164 new of 269 responses total.
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Three former M-Net folks? Care to name names (and/or login ids)?
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Nor were they ever spotted in Eloise.
One of them was fixer, right?
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re #103- I believe the twin sister made an appearance in T2 (the character was having a dream in which she saw herself with a couple kids) Recently saw: Bulletproof Monk- and very much enjoyed it. The fight scenes were a blast to watch, as well as Chow Yun Fat's interaction with Seann William Scott's (I think that's him) character. There was even a fairly decent pliot attached to it that I liked. Okay, it's a martial arts film and often their plots are rather, well, lame- but one doesn't go to see those movies for the plots. Really. <grins> Lessee, also saw Rabbit Proof Fence- a movie about three Aborigine girls trying to make their way home along the Rabbit Proof fence. A really very hard movie, in some aspects, but very well done. Definitely a tear jerker. The three young actresses did a really good job, imo. Also saw The Importance of Being Earnest and loved it. I'm a big fan of Colin Firth and Rupert Evertt and watching them together in this Oscar Wilde play turned movie was just a blast. Judi Dench and Reese Witherspoon did very well with their roles, I especially adored Dame Judi Dench's protrayal. I was reminded in many ways of An Ideal Husband, not at all surprising all things considered, and enjoyed this movie just as much. Oh and Ghost Ship... which had several things going for it, and all in all wasn't a horrible movie. A crew who scavenge the oceans find a 'deserted' oceanliner and go exploring while dreaming of how they will spend their millions when they get it back to shore. Well, it of course, can't work that way. As horror movies go- it was fun, a plot different from a lot of horror movies I've seen. It just really wasn't all that scarey to me. Some parts were definitely creepy, and some things sudden, but just didn't particularly scare me. I still liked it though.
Re #112: Looks like you're right: http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Hamilton%20Gearren,%20Leslie
We (bruce and i) also both liked "bulletproof monk". i thought that it was an excellent example of the "bring your inner twelve-year-old" and have a blast movie. (And the interaction/chemistry between Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott is amazingly good for a buddy movie. )
I didn't mind Ghost Ship, either, though I came in on the first
scene, which was a rather grisly little piece of special effects wizardry
involving God's own weed whacker and several pirouetting human weeds.
twila really liked the prevue for Prates of the Caribbean. Loks mighty spooky and swashbucklerish.
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Saw "X2" last night at the midnight showing. (Yes, I was the oldest person there.) I loved it, but I'm easy to please. My friends (hardcore X-Men fans ) weren't as thrilled with it as I was (too much back story they thought - and that's true - there's tons of back story), but couldn't deny some of the effects are pretty amazing. Got to see a ton of cool new mutants (Kitty Pride, Banshee, Colossus, Pyro, Nightcrawler [worth price of admission, imo] and Lady Deathstrike. Definitely worth not getting sleep. :)
Suhweet. They've got Nightcrawler. Did they fix Kitty's age too?
Leslie & I just saw "Treasure Planet" on DVD. This Disney animated setting of the Robert Louis Stevenson story was a notorious bomb at the box office, losing maybe $140 million. But we loved it -- probably the best animated adventure story I've seen since, well, I can't remember when. My only guess is that it was too literary for the usual animated film audience. Now I wish we'd seen it on the big screen.
Everyone I know who saw it (all three people, we weren't going to movies when it was at the theatre) loved "Treasure Planet". We saw X2. Very nice.
Julie's a bigger Marvel geek than I am, so I'm pretty sure she's stoked for X2. I made a point of emphasizing clips of Nightcrawler in the trailers and appearances of the actor on various shows-- the character is a favorite of hers. But we both agreed that we must see Matrix: Reloaded.
When I said I wanted the Future (tm) to be like the Jetsons, I had in mind things like flying cars, housecleaning robots, and three day work weeks. I did NOT want to see the movie named after the book that Elroy Jetson would have had to do a book report on! Just what *is* it with the Disney people?
I loved X2. Better than the first one. Great effects, great characters. AWESOME!
re-watched Zoolander on DVD, among others, LOVED it all over again. Also watched A Mirror has two faces. Barbara Streissand is always a pleasure to watch. Tried The Wizard of Oz, but I guess I'm too old for it
Matrix:Reloaded did not impress with the trailer at X2. I don't think I'll go. (Though it was kind of funny to see all the Agent Smiths attacking Neo. I was having a Elrond moment there.) What I want to see is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Wow. And Pirates of the Caribbean. Double wow. Oh, and there were a couple of times in X2 where Magneto said something and I was flashing on Gandalf saying it (he just used his "gandalf" voice, I guess) so that was kind of funny too. Nightcrawler was very very cool. I don't recall him having tattoos/brands in the comics, though? I only ever read the later Xmen comics so I never actually saw him being a major character in the comics.
