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 Message in a Bottle (1999)
IMDB rating: 5.40
Plot: A woman finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.
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Directors: Mandoki Luis
Actors: Newman Paul,Savage John,Coltrane Robbie,James Jesse,Aldredge Tom,Sbarge Raphael,Hamilton Richard,Eckholdt Steven,Costner Kevin,Drama,Romance,
What do you think of this idea?
Bear with me on this…its a little confusing. and it’s a fantasy war story, so it if you’re not into revenge stories and so on, you might as well go and answer another question. bybyee
okay, so if you’re still here…
fourteen years ago, a man (let’s call him Man A) was murdered by a general on the other side of the war (We’ll just call him General). Man A’s little brother (who we shall call Angrypants) was relying on his older brother to care for him at the time, and for fourteen years he’s bottled up his anger and revenge.
In those fourteen years, both men – General and Angrypants – had daughters. And both men lost their wives (one died in childbirth and one was killed in battle). naturally, the girls become enemies.
As Angrypants finds out that General is moving forward to help overthrow their side of the war, he decides it’s time to take out his revenge (especially when General kidnaps his girlfriend). in the book you see how he is gradually losing control and going mad with bloodlust.
Long story short, Angrypants manages to behead General. Ew, yes. But he’s gotten his revenge.
When General’s seventeen-year-old daughter hears the news, she obviously goes through a period of grief – she’s an orphan now – and decides that it’s not fair that she should suffer alone…Angrypants’s daughter should suffer the way she did. So in a double-whammy of getting her revenge and evening the score, she sets out to take the life of her father’s killer, Angrypants.
(but shes doesn’t. she ends up joining their side of the war)
so General killed Man A, and Angrypants killed General, and General’s daughter tries to set out to kill Angrypants.
Anyway, is this idea too cliche? I’m trying to portray the personal turmoil suffered through war, as well as convey the timeless message, "Revenge solves nothing"
cheers
haha, i know it’s confusing. sorry. it makes sense in the book, though
Man A’s – is that like mayonnaise, or more like miracle whip? Lol, jk.
I think the storyline is a bit…single-minded. Why is it natural that the girls become enemies? It would be more interesting if they liked each other, at least at first. Why is it necessary that this moves through generations? I would suggest sticking to ONE generation for the story, and alluding to the other generations if necessary.
It also needs some balance: fight scenes, tragic twists, and angry people get boring when not paired with other things. That’s why war stories (for example) always have other things – romances, etc. Good luck with your story
Lila.Bellacina | Feb 01, 2010
Your description is a little confusing. The story is a bit cliche in the setup, but overall it has a good twist.
Euclid | Feb 01, 2010
I think it’s pretty good! (Love the name Angrypants! I’m laughing as I read it.) But not laughing at your story. It is indeed grimly serious, just like war. And hate. And revenge. Sounds like it could be a good story. Just be sure to be clear who is doing what to whom, so your reader doesn’t lose track of the several characters.
Good luck!
Whortleberry | Feb 01, 2010
No its not too cliche! Its perfect! It can teach people revenge solves nothing! That can be a 5 star book or something!
CuteLittleMama | Feb 01, 2010
Interesting idea. The idea is itself not a cliche if you manage you pull it off well enough.
Term "cliche" in literature is more related to execution of the idea rather then the plot. Some plots existed since Gilgamesh and still are used without being cliche, other ideas were only used several times but seem overdone.
Only confusing thing is the long time spans between murders. 14 years? why? is there war still going on? how do families know each other enough to hate? why the procrastination?
I see the purpose of procrastination, as too have generation gap, and such.. but you need good reason in the story to pull it off.
Good luck, it can be very interesting if you pull it off.
But remember that moral and conclusion should flow from the story, and not be forced from it.
Sasha | Feb 01, 2010