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Post by Queen E on May 5, 2005 11:57:55 GMT -5
For Erin, Rachael, and spoiler whores just dying to know what we think.
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Post by Rachael on May 6, 2005 10:50:51 GMT -5
Be warned: MAJOR SPOILAGE follows:
Oh my god! He killed Wash! Joss, you evil, evil, bastard genius.
Other than that, I really loved it.
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Post by Queen E on May 6, 2005 10:55:00 GMT -5
Be warned: MAJOR SPOILAGE follows: Oh my god! He killed Wash! Joss, you evil, evil, bastard genius. Other than that, I really loved it. Hence my "oh man oh man" on the main thread (that's all I said). First Book, which was bad enough...and then Wash! Just as he says his "I'm a leaf" thing. Not sure what the audience reaction was where you were, but everyone gasped as that, what, rebar, went right through him...
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Post by Queen E on May 6, 2005 11:07:17 GMT -5
OK, my serious thoughts:
1. The beginning felt a little slow...not the Simon beginning but the Serenity beginning. But I know it's necessary to set up certain things we'd already know.
2. Simon: can't decide if the pre-Serenity Simon was really way too competent, or if they were making a point about love allowing you to do extraordinary things.
3. Love the allusion to "The Tempest" being really played out here: The planet Miranda, the Reavers as Caliban, even Ariel being the planet where Simon discovered what was wrong with River.
4. Simon and Kaylee smoochies made me way happy.
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Post by Rachael on May 6, 2005 11:20:01 GMT -5
Hence my "oh man oh man" on the main thread (that's all I said). First Book, which was bad enough...and then Wash! Just as he says his "I'm a leaf" thing. Not sure what the audience reaction was where you were, but everyone gasped as that, what, rebar, went right through him... Book...I wonder, based on his limited appearance, if Ron Glass just wanted out. But Wash...yeah, as my BIL said, "In his moment of glory." The whole audience jumped, my sister said, "No way. That is so fucked up." Nat was absolutely sure, though, that Simon or Kaylee or both were doomed, because of the whole "they just confessed their feelings for one another" thing. She says, "Because that's what Joss does." Book - it angers me a little that we'll never get that backstory I wanted.
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Post by Rachael on May 6, 2005 11:24:57 GMT -5
OK, my serious thoughts: 1. The beginning felt a little slow...not the Simon beginning but the Serenity beginning. But I know it's necessary to set up certain things we'd already know. Also, in my theater, the color seemed a bit off, and the film was grainy. Effect, or mistake that they will later fix? And, yeah, a bit slow...but those who hadn't seen it before didn't think so. Not sure. Myself, I was a bit surprised at the remarkably lax security that didn't recognize him as her brother. I mean, this is a top secret government project, and the security scanners don't have stuff like "subject's brother" in the database? Oh, yes. All that was great...and the Reavers actually getting explained as more than just "space sickness" made me happy. Why am I not surprised by this? But...Wash. UNFAIR. I mean, part of what's good about Joss's stuff is he won't let touchy-feely sentimentalism interfere with the story, but I'm still unconvinced that Wash dying was essential to the story, other than as a way to prove that no character was safe, and thus provide more tension. "It only works on her, Jayne." Hee.
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Post by Queen E on May 6, 2005 13:08:46 GMT -5
Also, in my theater, the color seemed a bit off, and the film was grainy. Effect, or mistake that they will later fix? And, yeah, a bit slow...but those who hadn't seen it before didn't think so. No, I think it'll be a later fix; the credits et al were really low rent, so I think it'll look better later on. Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing who the helpers were...that, I think, would fill in that particular hole. Me too; and the fact that it came out of a desire to do good? So Joss. Double hee! Did love, as your BIL said, that he died in his moment of glory...and him being the "Xander" makes it even worse. I compared it to the utter horror of Xander's eye in "Dirty Girls." Honestly, outside of the story, Alan Tudyk is working A LOT...and he, like Ron Glass, might have wanted out too. My thought, now that Mal seems to have regained a bit of his heart and faith (geez, I capitalized that at first), if Zoe isn't going to become more Mal-like... And I'm silly, because I'm thinking of that discussion about wanting children in "Heart of Gold" and wondering if maybe Zoe's pregnant. One more thing: maybe it was the way it was filmed, but Inara, in that first scene with Mal on the cortex, looked pregnant...her face looked really round. Wasn't sure if it was the film quality or that silly way her hair was done. Because "in person" she didn't look that way at all.
