Comments | infinitewhale: Watch and Rewatching of Movies/TV

infinitewhale

Watch and Rewatching of Movies/TV

Mar 29, 2015 21:22

They installed wifi at work which I have been using for nefarious purposes. I downloaded a couple movies, which inspired me to dig out my DVD box and rewatch some older ones.

( Interstellar, Alien, Jurassic Park and Hells Bells. )

Leave a comment

Back to all threads

shapinglight March 30 2015, 16:16:24 UTC

I'm one of the few people in the western world who has never seen Alien. What I read about it at the time put me off so much. I'm not good with horror at the best of times and visceral horror is the worst of all for me.

Sorry to hear it hasn't stood the test of time. That was definitely not the case with Bladerunner, but then Ridley Scott has tidied it up, even re-shot one scene, and it still looks amazing. Or even more amazing.

Never seen any of the others except for Jurassic Park. I do enjoy the dinosaurs. Jurassic Park III is pretty good too, though like most people I try to pretend that the middle film in the franchise doesn't really exist.

Haven't got as far as Hell's Bells in my rewatch but I do remember being very, very sorry for Anya. And consequently really annoyed at the way she got painted as a sort of carping harpy for a lot of season 7 for still being angry at Xander. Even more so because, despite having become a vengeance demon again before the end of season 6, she's actually very, very helpful to Buffy and Giles when they're trying to stop Willow's rampage.

infinitewhale March 30 2015, 17:07:05 UTC

I'm one of the few people in the western world who has never seen Alien.

And I'm one of the few who's never seen Blade Runner! Or maybe I have... If I did, it was when it was on TV some time and wasn't really paying attention.

And consequently really annoyed at the way she got painted as a sort of carping harpy for a lot of season 7 for still being angry at Xander.

Anya is one character I think got trashed in S7, tbh. After Selfless it's pretty clear they had nothing for her to do. She just spouts mostly off-the-wall stuff that doesn't have much relevance, like comparing her situation to Spike's. They try to force her back into her S3/Early-S4 role. In-story, I do think there is a point she had to own her choice, but they definitely down-play Xander's part in things. Also I never liked that they got back together.

shapinglight March 31 2015, 16:08:52 UTC

I'd agree with that assessment. She was trashed. After Selfless, she just stands around making sarcastic comments and occasionally propositioning people. Then they stuck her with Andrew in the last couple of episodes. Poor Anya!

I don't know if her lack of a storyline ties in with Nick's health problems - the reason why he didn't get much of a storyline himself.

But yeah, I don't like them getting back together. Not even for comfort sex.

infinitewhale March 31 2015, 16:52:10 UTC

the reason why he didn't get much of a storyline himself.

Was that ever confirmed? I know they were going to kill him later in S7, but I don't see much in the way of set-ups for Xander even early on. I think mostly it was too many characters/too little time. Which doesn't excuse it, of course. Even if I get why she might have been given the backseat, there was no need to regress her so much.

shapinglight April 1 2015, 18:35:09 UTC

I think it's been pretty much confirmed, yeah, not least by Nick himself. sueworld2003 was at a convention where he was a guest and he confessed to the fact that during large parts of season 7 (and some of season 6) he was so out of it he had no idea where he was or what he was doing.

Though I think you're also right that they didn't have much for him to do in season 7, which is a mess in lots of ways. I mean, I like it, but it does feel like no one from the production team from Joss on down cared that much any more.

infinitewhale April 2 2015, 03:00:01 UTC

Oh, I knew he had problems and it limited storylines. I just never heard anything about S7 specifically.

I mean, I like it, but it does feel like no one from the production team from Joss on down cared that much any more.

I like and defend S7 up until Dirty Girls. Up to then, I think it holds up fairly well. From what I understand, that's when Joss came back from doing Firefly. I don't think it's a coincidence that that's when it totally goes off the rails. He seemed way, way more interested in setting up spin-offs and giving his Firefly actors parts than finishing Buffy well.

But yeah, definite communication problems there. I think the best example is when someone asked Jane if Buffy loved Spike. She answered yes, but it wasn't a straight answer. She just gave her interpretation that she did, which is telling. They never talked out the romantic situation of the main character. If the people writing it didn't know, the actors didn't know, it's little wonder the fans don't, either.

shapinglight April 3 2015, 12:25:03 UTC

I agree that the last five episodes are the pits. I cannot stand Caleb. I thought at the time, and think now that the character was just Joss finding a job for his precious Nathan Fillion (who - probably wholly unjustifiably and based on my dislike of the Caleb character- I have taken a big dislike to too). I don't see how the character was needed in any way, personally. People complain about the First being a bad villain, but I think the introduction of Caleb made it worse, not better.

infinitewhale April 3 2015, 16:33:15 UTC

My dislike of him is even more petty since it's based on my irritation with Firefly fans. :P I thought he did OK with Caleb. As much as you can with an over-the-top, stereotypical, misogynist preacher. I think they did the same thing with Warren, too, though. He was interesting when he was a more downplayed character, but they made him a straight-up woman-hating sexist just to justify Willow killing him. It turned getting vengeance into taking out the trash if you get what I mean.

I actually liked The First. I do wish they'd have used First!Buffy more to screw with the gang, but I suspect maybe they forgot there's only one SMG. They should have just stuck with the army of ubervamps as its weapon if they weren't going to kill Xander and use him. Which is what *should* have happened and it would have rocked thematically. But they chickened out. Like in everything after LMPTM.

shapinglight April 3 2015, 17:41:56 UTC

My dislike of him is even more petty since it's based on my irritation with Firefly fans.

Can't say I'm too keen on them either. The whole Browncoats thing is pretty incomprehensible to me, given that I couldn't even get through all the episodes of Firefly.

It turned getting vengeance into taking out the trash if you get what I mean.

I do, though I've actually just rewatched Dead Things, and I do think it's a believable transition.

I agree that the First was potentially a better villain than many people think. Killing Xander and making the First Xander most of the time would have worked, but they would probably have to have done it some time before Dirty Girls for it to have the required emotional impact.

Back to all threads