![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Still working through the spring anime this season. My list of shows to check out has gotten bigger as I've heard good things about some of the ones I'd dismissed, so I still have quite a backlog.
Here's the scorecard so far:
( Read more... )
Finished up the second book in this two-volume + short story collection. I hadn't been terribly impressed with the first book, God Stalk, as it was very (very very very) rushed and introduced about a million concepts that only got the thinnest sort of resolution or explanation.
Dark of the Moon was much better in this regard. The story starts shortly after the end of God Stalk, with Jame, a young woman from a not-exactly-elven race called the Kencyrath, travelling across inhospitable territory to reunite with her twin brother, Torisen, who has gained command of the entire Kencyrath people in the many years that they've been separated. Two stories run parallel to each other as Jame and Torisen move towards a fateful meeting, with Jame facing various challenges and pitfalls in her travels and Torisen maneuvering through the complicated and very hidebound heirarchy of Kencyrath politics.
The stories themselves were much better structured this time around, with a steadier pace and fewer plot threads competing for attention. The Torisen section of the storyline, in particular, intrigued me, as we got more detail on several aspects of Kencyrath civilization that were only vaguely mentioned in the first book. I thought the author did a pretty good job with the world-building here, as the civilization is one that I at first found quite unappealing and rather lame, but she managed to make it work for me by the end of the book. Jame's sections didn't fare so well, as I was kinda bored with her and her companions before even starting this volume and nothing really happened here to make me like her any more than I already did. We do get a much better fleshed out look at her backstory, but as with the first book, there just wasn't a lot for me to hang my interest on with her character.
That being said, the story does end on an interesting note, with Jame reunited with her brother but not really in the happy-happy-joy-joy environment that might have been hoped. We're left wondering how the very self-sufficient Jame will manage now that she's returned to a Kencyrath society that tends to lock women away for their own protection, and how Torisen, plagued by personal demons, will deal with the return of the black sheep of his family.
I see that there is at least one more book in this series, and I may pick it up someday, as the ending has intrigued me to some extent, but it's not high on my must-buy list.
( ...Listening To )
( ...Reading )
I gave in to my convention urges and signed up for AnimeUSA in November, and also sent in my usual Ohayocon registration. Yay! Oh, and if anyone's reading this in Northeast Ohio and interested in art, rpg's, or just genre-y stuff, check out Con on the Cob. I'll be helping out with the anime/movie room, and it should be a fun, laidback sort of weekend.
I've got a programmy sort of urge right now to create a cool little application that'll catalogue my anime stuff - everything from Totoro plushies to keychains to the more normal DVD and CD's. I'm going to try to get the hang of PHP for it...should be interesting. :)
I've wrapped up three books in relatively short order lately and thought I'd put down a few thoughts. I splurged on a few authors that I've been hoarding for a rainy day, then followed up with a quickie Andromeda tie-in novel.
Son of Avonar by Carol Berg
Carol Berg's Rai-Kirah series was one of my absolute favorites of the last couple years, so I've been pacing myself in getting around to her other books. I have one standalone and her whole next trilogy on my to-be-read shelf. I opted to save the standalone and get cracking on the trilogy for this read.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. The concept is good enough, but felt a bit recycled from the first series (damaged protagonist saddled with protecting an even more flawed charge on a quest related to forgotten and forbidden magical heritages). There's nothing wrong with using a similar theme more than once, of course (if there was, the fantasy genre wouldn't exist), but something just felt lacking this time around. There were lengthy flashbacks which, in retrospect, contain necessary info. about the main character and the people she knew before the beginning of the story, but at the time, they just hurt the flow of the present story for me and didn't help me really connect with the main character any more than I already had.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. I especially liked the device of having the main character dealing with a person that she can't communicate with for much of the book. I expected the dilemma to be resolved quickly, so it was a pleasant surprise that the characters had to deal with it for a large chunk of the book.
Which, oddly enough, brings me to the second of the two authors.
The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells
I first read Martha Wells at about the same time as Carol Berg, I love her work about the same, and I *also* have a standalone and a trilogy from her on my to-be-read shelf. (Actually book 3 of the trilogy is yet to be released). Again, I decided to get into the trilogy. And, oddly enough, this book ALSO features protagonists who can't understand each other's languages for much of the book. Funny. :)
Anyway, I think I enjoyed The Wizard Hunters a bit more. Wells is an author I count among a small group who work within a traditional fantasy structure, but branch out with regards to setting. The Wizard Hunters is set partially in a fantasy analogue of a World War II-era London, complete with dirigibles, pistols, Blitz-like bombing runs, etc. I really enjoy the opportunity to deal with characters who have a different frame of reference from the usual medieval take on the world, and this book is interesting because it actually mixes these more modern characters with a group of characters from a more traditional, non-industrial fantasy world, and the differences in viewpoints between the two worlds provides for some good conflict.
