i want to believe...but i don't.
Aug. 3rd, 2008 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dianora2Finally saw the XF movie last night with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
md1016 and eloiseinparis, and the three of us had a wonderful time. It had been five years since the three of us were all together, so it was like old times. Great dinner beforehand, great seats at the movie theater, great dessert and discussion afterward.
If only the movie itself had been half as great.
Yeah, I'm afraid I didn't like it very much. Sorry. It could be because getting thrown a bone just doesn't work for me anymore; I'm too over it all. Of course, I'm sure the chip the size of Rhode Island on my shoulder didn't help any. ;) I didn't HATE it, but, it was deeply flawed and I'm not sure the good stuff was enough to outweigh the bad, for me. Which isn't to say there wasn't some good stuff. :)
Now, god knows I was NEVER one to watch XF for the plot -- I think my record on this matter has been pretty clear and consistent *g* -- but this plot was SO bad that it was really difficult for me to overlook it. This guy is hanging out in a public pool in a small town in Wisconsin looking for women with AB negative blood? And were there no men with AB negative blood? Did the Medic Alert bracelets indicate AB negative blood, do people do that? And why a woman's body? Because he was GAY? Because I'm pretty sure gay men like having sex with men's bodies, not women's. Of course, what Chris Carter knows about gay people could probably fit in a thimble. Plus: it was barely an X-File; it wasn't scary; there was no great villain to root against; and, most glaringly, Mulder and Scully did not solve the case together.
I know, I know, it's CRAZY, but when I watch X-Files I actually want to see, like, Mulder and Scully working together and stuff. Not Scully off being a doctor at Priest's Anatomy. Speaking of which, I'm so proud of Scully that apparently while being on the run she went back to medical school to become a pediatric neurosurgeon? And I am so impressed that you can Google "stem cell research" and the next day perform delicate brain surgery on the topic! I'm going to try that next week, I'm sure they won't mind down at St. Vincent's. But yeah, I hated that they spent so little time together, overall. And *worked* together almost not at all. Mulder himself said he's only half the team -- if only Carter had listened to his own dialogue!
And Mulder can't jimmy up a fake ID to get a job? He's mooching off Scully all this time? If so, can't he at least KEEP THE HOUSE CLEAN? Jesus. *g*
Amanda Peet and Xzibit -- wow, two completely useless and personality-less characters. Xzibit showed me nothing to justify his being Carter's new muse. Peet was mediocre as always, and were they trying to pull some nonsense where her character had a thing for Mulder? The hell? With the toilet paper? Oy. And why didn't they make Peet & Rapper partners so that there could at least be that comparison there? Or, aseloiseinparis said last night, why not use Doggett & Reyes instead? On the plus side, I loved that they killed Amanda Peet. E. and I cheered.
Billy Connolly was good. Scully's scene with Father Joe was probably the best in the movie.
Skinner? Why did she need him to expedite her car getting run off the road? The hell? Seemed like there could have been a better use for him. Although at least HE got to pull a gun, which is more than I can say for Moose & Squirrel. The Mulder/Skinner hug was hilarious in its badness. OMG.
I laughed to myself when Scully burst into the lab and said "Mulder needs warmth and fluids!" I wanted Skinner to say, "Well, there's a fucking disembodied head looking at me over here, how about them apples?"
I'm amused that I apparently didn't recognize any of the old XF people, but was excited to see Ted from Reaper. *g* And Mulder and Jordan McDeere chasing Leoben kind of made my head explode. (Seriously, you get Callum Keith Rennie, who is creepy as hell on BSG, and THAT'S the character you give him to play? Really?)
As for the relationship stuff: well, I mostly liked that. :) I liked that they were very comfortable with each other, having been together for a long time; I liked that it felt like a mature relationship. One of my favorite throwaway lines was when they're in bed (!) and Mulder says about Christian (anvil name!), "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" indicating that normally she does talk to him about her cases. And yes, getting to finally see M&S discuss a case while in bed together was a bit of a dream come true, even if they were underneath the ugliest comforter ever. *g* (And just proved that they could have been doing that for SEASONS without it harming the show -- instead of NO ONE WATCHING ANYMORE by the time anything DID happen, but I guarantee that is not a lesson Carter actually learned.) "Scratchy beard!" was adorable, though I wondered why she ever let him get to that point, eeek. I thought it was lame that Carter had to be all about the fake-out at the beginning, making us think that they *weren't* living together, that she was just coming to visit. Whatever, dude. I know you think you're more clever than we are, but, I hate you.
