Fangirl Gushings
May. 11th, 2004 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanithryudoOkay, I watched "Highlander" last night and I have confirmed what my subconsciousness has been trying to tell me all along now. Yep. I am now a member of the Connor MacLeod fan following. I still love Methos the best, since he was my first, so to speak, but Connor m'luv is definitely a close second.
As for the reasons? Well, where should I start...
Voice - OMG, Lambert's voice just makes me tingle all over. It's different than Methos' English accent, but it's sexy in its own right. And exotic, definitely exotic. They even mention that exotic awesome accent in the context of the movie itself. *purrs*
Expressions - How can the same pictures/scenes look so different between still photos downloaded on my harddrive and seeing them play out in motion on-screen, I ask? 'Cause it does make a huge difference. Where it seems homely or awkward in the photos, in the movie Lambert makes it seem oh so natural and gripping.
And OMG his expressions!! I can't forget the scene where Ramirez dumps him in the middle of the lake to teach him how to swim (or drown, as it were) and Connor ends up walking back to the bank, dripping wet down to his kilt (heh). Ramirez tells him that he's Immortal and can't die now and Connor goes "that's unnatural", and then pouts - *pouts* - in the most adorable look I've ever seen on a grown man dressed like a (dripping wet) barbarian! *melts into a puddle of goo* Sooooo cute.
Or there's the scene right before he died his First Death, where the Clan MacLeod was in a clan war/feud thing with the Fraisers. The Kurgan, fighting on the Fraiser side, had made a deal that Connor was his. So Connor's standing there in the middle of a battle, looking all confused because everyone's busy messily killing people from the other side, but he has this circle of nothingness around him. He keeps yelling "Fight me!" but the Fraisers kept running away from him going "No! not him!" Dude, that was so Monty Python... and he had the cutest lost-boy/clueless look on his face... hehe. So difficult to be sympathetic or worry for his sake when I was too busy laughing at the look on his face. Poor Connor. ^_^
And then there was that expression when he says goodbye to Rachel when he goes off to fight the Kurgan. Strong even though you can see he's all tearing up and leaving his current life behind, whether he won or lost. And he's saying goodbye to the little girl he once rescued in the middle of a war, and by all intents and purposes, his loyal and loving daughter. And... wow... that scene alone could've made me fall heads over heels for him.
Attitude - Yep. Immortals are all about the attitude, and Connor has plenty of it. He's got this wolfish look at times that can intimidate wild animals (though, ironically, not moronic police officers who think he's gay). He's also blunt to the point of being able to use his remarks to batter down walls (metaphorically, 'course). I guess it's a matter of 'who needs tact when I have three feet of folded steel to speak for me' or something like that, eh? Still, it's refreshing to have a main character who *is* all blunt and outspoken and not just oozing with cliches... which leads me to the next point...
Romance - Contrary to the subtopic line, Connor pretty much has none - that he'll admit to anyhow. He's not much for romance or taking the initiative in courting (or else he's just really awkward and bad at it). However, he *is* extremely loyal to the people he does care about. He stayed with his first wife Heather until she died of old age, loving her even as she turned old and worn while he stayed young; and he still lights a candle for her every year even after 400 or so years. Dude, IMO that is by far the mark of a better man than the standard Casanova/James Bond stereotype (like *coughDuncancough*) who charms a different lady into bed every movie (or episode) and then dumps them between shows for another girl in the next film/episode. Who cares if Connor doesn't have a knack for romance or courting or tact or charm, etc. I still maintain that he's still the better Lover, dammit! :p
Skillz - Okay, this isn't actually a prerequisite for my fangirl factor to kick in, but dang, does it help. Back when they filmed HL, they gave Lambert serious training with a sword. None of this badly-choreographed, wire-fu, slo-mo in midair, lookit my oversized flashlight stuff we see in recent movies like Star Wars Ep 1 or whatnot. The swordfights in HL was both down-to-earth and totally, totally *brutal*. I was wincing at some of those moves. And the coolest thing was how they made it so that the fighters took advantage of their environment, or fight on despite it - something that I think is seriously lacking from the TV series.
