This is a post dedicated to those who haven't actually seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) or to people like me who tried couple of scattered episodes and they didn't understand anything or simply dismissed it, being a thing with vampires and a blonde chick who kicks their asses.
Well let me put it shortly. Buffy is not about vampires, witches or demons. Buffy is also not about the good beating the bad.
Buffy is about heroes with flaws and monster with hearts. Buffy is about friendship and the bad things we do to our friends, just because sometimes we take them for granted and forget we have to listen to them, too. Buffy is about the painful process of taking the right decision and about forgiveness. Buffy is about redemption and sin. Buffy is about betrayals. Buffy is about impossible love and normal love, which sometimes we have the tendency to despise as being too dull. Buffy is about books and the powerful knowledge they bring. Buffy is about family life with all its ups and downs. Buffy is also about the pain of losing the dear ones and watching helpless how they go into nothingness.
Who would have expected such depths from a TV series with a non-generous title...perfect for our harsh mockery? Guess what? Give it a try and you will rediscover basic emotions. You will rediscover the pleasure of an incredibly well woven story. You will fall in love with the humor of the situations, you will love and hate vampires like Angel and Spike (interesting names, no?), you will giggle with demons like Clam or Anyanka, you will fear the awesomeness of a witch like Willow, you will fall for the goofy, big-hearted and valiant friend like Xander and you will suffer along with Buffy's hurdles to keep balanced a world at peril.
Simply enjoy Buffyverse. You will thank me after that.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Adventure pack
So I have this soft spot for adventure movies as they remind me of childhood and of times when everything was possible. This is why I ended up with such a pack when I was at home in spring. On Monday I decided it is high time I plunged into fantastic deeds and awesome worlds. The outcome? Close to disaster and here it is why.
1. Beauty and the Beast (2009) - I have always loved the story, so I was preparing myself in a cozy position on the couch with a cup of hot tea, ready to let myself impressed by the beauty who will turn the monster into the prince. Bang... First of all, the Beauty was dressed in a mini tight leather skirt with an even tighter leather blouse, pushing up 2 impressive boobs and permanent erected nipples. Because of the nipples I managed to see the pouty botox full lips only toward the end of the movie. I watched it fascinated as this is the kind of production that should be studied by future movie makers in the category "NO - THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO MAKE A MOVIE! THIS IS HELL!"
2. The Season of the Witch (2011) - I think Nicolas Cage was in a coma when he signed to play in it. I still have to mention the dead monks, killed by black plague, turned into zombies and crawling on the walls and the ceiling of the monastery like some small coal dark bats, resembling for couple of seconds with small bombers (?!) making weird maneuvers. Awesome! To be seen only if you are drunk. Dead drunk.
3. The Phantom (2010) - Apparently this is the first of a mini-series, but I aint gonna search for the rest. If I want heroes who can fly, I watch Superman. If I want heroes with high-tech, indestructible costumes (Phantom's one is colored in purple!), I watch Batman or even better (Iron Man), if I want conspiracies I read Dan Brown. They tried to pull all of these together and the result is a non-convincing melange. On the plus side stays the good-bad Abel Vandermaark, who is ok as a dual character.
4. Sanctum (2011) - Explorers inside underground caves. Lots of water. Lots of deaths. Even more water. Play the first 5 minutes, so you can see the most impressive entrance in a cave, though if it is for real I am sure you will find it on youtube as well.
5. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2011) - I had the feeling Nicolas Cage made this movie on the same sets where no 2 above was shot. Same hair-cut, same clothes style. I guess these 2 came in the same offer. You know... 2 in 1. In the morning, you are a knight, in the evening you are a wizard. Try if you are a die-hard fan of Monica Bellucci and if you like iron made eagles flying.
6. The Seven Adventures of Sinbad (2010) - LOL. Double LOL. Triple LOL. Man...All of the above are diamonds, jewels. I would not spoil for you the pleasure of making acquaintance of the worst flick ever. But I cannot help myself and I have to describe one scene. Imagine some guys on an island, who are thrown in the middle of the ocean as the island turns to be a huge whale. After drifting for a while they are picked by some dinosaurs-birds and brought to another island to be eaten. In the next 5 minutes the guys pop up with things like torches, matches, lighters, lanterns and believe it or not even a GPS. Muahahahahaha.... I do not understand the 3 stars rating on IMDB. It is beyond my rational process.
7. True Grit (2010) - Western is not among my favorites, but I like Jeff Bridges, so I accepted this small derogation. Not a bad idea, as I enjoyed it for a one time watch. It's a simple and enjoyable story. Well played by everybody, and I have to give credit to the Coen brothers who this time delivered a decently directed product. For rainy afternoons.
