Topic: RossRoy's Random Viewings

[Najemikon]

I was surprised by that. I didn't realise how slapstick it is. Not that I was expecting intelligent humour, but I didn't realise it was this much over the top. And I must say, this was not my cup of tea, so to speak. To me, one of the biggest problem here is that most, if not all, of the comedy is based around Clouseau's clumsiness. Now, I like scenes where a characters clumsiness creates comedy, but for a whole 90 minutes? It gets really irritating. And what makes it worse, if they reuse gags all over the movie. It's like had ideas to do a short, but had to stretch it to feature length by contract, and decided to rotate the few jokes they had, and redo them in different context over and over again.

I haven't seen this, but I know it's supposed to be weak. While your comments support that, I wonder how you'd get on with the original? It is generally highly regarded, but I'd still call it slapstick. Peter Sellers is marvellous, but his Inspector Clouseau is still a clumsy buffoon. 

[RossRoy]

I haven't seen this, but I know it's supposed to be weak. While your comments support that, I wonder how you'd get on with the original? It is generally highly regarded, but I'd still call it slapstick. Peter Sellers is marvellous, but his Inspector Clouseau is still a clumsy buffoon. 

I don't mind slapstick humour. It's the repetition I found irritating.

For example, everytime he enters room and is about to question someone, or calls someone to his office, he'll through the whole "How fine iz ze wehzer today?" and start looking around the room, and then declare "Ze room iz sekyure". It's funny the first time, second time, not as much, but by the third time he does it, it's just too much!

If you've seen the trailer, you probably saw the scene where Jean Reno's character hits Clouseau in the face, and Clouseau says "Good one!". Well, they keep doing! 3 or 4 times during the course of the movie. I mean come on! Can't you come up with a little variety in the jokes? I realise slapstick is by nature a little limited, but still..

[Najemikon]

hmmm, it's a very long time since I saw the Seller's version, but I don't remember it being repetitive. Perhaps the true skill in slapstick is keeping it fresh when it is inherently limited as you said, and that's why Peter Seller's was regarded a comedic genius.

[RossRoy]

Silent Hill

Original Title: Silent Hill Year: 2006 Country: Canada Director: Christophe Gans Rating: 18 Length: 125 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital Stereo, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

What they say
Unable to accept the diagnosis that her daughter should be permanently institutionalized for psychiatric care, Rose (Radha Mitchell: 'Man on Fire') flees with her child to the deserted town of Silent Hill in search for answers. It's soon clear this place is unlike anywhere she's ever been. It's smothered in fog, inhabited by strange beings and periodically overcome by a living 'Darkness' that literally transforms everything it touches. Rose begins to learn the history of the eerie town and realizes that her daughter is just a pawn in a larger, terrifying game.

My Thoughts
That was weird, but then, the game is weird too, so, nothing surprising. I haven't played any Silent Hill games much, not exactly the type of game I like. But, I did buy Silent Hill 2 on Xbox and played almost all the way through (according to a friend). And I must say, the movie is very faithful to what I remember from Silent Hill 2. The atmosphere, the monsters, the oddness of the city itself, it's all there. The director did a good job capturing the mood of the game.

As for the movie itself being good, I'd say yes. I enjoyed it. There are a few things that feel forced, but isn't it the case with most, if not all horror movies? The monster designs are good, and I like the fact that they went the people-in-suits road, with some CGI enhancement, instead of going all CGI. It gives a little something extra that has yet to be captured with CGI creatures.

All in all, a well executed haunted city story, albeit a bit on the weird side. As far as video games to movie adaptation, I believe it's one of the good ones.

Rating:

[RossRoy]

Saints-Martyrs-Des-Damnés

Original Title: Saints-Martyrs-Des-Damnés Year: 2005 Country: Canada (Quebec) Director: Robin Aubert Rating: 14 Length: 117 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: French: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital Surround Subtitles: English

What they say
Dépêché dans un village pour enquêter sur des disparitions mystérieuses, un journaliste découvre un univers qui oscille entre le drame et le fantastique. La disparition de son photographe et la présence d’étranges personnages, dont le spectre d’une jeune mariée, l’entraîneront sur des pistes où la notion d’identité est fortement compromise… y compris la sienne.

Dispatched to a village in order to inquire about mysterious disappearances, a journalist discovers a universe which oscillates between the drama and the fantastic. The disappearance of his photographer and the presence of strange characters, including the ghost of a young bride, will take him on tracks where the concept of identity is strongly compromised… including his own.

My Thoughts
Well. Where to begin. This movie is so convoluted and overly complicated, it's not even funny. And to make matters worse, it is utterly boring. The lead actor is again his wooden self, nothing new here, though I'm guessing it might fit the character, if the character (and story) were actually interesting.

