#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Spielberg has never ever been edgy, or innovative as a director. And never seems to have been particularly drawn to challenging material. He's from a white, Jewish, suburban background who fell in love with the movies and became a film maker through the Hollywood system. There doesn't seem to be a lot in his background that would suggest an interest in very challenging material. Thats partially where his success comes from. His tastes reflected that of middle America at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 He's certainly bragged about watching a lot of challenging movies, but can't be arsed making any of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 He at least tried with A.I. and Munich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Sort of tried but not really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Schindler's List, A.I. and Munich are all challenging films. Munich in particular--I can't count the number of occasions I've had to defend the houseboat scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Is Schindlers List really a challenging film? I mean it's brilliant, but not that challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 But what is "challenging", Stiff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Munich was a kind of morality play from the perspective of assassins and I respect that it's completely out of Spielberg's comfort zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 3 minutes ago, BloodBoal said: But what is "challenging", Steef? Art is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Art is...challenging! 19 minutes ago, Sharky said: Schindler's List, A.I. and Munich are all challenging films. Munich in particular--I can't count the number of occasions I've had to defend the houseboat scene. A.I. and Munich may indeed be more challenging films then usual for Spielberg. But they are also among his least critically acclaimed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 7 hours ago, Brónach said: I mostly see films in his filmography that come very obviously from a rich white dude point of view. A large number of his films feature blue collar protagonists and portray a populist view of the American experience. If you want to see a "rich white dude point of view", look to the output of Richard Linklater. 15 minutes ago, Stefancos said: A.I. and Munich may indeed be more challenging films then usual for Spielberg. But they are also among his least critically acclaimed. It tells you more about the critical cognoscenti than anything else. Dixon Hill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,302 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I like A.I. and Munich. I don't specially understand the dislike for the former. I don't remember a lot from the later. 24 minutes ago, Sharky said: A large number of his films feature blue collar protagonists and portray a populist view of the American experience. If you want to see a "rich white dude point of view", look to the output of Richard Linklater. Maybe I'm spoiled, because I haven't seen those. I mostly heard about the Harry-Potter-trick-movie, which looks offprinting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 You know, you're right, there aren't many Spielberg movies with minority races or women or minority genders as the leads. They're relegated to supporting roles, comic relief, and cannon fodder. I never thought about it, being a spoiled white male. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 That's a pretty accurate depiction of western society. The white, heterosexual male on the forefront, and the rest as secondary players. Blame society, not Spielberg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,286 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 7 hours ago, Brónach said: The Close Encounters thing... how the hell does he want to end that now? Throwing the whole film right before under the bus. He never said that he actually wishes he could go back and change it. He said that he watched it with his kids once and he had kind of a guilty moment as he watched Roy get on the ship and happily abandon his family lol. I think he was kind of half-joking (as if his kids were really looking at him like "Are YOU next???") but it made him feel self-conscious as the guy who wrote it and always identified with Roy, but is now a parent/grandparent and wouldn't just march right on that ship anymore. He was just acknowledging that when he was writing it as a young single guy, as far as he was concerned the family was out of the picture and he couldn't have done that today. But he's also added that CE3K is still the closest he's ever come to recreating what was in his head and that it's one of his favorites because of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Temple of Doom isn't politically correct enough for him these days I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Stefancos said: That's a pretty accurate depiction of western society. The white, heterosexual male on the forefront, and the rest as secondary players. Blame society, not Spielberg! I am a white heterosexual male. I don't blame society for appealing to me. Or need it to change either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,302 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 34 minutes ago, mrbellamy said: He never said that he actually wishes he could go back and change it. He said that he watched it with his kids once and he had kind of a guilty moment as he watched Roy get on the ship and happily abandon his family lol. I think he was kind of half-joking (as if his kids were really looking at him like "Are YOU next???") but it made him feel self-conscious as the guy who wrote it and always identified with Roy, but is now a parent/grandparent and wouldn't just march right on that ship anymore. He was just acknowledging that when he was writing it as a young single guy, as far as he was concerned the family was out of the picture and he couldn't have done that today. But he's also added that CE3K is still the closest he's ever come to recreating what was in his head and that it's one of his favorites because of that. Seeing Roy keep watching the ship blast off to the star would be extremely odd. Cue crickets. I wish Spielberg had done the Cortés & Moctezuma thing (his interest for historical filmmaking seems limited to a few settings). Maybe that's because of the USAmerican-ness mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,286 