Quintus 5,399 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I just don't fancy Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino hasn't made a great movie for way over a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob 0 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Gee, have there been any good screen adaptations of Arthurian legend, besides Disney's The Sword in the Stone? I guess Knights of the Round Table with Robert Taylor was pretty good. I don't remember it being anything great though.That doesn't count! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,198 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 If Sword in the Stones counts, the Pythons do, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 War of the Worlds (Spielberg)Apart from the genuinely frightening alien arrival sequence, I can't watch this painfully bad movie. It was on tv last night so ended up watching it again, but I struggled with it as always and eventually decided to retire to bed before the credits rolled. The entire movie is bursting at the seams with no normal person would do that/behave like that in that situation moments rendering the experience utterly unbelievable. So much for the top drawer special effects - they die on their arse purely as a result of the friggin' horrendous script. 2/5.David Koepp can sod right off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I love Death Proof.So do I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob 0 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 If Sword in the Stones counts, the Pythons do, too. How dare you turn my own logic against me.Nah, I guess Sword in the Stone doesn't really count either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 War of the Worlds (Spielberg)Apart from the genuinely frighting alien arrival sequence, I can't watch this painfully bad movie. It was on tv last night so ended up watching it again, but I struggled with it as always and eventually decided to retire to bed before the credits rolled. The entire movie is bursting at the seams with no normal person would do that/behave like that in that situation moments rendering the experience utterly unbelievable. So much for the top drawer special effects - they die on their arse purely as a result of the friggin' horrendous script. 2/5.David Koepp can sod right off.Finally we agree on something, Quincy! Although I'm not sure whether Koepp is the only one to blame. There are scenes in Minority Report (a better film than War Of The Worlds, I admit) that I don't buy either and where I experience a similar feeling. I see a lot good technical workmanship in Spielberg's movies but I miss his ol' passion and wonderment. I feel that his latest movies are made by a well-oiled machine but they are workmanlike.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Workmanlike is exactly what I'd call it. Too many of his recent movies feel like nothing more than a series of sequences stitched together without any real effort and care on his part being put into the process, movies like WotW, Minority Report, KotCS and to an extent even AI, feel empty, devoid of heart. I remember when a Spielberg movie had finesse, a flow, mise-en-scènes all over the place. If I didn't know better I'd believe the Spielberg of today has unfortunately turned into something of a hack. I used to adore his movies, as a movie lover I pretty much worshipped him, he was an idol of mine in my teens, but nowadays I can't help but feel betrayed. OTT on my part maybe, but I'm as passionate about great movies as I ever was, yet I don't get feeling from Spielberg anymore. Hopefully his lull will expire sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Yes, a good example would be Munich. It's one of those films that literally seems to exist out of "a series of sequences stitched together". For the record, I do make an exception for Schindler's List, even though the film symbolizes the end of the old Spielberg and the beginning of the new Spielberg. In fact, it feels that in Schindler's List, he is using the best of both worlds. AlexAnd because you have been a good boy, Quincy, here's the redhead again but in perhaps a more familiar setting:Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Firefly, I think.You're certainly in a good mood this morning, cutie pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Sad to say, it is true, he seems to be more obsessed with the general form and function of film (as many other directors have) and somewhere his spirit has become lost in translation. I don't he makes films that are can really be called bad, at least in context of what Hollywood has been spewing out for a while now, but I can only think of a few movies from his "new phase" (AI, MUNICH and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN) that I find fascinating and interesting to watch. Maybe Jackson's influence will rub off on him with Tintin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Maybe Jackson's influence will rub off on him with Tintin.I'm afraid the well-oiled machine is making the movies for him now. Spielberg needs to destroy the machine* and go back to his roots: A Super 8 camera!* even if that means he can no longer work with WilliamsIndeed, that's Firefly, Quint.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Spielberg seems more interested in making it fast and cheap rather than good nowadays.Whoa, good myth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Lewis 6 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 If you don't like dialogue and find conversation boring, and I can't imagine who wouldn't if you're a fan of filmFilm. Is. Not. About. Dialogue.EDIT: Dammitt, Alex beat me to it. Is there any way I can select a post I want to reply to without leaving the thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indy4 155 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 You mean you want to quote a post but before you type out a response you want to finish reading the thread? Click "Multiquote," and then when you finish reading the thread click "Add Reply" and the post you selected will be quoted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Lewis 6 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Oh. Thanks, Indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 The Naked City (1948). Jules Dassin's murder mystery, famous for its use of NYC locations. It's locations are impressive, and I guess it is a decent enough murder mystery, but there's not a whole lot of meat to it. It's too rigid for the slice-of-life feel it's going for, and too loose to really get one involved in the mystery (especially given that I've just seen The Killers, which has a really good mystery at it's core). