Serenity, anyone???

[Adyn]

OK haha, I just had to see if I could stir up any Serenity discussion round here ;) From the NC at the Movies thread, looks like we have a few Browncoats kickin' around... and here's hoping that the movie inspires even more!

I saw Serenity last night (opening day... couldn't quite work up the stamina to do a midnight show haha) and man, it was well worth the wait.

Here's my rambling review...

From what I could tell of the vibe in the theatre (packed with Firefly fans) all our highest expectations were met and passed... this movie was a GREAT movie. I don't know how non-firefly fans will feel about it... but for those who have fallen in love with ALL of Joss's characters... this movie was a homecoming, a reunion, just magical... There was something so satisfying about seeing all of the characters in all their glory going through their biggest adventure. There are some REALLY tough/sad parts... and one that actually made me cry... like, rip your heart out cry. And I didn't cry at SWEPIII... this was purely tied to how much Joss gets you to identify with and LOVE his characters, they are real, they are accessible... they are people you would want on your own crew (if you had one hahaha) and when things happen to them, it just hits you on a whole 'nuther level.

The dialog was, of course, brilliant and witty and real. The effects were spot on. The story is compelling... just take everything I love about the series and magnify it! A few things were missing one of which is the western tint... since it takes place mostly around the core and then in Reaver territory, there are no realy grungy western scenes. It's more of a pure scifi type flic... albeit with the dirt and grime and imperfections that make this world brilliant where things like Star Trek (to me) fail completely.

I was also bummed to see Kalee (Jewel Staite) had lost weight. Part of her appeal as a character to me, part of what made her real... was that she wasn't super thin. She had the best round cheeks and just a beautiful glow about her when she was at real person weight. The thinner Kalee looks a bit too elegant and stereotypically pretty to me... she looks like a female actress... rather than the Kaylee who LOVES food and lives life to the fullest, who is beautiful because she IS a beautiful person, not because she works at it.

By contrast, Inaura is significantly less glamourous than in the series. Less makeup, less soft lighting... though, that could be explained by the seriousness of the situation they all find themselves in.

The one thing I was missing the most?? The dang theme song. I would have LOVED to hear at least the accoustic (no vocal) version over the credits... or if nothing else played while we were waiting for it to start. I think, in the credits, people would have gone NUTS hahha. At least this opening day crowd hehehe.

So get out and go see this movie this weekend!!! The word circulating is that if it pulls $80M this weekend, they are guaranteed a sequel. So, come on folks... get out there and SEE it!!!! I might have to hit up a matinee Sunday ;)

[creaker]

Maybe I'm really behind, but what is Serenity? And what's Firefly? I've seen trailers for Serenity but I've never really heard of it before... Was it a book or comic or something?

[somewherenorth]

ok, this is coming from someone who never saw any of it, but i've heard about it at the morning meetings at my job (barnes and noble)...firefly was a tv show that ran for one season and then was canceled...serenity is a movie that just came out that continues/elaborates on the storyline of firefly...like i said i don't know what i'm talking about (:)), but i've heard that the firefly tv show was fairly involved/complicated, but gained some die hard fans during it's lone season...

and that's all i know about it...

how'd i do, heather??? :)

[honortheking]

SERENITY NOW!!!!



how can a series do so well and yet fail??!!

that's so tragically awesome, though. for something to gain so much support and fall through so to speak.

BECAUSE of your love for this show and excellent indepth review, you've made me want to see it. =-]

i hope that makes you feel good. you've succeeded. now if i can only scrounge up some money to go. i also wanna see History of Violence. looks amazing.

anywho.

[Meghan Narser]

I must say, I'm really really scared they'll make a sequel. With all that happened in this movie, I don't know how it would ever be the same if they did make a sequal. But I agree that the movie was awesome.

I didn't cry... it was really more like sobbing. I like how even though it was a movie a lot of the moments were exactly as they would be in the show, quick and witty, as if you only had 30 minutes to make people laugh.

