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The movie is just plain awful. I pity those who listen to the score first and then watch the film.

Goldsmith's music is too good for the film. Watch the monster tractor sequence with the volume turned down you'll probably end up laughing at how silly that scene is.

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Supergirl is a score soaring with thematic beauty and heroism.

I have the CD. It's kitsch!

Yeah... it's very expertly written, but I can't imagine having a serious emotional reaction to it.

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Drag Me To Hell.

It was a pretty fun movie overall, but...

...I really didn't like the ending. Maybe I'm too smitten by the gorgeous Alison Lohman, but her character was so likable, and she does everything in her power to rid herself of the curse and she still goes to hell? She wasn't even really wrong to deny the old woman a loan extension in the first place. I simply cannot agree with the morality of the ending.

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Saw Jackie Brown (1997). First time on the big screen. It's a terrific film. Hard to place it in the Tarantino canon, because it is so different from the other six. It's pobably the litmus test regarding Tarantino.

@BFM: The ending had to be there. No way out of it. And I think the morality is crystal clear and perfectly laudable.

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Saw Jackie Brown (1997). First time on the big screen. It's a terrific film. Hard to place it in the Tarantino canon, because it is so different from the other six. It's pobably the litmus test regarding Tarantino.

I think it's his most mature film, where the characters feel more like actual people rather than caricatures spouting hipster dialogue. I still wouldn't call it his best though, for me that's Pulp Fiction.

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@BFM: The ending had to be there. No way out of it. And I think the morality is crystal clear and perfectly laudable.

Honestly I would have settled for a cliched 'oh no they are gonna make another one!' cliffhanger. She may have put others at risk at times but hey, they got paid. I just didn't think she did a single thing to justify her fate. Unless you are a cat lover.

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@BFM: The ending had to be there. No way out of it. And I think the morality is crystal clear and perfectly laudable.

Honestly I would have settled for a cliched 'oh no they are gonna make another one!' cliffhanger. She may have put others at risk at times but hey, they got paid. I just didn't think she did a single thing to justify her fate. Unless you are a cat lover.

Raimi: That was always the ending of the picture. We felt it was always where the story had been heading with the main character. We felt that anything else would just have actually been more horrible if you think about it, because she’s really a despicable character. She starts out with the idea that she’s a good person. She thinks she’s a good person. Hopefully the audience can buy into that illusion because they’ve got so many things that they can identify with. She goes to work every day. She’s sweet to people. She’s pleasant and attractive. She’s got a boyfriend that is a sweet, intelligent fellow. But when push comes to shove and she’s got to impress the parents, she feels that this job promotion would really help her.

At that point, when we all have a chance to be greedy or not, when it’s important, she’s cruel to this old lady for her own betterment. She sins with greed and forces her out of the house, hiding under the rules of the bank. Because I wanted the audience to make this choice with her. I wanted to present her as a nice person. She is a nice person. We all are nice people but we’re all sinners too. And I wanted you, the audience member, to make this choice with her, when the old woman was unpleasant looking, was absurd, I wanted the audience to say, “Yeah, just deny her the loan and get her out of the office for crying out loud.” Because I had hoped that once you sinners had made that choice with her, that like it or not, you would know in your heart that that thing that had been sicked upon her was not just coming for her, but deservedly so for you because you had made that choice with her. And that ending when it came for her, although it may be a surprise or not, you’d know that it could’ve come for you too...

But when you think about what he does besides throwing that old woman out of the house, she goes against her own vows and kills that cat to save her neck. She lies to the old woman’s daughter at that house when she tries to get her way and get the old woman to take the curse off her. At the séance, when she’s asked everyone to risk their lives for her, she tries to blame her boss when confronted with the demon that it was really him. She in fact is ready to give that curse to some poor sap at the local Howard Johnson’s or Denny’s. She barely came up with a better idea. She came that close.

I think she was a good person on the outside but when you really start to look at her, when she gets in an extreme situation, the real person comes out. In fact it’s really the old woman that’s the victim in this story and Alison Lohman, I think her character Christine deserved probably what she got. Maybe she was a little over punished. I wouldn’t have been as harsh personally.

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I've read that, and I can't really agree with Raimi. Yes she wanted the job, but two extensions isn't enough? It may not have been necessarily kind, but it wasn't necessarily wrong too. Surely not enough to be deserved to be cursed to hell for all eternity. Maybe if Raimi had actually managed to make Christine do something really despicable yet succeeded in making the audience make the choice with her, it would have worked for me. Then again I'm not a cat lover,

and I don't believe in no-win situations.

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Saw Jackie Brown (1997). First time on the big screen. It's a terrific film. Hard to place it in the Tarantino canon, because it is so different from the other six. It's pobably the litmus test regarding Tarantino.

I recently watched it too but I was surprised that the DVD's aspect ratio was 4:3. While his other films are more 'caricatural' in nature, this one felt more controlled and pleasantly restraint. In any case, it made my second experience with Jackie Brown much better than the first.