But I think the thing that really shines in the book is the characters. Wells works a lot more warmth and humor and general likeability into her characters than most fantasy authors I read these days. Characters who've grown up together have shared jokes and shared histories that add depth and realism to the relationships. Strangers who are thrust together get irritated or amused by the quirks of another civilization. It's the use of little emotions like that - irritation, mild amusement, etc. - that really give a sense of humanity to the characters. I love it. :)
Through the Looking Glass by Josepha Sherman
I've never been a tie-in reader. The inherent "nothing can change" credo of a tie-in book has always turned me off, since I felt like there couldn't be any serious depth to the story if I couldn't believe that the characters could change or grow or die or whatever. I was convinced otherwise with KRAD and Ethlie's books, and even Waystation's more typical adventure provided some good character work with Dylan discovering another dark secret from Commonwealth days, among other things. So, the verdict on this fourth Drom book?
Meh. It's a serviceable standalone episode of the series, I guess, but if this was the first Drom book I'd read, nothing here would've changed my mind about the relative worth of tie-in novels.
The Basic Gist: A space anomaly causes Dylan to get switched with a series of AU Dylan's. Weirdness ensues as Dylan experiences various versions of Andromeda and the real crew deals with various versions of Dylan.
The problem here is that the book doesn't really make much use out of the Drom universe. Dylan and Beka are in character enough, but the rest of the crew barely show up with more than exposition comments on either side of the spatial anomaly.
In addition, the alt-Andromeda's Dylan encounters are so generic that they could've been used in any captain-switching episode of any space series with only minor adjustments. Even the AU's set in dimensions where the Commonwealth never fell feel like generic, high concept AU universes...not something that came out of the actual history of the show. I'd have much rather the author take ONE serious AU and do a really good job exploring the differences and similarities in that one place rather than giving short shrift to a bunch of quickie versions. As it stands, the end result of the book for me is a big "So What?"
This is the second book in Erikson's "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series, and considered by many to be the best of the five published so far, according to some review browsing I've done on dejagoogle. I haven't read them all, of course, but I can readily believe that this one will be one of my faves, too.
It's definitely a few notches above "Gardens of the Moon". In Vol. 2, Erikson maintains the strengths from that first book: a dirty, gritty, real-feeling universe, complex political situations that stem from a deep, complicated backstory, and characters who deal with the world like real people...just getting by the best they can under impossible situations. But he also avoids some of the excesses of the previous volume. In Book 1, the reader was often left floundering with the sheer quantity of important characters and situations...and just when you'd gotten a grasp of one setting after 100 pages or so, the author picked you up and dropped you into an equally important situation that you had to learn all over again. It was pretty daunting. Book 2 still has a lot of characters and a lot of complexity, but the author wisely sticks with only a handful of main viewpoint characters, and moves around between them frequently enough that you never forget what was going on in any of the individual subplots.
And the subplots themselves are all much more clearly entwined among the main plot. The story tells of how each of our viewpoint characters ends up getting involved with an explosive desert rebellion. Not all of them are directly involved in the rebellion, but all of them wind up in the desert and having to deal with the situation in one way or another, with their actions often indirectly affecting other main characters along the way.
Overall, the book was a great read...one of the meatiest, most enjoyable "big fat fantasy" novels I've read in a long time.
It's definitely a few notches above "Gardens of the Moon". In Vol. 2, Erikson maintains the strengths from that first book: a dirty, gritty, real-feeling universe, complex political situations that stem from a deep, complicated backstory, and characters who deal with the world like real people...just getting by the best they can under impossible situations. But he also avoids some of the excesses of the previous volume. In Book 1, the reader was often left floundering with the sheer quantity of important characters and situations...and just when you'd gotten a grasp of one setting after 100 pages or so, the author picked you up and dropped you into an equally important situation that you had to learn all over again. It was pretty daunting. Book 2 still has a lot of characters and a lot of complexity, but the author wisely sticks with only a handful of main viewpoint characters, and moves around between them frequently enough that you never forget what was going on in any of the individual subplots.
And the subplots themselves are all much more clearly entwined among the main plot. The story tells of how each of our viewpoint characters ends up getting involved with an explosive desert rebellion. Not all of them are directly involved in the rebellion, but all of them wind up in the desert and having to deal with the situation in one way or another, with their actions often indirectly affecting other main characters along the way.
Overall, the book was a great read...one of the meatiest, most enjoyable "big fat fantasy" novels I've read in a long time.
Had another couple Greencine anime's come through, plus got myself caught up on a few DVD's I've had sitting around, so it's been quite an anime-fest in my house lately.
