NYPD Blue?
I gotta admit, it worked for me, too. Sucks, sure, but it worked.
But, know what didn’t work?
Book’s death. It was just so much a cliche–something that I don’t normally expect from Whedon and company. First, they arrive back on Book’s planet just as he’s getting ready to give up the ghost. And then, right before he gasps his last whee breath, he grasps Mal’s head and speaks words of wisdom. Those words and his death give Mal the [del]super cape and magical hammer[/del] will enough to stand up to and defeat the Bad Guys. Wash’s death was good because it was pointless (to the film’s events, but not to the viewer), while Book’s death was straight out of any action-packed '80s movie. I was… surprised.
You know you’re WAY too serious about a particular director when…
CG, I gotta stop reading this thread. It’s going to end up like the modern art thread we both participated in a while back. I’m a big believer in the subjectivity of art and everyone’s opinion being equal and what not. But somehow, when it’s you I’m disagreeing with, I want to grab you by your lapels* and scream “YOU’RE WRONG! WRONG!” And I have no idea why that is.
[sub]*If you don’t have lapels, I’ve got a shirt you can borrow for the purpose.[/sub]
… you sing “Happy Birthday” to him last night at the pre-screening; you bring in a giant birthday cake with his name frosted on it; you stand up in the theater and loudly encourage everyone to sing the “Hero of Canton” song from “Jaynestown”; and you let tears stream down your face when his before-the-movie cameo shows up on-screen.
I just wanted to watch the movie. I’m not sure I expected Rocky Horror… 
Gam, darling, I don’t think anyone really cares in their heart of hearts whether you see *Serenity *or not. I know I don’t, except that I’ll miss talking with you about it. But the reason everyone’s panties are in a twist is because you said “I really hope the movie bombs and nothing is produced for the universe again.”
Harsh, man!
Now, I suspect your tongue was more or less in your cheeck when you wrote that. (Frankly, I must suspect that or risk not liking you very much anymore, and we’ve had too many fun conversations - even when we disagree - for me to be happy about that.) But surely you realize that Browncoats view ourselves with a somewhat persecuted martyr/messiah lens, right? Here we were, the cultish few who appreciated a damn fine TV show, only to have it pulled by asshats at Fox. Then, against all Hollywood odds, our DVD sales and our fanatic devotion and prostlytizing made Hollywood change its mind! Do you have any idea how fantastic that is? How rare? Woo-hoo! We’re King of the World!
And now you’re peeing in our cornflakes 'cause you don’t like what you haven’t even seen.
My sweet, THAT’S a suckerpunch of the most extreme kind.
Play nice. See it or don’t see it. But please apologize for the bombing comment. Pretty please?
SkipMagic,
Would it have been better if they’d gone back to Haven and found Book’s body? I submit that it would not have been. THAT would have been cliche, too, a sort of “KHAAAAAN!” moment that Joss wanted to avoid. I agree that it doesn’t work all that well, but it’s better than the alternatives.
Spectrum, thanks for answering my question back on page 1, but, dude, you need to moderate your tone a bit or the Mods are gonna moderate it for you. Did you not see C_K’s message?
Meanwhile, hey, I like all things Firefly as much as the next spud, but the passions that have been unleashed here are beyond belief. It’s just a movie, people.
Ow, OW! Damn, where’d everyone get those bricks?
runs away
Actually, to expand on what WhyNot just said (I didn’t say I would stop reading this thread, only that I should), the suggestion that you would prefer that thousands of Firefly fans be disappointed by there never being any more Firefly movies or TV shows, just to spare you a wierd compulsion to go see movies you know you won’t like is… well, not entirely flattering to you, you know? I mean, you wishing this is obviously not going to have any effect on what actually happens, but it still comes across as petty and selfish.
On the other hand, I have frequently wished that there’d never been a sixth or seventh Buffy season, and I know there are some people out there who liked those two seasons, so maybe I shouldn’t talk.
Pointy stick, El_Kabong. El-Kabong, pointy stick.
poke
Kyla,
[spoiler]Like you, I’m not a big fan of either scenario, but I would’ve preferred Khan… although, with less dramatic screaming. And, quite possibly, I think I was mildly disappointed by the lack of Book’s backstory, and his short screen time. On top of all that, the forumlaic death severed my attention and made me realize I was watching a movie.
But really, it’s a small quibble. The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) being left alive at the end made up for it. Plus, the appearance of the Reaver ships as they break through the clouds? Worth a whole helluva lot of quibbles![/spoiler]
Pointy stick, hell!
Vera, air or no air.
OMG GOD that was so freaking cool!
We sang “The Hero of Canton” at our screening too. Well, we sort of did. It’s possible we aren’t the most musical of fandoms. Someone had even made up sheets of the lyrics to pass out! And our songleader was a guy in a most excellent Jayne outfit - camo pants, t-shirt, and a replica of the stupid yellow-and-orange hat.
Couple of things. I saw Serenity last night (Those of you at the SF screening-- did you see the group near the front of the line dressed up as the cast? That would be my unbelievably dorky friends and I). I’m also a writer. Of novels. My writing parter and I are currently plotting out a series. I’m also not a buffy fan and never drank the whedon cool-aid. I’m just a firefly fan, brought in by a friend who promised me upside down, backwards and sideways that I’d love it. That none of it would make me want to hurl objects at the TV.
Last night, I wanted to hurl something large and heavy at the screen.
