Castle - Season 3

The last show got a stay of execution, but there is no such luck for Castle. I mean, for me, anyway. The show is going strong in the ratings and is coming back next year, but I won't be watching it. Having your show star Nathan Fillion will only get you so far before it has to be able to stand on its own, and after three years Castle is still just a mildly charming yet otherwise totally standard cop procedural, one that just doesn't do enough to keep me interested anymore. I don't know if the mysteries are actually getting lazier or if I'm just used to all of their tricks, but the cases each week are much less likely to be surprising, or even just passably entertaining. I swear there were two episodes in a row where the killer was the obvious suspect's assistant. With the episodic stories no longer being as thrilling, and the serialized elements reduced to a joke at this point, there's simply no reason to keep watching.

Obviously we're coming back to the sexual tension thing - how long can you have two characters who obviously dig each other but don't hook up for various flimsy reasons before it becomes irritating? I definitely prefer for relationships between characters to actually develop and change over time, but I think if it's just part of the story, you can keep it going for a while. The problem is that the will they/won't they crap between Castle and Beckett is the only thing the show has going besides the periodically boring crimes to solve. The other cops in the station are mildly likable to the point where a scene with them isn't a total drag, but they don't actually ever have anything interesting to do. Castle is pretty much the only character who is ever seen even having a life outside the scope of an investigation, and that stuff is extremely boring. His mother pretends to have an active social life and his daughter has teenage girl problems that always seem to have an extremely convenient thematic link to the case, but there is nothing close to entertainment to be derived from any of that stuff. So you have a show that exists only to come up with new ways and reasons to murder people and keep its two leads apart, and it doesn't do either of them very well.

Sometimes the show will go out of its way to have special events in certain episodes, two-parters or season finales that deal with especially high profile investigations or further the unfolding mystery of the conspiracy behind the death of Beckett's mother. These don't really work either though, because they often shift the focus away from the peppy tone that makes the show watchable in the first place, sideline the main character, or just expose the fact that the writers aren't very good at coming up with those kinds of stories. The show already has an entirely laughable premise it has to stick by, with a writer being partnered with a homicide detective for three years now. But when they try to do something like a nuclear bomb threat... it's supposed to be big and series, but it's just goofy. This year's finale was particularly egregious, ruining a perfectly serviceable supporting cast member for the continuation of a mystery that still doesn't make any sense. And then they had the balls to try and pull that final scene with the sniper. I don't hate watching Castle, but I am indifferent enough to it that it just isn't worth the hour every week.

Saving Private Ryan

This is one of those movies where it seems like everyone is in it. The main cast of soldiers trekking across France is full of guys you recognize even if you don't know your names. Hey, Tom Sizemore! And Vin Diesel! And Adam Goldberg! And Giovanni Ribisi! And Ed Burns! And Daniel from Lost! And it doesn't stop there. There are plenty of other small roles without a lot of prestige but still played by famous actors. It's Bryan Cranston with one arm! And Paul Giamatti! And Ted Danson! And Dennis Farina! And one of Nathan Fillion's first roles! It honestly gets fairly distracting when you're playing spot-the-guy in the middle of an epic, dramatic war movie, but that's one of the only flaws in an otherwise quite remarkable film.

The two most significant parts go to Tom Hanks as the leader of the unit sent after Private Ryan to bring him home after his three brothers are all killed in action, and Matt Damon as Ryan himself, the object of the film, although he only shows up for the last hour. It's funny, he was cast because he was basically unknown, but by the time the movie came out he was already a celebrity. Remember that distraction thing? I spent a fair amount of time thinking "So when is Matt Damon gonna show up?" But yeah, the film itself is a remarkable one. Just a great combination of drama, acting, cinematography, and editing. The film has a washed out look to it that someone sets the tone of a period war film without having to say anything. The production values are pretty outstanding; even when nothing is blowing up, the bombed out, rubble-filled city streets and rolling countrysides always look amazing and authentic. There are many scenes of the soldiers arguing about the mission, hazing the new guy, or just killing time that always have a natural feel to them, making you believe that these men have grown used to each other through so much time training and fighting together.

