The Doctor Who Experience: London Olympia

Originally posted on Hypable.com

 Doctor Who Experience

Since I first saw David Tennant in those Chuck Taylors jump through a mirror and mock the King of France about being the Lord of Time, (swoon), I was hooked. This clever, funny, poignant, deep, fun-loving Doctor was to be My Doctor. Of course then I had to go back to the beginning and work my way through all of the re-boot episodes starting with Christopher Eccleston and there have been many, many viewings of all of them since. Doctor Who is now a happy party of my life.

So imagine my excitement when I heard that The Doctor Who Experience was in London, and that my flat mate had given me a ticket to see it for my birthday! BLISS!

I had absolutely no preconceptions, and that was probably a good thing. Moments of the Doctor Who experience were filled with giggles, sqeals, and yes, there was skipping… but sadly there were also a few mentions of “is that it?”

Report and Rundown: As soon as the lift doors open you could hear the iconic “Ooooeeeeooooo” music of the Doctor being pumped into the lobby of the Experience. My flat mate Megan, friend Anna, and I (all Whovians) picked up our tickets—and they were boring, white, paper tickets…they do know that their fans are collector geeks, right? Why not print on a glossy blue ticket in the shape of a TARDIS? Rotating between Daleks and Cybermen? Or one of the eleven Doctors? We’re paying 18 quid, surely the ticket can be pretty, right?

Anywho, we were then led into a waiting room. There were Daleks from Victory of the Daleks, the Silurians from The Hungry Earth and one of those horrific heads from The Beast Below.  There was a big screen in there playing scenes from the Matt Smith era of Doctor who, and we had a good time reliving favorite moments on the screen (Fezzes are cool, Stetsons are cool, bowties are cool… yeah they are!).

Then the doors opened, and the experience began.

Right, so the exhibition is broken up into two halves: The Experience, and the exhibition.

Thus begins The Experience: I don’t want to give much away here, but basically, it’s like a Disney/Themed ride. There’s a loose narrative involving the main player and the audience (like the Hogwart’s Castle ride at Universal Studios—the main character guides you on a story adventure). Instead of riding, however, you walk from room to room.

It sounds a bit dull, doesn’t it? Walking from room to room? But honestly, that was my favorite part. I’m a bit of a snob with narrative, and expect all Doctor Who stories to be as complex as The Family of Blood and as suspenseful as Blink. It wasn’t, however; it was very straightforward and simple in terms of story. But walking from place to place was an adventure—what would I see next? Daleks? The Host? The Weeping Angels (shudder)? There was skipping.

During the experience you get to “fly” the TARDIS (push some buttons when the Doctor tells you to), board the Dalek spaceship, and you walk through the crack in the wall and through the doors of the TARDIS… definitely exciting. The narrative I could live without, it was rather “meh”, but discovering each spot and reveling in the memories of the episode attached to that moment was lovely.  Like in the first main room, there were Van Gogh paintings stacked against the wall, there was bunting from The Beast Below strung around the room, and the TARDIS magically appeared after The Doctor (who was stuck in Pandorica2, and therefore speaking to us onscreen from inside the Pandorica2) summoned it.

When The Experience is over, and it’s over rather quickly, you’re released into the exhibition area. Break out your cameras at this point, and practice your poses with inanimate objects prior to getting there. I wish I had rehearsed how to pose with a wall, because this is the photo I got of me: and this is the kickin’ one of my flat mate: she clearly practiced posing prior to our arrival.

and this is the kickin’ one of my flat mate: she clearly practiced posing prior to our arrival.

  

It was a neat exhibition, and a fun way for the fan to get involved in the story. Not only do you physcially walk through the crack in the wall and into the TARDIS, but you actually get a chance to FLY the Tardis, talk to the Doctor, and interact with props from the series. Then, afterwards, it's less interaction, but more stimulation. You can physically see SO many elements from the Doctor Who Universe, all within touching distance, making the fantasy seem a bit more real. 

I loved the costume display of the 11 doctors all lined up showing the Doctor through the ages, The Silence hanging from the ceiling scared the bejesus out of me, the Face of Bo made me coo, and I really enjoyed the little details: Signs informing us of the location of the toilets (“Behind the Pandorica”), and “Don’t blink! You’re on CCTV” notifications. Very clever. If you’re going to have to have health and safety signs, you might as well tie them into the glorious geekery around you! There were lots of exhibits on the history of Doctor Who, like the below photo of Daleks through the ages. They also did this with the Cyber Men and the Doctor's consoles. Very cool.

Daleks through the Ages

Positives:

1.     Definitely copious opportunities to get a new Facebook profile picture. Lots of posing, they encouraged you to take photos in the exhibition space (but they were prohibited in The Experience).

2.     The music: who doesn’t do a happy dance when the Oooooeeeooooo starts?

3.     The sets: I honestly got a bit teary when I walked into David Tennant’s TARDIS. It didn’t help that they had his final scene playing on a loop… “I don’t want to go” aaaand the tears started.

4.     The history: there were lots of displays from past Doctors, and things like costume progressions of the Cybermen, various TARDIS consoles, and K-9 was there too!

Negatives:

1.     Cost. It was £18 (about $28), took us about an hour to go through, and we were going through VERY thoroughly, and there was nothing permanent to take home from that. No program, no souvenir ticket… which leads me to the second negative—

2.     The shop! “No shop, I like the little shop…” (Doctor Who, New Earth).  It was a bit rubbish! There were 4 poster options, none of which really tapped into the geek-factors deeply enough; there were only two action figures to choose from: Idris, and the raggedy put-together dude from The Doctor’s Wife episode (you could get the 11-pack of all of the doctors, but it was £70. Yeah…not gonna happen). No sonic screwdrivers, no clever t-shits (just basic ones: I Flew The TARDIS, and The Doctor Who Experience…), no fish fingers and custard... I left there empty handed, and I was well prepared to drop some cash on a fun souvenir. Alas, I shall have to stick to Etsy.

