WAS1 Productions

Originally Written 09/12/07

I need to get back on track with writing, correspondence and other personal projects, but I’ve been catching up on my movie and TV watching lately as well. Last night and today I finally got around to watching Everest: Beyond the Limit, which had been languishing on my TiVo since last November. It was the Discovery Channels coverage of one team’s expedition to the peak of the highest mountain.

It was fascinating to watch. Like all documentaries and reality TV, they film all the footage, and then piece it together afterwards. Therefore, when they’re telling the stories, they know how it’s going to turn out and they can choose what to focus on, to have things play out to a script of sorts. There was plenty of real human drama and tragedy, and it was nice watching the people who tried to make it, some succeeding, and others failing at various points. A couple of people failed within sight of the summit, and barely made it down safely.

They didn’t pull any punches showing the danger of the mountain, which I was glad for. They showed the perils and after-affects of frostbite and how it’s possible to lose life and limb making the gambit to get to the top. The fact that the mountain is littered with bodies of those who have died and can’t be brought back down is a sobering thought. They ran into one climber who had been separated from his group and who was unconscious and dying. They couldn’t do anything for him and they had to leave him to his death.

I also really appreciated how much they showed of the Sherpas too. A lot of the time these Burmese mountain men get ignored. They do most of the work, bringing up equipment, setting up the safety ropes and even carrying people up and down parts of the trip. Without their tireless efforts, the Western Mountaineers couldn’t make it, so it was really nice to see them shown for their pride, bravery and strength and have them share some of the spotlight.

Originally Written 07/13/07

Paul and I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tonight and it was quite good. I’m still behind on my reading, having only gotten up to The Prisoner of Azkabann, the third book, so like the last film, I didn’t know what was going to happen. There were a couple of places where the details seemed a little thin and that I might have gotten more insight if I knew the story, but even so, the plot of the film was easy to get without having read the book.

I like how J. K. Rowling continues to make the stories progressively darker. Not only are more things happening and the stakes getting higher, but the kids are growing up and their perceptions are changing, so they’re discovering how the world is darker and more dangerous than they originally saw. I like how Harry is more active in this movie. In previous stories he was pulled along with the plot, but here he takes more of an active stance, with a little help and prodding from Ron and Hermione.

I really liked how political this film was, and how the political intrigue was almost more dangerous than Voldermort himself. I asked Paul about all the political machinations and he said that he thought he remembered they were all from the book. However, we both caught a couple of bits in a few places which seemed like they could have been a nod to the current political climate and the current presidential administration. Whether that was by design or by accident catching the feeling of the times we couldn’t figure out though. If they were intentional, they weren’t heavy-handed. I totally dug Dolores Umbridge’s character as the kill-them-with-kindness enforcer of the Ministry. She was wickedly vicious, and they did some great stuff with her, such as the collection of enchanted collectors plates hanging on the walls of her office, each with its own animated cat. That was brilliant.

All in all, the movie was quite good and very entertaining. I liked how everything played out, as well as seeing some beloved characters returning from previous stories, though I wish they’d gotten a little more screen time, but such is the case with translating a book to film.

Also, one thing I forgot to mention is that I also liked how even amidst the growing peril of this film, there were still moments of wonder as the kids learned to do more with magic. I liked how they balanced that, adding lighter bits of relief to the darker story.

Originally Written 06/11/04

I finally got to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tonight. It was definitely my favorite book of the three that I read, and I knew that the movie wasn’t going to give it complete justice, but it did a good job of it. I think it’s probably my favorite of the three, though the first one is up there too.

There were a few pieces that they left out which I’d wish they’d been able to put in. The biggest of these was the full explanation of the four friends from the past, their histories, and their special abilities. This was all alluded too, but they could’ve added some more details. Again, if you haven’t read the book, a lot of the reasons for people’s reactions isn’t as clear, and things don’t mean as much to you. Still, besides a few things I would’ve liked them to have, I didn’t miss too much from the book. They cut some things like the second quidage match, and more of Malfoy’s teasing Harry about the Dementors, but that wasn’t really missed. I did catch two places where they obviously changed things around, but I liked the way they did it. Even one scene which reminded me of proximity detectors from Aliens, which wasn’t in the book, was a clever idea. The foreshadowing of a few things was more obvious than in the book, but that kind of goes with the territory.

At first I felt the style of the movie was a little too whimsical for the darker story of the third book. However, once things started to really get going, it eased off and worked really well. I really appreciated how it gave the setting a feel of a world of magic and the visual flairs and set design really made Hogwarts come alive. There were more shots of the school and the grounds and it really felt like a bigger and more enchanted place. I also liked the little flourishes the director had as sequues between scenes and to show the passing of the seasons. The shots with the whomping willow were very cute.

And the visual effects and creature designs were even better in this movie and more elaborate. Buckbeak the hippogrif was really cool; I love how he was rendered. The dementors were also superbly done.

I liked how the characters are growing up, though that actors did look a little older than I expected them to. The brief bits of “romantic” (if you can really call it that) tension between Ron and Hermione were cute. Hermione’s flashes of attitude were fun as well. The new actor playing Dumbledore did a fine job. Snape was great as usual, though he didn’t have a lot of screen time. Professor Lupin and Sirius Black were well cast too, especially Lupin. He had a real quiet dignity to him. The scenes with him as a father figure to Harry were very nice.

So while I had a couple of nits to pick, and the movie could’ve been a little longer, overall I really enjoyed the film. Now I’ve got to catch up with books four and five soon.

Originally Written 07/02/07

I saw 1408 on Friday night too. I was curious how that would work, and it turned out to be one of the few decent adaptations of a Stephen King work, and I think it might actually be better than the original. I listened to the audio-book version of the story and it didn’t do a lot for me. The idea was interesting, but since it was more an non-descript evil presence in the room, rather than it being haunted, it didn’t quite work for me. Some of things that happened in the room were too absurd and I couldn’t take it seriously, which is too bad, since many times King can make even odd-sounding things scary, but Everything’s Eventual was an uneven book of stories.

The film still had it’s goofy as well absurd moments, and there were times when the audience was laughing at it. However, they gave some personification to the presence in the room, to make it easier to relate to, and that worked fairly well. John Cusack was also a perfect choice for the jaded writer who’s fallen from grace and who gets his world view shaken by the events in the room. He’s starting to show his age, but he still has grace and charm and he was the right age for this part. The movie also expanded upon the character’s back-story from the book, which made it more interesting. Finally, Samuel L. Jackson was great as the hotel manager. He was only in a few scenes, but he had a great and entertaining presence when he was on-screen. The film isn’t perfect, and it’s not the best, but certainly better than a lot of the other Stephen King adaptations. I’d say it made for an okay Shining lite.

Originally Written 07/02/07

I saw Ratatouille. It was a really cute and fun movie. Besides the odd design of their noses, I liked the look of the rats. They did a couple of fun gags with their fur puffing out too. I liked how Remmy switched between scampering like a real rat, to walking on two legs and using his hand like an anthro. I was also amused that geeky and sarcastic comedian Patton Oswald is the voice of Remmy.

As other people have noted, the story is all about art and the joy and drive of creative expression. I really appreciated that and there were a couple of scenes early on which reminded me of ideas I’d used for the story of my screenplay project for Script Frenzy, The Colors of my Dreams.