It's hard for me to show my love of the movie with no spoilers!

[Adyn]

I hear ya, Meghan! I mean... what is Serenity without certain vital ummm elements??? LOL And impossible to talk about w/o spoilers! But yeah... I'd like to have faith Joss can pull it off (a sequel) but man... I think we're owed something after that kinda heart wrenching stuff! [sob]

To the other replies, yeah, that's pretty much the gist of things. I was turned on to the Firefly series by a friend in my local Star Wars club (yes, that's right... don't laugh, we have lots of fun hahahaha) Anyhow, he kept going on and on about Firefly so I finally took the bait and rented the series on DVD (yay for Netflix!) I don't watch TV so I did not catch the show when it aired or replayed. I was pretty skeptical considering the strange genre mix... but after 2 episodes I was hooked (as was my husband). Somehow it just all works. And I fell in love with the writing style and wit and of course with all the characters... man were we BUMMED when we got to the last episode!!! Like... WHY WAS THIS CANCELED????? [bang]

LOL... anyhow, if you have a chance, rent (or buy from Amazon! LOL $29.00 on sale for the set!) the Firefly series. I think, as a standalone movie, it's a good one. But if you have the background and really know the characters it just makes it somehow SO much more.

Great stuff. Wish there was more *dramatic sigh*

[Meghan Narser]

Mmmm, I understand. I was surprised when all my friends liked it so much and they haven't seen the series and I was like But you couldn't understand half of the jokes, you didn't have 25% of the feelings I have for these characters YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD THIS MOVIE REALLY IS! But they will learn.

They were talking about how they didn't think it was all that sad (Well some parts, other parts they agreed were sad but not as sad as I thought) and I was tearing up just talking about it.

[JP_]

Nickel Creek was actualy an influence on the music in this film:

JOSS's 'SERENITY' MIX TAPE (Part 1)


Q. I have a friend who's a big film-score geek, and I told him I was interviewing you. He told me you wax philosophic and rhapsodic about the score to this film for like three pages in the new companion book that just came out --

A. It's actually five pages.

Q. Oh. Sorry.

A. No, I mean it was five pages when I typed it. That was written before we'd hired a composer. All those memos [in Serenity: The Official Visual Companion] were [written] before we made the movie; they were pre-production memos. I gave David Newman that memo; I also gave him a mix tape with everything on my iPod that might be useful.

Q. And this is actually what my score-geek friend wanted to know: What were those songs?

A. There were a couple of songs from Nickel Creek, whom I adore -- I love them with a fiery vengeance. There was some movie stuff: Angela's Ashes, Elmer Bernstein's theme from Far from Heaven -- not because they were necessarily the right idiom, but because the themes were so incredibly indelible within the first 20 seconds, which is about as much time as I usually gave David. [laughs] They had to become indelible before there was too much going on for anybody to hear anything.
I'm gonna forget a bunch of stuff. Definitely important was For the Turnstiles by Neil Young, off Decade -- because it has this very sort of dampened banjo in it. And I played this for him particularly when we were going over it, just to say, Look at how he's taking all the reverb off of this, and making just as sort of personal as possible.


-JP
p.s. Happy to finally be a part of the message board after browsing it for a couple years! :)

[Adyn]

I wonder if the band likes Firefly/Serenity? (I know they aren't tv watchers, but neither am I so it's possible! haha)

How cool would it be to hear NC do the Firefly theme song??? Ya know, just tossed in a song somewhere like they tend to mix things up?

[lolol]

That'd rock hehehehe :D

[Meghan Narser]

*faints*

That'd be amazing. That is so awesome. I'm speechless.

[GypsyQueen]

Oh my god! Oh my god! Whedon likes Nickel Creek? Why have I not heard this before??? Oh my god -- could someone possibly suggest to Chris or somebody that they do the Ballad of Serenity? Who's going to one of their shows, soon? C'mon, people, it won't get done if we just sit on our butts and let things happen by themselves!

