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Views on realism and relatability


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I'm very picky with my theatrical ventures these days, so I doubt it.

 

I'll probably see Jurassic Park 5, Avengers: Infinity Four and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but that's about it.

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On 5/15/2018 at 2:07 PM, Chen G. said:

I don't think it began with "The Dark Knight." I never really accredited this shift in tone of blockbuster filmmaking to Nolan. I think to tie it to 9/11 and really to the maturation of large-scale filmmaking as an art-form, is the more appropriate approach. While @Quintus is correct, Jackson's Lord of the Rings and his King Kong are very serious films, as were other films coming out at the time.

 

That definitely includes War of the Worlds, a summer hit in 2005 that was gritty as hell and intended as a direct invocation of 9/11.

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I never meant to say TDK started the gritty trend, but it's the most popularised example of how it cemented itself as the default style and approach in mainstream cinema. I can't remember a film being as hyped in the last 15 years.

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Seriousness is an aspiration for movies. It has to be EARNED. Not every movie has to be a profound epiphany. I hope people can compartmentalize. I enjoy both movies, light-hearted as well as serious ones. I don't however like pompous ones - like Nolan movies. Something like Dark Knight doesn't earn its seriousness so to me is a patently ridiculous movie.

 

If a major blockbuster can be pulled off in an entertaining way without being too serious - I think that's a victory. Like Ragnark, or the first Kingsman or the first Pacific Rim or even the master of grim-dark Zack Snyder's 300. 

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1 hour ago, TheUlyssesian said:

Seriousness is an aspiration for movies. It has to be EARNED. Not every movie has to be a profound epiphany. I hope people can compartmentalize. I enjoy both movies, light-hearted as well as serious ones. I don't however like pompous ones - like Nolan movies. Something like Dark Knight doesn't earn its seriousness so to me is a patently ridiculous movie.

 

I think Nolan manages it quite well in his Batman movies. And I think earnestness and seriousness are all the more admirable in blockbuster, genre films with fictional elements.

 

Its true that not all movies need to be like this: its important to have upbeat films, not to mention comedies.

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6 minutes ago, Batman's Diet Coke said:

The days of awesome blockbusters like Titanic, ID4, Jurassic Park and the like are long behind us.

Shame. Two of those are some of the most entertaining movies I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.

And one is genuinely great!

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17 minutes ago, Batman's Diet Coke said:

The days of awesome blockbusters like Titanic[...]are over.

 

Wait, you complain about blockbusters being too grim, and bring up Titanic as an example?

 

I would perspecribe a dose of the second half of Titanic, to be taken once a day for two days; not to be taken with caffeinated drinks.

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6 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

I dunno. I don't think cinema is any worst off then it was in any other period of its history.

When were the last all-out excellent adventure movies like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, etc.?

Those seem to be few and far between...

 

Closest might've been Tintin and The Jungle Book. Maybe?

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3 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

I think Nolan manages it quite well in his Batman movies. And I think earnestness and seriousness are all the more admirable in blockbuster, genre films with fictional elements.

 

Its true that not all movies need to be like this: its important to have upbeat films, not to mention comedies.

 

This may be the first reasonable post you've made.  Cheers for recognizing that we can have multiple tones in film, that there's nothing wrong with a reasonable fraction of earnest and serious blockbusters, and that one can appreciate the fun and upbeat thing whilst not simultaneously feeling the need to crucify Nolan to prove it.

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3 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

I think Nolan manages it quite well in his Batman movies. And I think earnestness and seriousness are all the more admirable in blockbuster, genre films with fictional elements.

 

Its true that not all movies need to be like this: its important to have upbeat films, not to mention comedies.

 

To me Nolan absolutely and utterly fails at a human level. I feel I have never seen a truly human moment in any of his movies (and no mccoughney bursting into tears doesn't count). It is just the basic fundamental - seeing a human being on screen and comprehending that they have human concerns and human feelings and human thoughts and human foibles.

 

Nolan's movies contain vapid androids with a few characteristics assigned to them with bullet points rather than crafting complex 3 dimensional human characters.

 

Add all of that to his pompous film-making style and I feel like if say humanity is destroyed and aliens come to Earth and only Nolan's film survive in digital form - the aliens will fundamentally misconstrue and misunderstand humanity - because that is what Nolan does in his films.

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1 hour ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

When were the last all-out excellent adventure movies like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, etc.?

Those seem to be few and far between...

 

Closest might've been Tintin and The Jungle Book. Maybe?

 

Mad Max: Fury Road!

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14 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

 

To me Nolan absolutely and utterly fails at a human level. I feel I have never seen a truly human moment in any of his movies (and no mccoughney bursting into tears doesn't count). It is just the basic fundamental - seeing a human being on screen and comprehending that they have human concerns and human feelings and human thoughts and human foibles.

 

Nolan's movies contain vapid androids with a few characteristics assigned to them with bullet points rather than crafting complex 3 dimensional human characters.

 

Add all of that to his pompous film-making style and I feel like if say humanity is destroyed and aliens come to Earth and only Nolan's film survive in digital form - the aliens will fundamentally misconstrue and misunderstand humanity - because that is what Nolan does in his films.

 

How do you account for the great warmth that I, my wife, my children, and presumably many others who don't live with me get from his films, then?  I think you could have saved time and pretension by simply saying "his films don't move me."  Although we knew that already.  Christ, for how often some people opine about Nolan mania, it's those same people who seem to love nothing more than discussing him ad nauseam.  Even we in The Church don't have much to say.

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6 hours ago, Chen G. said:

I dunno. I don't think cinema is any worst off then it was in any other period of its history.

 

Really? How old are you, if I may ask?

 

4 hours ago, TheUlyssesian said:

 

To me Nolan absolutely and utterly fails at a human level. I feel I have never seen a truly human moment in any of his movies (and no mccoughney bursting into tears doesn't count). It is just the basic fundamental - seeing a human being on screen and comprehending that they have human concerns and human feelings and human thoughts and human foibles.

 

 

Quote of the week!

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7 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

 

Mad Max: Fury Road!

Really? I've got to admit I didn't bother watching that film, but that's mainly because everything I know about it suggests it has Modern Movie Syndrome written all over it.

That would make it the polar opposite of what I was thinking of...

(Same applies to The Dark Knight trilogy)

 

But as I said, I haven't actually seen it, so maybe I'm very, very wrong.

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On 20/5/2018 at 10:52 AM, Stefancos said:

Its the best action film of the decade. Period!

 

I haven't actually seen that many movies in the last few years, but this one is among my favourites.

 

I remember seeing it alone, at a late-night showing, and I walked out feeling utterly confused, and then I walked home through entirely empty streets in silence, thinking, wait, what the fuck.

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