Hmmm... double feature: "Bulletproof Monk" and "Rabbit Proof Fence". I almost like that as much as the "Hair" / "Shampoo" double feature. "Ghost Ship" looks thoroughly uninteresting to me - except that Robert Zemickis is involved and he's my favorite director. Guess I gotta see it.
resp:126 to each their own; Julie and I were pumped from the earliest teaser trailers. We will see both Matrix: Reloaded and Matrix: Revolutions. I've been reading about the new cinematography, and I am very, very excited. No, Nightcrawler never had tattoos/brands in the comics. He wasn't part of the original team when the X-Men was first introduced, either. The original X-Men lineup included: Angel, Beast, Iceman, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl (that would be Jean Grey-- I have forgotten why "Marvel Girl" was dropped). The others were added later. If I remember right, Nightcrawler's first appearance was Prof X rescuing him from a circus-- he'd been a sideshow freak/acrobatic act. I can't help but wonder if they will explore the relationship between him and Mystique in the movies (she's his mom).
If I recall correctly, there's a brief appearance in X2 by a character named Hank McCoy. Wasn't that "the Beast's" name in the comic books? The person who went by that name in the movie was a talking head on a brief television segment, and he wasn't blue and hairy..
Yep ... same with the odd Kitty Pryde cameo in both episodes.
Took kid to see Lizzie McGuire. I can't judge well on quality of kid flick. It was good clean fun, although the heroine did a lot of sneaking out during her school trip to Rome. It's OK.
What do you think of the Matrix reloaded and stuff?
Look back a few responses, I am quite pumped.
Re #120: I liked _Treasure Planet_ too, when I rented it last weekend. I think the critics hated it because it wasn't one of those massive, epic films everyone expects Disney to make. The thing is, I'm usually pretty indifferent towards their massive, epic films because they seem so overblown. It could probably have done with fewer zany sidekick characters, though. Re #126: _League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ is one I'm looking forward to. I also want to see _Matrix: Reloaded_, though. On the other hand, I'm not too interested in _Pirates of the Caribbean_. I'm not that into traditional horror films. I also thought it was really poor judgement to show a very intense, nightmarish trailer for it before the movie _Holes_, which is aimed at children.
I fear "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is the big-budget comic-booky action film most likely to suck this summer. The trailers are not at all promising -- they're so murky you can't particularly see or hear what's going on and they do very little to convince me that I want to see the movie. I'd like for it to be good, but I'm not going to be surprised if it's not..
Oh yeah, I also want to see the remake of _The Italian Job_. The trailers looked pretty good.
I have read only a little of "League", the comic book. The characters in that were/are slightly different than the characters in "League", the movie (I don't THINK Tom Sawyer is in the comic)... but of course I have a soft spot for Sean Connery in Victorian dress, so I'll be there. (Also a reason for seeing "Pirates": Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp in swashbuckling clothes.) Fantasy ho! :-)
Just saw an ad last night for the movie apparently going only by "HULK".
That would be for the movie based on Marvel's comic, "The Hulk."
I saw a "Got Milk" ad with the new Hulk yesterday. I chuckled.
I thought the arthritis medication ad with Frankenstein's Monster was hilarious.
X2's been out over a week now and noone's posted a review. Come on, let's hear about it! B-)
I reviewed it the mornign after I saw it. Scroll back a bit.
Oops! That's right, you did.