I liked the fighting, and I liked that Mulder spent a chunk of the movie being really pissed at her. His pulling his hand away when she took it was ouchy. And I thought it was interesting that she had reached such a black-and-white point with him on the subject of cases -- especially since this is apparently the first time in six years it's even come up. And when someone's life is at stake, no less? Not sure I could totally be with her on that. But it made for a good scene in the locker room.
Yes, hearing her say "...reason I fell in love with you" was also a bit of a thrill, even though it was delivered with no passion whatsoever. ;P
Really, the first movie had more physicality and romance between them than this one did, so that's kind of surprising, to me. Typical Carter. I am so glad I'm not his wife (for so many reasons)....
The last scene between them was also quite nice -- but don't think I didn't notice that Carter purposely blocked the kiss so that we couldn't get a nice full-on shot of it. God, I hate him. It was a nice kiss but aggravatingly chaste and devoid of passion. The kiss in "The Truth" was hotter, even if it was in shadow. I did get a little thrill when Mulder said "just the two of us," because that's as it should be. I mean, the sentiment was really nice, and they were good. Both of them were good in this, throughout, despite bad hair on her part and bad facial hair on his part. *g* And I of course look forward to the inevitable icons! I can't wait to make a Scully one that says "Instant Brain Surgeon -- Just Add Google."
The bit after the credits could have been so cute, and instead they gave us an image that made absolutely no sense. I was expecting to see them living on a houseboat -- which would have been AWESOME -- or lying on the beach or something. Instead they're in a rowboat miles from shore with no water or sunscreen. OK. So cheesy. Oh well, might as well wave goodbye to them now, since there's not going to be another one!
I guess I'm just kind of stunned that after six years, THAT'S what they came up with. And THAT was the script that got David to finally come back on board? Really? Okay.
All that said I do plan on seeing it again this week with some other people. And after we got home last nightmd1016 and I watched all our old fanvids (which still hold up BTW) and ironically, THAT got me much more excited/nostalgic/wistful about Mulder and Scully again than the new movie did. So maybe I am going to be in a better frame of mind for my second viewing. I think I will be. And it will be nice to see the shippy stuff again.
md1016 and eloiseinparis, and the three of us had a wonderful time. It had been five years since the three of us were all together, so it was like old times. Great dinner beforehand, great seats at the movie theater, great dessert and discussion afterward.If only the movie itself had been half as great.
Yeah, I'm afraid I didn't like it very much. Sorry. It could be because getting thrown a bone just doesn't work for me anymore; I'm too over it all. Of course, I'm sure the chip the size of Rhode Island on my shoulder didn't help any. ;) I didn't HATE it, but, it was deeply flawed and I'm not sure the good stuff was enough to outweigh the bad, for me. Which isn't to say there wasn't some good stuff. :)
Now, god knows I was NEVER one to watch XF for the plot -- I think my record on this matter has been pretty clear and consistent *g* -- but this plot was SO bad that it was really difficult for me to overlook it. This guy is hanging out in a public pool in a small town in Wisconsin looking for women with AB negative blood? And were there no men with AB negative blood? Did the Medic Alert bracelets indicate AB negative blood, do people do that? And why a woman's body? Because he was GAY? Because I'm pretty sure gay men like having sex with men's bodies, not women's. Of course, what Chris Carter knows about gay people could probably fit in a thimble. Plus: it was barely an X-File; it wasn't scary; there was no great villain to root against; and, most glaringly, Mulder and Scully did not solve the case together.
I know, I know, it's CRAZY, but when I watch X-Files I actually want to see, like, Mulder and Scully working together and stuff. Not Scully off being a doctor at Priest's Anatomy. Speaking of which, I'm so proud of Scully that apparently while being on the run she went back to medical school to become a pediatric neurosurgeon? And I am so impressed that you can Google "stem cell research" and the next day perform delicate brain surgery on the topic! I'm going to try that next week, I'm sure they won't mind down at St. Vincent's. But yeah, I hated that they spent so little time together, overall. And *worked* together almost not at all. Mulder himself said he's only half the team -- if only Carter had listened to his own dialogue!
And Mulder can't jimmy up a fake ID to get a job? He's mooching off Scully all this time? If so, can't he at least KEEP THE HOUSE CLEAN? Jesus. *g*
Amanda Peet and Xzibit -- wow, two completely useless and personality-less characters. Xzibit showed me nothing to justify his being Carter's new muse. Peet was mediocre as always, and were they trying to pull some nonsense where her character had a thing for Mulder? The hell? With the toilet paper? Oy. And why didn't they make Peet & Rapper partners so that there could at least be that comparison there? Or, as
eloiseinparis said last night, why not use Doggett & Reyes instead? On the plus side, I loved that they killed Amanda Peet. E. and I cheered.Billy Connolly was good. Scully's scene with Father Joe was probably the best in the movie.