For example, during his duel in the parking lot, Connor's opponent lures them to fight on top of the cars, just so that one of Connor's overhead swings catches on a gas pipe, temporarily disorienting him with the gas leak and giving the other guy an opening. Now, the audience doesn't need to be expert swordsmen to know that that was just fighting darn smart. It's what Immortal battles *should* be like, given how long they've been fighting and improving their skills and tactics. Really, the fights in HL almost reminded me of the ones in Rurouni Kenshin, sans the ki and speed stunts. It's all about fighting smart.
Ramirez - Lambert by himself on-screen was awesome to watch. Having Lambert and Connery on screen at the same time was double the awesomeness. What can I say? They had so much chemistry together. And by this I'm *not* talking about the slash form of chemistry. I'm talking about the Abbot & Costello kind. The Kenshin and Misao kind. The kind of chemistry where they play off one another and leave the audience in a giggling wreck on the floor (or couch). Hehe, oh the number of times during the training sessions when Connor rushes Ramirez like... well, like a barbarian, only to have the latter dump him on his head with a mere flick of a wrist. Best of all, it looks so natural and realistic when they train, not contrived at all.
The Kurgan - Well, every hero/main character is measured by the enemy/evil/antagonist he must face. Kurgan certainly made a credible threat in the movie. Better yet, the movie managed to make him non-one-dimensional, which was a shock and a pleasant surprise. Really, the Kurgan didn't *need* any embellishments to make a good theat to MacLeod. Dramatically he could've worked okay as the silent menace waiting in the wings until the climatic battle. Giving him a personality could've backfired in so many ways, but this time, it worked. He got a personality, and still remained a overwhelming threat to Connor.
So, like, I'll probably see the movie a couple more times before I return it. Hey, might as well get my money's worth of drooling after Connor. ^_-
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cashew, if you wanna see it, I can bring it with me this Saturday we I come up to Cal to see "Troy" with you.
As for the reasons? Well, where should I start...
Voice - OMG, Lambert's voice just makes me tingle all over. It's different than Methos' English accent, but it's sexy in its own right. And exotic, definitely exotic. They even mention that exotic awesome accent in the context of the movie itself. *purrs*
Expressions - How can the same pictures/scenes look so different between still photos downloaded on my harddrive and seeing them play out in motion on-screen, I ask? 'Cause it does make a huge difference. Where it seems homely or awkward in the photos, in the movie Lambert makes it seem oh so natural and gripping.
And OMG his expressions!! I can't forget the scene where Ramirez dumps him in the middle of the lake to teach him how to swim (or drown, as it were) and Connor ends up walking back to the bank, dripping wet down to his kilt (heh). Ramirez tells him that he's Immortal and can't die now and Connor goes "that's unnatural", and then pouts - *pouts* - in the most adorable look I've ever seen on a grown man dressed like a (dripping wet) barbarian! *melts into a puddle of goo* Sooooo cute.
Or there's the scene right before he died his First Death, where the Clan MacLeod was in a clan war/feud thing with the Fraisers. The Kurgan, fighting on the Fraiser side, had made a deal that Connor was his. So Connor's standing there in the middle of a battle, looking all confused because everyone's busy messily killing people from the other side, but he has this circle of nothingness around him. He keeps yelling "Fight me!" but the Fraisers kept running away from him going "No! not him!" Dude, that was so Monty Python... and he had the cutest lost-boy/clueless look on his face... hehe. So difficult to be sympathetic or worry for his sake when I was too busy laughing at the look on his face. Poor Connor. ^_^
And then there was that expression when he says goodbye to Rachel when he goes off to fight the Kurgan. Strong even though you can see he's all tearing up and leaving his current life behind, whether he won or lost. And he's saying goodbye to the little girl he once rescued in the middle of a war, and by all intents and purposes, his loyal and loving daughter. And... wow... that scene alone could've made me fall heads over heels for him.
