The rest of the Movie Review Squad was busy last Tuesday so once again I was empowered to make that one important decision – which movie shall we watch? I read that the Thai sex thriller “The Passion” and the Chinese erotic film “Summer Palace” are both terrible. The only reason why the theaters are full for these two films is because sex sells. Hence I only have “Bridge To Terabithia” and the dated but popular Korean comedy “200 Pounds Beauty” to choose from. I read that “Bridge To Terabithia” has generally good reviews so I took a risk knowing that it is a kid movie I was getting the Movie Review Squad into. Cynthia texted me that Straits Times reviewer Ong Sor Fern has written a bad review on “Bridge To Terabithia”. More the reason why we should watch that as I consistently disagree with her for more than 10 long years and I love that consistency while still hating what she writes (is she even aware that the film “300” is originated from a comic book?! … such an outraging review).
Based on a novel of the same title written by Katherine Paterson in 1977, “Bridge To Terabithia (the movie)” is 90% reality with 10% fantasy – contrary to what others expected as an after-school version of “Harry Potter” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” or even the kid movie “Chronicles of Narnia”. A rare friendship found between two teenagers – one who paints and one who composes fantasy stories – that do not quite fit in their social environment and together they have created “Terabithia” and have become the King and Queen of this new fantasy land. It has a rather gloomy side to the plot that challenges both teen actor and actress’s acting skill. I must say both Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb (acted in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) have raised up to the challenge and I enjoy every moment of their acting. I see both of them will have a long career in the entertainment business.
“Bridge To Terabithia” is one of those few movies that Tong Kiat, Cynthia, and myself enjoyed in a positive way. (Can you enjoy something in a negative way? Sure you can.) Some claim that “Bridge To Terabithia” is a classic in this genre. I am no expert in this particular genre but I cannot recall another kid movie that comes close to “Bridge To Terabithia”.
5 replies on “Bridge To Terabithia – Lived Up To Expectation”
Yes I do enjoy Bridge to Terabithia – I can relate to the kids in a way that I did some of those fantasy things when I was a kid. I would play with my brother or my cousins following a story line we created on the fly (but most of the time it was about chasing bad guys). We were so mesmerised by detectives, PIs and the police when we were young. At one point my brother and I were CHiPs highway patrol hahaha… We even had the notepads and the sunglasses.
I did not imagine to be a princess. The idea of breaking into someone’s office at night was far more exciting. Very fun.
Back to the movie. In comparison to Pan’s Labyrinth, Pan’s Labyrinth was more enjoyable, at least for me. It was deeper, darker, and the visual was stunning.
Overall I enjoy this kind of movies more than Harry Potter, which is too “black or white”.
Cute … and my sister and I would imagine giving a pop concert to a crowd of audience day after day. No wonder many can relate to Bridge To Terabithia.
Seriously speaking the movie was a nice surprise for I really had no idea what else to pick.
I just watched the movie and I cried so much upon the part whereby Leslie Burke died. I got the impression that this movie is similar to Narnia initially and it shocked me when the movie’s so emotional.
I wonder how the kids would react seeing this film?
That’s right. It is pretty sad towards the end though I have already read about it. But still …
I think kids may feel sad too. But unlike movies for the grown up, it was just a piece of news being announced. The actual incident was not filmed.
[…] I am bias because I did study computer graphics). The acting to me is average (compares to Bridge To Terabithia). The storyline is not as complex – and perhaps less violence – than Pan’s Labyrinth. […]