HP Book Meme, and Movie Review
Jun. 5th, 2004 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slumberWatched The Day After Tomorrow and, surprisingly enough, liked it.
The Review
Entirely inappropriate title. Should have been The Events That Led to the Day After Tomorrow. Because, it is. The Day After Tomorrow would have pertained to a sequel on how the US recovers, or something, because on the most part the title seems to refer to the day after the whole thing winds down or something.
I didn't appreciate the special effects either. Somehow, they looked too surreal. Some were fine, but others... nah.
I liked the scenes wherein they picked out vignettes--different people and what happened to them, and especially adored the part where the janitor of the building is the only one left in the building after the tornadoes hit LA. And the Pontiac guy! I thought it was clever, getting the newscaster to comment on the bus hitting the Pontiac and hoping nobody was in it, because viewers of the movie will know somebody was in it, and at the same time be unconsciously aware that viewers of the news program would have been misled to hope that nobody died in there (Face it. Who wants to know somebody died in front of you, even if he was inside a Pontiac at the time?), and I don't know if anyone else was affected this way, but it made me see somehow the difference between a life and a number in the tally of casualties.
The plot is simple enough, and I can see what the movie was aiming for. TDAT needed to paint a realistic enough picture of a possibility, wide enough in scope for it to pull off its intended effect to viewers, yet focus on a concrete storyline that frame the vignettes into one big picture. I don't know if the plot they chose to follow (of Hall and his son) complemented the movie as a whole, but there weren't any glaring errors to point out about it either, so it'll have to be left as it is. I think that the story-telling comes short, though, when it came to unfolding the catastrophic events, because what began as a world problem, with scenes from New Delhi, Japan and Scotland, eventually centered only on the plight of the Northern Hemisphere of the United States. Not enough to tie back to the crisis as an international event, not really, because we never know what happened to New Delhi, or Japan, or Scotland after, only being expected to assume that they met the same fate the US did. (It still needed to be shown, because they already introduced us to it in the first scenes.)
The best thing I liked about TDAT has to be the way it portrayed human nature so realistically. There were no qualms about exposing the laughable complacency and illusion of invincibility that mankind has acquired--silly tourists taking footage of twisters that are a hundred feet away, news reporters that stay on til they get knocked out by rooftops, bureaucratic politicians tasked to act immediately but concern themselves with economic and political problems. Usually, disaster flicks like this show only how humans can unite at the darkest of hours, and how the human spirit shall conquer, because the general consensus is that the disaster involved is bad enough of a problem already, but TDAT isn't afraid to be cynical, to point out mistakes that could be made and that could be fatal (the VP's decision to ignore Hall, for instance), and this is what makes the movie so laudable, in my opinion.
The message of irony isn't lost either. That's one of the other things I love even more about this movie--it made the United States vulnerable, weak, helpless. Enough to wipe out half its population, enough to reverse the status of illegal immigrants between US and Mexico and put the words American and refugees beside each other, enough to have Latin American debt cleared. The televised speech of the US President (former Vice President) at the end of the movie showed only too clearly what the US can be reduced to, and that was enough to give me a smug, self-satisfied smirk. (Like Hermione after punching Draco in PoA: That felt good.) I mean, I don't despise the US, of course. I have many American friends, but, you know, Bush and everything...
The Commentary
When the storm was still brewing, and it was raining hail and stuff, I so wanted to hear someone in the movie say "Some weather we're having, eh?" (Actually, someone did, a bit later. Almost had me in stitches. :D)
We see and hear snatches of news coverage, and one reporter was on a helicopter hovering Los Angeles, then spattered with tornadoes, and they focus on the Hollywood sign? As if it were the pinnacle of the tragedy, the reporter remarks, "The Hollywood sign is gone." I can hear the actors sobbing. *rolls eyes*
In the scene where Hall tries to convince the Vice President of the US to evacuate people and he talks about economy, I couldn't help thinking: Ah, bureaucracy.
