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Massawyrm thinks CHARLIE ST. CLOUD is a huggably sweet TWILIGHT ZONE episode
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
You know, when I hear people joke and sneer about pretty boy Zac Efron, I can’t help but think back to ten years ago. Remember when we used to joke about that Australian kid Heath Ledger? Or a few years before that when that kid from the last season of GROWING PAINS was doing drug induced Shakespeare and TITANIC? Or the beefcake from COOL WORLD before that? Or a few years earlier still when we joked about that 21 JUMPSTREET kid that we always giggled about getting eaten by a mattress in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET? Yeah. Good times. We joke an awful lot about pretty boys. We’re also wrong about them enough to give me pause when I start to hear *so much* groaning.
Now, I’m not saying Efron is decidedly in the same camp with the aforementioned powerhouses, but he could be. He’s got the looks. The kid’s got enough charisma to carry him through even mediocre films and come out on the other side as the best part of them. And he’s definitely got chops. He was solid in last year’s criminally underseen ME AND ORSON WELLES, but was pretty much smoked by the incredible performance of Christian McKay – who arguably had the much more interesting role. Here Efron gets to push his chops a bit further playing the conflicted – and strange – young title character, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD.
Make no mistake, this isn’t high art. It’s a warm, fuzzy TWILIGHT ZONE episode, written and directed to appeal specifically to Twi-moms and their daughters. And it works. It is very effective at what it does, telling an interesting, emotional story that tugs occasionally upon cliché that will make the men in the audience groan as the women they’re with swoon. Charlie is a winner. Best in his class at sailboat racing, he’s earned a scholarship to Stanford and the hearts of many of his female classmates. He’s got a little brother he thinks the world of, and makes a deal with him that every day, at sundown, they’ll meet for baseball practice. Then Charlie and his brother both die in a car crash – but Charlie gets resuscitated.
Guess who now possesses the ability to see and speak with the dead?
What sold this movie for me is that it flashes forward five years. They skip all of the hullabaloo of this kind of story and turn our winner into the town weirdo. He’s blown his whole ride to become the groundskeeper at a cemetery so he can play catch with his brother every day. Everyone in town thinks he’s a freak – which he actually is – and then someone with an intense crush on him in high school comes back to town after becoming a renowned racer in her own right. You see where this is going? Sure you do. But the ride is enjoyable enough. Efron carries the film from beginning to end. There’s enough emotion in the script to keep his character interesting, but not so much that it gets silly.
My only genuine problem with the film is a tiny quibble about a major twist. I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say this: if you plan on including a twist we’ve seen in another film, you should probably avoid using one of the actors from that film, no matter how good he or she may actually be. It’s a twist I was hoping wasn’t the case – but only because I liked it so much in another, arguably more likable film. Fortunately for CHARLIE ST. CLOUD, not as many people have seen said film, so they might not see the final turn coming. To its credit, the film comes up with a perfectly reasonable explanation (cinematically speaking) for the twist – something the previous entry hadn’t.
I enjoyed the film, but have to say honestly that as big a baby as I can be for an emotionally charged film like this, it didn’t moisten my eyes in the slightest – no matter how hard it tried. I felt connected, but not truly invested enough to feel a twinge of tears. That didn’t stop a number of audience members, but it didn’t manage to get *me*.
When all is said and done, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD is a good film. It’s adorable, sweet and a perfectly harmless date movie. Overall, it will most likely be one of Efron’s forgotten films, adored by some of his more devoted fans but ignored by everyone else. I’m really liking what I see out of Efron. If he can grab hold of a few risky roles – his 12 MONKEYS or DARK KNIGHT or DEAD MAN – he might be able to pull out of his pretty boy phase and move into the level of respect he seems to be working towards achieving. This won’t do it, but it will make his fanbase swoon a bit more. And frankly, you could do a lot worse. If you have a date this weekend, and you want to set a romantic tone, I’d mark this down as the pick to do the trick.
Until next time friends,
Massawyrm
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What dammit!
