The Evil Eyebrow

Category: Movies

  • The Golden Compass = Antichristian?

    Phillip Pullman’s books and the movie based upon the first one, The Golden Compass, have been receiving a lot of hate-press recently due to their perceived anti-christian outlook. The gist is, “Pullman is an atheist [true], who is trying to turn our kids to the devil [only true from a certain perspective].”

    I could discuss the pros and cons of these viewpoints, but I’d rather do an end-run. Question: Why didn’t these people come out of the woodwork for Battlestar Galactica? There’s a show where the good guys are polytheistic and the bad guys, bent on the destruction of the human race, are doing it because their sole God (obviously based on the Bible) is telling them to. BSG is much more blatant about it then Pullman ever is. Or what about The Lord of the Rings? Despite Peter Jackson’s pandering to the religious writers on his team, there is NO GOD in the Lord of the Rings. Nobody complained about that. And what about every horror/demon/antichrist film out there? Why do none of them get this sort of treatment?

    I think the truth is that the religious don’t think they’ll be able to sell their religions in the face of competing viewpoints. Also, given the control that christians have over this nation, they only fear what is perceived as anti-christian messages. No worries about the push to make “Jihad” a bad word (even though its actual definition doesn’t mean “kill everyone in God’s name”). Notice no complaints about all of the anti-muslim press that bandies about.

    The hypocrisy of some people just boggles my feet sometimes. I wish I could blame the media, but their motiviations are strictly monetary; they go where the stories are.

    In the interest of full disclosure, I think I should mention that I did not like The Golden Compass, but I’ll still see the film adaptation.

  • Beowulf

    We went to see Robert Zemekis’ Beowulf tonight. In 3D! It was good.

    Spoilers Ahoy. (more…)

  • Gay Dumbledore

    Jenn alerted me to the news fracas caused by J.K. Rowling saying that Dumbledore was gay (is gay? Do the portrait people have love-lives?).

    Apparently, there’s always been suspicion amongst fans that he was gay, due to his lack of a love interest and other items. Personally, I never pulled up a hint of gayness from Dumbledore until the seventh book, so this “always has been a suspicion” thing is a crock. It’s along the lines of crackpot fans everywhere coming up with unlikely scenarios for the most mundane nuances, then springing forth with an “Aha! I told you so!” when their particular nuttiness is revealed as truth. I won’t say that there weren’t any “hints” about Dumbledore being gay in books 1-6, but frankly, who cares? It’s immaterial to the story. Dumbledore didn’t have any subtextual motivations that weren’t clearly explained in book 7. This is not the type of book with imagery and metaphor coming out the wazoo. It’s an entertaining (but epically paced and written) story.

    I think that J.K. Rowling should start making stuff up about her characters, just to see how much more whacked out the movies will get.

  • The Children of Men

    I finally slogged my way through The Children of Men by P.D. James. You may recall that there was a movie out last spring which was much hyped. It came to my attention through science fiction circles that this was based off of a science fiction book. I am opposed to seeing movies without first reading the book, so I picked it up.

    Slow-forward about 5 months. I tried twice to read this thing. The third time I finally finished it. Summary: I did not like the book. Blah blah blah blah blah, and so forth for 250 pages. The ideas are interesting such as: the psychological impact of having the entire human race unable to conceive children; the necessary preparations for the last people on Earth; the eventual breakdown of law and order. However, there was an overriding Goddidit theme in this book that annoyed the hell out of me. Warning, spoilers follow (more…)

  • Stardust

    We went to see the movie Stardust last night, starring Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert DeNiro, among others. It was written by Neil Gaiman, and is possible the best movie I’ve seen in the last five years. Way better than the Lord of the Rings or Narnia or any other of the big-budget fantasy movies that have come out recently. It has a complicated but tightly written plot with excellent storytelling and character development. There are comedic moments that don’t feel like they’ve been injected just to get the audience to laugh, but instead flow with the narrative. It’s all quite good, and if you don’t go see it while it’s in the theaters, you’ll regret it.

    Go. Tonight. See the movie!

  • Scifi Summer Movie Project

    Way back at the beginning of the summer I posted a list of scifi movies that I either needed to see, or see again. Let’s see how I’ve been doing.

    • Gattaca: Nope
    • Blade Runner**: Nope
    • Digitally scragged Return of the Jedi (I was so fed up with Lucas after his “improvement” of episode IV and V that I never went to see VI): Nope
    • Akira: Nope
    • The Last Mimzy: Yes, but it was a bit disappointing. It was an excellent tale, with good CGI, but it seemed a bit hollow from a science fiction perspective. Much ado was made about the kid brother being “the engineer” and then…nothing. Also (spoiler……) if all the future Earth peoples needed was a bit of DNA, why didn’t the Mimsy go and swap it’s furry hand through the kid’s mouth while she was sleeping?
    • The Animatrix: Nope
    • Time Bandits**: Nope
    • King Kong (the original): Nope
    • The Day the Earth Stood Still**: Nope
    • THX 1138: Finally saw this. It was exceptionally strange to watch, not only because it is a strange movie, but because I’m a huge star wars fan, and a lot of the same sound and visual effects that Lucas uses in episodes 4-6 are present in this film. Was very deja vu-ish.
    • Soylent Green (is people!): Amusing and campy. I’m still wondering why Charlton Heston’s character had a huge apartment that he shared with one person while there were people living on his stairway.
    • The Terminal Man: Nope
    • Robocop** (I saw this at a very impressionable age and it gave me nightmares. I’d probably enjoy it more, now): Nope
    • Bicentennial Man (we briefly saw the filming of this as we drove on 101 Hwy 1 in CA): Nope
    • The Thirteenth Floor: Excellent movie. Based off the same book Simulacra and Simulations as the Matrix was.
    • Red Planet: Nope
    • 28 Days Later: Nope
    • The Butterfly Effect: Nope
    • Thunderbirds: Nope
    • Children of Men (after I finish the book): Nope, and haven’t finished the book, either.
    • The Fountain: Nope
    • Ultraviolet: Yes, but I was heartily disappointed. I didn’t ever read this comic, and I think you needed to in order to appreciate the film.

