41 replies to this topic

[Wojo]

http://www.mediaite....berg-lasercats/

Brilliant send-up of Cameron's classic Laser Cats masterpiece, parodying everything from E.T. to Close Encounters to...that's, that's about it.

No unreleased Williams music here, though I couldn't tell over the sound of the laughter in the room.

[scallenger]

LOL. Loved this one! Spielberg clearly had a lot of fun! Still not as good as the James Cameron/Sigourney Weaver one, though.

http://www.thelonely...eo/laser-cats-5

[indy4]

How many freaking projects does Spielberg have in the pipelines! Sheesh!

----

But seriously, Spielberg's lisp makes him the ultimate nerd when he tries to be. That was hilarious!

[JanBing]

Hitchcockian!

[Alexander]

[Quint]

Whilst this was pretty cringy overall, this new Lazer Cats movie does at least look better than War of the Worlds.

When's it out?

[Stefancos]

WOTW was a well-made study of human behaviour under extreme stress. It's one of Spielberg's more underrated films.

[Alexander]

WOTW was a well-made study of human behaviour under extreme stress. It's one of Spielberg's more underrated films.

[Quint]

It's a bullshit movie from where I'm sitting. I can't think of a movie which takes the piss out of the viewer more than War of the Worlds. Study my arse.

[Chaac]

WOTW was a well-made study of human behaviour under extreme stress. It's one of Spielberg's more underrated films.

And with breathtaking editing.

[Quint]

I'd find the movie more bearable if it didn't have the peanut butter discussion, Tim Robbins being excruciatingly annoying and unbelievably scripted, and an alive punk of a son at the end.

I might have said it was a realistic depiction of a family's pov of the end of the world, without those bullshit movie-breaking things.

[Stefancos]

Tim Robbins annoying? you mean creepy, right?
The ending is the weakest part, but it's one hell of a ride getting there.

[Quint]

If his crazy behaviour threatened the life of my own daughter like it does Fannings in the movie I'd have drove a loose nail into his brain in two seconds flat, no arguments or attempts at persuasion. Isabelle would witness it with her own eyes, but she might live because of it. The pumping adrenaline would make it impossible not to act in a decisive instant. The way Spielberg handles that whole dynamic is excruciatingly false. I can't watch it, I get too wound up.

[Stefancos]

If his crazy behaviour threatened the life of my own daughter like it does Fannings in the movie I'd have drove a loose nail into his brain in two seconds flat, no arguments or attempts at persuasion. Isabelle would witness it with her own eyes, but she might live because of it.

Meaningless chest thumping! If I was in this situation I would....
Be honest, dear! You have never been in a situation like that, and you have no idea how you would react. That is one of the points that the film raises rather well.

[Quint]

You think? People are capable of things they wouldn't dream of where the protection of their children is concerned. And not just fathers, but mothers too. The hyper-stressful situation in the basement would be a lethal concoction of terror and primeval adrenaline between the two men - purely because of the child's presence.

It raises nothing. It's an awful scene Stefan, a falsehood. The last thing Robbins' character should be afraid of is the aliens.

[Stefancos]

Yes, some people are capable of doing things in times of extreme stress and danger that they could not imagine doing in normality. While others are unable to act, frozen by fear, doubt. The adrenaline hinders them rather then helps them.

You see yourself in the role of the heroic saviour of your daughter, fine.
We shall see how realistic that is...

[Chaac]

The people who made that scene have kids too.

You see yourself in the role of the heroic saviour of your daughter, fine.
We shall see how realistic that is...

I have to say I love the political incorrection of this point you just raised.

We are constantly bombarded with this concept of the power of love and this and that. It's been brought up in the fashion of a deus ex machina countless times. And sometimes it's like it almost has a guy guy shouting "plot point! plot point!" in the background. And sometimes it's almost diabetic.

[Luke Skywalker]

lol! (to the video, not you , quint)

[Quint]

Spielberg got too caught up in traditional film language to the point that he overlooked the truth of such an urgent dynamic. In reality, the outcome would have been quick and brutal.

One way or another.

Yes, some people are capable of doing things in times of extreme stress and danger that they could not imagine doing in normality. While others are unable to act, frozen by fear, doubt. The adrenaline hinders them rather then helps them.

