FLIGHT

I felt mixed about this movie some things worked, some of it didn't. Saw this in 3-D and there were many transitional moments that were like a roller coaster ride. It felt 3D thrill exploitative to me. 3D is so overrated. Sometimes, I couldn't figure out why I found it unappealing. I wondered if I was biased against all the over detailed hyperreal CGI, but then I remembered realism never stopped me from liking live action. I didn't like Bob Cratchit's fat facial design and didn't think Tiny Tim looked young enough for me to care for the cheap child endangerment exploitation story tactic. Jim Carrey was ok, but not the best Scrooge I've ever seen. It was all too easy to think of his performance as "Jim Carrey impersonates Scrooge". I also didn't like the ending where Cratchit breaks the fourth wall in speaking to the audience.

After watching this, I kind of wondered if the story would still be a classic if released today. Normally when it comes to storymaking, I've often favored the principle that the audience's initial impression of the protagonist must be a favorable or sympathetic one. Scrooge runs in opposition to this notion as a grumpy character absent of sympathy. He was a rather interesting character and fun to watch for Carreyisms however. I guess disagreeable protagonists can be entertaining, like the Grinch. I've never read the book, but if I were to rewrite this, I'd immediately start the story right at Scrooge's past and show some warmth. And then more how and why he became so grumpy. Then I'd add more backstory to Tiny Tim so we can have more reason to feel sorry for him other than just a kid dying.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" is still my favorite.

Oscar Wilde once said about one of Dickens' characters:
One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.

But anyway...I wanted to speak to this:


Having a character that the audience can distance themselves from can also be a successful technique. As I Lay Dying has almost zero likable characters, but is a blast to read, likewise basically anything written by Flannery O'Connor.

I think it would be a mistake to try to get sympathy for Scrooge right off the bat. You're supposed to hate him and want bad things to happen to him, and then bad things do happen to him, which is kind of a reward for the audience. But it also makes the audience uncomfortable because when we see Scrooge's unhappy past and his change into a charitable character, we feel a tiny bit guilty for passing judgment earlier.

Read about it when i was a kid, now watched the movie and simply loved it.