DVD Logging
Aug. 13th, 2009 02:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckAlice in Wonderland (1999) - I always forget just how bizarre versions of Alice can be. Cordelia, once she concluded that this was Alice's dream, was okay with most of the goings on. She was confused, I think. The transitions aren't sensible or linear, and she definitely missed a lot of the jokes. We ended up stopping during the trial of the Knave of Hearts because the weirdness got too scary for her. I'm not sufficiently motivated to go back and finish the DVD. The acting was good, but nothing caught my attention and urged me to keep watching.
Bedtime Stories - Cordelia watched this through about five times while we had it out from Netflix. She was heartbroken (for all of about ten minutes) when we sent it back.
For me, the movie was okay in parts and cringe inducing in others. There was too much embarrassment humor. The ways in which the stories came true had some amusement value, but I wanted to smack the main character at multiple points during the film.
I also thought the guinea pig was kind of repulsive.
Blood Ties episode 1 - I gave this a chance even though it combines two things I don't often enjoy-- detectives and vampires. It might, after all, be the exception, and I did enjoy the first book or two in the series. I don't dislike all detective stories or all vampire stories. That's just the way to bet for me.
In this case, I could tell pretty quickly that I wasn't going to enjoy the episode. Crowded bars scenes, lots of darkened sets-- just no. I also found the bits I saw of Henry (that is his name, right? That's the name I remember from the book) singularly unappealing.
Quite possibly good, but so much not for me (or for Scott) that we didn't even finish one episode.
Handsome Sibling 6-10 - Little Fish is not a convincing cross dresser. (I'm reserving judgment on the actor's abilities in that direction since I had the impression that he wasn't trying to be fully convincing.) I also found the cross dressing plot line kind of unnecessary. There were other ways for him to get to where he wanted to be, I think. Of course that plot leads to the return of one of Little Fish's teachers, and that pleased me a great deal. She's crazy, but that's potentially fun.
Flawless Flower was sporadically present in these episodes. I still find his past intriguing, but I'm bored with his romantic story line. I'd like to see more of his relationship with Lady Sun and Lady Moon and how they raised him.
I rather liked the addition of Yuyan to the story. She has no really good options open to her and makes realistic choices. It's not her fault that she's stuck in a story (where unrealistic choices are the right ones) rather than real life. She has no money and no skills. Her family won't acknowledge her and only takes her in as a menial servant. All she's got is beauty. I'm not optimistic about her eventual fate, but I'll keep hoping.
Hogfather - I'm very glad I didn't show this to Cordelia. I think she'd have found it very scary and very dull. I can't say that I loved it, but I did laugh a few times, and I never wanted to give up on watching it. I'd been warned that my lack of general knowledge of the setting might be a problem, but I knew enough to get most of the jokes. Scott wasn't as lucky.
Kim Possible: The Secret Files - Silly but fun. I tried this because Netflix seems to start with season 2 and then have a bunch of these little collections (which could be from any season). I'll probably just try starting with season 2. I don't have the impression that there's a story arc I'll miss by doing that. Am I wrong? I'm looking forward to watching Kim juggle high school and fighting supervillains.
Kyo Kara Maoh 63-66 - I don't really have anything to say about this that I haven't said before. It's still pretty ridiculous.
Moribito 1-8 - I like the idea of a warrior woman protecting lives in order to atone for her past, so I like Balsa. I'm less taken with the young prince, but I don't dislike him. He just hasn't really developed as a character yet. I'm very curious about how the problem of the drought that's expected from the spirit growing inside the prince will be resolved. It's a drought that will kill people, so I have some sympathy with those who want to kill him in order to stop it. I just suspect that the whole thing is more complicated than that. I suppose I'll find out.
Patriotic Knights 9-23 - I would like the princess of the beggar gang to start acting like a grown up. Based entirely on her behavior, I'd put her age at about thirteen. I have the impression that she's supposed to be older than that by several years. I also would like to have characters share information a little more often. In some cases, the fact that they don't makes sense, but in others, it seems to be a way of drawing out the story so that it doesn't end too soon. That aspect reminds me of a Shakespearean comedy.
Those complaints aside, I'm having fun. The hero (whose name I've forgotten) treats a lot of things as a joke, but he still seems to know when to take things seriously. I just wish someone would tell him why he needs to find the Book of Poison. He already missed one chance at it simply because nobody told him that, without it, his father will die.
Primeval 1-6 - We like this. I recommend it to those who like SF shows and/or dinosaurs. Scott keeps commenting on the fact that they try not to kill the invading animals. I'm more fascinated by the time travel and character interactions. I'm impressed by the interactions shown between Nick and Helen (I think I have the names right). I like the fact that he wants nothing to do with her when she tries to draw him back into an intimate physical relationship and to entangle him in emotions but will defend her vehemently to other people when she's not around. She comes across as self-absorbed and poisonous with glimmers of better qualities.
