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FORMAT: Movie
TITLE: White Oleander
ACTORS: Michelle Pfeifer, Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger
01. First of all, Astrid and Ingrid? Gorgeous, Astrid even moreso than her mother. In terms of typecasting (and acting, too, but their appearances struck me the most) they were absolutely perfect for the roles. Especially when she had the long blonde hair, Astrid was amazingly pretty - as the book suggests.
02. At first, I was disappointed that they didn't explain why Ingrid was taken off to jail, and even though they explained it later I'm still not happy about how they did it. The storyline was interrupted by the flashbacks that would have been better off at the beginning of the movie, where they could have added to the suspense (and possibly have given us a chance to hear Thomas Newman's danger theme some more).
03. Starr wasn't exactly how I had pictured her, but Robin Wright Penn did a fine job. For some reason, she kept reminding me of that evil stepmother in A Cinderella Story, a movie I'm still ashamed to have watched. (It wasn't my fault, my friends put it on at a party!) Her husband, Ray, was excellent, but I kind of wish they had included more of the romance (such as it was) between them. After all, Lohman was 23 at the time; it wasn't like The New World, where they couldn't film even kissing scenes because Q'Orianka Kilcher was underage. I feel like they just skimped out on the attraction between Astrid and Ray - I'm not asking for a full-blown sex scene (because that would just be out of place), but some kissing or at least more of that cheek-stroking scene would have been nice.
04. Astrid's boyfriend, Paul was so adorable in a geeky sort of way. I think the geek factor was what made him remind me of half the guys in our school, but it was great watching the two of them interact with each other. (And that whole scene where he drew her as a superhero because he didn't know how to draw anything else was priceless.)
05. Renee Zellweger was not at all how I pictured Claire; I imagined her looking more like the LOST version, with Emilie de Ravin more suited for the part. Zellweger did a decent job, however, and Lohman really outdid herself in terms of acting when Claire died. I had to turn down the volume on my computer, but oh well. =)
06. Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent movie. The acting was good; no Oscar-worthy performances here, but the movie didn't stumble on their account. I liked the score a lot, especially the danger theme. The dialogue could have been better, but they took most of it from the book, so it's not really their fault that the words became silly when translated on-screen. Imho, purple prose always sounds better in books and medieval movies, not contemporary ones. However, the film could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't - I'll probably never watch it again, but it was worth the hour or two it took to watch.
TITLE: White Oleander
ACTORS: Michelle Pfeifer, Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger
01. First of all, Astrid and Ingrid? Gorgeous, Astrid even moreso than her mother. In terms of typecasting (and acting, too, but their appearances struck me the most) they were absolutely perfect for the roles. Especially when she had the long blonde hair, Astrid was amazingly pretty - as the book suggests.
02. At first, I was disappointed that they didn't explain why Ingrid was taken off to jail, and even though they explained it later I'm still not happy about how they did it. The storyline was interrupted by the flashbacks that would have been better off at the beginning of the movie, where they could have added to the suspense (and possibly have given us a chance to hear Thomas Newman's danger theme some more).
03. Starr wasn't exactly how I had pictured her, but Robin Wright Penn did a fine job. For some reason, she kept reminding me of that evil stepmother in A Cinderella Story, a movie I'm still ashamed to have watched. (It wasn't my fault, my friends put it on at a party!) Her husband, Ray, was excellent, but I kind of wish they had included more of the romance (such as it was) between them. After all, Lohman was 23 at the time; it wasn't like The New World, where they couldn't film even kissing scenes because Q'Orianka Kilcher was underage. I feel like they just skimped out on the attraction between Astrid and Ray - I'm not asking for a full-blown sex scene (because that would just be out of place), but some kissing or at least more of that cheek-stroking scene would have been nice.
04. Astrid's boyfriend, Paul was so adorable in a geeky sort of way. I think the geek factor was what made him remind me of half the guys in our school, but it was great watching the two of them interact with each other. (And that whole scene where he drew her as a superhero because he didn't know how to draw anything else was priceless.)
05. Renee Zellweger was not at all how I pictured Claire; I imagined her looking more like the LOST version, with Emilie de Ravin more suited for the part. Zellweger did a decent job, however, and Lohman really outdid herself in terms of acting when Claire died. I had to turn down the volume on my computer, but oh well. =)
06. Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent movie. The acting was good; no Oscar-worthy performances here, but the movie didn't stumble on their account. I liked the score a lot, especially the danger theme. The dialogue could have been better, but they took most of it from the book, so it's not really their fault that the words became silly when translated on-screen. Imho, purple prose always sounds better in books and medieval movies, not contemporary ones. However, the film could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't - I'll probably never watch it again, but it was worth the hour or two it took to watch.
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But I've never read the book.. I own it, and have picked it up several times, but never actually sat down and finished it.
I agree about Alison Lohman, too. I don't think a better person exists for the role of Astrid.
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