    I don’t think I’m going to finish the list by the end of summer, but the year is still young!

    *There may be some films on this list that don’t qualify as “science fiction” in some fans’ minds. That’s ok. Make your own list! And keep in mind this is not some Top 10 or Top 100 list, an exercise I find is a bit meaningless on the hugely interactive web because no two people will ever agree on the contents of those lists.

    **Seen it at least once. Barely recall the plot

    ***Astute readers will note that most of this is a chronological/alphabetical list taken piecemeal from wikipedia

  • Pesky Harry Potter Peeves

    This article talks about Amazon.com preorders of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (11.5 Days!).

    It pissed me off for two reasons.

    One: At the top of the article is a picture of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Now, I realize that he is HP of the movies, but he is most decidedly not Harry Potter of the books. The hair is wrong, the scar is wrong, and frankly, there’s a huge difference between the books and the movies. Let’s keep it that way.

    Two: This quote. “…the concluding novel is generating much excitement because Rowling has indicated that one or more major characters will be killed off.” Really? That’s the only reason why there’s much excitement? That’s the best reason? Not the fact that this is the last book? Not the fact that all the mysteries of the last two books will be laid to rest? Come on, at least let someone write the copy who has read the books.

    Crazy people…

  • Scalzi on Star Wars

    I’ve had Star Wars on my mind because yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the debut of Epidode IV: A New Hope (a.k.a. STAR WARS).

    John Scalzi, the author of Old Man’s War1, which you may have seen knocking around the bookshelves, has an opinion regarding the Star Wars movies and their value as entertainment. He feels that the Star Wars sexology were not designed by Lucas to be entertaining, more as a vehicle for his politics and mythology. Go read it for more detail, it’s long.

    Toward the end of the post, he recommends a movie:

    Look, here’s a test for you. I want you to go out and find this movie: Battle Beyond the Stars. It’s a piece of crap 1980 B-movie, produced by Roger Corman, that’s clearly cashing in on the Star Wars phenomenon. Hell, it’s even a pastiche of the same things Star Wars is a pastiche of (it even has a planet Akir, named for Akira Kurosawa), and it was made for $2 million, which is nothing money, even back in 1980. Thing is, its screenplay was written by John Sayles (later twice nominated for the Best Screenplay Academy Award), and it’s funny and smart, and the whole movie, rather incredibly, keeps pace. Watch it and then tell me, honestly, that it’s not more entertaining than Star Wars Episodes I, II, III and VI.

    I haven’t seen this move, but I may have to add it to my list of SF Movies To Watch this summer.

    1 Old Man’s War is a very good novel. If you liked Starship Troopers (the Book!, not the “movie” with the same title and a few of the same character names) you’ll like Old Man’s War.

  • Jane Austen, Dr. Who, Jack Aubrey, Buffy…

    This would be the best literary mashup of all time.

  • SF Movies I Need to See (again): SF Movie Series Part One

    I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a list of “classic” films that they’ve never seen. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I watched Casablanca, I’ve never seen The Graduate which some people assure me is a crime, and I’ve never watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High which I know is a crime.

    Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the desire to watch every movie I “need” to see, so I’d rather specialize a bit. Here’s a list of Science Fiction* films that either I haven’t seen, or haven’t watched in so long I barely remember what happened. I’m going to make an effort to knock these out by the end of the summer 2007. I hear Netflix calling my name…

    If there’s something not on here that you think I should add, please note it in the comments. The List, in no particular order:

    • Gattaca
    • Blade Runner**
    • Digitally scragged Return of the Jedi (I was so fed up with Lucas after his “improvement” of episode IV and V that I never went to see VI)
    • Akira
    • The Last Mimzy
    • The Animatrix
    • Time Bandits**
    • King Kong (the original)
    • The Day the Earth Stood Still**
    • THX 1138
    • Soylent Green (is people!)
    • The Terminal Man
    • Robocop** (I saw this at a very impressionable age and it gave me nightmares. I’d probably enjoy it more, now)
    • Bicentennial Man (we briefly saw the filming of this as we drove on 101 Hwy 1 in CA)
    • The Thirteenth Floor
    • Red Planet
    • 28 Days Later
    • The Butterfly Effect
    • Thunderbirds
    • Children of Men (after I finish the book)
    • The Fountain
    • Ultraviolet

    I’m sure there are movies I’m forgetting at the moment. I’ll add them later. As I count up the list (22) I realize that if I watch one a week, I’ll be done in late August. That’s iffishly doable; I do have other things on my plate (wife, yard, vacation, work, hiking, other hobbies) so I may not be “successful”.

    *There may be some films on this list that don’t qualify as “science fiction” in some fans’ minds. That’s ok. Make your own list! And keep in mind this is not some Top 10 or Top 100 list, an exercise I find is a bit meaningless on the hugely interactive web because no two people will ever agree on the contents of those lists.

    **Seen it at least once. Barely recall the plot

    ***Astute readers will note that most of this is a chronological/alphabetical list taken piecemeal from wikipedia