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Prince of ... Persia?
Sep. 6th, 2010 01:41 amI don't know why I keep writing movie reviews, but I just ended up on IMDB somehow and thus remembered that I recently saw Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. And then I felt a rant coming on.
One of the first things I noticed about this movie was that few of the actors looked like they could actually be from Persia. Now, I realise that it might not be so easy to assemble an entire cast made up of only Middle Eastern actors who all happen to speak fluent English (although I bet it's possible), so I decided to ignore anyone who wasn't a main character. The Prince himself stuck out the most, but I assumed it was intentional - I kept waiting for the moment when somebody would finally mention that he was from somewhere else. Well, nope. Turns out it was more of a bug than a feature. Come on, Hollywood, are you trying to confuse your viewers?!
I could point out that it's racist to work almost exclusively with white actors when the film is clearly about Persians, but I can't even get past the confusion. If something looks like a plot point, then I expect it to be a plot point. If there's a redhead in an all-brunette family, chances are we'll prepare ourselves for some sort of adoption storyline, no? Admittedly, in this case the rest of the "family" didn't have much in common, either. I lost hope soon enough.
The next thing I noticed was that Gemma Arterton was in it. I remembered her from Clash of the Titans, where she had first caught my attention by being unbelievably pretty, and then started to get on my nerves a bit. I can't say why, I'm really bad with these things. Something about her facial expressions just bugged me. However, guess what? In this movie she sort of played exactly the same role! Attractive female lead with hidden superpowers who turns out to be surprisingly good with a sword! Woo! I wonder if she noticed that she had to do the same thing twice in a row??
And then there was the Stereotypical Black Tribesman Who's Really Good At Throwing Knives. Again, I can only say: Come on, Hollywood. Don't you think we'll notice if you keep reusing tropes? I'm actually trying to figure out if there's a name for this on tv tropes. There should be. I can't be imagining that I've seen it before.
Blegh. And I'm not even sure if the ending made sense. It kind of looked as if what happened was exactly the thing that someone had earlier said wasn't possible, but I may have misunderstood something there.
One of the first things I noticed about this movie was that few of the actors looked like they could actually be from Persia. Now, I realise that it might not be so easy to assemble an entire cast made up of only Middle Eastern actors who all happen to speak fluent English (although I bet it's possible), so I decided to ignore anyone who wasn't a main character. The Prince himself stuck out the most, but I assumed it was intentional - I kept waiting for the moment when somebody would finally mention that he was from somewhere else. Well, nope. Turns out it was more of a bug than a feature. Come on, Hollywood, are you trying to confuse your viewers?!
I could point out that it's racist to work almost exclusively with white actors when the film is clearly about Persians, but I can't even get past the confusion. If something looks like a plot point, then I expect it to be a plot point. If there's a redhead in an all-brunette family, chances are we'll prepare ourselves for some sort of adoption storyline, no? Admittedly, in this case the rest of the "family" didn't have much in common, either. I lost hope soon enough.
The next thing I noticed was that Gemma Arterton was in it. I remembered her from Clash of the Titans, where she had first caught my attention by being unbelievably pretty, and then started to get on my nerves a bit. I can't say why, I'm really bad with these things. Something about her facial expressions just bugged me. However, guess what? In this movie she sort of played exactly the same role! Attractive female lead with hidden superpowers who turns out to be surprisingly good with a sword! Woo! I wonder if she noticed that she had to do the same thing twice in a row??
And then there was the Stereotypical Black Tribesman Who's Really Good At Throwing Knives. Again, I can only say: Come on, Hollywood. Don't you think we'll notice if you keep reusing tropes? I'm actually trying to figure out if there's a name for this on tv tropes. There should be. I can't be imagining that I've seen it before.
Blegh. And I'm not even sure if the ending made sense. It kind of looked as if what happened was exactly the thing that someone had earlier said wasn't possible, but I may have misunderstood something there.
Again with the pop culture ...
Aug. 23rd, 2010 04:24 amYou know how people will sometimes accuse you of not having a sense of humour when you say that you found something offensive? I've had that happen. However, I just watched The Men Who Stare At Goats, found it hilarious, went online to search for reviews to see if I had missed any offensiveness, and discovered that apparently a whole lot of people just think it's really boring. Huh. Now that's what I'd call not having a sense of humour, if I were inclined to say such things. Which I'm not. ;)
Looks like some did also feel offended, but so far I have only seen that explained in a way that would make any explosions in a comedy offensive by default. I don't think that's reasonable. What I liked about the film, aside from the funny bits, was that it pleasantly surprised me by portraying several things in a negative light that I didn't expect it to (father calling boy gay just because he likes to dance -> father bad), and then there was that memorable conversation:
Not sure if I should recommend this now or not. You may find it boring. :P
Looks like some did also feel offended, but so far I have only seen that explained in a way that would make any explosions in a comedy offensive by default. I don't think that's reasonable. What I liked about the film, aside from the funny bits, was that it pleasantly surprised me by portraying several things in a negative light that I didn't expect it to (father calling boy gay just because he likes to dance -> father bad), and then there was that memorable conversation:
LYN CASSADY: I'm very sorry for running you over, sir.It is a sad fact of life that I KEEP HAVING TO EXPLAIN THIS BASIC CONCEPT TO PEOPLE and thus I was inordinately glad to hear it from someone else for a change. A character in a movie, even. Honestly, in retrospect I'm sad that it made me so happy. That's irony for you.