The girl that Sam Hall likes annoys me, for many reasons. The first was that heroic thing she was doing, coming back for the foreign lady, and that was fine, but then she had to come back for the passport (You idiot! The lady's going to die anyway.), and the third stupid thing she does is NOT tend to her leg injury. (What's the use of being smart enough to join a decathalon if you aren't smart enough to keep yourself alive?)
The black guy with glasses? Definitely crushing on Sam. >:D
Memeage
When did you first discover Harry Potter?: When it was mentioned in Time, along with an article on anime.
Were you hooked instantly, or did it take a while?: It took me the fandom to make me a fan. I didn't have an overwhelming adoration for the books the first time I read them.
Did you instantly fall in love w/ any specific character?: Not instantly, but I liked Ron. :P
Favorite...
Professor: Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall (tied)
Marauder: Sirius Black
Gryffindor: Ron Weasley
Slytherin: Draco Malfoy
Hufflepuff: Zacharias Smith
Ravenclaw: Cho Chang, until OotP. Then it was Luna Lovegood.
Character overall: Book-wise? Ron Weasley.
How long did it take you to read...
Book 1: Three days, maybe.
Book 2: Two days?
Book 3: Two to three days.
Book 4: A few days.
Book 5: Fifteen hours. XD
If you were in Harry Potter...
What house would you be in?: Slytherin.
What would your pet be?: Cat.
What would your wand be?: No idea. Maybe willow, eleven inches, unicorn core. (*shrugs* Just thought it sounded nice.)
Who would you date?: Blaise Zabini. :P
What would be your fav. subject?: Divination. XP
Other...
How did you feel about you know who dying? (in OotP): Oh, he's not dead. *denial*
What are your views on the Dark Lord?: Er... he could have been handsome, if it weren't for those meddlingkids Potters! Hee.
Weasleys or Malfoys?: Malfoys. They're rich. And I'm shallow. :D
Good night.
The Review
Entirely inappropriate title. Should have been The Events That Led to the Day After Tomorrow. Because, it is. The Day After Tomorrow would have pertained to a sequel on how the US recovers, or something, because on the most part the title seems to refer to the day after the whole thing winds down or something.
I didn't appreciate the special effects either. Somehow, they looked too surreal. Some were fine, but others... nah.
I liked the scenes wherein they picked out vignettes--different people and what happened to them, and especially adored the part where the janitor of the building is the only one left in the building after the tornadoes hit LA. And the Pontiac guy! I thought it was clever, getting the newscaster to comment on the bus hitting the Pontiac and hoping nobody was in it, because viewers of the movie will know somebody was in it, and at the same time be unconsciously aware that viewers of the news program would have been misled to hope that nobody died in there (Face it. Who wants to know somebody died in front of you, even if he was inside a Pontiac at the time?), and I don't know if anyone else was affected this way, but it made me see somehow the difference between a life and a number in the tally of casualties.
The plot is simple enough, and I can see what the movie was aiming for. TDAT needed to paint a realistic enough picture of a possibility, wide enough in scope for it to pull off its intended effect to viewers, yet focus on a concrete storyline that frame the vignettes into one big picture. I don't know if the plot they chose to follow (of Hall and his son) complemented the movie as a whole, but there weren't any glaring errors to point out about it either, so it'll have to be left as it is. I think that the story-telling comes short, though, when it came to unfolding the catastrophic events, because what began as a world problem, with scenes from New Delhi, Japan and Scotland, eventually centered only on the plight of the Northern Hemisphere of the United States. Not enough to tie back to the crisis as an international event, not really, because we never know what happened to New Delhi, or Japan, or Scotland after, only being expected to assume that they met the same fate the US did. (It still needed to be shown, because they already introduced us to it in the first scenes.)
