The Outsiders

I don't know how I got out of Middle School or Jr. High School without reading S.E. Hinton's book The Outsiders. Everybody I have ever talked to has loved the book and I finally got my hands on a copy. This book definitely gets an A. From the very first page I felt like I was already a part of Ponyboy's life and the gang. The writing was so good at making you feel everything that was happening. I have only ever cried once while reading a book and I have read a lot of books, but this book almost made me cry a little. Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Johnny are three of the most lovable characters I have ever read. Any scene with one of these boys in it was automatically good. The emotions and story were so real and I feel like a person from any walk of life would be able to relate to this book.

The Outsiders is an excellent story of social inequality and of love, friendship, and loyalty. Everybody should read this book and have a copy of it to read again and again. It is short so even you non-readers out there should take a chance on it if you haven't read it already. The Outsiders has instantly become one of my favorite classics.

I Am Number Four and The Eagle Double Feature

The other day my friend Heather and I wanted to go see I Am Number Four and since we were already there we decided to go see The Eagle as well.




I Am Number Four

I was expecting this movie to be sort of like the TV show Heroes and I won't ruin it for you but it has a different sort of twist to it. The pacing of the movie was perfect and there was plenty of action. There was romance, but I don't think it was too much. The downside is that I was wondering when some attractive people would show up and finally we get to meet the love interest who is pretty decent-looking. The plot unfolding in a logical and well-timed manner and although I wasn't particularly invested in the characters at the beginning, by the end of the movie there are several characters that I like. The major disappointment of this film for me was the fact that it felt like an extended pilot episode of a new TV show, not a movie. At the end of the movie it is obvious that there will be sequels. I say sequels because there is no way they could wrap this story up in less than three movies. Because of that fact, I felt a lack of completeness since the story arc wasn't really there. If I had known that I was going in to a series then it probably would have made my experience more enjoyable. Having said all this, I did like the movie and I will look forward to the sequel. Also, I didn't realize this until after I saw it, but this movie was based off a book by the same name. I probably won't have time to add it to my reading list but I would be interested in talking to someone who has read the book.



The Eagle

Heather and I went directly from I Am Number Four to The Eagle in the adjoining theater. For me, this movie beat out the other one. It was not a 10, maybe about an 8.

The unique thing that I liked about this movie is that there were no female leads. There were only two or three women in the entire movie and they had non-speaking roles in one scene towards the end. It was refreshing to see a movie without a love side-story going on. Channing Tatum, though I am not a big fan of him, was great in this movie. He fit the role and played it well. The actor who played Esca was also brilliant, even more so than Tatum. I believe the movie takes place in the 2nd Century Roman Empire and is fairly accurate in its depictions of the soldiers and the fighting. For a lover of history it was just nice to see a small story set in the larger scheme of events that we normally see. Like I said, it is not an epic monument to filmaking or the genre necessarily but it was a good respite from movies that focus only on large, real events in textbooks. One additional note: The movie has many quiet parts in it so make sure you are not in a theater next door to the Justin Bieber movie or you will catch most of that one as well.