re #118- Umm, Banshee wasn't in this movie... that screaming child would have been Siryn, Banshee's daughter. re #129- The Beast's real name is Hank McCoy- his mutation was increased strength and agility. The blue fuzz came from an experiment he was working on gone wrong. So it would be 'possible' in movie terms that he was speaking on TV before the accident that made him blue and fuzzy. For my part, I was really geeked to see the name Remy Lebeau (on the computer when Mystique was looking for Magneto), I would love to see Gambit in one of these movies. The ages seem to be messed up all over the place. The only ones I can see that they got right are the Professor, Magneto, Wolverine and Jubilee. Kitty is a few years older than Jubilee is, I believe (she did leave the X-Men to go join Nightcrawler's British based Excalibur team) and JB is with Banshee's and the White Queen's new group of students. Heh, not only is Mystique supposedly Nightcrawler's mother, but was Rogue's foster mother AND had a fling with Sabretooth that produced a completely normal human (who hates mutants and is trying to hunt down Mommy and Daddy). Oh, you all knew I was a gook, right? <grins> Oh, opinion on the movie- I really enjoyed the second installment of the X-Men movies, and think that they'll do all right if they can keep Bryan Singer involved. The opening scene with Nightcrawler was just wonderfully done- showing off his teleporting abilities nicely. I was very pleased to see the cameos of Colossus, Kitty, Siryn, Gambit, etc., letting the viewer know that while they are not a part of this story per se, they are still around and haven't been forgotten. I still say though that they did a bad thing in killing off Kelly in the first movie- in my mind he's always been the real bad guy. Stryker as a bad guy worked well in this movie, though I have no idea where they got him, or his son. Oh well, it was nicely done. The mutant abilities were shown well, first in Nightcrawler's trick, and then the freeze of the people in the cafe thanks to the Prof. Very nice. I give it two thumbs up and encourage you all to let your inner 12 year old out and enjoy the movie.
I thought it was fun. What's with the kid with the blue forked tongue, by the way? (I don't know the comic books.)
From what I recall, he's just a mutant. Like Anne, I saw it twice the first day - I am still astounded by how much I loved Alan Cumming in this movie (and how grateful that Cyclops wasn't in it that much). Alan Cumming is turning out to be one of those actors I just can't see making anything bad.
(er... that was supposed to be geek back in 145... dunno where that typo came from)
got the meaning, nevertheless =)
I'm not much of a comics fan, so I can't review X-Men 2 for faithfulness to the source material. On its own it works well, one of the best comic book movies of the last 25 years or so -- I liked this better than Spiderman or the first X-Men movie. The new movie does a good job with the whole teenage angst theme of the series. The action scenes aren't overdone as is normal in the genre. There is almost no character set-up in this movie: it's assumed that the audience all saw the last episode.
I was actually impressed by X2, which threw in some reasonably interesting plot elements, and while it's "fate of the free world" storyline is always the kind of thing that's hard to top, it was presented well. Character features were good, and the cameos of other characters (they could make ten movies with all the characters in the X universe if they wanted to, but there just isn't time) were nice without trying to showcase anybody too much. In two movies they've rushed through perhaps 20 years of comic development, with the teaser at the very end giving us a good indication of where else the series might be going. I was pleased about it. I saw Matrix Reloaded last night, and I was impressed. It's the sort of move that you're better off finding things out about by going--some of the plot elements (and the twists, oh man) are good things to be taken unaware. There was an unecessary "Rave" scene early in the flick that went on longer than was required by the plot, but other than that most of this movie went rather well. The challenge in following up a movie as mindbending as the original Matrix cannot be understated, but the Wachowski brothers have masterpiece potential on their hands if the third movie lives up to this one. It is visually stunning, it is thought-provoking (choice and control, choice and control, you'll be tossing this around), and it crafts its obstacles so well that you can honestly believew that a virtually all-powerful hero actually can't just do everything. That's a real challenge when you've already established that the hero is pretty much unbeatable, but this movie did it well--the trick? Neo can't be in two places at one time. The action sequences didn't have much in the way of new revolutionary technology; they used teh old stuff and some subtle new stuff very well, and the highway scene was one of the best action sequences I have ever seen in any movie. Perhaps the best. They threw money at this movie in the right places.
The Matrix is a tricky one to deal with. It's carried along so well
by visual style and action that it's hard not to like, but when it tries to
get deep, it stumbles across some serious gaps of credibility, and mires
itself in attempts at philosophy that amount to some higher power simply
saying "I thought you'd have figured that out by now."
I liked it!!! I can't wait to see it again. I hated that I missed a key point in it, but was happy that I picked up on something that noone else did. And warning, to anyone seeing it, stay for ALL of hte credits, as they show the preview for Revolutions.
I liked it as well. However the first part of the movie was a little slow, and I agree with the "rave" scene comment above. But other than that it was a lot of fun. I LOVED the increased amount of hand-to-hand combat. Awesome!
I was initially disappointed that there wasn't more of the twins, but they're listed in the credits for Revolutions (as well as Persephone), so I'll get my fix there.
For some reason that I am unable to explain even to myself, I rented "Children of the Corn" yesterday. Having now seen it, the mystery of why I rented it has grown even deeper.
I hated that movie because they let all the people live. (Different from the book where they all died, I think.)
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I grew up in the middle of Indiana. Still not compelling.
(Apparently, "Children of the Corn" has had SIX sequels.)
