Monday, October 03, 2005

Peace and Serenity

I don't recommend movies a lot. There are some exceptions, but love or hate of movies is often extremely subjective. (Case in point: I loved the entire Matrix trilogy, while many people really hated the last two.)

But last night, I made a trip to the theatre with some friends to check out the Joss Whedon movie, Serenity. Apparently it is based on the tv show Firefly, which I never had the pleasure of watching. My brother-in-law, however, was geeked to see the movie since he is a Firefly evangelist. (Much as I was, at one time in my life, of the show Babylon 5.)

I went into the movie knowing next-to-nothing. Yet, within five minutes, I was already blown away. The writing is incredible. Nevermind the special effects here. This movie has strong characters, great editing, lots of tension...and an exciting action scene or two.

I definitely want to see it again. After a single viewing, however, I would definitely put this on par with the first Matrix. And, unlike Star Wars, with, perhaps, the exception of The Empire Strikes Back, this movie depends far more on great acting, characters, writing, plot, setting, and ideas in general.

So, I'm interrupting my regularly scheculed blogging to make a movie recommendation. Go see Serenity. It may not bring Peace on Earth...but you'll have a great time. One of the few movies these days with the $9.00 per ticket price tag!