Voices of a Distant Star: Hmmmmm...I was talking about this one with Jon, and I like the analogy that came out of that. Voices is a bit like a poem. It's so short that, when I watched it from the viewpoint of longer works, I found it unsatisfying...too short and not enough meat to the story. But viewed on it's own terms - as a work that is SUPPOSED to be short and rely more on a single idea than any complicated plot - it is wonderful. It treads ground that's been done before, but in an entirely new perspective. Lovely.
Witch Hunter Robin: I'm bummed that this has started on Cartoon network, because I've had the first two DVD's for a while, and I coulda save myself the money if I'd paid more attention to scheduling. But oh well. I sat down and watched the first ten eps (of 26) in a big chunk. Quite a slow-starting series. By the end of ten eps, I gather the "real" story is only just starting to show itself. Until then, there's lots of episodic content that is enjoyable enough, but feels a little "so what"-ish. I do find that I REALLY care about the characters now, while at the 5-episode point I wasn't so sure, so I guess these starter-eps did their job. Also very curious about where things go from here. And I've added another "minor character I think rocks" to my ever-growing list. Absolutely adore Sakaki.
Full Metal Panic: I finally got a chance to start watching this, and I was happy to find out that it was worth all the praise I've seen heaped on it. My only familiarity with the story was a manga insert in Newtype or some other anime mag, and I hadn't been too thrilled by that. Seeing a larger chunk of the story, though, I'm loving it. The characters are so endearing, and there were a ton of laugh-out-loud moments that I wasn't expecting. Seen the first two volumes so far, and the rest are at the top of my Greencine rental queue. One of the first animes we've rented that Jon and I both love wholeheartedly.
Irresponsible Captain Tylor: An old favorite of mine that I rented to force myself to watch it again all the way through. The first DVD came around this week, with the first SEVEN (!!) episodes. It's not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as I remember it being, but it's still a classic, and a lot of fun.
Happy Lesson/Kino's Journey: Just had the first eps. of these on Newtype sampler discs. Happy Lesson was funnier than I expected, but very "been there, done that". If the women weren't such complete anime stereotypes, this one woulda had a chance with me. As it is, I'll probably pass. Kino's Journey seems intriguing. It reminds me a lot of a little OVA series I downloaded called "Quiet Country Cafe",,,very melancholy and laid back. A recent review at AoD, though, indicates that things get weirder. I'll probably keep watching.
Get Backers: My harddrive died recently, and I'm SO glad I finished watching the first season of this series before all of my dl'd eps went bye-bye. I had much of the second season already dl'd, too, but I think I'll hold off on re-getting them. There's a lot of fun to be had in the series, but it got a bit too repetetive for me at times, and the huge cast seems to exist entirely to provide lots of different combinations for the fight sequences. So, while I'd love to spend more time with the main characters, I'm not thrilled about the rest of the baggage that goes along with it.
Finally finished The Briar King. A very, very enjoyable book. I'm wishing I had put it a bit lower on my to-read list, now, because the next volume in the series isn't due out until late summer and I'm anxious to continue.
The setup of the series is a world where for many years humanity was enslaved by a race called the "Skasloi". With the help of powerful, apparently forbidden magics, humanity revolts against their masters and takes the world for its own, but not without a final warning from the Skasloi that there will be a price to pay for the power they've used. Several thousand years later, the story picks up with odd events stirring in the empire of Crotheny - political crises are brewing, a deadly monster out of myth is found in the king's forest, accompanied by horrible murders of a more man-made sort. It's clearer and clearer as the story moves on that the time for comeuppance is arriving, but memory of the threat has faded to the stuff of nursery rhymes and superstition. A mishmash of characters get caught up in events: the headstrong daughter of the king, a gruff holter in the king's forest, a novice monk, a young knight, a brash swordsman.
I've seen this book compared to George RR Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, and I guess the comparison is an apt one. Like GRRM, Keyes uses multiple viewpoint characters each with their own smaller drama to play out, practically untouched by other characters, but each piece forming an important part of the whole. Like GRRM, Keyes isn't afraid to shake things up. By the end of this first novel, the landscape of the series looks much different than it did at the beginning, leaving me eager to find out where he could go from here. I think the comparisons, overall, are fair and favorable. For differences, "The Briar King" has (so far) a somewhat smaller stage than ASOIAF, with fewer important named characters to keep track of and moderately less complexity to the political intrigue side...but it also makes rich use of more elements of magic and myth, with the political climate more of a side-story.
Anyway, the very biggest thing I took away from Keyes' previous fantasy was a deep admiration for his use of language, and it's readily evident in this series, too. I can't explain it very well. It's nothing too over-the-top or verbose or flowery - he just really has a knack for picking words that evoke strong, concrete imagery without feeling like he resorted to a thesaurus to do it. Precise, straightforward, and perfect. Even the invented words - which are frequent, and would normally annoy the heck of me - work perfectly in the context of the story. Close enough to real-world languages, but far enough away to set this pseudo-medieval fantasy world apart from other, more mundane examples of the type.
