Serenity

[welshcorgigirl]

Ugh, unfortunately I did NOT have the same experience with this movie. I thought it was a bit contrived, and besides Gina Torres' character, I didn't really like anyone. And the character of River annoyed the holy hell out of me for some reason. And what was worse was the audience I was viewing this with was so.freaking.into it! In the beginning of the movie, everytime a character walked onto the screen, the audience would cheer. Loudly. Why? Why did they have to do this? And when Josh Whedon's name came up in the closing credits, it was like God appeared before them. I probably didn't share the enthusiasm because I'm not a Whedon/Firefly/Buffy fan, but still, it was annoying.

[Witchie]

maddiemoo said:

I caught a midnight showing last night. People, this movie is SO good. It was hilarious and sad and scary and completely and utterly AWESOME. Do yourself a favor and avoid spoilers if you can. The movie has some great surprises. I don't think you need to be a fan of the show to enjoy the movie, either. I went with a friend of mine who had seen bits and peices of one episode, and she left the theater just as geeked out as I did.

I really hope this movie does well. It totally deserves it!

ITA, Maddiemoo, this movie rocked. I'm off to see it again on Sunday. I was sitting on the edge of my seat from the first scene to the last. Joss did a terrific job transitioning from small to large screen. ;D

[duskwolf]

I dunno...I'm a big ol' snob ESPECIALLY when it comes to sci-fi

All the capsules of reviews I've read are all about comparing it to Star Wars (continuously comparing one movie to another is never a good sign), or about pleasing fans, or about dialogue. Particularly about pop culture references in dialogue. (Something Whedon is notorious for, and something that irks the ever-loving hell out of me--I've never liked his feel for dialogue and the dialogue in the commercials is atrocious)

What about plot? The snippets over at Rotten Tomatoes rarely mention plot.

I find the state of sci-fi sad if the alternative to degeneration into dumb-ass action movies is the presence of referential pop-culture dialogue. Great. Whedon is a sci-fi/fantasy Kevin Smith. And those of who who've read the "Unpopular Movie Opinions" thread know how I feel about Kevin Smith.

I'm smelling mediocrity all over this one, and I don't give a damn what the critics are saying. Point I'm making is, I feel sad for sci-fi if the movie industry is going to take a cue from this instead of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

[Witchie]

Can't tell the plot without giving away the movie. I can tell you, DuskWolf, that it isn't just a sci-fi movie. Someone, somewhere pointed out the fact, you could remove the sci-fiction elements from this, and it would be a good old Western with an epic fight between good and evil. The plot is easy to follow if you're not a fan, and doesn't borrow from tired cliches. It's a smooth, easy, dramatic ride that keeps you entertained for 2 hours without realizing it's been 2 hours.

[duskwolf]

Witchie,

Hate to be a spoil-sport, but I find Joss Whedon terribly pretentious. Nothing he's ever done, with the exception of Toy Story, strikes me as close-to-human outside of an overwhelming sense of self-congratulation.

I've read plenty on the plot, and I'm a notorious spoiler reader (sorry, but it doesn't matter where the story goes as long as the delivery works)

But the first point you make should really be generally true of all epic movies. That's why Star Trek and Star Wars (the original trilogy) really work in the first place.

And, I'm really sorry if I'm coming off like a jerk, but once again, I'm a snob, I deplore Joss Whedon, I hate the trailers with a passion, and I haven't felt this pissed about anything since the initial emergence of Britney Spears or the ten-not-guiltys of CEMJ.

But anyway, thanks for trying to change my mind. I'm still not gonna, though.

[slanderous]

I personally don't understand the attraction to the Western as a genre, which for me has all kinds of terrible connotations (Manifest Destiny being one of them), nor to the epic, Manichean battle between good and evil. (While I loved the original Star Wars series, that love has to do with nostalgia and the awesome arcade games it spawned.) The Wild-West-in-space aspect was a big part of my original objection to Firefly -- I just hate rugged individualism as a heroic trope. And I have to say, I was completely confused by the presence of so much Chinese cussing without any Chinese persons around. The sci-fi genre has in the past often used Asianness as one signpost of the dystopian future (see Bladerunner with its background landscape of Japanese corporate empire and Chinese urban underbelly) though I'm unclear how the Chinese language functions in this series (and I've seen most of it during a painting-the-house fit at my brother's).

I'm also not trying to be a jerk, but I dislike Joss "But the line about lightening hitting frogs is brilliant!" Whedon enough to want to post my two cents.

[Karen]

I saw a report that the movie made 3.9 million on Friday. I don't whether that counts as good or bad.

I must say I'm not the least bit interested in seeing this movie, despite being a geek. I followed all seven seasons of Buffy, saw a decent number of Angel episodes and read Astonishing X-Men, and it all started to blur together. Whedon can do quips (not always successfully - that line of Storm's in X-Men!) but more and more the characters and lines just seem recycled.

Since there are Firefly fans here, can you tell me why the prostitute (meant to be a highly respected profession in the world of the series?) was referred to as a w**** (the board doesn't like the word) on the show by what seemed to be the captain/hero character? That just turned me off the series, and I didn't really care to find out more before this. If prostitution can be seen as a respectable career choice, shouldn't the prostitute/w**** difference be more like, say, army general/private, but instead it really came across as an insult - 'oh, see how they have this custom of valuing courtesans highly, yet their sexual behaviour still seems to be judged by prudish 20th/21st C. Earth standards.'

[Maddiemoo]

Well, on the show they're called "Companions," and while it's like being a prostitute, with the whole sex-for-money thing, Companions are trained at an academy, perform ceremonies and rituals, are required to be given a doctors exam on a regular basis, that sort of thing. Companions are considered respected individuals and there is nothing wrong, in society's eyes, about hiring one.

However, there are also just straight out whores, who have no training and not part of the Companion 'guild'. They just straight out take money for sex and there's nothing classy about them. They show up in the episode Heart of Gold, though admittedly, it's pretty late in the series.

Mal doesn't really see the difference between the two, however, so he occasionally calls Inara a w**** -- usually only to make her feel uncomfortable (and because he's secretley jonesing for her). Inara finds that to be offensive because being called a w**** insinuates that she has had no training, etc, and is trashy, for lack of a better word. I guess it would be like calling a Head Chef a Lunch Lady. (Apologies to any lunch ladies out there.)

Anywho, I'm bummed out a lot of you aren't going to see the movie. I liked it a lot, but I suppose not everyone would be into it. Just a matter of opinion, I guess!

[Witchie]

Maddiemoo, don't be bummed. We got our money's worth out of it. All that really matters is what each person gets from it. We got something great out of it, and probably will again with the sequels. That may sound pollyanna, but I truly believe it'll make its 80 million mark and Universal will greenlight future films.

DuskWolf, no offense taken. I thought you were truly interested in the plot. If I'd known you knew, I wouldn't have volunteered the information. Not trying to force my opinion of Serenity on any one, so I'll apologize if you felt that I was.

[Deleted]

I just saw it and loved it. For a matinee it was crowded and there were some fans in the audience who were whooping it up, which made it really fun. I was upset at the really really surprising spoilers, but overall I loved it and will be buying this when it comes out on DVD. I wonder if it has a chance at coming back as the series?