Category Archives: Art, Theatre, & Film

Farewell, Angel…

Yesterday was the Angel Victoria Day Viewers’ Choice Marathon on the Space channel: twelve solid hours of the best Angel episodes ever.

(Marathon #, Ep. #, Episode Name)

Intro to marathon: 1-01, City Of…
#10, 4-06, Spin the Bottle
#09, 1-18, Five by Five
#08, 3-13, Waiting in the Wings
#07, 5-15, A Hole in the World
0#6, 4-15, Orpheus
#05, 5-11, Damage
#04, 1-09, Hero
#03, 5-12, You’re Welcome (100th Episode)
#02, 1-08, I Will Remember You
#01, 5-14, Smile Time
Series Finale: 5-22, Not Fade Away

I was pleasantly surprised at the calibre of shows chosen. There were several from season 5 (so someone explain to me why it was cancelled again?), a handful from season 1, one from season 3, and only one from the horrible Connor/Cordy season which was redeemed by having not only Angelus but Faith and Willow in it, too. I’d forgotten how much I loved “Waiting in the Wings” (who’d’ve ever guessed that Angel was a ballet fan?). I accepted the voluntary heart-wrenchingness of watching both Fred’s and Wes’ final episodes in the same day, not to mention the “I Will Remember You” episode from season 1 with Sarah Michelle Gellar. My sofa was Kleenex-box Central. And I managed to hit the record button to immortalise “Smile Time,” which is being sent home with t! tomorrow because he simply has to see evil puppets at work in LA.

My TV was on for eleven solid hours, which I think was a personal record. I’m glad it was rainy outside, otherwise I would have felt horribly guilty about being inside all day. Anyway, I still managed to get 1.5K written during the whole thing, plus some formatting and editing. How’s that for multi-tasking? Not that I’d do it again soon; I just couldn’t choose one over the other, so I did both.

Whedon Works

Have a technical question about how the Buffyverse works? Want to debate ethical dilemmas of the BtVS and Angel: The Series characters? This is your complete compendium to all things mystical, good, and evil in the Buffyverse.

Episode by episode, this site looks at metaphysics, the concepts of good and evil, philosophy, ethics and morals, and the other stuff that meakes the Buffyverse so interesting. (Apart from the banter, that is.)

All Things Philosophical on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series

(found via WHEDONesque)

Movies

Whoever designed Halle Berry’s costume for Catwoman should be shot. It’s absolutely dreadful. The acting looks pretty horrendous, too. This is one movie I certainly won’t be seeing this summer.

And oh, look at that: only two weeks until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban comes out. When did that happen?

It Should Have Been Better Than It Was: A Van Helsing Review

You know, I’d really been looking forward to this film, mostly for the shlock factor. I walked out of the theatre completely neutral towards it. Story threads were clumsily handled; I never reached a point where I sympathised with any of the characters, heroic or villainous; and the pacing seemed off somehow. I didn’t care about anyone during the final fight scene, but then, CG beating the tar out of CG usually doesn’t grab me.

Two hours of Kate Beckinsale’s costumes, and Hugh Jackman in a long coat and hat with flowing hair did a lot to offset my lack of involvement, though. Mmm.

I’ve heard a friend described the film as everyone being in a campy B movie except for Hugh Jackman who was in an action flick, but I disagree. Van Helsing seemed bemused by pretty much everything, and relied on his skills as a mercenary for the Church to get him through every situation. He was as one-dimensional as Dracula was, sticking to what he knew without exploring any alternatives.

It wasn’t as good as Sommer’s The Mummy Returns, and that’s what I was really hoping for. The banter just wasn’t there, nor were the charming characters. The awkward set-up for further exploration of the story was just that – an awkward set-up, as opposed to a mystery. And where the heck do they go from here? They’re already eliminated Hyde, Dracula, Dr Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. Van Helsing versus Lestat, now there’s an interesting pairing. Especially Lestat after all his theological evolution. It will never happen, of course.

Overall, it was a diversion on a rainy Tuesday, but I’ve forgotten most of it already. With Van Helsing out of the way, though, I can focus on getting excited about Troy.