Highly recommended.
Saw the movie with my mom and dad tonight. I knew I was in trouble when my dad leaned over and asked what the "bowling ball" was when Pippin finds the palantir. My mom kept making "WTF?!?" noises during the early scenes with Faramir in Osgiliath. She saw TTT just recently, extended edition and everything, but she didn't seem to understand what/where Osgiliath was and why they kept cutting to it. It's really been kinda depressing having these movies be big enough for them to want to see. Here's something that is *SO* important to me and *SO* iconic of one of my major loves in life (fantasy lit) and although they put forth the effort to see it, there's still no common ground, nothing I can share with them and make them "get it." Mom's first words as the credits rolled: "That last twenty minutes was such a waste." I almost cried.
It was interesting, though, in hearing their reactions as people who didn't know how it all turned out. My mom started to get angry during Gandalf's death-speech, thinking it meant that Pippin was going to die, and overall they were a little more tense about their fave characters' fates...so that was kinda cool. I just wish their favorites were based on a better understanding of the characters and their world instead of a kneejerk reaction to the funny bits. :(
At least that's done with, and I got one more viewing in for the movie's first week. I didn't think I would be able to go see it again until after the holiday, and I came out of the theater as eager to see it again as I've ever been, so it can't be a total downer of an evening. :)
It was interesting, though, in hearing their reactions as people who didn't know how it all turned out. My mom started to get angry during Gandalf's death-speech, thinking it meant that Pippin was going to die, and overall they were a little more tense about their fave characters' fates...so that was kinda cool. I just wish their favorites were based on a better understanding of the characters and their world instead of a kneejerk reaction to the funny bits. :(
At least that's done with, and I got one more viewing in for the movie's first week. I didn't think I would be able to go see it again until after the holiday, and I came out of the theater as eager to see it again as I've ever been, so it can't be a total downer of an evening. :)
In between Lord of the Rings viewing and Christmas preparations, I've had to squeeze in some anime viewing to keep up with my Greencine account. :) Mini-Reviews:
Descendants of Darkness, Vol. 2 - I really liked the first volume of this series. The relationship between the two main leads was wonderful, high bishonen content, nice angst. The series also has a handy structure - it's made up of three-episode mini-arcs, so each volume tells a complete three-episode story. Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with the story of Volume 2. Almost the entire first episode was spent giving us background on the victim for this arc with almost no contact with our two main heroes. Once our heroes did connect, the plot they were involved with was a bit too circuitous for my tastes. The relationships are still fun, and I still want to see more of the series, but this particular volume didn't ring my bell.
Fruits Basket, Vol. 2 - This volume 2, on the other hand, carries on with the same strengths as the first volume. Fruits Basket is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine. The variety of characters is such that there's a little something for everyone. The two best friends of Tohru (the main character) are delightfully dry-witted, and the whole Sohma family is hilariously dysfunctional. A couple eps in this set of SIX (!!!) were a little slow, focusing on secondary Sohma's that are only tangentially related to the main story, but they each had their moments. Still, I think the story is at its best when it deals with Tohru's situation with the main three Sohma's and her two best friends. Next convention I go to, my first purchase is going to be a soundtrack from this series. Love both the opening & ending themes and even a lot of the incidental music.
Perfect Blue - Not sure what to think about this one. I can see why it's so well-thought of, and it was a very interesting movie. I'm not much of a fan of movies that play head-games though, so the story structure soured me a little. I was VERY glad that the story didn't end on an open-ended shocker ending as I was beginning to expect.
Descendants of Darkness, Vol. 2 - I really liked the first volume of this series. The relationship between the two main leads was wonderful, high bishonen content, nice angst. The series also has a handy structure - it's made up of three-episode mini-arcs, so each volume tells a complete three-episode story. Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with the story of Volume 2. Almost the entire first episode was spent giving us background on the victim for this arc with almost no contact with our two main heroes. Once our heroes did connect, the plot they were involved with was a bit too circuitous for my tastes. The relationships are still fun, and I still want to see more of the series, but this particular volume didn't ring my bell.
Fruits Basket, Vol. 2 - This volume 2, on the other hand, carries on with the same strengths as the first volume. Fruits Basket is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine. The variety of characters is such that there's a little something for everyone. The two best friends of Tohru (the main character) are delightfully dry-witted, and the whole Sohma family is hilariously dysfunctional. A couple eps in this set of SIX (!!!) were a little slow, focusing on secondary Sohma's that are only tangentially related to the main story, but they each had their moments. Still, I think the story is at its best when it deals with Tohru's situation with the main three Sohma's and her two best friends. Next convention I go to, my first purchase is going to be a soundtrack from this series. Love both the opening & ending themes and even a lot of the incidental music.
