Late to the party - Serenity and all things Firefly
Despite my rather hectic schedule I quite purposely set aside some time to finally see a showing of Serenity last night.
I haven't talked much about Firefly in the past, but I assure you I am a fan. I never caught Firefly on TV because, to be frank, fans of the show never did much to persuade me. All I heard was that it was by the same guy who did Buffy and Angel, two shows I didn't really care for. That and how good it was, but nothing about why it was so good or what it was really about. For a show that probably could have lived or died by word of mouth alone, the fans did a horrible job of promoting it.
For future reference, if you really had wanted to get my attention all you had to do was say "Space Western". I never once heard Firefly described like this until AFTER I had bought the DVD's, and I only did that after a major sci-fi fan at work was talking about how much he loved the show and it was his all time favorite, etc. etc.
So thus I joined the Cult of Firefly and have shared my DVD's with friends and family.
Going to see Serenity was a bit of a mixed bag. For one thing I'm not so sure how well people can follow along if they have never seen the show. I think it is relatively clear for the most part, but I'm afraid that people who see characters like Shepherd Book for the first time in the movie may not appreciate his overall role in the cast of characters. The movie just barely introduces the characters and then pretty well just jumps right into the story. Mind you, it's not a bad stand-alone movie but I think it loses some of Firefly's greatness if it's expected to be all on its own.
That said, if you have seen the TV series, and I really think you should, then the movie is going to stand as a perfect complement to what we've already seen. There is real tragedy and suffering, and everyone is put through the ringer. Captain Mal is emotionally turned inside out. While he has never been my favorite character, I appreciate his role as something of a father figure to his misfit family. Watching their caretaker fraying at the edges while trying to keep it all together is tough on the crew and the fans.
I understand the movie has only done so-so at the theater. Though with a $39 million price tag I think it will be just fine from the numbers I have heard so far. Of course the DVD will be a big hit with fans and I imagine the movie will likely rekindle some interest in the Firefly boxed sets.
I haven't talked much about Firefly in the past, but I assure you I am a fan. I never caught Firefly on TV because, to be frank, fans of the show never did much to persuade me. All I heard was that it was by the same guy who did Buffy and Angel, two shows I didn't really care for. That and how good it was, but nothing about why it was so good or what it was really about. For a show that probably could have lived or died by word of mouth alone, the fans did a horrible job of promoting it.
For future reference, if you really had wanted to get my attention all you had to do was say "Space Western". I never once heard Firefly described like this until AFTER I had bought the DVD's, and I only did that after a major sci-fi fan at work was talking about how much he loved the show and it was his all time favorite, etc. etc.
So thus I joined the Cult of Firefly and have shared my DVD's with friends and family.
Going to see Serenity was a bit of a mixed bag. For one thing I'm not so sure how well people can follow along if they have never seen the show. I think it is relatively clear for the most part, but I'm afraid that people who see characters like Shepherd Book for the first time in the movie may not appreciate his overall role in the cast of characters. The movie just barely introduces the characters and then pretty well just jumps right into the story. Mind you, it's not a bad stand-alone movie but I think it loses some of Firefly's greatness if it's expected to be all on its own.
That said, if you have seen the TV series, and I really think you should, then the movie is going to stand as a perfect complement to what we've already seen. There is real tragedy and suffering, and everyone is put through the ringer. Captain Mal is emotionally turned inside out. While he has never been my favorite character, I appreciate his role as something of a father figure to his misfit family. Watching their caretaker fraying at the edges while trying to keep it all together is tough on the crew and the fans.
I understand the movie has only done so-so at the theater. Though with a $39 million price tag I think it will be just fine from the numbers I have heard so far. Of course the DVD will be a big hit with fans and I imagine the movie will likely rekindle some interest in the Firefly boxed sets.
Two sentence film commentary
Dungeon's & Dragons is selling for $4.88 and Wal-Mart.
It's overpriced.
It's overpriced.
The Death of Scotty
As anyone with any geek cred knows by now, James Doohan famous for "Mr. Scott" on the original Star Trek died two days ago at the age of 85.
I'm not going to go into great detail about his incredible exploits in World War II, except to say that Doohan was a hero in real life, but was too humble to say much about it. Nor do I care to go into detail about his feud with William Shatner. I am also passing on all the trite "beaming" references I'm sure are being made right now.
