Do we really need a topic line?

[chani]

I went to the movies on Saturday evening and saw Joann Sfar's Gainsbourg (vie héroïque) that the film maker describes as a tale based on his view on Gainsbourg rather than as a biopic. I shall review it but I'm too tired to do it now. Let's say that the first half, that focuses on the childhood, the 50's and the early 60's, is a real success, filled with intelligence and creativity, but the second half is underwhelming. The film then just looks like another biopic, even though Laetitia Casta is simply amazing as Brigitte Bardot.

Unfortunately the trailer mostly looks like the second half and doesn't do justice to the film. On the other hand it doesn't spoil the good surprise of the first hour:

I'm really exhausted. I wonder how I will make it until the 20th of February...

Fortunately there's good tv to watch. Of course Dollhouse finale didn't live up to Joss' usual originality and depth and to the brilliant episodes we got during season 2 (having said that, I am not ready to review it yet)but Caprica was great (daring, beautifuly crafted, brilliantly acted, and so refreshing it's something I have never seen before on tv)and Being Human is getting better and better. I wasn't as impressed by the 3rd episode as my flist was but the 4th was excellent, flirting with silly and even ridiculous stuff (the way BTVS used to even though BH has its own style) and yet remaining well written, tasteful and dark.

George's goofy attitude was balanced by the rage that bled out eventually and the despair that followed; I enjoyed his teaching time and I did laugh when he corrected the sentence on the mirror ( "George Sands suckS cocks!). And despite having been done before on tv, the Tourette syndrom, werewolf style, did work at the end of the day. That's something that couldn't get away with American censorship, yet the episode had more class and elegance than many shows. Actually in French we'd say that the show "a de la tenue" but I don't know how to say it in English. I liked Annie's training and I liked the soldier ghost. It was a nice short moment in her journey. The AA vamp thing was quite ridiculous but fortunately Ivan was there to "redeem" the whole thing. Now that's an interesting character!

There were many things that reminded me of BtVS but without looking like a mere copy.

Poor Nina, but Lucy might not be such a villain after all... 

Comments

[gillo]

There were many things that reminded me of BtVS but without looking like a mere copy.

The writer says he's never seen any BtVS, which tends to prove how quickly Joss's influence has gone mainstream, because there are a lot of things in BH that would have been unimaginable pre-Buffy. I haven't seen any Dollhouse yet, though I own the S1 DVD and ought to get round to watching it. At present I think

Being Human

is about the best thing on TV - it makes

Heroes

, which follows straight after, look as silly and feeble as, sadly, it now is.

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

I have given up on Heroes for a while. I wouldn't call BH the best thing on TV but I enjoy the show. It has darkness and humour which is pleasant, and the British realist style is a nice change when you watch too many American shows.

Having said that, I think that the new plots and arcs lack creativity now. Season 1 was refreshing but they couldn't carry on the theme of three freaks living together and trying to "be human" without it getting old, and the storylines that are currently unfolding aren't very original.

[jamalov29.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed his teaching time and I did laugh when he corrected the sentence on the mirror ( "George Sands suckS cocks!). Oh yes I adored those parts !
But the rage against his boss that followed later left me uncomfortable
Ivan gets more interesting, true. I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the third like I told you , and I think it was because it had touches of what we had on a regular basis last year. So for now I will keep watching but not with the greatest anticipation.

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

The touches of humour and friendship were good but you don't build a good story on humour and nice feelings alone. Season 2 cannot just repeat season 2, so the dark side is important story-wise. I think that the scene with the boss was necessary precisely because it made the audience uncomfortable, the funny compulsive swearing wasn't enough to show the beast inside. Just like Ivan's actions were necessary to twist the ridiculous AA thing, George's rage was necessary to balance the comedy he often embodies. I wouldn't like BH to be a horror/fantasy version of Glee!

Mais comme je l'ai dit plus haut, je crois que BH risque soit de tourner en rond, soit de "muter" et de se mettre reproduire des arcs narratifs déjà vus ailleurs, ce qu'elle est en train de faire, et même si c'est bien fait, ça manque d'originalité. La série n'était peut-être pas faite pour la durée en raison même de son concept de départ.

[jamalov29.livejournal.com]

so the dark side is important story-wise. Yes , but I liked last year darkness better. Also what's necessary for the greatness of a story doesn't mean that I have to appreciate it. ;) Perhaps the series isn't for me in the end ,but I do enjoy the characters and how they're portrayed by the actors so it will be one of the main reasons to keep watching ,unless we go into really ,really 'gore' territories.
La série n'était peut-être pas faite pour la durée en raison même de son concept de départ. Je crains aussi qu'il soit difficile d'être aussi percutant que la première saison mais on verra, il reste encore la moitié des épisodes non? Est-ce que c'est huit en tout? je ne sais même plus

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

Also what's necessary for the greatness of a story doesn't mean that I have to appreciate it. ;)

Of course! :-)

Oui je pense qu'il doit y avoir 8 épisodes en tout.

Moi j'attends impatiemment la dernière saison de Lost et la dernière saison de Ashes to ashes (pas aussi bien que Life on Mars mais quand même, le personnage de Gene Hunt est génial).

[jamalov29.livejournal.com]

la dernière saison de Ashes to ashes Est-ce que c'est la seconde ? C'est comme pour LOM , il n' y a que deux saisons ? Je compte bien regarder la série ( je sais, je suis en retard !) car moi aussi j'aodre le personnage de Gene Hunt.

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

Non c'est la saison 3 qui va commencer. Il y a déjà eu deux saisons, celle-ci ets la dernière.