What aunt_zelda Thinks: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (also, my night at the theater)

[aunt_zelda]

 If you are a geek of ANY kind, you have NO excuse for not seeing this movie! I'm looking at YOU, Linkara!
Seriously, whether you're a film geek, a music geek, a comic geek, an anime geek, a manga geek, a video-games geek, a tvtropes geek, a fan of the books or a geek who has yet to read the books, you MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!

I cannot recommend this enough. The sheer power, energy, genius, and beauty of the story being hyper-condensed into a glorious film (which, btw, changed bunches from the books but in a good way for the most part, the ending especially in my not-too-humble opinion ... oh, lord, the ENDING KICKED ASS, and without all that confuzzling-as-all-get-out stuff from the final book) was a joy to watch and had me literally punching the air and cheering at several instances. The casual HoYay was perfect, just like in the book (sometimes BETTER!) All the identification boxes and sound effects and emotion lines and video-game jingles made me squee like the mega-geek I am and OH MY GOD ENVY WAS DRESSED LIKE MISA-MISA I THINK MY FACE WAS FROZEN IN A  " 8D " thing for about three minutes and EEEEEEEE THE VEGAN POLICE OH MY GOD AND MATTHEW PATEL IS MY FAVORITE THING IN THE UNIVERSE AND RAMONA IS SO BEAUTIFUL SEXY ANTI MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL GORGEOUS AND AYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIII ALL THE NODS AND QUOTES AND REFERENCES TO THE BOOKS (THIS IS HOW IT IS DONE HOLLYWOOD PLEASE TAKE NOTE) AND SQUEEEEEEEE THE MUSIC/GLOWING STUFF/BATTLE ROYALE EXPLOSIONS ROCKED MY MISMATCHED SOCKS AND I AM SEEING THIS IN THEATERS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME, IF NOT MORE!
Also, I love what they did with Knives. Different from the books, yeah, but in a good way with the time they had, I thought.

My one complaint (if you could even call it that, this film was a joy to experience) would be how they handled Gideon and his hold over Ramona. It just seemed so ... random, y'know? And in the books Gideon is this shadowy Final Boss with reflective glasses and he's a total jackass when you meet him, but he gives off major Status Vibes. Gideon in the movie ... didn't do any of that, really. He was there, people said he was the villain, he was a jerk, and they kicked his ass ... but I didn't get enough of a threat vibe from him, nor enough of an explaination as to why Ramona went back to him so easily (funny sticker on the back of her neck? Those of us who read the books get it, but nobody else will ...)  He was slimy, not spooky. Does that make any sense?

Also, Kim Pine being Demoted to Extra? Not cool, guys, not cool. (Though she did make a good impression with the few lines and looks she was given. And since Scott's backstory didn't get much focus, her being a bigger part wouldn't have made sense ... *sighs* I just love Kim, ok?

*shrugs* Ah well, it was utterly FANTASTIC and I can't wait to see it again!


On a less-wonderful note, let me ask you one question: have you ever sat through a play that was awkward to witness and painful to watch?
I have. Tonight I saw a ... strange version of a play that I'm rather dissatisfied with for many reasons, though not many of them are easily explained to someone who hasn't seen the play. It was too ... abstract? The set-up was too ... sparse? It looked like a high-school production in a bad way? *sighs* The actors were so good, I've seen them preform many a time and they're funny and evocative and powerful ... but in this production not even they could save it. You could tell when they all came out for their bows that they could hear how muted the applause was. It almost broke my heart. I wanted to tell them that I thought THEY did a great job, it was just that the production sucked, but you can't tell that to a bunch of complete strangers, so I just left. It was ... awkward. 

Comments

[skydagger.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who hasn't read the books I thought the Gideon thing worked. It was kind of just like "oh hey, mind control" cop-out, but I figure it's more about the fact that he, in general, still has sway over her and that's just Scott's personal excuse for it in his mind rather than accepting she could still have feelings for him.

He was more kind of deceptively evil, imo. Slimy and ~sweet~ on the outside but really just covering up for the fact he's an ass. Sometimes passive aggressive is worse than flat out rage. But Scott knows he's her last ex and thus the hardest to defeat or whatever... ("or whatever", I sound so professional, haha)

I mean, in the movie's defense, the sixth book wasn't completed when they did it. So, considering that.

*feels like a defensive fangirl and is going away now!* xD

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who hasn't read the books I thought the Gideon thing worked. It was kind of just like "oh hey, mind control" cop-out, but I figure it's more about the fact that he, in general, still has sway over her and that's just Scott's personal excuse for it in his mind rather than accepting she could still have feelings for him.
Oh, I don't deny that it worked, it was just weird to see a character who was this shadowy Final Boss DarkReflection WeAreNotSoDifferentYouAndI acting completely different than in the books. Everyone else was basically the same, with tweaks and expansions and shrinks depending, but Gideon's character was VERY different on almost every level.
Ack, I can't explain it properly. I loved the movie, it was just a bit of a shock to see Gideon portrayed so utterly different than in the books. Except for that, and the mode of ending (again, they didn't have the 6th book at that moment, they based it on the author's notes and brainstorms) the movie was VERY close to the books so it seemed to come out of nowhere. I knew the ending would be different, I didn't know the villain would be.

