While finishing up Episode 6 for Thieves' Honor (just sent in to the editors), I've been watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, an homage to old-fashioned science fiction cartoons and films of the 1930s and 40s. If I have a complaint about the movie, it's the whole "Good boy, Dex" routine that Joe (Sky Captain) does with his sidekick. Other than that, I sit back and enjoy the almost mindless fun.
I've also been reading Ted Dekker's The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White) in an omnibus edition given to me for Christmas from my brother and his wife. I finished Black on Monday morning, and have started Red. Bubba's been a Dekker fan for years, but I'm a latecomer to the club. My first Dekker attempt was Skin, a fast and tense read, so I was game for more. I'm liking the intercutting between two worlds in this current set of books, but--as with Sky Captain--there's an annoying tick in the story: all that winking. What's with the winking? Everybody, or at least all the "good guys", likes to wink at one another.
Perhaps I'm making a huge deal out of details because I've been in this house and on this couch for too long. It must be a sign that I'm either really, really sick, or that I've been cooped up too long, if going back to work looks like fun.
Or maybe I need to move to a warmer, drier climate.
5 comments:
Sky Captain is one of the most infuriating films I've ever seen. On the one hand, it had the vibe I've been aching for. On the other, the story just doesn't work for me. For one, I love me some Jossian banter, but in Sky Captain, what we get instead is bickering, and it's just off enough that instead of being endearing, it makes me feel stabby. If you take the same story and the same characters and the same special effects and simply use a different writer or writing team, I think it could be brilliant, not just fun, but actually important. Think of how easily Galaxy Quest could have gone off the rails in the hands of other writers / directors / actors. But when you get the right mix, you get genius. This could have been genius. But my displeasure is not because this film is so far from good, but because it is so very close. I can almost taste what that other movie could have been, and it frankly makes me a little bitter.
I have to agree: Sky Captain had much more potential than the filmmakers exploited. I appreciate the nod to a prior era, but--well, I'll just stop there.
I need to get a copy of Galaxy Quest. I knew my DVD library was missing somethin'!
I enjoyed Sky Captain for what it was. In my opinion, it walked the fine line between clever/campy and ridiculous. (While staying on the correct side of the line.) I also absolutely loved the very last line.
Even if you can see it coming, the last line is perfect. And makes me smile.
Visually, the film is a feast, and I like looking for the nods here and there to old movies and the s/f genre; wish the dialogue had been better.
Sky Captain is one of my favorites for sure. Sure, it could have been more, but it's great fun either way. Perfect Saturday afternoon movie. And I loved the last line too.
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