8027 replies to this topic

[Incanus]

It's a great belter of a song!

Some people take things way to seriously

Actually it is not so much about how great or bad My Heart Will Go On is, it is about over exposure and being all tired and burned out by it. Also I find it somewhat cloying.

[Marian Schedenig]

It's a good theme, but I can't stand Dion's voice with it.

Titanic is a good film. A very good film at its better moments. The script is uneven, with the love story somewhat meandering between pulled off rather well and overly cheesy. I understand that having it was necessary to give the second half the emotional impact it required, and it fully succeeds at that. I also like how its used to give a panorama of early 20th century society in the first half of the film. A couple of the specific scenes, as I recall, are too cheesy in an ultra Hollywood way. And I'll never get used to the painfully cheese dripping framing story, which wouldn't have been necessary for the film to work in the slightest, and at least for me completely ruins the ending. At its best moments in its second half, the film, without taking you out of the story, feels like watching a documentary. And *that's* pretty impressive.

Horner's score in the second half works very well and does a lot for the film. I don't get all that much out of it on CD, but it's certainly fine. The main moments in the first half, on the other hand, are mostly based on that synth choir pseudo Enya stuff. They should have just hired Enya. I like Book of Days, which was clearly what Horner was trying to copy. But his version of it sounds like a three year old sitting in front of a children's synth keyboard for the first time in his life and trying to play the Enya song. It seriously hurts several of the film's bigger scenes for me and may easily be the reason why many people find the film cheesier than it is and, not being as aware of film music as we are, go after the script instead.

By the way, I absolutely wanted to see it in 3D, but they only had evening showings of the undubbed version for one week here. Very annoying.

[publicist]

And given Horner's reluctance to serve the fake choir aesthetic again on his usually very eclectic menu seems to confirm that he was cornered by Cameron into doing it...and Cameron got what he deserved: a very simplistic synth syncopation sounding cheap and underwritten. But in hindsight i think his instincts were right: he wanted to avoid a full-blown 'anachronistic' Hollywood score á la FAR AND AWAY because it would rob the movie of youth appeal, but the final execution just didn't get it completely right.

Given the crass RCP-leanings of AVATAR's score, we still got lucky with TITANIC. It may copy Enya badly, but at least it's a Horner original not soundung like warmed-over Bruckheimer.

[Chaac]

Some parts of the Avatar score are great but it's overall too cold and distant for me.

[Joey]

Did Bryan Adams ruin Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for you as well?

Karol

that song is just terrible. but then it's bryan adams....gag.

[Wojo]

No, I think the song is rather good. I don't really care that the Canadian government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions.

[Quint]

The song is an outstanding composition, brilliantly performed by Adams. Is it syrupy? Yes.

[indy4]

Saw Mission Impossible IV and Donnie Darko. Really enjoyed them both.

[Romão]

Lol at Merkel call the script vulgar without an ounce of reasoning behind his comment.

in other words be specific.

Cardboard characters, cliche situations, lousy dialogue, black and white roles. The movie could be without dialogue and it would still work, That's a statement of great directing. But the screenplay doesn't elevate the movie in the any way. Cameron has always been a lousy writer

[Joey]

Lol at Merkel call the script vulgar without an ounce of reasoning behind his comment.

in other words be specific.

Cardboard characters, cliche situations, lousy dialogue, black and white roles. The movie could be without dialogue and it would still work, That's a statement of great directing. But the screenplay doesn't elevate the movie in the any way. Cameron has always been a lousy writer

you're just repeating what someone else repeated from someone else without an ounce of originalty or personal thought. How weak. You fail to make one point stick. If anything is vulgar it's your baseless criticism without the backing a single statement with actual points.

come on Merkel you can do better. Here let me help

Zane was a cad with little dimension.

The dialogue was too modern,

No one flipped the bird in 1912.

The acting was stilted, no one stood out.

Of course none of the 4 statements are accurate.

[Wojo]

No one flipped the bird in 1912.
...
Of course none of the 4 statements are accurate.

Indeed.



1886, by the way.

[Romão]

Lol at Merkel call the script vulgar without an ounce of reasoning behind his comment.

in other words be specific.

Cardboard characters, cliche situations, lousy dialogue, black and white roles. The movie could be without dialogue and it would still work, That's a statement of great directing. But the screenplay doesn't elevate the movie in the any way. Cameron has always been a lousy writer

you're just repeating what someone else repeated from someone else without an ounce of originalty or personal thought. How weak. You fail to make one point stick. If anything is vulgar it's your baseless criticism without the backing a single statement with actual points.

come on Merkel you can do better. Here let me help

Zane was a cad with little dimension.

The dialogue was too modern,

No one flipped the bird in 1912.

The acting was stilted, no one stood out.

Of course none of the 4 statements are accurate.

I'm sorry, Joe, I'm a lousy critic and can do little else besides repeating critiscism clichés (and I really mean that). I as cliched a writer as Cameron himself

[Quint]

Cameron has always been a lousy writer

I was fine with everything else you said, it's your opinion, but the last part irked me, as it always does. That's because it's fucking bullshit.

Seriously, Cameron co-wrote three of the greatest and most important sci-fi movies of the twentieth century and some little cretin on the internet claims he's a lousy writer? Get out of it! To this day, Aliens alone remains one of the - if not THE most quotable movie ever made; and you call its writer lousy. Yeah, right. What - you think a bunch of marines swearing at each other and waving dicks about doesn't constitute good, memorable writing? It's not sofisticated enough? You think that's all there is to it? You're wrong. That script is one of the wittiest, sharpest and thoroughly gripping war yarns ever. An utterly authentic boys own adventure set in space, worded with panache and an absolute hunger to entertain. Almost every single line is pure gold, indeed: that script is an outright icon of the genre and here you are calling its writer lousy. Lol

[Chaac]

The Terminator is one of my very favourite love stories. And The Abyss is one of my very favourite adventures in film.

