Dollhouse (review)

Since enough time has passed, and I’ve been able to mull around my thoughts, I’ve decided to give an official review of the television show Dollhouse, recently completed on Fox.  I should warn you that I have some issues with Fox, so this post will most likely be biased.

 

In what I call an unfortunate circumstance, Dollhouse only made it through a season.  I say season even though others may call it two seasons because a single television season should consist of twenty-something episodes:  no less than twenty, no more than twenty-six.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m sure an average season of television should last about twenty-two episodes.  Dollhouse has twenty-four episodes in total.

 

Within that twenty-four episode timeframe, Dollhouse managed to fit at least three seasons worth of material in that small amount of time.  The majority of the content is found in the last ten or so episodes.  You can see me complain about such nonsensical accomplishments here. [Warning: link contains spoilers]

 

Yes, this fast pace does detract from the story --- a lot.  I would have loved to have seen Adele DeWitt suffer more from her demotion.  Echo’s escape and circumstances behind her return should have been elaborated upon.  It would have been so cool to actually see Topher’s descent into insanity.  But alas, Fox did not give Joss Whedon a chance to develop his characters at a reasonable pace.  At least they had the courtesy to give him a heads up when his show was cancelled.

 

For, I assume, when Dear Joss heard about this cancellation, he decided to fit as much of the story into the final episodes as possible.  That meant that a character’s development was left assumed by the viewer.  It also meant that a few scenes from the episode “Epitaph One” went unseen by the viewer as well.  He worked so hard to cram the rest of the story in a way that made sense, that gave episodes clear arcs.  I do not commend Joss for the story, I commend him for his effort put forth into the storytelling.  If that man deserves anything, he deserves to produce a show that offers at least five seasons of content.  Fie upon Fox for their treatment of Storytelling Mastermind Joss Whedon!  Fie upon them all!

 

As for Dollhouse, because of the circumstances around its production, character development was sort of stunted in a way where we didn’t see how anyone developed.  The pacing was radically out of proportion especially when Guest Star Alexis Denisof was around.  So really, it put a damper on the whole operation all together.  But I give Dollhouse the benefit of the doubt.  It did not deserve what it got, and it had so much potential.

Where the Wild Things Are (review)

Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini
Grade: B+

Personally, I say the question of whether this is a children's movie is up in the air. I highly enjoyed it, but my friend secret codename Herb downright disliked it. Then again, she did confess that the monsters in the movie reminded her of her childhood nightmares. That I can understand.

Max is a disobedient little boy who likes to play outside and have adventures. We see him interact with his older sister and his mother. This establishes the theme that Max feels like the world is against him. Although he can make his mother laugh while she works, he does tend to be a little pain in the butt. One night, he runs away to an island inhabited by giant monsters. They agree to make Max king because Max tells them he was made king of the vikings. From there, Max declares that they build a giant fort where they can sleep in a giant pile like their first night. The story continues from there.

The movie itself does not seem to feature any main or central conflict. But the viewer can draw a few parallels between Max and the monster Carol. While at home, Max feels like the world is against him. I'm sure we've all felt like this before as a child. Adults think their way is the best way and don't believe children have minds of their own. Movies like this help bring to the front that children in fact are capable of thinking for themselves even if it is flawed. While no one agrees to go along with what Max has to say, he becomes a troublemaker.

On the island, Carol is the character everyone else isolates in a similar way. No one very much likes his ideas even if Carol thinks his ideas are the best. This is probably what first draws Max to Carol. As the story continues, and Max becomes king, Max discovers what it's like to be the one with the ideas and to be listened to. He likes it. Even though Max sometimes goes along with Carol,he does not always like Carol's ideas. This is apparent when KW brings her friends Bob and Terri into the fort and their brains are not eaten automatically. Although Max wanted the new friends to enter, Carol did not.

Although the monsters may not appear child-friendly to my friend, the imagination displayed throughout the movie was definitely that of a child. The lack of technology in the kid's life is apparent in the beginning of the movie, and I attribute this to his active imagination. (There is a theme there better left for another post.) The writer's did a very good job writing about a boy with a mind of creation, and they did a good job tying a lot of the events in his life together in the arc of the movie.

