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TheMasterMind201
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Kuraishisu koa: Fainaru fantajî VII (2007)
A Consummate Masterpiece
I have always had a fondness in my heart for RPGs, especially Square RPGs - their numbers have always ranked in my favorites - and Crisis Core is no exception. It also proves a long held suspicion of mine: An RPG doesn't have to be 60 hours long to be not only fun, but emotionally moving and poignant.
Because the game is only 20 hours long, it clips along at a good pace; there is always something happening, plot-wise. The battle system is fun (albeit a bit easy on easy, and impossible on hard) and intuitive - I got the hang of it after three battles and felt like I had mastered the intricacies by the end of the game - and the music, while quite different from the pieces we have all come to know and love from the original, is just the right balance of familiarity - Aerith's theme, certain battle themes, and the 'main theme' of FF7 - with originality: many of the themes have been remixed with a drum and guitar accompaniment. Certain scenes in the game have been lifted straight out of FF7, but reanimated with 3D graphics and voice acting, and let me tell you: that is a trip in and of itself.
But it's not the graphics, music, or battle system that make this game; even the plot, at 20 hours of game play, isn't a sprawling epic the likes of which we have come to expect, but a refined, relatively select series of events. Because of this, the characters are what really drive this game toward it's inevitable conclusion. Any avid FF7 player will know how this game will end before they ever begin, but the fun is in watching Zack grow up. Other characters, such as the iconic and enigmatic Sephiroth, get a much needed dose of characterization. In the original game, Sephiroth was, as unpopular as this opinion seems to be, pretty darn one dimensional, on account of the fact that we never actually saw him outside of flashbacks, with a serious oedipal complex. What we did know about Sephiroth from the original game gets a lot of fleshing out in this game, making him an interesting, compelling character.
The characters will all grow on you, and when the final credits role, don't be surprised to find yourself shedding a few tears for them.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
A Notoriously Mediocre Film
I hate to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down or try to give a film an overall score because, admittedly, this film does some things very well, and it does some things very poorly. To give it an overall score would be unfair.
Let's start by establishing the fact that The Phantom of The Opera is notoriously mediocre, and has outrun the likes of Les Miserables simply because of an unrelenting fan base. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy the show, but only on a purely aesthetic level. There's no deep meanings, no metaphorical truths, and very, very little irony. Even the music pales in comparison when placed side to side against some of histories greatest composers like Bach, Mahler, and Puccini, to name three.
I, unlike some people, am not going to try and compare this to the stage version of the show. It would be unfair, because they are not the same. On stage, there are no quick cuts; the show is taken piece by piece. In film, however, scenes which should appear in chronological order can be moved around, and the entire feel of them can be changed with something as simple as one close up, or a little background music. How about snow falling on the roof of the opera house, which is suspended against a starry background? Extra story elements can now be added, the use of black and white film can add a nice nostalgic, artistic touch to the film, which is surprising coming from Joel Schumacher, the man who put the rubber nipples and sculpted butt plate on the Batman suit.
What I don't understand is, with all these extra touches that can be added to the film, why I was bored out of my mind. Could it have been the horrible sacrilege that was Gerard Butler being cast as the Phantom, which made some 'phans' feel that their favorite performer had been cheated? Or could it have been the bastardization of some of the most impressive numbers in the show? How about the one look fits all acting style of the pliable heroine, Christine? It could be one of these things, but I think that this film typifies why it is incredibly difficult to take a stage musical and try to translate it to stage. In the first place, the Phantom of The Opera is ludicrously theatrical, and by translating it to film, that theatricality was only magnified. Secondly, in an effort to keep normal, everyday moviegoers who wouldn't shuck out $75 for a ticket to see this on stage from being alienated, the director felt it necessary to make many of the sung lines spoken, and very woodenly spoken at that.
Lastly, it is the remarkable connection between actor and audience that occurs in the theatre when one watches a show on stage that has kept The Phantom of The Opera alive and kicking season after season, and unfortunately for film makers, this is one thing that all the chronology splicing, black and white scenes, and close ups in the world can't emulate.
In closing, The Phantom of The Opera is a lavishly mediocre, over theatrical, over hyped show that requires the actor to audience connection of the stage to be successful.