I thought this movie was highly unusual and very good overall. This movie did not follow the normal Hollywood formula and instead used flashbacks to explain why the main character in the movie was hiking 2500 miles through the what is called the PCT – Pacific Crest Trail. This is a true story and it is understandable that a woman who just lost her mother who she was very close with would go through and ordeal like this to try to get over a horrible loss. I for one can identify with doing something like this.

I liked the fact that the movie completely departed from the normal formula type of movie that we are all so use to, and its been a long while since I have seen a movie told in this manner. I also enjoyed learning about this huge 2500 mile hiking trail and you have to respect anyone who had the courage to make a walk that long through some very dangerous terrain.

I highly recommend this movie.

Screenwriting Books

While watching this movie I was thinking that it really didn’t follow the Hollywood formula and then at the end I realized that it did have the story arch that is typical of most movies. However, everything else about this movie is not like any other movie you have ever seen. The acting is first rate but highly unusual. The main character John Dupont played by Steve Carrel has virtually no personality at all and is rather monotone and shows no emotion for almost the entire movie. It was one of the most unusual characters I have ever seen in any movie. While the movie progresses you wonder if Dupont is gay and definitely is showing signs of some kind of mental illness, perhaps even Autism.

The acting of the Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo is first rate and the wrestling scenes are very believable. At times this movie moves along slowly and some of the motivations of some of the characters was not fully explained, most especially the shocking scene at the end of the movie.

Overall I thought this movie was good and I do recommend it.

RB Screenwriting

We have seen this movie every Easter on TV and it was made in 1956 and it was called The Ten Commandments. This is essentially the same movie with some of the differences being God coming to Moses as a young boy, rather than talking to him through a burning bush, etc.

There is nothing unique enough or worth while enough to have made this movie or to go see it. It was slow in parts and too long, almost 2 1/2 hours.

The end of the movie was also a little disappointing when the director decided to not show the actual parting of the Red Sea, as it was more of a receding of the Red Sea instead. After this the water came back through tornadoes and some other special effects which were good, but not good enough to make up for the rest of the movie.

I cannot recommend this movie.

Screenwriting Books