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Author Message
25 new of 278 responses total.
mcnally
response 94 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 9 20:08 UTC 2004

  re #93:  I give it a thumbs down.  The plot wasn't much and the ending
           was completely predictable.
klg
response 95 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 9 20:42 UTC 2004

re:  "#90 Herr(richard):  klg why are you blaming me?  this is was the 
filmmaker that came to those conclusions. "

Oh come on, now, Herr richard!!  You unequivically recommend the film 
without so much as a word of critical comment.  Don't disavow what you 
said.  Stand up like a man (figuratively speaking, of course).
fitz
response 96 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 9 21:50 UTC 2004

American Splendor:  D

Portrays the empty, pathetic life of a would be cartoonist that strikes up
a relationship with Robert Crumb, based on their mutual interests in music
and dispair.  This DVD was completely forgettable, which suggests the
possibility that I've surpressed an unpleasant 90 minutes of my life.

One warning should do:  Crumb is NOT the disfunctional one.  
richard
response 97 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 01:01 UTC 2004

re: #96...obviously you disagree with virtually every film critic in the
country, as American Splendor was a widely praised movie.  I really liked
American Splendor, I thought it was a fine study of a dysfunctional person
trying to exist in a "functional" world, and coming to terms with life. 
mcnally
response 98 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 06:15 UTC 2004

  re #97:  he's perfectly free to express an opinion on a movie whether
  or not it agrees with "virtually every film critic in the country."
klg
response 99 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 11:20 UTC 2004

(Are you certain of that?)
cmcgee
response 100 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 12:27 UTC 2004

Reminds me of Chris Potter reviews in the Ann Arbor News.  I could unerringly
spot movies I liked when he panned them.  Most of the ones he was excited
about were ones I'd best avoid.
remmers
response 101 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 15:56 UTC 2004

Lots of movies that the critics praised I thought were stinkers.  I did
enjoy "American Splendor", though.  I'm a Robert Crumb fan from 'way back
but pretty much stopped following his career and underground comix
culture after the mid-1970s.  "American Splendor" filled me in on later
developments that I managed to miss.

Re "Dogville":  I'll second (third?) the recommendations above and add
that I think that the film owes much to Lars Von Trier's fellow-countryman
Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote some pretty dark fables of his own.
gregb
response 102 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 16:05 UTC 2004

I never listen to critics.  If a movie looks good to me, I'll see it.  
Only once has that method failed me (remake of "The Front Page.")

It's funny when someone says, "yah, that looks good," but if they hear 
a bad review, they go, "boy, I'm glad I didn't waste my time/money on 
that."  Heaven forbid they should actually make up their own minds.
anderyn
response 103 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 17:14 UTC 2004

I usually only read critics after I've seen a movie. (Though I do look up
spoiler reviews if I'm worried, as I mentioned above.) 
rcurl
response 104 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 19:11 UTC 2004

I've found it pretty consistent that the movies that get a 1/2-star from
reviewers are movies that I *know* I won't like. 
richard
response 105 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 20:12 UTC 2004

I always think that a very good sign for a movie is that you have one
critic raving about it, and another hating it.  The best movies provoke
strong reactions, they don't provoke yawns and two star reviews.  The best
movies you either love or hate.  Dogville is like that.  Some critics
hated it, others loved it.  Very few were on the fence.
anderyn
response 106 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 20:57 UTC 2004

I tend to disagree with critics pretty much across the board, but I've decided
that this is because what I look for in a movie is not what a movie critic
looks for. I am looking for something that tells a good story with believable
characters that is not set in current life and which has an upbeat ending.
I do not wish to invest my time in something that will depress me. I want
to come out of a movie with a smile on my face. 
marcvh
response 107 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 21:04 UTC 2004

Sounds like you should watch movies from the 1930s.
tod
response 108 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 21:05 UTC 2004

This response has been erased.

fitz
response 109 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 10 21:46 UTC 2004

Re #97  I don't take it personally.  I know that some of my reviews are
heavily weighted around the C average, the pressure for grade inflation being
non-existant.  I also knew that American Splendor was rated very highly on
IMDb before I saw the movie.

Nevertheless, I have a modest value to the other grexers who think that
they agreed with my evaluation in the past.  So, I simply see
it as a matter of trusting a friend and knowing something about where you
and your friend have differed in the past.  I guess that this rather
echoes McGee's response #100.
bru
response 110 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 01:21 UTC 2004

I don't know, some of the movies made in the 1930's were awful downers
rcurl
response 111 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 01:59 UTC 2004

I like tragedies - in movies or in operas. They put me in a more thoughful
mood than comedies or "happy endings", which generally I find pointless or
unrealistic. Also, tragedies have an identifiable *end*, so you are not left
wondering what will happen next.
gregb
response 112 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 14:19 UTC 2004

But isn't that why we go to the movies, to get away from our own 
reality?  I'm with Twila.  I want to be entertained, to get my blood 
pumping, to cheer for the underdog...to feel good.  I want to be part 
of a world that doesn't exist yet, or one that has, but twisted around 
somewhat.
gull
response 113 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 15:12 UTC 2004

I don't mind a happy ending if it's a reasonable one.  I don't usually
like movies where they really twist things around in unbelievable ways
to get to the happy ending.  I sometimes find a tragic ending kind of
cathartic.
aruba
response 114 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 15:26 UTC 2004

I find that depressing movies, especially ones about real people, can haunt
me after I'm done watching.  (That is, I can't get them out of my head for
a long time.)  So I usually avoid those movies now.
rcurl
response 115 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 15:45 UTC 2004

My own reality does not include the grand tragedies of opera: if it did,
I would be too busy to go to movies or the theatre (no one in opera ever
goes to the movies - or to the bathroom, for that matter). 
tod
response 116 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 16:19 UTC 2004

This response has been erased.

twenex
response 117 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 16:29 UTC 2004

It really annoys me that if they have two people working together and they
strike up a relationship, if it's a tv series or a series of films, they
ALWAYS end up breaking 'em up or killing one or both of 'em off.
tpryan
response 118 of 278: Mark Unseen   May 11 16:55 UTC 2004

        Now if they end that weather movie Day after Tommorrow with
a view of the Great Nebraska Sea, they are not looking for the 
happy ending.
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