ELEMENTARY PENGUIN “There was just way too much focus on the battles and the 'epic' side of it, when the books focus on the smaller people, and their lives”
KABUKI ELVIS “In the books, the main focus was on the character interactions, I will give you that”
EP “And the last film specifically was so focused on the battles, I almost missed the bit where they get rid of the ring”
KE “Yeah, the last one definitely went overboard with the battle. But the average cinema-goer, not necessarily someone who read the books, would have felt short-changed were there not a huge battle to end it.”
KE “The films aren't meant to replace the books, they are not a successor, they are one person's interpretation of it. The existence of the films does not render the books worthless.”
EP “I totally agree, I just think that the films are an awful interpretation. Believe me, if I thought they were a replacement, I would be twice as against them as I already am.”
KE “I think the problem some people have had with it, a problem with all adaptations, is that when you read the book, it's all about your imagination, which makes the experience very personal. In films, the director's interpretation becomes the definitive, and if this isn't your interpretation, then, of course, you are likely to be drawn in less”
EP “Yes, this is exactly what I meant, I like my imagination creating my own view of the world, and these films ruined that”
Friday, 20 February 2009
LOTR : Return Of The King
ELEMENTARY PENGUIN
Oh good God, LOTR fans are not going to like me. This is the film that won eleven Oscars®, including Best Picture. Guess what? I couldn't bloody stand it! Every piece of narrative seems to have been replaced with a slow motion shot of an Orc being skewered.
I felt like Peter Jackson had gone into my imagination, looked at how I imagined the story, then pissed on it, and told me it was going to be an action film instead. This isn't Lord Of The Rings, it's Rambo with magic!
That's how I would sum up the whole trilogy really. LOTR is a fantasy, and Jackson stopped it being so, and for that, I am very angry at him.
KABUKI ELVIS
While I did enjoy the film, I can't help but feel the focus of the narrative was in the wrong place. In my opinion, the real story of the third book was in the relationship between Frodo and Sam with Sam being the real hero of the trilogy.
While the special effects that went into creating the epic battle that comprises most of the film are technically impressive, they do not make the film. While the book does contain in-depth descriptions of the on-going battle, the real details are in the characterisation, something the film misses out on.
Overall, I did enjoy the films, and still watch them every so often, as well as re-reading the books, which is my preference.
VERDICT - WAY TOO BUSY
LOTR : The Two Towers
ELEMENTARY PENGUIN
The second film in a trilogy usually proves to be the weakest. I adore Back To The Future, and even I find part two a bit dull.
'The Two Towers' definitely suffers this fate, especially in a trilogy about some dwarves walking to a mountain, you don't see the start of the journey, or the end. There is a feeling of complete non-achievement.
I could not believe how bored I was by this film. How anyone can watch the extended edition and enjoy it is beyond me.
KABUKI ELVIS
I agree with EP on this, that in a trilogy, the second film tends to be purely expositional, and so often prove to be the weakest of the three.
I still enjoyed the film, although not as much as the other ones because although the character interactions weren't as present as they were in the book, there was still enough to hold the story together.
I did feel the film was over-long, however, saying this can be a double-edged sword, since if you cut certain scenes, many fans would complain.
VERDICT - ALL WALKING, NOT GETTING ANYWHERE
LOTR : Fellowship Of The Ring
ELEMENTARY PENGUIN
As I said yesterday, I do not like the trilogy, but if I had to chose the best one, I would probably say this one. As the first film, a lot of it focuses on the set-up, the introduction to the characters and what to expect, and I like that, it's what the book did. It's probably the most loyal to the books of all the films, something I have made perfectly clear I like to see.
KABUKI ELVIS
As a fan of the books, I was apprehensive about the films, as I am with any adaptation from a novel.
Overall though, I enjoyed it, maybe because some of the aspects of the book appeared in the film in the exact way I had seen them in my imagination, and it felt amazing to see them presented in front of me in much more of an (unsurprisingly) cinematic way. I definitely think that this film is the most loyal to the book.
