Andy's Blog

Why hasn't "Serenity" made like, a jillion dollars?

I have seen "Serenity" twice now in the theatre, and plan to go at least one more time. Since watching "Serenity" the second time, I have re-watched the original TV series that spawned it, "Firefly".

All 14 episodes (only 11 of which saw the light of day on TV).

And the conclusion that I have come to is that "Firefly", the show, was brilliant. I like the camera work -- how not all of the shots are perfectly lined up. How the effects shots have zooms, blurs, and lens flares. The dialog is amazing -- not just for the "parlor trick" of the use of Chinese. But instead, for the entirely new slang that the writers created. Slang that when you hear it, you think "people don't talk like this". Yet, you understand exactly what the characters mean. And it makes perfect sense that they talk that way -- because they live in their world (and they are inviting you in for a peek).

Yet, as good as the show is (and it is very good), "Serenity", the movie is even better. The visuals leap off of the screen. It is even funnier than the show. There is even more drama, and more peril.

In short, Joss Whedon has made a movie that I am going to be worshipping for a long time to come.

Which is why I am so perplexed at its seemingly dismal box office performance. The reviews from the critics were far and way on the good side of positive. The movie had mad internet buzz.

But it also had several things going against it. The first is that this is an unabashedly Sci-Fi film, and that apparently just turns people off. Even worse, Joss had to try and please two different types of viewers -- those who had seen the show, and those who hadn't. I think that he did a pretty good job of this, but my guess is that people who saw the show liked the movie a whole lot more than those who hadn't.

Which brings me to what I think is really going on. The Firefly/Serenity universe takes a little bit of time to get into it. As I recall, Sara and I weren't transformed into devoted Firefly fans after watching "The Train Job". It took about three or four episodes before the series began to fully reveal itself. It was at this point that the show "clicked" in my brain, and I became enraptured by it.

So, that is what I think happened. It takes time and energy to really appreciate "Serenity", and that is something that most people don't want to devote to their entertainment these days. And it is a crying shame, because it is from that space that some of the best entertainment comes from.

-Andy.

Serenity

So, today, I flew from San Jose, California to Chicago, Illinois, just so I could see Joss Whedon's big new movie, "Serenity". I wanted to see it with the only other "Firefly" fan that I know*, Sara. We went to the 12:01 AM showing, which means we are totally hardcore about this moving, foregoing sleep to see it as soon as possible on release.

I purposefully skipped all of the test screenings, becuase I wanted to see it as Joss intended it to be seen. And I religiously avoided spoilers, because I wanted to be surprised.

And I can say, without a doubt, that surprised I was.

For fans of the show, the movie was great. It was an excellent continuation of the show and the characters -- nearly a perfect love letter to fans (I'll get to why it is only "nearly" perfect in the spoiler-laden extended entry). For non-fans, people who are new to the Firefly universe, I'm not sure how it will play. The movie is really funny, has great action, and never drags. But, the full weight of what the characters are going through will be lost on those that haven't seen the show.

So, I'm not sure, it could go either way with non-fans. If you are into sci-fi action comedies, you should definitely see this movie. If you are just into sci-fi, or just action, you should still see it.

Basically, you should just go and see this movie. It's mostly great.

Read on for the one spoiler-laden thing that isn't great, and that I have to get off my chest.

-Andy.

* Only other Firefly fan that I know in the lower 48 -- sorry Fredrik!

Major spoilage below! Do not read what follows unless you have already seen the movie.

Invisotext on:

He killed Wash!

Stupid damn Joss Whedon... I hate you so much!

Invisotext off.

"March of the Penguins"

Kevin and I went and saw "March of the Penguins" last night. And let me say this -- this movie definitely lives up to the hype. The cinematography is simply stunning -- I am amazed that the filmmakers were able to capture many of the shots that they did. And the Emperor Penguins are quite astounding creatures in and of themselves. It is impressive that any sort of creature is able to inhabit Antarctica (the coldest place on earth), much less thrive, like the Emperor Penguins appear to be doing.