[Romão]

I entitled to have wrong opinions, I do it far too often, but I don't think being called a cretin was called for...

[Quint]

I apologise for that. But I just tire of internet injustices which are so often chucked about with little regard or thought, that's all.

[Romão]

I'm not criticizing the movies themselves, I still think they are, for the most part, endlessly entertaining. Nor was I criticizing the plot constrution. But I still don't think Cameron writes good dialogue. It does not make a single character stand out, IMHO.

[Joey]

I entitled to have wrong opinions, I do it far too often, but I don't think being called a cretin was called for...

I don't mind you having that opinion, I just wanted you to back it up. We all have opinions we can't I know that but with Titanic I know you well enough over the years with your posting that you could be more precise.

but after Quint's last couple of post all I can say about this subject is GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER.

btw I must say that in Titanic I love the line "I'd rather be his whore than your wife". Man don't you know when you've been insulted and you've struggled for a great retort and none is forthcoming only to have several hours pass before you come up with one but the moments passed, well all I can say is good for you Rose.

[Quint]

Are you finished?

[Romão]

Well, I'll refrain from posting in this topic, since I don't think I can add anything relevant to this discussion

[crocodile]

I think whether Cameron is a good or bad writer is irrelevant. It's the spectacle and showmanship that makes his movies. He's good in that, probably better than anybody else at the moment. Definitely.

Karol

[Koray Savas]

Depends on how you define spectacle. Avatar is no better than Transformers to me. It has action and special effects galore, but it lacks everything else necessary to make a good film.

[Quint]

No, I disagree, Karol. In the cases of The Terminator, Aliens and Terminator 2, the writing is every bit as important as what is physically on screen. T1 in particular was pretty much entirely reliant on its high-concept grim sci-fi verbosity and peculiarly naturalistic penmanship. That, and Arnie.

[crocodile]

I didn't say script doesn't play a role. But it's very simple most of the time, stripped to its core almost.

Depends on how you define spectacle. Avatar is no better than Transformers to me. It has action and special effects galore, but it lacks everything else necessary to make a good film.

Oh I don't know, for me there is a big difference between those. I don't like either of them, but at least Cameron knows how to orchestrate a big blockbuster.

That's the analogy there: he's not a great composer, but terrific orchestrator.

Karol

[Quint]

I didn't say script doesn't play a role. But it's very simple most of the time, stripped to its core almost.

Karol

Deceptively simple, yes. Supremely economical and comprehensively efficient is what they are. These are thrillers, after all. Maybe this is why I find Cameron the perfect antidote to someone like Chris Nolan.

[crocodile]

I knew you'd say that!

Karol

[Quint]

You can always bet on my consistency

[Joey]

if I found myself in a Chris Nolan film I'd hope that I'd dream in James Cameron.

[Quint]

Inception. Ugh. What a drag of a movie that was.

[Joey]

but Quint we are supposed to love it. LOVE IT.

but I didn't.

[crocodile]

In the end, you'll bow before Nolan!

Karol

[Quint]

His Batman movies are excellent, I gladly admit that. Much better than The Avengers and its like.

[crocodile]

What did you think about The Prestige, Quint?

Karol

[Quint]

The only other Nolan I've seen is Insomnia. I remember really wanting to see Memento back in the day, but Blockbuster refused to stock it at the time and so that ship eventually sailed.

[crocodile]

Watch them, they're worth it. Memento in particular is a very film. The Prestige, on the other, hand may be my favourite.

Karol

[Joey]

In the end, you'll bow before Nolan!

Karol

no, dislike memento, the prestige, insomnia and batman begins, did I leave anything out. I loved TDK.

I think Nolan leaves much to be desired when it come to action, but he's a decent visual storyteller

[Koray Savas]

Memento is his best film, followed by Insomnia and The Prestige.

Nolan is best when he's doing his own thing, although Insomnia is a remake.

[John Crichton]

In the last week:

The Cabin in the Woods- I'm not a horror aficionado, but I am a huge Joss Whedon fanboy, and I was thoroughly satisfied. Big congrats to Whedon/JJ Abrams protoge Drew Goddard, who actually directed it, for nailing his first feature.

Mission Impossibe IV- Eh. Kick ass Giacchino score. The movie was in parts engaging, in parts tedious. The whole Kremlin sequence was good, and the double impersonation meetings in the Dubai hotel was extremely well done. Simon Pegg remains one of the most entertaining men in the world, no matter what he's doing.

[crocodile]

You forgot about Following. A iterally no-budget black & white 70-minute film noir, shot on weekends with amateur group of friends (who all worked full time as well) over a year, I think. They didn't get enough film to shoot second takes so everything was rehearsed to death. It has already all the elements of his style and as such is very impressive.

Karol

[Koray Savas]

You forgot about Following. A iterally no-budget black & white 70-minute film noir, shot on weekends with amateur group of friends (who all worked full time as well) over a year, I think. They didn't get enough film to shoot second takes so everything was rehearsed to death. It has already all the elements of his style and as such is very impressive.

Karol

I forgot about that; haven't seen it. Robert Rodriguez's early TV movie Roadracers just got released on Blu, maybe this isn't too far off.