tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post4615365346748952469..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: This Week in Geek (14-20/12/15)Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-66902540639866193602015-12-21T11:36:23.044-04:002015-12-21T11:36:23.044-04:00Olaf is dead funny, I agree. Don't know if I c...Olaf is dead funny, I agree. Don't know if I could rank Disney's fairy tales, I'm not a huge animation fan to begin with, but I gather much of the hype is based on the generational nature of children's entertainment. Frozen arrived at the right time for a new batch of kids and their parents to fall in love with it, and so, mega-hit and lots of raves, while older films either fell into the baby bust gap or are only faintly remembered by the older fans of Frozen.<br /><br />I did like it more than you did, though as with Tangled, it took me a bit to get into it. The main song has been overplayed so much that by the time we got there, it felt out of place. The Do you want to build a snowman theme resonated much more with me. This WAS Anna's story, and that's her song and music.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-47027406166279917982015-12-21T10:28:15.824-04:002015-12-21T10:28:15.824-04:00"I do tend to think Frozen is a little overra..."I do tend to think Frozen is a little overrated - it's definitely good, but it's not, say, The Lion King, and I still think I might prefer Tangled, if we're comparing them."<br /><br />You are more generous than I. I find the movie to be a LOT overrated; much like you describe Will Smith in Enemy of the State. Not really engaging, wisecracks that aren't funny; I totally get why people latched on to it (the non-traditional focus on sibling love instead of romantic love was unique before every Disney movie since did the same thing, 'Let It Go' could be the anthem for any number of social groups in a society that currently says 'embrace any and everything about yourself and don't change for anything'- which, while trying to encourage downtrodden minorities, may backfire in the end if it doesn't receive some qualifiers, but I digress- with catchy music and striking visuals... plus, a villain twist that is unexpected and a real shocker; though I would say that's more because it comes out of nowhere and is completely unsupported or unforeshadowed in any way, making it more sloppy writing than clever red herring). So, I get why the world went gaga over it.<br /><br />But I think the characters are tremendously unengaging and try to hard to be quirky/funny (is it just me, or is modern Hollywood (and the independent film scene) completely ruining 'quirky'? They're driving it into the ground, and trying too hard most of the time. It feels like they're going to burn it out and free-spirited, socially-awkward/run-at-the-mouth 'quirky' characters are going to be that eye-rolling cliche of the 2010s the way Bullet Time is of the early 2000s. Quirkiness, and slowly-fracturing glass. Anyhow, another digression.) <br /><br />Honestly, the only character I found to be funny was Olaf, which is ironic, because I typically HATE the mood-breaking, out-of-step comic relief character (you know, the guy that's usually voiced by Danny Devito and wearing a wife-beater in medieval times while cracking anachronistic jokes, because the producers think the audience are too stupid to invest in a fully-period piece, and need a comic relief character who's 'dumb like them'?). Olaf seemed like he was designed to be the one of those for this Disney movie, except, for once... the character actually worked. (Particularly because they didn't do the anachronistic bit so much). I dunno what it was; he just really clicked. <br /><br />No one else did, though- I found the banter forced, the plot simplistic, and the film nowhere near the 'best thing Disney has ever produced' that it's being hailed as. (I, too, thought Tangled was better.) Out of about 51ish Disney animated films, I'd probably ranks this one in the mid-30s; well below any of the Disney Renaissance films, most of the 70s/80s stuff, or the early fairy tale classics. Above Atlantis: The Lost Empire or The Aristocats? Sure, okay. But best thing ever? Nope. And a cultural uber-phenomenon? Based on the film I saw, I would never have guessed that in a million years.<br /><br />Wow. meant this to be a short comment, but it just kinda all came pouring out, didn't it? Guess I needed to... let it go. Andrew Gilbertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604304361825660940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-65083947211460230232015-12-20T10:35:45.734-04:002015-12-20T10:35:45.734-04:00It was almost on my December list!
Had I realized...It was almost on my December list!<br /><br />Had I realized the connection then, I might have made sure it was.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-7596044867007089382015-12-20T10:05:32.064-04:002015-12-20T10:05:32.064-04:00If you liked Our Man In Havana, you might want to ...If you liked Our Man In Havana, you might want to check out The Tailor Of Panama, which le Carre admits was partially inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man In Havana novel. snellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.com