Volume 6, Issue 1 - Williamson County Schools

Entertainment
Books vs. Films
8 October 2010
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
By Hannah Markey
Staff Writer
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood is about a teenager
named Charlie who gets into a car accident with his beloved little brother
Sam. Charlie miraculously lives through the car crash while Sam does not
make it. Along with this, Charlie finds a love interest, with a girl named
Tessa which tears apart the relationship between him and Sam.
The book was published in 2004 as The Death and Life of Charlie St.
Cloud and, like most popular books, came out as a movie called Charlie St.
Cloud in the summer of 2010. The movie starred Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan,
and Amanda Crew.
Whenever a book is turned into a movie, a lot of information and
details are left out as well as new scenes put in. Most people who read the
book and then go see the movie usually compare and contrast the diff erences
between the two.
Between the book and the movie, there were many diff erences and
main points that were included and left out. Charlie is represented as a loving,
admirable, loyal son and older brother in the book. He is gracious and
benevolent to Sam and acts like he and Sam have a perfect friendship together.
In the movie, Charlie is a little dark and distant to Sam and appears
to have more of a normal sibling relationship. It was as though the connection
between them was nothing special. The screen writers changed the
whole image of the boys’ brotherhood. Having the boys portrayed as having
a stronger relationship made the book more heartfelt.
In the novel, the theme of the story is all about baseball. Sam dies in a car
crash after Charlie and he had been at a baseball game. In the book, Charlie
acts more willing to play with Sam, but in the movie acts as if it is a chore.
And when Sam dies, Charlie and he play baseball every day at sunset together.
The beginning of the movie starts off with Charlie and Sam in a boat
race, nowhere in the book was there a boat race. The writers tied sailing
into the movie and made it a big part when really; it is not mentioned
as much in the book because of Tessa, Charlie’s love interest. Making the
movie about sailing tied Tessa in as more of an important character.
During the car crash, both Charlie and Sam had alcohol in their blood
system from the baseball game they attended. They have a dog in the car
with them, named Oscar, that also dies and is always with Sam when he and
Charlie play together. In the book, Charlie borrows their neighbor’s car to
go to the game when in the movie they take their own car and are on their
way to a party. Having alcohol in their blood system made it seem more
realistic to the audience.
The book was
better than the movie
because the angle that
Ben Sherwood took was
portrayed as more of a
loving story about brothers
rather than having
the brothers separated as
the movie did. The movie
did a good job representing
the book and its key
points, but the movie left
out certain details that
should have been included
from the book.
Shyamalan fails to come
through in new fi lm
By Caleb Alessi
Staff Writer
‘’Stick a fork in M. Night Shyamalan’s career. He is done
as a producer, writer, and director. He is just sad,’’ said Christian
Toto from UGO movie reviews after watching Shyamalan’s most
recent film, “The Last Airbender.” Unfortunately for him, Shyamalan
returns as writer and producer for the newly released film,
‘’Devil.’’
Imagine being stuck in an elevator with five strangers.
Now imagine being stuck in an elevator with five strangers and
the devil. Shyamalan’s film tells the story of those strangers,
who are being punished by the supernatural for sins they have
committed in the past. Surprisingly, the film is executed fairly
well and is surely one of the more original films that will be seen
this year. It is by no means a classic horror movie but it is worth
viewing.
The movies theme focuses on characters paying for their
sins. The five people in the elevator all have criminal pasts and
were chosen to be together. As they are being tormented by the
devil, and killed one by one, they all become extremely suspicious
of one another. The tension between the characters adds a
bit more eeriness to the movie. However, “Devil” does lack in
overall frightening aspects, because as the devil approaches the
elevator the lights cut off and the killings are not shown.
The movie’s unpredictability keeps the audience on the
edge of their seats. Trust me, one will never guess the order in
which the characters are killed off and the characters themselves
are unpredictable. The short 80 minute run time of the film helps
as the movie really gets right to the action and never lets up.
Unfortunately, the ending is, well, simply put, unsatisfactory and
cheesy. When the devil is actually shown in person, it ruins what
the film has built up because the devil’s dialogue is corny and
unintelligent.
If Shyamalan could have scripted a better ending, it
would have been worth the ridiculous amount of money people
spend to get into a movie these days. Overall, “Devil” is not
Shyamalan’s worst work, but it is far from his best. This is a
movie that the audience should wait until it is available to rent.
If anything, “Devil” has an original plot but could have been
much better.
Riddle of the Month
What are the next two letters in the following
series and why?
W A T N T L I T F S _ _
*Answer revealed in next month’s issue