Remembering…6 Yrs Back
A Walk to Remember, a best seller novel written by Nicholas Sparks, came to theaters about six years ago. There is always a risk in how to portray a book when it hits the big screen but screenwriter Karen Janszen and director Adam Shankman both did a wonderful job in trying to portray the film in the best way that it could be to show off the book but still capture the attention of the audience. Adam Shankman brought to the screen a love story with a heartbreaking ending. The film brought smiles to my face and so many tears when I first saw it in theaters and it continues to do so till this day when I watch the DVD. Adam Shankman’s A Walk to Remember is a well transitioned film from a book, yet it has its flaws just as many others movies do. The flaws, though, surprisingly do not take away from the movie because they are very minor imperfections in some scenes with the acting.
As the movie opens up, rocker music plays in the background. The rock music symbolizes the teenagers in the scene. They act crazy, yell and hop on each others backs. They are the typical high school crowd in a small town. Landon, the leader of the group and the main male character in the movie shares the screen with two of his guy friends and two girls that hang out with them. As the kids act all tough, the scene is not convincing. The opening scene seems very uncomfortable to the viewers. The acting between the actors does not seem to flow well. The scene where the kids are having small conversations seem too rehearsed. Some of that can contribute to the screenwriter and the choice for the scene and lines. Much of the lines seem to be there to fill an opening scene that shows the rebellious side of Landon. Shane West plays his role nicely in the rest of the movie but even he could not pull off the beginning. West might have given others the sense that he was an amateur actor making his film debut.
The film follows the story of two people on their short but lifelong journey. Landon, a spoiled kid who thinks he owns everything gets in trouble with the law but the school decides to help punish him. He is forced to participate in the spring play but that play brings him to who he is meant to be with. The story then follows Jaime, a minister’s daughter who is very conservative lending him a helping hand. The chemistry between the two young actors is so pure. The play brings these two kids closer and they realize that all their lives, they never even looked twice at each other. Landon pursues to go out with Jaime later on but he has to go through her father which was an obstacle at first but later on the movie we find out the father’s intensions of not starting something that would have a short ending.
The true purpose of the film starts after Jaime and Landon started dating. Jaime shares a secret with Landon. She suffered from Leukemia! The scene where Jaime shared her secret was very intense and we could see the shock on Landon’s face. Walking on a regular night into an alley, Jaime has a look on her face. Landon of course sees and starts asking question. In this scene, Shane West (Landon) acting was nothing like the first scene. Mandy Moore (Jaime) shows emotion to the extent needed. Her eyes get red at first and then start to get teary as she confesses her illness to Landon. Landon also becomes teary and has emotions that are building up. The expressions and body language that West is able to pull off makes the scene a breaking point. After this, the acting is true and exceptional between the two. The movie is based on the day that Landon watches Jaime walk down the aisle, thus A Walk to Remember. It comes to show how he stays by her side and makes her wishes come true.
The hard part for a film that was a book first is the script. How much is kept in and how much is changed? For this book, a few slight changes were made such as the play in the book used to be a Christmas play and in the film, it was a spring play. Credit has to be given to Karen Janszen because small changes were made to fit the audience of our time. The book is set in a different time and some viewers might not have been drawn in.
This teen story, mini drama is Mandy Moore’s best movie role to date. The character and how she played in it was exceptional. To date, she has not come anything close to her performance in A Walk to Remember. She plays the character with a pure outtake and freshness. She shows the big heart that Jaime has and the softness she conveys especially towards other people. Being a minister’s daughter will teach you to forgive others and Moore captures the essence of a preacher’s daughter. She captures the seriousness of the situation. Other movies that she has done, it feels as she is all over the place. Moore played in the film Because I Said So along side with Diane Keaton, an honor some might say but Moore did not live up to the honor. Moore’s acting in the movie is dreadful. It is hard to watch her in the movie without feeling embarrassed. Personally, it seems as if Moore is taken an acting class and someone filmed it. that is why many might agree that her first movie was one to remember. That fresh face at 17 fit perfectly for the role of a preacher’s daughter. The outcast that had her own mind, and the attitude that she was not afraid to show her self as she was. That was what made Mandy Moore great in this movie.
Shane West plays the heartthrob and bad boy who was won over by the one that no one thought of. West starts off a little rough in the first scene as mentioned when he was with his group of friends but when scenes started with Moore, something happened and the acting became natural. He made the transition from bad boy to sweetheart very nicely with every scene, little by little; he would let his guard down with Jaime. Adam Shankman did a wonderful job with bringing this couple together. He shows every step they take to get to where they finally do. He focuses on the two characters and the connection they develop. Shankman also plays the whole movie just about right .The story takes place in a small town and the tone for the film is very straightforward. There are no flashbacks to the past or any of those sorts. Shankman focuses on the main point of the film, the connection that turns to true love between Jaime and Landon and the end that comes so soon after the beginning.