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I think I speak for almost everyone when I say we didn't even need ONE review of this flaming pile of shit in a pretty bag. And yet its almost impossible to get multiple reviews or opinions of Inception, Salt, or a large supply of other movies that might actually fall into the "aintitcool" category.
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Chances are that a bunch of the pretty boys are going to be revered and respected at some point when they do take daring roles. Like you already mentioned Brad Pitt, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, and Johnny Depp along with Efron. I hated Zac Efron until I saw 17 Again and then I started to agree with your predictions (as always, we are so alike). With the right project, Efron will become the next Brad Pitt, I see it in him. People just hate Efron and Shia LaBeouf just because they're so called "pretty boys". I would even say that Robert Pattinson is in that group because I thought he was great in Goblet of Fire but then his career went downhill from there. But, people have every right to hate "actors" like Taylor Lautner. Then again, he's like my worst enemy when it comes to actors.
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The Charlie St. Cloud trailer totally abuses the "synth chimes" scene transition effect. Go ahead. Watch it. Count how many times they force the synthetic chimes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgOvvMi8Lg
No. 1: 45 seconds.
No. 2: 56 seconds.
No. 3: 1 minutes 46 seconds.
No. 4: 2 minutes 10 seconds.
No. 5: 2 minutes 21 seconds.
I'm sure I missed a few. The synth chimes are to bad drama trailers as the "record scratch" effect is to bad comedies. Excellent breakdown as always, Massa. -
I meant Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp sorry.
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Or a rapist junkie. That will be the "risky role" that will give him credibility. Whether that would go down well with his legions of female fans is another matter. The vibe I get from Efron is he's going to play it safe for the rest of his career. He's not a risk taker like DiCaprio or Ledger.
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Is my Indian name. Shenghuxi's shitty adbot program should be ashamed of itself.
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I just checked it out on imdb (***spoilers, if anyone really gives a shit****), it almost seems like the same twist from that piece of shit Reese Witherspoon/Mark Ruffalo movie. "He is seeing her ghost, but she's actually just in a coma somewhere so now he has to go find her body somewhere". I'm not too sure what movie Massa was referencing (I don't even know who else is in this), but apparently that's how shit went down in the book.
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Two brothers, Charlie (15) and Sam (12) decide to go to watch a baseball game. They "borrow" their neighbor's car and drive to the stadium. On the way back, however, Sam is killed. Thirteen years later, Charlie has grown up and is working at the Marblehead cemetery. Every evening at dusk he goes to a little nearby forest where he plays with Sam; Charlie has the gift of seeing ghosts. This also serves him well as an undertaker, because he can talk with the deceased.
In the town lives Tess Carroll, a yachtswoman who wants to make a round-the-world trip. A week prior to her departure, she directs her yacht in to a storm to test it, but in an accident, Tess and the yacht are lost. Tess appears at the cemetery. She meets Charlie and they go on a date. The next day Tess realizes that people ignore her and the proof that something is wrong comes when she cannot see her reflection in water. What is more, she can play with Sam St. Cloud, the boy who died 13 years ago.
Charlie is shocked at the thought that Tess could be dead. In the meantime everyone in the town in possession of a boat, including Charlie, explores the bay to find Tess's body. He has to admit that he hasn't seen the real Tess, only her spirit.
Everyone gives up the search, but then Charlie feels that there is one place he has to go. With Sam's help he finds Tess's body. Tess is transported to a hospital where they stabilize her in a deep coma.
A few months later, Charlie decides to quit his job and move on. During his last visit at the hospital Tess wakes up and after talking to him for a while she begins to recollect her memories as a ghost. -
And I just heard that Charlie from Always Sunny is sexier than Depp to women...huh?
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He's a ghost like his brother? His brother is still alive and he's the ghost? He's dreaming the whole thing? The girl is a ghost and ends up with his ghost brother?
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I think he is a terrible grown man actor. Anytime he plays a man, its terrible. Watched inception, shutter island, and revolutionary road, and man, he sucks to me. Instead of acting its like he just scream dialogues. I don't hate "pretty" actors, I find pitt great, cruise great, but leo is distractin. But he was good in beach and romeo+juliet
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See comment two steps above you.
