HIGHLA-L Digest - 26 Feb 2007 to 27 Feb 2007 (#2007-24)
HIGHLA-L automatic digest system (LISTSERV@lists.psu.edu)
Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:00:06 -0500
There are 4 messages totalling 512 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. SPOILERS - THE SOURCE Part 2 (2)
2. SPOILERS - THE SOURCE
3. Highlander - The Source... No spoilers
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Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:50:52 -0500
From: Wendy <immortals_incorporated@cox.net>
Subject: SPOILERS - THE SOURCE Part 2
Yep, it is long. And filled with spoilers. This is Part 2
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When we left our intrepid band, they had just buried Joe in Central
Europe and decided to seek the Source in the Baltic
********************************************
We cut to a big kind of rusty ship cruising along. There is a big island
and the docks match those in Anna's vision. The captain of the boat is
unwilling to dock because the island is overrun by cannibals. Yes,
cannibals. (No one even looks startled about this. Are cannibals common
in the Baltic?) There is another boat tied up at the dock and her
captain's body is swinging from a crane. The Immortals plus Anna go
ashore on the docks. They see the cannibals about to set fire to a man
who has been stuffed into a stack of tires and doused with gasoline.
Methos is in favor of just leaving while the cannibals are occupied but
Duncan, of course, has to rescue the man. They fight with the
cannibals and do some damage. Duncan picks up a pair of long
knives/very short swords from a dead cannibal. Methos gets badly cut on
the neck (and doesn't seem to realize for hours or days that it hasn't
healed) . As the Immortals walk down the docks in slow motion, a
(horrible) cover of "Princes of the Universe" plays. They grab a car
and start driving . The island is wooded and deserted except for a few
bodies lying around. (Wouldn't the cannibals eat the people they killed
instead of leaving them in the dirt?)
They come to a blue house that Anna had seen in her vision and stop for
the night. There are some more bodies lying around looking recently
dead. Reggie is set to take the first watch . (His idea of watching
seems to be having a drink and sitting in one place .) Anna comes out to
talk (this is one of the rare bits that seems to have some "heart") . We
see the Guardian flitting about. We also see Duncan. Anna sees Duncan
and they talk. He wonders that she hasn't had those kids with someone by
now (meaning she must have left him a few years ago) She said she didn't
want kids with just anyone. Duncan talks about losing people - Tessa's
dead, Kate's dead, Joe's dead. He always thought that eventually he
would find out why he existed, something that would make it all make
sense, make it worth something. Now, he doesn't believe he will. They
have sex up against the tree. (Very tame and fully clothed) .
Meanwhile, the Guardian is after Reggie. Reg complains that he is
suppose to be able to feel him coming (Why he *can't* be felt is never
explained). The Guardian carves Reggie up and then leaves as Duncan and
the others arrive. Reggie says he'll be right back and "dies". They load
him into the car and drive (How big is this island?) Hours later they
realize that Reggie isn't coming back. He - and they- are mortal (which
is what the Elder meant about them getting weaker). They bury Reggie.
Duncan is unhappy with Methos - they do some threatening of each other
then drive on.
They come to a roadblock- a wooden scaffolding with a man tied
spread-eagle in the center. The man is alive. They all know it is a trap
but MacLeod must try to save the man. Before the rescue is done, the
cannibals from the docks arrive on horseback and motorcycles. The leader
yells "Take them for meat!" and the chase is on. Of course they get
captured - the cannibals have tranquilizer darts.
Cut to Duncan, Anna, Methos and Giovanni tied to a bigger scaffolding
in the cannibal camp. On other parts of the scaffold there are bloody
arms, legs, torsos etc. The cannibals are partying with the Guardian.
There is a big wicker man in the background (I was so sure this would
be important but ...no). Duncan and the cannibal exchange quips. A bit
of the rope holding the band is kicked into the fire and it begins to
burn up the rope like a fuse.
The Guardian frees Anna and tells her to come with him to the Source.
Duncan begs her not to go but she must. She pauses to whisper to Duncan
"Come for me" and she leaves, following the Guardian through the woods.