8. Eight Below (2006) - Awwwwwwww.... This is a cuteness alert movie. With dogs. And not any dogs. Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes. If you do not hate snow like me, you will cry and clap. You will weep and yell. You will melt like an iceberg because of global warming. Beautiful and touching. Recommended for animal lovers, but also for people whose sensibility did not disappear. Thumb up.
To be continued, as the Adventure Pack still has some more offers in it. :)
1. Beauty and the Beast (2009) - I have always loved the story, so I was preparing myself in a cozy position on the couch with a cup of hot tea, ready to let myself impressed by the beauty who will turn the monster into the prince. Bang... First of all, the Beauty was dressed in a mini tight leather skirt with an even tighter leather blouse, pushing up 2 impressive boobs and permanent erected nipples. Because of the nipples I managed to see the pouty botox full lips only toward the end of the movie. I watched it fascinated as this is the kind of production that should be studied by future movie makers in the category "NO - THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO MAKE A MOVIE! THIS IS HELL!"
2. The Season of the Witch (2011) - I think Nicolas Cage was in a coma when he signed to play in it. I still have to mention the dead monks, killed by black plague, turned into zombies and crawling on the walls and the ceiling of the monastery like some small coal dark bats, resembling for couple of seconds with small bombers (?!) making weird maneuvers. Awesome! To be seen only if you are drunk. Dead drunk.
3. The Phantom (2010) - Apparently this is the first of a mini-series, but I aint gonna search for the rest. If I want heroes who can fly, I watch Superman. If I want heroes with high-tech, indestructible costumes (Phantom's one is colored in purple!), I watch Batman or even better (Iron Man), if I want conspiracies I read Dan Brown. They tried to pull all of these together and the result is a non-convincing melange. On the plus side stays the good-bad Abel Vandermaark, who is ok as a dual character.
4. Sanctum (2011) - Explorers inside underground caves. Lots of water. Lots of deaths. Even more water. Play the first 5 minutes, so you can see the most impressive entrance in a cave, though if it is for real I am sure you will find it on youtube as well.
5. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2011) - I had the feeling Nicolas Cage made this movie on the same sets where no 2 above was shot. Same hair-cut, same clothes style. I guess these 2 came in the same offer. You know... 2 in 1. In the morning, you are a knight, in the evening you are a wizard. Try if you are a die-hard fan of Monica Bellucci and if you like iron made eagles flying.
6. The Seven Adventures of Sinbad (2010) - LOL. Double LOL. Triple LOL. Man...All of the above are diamonds, jewels. I would not spoil for you the pleasure of making acquaintance of the worst flick ever. But I cannot help myself and I have to describe one scene. Imagine some guys on an island, who are thrown in the middle of the ocean as the island turns to be a huge whale. After drifting for a while they are picked by some dinosaurs-birds and brought to another island to be eaten. In the next 5 minutes the guys pop up with things like torches, matches, lighters, lanterns and believe it or not even a GPS. Muahahahahaha.... I do not understand the 3 stars rating on IMDB. It is beyond my rational process.
7. True Grit (2010) - Western is not among my favorites, but I like Jeff Bridges, so I accepted this small derogation. Not a bad idea, as I enjoyed it for a one time watch. It's a simple and enjoyable story. Well played by everybody, and I have to give credit to the Coen brothers who this time delivered a decently directed product. For rainy afternoons.
8. Eight Below (2006) - Awwwwwwww.... This is a cuteness alert movie. With dogs. And not any dogs. Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes. If you do not hate snow like me, you will cry and clap. You will weep and yell. You will melt like an iceberg because of global warming. Beautiful and touching. Recommended for animal lovers, but also for people whose sensibility did not disappear. Thumb up.
To be continued, as the Adventure Pack still has some more offers in it. :)
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Cinematic hotchpotch
Last week I saw several new (sic!) movies and revisited some old ones. Here are my feelings and read without any worries. No spoilers as I am not a classic reviewer. In absolute random order I present you:
1. One.Two.Three (2008) - Leaving aside the fact that it is a sort of a stealthy copy of Blame it on the bellboy do you know that state of mind when you watch something, but you do not hear or see anything, being too engrossed in thoughts? Well, this is the main advantage of the flick. Perfect meditation inducer. I do though remember something from it - the family name of the 3 main characters - Laxminarayan. :D
2. Umrao Jaan (2006) - I have not seen the more acclaimed version with Rekha so do not jump on me. And no matter what people say, I loved Aishwarya in this one...in spite of the fact that her beauty is so intense that you have the feeling you watch a PC animated character. The songs, the colors, the lyrics, the slow rhythm still touched my soul. I thought 5 years later a re-watch will annoy me, but it was not the case.