Also, that sounds like a pretty cool twist. -
What AIC reader out there wanted two reviews of this movie?
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All the reviews can't be on a bunch of Marvel films!
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Ur people here are keen to have your thoughts.
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pay off. Sometimes staying with your perceived niche might be better in the long run. Just ask Elizabeth Berkley. Then again, as much as her career didn't take off, at least she's not doing stand-up in pizza joints like Screech, so maybe it was the best move for her after all.
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...a late review of Inception by Harry than two reviews of Charlie St. Cloud. Seriously, who on this site is considering seeing that movie? I'm wondering if Harry is just stumped on how to approach a review of Inception.
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I haven't read jack shit about the 2010 SDCC Tron Legacy panel and new trailer on here. Did I miss it or did AICN drop the ball? In fact I've had to check out other sites to read about comicon this year. Coverage on here this year is shit. But a movie no one on here will see gets 2 reviews (3 more to follow I'm guessing).
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Not super hot, but she's bangable after seeing her in Sex Drive
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I mean seriously? Two reviews for this turd and I haven't read a single sentence about Salt (a movie I was kinda curious about). I had to go to rottentomatoes to read some Salt reviews. Even if it's shit, why no reviews for a summer action film?
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Anyhow. Let's get a dozen more reviews for Charlie St Cloud and less comicon news. Please! :)
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...we fucking get it! Leo DiCpario looks like a little kid. Jesus Christ, I'm so sick and tired of hearing it...it's gotten so old.
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No mention of Lawrence Fisbhurnes daughter doing porn in the tbs?
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Kind of.
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Jul 30, 2010 12:37:34 PM CDT
Interesting comparison between Capone's and Massawyrm's reviews.
by moonlightdrive
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Is Bruce Willis in this?
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...who NEVER visits Ain't It Cool News!
Ya might as well post another review of Sex And The City II... -
Jul 30, 2010 12:47:45 PM CDT
Shia LeBoeuf is no Brad Pitt, Heath Ledger, or Johnny Depp.
by royston lodge
Never, no way, no how.
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Lame.
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Some things you can tell are shit just by seeing 3 seconds of the trailer. This is one of those things. Maybe Massa took some chick to see this and is trying to impress her. (Don't get upset, Massa, just a wild guess to explain this disturbing turn of events.)
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'Cause thats the ONLY thing that would get me into the theatre to see this POS.
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The chick and the brother are still alive, they were just coma-ghosts, not full-fledged dead-people-ghosts. To celebrate, they take a trip to New York City to visit Charlie's estranged father and make amends. While the chick and the kid wait in the lobby, Charlie has a heart-to-heart with dad, but whats's that sudden roaring noise outside? Fade to black... final shot of clouds of debris and smoke as a newspaper flutters by, zoom in to extreme closeup on the paper, the date at the top is (G-GULP!) September 11, 2001!
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that's the reese witherspoon/mark ruffalo film massawyrm is referencing. both films have donal logue in them.
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But I don't think anybody's surprised
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and i laughed my ass off...seriously it was just sappy ridiculous...toward the end of the trailer it shows charlie having to make a decision to go out and rescue his potential new GF cuz the girl's in trouble and the Coast Guard is unable to get out to her...which means only Charlie can save her but at the price of losing ghost little brother..honestly it just looked like utter pathetic and predictable crap.
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Jul 30, 2010 2:05:21 PM CDT
It's not about Efrons looks, Massa, you fucking imbecile
by industrykiller!
Depp, Ledger, Dicaprio RIGHT OUT OF THE FUCKING GATE were incredibly talented dudes, who CLEARLY had gravitas and pathos. Especially Dicaprio, who had already been nominated for an Oscar by the time Titanic came out and made Romeo and Juliet and The Basketball Diaries and been brilliant in both. Depp had more edge in his little finger than Efron could ever have in his darkest most heroin addicted day, and Ledger had a natural vulnerability that Efron couldn't possibly hope to achieve by widening his eyes and looking pensive. Ledger was also a lot more rugged than the twee Efron. I mean Jesus Christ can you imagine Efron playing the time tortured Ennis Del Mar, if you can, fuck you you're lying to yourself. The fact that you cannot differenciate between any of this shows why you'll never be a good commentator of film. And for every guy you mention, there's a David Cassidy or, to be incredible generous to Efron, a Rob Lowe, who isn't terribly interesting when he's young, but gains just enough inner life to be a solid TV actor.
