IKOAFS Movie Post 1: Movie Review

VIEW THE FULL REVIEW HERE!!!



According to A. O. Scott's review of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s adaptation of the novel by Ned Vizzini, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is "disarmingly gentle, sweet and whimsical" (Scott).
Though I've only seen various trailers of the movie thus far, I can say I'm going to have to agree. The movie seems to take on a lighter mood, where the novel takes on a more serious (yet, still funny) mood.

The review also stated that "Mr. Gilchrist (the guy who play's as Craig in the film) is a friendly, somewhat tentative (doubtful) screen presence, but Craig has enough intelligence and humor to be both an agreeable central character and a charming guide to life in the adult psych ward" (Scott).
I gotta agree here too, maybe it's just how the director/producer protrayed Craig as, but it seems as if Craig appears kind of 'awkward' throughout the whole movie (or as Scott said, tentative). (But again, I've only seen the trailers for the film so, what I say may not be true :P).

"There are humor and pathos, but a crucial dimension of intensity is missing. The best I can say is that it’s kind of a good movie" (Scott).
I had high hopes for this guy until this last sentence he ended his review with. I mean, it was kind of witty that he used to novel/movie's title to summarize his overall thoughts of the book, but I find it kind of mocking. With 'intensity missing', I agree. There's no way you can reproduce the original story Vizzini made. The mind of a director and an author are two different things, so I can see why the movie might be 'toned down' a bit.

Work Cited:
Scott, A. O. "A Coming-of-Age Tale, Set Among the Sad." The New York Times, Web. October 7th, 2010. Viewed on January 25th, 2011. http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08funny.html?scp=1&sq=it's%20kind%20of%20a%20funny%20story%20movie%20review&st=cse.

(*sorry, I couldn;t get the spacing to work out for the citation D: *)!!

IKOAFS Book Post #1: Pgs. 0-94

Summary:
The novel is about a teenager, Craig Gilner, who has depression. The story starts off with him at at his friends house, refusing to smoke pot, to see if that's what makes him 'depressed'; the pot or the lack of it. Aside from having depression, he also has trouble eating. On some days, he'll eat and actually digest it, and on other days, he'll just throw up whatever he puts in his mouth. Craig used to live in Manhattan, and now lives in Brooklyn, which he said is a less productive place. Speaking of places, he loved to draw maps. He knew all of the streets and avenues around his home at a very young age. The cause of his depression is still being unfolded, but as far as I've read, ever since he got into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, or 'last fall', he got depressed, and he has been awaiting a switch (things to go back to normal) since then. The MEFPPHS (for short) required you to pass an exam to get in. Craig studied non stop for a whole year, and aced the entry exam, 800 out of 800. Only problem is, the school and work load is too tough to handle. (AND, Craig likes things with rules, like videogames, ex. do this, don;t hit that, survive)

Quote:
"My stomach hitches as I leave the table.
What were you trying to do, soldier?
I was trying to eat, sir!
And what happened?
I got caught thinking about some crap, sir!
What kind of crap?
How I want to live less than my parents' dog.
Are you still concentrated on the enemy, soldier?
I don't think so.
Do you even know who the enemy is?
I think... it's me.
That's right.
I have to concentrate on myself.
Yes. But not right now, because now you're going to the bathroom to throw up! It's tough to fight when you're throwing up!" (Vizzini 45).

Reaction(to the quote):
I find it kind of cool that Craig compares his struggle like a drill sargent is talking to him. Hence the 'yes, sir!'. It makes it more apparent of how much of a battle it is for Craig to even eat/keep on living anymore. Also, I noticed a change in tone where the other speaker asks Craig who the enemy is, but then again, it switchs tone when we get back to the reality that he is throwing up. It's a battle with himself! Man vs. Himself conflict! Anyways, in the beginning, the novel was hard to follow/read, but I;ve gotten the gist of it now. Craig seems pretty laid back to be depressed too. :P Anyways, I'm still too early in the book to tell, off to more reading/movie watching!!! :D