"I am a leaf on the wind."

Saw "Serenity" tonight, and will post more on it later in the week. I'm not posting spoilers here yet.

Caveats first: It's violent, it's dark, and sometimes gruesome visually and thematically. It's not for everyone, and certainly not for children.

That said, it's a beautiful movie. The music seems sparingly used and mostly fits in with the action very well. The visual effects are stunning, but they're not supposed to be everything. Behind them is heart and intent and deliberate storytelling, and it struck me at one point that this is what the Star Wars prequel trilogy should've had that may have saved it from being such an empty shell. The movie almost moved me to tears at some points, had the audience laughing and clapping at others, and made me jump in shock several times. Okay, so I startle easily and didn't have Dave to hang on to this time (but I will when I go see it with him in KC next week!). But there are still some shocking and suspenseful moments. And one very dizzying sequence that would be hell in IMAX.

I loved the first sequence on the ship- Mal walks through the ship and runs into various members of the crew, and it's an excellent, smooth shot that gives you a quick mini-tour of the layout of the ship. The little visual touches on the set are fantastic- I especially like the vines painted around the kitchen. You just imagine Mal and Jayne sitting there, laughing at Kaylee's girliness as she stencils just to spruce it up a little.

Other notes: Simon seemed a little stiff (even for Simon) in the early scenes. Watching Summer Glau, much like seeing Jennifer Garner on early seasons of "Alias," makes me want to go out and learn martial arts in the eventual and inevitable case that I'll need to knock out 5 men twice my size in a bar fight without breaking a sweat. The people sitting next to me shared my bafflement that there were animal trainers listed in the credits. The only animals I noticed were Mr. Universe's goldfish. I mean, trained goldfish, that's really cool...but somehow I think I must've missed something. There might've been a lizard in a cage, but again, what training was needed for that?