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1. Saw the flick Snow White and the Huntsman courtesy of HBO yesterday. (I'm attempting to justify my purchase of HBO by watching more than just True Blood and Game of Thrones.) I more or less agree with my flist's take on the film when it first came out in theaters. Great visuals, an adept performance by Charlize Theron and the actor who plays the Duke's son, Will Hammond, but everything else is sort of blah.
Actually, I'd like to see the actor who plays Will Hammond, Snow's other love interest, in something else. He was compelling. Which posed a bit of a problem - since I was obviously supposed to find Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman compelling. I've come to the conclusion that Chris Hemsworth is hunky but boring. He does nothing for me as an actor, no matter what he is in. Also, hunky doesn't necessarily turn me on that much anyhow. The actor who played Will Hammond on the other hand was insanely good for such a small role that had very little dialogue and/or screen time. Whenever he was onscreen - the story took off. He's also the one outside of Charlize Theron who had chemistry with Snow White.
The best two things in this film were Charlize Theron's Ravena (who to date is the most interesting Evil Queen I've seen in the Snow White tale, and by far the most complex. This version did a much better job of explaining the evil queen than OUAT does. She's been doing this for a very long time. The fairest of them all spell - is one that keeps her alive and protects her. It was enacted when she was very young by her mother - to protect her and her brother when marauders came and killed her family, ripping it apart. In her pursuit for vengeance and her hatred of the men who ripped her family apart and attempted to use her, she's become a weapon, filled with venom. Yet her life is empty. War created this Queen.
Not lost love and a manipulative mother. Which I think works far better.) And Will Hammond, the Duke's Son. Snow's childhood friend, whose father rescues him from the Castle as the Queen lays siege to it, resulting in his inability to save his friend, and a sense of guilt. He feels he abandoned her. When he pops up again - he's an expert bowman. And to find Snow, he infliterates the Queen's brother's guard. Becoming a huntsman. In some respects he's more of the huntsman, than Chris Hemsworth is. I wish they'd combined the two roles. Made Will Hammond the huntsman and gotten rid of Hemsworth, who was poorly cast and whose role feels like a trite cliche.
It's one of those films that holds promise - if you could just change the casting, and fix a few items in the plot.
2. Vampire Diaries - entertaining and rather interesting this week. Not that it wasn't last week - it was. Can't really discuss without spoilers.
As an aside - in interviews, the writers state they are having the characters graduate from high school finally - so they can broaden the universe and expand. It's odd, I keep forgetting they are still in high school - possibly because they never appear to be in high school. Matt is apparently failing most of his classes (small wonder, it's not like he's been in school much lately) - which shocks Caroline. Really? I'm surprised everyone isn't. When have any of them had time to go to class?
When watching television, sometimes it is best to just suspend all disbelief and go for the ride. Logic and television series tend to be unmixy things, regardless of the genre. I may be wrong about this? But I'm guessing television writers failed logic in school or didn't bother with it. At any rate, a bit of hard learned advice when watching tv shows..a)don't apply logic, it will just give you a headache and b) don't take it too seriously.
( spoilers )
3. Merlin - which I can't talk about without spoilers, except to state, finally, a good episode! Merlin S5 is uneven, the first three-four episodes are great. Then we get to the Dark Tower, bleargh, then that arc is resolved quite nicely "With All Your Heart" (the episode I watched last night). I will state this - if this series doesn't resolve itself with Arthur finally realizing who and what Merlin is, I'm going to be annoyed. Don't spoil me, if you already know. I hate tv series that don't resolve these things.
Oh, and Merlin keeps employing the same actors that have lead roles on Game of Thrones. In the episode prior to this one, I saw a minor guest-star, and thought - ah there's Sam Tarly from Game of Thrones.
( spoilers )
4)Smash - speaking of unevenly written. This week's episode fell flat. I've come to the conclusion that episodes which focus on Jimmy, Julia, or Karen are dull. Episodes that focus on Tom, Ivy, and Derek, rock. This is a problem with the series. They really miscast this series. Casting matters.
Example? The Great Gatsby. They keep miscasting this. In the book, Gatsby isn't described as necessarily good-looking, he's rugged, and clearly out of place, not comfortable in a tux.
So who do they cast? Robert Redford (who is Waspish and looks like a millionaire) and Leonardo DiCaprio( ditt). Who should they cast? Ethan Hawk or Christian Bale or Daniel Craig.
Someone who doesn't look like a millionaire, who looks like someone who scraped to get ahead and redefine himself. And throw opulent parties to fit in.
Smash has the same problem - Debra Messing was miscast as Julia, as was Katherine McPhee as Karen, and whoever is playing Jimmy. They just don't work. Plus they are all three poorly defined and written. Every time the story focuses on them, my attention wanders. And Julia grates on my nerves.
The songs were also weak this week. I know what they were going for - a Jonathan Larson - Rent vibe, but it just wasn't working.