The ending of the movie let many disappointed. Girls in the audience were sobbing through the whole scene. The ending could not be changed if it was not the same in the book. Even if it could have been done, the ending is what makes the film a remembered one through time. The ending adds the heart to the film. It touches the viewers. We like happy ending but sad ending make us think more. When it is a sad ending, we leave the theater and can not stop going over to why it had to be that way. Around the time A Walk to Remember came out, another teen singer came out with a movie; Britney Spears. Spears starred in Crossroads, a film about three childhood friends becoming close again and even though there are some minor issues that are unhappy, we saw the movie and liked or not but then stopped thinking about it. The ending was a good one so we had nothing to stress about. But with A Walk to Remember, we leave and think, “Why did she die”? “They were perfect together”. “Now he is all alone without the love of his life”. We as people make movies real and sad ending win big with us. That is why Mandy Moore’s performance won people over while others just forgot that Britney was in a movie too. The ending justifies the film even though we might not like to see it end like that.
A Walk to Remember is about the journey that changed a person. Jaime was the one that was sick but Landon was touched by her and learned so much. Landon did not know what life had to offer until Jaime showed him. She showed him trust, hope, goals, faith and most importantly, unconditional love. That is how Landon changed and Shankman decided to put those words to tie the movie together at the very last scene. Jaime had passed away and Landon had just gotten into medical school. He comes back to their home town and goes to the place where they shared their first kiss. There Landon looking sharp thinks to himself how Jaime changed him. He then says, “Jaime saved my life. She taught me everything; about life, hope and the long journey ahead. I’ll always miss her but her love is like the wind, I can’t see it but I can feel it.” Shankman did a wonderful job at bringing the climax to show in the last scene. A Walk to Remember might have some flaws when it comes to acting but they are minor and don’t affect the quality of the movie. The director and the screenwriter try to capture the book in the film and do a breathtaking job. The chemistry between Moore and West just take our breaths away. For those that have not gone to see it when it came out six years ago, go and rent the DVD. It is definitely worth it.
Works Cited
A Walk to Remember. Dir. Adam Shankman. Perf. Mandy Moore, Shane West. 2002. DVD. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002.
Add comment May 7, 2008
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Semester Coming to an End!
WOW! The semester is almost over. Just 6 days of classes left and then finals. I can not believe it. Can you, at least the people that go to St. Johns. It seems like I just started college yesterday and now my freshman year is done. It has been an interesting semester. Better than the first one I must say. Being new in a big campus is very hard. You dont know where anything is and the freshman are all lost. It takes a while for everyone to find where they belong. I have found out that I am the type that does not like to be in a group. I rather be friends with everyone. My classes have been entertaining also to kind of balance the work in the classrooms. Now it is time to decide where I am headed in my school career.
But before that, summer is here and it is time for relaxation. In English class, we have had to have a blog for our work and post almost everyday. Some might be relieved to stop and some might actually miss, at least those that are regular bloggers of some kind. Me personally, I do not whether I am happy about it or kind of sad. It has been a journey for me. I have never been a blogger before. When I learned that we had to post, I dreaded it and did not understand why. I guess it worked out and we interacted with other people.
It has been a pleasure to write in this blog and to share my ideas and express what has been happening in my life. A blogging quote from finestquotes.com, “~ The heart and soul of blogging is the individual and/or the group of individuals opining on the fly and responding post-haste to one and all. ~ ” Who knows? Maybe I will continue from time to time just to express what is in my mind. I have written about starvation, our economy, my fiance and his obsession with cars and movies. Many different topics with some school work added in there too. I never thought my topics could attract viewers but they did. Take care all.
Add comment April 26, 2008
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Recession
Our economy is not doing so well as of now and lately. It feels like we are in spiral going down and we do not know how to stop it. According to the definition, a recession is a decline in a country’s real domestic product or negative real economic growth for two or more consecutive quarters in a year. I am learning about this in economics class, for macroeconomics. We talk about the economy every day and all the students keep saying we are in a recession but our professor gets mad because he states the obvious that it is two consecutive periods and that has not happened yet. Depends on who you ask, a lot of different opinion will surface.
Bush said in a White House Conference, as written in msnbc.com,
Bush’s view of the economy was decidedly rosier than that of many economists, who say the country is nearing recession territory or may already be there. “I’m concerned about the economy,” he said. “I don’t think we’re headed to recession. But no question, we’re in a slowdown.”
Prices are going up like crazy whether it is gas prices or food prices. I remember when the fridge could be filled with close to 300 dollars, now when my family goes food shopping, it takes 600 dollars or close. That is so crazy and the big issue is that prices go up but salaries don’t. I don’t know about many of you but my father is the only one who works and he has my tuition and my sister’s who is in a private elementary school and then the rest of the house. In my opinion, the economy is so bad and I never thought that it could happen in the US. I mean Europe is doing better than us and we are supposed to be the number one country, but I guess when you hit the top, there only down left. There is a stimulus package that is for 600 dollars from the government, but will that help? What will people do with that money? People are having problems but 600 dollars is like pocket change. Our economy is still at risk so we will have to watch what happens.