[spoiler]I adored my safety net (as someone put it). It was one of my favorite things about Firefly. I felt jerked around, and it ruined the end of the movie for me.
Apparently River had some great line at the end before she goes out to face the reavers that i completely missed because my whole brain was going JESUS CHRIST IS HE KILLING THEM ALL? [/spoiler]
I left the theater angry and sad. My friends telling me: “This is just the way Joss does things,” only made me angrier. This is just his thing? His MO is just to jerk you around? To do this for shock value? I’m sorry, but I don’t worship at that altar. I had no intention of seeing it in September.
That was last night. Today, I’m sitting at work, and I’m still picking it apart in my head. I realized I have to stop thinking about it like episode 15. Once I started thinking about it like as a movie unto itself, my perception changed.
It wasn’t what I wanted, but had I not come in with that safety net, I would have assumed that someone was going to die. Someone always does (and, by the way, I always hate it. I especially hate it because it’s predictable. I have to give Serenity credit for no seeing it coming AT ALL)
The movie fantastic in every other way, and I’m sure I’ll be excited to see it in September. I don’t know how I’d recomend it to others. Certainly not with the excitement I recomend the DVDs. I’ve downgraded from angry to eye-rolling and peeved, and will approach the sequel with more caution.
I don’t think it’s possible for a writer to hate his/her characters. It’s a personality that comes to life that you created. I don’t know how to describe it properly, but no writer kills or maims a loved character without great consideration, and a percieved value and purpose to the death.
[spoiler]Joss felt the audience reaction-- shock, fear, suspense, whatever-- was worth it. Many of you feel the same way. To be honest, I simply don’t enjoy that level of emotional manipulation in my entertainment. As a storyteller, I appreciate the intent. But as a viewer it really made me feel bad.
Oddly enough, I read a theory somewhere that the cast size is too unweildy for a sucessful franchise of movies-- they needed to cull, for the greater good, and this is how that was worked into the story. For some reason, I was okay with that. Maybe because I felt there was a reason beyond the emotional manipulation of the audience.[/spoiler]
But I have to appreciate the fact that I am STILL thinking about this the next day, and that I can’t remember the last time I watched the entire conclusion of a movie with my mouth open.
Obsidian, if you want to know the line you missed (as opposed to just waiting 'till September, I think the one you’re referring to is:
River (to Simon, who had just been shot): You always take care of me. My turn.
Might be off by a word or two but that’s pretty close. It HAS been almost a month since I saw it
Kyla- your location says Chicago, but going by that description, I could swear you were at the showing I was at, in Portland. Did you guys sing Happy Birthday to a videocamera for Joss, as well? And have a cute girl stand up in front to tell everyone, as a public service, that if their cell phones weren’t turned off they’d go to a “Special Hell”?
CandidGamera- like everyone else is saying, that scene just flat-out worked. I was pretty pissed off, too, 'cause I’ve always liked that character… but the scene worked, and was necessary.
BLAM!!! ::: Moderator pounds desk to attract attention and to restate the obvious ::::
First, let’s be real clear: art/entertainment is largely a matter of taste. What one person thinks is deeply moving, another person thinks is a crude drawing of children with big eyes on black velvet. Many contemporary critics hated Beethoven’s Symphony 9. Opera causes my wife to wince in pain.
And, differently situated people react differently as well. A daughter with a father with Alzheimer’s has a different reaction to King Lear than does a grandfather who faces old age himself. So, it’s a matter of taste and personal situations.
There’s no call for personal insults directed against someone with different taste, different outlook, etc. Discuss the work, not the person.
Similarly, it gets pretty close to trolling when someone who has not experienced a work of art/entertainment posts provocative comments. When that happens, the proper recourse is to hit REPORT BAD POST and let the moderator know that you suspect trolling. Do NOT yourself call the person names. When you do that, you’re the one who gets wholloped.
So: NO NAME CALLING IN THIS FORUM. spectrum, you seem to have done that after my direct and implicit instruction to cease and desist. You may take this as a final warning.
Hey, I was at the Portland show, too! I was in a group of four, including the young man who stood up to lead the “Hero of Canton” semi-singalong. Who were you?
It is harsh. It’s also my honest, gut reaction. It’s not necessarily what I’d do if I were ruler of the universe, though. I’m not saying that, even had I the power, I’d work to prevent a Serenity sequel. I’m not about killing someone else’s buzz. I’m just saying that my emotional, base-level reaction is “I don’t like being forced to choose between getting the satisfaction of closure and getting to avoid seeing something that’s just going to make me angry.”
It seems even Dex somewhat agrees with that “haven’t even seen it” = “can’t have an opinion on it” idea, which I vehemently DISagree with. I think I’ve argued well for the negation of that notion. Maybe not.
And while I can’t bring myself to apologize for an honest gut feeling, I hope that my explanation above brings you peace of mind in some small measure, along with me saying : “I probably should have phrased it more eloquently.”
If that doesn’t provide salve to soothe your soul, then there’s not much I can do about it, and I’ll have to accept your dislike.
Miller already hates me, I’m not worried about him.
Yep, it does. Much more clearly (and I suspect accurately) phrased than earlier in the thread. I like it. We don’t have to agree on movies, but let’s not be nasty with each other. (And I direct that hope to all of us who got a bit snarky, even if we didn’t all fall into name-calling.) Friendses? 