bitch, bitch, whine, whine, pretentiously attempt movie criticism, whine again

[rusty_halo]

Saw "The Phantom of the Opera" last night with drujan. Sad to say, I found it trite and one-dimensional and hideously overdone. (Hopefully drujan isn't plotting my death for saying that; she's in love, and this was her fourth time seeing it in less than a week.)

Of course I liked the Phantom; my character-archetype preferences are so predictable. And I'm embarrassed to say that I cried at the end; further proof that the emotional side of my brain is COMPLETELY SEPARATE from the rational/logical/critical side. (I cried during "Touched by an Angel," once, even as I was mocking the stupidity of it at the same time.)

(Not quite sure why I am posting that fact in public, actually....)

Afterward, we had an animated discussion (aided by large amounts of alcohol at the Times Square Brewery) comparing the Phantom/Christine/Raoul triangle to the Spike/Buffy/Riley triangle. Like Buffy, Christine was an irritating selfish stupid little twit. "I wanna live in the daylight and be normal and boring just like everyone else, and completely repress and ignore the interesting side of myself." Moron.

Anyway. I also saw "A Series of Unfortunate Events" with jaydk on Saturday night. We went to the 11:10pm show; we're both such night owls. I was disappointed with this movie; not that it was bad, but it had the potential to be so much better than it was. It could've been "Edward Scissorhands" cool, but instead it was sort of a meek imitation. It felt watered-down, very Hollywood, as it somehow the creators couldn't fully embrace the real darkness and quirkiness of the story they were telling.

Still, the visuals were very gorgeous, the costuming lovely, the child actors incredibly appealing, and Jude Law's voiceover divine. But Jim Carrey's utterly predictable hamming didn't help, and the story often seemed to drag.

I think the New York Times' review said it best with "A Series of Unfortunate Events suffers from one of the most grievous maladies that can strike a children's film, notably a regrettable tendency to fill in all the quiet with noise." The film never stops to let things seep in, to let the audience and the characters feel what's happened. Compare it to my all-time favorite children's movie, the original "The Neverending Story," and you can see what I mean. There are so many moments of contemplation and quiet in that movie; those moments don't slow it down at all, but rather make it much more powerful. (Think of the rock biter, having lost all of his friends, giving up and letting the Nothing take him. "They look like big strong hands.") Not to mention that it doesn't shy from the darkness of its story; the scene where Atreyu confronts Gmork still always gives me chills. Who knew that a children's movie could have so much blood?

But anyway, not every children's movie can be that good, of course.

I've been in such a weird mood lately; working incredibly hard on a new project, but feeling incredibly depressed at the same time. I don't know if I've ever been so productive, yet unhappy, before. I am still waiting for the New Thing to come along that is really going to capture my attention. If only I could find it....

I'm looking forward to Common Rotation playing on Feb 18 at the Bitter End; hopefully 10zlaine will come visit for the weekend.

I'm also thinking about conventions for next year. They're going to be quite limited, on account of me having very little money. But I was thinking maybe Comic Con, Toronto Trek, or DragonCon. I do like those big cons where a lot is happening. It depends on the programming they offer, I suppose....

I had also liked those smaller Buffyverse cons, because they worked so well in terms of building community, but now that the prices have skyrocked it seems most of the people that I'd want to see have been driven away. (At least until the next Writercon...) My first con was Shore Leave; the real delight there was meeting chenanceou, chrisjournal, nashvillain615, jodyorjen, etc.... people I knew from BAPS, Spike's Salvation, the BA Gutter. Cleveland and Tampa were notable mainly as an opportunity to see those folks again, and to meet so many more. The best part of Tampa was sitting out by the pool with the fic writers. But now you're not going to see most of the those people at a con anyway; it's just the people who can afford to pay thousands of dollars, and who are more interested in the actors than in the fan community. So I think I am probably done with Whedonverse conventions, unless they are more fan/community/creativity-oriented.

jaydk also mentioned some Harry Potter academic thing that's happening in Salem (I think?) ... perhaps also something to consider. Though she indicated that they are more Snape fans, and I wonder if that'll be a problem since my interest is mainly in Sirius Black, and I don't really find Snape particularly interesting as a character....

And maybe I will save my money and go to concerts instead; if KMFDM tours, I could just follow them around for a few shows. It'd probably be cheaper than a con, anyway. Though it seems that, if they were to tour, it would be much later in the year.... Perhaps Raymond Watts will resurface, but I'm not exactly holding my breath.... (and if I were holding my breath, it would probably be for bad news rather than good....)