The main thing that caught my attention, however, was the photography. Whoever had command of the camera knew exactly how to poetically capture an image. It was kind of breathtaking to watch and kept a person inspired throughout the movie. Perhaps it's these images that reminded the viewer that the movie is about imagination. The cinematography is very inspiring.

However, the movie fails to present a central conflict to be resolved throughout the movie. Yes, there is conflict with Max's behavior at home and Carol's anger at the end of the movie, but it's not really resolved. We do not see Max learning a lesson while away, we just see him calm down enough to realize that maybe he didn't behave his best. And we do see Carol be upset for getting angry at Max too.

To go along with this, the characters don't really have central goals. While on the island, Max just wants to have fun and be the king for the monsters. Yes, they build a fort, the story continues after the fort is finished. It's just a background activity so the characters have something to do while they have fun.

Overall, I give this movie a B+. After a while, it did seem to get a bit long. And the lack of set goals and conflicts highlight the length. It detracts from what really made this movie enjoyable: good acting on Max's part and the photography. The active imagination was very endearing too.

This movie is recommended for everyone aged seven and up. Some of the images might be scary, and a character does get his arm ripped off at one point. But overall, very family friendly, and enjoyable to watch.

Toki o kakeru shôjo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) -- A Review

Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida
Grade: B/B-
viewed in the original Japanese with subtitles

The movie follows high schooler Makoto Konno. She's the typical student, not very smart but not stupid. Every day after school, she hangs out with her friends Chiaki and Kosuke. They play baseball on a daily basis. Nothing seems to be altogether wrong with anything. The day starts with Makoto almost late for school. She goes on to fail a surprise quiz, cause a scene while making tempura, and then forgets to deliver report books to the teacher's lounge. It's when she investigates someone rustling in the next room where she comes across a small walnut-shaped device that gives her the ability to leap through time.

The movie started out pretty strong. We hear Makoto complain about her younger sister. Some girls at school have crushes on Makoto's friends, but she's not bothered by this until later. As the movie progresses, the film seems to lose some of its strength. I was still interested throughout the whole thing, but then there was the Interesting Twist around three quarters into the movie.

I suppose this Interesting Twist is alluded to, but my friend (secret codename Herb) and I agreed that it could have been done better. The Interesting Twist was more of an unwarranted right-hook. And then I thought about it, and then I concluded that the allusions could have been done better.

That's my only qualm about the movie. The animation is beautiful throughout the whole thing, and there were some interesting shots that were very artistic. I liked the effects when she traveled through time --- with the clocks and numbers. Throughout the movie, she refers to her time travel ability as a "Time Leap", an action made literal by the fact that she leaps if she wants to travel through time.

I found it interesting that she doesn't run into her past or future selves while time traveling. But I suppose when you are the one being taken out of time, the entirety of you is taken out as well.

This movie was also riddled with comedic moments. Leaping through a kendo lesson was pretty funny. After a few leaps, she mastered the ability to roll when she lands. So she'll suddenly appear somersaulting on the ground to the surprised faces of Kosuke and Chiaki. Not only that, but her antics in general were really amusing to watch. It was very entertaining in that sense.

Overall, it was a good movie. A nice little anime for those unwilling to watch an entire series. I'm not sure whether to give it a B or a B-. Yes, it's good, but that Interesting Twist is really something that hits you the wrong way. So I'll just ride the fence on this one and come up with a better grading scale. I'll post it when I have it figured out.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

When a double homocide leaves Lieutenant Murphy confused, she calls upon her close friend Harry Dresden. Dresden is not your average private investigator. He is the only qualified wizard in Chicago running his own PI firm, and money is tight because no one needs any paranormal investigations. Which is why Dresden gets excited when he gets two jobs in one day.

Harry Dresden is, in a word, entertaining. What all encompasses entertaining? Let me count the ways:

Entertaining means funny. I finally got into this book when Harry is fighting off a toad-like demon, naked, in the middle of a date. It is not as it seems, I swear to you! His lady friend is fully clothed . . . in a sexy dress. But that's beside the point. The point is I read this part in a public place and I may or may not have been given many odd looks laughing myself silly. So there. Harry Dresden is funny.