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 The Wire 5: Not the best season but certainly the most satirical one. It's all over now. I certainly will miss it! If anyone decides to see the show, trust me, you will be amazed by this character.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Does War of the Worlds fail because it's a 19th century plot that could not be stretched or plied in any successful way to fit the 21st century? Or was it just a case of bad incompetent writing? I don't know, I only managed to eke out one or two sittings. Wow, Christina Hendricks. Good taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 No, it's because it's made by the machine. Spielberg can churn out a movie like this every month of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,017 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 The Wire 5: Not the best season but certainly the most satirical one. It's all over now. I certainly will miss it! If anyone decides to see the show, trust me, you will be amazed by this character.AlexApparently, the season was shortened because of the writer's strike. That's why finale seems a bit rushed. But you can't really END a show like this in a clean resolved kind of way. It would be cheating. So this satirical angle works for me. Speaking of which, I love the serial killer subplot. And the way it ties so many threads together.Karol - who likes Snoop too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 QT's new IB.Its a decent film, but though Koray admires the talkiness of it, I didn't find that to be a plus for the film.I'm not enamored with the the actor who played the Jew Hunter, he's far too clownish to me.Plus I really hate QT's use of stolen music, its always glaring, and inappropriate.This may have an a-lister or two but its really the B movie QT wanted it to be.It doesn't deserve any Oscars, though I'm sure it will get some nominations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 It's so annoying. I was really ambivilant about the film for a long time. I finally got really psyched about it...and I've gotta wait three weeks till it comes out here. Though I might get tickets to a screening with Tarantino present, which would be pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyO 62 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I also so Inglourious Basterds this past weekend. I was thoroughly entertained for the entirety of the film; some of Tarantino's best characters are born in this film. I didn't think Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz' character) was too clownish, as his humour was subsided by his atrocities - even during the final scenes I still wasn't sure where the character was headed. And on that final scene - the perfect ending, it blew me away. Although I didn't think much of Death Proof, I've always admired QT's films and whilst I can't decide whether IG or Kill Bill is his best to date, I do know that IG is a rollicking good film.I must also say that, whilst I've been annoyed at Tarantino's use of music in the past (although, in the case of Kill Bill - the music did make 2 outstanding soundtracks), I think he got the selections spot on here. The use of Morricone's "Meeting with the Daughter" from The Return of Ringo in the opening scene was superb and suggests why QT wanted Morricone for an original score. I'd still like to see Morricone score a Tarantino film; I was pretty impressed with the small amount of score Robert Rodriguez came up with for Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (although the two composers are obviously incomparable). SPOILERS BELOW:One more note about that opening scene: Did anyone else think that Landa deciding not to shoot Shosanna at the end of Chapter 1 is what changed the events of the war in Tarantino's creation? I keep thinking about it, as it's kind of a big deal during that scene and the remainder of the film's events surround Shosanna and her theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 It's so annoying. I was really ambivilant about the film for a long time. I finally got really psyched about it...and I've gotta wait three weeks till it comes out here. Though I might get tickets to a screening with Tarantino present, which would be pretty cool.This generally echoes my opinion, although other forces will probably make me wait for DVD. But after the enthusiasm from many people whose opinions I have come to trust, I would very much like to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Apparently, the season was shortened because of the writer's strike. That's why finale seems a bit rushed. But you can't really END a show like this in a clean resolved kind of way. It would be cheating. So this satirical angle works for me. Speaking of which, I love the serial killer subplot. And the way it ties so many threads together.Karol - who likes Snoop too.Guess what, Karol, David Simon (the man behind The Wire) did another show about Baltimore and it's called Homicide: Life Of The Street. Maybe it's worth checking out.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Homicide was brilliant, but kind of got left in the shadow of NYPD Blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Homicide was brilliant, but kind of got left in the shadow of NYPD Blue.It did last 7 seasons. That's not so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Homicide was brilliant, but kind of got left in the shadow of NYPD Blue.It did last 7 seasons. That's not so bad.True, but so did STAR TREK: VOYAGER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 True, but so did STAR TREK: VOYAGER.Okay, but Homicide gets a 9 from IMDB while Voyager only has 7,5. Aha!BTW, it's Star Trek Enterprise that is evil, not Voyager.