Weekend Movie

If you need something to check out because you aren't doing anything tonight (no partying for you), I'm going to come out, say that I'm kind of a geek (why else would I have this blog thing), and suggest checking out Serenity.

Which, by the way, got an 80% at RottenTomatoes.

I have not seen the series, Firefly. It got good reviews, I remember, but was quickly dropped after some drama and studio this-and-that bullshit. Since seeing the film, I am definitely interested in the series, though I'm afraid it will be hit-and-miss like Buffy and Angel tend to be, though it seems more mature.

I saw Serenity for the first time last week at a free on-campus screening and, though the sound was about a millisecond off from the picture, found myself enjoying it much more than I expected. I like a good sci-fi/fantasy film, and had expressed interest in seeing Serenity when it came out but never got around to it, though I do remember the LATimes giving it a positive review. The film is described as a futuristic Western, which is fitting. It has "aimed at a specific audience" written all over it. I don't know if it's a cult movie in the making, but its appeal will definitely depend on taste.

It's a darker film than I expected. The setting is a planetary system dominated by the Alliance, which has roped in the outer planets under their government after putting down resistance. For the hordes of Firefly fans amongst my hordes of readers, let me know if I'm getting the details wrong. Actually, we'll just go straight to quoting Wikipedia:

All the planets are controlled by the supposedly peace-loving, but actually authoritarian, Alliance. But a frontier justice still holds sway farther from the "core planets", where outlaws like the crew of Serenity can scrape out a living if they keep clear of Alliance forces and the Reavers, savage and cannibalistic humans who dwell beyond the outer planets and raid the Alliance worlds around the rim.

Wikipedia sums up the movie as so:

Set 500 years in the future, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a transport and cargo ship. Their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who carries a dangerous secret.

An abstract that neglects to mention the scary cannibals and the whole government cover-up part, plus the fairly high body count.

So I enjoyed it and if you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, you may like it too. I'm suprised at the positive reviews it got not because I don't think it deserves them, but because I feel that movies like this aren't always taken seriously. It's a solid picture, has good dialogue, and keeps you involved for its entirety. I was worried that they were going to turn the character of River into some sort of Lara Croft-esque omg I can do anything I want thing (why should a piece of shit film like that do so well at the box office and not this film? Well, that brings in a whole other issue), but they steer clear of it and present, as Joss Whedon often does, a strong, developed cast of characters.

Ok, you can go back to watching your art house and foreign movies now. I'll probably be checking out Brick tonight. It had better be good. When you start drawing comparisons to Dashiell Hammett, you definitely get my attention.

Which reminds me-- I saw Serenity in the same room I saw 2046, a thoroughly exhausting film. I'd recommend it for its quality but not because it was enjoyable.

Pos Reviews:
"This material cobbles together elements of Westerns, space epics, new-age mysticism and even zombie-horror films. And it's to the credit of screenwriter/director Joss Whedon that it all feels cohesive, coherent and believable."
Neg Reviews:
"An amiable B-level spinoff of a cult sci-fi series whose reach clearly exceeds its grasp."