He was more kind of deceptively evil, imo. Slimy and ~sweet~ on the outside but really just covering up for the fact he's an ass. Sometimes passive aggressive is worse than flat out rage.
That's the thing, though, in the books he was charismatic but obviously an ass and everyone was in awe of him even though he was a jerk ... but inside he was this insecure creep who sees his relationships the way he wants to see them, not the way they actually happened. (A trait, we later find out, Scott shares with him ...)

I mean, in the movie's defense, the sixth book wasn't completed when they did it. So, considering that.
Oh, I knew that, and I love the ending of the movie far more than the ending to the books!

*feels like a defensive fangirl and is going away now!* xD
No, don't run away! I love discussing things like this!

[nombrehetomado.livejournal.com]

Scott Pilgrim was awesome. That's pretty much all I have to say on that. xD

As for the second part...yeah. I've been there. One-act festivals range from the very neat and original, to the godawful. *hugs for awkwardness*

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Scott Pilgrim was awesome. That's pretty much all I have to say on that. xD
Me too, now that I think on it ...

As for the second part...yeah. I've been there. One-act festivals range from the very neat and original, to the godawful. *hugs for awkwardness*
*hugs back* Thanks. It was just ... sad. The actors are so talented and they got such godawful direction!

[yumekamiaika.livejournal.com]

Brian O'Malley (Or was it Kim's actress?!) actually said that they're making some animated thing for Adult Swim to promote the movie more, apparently it gives Scott's back story, I dunno, to be honest I forget OTL.

I didn't read the books but I absolutely LOVED this movie. Though a few things had me confused, what made Ramona so special? D: Then again, if she wasn't, there would be no plot x3.

AND ZOMG MICHEAL CERRRRAAAAAAA~! <3333

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Brian O'Malley (Or was it Kim's actress?!) actually said that they're making some animated thing for Adult Swim to promote the movie more, apparently it gives Scott's back story, I dunno, to be honest I forget OTL.
SWEET! They left out so much in the movie! (Not that I'm complaining, but an expansion pack, as it were, would be luverly.)

I didn't read the books but I absolutely LOVED this movie. Though a few things had me confused, what made Ramona so special? D: Then again, if she wasn't, there would be no plot x3.
You should read the books. The art style turned me off for a while, but they're hilarious and well worth a read.
What makes Ramona so special? ... uh ... she's got colorful hair? *scratches head* Dunno, really, I guess Scott's just crazy about her and they fit together, so ... love? *shrugs* I wasn't in it for the love, I was in it for the hilarity and the geeky jokes and the hot rollerskating psychic traveling goggles wearing chick and the Evil Exes.

AND ZOMG MICHEAL CERRRRAAAAAAA~! <3333
I KNOW, RIGHT?! *SQUEEE*

[emeriin.livejournal.com]

I went to see a four-actor play (with John Simm) once and while it had some nice moments - mostly when they were allowed to speak naturally and display comedic timing - it was very awkward all around. The dialogue just felt very stiff and it was that kind of play where people spoke their feelings in a very exposition-heavy way. It was hard to keep your willing suspension of disbelief that high.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

alfjdaslfjalfjalfaj YOU SAW JOHN SIMM LIVE!??!?!?!?!!
I am infinitely jealous of you.

Oh, it was bad? *cringes* Sorry about that ... most awkward feeling ever, yeah?

[emeriin.livejournal.com]

Incredibly. Afterwards, I had a Life On Mars marathon and it made me feel better.

Now David Tennant playing Hamlet (with Patrick Stewart as Claudius) in the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre last summer? That was awesome.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Incredibly. Afterwards, I had a Life On Mars marathon and it made me feel better.
Life on Mars makes EVERYTHING better.

Now David Tennant playing Hamlet (with Patrick Stewart as Claudius) in the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre last summer? That was awesome.
You saw that LIVE?!?!?!?!?!?!?! *is beyond jealous*

[phoenixjustice.livejournal.com]

Now David Tennant playing Hamlet (with Patrick Stewart as Claudius) in the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre last summer? That was awesome.))

...
... I have to agree with Zel-chan.

YOU SAW JOHN SIMM *AND* DAVID TENNANT!?!?!?! So, so beyond jealous right now OMG. *_*

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

*loves Kim Pine so very, very much* I'm a little sad that she was demoted to sarcastic relief when she was a kind of snarky damsel in distress in the books that seemed to be the best person for Scott. It worked in the movie, but still, Kim FTW!

I did love the film, I really did, but there were problems I had that I couldn't ignore in my own review of the film.
Oh, there were definitely problems. I wrote this while still in flail-mode, but even then I still couldn't resist writing down my thoughts on how they used Gideon. *sighs*

But it was a fun film, and I think it was exactly how a nerd film should be - the director definitely spoke 'our' language, I guess.
It just felt so nice to be catered to so completely for once. I'm used to a certain joke or episode or scene being made just for the geeks, but a whole MOVIE, and a mainstream one at that? It was like two hours of heaven.

[phoenixjustice.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the books, so I can't tell any differences from it and the movie but I frickin LOVED this thing. One of the few things I will definitely buy when it comes out. (I also want to write fic for it--kind of want to do a Scott Pilgrim/Kick-Ass x-over fic...)