We saw Matrix II over the weekend. Not bad. I liked the special effects. The celebrated fight with the multiple Smiths was the best in that respect, although from a logic-and-reason standpoint you wonder why Neo didn't just fly away in the first place. I mean, since he could, and eventually did, just fly away. I feel sorry for poor Trinity, though. She always storms in like gangbusters only to get her butt kicked by the bad guys. She's not a great fighter. But there was some mention of a mystery uberwoman at the end. Could that be Trinity in Matrix III?
Re #161: Based on the fight at the beginning of the movie, I suspect Neo just likes to kick agent ass. I assumed the fight with the Smiths before he flew away was pretty much recreational until there were just plain too many for him.
It was pretty cool though!
No arguments. :)
It was also completely CGI. I was surprised.
I dunno how they say it's completely CGI. They shot a lot of film on Alemeda. (I was living quite close to one of the sets)
How do you know you were living close to one of the sets?
We may wait to see Matrix:Reloaded when the third movie comes out. I waited until last week to see the first one. And wasn't super thrilled with it. It was okay, but ... the plot is something I've seen/read a million times before, and it's not one of my favorites. The big scenes WERE amazing, but what I'd really like is the edit where you just see the cool fight scenes (and maybe the "there is no spoon" one...). :-)
He *thinks* he was living close to one of the sets, but it's all an elaborate simulation. ;)
RE#167 -- I have friends who worked on the movie.
Yeah, conversations in Matrix I were annoying but probably necessary. The conversations in Matrix II are just annoying. My kids were making fun of the big Oracle scene: "Man, that conversation with Oracle was awesome!" "Dude, greatest conversation I've ever seen in a movie."
I have to agree. The whole franchise would work better if they just
kept everyone quiet, played more music to cover it up, and threw in
explosions every fifteen minutes or so for artistic effect.
I meant that the big fight with all of the Smiths was completely CGI.
resp:168 I dunno-- the Messianic theme is an old one, but I think the spin was somewhat new. At any rate, I like the movies and I'll be watching.
I've been amused to see certain people trash the dialogue in Matrix movies for making stabs at intelligence and depth (regardless of their success). The trashers, of course, are typically capable of talking philosophy on higher levels than the movie, but sometimes it seems like their goal is to *prove* that they are so capable. I'm probably wrong, but it comes off weird--particularly when you consider a slick but ultimately formulaic action flick like Gladiator won Best Picture. Movies often strive to be more than they are, and they sometimes even succeed, but it's not uncommon for movies to bite off more than an audience can chew. I admire the people behind the Matrix for putting some actual thought into the flick, even if it is a mishmash of well- trod concepts, because that's still a lot better than what you get in most other movies. It's just a movie, after all. Some people enjoy that stuff, and be careful what you get taken in by. The wordiest scene (to avoid spoiling anything, I'll call it the "scene with the television screens") was so laid on that I got the distinct feeling that I was watching an event filmed to be largely tongue-in-cheek. The Wochowskis know that their exposition tends to be "fancy," and I think they play with it.
My problem with the dialogue is that it's too lengthy and repetitive -- which is basically my problem with Matrix Reloaded in general. The pacing is off. The scene with all the Smiths in the courtyard is an example. It was cool for a while, but it went on too long, and it's too repetitive. The first movie had much, much better pacing.
Yeah, that's true. The rave scene is another example. The movie could have been a lot more tightly edited, but I suppose after you spend a lot of money on an expensive CGI scene you get reluctant to cut bits of it out.
Yet another example, yes. In fact, virtually every scene in the movie is an example. I think the pacing really hurt it, it would have been improved by cutting 20% across the board.
I think so. When you look at really good action movies, like Star Wars (Episode IV) or the original Matrix movie, they're cut pretty tightly. You have to keep the energy level up, and that means not lingering too long on one scene.
Hmmm. I didnt have the same problems with the pacing of this movie. There were some parts that I felt were off but they were mostly in the beginning and were pretty minor.
Saw X-men 2 the other day, and I tend to agree with the general opinion I seem to be hearing that it was better than the first one. Even, I'd go so far as to say, pretty good. You can usually tell my opinion of a movie, if you're watching it with me, by how many snide comments I make, and generally by how noisy I am. If I'm quiet, it's a good movie. If it sucks, I'll constantly be laughing at the wrong times and doing the mst3k thing. I was pretty quiet during X2.
I saw it with two friends the first time who are the most annoyhingly quiet movie-goers on teh planet. I saw it the next day with my ex-husband, who leaned over to me when Wolverine is at Alkali Lake, and said, "Jesus - is he wearing FLARES!?" I prefer the fun interjection from time to time.
