posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mmoa_writes at 09:01pm on 13/09/2009 under ben barnes, colin firth, dinosaurs, documentaries, dorian gray, film review, films
mmoa_writes at 09:01pm on 13/09/2009 under ben barnes, colin firth, dinosaurs, documentaries, dorian gray, film review, filmsHave been watching far too many dinosaur documentaries lately (Secrets of the Dinosaurs) on History and once again find myself wondering just how advanced they managed to get before being wiped out once and for all. Did they construct basic shelters a la octopodes and gorillas? Did they start building on larger scales a la moles and their burrows? Did they start singing or was that purely a later development of their more-bird-like ancestors? The raptors always seem like good candidates for such developments, especially the smaller species', but I'm sure there were other clever meat eaters that I'm just not that familiar with.
Anyway. I really shouldn't be judging such awesome creatures by our standards. I mean, we're stupid.
Went to see Dorian Gray at the local cinema with my younger sisters on Wednesday evening. It was disappointing. I thought all the performances were fine (even Colin Firth's and I HATE Colin Firth. You have no idea to how low my hatred of that man goes; hatred of his acting, his annoying jowls, his bizarre reputation as a sex symbol - the man ruined that BBC version of Pride and Prejudice for me - everything. The hatred, it buuuurns!) and I was greatly relieved by Ben Barnes' performance who I expected to turn out as another OrlandoBlandBloom with the weight of his role (I actually love him to pieces but one has to be realistic...) but did a pretty good job at a part that's far too easy to royally fuck up.
The music was rather interesting (so I might get the soundtrack), though a bit much, tbh. Rather too much like a bad (or even good) Anne Rice film adaptation. The blue tone didn't really suit the film either, but the costumes were awesome and I adored the sets. The script, the adaptations to the original story and some of the directing was thoroughly dodgy, however. I'm pretty much full on with the good Doctor about the 'death of narrative cinema', which is most evident when you watch book to film adaptations. The idea to start the film with Gray dumping Basil's body in the river and then to go back a year, for example, is great, but I always feel if you're going to start with that quasi-Pulp Fiction cutting and pasting, maybe it would work better to do it all the way through? Pfft. What would I know, I guess.
I thought they did wrong to Harry though (and his wife. Oh man but who wouldn't want to see a thoroughly cynical go-getting Victorian housewife for once - she was like that in the books! I'm tired of this 'oh, the lady suffers! He's such a cad!' thing they always do - it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially when we're made to sympathise and enjoy the nonchalent cruelty of the hedonist. I mean, I'm all for everyone having crazy sex, but eventually you start hoping by the time the film finished they end up loaded with a syphillis infected baby or something) with his rather annoyingly feisty daughter (who gave up protesting for women's suffrage when daddy bought her an expensive camera. Great), though I did get some satisfaction that by the end of the film she'd run away from him and from home.
Ah, I don't know. It was just generally disappointing. I don't know if it's because I ate a snicker's bar before watching it, or drank sparkling water or whatever. It all seemed a bit pointless...
...with absolutely nothing to say about today's celebrity culture, actually. Sorry Mr Director, but maybe you should try for another film studies thesis because you were talking out of your arse. Grrr.
*coughs*
I have been absolutely pathetic this week. I did go out to the British library with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
athenethequeen , but that's been about it. So, I missed several comedy shows, several trips to various London markets and two plays at the NT. I really don't know what's wrong with me - I'd like to think I'm missing Nigeria (or at least, Chinyenye) but I think I'm just being truly slothful. I have done practically none of the outside reading or general work that I was meant to, and have been out of bed by noon on two days out of five. I'm not even mildly melancholic so I suspect it's the whole 'one week to Uni' kicking in. Wonderful.
Anyway. I really shouldn't be judging such awesome creatures by our standards. I mean, we're stupid.
Went to see Dorian Gray at the local cinema with my younger sisters on Wednesday evening. It was disappointing. I thought all the performances were fine (even Colin Firth's and I HATE Colin Firth. You have no idea to how low my hatred of that man goes; hatred of his acting, his annoying jowls, his bizarre reputation as a sex symbol - the man ruined that BBC version of Pride and Prejudice for me - everything. The hatred, it buuuurns!) and I was greatly relieved by Ben Barnes' performance who I expected to turn out as another Orlando
The music was rather interesting (so I might get the soundtrack), though a bit much, tbh. Rather too much like a bad (or even good) Anne Rice film adaptation. The blue tone didn't really suit the film either, but the costumes were awesome and I adored the sets. The script, the adaptations to the original story and some of the directing was thoroughly dodgy, however. I'm pretty much full on with the good Doctor about the 'death of narrative cinema', which is most evident when you watch book to film adaptations. The idea to start the film with Gray dumping Basil's body in the river and then to go back a year, for example, is great, but I always feel if you're going to start with that quasi-Pulp Fiction cutting and pasting, maybe it would work better to do it all the way through? Pfft. What would I know, I guess.
I thought they did wrong to Harry though (and his wife. Oh man but who wouldn't want to see a thoroughly cynical go-getting Victorian housewife for once - she was like that in the books! I'm tired of this 'oh, the lady suffers! He's such a cad!' thing they always do - it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially when we're made to sympathise and enjoy the nonchalent cruelty of the hedonist. I mean, I'm all for everyone having crazy sex, but eventually you start hoping by the time the film finished they end up loaded with a syphillis infected baby or something) with his rather annoyingly feisty daughter (who gave up protesting for women's suffrage when daddy bought her an expensive camera. Great), though I did get some satisfaction that by the end of the film she'd run away from him and from home.
Ah, I don't know. It was just generally disappointing. I don't know if it's because I ate a snicker's bar before watching it, or drank sparkling water or whatever. It all seemed a bit pointless...
...with absolutely nothing to say about today's celebrity culture, actually. Sorry Mr Director, but maybe you should try for another film studies thesis because you were talking out of your arse. Grrr.
*coughs*
I have been absolutely pathetic this week. I did go out to the British library with
athenethequeen , but that's been about it. So, I missed several comedy shows, several trips to various London markets and two plays at the NT. I really don't know what's wrong with me - I'd like to think I'm missing Nigeria (or at least, Chinyenye) but I think I'm just being truly slothful. I have done practically none of the outside reading or general work that I was meant to, and have been out of bed by noon on two days out of five. I'm not even mildly melancholic so I suspect it's the whole 'one week to Uni' kicking in. Wonderful.