Idle Ramblings

What Was I Thinking?

I have recenlty been watching several DVDs of fairly recent movies and I noticed my opinion of these films changed from the time I went to see the movie to the time I watched the DVD. Four movies, in particular, stood out. Two I liked better on DVD, two I didn't like as much. Granted, I like all these movies. This is like the 180 I did with Independece Day where I really didn't like it when I saw it at the theater, but then liked it much better when I got the DVD.

Better

Serenity - This was actually one of my favorite movies from last year. I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon and started watching the series Firefly in the fall when it was brought to the Sc-Fi Channel. It was cool on the big screen. The story was good. If the series is truly over, it's a fitting ending. But I just watched it on DVD and it just seemed "better." Maybe it just seems more at home on the small screen.

The Fantastic Four - Sentimentality and good casting made this movie alright when I saw it this summer. A typical superhero origin story, it really didn't stretch the boundaries of the genre or of special effects. But it was the FF, which was always one of my favorite comics, and it didn't suck. After rewatching it, I found I liked it a little more. Maybe, since I already knew it was a decent product, I was more forgiving, but it did seem more enjoyable. And I see the cast has re-upped for a sequel, scheduled for 2007. I hope they go into the negative zone.

Worse

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - This one had everything going for it - Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, an favorite movie and story - but was a bit of a let down when I saw it on the big screen. The added story with Willy Wonka's story didn't work for mee (though the disappointment was softened by the fact his father was played by Christopher Lee), and the whole thing was kind of flat. Still, it was okay. Watching it again, however, sharpened those disappointments and highlighted minor ones, such as the somewhat lame nature of the Oompa Loompa songs (again, Danny Elfman, usually awesome. That's two movies he did last year where I was sorely disappoint in the music.). I though Deep Roy actually was one of the best parts of the movie. I'll stick with Gene Wilder.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Easy to understand. I was so relieved when I went to see this at the theater that it wasn't as terrible as I had heard. Again, not a bad movie, but watching it again heightened the disappoinments. The casting for the most part was good, but the additional material, even if it was originally written by Douglas Adams, just didn't work. Plus the whole Arthur ends up with Trillian thing was just counter to, well, who Arthur is throughout the series. Though it's cheezy, I'll stick to the BBC version.

posted by Joseph @ 2/07/2006 12:26:00 PM