Perfect Blue - Not sure what to think about this one. I can see why it's so well-thought of, and it was a very interesting movie. I'm not much of a fan of movies that play head-games though, so the story structure soured me a little. I was VERY glad that the story didn't end on an open-ended shocker ending as I was beginning to expect.
Okey-dokey. Second viewing, slightly different perspective coming out of it. I sat quite far back in the theater this time, as it seems necessary with these movies if you don't want periodic waves of "Whoa! Too much going on! My eyes!" I cried a lot more this time, and was much more involved in the action. Not sure if it was the seating arrangements, knowing what was coming next, or just my mood. Who cares. I just know I need to see it a few dozen more times.
First, the things I liked first time through: Eowyn & Theoden still rock my world. In just three scenes together, they capture so much affection and familial love. I really like how Eowyn's desire for battle is never mentioned around Theoden or Eomer. It's clear in their attitudes (especially the conversation where Theoden tells her she's to rule Rohan in his stead) that the men are aware of her desire and have probably been over it before, but Eowyn has clearly lost that fight many times before (last time on the road to Helm's Deep), so she doesn't even bother to try. Theoden's death may be my favorite scene in the whole movie.
Pippin & Gandalf stuff still rocks. I was even more awed by Billy Boyd this time through. Even with the maturation that Pippin goes through in this movie, his childlike quality still shines through, especially in that conversation with Gandalf about death.
Cried a lot more over the Frodo/Sam stuff than I did the first time. I think the first time through I was spending too much time psychoanalyzing the situation. This time, the emotions were able to kick me in the gut. I still don't think Sean Astin or any of the other actors will get any Oscar noms (and the Golden Globe noms seem to support this)...the ensemble-ness and uniform greatness of the cast will work against them. How do you single out just one performance, when such a comparatively small amount of screen-time is given to everyone? It sucks, but I gave up many years ago on hoping that the "mainstream" would ever grant TRULY equal respect to the fantasy genre.
Re-examing the "Minuses":
Merry still needs more screen-time. I'd like at least a scene in Edoras after Pippin leaves. We don't really get a feel for how Merry copes with being left alone, but it clearly affects him, by his line to Pippin after Pelennor Fields. Something showing Eowyn first taking him under her wing would definitely be in order. The Faramir/Denethor stuff is also blatantly missing some important scenes.
Aragorn: I didn't mention this last time, but Viggo rocks my world. If there's a movie coolness scale, Viggo is like...Indiana Jones cool. He inhabits the character so completely, he IS the king. We do get more focus on Aragorn as a person this time around, and he gives us some lovely little moments that aren't really easy to describe but really round out the character: a little smile here, a hesitation there. Words can't describe how much I enjoyed just watching him move around on screen. HOWEVER, I still think his role in the movie is missing something. My main gripe is that the army of the dead arrives so late in the battle. By the time they arrive, the Rohirrim have already taken out many oliphaunts, the Witch King is dead. The day may not be won, but there have been some small victories. And then, Aragorn arrives and the camera zooms out and we get a wide shot of the dead basically sweeping up the rest of the enemies. To have the thing won so easily in the end sort of cheapens the sacrifices and efforts made by the Rohirrim and Gondorians, to me. I think I'd be happier if there'd been some greater cost to obtaining the army. It'd improve Aragorn's position in the movie by having him face some struggle to achieve his ends, and it'd make the army saving the day seem like less of a cop out.
To sum up: Loved the movie, but I want MORE MORE MORE of some areas. Actually, while I'm asking, heck, gimme MORE MORE MORE of everything! Here's hoping the extended edition really is more than an hour longer. I'll eat up every second of it.
First, the things I liked first time through: Eowyn & Theoden still rock my world. In just three scenes together, they capture so much affection and familial love. I really like how Eowyn's desire for battle is never mentioned around Theoden or Eomer. It's clear in their attitudes (especially the conversation where Theoden tells her she's to rule Rohan in his stead) that the men are aware of her desire and have probably been over it before, but Eowyn has clearly lost that fight many times before (last time on the road to Helm's Deep), so she doesn't even bother to try. Theoden's death may be my favorite scene in the whole movie.
Pippin & Gandalf stuff still rocks. I was even more awed by Billy Boyd this time through. Even with the maturation that Pippin goes through in this movie, his childlike quality still shines through, especially in that conversation with Gandalf about death.
Cried a lot more over the Frodo/Sam stuff than I did the first time. I think the first time through I was spending too much time psychoanalyzing the situation. This time, the emotions were able to kick me in the gut. I still don't think Sean Astin or any of the other actors will get any Oscar noms (and the Golden Globe noms seem to support this)...the ensemble-ness and uniform greatness of the cast will work against them. How do you single out just one performance, when such a comparatively small amount of screen-time is given to everyone? It sucks, but I gave up many years ago on hoping that the "mainstream" would ever grant TRULY equal respect to the fantasy genre.
