Comments on: Pop Culture Roundup

By: dnexon

dnexon — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 23:58:03 +0000

I haven’t watched Avatar, but let me echo the comments about Full Metal Alchemist. Clearly the best anime I’ve watched in a long time. My only caveat is this: don’t watch it on Cartoon Network… rent it and watch it in Japanese with English subtitles.

By: Endie

Endie — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 13:03:46 +0000

It’s interesting what you say about the appropriateness of the voice work for Mr & Mrs Beaver.

Coming from Britain, Mr Beaver was instantly recognisable as Ray Winstone: a fine actor, but strongly associated with roles as the thug or the alcoholic (eg drunken abusive husband in Oldman’s Nil By Mouth, or the murderous Will Scarlet in ITV’s Robin of Sherwood).

I actually liked the effect this had: he carried that underlying tone of threat into what could have been a cutesy role (“Enjoying the scenery are we, boy?” to Edmund). I just couldn’t help worrying that Mrs Beaver would spill the tea and appear in the next scene with a black eye, as in so many Winstone films. I wish that Aslan had been so “not tame” as Mr Beaver…

By: emschwar

emschwar — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 23:10:13 +0000

I think the Narnia movie intentionally downplayed some of the elements that made it as good a book at it was, and emphasized (and outright invented) some pieces that not only are not based in Lewis’ original, but actively detract from it. Specifically, I’m thinking of the watering-down of Peter’s leadership abilities (presumably in the interest of ‘realism’, and if there is a set of stories less in need of realism than the Narnia ones, I’d like to see it). I do think they did a wonderful job with Edumund in the film; he came across as a real human reacting to the absence of his father and the teasing of his siblings, not an insufferable prig with a barely-convincing redemption scene.

As for Avatar– I think it’s the best American-produced animated show on TV right now. It does a wonderful job of playing to kids while still leaving adults something to watch for. Unlike most of what’s been coming out of Disney lately, it seems the show’s producers and writers have understood the idea that you don’t have to talk down to kids, or be “hip” to get them interested.

I still think Fullmetal Alchemist is a better show, though– forget animated vs. live action, I think FMA, as it is sometimes acronymized, is the best show on American TV right now, period. It invites comparison to Faust and Macbeth in both its depth of character and plot, and shows off with astonishing subtlety some of the best examples of aging I’ve ever seen animated, as we watch the protagonists age from the age of about 8 to 16 over the course of the series (albeit mostly in flashbacks). In addition, the creators seem to have taken a page from Lois Bujold’s description of how she plots Miles Vorkosigan stories: “What’s the worst possible thing I can do to these people?”, which results in some honestly gut-wrenching storylines that never veer over the line into melodrama, though I have no earthly idea how they manage that.

If you have Cartoon Network, I think they’re getting ready to rerun the series from scratch soon, so get your TiVO cracking, starting with “Those Who Challenge the Sun”. I think you will be nothing short of astonished.

By: Russell Arben Fox

Russell Arben Fox — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:19:29 +0000

I thought Goblet of Fire was shaping up to be the best of the films so far; for the first 90 minutes, maybe even two hours, I felt the adaptive choices being made by the filmmakers were smart and even insightful. I loved the first two tasks, thought the Yule Ball was brilliantly acted and shot, and generally was enjoying myself immensely. Then came the final confrontation with Voldemort, the return of the Death-Eaters, and the reveal of Mad-Eye Moody's secret, and everything fell apart. Seriously, I just felt one scene after another was poorly conceived and poorly played. Gambon's Dumbledore put to no good use whatsoever in what really should have been his finest moment, and of course we lost Snape's significance in those events entirely. What a let down. Still, I liked it better than the first two (Azkaban, I agree, remains the best so far.) Plus, the film sent me back to the book, which sent me forward through the next two volumes in a flurry of Potter geekery. The result was a long list of completely, indefensibly fan-boyish predictions for the final volume, which I am nonetheless proud of. I think I'll put it up on my blog and see what happens.