MAHMUD DAASH: It was an accident.
LYN CASSADY: And I apologize for that security detachment. I don't want you to think that all Americans are like that.
MAHMUD DAASH: I apologize for the kidnappers.
LYN CASSADY: Not your fault, sir. I mean, we've kidnappers in America and ... there's always ... bad apples.
Not sure if I should recommend this now or not. You may find it boring. :P
The only way I get to see any new (or at least relatively new) movies these days is when Daniel either wants to waste money by renting one and I don't feel like talking him out of it or he persuades me to watch one on a streaming site with him. Either way, I usually look forward to it once the decision had been made because I do enjoy the whole experience, but I never react with much enthusiasm when he suggests a title. It's either "No way, not that one!" or "Alright, why not."
... well, that's what it was until he suggested Sherlock Holmes, that is. XD In that case my reaction was closer to OMG YES PLEASE WHEN CAN WE START. :O (I'm sure that wasn't at all suspicious. "Uhm. I mean. People on the internet ... said it was ... good?") He'd already seen the first half online once, but had to stop due to bad quality or something. Yesterday he rented it and we watched it properly.
I have to admit that I am not familiar with the original novels or any earlier screen adaptions, although something tells me I must have at least read an abridged version of The Hound of the Baskervilles at some point. Maybe for school? No idea, I just remember random fragments of the story. (This being me, we're talking about exciting fragments such as "Holmes and Watson sneak around in the dark near a building for some reason.") I may have read a lot of books in my life, but somehow I apparently managed to dodge all the classics. I have oodles of those on my "one day I'll get around to this" list.
Just like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead made me want to read Hamlet (which I still haven't finished though), the Sherlock Holmes movie made me want to read the novels. I know they're very different and all, but I'm not looking for the written equivalent of an action movie anyway when I'm picking out books.
That said, I loved it. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Incidentally, Holmes and Watson reminded me of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in one scene. Just the one, but very intensely - I would be most delighted if anyone could guess which. :D And of course I also kept seeing House and Wilson in their place, but I suppose that was inevitable.
Micro-reviews of other movies I've seen lately:
1) Daybreakers: Pure lulz. Vampire called Edward, need I say more. Not entirely bad though.
2) Clash of the Titans: Meh. Fun to watch, but painfully predictable in every imaginable way. Prepare for urge to facepalm at clichés.
3) The Book of Eli: This one almost deserves a post of its own. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Maybe more on this later?
... well, that's what it was until he suggested Sherlock Holmes, that is. XD In that case my reaction was closer to OMG YES PLEASE WHEN CAN WE START. :O (I'm sure that wasn't at all suspicious. "Uhm. I mean. People on the internet ... said it was ... good?") He'd already seen the first half online once, but had to stop due to bad quality or something. Yesterday he rented it and we watched it properly.
I have to admit that I am not familiar with the original novels or any earlier screen adaptions, although something tells me I must have at least read an abridged version of The Hound of the Baskervilles at some point. Maybe for school? No idea, I just remember random fragments of the story. (This being me, we're talking about exciting fragments such as "Holmes and Watson sneak around in the dark near a building for some reason.") I may have read a lot of books in my life, but somehow I apparently managed to dodge all the classics. I have oodles of those on my "one day I'll get around to this" list.
Just like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead made me want to read Hamlet (which I still haven't finished though), the Sherlock Holmes movie made me want to read the novels. I know they're very different and all, but I'm not looking for the written equivalent of an action movie anyway when I'm picking out books.
That said, I loved it. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Incidentally, Holmes and Watson reminded me of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in one scene. Just the one, but very intensely - I would be most delighted if anyone could guess which. :D And of course I also kept seeing House and Wilson in their place, but I suppose that was inevitable.
Micro-reviews of other movies I've seen lately:
1) Daybreakers: Pure lulz. Vampire called Edward, need I say more. Not entirely bad though.
2) Clash of the Titans: Meh. Fun to watch, but painfully predictable in every imaginable way. Prepare for urge to facepalm at clichés.
3) The Book of Eli: This one almost deserves a post of its own. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Maybe more on this later?