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that he gets blown off the screen by another actor who only "arguably" has a more interesting role. This after going on one of the most absurd and hyperbolic defenses of an actor I've ever seen. Jackass.
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all the way back in 1993. Anyone who thought either of those was eye candy, especially Decaprio in that film, just wasn't paying attention. Doesn't add much to your credibility to admit you were one of those fools.
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I'm divided. I thought he carried a cliche and poorly written "17 Again" and was very solid in "Me and Orson Welles." OTOH, he takes no risks and with everything handed to him I wonder if he focuses enough on honing the craft.I definitely agree that Hollywood pushes him because he's a "safe" product and that is bothersome.
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A) why is this movie even being reviewed? I doubt someone who reads AICN was planning on seeing it, or thought it was anything besides sugary crap
B) Why are there two reviews?
C) Why can't we be told the twist, even with spoilers? This isnt fucking Iron Man III, no one here will see it. I just wikipediad that shit.
D) Why is this being reviewed but not Inception, a discussion on Inception, Salt, Dinner for Schmucks, or Despicable Me...movies that could be good or bad, movies AICN crown might see? Surely a 10 dollar movie ticket is worth a few thousand hits and dignity.
E) Zac Efron sucks. Might as well debate if the guy from Twilight has acting chops. -
that massa's reviews couldn't get any gayer...
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If he was the voice in someones head saying "YOU SURE FUCKKKKKED UP BOB"
Seriously - in terms of analogies Massa, those three films you cited weren't breakout roles for anybody. Efron needs now to tell his agent just to say no to '17 Again' type movies for the next ten years. The problem is though, Efron is a plastic perfect mannequin who can't act for shit. Look at Ledger in '10 Things I Hate About You'. Sure he had the looks to pull off the charmer, but he had the depth to give the character a vulnerability far more than it deserved.
Feck why are we even talking about this shit? Two reviews about this horsecrap when a mountain of cooler stuff waltzes on by. I'm off to watch 12 Monkeys and pray Efron doesn't nab someone to remake it with during his lunchbreak. -
So the twist is the same as in the anime Kanon? That's kinda lame, but I did love it in the anime.
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If he had a role like Bale in American Pyshco. Remember Leo turned that one down for "The Beach". You can't blame the guy for playing it safe at the moment,He's working towards a larger goal.Turning down the FootLoose remake was a big step in the right direction. I think he could have pulled off playing the new Spiderman. Don't be a hater. I wasn't a Ledger fan until he started doing the edgier stuff. Remember, before the Dark Knight there was A Knights Tale...
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was that annoying kid on a stupid fucking alien sitcom (in my dumb opinion) until I saw him in Kill Shot.That movie is under rated.
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You ran out of credibility. I'm not even going to waste my time reading your review.
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I remember after Star Wars seeing Mark Hamill as a background character in the war movie "The Big Red One" and looking at Zac Efron's pic in the newspaper (never seen one of his films), I'd think he'd make a great character in a WW2 film (along the lines of Saving Private Ryan, etc as just one of the boys in battle). I think good things will come of this kid and we'll see where he's at in the forthcoming years.
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unless your date is as lame as you...Massa, you only saw it because you wanted to review it, I would assume.
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Girls like the sensitive shit.Even fan girls. I'd rather take a chick to see this than any of that Twilight shit. Take one to see this and next time you go you get to see The Expendables. All Massa is saying is there is a lot worse shit out there and this guy is not a bad actor. I'm with him on this opinion,there is a lot worse shit to see with a girl on a date. I'm guessing Ginger Mcfatass Harry will be telling us to go see StepUp 3D if we want to get laid.