Whether a lot of people know it or not, Doohan's passing is more the passing of an icon. Someone who stood out as an element of something they enjoyed. I know that sounds abstract, but that is how he was to most. For me though, James Doohan played my favorite character from the original series. See, when I was a kid the whole transporter bit was incidental. A plot device, even though I did not know what that was at the time, and Scotty was in charge of running the plot device. I understood that was part of who he was. However, Scotty was the guy who kept the ship together, which was cool because the ship was as much a character as anyone else on the show. Furthermore, and this I remember most vividly, Scotty was in charge of the calvary. As much as running the transporter and the engine room, he was also in charge of providing the men with guns. Not only that, but despite not being one of the "big three" on the show, he was still important enough to be left in command without much of the command above him being gone. He was essentially 3rd in command.
How cool was Scotty to me as a kid? Let me put it this way, I watched Captain Kirk vanquish one alien foe after another, sometimes against ridiculous odds. Yet when Kirk needed backup...let's ponder that for a moment...when Kirk needed back-up it was Scotty and the Red Shirts to the rescue. I can't tell you how cool that was to me as a kid. Plus, Scotty had the sense to usually carry a phaser anytime he left the ship. He really was the quiet gunslinger of the bunch. Spock would have his tricorder, Bones his medical kit, and Kirk nothing but bare hands. Scotty is showing the good sense to bring a firearm. Guess which one of these guys I want with me on an uncharted world?
Doohan's character changed to be far more technical with the movies. He wasn't playing my favorite character then, that honor would fall on Mr. Spock, for reasons I won't get into here. Regardless, having Doohan around was always good, whether he was playing it straight or for laughs. Bless him, he could do both equally well.
He was a good man, a hero, and his character had a real impact on me as something of a role model. In some ways I am a computer developer in the way he was an engineer. I enjoy working under pressure, doing what others think can't be done, and I've even worked in security with the Sheriff's Office! It's funny that I never even noticed some of the parallels until after his passing.
Thank you, Mr. Doohan, for your fine work. You will be missed.
I'm not going to go into great detail about his incredible exploits in World War II, except to say that Doohan was a hero in real life, but was too humble to say much about it. Nor do I care to go into detail about his feud with William Shatner. I am also passing on all the trite "beaming" references I'm sure are being made right now.
Whether a lot of people know it or not, Doohan's passing is more the passing of an icon. Someone who stood out as an element of something they enjoyed. I know that sounds abstract, but that is how he was to most. For me though, James Doohan played my favorite character from the original series. See, when I was a kid the whole transporter bit was incidental. A plot device, even though I did not know what that was at the time, and Scotty was in charge of running the plot device. I understood that was part of who he was. However, Scotty was the guy who kept the ship together, which was cool because the ship was as much a character as anyone else on the show. Furthermore, and this I remember most vividly, Scotty was in charge of the calvary. As much as running the transporter and the engine room, he was also in charge of providing the men with guns. Not only that, but despite not being one of the "big three" on the show, he was still important enough to be left in command without much of the command above him being gone. He was essentially 3rd in command.
How cool was Scotty to me as a kid? Let me put it this way, I watched Captain Kirk vanquish one alien foe after another, sometimes against ridiculous odds. Yet when Kirk needed backup...let's ponder that for a moment...when Kirk needed back-up it was Scotty and the Red Shirts to the rescue. I can't tell you how cool that was to me as a kid. Plus, Scotty had the sense to usually carry a phaser anytime he left the ship. He really was the quiet gunslinger of the bunch. Spock would have his tricorder, Bones his medical kit, and Kirk nothing but bare hands. Scotty is showing the good sense to bring a firearm. Guess which one of these guys I want with me on an uncharted world?
Doohan's character changed to be far more technical with the movies. He wasn't playing my favorite character then, that honor would fall on Mr. Spock, for reasons I won't get into here. Regardless, having Doohan around was always good, whether he was playing it straight or for laughs. Bless him, he could do both equally well.
He was a good man, a hero, and his character had a real impact on me as something of a role model. In some ways I am a computer developer in the way he was an engineer. I enjoy working under pressure, doing what others think can't be done, and I've even worked in security with the Sheriff's Office! It's funny that I never even noticed some of the parallels until after his passing.