And of course there are the battles. The film is bookended by two sequences nearly half an hour in length, including the famous Normandy landing scene, filled with bullets, screaming, and severed limbs. The stark brutality of it might seem exploitative to some, but I thought there was power in the harsh, blunt way it was presented. War isn't pretty, and few sequences have captured it as well as that. Besides that and the climactic final battle, there are multiple other sequences, although they're relatively brief. They're still well filmed and choreographed, and throughout all of them the different soldiers get their chances to shine, although the unit's best marksman gets a lot of the best moments. As you might expect with a war movie things don't end well for everybody, and there's actually a scene where an earlier act of good will has negative consequences, which made me wonder for a bit what exactly the script was trying to say. Although in some ways the film romanticizes heroic sacrifice, it's still effective at conveying what it really does to people. One of Steven Spielberg's best films, and an effective jumping off point for the HBO miniseries that followed.

Castle - Season 2

Castle's second season picked up pretty much where the first left off, as Nathan Fillion and company make some pretty good jokes and solve some pretty interesting cases. Not every episode is a winner, and sometimes the real killer is just too obvious, but usually it's a solid, well paced mystery. The show gets heavy every now and then, like with the excellent two part story about a serial killer who's obsessed with the character Castle based on Beckett, though for the most part it's good, clean fun. I wish just once that a murder would be unsolvable or that the obvious culprit would be the actual perpetrator (this one would be easy to pull off; if you feel the need to have 40 minutes of hot cop action, just solve the first murder quickly and have it lead to another), but its goal is certainly to entertain and not to accurately portray homicide investigations, so it's just something my brain will have to deal with. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett remains strong, the rest of the cops continue to become some of the more likable characters, and Castle's subplots with his mom and daughter remain cute.

All that said, I do have to say something about the Unresolved Sexual Tension (UST or URST depending on who you ask) that supposedly drives the show. That thing being, it doesn't. The two leads have a good repartee and I'd like to see them together. But I don't watch the show because of the will they won't they dance, I watch it because the whole cast works well together and the cases are usually interesting. Let's be honest, the show's basic premise is flimsy as hell. After a murderer mimics a character from one of Castle's books, he is brought in to assist a homicide detective and then sticks around to tail her for a bit of inspiration on a new novel. Okay, I'll buy that... for a few weeks. But at this point the duo have investigated and solved 33 separate cases over the course of two years. It's obvious that it's only still going because they're attracted to each other, but because a couple shows have mishandled actually putting its two romantic leads together, it's now considered a bad idea and the gods of ratings conspire to keep them apart. The problem is not that people don't like to see a developing romance pay off, it's that writers often handle it badly by forgetting to make the actual relationship interesting or trying to make it interesting in ill-considered ways. So instead of letting the characters take their natural course in the season finale, a wedge gets driven between them out of left field with little justification, and the show's premise continues to weaken. It was just poorly done and disappointing from a pretty good writing team. I'll be there for season three, but it won't be because of their clumsy handling of that aspect.

Characters of the Decade: Part 2

The first list was pretty heavy on animation, but this one mixes up the media a bit more and also features humans who aren't white males.

J. Jonah Jameson
J.K. Simmons - Spider-Man series


"Meat! I'll send you a nice box of Christmas meat. It's the best I can do, get out of here."

Honestly, this was the most exciting thing to see be brought to life in the first Spider-Man movie. Has there been a better comic relief character in the last decade of action movies? I can't think of one. Simmons has a unique asshole charisma that he can make work for seemingly any character, and this was the first time a lot of the world got to see it. While I don't think they quite nailed Peter Parker's personality, the personification of his most consistent detractor went off without a hitch.

Omar Little
Michael K. Williams - The Wire


"I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It's all in the game though, right?"

I could name wonderful characters from this show all day if I wanted. Omar isn't necessarily my favorite, but he certainly tends to stick out more than the others. In the world where everyone seems to have an affiliation, he's pretty much out there on his own besides a revolving door of accomplices, playing the dangerous game of robbing criminals. A sort of perverse modern day Robin Hood who keeps it all for himself. While the majority of the show's cast is great because it seems so real, Marlo is great because he's a legend in his own time. Nothing quite clears the streets of Baltimore like hearing the call "Omar comin'!"

Yorick Brown
Y: The Last Man


"In the words of Thomas Jefferson... that's bullshit."

