tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post6119928998334930973..comments2024-03-19T07:27:06.216-04:00Comments on VOTARIES OF HORROR: Guest Review: Mike Cherniske Takes On The Last AirbenderKatherine Woodburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14364517253667798449noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-917279604170694132010-07-08T03:09:10.474-04:002010-07-08T03:09:10.474-04:00I guess it just goes to show you that art cannot b...I guess it just goes to show you that art cannot be experienced by the masses, only by the one.Mathew Parknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-68032999149561140522010-07-07T22:49:22.641-04:002010-07-07T22:49:22.641-04:00As a side note, I also saw Jonah Hex, which also g...As a side note, I also saw Jonah Hex, which also got very low reviews. Despite this, I enjoyed it! I posted a review on facebook and rotten Tomatoes, and even though I did have to concede that the film made many mistakes, I still had a blast watching it!Mike Cherniskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10977194295402105318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-23401209430523831482010-07-06T09:16:34.269-04:002010-07-06T09:16:34.269-04:00That's too bad it was so awful. I loved the an...That's too bad it was so awful. I loved the anime and was looking forward to the movie. It's disappointing to think that it got so messed up in the translation. I'm still planning to see it, but I'll probably just wait until it's out on DVD. (I see most movies on DVD anyway - I have to be really excited about a movie to go through the hassle of getting a babysitter and clearing time to make it to the theater. I would have done all that to see Airbender, so it's good to know I should reserve the effort for something else.)Jenniferhttp://literarysoundtrack.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-82119602200569153922010-07-06T09:12:15.719-04:002010-07-06T09:12:15.719-04:00Matthew: your comment reminded me of a quote by C....Matthew: your comment reminded me of a quote by C.S. Lewis. (A lot of things remind me of quotes by C.S. Lewis). It is in a fascinating book he wrote called <i>Experiment in Criticism</i>.<br /><br />In one chapter of the book, he discusses myth. He argues that unlike anything else, myth survives even a bad telling or reading experience. There is something intrinsic to the thing itself that grabs our attention no matter what or when or how it is conveyed. <br /><br />I haven't seen the series but based on what I've heard about, it seems to have that core, intrinsic whatever. Of course, it would be nice if was displayed in an appropriate, fine setting but since it is myth, it can survive even cheap plastic. <br /><br />Of course, I should see the movie to judge, but . . . I think I'll wait for my local libraries to buy it.Kate Woodburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06276977170991272672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-42422520818586767982010-07-06T02:02:17.892-04:002010-07-06T02:02:17.892-04:00Matt- you make some very valid points. Seeing the...Matt- you make some very valid points. Seeing the positive side, or the "silver lining" has never been a strength of mine, though I do try to be as positive as I can- prone to negativity or not, I depress even myself sometimes, so thank you for pointing that out.<br /><br />At very least, as a hopeful writer myself, it's a good experience to see those things that do and don't work in fiction.<br /><br />Now, one quick justification, err, I mean, clarification- I feel I did make a solid effort to take the film on its own merits. While I do compare it to the cartoon, I also acknowledge that changes MUST be made. There are changes between the Show and Movie that i both agree and disagree with. Despite these though, I don't feel it is the discrepancies between the two the prevented me from enjoying the film. Rather, it was the overall quality of the movie, which I felt was very poor, that led to my disappointment.<br /><br />We can divorce the piece from other influences all we want, but where's the fun it that? Surely the point of art is to examine our emotional response to it, even if that response might be complete disappointment and disgust!Mike Cherniskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10977194295402105318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-85209937089634433332010-07-06T01:14:23.202-04:002010-07-06T01:14:23.202-04:00I just saw the movie a few hours ago. I saw it AFT...I just saw the movie a few hours ago. I saw it AFTER reading the reviews. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that the experience would be bad, I still saw it. There are reasons why, and I’ll try to explain them, but first some comments on the movie.<br /><br />I know Formalism is a literary theory device, but I think it applies to movies as well. My theory is a bit rusty, but if I’m correct, Formalism is the one where in you are only supposed to deal with the text, or in this case the film, for what it is, and not one thing outside of it. In the case of the Last Airbender we would have to forget that there is a Cartoon already done. Since I have never seen it, this is easy for me:<br /><br />To me, the movie was a little silly, but was visually pleasing. Yes the acting was pretty poor, but I didn’t expect much from a bunch of kids I had never seen on screen before. Dave Patel was nice, and Assif Mandvi plays evil like no one else ( I want him to be the next Bond Villain just to hear him say “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die’ in that Indian accent he has.)<br /><br />Would I see this movie again in theaters? Heh, no.<br />Would I get the Dvd? Probably not<br />Would I watch it on Cable? Mmm if nothing else was on.<br />Would I tell anyone else to go see it? No, but then I don’t believe I should tell anyone to go see anything anyway.<br /><br />Now, why though did I go see the movie, and why do I think it was actually a good experience for me. I believe it was the Stoics who said “Nothing that happens to you can be bad”. So even bad movies are not really bad. There are lot of ups: Ac, big screen, Dolby Surround Sound. But the best part of the experience, was the experience.