I agree about the pacing in Reloaded, at least in certain points. Joe's pretty much dead-on about the Smith battle, which was interesting, and... well, long. I got the picture. Honestly, the Oracle scene seemed a bit rushed. The scene in the first movie was probably the best part of the film, and it was more laid back. I wonder if they suffered from losing the actress before they could refine everything.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30747.html
I thought the bits involving the Keymaker, and the use of keys, were the most interesting concepts this time around.
Heh. "Linc, I need a program uploaded to hotwire a . . .Nevermind." Cracked me up.
Julie and I finally saw X2 late yesterday afternoon, despite a young baby daughter of ours wanting to crawl all over the theater floor. I was surprised that they put in so many teasers of Jean Grey becoming the Phoenix (people who don't read the comic books may have missed this) and I was definitely impressed with the Nightcrawler character. The CGI for the teleportation effects were terrific.
Saw Matrix II tonight. I haven't decided what I think yet about the philosphy. (I was suprised that the bits between the fights were mostly people speaking philosophically - there was more of that than there was plot developement.) It did spawn a really interesting philosophical discussion about choice, fate, destiny, and then the nature of the soul, among the three of us who went. (Afterward, we went to Grizzly Peak in search of one of those "magic desserts". ;))
Saw "A Mighty Wind", Christopher Guest's latest mockumentary. Pretty funny spoof of the folk music scene, although not quite as funny as "Best in Show". Maybe more accurate than funny.
It's going to be pretty hard to top "Best in Show". But I too enjoyed "Mighty Wind". Although he totally missed the activist component. That could have been clever too.
"Bruce Almighty" was a whole lot of fun. Morgan Freeman made a great God.
I rented "Jaws" and "Patriot Games" on DVD. I didn't get very far through "Patriot Games". I just wasn't in the mood for it. Jaws, though, I hadn't seen except on TV, and that when I was a teenager. It wasn't keep-me-up terrifying. It was gory in spots, and silly in spots, but I enjoyed watching it. Some day there'll be a remake of it with modern graphics. It could be an amazing Imax movie.
Saw Spy Kids II, was cute- not quite as cute as the first one, but close. Antonio Banderas actually does a really good job in these two movies, he has a nice sense of comic timing. These are definitely kids movies, but they're really cute.
I love those movies!! I think they are great. Well cast, well acted, fun effects. And I'll see anything wiht Alan Cumming.
Tee hee, he is fun isn't he? I had no idea he would be in the second one, but the way they brought him in made perfect sense. I did love all the gadgets, I gotta admit. :)
Re. 181, 182: My opinion is that I'm there to see a flick, not to be distracted by people flapping their lips. If you need to speak to whomever your with, then wisper. On a related note: I love the commercial for M&Ms where this guy is constantly making comments in a theater and people are complaining and throwing popcorn at his head. Finally, someone throws the big, yellow M&M and knocks him out of his seat. I cheered!
My big gripe is when people take their babies to the movies. They can never keep them quiet and it's annoying.
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People who try to hold a cell phone conversation in a theatre.
People who are too stupid to understand the movie so they keep asking their companions to explain what is going on. Actually, any prolonged conversation during movies bugs me. I can handle a stray comment here and there.
Comments in public theaters just annoy me. Commenting on a movie in my living room while watching it with a friend can be fun, though, if it's with someone with a sharp sense of humor.
When I go to the movies, I try to get a seat with no one in front or behind me. Fairly easy to do during matinaes, impossible in prime-time.
Try catching the movies late in their run.
Yes. I often like to do that. The disadvantage of doing that with a popular movie though is that people will talk about it and will give away the surprise endings!
resp:197 I'm sorry. The last time, it wasn't so much the noise, it was that she wanted to crawl all over the theater. I genuinely hope we didn't ruin it for anyone; we really didn't have a baby sitter. The theater was fairly empty, thankfully, and the people she decided to greet in the top row did smile.
You all are so anti-social. One of the fun things about attending movies in the south side of chicago is the screeners - those who talk to the movie. If you don't like it, buy the damn DVD and watch it at home by yourself.
Yuck.
#203: That's my std. MO. I'll catch most movies when they hit the dollar theater, but that's just to save seven bucks. I still have to work my seating strategy. Apparently, there's a lot of folks who don't care to spend big bucks to see a flick--not to mention the cost of snacks and such. #206: The South Side, eh? Well, that explains a lot. B-)
Talking *TO* the movie is different from talking to the person sitting next to you. There are some movies that are improved by audience participation but most are not. Luckily for me, the group norm in the community where I live suits me. I hardly ever see anyone bring their kids to the theater, no one kicks my seat, usually there isnt a lot of talking, etc.