I really hate dissing a Quebec-made production, but I just can't help it. I was bored, bored, bored, bored, bored ..... bored. Don't waste your time, there are much better movies out there on the same theme, and much better introductions to Quebec cinema than this.

Rating:

[Achim]

Eric seems to disagree.

[RossRoy]

Eric seems to disagree.

Well, good for him! 

Actually, I'm being a bit unfair in the review. I loved the first 30 minutes. It looked like the intrigue would be interesting. But after that, it got so boring I wasn't even paying attention to the movie. So, the story feels convoluted and overly forced. I was actually reading some website because I was too bored...

OR

Eric is much more intelligent than I am and managed to understand it all, where I couldn't.

 

[RossRoy]

I started watching Lost Season 3... omg! I forgot how much I like this series! I'm at disc 3 three right now (Stranger In A Strange Land) and I can't get enough of Lost! The whole mystery surrounding it, slowly unraveling (I just wish I knew for sure if it really was all planend that way, or if they're improvising.)

I must say, while I so far really enjoy it, and it feels like it is planned, the current episode, Stranger In A Strange Land, is really odd, and almost bad so far. It even makes the whole thing feel improvised. But I have faith, it's been so good so far, it will get better soon!

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Death to The Others! I hate them! I guess that's the point. Although I just can't hate Juliet as much as I want to!

[RossRoy]

Halfway through the season now. I just finished watching Disc 3 (Episode: Par Avion)

I'm getting more and more confused each episode. What the heck is going on on that island? It is getting so weird, and I have so many theories in my head to explain some of the stuff, and I must make a very conscious effort to NOT go online and read more about it all! I want to relish in the whole mystery, but I also want to understand it! It is pure torture (in a good way!)

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I still hate the Others! More and more, each episode! 

Though I still can't hate Juliet... She's really beautiful  There's something about her that makes it impossible to hate her...

Excuse me while I 

But my appreciation of Lost S3 so far: 

[RossRoy]

Lost: Season 3

Original Title: Lost Year: 2006 Country: United States Rating: NR Length: 990 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Commentary

What they say
Find the answers you've been looking for in the explosive third season of the show 'USA Today' calls "the most gorgeous, audacious, expansive series on network TV."

As the power of the island to both heal and destroy comes into sharp focus, the lines between good and evil are blurred and loyalties are challenged when the survivors of the crash become tangled within the lives of the Others.

Plan your escape, and immerse yourself in all 23 episodes of Season Three. Go deeper than ever before in this Seven-Disc DVD box set, complete with hours of never-before-seen bonus features, including secrets from the world of the Others, behind-the-scenes featurettes, unprecedented access to the 'Lost' writers room, and so much more.

My Thoughts
Wow, what a season. So much happened in the course of these 23 episodes. AS you probably all know by now, I love shows that have season long story arcs. Well, with Lost, it's really something because it is a full series arc. Just now, in S3, some of the story that were started as far back as the beginning of S1 are just coming to their conclusion. So I must say, i really loved this season. So much happens, so many new mysteries, older mysteries are solved, we get to know even more of what happened with each of them in their past lives, and how they might be interconnected even before they borded the plane.

Except for 1 or 2 episodes, I loved each and every one of them. There are a few eye-rolling events, of course, but all in all the intrigue is really interesting.

(click to show/hide)

There's on thing though, that I really hate. And it happened during the season finale. What the heck are they doing with Locke? I love his character! Why would they have him make such a betrayal? Why would they have him kill Naomie in cold blood, after making it clear he wouldn't kill, even if he wanted to? I'm really disapointed for that. I'm willing to give the show a chance, and see what they do with it all in S4, but I hope they bring him back to the "good" side. He's been going on quite a dark trip.

I really love Lost, and if you like mystery shows, and slowly unfolding intrigue, you should love it too!

Rating:

[RossRoy]

I've started watching the third season of the new Battlestar Galactica series. I'm not very far into it yet (finished the 4th episode yesterday), but I saw this post in my RSS feed yesterday somewhat comparing BSG to Star Trek. There's no spoiler in there, so feel free to read even if you haven't seen any of the two series. It's quite an interesting read.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15736

[DJ Doena]

It was indeed an interesting read and I think he is absolutely right.

[RossRoy]

Battlestar Galactica: Season Three

Original Title: Battlestar Galactica Year: 2006 Country: United States Director: 1. Occupation Rating: NR Length: 953 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo Subtitles: English, Spanish

What they say
The adventure of one of television's finest dramas continues with the complete third season of the Peabody Award-winning 'Battlestar Galactica'. The Colonies’ survivors have found their hopes of eluding their Cylon pursuers dashed by an invasion and occupation of their new home. As the fate of all human life hangs in the balance, friends become enemies, enemies become unexpected allies, and decisions are made that will haunt some people for the rest of their lives. Relive all 20 episodes of the season that challenges everything you thought you knew about the 'Battlestar Galactica' universe. Presented in Dolby 5.1 surround sound, the 6-disc set features over 15 hours of extensive special features, including the DVD exclusive extended version of the episode "Unfinished Business" containing 25 additional minutes of never-before-seen footage. You won't want to miss a minute of the series considered "one of the best dramas on TV" ('Time Magazine').