Skinner? Why did she need him to expedite her car getting run off the road? The hell? Seemed like there could have been a better use for him. Although at least HE got to pull a gun, which is more than I can say for Moose & Squirrel. The Mulder/Skinner hug was hilarious in its badness. OMG.
I laughed to myself when Scully burst into the lab and said "Mulder needs warmth and fluids!" I wanted Skinner to say, "Well, there's a fucking disembodied head looking at me over here, how about them apples?"
I'm amused that I apparently didn't recognize any of the old XF people, but was excited to see Ted from Reaper. *g* And Mulder and Jordan McDeere chasing Leoben kind of made my head explode. (Seriously, you get Callum Keith Rennie, who is creepy as hell on BSG, and THAT'S the character you give him to play? Really?)
As for the relationship stuff: well, I mostly liked that. :) I liked that they were very comfortable with each other, having been together for a long time; I liked that it felt like a mature relationship. One of my favorite throwaway lines was when they're in bed (!) and Mulder says about Christian (anvil name!), "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" indicating that normally she does talk to him about her cases. And yes, getting to finally see M&S discuss a case while in bed together was a bit of a dream come true, even if they were underneath the ugliest comforter ever. *g* (And just proved that they could have been doing that for SEASONS without it harming the show -- instead of NO ONE WATCHING ANYMORE by the time anything DID happen, but I guarantee that is not a lesson Carter actually learned.) "Scratchy beard!" was adorable, though I wondered why she ever let him get to that point, eeek. I thought it was lame that Carter had to be all about the fake-out at the beginning, making us think that they *weren't* living together, that she was just coming to visit. Whatever, dude. I know you think you're more clever than we are, but, I hate you.
I liked the fighting, and I liked that Mulder spent a chunk of the movie being really pissed at her. His pulling his hand away when she took it was ouchy. And I thought it was interesting that she had reached such a black-and-white point with him on the subject of cases -- especially since this is apparently the first time in six years it's even come up. And when someone's life is at stake, no less? Not sure I could totally be with her on that. But it made for a good scene in the locker room.
Yes, hearing her say "...reason I fell in love with you" was also a bit of a thrill, even though it was delivered with no passion whatsoever. ;P
Really, the first movie had more physicality and romance between them than this one did, so that's kind of surprising, to me. Typical Carter. I am so glad I'm not his wife (for so many reasons)....
The last scene between them was also quite nice -- but don't think I didn't notice that Carter purposely blocked the kiss so that we couldn't get a nice full-on shot of it. God, I hate him. It was a nice kiss but aggravatingly chaste and devoid of passion. The kiss in "The Truth" was hotter, even if it was in shadow. I did get a little thrill when Mulder said "just the two of us," because that's as it should be. I mean, the sentiment was really nice, and they were good. Both of them were good in this, throughout, despite bad hair on her part and bad facial hair on his part. *g* And I of course look forward to the inevitable icons! I can't wait to make a Scully one that says "Instant Brain Surgeon -- Just Add Google."
The bit after the credits could have been so cute, and instead they gave us an image that made absolutely no sense. I was expecting to see them living on a houseboat -- which would have been AWESOME -- or lying on the beach or something. Instead they're in a rowboat miles from shore with no water or sunscreen. OK. So cheesy. Oh well, might as well wave goodbye to them now, since there's not going to be another one!
I guess I'm just kind of stunned that after six years, THAT'S what they came up with. And THAT was the script that got David to finally come back on board? Really? Okay.
All that said I do plan on seeing it again this week with some other people. And after we got home last night
md1016 and I watched all our old fanvids (which still hold up BTW) and ironically, THAT got me much more excited/nostalgic/wistful about Mulder and Scully again than the new movie did. So maybe I am going to be in a better frame of mind for my second viewing. I think I will be. And it will be nice to see the shippy stuff again.
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Date: 2008-08-04 04:17 pm (UTC)LOL! Yes, yes, I hate that fucker quite a bit, too. You make good points about all the stupid (including the FBI and Cancer Man being unable to suss out Mulder's location, cunningly hidden as he was), but all the MSR squee was enough for me to laugh off teh stupid. :)