There's also been thoughts of travel, not necessarily connected to a specific event; I could go with friends to Disneyland, or New Orleans, or Seattle, or Rome, just because. Another something to keep in mind. Clearly my plans are vague, and I must keep in mind that I am very poor. But dammit, I'm young, and I want to see the world NOW, not when I'm post-retirement age!

Comments

[octopedingenue]

I adore The Neverending Story, movie and book. It's the book I want to be reading when I die.

And I've pretty much decided I don't ever want to see Phantom or Series of Unfortunate Events. :P Pity for BAD book adaptations.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I really need to re-read that book. I loved it when I was ten or eleven.

Yeah, you are probably better avoiding the aforementioned films. Although, in a pinch, A Series of Unfortunate Events is not a bad compromise. It has its good qualities.

[10zlaine.livejournal.com]

Have you been to Toronto?

We should totally do the bigger cons.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Never been Toronto. Would very much like to see both the city and the con.

I had plans to attend the previous two years, but both times it fell through. One of these days I am actually going to make it to that con.

And DragonCon is sort of becoming a tradition for me. I love seeing the Cruxshadows there, and the programming is generally great--especially with the new Goth track and the Harry Potter stuff.

[10zlaine.livejournal.com]

Toronto is a very cool city. It's the weekend after ours...but, I was still, maybe, thinking about it.

I was thinking about doing D*C with you--is Jane going again?

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Jane and I had talked about going, but we hadn't decided anything definite yet. Regardless, it would be awesome if you'd come! We should totally make plans for that.

I will have to wait and see about Toronto... if I go, I'm probably going to be more interested in seeing the city than in the actual con....

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I am typing in sentence fragments. Clearly I need to leave work now.

Sorry.

[10zlaine.livejournal.com]

Right.

Like the fragmented thoughts coursing my neurons noticed...

[bubonicplague.livejournal.com]

Mostly Snape fans? Now I'm fucking interested...

[mommanerd.livejournal.com]

I didn't find this whiny at all. And I totally agree with all the comments about Series of Unfortunate Events. I have yet to like Jim Carrey in any movie. I had some hopes for this one, but that was shot in his very first scene, when he started striking poses. Count Olaf? Striking poses? Did Jim Carrey bother to read even one of the books? I was so disappointed, as were my kids. To me the movie felt so flat. The problem with making an amalgamation of three books was that there was no climax.

Still, I loved the casting of the children and of all the supporting characters. Meryl Streep was wonderful. I hope that woman lives forever.

Carrey *can* be a good actor

[aexia.livejournal.com]

He just keeps picking physical comedy roles which, while he's best known for them, aren't his real strong suit.

Carrey's been his best in dramatic roles where he's subdued... Truman Show, Man on the Moon, Eternal Sunshine... hell, even Cable Guy.

I think after he got snubbed Oscar-wise(not even a nomination, WTF?!?) for Truman Show and Man on the Moon, he decided to stick with comedic roles generally.

Still, I liked Lemony Snickett. Of course, I haven't read the books so I'm not affect by any of that "it didn't stick to the books" stuff.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Hey, jaydk and I were discussing maybe getting together this Friday - we got the LOTR squee out of the way so we won't bore you to tears ... Maybe my place for dinner? I'll e-mail you both and we can work out the details.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I'm totally up for it... let's figure something out.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I'm most likely going to San Diego Comicon this year, but if my plans fall through I'll go to Toronto Trek.

San Diego is an amazing experience. Previews from directors, a room full of actors signing, a dealer's room that just goes on and on, with the coolest goodies...

Oh, yeah. And comic books.

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

Aw, that's too bad. I love Phantom, but I saw it first on Broadway and nothing beats that--it's really made for live performance. That opening scene, with the rising chandalier? SO awesome in person, as are the other effects, and the singing was better, and the Phantom himself was presented differently, and the whole feel was different. But I enjoyed the movie because I enjoyed the play and loved the music, already. The story underneath, the choices available to a Victorian woman and their consequences, the metaphor, was much more interesting than the characters in and of themselves, and was much better presented in the stage version; I came away buzzing. The sensuality was much more effective on the stage, too. But, like I said, I liked the movie because I love the play, and the music.