katherine Paterson is a believer and I think the redemptive themes come though very clearly, but without preachy-ness.
Jennifer echoed my thoughts, too! There was a wonderful interview with her son David who, along with his childhood friend, Lisa, who died, was the inspiration for Katherine Paterson writing the book. She agreed not to publish it without David’s permission. He sought to have it made into a film for many years (he was 8 when his friend died and is now 40). He mentione that they intentionally brought in another screenwriter (in addition to himself) and that’s where the images seen in the trailers originated from.
Katherine Paterson is an amazing writer who has won the prestigious Newbery award for best children’s books at least twice – once for Bridge to Teribithia and for Jacob Have I Loved.
I heartily recommend her books as well!!
Christine
I also saw Bridge to Terabithia this weekend. I had not read the book and knew almost nothing of the plot – was expecting something Narnia-ish. Marko’s term “blown away” pretty much summarizes my feelings. I could have used a whole box of kleenex. The honesty and sensitivity with which they touched on so many themes like friendship, the need for love, parents, religion… was incredibly powerful. I could hardly talk about it without choking up for at least a half-hour afterwards. EXCELLENT movie. I must read the book now (I think I read Jacob Have I Loved in middle school, too…)
I’m going to see Bridge tonight…Any thoughts on taking my 5 year old daughter? Also I saw Ghost Rider as well. How can I say…Uh…Garbage!
Ghost Rider was better then Hulk, Blade 3 and Man-Thing as far as recent Marvel movies go, so that was good enough for me.