Thank you, Mr. Doohan, for your fine work. You will be missed.
23:53:23 on 07/21/05
by Botswana -
Movies and TV -
Batman Begins!
Just so you know, some minor spoilers might follow. Nothing that is going to ruin the movie, but if anyone reading this is hyper-sensitive to spoilers you might want to stop reading after the next paragraph.
Overall, the movie was pretty good. It's my favorite Batman movie since the series was re-started in 1989 with Michael Keaton in the title role. I do absolutely abhor the new Hollywood fight style of having a series of quick cuts and lots of confusing action where you can't tell what is going on. This is pretty much every fight in the movie after Batman dons his costume. Is this entertaining? Is it supposed to be fun to watch? You see a bunch of bodies on the screen and suddenly Batman is the only one standing. Considering that Christian Bale showed he is very competent in fight scenes while doing Equilibrium, this was a huge disappointment. However, this is really the only serious weak point in the film.
Overall, the movie was pretty good. It's my favorite Batman movie since the series was re-started in 1989 with Michael Keaton in the title role. I do absolutely abhor the new Hollywood fight style of having a series of quick cuts and lots of confusing action where you can't tell what is going on. This is pretty much every fight in the movie after Batman dons his costume. Is this entertaining? Is it supposed to be fun to watch? You see a bunch of bodies on the screen and suddenly Batman is the only one standing. Considering that Christian Bale showed he is very competent in fight scenes while doing Equilibrium, this was a huge disappointment. However, this is really the only serious weak point in the film.
13:54:27 on 06/18/05
by Botswana -
Movies and TV -
In the "that movie wasn't as bad as I remembered it" category
I'm not sure if a lot of people remember that when Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was released there was a great deal of hype around the movie. It looked to be a sleeper, but quickly became a potential blockbuster as more media outlets found out about the movie's ground-breaking approach. Then the movie just sort of came and went.
I first saw it in the theater with a friend of mine and my older son, who was 5 years old at the time. I liked it well enough, but I remember leaving the theater without much of an impression of it. There were very few standout cool moments or genuinely funny lines. It was like eating a bunch of cotton candy. Sure it was sweet and tasted good at first, but when you're done it feels like you just snacked on air. The movie had no real substance.
I knew my son liked it, so I picked it up on DVD recently so he and I could watch it again. Oddly enough, I enjoyed it a lot more the second time through. It does have its moments, just few and far inbetween. I think a big problem with the movie is that, like so many modern movies, the filmmakers try to hard to contrive situations where the hero can't actually fight back. This leads us directly into G.I.Joe or A-Team territory, where we have lots of bombs and guns going off but no one seems to get hurt. Oddly enough, in this movie people are getting hurt and yet the hero can never seem to do much to stop it. I think it detracts from the overall movie experience.
Yet the visuals were just as compelling and unique the second time around and the casting choices were just superb. Yeah, the story is kind of subpar but hardly horrible.
In my memory though, it seems like I didn't think of it too highly. It's as if I started to like the film less over time despite having only seen it that once.
I first saw it in the theater with a friend of mine and my older son, who was 5 years old at the time. I liked it well enough, but I remember leaving the theater without much of an impression of it. There were very few standout cool moments or genuinely funny lines. It was like eating a bunch of cotton candy. Sure it was sweet and tasted good at first, but when you're done it feels like you just snacked on air. The movie had no real substance.
I knew my son liked it, so I picked it up on DVD recently so he and I could watch it again. Oddly enough, I enjoyed it a lot more the second time through. It does have its moments, just few and far inbetween. I think a big problem with the movie is that, like so many modern movies, the filmmakers try to hard to contrive situations where the hero can't actually fight back. This leads us directly into G.I.Joe or A-Team territory, where we have lots of bombs and guns going off but no one seems to get hurt. Oddly enough, in this movie people are getting hurt and yet the hero can never seem to do much to stop it. I think it detracts from the overall movie experience.
Yet the visuals were just as compelling and unique the second time around and the casting choices were just superb. Yeah, the story is kind of subpar but hardly horrible.
In my memory though, it seems like I didn't think of it too highly. It's as if I started to like the film less over time despite having only seen it that once.
14:58:34 on 06/12/05
by Botswana -
Movies and TV -
DISALLOWED (Random)