The Dark Is Rising, people!
Just have to say this real fast, before it’s too late.
If you read The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper, as a child and you thought it was awesome, and you:
a) don’t want to see the movie because you’re scared it’ll suck, or
b) didn’t even know they’d made a movie of it because they only advertised it on kids’ TV stations…
then you should go see it, real fast, before it leaves the theaters. Because we saw it last night and it was awesome. I went in with the a) mindset, above. I didn’t expect much. They modernized the hell out of the story, setting it, like, yesterday, with the Stanton family keeping in touch via online video and Will Stanton having an IPod and all that. And some of the events were nudged around, of course. But, in general, it was awesome. The cinematography was beautiful, the special effects fabulous yet tasteful, and the actors, all unknown to me, were well-groomed and did their jobs very well. All three of my kids, ages 10, 13, and 15, enjoyed it. Even though the younger two hadn’t read the book, they were able to follow along quite well.
It was better than that Eragon movie, and probably better than most if not all of the Harry Potter movies.
Funny thing: We were the only ones in the theater last night. (Actually, we were probably the only patrons in the entire cinema.) Since they were born, I’ve been very strict with my kids about movie manners. We don’t talk during movies. Never, ever. Unless it’s an emergency, and then we whisper directly into each others’ ears.
But last night, since we were the only people in the theater, that rule could be relaxed. We talked, and then we yelled. Well, I did, mostly. I was like, “OMG, that’s messed UP! No way! Dude! Oh my god, I’m freaking out! That is too scary for me!”
And my kids were very indulgent, only rolling their eyes affectionately or else politely yelling “Ooh!” a couple of times to keep me company.
I’m gonna go back and see it with my boyfriend, who never read the book, to see if I’m just imagining how good it was.
Okay, that’s it. I have a hundred other things to tell y’all, but will save them for later.
