I have decided to review the movies that I see. I definitely do not have time to see every movie that comes out but I will let everyone know what I think of the ones that I do see.
I saw 21 and I feel like crap.
What Happened:
Last night I was on a date with my girlfriend. It was the nicest day of the year so far. It got up to 70 degrees. Here in Washington, we celebrate when the temp gets that hight in the middle of April.
We went to the beach, had some Thai food and beers and decided that we would finish the night out with a movie. We went to the theater and the movie that was starting soonest was 21.
The Premise:
The basic plot is, five gifted students from MIT join up and go to Las Vegas to count cards and win a lot of money.
Main Character in 21:
Jim, or Tim, or Bob, or well whoever he was, is a Super Gifted student. Of course he is not rich (even though his mother tries to give him $67,000 of her savings), so he takes the gig with the other MIT students and they go to Vegas. The main character is your typical, good looking, nerd. He has only one goal and that is to be a medical student at Harvard.
He ends up going too far with the whole Vegas thing, but never far enough where his life is in danger. He only ever looses the money that he got by gambling (or counting as they call it) so there is no real threat. I really don’t care about the main character. I can’t even remember his name and I don’t care enough to go look it up.
My Rant About 21:
The movie 21, seemed simple enough to me, there should be no reason for this movie to be, at the very least, entertaining.
WRONG!
The movie 21, was believe it or not, BORING! I could not understand why they did not throw an action scene or something to spruce it up a bit. I guess the principle cast went on a small “run through a casino with a bag of money” scene, but it was boring too. I really never cared whether the cast lived or died (they all lived). All I wanted to do was stop falling asleep.
The characters were dull. Their needs were basic (those of the characters that had needs). The main character just wanted three hundred grand to get into Harvard. Who doesn’t want that. But of course he gets it and keeps wanting more money. Like I have never seen that one before.
Not that I am a fan of nudity in movies (It takes away from the movie as an art form), but the characters went into two different (I think they were different) strip clubs and we didn’t even get a boob.
THAT”S HOW BORING THE MOVIE WAS!
No car chases, no getting into trouble in Vegas, nothing. Hell, if the writers of 21, had even bothered to read screenplays from Rounders, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or 10,000 miles to Graceland (not that that last one was good), thet might have had an idea about how to insert a little danger and conflict into 21’s story.
What the writers of 21, could have done differently:
If I were to write the script, I would have made it about the same main character, but without the whole crew of students thing. The main character could feel the financial preasure of school and student loans and decide to play Black Jack to earn money.
The film could be his journy of learning how to play, learning how to count cards, learning how to beat the odds. We as an audience could learn the ins and outs of Black Jack as he learns them.
Then maybe he could get his own crew together. With his friends, to help fund his funky science project or something like that. ANYTHING THAT IS INTERESTING!
I am getting all worked up so I’m going to finish by saying;
Save yourself the trouble of watching the pile of filth called 21 and do something like go for a walk. Do something constructive.
Homework:
Do NOT see the movie 21. Instead, write for 2 hours and 20 minutes (the length of the movie). Write a screenplay about a young gifted student who uses his mind to beat Black Jack. Make sure that the main character has to overcome obstacles and at some point feels lower than when he started. This may seem formulaic but at least it will be interesting.
Happy Writing.
2 Comments
April 13, 2008 at 11:10 pm
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI have decided to review the movies that I see. I definitely do not have time to see every movie that comes out but I will let everyone know what I think of the ones that I do see. I saw 21 and I feel like crap. What Happened: Last night I was on a date with my girlfriend. It was the nicest day of the year so far. It got up to 70 degrees. Here in Washington, we celebrate when the temp gets that hight in the middle of April. We went to the beach, had some Thai food and beers and decided that we would finish the night out with a movie. We went to the theater and the movie that was starting soonest was 21. The Premise: The basic plot is, five gifted students from MIT join up and go to Las Vegas to count cards and win a lot of money. Main Character […] [...]
April 23, 2008 at 9:23 am
[...] Forge Write Ahead takes a rather negative view of the movie. “The movie 21, was believe it or not, BORING! I [...]