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I never made it back to blog yesterday. Once the kidlets woke up, I finished some writing then we were off to have a little spring break fun. We went out to lunch and to the movies.
I suggested we see Hop. The previews looked cute, but the kidlets said no. After a little debate, we decided to split up. The girls would see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. Finn and I would see Source Code. The movies were showing at a multiplex. The theaters were right next to each other and starting ten minutes apart. It worked out really well.
I'd wanted to see Source Code since reading this writing craft blog about it. Larry Brooks calls his post Story Architecture: A Clinic With Popcorn.
He's so right! Source Code is not only an entertaining movie (with Jake Gyllenhaal who inspired Expecting Royal Twins! Prince Niko), but an excellent lesson in craft for writers. I was good about checking my watch, the the plot points are right where they should be, until we were 2/3 to 3/4 through the movie. Then I got totally sucked in the story and just wanted to watch! Larry Brooks suggests seeing it twice. I will once it's out on DVD!
I hope there's a commentary! I can't tell you how much I've learned about storytelling listing to the audio feature while a movie played. Listening why they deleted a scene or changed it can teach you so much about scene selection, as well as showing, not telling. I always keep a notepad handy so I can jot down what's said.
In case you're interested in seeing either of those movies, here's the McClones' ratings:
Source Code: Highly Recommend (mom), See it, very cool (10 yo son)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Okay (13 yo daughter), Really good and funny (8 yo daughter)