Being the last man on Earth is a large weight to carry, and luckily Yorick's up to the task. It's definitely an unusual situation for a person to be in, and he manages with the right combination of heroism and hopelessness to make him a definite protagonist but still very vulnerable and in need of the health. He makes his share of mistakes, but through the whole story he never loses his sense of humor or humanity. And while I wasn't a big fan of the epilogue, the conclusion of his personal journey was pretty perfect.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Nathan Fillion - Firefly franchise


"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Another case where I could almost name anyone in the cast and justify putting them here, but as the leader of the crew Mal always stuck out. A true outlaw smuggler with a heart of gold in the tradition of Han Solo, Mal is perhaps an even better version. He does what it takes to get by, with lethal force if necessary, but in the end has what's ultimately good always on his mind. He's a bit inconsistent, sticking with his principles in some cases but running if it makes sense in others. But that's part of what makes him likable. He's unpredictable, funny, and a pleasure to watch command a ship.

Brock Samson
Patrick Warburton - The Venture Bros.


"Hank, seriously. When I get my license back I'm allowed to kill you."

It speaks to the show's quality that the recent half season was still totally great even with Brock being elsewhere for most of the episodes, but he's definitely the most fun character to see do his thing. He's the ultimate death machine, a badass with an actual license to kill and unending willingness to use it. But even when he's not on a rampage he's a lot of fun. His familial relationship with his unorthodox family, unexpected extracurricular interests, and uncommon understanding of the insane cartoon world he lives in are all big parts to the character and how he stays interesting beyond going on murder sprees.

Caleb
Nathan Fillion - Buffy the Vampire Slayer


"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways. Also some fairly straightforward ones."

And here's Fillion again already, fresh off Firefly's cancellation. I could watch him in almost anything, with his unending supply of sarcastic nice guy charisma. But this is the only time I've seen him play a true villain, and damn if he isn't good at that too. Caleb doesn't have a ton of screen time, but he's probably my favorite bad guy in a series that prided itself on strong antagonists. With a single push of a finger (well, thumb) he secured his place in infamy, and there's just something about his religious background, rampant misogyny and disarming accent that make him a lot more terrifying than any vampire or demon Joss Whedon could conjure.

George Oscar Bluth
Will Arnett - Arrested Development


"No, Michael, that's not my trick. It's my illusion!"

Arrested Development is basically the definition of a great ensemble comedy cast, but GOB was basically in a league of his own. I'm sort of getting the feeling at this point that this is the only character Arnett actually plays, but damn if it isn't an entertaining one, and it works all the better here with his unusual interests, perspective, and motives. The show was absolutely littered with transcendent moments, and GOB had more than his fair share.

Oh Dae-su
Choi Min-sik - Oldboy


"Anyone here with an AB blood type, raise your hand."

If you watch this movie again, Oh Dae-su isn't even recognizable in the first scene as some drunk at a police station. 15 years alone in a room will change anybody, but Min-sik totally sold hit in his complete transformation into who he'll be for the rest of the movie. The thing that drew me to finally seeing it was a particular action scene, but that's not really what the character's about. It's about what unbelievable circumstances can do to a man, but how at his core there's still the same guy who can still be hurt, no matter how hard his exterior's gotten. And while his final decision is somewhat mortifying, in a way I can't blame him.

Colonel Saul Tigh
Michael Hogan - Battlestar Galactica


"So take your piety and your moralizing and your high minded principles and stick them some place safe... I've got a war to fight."

Tigh is an interesting case, as a pretty good character who didn't become great until circumstances forced him to. He was always an entertaining cranky old guy with a strong sense of duty and a bit of a drinking problem, but when he's thrust into the position of leading a resistance movement by any means necessary, he really starts to shine. Ugliness is what makes pretty much any of the Battlestar characters interesting, and his decisions under stress are as hideous as they come. Of course he changes quite a bit in another way later, and it just adds to his depth as he just tries to come to grips with it all. Most of the show's cast is sort of hard to like, but Tigh was actually easy in a strange sort of way.

Illyria
Amy Acker - Angel


"I wish to do more violence."

