]Er, Whidbey, I believe.]

My dad grew up there.

I really doubt that the outdoor theatre in Port Townsend was one of the 40 locations chosen to be showing Serenity, which I thought was great by the way. That was more of a way of talking about the locations rather than a serious consideration.

Dick Thomspon and his wife (I believe Sharon) ran the stores, and if I remember correctly they were on either side of the theatre in Port Angeles. They may have even been called Thompsons Sporting Goods and Thompsons Mens Clothing???

When I was 16, I went and stayed with my uncle for a summer and worked in the Steak House in Oak Harbor. He had a sea plane, and every Wednessday, we would fly to Seattle and pick up Film for the theatre in Oak Harbor and Port Townsend.

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RussT
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Everything is, as it should be, otherwise, it wouldn't be!

I just saw Serenity last night, after watching Firefly over a few months. It was great, and immediately I thought I would love to see it on the big screen! So I checked the website. Alas, it's not coming to Baltimore or even DC. Bummer.

I think I remember 'em.

Actually, I think it would be very cool to see Serenity at a drive-in. There's one out by Shelton, too.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Yes, limits of his patience. Really there's more to it. He was perfectly willing to talk with the agent earlier, he managed to resolve problems with him other ways before. There were other concerns, like having an agent turn up dead who's last known position was on his ship, getting the Feds to start poking around and asking questions, and generally getting more heat on Mal than he wanted. But when the chips were down and the Reavers were coming and the agent guy was mucking about, Mal was out of time and out of options and he didn't hesitate, he shot, and didn't even pause in his steps.

Actually, that makes sense. Everything needs to be nailded down. Look what happened to Chewy that time he was servicing the hyperdrive and Han had to shake some Tie Fighters - tools upside the head.

Han got wrapped up in the Rebel Alliance activity and put his cargo running on hold. We didn't see his regular routine at all, we caught him negotiating the deal with Ben, dealing with some debt issues, and then the Imperial nonsense that distracted him from his nice life running cargo and smuggling booty.

That's probably an accurate description of the difference in their activities. Han ran for speed, Mal hauled for discrete.

Even that scene had more to it. The point was that the bad guy didn't heed his warning, but recited a long litany of threats against Mal and how they would get him in the end. The engine intake didn't seem the most thoughtful way to eliminate the obstinate future enemy, but it did have the satisfaction of being dramatic - thus making the point to the next guy down the list.


Like I said, I never got that impression. Oh sure, Han was always mouthing off about things, and Chewy was busy working on the engine in the Hoth hangar, and there were references to the ship being a beat up hunk of junk. But I didn't see it. I certainly couldn't tell it was beat up and run down and looked like crap with a (finiky) speedster under the hood (that requires pampering). Maybe that's partly due to the ships in Star Wars in general having a more textured and used and complex look. There were no sleek lines and curves like rocket ships, or Star Trek. But I couldn't tell the difference between the Millennium Falcon and the Death Star or Star Destroyers other than the coloration and uniforms. But I would expect the Death Star to have been militarily precise and clean (when not getting blown up).

Maybe part of the distinction also goes to the flashy "futuristic" look of the Star Wars universe to enhance the space feel. Contrast that with [i]Serenity[i]'s contemporary look and feel in many ways, like clothing and kitchen.

... with your tongue?

It's being shown on the south side of the Potomac, in Arlington. I'll go if you go.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Oh! I missed that one. I'll have to seriously think about it!

The part that makes it feel wrong for me as a smuggler is a lot simpler. It's white. Nuff said.

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It would be hard to imagine an uglier building that hadn't won a major architectural award.
Trying to make sense of computers, The Error Log.

'Lo!

I came to Serenity cold - I'd no experience with Firefly until I started flight-testing a Firefly model for Orbiter.That piqued my interest; so I rented the film.

First watching; I was fairly disappointed. It was obvious to me that it was written for watchers of the series; all character development was done in the series. I had no idea who the black preacher was (which is a shame; he seems a signifigant and powerful actor), who the courtesan was, etc.
The plot seemed forced and confusing; the action sequences hurried.

The strange thing is, I didn't stop watching it.

I kept going back and re-watching my favourite bits. For one; the sequence where we see Serenity for the first time; entering the planet's atmosphere. The effects, combined with that lovely down-home music deserved several rewinds; as did Mal's walk through the entire length of the ship, fore to aft - a great sequence.

River - who I'd dismissed as another good looking, half-talented tween actor, deserved watching as well - and not just for her knockout legs. Subsequent viewing began to reveal a fairly astonishing depth of performance; and when I learned she's an accomplished ballerina who did all her own stunts and fight sequences; my opinion soared. Hers are the first fight sequences I've ever seen that could be described as 'beautiful' - by comparison the oft-touted 'Kill Bill' (which I thoroughly detest) were utter trash.

Throughout numerous reviewings; I kept on seeing more depth and complexity to the show - the clever use of lighting; the interesting - and thoroughly chilling - aspect of a 'bad guy' who's a genuinely honorable - in his own way - man.

Perhaps it takes a couple of viewings to see it, but there was real genius in the making of that film.

