all made worse by the simple scheme
Went to see Gedo Senki (aka "Tales From Earthsea") the other day at my local indie cinema. Was hoping it would be subbed, but I wasn't too disappointed to discover it was the dubbed version, since Timothy Dalton voices Sparrowhawk and he has a wonderful voice. Plus, James Bond, COME ON.
Anyhow, it looked wonderful, and the atmosphere of the film pretty much gelled with the books - subdued and thoughtful, with the action less important than the characters and their emotional journey. Unfortunately, the plot was a mish-mash of the fourth and fifth books (I think; it's been a while since I've read them) with a couple of bits yanked from the first, and as such it didn't make a great deal of sense. I managed okay with it, but the boy (who hasn't read the books) was lost and didn't much enjoy it. So, a good film for fans of the books, but not so much for newcomers. If they wanted a coherent plot with a more mainstream fantasy/adventure slant, they really should have gone for adapting the first book; Ged's journey is a more accessible and self-contained story than the broader, more philosophically-themed stories of the later books.
I was quite disappointed by the voice acting as well. Timothy Dalton sounded like he was doing a Liam Neeson impression (which, hey, I'm all for, but why not just get Neeson to voice it?), and most of the time the dialogue sounded like people sitting around reading lines, rather than the characters interacting with each other. Arren's VA was good, though, as was Willem Dafoe as Cob (but really all he had to do was be creepy and menacing and a little pervy, which is pretty much what Dafoe's built his career on! ♥). I'd like to see the subbed version, to see how it is with professional voice actors in the roles, so I might pick up the DVD when it comes out in November.
I also saw Shoot 'Em Up last week, because (1) lots of guns and blood and running, and (2) Clive Owen. :9 I expected mindless violence, paper-thin plot and cheesy dialogue, and that's what I got, but it just didn't work for me. The plot was too convoluted and stupid, the gags weren't bad enough to be funny, and the action was neither well-choreographed enough nor far enough over the top to be really fun and exciting. And for a film where, supposedly, the action scenes were designed first, with the plot written around them, that's inexcusable. Still, Clive Owen is onscreen for almost the entire duration, and he gets naked once, so draw your own conclusions about the watchability of this one.
Tried to watch Severance last night, but after a promising start, featuring two young blonde women in a pit trap, stripping off all their clothes to try and make a lasso, it descended into rather dull plot set-up for the next half hour or so. Whether it got interesting again I couldn't say; I watched QI instead.
Anyhow, it looked wonderful, and the atmosphere of the film pretty much gelled with the books - subdued and thoughtful, with the action less important than the characters and their emotional journey. Unfortunately, the plot was a mish-mash of the fourth and fifth books (I think; it's been a while since I've read them) with a couple of bits yanked from the first, and as such it didn't make a great deal of sense. I managed okay with it, but the boy (who hasn't read the books) was lost and didn't much enjoy it. So, a good film for fans of the books, but not so much for newcomers. If they wanted a coherent plot with a more mainstream fantasy/adventure slant, they really should have gone for adapting the first book; Ged's journey is a more accessible and self-contained story than the broader, more philosophically-themed stories of the later books.
I was quite disappointed by the voice acting as well. Timothy Dalton sounded like he was doing a Liam Neeson impression (which, hey, I'm all for, but why not just get Neeson to voice it?), and most of the time the dialogue sounded like people sitting around reading lines, rather than the characters interacting with each other. Arren's VA was good, though, as was Willem Dafoe as Cob (but really all he had to do was be creepy and menacing and a little pervy, which is pretty much what Dafoe's built his career on! ♥). I'd like to see the subbed version, to see how it is with professional voice actors in the roles, so I might pick up the DVD when it comes out in November.
I also saw Shoot 'Em Up last week, because (1) lots of guns and blood and running, and (2) Clive Owen. :9 I expected mindless violence, paper-thin plot and cheesy dialogue, and that's what I got, but it just didn't work for me. The plot was too convoluted and stupid, the gags weren't bad enough to be funny, and the action was neither well-choreographed enough nor far enough over the top to be really fun and exciting. And for a film where, supposedly, the action scenes were designed first, with the plot written around them, that's inexcusable. Still, Clive Owen is onscreen for almost the entire duration, and he gets naked once, so draw your own conclusions about the watchability of this one.
Tried to watch Severance last night, but after a promising start, featuring two young blonde women in a pit trap, stripping off all their clothes to try and make a lasso, it descended into rather dull plot set-up for the next half hour or so. Whether it got interesting again I couldn't say; I watched QI instead.