Alex

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I bought "Chain Reaction" on d.v.d. from my local charity store. Honestly, I was expecting a bio-pick of Diana Ross and The Bee Gees! What a mess. This was a film with absoultley no conviction whatsoever. Ho-hum performances (Morgan Freeman could have 'phoned in his part, and Keanu Reeves was just a stone's throw away from "Bill And Ted" territory), dubious "science", and completely dull writing and direction. It felt like an aborted proposed sequel to "The Fugative". Being The World's greatest Jerry Goldsmith fan (sorry, Stefan, but someone's got to be) I'm sorry to say that even his score was completely unremarable. The only thing that stood out was the above-average sound design by Randy Thom who also designed the sound for "The Incredibles". At the same store, I also found "City Hall", so I'll give that a go in due course.

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I recently watched it too but I was surprised that the DVD's aspect ratio was 4:3. While his other films are more 'caricatural' in nature, this one felt more controlled and pleasantly restraint. In any case, it made my second experience with Jackie Brown much better than the first.

Alex

Haha, Alex watched a fool-screen! :P

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I bought "Chain Reaction" on d.v.d. from my local charity store. Honestly, I was expecting a bio-pick of Diana Ross and The Bee Gees! What a mess. This was a film with absoultley no conviction whatsoever. Ho-hum performances (Morgan Freeman could have 'phoned in his part, and Keanu Reeves was just a stone's throw away from "Bill And Ted" territory), dubious "science", and completely dull writing and direction. It felt like an aborted proposed sequel to "The Fugative". Being The World's greatest Jerry Goldsmith fan (sorry, Stefan, but someone's got to be) I'm sorry to say that even his score was completely unremarable. The only thing that stood out was the above-average sound design by Randy Thom who also designed the sound for "The Incredibles". At the same store, I also found "City Hall", so I'll give that a go in due course.

The bridge chase still is a Goldsmith action highlight. Of course it's not on the Varése...

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Inglorious Basterds: I gave it second chance and it was indeed better this time. If anything, this is probably Tarantino at his most refined. I still can't say I absolutely loved it, but it is very good indeed. Love the music usage.

Karol

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Star Wars. It's so surreal. This is the first time in thirteen years that I've seen the original version, and the first time I've ever seen it in widescreen. After having devoted thousands and thousands of hours of my childhood to the phenomenon created by this film, it's weird to think how... silly it is. For whatever reason, my perspective has changed, and the flaws really bother me. Why does Carrie Fisher use a British accent in one scene? Why is Han's constant stream of sarcasm so annoying. Why is Ben's teaching of the Force so simple and uninformative? (By the way, I'd rather not have this thread devolve into a discussion about the minutiae of Star Wars.) It's not that I didn't like it, but now I think I can see it for what it is: just a film. There goes my childhood. It's cathartic.

The Empire Strikes Back. Again, seeing the original version in widescreen for the first time. I hate to admit it, but this was a lot better. The flaws of the original - the bad writing, the campy acting - were more or less ironed out. Kirschner and Kasdan brought complexity to the saga. Yoda's Jedi training makes more sense than Obi-Wan's. Luke's personal struggle is highly compelling. The special effects and action are even more impressive, though perhaps so huge that the sense of intimacy is lost (I said the same thing about the score). It's simply an excellent movie.

I bought Return of the Jedi too, but I really don't want to watch it. Ergh...

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So the rumours were true. There is a third SW film ;)

I probably won't watch any of these in the near future. After trying to sit through the whole saga during one long marathon several years ago, I basically lost any interest in it. As strange as it may seem, given the fact how dear they were to me before that. The SW overdose, I guess. ;)

Karol

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Funny Henry, I recently watched Star Wars, and still loved it, its superior to any of its 5 (mostly inferior) sequels (yes folks the prequels are still sequels), but its not a perfect film, just perfect entertainment.

Star Wars is better acted than any of the other films, the music is better and the whole story is just complete from start to finish. The simplicity of the force is quaint rather than forced. It just is.

Empire, which I also watched is still a marvelous film though it is not perfect either. The yoda sequences still make me squirm in my seat, they are annoying, and I guess after all the sequels I'm really tired of the backward speak, and even though its first used here, its no longer first, its just stupid. The ending of Empire is still terrific up until it just stops, but thats the way it is.

I like to imagine the Star Wars universe ended right there.

ESB's boxoffice was bad and no more films were ever made, and there is only Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back.

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Citizen Ruth: Alexander Payne's debut is not only his weakest but also his least funniest movie. Compare this to his other films (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) and you'll notice that he becomes a better director with each movie he makes. The best scene of Citizen Ruth is the silent yet telling finale.

citizen_ruth_poster_a.jpg

Alex

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Star Wars. It's so surreal. This is the first time in thirteen years that I've seen the original version,

Wait, so has the theatrical version of the OT been released then? I thought there were some complaints about the most recent release of the theatrical versions?

