GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

The Onion Reviews Serenity

POSTED BY: SOULOFSERENITY
UPDATED: Friday, October 28, 2005 02:23
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 4736
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Thursday, October 27, 2005 5:01 AM

SOULOFSERENITY

The Man They Call Soul...


Now I don't know if this was posted before, but this was put up over at the Onion on 10/13.

Here's the direct link: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41606

Quote:



October 13, 2005

Is this what passes for science fiction?
By Jackie Harvey
Posted at 12:01 AM

I went to see the Reese Witherspoon movie I was talking about last time, but I tore my pants on my doorframe on the way out. By the time I had changed pants, I would have missed the previews, so I decided to play Jackie's Movie Roulette and see whatever movie was playing next when I got to the theater. Sometimes it's a bust, but sometimes, you're pleasantly surprised and you get a Something About Polly. That movie made me want to buy a ferret for months.

This time, I wasn't so lucky. I went to see a movie that, like Dukes of Hazard was based on a TV show. The movie was called Serenity. Now, I've never seen the original Serenity series. In fact, I had never heard of it, and I write about this stuff, for the love of Pete. It was a space series, which I usually like, but there was something that bothered me about it.

After about an hour into it, I figured it out. There were no space aliens! Why make it a space movie if you're not going to have any aliens in it? Why not just make it an earth movie? We've all seen aliens in movies before. We know they exist. So why not show them? I guess the cast was really good, but they would have really been better if they had a space alien to play off of. (two stars)




Does anyone else see a problem with this line of thinking?

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 5:10 AM

RABIT


Thanks for posting that - I hadn't seen it!
Quote:

Originally posted by SoulOfSerenity:
Does anyone else see a problem with this line of thinking?

Yes, but I'm not surprised...

Rabit

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 5:18 AM

INSANITYLATER


So.. all space movies must have a token alien in it to be good. That's what Serenity needed to be a number 1 blockbuster!!! Jar Jar Binks running around screaming "MEESA GONNA DIE" during the opening landing sequence. I guess it's safe to say this guy just don't get it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Serenity NOW!!! ... Insanity later."

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 5:20 AM

GWEK


Um... You guys DO understand that this is "The Onion", right? If you're taking this seriously, go read a few other stories on the site.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 5:20 AM

MEANGOLDFISH


i'm pretty sure that is a joke.

it is, after all, the onion

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 6:45 AM

RABIT


Quote:

Originally posted by GWEK:
Um... You guys DO understand that this is "The Onion", right? If you're taking this seriously, go read a few other stories on the site.

Oh I understand - that's not a problem.

One thing about the Onion is, well... (Oh, why not) it has layers. Seriously though, there are parts of their site that, while funny, are still serious in content. (such as a past interview they did with Joss a few years ago - no longer available )

Harvey's Blog ("Harveywood!") is one of these areas. He posts things that are real and serious, but in a comedic way. His score of two stars is a good indication (to me, anyway ) that he really didn't enjoy the movie very much...

But hey, it isn't for everyone, right?

Rabit

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 7:31 AM

NERDLOVER


I didn't think it was a bad review, in the sense that it didn't really reflect badly on the movie. "The cast was really good..." I don't think most people would take the overall review seriously even if it weren't a joke-- I mean, it's like saying "The Sixth Sense" would have been a much better horror movie if only an axe murderer would have burst out of Bruce Willis's chest.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 7:49 AM

GEEKMAFIA


Yeah this has been said before but it's the onion they make with the funny funny not an honest and serious review.

it's meant as a joke and its funny so it works.





011101000110100001100101001000000111001101101001
011001110110111001100001011011000000110100001010

Liu koushui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 7:57 AM

SAFFY


The whole joke behind Jackie Harvey (a fictional personality whose column used to be more appropriately named "On the Outside") is that he is a COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED entertainment journalist. He misunderstands everything in Hollywood, draws hilariously naive conclusions, gets stars' names wrong, confuses Ingmar Bergman with Ingrid Bergman, etc,

Because irony is the point, I'm willing to bet whoever wrote this column is actually a "Serenity" fan. If they'd hated the film, "Jackie Harvey" would have written it up as a sci-fi masterpiece, underscoring his cluelessness.