Would I do it again? Not for a second time, but I’m glad I did it once. It’s not a “MUST SEE!” thing, but it’s certainly good to check off of my list, share pictures with fellow fans, have an hour of geek-tastic fun, and maybe gloat just a little bit that yes, I flew the TARDIS J

A mock up of the BBC Doctor Who Creative Offices

Avengers-- ASSEMBLE!

Woohoo! New Avengers trailer! Let the geek-splosion commence! (trailer below)

So the Super Bowl is a tricky thing to manage when living in the UK. It doesn't start until 11pm, you don't get the commercials, the commentary between plays is covered by Brits... it's odd.

Thank goodness for the Internet however. I didn't get The Avengers trailer in real-time on TV, but luckily, it was online within seconds.

VERY exciting. Mostly, I loved seeing the team fully assembled; also to get an idea of who the villain is, and see how these individual heroes will mesh as a unit.  I never really gave in and got obsessed with the first X-Men films because I didn't have ONE hero to get behind. I like the Batman, Spiderman, Superman type films with a clear hero (I do love me some hero worship!); even X-Men First Class-- yes it was an ensemble movie, but it was clearly Xavier and Magneto as the focal characters.  

However, with The Avengers, we've had ample time to fall for each of these heroes individually. Of course I love Captain America after working on it, but also because my heart goes giggagump and there's an audible gasp when I see him... Swoony McSwoons a lot, but I really love the rest of them too. Two Iron Mans plus my love for Robert Downey and his lovable, smarmy billionaire playboy character made it easy to have the slow burn of love grow.  Sam with The Hulk. I didn't really love the first one, but the second one...Ed Norton... I'm in!  And Thor... well, if you need my opinion on that one, just have a gander at this post. I do love me a hammer-bearing god :)

Lovely trailer. It sets up the characters, a threat, the action, the interest, but also doesn't give everything away. We can infer that Loki is up to no good, but it doesn't throw it in our face as to exactly how he will aim to attain his goals. Plus we immediately get a snarky comment from Tony Stark about having a Hulk equivalent to an army. Well played.


I look forward to the expansion of Steve Rogers's character, the introduction of Hawkeye, the adventure, the badass, "I'm So Cool 'Cause I'm a Superhero" moments, and it's all being handled by Joss Whedon-- I don't think it can get much better, can it?

:08- I'm glad they're focusing on the Captain first. We've seen him the least, really, of the big, solo films (Iron Man had two, The Hulk had two, Thor was most recent...), so it's good to see him. Also, as he is from the past and all of this is new and slightly alien to him, so it is with us also. We're not used to seeing Superheroes or alien invaders on our planet, so seeing it through slightly fresh eyes of a re-awakened hero gives us an immediate recognition with the character. We're both new to this world. It has changed (for us, it's just for two hours of a film, but for Rogers it's life).

:10- "We are hopelessly outgunned"...setting them up immediately as the Underdogs

:22- Mr. Stark/Captain-- I immediately think, wow; the last time Steve Rogers said that, it was about Tony's father. Strange collision of the worlds and timelines, and well handled!

:23-:34- it's a nice reminder of who we'll be seeing in this film, and the kick-ass action moments they'll have. Clearly the focus is on Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, but we do get quick shots of Black Widow and Hawkeye.

:42- "I still believe in heroes" followed by a group shot.... makes me want to applaud and jump up from my chair and scream, "Me too! I do believe in Faeries, I do! I do! I mean...oh...uh... heroes... right, heroes."

:47 first glimpse of Hulk... I wonder why they're keeping him more to the background. Granted we haven't bonded with him as closely as the others maybe; he was played by different actors, and it's been awhile since we've seen him, but still he's not in those opening shots.

Lovely lovely lovely. I can't wait to watch it twelve more times, and count the days 'til May 4. Where will you be?

Avengers-- ASSEMBLE!

Woohoo! New Avengers trailer! Let the geek-splosion commence! (trailer below)

So the Super Bowl is a tricky thing to manage when living in the UK. It doesn't start until 11pm, you don't get the commercials, the commentary between plays is covered by Brits... it's odd.

Thank goodness for the Internet however. I didn't get The Avengers trailer in real-time on TV, but luckily, it was online within seconds.

VERY exciting. Mostly, I loved seeing the team fully assembled; also to get an idea of who the villain is, and see how these individual heroes will mesh as a unit.  I never really gave in and got obsessed with the first X-Men films because I didn't have ONE hero to get behind. I like the Batman, Spiderman, even X-Men First Class-- yes it was an ensemble movie, but it was clearly Xavier and Magneto as the focal characters.  

However, with The Avengers, we've had ample time to fall for each of these heroes individually. Of course I love Captain America after working on it, but also because my heart goes giggagump and there's an audible gasp when I see him... Swoony McSwoons a lot, but I really love the rest of them too. Two Iron Mans plus my love for Robert Downey and his lovable, smarmy billionaire playboy character made it easy to have the slow burn of love grow.  Sam with The Hulk. I didn't really love the first one, but the second one...Ed Norton... I'm in!  And Thor... well, if you need my opinion on that one, just have a gander at this post. I do love me a hammer-bearing god :)

Lovely trailer. It sets up the characters, a threat, the action, the interest, but also doesn't give everything away. We can infer that Loki is up to no good, but it doesn't throw it in our face as to exactly how he will aim to attain his goals. Plus we immediately get a snarky comment from Tony Stark about having a Hulk equivalent to an army. Well played.


