![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddToday's review:
I have the second season, just haven't watched it yet, so I'll post my reactions to that in due time.
My clever segue from yesterday's review to today's is the fact that both Twin Peaks and Carnivale feature Michael J. Anderson. Admittedly, he does much more speaking than dancing in Carnivale, but he's not the main focus of the story. Carnivale also tries for that weird, unsettling vibe, but is nowhere near as succesful as Twin Peaks was. Somehow, it just seems they were trying too hard.
The main problem is not the actors, who are for the most part quite good, nor the setting, nor even the story; it's the pacing. Everything is SO....... DAMN....... SLOW! That isn't to say that nothing happens, because when I think about it, I can list plenty of events, but they don't seem to amount to all that much. The two major threads, the story of Ben Hawkins and his mysterious power, and the story of the renegade preacher, are interesting in their own right, but the execution was uneven. I think that part of the problem is that Hawkins is soon part of a much larger group, so that his story is often put aside to focus on the various carnies, whereas Brother Justin's thread focuses on him, his sister and eventually a bit on the radio announcer. The director may have been trying to give each story equal weight, but it ended up feeling unbalanced, especially since Brother Justin (or his actor, at any rate) lacked the charisma to make me really care about his struggles -- I ended up feeling much more sympathy for his sister, Iris. On top of that, it takes the whole season for the two to stories to even intersect, which means a lot of going back and forth and wandering around the south-wester United States. And while I'm the last person to complain about being subjected to a road trip, and, given the nature of a carnival, it's an inevitable part of the story, I spent the second half of the season increasingly frustrated as the carnival made its way toward Texas (was that it? I can't even remember), while Brother Justin was still in California.
As for Ben Hawkins, he's the typical reluctant hero, scared of his powers and afraid to learn how to use them. *yawn* I like the idea of his having to pay a price in order to use those powers; at least it gives him a legitimate reason to angst about it (insert rant about whiny characters like Peter Parker and RAAAAAND who just can't shut up about how incredibly powerful they are and boohoo! they didn't ask for this), although he doesn't really do much apart from not sleep and not bathe. The Jesus comparison is obvious, and at least the directors aren't trying to hide it. The scene where he heals Gabriel was done well (except he killed all the fishes instead of multiplying them!), but I really liked the visuals of the scene where he heals the little girl, right at the beginning.
Focusing on the carnival alone would have given plenty to work with, what with all the interesting characters there. I liked Clea Duvall's awkwardness as Sofie (but then again, I'm getting the feeling she's naturally awkward, so it isn't really acting, is it?), but I had issues with the scenes in which she argues with her mother. Since the viewers can't "hear" Apollonia, we have to guess at what she's telling Sofie based solely on Sofie's end of the dialogue. Now, which seems more natural?
Apollonia: You're acting foolishly!
Sofie: No, I'm not acting foolishly!
or:
Apollonia: You're acting foolishly!
Sofie: No, I'm not!
The second one rings truer, but we end up getting the first one because... well, because we don't get to hear Apollonia's lines. And since Sofie doesn't speak that way with anyone else, it jarrs. Couldn't the writers have worked around that, giving Sofie lines that managed to imply the unheard prompt without having her come off as repeating almost everything her mother says? I don't remember any major plot points revealed through these scenes, so it's not as though having the viewers fill in the gaps -- and occasionally get it wrong -- would be much of a problem.
To get back to the Brother Justin storyline for a moment, I'm wondering if his dream from the beginning, about using Mr. Chin's* for his ministry. It was framed as such an important thing that I was mightily confused when, after the fire, they seemed to forget about it. Maybe the second season will clear this up?
* At first, it didn't even occur to me that Chin was anything other than the body part, so I found it a strange name for a business. Like, is there also a Mr. Nose's? Enter the cheongsam-clad "hostesses" *understanding dawns*
I'll leave it at that for now and get more into detail when I've watched the second season. Until then, if any of you have watched this series, I'd be curious to know what you thought of it.
ETA: Whoops, forgot to rate it. I think I'll give it a 7.5, to be reviewed after season 2.
Last night, I finished my blanket! But I'm too lazy to take, upload and post a picture tonight, so some other time. Next knitting to be done: blanket for B2 (assembling), the string bag I started (assemble and knit straps) and knit myself a pair of mittens.
I have the second season, just haven't watched it yet, so I'll post my reactions to that in due time.