Re-examing the "Minuses":
Merry still needs more screen-time. I'd like at least a scene in Edoras after Pippin leaves. We don't really get a feel for how Merry copes with being left alone, but it clearly affects him, by his line to Pippin after Pelennor Fields. Something showing Eowyn first taking him under her wing would definitely be in order. The Faramir/Denethor stuff is also blatantly missing some important scenes.
Aragorn: I didn't mention this last time, but Viggo rocks my world. If there's a movie coolness scale, Viggo is like...Indiana Jones cool. He inhabits the character so completely, he IS the king. We do get more focus on Aragorn as a person this time around, and he gives us some lovely little moments that aren't really easy to describe but really round out the character: a little smile here, a hesitation there. Words can't describe how much I enjoyed just watching him move around on screen. HOWEVER, I still think his role in the movie is missing something. My main gripe is that the army of the dead arrives so late in the battle. By the time they arrive, the Rohirrim have already taken out many oliphaunts, the Witch King is dead. The day may not be won, but there have been some small victories. And then, Aragorn arrives and the camera zooms out and we get a wide shot of the dead basically sweeping up the rest of the enemies. To have the thing won so easily in the end sort of cheapens the sacrifices and efforts made by the Rohirrim and Gondorians, to me. I think I'd be happier if there'd been some greater cost to obtaining the army. It'd improve Aragorn's position in the movie by having him face some struggle to achieve his ends, and it'd make the army saving the day seem like less of a cop out.
To sum up: Loved the movie, but I want MORE MORE MORE of some areas. Actually, while I'm asking, heck, gimme MORE MORE MORE of everything! Here's hoping the extended edition really is more than an hour longer. I'll eat up every second of it.
Well. It's Wednesday Morning 2:30 AM (Close to being a Simon & Garfunkle song, but no cigar). I've been up since 6:30 AM Tuesday. I need to be up again in three and a half hours, but I want to get this down, so sleep will have to wait.
Arrived at the theater for Trilogy Tuesday at 9:00 AM. Waited in line until roughly noon, managed pretty good seats for my people, and then sat back and enjoyed the ride...with a couple mini-meals in between. I'm now home and have a lovely collectable film-strip frame to prove I was there. :)
Background, first: I never fully read the LOTR books before the movies. I had tried to read them when I was quite young, got through most of Fellowship, the first half of Two Towers, then skimmed the rest. Going into the first movie two years ago, I had a few very specific memories and several more vague ones. Since then, I've opted to wait before rereading the books until after the related movie, so with regards to ROTK, I'm in no position to judge Peter Jackson's faithfulness to the books. I may have liked some scene that's a complete bastardization of a well-loved character for all I know. :)
Anyway, things that are stuck in my mind right now:
Fellowship: Wow, it's great to see Boromir again. I haven't rewatched FOTR in a long time, and I'd forgotten just how many moments there were where Sean Bean just kicks my ass with how much I adore him. "Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king." "There is an evil there that does not sleep." "They have a cave troll." I especially love how my understanding of the character was informed by having seen the big Extended TTT Boromir/Faramir/Denethor scene. I heart FOTR muchly...I could probably watch it 100 times in a row and still enjoy most of the scenes, so this film went pretty quickly for me. Before I knew it, we were bidding adieu to Boromir and splitting up the Fellowship all over again. :(
TTT: After a free lunch (followed by a paid-for lunch because the free one was good for about three bites) we settled back in for TTT. I was a bit worried about this one. The first time I watched TTT extended, I fell asleep for a while around the Arwen flashback stuff. Because of that, and because I'd seen it more recently, and because the day was wearing on, I was afraid TTT wouldn't keep my interest. Didn't happen at all. I DID start to feel the length by the time they got to Helm's Deep, but I never felt eager for the end of the movie. (Well, a few times when it occurred to me that when that one was over it would be time for ROTK...but that wasn't TTT's fault. :) ) Despite Peter Jackson's commentary track about pacing differently for theater vs. DVD, I think the extended version worked quite well in the theater.
ROTK: Well...that was emotionally draining. I'll just do a Pluses/Minuses list.
Pluses:
- Frodo & Sam - per my note above about not having done more than skim the books, most of their emotional journey came as a complete surprise. I knew about the basic plot points (Shelob, Gollum, Mt. Doom, the Grey Havens, etc.) but not the ups-and-downs of their relationship between those points. Great stuff and the actors are wonderful, of course. Although I'm not sure there's enough of it in the movie to net Sean Astin an Oscar nom as some have wished.
- Pippin & Gandalf - Going into the movies 2 years ago, there was only one character I remembered clearly - Pippin. So, to make me happy, the series just had to "do" Pippin right. I was pleased with the character in FOTR, lukewarm in TTT (Pip & Merry don't really do much in this one, despite a fair amount of screentime in the extended). ROTK was important in my overall goal of good Pippin stuff, and it succeeded richly. I'm a happy camper.
