![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
I am completely PMSy and weepy. I shouldn't be watching Remember the Titans right now. *weeps* Also, I saw Finding Neverland last night, and it was WEEP CITY. Also, I saw Finding Neverland, and it was WEEP CITY. Even though I'd highly anticipated it and waited so long to see it, I didn't psych myself out and ended up loving it. I thought it was really fabulous, though I deliberately did not read anyone else's thoughts on it due to not wanting to be spoiled. I admittedly don't know much about the real life events that inspired the film, but that might be a good thing, since I suspect they took quite a few liberties and the historical inaccuracies won't bother me as much. I've also never read Peter Pan, and didn't realize it was a play first (I trust the movie was accurate about that?), though I have seen a couple of theatrical interpretations, of course.
There were many things I enjoyed:
* The UST between Sylvia and James, very subtly done. It wasn't until the final moments when it became a bit more explicit, but never crossed the line into overdramatic declarations of love or posturing. I wept a lot, but I think the first time I was touched enough to do so was when Sylvia couldn't make it to the play, and James abandoned his own opening night to visit her. Their conversation in her bedroom totally got the waterworks going.
* The pace of the film worked really well (until the coda, imho). I liked the progression of Barrie's relationship with the family and how we were shown the deterioration of his marriage.
* I liked how they handled his marriage. They didn't set out to demonize Barrie's wife, but achieved a kind of happy medium where it was clear that whatever they once had was gone -- that perhaps they never truly understood one another. Mary says that she wanted him to show her Neverland but he never would; he says he tried but she didn't really want to see. And of course, the Barrie/Sylvia shipper in me concludes that it was both of these things: He never tried hard enough to show Mary, and Mary never tried hard enough to see it. Since it was Mary who ended up leaving him -- out of a misunderstanding, really, since James probably meant to make it home on time if Sylvia hadn't been so ill -- I'm glad we got that closure scene where we didn't have to wonder if James really loved Mary after all; they made their goodbyes and it was even amicable (well, more on his part than on hers, I suspect, but that's all I really care about <g>).
* Kate and Johnny were just totally fabulous. They've rarely looked better. <g> And Julie Christie was wonderful as well. She's probably one of Kate's more realistic movie moms. Kate is just so the bomb in period pieces. As Jade says, it's really like she was born to live in another time. The clothing style really becomes her, and she looks fantastic in those wide-brimmed hats. Plus she has a great figure, so while everyone else looks all gaunt and uncomely in their dresses that are made for fuller-figured women, Kate looks smashing.
* The crack-like looks we got into Barrie's imagination, although that first one w/ the dancing bear was almost too much and went on for too long.
* Since I ship Peter/Wendy, I like the parallel young!Peter made of Barrie being Peter, when of course Sylvia is Wendy. I also see Wendy's growing up as being a metaphor for Sylvia's death -- it's a place Peter/James cannot follow. :(
There were some weak areas as well. These are mostly minor, but for the last point:
* Weird moment where Michael tells James his name while George is standing right there ... and then five seconds later George introduces himself and Michael again, as if the previous five seconds had never happened. Was that simply bad editing or what? It threw me enough to be off-putting.
* If they were going to take liberties w/ the facts anyway, I would have liked to have seen some reference as to why James chose the name 'Wendy' for the female character in his play. Or maybe even he didn't have the balls to outright name her 'Sylvia.' :))
* WTF was with Dustin Hoffman being British at the start of the movie, and then losing the accent entirely for the rest of it? Either do it consistently or DON'T DO IT AT ALL. Was distracting/jarring. Luckily his role wasn't that big.
* The biggest weakness of the movie, imho, was the ending. It was out of place and seemed tacked on. It reversed some of the progress the characters had made without earning it (as we see nothing of what goes on after Sylvia's in Neverland, before her funeral), just so it could milk one more "James/Peter bonding moment." It was unnecessary and took away from the subtlety of the rest of the film.
James and Peter already had their moment of understanding at the after party, when Peter tells the crowd that it isn't he who is Peter Pan -- it's James. Prior to that, we've already seen Peter throw a tantrum about how James isn't really his father, etc., and how their relationship eventually grows and strengthens. Reverting their relationship once again, when the last we saw, James and Peter were
getting along just fine, was a bit lazy and manipulative. I actually liked the scene; I just didn't think it belonged where it was. It should have come in the plot before that, a scene where they bond, and perhaps Peter isn't sad about his mother's death, but about her illness and her impending departure from this world. I also liked the scene between James and Julie Christie after the funeral, but again, it could have been a discussion they'd had before Sylvia's death, where they discuss the terms of her will or something, and we can be assured of the boys' fates.
In short, what happened in the last leg of the film should have been incorporated into the earlier portions of the film, which would have made for a more seamless experience, and then the film wouldn't have lost those scenes while at the same time ending where it should have ended -- with Sylvia entering Neverland, then fading out.