The thing that struck me most though is Mal. Folks here have compared him to Han Solo - an unfair comparison, IMO. Han is Han; a comic-book hero; the stereotypical dashing smartarse hero. Hius was a character that could have had tremendous depth; but it wasn't needed - he's an action hero; deep meaning isn't what Star Wars was about.
Mal, on the other hand...well, let's be real - Mal is me. I know him - personally. A lot of vets do, we se him in the mirror every day. A history of war and violence; having to live wth the horrors of what he's seen and done. A day-to-day liver with no real goal, no mission, no aim other than to see another day. A cold shell of cynicism built up to keep the world out.
For those that think he's a Han clone; watch him again - and watch how he changes. For the first half of the film; he's as I've described - aimless. Then when the agent attacks him at home - that part is left vague, since I don't want to drop spoilers - he reacts with cold fury and engages in vendetta. Yup - been there, done that. Don't ask.
Then when he learns the secret of the Reavers; watch him change again. For someone who's been there; that moment when he announces "I aim to misbehave!" is a powerful moment - when Mal puts aside his self-seving attitude to once again serve others. The actor who plays him pulled that moment off so perfectly I had tears in my eyes - you can see the man becoming alive again.

Sorry, I'm rambling again. But suffice it to say, Serenity is far better than the sum of its parts - it has it's weaknesses, very true; but it also has a tremendous depth and subtlety I found remarkable.

Staiduk, your post gave me chills! You describe Serenity better than I ever could.

"...real genius in the making of that film" sums it up perfectly!

Have you watched Firefly yet? I can't imagine you being disappointed with it. In fact, I believe it will only enhance your appreciation for Serenity, and you'll watch the movie again and enjoy it even more!

No Staiduk, I don't think you're rambling, I agree with what you're saying.
I watched Serenity for the 1st time only a few weeks ago & was expecting some loss of character understanding etc as I've only seen a few Firefly episodes so far (& probably out of order). But it was much better than I expected & I watched it again the next day before I returned it (rented dvd), something I not often feel the need to do & enjoyed it just as much. Will definately be going in my collection.
Now to actually watch all of those Fireflys in the correct order

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N6MAA10816
Faber '62 ΔTX
Are you a Bright?

There was a humorous review of the plot of Serenity that I can't locate at the moment. It describes how viewers of the movie the first time react, and then how second time viewers react. There's a lot of "Curse* you, Joss Whedon's" thrown in. Upon viewing the movie a second time, I had to agree. There's a lot of sneaky foreshadowing in dialog and camera work.

Joss Whedon is a craftsman. His shows really showed the depth of his commitment and his creativity. There's a reason Buffy was one of the best shows on TV, and it's not because it had good effects. In a word, it was the writing. Sure, the actors made their characters come to life, and Sarah Michelle Gellar was absolutely poignant, you could really feel their emotions and struggles. But the thing that made the show was the writing. That, and Whedon's creative genius. I mean, he made musical episode of Buffy, full of song and dance. These people were not cast for their musical ability, yet they managed to pull off some interesting performances. And then there's the episode that is completely silent - in the first few seconds, monsters come that steal everyone's voice. For most of the episode, there is NO dialog - everything is mimed or written or conveyed by expression and action. Yet it is one of the most spectacular episodes. That is the brilliance of Whedon, that he could pull that off.

Firefly captured some of the great writing. There was so much more to learn about the characters that it was upsetting to have the show canceled. Serenity has it's flaws, but Staiduk is right, there is real craftsmanship in that movie.

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*"Curse" wasn't the actual word used.

We can carpool from Greenbelt if you want.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Well said, Staiduk. Very well said.

What's always impressed me is the camera work. Whedon has the cameracritters breaking all the rules of cinematography, and it works!

I think my favorite technique is the overzooms, where the camera momentarily goes out of focus. Almost as if a camera just happened to be there improvising to get as much footage as they can. An example of this is when Serenity is diving through the massive orbital battle. There are a number of shots there that remind me of the ground-scope coverage when Space Ship One made it's flight.

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. o O ( "Quote that 'Blazing Saddles' scene at Mike, and the BAUTer gets it! " )

Beautiful post, Staiduk. I was a Firefly fan first, so I didn't have your initial issues with Serenity. But all the things you mention that keep drawing you back are there in the series, too -- perhaps even more so, as the for-TV writers had more time to develop characters, hint at backstories, and show interactions between them.

I'd be one among many who would welcome you on the forums at www.fireflyfans.net. You could copy and paste that post to any of the newbie threads in General Discussions (or start your own thread), and be welcomed with much joy by the semi-crazy fans there.

That invitation extends to the other fans here too, naturally. I'm "DonCoat" over there, should you care to visit.

Staiduk, if you aren't interested in joining FFF.net, would you mind if I posted your remarks there? I know they would be appreciated.

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Bring back Firefly!

"It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas)

"Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)

Well, not quite all, they did take the cap off the lenses before shooting.

My favorite trick is that when you have a cam tracking fast motion, and the POW of the camera is in atmosphere, it shakes from turbulence, even in 100% CGI shots.

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It would be hard to imagine an uglier building that hadn't won a major architectural award.
Trying to make sense of computers, The Error Log.

I've got my tickets for Serenity in Arlington, VA next Friday!

Now I have to decide if I want to watch the director's commentary *before* I see the movie again. Hmmmm....

Not a bad idea. It's only increased my appreciation of the movie, having the cool little details pointed out to me.

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. o O ( "Quote that 'Blazing Saddles' scene at Mike, and the BAUTer gets it! " )

It wasn't so much "mouthing off" as "Oh great, this guy's never going to stop chasing us." And Mal didn't want his crew being killed for his own sense of honor.

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"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
Mark Twain

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