The film itself is a documentary, but it isn't told in an over-bearing, instructional tone. Rather, it shows the plight of the Emperor Penguin in more of a story format. The film puts you in the place of the Penguins (as much as that is possible), to make a solid connection between the viewer and these amazing animals.

In short, I whole-heartedly recommend this movie. If you have a chance to see it, go for it!

-Andy.

"Millions"

Pratima and I went to the Cinema Saver last night and saw "Millions". It was pretty-darn-tootin' good. The movie is a little hard to pin down -- it is a comedy, for sure, but not a laugh-riot. Nor is there a joke every minute. And it isn't slapstick comedy, or situation comedy, or foul-mouthed comedy. But yet, the film is quite humorous. Other than the humor, the movie is a little hard to describe. It has a good story, is well shot, and has an ending that is both happy and delivers a message. There are religious overtones, yet it doesn't preach.

In short, this movie is just good. If you are in the mood for a whimsical, fun movie, then I certainly recommend "Millions".

-Andy.

I finally saw Episode III last night

Finally! I decided to wait until the stars aligned amongst my friends before seeing Episode III. It was well worth the 3(+) year wait. I'm not going to write a full review, but there is one thing that I want to get off of my chest after the jump...

(Beware of spoilers)

How much of a badass is Obi-Wan? In Episodes I & II, his only big achievement was killing Darth Maul. But in Episode III? Whoa-boy: became a kick-ass general, killed General Grievous, survived the clone army turning on him, and kicked the crap out of Anakin. After Episode II, I thought that Yoda was the most bad-ass Jedi of them all, but Obi-Wan really won me over in Episode III. And saving Anakin's light saber to gift to Luke some 20-odd years later? Man, was he ever thinking ahead!

-Andy.

Serenity trailer in HD

With the advent of QuickTime 7, Apple has made the Serenity trailer available in High Definition. Here is a direct-download link to a 108Mb zip file (138Mb unzipped). This file is pretty amazing. The resolution of the movie is 1920x816. The display on my 15" PowerBook is only 1280x854 -- so I can't even fit the movie on my display at full size!

Even if I could, my puny 1.25Ghz G4 can't even play the movie at full frame rate. In fact, I only get something like 3-10 FPS. Apple recommends a G5, and I can definitely see why.

Still, just looking at individual frames -- it looks amazing in HD. The special effects, whicih looked great in lo-def, hold up in HD. So, they should really impress when seen on the big screen.

I have watched the Serenity trailer every day since it hit the 'net. Man, am I salivating over this movie.

-Andy.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I went and saw the new "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie with Mike and Pratima this evening. It was crazy-crowded (Silicon Valley is nerd-central, after all). Pratima bought the tickets online (sparing us from one line), but there was still a crazy-long line to get into the theatre. We got there over a half hour before show time, and the line stretched around the building.

Even though the line was terribly long, we still got pretty decent seats. The movie itself was only okay -- it didn't knock my socks off, but it didn't bore me to tears either. I think that I was expecting it to be funnier. There were quite a few funny parts, but I felt like there was more too it than what I saw. I guess I should read the book if I want the full scoop...

-Andy.

The "Serenity" trailer

The trailer for Joss Whedon's latest masterpiece, "Serenity", came out today. Holy shit, is it awesome! I have already watched it four times. September suddenly became a long way away! :(

-Andy.

Kung Fu Hustle

I drove up to Berkeley after work today to see "Kung Fu Hustle" with Mike. Totally amazingly awesome flick. The kung fu action doesn't disappoint (of course), but what really sets this movie apart is its sense of humor and whimsy. Highly recommended.

-Andy.

Sin City

I drove up to Emeryville last night after work, and finally managed to see "Sin City". I went with Mike along with his office mate and office mate's girlfriend. On the whole, the movie was quite good -- everything that I hoped it would be. Even though I have never read "Sin City", that doesn't mean that I haven't always wanted to read it. From what I can tell, Robert Rodriguez really captured the look and feel of the comic with this film. But what was most intriguing, were the themes of the movie beyond the epic violence.

