GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Great article about the BDM

POSTED BY: LEEH
UPDATED: Friday, July 8, 2005 20:24
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 5870
PAGE 1 of 1

Sunday, July 3, 2005 1:25 PM

LEEH


Check this out, from the Ft. Lauderdale, FL Sun-Sentinel--it's just the kind of PR we want:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-mv03intermissionjul
03,0,6964561.story?coll=sfla-features-headlines



"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. . . ."

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Sunday, July 3, 2005 2:34 PM

SHINY4004


Well it's a pretty good one anyways. I would've preferred that the writer liked the series and was blown away by the movie instead of not loving the series and then being surprised by the fact that they liked the movie...but any press is good press.

"Oh I'm going to the special hell."-Mal

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Sunday, July 3, 2005 2:45 PM

MIKEYMO


You know, I think that her positive reaction to the movie might carry more weight with the uninitiated because she didn't love the series. I long to see more reviews, perhaps not from people who didn't like the series, but who had never even heard of it. Especially because I think the introduction and intiial exposition (one non-fan said "the first 10 minutes were brilliant and must have been murder to create and write") is done so artfully.

"Be ashamed to die before you have scored some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Monday, July 4, 2005 8:46 AM

TREESHOUSE


The fact that she said, "What's more, it makes Star Wars look like vacant, plastic eye candy in comparison." tells me that she gets this movie. That should say a lot to those who are not yet fans.

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Monday, July 4, 2005 10:23 AM

SERGEANTX


Quote:

Now, if you're among that fan base, you probably know that I reviewed the DVD set somewhat unfavorably. I say that not just because I am a raging egomaniac, but because I have never received so many outraged e-mails for a lukewarm review as I did when I made the mistake of calling Firefly underwhelming. (An assessment I stand behind, by the way.)


This doesn't surprise me at all, and it outlines my principal disappointment with the movie. Whedon has made the right changes to appeal to people like this reviewer. Serenity has all the flashing lights and 'splosions that the short attention span crowd require from movie.

I know that getting more butts in the seats is a good thing. I just wish I could be more happy about the necessary compromises to reach that goal.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Monday, July 4, 2005 10:31 AM

LEEH


You know, I'm no fan of the 'splosions and all, but I don't think Joss put 'em in there just to hook the non-fans. He's a fanboy geek himself, and likes that sort of stuff--and with a $50 million budget, was able to use such things in a way that was unaffordable for the tv series. If you look at "Buffy" and "Angel," you see a fair share of the violence and pyrotechnic thing.

Me, I'm happier with less violence and more character one-on-one. I know Joss likes the latter, but I think he enjoys the former as well, especially given the bleak vision-of-the-future that is his in this 'verse. I don't think it's just about bottom line and seat-filling, for him.

That's one we could ask at SD Comic Con, if somebody gets to the mike.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. . . ."

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 1:35 AM

SERGEANTX


Quote:

Originally posted by LeeH:
You know, I'm no fan of the 'splosions and all, but I don't think Joss put 'em in there just to hook the non-fans. He's a fanboy geek himself, and likes that sort of stuff--and with a $50 million budget, was able to use such things in a way that was unaffordable for the tv series. If you look at "Buffy" and "Angel," you see a fair share of the violence and pyrotechnic thing.

Me, I'm happier with less violence and more character one-on-one. I know Joss likes the latter, but I think he enjoys the former as well, especially given the bleak vision-of-the-future that is his in this 'verse. I don't think it's just about bottom line and seat-filling, for him.



I think you've hit the nail on the head, LeeH. And for the record I'm not, in the slightest, suggesting Joss sold out in making Serenity. In fact, he's something of a personal hero of mine for pouring so much of himself into something he so obviously loves.

I also think you were right to reference Buffy and Angel. In fact, I've heard Serenity described "Buffy meets Firefly". The thing is, I never really liked Buffy or Angel much. It's not that they didn't have the same great writing as Firefly. But the ubiquitous fights scenes and scary monsters usually left me looking for something to read.

I'm still excited about the movie and I can't wait to see it again. I'm sure, as the layers are peeled away, I'll find much more to sink my teeth into. Maybe it all just flew by a little too fast for my aging mind to comprehend.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 2:34 AM

BROWNCOAT1

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


"Whedon's big-screen directorial debut is smart, funny, assured and just plain good. What's more, it makes Star Wars look like vacant, plastic eye candy in comparison."