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i don't think heath ledger was ever considered a typical "pretty boy." sure, he was a romantic lead in a teen comedy but the guy had a lot of weird tattoos and he embraced his receding hairline AND did drugs. Point is, Efron has embraced his Disney-like cleanliness for far too long. Neither the fans nor the studios would ever take him seriously in a movie like the Dark Knight for fear of being laughed out of the audience. At best this guy is going to have a Warren Beatty career. One, maybe two memorable films and a lifetime of nothing much else.
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If Talented Mr. Ripley hadn't been remade so recently, he could have done that role. Not the way Damon did it, but how Delon played it in Purple Noon, just gliding from murder to murder. A role like that might work. Hell, if I were Efron's agent I'd just send him a DVD of Delon's work, and say "do this."
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compared to what? knees to the groin?
this was pedestrian at best. mediocre, tolerable, forgettable. This should have been on Hallmark Channel.
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Isn't it weird that AICN would run two posts about Charlie St. Cloud; a movie that pretty much no one reading this site would care about? And isn't it even weirder that while both these posts acknowledge that the movie isn't great the authors hammer home the point that Zac Efron sure has the potential to be a big name actor someday! What's more likely; that two AICN contributors were so inspired by Efron in Charlie St. Cloud that they felt the need to extol his wonderfulness or that someone paid to get these pro-Zac Efron posts written in the hopes that maybe we movie geek-types will think of Efron as less of an annoying pretty boy and more as the next Johnny Depp?
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Efron has been living off it 4-5 years strong? He's gonna need to play a junkie or half-retard
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Yes, Doctor_Strangepork, I fucking HATE that trailer cliche. As soon as I hear that "WHISSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH", I know for certain that the movie in question being advertised is gonna be a piece of sentimental tripe (also used in the trailer for that Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser doctor movie from January).
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Jul 31, 2010 12:12:51 PM CDT
Efron just hasn't proven himself yet...time will tell...
by alice cooper stalker
Efron can't stick to safe, nearly identical movies if he wants to grow. He also can't pull an Elizabeth Berkley and go from Disney flicks to near X-Rated movies. There needs to be a progression that allows him to continue to stretch his skills and for his audience to grow with him and get used to him in a different light. Time will tell. I'm not knocking him (except to say that I think he should have done Footloose as a stepping stone) yet.
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This will color my perception of everything else he ever writes.
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Iron Man 2 seems like AGES ago, and Inception was the only one worth seeing in the theater. All these ones I can wait for DVD.
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That's a 4 gold stars in my book.
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Seriously, where the fuck are the comic con scoops and trailers, etc?? I need to find another movie site methinks...
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Like Iron Man 2 was any good?
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I enjoyed Iron Man 2, but it was average compared to the first one. all that hype for THAT piece of shit?
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I get the distinct impression comic-con was weak this year. No site is making a big fuss.
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I thought Leonardo Di Caprio was an unproved powerhouse of talent when he bounched off Johnny Depp in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape (a truly brilliant movie) - Inception and Body of Evidence (not to mention the Aviator) prove my point!! Brad Pitt was low in my books until Fight Club and Snatch; Heck even Farrah Fawcett was fallow until the Burning Bed and Extremities (both brilliant movies - SEE THEM!!). Zac Ephron has only to prove his point, and everyone should give him his chance.
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Thanks, Massa. Good review. After reading it, however, I can't help but think this film will be a load of simplistic shlock.
If they had made the twist that he wasn't actually talking to his dead brother, but thought he was, that might've been interesting.
But as is... nah. Thanks anyway. -
It was BODY OF LIES ... BODY OF EVIDENCE was that shit with Madonna and William Dafoe , come on man. Big fan of Leo. One of few actors that you can rely on. I trused Bale once, but then he did Terminator 4 and his presence from now on doesn't secure me in not seeing shit.
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You're right, I mixed them up (and with that horrid Madonna film - ugh!!). Sorry, that was a screw up. Still, the point was there.
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And all those pretty boys aforementioned, they had to bust their balls and ass to prove their worth and quality, to the poin they had to send off their pretty boyish looks, even when they were very young and at the height of their youthful good looks, to be taken seriously. And it is as it should.
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