Don’t decide to pick a children’s film because you think it’ll
be short and cute. It will just break your heart. I always make the worst
decisions.
Jess (Josh Hutcherson) has no friends and has to do a lot
for his family because they have very little money, leaving him little
opportunity to just be a kid and enjoy himself. Until Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb)
starts at his school and moves in right next door. She opens his imagination up
to a world of adventure and they have the best time. For a little while.
Their friendship is quick to start, which are just the best
ones, in my opinion. It’s like you can tell there’s something about this other
person that just goes with you so well, even if you don’t know them yet. And
she helps him to become more of the person he is, which is always great. They
discover an area in the woods that nobody else goes to and they make it their
own magical kingdom called Terabithia. They use their imaginations to populate
it with magical creatures and beautiful scenery. At first he is a bit hesitant
to play along but soon enough he can see everything she sees and they get to
share in it together. I love how he’s looking at her, obviously I would. It’s
like he knows she’s this rare person and is amazed that he gets to be around
her. And when he leaves her for the day he is smiling because he’s had such a
great time with her. Ugh, I can’t bear it.
The only problem in this wonderful story of love and
friendship is, in order to get to their kingdom, they have to cross a creek
using an old rope swing. One day she goes across herself and the rope snaps and
she hits her head and drowns. Drowns! I knew something was going to happen (the
music when they first saw the rope was epic foreshadowing music, if ever I’ve
heard it) but I didn’t think they’d make her get knocked unconscious and drown. A wonderful child is dead, her family is devastated, and Jess has lost his
best friend. Why can’t she just be alive
and they can be all loved up forever? I don’t want it to mirror real life, I
want there to be a happily ever after here.
Also, Zooey Deschanel has become the female Christopher
Walken; she just shows up in everything, for no reason. She wasn’t terrible in
this though. That’s some high praise coming from me.
7/10
Should have gone with Disney.
ReplyDeleteI know, but I do like my sad films, as you know.
ReplyDeleteAlso, agreed re: Zooey, and the only reason she wasn't terrible was because she had somebody else's lines and direction to follow. A clear case of a person that just isn't naturally funny or interesting outside her lame "I'M QUIRKY!" moments, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't foist herself onto TV events and the like to plug herself or her shows. As I said before, she was basically mocked when she appeared as a guest judge on a programme and had nothing to say whatsoever throughout.
ReplyDelete