Films and TV

Thought I'd do a quick review of some stuff I've been watching over the last couple of months.

Firstly the cartoon Avatar, The Last Airbender.   I loved this!   I borrowed all three seasons off a friend and really enjoyed it.   It's an anime style cartoon series about a boy who is destined to save the world from the evil Firelord by controlling the four elements.   The animation is impressive, the characters are all fantastic and there are some very funny lines.   In the earlier episodes the storylines were pretty simple but by the end of the series the storyline was pretty complex and constantly used elements from past episodes which I imagine might make it pretty confusing if you didn't watch all the episodes in order.   I quite liked how the break-neck pace of the story was broken up every now and then with a heart warming episode just about various characters just hanging out and being themselves.   It made it playful and a bit quirky and not all business.   Though my favorite aspect of the show wss definitely the characters.   They are all really well written and have oodles of personality.   And Princess Azula is one of the scariest villains I have ever come across!

Next, the film Into The Wild.   This was about a young man who leaves his home, family and money and sets off on a journey around North America by himself, taking very little with him.  He eventually starves to death in the Alaskan wilderness.   I very much enjoyed this.   Again, this was full of interesting characters and was a bit different.   It was well written and there was something very peaceful and compassionate about it.   The soundtrack was just lovely and altogether the film made me want to run away from home and have an adventure myself.   The only part I didn't really enjoy was the end.   I have nothing against killing off the main character at the end of a film.   If it's done right it can be great, but in this case I just felt that it didn't really fit with the rest of the movie.   But then I looked it up and the reason they did it is because the film is based on a true story.   Oh.

      


And finally, the King Kong remake.   I'm sure it goes without saying that everybody already knows what this is about: a giant gorilla who falls in love with a woman and eventually dies falling off the Empire State Building after being shot down by planes.   I have to say I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to!   What I enjoyed most was that it was very true to the 1933 original, both in plot and in feel.   Although not a particular fan of the original, with its ridiculous plot and gratuitous fight scenes (I had to play Angry Birds while watching to get through it), I cannot stand it when remakes simply use the name of an old film and then proceed to tear it apart.   This remake seemed to merely expand on what was already there.   At three hours it is a bit of long slog, but I have to say I very much enjoyed the additions.   The heroine has a lot more personality in this version and they've thrown in a little Stockholm Syndrome for good measure.   I did think that Fay Wray might have made the wrong choice in the original, as Kong saved her from all manner of dinosaurs and giant beasts and all the hero ever saved her from was one very distracted gorilla.   In this version there are some very touching moments between woman and gorilla and it is genuinely upsetting when Kong is killed at the end.   The only really big change made to the original story is that Ann falls in love with the thoughtful writer, rather than the pretty boy actor, whic fits very well with her added personality.   I also quite liked how they just took the ridiculous plot of the old film and went with it, rather than attempting to come up with some sort of credible explanation for it all to satisfy modern audiences.  Being an Andy Serkis fan, I enjoyed his performance (both of them) and I thought Jack Black made a very good Carl.   Perhaps an odd choice, but it worked really well.   And after all, when have I ever not enjoyed something Pete Jackson has done?