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hydra9
Reviews
Serenity (2005)
Watch 'Firefly' first! It makes such a difference!
I first watched Serenity when it came out at theaters. I hadn't seen the Firefly TV show, and I normally *never* watch sequels if I haven't seen the original. But in this case, I only had mild interest in the film, and had no interest in seeing the TV show. Plus I was sure that knowledge of Firefly would not be essential in appreciating Serenity. So I figured: Why not?
So... I watched Serenity. And my opinion? It was *okay*. Sort of average (5 or 6 out of 10, I guess). I didn't think much of the characters, the dialog or the humor. I laughed maybe twice, but most of the jokes just annoyed me. I thought the plot and the way events played out were pretty standard.
Then a friend of mine watched Firefly. He loved it and told me I *had* to see it. I ignored him.
But, he kept on. And then I saw that the DVD box set was pretty cheap. I grudgingly gave it a try.
... WOW! The first episode of Firefly blew me away. As did the rest of the season. I became a fan overnight. That first episode alone was enough for me to think: This is the best show I've ever seen.
Last night, I watched Serenity again. What a difference! This time, I knew the characters, and loved 'em. I cared about what happened to them. I appreciated Mr. Whedon's sense of humour. And I *loved* the movie this time around! It's not perfect, some parts of it are somewhat 'standard,' some action scenes could be shorter or better put together... but gorrammit - I *cried* twice during it! Which NEVER happens! And I laughed my rear off on numerous occasions! I know I sound like a religious fanatic. And I guess I am. But when I started watching Firefly, I saw the light. The idea of 'Cowboys In Space' didn't really appeal to me, but watching the show, the fanboy enthusiasm suddenly made perfect sense.
The thing is: This film/show/story is all about the characters. It's notoriously hard to give the viewer a set of well-rounded characters they really care about within the confines of a 2 hour movie. And for me, Serenity didn't manage it. So I would say that's a failing of the movie.
However, there's an easy solution! Yep, watch Firefly first. Then you know the characters. Then there's no problem! It's what totally changed my mind and turned an honestly pretty boring 5 out of 10 movie into... a 10 out of 10 masterpiece. Now I want more!
Eat and Run (1986)
A weird little movie
I saw this on late night TV when I was about 14, and it made quite an impression on me because it was weird and gross. In fact, an unhealthy interest in cannibalism may have sprung from this movie. As well as my dramatic weight increase over the last decade. Anyway, I liked the film a lot at the time, despite the fact I could hardly hear it, because I had the TV volume incredibly low, as I was scared that some pornographic or blood-bakingly horrific sound would wake my parents up and have them tumbling down the stairs, at which point they'd see that their innocent kid was watching a film about a fat cannibal from outer space. The film struck me as much more of a horror than a comedy. I could see dark humour, for sure, but it seemed pretty horrific. I'm not crazy about seeing it again. I don't have a desperate need to track it down, as I'm sure it wasn't really that good. Instead, I'll stick with my memory of an interesting and grotesque concept. If I make a film with a cannibalism theme some time in the future, I may owe a debt of thanks to this oddity.