Category: Things I’ve Seen

[Stupid cold. Didn’t even feel up to blogging. Bleah. I’m going back into work today at least.]
This was an interesting episode in lotsa ways. The A-plot took advantage of the sci-fi premise for once, and it provided a heck of a ride with great reversals coming in to mark every ad break cliffhanger, but by the end it just felt too shallow – like in the writers’ room they’d satisfied themselves with coming up with all the plot twists and forgot to layer in some actual plot underneath it. Lots of sound and fury. But not to be too harsh – the plot they indicated (if not explored) was fairly interesting. (Best thing about this storyline wasn’t even in the storyline, it was the reaction from Dollhouse staffer Detective Kellerman, and how Ms. Williams responded to that reaction.)
The B-plot, back in the Dollhouse with Topher and the Doctor, fell completely flat. It was entirely exposition; there was, throughout the whole episode, not a single moment where the B-plot characters had to make any decision whatsoever. Very weird; presumably more pipe-laying for the future. The C-plot, with the FBI agent, was much the same- nothing much going on there.
Next week is the much-ballyhooed switch-up episode. I’m ready for some payoff now plzkthx.
Aside: I’ve noticed a bit of backlash at the actor playing Topher, along the lines of “he’s playing this guy like he’s a nice friendly Xander, but he’s an abusive douche! He should be a better actor so that comes across!” These critics are in the Do Not Get It camp as far as I can see. The character is indeed an abusive douche, and yes he is being played precisely as a nice friendly Xander or a nice friendly Wash. That is the whole point of his character, and it’s obviously intended as a signal to the viewer about how to read the whole show. (Whether the rest of the show follows through on this remains to be seen. Next week!)

Just so y’all know I’m still watching – yeah, this is still earning its way with me as a first act. There was some fun stuff here, and for once the A-plot about the engagement was closely tied into the B-plot about activity at and around the Dollhouse itself. This episode’s instalment of the investigating-cop subplot was a big waste of time though; they’re really struggling to find excuses to put him in the episodes at present. Guys, just leave him out until a proper storyline comes along for him.
All over the net there’s backlash about how “wait for episode 6” is part of the mantra around this show. Sure, there’s some merit to being cynical about aspects of that message, but I don’t see that I’ve got much to lose by finding out if it’s right.
Either way, Dollhouse is going down in history as one of the most unusual show concepts ever. No sympathetic characters and your lead keeps getting her memory wiped? Weirdness. How this thing got greenlit I’ll never know.

My buddy Ed’s movie, The Last Great Snail Chase, is getting a cinema release from this Thursday. It’s screening up in Auckland at the Academy, for two weeks. I previously wrote about seeing the premiere – almost two years ago! – so its exciting that it is stepping out into the world again.
Here’s the main site for the film, the uninformative IMDB page, and the Flicks page with a glowing viewer review.
Not online is the Sunday Star Times newspaper review, which gave it 2 out of 5 stars. Opening ‘graph: “Edward Lynden-Bell’s debut feature as scriptwriter and director feels like a visual thesis for a philosophy course devoted to theosophical and mystical concepts. It’s a peculiar little film…” Closer: “It’s a brave first effort that easly satisfies Lynden-Bell’s desire to make it a film his friends would say ‘Have you seen that f—ing weird film?’ Whether anyone else will see it is debatable.” [Dodgy grammar transcribed faithfully; probably this was savaged by a subeditor.]
I reckon you should go see it if you get a chance. You won’t ever see anything else like it, that’s a promise. It ain’t the greatest film ever, but it is interesting and fun.
Congrats Ed!

Blimey.
It’s actually good.
No, it is. It is crammed full of so much stuff, and it is so faithful to the original, that noticing how the storytelling feels crowded with little beats and not many big ones just reminds you of the perils of an adaptation that is too accurate.
Faithful particularly in the visuals, the framing, the colour palette, etc. – shades of Jackson’s Lord of the RIngs, where even though the story was changed, the map of Middle Earth was held sacrosanct.
Also, about half the film is in slow motion.
Will the uninitiated get it? Dunno. It’s certainly a curiousity. For those who know, however – yeah. This is Watchmen: The Movie, and it is the least bad Watchmen: The Movie possible.
(My favourite bit was the end where the Watchmen team up again to fight the space squid that is trying to destroy New York.)

Again with the by-numbers A-plot while the B-plot runs setup for more interesting stuff down the road. This time the A-plot highlights exploitation, raising implicit questions about the show premise – but man, the fan service is a bit of a pill to swallow for any feminist reading of the show. These opening episodes feel like they’re marking time, but it isn’t unpleasant riding along with them. Three episodes in, the show has not grabbed me with what it has done, but I’m very curious about what it will do next. Roll on episode six.

Intriguing second ep. The A-story goes into full-on suspense-thriller mode, with plenty of shocks and reversals, some of them easy to see coming (indeed, some as homages to filmic jump-scares), others not. The B-story throws out a whole heap of plot background and arc development into the mix. The balance between the ongoing plot and the episode-of-the-week stuff is signalled – the ongoing elements are already stronger than I expected them to be. The moral/ethical issues to do with the Dollhouse are squarely in the foreground but aren’t interrogated at all, I think because they don’t need to be – the viewer can be expected to be interrogating them anyway, so the show doesn’t need to spend time on it.
I really liked this episode, even with its cheesy moments. The show is demonstrating that it can sustain its initial premise, but that it is going someplace else anyway. I stand by my initial call of a five-episode intro and then things start to switch up; word on the nets this week has been that episode 6, written by Joss, is the turning point, so I might be right on the money there.
This show has potential. Worth sticking with to the turn, anywise. I’m digging it.

First ep of Joss Whedon’s new show, Dollhouse. It’s up on Hulu for US viewers, but with some internet jiggery pokery overseasers can also watch it.
I liked it. It felt like chapter one of something longer. Lots of stuff set up.
Most curiously, there was no lead character. The central/star character, Eliza Dushku’s Echo, is deliberately identity-less; she’s kind of haunting, and easy to watch, and clearly going to be at the centre of the series, but she is in no way a lead. It gives the show a weird, uncertain vibe.
It’s clearly intended as a procedural setup – each ep they’ll do a variation on the same theme. I expect this to last for about five episodes before Whedon and crew switch it up and start seriously upending the premise to go someplace else. Remember, Angel was a procedural show too, and by episode nine one of the three core cast was dead and the established pattern had been ditched for good…
There’s more than enough to keep me watching. Cool.

I was excited to take the opportunity to see this film. As everyone knows, this film brings to life a book that spawned an international frenzy. It tells of the love story between two youngsters, one of whom is mysterious but confident, and the other who is put-upon and overlooked. There is an irresistible attraction between the two of them, but complications ensue, because it turns out the mysterious, confident one is a vampire. The relationship they build is chaste and highly charged, both safe and dangerous at the same time.
It’s pleasing to see that the massive popularity of this book and film is based on something that is so thoughtful and genuine. The huge response this film has engendered shows that it has really touched a nerve in its audience. We should be grateful that the mass audience has embraced a creative work of such quality as this.
(However, I’d heard that there would be sparkles. I didn’t detect any sparkles, unless we count snowflakes. Yeah, that’s probably what everyone meant.)
Recommendation: go see it before you start hearing things that will spoil it for you.