VERDICT - BEST OF A BAD BUNCH
Bloody hell!
Is it really 4.30am?! Me and Kabuki Elvis have been talking about 'Lord Of The Rings' for 9 hours! That's as long as the films!
It's bedtime, sorry folks. We have a LOT of material, but I am far too tired to sift through, type up, edit and post it tonight. I will do it as soon as I wake up, so if you are lucky, and behave yourselves, then you just might get two posts.
Sweet dreams my darlings.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Going for the big score
What is the most successful movie of the last few years?
What movie has won the most Oscars® recently?
OK, let me ask it this way. What trilogy of movies, mainly filmed in New Zealand, sitting at around a day in length if watched back to back, have been inexplicably popular, despite being painfully dull?
I don't know if it's a specific personality trait, but if anything, not just films, becomes very popular, I tend to automatically dislike it, or at the very least become very wary of it.
Having read, and genuinely enjoyed, the books while younger, my nervousness of being disappointed was off the scale, and sadly, I was correct to be nervous.
I cannot put into words how disappointed I was by these three dull, over-long, non-involving, pretentious poor excuses for films. It really did upset me, and anger me.
So, the review. When I decided to do this, I realised there was no way I could discuss the films, without being biased. There are three of them, they are very long, and I don't like them. Instead, today I am going to give you some links to 'LOTR' reviews by critics who I personally enjoy and respect. In the coming three days, me and another reviewer, Kabuki Elvis, will be discussing each film in depth, and publishing two short reviews, as well as some of our more coherent, intelligent arguments for and against the films.
'LOTR : Fellowship Of The Ring' reviews
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
'LOTR : The Two Towers' reviews
Philip French, The Guardian
Dan Jardine, Apollo Movie Guide
'LOTR : Return Of The King' reviews
James Berardinelli, Reelviews
Claudia Puig, USA Today
What movie has won the most Oscars® recently?
OK, let me ask it this way. What trilogy of movies, mainly filmed in New Zealand, sitting at around a day in length if watched back to back, have been inexplicably popular, despite being painfully dull?
I don't know if it's a specific personality trait, but if anything, not just films, becomes very popular, I tend to automatically dislike it, or at the very least become very wary of it.
Having read, and genuinely enjoyed, the books while younger, my nervousness of being disappointed was off the scale, and sadly, I was correct to be nervous.
I cannot put into words how disappointed I was by these three dull, over-long, non-involving, pretentious poor excuses for films. It really did upset me, and anger me.
So, the review. When I decided to do this, I realised there was no way I could discuss the films, without being biased. There are three of them, they are very long, and I don't like them. Instead, today I am going to give you some links to 'LOTR' reviews by critics who I personally enjoy and respect. In the coming three days, me and another reviewer, Kabuki Elvis, will be discussing each film in depth, and publishing two short reviews, as well as some of our more coherent, intelligent arguments for and against the films.
'LOTR : Fellowship Of The Ring' reviews
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
'LOTR : The Two Towers' reviews
Philip French, The Guardian
Dan Jardine, Apollo Movie Guide
'LOTR : Return Of The King' reviews
James Berardinelli, Reelviews
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Spirited Away
A TASTE OF THE ORIENT
Since I haven't done a review of an animated film yet, I thought I would start the ball rolling with easily one of the greatest animated films of all time, 'Spirited Away'.
