Recent DVDs
Mar. 19th, 2008 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckAvatar 1.17-1.20 - This DVD demonstrates the dangers of reading spoilers. I was expecting two developments in these episodes to be painful to watch, and they were. At any rate, I enjoyed seeing the other Water Tribe and the Air Temple. I did find myself wondering what would happen to people after Aang moved on, as he has to.
Avatar 3.6-3.10 - I'm very glad that I caught part two of the two parter on Nickolodeon a while back. Otherwise, I'd be really frustrated by episode 10 being the first part of a two parter. (Even if I had suspicions about what was probably going to happen.) Now I wait for Netflix or the library to get more DVDs... Why can't I find more series that are like this?
Constantine - This movie was high on our list of genre movies that we thought we ought to see but didn't care much about. The library had it, so we go it. We had to renew it because we hadn't quite gotten around to it when it came up due the first time. I don’t think either of us watched more than half of it, but we did finish it. Lots of horrific makeup and special effects and not much else. Well, except Tilda Swinton being impressively androgynous and crazy.
Eragon - Scott grabbed this at the library. He said he wanted to see it because he'd always wonder if he didn't. I don't think either of us manage to give it more than half of our attention. It wasn't awful. It just wasn't much at all-- your standard fantasy movie, hitting all the clichés.
High School Musical - One of Delia's pre-school friends told her about this movie. Since then, Delia has really wanted to watch it. She loved the musical numbers and danced to them, but I'm not sure she registered much of the plot. Scott and I were amused and charmed. It's definitely aimed at the under twelve set.
Hikaru no Go 37-40 - Every so often, I find myself expecting explosions or levitation or something strange to happen, but it never does, and it doesn't matter. I still pay attention. I'm amazed that episode after episode of people sitting and playing a game that I don't understand can keep both my attention and Scott's, but it does.
House of Eliott 2-3 - I skipped episode 1 because I found it too painful. I didn't feel any need to see that sort of story set up. (Episode 1, as far as I could tell, consisted of a long set up for a fall while the rest of the series is about recovering from the fall.) Two sisters discover after the death of their father that the financial security they've counted on is illusory and have to find a way to support themselves. I really didn't need to have the series start with their father's death, their being told that they had lots of money and then gradually discovering that they don't. Incluing that information would have been enough. This is a good example of what I mean when I complain that a particular book or show 'starts too early in the story."
I like the two lead characters, and I'm hopeful that the series won't just be about torturing them. Hardship is fine if it buys something. I've put a hold on the next DVD at the library. I'm not committing to watching the entire series, but I'll at least try a few more episodes.
Kyo Kara Maoh 36-39 - It's been a long time since I last watched any of this series. Fortunately, it’s not dreadfully complicated, so I was able to pick things right up. Even if I still can't remember all of the characters' names. I'm not sure that I'm able to take the plot seriously. It seems to be largely an excuse for pretty men and silliness.
Paprika - I think my brain's broken. Not in a bad way but still broken. I'd say that the dream sequences were excellently planned and executed. They contained the right combinations of mundane details and surreal impossibilities. Some sections were obviously dreams, but others were harder to be sure about. I found myself paying close attention and trying to figure things out. I'm rather amused because Netflix thought that I wouldn't like this movie. I did, very much.
Petite Princess Yucie 19-22 - Ooh! Plot. The fairy world is dying. That explains Beth's attitude problem and why she didn't fall into line as fast as the other candidates. I'd wondered about that given the way the ethics in this series are simplified for a young audience. We also got to see that there's a puppetmaster behind the whole process and that that (mysterious, hooded) person isn't telling anybody what's really going on. I'm not sure how Arc's storyline ties in. I get the impression that it does, but I can't see exactly how. One more DVD to go, and I actually want to know what happens.
Petite Princess Yucie 23-26 - I cried at points during the last two episodes. I was hopeful, given the intended audience, that the ending would be happy, but I could have seen a not quite happy ending fitting the story. I didn't find the plot twists particularly surprising even though I hadn't predicted them. I expected the final Platinum Princess selection to be complicated or, rather, to have hidden depths. The girls never asked questions. Why didn't they ask questions? I could see why the series, pitched as young as it was, didn't show questions, but the ending justifies questioning beforehand.
It was a satisfying wrap up. The last few episodes were, I think, aimed a little bit older than everything that had gone before, not by much but a little. There was a fight against a scary monster, a scary, hard to beat, potentially world destroying monster. There were complications, both emotional and ethical, around the Platinum Princess selection. I'd still put it at mid-elementary school, but before this DVD, I'd have put the minimum age a year or so older than Delia (and maybe not that old if I were using the dub and not expecting the child to read subtitles).
Stargate: SG-1: The Ark of Truth - Scott's brother bought this for him as a late birthday present. I rather felt that there was too much going on. Scott's guess is that this is the compressed version of events that were planned for a whole season. I'm not so sure. It may simply be that the people putting the story together aren't used to story on this scale and couldn't conceive of something more contained that still covered the ground. The other way that movies from episodic shows go is to be like an episode stretched too far or like a two part episode. I think I prefer the over-ambitious.
Utawarerumono 6-10 - This set of episodes seemed to be largely set up, introducing new characters and new opponents, broadening the stage. I still like the series very much (though I'm having trouble tracking all of the characters). I asked Netflix to replace the missing third DVD, but I suspect that they won't because they have the episodes available for instant watching by everybody who doesn't use a Mac.
Avatar 3.6-3.10 - I'm very glad that I caught part two of the two parter on Nickolodeon a while back. Otherwise, I'd be really frustrated by episode 10 being the first part of a two parter. (Even if I had suspicions about what was probably going to happen.) Now I wait for Netflix or the library to get more DVDs... Why can't I find more series that are like this?