Re 206 Number one, I'm not anti-social. Number two, I don't live on the Sough Side of Chicago - nor do I want to - but thanks for asking. Number 3 - please excuse me if the $8-10 I'm shelling out just to see the movie makes me want to actually watch it.
Beady has this thing where everything relates back to the south side
and whatshername. Somehow. Even if it's taking place in Kuala Lumpur with
a guy named "Chuck".
A certain amount of audience noise is fine with me. I remember seeing "Beverly Hills Cop" while sitting next to a black women who kept repeating "he gonna *fuck* him up!" at appropriate points through the whole movie. I didn't know her, but she was obviously loving the movie, and I thought that it actually added substantially to my appreciation of the movie. I actually like getting some sense of how other people are responding to the film. Whoops, and screams and applause and non-cynical commentary (not so much the "I'm going to prove how much smarter than the film makers I am" kind) are all fine with me.
During the screening I saw of Resident Evil, we were treated to a
series of cynical comments from a thirtysomething man two rows up. At first
I was annoyed, but I couldn't help laughing at his timing with "Dumb white
bitch gonna get her ass KILT!". I think everyone else was in the same boat,
or, if they weren't, nobody spoke up.
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resp:208 oddly enough, we don't have a dollar/$2 dollar theater here anymore.
Well, a friend and I finally saw Reloaded tonight. I'd like to think my analysis hasn't been tainted by the msgs. here, but I'd have to agree with those that said the pacing was off. The fight scenes were too long and in most cases, meaningless, except to show off martial arts moves and special effects. I also agree with the comment that the dialog spent too much time in philisophical riddles. In hindsight, I don't think it's worth the $8.50 ticket. However, I do plan on adding it to my DVD collection when it comes out. What I did like was seeing Zion and how it works. And I thought the freeway scene was the best of the flashy stuff. I actually jumped when that semi rushed into the screen. When the movie was over, most of the audiance left; I guess they didn't know about the trailer for Revolutions. From what I saw, It looks to be more of the same. If my friends go, I'll pay full price, otherwise, I'll wait for the DVD. Summary: Lots of flash, bu not much plot.
re#214: same social dynamic I expect. Is the same for church and sporting events. I personally enjoy the experience of others enjoying the experience with me. However, you won't see "screeners" at _Gosford Park_ for example.
Watched Adaptations last night on VHS. How did they double Cage in the scenes he was talking with "himself"?
Watchded Lilo and Stitch this morning. Loved it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the "Ugly duckling" type animations. The music--both the instrumental and the Elvis adaptations were quite good.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the critical accolade for
either "Being John Malkovitch" or "Adaptions". They're both billed as
hillarious, but I've yet to see anyone get more than a dry chuckle or two out
of either, and both seem to excel in revelling in ugliness and workmanlike
cinematography. Both also attempt to tackle reasonably novel or deep ideas,
but fail to really follow up on any of the consequences or implications of
those ideas.
I largely agree with you, about Adaptations. I haven't seen "Being...". Adaptations might (?) be a screenplay about itself, so the deeper ideas get lost in the conceit.
I loved both of them. There were parts in both where I laughed so hard tears were coming from my eyes...usually during the more absurd parts. But I think what really did it for the critics was that they were so original and different from other films. I think if one is a critic and sees thousands of films, it is more meaningful that the film is different. I think this is one reason why Memento got such critical acclaim and also why David Lynch movies are so popular with critics. And while different does not necessarily mean good (e.g. moulon rouge), it certainly counts for something.
Adaptations did lead to lots of discussion afterward - what it meant, the actors, the tricks, what it meant....etc. I like movies like that. For example, I was pleased to figure out how the pieces fitted together, like assembling a mental jigsaw. I would have liked to have unwittingly learned more about orchids, though, not that her book was strictly *about* orchids.
My son and I, my parents, and my nieces saw "Finding Nemo" last night. It was glitzy, colorful, and funny in many places; repetitious and slow in others. There were no great songs; in fact there were no feature-type songs at all. I was disappointed about that. My favorite Disney movies, in order, are probably The Aristocats, The Lion King, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, and Monsters, Inc. I've liked all of the Disney/Pixar movies and have been looking forward to this one for months. They've concentrated on excellent stories up until now. I thought they put more effort into glitz and less into keeping the story interesting this time. Maybe I'll like it better the next time I see it.