Young Chihiro and her parents are driving to their new home when her father takes a shortcut through the woods. They find a deserted town that her father thinks is a theme park. Her parents sit down to eat the food there, while Chihiro wanders away to a giant bathhouse. She meets a mysterious boy called Haku who warns her to leave before nightfall, but she is too late and sees her parents get transformed into pigs. Haku tells Chihiro that she is now in the realm of the spirits and that her parents have eaten spirit food. She is hunted because she is a human and does not belong in the spirit world. Chihiro’s only hope is to go and see the scary witch Yubaba who runs the bathhouse and ask for a job. In return for giving her a job, Yubaba takes Chihiro’s name from her and calls her Sen. Sen is put to work cleaning where she is given the worst tasks. There she faces a stink spirit who is threatening to pollute the bathhouse and accidentally lets in a lonely monster that starts trying to eat everybody and everything. After Haku is fatally wounded while in dragon form, Sen must undergo a difficult journey to save him by returning a seal stolen from Yubaba’s twin sister Zeniba.
What is special about this film is how no person is portrayed as a simple villain. In fact, there are no villains. Just people going about their lives. It is the situation that creates the conflict, a very mature message to appear in what is essentially a children's film.
This is a film that is obviously not knocked off the assembly line like so many kids' films at the moment. The animation is creative and complex. It is a rare film where a great story comes together with superior production values, and one where people of many ages and cultural backgrounds can appreciate.
Spirited Away is an exquisite and extraordinary film from an animator who has no equal. There’s a simplicity of story at the heart of it, one where Chihiro’s child-like innocence and non-judgmentalness is seen as having a purity and truth up against everyone else who is blinded by greed or stupidity. The imagination of Hayao Miyazaki’s world, the detail it comes in and the quiet power of Spirited Away is stunning. Occasionally toward the end, the film seems a little hurried. Haku suddenly realizes his true name, the twin sister who put a curse on him is quickly revealed to be a good witch and Chihiro’s final test is passed with amazing ease, but Spirited Away has genuine beauty. It should be seen by everybody.
VERDICT - MAKES DISNEY LOOK DULL
Since I haven't done a review of an animated film yet, I thought I would start the ball rolling with easily one of the greatest animated films of all time, 'Spirited Away'.
Young Chihiro and her parents are driving to their new home when her father takes a shortcut through the woods. They find a deserted town that her father thinks is a theme park. Her parents sit down to eat the food there, while Chihiro wanders away to a giant bathhouse. She meets a mysterious boy called Haku who warns her to leave before nightfall, but she is too late and sees her parents get transformed into pigs. Haku tells Chihiro that she is now in the realm of the spirits and that her parents have eaten spirit food. She is hunted because she is a human and does not belong in the spirit world. Chihiro’s only hope is to go and see the scary witch Yubaba who runs the bathhouse and ask for a job. In return for giving her a job, Yubaba takes Chihiro’s name from her and calls her Sen. Sen is put to work cleaning where she is given the worst tasks. There she faces a stink spirit who is threatening to pollute the bathhouse and accidentally lets in a lonely monster that starts trying to eat everybody and everything. After Haku is fatally wounded while in dragon form, Sen must undergo a difficult journey to save him by returning a seal stolen from Yubaba’s twin sister Zeniba.
What is special about this film is how no person is portrayed as a simple villain. In fact, there are no villains. Just people going about their lives. It is the situation that creates the conflict, a very mature message to appear in what is essentially a children's film.
This is a film that is obviously not knocked off the assembly line like so many kids' films at the moment. The animation is creative and complex. It is a rare film where a great story comes together with superior production values, and one where people of many ages and cultural backgrounds can appreciate.
Spirited Away is an exquisite and extraordinary film from an animator who has no equal. There’s a simplicity of story at the heart of it, one where Chihiro’s child-like innocence and non-judgmentalness is seen as having a purity and truth up against everyone else who is blinded by greed or stupidity. The imagination of Hayao Miyazaki’s world, the detail it comes in and the quiet power of Spirited Away is stunning. Occasionally toward the end, the film seems a little hurried. Haku suddenly realizes his true name, the twin sister who put a curse on him is quickly revealed to be a good witch and Chihiro’s final test is passed with amazing ease, but Spirited Away has genuine beauty. It should be seen by everybody.
VERDICT - MAKES DISNEY LOOK DULL
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