Happy Holidays! You must have been naughty. Santa has brought you...crap. Many releases. Only one of them good. To wit...
Serenity
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this may very well be the best sci-fi release of the year. With a fraction of the budget, writer/director Joss Whedon shows the master of the genre how the space opera is really done. It may not quite have the effects of Sith (not far off, though) but you're spared Vader yelling "Noooo!" You'll also trade some of the worst dialogue of the year for some of the best:
"Remember, if anything happens to me, or you don't hear from me within the hour... you take this ship and you come and you rescue me."
"Eating people alive? Where's that get fun?"
"Doctor, I'm takin' your sister under my protection here. If anything happens to her, anything at all, I swear to you, I will get very choked up. Honestly, there could be tears."
All helped by flawless delivery from the likes of Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin who lend a post-modern swagger to what could easily become a tired exercise in franchise-building. But by taking the piss out of the modern space epic without losing sight of what makes that mode infectious, Whedon creates a massively entertaining tale.
And Chiwetel Ejiofor kicks all sorts of ass as The Operative.
Commentary from the mighty Whedon is included.
Oh, and yes, this is based on the beloved-but-cancelled series Firefly (which you can also get on DVD) but I've only seen a couple episodes of that so trust me when I say you don't need one to see the other (but seeing one will probably make you want to see the other).
The Brothers Grimm
One of the most visionary directors given material well-suited to his dark fantasy roots and handed two hot-but-talented stars in a studio environment known for pushing boundaries. What could go wrong? Well, the studio (Miramax) could have serious problems with said director (Terry Gilliam) which could slow down production regardless of pleas from said actors (Heath Ledger & Matt Damon) on the director's behalf. The end result: one of Gilliam's weakest efforts, according to many critics. Keep an eye out, however, for Tideland, a more personal, less-studio-hampered effort from the auteur coming to theaters whenever somebody picks it up for distribution.
Included commentary from Gilliam may illuminate us on the troubles. We can only hope. After Lost in La Mancha, I don't see him holding back.
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