Illyria's here half because of the character, and half because it was so mind blowing to see cute, neurotic Acker transform into the embodiment of pure, sentient power. It's really a surprising amount of range, and she pulls it off without a hitch. It's definitely a good character too, one of the few in the whole setting to subvert the normal expectations for the appearance of what's basically a newly awakened, vengeful god. One of the greatest shames in the show's cancellation is not seeing more of her. I guess I could read the comics, but it won't be the same without Acker's performance.

Al Swearengen
Ian McShane - Deadwood


"I wouldn't trust a man who wouldn't try to steal a little."

If you look up "tour de force" in the dictionary, you'll see a definition that accurately describes what Ian McShane did for three years on Deadwood. The show was more theatrical than cinematic in the stateliness and brilliance of its dialogue, and nobody presented it as well as he did. I think I would watch a show that was just him giving speeches to an empty room. That wasn't all there was to the character either, as he was equal parts hilarious and terrifying as he fought for control of the town he helped build. Absolute dynamite the entire time.

Brick Tamland
Steve Carell - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy


"Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident."

One of the few supporting appearances in a comedy that basically stole the whole film and launched a career. Carell was funny on The Daily Show and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Office certainly helped, but I think Anchorman is when people everywhere thought to themselves, "Man, this guy's funny." Honestly, of all the movie's funny bits, Bricks are pretty base and low brow, but still humorous and important to the continuing development of what's considered funny in mass popular culture.

Continued tomorrow.

Halo 3: ODST

ODST has caught some flack from various sources for charging full price for less than a full product. I can't totally justify speaking either way because I paid twenty dollars less, but I don't see how the game is worth less than others in the series. It might just come from the fact that there's a 3 in the title and the words "expansion pack" were tossed around early on. The game does feel like a side story, developing events that take place at the same time as the second half of Halo 2, and the main multiplayer component is just carried over (along with all the paid downloadable extras) from the previous game. The campaign also is a tad short, but I rarely see that as a negative these days as long as it's a well developed, interesting experience. Plus, the new Firefight mode adds to the game's life quite a bit. I haven't played online because the system I'm using doesn't have a Gold account, but I've played Halo that way before, and I see no reason why one of the most consistently popular games would be any worse now.

So my focus as usual was on the single player. Master Chief isn't around this time, replaced by a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, elite soldiers on the same side who enter war zones through individual pods that precariously fall to the planet's surface. You spend the most time as the Rookie, a blank slate of a character who wakes up several hours after the mission begins and explores the city by night, either engaging or sneaking past enemy patrols. You can wander around if you like, but the goal is to track down pieces of equipment left behind by your other squad mates, which trigger more traditional Halo levels starring the other characters. I have to say, one of the biggest reasons why I liked the squad idea is that it made it basically a video game version of Firefly, if Mal and company were armored space marines instead of smugglers. The game doesn't even pretend otherwise; Nathan Fillion is the leader, Alan Tudyk is the pilot, and Adam Baldwin is the tough guy. They're joined by video gaming's ubiquitous Nolan North as the sniper and Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer as the erstwhile captain in charge of the mission. Early on they're all separated but they eventually meet up and work together, killings aliens and cracking wise at the same time. The camaraderie of the squad is an enjoyable element, and it make the Rookie's quietness all the more strange. It seems like the radio on his helmet has failed, but when he just ignores direct questions in person it doesn't fit with the game's tone at all.

Despite lacking the scope of other games in the series, taking place entirely within the confines of a single (admittedly huge) city, it doesn't feel lacking in variety. There's the usual mix of vehicle sections, sneaking through corridors, ambushing small groups, and taking on larger scale battles in open areas. Occasionally a section will kick your ass for a few tries, but it's pretty simple and fun to keep moving through the game, especially if you're familiar with the series. They made a big deal about the Troopers not being as tough or strong as Master Chief, but they seem to jump about as high and take the same punishment before dying, and have no trouble flipping over a crashed vehicle if needed. The health system is changed but essentially the same as the first game and for all intents and purposes, this is Halo through and through. The only thing missing is the Flood, which I'm totally fine with. I admire the attempt to mix up the game a bit, but they were never that fun to fight and the nighttime segments take their place rather neatly.

