The Box

So last week (wait, last week? Man, that seems ages ago) I went out with my supafriend Heather for her 18 birthday (I kidd, she just seems like a wee baby to me though). We met at a delish Mexican restaurante and ate yummy food. Her pick for the activity of the night was to see The Box. So here is my little review....

The Box first of all, has that cute guy James Marsden and the iffy Cameron Diaz (the iffy part will be explained another time). I had read the short story Button, Button a coupla years ago. It was published in the 1970's by Richard Matheson, he later also wrote the very popular Twilight Zone episode based on the same short story. A great little gem of a story that you should find and read.

But back to the movie...

The movie opens on a family: mom who is a teacher at a private school, dad works at NASA and a son attends said private school. Money is tight, and yet the dad has a brand new sports car?! The mom has half of her foot missing which causes her to limp and later points are made on said half-foot. She soon finds out the money is going to get a lot tighter...What will they do?

And The Box shows up. Unannounced and unexplained. Soon a man with HALF HIS FACE MISSING shows up and the mom welcomes him in...Yea, this is where it veers away from reality, What women alone at home would invite a stranger this scary into their home?

He explains the box: push the button and someone somewhere, that she doesn't know, will die. If she pushes the button she will receive one million dollars. She can't tell anyone but her husband about the man or the box. He will pick up the box at the same time tomorrow.

So the rest of the movie completely veers from anything in the short story. It was entertaining to watch, some great jump-in-your-seat moments too. And lots of creepy people staring dumbly at the main characters (which later haunted my dreams).

There was A LOT that I didn't understand...I looked to my friends for explantation but they had none. I left feeling confused and a little wigged out.

So it wasn't the best movie, it wasn't the worst. And it strayed from the book a great deal. But it might be worth seeing on DVD...

"Happiness isn't always the best way to be happy"

 

When I saw the preview for Where the Wild Things Are I was over joyed. It just looked so...so...enchanting. I loved the book as an adult (actually it scared me a little as a kid) and my kids loved it, too. I talked to a few friends who saw it with their children and they gave me very mixed up reviews. "Wasn't like the book, scary, disturbing..." Anyhow, I wasn't sure what to think about before we headed out today.

Let me just say, that we just got back from taking my girls and my nieces to see it and I LOVED IT! Yes, from a kids perspective it could be a little scary, a little daunting and maybe to us (read: parents) it seems like Max is showing them to be misbehaved. I mean, yes, it showed Max acting out (um, did you read the book? He was WILD) and biting his mom and feeling overwhelmed in an adult world. But it also showed how his and the monsters actions and reactions have consequences. It gave the flip side to hurting someone's feelings.  And like the poster says there's a monster in each of us. As a movie it could exaggerate all of those to demonstrate a point and a beautiful story.

Also, I felt like I was watching a story about my sweet, creative Bella. Max's room- her room. Max's dreams and inventions- hers, too. How he felt hurt by the big kids, let down by his sister, misunderstood....check, check, check!

The monsters and scenery and everything was done incredibly. The music was amazing (must buy it). I looked over at B and she had tears in her eyes ( I might have cried a little, too).

"It's going to be a place where only the things you want to happen, would happen."       Carol, a Wild Thing

At the end, I asked everyone how they liked it, from ages 11 to 6 they all said it was great. Z, my scaredy-cat, said the monsters weren't scary (that was surprising coming from her). So I say take your school-age and up kids to see it, or go by yourself. It is worth it!

Movie vs. Book

Last week I saw My Sister's Keeper. I had been excited to see it since the book was so amazing. I had read it years ago as part of a book club and it was an instant favorite. In fact, I think it is the book that showed how much Jodi Picoult had matured and grown as a writer. Her previous books were very predictable and fluffy (I read her previously-published novels after reading My Sister's Keeper). But with My Sister's Keeper she brought to life a story that was similar to present day headlines and was a story that needed to be imagined. And what a wonderful perspective she imagined it from. I loved the book and have recommended it many times over the years.
Back to the movie- so as the movie starts I immediately feel like something is off. The screen keeps fading to black when a new character is introduced. It feels like the class project of Film Editing 101 when they learn to use the fade button. The black screen with voice over doesn't fit and seems disjointed.
The second thing I notice is that the songs in the movie are really good, mostly, but it almost seems like they are thrown in haphazardly. Like they wrote the scene just so they could throw in a good song.
I will say this, the acting was good, especially by Sofia Vassileva, who was remarkable. Cameron Dias was good, but a little hard to believe her as a mother (and couldn't she wash her hair?).
And lastly, who wrote this screenplay? It barely follows the book! I understand the need to edit for time and to keep the story line simple for a two hour movie. But why do they (movie makers) make up whole new lives for their characters? Why do they make up whole new endings for the movie?? Wasn't the book a national bestseller, don't people LOVE it just the way it is?
Movie makers must think their audience is stupid. We can't possible follow the story from the book, right? It makes me very angry and I am sorry to resort to sarcasm but, but....arrggg!
The last thing I am going to mention on this subject is The Time Traveler's Wife. One of the best books I have ever read, or reread. After years of post-production and years of production it is finally coming out on the big screen. The sad part for me is, from the movie's previews I have seen, it looks like it is barely based on the book. I can't decide if I should go see it or if it will only make my blood boil.
Now there are movies-based-on-books that I have loved almost as much as the book- Pride and Prejudice, Cold Mountain, Jane Eyre, Fight Club, but why do so many fall short?

I would love to read your comments on your favorite book that was made into a movie...