Weekend things
Mar. 14th, 2010 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhienelleth ~ I saw Alice In Wonderland this weekend. I had mixed feelings going in, because while it looked very pretty, one of the first migraines I ever experienced happened while I was watching Disney's version for the first time, at a fairly impressionable age. It has colored my view of the story, the books, everything about Alice ever since.
I guess it says something about this movie, that I was able to not only watch it without thinking once of that experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. It was stunningly gorgeous, with a rich, fantastical story that pulled elements from both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, while being a unique experience in itself. I would happily see it again, and I can't wait to see how pretty it is on blu-ray. The cast, the story, the costumes, the setting, the music...everything was note perfect, I think, and nothing was overdone, as it easily could have been.
I have the score, which is Danny Elfman at his absolute best. You can download the main theme (Alice's Theme) and listen to it here.
It's the theme around which the entire score is based, to great effect. It is, IMO, one of the most beautiful, whimsical scores by Eflman since Edward Scissorhands, and well worth the price to buy the entire album. As you'll hear, a children's choir is among the more powerful instruments used throughout, a deliberate choice by Elfman, no doubt. The Avril Lavigne song used in the credits does not appear on the score, but can easily be found on iTunes (it's called Alice).
~ I finally finished playing Mass Effect 2. Wow, what to say? Well, without spoilers, I think this was a great sequel to ME, but it suffered from what often plagues movies and books in the middle of a trilogy. It felt like the end wasn't really an end, far less satisfying in that regard than Dragon Age, for example. And all I can say is, Bioware, you better bring Kaidan back in ME3 and make up for his lack of presence in ME2 in a really big, really impressive way. As in, he damn well better be a squad member. And the continuation of the romance from the first ME better pay off for what you did with him in ME2. (Those are exactly the conversational options I took, not that it matters. The conversation ends in pretty much the same way no matter what you choose.)
My Shepard proceeded to yell at her superior, who when asked earlier in the game, lied and refused to let her contact Kaidan. Then she went to the local bar and got drunk, literally passing out and waking up in the club's bathroom with her party members crouched over her in obvious concern.
Which was kind of cool that that was an option, but still, at the end Shepard chooses to go on what is openly being called a suicide mission, and I can't even answer the apologetic e-mail Kaidan sent me? No, I just spend a moment staring at his picture on my desk, and then go off to certain death.
Of course, I didn't die, and neither did anyone on my squad. No One Left Behind achievement on my first play through! Although I took too long going to rescue the Normandy's crew, and all of them died except the doctor. I guess you can save them if you act fast enough. I'll be very interested to see where ME3 picks up, given that you end ME2 surrounded by Reapers. I will say, even knowing my emotions are being manipulated, there were some really great moments in this game. Moments when your character gets to be all dramatic and heroic, or when you finally get to tell the Elusive Man where to stick it - that was a particularly satisfying moment for me. I literally laughed with glee when my Shepard told him to f-off (not in those exact words, but close enough!)
I hope we get to cross paths again in ME3, and I can make my point even more clear. Acting as though I owe him because he spent all this time and money bringing me back from the dead! Seriously, the Elusive Man had Shepard's psych profile, and still thought he could control her indefinitely? Yeah, no. She used Cerberus's resources for as long as she absolutely had to in order to get the job done, and then she told him where to stick it. AWESOME!
So, now Dragon Age has an expansion coming out this week, and the sequel is apparently slated for early 2011. I don't know when ME3 will be out, but in the meantime, Bioware continues to be my crack of choice when it comes to video games.
Now I'm off to visit a friend and do some sewing. :D
I guess it says something about this movie, that I was able to not only watch it without thinking once of that experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. It was stunningly gorgeous, with a rich, fantastical story that pulled elements from both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, while being a unique experience in itself. I would happily see it again, and I can't wait to see how pretty it is on blu-ray. The cast, the story, the costumes, the setting, the music...everything was note perfect, I think, and nothing was overdone, as it easily could have been.
I have the score, which is Danny Elfman at his absolute best. You can download the main theme (Alice's Theme) and listen to it here.
It's the theme around which the entire score is based, to great effect. It is, IMO, one of the most beautiful, whimsical scores by Eflman since Edward Scissorhands, and well worth the price to buy the entire album. As you'll hear, a children's choir is among the more powerful instruments used throughout, a deliberate choice by Elfman, no doubt. The Avril Lavigne song used in the credits does not appear on the score, but can easily be found on iTunes (it's called Alice).
~ I finally finished playing Mass Effect 2. Wow, what to say? Well, without spoilers, I think this was a great sequel to ME, but it suffered from what often plagues movies and books in the middle of a trilogy. It felt like the end wasn't really an end, far less satisfying in that regard than Dragon Age, for example. And all I can say is, Bioware, you better bring Kaidan back in ME3 and make up for his lack of presence in ME2 in a really big, really impressive way. As in, he damn well better be a squad member. And the continuation of the romance from the first ME better pay off for what you did with him in ME2. (Those are exactly the conversational options I took, not that it matters. The conversation ends in pretty much the same way no matter what you choose.)
My Shepard proceeded to yell at her superior, who when asked earlier in the game, lied and refused to let her contact Kaidan. Then she went to the local bar and got drunk, literally passing out and waking up in the club's bathroom with her party members crouched over her in obvious concern.
Which was kind of cool that that was an option, but still, at the end Shepard chooses to go on what is openly being called a suicide mission, and I can't even answer the apologetic e-mail Kaidan sent me? No, I just spend a moment staring at his picture on my desk, and then go off to certain death.
Of course, I didn't die, and neither did anyone on my squad. No One Left Behind achievement on my first play through! Although I took too long going to rescue the Normandy's crew, and all of them died except the doctor. I guess you can save them if you act fast enough. I'll be very interested to see where ME3 picks up, given that you end ME2 surrounded by Reapers. I will say, even knowing my emotions are being manipulated, there were some really great moments in this game. Moments when your character gets to be all dramatic and heroic, or when you finally get to tell the Elusive Man where to stick it - that was a particularly satisfying moment for me. I literally laughed with glee when my Shepard told him to f-off (not in those exact words, but close enough!)
I hope we get to cross paths again in ME3, and I can make my point even more clear. Acting as though I owe him because he spent all this time and money bringing me back from the dead! Seriously, the Elusive Man had Shepard's psych profile, and still thought he could control her indefinitely? Yeah, no. She used Cerberus's resources for as long as she absolutely had to in order to get the job done, and then she told him where to stick it. AWESOME!
So, now Dragon Age has an expansion coming out this week, and the sequel is apparently slated for early 2011. I don't know when ME3 will be out, but in the meantime, Bioware continues to be my crack of choice when it comes to video games.
Now I'm off to visit a friend and do some sewing. :D
