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So, Scott and I just got back from seeing MirrorMask. I have been waiting very, very eagerly for this movie. It was not showing in our area until Friday night, and today was our chance to go see it together.
Waiting very eagerly for the movie may have done it a disservice, as I expected it to be way cooler than it was. It was very good! It just did not live up to my hyped expectations. I still enjoyed it quite a bit, though, I just can't do the giddy fangirl bit quite (and I feel like it almost deserves that).
One of the critics quoted somewhere that I read had said it didn't have a plot, it was all just visually pretty. I respectfully submit that this critic is obviously not blind, and equally obviously is stupid. It most assuredly does have a plot (two, even, if you're into subtlety). What probably threw the critic is that a large part of the movie, taking part as it does in a dream realm, obeys dream-realm logic and the leaps are sometimes staggering. They are never unclear to the audience; what's "true" is obvious. Why it's true is often left unexplained and unsubstantiated. While this is very realistic for a dream realm setting, it's a little disconcerting and sometimes leads to a feel of staggering along with no idea what to expect next. As is the way of dreams.
I think it very effectively accomplished what it meant to; I think it's very beautiful; I think it does, indeed, have a plot; I think that plot and setting may not be satisfying to people with very literal outlooks. As you might (if you were a thinking being) expect from something that focuses on a dream realm for the largest part of the tale....
I'm glad we went to see it. I don't know if it was entirely worth the effort and cost, but if it wasn't then it came close. And this is, please note, in spite of the fact that the only theater in our area to get it was the Regal Fox. (And mind, I feel lucky that any theater around here got it - even two weeks after the limited release started - because for a while we weren't going to get it at all and I still have friends who don't have it listed as playing in their state, ever.) The Regal Fox is downtown. This meant a half-hour drive each way, paying for a parking garage, and the cost of the movie. (Granted, we went to a matinee, and the parking garage was cheap, so this is mostly the time.) Due to timing for the noon show, it also meant paying for and eating theater food. I'd moan and groan except that I like theater popcorn. It's pathetic, but I do.
If this had played at the Regal Wilsonville, and we'd gone just five minutes over to see and payed the same, I would not be nearly as ambivalent. I could really do without the drive time to get downtown. But I'm very glad we went and I think it was, on the whole, worth it in spite of the nuisancy drive.
If you like the sort of thing described on the Mirrormask web site, and in my notes above, then please, see if it's in your area and if it is, check it out. It's gorgeous.
Waiting very eagerly for the movie may have done it a disservice, as I expected it to be way cooler than it was. It was very good! It just did not live up to my hyped expectations. I still enjoyed it quite a bit, though, I just can't do the giddy fangirl bit quite (and I feel like it almost deserves that).
One of the critics quoted somewhere that I read had said it didn't have a plot, it was all just visually pretty. I respectfully submit that this critic is obviously not blind, and equally obviously is stupid. It most assuredly does have a plot (two, even, if you're into subtlety). What probably threw the critic is that a large part of the movie, taking part as it does in a dream realm, obeys dream-realm logic and the leaps are sometimes staggering. They are never unclear to the audience; what's "true" is obvious. Why it's true is often left unexplained and unsubstantiated. While this is very realistic for a dream realm setting, it's a little disconcerting and sometimes leads to a feel of staggering along with no idea what to expect next. As is the way of dreams.
I think it very effectively accomplished what it meant to; I think it's very beautiful; I think it does, indeed, have a plot; I think that plot and setting may not be satisfying to people with very literal outlooks. As you might (if you were a thinking being) expect from something that focuses on a dream realm for the largest part of the tale....
I'm glad we went to see it. I don't know if it was entirely worth the effort and cost, but if it wasn't then it came close. And this is, please note, in spite of the fact that the only theater in our area to get it was the Regal Fox. (And mind, I feel lucky that any theater around here got it - even two weeks after the limited release started - because for a while we weren't going to get it at all and I still have friends who don't have it listed as playing in their state, ever.) The Regal Fox is downtown. This meant a half-hour drive each way, paying for a parking garage, and the cost of the movie. (Granted, we went to a matinee, and the parking garage was cheap, so this is mostly the time.) Due to timing for the noon show, it also meant paying for and eating theater food. I'd moan and groan except that I like theater popcorn. It's pathetic, but I do.
If this had played at the Regal Wilsonville, and we'd gone just five minutes over to see and payed the same, I would not be nearly as ambivalent. I could really do without the drive time to get downtown. But I'm very glad we went and I think it was, on the whole, worth it in spite of the nuisancy drive.
If you like the sort of thing described on the Mirrormask web site, and in my notes above, then please, see if it's in your area and if it is, check it out. It's gorgeous.
