19:33: i got to chat with my former boss this weekend. he wanted to put my french to the test, so he asked me to translate something for him: the string of curses the merovingian said in the restaurant scene in matrix reloaded. he didn't have the text*, so he asked me to remember him the next time i see the film, then tell him what all that meant. so i decided to do a marathon over the weekend.

i still find the movies mind-blowing. especially the first one. i mean the idea, the cinematography, the editing, the effects, the design... all of it was groundbreaking. i remember missing it the first time it was released. surprisingly, they brought it back in the theaters. after watching it the matrix for the first time in g4, i left the theater with a headache. partly because of the fact that we were so close to the screen, partly because of the awesome cinematography and sfx, mostly because of the story. i walked out of the theater shaking my head, thinking, "no... no... it's not true!" yeah, i'm strictly a blue pill person. hahaha!
matrix reloaded was great, too. when it first came out, people were scrambling to get a transcript of that whole scene with the architect, hoping to digest everything that was said in the scene. watching it again helped me gain a better understanding of certain things. the things that i found stupid when i first watched it now made perfect sense. maybe because i'm a different person now.
i have to say that although still good, my least favorite was matrix revolutions, being that it was more action, less talk. brilliant idea to have that fight scene in the rain, though. and like bitter little girl and i had said before, the ending was fitting.

watching the matrix movies made me think of college days. we had a cinematography class where we were asked to pick out a scene/shot from a movie and talk about why we liked it. a lot of people from my class used stuff from the matrix. bullet time, and all that. brilliant stuff, but i found them to be typical and obvious choices for the assignment. i chose something from three kings. not a favorite movie of mine, but i remember this one shot that i really liked. newton thomas sigel does have his moments of brilliance.

i have to say, studying stuff like this took the joy out of watching films. i remember not being able to watch something without criticizing all the elements. i've learned to turn that off, thankfully. watching the matrix movies turned it back on, and it's good to know that i haven't lost that eye. it can be a useful thing, when you're out to annoy other movie-goers. hehehe.


*nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère

Labels: little nothings, movies

 
23:27: apparently, they're making a movie of the original dragonlance. if they get a good response, i hear they plan to keep it going. woot!!! i hope that it does go well and that it covers not just the chronicles, but the legends as well. i'm very excited about this project. i hope they do it well. i must have been about 8 or 9 when i picked up dragons of autumn twilight. it was the first book i ever read with triple-digit pages and is the book that got me started on serious reading. we didn't have the rest of the series back then, so i didn't get to finish the whole set until i was about 13 or so.

from what i've heard so far, lucy lawless is goldmoon, michael rosenbaum is tanis half-elven, jason marsden is tasslehoff burrfoot, michelle trachtenberg is tika waylan, and (for the win!) kiefer sutherland is raistlin majere. i'm guessing this will be animated and that these actors will only be doing voicing, coz, dude, i can't imagine any of them physically portraying those characters. lucy lawless as goldmoon? she's a little too, uhm, ...big. now if she were to play kitiara, i would find that more acceptable. but as far as voicing goes, i guess she'd be alright. i love michael rosenbaum as lex on smallville and i know he's done a lot of voice work before, so i have faith, yeah. i'd say marsden is a prety good choice for tas, although michelle trachtenberg is a bit too young for tika, for me. or maybe i'm just getting an afterimage from her buffy days. jack bauer, though, now that is the perfect raistlin voice! had they chosen someone lesser, then i'd say this project is doomed. because, let's face it, dl fans. everybody loves rasitlin. no true fan of this series would accept anyone less-cooler than kiefer to voice someone as cool as raistlin.

speaking of fantasy fiction fandom and movies, one thing i'm dreading is new line's the hobbit. new line has decided to hire another director. let me restate that in a way fans will understand. new line has decided not to hire peter jackson. who the new director will be, i don't know. but they better do a damn good job of it. i imagine that fans are just thinking "alright, show me what ya got. bring it on!" the best new line can hope for is for fans to still watch for the story, but to come into the theater with their guards up. and fans just don't enjoy a movie as much when that happens. i admit that while pj is not my favorite director out there, i just don't see anyone else doing this movie. fans love him for what he's done with lord of the rings and they expect that same passion, dedication, detail, and that same pj "touch" to the hobbit. tsk, tsk, new line. what have you done? you better come up with something good.

Labels: books, movies