Serenity

I saw this movie opening day (September 30th) and have been putting off writing about it because I'm afraid I can't do it justice. In fact, I know I can't. It's hands down one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made and one of my new personal favorites. Unfortunately it's not making any money at the box office, despite raving reviews, and will probably go down as a cult classic. Some may say it was a cult classic before it was even released since it was based on a short lived TV show. I think it's just hard for sci fi to do well these days (The Island for example - the movie wasn't great but it should have done better than it did). I also think people had trouble discerning exactly what Serenity was about. The trailer, while good, was a little helter-skelter and there were no big name actors/actresses in it at all. Or, maybe people are just a bunch of mindless imbeciles who couldn't tell a good movie from a porno involving big men and small furry animals (or small men and large furry animals - any combination of the two really).

The proletariat view of cinema is rather lousy is what I'm saying (yes, I'm an elitist when it comes to film). To demonstrate this - Into the Blue opened opposite of Serenity, which is a movie about Jessica Alba's ass if I remember correctly, and as my friend put it - "Jessica Alba's ass always wins." Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of her (and by her I'm still referring to her ass of course) but she doesn't need to have a whole movie devoted to her; modeling or working as a striper would do just fine. Seeing Ms. Alba in a thong is certainly a worth while experience but it's not like she's naked in it and it's not like she's going to come out of the screen and give you a lap dance either. If you want that sort of thing, go down to Hooters and inappropriately rub up against the girls there... or just do what I do and sit at home and rub your hand up and down inappropriately on your... to quote George Carlson, "I feel I've gone too far." On with the review

To put it in perspective, I'm a huge Star Wars fan (we're talking the original three here, not the seven hours worth of garbage Lucas put out this past decade) and I can say without hesitation it's easily as good as the first three. I would actually say it's better than either A New Hope or Return of the Jedi and on par with Empire Strikes Back (clearly the best one). This was the best movie I've seen all year. If I were to make a list of my top five, it would be on it, right up there with Grosse Pointe Blank, Pulp Fiction, High Fidelity, Aliens, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner, Forest Gump, Goodwill Hunting, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Kinky Teenage Catgirls in Heat Volume IV, Big Gaping... well, I like a lot of movies as you can see (a lot more than five).

Earnestly, I can't really talk much about this movie I liked it so much. All I can say is that it was flawless - story, acting, writing, directing, score - it was all exceptional.

Joss Whedon is the man behind the film. He's been around a while but this is his directorial debut. He's simply a phenomenal director and, in contrast to George Lucas, knows that the reason we liked Star Wars was because of Han Solo and not the Jedi (not to say Jedi aren't bad ass but they're completely one dimensional). At least, that's why I liked it. Solo wasn't such a straightforward "good guy" like the rest. The lead character in Serenity, Malcolm Reynolds, reminds me of him in that regard - he's very flawed but still likable. Even the "bad guy" in Serenity consists of shades of grey. I get sick of the stereotypical characters in movies these days and I think Whedon's creation breaks away from the formula. This isn't to say that it doesn't have some typical Hollywood moments in it, but he does them so well that it works out.

I actually haven't heard anything bad about this movie from anyone who has seen it (I suppose if I googled it I could find some asshole who didn't enjoy it although I'd be surprised that he took the time off from watching his animal porn to go see it). Check it out at IMDB. Just do a search there and it's the first result.

www.imdb.com

They have user driven reviews here. Serenity is sitting with an 8.5 which is really, really good - the godfather is the highest ranked movie with an even 9.0. An 8.5 should make Serenity about the 25th greatest movie ever made but it hasn't gotten enough reviews yet.

Just go see this movie. It's impressive. You won't regret it. The characters Whedon has created are some of the best in movie history. It can compete with any of the classics but of course will never be compared to them because it's a sci-fi action flick. Even if you're not a fan of this type of movie, I would still suggest renting it when it comes out. It might surprise you.

Take a hike Lucas, Whedon is my master now.

Matt DeVall official rating: A+

--Note--
I think I may have said something last post about me cutting down on the nasty and disturbing images. As you can plainly see, I was lying when I said that. Sorry.

It has also come to my attention that some people actually read my blog. Get a life people. That's almost as sad as me writing it.