Attitude - Yep. Immortals are all about the attitude, and Connor has plenty of it. He's got this wolfish look at times that can intimidate wild animals (though, ironically, not moronic police officers who think he's gay). He's also blunt to the point of being able to use his remarks to batter down walls (metaphorically, 'course). I guess it's a matter of 'who needs tact when I have three feet of folded steel to speak for me' or something like that, eh? Still, it's refreshing to have a main character who *is* all blunt and outspoken and not just oozing with cliches... which leads me to the next point...
Romance - Contrary to the subtopic line, Connor pretty much has none - that he'll admit to anyhow. He's not much for romance or taking the initiative in courting (or else he's just really awkward and bad at it). However, he *is* extremely loyal to the people he does care about. He stayed with his first wife Heather until she died of old age, loving her even as she turned old and worn while he stayed young; and he still lights a candle for her every year even after 400 or so years. Dude, IMO that is by far the mark of a better man than the standard Casanova/James Bond stereotype (like *coughDuncancough*) who charms a different lady into bed every movie (or episode) and then dumps them between shows for another girl in the next film/episode. Who cares if Connor doesn't have a knack for romance or courting or tact or charm, etc. I still maintain that he's still the better Lover, dammit! :p
Skillz - Okay, this isn't actually a prerequisite for my fangirl factor to kick in, but dang, does it help. Back when they filmed HL, they gave Lambert serious training with a sword. None of this badly-choreographed, wire-fu, slo-mo in midair, lookit my oversized flashlight stuff we see in recent movies like Star Wars Ep 1 or whatnot. The swordfights in HL was both down-to-earth and totally, totally *brutal*. I was wincing at some of those moves. And the coolest thing was how they made it so that the fighters took advantage of their environment, or fight on despite it - something that I think is seriously lacking from the TV series.
For example, during his duel in the parking lot, Connor's opponent lures them to fight on top of the cars, just so that one of Connor's overhead swings catches on a gas pipe, temporarily disorienting him with the gas leak and giving the other guy an opening. Now, the audience doesn't need to be expert swordsmen to know that that was just fighting darn smart. It's what Immortal battles *should* be like, given how long they've been fighting and improving their skills and tactics. Really, the fights in HL almost reminded me of the ones in Rurouni Kenshin, sans the ki and speed stunts. It's all about fighting smart.
Ramirez - Lambert by himself on-screen was awesome to watch. Having Lambert and Connery on screen at the same time was double the awesomeness. What can I say? They had so much chemistry together. And by this I'm *not* talking about the slash form of chemistry. I'm talking about the Abbot & Costello kind. The Kenshin and Misao kind. The kind of chemistry where they play off one another and leave the audience in a giggling wreck on the floor (or couch). Hehe, oh the number of times during the training sessions when Connor rushes Ramirez like... well, like a barbarian, only to have the latter dump him on his head with a mere flick of a wrist. Best of all, it looks so natural and realistic when they train, not contrived at all.
The Kurgan - Well, every hero/main character is measured by the enemy/evil/antagonist he must face. Kurgan certainly made a credible threat in the movie. Better yet, the movie managed to make him non-one-dimensional, which was a shock and a pleasant surprise. Really, the Kurgan didn't *need* any embellishments to make a good theat to MacLeod. Dramatically he could've worked okay as the silent menace waiting in the wings until the climatic battle. Giving him a personality could've backfired in so many ways, but this time, it worked. He got a personality, and still remained a overwhelming threat to Connor.
So, like, I'll probably see the movie a couple more times before I return it. Hey, might as well get my money's worth of drooling after Connor. ^_-
cashew, if you wanna see it, I can bring it with me this Saturday we I come up to Cal to see "Troy" with you.