Giovanni's rope burns through and he gets his arm free. His pectoral
cross is actually a small knife and he cuts himself free. Instead of
freeing Methos and Duncan, Giovanni head off to the Source. God's will
and all that. The Guardian makes short work of him.
Meanwhile Duncan's rope burn free and he cuts himself loose and then
frees Methos who says "I would have left you". They head off into the
woods with cannibals in pursuit. There is much fighting. It becomes
clear that they can't both make it but one might be able to cover the
other's back. Methos says Duncan is the One. Methos wanted to be the One
but he knows he isn't. Duncan is the incorruptible, honorable one.
Duncan "You're such an asshole" Methos, "I never said I was deep".
Methos grabs a horse and charges into the cannibals yelling "Come on you
greasy mongrels! Fresh meat" . He leads the cannibals away. (If this is
the last we ever see of Methos, I will be very disappointed. Assuming he
survives, does he at least regain his Immortality if he gets off the
island? )
Now we have reached the climax. The pit is still there as it was
thousands of years ago (or maybe it's a new pit). Anna has climbed the
stairs but has not yet entered the glowy field. The planets (yes, real
planets) hang over the pit , almost close enough to touch. The Guardian
spins up out of the ground. He and Duncan spar. Anna gets pulled into
the Source. Duncan tries to reach her but is repelled . It isn't time
yet - the planetary alignment isn't quite perfect ( but those planets
are moving damned fast). Duncan's brush with the Source gives him a
taste of the Guardian's super speed. The Guardian taunts Duncan about
the wonders of super speed - how good the power feels. They fight. Lots
of whizzing about. The Guardian raises a dust cloud and sends it after
Duncan- who fights back with dust of his own! Anna starts spinning in a
circle, caught in the Source. It's almost time!
Duncan starts to circle the Guardian, moving faster and faster. (Cartoon
Tasmanian Devil fast!) and suddenly the Guardian has been spun down into
the earth with only his head and shoulders out. He waits for Duncan to
kill him. He taunts Duncan but Duncan doesn't kill him. Duncan realizes
that killing the Guardian is what the Guardian wants- for Duncan to take
his place. Duncan turns toward Anna. The time is *now*. Duncan throws
down his knives and flies to Anna inside the glowy Source. (Yes, I said
flies. Feet together, toes pointed down, arms spread wide, upright
flight. Peter-Pan-across-a-stage-on-a-wire flight) The Guardian is no
where in sight- he seems to have sunk into the ground (why?? How?)
Anna and Duncan inside the glowy Source. They are naked (No explanation
of where the clothes went). And spinning slowly - in each others arms.
Anna (voice over) says she can feel life inside her- their child. Duncan
says (voiceover) that the child is the One. Cut to a glowy fetal child
(ala "2001 A Space Odyssey").
Then ...The End. That's it. No more. Go away.
************************************************
My biggest criticism of this mess is not the bad acting - we've come to
expect that. It's not the lack of decent lighting - we've come to expect
that too. It's not that the characters don't act like the people we came
to know over 6 years of the Series -I understand it's hard to recapture
characters after one leaves them. It's not the accents that come and go-
Duncan sounds like Adrian at least half the time. It's not the no-name
actors whose biggest recommendation is that they obviously work cheap.
It's not the dialog that no doubt sounded better on paper than it did
when actually spoken. It's not the ridiculous villain whose costume is
laughable instead of scary and whose dialog is painfully stupid. If
this is the "Immortal Antichrist" I think we are all safe as kittens.
The problem is...the entire movie makes no sense. It's called The
Source. So..what is it? Where did *it* come from? How does it work? What
does it mean for Duncan and Anna's child to be "The One"? Is Duncan no
longer Immortal? Is the child Immortal? If so, does it join the Game
with the knowledge that he will be the winner? That's hardly fair and
rather pointless. Were Methos, Duncan, Giovanni and Reggie the last
Immortals on earth so that now that they are dead or mortal, the child
is the only One? And what would that mean? Why was Anna Chosen? Was she
Chosen because Duncan was Chosen? Does that mean Tessa could have been
Chosen? Who does the Choosing? Why are there cannibals? Cannibals that
seem to be an accepted part of life on the Baltic Sea. Why is the Elder
big and blue? Why doesn't anyone in any world seem concerned about the
planets blocking out the sky? Why can't Duncan afford a decent coat? Why
would an Immortal chose to fight with two little knives which require
him to get very close to other guys with big swords? Was that a bit of
grey I saw in Duncan's stubbly beard?