I look forward to the expansion of Steve Rogers's character, the introduction of Hawkeye, the adventure, the badass, "I'm So Cool 'Cause I'm a Superhero" moments, and it's all being handled by Joss Whedon-- I don't think it can get much better, can it?

:08- I'm glad they're focusing on the Captain first. We've seen him the least, really, of the big, solo films (Iron Man had two, The Hulk had two, Thor was most recent...), so it's good to see him. Also, as he is from the past and all of this is new and slightly alien to him, so it is with us also. We're not used to seeing Superheroes or alien invaders on our planet, so seeing it through slightly fresh eyes of a re-awakened hero gives us an immediate recognition with the character. We're both new to this world. It has changed (for us, it's just for two hours of a film, but for Rogers it's life).

:10- "We are hopelessly outgunned"...setting them up immediately as the Underdogs

:22- Mr. Stark/Captain-- I immediately think, wow; the last time Steve Rogers said that, it was about Tony's father. Strange collision of the worlds and timelines, and well handled!

:23-:34- it's a nice reminder of who we'll be seeing in this film, and the kick-ass action moments they'll have. Clearly the focus is on Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, but we do get quick shots of Black Widow and Hawkeye.

:42- "I still believe in heroes" followed by a group shot.... makes me want to applaud and jump up from my chair and scream, "Me too! I do believe in Faeries, I do! I do! I mean...oh...uh... heroes... right, heroes."

:47 first glimpse of Hulk... I wonder why they're keeping him more to the background. Granted we haven't bonded with him as closely as the others maybe; he was played by different actors, and it's been awhile since we've seen him, but still he's not in those opening shots.

Lovely lovely lovely. I can't wait to watch it twelve more times, and count the days 'til May 4. Where will you be?

War Horse-- I want those 2+ hours back.

War Horse had so much going for it. It's based on a play that I've heard only wonderful things about, it involves horses (I love horses), men in uniform (I enjoy men in uniform), it was a war movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, countryside of the UK, music by John Williams... so many good things, right?

Yeah, it was rubbish.

I realize I should qualify this: in my opinion, it was rubbish. But really, I'm surprised by how much rubbish I think it is. I'm the girl that finds positive points in anything (*cough Agent Cody Banks, Percy Jackson, Last Holiday cough*), and it was very difficult to find positives for this. Particularly because it falls on the day that the Academy Award nominations were released, because this was nominated for 'Best Picture.' Sure it was pretty, decent talent I suppose, lovely shots, so there may be something there for cinematography, and the sounds of battle were great, so sure, sound mixing...I could see that... but BEST PICTURE?! No. 

I found it so indulgent. So superfluous, over the top cheesetastic...and I love cheese! Of all sorts! And this was just wretched. If there was one more shot of pondering in the sunset, or staring deeply into eyes, or a 'change of heart' from the hard army man (seriously, how many times did that happen?), or ceremony for the relationship-- the one near the end where the whole army posse gives him thirty pounds to buy the horse... ugh... indulgent. Cheese. 

Now, I'll hold up on the rant and just focus on a couple of film/structural things that stood out.

Tone: I felt like it wasn't sure what kind of film it was trying to be. It had the tone of Babe at times, with the goofy goose and the wire cutters getting chucked over the barrack wall... but really, with the emotion and seriousness that this film was trying (trying...so hard...) to get across, I think it should have been more  towards the Saving Private Ryan tone. There were gorgeous moments in Saving Private Ryan that reflected humanity, the horrors of war, the desolation and destruction, and also some very clever, humorous moments. I think War Horse could have done that, and it was a missed opportunity. Instead it went to Cheeseville.

It was just godawful "I'm gonna try to force you to cry... watch me! Here! I'll swell some music! Here! I'll throw in another sunset! How about a 'sick' little girl falling in love with the horse (I say 'sick' because really, she coughed once in the last scene we saw of her... other than that, she ran around, trained a horse, made jam...)" Right... I'll stop there... you see my point, I hope.

Loose ends (it's entirely possible I missed their conclusion and it's my mistake; I was catatonic by the end): 

1. The guy in the beginning who had the silk lining in his hat... Is there a reason we spent so much time getting to know him? And had a parting shot of him in the back of the ambulance? 

2. His friend in the barracks? We assume he died, right? 

3. The rich ass of a landlord-- any comeuppance? 

4.  The pretty girl in the car-- I can only assume that the fact Rich Boy didn't remember her name was to add to his own character of rich, haughty, and takes things for granted. But why did the girl keep getting brought up? 

5. The sketch in his pocket- why didn't they pull that out when he was trying to prove the horse was his? And if they weren't going to use it, why show us his effort to fish it out of the bucket and put it back in his pocket? So we can see that he loves the horse? Yeah... instead of using the picture, instead we'll just wash off the socks...one by one... insanely slowly... and then pondering.... pondering ever so much.... wiping off the mud.... on the horse's face... to see... if... there... was .... a .... star... GAHH Just do it already!! Yeah... issues.

Pacing: As demonstrated in the above section. It was so slow. Really could have been tightened. Every time the horse went somewhere else I sighed; another location? How long 'til he's home? Cause I wanna go home...

Acting:

Sorry, it was rather rubbish. I'm nervous about Irvine as Pip in the upcoming Great Expectations. Although perhaps it was the wretched, schmaltzy script, as that certainly didn't do him any favors, but his performance was rather one note-- simple, good boy, a little weepy, and can't play "angry" very well.