The Onion's brand of satire is so deadpan that some folks don't realize it's a joke at first. They once had a headlining article about how Congress was threatening to strike unless they got a swanky new capitol building. A newspaper in China picked it up and ran the story--to their mortification.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 3:03 PM

YORG


Quote:

Originally posted by InsanityLater:
So.. all space movies must have a token alien in it to be good. That's what Serenity needed to be a number 1 blockbuster!!! Jar Jar Binks running around screaming "MEESA GONNA DIE" during the opening landing sequence. I guess it's safe to say this guy just don't get it.




That would be awsome if you think about it.

If Joss added a wannabe jar jar type alien charater, and Mal just shot it the head 30 seconds into the movie. That would be gold.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 3:18 PM

DUBCHOPS


Yes the Onion is almost entirely a farce... satire and sarcsm abound, but the reviews section tends to be a bit less 'piss-taking'. Anyhow, this is the 2nd time Serenity was reviewed in the Onion. Just find the issue with the lengthy Neil Gaiman and Dave Mckean (sp?) article in it. A few pages past and you will come upon a very positive review of Serenity.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 4:01 PM

DREAMTROVE


It just wasn't an interested enough review as to generate future viewers out of onion readers. If he had critized it for

Select to view spoiler:


killing wash

then it would have been more oniony, but i don't read the column.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 4:06 PM

WRIGLEYVILLER


Just to be clear, because people seem to have a misunderstanding. The Onion is satire, and Jackie Harvey is, as was mentioned, supposed to be 100% wrong and clueless about everything, always.

In the back of the Onion print edition, and linked to on the Onion's website, is the AV Club section. This section is not satire, but rather a collection of music/dvds/books/movies/television reviews, interviews, etc. So THAT review (a very positive one) was for real, while the Jackie Harvey review was fake.

Just to clear things up.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 6:52 PM

VANCOUVER


Quote:

Originally posted by Saffy:
The whole joke behind Jackie Harvey (a fictional personality whose column used to be more appropriately named "On the Outside") is that he is a COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED entertainment journalist. He misunderstands everything in Hollywood, draws hilariously naive conclusions, gets stars' names wrong, confuses Ingmar Bergman with Ingrid Bergman, etc,

Because irony is the point, I'm willing to bet whoever wrote this column is actually a "Serenity" fan. If they'd hated the film, "Jackie Harvey" would have written it up as a sci-fi masterpiece, underscoring his cluelessness.

The Onion's brand of satire is so deadpan that some folks don't realize it's a joke at first. They once had a headlining article about how Congress was threatening to strike unless they got a swanky new capitol building. A newspaper in China picked it up and ran the story--to their mortification.



Absolutely, this is Onion's version of a rave review. What their perenially inept reviewer is choosing to complain about is the subtlety and intelligence of the movie, the lack of trite, predictable elements. You guys, speaking as someone who has all the Onion annual compilations, I can tell you that you need to read this like it's in Oppositeland. Two stars is good. A bad review is good. This fictional reviewer is someone you DON'T want liking your movie, believe me! If he likes it, you're doomed!

Vancouver

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 7:09 PM

INSANITYLATER


Quote:

Originally posted by Vancouver:
Quote:


Absolutely, this is Onion's version of a rave review. What their perenially inept reviewer is choosing to complain about is the subtlety and intelligence of the movie, the lack of trite, predictable elements. You guys, speaking as someone who has all the Onion annual compilations, I can tell you that you need to read this like it's in Oppositeland. Two stars is good. A bad review is good. This fictional reviewer is someone you DON'T want liking your movie, believe me! If he likes it, you're doomed!
Vancouver



Hmmm.. So he's Bizarro Ebert! That would explain alot.. like why his review sounds like it belongs on "The Daily Show"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Serenity NOW!!! ... Insanity later."

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Friday, October 28, 2005 2:23 AM

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?


Quote:

Originally posted by yorg:
That would be awsome if you think about it.

If Joss added a wannabe jar jar type alien charater, and Mal just shot it the head 30 seconds into the movie. That would be gold.



Dude. I would so PAY to see Jar Jar running around the halls of Serenity going "Meesa gonna di-" *BLAM* and Mal shoots him dead! "Yeah, yousa gonna."

Best. Crossover. Ever!



BWAH!
TCM

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