Prince Caspian - Dull, dull, dull with a side order of tedium. I was ready to stop watching halfway through, but Scott seemed interested even though he'd already seen it once, so we soldiered on. I understand the dramatic reasons for the changes made to the story, but I thought they didn't quite work. I'm not sure what would have worked, though.
I understand the dramatic reasons for aging Caspian, but they rather undercut parts of the story that depend on him being politically naive. Given his apparent age, I couldn't believe that he didn't have an escape plan in place from shortly after his aunt's pregnancy became common knowledge.
Psych season 1 DVD 2 - I can only handle this series in small doses due to embarrassment humor. I also wish that, once or twice, there'd be an attractive woman who didn't turn out to be a thief, murderer, etc. Getting rid of them that way makes the formula easier.
I do like Gus. I think the protagonist (whose name I've forgotten) is a scary conman. I'm not sure I really understand why anybody cares whether he's a brilliant detective or a psychic. They obviously do, and a lot of humor comes from him trying to maintain the charade, but.... Maybe it's because being a detective requires him breaking a lot of rules and getting his hands on evidence he's not supposed to see?
Sapphire and Steel adventure 1 - Scott found this tedious. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to incorporate the characters into a game. The sets created a feeling of claustrophobia that served the atmosphere of the story (even as we mocked the evil spotlights moving across the floor). Time as a monster is scary as time is something we can't go on without. I'll probably get the rest from Netflix eventually.
Bedtime Stories - Cordelia watched this through about five times while we had it out from Netflix. She was heartbroken (for all of about ten minutes) when we sent it back.
For me, the movie was okay in parts and cringe inducing in others. There was too much embarrassment humor. The ways in which the stories came true had some amusement value, but I wanted to smack the main character at multiple points during the film.
I also thought the guinea pig was kind of repulsive.
Blood Ties episode 1 - I gave this a chance even though it combines two things I don't often enjoy-- detectives and vampires. It might, after all, be the exception, and I did enjoy the first book or two in the series. I don't dislike all detective stories or all vampire stories. That's just the way to bet for me.
In this case, I could tell pretty quickly that I wasn't going to enjoy the episode. Crowded bars scenes, lots of darkened sets-- just no. I also found the bits I saw of Henry (that is his name, right? That's the name I remember from the book) singularly unappealing.
Quite possibly good, but so much not for me (or for Scott) that we didn't even finish one episode.
Handsome Sibling 6-10 - Little Fish is not a convincing cross dresser. (I'm reserving judgment on the actor's abilities in that direction since I had the impression that he wasn't trying to be fully convincing.) I also found the cross dressing plot line kind of unnecessary. There were other ways for him to get to where he wanted to be, I think. Of course that plot leads to the return of one of Little Fish's teachers, and that pleased me a great deal. She's crazy, but that's potentially fun.
Flawless Flower was sporadically present in these episodes. I still find his past intriguing, but I'm bored with his romantic story line. I'd like to see more of his relationship with Lady Sun and Lady Moon and how they raised him.
I rather liked the addition of Yuyan to the story. She has no really good options open to her and makes realistic choices. It's not her fault that she's stuck in a story (where unrealistic choices are the right ones) rather than real life. She has no money and no skills. Her family won't acknowledge her and only takes her in as a menial servant. All she's got is beauty. I'm not optimistic about her eventual fate, but I'll keep hoping.
Hogfather - I'm very glad I didn't show this to Cordelia. I think she'd have found it very scary and very dull. I can't say that I loved it, but I did laugh a few times, and I never wanted to give up on watching it. I'd been warned that my lack of general knowledge of the setting might be a problem, but I knew enough to get most of the jokes. Scott wasn't as lucky.
Kim Possible: The Secret Files - Silly but fun. I tried this because Netflix seems to start with season 2 and then have a bunch of these little collections (which could be from any season). I'll probably just try starting with season 2. I don't have the impression that there's a story arc I'll miss by doing that. Am I wrong? I'm looking forward to watching Kim juggle high school and fighting supervillains.
Kyo Kara Maoh 63-66 - I don't really have anything to say about this that I haven't said before. It's still pretty ridiculous.
Moribito 1-8 - I like the idea of a warrior woman protecting lives in order to atone for her past, so I like Balsa. I'm less taken with the young prince, but I don't dislike him. He just hasn't really developed as a character yet. I'm very curious about how the problem of the drought that's expected from the spirit growing inside the prince will be resolved. It's a drought that will kill people, so I have some sympathy with those who want to kill him in order to stop it. I just suspect that the whole thing is more complicated than that. I suppose I'll find out.