The girl in France (?); she was beautiful, and this was her first film... but yeah, all the slack I'm gonna cut her. Her accent was wretched and performance just so melodramatic...

The horse was great.

Right, I'm a poor sport on this one. It happens so bloody rarely, normally I like films and can find shiny happy things to each production.  War Horse, however.... I felt the need to tilt my head and make a massive "barooooo" sound at my utter disbelief, and slight loss of faith, in the Academy for nominated this self-indulgent, superfluous cheese.

Also seen recently:

Iron Lady. Meryl Streep was bloody brilliant. I wasn't a huge fan of the film; the story or the camera work, but she was fab.

Ides of March: SO good. Great script, great performances, I was rather riveted.

My Week with Marilyn: Similar to Iron Lady, the story was a bit weak; it just kind of rolled, with little through-line to hang the rest of the film on, but hot damn was Michelle Williams amazing. The opening footage- I didn't know if it was her, or stock footage of Marilyn. Brilliant.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Rooney Mara was amazing. And I LOVED how much ass she kicked. Daniel Craig was quite literally playing the hot side-piece role. How many times is the girl cast as a pretty thing that they might throw one or two capabilities to her in order to make her seem 'confident' or 'strong'; but in this, Lisbeth was the kick-ass, smart, street-wise, kind, capable badass. Yes, tortured past, and could be very, very difficult to watch at times, but she was bloody brilliant. Great character, and great performance. And James Bond got to play a Bond Girl sidekick.

Sherlock 2: Meh. I'll watch Robert Downey Jr. in anything, and this was pretty, and fun, and a romping good time, but the story was silly. It just kept being 'convenient' that they got out of scrapes, and there wasn't a ton to figure out in this. Yes there was the 'face twist' at the end, but mostly it was just chasing a baddie in a foreign land. Really? That's it? Yup. That's it. 

Right, that'll do for now, yes? Sorry for the long delay-- things are going well with Elfin, the PhD is still rolling, and my international travel for my university is picking up quite a bit-- all is well in the world, but busy as anything!

There is No Team Jacob

If you've a moment in your post-Breaking Dawn reverie today, I recommend you pop over to my pal Ashley's blog to read her paper on 'There is no Team Jacob' (give the paper a look before you throw daggers her way, all of you Jacob fans. It's a well put together and clearly argued way to look at the whole imprinting malarkey.  

Ashley was my right hand lady at TwiCon organizing academic panels with me, and then did the same thing last summer for LeakyCon, where we presented on film adaptation, specifically the final Potter film from book to screen. She's pretty rockin', with a unique voice and a great perspective on this topic. Now just wait for her Harry/Hermione paper... it'll blow your mind. 

I'm off to see Breaking Dawn again tonight, and there just may be a little deconstruction and film analysis happening in the near future; we shall see :)

Breaking Dawn Part 1: Reactions

First reaction: Fans will be happy, filmmakers will be happy (hello box office intakes!), and color-me-wrong, I thought this film would be ridiculous, awkward for the wrong reasons, rough, and a bit painful to sit through-- it was not! I rather enjoyed it from beginning to end! Definitely some cheese-moments, a lot of eye-rolling worthy lines, but I've come to enjoy and embrace those fabulously cheesetastic moments! It's not going to win any Oscars, and I probably don't need to see it more than maybe once or twice for analysis reasons, but I was entertained.

If you're a not a fan of the books, I think you can skip over this film; it's not gonna make cinematic history except maybe with regard to box office earnings. If you are a Twilight fan, however, I think you'll be very satisfied with this film.

Explanation: Breaking Dawn is the film that I was most skeptical about. Even Meyer wasn't sure it was going to be four books, she thought it would be over at three, so the fourth, while it tied up a lot of loose ends (except for Leah, of course), it felt a bit gratuitous, and splitting it into two-- well, a bit fluffy and indulgent. Don't get me wrong, I loved it! I love any excuse to spend more time reading in a corner about the characters I've grown to love (hence the initial obsession with Pottermore-- although that's waning... hrm, that's for another post), but it never felt like a very strong story. The first half really just consisted of marriage, honeymoon, pregnancy, and could be done in about 12 minutes of film, so I was wary and concerned for how they would stretch this into two films, as there's not a lot of conflict going on in that first bit (yes, the wolves, yes Bella and Edward fighting... but I never had the feeling that a ton was on the line; it was fairly static). The second half gets more complicated with tons of randomly introduced characters, a building and epic battle, with no battle...  but all of that being said, I still ate up every word, read it multiple  times etc. etc. It was fun, but it wasn't the strongest in terms of story and construction. It was just fun and indulgent. We're all allowed a little non-brain-heavy fun.

Blissed-out Teenage Love

However, it's a crazy different tone of book. All of a sudden we are asked to believe a lot of strange and convenient things (Vampires can be dads? Ok! Wolves can imprint at any age? Ok! Jacob was attracted to a fetus? OK!), so perhaps (aside from box office returns) the thought for two films was that it was going to take us, the audience, a little bit of time to get from seeing this blissed-out, teenage couple, to seeing them as a married couple, and then as married future parents. That's what I took from it anyway, because I enjoyed the film; I didn't find it dragging (except the speeches at the wedding... horrible! Not even funny, just bad. Cutting room floor); it was well-paced, and gave ample time for us to understand and come to terms with all of their fluctuating reactions from bliss (wedding/honeymoon) to acceptance (Bella at first nudge, Edward at first thought-reading).