The best thing I liked about TDAT has to be the way it portrayed human nature so realistically. There were no qualms about exposing the laughable complacency and illusion of invincibility that mankind has acquired--silly tourists taking footage of twisters that are a hundred feet away, news reporters that stay on til they get knocked out by rooftops, bureaucratic politicians tasked to act immediately but concern themselves with economic and political problems. Usually, disaster flicks like this show only how humans can unite at the darkest of hours, and how the human spirit shall conquer, because the general consensus is that the disaster involved is bad enough of a problem already, but TDAT isn't afraid to be cynical, to point out mistakes that could be made and that could be fatal (the VP's decision to ignore Hall, for instance), and this is what makes the movie so laudable, in my opinion.
The message of irony isn't lost either. That's one of the other things I love even more about this movie--it made the United States vulnerable, weak, helpless. Enough to wipe out half its population, enough to reverse the status of illegal immigrants between US and Mexico and put the words American and refugees beside each other, enough to have Latin American debt cleared. The televised speech of the US President (former Vice President) at the end of the movie showed only too clearly what the US can be reduced to, and that was enough to give me a smug, self-satisfied smirk. (Like Hermione after punching Draco in PoA: That felt good.) I mean, I don't despise the US, of course. I have many American friends, but, you know, Bush and everything...
The Commentary
When the storm was still brewing, and it was raining hail and stuff, I so wanted to hear someone in the movie say "Some weather we're having, eh?" (Actually, someone did, a bit later. Almost had me in stitches. :D)
We see and hear snatches of news coverage, and one reporter was on a helicopter hovering Los Angeles, then spattered with tornadoes, and they focus on the Hollywood sign? As if it were the pinnacle of the tragedy, the reporter remarks, "The Hollywood sign is gone." I can hear the actors sobbing. *rolls eyes*
In the scene where Hall tries to convince the Vice President of the US to evacuate people and he talks about economy, I couldn't help thinking: Ah, bureaucracy.
The girl that Sam Hall likes annoys me, for many reasons. The first was that heroic thing she was doing, coming back for the foreign lady, and that was fine, but then she had to come back for the passport (You idiot! The lady's going to die anyway.), and the third stupid thing she does is NOT tend to her leg injury. (What's the use of being smart enough to join a decathalon if you aren't smart enough to keep yourself alive?)
The black guy with glasses? Definitely crushing on Sam. >:D
Memeage
When did you first discover Harry Potter?: When it was mentioned in Time, along with an article on anime.
Were you hooked instantly, or did it take a while?: It took me the fandom to make me a fan. I didn't have an overwhelming adoration for the books the first time I read them.
Did you instantly fall in love w/ any specific character?: Not instantly, but I liked Ron. :P
Favorite...
Professor: Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall (tied)
Marauder: Sirius Black
Gryffindor: Ron Weasley
Slytherin: Draco Malfoy
Hufflepuff: Zacharias Smith
Ravenclaw: Cho Chang, until OotP. Then it was Luna Lovegood.
Character overall: Book-wise? Ron Weasley.
How long did it take you to read...
Book 1: Three days, maybe.
Book 2: Two days?
Book 3: Two to three days.
Book 4: A few days.
Book 5: Fifteen hours. XD
If you were in Harry Potter...
What house would you be in?: Slytherin.
What would your pet be?: Cat.
What would your wand be?: No idea. Maybe willow, eleven inches, unicorn core. (*shrugs* Just thought it sounded nice.)
Who would you date?: Blaise Zabini. :P
What would be your fav. subject?: Divination. XP
Other...
How did you feel about you know who dying? (in OotP): Oh, he's not dead. *denial*
What are your views on the Dark Lord?: Er... he could have been handsome, if it weren't for those meddling
Weasleys or Malfoys?: Malfoys. They're rich. And I'm shallow. :D
Good night.
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Date: 2004-06-05 02:30 pm (UTC)Oooh *gacks meme* :)
~Kirsty
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Date: 2004-06-06 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-08 09:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-08 07:51 pm (UTC)