Watched _Dinner Rush_ on DVD tonight. Just about the entire movie takes place in a tony italian restaurant. Sort of an Altman style thingy. It is hard to mention any detail without spoilers so I'll just recommend it highly.
I saw _Finding Nemo_ on Friday and I disagree with jep. I thought it was hilarious, and really enjoyed it. The glitz didn't have any real effect on me, because it wasn't very far in that I stopped thinking about the fact that it was computer animated. (They're getting pretty good at this. Every movie they've made has had successively fewer distracting "that looked really fake" moments.) Pixar hasn't made a film so far that I haven't liked. Of course, I've always disliked long musical numbers in movies, so that's probably part of where we disagree. Most of my favorite Disney films are short on songs. In fact, of the movies jep listed as favorites, the only ones I've felt the urge to see again recently are _Toy Story_ and _Monsters, Inc._. _The Lion King_ just seems so overblown and full of itself to me, now.
Saw Adaptation (well, most of it) and Y Tu Mama Tambien last night. I do not get what all the fuss about Adaptation was for, and I was annoyed because I think the video store censored their copy of Y Tu Mama Tambien. They definitiely bowdlerized the subtitles a bit, and probably cut a bunch of the juicier footage.
...and there's some juicy ones.
I didn't dislike "Finding Nemo", but I didn't fall in love with it, either.
Valerie has been talking about taking the kids to see "Finding Nemo". They've never been to a real live movie theater before. Most disney type movies are a bit too scary for them, and the Pixar ones to date have been no exception (eg, the scaring kids scenes in Monsters Inc, the neighbor kid's mangled toys in Toy Story, etc). I was wondering who Nemo rated on that scale.
There are a few scenes involving things with large teeth that might frighten very young children, or give them nightmares. There aren't long periods of scary suspense, as I recall, though.
The sharks in "Finding Nemo" are members of a vegetarian support group. "Fish are friends, not food". They're mildly scary; there's also a scene about jellyfish which is mildly scary. It's not as scary as "Monsters, Inc." The scene to which you referred in "Toy Story" would probably not be scary at all to Arlo, and couldn't possibly be to Kendra, could it? "Finding Nemo" is no more scary than "Toy Story". Didn't you take them to "The Piglet Movie"? That was as non- threatening as any movie could be, I'd think.
I'm thinking of the scene with the black dragon fish as the main scary one, pesonally.
Vegetarian sharks? hahahahaha. I really hope that the irony was intentional.
Saturday is this year's silent movie with live orchestra accompaniment at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. The movie is "Pandora's Box," 1929. Louise Brooks is a German flapper whose sexuality destroys all the men who fall for her: and then she meets Jack the Ripper. (Don't know if we'll get to go, our schedule is kind of crowded...)
The main comment I have about Finding Nemo is that I'm totally amazed at the computer graphics. Constantly moving underwater ocean currents... Etc. See it just for that, even if you're a gr'up. :-)
Interestingly enough, "Finding Nemo" was compared to "Spirited Away" in some critique somewhere (MSNBC, perhaps). Unfair and unflattering, but I mentioned it so I could reference this particular film. I saw "Spirited Away" at a gaming convention-- most of it, anyway, and I thought it was one of the most fabulous animes I have seen. It's subtitled, and not dubbed, which I think is a good thing.
The version of "Spirited Away" that I just watched was dubbed. The dubbing worked, as near as I could tell. Good movie.
Watched Vanilla Sky. What I want to know is why did he splice his life from that particular point, why not from earlier when he met Sophia, and everything was great and he hadn't had his accident yet
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He was just LION to himself.
Remember, the sweet isn't as sweet without the sweet and sour sauce?
Hey, Tim! Puns! Come and get'em! B-) Caught The Core at the dolar theater Saturday. Kind of a cross 'tween Armagedden<sp> and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Basically, another doomed Earth movie. The Earth's core has stopped spinning and a group is sent waaaaaaaay down under to "jump-start" it. Those into Earth science will have a field day ripping this one apart. Nothong outstanding about this file, IMO. Didn't recognize any of the actors, effects, while good, were std. for today's films, characters were two-dimensional...All-in-all, a pretty predictable flick. Certainly not worth $8.50, but good for a buck.
re 242: Those with a brain will have a field day ripping it apart, I should think.
It was fun though. (But the very first thing the hero says in the movie is wrong.)
Saw "The Matrix: Reloaded" yesterday. Great visuals, but the rest was pretty weak. Everything, every element, could have been cut about 50% and it would have tightened things up a lot. Well, except for Agent Smith. What a cool character...