Source

I was rather impressed for how they accomplished all that they had to with this film. Fans will be happy with this film, I think, because it's so bloody true (pardon the pun) to the book. And why on earth, at this point in the Twilight Saga's lifespan should the filmmakers look to satisfy anyone but the fans? Give the people what they want! Plot points! Gorgeous Wedding! Cute boys in tuxes and topless! Precision with details! Hot sex and smashed headboards!

We're not looking for best screenplay here, we're looking for satisfaction for the series that so many have grown to love, and hate, and perhaps love again (have you noticed how it's pretty cool to hate Twilight right now? And yet it's projected that Breaking Dawn: 1 will break box office records? Funny... haters still gotta see it, eh? :), but even though it might not win an academy Award, that does not mean that it was a bad film. I think this executed a popular text really well, and did so logically and thematically, with ample moments of emotion and beauty (yes, I shed a tear at the wedding-- the look on Charlie's face as he gives her away-- it kills me!). 

Anywho, so overall I was well pleased. It was well shot, great use of color, fab special effects (the change), the wolves have improved although are still clearly CG, and the cast seems really comfortable with each other and in their roles (particularly the Bella-Edward, Bella-Charlie, and Bella-Jacob). 

DISCLAIMER!

Right, I'm calling the next section "reactions" instead of "analysis" because that will come in time. When I try to do all of it in one blog post, my head explodes, and I'm guessing not a single person gets the whole way through it.... so, this bit is reactions, and I'll do some analysis of specific scenes as requested (if there's a scene in particular you want me to look at, let me know! Right now I'm thinking about the kiss at the wedding... we'll see what else springs to mind).

Reactions:

Titles: Straight in with the titles; I like that-- and effective "BAM! Here begins the story!" moment. I also love that they were a burgundy red, fading into an icy blue. It's the red of human life, fading into the icy blue of a vampire one (Get it? Get it?), especially with the rising sun, shedding light onto the 'new life.'

Voice Over: Intriguing how Bella focuses on childhood; she's about to step into her own marriage, thereby shedding the cover of childhood and stepping into adulthood, but the line "Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies," immediately refers to the vampire life, and made me think of Renesmee, and the questions of mortality that are still to come. Heavy stuff for 30 seconds into the film, eh?

The Trio: The relationship between them is shifting, and it was well handled. They finally look less awkward and stilted in their roles too, which helps.  It's understood the boys don't like each other, but what they have in common (Bella) is strong enough for them to get past their jealousy. I like that in the opening shot we have a sandwich of scenes of the trio: 1) Jacob opening the invitation and running for it, 2) Bella packing up her childhood in her room, and stroking the dreamcatcher that Jacob made for her, and then 3) Edward arriving, and filling her in on his darker past (p.s. They finally got the flashbacks right! It was well-shot, costuming appropriate, and it didn't make me cringe).

They have a good chemistry, all three of them, and as Bella calms Edward's fears about being a monster, it's a real conversation; it doesn't feel trite and cliche...instead it seems sincere and assuring; heavy on the cheese, but again, I've accepted that. Jacob and Bella really do appear best buds, and I like how they can call each other on their crap. Very real.

Oooo pretty. And look! Stephanie! And Wyck! And Melissa!

The Wedding: There may have been more hype about this dress than Kate Middleton's! I liked it, and a little bit more on the sexy side than I was picturing. You hear the description from the book-- 1918's, lace, satin, long sleeves, and you picture a dowdy, frumpy thing; or at least I did. This one was lovely; just a bit of lace at the sleeves, and those buttons going up the sheer almost back-less dress-- gorgeous! 

-The Aisle: I like the lack of dialogue; instead, there was a build up of strings, her relaxing after seeing Edward's smile, and the strong crescendo and break of the music as she approaches him. Brilliant pacing, building the tension and excitement, and infusing the scene with emotion.

-Cameo! I loved that Stephanie Meyer, Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter) and Wyck Godfrey (producer) got to "attend" this scene, too. Fun little nod to them. 

Color scheme!

-The colors. the focus on spring, the emphasis on brown and green of the woods, with purple all around and a touch of gold from the Denali clan--- I couldn't help but notice these were the same colors as the meadow-- green, brown, with purple, white, and yellow flowers :) Intentional? I'm going to guess yes. Very little in a film is unintentional. Not when $127 million is being spent. I can also see this color scheme/wedding design inspiring weddings for years, and years, to come! 

-Charlie. Stop. Just stop. I got teary! I did not expect that! The look on his face when he gave her away, and his hesitancy to give her away at all; from the time he read the invitation, until he held her arm down the aisle-- lovely. Flippin' love Charlie and Billy Burke's portrayal of him.  I also like how they slipped Sue Clearwater into these scenes. Cleverly placing her into the scene, making her a normal fixture in his life, and someone that he fetches champagne for :) I also enjoyed Charlie's "that's just weird" comment about the graduation caps at the Cullen's house.

-The kiss. Great chemistry, and I love how Bella grabs onto the lapel of Edward's jacket. Cute. It was also very effective that the wedding guests 'disappear' during the kiss, so it seems as if it's just the two of them sharing this intimate moment. Also, how rockin' was it that 'Flightless Bird', the Iron and Wine song that played during the gazebo dance at the prom in Twilight (2008) comes back for this moment. Even the camera shots are the same. Spins around them, cuts back and forth to each face... it really brings the love from the first film through to the fourth; as if that love at first sight was the same; strong, true and consistent throughout; this wedding was just the formal realization of it.

-The speeches. They were horrid. CUT! I know they were meant to be awkward, but really... cut. But I loved that Carter Burwell brought the Bella's lullaby theme from Twilight (2008) back into the score, playing softly as Edward gave his speech about his bride. Again, tying that first film through to this one.

