Critics Club 05: Whedon

[Neon Ignition]

And you thought JJ Abrams was the only one with a slim CV.

Joss Whedon, like Abrams, shows the influence television has had on the film industry since the late 90's as these kind of industry peeps transition across and incredibly quickly find themselves in control of very large scale and beloved properties.

Whedon has his hand involved in the writing of numerous loved films before but has only directed a very small number of them. However, which was truly the best?

*Forgot to click for the poll but your choices are short so state which of these 3 movies you feel was Whedon's best work and why

-Serenity
-The Avengers
-Much Ado About Nothing

[QualityChimp]

I love the concept of these threads, but what's with all the Johnny-Come-Lately directors? 5 film minimum, I reckon!

Also, do you not find that having Abrams and Whedon after Scorcese and Welles just polarises how thoroughly pedestrian their directing is? The latter pair were using the camera as a character or pioneering long takes to improve narrative flow.

These n00bs rarely go beyond framing a shot so the CGI fits in and they can add some lens flare. I watched the first five minutes of the Matrix last night and there was more going on it that than the whole of Star Trek or The Avengers. I think Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) is a more interesting director than these two.

Again, I love the concept and the effort you put into the forum, CTNSF (), but there's loads of superior directors to focus on, such as Spielberg, Carpenter, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Burton, Cameron, Cronenberg, Gilliam, Jackson, Nolan, Scott, Zemeckis, Verhoeven, McTiernan, Wise, Proyas, Mann, Sturges, Chan, Hung, De Palma, Fincher, Tarrantino, Stone and Leone.

Pffft... "Avengers" in response to the title.

[Neon Ignition]

I figured I'd blend new and old as despite low numbers of finished films the newbies are massively popular and inform a younger generation of filmgoer. Don't worry though, we've got many to go as I've mapped out all the ones I'm going to do and we've already covered the newbies

[Neon Ignition]

I'm going to vote Avengers too as it is the best he's done but Serenity is a cracking film with a long single shot opening camera movement that gives a great sense of space in the ship

[QualityChimp]

You know I'm not criticising you or the thread, mate.

You can tell I'm excited at the prospect of discussing classic films and the techniques the directors employ to express the story and manipulate the audience, plus the opportunity to discover new films.

As for the long take in Serenity, I presume it's primarily CGI, which is always going to be less exciting than an actual long take for me. The shot in Gravity is incredibly clever, but it lacks the impact of the long take in Cuar?n's previous film, Children of Men (IMHO!).

Another good CGI space shot is the start of Event Horizon as the camera spins away from Sam Neill. The shot cost a third of the film's budget and took UK SFX company, Cinesite, ten weeks to make it!

[Neon Ignition]

Don't worry, took no offense

The Serenity shot is an interior one, no special effects, just shows the inside of the ship and crew at work. Good way to establish roles and space quickly for those who hadn't seen the show. Not a technical shot but you can't help but think about the technicalities in framing and timing to pull it off.

[Duncan James Waugh]

Serenity for me, incredible film and perfect blend of fan service and new viewer introduction. Just incredible writing mixing the dramatic with real world humour. I'd put it above anything by Scorcese and Welles any day of the week.

[Colin]

As long as you're not going to add a Snyder one, unless there's an "All his films are ****" option........

Avengers for me too.

[Neon Ignition]

Can't remember if I did lol We're certainly old schooling it for a while though, some biggies with long lists incoming. Will keep tallying this till Thursday morning when 06 begins

[PaTaito]

I'm waiting for the speilberg thread, and(shudder) kubrick thread....are rmoxon and noobishhat still knocking about?

[Decider-VT]

Avengers for me by default, as I haven't seen any of Whedon's other films.

I'm really here just to suggest Johnathan Glazer as a potential topic in future- I watched Under The Skin a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't believe that it was by the same director as Sexy Beast.

[teddymeow]

Serenity for me, incredible film and perfect blend of fan service and new viewer introduction. Just incredible writing mixing the dramatic with real world humour. I'd put it above anything by Scorcese and Welles any day of the week.

I'm with this man.

[QualityChimp]

Serenity for me, incredible film and perfect blend of fan service and new viewer introduction. Just incredible writing mixing the dramatic with real world humour.

Is that not just good writing as opposed to good directing?

I'd put it above anything by Scorcese and Welles any day of the week.

It'll be interesting to see if Serenity is as well-respected in 50 years too.

Do you think that people currently hold the film in high regard because it's an underdog story of how a popular(ish) show got cancelled, but against all the odds, managed to conclude the story?

Without the back story of the Firefly series and the emotional attachment when the show was axed, will future viewers have such a high opinion of it?

If the show had gone on for a few more seasons and had run out of good ideas, as so many promising shows do, would people have been less enthusiastic?

I whole-heartedly agree that it did a brilliant job of not alienating viewers who'd not seen the show, but I didn't really care about the fate of the characters, and ultimately pretty forgettable.

I think I enjoyed Space Truckers more than Serenity, so what do I know?!

[teddymeow]

If Firefly hadn't been cancelled I don't think Serenity would have been made.

It's a miracle Wheddon got Universal to fund it.

[wakka]

Serenity for me, incredible film and perfect blend of fan service and new viewer introduction. Just incredible writing mixing the dramatic with real world humour. I'd put it above anything by Scorcese and Welles any day of the week.

Above Citizen Kane and Taxi Driver. o_O