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Post by Rachael on May 6, 2005 15:06:22 GMT -5
Oh, and - when River got locked up with the Reavers, my mom went, "Oh, no. They're gonna eat her."
To which I replied, "Not a chance."
I was sure of only one thing - a character THAT interesting doesn't get offed in the first movie.
And also - whaddya wanna bet that that scene was the first example of a specific purpose for which River and her ilk were being created by the Alliance? To maybe help clean up the Reaver mess?
Eric loved her fight scenes - because it looked so casual. "It's like she was dancing."
So I told him that she basically was just dancing. But he's right - such a cool effect.
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Post by Sara on May 27, 2005 11:12:45 GMT -5
Holy FUCK!! Random thoughts in no particular order. Coherency not guaranteed, as I'm working on about four hours of sleep here... There were major gasps in my audience when Wash died. Shepherd Book you could sort of see coming, particularly if you'd watched the trailer, but when Wash was killed it was like we'd been hit in the stomach with a Buick. Major kudos to Joss and Chiwetel Ejiofor for making The Operative somewhat sympathetic character, particularly toward the end. Even though the Reavers had such a prominent role, when I thought about it I realized we still haven't actually seen one clearly. We got more glimpses and a more vivid sense of what they likely look like, but that was all we had--glimpses and flashes. Joss hasn't forgotten that what we don't see can be far more terrifying than what we do--the two Reaver-oriented moments that stand out most for me are the audio as Serenity flies through Reaver territory and what we hear of the end of the Alliance rescuer's video log. The look on the woman's face when she tries to shoot herself... brrrr. I actually had a moment, as more members of the crew kept getting wounded, when I thought "Y'know Joss, it's going to be hard to do any sequels if EVERYONE'S DEAD!! Spare us a few characters, wouldja?" I never had any doubt that the next time those blast doors opened River would be the one opening them. And how evocative of "Anne" was her pose amidst the Reaver bodies? Believe it or not, I can actually understand why Wash would be killed off besides the shock value of the moment itself: --The nature of the crew and writing means that you don't need one character specifically for comic relief, as was often Wash's role during the course of events. --He didn't fill a niche among the crew that couldn't be occupied by someone else; we saw that Mal and River are capable of flying the ship, and I suspect Inara could also pilot Serenity in a pinch. In other words they didn't actually need someone just to be a pilot, and there wasn't really another arena--in terms of other jobs associated with the ship--that Wash contributed a lot to. --Now the boys and girls are at even numbers. Was it too much to hope for ONE KISS between Inara and Mal? Apparently so. *grumble grumble* Where the hell did Inara's bow and arrow set come from? Too many funny bits to cite them all, but the attempted heist of the vault was pretty classic material from start to finish. I too noticed the Shakespearean theme Joss had going. And please believe me when I say I'd already gotten a lot written about The Tempest and how it tied in to Firefly in my preliminary work on my "Ariel" review lo those many months ago. The creepiest thing in the movie may have been the cartoon with the kids and the octopus. "That's not incense." HEE! Not only did Mr. Universe have a girlbot but he made an allusion to being Judas Iscariot--giving him two things in common with Spike. I was kinda disappointed when it turned out Mal was wearing pajama pants.