There ought to be a rule that if you set out to make an "origin" movie,
you must actually tell the viewer what the origin *is*. One doesn't know
anything more about where Immortals come from or why they exist after
having seen "The Source" than one did beforehand. So.....really, what
was the point?
Wendy ( Cannibals?)(I can't get past the cannibals.)(Or the dorky flying
Immortal.)(Or the giant planets overhead)(Planetary alignments should be
metaphysical, not real.)(Bad.)(It was bad.)(And sad.)(Sad because it was
bad.)
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Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:50:52 -0500
From: Wendy <immortals_incorporated@cox.net>
Subject: SPOILERS - THE SOURCE
This is going to be long. Insanely long <eg> And filled with spoilers.
It may even be two parts.
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********************************************
Methos gets to do the Galadriel voice-over. (Hi Jen!)
"Immortals.
They have hidden among you for thousands of years.
Drifting through time.
Locked in an endless and deadly game of combat.
Where death only comes at the loss of their head.
Unable to have children, their origins are shrouded in mystery.
Where did the Immortals come from?
Why are they here?
Some believe the answers are to be found in THE SOURCE.
A legend whispered among them of where Immortality began.
It is said that as the world descends into Chaos, the Source will again
appear.
Will it bring salvation?
Or death?
In truth, no one really knows."
***************
( A note. This movie is dark. Not dark as in "troubling and depressing"
but dark as in "no one paid for any lights or daytime shoots". Darkness
does not make a movie "moody", it make it hard to see)
Time : Near Present (What does that mean? Technology, cars, etc suggest
no more than 5-10 years. Certainly Joe is no more than 60ish)
We start with Duncan high above a burning, ravaged city (ala "Dark
Angel") He watches criminals and police work the streets below. It's
night. He hears a women scream. His hair is cut short and he is wearing
a coat with a fur collar. (I spent the whole movie wondering if he
accidentally put on Anna's coat. It was not a masculine fur trimmed
coat. It just wasn't)
Cut to Zei -an Immortal -moving through the city with a purpose.
Cut to Duncan jumping from rooftop to rooftop and then dropping at
least 3 stories from the roof of a building to save the girl (No broken
legs?) The girl, who runs off, appears to be his wife Anna (yes, wife!)
who ran off some months (years?) ago. Seems Duncan married ( again ) and
either waited until they were married to tell Anna the truth or told her
beforehand, she married him anyway, and then couldn't handle it.
Cut to creepy ( in a stupid way) Guardian following Zei at warp speed. (
He looks like some leather and bondage fetishist's wet dream and is
accompanied by an annoying chittering sound- which I assume is the
result of his speed)
Cut to Paris (which looks fine) where Methos communicates with Reggie on
fancy heads-up display computers. Seems the planets have all left their
normal rotations and are moving to align in 4 days. Millions of other
celestial bodies are also moving into the same alignment. There is
weird cosmic radiation that may mean the Source is about to appear. (If
all the planets started moving off their planes and into a line - moving
fast enough that in 4 days they would all be strung out like pearls on a
necklace, all hell would be breaking loose on Earth. Imagine Jupiter and
Saturn moving through space to hang a few miles above the surface of the
Earth. Cosmic radiation? Hell, how about tidal forces?) Methos and
Reggie are waiting for a call from Zei.
Cut between Duncan reminiscing about Anna - who had nightmares of
strange violent stuff - and Zei trying to reach a communications tower
to contact Methos before the Guardian catches up. Anna is in a soccer
stadium full of refugees (?) or homeless people. They seem like nice
folk. A guard at the tower shoots Zei resulting in vast amounts of
spraying blood. (Teenage boys will like this) Then the Guardian rips the
guard's head off with his bare hands. More blood ("Cool" go the teenaged
boys.). Anna, at the stadium, hears a voice telling her to seek the
Source.