Entertaining also means action-packed. Harry fights off demons, fights off inept wizards, and fights off the mafia. He also avoids giant growing scorpions, and gets his sneakers stolen from his cat.

Entertaining involves a little mystery too. Who murdered those two people and how did they do it? More importantly, who will be next? Harry hunts him down through dead ends and even puts himself at personal risk. Not because this stuff is dangerous, but because of legal wizarding issues explained in the book.

Problems I had with the book? The beginning is slow, but I give the book the benefit of the doubt for that. Harry comes at you fully developed with history and humor. It takes a few chapters to really settle into a groove with that. I read this book a while ago, and I came out loving it to no end. This isn't my best review, it's just something to bring me out of my lull.

I recommend Storm Front to anyone looking for a good laugh. Don't go in looking for some thought-provoking plot with captivating characters. Go in looking for a good time and witty sarcasm. You'll come out a better person because of it.

Haitus

This is just to say that my reviews, essays, and opinions will be on haitus until I can figure out how to solve my computer problems.

In the meantime, I will prepare what to write about my current reads. You'll have to make do with the suspense until then. I hope you can handle it. And if you can't handle it, here are a few things on my favorites list:

My Life is Average
Good Reads
IMDB

I'm sure you've heard of them before. And while you're at it, add me as a friend on Good Reads!

A few things on Nightwish

One of my favorite bands of all time is Nightwish. Naturally, I head over to YouTube to check them out in concert once in a while. Then I read the comments, and I get frustrated and tired at the same time. This is why:

When Nightwish was first formed, their lead singer was Tarja Turunen -- a classically trained charismatic woman. Her voice is powerful and very beautiful when paired with the rocking guitars of heavy metal. Example below:



In 2005, Nightwish kicked Tarja out of the band via open letter. She went on to start a solo career while Nightwish held open auditions for a new singer. About a year later, in May 2006, Nightwish announced Anette Olzen as their new lead singer and released the single "Eva" so fans wouldn't judge her by a picture or past work. They released their latest album Dark Passion Play in 2007.


This is not "Eva".

If you actually go to YouTube to watch these, read the comments. So many people comment on the awesomeness of Tarja and how Anette sucks. I wonder if they've ever listened to Dark Passion Play. Personally, I love that album better than the others because it offers a wider variety than their older albums. A lot of the songs featuring Tarja have the same style and blend together. The songs featuring Anette aren't the same song redone with a different melody, which is what Tarja seems to sing all the time.

So that's my opinion on the matter. Both Tarja and Anette are great singers in their own right. I prefer Anette because she brought the band a great deal more freedom than Tarja seemed to do. This opinion is expressed here because it gets lost in YouTube comments.

Now go, enjoy the singers, and be sure to comment on your favorite Nightwish songs. I'm a fan of "Nemo", "The Poet and the Pendulum", "The Islander", and "Sahara".

On a side note, I found another live video of Anette last night also singing "Nemo" as above. About a minute and a half through, when she sings the lyrics "touch me with your love", Tuomas pats her on the head. Unfortunately, I couldn't find that video again. *tear*

A New Year, A New Virus

Oh no! My computer has come down with a cold! Serious symptoms ensue -- the most prominent being the lack of Internet connection. It appears a virus is taking over because shortly after I couldn't get Internet, my Sidebar and then my Mouse stopped functioning properly. Never fear, for I have connections to computer geeks people would pay money for.

In the meantime, I'm reading books, watching movies, playing games, and writing. I'll review later, but I did dabble into:

"Fire" by Kristin Cashore
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game (for the Nintendo DS)
Pokemon LeafGreen
"Storm Front" by Jim Butcher

I'm still reading "Storm Front" but it's going slowly. Mostly because I have a Staryu to train in preparation for my fight with Blaine the Cinnibar Island Gym Leader. And I did everything but the final boss in the Avatar game. Stupid Tharanatar won't die!! That does not look like that creature's name, so I'm sorry for getting it wrong. But my current main priority is getting my poor computer fixed.

Happy New Year, Dear Reader!