My clever segue from yesterday's review to today's is the fact that both Twin Peaks and Carnivale feature Michael J. Anderson. Admittedly, he does much more speaking than dancing in Carnivale, but he's not the main focus of the story. Carnivale also tries for that weird, unsettling vibe, but is nowhere near as succesful as Twin Peaks was. Somehow, it just seems they were trying too hard.
The main problem is not the actors, who are for the most part quite good, nor the setting, nor even the story; it's the pacing. Everything is SO....... DAMN....... SLOW! That isn't to say that nothing happens, because when I think about it, I can list plenty of events, but they don't seem to amount to all that much. The two major threads, the story of Ben Hawkins and his mysterious power, and the story of the renegade preacher, are interesting in their own right, but the execution was uneven. I think that part of the problem is that Hawkins is soon part of a much larger group, so that his story is often put aside to focus on the various carnies, whereas Brother Justin's thread focuses on him, his sister and eventually a bit on the radio announcer. The director may have been trying to give each story equal weight, but it ended up feeling unbalanced, especially since Brother Justin (or his actor, at any rate) lacked the charisma to make me really care about his struggles -- I ended up feeling much more sympathy for his sister, Iris. On top of that, it takes the whole season for the two to stories to even intersect, which means a lot of going back and forth and wandering around the south-wester United States. And while I'm the last person to complain about being subjected to a road trip, and, given the nature of a carnival, it's an inevitable part of the story, I spent the second half of the season increasingly frustrated as the carnival made its way toward Texas (was that it? I can't even remember), while Brother Justin was still in California.
As for Ben Hawkins, he's the typical reluctant hero, scared of his powers and afraid to learn how to use them. *yawn* I like the idea of his having to pay a price in order to use those powers; at least it gives him a legitimate reason to angst about it (insert rant about whiny characters like Peter Parker and RAAAAAND who just can't shut up about how incredibly powerful they are and boohoo! they didn't ask for this), although he doesn't really do much apart from not sleep and not bathe. The Jesus comparison is obvious, and at least the directors aren't trying to hide it. The scene where he heals Gabriel was done well (except he killed all the fishes instead of multiplying them!), but I really liked the visuals of the scene where he heals the little girl, right at the beginning.
Focusing on the carnival alone would have given plenty to work with, what with all the interesting characters there. I liked Clea Duvall's awkwardness as Sofie (but then again, I'm getting the feeling she's naturally awkward, so it isn't really acting, is it?), but I had issues with the scenes in which she argues with her mother. Since the viewers can't "hear" Apollonia, we have to guess at what she's telling Sofie based solely on Sofie's end of the dialogue. Now, which seems more natural?
Apollonia: You're acting foolishly!
Sofie: No, I'm not acting foolishly!
or:
Apollonia: You're acting foolishly!
Sofie: No, I'm not!
The second one rings truer, but we end up getting the first one because... well, because we don't get to hear Apollonia's lines. And since Sofie doesn't speak that way with anyone else, it jarrs. Couldn't the writers have worked around that, giving Sofie lines that managed to imply the unheard prompt without having her come off as repeating almost everything her mother says? I don't remember any major plot points revealed through these scenes, so it's not as though having the viewers fill in the gaps -- and occasionally get it wrong -- would be much of a problem.
To get back to the Brother Justin storyline for a moment, I'm wondering if his dream from the beginning, about using Mr. Chin's* for his ministry. It was framed as such an important thing that I was mightily confused when, after the fire, they seemed to forget about it. Maybe the second season will clear this up?
* At first, it didn't even occur to me that Chin was anything other than the body part, so I found it a strange name for a business. Like, is there also a Mr. Nose's? Enter the cheongsam-clad "hostesses" *understanding dawns*
I'll leave it at that for now and get more into detail when I've watched the second season. Until then, if any of you have watched this series, I'd be curious to know what you thought of it.
ETA: Whoops, forgot to rate it. I think I'll give it a 7.5, to be reviewed after season 2.
Last night, I finished my blanket! But I'm too lazy to take, upload and post a picture tonight, so some other time. Next knitting to be done: blanket for B2 (assembling), the string bag I started (assemble and knit straps) and knit myself a pair of mittens.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-03 12:53 pm (UTC)I have the first season of Heroes, I'll get around to it once I'm done rewatching Gundam Wing. What can I say, I was feeling nostalgic. ^_^