Zei contacts Methos and Reggie and also Giovanni - an Immortal priest in
Rome (which also looks undamaged by whatever is happening in Central
Europe. Giovanni has incredible idiotic hair. If he is suppose to be a
real priest, then the Church has dropped all standards of appearance).
The Guardian is coming! Zei tries to tell Methos what he's found and
where the Source is. It's in Central Europe. (Why does he keep saying
"Central Europe"? What *country*..what *city*..you're about to die and
you have valuable info to pass on - be *specific*!) Giovanni says that
the Guardian in the Immortal Antichrist. Methos thinks Giovanni is too
invested in his religion. Zei says the Elder of some monks in Central
Europe will show them the way to the Source. He gives the name of the
monastery before contact is broken. When contact with Zei is lost,
Methos calls Joe to tell him that the Source is coming and they need to
find MacLeod. (Joe expresses no surprise at this message. So...has the
Source been a topic of conversation and we just never heard about it?)
Zei fights the Guardian. Zei dies. The Quickening smashes the entire
tower to bits (There go all communications in Central Europe) Duncan
sees the Quickening and wonders what's up. He goes to investigate and
finds the Guardian who shouts "This is the end of TIME!". (Sadly his
voice and bearing and appearance makes you want to laugh.) Duncan is not
amused. The Guardian uses his own body for katana space, pulling the
sword out of himself. (Was it thrust down his leg? Wouldn't that make
walking difficult?) They fight. The Guardian seems to know Duncan, Anna
etc and taunts Duncan "Would you kill to be the One"? (Um ... hasn't
Duncan been doing that all along?)
Joe arrives. Duncan waves Joe off but Joe is insistent...Duncan must
come with him. When Duncan hesitates, Joe shoots him. (Joe was always
quick on the trigger)
Cut to Joe driving, Duncan in passenger seat. It is morning. Duncan
jerks back to life. (Why did it take so longer for Duncan to revive? How
did Joe get Duncan off the ground and into the very tall Jeep?) Duncan
is mad at Joe for interfering. ... Joe is a Watcher, what about his
oath? Joe says "I just said f**k it" . (Possibly one of the best lines
in the movie - which tells you something) Joe says there aren't any
Watchers, most of his people are dead. (No explanation of why this is
true). Joe drives .Duncan stares out the window and thinks of Anna - who
left Duncan because she wanted children.
We move to the monastery on "The Steppes of Eastern Europe" ( where is
that, exactly?). Methos, Reggie, Giovanni meet and greet. Joe arrives
with Duncan. Homoerotic quips are exchanged. The monks refuse to let
them in. Reggie tries to climb the wall and is repelled by ...
something. We see a figure sneak past them and begin to climb the
walls. It's Anna! "Who's that?" "That's my wife." Anna, "I have
visions!" Since Anna is inside, the monks let the men in too.
The Elder. Big. Blue. Decaying. (You've all seen the pictures.) He is
not a happy camper. They say they want to find the Source. He tells them
his tale. Seems like thousands of years before recorded time, the world
had fallen into chaos. (How long ago was that? After all, records go
back pretty far....more than 7-8000 years.)(And if we are talking
pre-history, wouldn't a certain level of chaos have been...um...the
norm? ) The people called out for a redeemer. (The "people"? Which
people? It isn't like there was a single unified culture 10,000 years
ago.)(And to "redeem" them from...what?) The best and strongest
Immortals from all the tribes set off to find the Source.( Which turns
out to be a pit in the ground with some rough stairs leading up to
ground level where the funky planets hang and where there is a glowy
sparkling force fieldy kind of effect) As they went along, they fought
amongst themselves until only three were left (2 men, one woman). When
they reached the Source, the two men fought, one touching the glowy
Source before it was "time". The one who touched it became the Elder-
cursed to live forever but have his body decay (sort of) and the other
became the Guardian (who is also kind of scarred but not big and blue).
