mesaxi

I've never played the STALKER games but I loved the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers, which is very clearly what the game is based on. This takes a more paramilitary approach to the zone than the book, factions fighting over territory with some sporadic anomalies. That's where I was somewhat disappointed.

I enjoyed the paramilitary stuff, I can feel how this is emulating a video game, but I would have liked more anomalies. In this they seem like a bit of a nuisance that can be avoided if you're careful, where in the book they're beyond human understand entirely and the stalkers are simply the people who have good instincts and recognize patterns well enough to get through the zone. Until they eventually don't.

So if you're looking for a Roadside Picnic adaptation this probably won't scratch the itch, but I thought it was better than the Tarkovsky movie. Maybe not as faithful, but certainly more entertaining.

I'd been looking forward to this since I heard about it. Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus? Count me in. When I read a review that called it an anti-war movie and was applauding the heavy message I got worried, forcing a message into things is a recipe for disaster, but it wasn't an issue. The film does use the story to deliver an anti-war message, but it doesn't change any details to do it or distract from the story itself in the process.

If you're a fan of the Odyssey or just period pieces, this one is for you. It was an extremely faithful retelling of the end of The Odyssey, and it seemed like they took great care to get the sets and costumes right. They even filmed in Corfu, which made for some beautiful scenery. (That's actually where Telegonus thinks he landed when he finds Ithaca in a later story). I had like three plot points from the original story I was going to hold this movie to, and it blew right past that. They even had the scene with his dog for crying out loud.

My one problem with the film is the pacing. There were some scenes that were just needlessly slow, almost every conversation had far too much air between people speaking. They probably could have cut a good 10-15 minutes down by just tightening up the pace a bit. But overall it was fantastic, far better than I'd hoped. If you're on the fence, give it a shot, just be patient because the film pays off.