Oh as an aside...they are making a movie out of one my favorite Sondheim musicals, finally, Into the Woods - we can thank the recent fascination with fairy tales and musicals for this. Although I'm not sure about the casting...Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp? Really?
Get Bernadette Peters for the Witch, at least.
Actually, I'd like to see the actor who plays Will Hammond, Snow's other love interest, in something else. He was compelling. Which posed a bit of a problem - since I was obviously supposed to find Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman compelling. I've come to the conclusion that Chris Hemsworth is hunky but boring. He does nothing for me as an actor, no matter what he is in. Also, hunky doesn't necessarily turn me on that much anyhow. The actor who played Will Hammond on the other hand was insanely good for such a small role that had very little dialogue and/or screen time. Whenever he was onscreen - the story took off. He's also the one outside of Charlize Theron who had chemistry with Snow White.
The best two things in this film were Charlize Theron's Ravena (who to date is the most interesting Evil Queen I've seen in the Snow White tale, and by far the most complex. This version did a much better job of explaining the evil queen than OUAT does. She's been doing this for a very long time. The fairest of them all spell - is one that keeps her alive and protects her. It was enacted when she was very young by her mother - to protect her and her brother when marauders came and killed her family, ripping it apart. In her pursuit for vengeance and her hatred of the men who ripped her family apart and attempted to use her, she's become a weapon, filled with venom. Yet her life is empty. War created this Queen.
Not lost love and a manipulative mother. Which I think works far better.) And Will Hammond, the Duke's Son. Snow's childhood friend, whose father rescues him from the Castle as the Queen lays siege to it, resulting in his inability to save his friend, and a sense of guilt. He feels he abandoned her. When he pops up again - he's an expert bowman. And to find Snow, he infliterates the Queen's brother's guard. Becoming a huntsman. In some respects he's more of the huntsman, than Chris Hemsworth is. I wish they'd combined the two roles. Made Will Hammond the huntsman and gotten rid of Hemsworth, who was poorly cast and whose role feels like a trite cliche.
It's one of those films that holds promise - if you could just change the casting, and fix a few items in the plot.
2. Vampire Diaries - entertaining and rather interesting this week. Not that it wasn't last week - it was. Can't really discuss without spoilers.
As an aside - in interviews, the writers state they are having the characters graduate from high school finally - so they can broaden the universe and expand. It's odd, I keep forgetting they are still in high school - possibly because they never appear to be in high school. Matt is apparently failing most of his classes (small wonder, it's not like he's been in school much lately) - which shocks Caroline. Really? I'm surprised everyone isn't. When have any of them had time to go to class?
When watching television, sometimes it is best to just suspend all disbelief and go for the ride. Logic and television series tend to be unmixy things, regardless of the genre. I may be wrong about this? But I'm guessing television writers failed logic in school or didn't bother with it. At any rate, a bit of hard learned advice when watching tv shows..a)don't apply logic, it will just give you a headache and b) don't take it too seriously.
( spoilers )
3. Merlin - which I can't talk about without spoilers, except to state, finally, a good episode! Merlin S5 is uneven, the first three-four episodes are great. Then we get to the Dark Tower, bleargh, then that arc is resolved quite nicely "With All Your Heart" (the episode I watched last night). I will state this - if this series doesn't resolve itself with Arthur finally realizing who and what Merlin is, I'm going to be annoyed. Don't spoil me, if you already know. I hate tv series that don't resolve these things.
Oh, and Merlin keeps employing the same actors that have lead roles on Game of Thrones. In the episode prior to this one, I saw a minor guest-star, and thought - ah there's Sam Tarly from Game of Thrones.
( spoilers )
4)Smash - speaking of unevenly written. This week's episode fell flat. I've come to the conclusion that episodes which focus on Jimmy, Julia, or Karen are dull. Episodes that focus on Tom, Ivy, and Derek, rock. This is a problem with the series. They really miscast this series. Casting matters.
Example? The Great Gatsby. They keep miscasting this. In the book, Gatsby isn't described as necessarily good-looking, he's rugged, and clearly out of place, not comfortable in a tux.
So who do they cast? Robert Redford (who is Waspish and looks like a millionaire) and Leonardo DiCaprio( ditt). Who should they cast? Ethan Hawk or Christian Bale or Daniel Craig.
Someone who doesn't look like a millionaire, who looks like someone who scraped to get ahead and redefine himself. And throw opulent parties to fit in.
Smash has the same problem - Debra Messing was miscast as Julia, as was Katherine McPhee as Karen, and whoever is playing Jimmy. They just don't work. Plus they are all three poorly defined and written. Every time the story focuses on them, my attention wanders. And Julia grates on my nerves.
The songs were also weak this week. I know what they were going for - a Jonathan Larson - Rent vibe, but it just wasn't working.
Oh as an aside...they are making a movie out of one my favorite Sondheim musicals, finally, Into the Woods - we can thank the recent fascination with fairy tales and musicals for this. Although I'm not sure about the casting...Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp? Really?
Get Bernadette Peters for the Witch, at least.