That's my biggest thing -- I thought that was a really strong scene and the movie should have ended with that image. Sylvia entering Neverland was a rebirth of sorts, and I really liked the magical feel of watching her step into that world, her long train behind her, like she was a woodland princess at home with her world. She wasn't sickly or impaired; she was where she belonged. She was also alone, in the world James had shown her, and I liked the feeling we were left with at that point.
Is there a scene in Peter Pan where Wendy is in Neverland looking like a queen? <g> I'd like to parallel Sylvia with Wendy here, but I don't know the story well enough.
Thanks v. much to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rainpuddle13 for the beautiful Christmas card! So impressive and Christmassy in every way! :D
I received a review at Portkey that asked why Draco would have a substantial portion of Black holdings. For those of you who were wondering the same thing, or whose interest has now been piqued: There's a really interesting and informative discussion on the topic that I bookmarked at Pud's journal here. You don't have to subscribe to the beliefs yourself, but from that discussion I'm convinced the possibility is certainly there. So I'll use it in a story if it suits my purposes, because it's as likely as anything else, just as every other writer in her own story/stories customizes little details here and there that haven't been unequivocally stated in canon. Same thing goes with Ginny's characterization -- just because she's grown up with six brothers does not mean that it naturally follows that she will be adventurous and mischievous. Certainly it's possible, and even likely, but I don't think that that means any other interpretation does not have merit. In fact, I could argue that having such boisterous siblings would be quite daunting, and might make one retreat further into one's shell. Point is, there's no definite answer, and that's what makes fanfic fun. : )
Speaking of Christmas ... I don't know how many of you are familiar with the world-famous KROQ, an alternative radio station in LA. Anyway, every Christmas they put out a Christmas album, with songs from various artists and other Christmas-themed skit things (that aren't always in the best of taste <g>). I try and get my hands on one annually, but I'm definitely missing a few. Anyway, I was listening to some of the ones from years past, and I thought I'd share two of my favorite selections. :)) Right-click and save to listen.
* Intro by Mark Hoppus/"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" by blink-182
* Harry Blotter & the Christmas Fairy (aka Sorcerer's Bone)
Teehee.
There were many things I enjoyed:
* The UST between Sylvia and James, very subtly done. It wasn't until the final moments when it became a bit more explicit, but never crossed the line into overdramatic declarations of love or posturing. I wept a lot, but I think the first time I was touched enough to do so was when Sylvia couldn't make it to the play, and James abandoned his own opening night to visit her. Their conversation in her bedroom totally got the waterworks going.
* The pace of the film worked really well (until the coda, imho). I liked the progression of Barrie's relationship with the family and how we were shown the deterioration of his marriage.
* I liked how they handled his marriage. They didn't set out to demonize Barrie's wife, but achieved a kind of happy medium where it was clear that whatever they once had was gone -- that perhaps they never truly understood one another. Mary says that she wanted him to show her Neverland but he never would; he says he tried but she didn't really want to see. And of course, the Barrie/Sylvia shipper in me concludes that it was both of these things: He never tried hard enough to show Mary, and Mary never tried hard enough to see it. Since it was Mary who ended up leaving him -- out of a misunderstanding, really, since James probably meant to make it home on time if Sylvia hadn't been so ill -- I'm glad we got that closure scene where we didn't have to wonder if James really loved Mary after all; they made their goodbyes and it was even amicable (well, more on his part than on hers, I suspect, but that's all I really care about <g>).
* Kate and Johnny were just totally fabulous. They've rarely looked better. <g> And Julie Christie was wonderful as well. She's probably one of Kate's more realistic movie moms. Kate is just so the bomb in period pieces. As Jade says, it's really like she was born to live in another time. The clothing style really becomes her, and she looks fantastic in those wide-brimmed hats. Plus she has a great figure, so while everyone else looks all gaunt and uncomely in their dresses that are made for fuller-figured women, Kate looks smashing.
* The crack-like looks we got into Barrie's imagination, although that first one w/ the dancing bear was almost too much and went on for too long.
* Since I ship Peter/Wendy, I like the parallel young!Peter made of Barrie being Peter, when of course Sylvia is Wendy. I also see Wendy's growing up as being a metaphor for Sylvia's death -- it's a place Peter/James cannot follow. :(
There were some weak areas as well. These are mostly minor, but for the last point:
* Weird moment where Michael tells James his name while George is standing right there ... and then five seconds later George introduces himself and Michael again, as if the previous five seconds had never happened. Was that simply bad editing or what? It threw me enough to be off-putting.
* If they were going to take liberties w/ the facts anyway, I would have liked to have seen some reference as to why James chose the name 'Wendy' for the female character in his play. Or maybe even he didn't have the balls to outright name her 'Sylvia.' :))
* WTF was with Dustin Hoffman being British at the start of the movie, and then losing the accent entirely for the rest of it? Either do it consistently or DON'T DO IT AT ALL. Was distracting/jarring. Luckily his role wasn't that big.
* The biggest weakness of the movie, imho, was the ending. It was out of place and seemed tacked on. It reversed some of the progress the characters had made without earning it (as we see nothing of what goes on after Sylvia's in Neverland, before her funeral), just so it could milk one more "James/Peter bonding moment." It was unnecessary and took away from the subtlety of the rest of the film.
