Modern Mythology

I was very disappointed with Tales from Earthsea. ...

2011-08-15T16:47:30.889-05:00

I was very disappointed with Tales from Earthsea. I am not familiar with the books, so my criticism is for the movie only. While the animation and city scenes were beautiful, a lot of the character development and motivations seemed flimsy. Why didn't Arren just have stolen the sword without killing him? Why is Therru is so pissy about someone who came to her defense? Why can't Cob just use his magic to contact sparrowhawk himself instead of wasting manpower capturing a woman? Does everybody have two names? Was Tenar a witch or a talented herbalist? When and how will Arren atone for his sins? How can he be so jolly at the end of the film when he has to accept he committed cold-blooded murder of the leader of a kingdom?

I had no emotional connection to the important characters and I kept waiting for something to happen. Yes there's a cool moment at the end, but there's no buildup. Compare this to spirited away. I was pleasantly surprised and excited at the end of the latter and not the former.

I agree with you that visuals and animation was gr...

2011-04-21T04:07:10.189-05:00

I agree with you that visuals and animation was great probably some of the best stuff out there when it comes to detail and color, BUT You are naive about the film and make very weak points in trying to defend the film. Anyone with some common logic could understand that this film is flawed and needed to be more developed. Even if we were given the proper background that it deserved it lacked the transitioning of each character to make sense of it all. Honestly, I believe you have some favoritism or bias to Studio Ghibli, and are very blind in seeing that this film makes sense to one person (Goro Miyazaki) and unless you are the person explain to me and everyone else the storyline and meaning of the film. In all essence, films are to be understood by the interpretation of their makers. It's Goro's first film, so well cut him some slack and hope he learns from his mistakes.

Call it what you like. I admire the fact you are a...

2011-04-21T03:41:15.796-05:00

Call it what you like. I admire the fact you are a optimist, and appreciate the film. Sadly, you are probably misunderstood and don't get as many followers as you would like because you make points with no reasoning and talk right out of your ass. This film does not follow the book, nor the original script in which this film was intended to be produced. Goro did his own anything and in doing so ruined a great story. Tell me please or explain to me what is the controversy between the two wizards or why Therru can turn into a dragon and Arren can't or what balance Sparrowhawk is speaking about? In the book it makes sense, and in the original script as well (google the original script and read the dialogue). C'mon guy think before you voice your opinion and make some f*ing strong points.

Thanks, James - nice to hear it helped.

2011-04-14T08:49:23.767-05:00

Thanks, James - nice to hear it helped.

This is just a terrific peace of writing. I’m ende...

2011-04-13T18:56:39.229-05:00

This is just a terrific peace of writing. I’m endeavoring to enter a Mythological Studies program myself and this was just what I needed to hear. Thanks for the great post!

I haven't seen Earthsea yet, but I will rememb...

2011-03-25T21:22:39.653-05:00

I haven't seen Earthsea yet, but I will remember your review when I do eventually see it.

I feel very much better now. Thank you.

2011-03-22T18:31:37.945-05:00

I feel very much better now. Thank you.

thanks! i think more people came here from your li...

2011-03-22T17:05:03.595-05:00

thanks! i think more people came here from your link than any came by ever!

and there you go.

2011-03-22T17:00:04.390-05:00

and there you go.

Thanks for your support! We put you on our list.

2011-03-21T23:12:26.207-05:00

Thanks for your support! We put you on our list.

I may have to watch this now, the reviews did inde...

2011-03-21T19:01:10.484-05:00

I may have to watch this now, the reviews did indeed put me off. And I second Hayao's feelings towards Disney which is why I think any Ghibli movie should be watched with translations and not dubbed over with American interpretation.

I'm still waiting for a review on "A Town Called Panic."

also, the last scene is on a boat.

2010-11-08T14:35:00.029-06:00

also, the last scene is on a boat.

I am writing about children of men for my class an...

2010-11-08T14:26:24.736-06:00

I am writing about children of men for my class and I am finding may parallels between this story and the story of noah. (world going to crap, god decides to trash it and start over). perhaps animals are meant to be attracted to theo (like in movies like evan almighty). if you look up [children of men noah] you would find that in the book of enoch there is a children of men line. In the safehouse scene, there is a rather purposeless scene in which theo looks down at his legs and finds that a cat is twisting around his legs. purposeless unless you wanted to show that animals are attracted to theo.

http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/ A great review o...

