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malachi57
Reviews
Legend of the Seeker (2008)
A great show, regardless of the liberties taken
Being a big fan of the books (rereading them leading up to finally reading Confessor), I was very excited to see this series coming out. Lots of cool stuff to see every week rather than a one shot with a movie. The production values are great (considering it's on the econo-brand ABC network) and the acting keeps me engaged (no Oscar nominees here, but I'm not looking for Pacino to show up anyway) The plot line does take MANY liberties with the continuity of the books, but I haven't seen anything yet that is glaringly bad (weird, yes, but bad, no.) They've even fulfilled some fanboy dreams of seeing Kahlan in a confessor's outfit (rawr!) and what it's like to have the power of Orden (which never happened in the books). I personally can't wait to watch it every week (unlike Heroes which has lost itself on me). I think that's a testament to any good show. So for all the hardline haters out there, try not to think of it as a faithful representation to your inner (or outer) geek. But look at it for what it is. A damn good action show to watch on a Sunday night!
Legend of the Seeker: Sacrifice (2009)
FInally!
Though the show completely breaks away from the books on many levels, it has paid off in the best way with (what I am sure is a shared fantasy) Kahlan playing the role of Mord Sith! Freaking awesome! Some of the acting was a little stiff, but the story is progressing smoothly and actually tries to introduce some of the touchier issues that come up in the books. I know die-hard fanboys will complain that the show doesn't handle these issues (like why a male confessor can't live) in a half-hearted fashion, but this is regular cable, not HBO or Showtime where you can have carte blanche to cuss and show gratuitous adult themes. I think the creative team is doing a great job. I hope this show stays around for a while.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Better then people think
Don't let the naysayers talk you out of seeing this movie. It is beautifully filmed, with wonderful transitions from scene to scene.
The acting is what it is, but I've never had a problem with any of them from the previous movies, and the story stays fairly faithful to the book itself.
There are a couple diversions from the written word, but they work well for the flow of the movie. Again, good enough to see once, maybe even twice!
If I do have one gripe, I would have liked it to be a bit longer, if for the simple reason that they could have given more time to the text material. Of course, the Goblet of fire (the next in the series) will probably have even more of the source material cut out of it for timing purposes. So be forewarned. :)
Hulk (2003)
Like a bad sequel, but without the blockbuster first movie.
Exactly what I said above. I think the visuals were cool, and I liked the comic book style framing, but the story had way to much back to it. I don't care about Bruce's dad, or the petty politics behind his research. Just give me HULK SMASH!! Oh well, I think a sequel will do well for this franchise. At least then they could just get straight to the action.
X2 (2003)
The kind of movie you want to see over and over again!
I used to read the X-Men comics somewhat religiously when I was a kid, so I'd like to say I'm something of an expert on the subject. This movie just blew me away. There were tons of things I loved, but some of the biggest highlights were seeing Collossus (my personal favorite X-Man) in action and finally seeing Wolvie cut loose. That was the one big surprise in this film. Lots of violence. Magneto was especially fun to watch in that sick way you slow down to watch a car crash. He was vicious at times, yet I still pulled for him to do his thing. It was crazy!! And they set it up perfectly for a sequel. Lots of room for even more interesting stories to be told!