...can't stop the signal...
I know that most of my flist has probably seen the Big Damn Movie, but if you haven't yet... GO. ASAP. It's amazing. But if you are like me in your visceral responses, you may want to read spoilers, first. I should have.
I loved the trailers in front of the movie. Aeonflux, Narnia, Harry Potter. Oh man. What a great pre-party. ;)
I loved the plot. We get so much BACKSTORY in this movie - how Simon broke River out (although how he saw her like that and yet also remained in control is a mystery to me), and an explanation of the Reavers being the two main revelations.
I loved Book's role in the film, and concomittantly, I loved that what Mal ends up *believing in* is essentially freedom of speech. The right of people to KNOW. Of course, it's more than that - he's also fighting for the right of people to be who they are. To be free from engineering and manipulation - whether ideological (the River flashbacks) or biological (River and the people of Miranda).
I loved how damn funny it was. Everyone had their quintessential lines, and it felt so good. My favorite funny moments were, of course, with Kaylee - sweet, sensual Kaylee, who finally discovers the warrior-woman-within at the promise of lovemaking. ;) It's scary, how much I have in common with that character.
I loved the villain. I'm still working through whether I think it's 100% believable for him to have that much of a change of heart at the end... but Lisa pointed out that in a way, he's been "brainwashed" to almost the same extent as River (though presumably, not in the strict biological sense - although that's debatable!). And just as River gets "better" when she finally comprehends the truth of what those key members of Parliament were hiding, the assassin himself "recovers" from his blind devotion to the corrupt Alliance. He's not Jubal Early - he has a code. He doesn't hurt or kill for pleasure. If he did, the entire crew would be dead. It's that system - of ethics, I guess - that makes him let them go. That's how I'm thinking about it at the moment, anyway... I'd love to hear other thoughts.
I loved loved LOVED River's moment of Slayer-glory. That shot at the end, when the doors open - so very much a Buffy moment, like the shot of her with that axe in Hell in the beginning of S3. My god. River's even more gorgeous than Buffy and Faith in a fight, though. God in heaven. That was such a *beautiful* scene. Lisa was in ecstasy - she, being a ballet dancer, just loves the way Summer Glau can move. The fluidity. I think that scene may have been the most Lisa's ever enjoyed an "action" sequence. I am still in awe.
The thing I couldn't take, was Wash dying. Left the theater in tears. It didn't help that he died almost exactly like Trinity did - he got them where they needed to go, through impossible odds, and then got spiked in the chest. It hurt so bad to see that in another incarnation. But more than the eerie similarity... I just don't get WHY. Seriously. Why? We already know that the world is unfair, Joss. I'm not in the theater so that I can relearn that lesson. I get why Book had to die, but not Wash. It didn't have to be that way. I hurt all over, dammit, and if I could turn it off, I would. I don't want to be wired this way.
Can't wait to see it again, though. To pick up on all those little details that I missed in the Gestalt. And I sure as hell hope that he's really managed to start something, here... because he, and the cast and crew, deserve a franchise. You can't stop the signal, after all. :)
I loved the trailers in front of the movie. Aeonflux, Narnia, Harry Potter. Oh man. What a great pre-party. ;)
I loved the plot. We get so much BACKSTORY in this movie - how Simon broke River out (although how he saw her like that and yet also remained in control is a mystery to me), and an explanation of the Reavers being the two main revelations.
I loved Book's role in the film, and concomittantly, I loved that what Mal ends up *believing in* is essentially freedom of speech. The right of people to KNOW. Of course, it's more than that - he's also fighting for the right of people to be who they are. To be free from engineering and manipulation - whether ideological (the River flashbacks) or biological (River and the people of Miranda).
I loved how damn funny it was. Everyone had their quintessential lines, and it felt so good. My favorite funny moments were, of course, with Kaylee - sweet, sensual Kaylee, who finally discovers the warrior-woman-within at the promise of lovemaking. ;) It's scary, how much I have in common with that character.
I loved the villain. I'm still working through whether I think it's 100% believable for him to have that much of a change of heart at the end... but Lisa pointed out that in a way, he's been "brainwashed" to almost the same extent as River (though presumably, not in the strict biological sense - although that's debatable!). And just as River gets "better" when she finally comprehends the truth of what those key members of Parliament were hiding, the assassin himself "recovers" from his blind devotion to the corrupt Alliance. He's not Jubal Early - he has a code. He doesn't hurt or kill for pleasure. If he did, the entire crew would be dead. It's that system - of ethics, I guess - that makes him let them go. That's how I'm thinking about it at the moment, anyway... I'd love to hear other thoughts.
I loved loved LOVED River's moment of Slayer-glory. That shot at the end, when the doors open - so very much a Buffy moment, like the shot of her with that axe in Hell in the beginning of S3. My god. River's even more gorgeous than Buffy and Faith in a fight, though. God in heaven. That was such a *beautiful* scene. Lisa was in ecstasy - she, being a ballet dancer, just loves the way Summer Glau can move. The fluidity. I think that scene may have been the most Lisa's ever enjoyed an "action" sequence. I am still in awe.
The thing I couldn't take, was Wash dying. Left the theater in tears. It didn't help that he died almost exactly like Trinity did - he got them where they needed to go, through impossible odds, and then got spiked in the chest. It hurt so bad to see that in another incarnation. But more than the eerie similarity... I just don't get WHY. Seriously. Why? We already know that the world is unfair, Joss. I'm not in the theater so that I can relearn that lesson. I get why Book had to die, but not Wash. It didn't have to be that way. I hurt all over, dammit, and if I could turn it off, I would. I don't want to be wired this way.
Can't wait to see it again, though. To pick up on all those little details that I missed in the Gestalt. And I sure as hell hope that he's really managed to start something, here... because he, and the cast and crew, deserve a franchise. You can't stop the signal, after all. :)