Watching Extremely Loud

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, where can you go wrong? But together in a movie about the personal aftermath of 9/11? How is this going to work?

These are the questions I asked myself when I saw the preview for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The trailer interested me enough to take a chance and go see it. I called up a few of my buddies and off we went to the theatre.

As the opening credits were rolling, we read “Based on the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer” All three of us looked at each other and asked “Did you know this was a book?” Evidently we all had been living under a rock, because we were oblivious to this new found fact.

The story line follows Oskar (Thomas Horn), a young boy of the age of 11, as he goes on the quest of all quests, searching to solve what he believes to be the final mystery his dad (Tom Hanks) had set up for him. He ventures through the jungle of New York City, talking to every person with the last name Black, the only clue he has to go on. Oskar uses a highly organized system and a quest log to document all the people he meets and their stories.

The movie is consumed by a voice over, which keeps the viewer in Oskar’s head the whole time. His thought process is unique and the desperation to hold on to some part of his father is evident. He has given up on his mother (Sandra Bullock), believing she could never understand the pain he is going through. There is one scene in particular that is both heart wrenching as well as jaw dropping; When Oskar is taking to “The Renter”, a mute man who lives in the spare room of his grandmothers, and he is giving a tell all, a confessional, of everything he has been through as well as everything he is planning to do. The boy is hysterical as he finally gets all of his secrets out. There is a constant feeling of being pulled forward through his internal torture, not knowing when it’s going to let go of you.

The movie gave a sense adventure along with a roller coaster of emotion. At some points I was curious, at some I was angry, some I was sad and grieving and some I was excited. Sandra Bullock went from a happy, comfortable mother in some flashback scenes, to a distraught, weighted down, broken woman who has lost the love of her life. She looked aged and tired. Her execution of the role was convincing and realistic, pulling onlookers into her character’s life.

Tom Hanks portrayed a loving father who was concerned about the social skills of his son. He knew his son loved puzzles, so he made up riddles to get him to branch out and meet new people. You could feel the closeness between Hanks’ and Horn’s characters. There was an invisible bond that each character fed off of. Overall, the cast did an excellent job. This is Horn’s break out movie, and I was thoroughly impressed with his portrayal of Oskar.

The emotional ups and downs of the movie were physically draining. The movie is most definitely a downer. The ending, however, was contrastingly happy. It almost seemed as if it was too happy. Don’t get me wrong, I like a happy ending just as much as the next guy, but this one was a little over the top. It seemed as though the director just didn’t want to leave the audience on a down note in fear they may go home and cut themselves.

Over all it was a descent flick. I would recommend it.  I have the book in my possession now, but I haven’t started on it. However, it’s next on my list.

Devouring The Hunger Games

Within a 24 hour period last week I saw five different people hidden in corners consuming a newly popular novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Two of these people were my co-workers, which I found odd because I figured this would be a little bit juvenile for them. I took the opportunity to ask one of my fellow employees what the book was about and why she had decided to read it. She told me it was like nothing she had ever read before and it was a lot better than she expected. She said she chose to read it to see what all the fuss was about. So, I decided to throw out my rule of never reading anything I don’t find remotely interesting and check it out. I went and purchased The Hunger Games, sat down and devoured it in one day.

My work associate was right. It’s not a typical read. It definitely piggybacks on the ideas of Huxley and Orwell. The whole post-modern society full of overbearing government control is getting a little old, but it will always have a soft spot in my heart. I was impressed with some of the themes that are streamed throughout the novel, including feminism, family values and sacrifice as well as living up the responsibilities that are expected of you. These are all themes that should be introduced to young readers, and Collins found an interesting way of appealing to her younger cross-gender demographic.

The main plot of the book is Katniss, a 16 year old girl, who sacrifices herself to take her younger sister’s spot in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are a yearly occurrence when the government requires two teenagers from each of 12 districts to fight for survival in an arena of natural terrain until there is only one person left. The participants are typically chosen at random, but volunteers can take the place of someone who has been selected against their will. The games are supposed to be a way to keep the citizens of the district under control and reminding them the government can take away their lives at any time.

This is where I start having a problem with the book. I’m not entirely sure how well an idea like this would keep control over the masses. The idea seems a little farfetched and inefficient in its process. The purpose for the games may not be very good, but the story of participation is well executed by Collins.

The descriptions Collins uses to are vivid and purposeful. She doesn’t use description for description’s sake like many other authors. The scenes are easily distinguishable and well laid out. The way she describes the map of the arena these kids are in is easy to follow and to imagine. Collins also does a very good job at putting detail into her characters. They each have well developed personalities and particular ways of speaking that makes it easier for the reader to follow along during dialogue scenes. Most of her scenarios are realistic with a touch of fantasy to keep the reader intrigued but not completely mind boggled.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book right up until the last three chapters. It kept me interested and I felt I could easily connect and understand the characters and situations. However, those last three chapters threw me for a loop. Once the story began to wind down it seemed as though Collins suddenly started to reach for the extreme. She put in some kind of pseudo “werewolf” that had nothing to do with the story and doesn’t expand on it at all, leaving the reader baffled as to why it was referenced in the first place. Then at the end, a teenage love-triangle develops that resembles all too closely the scenarios of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

I understand why Collins threw in the love-triangle. The book gears towards a younger crowd, and up until that point the plot is mostly hunting and war. It dips into gore, which appeals more to the young males. The love-triangle gives something to young females. Collins was smart to appeal to the audience as a means of getting her message across; but for me, it was more of an unnecessary annoyance.

I plan on seeing the film when it comes out and writing a review as well as a comparison between the two. So stay tuned, there is more to come.

Why I Do This

     So, this blog is an assignment for my Eng 251 Editing and Publishing class. Most of the posts are most likely going to be over what is assigned to me; however, I’ve been playing with the idea of writing personal critiques over books and movies based off of said books. If this plan works, then I will be able to pose the question as to whether it is better to read the book then watch the movie, or better to see the movie then watch the book. Some to the posts may stray from this due to requirements for my class, but, why not have fun with it?

     I hope everyone finds this blog helpful, or at the least entertaining. If you don’t agree with my opinion, then by all means, respond and let me know why. But let’s keep it friendly and civil.