All of the hero-types of the movie were rebels -- people who didn't fit in to the masses-controlling structures like church/government/mob/etc. That viewpoint definitely stood out, when I reflected upon the movie. I'm still piecing together what the movie was trying to say about love. It seems like that emotion popped up at odd times, and in odd dynamics. One of the points was that loving someone isn't necessarily about passion, it can just be caring for someone, in whatever way that takes place.

Anyways, if you're down with overly violent movies, then this one certainly comes recommended.

-Andy.

"A Very Long Engagement"

I finally got a chance to see the new Jean-Pierre Jeunet / Audrey Tautou flick, "A Very Long Engagement" at the cinema saver last weekend. I thought that the movie was very good. I wouldn't say that it is as much of an in-your-face visual knockout that Amélie was, but that is okay. I felt that the was well shot, in that the cinematography really brought me into the setting -- especially the trenches of World War I.

I went with Mike to see the movie, and he remarked afterwards that it was such a "chick flick", that we are probably engaged as a side-effect. All jokes aside, I am a little worried -- I was so enraptured by the film, that I didn't even notice that it was a chick flick. Either my detector is on the fritz, or California is turning me into a big girl.

I had better go and kill the shit out of Kevin in Urban Terror just to be on the safe side.

-Andy.

NYC gets an enema

Saw "The Day After Tomorrow" with the family on Saturday. My dad and I were all about it, and so the women folk had to suck it up and go along with the flow. But as it turns out, the movie wasn't that bad. I mean, the reviews for it haven't been super positive, but I think that for what it was -- a disaster movie, it certainly delivered, and kept me & mine entertained.

I liked that there was no wacky scheme involving nuclear warheads that could tame mother nature. Instead, the bad weather was coming, and all that could be done is to save as many as possible. I think that's a better way to handle a disaster movie, then the "nuke 'em all" approach favored by NBC's "10.5" (which Anjali and Kevin forced me to watch, ug).

-Andy.

American Splendor

Thanks to Chris for recommending "American Splendor" to me -- I watched it with Mike and Sheila over the weekend (because we were unable to rent "Kill Bill: Vol. 1"), and I was pretty happy with it. I thought that all of it was well done -- the acting, scripting, directing, set design, etc, etc. But beyond that, I thought that the movie was a great "nerd triumph". I think that sometimes, America gives people the space that they need in order to be themselves, and to find their own niche. In this case, for Harvey Pekar and his friends, this happened.

But of course, America isn't perfect, because we still have our Columbines, our racially motivated murders, and what have you.

My only complaint is that they didn't show off Cleveland enough to my liking (there were a few shots that let you know it was Cleveland, tho).

-Andy.

FALL OUT BOY

So, last night I ventured into San Francisco with Sara, Mike, and Kevin, in order to see fantabulous Fall Out Boy. We had dinner with Stan before the show, which was cool.

The FOB show was cool. I always feel old at these things, and last night was no exception. There were 4 bands playing in total, starting with "Dynamite Boy", "Matchbook Romance", FOB, and finally "Mest". The first two bands were okay, FOB was great (but they had a relatively short set, didn't play any new songs, and we got "Stumph'd" twice afterwards...), and Mest totally sucked.

I'm not even kidding. We are all in universal agreement about Mest -- no discussion required. I was literally bored to tears during their (long) and boring set. Repetitive music. Idiotic banter. I had to spin one of my Bad Religion CDs tonight ("Against the Grain") in order to remind myself what good punk music, and to wash that garbage out of my brain.

Oh, and one more thing -- Being the trendy dork that I am, I now declare that I have a moblog. Witness:

So who was it that said that camera phones were going to revolutionize the world? Well, after looking at that picture, clearly, whoever said that was an idiot, and camera phones suck.

-Andy.

(PS -- that light pinkish blob on the left? That's Patrick, Kevin's brother)

"Swimming Pool"

If you have a choice of what movie to see, and that choice is between "Swimming Pool" and some other movie, and "some other movie" isn't "Problem Child 2", pick "some other movie".

Or, maybe play it on mute in fast forward.

-Andy.