- Eowyn & Theoden - This relationship pops to mind as the next one that really is well realized. The people I was with spent a lot of time during the TTT viewing making fun of Eowyn's being moony-eyed over Aragorn in every scene. She does a fair bit of that early on here, but Eowyn's story gets much stronger once Aragorn isn't in the picture anymore and her focus shifts to the upcoming battle and Theoden's expectations of her.
- Closing the Circle - I loved that this movie made liberal use of references to the previous films. Really obvious things like small flashbacks to Lothlorien or Boromir's death, to smaller things like Theoden echoing his "I know you" from TTT to Eowyn. I especially liked that there were several shots in the final battle that were visually similar to the prologue of FOTR...a shot of Legolas with his hair blowing like that blond elf some people thought WAS Legolas and Aragorn looking very much like Isildur in a few spots. Especially in the marathon setting, these sorts of tie-backs to past events really completed the sense of closure.
Minuses:
Merry - Way too little screentime! I liked what little we see of his relationship with Eowyn, but I want more in the extended ROTK!
Faramir/Denethor - Felt like they were relying a lot on the relationship as revealed in the big Extended TTT scene to explain the father/son relationship here. Even knowing that stuff, their situation felt quite rushed. When Gandalf tells Faramir that his father will realize how much he loves him before the end, and when Denethor finally does have his eleventh-hour change of heart, I didn't buy any of it because Denethor was such an unrelenting bastard the rest of the time. Again, hoping to see more in the extended release. (Rumors were already circulating during the day that the extended ROTK would have at least an hour of added stuff.)
Aragorn - I was surprised how little active role he played in regaining his own kingship. I adore him. He rocks. But it seemed like Viggo had less useful screen-time here than in TTT.
Pacing - Not a negative exactly, but I'm sure I'll find some pacing issues on later viewings. Any movie with this many threads will always have some periods where you think they haven't gotten back to Plot C yet, or should spend less time on Plot A, etc.
I'll stop there. That's all the bases I wanted to hit. Not particularly well-organized, but oh well. Definitely a day to remember.
Arrived at the theater for Trilogy Tuesday at 9:00 AM. Waited in line until roughly noon, managed pretty good seats for my people, and then sat back and enjoyed the ride...with a couple mini-meals in between. I'm now home and have a lovely collectable film-strip frame to prove I was there. :)
Background, first: I never fully read the LOTR books before the movies. I had tried to read them when I was quite young, got through most of Fellowship, the first half of Two Towers, then skimmed the rest. Going into the first movie two years ago, I had a few very specific memories and several more vague ones. Since then, I've opted to wait before rereading the books until after the related movie, so with regards to ROTK, I'm in no position to judge Peter Jackson's faithfulness to the books. I may have liked some scene that's a complete bastardization of a well-loved character for all I know. :)
Anyway, things that are stuck in my mind right now:
Fellowship: Wow, it's great to see Boromir again. I haven't rewatched FOTR in a long time, and I'd forgotten just how many moments there were where Sean Bean just kicks my ass with how much I adore him. "Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king." "There is an evil there that does not sleep." "They have a cave troll." I especially love how my understanding of the character was informed by having seen the big Extended TTT Boromir/Faramir/Denethor scene. I heart FOTR muchly...I could probably watch it 100 times in a row and still enjoy most of the scenes, so this film went pretty quickly for me. Before I knew it, we were bidding adieu to Boromir and splitting up the Fellowship all over again. :(
TTT: After a free lunch (followed by a paid-for lunch because the free one was good for about three bites) we settled back in for TTT. I was a bit worried about this one. The first time I watched TTT extended, I fell asleep for a while around the Arwen flashback stuff. Because of that, and because I'd seen it more recently, and because the day was wearing on, I was afraid TTT wouldn't keep my interest. Didn't happen at all. I DID start to feel the length by the time they got to Helm's Deep, but I never felt eager for the end of the movie. (Well, a few times when it occurred to me that when that one was over it would be time for ROTK...but that wasn't TTT's fault. :) ) Despite Peter Jackson's commentary track about pacing differently for theater vs. DVD, I think the extended version worked quite well in the theater.
ROTK: Well...that was emotionally draining. I'll just do a Pluses/Minuses list.
Pluses:
- Frodo & Sam - per my note above about not having done more than skim the books, most of their emotional journey came as a complete surprise. I knew about the basic plot points (Shelob, Gollum, Mt. Doom, the Grey Havens, etc.) but not the ups-and-downs of their relationship between those points. Great stuff and the actors are wonderful, of course. Although I'm not sure there's enough of it in the movie to net Sean Astin an Oscar nom as some have wished.