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District 9. I am fighting my really negative reaction to this film. It is not even close to being as bad as the impression I got from watching it. But, like with Slumdog Millionare, the hype over it is so absurd compared to the modesty of the films successes, that it is really infuriating me. Why is this film getting such praise and support? There is so much wrong with it! It's not even that it is not a good movie. It's cute. But I can't come to terms with how over-praised this thing is. Are people really that desparate for a cultural phenomenon? This is not this year's Dark Knight. It is far closer to being this year's Cloverfield, though this one is much, much, much better.

Maybe I'm just becoming more elitist. Or maybe after the variety of cinematic pleasures from Tarantino, I have little tolerance for a one-trick pony that does little more than performing its trick well.

ps I did enjoy the film. Not sure that came through....

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It didn't incite rage with me but I felt the premise was much stronger than the actual film. Never cared for the villains much and the ending bothered me.

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Luckily, I have to write a review of it, so I can work through the anger I have at its reception, and give some serious thought to the actual film (something I never got to do with Slumdog Millionare, another less-than-terrible but vastly overrated film that still pisses me off, precisely because it shouldn't be irritating me as much as it does. I did think it through, but not putting it down in writing really makes the anger outweigh the realistic reaction).

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so basically you are saying that the film itself was good, but its the overpraise it gets you are hating on? Hey, I feel the same way about a bunch of things, from films to directors to videogames

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Well, everything is put in perspective if you realize that the group of people responsible for hyping up all these new films on the net are just teenagers who haven't seen a film older than 10 years.

Alex

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Well, everything is put in perspective if you realize that the group of people responsible for hyping up all these new films on the net are just teenagers who haven't seen a film older than 10 years.

Considering the awful second half of District 9, they seem to be the sole reason why the movie could be made at all. I wouldn't believe my eyes when they raped the mild satire form the first 45 minutes with all the razzle dazzle à la Transformers and Iron Man, but i was royally pissed off after the movie was over... ;)

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I thought the second half was awesome, because I didn't expect it to go in that direction. Sure, it may have been typical action with some corny cliche dialogue, but it had my eyes on the screen and enthralled because I actually cared for the characters.

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I thought the second half was awesome, because I didn't expect it to go in that direction. Sure, it may have been typical action with some corny cliche dialogue, but it had my eyes on the screen and enthralled because I actually cared for the characters.

You didn't expect it to go in that direction? That's... really naive of you. Countless promising movies have been ruined in their second halves by such overdone action sequences.

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I bought "Chain Reaction" on d.v.d. from my local charity store. Honestly, I was expecting a bio-pick of Diana Ross and The Bee Gees! What a mess. This was a film with absoultley no conviction whatsoever. Ho-hum performances (Morgan Freeman could have 'phoned in his part, and Keanu Reeves was just a stone's throw away from "Bill And Ted" territory), dubious "science", and completely dull writing and direction. It felt like an aborted proposed sequel to "The Fugative". Being The World's greatest Jerry Goldsmith fan (sorry, Stefan, but someone's got to be) I'm sorry to say that even his score was completely unremarable. The only thing that stood out was the above-average sound design by Randy Thom who also designed the sound for "The Incredibles". At the same store, I also found "City Hall", so I'll give that a go in due course.

The bridge chase still is a Goldsmith action highlight. Of course it's not on the Varése...

Thanks for the tip, Publicist, I'll watch that bit again, and pay special attention to the score. Why is it that a lot of really good music is not on the offical c.d.s?

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Zombieland

Eh, it wasn't as great as I thought it would be (after all the praise my friend and brother gave it), or maybe it just wasn't what I expected. More toned down and focused in terms of plot. Not toned down in terms of violence or gore, but the movie really isn't about killing zombies. It had some truly funny moments, particularly from a cameo. I don't want to ruin it for those who intend on seeing this, but it was easily the best scene in the movie. The climax was very anti-climactic, and there is a lot of narration. So to me it was really just about these 4 people surviving in this situation and beginning a new life. I liked how there are only 4 people in this film (minus the zombies and the cameo), and that you never learn their names (except for one). A pretty decent score, which had a hint of Morricone homage in it. Good performances, and an overall enjoyable film.

Now I need to see The Informant! and The Invention Of Lying.

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I'm planning to go see The Informant! no later than Tuesday (we've got our fall break at U of L Monday and Tuesday). I downloaded the first track of the soundtrack, and it's wonderful. Can't wait.

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Zombieland

Eh, it wasn't as great as I thought it would be (after all the praise my friend and brother gave it), or maybe it just wasn't what I expected.

I loved that film! Just an amazing cast and acting and so much fun

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Drudge had a great story up a few days ago from one of the British papers (Daily Mail I think) mocking the trailer and movie. We're looking foward to a few good laughs.

And trailer reactions can be hard to judge. I remember being so annoyed that people seemed to be enjoying the Land of the Lost trailer (almost as annoyed as I was having to see it so many damn times before Star Trek), but in the end no one went to see it. I think that was the death knell of Will Ferrell as a box office draw, and it's about time.

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