The game looks and sounds about how you'd expect. People complain that the Halo games don't look much better on the 360 than the original Xbox, but I wonder if they're looking at the same thing I am. It's pretty much the same aesthetic, but everything looks nicer, especially with the lighting. There's a new vision mode in the Troopers' helmets that indicate important features in the darkness. I think I ended up using it for about half the game, and it's usually pretty useful without being distracting. A few things in the game will interfere with the signal, and it adds a cool element of making sure you're using it in the right situation. The story is fairly standard for Halo, as in the world seems more interesting than the execution generally allows. There's not a ton going on in the plot, but it does tie the last two games together nicely in the end, and thanks partly to the cast has the most entertaining cut scenes in the series. If you like Halo, and especially if you haven't already played the online to death, it's definitely worth checking out.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I didn't talk about this back when I first saw it because it was on the Internet. But screw it, Joss Whedon made it and it has multiple episodes, it qualifies for a TV post.

Written and filmed on a meager budget during the Writers' Strike by Joss and his brothers, Dr. Horrible is a quick, light, enjoyable bit of musical entertainment featuring Malcolm Reynolds, Doogie Howser, and that girl who's in commercials sometimes and other stuff I guess. It's Whedon's usual combination of comedy, action, and romantic tragedy, although a bit heavier on the first one and not really at all with the second. His inclination for unusually themed musicals began with a season six episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where all the characters suddenly start bursting into song and dancing as a part of the actual plot involving some demon who liked show tunes.

Dr. Horrible's similarly wacky, with the titular character video blogging about his attempts to become a serious villain and join an evil guild, while at the same time his super hero nemesis gets too close to the girl he has a crush on. It's pretty simple and cheaply filmed, but it's quite funny, thanks mostly to the leads, and the musical numbers are generally pretty darn catchy. I'm not really a musical fan, but its various songs tend to pop up and get stuck in my head more often than the average one I've seen. The whole thing's only three 15 minute segments, and it's totally worth finding it online somewhere.

Castle - Season 1

I only started watching Castle because of Nathan Fillion, the funniest actor I know who doesn't come off like he's really just a comedian saying lines. I became a fan of his through Joss Whedon stuff like Firefly, and thought the promos that played when I was watching Lost (Which he's also appeared in!) looked decent enough to check it out. It's a pretty standard procedural cop show with romantic tension between the two leads, though thanks to me being relatively fresh to the genre and some fairly witty banter, I ended up enoying it enough to hope for it's renewal.

Fillion plays a famous writer in New York who begins shadowing a detective who happens to be a fan for "research" on a new character, and each week they investigate and solve an unusual murder. I don't remember Stana Katic despite her apparently being in several things I've seen, though she has a decent enough rapport with Fillion to keep me from getting tired of that angle too quickly. Some of the cases are better than others, and apparently several of the plots aren't exactly new for the genre, although I didn't notice since I've never watched many shows like this, and the cast was likable enough to keep me entertained. There are some vague strains of continuity like Fillion's daughter's crush on a classmate and the death that caused Katic to become a police officer, but it's really mostly a self-contained mystery every week good for a couple twists and some chuckles. Definitely not breaking any new ground, but fun.

Jade Empire

Jade Empire is a fun, solid RPG by BioWare that's hampered slightly by a few small issues. The PC exclusive "Special Edition" comes with some new content, however in general it's not a very good port. Mouse support isn't great, there are some weird control screw ups, and a few dumb glitches here and there. Along with some weird presentation issues, the game feels outdated technically even for a game originally released four years ago. The story segments are a weird mishmash of nice-looking CGI, sloppy real-time stuff, and grainy video of scenes made in-engine that could easily just be real-time. The characters look decent, but it's compromised by them having to move around awkwardly to their designated positions before speaking and the very small number of exaggerated animations used when saying their lines. Some people use a made up language instead of English, but instead of saying actual translatable dialogue, each one has a few random samples that can be picked from, which leads to silly situations like someone going on for several seconds when the subtitle consists of a single word. The whole game feels like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic with all the alien architecture replaced by Asian-influenced stuff, and they didn't bother to bring the engine up to date.

