Movies and other things
Aug. 19th, 2007 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elabyHas anybody else been seeing [protected post] instead of the little lock image in the title bar of posts that are f'locked? I've been seeing that for a few days now. I've also been seeing [info] instead of the community or feed icons next to usernames (but not the regular little head and shoulders next to usernames).
So today![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caitirin, glr1114, and I went to see Stardust. It was awesome and satisfying in a way few movies before it have been.
Dude, I really miss perfect happy endings sometimes. Movies like Pan's Labyrinth are incredible films in themselves, but Stardust was enjoyable every minute, even when we were supposed to be worried about the characters. Michelle Pfeiffer did a fantastic job as Lamia (and I bet had a blast in the role) and I don't think I've seen a character in a long time as awesome as Captain Shakespeare. Robert De Niro FTW.
It had so many elements that come from traditional fairy tales and mythology that were used in interesting and innovative ways, and I think the ability to pull that off is my favorite thing about Neil Gaiman's work in general. Also, I know Gaiman has read Zelazny, and those seven princes HAD to be shadow versions of certain Princes of Amber XD Trying to kill each other for the throne, making temporary alliances against brothers they hated more than each other, even a great big ruby pendant that's instrumental in picking the successor... I half expected the unicorn from the early part of the film to give Tristan the jewel.
It was so satisfying and rewarding to watch, and funny and delightful and Robert De Niro in a corset and feather boa is possibly the best thing ever. The upperclass snot who ended up with Victoria is so going to run off with him and they'll lead a happy life aboard the airship appreciating classical music and fine china while the crew dutifully pretends not to notice.
We also saw like fifty previews for movies I can't WAIT to see. Okay, three.
The first was for The Spiderwick Chronicles, which I hadn't heard of until yesterday at a comic shop where I came across a book much like Brian Froud and Alan Lee's Faeries, with sketches and handwritten notes of things like the common house brownie and freshwater nixies. The art was GORGEOUS, but it was too expensive for me, as were the short books that it acted as a companion for. The movie looked like it's going to be pretty neat.
Next was another Queen Elizabeth movie starring Cate Blanchett, this time with more Spanish Armada. It looks like it's going to be really cool, awesome costumes and drama and Elizabeth being kickass. Also, Geoffrey Rush kind of makes me swoon. I need to watch the first one again.
THEN. Beowolf, oh my god. I had just read in a magazine that it's going to be sort of a live action-CGI hybrid, kind of like The Polar Express, which I never saw. From the preview, everyone who I recognized really looked like themselves, though, and everything looked pretty realistic, unlike the Polar Express pictures I've seen that have looked in the same vein as Pixar movies. From the Beowulf preview, I could only tell in a few scenes when people were CGI, and that was usually when it was showing someone who wasn't a mortal human type. But anyway, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich and Buttercup, whatserface, Robin Wright Penn. I REALLY hope this movie is good, because I'm excited about it.
And of course I can't wait to see The Golden Compass, although I haven't read the books yet (*gasp*). Tons of good movies coming our way!
So today
caitirin, glr1114, and I went to see Stardust. It was awesome and satisfying in a way few movies before it have been. Dude, I really miss perfect happy endings sometimes. Movies like Pan's Labyrinth are incredible films in themselves, but Stardust was enjoyable every minute, even when we were supposed to be worried about the characters. Michelle Pfeiffer did a fantastic job as Lamia (and I bet had a blast in the role) and I don't think I've seen a character in a long time as awesome as Captain Shakespeare. Robert De Niro FTW.
It had so many elements that come from traditional fairy tales and mythology that were used in interesting and innovative ways, and I think the ability to pull that off is my favorite thing about Neil Gaiman's work in general. Also, I know Gaiman has read Zelazny, and those seven princes HAD to be shadow versions of certain Princes of Amber XD Trying to kill each other for the throne, making temporary alliances against brothers they hated more than each other, even a great big ruby pendant that's instrumental in picking the successor... I half expected the unicorn from the early part of the film to give Tristan the jewel.
It was so satisfying and rewarding to watch, and funny and delightful and Robert De Niro in a corset and feather boa is possibly the best thing ever. The upperclass snot who ended up with Victoria is so going to run off with him and they'll lead a happy life aboard the airship appreciating classical music and fine china while the crew dutifully pretends not to notice.
We also saw like fifty previews for movies I can't WAIT to see. Okay, three.
The first was for The Spiderwick Chronicles, which I hadn't heard of until yesterday at a comic shop where I came across a book much like Brian Froud and Alan Lee's Faeries, with sketches and handwritten notes of things like the common house brownie and freshwater nixies. The art was GORGEOUS, but it was too expensive for me, as were the short books that it acted as a companion for. The movie looked like it's going to be pretty neat.
Next was another Queen Elizabeth movie starring Cate Blanchett, this time with more Spanish Armada. It looks like it's going to be really cool, awesome costumes and drama and Elizabeth being kickass. Also, Geoffrey Rush kind of makes me swoon. I need to watch the first one again.
THEN. Beowolf, oh my god. I had just read in a magazine that it's going to be sort of a live action-CGI hybrid, kind of like The Polar Express, which I never saw. From the preview, everyone who I recognized really looked like themselves, though, and everything looked pretty realistic, unlike the Polar Express pictures I've seen that have looked in the same vein as Pixar movies. From the Beowulf preview, I could only tell in a few scenes when people were CGI, and that was usually when it was showing someone who wasn't a mortal human type. But anyway, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich and Buttercup, whatserface, Robin Wright Penn. I REALLY hope this movie is good, because I'm excited about it.
And of course I can't wait to see The Golden Compass, although I haven't read the books yet (*gasp*). Tons of good movies coming our way!
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Date: 2007-08-20 02:22 am (UTC)That just means the page didn't fully load. If you refresh the page, usually it goes back to displaying the icons.
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Date: 2007-08-20 03:43 am (UTC)Re: Beowulf -- thank goodness the portrayals (let's not forget Angelina Jolie, by the way) are more humanlike and not nearly as creepy as they were in Polar Express!
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Date: 2007-08-20 12:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-20 03:14 pm (UTC)Would it sound too terribly stupid to say that seeing a movie like this makes life worth living? Because that's how I felt when I came out of the theatre, and the afterglow lasted all night long.
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Date: 2007-08-20 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-20 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-20 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-20 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-20 07:00 pm (UTC)That Spiderwick Chronicles thing sounds NEAT. I must go and look it up quickly before going back to work...
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Date: 2007-08-20 11:19 pm (UTC)Beowulf looks like it's going to be a really awesome sight. I haven't heard anything about how the plot is done, but I can't wait to see it nonetheless!