James and Peter already had their moment of understanding at the after party, when Peter tells the crowd that it isn't he who is Peter Pan -- it's James. Prior to that, we've already seen Peter throw a tantrum about how James isn't really his father, etc., and how their relationship eventually grows and strengthens. Reverting their relationship once again, when the last we saw, James and Peter were
getting along just fine, was a bit lazy and manipulative. I actually liked the scene; I just didn't think it belonged where it was. It should have come in the plot before that, a scene where they bond, and perhaps Peter isn't sad about his mother's death, but about her illness and her impending departure from this world. I also liked the scene between James and Julie Christie after the funeral, but again, it could have been a discussion they'd had before Sylvia's death, where they discuss the terms of her will or something, and we can be assured of the boys' fates.
In short, what happened in the last leg of the film should have been incorporated into the earlier portions of the film, which would have made for a more seamless experience, and then the film wouldn't have lost those scenes while at the same time ending where it should have ended -- with Sylvia entering Neverland, then fading out.
That's my biggest thing -- I thought that was a really strong scene and the movie should have ended with that image. Sylvia entering Neverland was a rebirth of sorts, and I really liked the magical feel of watching her step into that world, her long train behind her, like she was a woodland princess at home with her world. She wasn't sickly or impaired; she was where she belonged. She was also alone, in the world James had shown her, and I liked the feeling we were left with at that point.
Is there a scene in Peter Pan where Wendy is in Neverland looking like a queen? <g> I'd like to parallel Sylvia with Wendy here, but I don't know the story well enough.
Thanks v. much to
rainpuddle13 for the beautiful Christmas card! So impressive and Christmassy in every way! :DI received a review at Portkey that asked why Draco would have a substantial portion of Black holdings. For those of you who were wondering the same thing, or whose interest has now been piqued: There's a really interesting and informative discussion on the topic that I bookmarked at Pud's journal here. You don't have to subscribe to the beliefs yourself, but from that discussion I'm convinced the possibility is certainly there. So I'll use it in a story if it suits my purposes, because it's as likely as anything else, just as every other writer in her own story/stories customizes little details here and there that haven't been unequivocally stated in canon. Same thing goes with Ginny's characterization -- just because she's grown up with six brothers does not mean that it naturally follows that she will be adventurous and mischievous. Certainly it's possible, and even likely, but I don't think that that means any other interpretation does not have merit. In fact, I could argue that having such boisterous siblings would be quite daunting, and might make one retreat further into one's shell. Point is, there's no definite answer, and that's what makes fanfic fun. : )
Speaking of Christmas ... I don't know how many of you are familiar with the world-famous KROQ, an alternative radio station in LA. Anyway, every Christmas they put out a Christmas album, with songs from various artists and other Christmas-themed skit things (that aren't always in the best of taste <g>). I try and get my hands on one annually, but I'm definitely missing a few. Anyway, I was listening to some of the ones from years past, and I thought I'd share two of my favorite selections. :)) Right-click and save to listen.
* Intro by Mark Hoppus/"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" by blink-182
* Harry Blotter & the Christmas Fairy (aka Sorcerer's Bone)
Teehee.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 10:24 pm (UTC)I actually liked the ending (except for the fading out bit). When Peter looked off in the distance and whispered, "I can see her"? Me = weeping and sobbing. It was so embarrassing.
Is there a scene in Peter Pan where Wendy is in Neverland looking like a queen?
I think there is. It's fuzzy but I think Wendy changes into pretty Neverland clothes and is shot while flying by the Lost Boys. She's going to die but Peter and the boys find her and adopt her and she becomes their adoptive mother. I think it's near the beginning of the story. Maybe.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 01:07 am (UTC)Oh don't make stuff up about Wendy if you don't really know. Honestly.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-14 11:09 pm (UTC)I love the Christmas fairy being all "I don't remember why I'm here...Oh wait! I remember". *giggles*
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 07:31 am (UTC)Love, Hugs, and Chocolate Kisses to you!
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-16 01:34 am (UTC)Re: Review
Date: 2004-12-15 10:20 pm (UTC)... However, your story, your imagination, and you obviously put some thought/research into it. Although it kind of catches my eye (being a beta-reader for the technical part of some stories) I don't care and it is not relevant for the fic itself.
We will see, who get's it - presumably in 2006??? Or 2007?
Keep up the good work (I know it is pointless to say since it is finished, but would like to put my admiration for your writing in this comment anyway.)
Re: Review
Date: 2004-12-17 01:22 am (UTC)I actually think it's likely that Harry would inherit from Sirius, but since it hasn't been explicitly stated in canon yet, part of the fun of fanfic is exploring possibilities.
Here's another fun exploration of the whole Black estate thing (http://home.earthlink.net/~slytherinprefect/id49.html), courtesy of
Thanks for your compliments re: my writing, and I hope you and your bf have a great mini-break!
no subject
Date: 2004-12-16 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 01:15 am (UTC)