Volvo- Of course they drive away in a Volvo! Black this time :) It really does look like a shot directly from the 'Forks' game Volvo did a few years ago. Clever!

Rio: I'm glad we had a little bit of time to watch the happy couple as a honeymooning couple together. It gives a firm grounding to the substantial crap that they have to deal with afterwards. But  right now, they're newlyweds, they're away from their family, away from being the center of attention, in a lively and exciting city with lots of people making out on the street and playing music, so how nice that they get to have a romantic, hot little dance, and then escape to their paradise-like bliss on Isle Esme. And what a beautiful shot of Rio in the moonlight as a single boat speeds away into the open ocean. 

The First Time: Surely this is the most anticipated scene in all of Twilight.  And tell me if you agree, but I think it was pretty damn bang-on to the book. What I remember when reading that section was the horrible awkwardness; the insecurity and the bravery needed to take that first step sans robe into the ocean, and I think this scene really hit that home. The awkwardness staring over the bed at each other, I like her 'human moment' being a total girl and shaving her legs, fixing her hair etc, freaking out at Alice for only packing ridiculous lingerie, and finally sucking it up, realizing the guy she loved was out there in the water, and just walking to him. 

Lotsa destruction

I like that they didn't show much in the actual scene. The headboard breaking, and Bella assuring him she's fine, and that's about it. What was really well done, however, was Bella remembering it the next morning. It was sensual, intimate, accurate (of course we all replay our first kiss/whatever over and over), filled with extreme close-up shots bringing the audience into the ooey-gooey mentality of "that was lovely" so when Edward comes in and is all depressed and angry with himself, we're mad too at his incredible ability to buzz-kill! 

Nice chess set!

Nice touches: The chess set (very clever), the humor moments as the housekeepers silently takes out the shattered bed... but where are the eggs she eats so much of?

Finding Out She's Preggers: Nice timing with Alice ringing the second that Bella realizes what has happened, and prior to this moment, Bella and Edward have hardly separated. Even when they're doing something apart- like sitting across from each other playing chess- they're still leaning towards eachother; touching at any opportunity, and all over eachother snuggling etc. As soon as the discovery of the pregnancy is clear, Edward removes himself from the picture. He distances himself, and even in the car they don't touch. Clearly he's freaked out, but filmicly, this is good depiction of him mentally and physically removing himself from the situation in order to "deal with it."

I'm not going to get into the abortion chat. We all know it's ridiculous that Edward and Carlisle start to plan it without even consulting her, and I like that Edward gets a bit mad at her for not even involving him in her decision, but isn't it interesting that he didn't really make any initial effort to involve her either! Right... not getting into that...

The Pack Communication: It's a good move to shift attention constantly onto Jacob and his movements since he plays such a large part in this film.  They show him on the beach talking about imprinting, showing Claire the two year old, re-introducing the "it's not creepy, I swear" mentality, and I thought the way they handled the pack's communication was pretty decent. The wolves themselves are still clearly CG-ed, and at times laughable, not brilliant, but not as bad as the first version, but I liked that the chatter within the pack was constantly going. It was loud, busy, every thought... just how I imagined it would be. It wasn't overly confusing, so that was well handled by the filmmakers, but it was accurate in showing the horrible power of the alpha order, and the 'voices in the head' commentary they always hear. You can understand why Leah and Seth might want to leave for moral and personal reasons; it's just be a lot quieter! And when Jacob took up the mantle of Alpha, it was epic; the whining of the dogs, with the bending to the will, then fighting back, rising up, and leaving. Hello drama!

More accuracy from the book: Seriously, they stuck so closely to the details, it was nice to see the extra effort in there, even switching the blood from a glass to the plastic cup with a straw when Bella starts drinking blood; showing her mouth completely full of blood though-- that was striking. It might be hiding the blood from Bella to make it 'easier to swallow,' but the audience had no such luxury; we could see exactly what she had to do for this baby.

    -I also liked this bit when Alice grabs Jasper and says 'Walk with me' to get him out of the room and away from the blood. Cute.

The Cullen color-scheme, Blues, silvers, whites and greys

Edward Aplogizes: Thank goodness he finally joined #TeamBella and apologized for leaving her alone in all of this, and we finally get a glimpse of the happy family that they could become as he hears the baby's thoughts for the first time.  Bella is often in blues and grays in these scenes, which is interesting since that was always the color scheme of the Cullens, particularly in the first film. It was advertised, illustrated and focused on, and here is Bella, gray in skintone now too as she looks just slightly better than dead, wearing blues, and steely grays, taking additional steps towards becoming a Cullen.

Jacob distracting the other pack: Very effective storytelling technique.  It shows clearly which side he is choosing, and gives us a quick view of what's going on whilst Bella is stuck in the house.

She has looked better...

The Birth: Holybloodygooeygory. We knew it would be bad, there's no way for it to be pretty and easy, but I wasn't entirely prepared for blood and guts all over Edward. It was well shot though. Tough, red, fuzzy, clear for when Bella sees Rennesmee, and then the turmoil as they desperately try to turn her.  That was one hell of a syringe going into her chest; the dense, silver venom, and Stewart can play a corpse well.  She looked horrific! I was convinced.  The actual process of turning was brilliantly shot; it'd be so easy for that to be super-cheesy, but I just found it really interesting to see a visualization of what that process might look like. Red, fleshy and bloody, turning black like lava with a burning underneath, and then switching to dimondy-iciness.  

