Text 16855, 139 rader
Skriven 2007-08-07 16:12:26 av StarFuryG7 (3332.babylon5)
  Kommentar till text 16852 av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated (3329.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales" - A Review
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On Aug 7, 2:27 pm, Josh Hill <userepl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In all fairness (since I'm guilty of raising the A/B plot issue),

        If you've brought it up here already, I haven't seen your
post. I've avoided all posts and/or reviews of this movie up to now,
and will only start reading them from this point on.
        I don't read reviews before I see a movie anymore -- they give
too much away.

> JMS
> wrote that he decided on a "short story" format rather than
> conventional episodes while he rethought the series in light of the
> unfortunate deaths. So the format choice constitutes both a practical
> limitation and is a creative premise.

        I've heard about his rethinking his approach, but the sad fact
is that in relation to this project, both of these stories could have
been intertwined and edited together without it having changed
anything about the two respective stories necessaily. As I said, I'd
like to edit this movie myself and combine it in the manner I think it
should have been done, though right now, at this moment, I simply lack
the necessary equipment to do it. That will change soon enough
however.

> Glad to see I'm not the only one who was impressed by the accent. I
> thought Keegan Macintosh did a wonderful job overall.

        I'll have to check out your review at some point. What Topic
header did you post it under? Or should I just pull up all of your
messages to find it? I guess that would be easier for us both.

>One of the
> reasons the scene worked so well is that although he's still in his
> 20's, according to IMDB, he's able to transform his expression in a
> wink of the eye from boyish innocence to Cartagian malignancy. A
> bravura performance, as I thought was Boxtleitner's (what is it about
> B5 and hard-to-spell names, anyway?). Like a fine wine, he seems to
> have improved with age.

        Yeah, Bruce really struck me as having never left the role at
all, which is kind of amazing because it has been nine years after
all. I think he's really missed playing this character.

> >I also liked the
> >scene between Sheridan and the reporter early on (and yes, that was
> >the actress from "Stargate SG-1" if anyone was wondering, not that I
> >really cared because I never liked that series anyway, and stopped
> >watching it ages ago, back when it was still airing on Showtime.) That
> >scene may have struck people as just a throw-in of little or no value
> >to the overall plot, but it adequately served as a reintroduction to
> >Sheridan's character, briefly covering the long ten-year gap
> >(practically) since we last saw him. It was also nice to see that he
> >hadn't lost his sense of humor after all this time (I rather enjoyed
> >what he did to the reporter at the end of that scene, and for me
> >personally, it harkened back to "The Illusion of Truth," and even
> >though it wasn't the same reporter, she still got what she deserved.)
> >        The special effects work was good, and it pains me to say
> >this, especially since it was one of the better attributes of this
> >production, but I nevertheless think the CGI work in "Legend of the
> >Rangers" was better. Part of this may well have had to do with the
> >production budget for this feature. I know, for example, that the
> >people working on producing the special effects here were putting in
> >overtime at no charge in order to get the work done, and the lack of a
> >budget showed, even though Straczynski and his team were able to
> >squeak by and finish out this feature. That's not necessarily saying
> >much, however. Why would Warner Bros. issue an enthusiastic press
> >release concerning their venturing into the direct-to-DVD market
> >beginning with this release, and then not provide adequate funds to
> >make the production a bit more impressive? After all, it probably
> >wouldn't have taken a whole lot more in order to accomplish that
> >particular goal. Think of what Babylonian Productions was able to
> >accomplish less than ten years ago with a budget of under a million
> >dollars an episode for the television series. The sparseness of a set
> >for Sheridan's interview with the ISN reporter was but one example,
> >although JMS did a pretty good job of trying to address it by talking
> >about the Minbari's Spartan way of living, which also had the
> >convenience of being true within the context of the series.
> >        At any rate, this story, as with the first, was also
> >anticlimactic unfortunately. Sheridan does the nice thing rather than
> >behaving as just a cold-blooded murderer. Did anyone not see that
> >coming?
>
> Yeah, that was a weak point for me as well. I mean, if I guess how a
> show's going to end, you know it's a cliche . . .

        Exactly --saw it coming a mile away, as would anyone familiar
with B5 and Sheridan.

> >A few other things that bothered me:
> >        Why was Galen able to see thirty years into the future even
> >though he's a techno-mage?
>
> JMS explained that yesterday --

        I don't follow this group closely and have a lot of catching
up to do in relation to this movie here, which I'll try and do
somewhat at some point, but I just don't have much time for this kind
of stuff anymore.

>time travel is, in the B5 universe,
> scientifically possible.

        It may well be scientifically possible, but that doesn't
explain why Galen was poking around and looking at what'll happen
three decades down the line. Some kind of an explanation would have
been nice.

> >        Wouldn't Sheridan have some apprehension about taking the
> >Centauri Prince into his home knowing what Galen said he saw as his
> >future?
>
> Murder and the destruction of New York are pretty powerful motivators.

        Yeah, but living with a monster up close would be a bit
unsettling for most people. Yes, it would be worth a try, but it would
be hard not to think about what he develops into when in his presence
and trying to change him.

>
> >Overall Grade opinion: B-
>
> While I agree on the whole with your review, I'd assign it a better
> grade. Partly a gut feeling -- the Lochley story didn't transcend the
> OK, but the Sheridan story had I thought moments of intense power.
> Partly it's that I think it should be compared to what's out there,
> rather than the very best of B5.

        Actually, I thought I graded it quite fairly, and on a slight
curve at that given the time restrictions and budget limitations that
Joe and company found themselves up against, which I took into account
in my evaluation. In fact, I wondered if I should have listed the
letter grade as a B-/C+ instead after posting. I think most people,
not familiar with the series, but who give this movie a look, would
see it along the line as the latter grade: C+

Doesn't mean they can't do better if they keep it, though.
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
 * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)