You see yourself in the role of the heroic saviour of your daughter, fine.
We shall see how realistic that is...

You're looking at this in basic terms. I don't think under those awfully stressful conditions a father would worry for his own life. It's more complex than somebody just trying to sound like a hard bastard on the internet.

[Stefancos]

No, Lee. You have revealed yourself.

"Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do"

that's your parenting philosophy.

[Chaac]

You're looking at this in basic terms. I don't think under those awfully stressful conditions a father would worry for his own life.

My rewrite of the last part of the film was like this.

Ray saves his daughter from the aliens but suddenly gets brutally killed in front of her. Rachel is frozen vivid there for a while. Next time we see her she's meandering through a desolate landscape. No dialogue. Specially designed alien wildlife slowly conquers Earth. Alienforming it. First some so of moss, then bigger things. Rachel is on the road to Boston, trying to find some food. She suffers from malnutrition. She sees a tripod on the distance. She gets attacked by an alien thing in the jungle but survives. Descent into madness. It rains. Slowly, we see the alien flora an fauna start loosing colour. Rachel is near to Boston with some refugees. We see alien life decomposing. Rachel finds her dying mother. We hear birds. We see microscopic life. End.

[Quint]

Spielberg's earlier approach is largely realism and stark reality; everyone remembers the terror and death of the initial invasion, the bodies floating down the river. But in the basement, he betrays that and it turns into a horror movie. It's cliché time - indeed I think there's even a bit were someone walks backwards into something and it makes a noise. Ugh.

So what is it? Realism or thrills? You can't have it both ways. Not without breaking the illusion.

[Stefancos]

Geez, that is even more lame then the ending we got.

[Chaac]

Geez, that is even more lame then the ending we got.

It's more like the book and it would be more visually interesting. That enough for me! But ok, we can save the mother: in the book the author finds his wife. That way we could rescue the little Spielberg left at that point xD

Ray dying rescuing Rachel seems like a good conclusion to his whole arc, but to not glorify his death or make it all that typical, you can make him die not by intent, but by mistake. Like the realism and not being caught up by the narrative that Quint mentions.

Why are we talking this in this thread? O_o

[Quint]

Because that's how JWfan works. That's what makes it worth reading.

[Chaac]

I agree with that!

[Quint]

We are constantly bombarded with this concept of the power of love and this and that. It's been brought up in the fashion of a deus ex machina countless times.

And why do you think that is? It's a universal truth of human nature, that's why.

Without patronising you Chaac, it's something you can only appreciate once you have experienced it for yourself, which in time you will. Your outlook will mature and change in these matters.

[Chaac]

Yes, but one think is that, and other thing is using it in a story like a wildcard to have a sort of real world magic so you can tackle a happy ending or save a character or whatever, like I've seen done sometimes.

[Quint]

Actually, I think it's what makes Neo's resurrection toward the end of The Matrix so thoroughly sublime and mystical. A film choc-full of techno-babble and operatic fight sequences is suddenly stripped down to reveal a powerful beating heart of intense affection, a renewed vigour brought on by a simple kiss. I believe it's themes like that which can make films special.

[Stefancos]

It works in the film, but i cant decide whether that scene has any deep mystical or metaphilosophical subtext, or they are just doing Snowwhite....

[Quint]

They're one and the same, Steef.

[Richard]

It's a bullshit movie from where I'm sitting. I can't think of a movie which takes the piss out of the viewer more than War of the Worlds. Study my arse.

Quint, do you mean "Study? My arse!", or "Study my arse" ?

[Pasi Tiitinen]

I hope it's the first one.

[Quint]

If you saw my arse you would want to study it.

[indy4]

War of the Worlds is one of Spielberg's best, thank you very much.

[Quint]

Yeah, I remember Tom Cruise said the same thing. Tom Cruise the Scientologist.

[Stefancos]

Stop the gay bashing, Lee.

[Chaac]

1) He had to promote the film, be it good or not. 2) The fact that he is a Scientologist is irrelevant. All religions look stupid when the're different enough from one's religion, and I guess we can't follow on that.

[Wojo]

Scientology is not a religion. It's a highly profitable, mind-altering, career-promoting, life-destroying, wallet-draining cult.

[Stefancos]

Sounds like a Religion to me....