I loved the movie Red Dawn as a kid, so when I saw it on TV, I quickly pushed the record button on my PVR excited to show it to my kids later on that night.
The movie starts with a bang. Kids get dropped off at highschool. Then the Russians come and start shooting everyone. Kids jump in a truck and head for the mountains. You don't know anyone's name or situations. I didn't even realize two of the boys were brothers until twenty minutes in.
The movie sticks with this kind of storytelling throughout the whole movie, slowing down only when the audience needs to know a little bit of information. I still found it entertaining, but what was most interesting were my teenage boys comments afterwards.
They thought the writers could have done more. They didn't like the way it started because you didn't know anyone and so you didn't really care about them. They could have developed the characters better and developed the relationships between them.
Kids definitely expect more these days, because I'm pretty sure I didn't think those things when I saw the movie at their age. Now if only my boys read books then they could tell me what worked for them and what didn't.
10 comments:
Kids are scary smart these days! I'm definitely going to have some teens as beta readers. It's for them, after all.
BTW, Red Dawn scared the crap out of me as a kid! I had nightmares about the Russians infiltrating our neighborhood.
Or maybe it's b/c their mom is a writer! But, my daughter thought Back to the Future was cheesy and I almost kicked her out of the house! :) Nice blog look!
Good points! Maybe they will be writers someday too:)
Smart smart boys! Lucky you. It's funny what we loved as a kid totally turns them off. I did the same thing with Galaxy Quest the other day. Monster Child hated it.
My kids haven't made that comment about books or movies. Maybe it's not something that bothers them, or they haven't thought about it.
Man, Patti, I was sooooo dumb and naive. Kids today are very smart, you're right. And I try to get my kids to love the same stuff I loved, but they refuse! How dare they! Hmph. I'm only showing them the best music, movies, way of doing things. *grumble*
Always did like that movie. And they're remaking it!
Your kids are crazy smart! My kids are young, so I haven't gotten to the point where I can share movies like "Red Dawn," but so far so good! They like The Muppets and The Jestons. I just hope they love "Star Wars" as much as I did (the books and the movies).
Yeah, kids can tell! But when I was little and I saw TV, I was just there, enjoying the ride. Things change! :P
Good points. Sounds like they have mom's analytical skills when it comes to stories!
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