Death at a Funeral (2007, UK)

This one was different from the opening credits. I absolutely adored the score, which was fun and familiar sounding. It was cheerful and upbeat, yet slightly ominous at the same time.

Death at a Funeral is very British and an interesting ensemble drama. When a large family gathers for a funeral, there are all kind of interesting dynamics going on, from fighting couples to competing brothers to love triangles to hidden secrets that cause all kinds of trouble.

You'll laugh out loud, you might tear up a little, and your jaw will definitely drop multiple times. See it to believe it!

Also, I love Alan Tudyk. Love him.

Rating: 3.5

Serenity (2005, U.S.)

I'm really glad this movie got made. It was so nice to have answers to all the big questions, like where the Reavers came from and what "two by two, hands of blue" actually meant. (Although the Reavers made my skin crawl a lot more when I didn't know where they came from.) On the other hand, it definitely felt like they were trying to cram a whole lot of information into a film that wasn't even two hours long. I think they could have stretched it out a bit.

Still, they did an amazing job. It's really hard to talk about it without comparing it to the series, though, and I'm guessing not many people reading this (if anyone even does) have seen the series. Suffice is to say that the acting, writing, and effects were on par with the series (and sometimes better.)

Even with this "conclusion," Firefly will always be one of those series that could have gone a lot farther. Since it didn't, Serenity was just what the captain ordered.

Rating: 4.0