Skip to main content

The Giver Review

What I liked: This was actually a pretty good adaptation. I went in with the open question: when you read this in English and then watch the movie will it be valuable? I believe the answer is yes. I think the did a good job introducing the memories and there is enough interesting cinematography that is easy enough to pick up on most 8th graders could write their 5 page essay fairly easily. I was impressed with the acting by the kid’s dad. If you paid attention I think it brought up some interesting add on questions that are probably good to think about and would make pretty good high school level essays: were the people living in the dystopia actually that at ease with their world? what implications are there for the individuals living in the community upon the return of the memories? The movie took a decidedly positive approach which is appropriate for the grade level, though watching it you can clearly see the darker alternative that the producers chose not to present.

What I didn’t: The addition of the previous receiver of memories seemed fairly forced and a bit out of place. Maybe the writers thought it was necessary to give characters stronger motivations; I think the movie would have been more streamlined without it. I thought the drones were weird and again unnecessary. Given the prescribed plot and characters, I thought it was overall quite good.

Who should watch this: Let’s be honest. Every 8th grader in public school for the next 60 years until they make another version.

Would I watch it again? When I have a child in 8th grade.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ready Player One Review

What I liked: I bet all of the developers loved making this film, I saw so many video game and movie references in the background of scenes. I bet all the developers just inserted their favorites like the ninja turtles, a whole platoon of halo soldiers, and orcs. That it was a video game made it possible and exciting to have all kinds of absolutely random physics and logic defying things happen. Obviously, I loved the T. Rex and who would not enjoy seeing Mechagodzilla or a cyborg orc driving a monster truck? Early in the movie they made good use of the video game architecture in a way that reminded me a bit of secret rooms in super mario. The characters visit the world of the Shining, which was amazing and hilarious. I loved the variety of characters, vehicles and weapons that we get to see and it is more fun (at least for me) that they draw from more than strictly the 1980's. I also really liked the music, for the most part the selections were great for the scenes. The book was...

Fast and Furious 8 review

What I liked: This is the first Fast and Furious movie I have seen but I have watched a number of the trailers. They always teemed with absurdity. Now instead of a 3 minute trailer, I got to sit through an hour and a half of turbo powered sports cars saving the world. As you can imagine the list of things to like is quite long. The movie starts off strong with a car race in Havanah (I guess that US-Cuban relations are going really well if a FBI agent is having his honeymoon there). The reason for the car race was a bit complicated but essentially the main dude was trying to win back his cousin's car. In the course of the race he manages to light it on fire, explode it, and launch it into the ocean. But at least he won it back. I'm sure his cousin was very grateful. I also find it noteworthy that the race was 1 mile long and took 11 minutes to complete. The moral of this story is that while both racers are excellent at theatrics, they take safety seriously. After blowing up B...

Crazy Rich Asians

What I liked: One of the earliest scenes has a flurry of social media. I liked the way it was filmed and thought it was funny and effective. The best friend is remarkably well prepared for almost any eventuality. If she could fit her closet in a utility belt she would be a fashion batman. Without all the cool gadgets and fighting. Just clothes and accessories. Worst Batman ever. I liked her collection of outfits in her trunk. The whole family making dumplings together was surprisingly cute. Until it reminded me of the recent Pixar dumpling short . You can't unsee it now can you? Really, that short is this movie in about 5 minutes. So if you want to save your self some time... The mom is a very effective villain, I think she and Lady Tremaine would get along well. I liked the proposal scene. Of the whole movie this is the part the seems the most realistic. What I didn't: Ok even if we buy the "I just wanted to be a peasant and my true self with you" non-sense, unde...