2010-11-01T15:18:12.946-05:00

http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/

A great review of this film.

WEB SHERIFF Who You Gonna Call Tel 44-(0)208-323 8...

2010-07-15T09:07:11.956-05:00

WEB SHERIFF
Who You Gonna Call
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208 323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
www.websheriff.com

Hi Again Joe,

Many thanks for your follow-up post ... .. and keep up the great work !!

All The Best,

WEB SHERIFF

NIce to see what you are doing, Web Sheriff! I act...

2010-07-08T14:57:35.999-05:00

NIce to see what you are doing, Web Sheriff! I actually link to the film site through the title and the picture I posted from the press kit. I usually make the link more explicit and will try to do so in the future.

WEB SHERIFF Who You Gonna Call Tel 44-(0)208-323 8...

2010-07-07T10:57:28.059-05:00

WEB SHERIFF
Who You Gonna Call
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208 323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
www.websheriff.com

Hi Joe,

On behalf of Magnolia Pictures and the movie’s producers, many thanks for plugging "Ondine" ... .. thanks also, on behalf of the distributors and producers, for not posting any pirate copies or non-trailer clips of "Ondine" and if you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, previews, then the official trailer for "Ondine" is available for fans and bloggers to post / host / share etc at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/ondine/ ... .. for further details of on-line promotions for this movie and Magnolia releases generally, check-out www.magpictures.com and their official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/MagnoliaPictures .

Thanks again for your plug.

Regards,

WEB SHERIFF

Very nice thought! Good to see you blogging again....

2010-05-06T21:09:08.218-05:00

Very nice thought!
Good to see you blogging again. ;)
Have you peeked at my blog lately?? It's more than just pictures now! ;)

If Larry was "aware" he'd be called ...

2010-03-12T14:02:17.668-06:00

If Larry was "aware" he'd be called paranoid! Now I'll see the movie.

2010-03-04T09:35:40.918-06:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Bummer. Welcome to the human animal on its last le...

2010-01-31T15:19:13.920-06:00

Bummer. Welcome to the human animal on its last legs. No act can be too vile. You're going to think about buying a gun. Save your movie money for canned goods, stay home, do laundry and you'll have a great time compared to seeing this film.
Who needs to see this? Nobody.

I'm surprised you didn't like Avatar. I t...

2010-01-21T16:13:30.948-06:00

I'm surprised you didn't like Avatar. I thought it's nature message would have been moving to you. It captured my heart. Did you see my blog post about it? I'd love to hear your response. :)
Matt & I saw Sherlock Holmes and loved it. Actually, he saw it twice because he loved it so much. It was a great piece of film!
The Road is sitting on our nightstand. Matt wants to read it before we see the film....
Have you seen (500) Days of Summer? A movie from last year, but I just caught it on DVD. I think you might appreciate it. Indie flick with a director that had previously only done music videos. It's got whimsy and deep heart ache; it's beautiful. It's nothing mythical, but it's honest and true and does not exactly have the standard happy ending.

Postscript after a fifth cup of coffee: the film b...

2010-01-11T10:29:10.593-06:00

Postscript after a fifth cup of coffee: the film business is nuts (as most businesses are).

My good friend - Cory Poplin - could make Cinema if only the money could be raised. But you can't raise that money in the film business only by being talented.

What a drag.

Nice Joe. I've been thinking about how myth is...

2009-12-20T20:51:27.699-06:00

Nice Joe. I've been thinking about how myth is shaped by the landscape as well - in fact, I think there's a paper there sometime.

(PS I am a conservationist and I've been backpacking since I was a kid - longest trip: 23 days.)

I think it is almost wrong to define something as ...

2009-12-18T11:43:19.646-06:00

I think it is almost wrong to define something as the "myth I am living in". Maybe for that analysis stuff, but I'm not sure you're ready for that! And once you see it, if you try to keep living in it, I think you already move into something else. If you move past it, obviously you get into something else.

I think it's more about simply being aware of myth and metaphor, being aware of deeper levels to everything happening, and being aware of it while you are moving through the day. Easier said than done, surely.