Patriotic Knights 9-23 - I would like the princess of the beggar gang to start acting like a grown up. Based entirely on her behavior, I'd put her age at about thirteen. I have the impression that she's supposed to be older than that by several years. I also would like to have characters share information a little more often. In some cases, the fact that they don't makes sense, but in others, it seems to be a way of drawing out the story so that it doesn't end too soon. That aspect reminds me of a Shakespearean comedy.
Those complaints aside, I'm having fun. The hero (whose name I've forgotten) treats a lot of things as a joke, but he still seems to know when to take things seriously. I just wish someone would tell him why he needs to find the Book of Poison. He already missed one chance at it simply because nobody told him that, without it, his father will die.
Primeval 1-6 - We like this. I recommend it to those who like SF shows and/or dinosaurs. Scott keeps commenting on the fact that they try not to kill the invading animals. I'm more fascinated by the time travel and character interactions. I'm impressed by the interactions shown between Nick and Helen (I think I have the names right). I like the fact that he wants nothing to do with her when she tries to draw him back into an intimate physical relationship and to entangle him in emotions but will defend her vehemently to other people when she's not around. She comes across as self-absorbed and poisonous with glimmers of better qualities.
Prince Caspian - Dull, dull, dull with a side order of tedium. I was ready to stop watching halfway through, but Scott seemed interested even though he'd already seen it once, so we soldiered on. I understand the dramatic reasons for the changes made to the story, but I thought they didn't quite work. I'm not sure what would have worked, though.
I understand the dramatic reasons for aging Caspian, but they rather undercut parts of the story that depend on him being politically naive. Given his apparent age, I couldn't believe that he didn't have an escape plan in place from shortly after his aunt's pregnancy became common knowledge.
Psych season 1 DVD 2 - I can only handle this series in small doses due to embarrassment humor. I also wish that, once or twice, there'd be an attractive woman who didn't turn out to be a thief, murderer, etc. Getting rid of them that way makes the formula easier.
I do like Gus. I think the protagonist (whose name I've forgotten) is a scary conman. I'm not sure I really understand why anybody cares whether he's a brilliant detective or a psychic. They obviously do, and a lot of humor comes from him trying to maintain the charade, but.... Maybe it's because being a detective requires him breaking a lot of rules and getting his hands on evidence he's not supposed to see?
Sapphire and Steel adventure 1 - Scott found this tedious. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to incorporate the characters into a game. The sets created a feeling of claustrophobia that served the atmosphere of the story (even as we mocked the evil spotlights moving across the floor). Time as a monster is scary as time is something we can't go on without. I'll probably get the rest from Netflix eventually.
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no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 06:34 pm (UTC)Prince Caspian is one of the books that made me a pagan, which is sort of funny considering.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 08:16 pm (UTC)Prince Caspian opens up the world to include the pagan by showing the natural world as closer to God and having it break free of constraints as part of rebalancing everything. I doubt Lewis saw it that way exactly, but it's there.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:28 pm (UTC)I found myself looking at Sapphire and Steel and thinking about the techniques being used and how something vaguely sketched can be creepier than something fully explained. I don't generally care for horror, but a big part of that is not dealing well with shocks. Nothing here shocked me. It all built slowly.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 05:05 pm (UTC)And I'm with you on horror - slow creeping things are both better and worse than shocks for me.
Apparently there are Sapphire and Steel audio dramas, but I know nothing more about them than that.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 11:31 pm (UTC)I really enjoyed "Blood Ties" and the young man who plays Henry (I thought he was too young at first, but he grew on me) quite a bit. It definitely diverged from the books, but there were some funny and cool episodes. I do not recommend the latter half of the season (season 2, here in the US) as the stories got much darker and it ends at an emotionally unsatisfying place for me. But I will say that the woman who played Vicki Nelson and the man who played Mike Celluci were quite spot on imho. (As they were in Tanya Huff's opinion.)
"Hogfather" -- we did watch it on tv when it showed, so the kids did watch it, too. They seemed to be okay with it, though they are definitely used to sf/fantasy being on screen. The plot was a bit confusing on screen even though it's one of my favorite Discworld books (hey, my NAME is in there! and I adore the department store appearance of the Hogfather) but they did an amazing job of it in terms of being about as visually close to the world as it's possible to be.
"Prince Caspian" -- okay, I admit it. I like Ben Barnes. I didn't recall how young Caspian was (14?) in the original book when we saw it, so I was okay with him being the age he was. I also figured that he was just a bit thick about his uncle's true colors (it could happen!) I really enjoyed the griffin scenes (I am a collector of good griffin scenes, for obvious reasons) and was impatient for Aslan's return. I wish they'd shown more of that, with Bacchus and all, too.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:34 pm (UTC)I'm not entirely sure why Prince Caspian bored me so much. I just know that I kept looking away from the screen and missing things because I wasn't interested enough to focus my attention.