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 True, but so did STAR TREK: VOYAGER.Okay, but Homicide gets a 9 from IMDB while Voyager only has 7,5. Aha!BTW, it's Star Trek Enterprise that is evil, not Voyager.AlexIt may not have been evil but it was terrible.(but yes, Homicide was very good) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Voyager is just a bit dull.Are you a Trekkie, Alex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,017 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Guess what, Karol, David Simon (the man behind The Wire) did another show about Baltimore and it's called Homicide: Life Of The Street. Maybe it's worth checking out.AlexInteresting. I might give it a try when I'll have more time. This one and Mad Men show you mentioned. It looks promising.Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Voyager is just a bit dull.Are you a Trekkie, Alex?You know I'm not, Steef, but I watched a couple of episodes of both series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Homicide was brilliant, but kind of got left in the shadow of NYPD Blue.It did last 7 seasons. That's not so bad.In a way it still lives on Alex.The character of Det. Munch played by Richard Belzer has played that character on all episodes of Homicide, and is now in all the episodes of Law and Order SVU, a show I find superior to Homicide, which I liked very much as well.The Homicide Life on the Streets episode Subway, from 1997 with Vincent D'Onofrio as John Lange a man pushed in front of the train is haunting even 12 years later, its a perfect 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 U.S. Marshalls.A perfectly watchable film, with a good cast, helmed by a great editor turned effective if average director, and scored by Jerry Goldsmith, doing what only Jerry Goldsmith can do. (even if in this case it's little more then servicable.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I recall the film being fine, but it getting a bit too trashy and B-movie-ish as it went on. Mad Men: Season 3, episode 1. Wow...that was so fast! I wonder if they're speeding things up a bit, now that it seems to have caught on in a big way. Good episode, even if the flashbacks were forced (I'm not too fond of the flashbacks in general). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 PJ's KING KONG on Blu-Ray. Thoughts on the film are the same (needs editing!) but it's interesting watching it in HD. Some of the effects look amazing, but the format also makes some of the effects look fake. The shots of the canoes on the way to the island noticeably look pasted together. This seems to be a common thread with Blu-Ray, with the extra detail and the nature of home video meaning films can be more scrutinized and some of the stuff that's designed to fly by on the movie screen now sticks out a bit, for example the slight lowering of opacity of the Enterprise and Reliant in KHAN, where you can sometimes see the stars/nebula through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 The movie would've been a five star rollercoaster if an hour of the runtime had been trimmed away. The sometimes crappy visual effects have never bothered me, since everything else about the production was absolutely top notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Only the first part is good but they ran out of ideas during the second and third act. The Island act needs more than a trim down in order to get it good.Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,017 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 The movie would've been a five star rollercoaster if an hour of the runtime had been trimmed away. The sometimes crappy visual effects have never bothered me, since everything else about the production was absolutely top notch.I agree the film needs major trimming. The first and the last parts are largerly fine (if somewhat too long), but the middle? Who wants all these fake looking dinosaurs on a fake background in there?Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 7 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 The first thing to go needs to be the useless and heavy-handed Jimmy subplot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 But he don't mean no harm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 337 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. What a fun little 'trilogy' of films and Star Trek IV ending it perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 District 9So, what if the alien trash of the galaxy decended on Earth and set up shop in Johannesburg? Lots of horrible things, apparently. This is one of those interesting ones where almost no one is right: the aliens are the dregs of society, and that in turn attracts the dregs of human society; and the humans in charge make no effort to actually improve things. If I was in charge and saw that mothership fire up I would be doing everything I could to get every last prawn on that ship and off the planet.Like my friend Henry said, it does decend into standard action flick territory in the last part, albeit still good. And personally (well, and the friends I went to see it with too) think that in three years the world is f*cked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,338 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Coming Home: Dated, but John Voight proves he was once a pretty good actor. His speech at the end of the movie is still heartbreaking.Dead Ringers: Hailed as Cronenberg's masterpiece ... I liked it but the drug scenes sorta warped me out of the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 That kid in Alex's post is seriously ugly. He's quite unpleasant to look at. pg 35 cant get here soon enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 That's hardly fair, Joey. Your new avatar is really making me sick to my stomach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Adventureland. Good with a 'but'.Rudo Y Cursi. Bad with an 'although'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 That's hardly fair, Joey. Your new avatar is really making me sick to my stomach.Yours is rather terrible too, but at least mine is from a William Castle schlocky film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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