We see the woman standing just outside the Source. (We are not told what
happened to her. Did she enter the Source alone? Did she spawn a new
generation of Immortals without help of a mate? Did the Source reject
her for being alone? I guess she wasn't important) The Elder warns them
that as they grow closer to the Source, they will grow weaker.
Meanwhile, Reggie feels something. Not an Immortal (because the movie
doesn't show Immortals feeling each other. No "buzzes" - although the
ability to feel each other is mentioned later) and goes outside the
monastery walls to investigate. There is a big cemetery nearby. The
Guardian is there whizzing between the trees. (No, not urinating- moving
fast!) Reggie says "This is Holy Ground" but the Guardian doesn't care.
The Guardian proceeds to sing "Who Wants to Live Forever" (while my
ears bled). Reggie and the Guardian fight a bit. Joe arrives to save
the day with his pump action shotgun. He learns it is hard to hit a
target that moves at warp speed. The other Immortals come running .. .
Duncan throws his katana at the Guardian in an attempt to save Joe. The
sword passes through the Guardian's throat and sticks there . The
Guardian pulls the katana out, breaks it in half and rammed it into
Joe's chest. (Ouch)
( I can hardly bring myself to describe Joe's death scene. Not because
it was so deeply moving but because it was so painfully *bad*. Others
will surely love it and find it wonderful. I kept trying to avert my
eyes and ears. Methos essentially pats Joe on the head and walks away.
Duncan and Joe have a heartfelt lovefest "You're the father who never
threw me out" "You're the best of all the Immortals, the One" Gag me.
It just sounded...like fanfic. )
Joe dies and they bury him by the monastery wall. Duncan buries the
broken katana with Joe. (They bury Joe right outside the monastery walls
in a patch of yellowish grass next to the driveway. Um...there was a
great big cemetery right across the road...why not bury him there?)
Methos, Reggie and Giovanni are ready to start the search for the
Source. Duncan says he is done, out of it and assumes Anna will come
with him. She surprises him by stating that she will be going with the
others. Duncan is afraid he will have to bury her next to Joe. She says
she was "Chosen for this" (No one asks why *she* was Chosen or who Chose
her. These are not, apparently, important questions) Duncan says "Anna,
this doesn't make sense" ( and I heartily agree. Truer words were never
spoken) Of course, Duncan joins the band. Anna has a vision of water and
a loading dock with cranes. She says they must head for water. Reggie
whips out his laptop (with the always available wireless connection) and
they decide to head to the Baltic Sea.
****************************
I'll stop there with the intrepid band heading for the Baltic.
Wendy (Part two coming right up.)(There will be cannibals!)
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Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:41:08 +0200
From: T'Mar <tmar@polka.co.za>
Subject: Re: SPOILERS - THE SOURCE Part 2
Wendy wrote:
> Yep, it is long. And filled with spoilers. This is Part 2
>
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>
> (It was bad.)(And sad.)(Sad because it was bad.)
But we didn't need to watch it to know it was going to be terrible. We knew
WAY ahead of time.
I'm not watching it. I think I'll stick to my six seasons worth of DVDs.
I've been
watching a few here and there and I'm always struck by how GOOD the
series was. I'll really go for the whole denial thing and just pretend
that it ended
with the last ep of season six. Which, let's face it, it did.
And we'll always have fanfic. Bwahahhaaa!!
- Marina.
--
"Deep in the human unconsciousness is a pervasive need for a
logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is
always one step beyond logic." - The Sayings of Muad'Dib, from
the novel DUNE by Frank Herbert
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Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:41:03 -0000
From: Jette Goldie <jette@blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Highlander - The Source... No spoilers
From: <Dotiran@AOL.COM>
>
> In a message dated 2/26/2007 5:11:13 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> jen@jendaveallen.com writes:
>
>>>>Not to mention how old Adrian looks.
> <eg>
> Jen
>
>
> THWAP
>
> The opening scene is just breathtaking in that it is Adrian's face only
> for
> a minute or so and he looks stunning. Ageless.
Aye, they say your eyesight is the second thing to go
:-Þ
Jette Goldie
jette@blueyonder.co.uk
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
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End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 26 Feb 2007 to 27 Feb 2007 (#2007-24)
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