Anyway, Meghan, I agree with your analysis of the nubes -- they SO didn't get 1/2 the jokes. I was really happy that they showed the infamous River breakout in its full glory. Man, Simon Tam has to be either the stupidest or bravest man in the 'verse! Funny how often the two go together.

But, again, I insist that SOMEONE talk to Nickel Creek about recording a version of The Ballad of Serenity. I think they could do a good job. 'Specially since Joss himself likes them, I think they wouldn't have a problem getting permission.

Gah, the movie just had some... teary scenes in it for me. I laughed, I cried, I swore in Chinese -- by the way, if someone could help with my Chinese...?

YOU CAN'T STOP THE SIGNAL.

[Eirian]

Okay, just joined and must post here! I'm a HUGE Joss Whedon and Firefly fan. I was heartbroken when they cancelled the series, and I absolutely loved the movie.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Joss likes Nickel Creek -- they would do a seriously fabulous Ballad of Serenity. Maybe next movie!?!?

[firefly]

I love Firefly! It's my favorite tv show. I wasn't a fan when it was on fox, but now I'm a huge fan. I loved Serenity but I think the show is still better. I hope there will be another movie. There is still a lot that needs to be explained.

[GypsyQueen]

So I totally forgot about this thread until I got a little e-mail telling me someone had posted on it. Anyway, when Creek was at ACLfest this year, I actually managed to hang out with Sean and talk for a while. [I know, people hate me.] Okay, the whole point of this little dialogue is that I told Sean about how Joss likes their music and how it would be cool if they did the Ballad of Serenity. I actually wrote down what was said, so hang on...

Me: Do you like Firefly?
Sean: Is that a band?
Me: No, it's... a show, a television show that died, but somehow managed to resurrect itself in movie theatres as SERENITY. *Sean says nothing* It's by Joss Whedon.
Sean: He directed it?
Me: And wrote it, but... yeah.
Sean: Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon... Oh, yeah, Joss! The Buffy guy, right? He's awesome! He has a friend who's friends with my friend, and our friends managed to get us to talk about a month ago.
Me: ...Okay, cool. Anyway, He said on his blog once that it would be awesome if Nickel Creek did a cover of the Firefly theme song, 'The Ballad of Serenity.'
Sean: Really? Oh wow, that would be really cool. Huh. Wow. I'll definitely tell Chris and Sara; we really should think about that...

So, see, guys: nothing can stop the signal. The Ballad of Serenity could very well appear at a concert. All because of this board. Be proud, browncoats. Be very proud.

Blessed be.

[firefly]

That's great! I would love it if the show got started again and had NC singing the theme song. I've heard that's it's very unlikely that there will be another movie, but maybe there could be a season 2. Has anyone seen the 'easter egg' on the season 1 DVD? It's shows Adam Baldwin singing the Ballad of Jayne. He even wears the hat he wore in the episode The Message. It's very funny. :D

[Meghan Narser]

I doubt the show would start up again? It'd have to be between the time the show ends and the movie begins, which in an of itself doesn't leave all that much time. And they couldn't make it after the movie... it just wouldn't work.
As time goes on the chances of another movie seems slimmer and slimmer, although once again, unless Zoe is pregnant I don't see how it would even be worth watching.

[firefly]

But to me it seems like there is still so much to be told. It was never explained why Book knew so much. And there were just things that were never explained. After I saw the movie I felt like there was still something missing to the story. I heard that if the movie made a certain amount of money they would possibly make a sequel. Well, even if they don't, I can still hope.

[Tinuviel Girl]

OMG I LOVE FIREFLY

we bought the box set and have been watching them, the show is so addicting i just can't stop!

serenity is great too, i love it so much. the character development is so amazing and just everything else ... omg great freakin show and movie!

Jayne: Well this has a name, I call it Vera. [lolol]

[firefly]

I am also a fan of 24 and I've noticed that several people on Firefly are on 24. It took me a little while to notice it though. I can think of five people, but I think there were more.