Miscellaneous TV/DVD watches as of 10/20/12
On DVD:
Snow White and the Huntsman: This was surprisingly good! The design aspects of this production, from costumes to sets to creatures, were all excellent; there is a strong sense of imagery and purpose that runs through the whole thing. I'm actually a little sad that I didn't get to see this on the big screen. Charlize Theron is magnetic. The aura she creates for herself in this role was like a dying star, burning bright and dangerous, but always just on the edge of turning into a black hole. Everything that surrounded or clothed her was beautiful and pointy. (Her wedding dress, with its exoskeletal shoulders, was probably the best example of this, but the raven cape was pretty great, too.) I also liked the way the story shifted between different character's perspectives at pivotal moments, suggesting that meaning and interpretation was everything in the world, and giving greater heft to the idea that power is not what it seems. There is one scene where the filmmakers borrowed a little too much from "Mononoke Hime", but perhaps there are others who argue that they borrowed a little too much from Lord of the Rings as well, so maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt. Making a fantasy movie--and one that is a retelling of an already-told, multi-versioned story--without repeating anyone is pretty damn difficult these days, and these filmmakers did their best. See this on the night before your D&D game, to get in the mood.
50/50: It's so tempting to snark away this movie by saying I only enjoyed half of it, but that's the truth. Half of this movie was touching, even a bit of a tear-jerker, while the other half featured the main character and his douchebag best friend behaving selfishly and thoughtlessly. I think if Joseph Gordon-Levitt wasn't such a likable guy and brought a lot of humanity to the character he was playing, I would have given up fairly quickly. The story, which is every young person's secret nightmare (perfectly healthy guy gets diagnosed with surprise!genetic!rare!cancer, from which there is only a 50% recovery rate) careens between genuine sentiments (I dare anyone to watch the scene where he's going into surgery and his mother doesn't want to let go of him, without crying) and frat house highjinks (medicinal weed=score!). This film read almost like a guy's "chick flick": yes, there are feelings that get talked about, but at no point do these feelings infringe on the main character's "rights" to do whatever the hell he wants. There's also one alarming plot point that pops up at the end that sets off all sorts of warning bells on my ethics radar. All this said/snarked, the virtuoso acting jobs from Angelica Huston and JGL are worth watching, and this might be a good movie to show to young guys who need to learn to empathize, or gain perspective that their lives could be a hell of a lot more precarious. (If anyone has seen it, and wants to rag with me about the scene with the painting, I will happily do so, though. That pissed me off beyond measure.)
On TV:
The current season of Adventure Time, with spoilers up through "I Remember You": This is the best show I'm watching right now; it has the most compelling characters and is bursting with original ideas and jokes. But it's not afraid to tread into dark, dark territory and when it does, well... watch out. It's been a running joke that the Land of Ooo is a post-nuclear war Earth, and now more than ever, we're getting in-plot, canonical confirmation of this fact. I had been very leery of this plot development angle; post-nuclear Holocaust stories usually bother me quite a bit. But the way this one is unfolding is far better than I expected, and suggests that a character who, for the longest time, was simply there for comic relief is actually in much more dire straights than anyone knew. This most recent episode, "I Remember You" tapped into all of his sadness and fear with one heart-wrenching plot device and refused to let go, except for one perfectly timed moment of comic relief (not from him, thankfully.) I cannot recommend this series enough. For every episode that I'm sort of "meh" about, there are at least three in a row that feature something completely unexpected and thought-provoking. Cartoon Network markets this heavily to kids, and I can't wait to watch it with my son... after I finish watching it myself. Further evidence that the best writing doesn't necessarily need to be patently "adult" or just for kids at all times! The season finale is this Monday night, but catch up on the DVDs now!
Snow White and the Huntsman: This was surprisingly good! The design aspects of this production, from costumes to sets to creatures, were all excellent; there is a strong sense of imagery and purpose that runs through the whole thing. I'm actually a little sad that I didn't get to see this on the big screen. Charlize Theron is magnetic. The aura she creates for herself in this role was like a dying star, burning bright and dangerous, but always just on the edge of turning into a black hole. Everything that surrounded or clothed her was beautiful and pointy. (Her wedding dress, with its exoskeletal shoulders, was probably the best example of this, but the raven cape was pretty great, too.) I also liked the way the story shifted between different character's perspectives at pivotal moments, suggesting that meaning and interpretation was everything in the world, and giving greater heft to the idea that power is not what it seems. There is one scene where the filmmakers borrowed a little too much from "Mononoke Hime", but perhaps there are others who argue that they borrowed a little too much from Lord of the Rings as well, so maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt. Making a fantasy movie--and one that is a retelling of an already-told, multi-versioned story--without repeating anyone is pretty damn difficult these days, and these filmmakers did their best. See this on the night before your D&D game, to get in the mood.
50/50: It's so tempting to snark away this movie by saying I only enjoyed half of it, but that's the truth. Half of this movie was touching, even a bit of a tear-jerker, while the other half featured the main character and his douchebag best friend behaving selfishly and thoughtlessly. I think if Joseph Gordon-Levitt wasn't such a likable guy and brought a lot of humanity to the character he was playing, I would have given up fairly quickly. The story, which is every young person's secret nightmare (perfectly healthy guy gets diagnosed with surprise!genetic!rare!cancer, from which there is only a 50% recovery rate) careens between genuine sentiments (I dare anyone to watch the scene where he's going into surgery and his mother doesn't want to let go of him, without crying) and frat house highjinks (medicinal weed=score!). This film read almost like a guy's "chick flick": yes, there are feelings that get talked about, but at no point do these feelings infringe on the main character's "rights" to do whatever the hell he wants. There's also one alarming plot point that pops up at the end that sets off all sorts of warning bells on my ethics radar. All this said/snarked, the virtuoso acting jobs from Angelica Huston and JGL are worth watching, and this might be a good movie to show to young guys who need to learn to empathize, or gain perspective that their lives could be a hell of a lot more precarious. (If anyone has seen it, and wants to rag with me about the scene with the painting, I will happily do so, though. That pissed me off beyond measure.)
On TV:
The current season of Adventure Time, with spoilers up through "I Remember You": This is the best show I'm watching right now; it has the most compelling characters and is bursting with original ideas and jokes. But it's not afraid to tread into dark, dark territory and when it does, well... watch out. It's been a running joke that the Land of Ooo is a post-nuclear war Earth, and now more than ever, we're getting in-plot, canonical confirmation of this fact. I had been very leery of this plot development angle; post-nuclear Holocaust stories usually bother me quite a bit. But the way this one is unfolding is far better than I expected, and suggests that a character who, for the longest time, was simply there for comic relief is actually in much more dire straights than anyone knew. This most recent episode, "I Remember You" tapped into all of his sadness and fear with one heart-wrenching plot device and refused to let go, except for one perfectly timed moment of comic relief (not from him, thankfully.) I cannot recommend this series enough. For every episode that I'm sort of "meh" about, there are at least three in a row that feature something completely unexpected and thought-provoking. Cartoon Network markets this heavily to kids, and I can't wait to watch it with my son... after I finish watching it myself. Further evidence that the best writing doesn't necessarily need to be patently "adult" or just for kids at all times! The season finale is this Monday night, but catch up on the DVDs now!