Double Feature Weekend in Opposite Land

So this weekend I saw MY SISTER'S KEEPER and TRANSFORMERS 2....you cannot get further apart than these two movies, let me tell you.

Let's begin with the girly weep-fest. Based on a Jodi Piccoult book, MY SISTER'S KEEPER is a movie steeped in emotion and tragedy. A 15 year-old girl is at the end of her lifelong battle with cancer, and to survive she needs a kidney transplant from her younger sister, who has been her own personal donor her entire life. However, the younger girl is done- she hires a lawyer for medical emancipation so she can sue her parents for the rights to her own body. The very premise of this story is one that automatically produces an emotional reaction - typical two. A heartbreaking sorrow for both young girls, dealing with issues beyond their maturity, and secondly, some shock at the idea of, Can a child really do that? Would she do that to her sister?

The movie is an interesting blend of sticking to the book's mechanics (for example, the novel is broken into chapters for each character's point of view/experience, and the movie begins with voice-overs from all of them so we see how their lives have changed in the midst of this drama, or trauma depending on who you ask.) However, the film also makes marked departures from the book, namely the ending - which is a totally different idea and one that I actually think is better and less cloying - and the elimination of a character related to the court case. That second change is understandable, but what it does is take the emphasis off the courtroom drama, eliminating a large portion of the lawyer's role (And a shame since Alec Baldwin had such potential for this character) and minimizing the struggle associated with suing your parents. (And a lot of the mechanics of what that actually means.)

Overall, I'd say the movie was a moderate success in its adaptation - they chose to focus on the family and the life associated with having a very sick child. It's heartbreaking and confusing and maddening, and as a viewer, somehow very cathartic to watch it and cry your eyes out. Performances were great, and while I missed a few things that felt key to the story, I thought the filmmakers did well by the story. Biggest success if the romance between the teen girl and a fellow cancer patient. They spent a lot of screen time on it and for good reason.

Now, moving onto to another movie that also might induce crying, but for a wholly different reason - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. Now, hearing the full title for this movie, you might think this is Megatron's revenge, since he "fell" (or was dumped, technically) into the ocean at the end of the first movie. But it's not. The "Fallen" has a wholly separate - and completely stupid - meaning in this movie. So I guess let's start there- with the story...or lack thereof. The movie's storyline makes no sense. Seriously, try to follow it and you'll eeek out a kind-of legitimate plot that takes us through the movie, but in truth, as you dig just a fraction of a milimeter below the surface, it falls apart. The movie is really just, forgive the language, Michael Bay jerking off onscreen for two and a half hours. Now, some people might say, "Isn't the always the case with his movies?" I would argue "no". BAD BOYS, THE ROCK, even ARMAGEDDON and BAD BOYS 2 were so much better than this. As I sat there watching it, I felt the first hour was decent, "watchable", I'd say. And then we go to war....like a big war in the desert for about an hour. At least it felt that way. And again, none of it really makes sense. I didn't have a problem following which robot was doing what, which a lot of reviews had mentioned. Visually, I was okay to follow, but it didn't matter- I was bored. I thought that Shia and Megan Fox, and the roommate, and the parents, were fine. (And actually, I'd venture that John Turturro was less annoying in this movie, but mainly because he had less screen time.) The acting wasn't the issue- it really boiled down to the story and how incessently long the battle was.

So yeah, I could go on and on, but I don't feel like it. I've already wasted a lot of time on this movie. No more. Moving on....dying to see HURT'S LOCKER and CHERI this week.