This feeling that the game was just a filler project while they got working in full on Mass Effect is further supported by the game's brevity. It starts out seeming like another epic adventure, with the first three chapters taking their time exploring a grand story and providing the player with tons of side quests to tackle, but after that, the optional parts fall away and the last four chapters breeze by very quickly, as things quickly come to a head and the player is rocketed through the rest of the tale. You get the feeling that they had to finish it quicker than they wanted to, with things like the pointlessness of the world map when there's a grand total of two locations you can actually travel back and forth between. I took the time to do most of the unnecessary stuff I found, and the game only took me about fifteen hours to finish. That's not exactly short for an average game, but it is for this kind of one. The story is competent, at least in the main plot, though thanks to the abrupt shift in pace I felt like I didn't get to know the other characters as much as I'd like. A few of them were genuinely interesting or entertaining, but it seemed like I missed something.

The combat system is kind of fun, if not as deep as I hoped. You learn a ton of different fighting styles, some of which are normal hand to hand or weapon-based martial arts, others use elemental magic or transformations. However I found myself only using a select few to finish the game, because they were the most effective without draining my resources for healing too much. I did feel like kind of a badass flipping around and beating the crap out of a bunch of guys, but fights against tougher foes were more annoying as I had to deal with the different status effects they assaulted me with instead of just fighting me like men. The allies are kind of useless, because you can only take one at a time and they were pretty ineffectual at doing anything more than distracting enemies for a while. The open palm/closed fist karma system didn't seem as important as in other games, limiting the selection of magic equipment and access to some quests but not providing me with exclusive powers or anything like that. I had some fun with the side quests, although at times I felt more like I was doing chores than having fun. In the end, Jade Empire was not a great RPG like Knights of the Old Republic, but it was a pretty good one.

Halo 3

Halo: still pretty good. The third installment continues the series tradition of good shooting, incremental gameplay improvements, and an interesting story for a shooter. Unfortunately, it also keeps alive some of its faults, like some repetitive tasks and environments, minor steps backward in some areas and the continued inclusion of the highly uninteresting Flood. I get the desire to mix things up so you're not fighting Covenant the whole time, but seriously, the Flood is boring. I like the story aspect of the Elites changing sides, but unfortunately that takes away the most interesting opponent in the series. Brutes are tough but not as smart, making combat a little less strategic in some cases. Having the Arbiter around most of the time is cool though, it's nice to have an ally who's actually worth something. I didn't like how you're arbitrarily limited to two grenades of each type now. Yeah, now there are four types so you still have a max of eight, but when you don't find the last kind until late in the game, you're left holding six most of the time and wondering why you can't fit a couple more normal ones in the same suit.

In general though, Halo is still a really good time. They expanded the vehicle sections, adding multiple new types to play around with. Some of the best fun in the series comes from cruising around, pursuing enemies on large battlefields with explosions happening everywhere. There are new and returning weapons also, and I think they struck a pretty good balance. The game's a little short, but that's okay, I prefer that to pointlessly padding out levels with infinitely copy-pasted corridors. I mentioned repetition, but that's mostly held in check except for the aforementioned Flood and the gigantic walking fortresses known as Scarabs - you encounter them a little too often, although taking one down is pretty cool. Graphically, it's not as flashy as some other current generation games, but it looks nice. There are some really great looking lighting effects, at least. The music is as interesting as ever, and voice acting is decent, although I never like changing voice actors between sequels (is Julie Benz too famous now thanks to Dexter?) and some of the dialogue tries to be cool but is just a little silly. The story is suitably epic and really pretty detailed if you get down into it, and they do a nice job of concluding the trilogy, although I wish there was a real end instead of an obvious sequel hint. Guys, you can make a new story without leaving ends untied. Multiplayer is pretty cool, although I don't really care about online play that much. I don't love Halo, but it's a very solid, entertaining series.

Movie Update 3

This post should catch me up with all the media I've been consuming, which would make posts in the future shorter.

Children of Men


I know director Alfonso Cuaron from creating the only Harry Potter movie I'd call good. The first two were too childish, and the last just wasn't long enough to give the story the care it deserved. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was by far the best in my opinion, it had its own style and the best supporting cast. When I heard about Children of Men, I was intrigued by the idea and liked the cast and director, so I made sure to see it.

