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BloodBoal

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Never even heard of 2/3s of those (from that list, I had only heard of Ep 7, Tarantino's, Avengers 2, James Bond, and Hanks/Spielberg).

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Even if I didn't know about some of the projects, most of the filmmakers are famous so I'm looking forward to whatever they will serve up.

Interestingly, the film I am MOST excited about -- JURASSIC PARK IV -- isn't even on the list.

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Kids don't care about dinosaurs anymore because scientists thought it'd be really high brow of them to give them feathers. Kids see birds every day! They don't want their reptilian heros to look like some parrot in their tree outside their window!

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Well, I'm interested more in the Spielberg film than Star Wars, which I'm not sure yet that I'll watch at the cinema...

The original three films are more than enough for me, and the circle has closed after that (again for me).

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Really? I find the Cold War spy/swap story totally devoid of interest in 2015 - in light of how that part of history has been covered time and time again by the movies (some good, some not so).

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Yeah, but my interest in that project has less to do with the story, and more to do with another opportunity to see a film by my favourite director, scored by my favourite composer.

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Yeah, but my interest in that project has less to do with the story, and more to do with another opportunity to see a film by my favourite director, scored by my favourite composer.

this is exactly how I feel..

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Exactly. This is neither a Spielbergian genre nor are the Coens experts on East/West relations in the Cold War, meaning it isn't their genre, either - there isn't even a broad #humanity hashtag connected like with MUNICH.

That the Thor's of the world will eat this up no matter what is a no-brainer.

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Spielberg is skilled and can tackle just about whatever.

But that doesn't mean he can really rise above certain level with it.

It's all mechanical, done hastily and without much consideration. Short order cooking, really.

It just sometimes feels like those films are being churned out fast before he gets bored with them.

Karol

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Is that really relevant?

I don't require every Spielberg film to be the pinnacle of a particular genre.

But like you said, the man has been able to make movies of just about every sort. For me that is the mark of a truly great director. To be able to do different things, yet maintain a certain amount of authorship for lack of a better word.

The Terminal and Hook feel as much as a Spelberg film as Jaws or Empire Of The Sun do.

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All I'm saying is that I want to see a Spielberg film that feels like a "whole" again. There are brilliantly orchestrated sequences all across the board but no great films since... Schindler's List (and even that was undone by its epilogue somewhat).

Tried to watch Lincoln... three times. And switched it off after 10-15 minutes. Boring uncinematic preaching hackery. And no, subject matter has nothing to do with it.

That his most honest feeling film of the past 20 years remains Tintin is telling... and that is a step back for him in many ways.

That's why my expectations for this new one are, shall we say, low.

Karol

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Empire Of The Sun was probably the last Spielberg film that was brilliant though and through. With Schindlers List as a very close second. I can agree there.

But you really do underestimate his output since then. Especially if you you cast doubts regarding his artistic integrity.

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Empire Of The Sun was probably the last Spielberg film that was brilliant though and through. With Schindlers List as a very close second. I can agree there.

But you really do underestimate his output since then. Especially if you you cast doubts regarding his artistic integrity.

I'm not saying that none of his films were enjoyable. Minority Report was entertaining, if incoherent. War of the Worlds had some impressively staged sequences, same with Munich and War Horse. Saving Private Ryan had Normandy sequence.

A.I. probably came the closest to being interesting. Not sure how much "blame" for that should I put on accident in this case, though...

But I appreciate them from the technical side, really. There's nothing I learned from those films or felt after seeing them. Spielberg slides on the surface all the time, however interesting that surface might be...

Karol

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I agree with Stefan that they can't all be brilliant but in sharp contrast to his idols, american filmmaking legends like John Ford who also tackled about every genre, Spielberg tends to dilute his own watermarks by softening his instincts because he craves for success with the establishment, often being dutifully and embarrassingly PC - ironically sometimes with adverse results, like in AMISTAD which could have been brilliant if he just would have cut out that maudlin speechifying. Now, John Ford made his share of bad/tacky movies but they were bad and tacky for different reasons with maybe CHEYENNE AUTUMN being the most 'Spielbergian' example of a director bending his vision due to studio interference, with unfortunate results.