Saw Finding Nemo the other night. It rocked.
Smith is quickly becoming one of my favorite villains. It's only a slight pity that Hugo Weaving's complete submersion in the character will result in every viewing I have of any LOTR movie to echo of "You are a disease" quotes.
resp:245 I saw it last Friday and I completely disagree with just about everything negatory anyone else has said, but then I'm a epic sci-fi/fantasy nut and I therefore don't put the expectations on it that others might. Tighter editing? Nope, sorry, I don't see it. Call me intensely visual; I was soaking up every minute of it? It was just eye candy? Hmmm, yes, I enjoy philosophical debate, but I see the Matrix as an epic work and so I expect a typical formula. Of course I was ready for some more butt-kicking. And actually, the discussion seemed deep enough to me-- it's all in how you look at it. It just reminds me of I time I watched "Farewell My Concubine" with a philosophy major and she said she didn't get it when it was over. It made perfect sense to me.
i thought the last 20 minutes of the film could've sucked a little less.
The Matrix's formula for pseudo-deep conversations.
Introduce a topic.
Have some character bring the topic up to Neo.
Neo looks confused (he does this well).
Neo asks a question about what he's going to do, or should do.
Character invalidates Neo's question, by saying he's already done it
or should have figured it out before all this.
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
play air guitar and exclame "EXCELLENT!"
Bogus!
Sometimes, I just think that Sean Penn should have trademarked, "Dude."
Looking confused is pretty much Keanu Reeves's only talent as an actor.
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I have a good idea he's smarter than people think. And lord knows, he's a fine looking man. I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. Heck, I'd feed him crackers.
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Rented "Something about Schmidt". We thought it was a unique Nicholson performance that could have been comedy but fortunately was not. I also think a lot of viewers will fail to see themselves in some satire. Of coure, being "retired", I found it raised some questions I have confronted, since the "retired" to become partly invisible for some parts of our culture, especially in business.
resp:250 true, just ignored it. It's been done twice-- if they go for a hat trick, then I'll proclaim it a formula.
Re: ...about Schmidt I thought the scene where he sees his files, in the alley, in the rain, was nicely done.
saw 'nemo' w/ eskarina sunday. movie's good, but i don't think it's something i'd show to a small child. there are a good number of fish-in-peril scenes that were noticeably disturbing to the 5- or 6-year-old sitting behind us. on the other hand, there were some great moments --- the surfer-dude turtles were great, and the 'Psycho' violins at the dentist's niece's entrance were hilarious.
Saw "Agent: Cody Banks" at the dollar show last weekend. While I wouldn't add it to my collection, it was alright. Think of it as Kim Possible, only with a guy and live action. I see Hilery Duff's keeping busy, what with her Lizzy movie and all.
I saw "Finding Nemo" again last night, with my 7 year old, at the cheap movie theater in Clinton. ($2.50.) Many times, if I see a movie or read a book a 2nd time, I'll have a much different impression of it, but I had the same impression of "Finding Nemo". I'm a lot less impressed by it than others here. It's pretty, it's nice, but it's not special. Around here, we watch Disney movies occasionally, and had just watched "Toy Story 2" the night before. I have Dory's memory, and so can't remember who it was, but *one* of the fish has the same eyes as Buzz Lightyear. Also, I said earlier it's not scary. It's scary at the beginning; there are several scenes that a young kid could find frightening. Sorry!
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do go on
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watch the anime READ OR DIE About a woman who loves books and works for a secret organization within the library community that retrieves lost books, among other things. Very interesting super power she has...She manipulates paper, making it into whatever she needs from planes to swords.
Saw Phone Booth at the Allen Pk. Theater. At first, when I saw the trailer, I was skeptical. After all, how much can you make of a movie that, for the most part, takes place at one location? But then again, 12 Angry Men took place in a single room, and it's become a classic. Also, it was only a buck so what the hey. Anyway, I liked it. It's all about this guy named Stuart (Colin Farrell) who uses the same phone booth everyday, but this time, someone calls him. The caller seems to know everything about him; Where he goes, who he sees, what he does...and he doesn't like his observations. Stuart's been a bad boy and the caller (Keefer Sutherland) wants Stu to confess his sins...or else! That worst part is that he can't tell anyone, else he or someone else, will be killed. It's that "else" that makes the film interesting. You never know what the caller's going to do. One thing's for sure, he's not all talk. This is a short form for it's kind; only 81 minutes. But since the plot's tightly focused on one thing, I guess you can't draw it out too much.
hi dir
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