Visually speaking, it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's not overloaded with expensive computer generated effects, it's just beautifully crafted. The sets and locations are all perfect for the story, and set the mood well. The framing and cinematography are just brilliant, and the whole movie is gorgeous to look at despite the gloomy backdrops. It's filled with long and excessively complex single-shot scenes, and you sometimes wonder how many countless takes it took to get them just right. These long shots aren't just impressive technically, they help contribute to the documentary feel that makes it even more harrowing. You can make legitimate comparisons to Half-Life 2 with both the dystopian setting and visual style, and that kind of helps to make me like it more. The camera work can sometimes feel kind of self-serving, but it doesn't obstruct the actual movie.

The story is fairly minimalistic, it's there and constantly pushing forward but takes a back seat to the emotional struggle of the characters in an eerily believable future we don't want to see. Clive Owen is again very good as the main character, a normal guy who's faced with protecting the future of the world. The whole cast is good, but they are all secondary to the film making that would make it a good movie even if the rest of it was garbage.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance


Another movie for class. Liberty Valance is a Western, but not a typical one. You have John Wayne as the typical rugged western hero who protects the town from evil men, but he's not the main character. That's Jimmy Stewart, a lawyer from the east who's come and is trying to change the town for the better. It's an interesting dynamic shift, and makes it interesting if only for how the genre conventions are played with. John Ford was the master of the western, and he'd done it so many times that he began playing with it just to see what he could do.

It's an entertaining movie, it's definitely not fast paced but it's one of those slower movies that manages to avoid boring you. The characters are well constructed, and it's just intriguing to see how the relationship between the two good guys plays out. The use of black and white is interesting with color being common at the time. It helps set the mood as an old western and also serves to hide the advanced age of the principal actors somewhat. Some of the twists on the genre are less fortunate than others. Most westerns basically end on a shootout, but this one keeps going for a bit after it happens. It seems weird, and it ends up making sense, but you still think it could have been handled better.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington


Hey class movie. It's James Stewart again, although over twenty years younger. I gotta say I love old movies like this, with clever, fast talking characters all over the place. It's still very funny close to seventy years later, which always has to be an accomplishment. I've actually seen a lot of the actors here in other good movies, and all of the big parts are played brilliantly. Frank Capra was much more of a theatrical director than a cinematic one, and he just lets the actors play their parts without trying to do anything too special with the camera.

Like a lot of great movies from the era, it's just as funny as a comedy without being one. The story is about a guy who wants to use his position to do some good for the country, but his path is blocked by corrupt, evil men. Instead of sitting down he fights back, and it's a great, inspirational movie that was banned in fascist countries for showing that democracy can work. I was a little disappointed by the ending, when he seems to triumph more from perseverance that an actual victory, but it's good nonetheless.

Serenity


You can't talk about Serenity without mentioning Firefly, the FOX series it finishes. Although finish is a bad word, since it's a rushed attempt to end a story way too quickly. For some reason, FOX seems to enjoy sabotaging and then canceling good shows that start with the letter F. Family Guy, Futurama, and Firefly all fell victim. Family Guy has been resurrected and is stronger than ever, although it's the least deserving, in my opinion. Things have been spotty with Futurama, but they're working on some DVD movies that will be aired as episodes on Comedy Central. Firefly got its movie, so all three got something, but Firefly got the least while deserving the most. Family Guy is completely random, and Futurama has some things going on but is still mostly just twenty minutes of jokes. Firefly's episodes stood on their own, but they were still driven by plot and character, and there are many story threads that will never get the chance they deserved to be fully explored. It's understandable, since it probably costs a lot more to do a live action sci-fi show than a cartoon, but it's still disappointing.

Anyway, the movie. Firefly is as much a western as it is science fiction, and it's a really interesting setting. The crew of Serenity speaks with a southern twang, and the dialog is a unique blend of informality and cleverness. It's as funny and smart as it is cool and action-packed, and the movie continues the tradition. Thanks to the big movie budget, the action is bigger and the special effects are more special. It allows for more impressive things to happen, and it makes the movie more epic than the show while keeping the same spirit.

It's hard not to be disappointed, but it's not the movie's fault. There just isn't enough time with one movie to do justice to the story. They do a good job filling some gaps and bring it to a respectable end, but I'll always wonder how it would have been handled if the series continued. Like the show, it's a fun, very watchable movie that definitely does more things right than George Lucas.