The boy bought three DVDs over the weekend - The Punisher, Battlestar Galactica (the pilot of the re-make of the 1970's series) and The Dark Crystal.
Thankfully I was spared The Punisher. Most films based on graphic novels I can do without. John Travolta was in this one, but that wasn't enough to entice me.
The Dark Crystal was okay. Probably the funniest thing in it was the girl-Muppet's pet, which looked like the head of a homeless man (just the head), encased in fur and yaps instead of talks.
Battlestar Galactica was actually more fun than I'd expected, although just a little too military. Apparently changing star fighter-pilot Starbuck into a butch girl (who is yet still Hollywood-pretty) and giving the other star fighter-pilot Apollo some father-son angst, were two major changes from the original.
Of the original, I only remember that I thought the title was ridiculously cheesy and that the commander was played by that old guy from Bonanza (Lorne Greene. Anyone get the Angel connection?).
The boy was indignant that the show's "villain", a computer genius whose lust for a blond in a painted-on red dress eventually leads to humanity's fall against the robot race, had an English accent. He thinks the Americans always make the villains English. Not true - they're usually Middle Eastern, German or Asian. English accents are more likely to be given to campy gays, snobs and, if Cockney, streetwise crooks-with-a-heart.
8 comments:
George Lucas made the Star Wars villians English. All the studio shooting was in England.
I have always thought a lot of movie arctypes would work better flipping the genders.
"Because your names Lorne and your Green."
Now I want to see Battlestar Galactica. A painted on red dress. Whooeee..
I loooove The Dark Crystal. It came out when I was a little kid, and I found it so scary and mesmerizing. I watched it with a friend a few years ago and it still gave me chills. remember the draining of the 'essence'? That scared the hell out of me!
Are you calling me a 'campy gay' because of my accent.....
I have fond memories of the Dark Crystal. I'm going to have to go see if my local video shop has it on DVD.
The Battle Star Galactica series is quite a lot better than the pilot.
I think there is a slight trend for English villains at the moment. Suprising its not the French given recentish US antipathy towards them.
nigel: full marks for getting the Angel connection. Maybe the English like being villians. I know the boy kinda does.
happyandblue2: Men...
Jon: Yeah, the essence-draining was pretty good. I thought it interesting that the witchy woman who had the crystal shard had protuding nipples even though she's a non-sex-object puppet.
onscreen: or you could be a snob. What's it gonna be?
flyingkiwi: the DVD has quite a few extras in it, though we haven't seen 'em yet.
mtnw: nah, I can't see the Americans making their movie villains French. Who're they going to use for the romantic distractions - the Irish?
The Dark Crystal is great I say! Great! I love most anything with Jim Henson muppets.
I think american movie villains usually follow trends. The US hasn't fought Britain in a long time so I don't particularly notice many English badguys.
Post a Comment