3. 127 Hours (2010) - Danny Boyle did not disappoint me. He managed to make a good movie with perfect first 20 minutes, a disciplined artistry in the middle, well played by James Franco and incredibly intense 15 last minutes. I suffer of claustrophobia and this movie did not help me at all in taming this condition. But it is worthy of my appreciation and thumb up.
4. Anjaana Anjaani (2010) - A bitter sweet romantic comedy (?) would be a Hollywood teaser. Two strangers meeting in a suicide point. The rest you can easily imagine. The kind of movie perfect to waste time with it on a Sunday, when nothing else is on TV, all your friends are out of town and Internet is not working...oh and yes, the room with the books is accidentally closed and the key is lost.
5. Australia (2008) - I avoided it all this time as I am not a fan of Hugh Jackman (I checked it 3 times his name to be sure I spelled it correctly). After exactly 35 minutes the folder called Australia suffered the Shift Delete combination. Boring even if you are doing your nails or straightening your hair, while it plays.
6. No one killed Jessica (2011) - A film with unfulfilled dramatic potential. I need a second try to understand whose fault is. Otherwise interesting and touching at times. But it fails to wake up in you the frustration and the anger which were obviously targeted. Recommended anyway as "something else".
7. Guzaarish (2010) - Man...10 years ago I would have poured tons of tears on this one. I mean come on... sexy paralyzed guy and a married nurse (beautiful like an icon) who has been taking care of him for more than 10 years, loving him secretly... Oh my God... But life is a bitch, and apparently I became one, too. No tear... Sigh... Give it a try though if you are in a gooey mood.
8. Kaminey (2009) - Watched it again (proper high quality version this time with a proper translation) and I loved it. Perfect combination of action, darkness, adventure, clumsiness (yes clumsiness), slight sick humor, bad...really bad interlopes and a good ending. Music brilliantly embedded. Lessons for life presented in a non-invasive manner. With an honest heart I can say it is one of the best Hindi movies of the last 10 years. A small masterpiece in its genre.
Now go and watch something and keep the world of movies alive. :)
1. One.Two.Three (2008) - Leaving aside the fact that it is a sort of a stealthy copy of Blame it on the bellboy do you know that state of mind when you watch something, but you do not hear or see anything, being too engrossed in thoughts? Well, this is the main advantage of the flick. Perfect meditation inducer. I do though remember something from it - the family name of the 3 main characters - Laxminarayan. :D
2. Umrao Jaan (2006) - I have not seen the more acclaimed version with Rekha so do not jump on me. And no matter what people say, I loved Aishwarya in this one...in spite of the fact that her beauty is so intense that you have the feeling you watch a PC animated character. The songs, the colors, the lyrics, the slow rhythm still touched my soul. I thought 5 years later a re-watch will annoy me, but it was not the case.
3. 127 Hours (2010) - Danny Boyle did not disappoint me. He managed to make a good movie with perfect first 20 minutes, a disciplined artistry in the middle, well played by James Franco and incredibly intense 15 last minutes. I suffer of claustrophobia and this movie did not help me at all in taming this condition. But it is worthy of my appreciation and thumb up.
4. Anjaana Anjaani (2010) - A bitter sweet romantic comedy (?) would be a Hollywood teaser. Two strangers meeting in a suicide point. The rest you can easily imagine. The kind of movie perfect to waste time with it on a Sunday, when nothing else is on TV, all your friends are out of town and Internet is not working...oh and yes, the room with the books is accidentally closed and the key is lost.
5. Australia (2008) - I avoided it all this time as I am not a fan of Hugh Jackman (I checked it 3 times his name to be sure I spelled it correctly). After exactly 35 minutes the folder called Australia suffered the Shift Delete combination. Boring even if you are doing your nails or straightening your hair, while it plays.
6. No one killed Jessica (2011) - A film with unfulfilled dramatic potential. I need a second try to understand whose fault is. Otherwise interesting and touching at times. But it fails to wake up in you the frustration and the anger which were obviously targeted. Recommended anyway as "something else".
7. Guzaarish (2010) - Man...10 years ago I would have poured tons of tears on this one. I mean come on... sexy paralyzed guy and a married nurse (beautiful like an icon) who has been taking care of him for more than 10 years, loving him secretly... Oh my God... But life is a bitch, and apparently I became one, too. No tear... Sigh... Give it a try though if you are in a gooey mood.
8. Kaminey (2009) - Watched it again (proper high quality version this time with a proper translation) and I loved it. Perfect combination of action, darkness, adventure, clumsiness (yes clumsiness), slight sick humor, bad...really bad interlopes and a good ending. Music brilliantly embedded. Lessons for life presented in a non-invasive manner. With an honest heart I can say it is one of the best Hindi movies of the last 10 years. A small masterpiece in its genre.
Now go and watch something and keep the world of movies alive. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)