The Fight Scene: How nice it was to see it since we didn't get that chance in the books. It was interesting to see Edward's understanding of the imprinting, and the immediate backing off of the other pack. Granted it was a "convenient moment" for one of the 'basic laws' to be no harming someone who a wolf imprinted upon, but hey, it worked! It was also very well-shot. It was so tightly packed, that you couldn't tell who was where, and it built the suspense and our concern for the characters. We didn't want any of them to get hurt, and the confusion and close-ness of that filming added to that.

Rennesmee: she's pretty damn cute.

The Change: Brilliant. She looked horrible. Literally a corpse; underfed, bad color, unhealthy... and then... we see the venom flow through, her hair get shinier, her dress fills out, the cuts on her arm heal, her spine snaps back into place, color into her lips, and the dark circles removed from her eyes. Such a neat visualization, and satisfying somehow to see the power of the venom and how it changed each of them.  

Final shot: I CALLED IT! I totally called it (yes, yes, Maggie, pat on the back, I promise to gloat no longer), I had guessed that the final shot would be Bella opening her eyes, and them being blood red. I'm sure I can come up with multiple witnesses if required. Whoop!

Source

The flashback in this bit again really ties the first film through to the last. Similar to the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix --purely with regard to what it made me think about-- where Harry is possessed by Voldemort and flashes back to all of those scenes with his loved ones-- we got to relive the series. We got to remember the first time we saw those scenes, how they affected us originally and what they have contributed to: a huge saga of drama and emotion! It was nice to see the first meeting, the first dance, the departing in New Moon, the reunion etc. 

Extra scene: Who doesn't love the fact that the Volturi are spelling and grammar fiends? Love it. Plus it also reintroduces them into our minds; they see the Cullens as a threat, know that the coven has grown, and we now know that they are a threat-- which leads us gracefully into Breaking Dawn: Part 2.

RIGHT! Let me know if you have specific requests for scenes to analyze, and by the way, what did you think?!


UPDATE:
Ahhh and I love, LOVE Marah Eakin for this article.  and the link inside the article for the piece last year from Genevieve Koski. Stop hatin' Twilighters, and don't judge or read too hard into anything... fans deserve some cred, folks!

Breaking Dawn Review Coming this afternoon- diversion first!

Allow me to go on a tangent for a minute; if you just want to read my film analysis/review of Breaking Dawn, it’ll be up this afternoon.  But as this blog is a place to explore my own personal PhD journey as well, here’s a tangent for ya:

So, I was reflecting the other day on my relationship with The Twilight Saga, because that’s really what it’s been, a relationship, and pondering on the path of the Saga in the world and in the fandom over the course of the last three years (yup, it’s only been three years since this and this crazy, right?)

In terms of my relationship to Twilight, I think it’s gone through the ‘normal’ relationship phases.

1) there was the honeymoon phase. Everything was exciting. I had found this text about a girl with whom I could relate: awkward, bookish, and seriously crushing on a super cute guy. What teen girl didn’t feel that way? And then when it turned out that the cute boy loved her too, and he was a supernatural being—well that’s just awesome piled onto fabulous! I was giddy; I’ve been known to squeal in my early days of the Twilight relationship.

2) Then it progressed into a comfortable place. By this time I’d worked on the set, incorporated it into my PhD research, provided academic analysis on the film-aspects of it etc. I still enjoyed Twilight immensely, but I was over the “Oooo everything about this is perfect! I need to shriek and giggle every time I see a red apple!” phase. It was a part of my professional life, and I was lucky enough to have that thing I study also be something that I enjoyed. Not many PhD students can say that.

3) Then I reached the “do I want to continue this relationship?” phase. The breaking point of a relationship; do we go forward or do we break up? We’ll call this year three of my PhD. This is more about me and my PhD than Twilight (ask any grad student; at some point they hate their topic, no matter how awesome it is) and I’d spent two years tearing apart the novels, editing critical essays that examined the chauvinistic aspects of the novel, the apparent anti-feminism themes throughout, I spent a lot of time speaking on countless panels and numerous conferences about the film adaptation and it’s phenomenal success, and constantly analyzing things like costume, camera angle, music, shoot time, scene deletion, recasting, and how the Twilight Fandoms played into every single aspect.  I was busy, analyzing, talking, working in and around Twilight… but did I love it anymore?

The overwhelming, giddy love had gone out of the relationship. It was mechanical. Routine.

4) But then I took a step back from the whole school thing, got my head back into filmmaking and script development, fan interaction and fan management—and low and behold I love it again and am once again trucking away at the academic side of popular culture! It’s a comfortable, secure relationship now. There’s no longer a need for the burning desire, since it wasn’t based on anything but superficial reactions, much like a teenage crush; I was in love with the excitement. Now that it’s just a part of life, I’m grateful for it, and I can still just enjoy it like a good partner: I recognize its faults (it doesn’t really have to recognize mine… that’s taking this metaphor a little too far) but I can still appreciate it for the fun piece of entertainment that it is, and for the ground-breaking and pioneering fan-management techniques it has introduced.  And you better believe I'll be analyzing the filmic aspects of it ‘til the cows come home.

So we’re at a good place, me and Twilight J

Right… Breaking Dawn review/analysis coming this afternoon. Watch this space.

The Hunger Games- Trailer Analysis

First of all, how exciting to have a two and a half minute trailer!The 30 second trailer seemed so rushed, didn't give any sneak peaks to highly anticipated scenes or anything-- just showed Katniss, in the woods. That's it.  Plus a 30 second trailer doesn't provide enough time for fans and viewers to digest and come to terms with the images and story; it just assaults the senses with a quick deluge of information. I spent most of my time with the 30 second teaser going 'weird; district 12 looks really lush; oh wait, that's the arena; who's whilstling? That's weird!" Yeah... not really focused on the film with that 'teaser.'