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Post by Sara on May 27, 2005 11:19:12 GMT -5
Also, in my theater, the color seemed a bit off, and the film was grainy. Effect, or mistake that they will later fix? And, yeah, a bit slow...but those who hadn't seen it before didn't think so. No, the colors seemed off or overly dark during several scenes at our showing, so I imagine that's something that'll get cleaned up when the final edited version is "set." As for Simon's helpers... I kinda wondered if one of those members of parliament who came to see River didn't intend for River to "read" them and thus eventually expose what happened on Miranda--perhaps even one of the same insider someones who helped Simon get in. Oh, and in that vein--these folks were so reliant on their technology I can believe they wouldn't bother showing a picture of her brother around; it'd be inconceivable to them that the computer wouldn't flag him as he tried to get in. So if the system said a particular guy was okay to enter, then he was okay to enter.
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Post by Sara on May 27, 2005 11:23:36 GMT -5
Hence my "oh man oh man" on the main thread (that's all I said). First Book, which was bad enough...and then Wash! Just as he says his "I'm a leaf" thing. Not sure what the audience reaction was where you were, but everyone gasped as that, what, rebar, went right through him... Book...I wonder, based on his limited appearance, if Ron Glass just wanted out. But Wash...yeah, as my BIL said, "In his moment of glory." The whole audience jumped, my sister said, "No way. That is so fucked up." Nat was absolutely sure, though, that Simon or Kaylee or both were doomed, because of the whole "they just confessed their feelings for one another" thing. She says, "Because that's what Joss does." Book - it angers me a little that we'll never get that backstory I wanted. Greg was mad about that too, but it certainly reinforced Book and Mal's conversation about whether someday Mal would know that same information as well.
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Post by Rachael on May 27, 2005 11:29:10 GMT -5
Not bad, huh? Yeah, here, too. It was just - so sudden. So Anyaesque. There one second, basking in his glory (and here I have to say - there are other pilots, but none so good as Wash, I should think), and gone the next. So very like real life. Oh, yeah. The Reaver stuff - perfect. Yeah; I was almost sure that Simon would die, and Wash would miraculously be saved. Because of the newness of the Simon/Kaylee love - wouldn't that just be so Joss? Oh, yeah. My mom was sure she'd bit the dust when the door closed behind her, but I'm all, "No way." No way is Joss gonna dispose of a character that rich and full with all the sequel potential. Okay, but now what we REALLY have is a potential love triangle between Inara, Mal, and Zoe. I mean, can you really see either of those women with Jayne? We've had our one kiss. Mal doesn't remember it, but it may be all we get. Unless you want one of them to die horribly?
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Post by Sara on May 27, 2005 11:35:04 GMT -5
Okay, but now what we REALLY have is a potential love triangle between Inara, Mal, and Zoe. I mean, can you really see either of those women with Jayne? Please--are you trying to make me ill? Yes, I forgot my caveat: "one kiss THAT THEY'RE BOTH CONSCIOUS FOR?" (and the caps are how I expressed this thought to Greg last night) Ooh, good point... Yeah, I was with you guys in being certain either Kaylee or Simon was toast.
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Post by Sara on May 30, 2005 11:32:28 GMT -5
Two hmmm thoughts I forgot to share before: 1. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect, at least in my mind, between Mal's reaction to what Jayne did in "Ariel" and the way Mal seemed to see Simon and River as outsiders in Serenity--as if the Tam's integration into the crew had regressed to the level of their first days aboard the ship. 2. I realize that at least a few months have passed between the end of "Objects in Space" and the beginning of Serenity, but I still wondered when Book became the person whose counsel Mal relied so heavily on.
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Post by Queen E on May 30, 2005 14:22:38 GMT -5
Two hmmm thoughts I forgot to share before: 1. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect, at least in my mind, between Mal's reaction to what Jayne did in "Ariel" and the way Mal seemed to see Simon and River as outsiders in Serenity--as if the Tam's integration into the crew had regressed to the level of their first days aboard the ship. I think that had to do with inara being gone and the sense of disconnect and loss Mal felt about that: "None of it means a damn thing." That was a little strange...I agree.
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