Add comment April 25, 2008
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Gas Prices
OMG! What is going on? Gas prices are going up and they continue to do so with almost every day that goes by. Two weeks ago, I was on my way to school and stopped to fill up my car, and I realized that the gas prices went up. I was shocked and mad. I mean, I knew that it would happen since the news has been predicting it since a couple months ago that the prices were going up for the summer. Then a week later, again I was headed to school and soon I found out the gas price was $3.59. I just wanted to cry. Mind you, that where I get my gas, they always have cheaper gases than other gas stations, so imagine what the others were. Then 2 days after, which was today, I went to fill my car and the price changed again… it was $3.73. It was just 2 days ago!!! What is going on here? When I got home, I opened the TV and the news was on and my luck, they were talking about gas prices going up 20 cents in the next few days. I truly can not believe what is happening.
Pretty soon, are people going to be driving at all? It is not worth it to drive if most of our paychecks are going to be going to buying gas. There are people that can afford that but most of Americans are middle class and do not have the money for these gas prices that are being raised. What about college students. A lot of students drive to school and they work part time jobs. What is left to be done first? Help pay for their tuition, the basic needs, pocket change or gas for their car. I would fill my car for $45 dollar a month ago and now it takes more and there is not stop. Will gas prices ever go down? Probably not! I feel helpless in this situation as many others do too because we can not do anything to stop it. People can not afford to boycott not driving because they need to get places. And to think, in a few months, I am buying a new MDX which is an SUV and bigger tank. OMG! That is when I will be losing my mind when I see the prices go up.
Add comment April 24, 2008
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Work
Well, the semester is coming to a close and summer is almost here. I know it might have not felt like it untill recently but summer is coming. With school ending, I made sure to make my schedule safe to work. Yup… I am going back to work. I have started working since I was sixteen. No one told me to but I felt that I wanted to make my own spending money. I wondered what it would be like and little did I know it was not so much fun. At first it was okay but then the environment changed and how people were treated also changed. It became to the point of where I did not want to goto work anymore. Be careful what you ask for. Since then I have decided to concentrate on my school work and I think I have gotten a little comfortable just going to school and staying home. Well, it is time to get back to work.
I went to a neighborhood bank which used to be North Fork Bank and I realized that Capitol One Bank had taken over. Anywho, I went inside and asked the branch manager if she was loking for anyone and just my luck, she was. I was so happy to hear that but also a part of me was hoping she was not. I know…Crazy right? But because I gotten used to staying home, I was comfortable. Also I think a part of it is because I am afraid of being the new girl on the job. How will the people be? I think that most of us have these feelings.
I took a chance and today I went for the first group interview and test. Let me tell you, I was horrified today! I did not want to go. I just wanted to stay home but I went. It was in Long Island and so far from my house. I am horrible with directions so it was a hectic morning. But I made it there and finished. It was not that bad, at least as bad as I thought. I think I did fine, and now I have to wait for more details to follow. I still have mixed feelings about starting work again but we need to get back out there even though the past experiences were awful.
Add comment April 23, 2008
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Religion
Does it really matter what religion we are? Aren’t we all children of God? It is so easy to make a new religion just based on person or so says my theology professor. He told the class that if he wanted he could start a religion and call it something and try to get others to join. I do not see the point in doing something like that but it does happen. It happened when King Henry VIII wanted to leave his wife and marry someone else. But the church would not grant him a divorce so he went about to create his own Anglican Church. See how easy it is…if you don’t like some rules then you make your own.
To me, what religion we are doesn’t matter. I am Albanian and most Albanians are Muslims for the fact that when the Turks took over, they forced the religion on the people. Since then people just have stuck with it but most of them are liberal when it comes to the Muslim religion. They have the name of the religion but they do not practice it. I know that my family believes in God and they pray but they are not religious. I have taken from them. I don’t have any ritual that I do and anything that I follow. I know there is one God and he loves everyone and he is the one who hears our prayers. All the religions come from the same root so it is pointless to be against one another.
I have been going to catholic school since I was in the 7th grade and I have become known with the religion and the beliefs. I had no problem going to such a school and no one in my family had one either. Now if I need to pray and if I see a church walking by then I will go inside and pray and talk to God. My theology teacher hints about changing my religion but I find it ridiculous because there is no point. No religion will make me follow the rituals. I have a relationship with God in my own way and that is all that matters to me. Even though my fiance is Christian, it does not change my mind. We both dont follow anything but still believe in one God. Religion should not matter and it should not tear people apart.
1 comment April 22, 2008
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