Well, here are three movies that were panned by a lot of people and the media that I really liked. I would like to talk to others, of a like mind, as to what they think of the movies and maybe some others that we can find common ground on.
Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within
Tales from Earthsea (Studio Gibli)
I, Robot
Thoughts on the subject matter, what is different from the source materials but still worked, etc. Hope to hear from you.
Okay, so no responses. I'll start anyway.
First, Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within
To begin with, I have never played the games so I did not come to the table with a set of expectations. This was actually a good thing because I have found that my expectations of a particular movie can seriously dampen the movie. I have nothing against those that wanted a movie that more closely matched the plot lines delved by the multitude of games. I just feel that as a stand alone computer animated movie FF: TSW was a great example of the possibilities the medium has for creating SFF movies. Maybe the director should have left Final Fantasy out of the title.
It may be possible that the producers would not of backed the movie for fear that no one would come to the director's movie without his Final Fantasy credentials. Non artistic people love to dump that load onto people because they can only see what has worked and need that comfort level. Just think where SFF books, games, and movies would be if no one pushed the bounderies.
Now for the movie. I felt the story line was strong with the plight of the dead aliens and the humans, who were unfortunate collateral victims of the self destruction of the aliens. The characters were well created and beleivable. The world/set design was very much to my liking. A good mix of anime and real world looks along with good old glitzy special effects. I found the color palette very well chosen. As for the babble about the more you try to make realistic people with CGI then the less beleivable they become, I feel it is a matter of artistic talent. The animators of FF: TSW did an amazing job for the time. Yes, you can tell they are animated, but it does not take away from the story telling. Another movie I liked that way was Beowulf. Unfortunately, Beowulf suffered from poor animation (shortcuts, laziness, talent, etc.) that would jar you out of the story. I found that, for the most part, not to be the case with FF: TSW.
I think the main problem people have with name-franchised films is when the film bares little or no connection with it's franchise.
The films are presumably aimed at the fans of the source material, but when they have little or no connection with said material, fans of it are likely to feel robbed as they are sold on the pretense that the film actually contains something relevant to the original game concept, book content etc.
Imagine going to see a film called "Lord of the Rings" only to discover it was about a jewellry wholesaler from the east end of London.
Actually, I am more in that situation with I, Robot and Tales of Earthsea because I have read both authors extensively, yet I still liked both movies. I will admit that if I was a rabid fan like the Final Fantasy people I would maybe have been bummed out by Spirit Within. I will also admit to being disappointed in the Star Wars prequels but for many, many reasons. In addition, I am not immune to let downs from my own expectations, which are sometimes spurred by the advertising behind the movies.
However, I still found myself enjoying these movies. Now let's look at Tales of Earthsea. In this case, not only had I read the stories, I was also aware of many of the reviews that panned this movie. I will say that my first veiwing was luke warm for me. I had to deal with the fact that I had high expectations from other movies like Howl's Moving Castle, Naussica, and Spirited Away. Tales was a much more introspective and less action orientaded film, which upon later viewings fit more with my general sense of Ursula Le Guins stories.
While there are liberties taken and story lines mixed, I beleive the overall effect portrays the books well. In addition, the artwork was quite beautiful. However, the style was subtlly different from what Studio Gibli fans were expecting. Part may be the difference in subject matter and part the difference between father and son. In the end I found myself liking the movie more through subsequent viewings. I still love the deeper aspects of the books but as an attempt to capture the escence of the series, this movie works well.
Last edited by Gkarlives; November 26th, 2011 at 09:06 PM.
They got the tone right with Earthsea but they sure made a jumbled up mess of a plot trying to cram the stories from 4 or 5 different books (that take place at vastly different parts of Ged's life) into the same movie.
I also don't understand why nobody can stand to make Ged black like he's supposed to be.
I have heard about that too, but I generally overlooked that myself even though I read the descriptions. I will say that when I think of it now, I beleive I should not be seeing ebony black but island deep tanned. Something more like Troy Polamau from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I could still be wrong, but I did note a slightly deeper skin tone on Ged, of course not deep enough, but better than pale.Originally Posted by saintjon
I pictured him darker than that guy but I hear you. I think in one passage he was described as being a rich coffee sort of shade (like he has a reddish tinge almost) I wasn't thinking like Alek Wek (sp?) type darkness but he definitely should look darker than my neck in the summertime.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks