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Wednesday, April 15, 2009:
Sad to see it end..."Serenity" (2005)
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Beloved television cult director Joss Whedon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL) makes a spectacular first foray onto the big screen with SERENITY, the cinematic adaptation of his wildly popular but short-lived sci-fi series, FIREFLY. A mix of space western, comedy, and drama, SERENITY follows captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his ragtag crew as they trade their way around the edges of civilized society. Of particular interest are two passengers they take on, Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher, Summer Glau), a brother and his telepathic sister on the run from the corrupt governing Alliance. As notorious former members of the anti-Alliance opposition, Mal and his crew make it difficult for Simon and River to stay hidden.

Everything goes completely awry when a government assassin is sent to retrieve River. As Mal is forced to choose between his close-knit crew and the brother and sister newcomers, it becomes apparent that River harbors both a dangerous secret and astounding fighting powers, and Mal decides that discovering the truth about what she knows might just be worth his time.

Many of the film's action sequences revolve around Summer Glau's martial arts skills in her portrayal of River. Glau prepared for her role with Hong Kong stuntwoman Ming Lu, as well as stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and Hiro Koda, and as a resulted performed nearly all the stuntwork herself. In addition to the stellar stunts, realistic graphics, and an often haunting score, the film's actors display a rare chemistry that brings viewers both into their lives and into a possible version of humanity's future.
I've been holding onto this DVD for about 3 weeks now because I just couldn't bear to watch it, knowing once I did, it would really be over. I wanted to watch it, very badly, but at the same time, I knew there was no more, and that made me sad. Yet I finally took a deep breath and pushed "play".

I think the movie does a great job of giving backstory for those who've never seen the t.v. show, but having watched "Firefly" will only enhance your viewing experience. All the original characters are here, which was a true delight to see.

The movie starts pretty much where the series left off, although it's a bit darker. Things are getting tougher and tougher for the few Independence survivors left, as the Alliance closes in and tries to tighten the screws. Always one step away from complete disaster, Captain Mal Reynolds takes a job, hoping to secure suitable pay to fix Serenity enough to hold it together, and to put food on the table for him and his crew. He's faced with bitter resistance from Simon, who's concerned about sending his fragile sister River along with Mal and the part of the crew going out on this mission.

As always, the Alliance hasn't given up on looking for River, whom they believe knows a terrible secret the Alliance doesn't want known. With an assassin who truly believes in the Alliance at any cost, he will stop at nothing to find River, even going as far as to kill innocent people.

Mal, who has always lived on the edge since the war ended, has never really had anything to believe in until now. With all that is in him, along with the loyalty of most of his crew, at times grudgingly given, he will fight. He is not willing to surrender and let an innocent girl be destroyed for an ideal that can never really exist anyway....

Wow. Poignant, charming, funny, this movie went straight to my heart, just like I knew it would. The passion and love that went into making both it and the t.v. series is extremely evident throughout, even if you don't watch the bonus features, which include interviews with creative genius Joss Whedon. It was just such a touching tribute to a little series that didn't last even a season, but which wormed its way into the hearts of so many. I don't know if you would love this movie as much as I did unless you were a fan of the series, so I strongly encourage you to check out "Firefly".

What little known movie have you seen that you would strongly recommend?

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posted by Stacy~ at 4/15/2009 07:56:00 AM | 11 comments

Wednesday, March 18, 2009:
What I'm watching: "Firefly" (2002)
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Amazon.com

As the 2005 theatrical release of Serenity made clear, Firefly was a science fiction concept that deserved a second chance. Devoted fans (or "Browncoats") knew it all along, and with this well-packaged DVD set, those who missed the show's original broadcasts can see what they missed. Creator Joss Whedon's ambitious science-fiction Western (Whedon's third series after Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) was canceled after only 11 of these 14 episodes had aired on the Fox network, but history has proven that its demise was woefully premature. Whedon's generic hybrid got off to a shaky start when network executives demanded an action-packed one-hour premiere ("The Train Job"); in hindsight the intended two-hour pilot (also titled "Serenity," and oddly enough, the final episode aired) provides a better introduction to the show's concept and splendid ensemble cast. Obsessive fans can debate the quirky logic of combining spaceships with direct parallels to frontier America (it's 500 years in the future, and embattled humankind has expanded into the galaxy, where undeveloped "outer rim" planets struggle with the equivalent of Old West accommodations), but Whedon and his gifted co-writers and directors make it work, at least well enough to fashion a credible context from the incongruous culture-clashing of past, present, and future technologies, along with a polyglot language (the result of two dominant superpowers) that combines English with an abundance of Chinese slang.

What makes it work is Whedon's delightfully well-chosen cast and their nine well-developed characters--a typically Whedon-esque extended family--each providing a unique perspective on their adventures aboard Serenity, the junky but beloved "Firefly-class" starship they call home. As a veteran of the disadvantaged Independent faction's war against the all-powerful planetary Alliance (think of it as Underdogs vs. Overlords), Serenity captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) leads his compact crew on a quest for survival. They're renegades with an amoral agenda, taking any job that pays well, but Firefly's complex tapestry of right and wrong (and peace vs. violence) is richer and deeper than it first appears. Tantalizing clues about Blue Sun (an insidious mega-corporation with a mysteriously evil agenda), its ties to the Alliance, and the traumatizing use of Serenity's resident stowaway (Summer Glau) as a guinea pig in the development of advanced warfare were clear indications Firefly was heading for exciting revelations that were precluded by the series' cancellation. Fortunately, the big-screen Serenity (which can be enjoyed independently of the series) ensured that Whedon's wild extraterrestrial west had not seen its final sunset. Its very existence confirms that these 14 episodes (and enjoyable bonus features) will endure as irrefutable proof Fox made a glaring mistake in canceling the series. --Jeff Shannon

This is what has been keeping my attention when I'm not reading lately. I saw this when it originally aired back in '02, not sure if I was going to like it but being such a die-hard fan of BtVS I at least had to give it a try. And...
It grew on me. At first, the dusty, barren worlds and western idealism wasn't something that appealed to me. But eventually the characters, and their stories, are what kept me coming back to see what would happen next. I knew some of them - Nathan Fillion from "One Life to Live" and "Two Guys & A Girl", and Gina Torres from "Angel" - so that kept me tuned in as well. But then I became interested in what each person was hiding. I think I was most curious about Inara, a well-respected companion who chose her partners. What a revelation to have this woman - who had sex with men for money - and observe the respect she received and the power she could wield. Yet she wasn't hard or jaded, but softer, more pragmatic and sensible, more accepting.
And there is just something about Nathan Fillion, even when he plays a jerk (which he did in a movie with Alyssa Silverstone) that is rather appealing. I don't find him drop-dead gorgeous or even very sexy, but I do like him. I know he's in a new show now, "Castle", which I've been hearing a lot of good things about. In "Firefly", he's Captain Malcolm Reynolds, in charge of a rag-tag crew who doesn't always follow him blindly but they stick with him anyway. You gotta have something to earn that kind of loyalty.
The show only lasted one season, yet out of it came a motion picture, "Serenity" (2005) which I've yet to see. Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.
Have you seen "Firefly" and/or "Serenity"?
If so, what did you think of it?
Who was your favorite character?

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posted by Stacy~ at 3/18/2009 08:21:00 AM | 7 comments