Donna Lackluster

I actually watched this movie at a sneak preview in Dublin last week. It's a comedy! The score is very much aping the familiar Elmer Bernstein western sound while playing it straight. The opening titles over beautiful aerial shots of the Grand Canyon come with huge letters like in a classic Tiomkin western. Must see! The film has lots of very funny jokes - there's a hilarious bit about why people getting their picture taken in the West never smiled! And on the downside, a couple of jokes fall flat, unfortunately. It's different from 'Ted' in being more absurd. What really works is MacFarlane's central character - an unlucky shepherd who feels uncomfortable with his place and period. Very much like Woody Allen. Also - and maybe this was the biggest surprise - the romance between MacFarlane and Charlize Theron is very touching. Overall, the audience enjoyed it a lot. Watch out for Chris Lloyd as Doc Brown in his 'Back to the Future 3' outfit. What's more, it felt like a good time at the movies in 1990 all over again! But they should have cut 20 minutes of fart jokes. Probably a 'tribute' to 'Blazing Saddles'. And the train scene sucked.

When the characters in a movie are just an excuse for the filmmakers to put the audience into the scenery, there must be something missing. Let's call it the human factor. Remember? Exactly the same thing was a huge problem with 'War of the Worlds' and even 'Children of Men'. You certainly feel all the action, but the people you're watching have no real story, no purpose and after an hour it goes nowhere. When you compare all the toon characters in the original 'Jurassic Park' to the lifelike characters depicted in 'Jaws', it's clear that it takes more than a big animal to make a serious monster film. I you don't want to make a serious monster film, but a fun one - different set of rules.

The snowman

So (I haven't seen it yet) this Godzilla is in the same league with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, for example? Immersive, thought through, true to its source, but with a modern angle (but still having plot holes which you notice on subsequent viewings)?

A Million Ways to Die in the West. Was at a sneek preview. It's funny!

Is he? Or am I nuts?

Didn't you catch the John Williams cameo during the game?

Wow, link is down.

I'm loving it, but it sounds more like 1941 than like Star Wars.

If it takes 82 years and 221 music credits on imdb, I doubt I ever want to be "person of the week" on ABC.

Well, actually yes! A little. Although we tender lumplings tend to think that the master only does these kinda toons because someone's pointing a gun to his head, I believe that Mr. Elfman, now 60, does them mostly for his kids.

I had the same reaction. Well - how naive, Richard! http://www.gotoquiz.com/how_naive_are_you

@Basil So, Basil, you identify as a brony! You're probably aware the pony known as Derpy has been changed by the animation studio? Formerly, she appeared as a mentally-disabled yellow female pony with deficiencies exhibited for comedic effect. Recently, the show changed the character to be, well, less that. She's been toned down a bit, with her trademark googly eyes being largely straightened, and even the name Derpy being retroactively un-canonized in an episode. What's happening, Basil?

More from Leigh: It all depends on a company picking up the project. Tadlow and Intrada are the only ones really active in this field at the moment. It's certainly something I'd like to do!

As far as I and everyone else can tell, Steef, the album is a mix of both, film tracks and rerecording.

Leigh Phillips replied to my little daydreaming:

BASIL says: "It's not a TV show aimed at girls under the age of 10, it's aimed at everyone." What WikiPEDia says: "My Little Pony is an entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro which is marketed primarily to girls." I mean, they are cute. I don't think there's any question about it. And the last score I listened to must have been "The Counselor" by David Pemberton.

Fascinating!

Terry Gilliam turned down the chance of directing Roger Rabbit. Gilliam later admitted, “I completely regret that decision."

For one thing, Gilliam has a point - as always. We are all right in the middle of the trend he describes. If you deny it you've probably surrendered yourself to blockbuster booming. Personally, I've seen like, what, 7 1/2 Harry Potter movies in 10 years - and I can't remember a single scene. For another thing, Gilliam's favorite scapegoat has always been Spielberg. A love-hate relationship that seems to go back to the early 80s. Gilliam has stated many times over decades that he dislikes Spielberg's films for being too saccharine and so on, and that "Schindler's List" would trivialize the holocaust. That's a good point, although I believe Schindler's List still is the best-made film about the Holocaust, and that the Hollywood formula of putting things on its head (the good Nazi, the rescue of the Jews instead of what happened to the rest of them) - just to tell a better STORY - worked fine for this particular film. The problem I have with Gilliam is that he's just repeating his age-old argument with Spielberg (to which Spielberg never responded) - which goes back to the 80s when Spielberg was still king of the box office and he wasn't. Watch the Making-of Tideland where he clearly admits that it's just envy on his part. I don't think he he even saw a Spielberg movie since the 1990s. He's constantly referring to trends and films from 20 years ago - imagine! What's more, neither Gilliam nor Spielberg are still relevant in today's filmmaking world, while both men simply don't seem to realize it. You have to admit it, even if you love their classic movies from the past. Personally, I adore both directors, but not what they've done after "Schindler's List" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

mosura ya mosura dongan kasakuyan indo muu rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan randa banunradan tounjukanraa kasaku yaanmu mothra o mothra if we were to call for help over time over sea like a wave you'd come our guardian angel

SEE HOW I TOLD YA! And you didn't want to believe that it's possible.

Now I understand.

Amsterdam would be so nice, but too much work.