My Thoughts
Wow! I'm still reeling from the finale. Quite a few big events, turnovers, surprises.. name it! It's all there, in a single episode. I think it might even top Charmed S7 finale, although that's debatable.

Unfortunately, the season as a whole was very bumpy. Don't get me wrong, Battlestar Galactica is still one of the best, if not THE best show on TV right now, but S3 had a low good to bad ratio, compared to seasons 1 and 2. I remember that I couldn't wait to watch the next episode while I was watching S1 and S2, but here, sometimes, I didn't really feel like watching the next episode. There's was too much of nothing going on. The whole season took a spiritual turn that actually turned me off a little. All the quests for the temple, all that speak of God and Gods (depending whether you're Human or Cylon), I thought it was a bit heavy to bear, and didn't bring much to the table.

I feel the show lost a bit of the momentum that was built from the first two seasons. And I think it might be due, in part, to the fact that they seemed to have gone the standalone episode route, instead of the story arc route. Sure, there's continuity, so you can't really watch the episodes in any order you choose, but you don't feel like you missed much (except for some key episodes) if you miss one. It's like there are quite a few episodes you could just skip over, and not miss anything of the overall story. Considering my preference, and how the show was made in the previous 2 seasons, that was a big disappointed for me.

But all is not lost. I still enjoy the show. Very much. And you have to take into account that a bad episode of Galactica, it still a whole lot better than most of the stuff that's on air these days on TV. There were also some really good episode. The obvious high point being the last 3 episodes, that will lead to a wonderful final season, Season 4.

I also want to add that James Callis, the actor playing Dr. Gaius Baltar, is marvelous. Some people have said he is overacting the part, but I think, in the context of what his character is going through and his state of mind, he is spot on.

Also, Lucy Lawless is very yummy here! I never quite liked her before during her Xena days. I always thought there was something odd about her, and seeing her here in Galactica, I think I know what it is. Her skin tone doesn't fit dark hair, and she was made to look tough on Xena. Here, they left her with her natural hair color (well, if IMDb can be trusted, and her photos on Wikipedia show her natural color), which looks much better on her, and also, she doesn't have to look tough for Galactica. So anyway, she was really yummy!    (But Sharon is still top!  )

If you haven't seen the new reimagined version of Galactica, do so. Now! From the start, including the miniseries. You won't regret it!

Rating:

[RossRoy]

Oh my. Some people say you have to see the bad stuff, to really appreciate the good stuff, right? Well, I guess I'm about to enjoy good anime even more!

I started watching Cyberteam in Akihabara yesterday:


Granted, I've only seen 2 episodes so far, and they're not even done introducing all the characters. But as it stands now, even after 2 episodes, it seems like a show with almost no directions. It's like they have no identity. They don't know what they want to do with the show. It's such a mish mash of different styles, it's almost mind boggling. You've got mecha type (the Divas wear special armor), but those divas are summoned by a Pata-Pi (a sort of robot toy). The main protagonist is a 12 year old girl just starting middle, that can summon an older version of herself in Diva form, complete with overly exagerated feminine forms (anyone else feels like that there's something entirely too wrong with that?). And to top it all, it is shock full of sexual innuendos. And I've not even started about how overly hyper the whole show is. The characters barely finish their sentence before going to the next! And it's full of MTV style cut here and there.

I'll give it its chance, and keep watching. But it's not looking too good so far. But then, I remember what I first thought of Ikki Tousen and how I ended liking it very much. Maybe this will happen here, but I don't see any sign of it. We'll see.

[RossRoy]

Well I'll be damned. Either I'm very easy public, or the show did get better. In any case, I'm enjoying Cyberteam.

It still lacks focus. And they are trying way to hard at creating the mythos surrounding the whole Diva, Anima Mundi and Metatron concepts. And they're taking their sweet time. I'm at episode 17, and Hibari (the main character) has just, for the first time, fully awakened her Diva. 17 episodes into the show! Even the first real interesting fight came in only at episode 10, and at that time, the girls had yet to figure out how to even summon their Divas!

But the show is still interesting in a way. I can see what they are trying to do. But I feel it is mired in too many details, and they spend way too much time with the girls just "living their lives". They could've cut the show quite a big deal and not lost much in terms of story.

I'm hoping, now that Hibari has finally "awakened", that the show will pick up for the last 9 episodes! Should be fun!