<br /><br />I am a writer who’s wellspring of ideas is, shall we say, shallow at the moment. I walked out of there with a whole new spot in my head for ideas. I loved how they bent things. I liked how they tied martial arts to magic. It was cool that it was not as simple as ‘I point my finger at you and I make fire blast at you!’. There was a whole host of other things that it stirred up in my head. <br /><br />If something can do that, can it really be considered a bad experience?Mathew Parknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-5539225194929102752010-07-05T13:46:20.589-04:002010-07-05T13:46:20.589-04:00I'm a big believer that the film is a differen...I'm a big believer that the film is a different medium than the novel/television show . . . it'll have to be changed, etc. <br /><br />However, I have NEVER, ever, ever understand why people (i.e. studios) bother to buy the rights to things they don't have enormous affection and respect for. Or at least (since the studio is just trying to take advantage of the latest trend), why the studio gives the project to directors/writers who secretly loathe the thing they are working on. It's like they are saying, "I haven't the creativity to make up my own stuff, so I'm going to mess with someone else's world." <br /><br />This isn't the same as saying, "I LOVE this. I want to write myself into it and create my own stories around it." If the writers/directors don't understand why a work is beloved, they shouldn't be working on it!Kate Woodburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06276977170991272672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-4118347761761532322010-07-05T12:56:58.540-04:002010-07-05T12:56:58.540-04:00One of the delightful things about the Airbender s...One of the delightful things about the Airbender series is the secondary comedic plots which are hilarious. (Digimon: The Movie also did this with aplomb.)<br /><br />My wife and youngest two kids went yesterday (Shyamalan/Stupid Head has long joined Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino and James Cameron on my s--t list of directors who won't get my money.) They liked it, though my wife conceded several of the criticisms. Then again, all three liked Transformers 2.<br /><br />PS. I honestly never understood the thrall of The Sixth Sense. It was entirely predictable and way too long. Oddly enough Stuart Little wasn't so bad, though Stupid Head "fixed" the book in pointless and baffling ways.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-67576482019013058732010-07-05T12:22:47.590-04:002010-07-05T12:22:47.590-04:00I think you're right about him writing to kids...I think you're right about him writing to kids- because, from most reports I've heard, younger kids LOVE this film. That angle might also explain why everything is so laboriously explained and broken down in dialog, almost as if the kids aren't smart enough to understand it without help!<br /><br />I've thought about this a little, and it's been suggested that perhaps, as a kid's movie, it just doesn't appeal to adults. While I admit this is a something to consider, I think back to my favorite kid's movies from when I was younger- Labyrinth, for example, and they hold up really well.... mostly.<br /><br />I do like M. Nights other films, though i do agree that they have become weirder and weaker since the village. The happening was down right laughable- there is a chase scene in that movie that got me laughing so hard, I actually rolled off the couch and laid in a heap, weeping from waves of mirth.<br /><br />Oh, how I WISH that airbender was even a fraction as funny.<br /><br />I think sir stupid head's biggest mistake (That's really how I feel about him now) is his need to "Fix" the show, or educate the fans on what it should have been. That NEVER goes well.<br /><br />I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet this is his last film. I honestly can't see him getting a job after this.Mike Cherniskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10977194295402105318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-2290856369497941362010-07-05T11:46:32.273-04:002010-07-05T11:46:32.273-04:00Yours is not the only negative review I've enc...Yours is not the only negative review I've encountered, Mike, although yours was much more to the point, and you cover the problems from a non-fan point of view (although based on your review, I could see why the fans would be upset. One wonderful thing about <i>LOTR</i> for me was how exactly the characters fit my vision of them from the books). <br /><br />I'm sort of surprised. I think Shyamalan has been going downhill ever since <i>Signs</i>. In <i>Signs</i>, he presaged the mistakes he would make in his later movies: belabored "surprises" that don't really pay off. <br /><br />But I still enjoyed <i>Signs</i>, <i>Lady in the Water</i>, and <i>The Village</i> (which I think had the most problems) and thought they moved well. So he writes stupidly plotted scripts, but he knows how to make the action move and to evoke an emotional reaction. (Still, see Eugene's blog for a <a href="http://eugenewoodbury.blogspot.com/2010/06/village.html" rel="nofollow">review of <i>The Village</i></a> that completely dismantles Shyamalan's premise there.)<br /><br />So it does surprise me that he wouldn't be able to at least make the movie <b>hang together.</b> And that the child actors are so bad; usually, he is good with child actors if nothing else. <br /><br />I'm wondering if this type of film was so far outside his compass, he just didn't know how to handle it right. I postulate three reasons Shyamalan flubbed it. One, writing for children without condescension is extremely hard (especially if one never forgets, "I'm writing for children!") Two, he saw only the wooden/sometimes hooky nature shared by most cartoons and missed the underlying grand myth that pulled the fans in. <br /><br />Three, he tried to impose a super-stylistic tone unto the story when a straight telling would have been far more effective. (This is true of his latest films as well.) <br /><br />It's like he is still the boy wonder of <i>The Sixth Sense</i>, and he's still trying to recapture that moment. But that moment was probably partly captured because he WASN'T trying so hard. It can't be reclaimed merely by desire as people like Salinger discovered to their cost. <br /><br />Poor guy. How <b>do</b> artists recreate themselves to avoid the pit of has-beenism?Kate Woodburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06276977170991272672noreply@blogger.com