- Pippin & Gandalf - Going into the movies 2 years ago, there was only one character I remembered clearly - Pippin. So, to make me happy, the series just had to "do" Pippin right. I was pleased with the character in FOTR, lukewarm in TTT (Pip & Merry don't really do much in this one, despite a fair amount of screentime in the extended). ROTK was important in my overall goal of good Pippin stuff, and it succeeded richly. I'm a happy camper.
- Eowyn & Theoden - This relationship pops to mind as the next one that really is well realized. The people I was with spent a lot of time during the TTT viewing making fun of Eowyn's being moony-eyed over Aragorn in every scene. She does a fair bit of that early on here, but Eowyn's story gets much stronger once Aragorn isn't in the picture anymore and her focus shifts to the upcoming battle and Theoden's expectations of her.
- Closing the Circle - I loved that this movie made liberal use of references to the previous films. Really obvious things like small flashbacks to Lothlorien or Boromir's death, to smaller things like Theoden echoing his "I know you" from TTT to Eowyn. I especially liked that there were several shots in the final battle that were visually similar to the prologue of FOTR...a shot of Legolas with his hair blowing like that blond elf some people thought WAS Legolas and Aragorn looking very much like Isildur in a few spots. Especially in the marathon setting, these sorts of tie-backs to past events really completed the sense of closure.
Minuses:
Merry - Way too little screentime! I liked what little we see of his relationship with Eowyn, but I want more in the extended ROTK!
Faramir/Denethor - Felt like they were relying a lot on the relationship as revealed in the big Extended TTT scene to explain the father/son relationship here. Even knowing that stuff, their situation felt quite rushed. When Gandalf tells Faramir that his father will realize how much he loves him before the end, and when Denethor finally does have his eleventh-hour change of heart, I didn't buy any of it because Denethor was such an unrelenting bastard the rest of the time. Again, hoping to see more in the extended release. (Rumors were already circulating during the day that the extended ROTK would have at least an hour of added stuff.)
Aragorn - I was surprised how little active role he played in regaining his own kingship. I adore him. He rocks. But it seemed like Viggo had less useful screen-time here than in TTT.
Pacing - Not a negative exactly, but I'm sure I'll find some pacing issues on later viewings. Any movie with this many threads will always have some periods where you think they haven't gotten back to Plot C yet, or should spend less time on Plot A, etc.
I'll stop there. That's all the bases I wanted to hit. Not particularly well-organized, but oh well. Definitely a day to remember.
Just finished watching the anime series Scrapped Princess. This is one that's going to stick with me for quite a while. There were a lot of things to love about it.
The characters were some of my favorites in an anime ever, I think. There were a lot of them, but each was so well-realized that you didn't mind jumping between their various stories in later episodes. Looking back at the beginning of the series, it's fascinating how simple it seemed at the beginning.
The basic plot is the story of Pacifica, a fifteen-year-old girl who is on the run with her adopted brother and sister, Shannon and Raquelle. Pacifica was born under a prophecy that she is the "poison that will destroy the world" on her sixteenth birthday. She manages to live a fairly happy life, but as the crucial birthday approaches, she's hunted down and Shannon and Raquelle try to flee with her to a place where she will be safe. This initial storyline evolves into a lot deeper plot as the siblings' fortunes change, the truth about Pacifica's role as "Scrapped Princess" is revealed, and secondary characters shift allegiances or reveal more of their motivations. But the story never loses its strong heart - the relationship between Pacifica, Shannon, and Raquelle.
Short takes:
The characters were some of my favorites in an anime ever, I think. There were a lot of them, but each was so well-realized that you didn't mind jumping between their various stories in later episodes. Looking back at the beginning of the series, it's fascinating how simple it seemed at the beginning.
The basic plot is the story of Pacifica, a fifteen-year-old girl who is on the run with her adopted brother and sister, Shannon and Raquelle. Pacifica was born under a prophecy that she is the "poison that will destroy the world" on her sixteenth birthday. She manages to live a fairly happy life, but as the crucial birthday approaches, she's hunted down and Shannon and Raquelle try to flee with her to a place where she will be safe. This initial storyline evolves into a lot deeper plot as the siblings' fortunes change, the truth about Pacifica's role as "Scrapped Princess" is revealed, and secondary characters shift allegiances or reveal more of their motivations. But the story never loses its strong heart - the relationship between Pacifica, Shannon, and Raquelle.
Short takes:
- I want a stuffed Suupi-kun! Kawaii!
- Most of the guys in this one are extremely hot. Shannon and his sort of stand-in, Fulle, are especially swoon-worthy
- Pacifica is, at times, a little too dense to be believed, but I guess that's her particular charm. Love her bath-obsession, though.
- I think Raquelle is my fave character - Of the three central characters, she has the least to do, but she really made an impact. She's so outwardly calm for most of the series, but you could still read her emotional state easily. Some good voice acting and animation there.
- I figured it was coming, but the events of the penultimate episode still had me completely shell-shocked. Quite a punch.