So i guess there is no harm in watching a Spielbergian diversion on Cold War, but i expect another safe haven with smoothed edges and hardly anything new on the subject. I just don't expect that anymore though - with this subject - it seems bitterly needed.

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His newer films may not be life changing or be cited by someone in the future as a big influence on them, but they all still have plenty of stuff in them that make your two hours spent not a waste of time at all.

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That's enough for a good journeyman director like Martin Campbell or Lee Tamahori, but a gifted wunderkind like Spielberg...the problem isn't so much that these films are not sporadically good or occasionally brilliant but that their themes and screenplays often work against the true nature of Spielberg's talents. He sadly often seems muted by the properties he chooses.

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Spielberg is skilled and can tackle just about whatever.

But that doesn't mean he can really rise above certain level with it.

It's all mechanical, done hastily and without much consideration. Short order cooking, really.

It just sometimes feels like those films are being churned out fast before he gets bored with them.

Karol

After War horse I wonder if Spielberg isn't the new Wacko Jacko.

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WAR HORSE was great -- and I usually hate live action animal films. So was LINCOLN.

You guys are weird with all this cynicism.

Or you are just stating to get a bit senile and gullible in your old age.

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Warhorse is great. Worthy of its Oscar nods.

Live action animal movies aren't really movies I acknowledge.

neither are motard video game movies.
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Live action animal movies aren't really movies I acknowledge.

What about Jaws?
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They used a real shark? Animal cruelty!

Of course they did . some great footage was shot.

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All I'm saying is that I want to see a Spielberg film that feels like a "whole" again. There are brilliantly orchestrated sequences all across the board but no great films since... Schindler's List (and even that was undone by its epilogue somewhat).

Tried to watch Lincoln... three times. And switched it off after 10-15 minutes. Boring uncinematic preaching hackery. And no, subject matter has nothing to do with it.

That his most honest feeling film of the past 20 years remains Tintin is telling... and that is a step back for him in many ways.

That's why my expectations for this new one are, shall we say, low.

Karol

Really? I didn't find Tintin an especially "honest" piece of work...I mean, I had fun with it but it's also kind of a soulless exercise for the most part IMO, which I guess may just be down to the mo-cap aesthetic. It didn't move me or thrill me in the same way as his best work this century, though, which for me is AI, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, and Munich. I can appreciate what you're saying about wanting a film that truly holds together as a complete experience, but I would actually argue Catch Me If You Can is wholly successful in that sense. It may not be as virtuosic as the other three but the thing's an absolute gem as far as I'm concerned and aging very well. Hugely successful blend of comedy and drama and highly rewatchable too. More than any of the others recently, that's the one I can point to and say "Yes, there's a great storyteller at work", with zero apologies for its beginning, ending, sense of humor, or any other problems that have plagued his movies lately.

Also you should try another 10-15 minutes from where you left off with Lincoln someday. You may make it to the House of Representatives scenes or the Tommy Lee Jones character, which are easily the most interesting aspects of that film. Day-Lewis also just gets better and better, it's a performance whose effect really accumulates over the course of the movie. Of course you may also just continue to be bored out of your skull, as others certainly have (and Spielberg does again make a rather poor ending choice at the last-minute), but once it gets into the 13th amendment, I really think there are scenes which have some of the most interesting and canny exchanges of dialogue in a Spielberg film since Schindler's List. It's also undoubtedly one of the best ensembles he's ever had, if not the best.

That's enough for a good journeyman director like Martin Campbell or Lee Tamahori, but a gifted wunderkind like Spielberg...the problem isn't so much that these films are not sporadically good or occasionally brilliant but that their themes and screenplays often work against the true nature of Spielberg's talents. He sadly often seems muted by the properties he chooses.

I will say that what I'm really waiting on is for him to make another movie about suburbia.

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I'm interested in Sea of Trees, Midnight Special, the Spielberg, the Bond, the Tarantino, and the outer space one.

Others not mentioned in there...Todd Haynes (of Far From Heaven and I'm Not There fame) has a new movie Carol with Cate Blanchett coming out sometime. Alejandro Inarritu has The Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio. Fairly optimistic about the new Hunger Games, cautiously looking forward to Tomorrowland, Jurassic World, the two Pixars, and Pan.

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