Summadonna

I watched the first episode last winter (cuz of all the hype) and was like, 'Mm. No thanks." Then my cousin said I needed to watch the rest. So I did, yesterday. It was not fun. The main characters are irritating and the sex scenes NOT hot (as popularly claimed). Writing and plot weird, confounding, and not satisfying. A few of the more sideline characters--boxing guy and his wife, and Eloise--were much more compelling. There was a gay side plot that was interesting and pretty well done but barely touched upon. Besides that, I strongly disliked the whole viewing experience.

I have to give this movie 5 stars for the performances of Allison McAtee and Diane Robin, and for the SoCal scenery. Most of the rest of the acting is bad (especially Jake--his performance kinda ruins it), and the script and plot are terrible. But this is frickin' tour-de-force acting from Ms. McAtee. To take a horrible script and deliver the performance she gave... I am floored. She acted circles around this movie. And actually seemed to be enjoying herself. You can't take your eyes off her. And Diane Robin's energy and diction? Has she been on a kids' show yet? She's perfect!!

As a huge fan of "Veronica Mars," I had high hopes for liking this show, which were dashed about 30 seconds into watching the pilot. All the sly subtlety and sharpness of the "VMars" dialogue, and the intricacy and delicious mystery of its episodes' plots, is nowhere to be found here; it is Exposition City. Everything is just too convenient to be believable; there are huge leaps of logic that move the plot forward (way too conveniently). It is flimsy, lazy storytelling. Olivia is like a weak, undead clone of Veronica. I have seen so many positive reviews of this show and am mystified... I feel like people didn't see the same show I saw. As a writer, it was offensive to me, as it broke or disregarded SO many rules and guidelines of good TV-making, and just, like, logic. I don't understand how Rob Thomas could create "Veronica Mars" and then create this...

I love this movie. It is my new favorite thing. It will one day be a DVD (or a Blu-Ray or whatever), but, right now, it is an event--and a celebration! I got a whole posse of six together to see it on opening weekend and then saw it again today with a friend who couldn't make it that day. I will probably see it a few more times in the theater, either with more friends, or just cuz it is so thrilling to see all the VMars magic on the big screen (and to keep supporting the project, cuz it's a pretty special thing that happened with the Kickstarter campaign). I felt like the movie gave fans all they needed or could have expected (sparkling, snarky dialogue; appearances from just about all the old favorites; a good plot), including a couple dozen little priceless moments. (I don't want to say anything more specific -- no spoilers!) And I think it stands pretty well on its own as a movie; I think those not already familiar with Veronica could enjoy the movie, too. I heard the script was written in a month, and the movie shot in 23 days(?), so, part of me, before I saw it, was a little worried that it would seem like a rush job, but it didn't. These guys had one shot, and they nailed it. So proud of them, and I hope there will be a sequel...!

I was eleven when I started watching this show, and it left an indelible impression on me. I was watching a lot of shows back then that I was probably too young to watch(!), and there was a lot of stuff I didn't get, but I knew, even as a middle schooler, that "China Beach" was something special. A few months ago I started borrowing videotaped episodes from a friend (thank you, History Channel!), and re-experiencing it. While, at times, it's cheesier than I remembered it (and that was mostly just in some season 1 episodes), you can't do better than Marg Helgenberger and Dana Delany and Jeff Kober as K.C., McMurphy, and Dodger (respectively). The dialogue is great, but there's so much said in just a look, and that, my friends, is acting. There was really something special going on in that show. I think it was partly the subject matter and the shooting everything(?) on location (as opposed to a sound stage -- I know it wasn't shot in Vietnam ;)), but it felt so deceptively REAL... Anyway, I couldn't love it more, and I've never seen another show like it. My thanks to the producers and writers and crew (and, of course, the actors!) -- you all should be really proud of what you did.