Constantine - This movie was high on our list of genre movies that we thought we ought to see but didn't care much about. The library had it, so we go it. We had to renew it because we hadn't quite gotten around to it when it came up due the first time. I don’t think either of us watched more than half of it, but we did finish it. Lots of horrific makeup and special effects and not much else. Well, except Tilda Swinton being impressively androgynous and crazy.
Eragon - Scott grabbed this at the library. He said he wanted to see it because he'd always wonder if he didn't. I don't think either of us manage to give it more than half of our attention. It wasn't awful. It just wasn't much at all-- your standard fantasy movie, hitting all the clichés.
High School Musical - One of Delia's pre-school friends told her about this movie. Since then, Delia has really wanted to watch it. She loved the musical numbers and danced to them, but I'm not sure she registered much of the plot. Scott and I were amused and charmed. It's definitely aimed at the under twelve set.
Hikaru no Go 37-40 - Every so often, I find myself expecting explosions or levitation or something strange to happen, but it never does, and it doesn't matter. I still pay attention. I'm amazed that episode after episode of people sitting and playing a game that I don't understand can keep both my attention and Scott's, but it does.
House of Eliott 2-3 - I skipped episode 1 because I found it too painful. I didn't feel any need to see that sort of story set up. (Episode 1, as far as I could tell, consisted of a long set up for a fall while the rest of the series is about recovering from the fall.) Two sisters discover after the death of their father that the financial security they've counted on is illusory and have to find a way to support themselves. I really didn't need to have the series start with their father's death, their being told that they had lots of money and then gradually discovering that they don't. Incluing that information would have been enough. This is a good example of what I mean when I complain that a particular book or show 'starts too early in the story."
I like the two lead characters, and I'm hopeful that the series won't just be about torturing them. Hardship is fine if it buys something. I've put a hold on the next DVD at the library. I'm not committing to watching the entire series, but I'll at least try a few more episodes.
Kyo Kara Maoh 36-39 - It's been a long time since I last watched any of this series. Fortunately, it’s not dreadfully complicated, so I was able to pick things right up. Even if I still can't remember all of the characters' names. I'm not sure that I'm able to take the plot seriously. It seems to be largely an excuse for pretty men and silliness.
Paprika - I think my brain's broken. Not in a bad way but still broken. I'd say that the dream sequences were excellently planned and executed. They contained the right combinations of mundane details and surreal impossibilities. Some sections were obviously dreams, but others were harder to be sure about. I found myself paying close attention and trying to figure things out. I'm rather amused because Netflix thought that I wouldn't like this movie. I did, very much.
Petite Princess Yucie 19-22 - Ooh! Plot. The fairy world is dying. That explains Beth's attitude problem and why she didn't fall into line as fast as the other candidates. I'd wondered about that given the way the ethics in this series are simplified for a young audience. We also got to see that there's a puppetmaster behind the whole process and that that (mysterious, hooded) person isn't telling anybody what's really going on. I'm not sure how Arc's storyline ties in. I get the impression that it does, but I can't see exactly how. One more DVD to go, and I actually want to know what happens.
Petite Princess Yucie 23-26 - I cried at points during the last two episodes. I was hopeful, given the intended audience, that the ending would be happy, but I could have seen a not quite happy ending fitting the story. I didn't find the plot twists particularly surprising even though I hadn't predicted them. I expected the final Platinum Princess selection to be complicated or, rather, to have hidden depths. The girls never asked questions. Why didn't they ask questions? I could see why the series, pitched as young as it was, didn't show questions, but the ending justifies questioning beforehand.
It was a satisfying wrap up. The last few episodes were, I think, aimed a little bit older than everything that had gone before, not by much but a little. There was a fight against a scary monster, a scary, hard to beat, potentially world destroying monster. There were complications, both emotional and ethical, around the Platinum Princess selection. I'd still put it at mid-elementary school, but before this DVD, I'd have put the minimum age a year or so older than Delia (and maybe not that old if I were using the dub and not expecting the child to read subtitles).
Stargate: SG-1: The Ark of Truth - Scott's brother bought this for him as a late birthday present. I rather felt that there was too much going on. Scott's guess is that this is the compressed version of events that were planned for a whole season. I'm not so sure. It may simply be that the people putting the story together aren't used to story on this scale and couldn't conceive of something more contained that still covered the ground. The other way that movies from episodic shows go is to be like an episode stretched too far or like a two part episode. I think I prefer the over-ambitious.
Utawarerumono 6-10 - This set of episodes seemed to be largely set up, introducing new characters and new opponents, broadening the stage. I still like the series very much (though I'm having trouble tracking all of the characters). I asked Netflix to replace the missing third DVD, but I suspect that they won't because they have the episodes available for instant watching by everybody who doesn't use a Mac.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 04:45 pm (UTC)Yay, Paprika! It's Satoshi Kon's best movie! If you enjoyed it, check out Millenium Actress! *dies of fangirl squee*
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 05:07 pm (UTC)Has Satoshi Kon done any other movies?
Scott and I enjoyed High School Musical as a Delia safe movie, but I think we had the most fun watching her dance. It tempts me to look for a cheap copy of it for her. Of course, right now, her passion is for dancing to the Backyardigans. (Speaking of which, I was amused to see that the actor who voices Aang in Avatar also does Pablo, one of the Backyardigans. Sometimes, I really love cruising the IMDB.)
And Delia's still four (and three-quarters!). She'll turn five in mid-May.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 05:12 pm (UTC)Kon has produced or been involved with several other movies, but the titles escape me; he did do an OVA series called Paranoia Agent which looks to be a modern sci-fi/horror hybrid.
Aw, D! What a cutie pie. I wish I could see her dancing, too. :)
Edited to fix pirate-esque grammar.