movies: bridge to terabithia

bridge to terabithia - close your eyes, but keep your mind wide openToday was the last of the $10 Saturday movies... the voucher didn't run out or anything, we just ran out of extra movies...

But I'm glad that Bridge to Terabithia was on our list of movies to see...

I have to say it wasn't quite what I was expecting... from the trailer I was expecting something a little more "Narnia-eske"... you know, kids find secret land, have adventures in said land, triumph over evil... that kind of thing... but actually it was more like how a kid's imagination actually works, or at least how mind did when I was a kid... you're in the real world, you know you're in the real world, but you get so caught up in the game that it becomes real.

Both of the lead kids are amazing... Josh Hutcherson for just his very solid "realness" and AnnaSophia Robb (Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who is simply amazing... and if she doesn't emerg as The Next Big Thing in a couple of years, then there's something wrong with the world. Granted the costume designer gets some serious snaps for making her SO unique and funky.

Anyone who has ever been bullied or picked on in school will just get the bully subplot in this movie too... and in the case of Josh's character, Jesse, there can be nothing worse in all the world than having the guy who makes your live a misery sitting right behind you in class.

As I mentioned before, the journey to Terabithia isn't a magic doorway or wormhole or anything... it's just the gradual blending of two kids imaginations with the already interesting countryside around them. That doesn't detract from the story, it just means that it seems to be a much less CGI heavy movie than say Narnia or any of the other films in the same genre.

I'm not sure whether it's just the fact that I get sucked into this kind of movie, or whether it was actually the strength of the script and/or acting, but I did get very invested in the characters, particularly Jesse... even though I've never had sisters, or been in his particular situation, I did get drawn in.

Without giving too much away, the movie does take a slightly darker turn at one point, and I did end up crying (I blame the damn dog)... but, to me, it does finish on a high note.

yani's rating: 3 rope swings out of 5

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember reading the book when I was in high school, twice, and I too cried at the end, twice. Such a beautiful book, if terribly sad.

I really want to see the movie, but don't know if I can con my boyfriend into seeing it with me. Maybe I'll have to brave it myself.