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 22 minutes ago, E.T. and Elliot said: Temple of Doom isn't politically correct enough for him these days I reckon. He's always hated it, hasn't he? I feel like Spielberg has a tendency to kinda distance himself from Indiana Jones in general....he always talks about it as George's thing and he's the "hired hand." And there were interviews around Last Crusade where he comes across as a little bitter about how he had to drop Rain Man to do it. This kind of thing has been happening with him for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 42 minutes ago, Brónach said: Seeing Roy keep watching the ship blast off to the star would be extremely odd. Cue crickets. Yeah and Chief Brody should have retired from the Amity P.D. and took his family somewhere safer instead of getting drunk and letting his kids go in the water, Elliot's dad shouldn't have gone to Mexico with Sally and Professor Jones should have payed more attention to his son and raised him to be some boring guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 8 hours ago, Stefancos said: Isnt Ready Player One supposed to be an interesting choice for Spielberg? If anything Spielberg's choices of projects are more diverse and varied then those of a lot of other "big name" directors. He was never afraid to try different styles, different genres. I don't see Nolan or Cameron do a sentimental feel good comedy like The Terminal, or a War Horse. Spielberg is easily the most diverse big name director in history. That goes without saying. Part of what makes him great is his proven versatility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 2 hours ago, mrbellamy said: He's always hated it, hasn't he? I feel like Spielberg has a tendency to kinda distance himself from Indiana Jones in general....he always talks about it as George's thing and he's the "hired hand." And there were interviews around Last Crusade where he comes across as a little bitter about how he had to drop Rain Man to do it. This kind of thing has been happening with him for awhile. I'm glad he dropped it. Zimmer wouldn't have had a career without Rain Man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 1 minute ago, Koray Savas said: I'm glad he dropped it. Zimmer wouldn't have had a career without Rain Man! I doubt Rain Main would have made for a very interesting Williams score anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,311 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 6 hours ago, Brónach said: I wish Spielberg had done the Cortés & Moctezuma thing (his interest for historical filmmaking seems limited to a few settings). Maybe that's because of the USAmerican-ness mentioned above. Apparently he's still in active development for Montezuma with Javier Bardem producing. But it definitely strikes me as one of those projects he quietly drops after losing interest. He's pretty spontaneous with directing choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 On March 10, 2016 at 9:39 AM, BloodBoal said: Tintin remains the best of the three! Ass! Fool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 1 hour ago, crumbs said: Apparently he's still in active development for Montezuma with Javier Bardem producing. But it definitely strikes me as one of those projects he quietly drops after losing interest. He's pretty spontaneous with directing choices. That would be an absolute dream project for a JW score. Those events are incredibly fascinating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,302 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightscape94 965 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Would love a massive old fashioned Hollywood score on the same level as some of the greats from Rosza. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 It's the most gripping historical narrative I have ever come across Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,353 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 14 hours ago, Romão said: It's the most gripping historical narrative I have ever come across Really? I'll have to look into it. Sounds like someone should make a movie based on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted June 20, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2016 Unlucky Bastard, Sharkissimo and crocodile 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,008 Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Karol Will and Cerebral Cortex 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,311 Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,008 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 It's not as good as I expected. Not as good as the prequel trilogy ones. Mr Plinkett raped my childhood's memories. Well, of course he did. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,311 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 16 minutes ago, crocodile said: It's not as good as I expected. Not as good as the prequel trilogy ones. Mr Plinkett raped my childhood's memories. Well, of course he did. Karol Only half an hour in but it feels more analytical and thorough in its explanations, and also covers a far more broad subject matter than just TFA. Certainly more mature rather than being almost outright, absurd comedy with the occasional reasoned argument like the prequel reviews. Cerebral Cortex and DarthDementous 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,008 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 That is the problem. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 So you prefer a pisstake rather then a serious review of a films merrits and flaws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,008 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I prefer a witty review. This one doesn't say anything new nor is it that funny. I know there are a lot of references. What else? Not much about the film itself. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Has Mike Stoklasa jumped the shark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Did he ever not jump the shark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 It might just be that I'm tired of hearing about The Force Awakens but the review was pretty underwhelming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I thought it was funny. The stuff about no sexual attraction between the characters was accurate. And I thought BloodBoal was a funny guy, but he doesn't appreciate funny things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,311 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I'm a huge RLM fan but I'm feeling pretty underwhelmed and confused by that review. It was incredibly unfocused and almost contradictory to many of the arguments Plinkett raised in the prequel reviews. He was scathing in the Mace Windu casting of Sam Jackson as a cynical grab for the black audience, but labels TFA/Rogue One's diverse casting as political correctness that kids don't care about. He also regularly complains when films shoehorn in lines about male characters being attracted to women (establishing a case of the "not-gays") yet he has a huge issue with the lack of sexualisation in TFA, and Finn not expressing attraction to Rey. Ironically, this review reflects the trajectory of the Star Wars films themselves: safe, a regurgitation of previous material, going over old ground, and most of the edgy humour completely missing (the prequel reviews had an excess of rape/murder jokes). The side-story here is a weak and cheap "revenge" story, with Abrams and Lucas teaming up to kill Plinkett; a cliched story mechanism which Plinkett derides in the review. I hate to be that guy, but it's possible the review is intentionally being reflective of the films themselves; a lazy repetition of earlier material, "Disney-fied" with all controversial or edgy material removed in favour of unfunny slapstick (the diarrhea sequence). It's obvious they liked the film (or were indifferent about it) and didn't have enough material to focus a review on the film itself. So instead they decided to deride the newfound prequel-rediscovery movement. Not Mr. Big 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post nightscape94 965 Posted October 3, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted October 3, 2016 Enjoyed it. Wasn't on the same level as the previous ones, but I think that's inevitable since he loved TFA. Same reason why his ST09 video is pretty good but not great. He spent the the majority of the video discussing ancillary issues such as the idiotic ring theory, misplaced prequel nostalgia, and franchise fatigue. This wasn't so much a review of TFA as it was a review of the Star Wars industrial complex. But, hey, he dropped some love for Johnny Williams a couple of times. Cerebral Cortex, crumbs and Once 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Quote He was scathing in the Mace Windu casting of Sam Jackson as a cynical grab for the black audience, but labels TFA/Rogue One's diverse casting as political correctness that kids don't care about. They're both pretty cynical casting decisions to reel in non-white demographics, but the choice of Sam Jackson is more worthy of derision because Mace Windu is a complete cypher. His only notable characteristics are the purple lightsabre and the fact that it's Samuel L Jackson. Plinkett makes notes of that when addressing the Buzzfeed-style listicles that mention Windu as one of the best things about the prequels. Quote He also regularly complains when films shoehorn in lines about male characters being attracted to women (establishing a case of the "not-gays") yet he has a huge issue with the lack of sexualisation in TFA, and Finn not expressing attraction to Rey. I think he's advocating a middle ground. Not Mr. Big 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,286 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 On 10/3/2016 at 11:26 AM, nightscape94 said: Enjoyed it. Wasn't on the same level as the previous ones, but I think that's inevitable since he loved TFA. Same reason why his ST09 video is pretty good but not great. He spent the the majority of the video discussing ancillary issues such as the idiotic ring theory, misplaced prequel nostalgia, and franchise fatigue. This wasn't so much a review of TFA as it was a review of the Star Wars industrial complex. Exactly what I thought it would be when RLM put out the teaser last spring, since they hinted at all those points. Only thing I really didn't like about it was the ring theory section. I know they love their "shaggy dog" humor but that was a long slog for a pretty basic and obvious point ("midget in the grocery store" is about right lol), and by the time he was making the BTTF list I was already bored with it....and there were still two more points to go. The 3rd point with that whole section where he was just throwing up all the visual comparisons between all the movies, we'd definitely been through all of that and it didn't need to go on that long. More than the others this definitely felt like they were just padding it out to get it up to 100 minutes. This probably should have just been an hour. Still there were some great bits (the entire intro with all the Disney/Lucas stuff was classic Plinkett, lmfao at the intercutting clips of whatever that Star Wars concert was at Disney World, also the Wonka and Oz bits during the TFA segment were really funny) and I appreciated that he glossed over all the common TFA criticisms to at least ruminate on something that nobody's talking about. Sterility in big Hollywood blockbusters is a valid talking point, the "hugs" song was an apt summary lol. Again, as Sharky said, there's room for a middle ground without just shoehorning it in everywhere. Anyway, I fully expected that most of the discussion/vitriol would revolve around the Disney Empire plus any excuse to hammer the prequels again and make fun of Lucas's Charlie Rose interview, with relatively less on TFA. A) Because everyone's already discussed it to death and B) Because there's really not that much that you can say definitively about it without 8 and 9. Even the sex/romance stuff, you can't really talk about it without seeing if it eventually gets addressed. There was definitely a "We'll see" tone to the criticism, so I do hope/assume that this isn't the end of Plinkett. After seeing this, though, I'm thinking Mike should hold off now until 9 comes out and then just do a retrospective of the whole trilogy as one big super-sized video essay. I think 7-9's strengths and weaknesses may turn out to be broader and symptomatic of the entire approach rather than the more obvious and specific flaws in storytelling, characterization, and filmmaking as with each of the prequels. Rogue One and the Han Solo movie are another thing, I guess we'll have to wait and see if those merit any discussion whatsoever but if he's going to do spin-offs he should probably wait until at least both of those are out and do them together at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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