Netflix Diary
a) District 9
Like most people, I got pretty geeked out about the trailer for this, and while it was good and had some cool visuals and novel elements, I don't know, there was a lot that left a bad taste in my mouth. I knew the director had said that it was more of an action movie than a pure apartheid analogue or political statement, but it was still kind of jarring how quickly it moved from the thinly veiled metaphors to a completely ridiculous plot full of cheesy action movie beats, and I wasn't ready for how the middle of it reminded me more of Mad Max or Cronenberg's The Fly than anything else (and weirdly enough the grossout/body horror stuff that I usually enjoy squirming at seemed just kind of over the top and unwelcome here). Also the jumping between the mockumentary and the omniscient POV the whole time, with both looking exactly the same through the camera, really frustrated me, as did the lack of realistic details in the overall story (by which I mean, the lack of explanation about, say, the aliens' language or how they and the humans came to understand each other). It was still really good and original on a lot of levels, but it just drove me nuts on a lot of other levels.
b) Zack And Miri Make A Porno
Seth Rogen seemed like a really good fit as far as a currently bankable star that could possibly want to star in a Kevin Smith movie, so I went into this somewhat optimistic (Smith's incapable of greatness but Clerks 2 aside pretty much all his movies have at least something that makes me laugh consistently). This is kind of a slog, though, combining all of Smith and Rogen's weaknesses and few of their strengths. Getting kind of tired of Seth Rogen subverting his innate wiseass teddy bear appeal by being prickly and prickish in pretty much every movie he's in, especially the ones where he's supposed to be the rooting interest.
c) "Sons Of Anarchy," Season 1
Had heard good things about it, still easing myself into it and not yet hooked, but following it with interest. It feels weird to watch such a show so clearly indebted to "The Sopranos" since I decided at some point that there's way too many things that irritate me about "The Sopranos" to really get into it, but this mostly doesn't share those qualities. So far Katey Sagal's character is the one really interesting, unpredictable element that's driving it forward for me, some of the other plot points and character dynamics feel a bit predictable, but I like it.
d) "Burn Notice," Season 1
I wasn't sure if I expected more than a middle tier cable drama but this is somehow more flat, less fun than I thought it would be. Sometimes it's clever, but not nearly as clever as a spy show really should be. Bruce Campbell's entertaining as always but the rest of the supporting cast is kind of a drag, not sure if I should stick with this.
Like most people, I got pretty geeked out about the trailer for this, and while it was good and had some cool visuals and novel elements, I don't know, there was a lot that left a bad taste in my mouth. I knew the director had said that it was more of an action movie than a pure apartheid analogue or political statement, but it was still kind of jarring how quickly it moved from the thinly veiled metaphors to a completely ridiculous plot full of cheesy action movie beats, and I wasn't ready for how the middle of it reminded me more of Mad Max or Cronenberg's The Fly than anything else (and weirdly enough the grossout/body horror stuff that I usually enjoy squirming at seemed just kind of over the top and unwelcome here). Also the jumping between the mockumentary and the omniscient POV the whole time, with both looking exactly the same through the camera, really frustrated me, as did the lack of realistic details in the overall story (by which I mean, the lack of explanation about, say, the aliens' language or how they and the humans came to understand each other). It was still really good and original on a lot of levels, but it just drove me nuts on a lot of other levels.
b) Zack And Miri Make A Porno
Seth Rogen seemed like a really good fit as far as a currently bankable star that could possibly want to star in a Kevin Smith movie, so I went into this somewhat optimistic (Smith's incapable of greatness but Clerks 2 aside pretty much all his movies have at least something that makes me laugh consistently). This is kind of a slog, though, combining all of Smith and Rogen's weaknesses and few of their strengths. Getting kind of tired of Seth Rogen subverting his innate wiseass teddy bear appeal by being prickly and prickish in pretty much every movie he's in, especially the ones where he's supposed to be the rooting interest.
c) "Sons Of Anarchy," Season 1
Had heard good things about it, still easing myself into it and not yet hooked, but following it with interest. It feels weird to watch such a show so clearly indebted to "The Sopranos" since I decided at some point that there's way too many things that irritate me about "The Sopranos" to really get into it, but this mostly doesn't share those qualities. So far Katey Sagal's character is the one really interesting, unpredictable element that's driving it forward for me, some of the other plot points and character dynamics feel a bit predictable, but I like it.
d) "Burn Notice," Season 1
I wasn't sure if I expected more than a middle tier cable drama but this is somehow more flat, less fun than I thought it would be. Sometimes it's clever, but not nearly as clever as a spy show really should be. Bruce Campbell's entertaining as always but the rest of the supporting cast is kind of a drag, not sure if I should stick with this.
This entry was posted
on Monday, February 08, 2010 at 8:31 AM.
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Michael : 2:09 PM