I love it! Glad to see this writer got the BDM. A shame she did not like the series, but it seems she may have missed the point behind it. Odd how she can not like the series & like the movie.

Thanks for posting the link. You're right that we need more press like this for the movie.


__________________________________________

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

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/


NOTIFY: N   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 6:17 AM

3HEADEDMONKEY


but this shows that not just people who like Firefly will like Serenity, which imo is even better!

NOTIFY: N   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 10:03 AM

LEEH


Yeah, I like "Buffy" in spite, not because, of all the fightin'. But I think it's a metaphor, too, for a violent world in which people literally have to fight for their lives. The FF 'verse is much the same, at least for our BDH's; they live on the edge, and are always struggling just to stay afloat. For dramatic effect, you've got to frame that via physical violence--of course, the real point is their economic fragility, but that doesn't translate well into compelling visual drama.

Speaking only for myself, I liked the BDM better the second time--the violence was less distracting, so I could pick up on the stuff that is very Joss-ish. I hope you will have the same experience.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. . . ."

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 1:04 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Ooooohhh!!! I LOVED the review! Thanks for the link!

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 2:30 PM

MUTT999


"It makes Star Wars look like vacant, plastic eye candy in comparison." Man, I love that quote!


"That's the buffet table....."

NOTIFY: N   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 9:14 AM

LISTER


I would very much like to read his review of the DVD's.

Run to the Tower, and call out the Magus
If he has caused this, we'll tear out his pages
Throw him in shackles, AND REMOVE HIS HANDS!
- Red Horse Rainbow, CLUTCH

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Friday, July 8, 2005 5:57 AM

SLGN


Xie xie LEEH for posting this.

If you enjoyed the article, send the author some Browncoat love: pflowers@sun-sentinel.com

Per Lister's request, her FF review (reposted from WHEDONesque):
Quote:

Few viewers to glow over Fox's Firefly
by Phoebe Flowers
Film Writer The Associated Press
Posted December 14 2003

In one of the features on the DVD of his short-lived series Firefly, creator Joss Whedon calls the show "the source of more joy and pain than anything I've done." Whedon, rightfully beloved for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel, may well have felt such passion about the occasionally amusing but forgettable sci-fi/western hybrid. But little of it comes through on the 14 episodes presented in the four-disc set -- three of which never aired.

It's not that Firefly is a bad show, by any means; it's just largely unremarkable. A few of the episodes -- not coincidentally, the ones that Whedon himself wrote and directed -- showcase enough spark beneath the rote plot lines to give you hope that the series could have matured into something more compelling. At the very least, more shows would presumably have better developed the nine (nine!) lead characters.

As it is, none of the talented cast ever gets much of a chance to shine. Nathan Fillion, who had a crucial role in the last season of Buffy, plays Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of a spaceship 500 years in the future struggling to fly below the radar of a totalitarian regime. He and his crew flit around doing jobs of varying legality and, in the pilot, taking in a young doctor, his psychologically wounded sister, and an older preacher who would be more mysterious if you really cared what the mystery was. Because this modern world has reverted to a wild-west aesthetic, the characters distractingly and unconvincingly say "ain't" and "shucks" a lot. Bad English, it seems, is timeless.

Better than the episodes themselves are Whedon's commentaries on several of them, as well as a handful of behind-the-scenes features, all of which showcase what a bright, funny, talented guy he is. But Firefly is a disappointing addition to his often excellent body of work.

Firefly -- The Complete Series, not rated, 135 minutes, $49.98.



------
What is Farscape? http://www.farwhat.com/

NOTIFY: N   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Friday, July 8, 2005 6:15 AM

CALLMESERENITY


Thanks for sharing both the article and the review. Maybe this person will go back and give the DVDs a second chance now they've seen the movie. Who knows?



"Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." ~Jerry Garcia

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

Friday, July 8, 2005 8:24 PM

CHEESYPOOF


Quote:

and an older preacher who would be more mysterious if you really cared what the mystery was.


What? How...That strikes me as the comment of a lazy viewer. Someone who doesn't invest any thought into watching these things.

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

YOUR OPTIONS

NEW POSTS TODAY

USERPOST DATE

FFF.NET SOCIAL