So I'm glad that we finally have a longer trailer to dig into.

Overall, I think it's a decent trailer. I'm still very skeptical of the adaptation thus far as we don't know anything. So I'm just reserving my enthusiasm for now. I hope they've taken care of it. I spoke to their development team early in the adaptation process and they were focused, concise, and very business-oriented, and I think in the good way. That's the feeling I took away from it anyway. I'm hoping they continued on their path of faithful, but well-done and effective adaptation that doesn't alienate the fandom but still provides function, high-quality entertainment for those who haven't read the book. Fingers crossed!

So a bit of the shot by shot, shall we?

:09- District 12 is rather lush; I realize this shot is after the fence, so it's going to be more lush, but even the shot before where she's running through 'town', I pictured that as quite industrial, grey, and run down. Not like a 1800's Western ghost town. Interesting. Perhaps this is to project country, pastoral feel to Katniss? Make it familar and relatable, as opposed to the crazy Capitol-ness we see seeping in at :32

:37- Ahhh there's the cold, steely, industrial District 12 I was looking for! Look at the use of color (or lack thereof). Light blues, whites, and almost all caucasian; this creates a uniform look, allowing no one in particular to stand out, which to me, creates a 'nameless number' scenario. You can see that the capital would not look at these people as individuals with unique, precious lives. Instead, they would all be the same, might as well kill two for sport. Very effective costuming and art design.

1:00- Ahhh it's a reaction like this why I'm thrilled they chose Jennifer Lawrence for this role. She's got gumption, depth, and maturity to wear the heavy burden of responsibility/pseudo-motherhood. This reaction kicks butt. I can feel her panic and my heart breaks a bit. Plus, look at this shot. It's beautifully structured. The Capitol is in power (higher, in the foreground), the crowd flanking on either side, but ultimately splitting the frame into thirds vertically (the crowd on the left, the path, the crowd on the right). You can almost split it in thirds horizontally too, with Katniss occupying the top middle of the frame. Well. Done.

1:16- Yeah, this shot is getting a footnote in my thesis. The build up begins already with words like "epic" and "best-selling" which projects to the viewer that this is a big friggin' deal. If they havent' heard of these books, they're all, "Why the hell not? They're huge and everyone else has!" And if they have heard of the books, they are nodding to the big fans and are all like, "Yeah, you know it's a big deal, so do we, look how much we know..."

1:21- First I noticed that they're utilizing the 'thirds' rule again, and then I thought-- huh, this kinda looks like Thor's hometown. A little less shiny, but still futuristic and modern. Interesting :) Also of note is the sun shining upon it. It makes it look like a place of wonder, which it is to our heroes who have only ever heard of the capital; there is wonder, but for them it's of the terrified kind, not the pleasant "oooo pretty" kind...

1:29- Hrm... not at all what I pictured for the 'girl on fire' dress; but that was supposed to be in a chariot... so I'm going to guess that this is the jeweled one worn later. No jewels... but still stunning. You get the feeling of splendor, glamour, and it's a red-carpet arrival/make an impression type dress, clearly. However, the look on her face definitely says that something is wrong. As does the cheesetastic host holding her hand in the air and smiling about her like she's a prime used car. Weird. But fittingly so. Like a Barker's Beauty... on trial.

1:48- oh dear... did they get the hairstylist who did Jacob's wig in the first two Twilights? That's abysmal! I love the casting of Woody Harrelson for Haymitch though. I can completely see him being the crazy, stumbling drunk, who is strong at his center but has simply been drinking for so many years because every year those that he's supposed to be supporting die. He also can have that slightly southern accent, perhaps supporting that idea of District 12 as a Western, 'cowboy' territory.

2:10- Ahhh this shot is bloody brilliant. Look at the thirds rule-- again-- clearly they're fans of this rule; also, the fact that the entirety of the district is gathered to watch her descend upon the games. It's clearly a national event for "entertainment" but it also breeds fear and ensures control. All are frozen, watching one of their own go into battle. You see the hope of Katniss's neighbors, and the proud salute they share... the bagpipes in the background are a bit distracting... bagpipes? Really? But the sentiment is clear and valid.

2:16-2:23- That count down is phenomenal. As the trailer is nearing it's end, the count down builds the tension, and cuts to a different person with a stake in Katniss's life with each second counted down. Prim to Cinna to Gale... lovely. We can tell something is coming, she seems befuddled so we're worried about her, but the count down keeps going, relentlessly, so you're willing her to focus.... this is a clever and effective trailer technique. It draws us in. It's the hook. It gives suspense and intrigue. Nice!

2:27- then it's followed by a mad, exciting dash, collecting materials, a hand held camera for a lot of it which gives the impression that we, too, are running like mad for our lives, there's a cut to running like crazy through the woods...so you get the idea; we're running. A lot. It's a chase, and if you're caught, you die. And then BAM! We're hit with the fiery, mockingjay pin, followed by the quote "May the odds be ever in your favor," both items that are well known to the fans "in the know".  It's a moment where the fan can relate, react, and take a quick breath from that drama of the last fifteen seconds, and possibly shriek with excitement and anticipation, and hopefully not disgust.

Well, that's all for now. I'm intrigued, the production values look good, they're clearly covering their bases with Entertainment Weekly covers and directed advertising campaigns. I hope they go the extra mile to ensure the fans stay onside, and that the fans support rather than critique the adaptation. Here's hoping!

Are there any parts that you're most excited about seeing on the screen? Most nervous about?