Author Topic: Resurrecting the Movies thread...  (Read 1025338 times)

Scott6373

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #110 on: January 30, 2007, 11:49:57 am »
That's the only reason I never saw "Saving Private Ryan," and one of the reasons I never saw "The Passion of the Christ." "Kill Bill" I never saw because it looked like it would be violent and gimmicky and pretentious. (I could be wrong about that, I guess.)

No you're not wrong.  I did not see KB as I dislike Tarrentino, but I did see the other two.  SPR was tedious...I had a hard time staying interested.  I've had many discussions about TPOTC and, even now, I hold to my assertion, that if you remove the violence, it's "B" retelling of the same old biblical story. 

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #111 on: January 30, 2007, 12:00:34 pm »
Totally agree with you about TPOTC, Scott.  And SPR, come to think of it.  After you're barraged by the first 20 minutes (and do we *really* have to see the guys' heads and legs get blown to bits?), it's tedious at best.  And the ending was cringe-worthy, IMO.  But then, Spielberg's endings always are.

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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #112 on: January 30, 2007, 12:55:49 pm »
How old is Hannah?  I don't think I'd take a kid much younger than 15 or 16, myself.  It's pretty intense.


She's 15. And she has dark thoughts, so this concerns me a bit. But she wants to see this movie and Tony said he did too, and that they'd go together, so maybe the water is under the bridge on this one.

Leslie
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #113 on: January 30, 2007, 12:56:22 pm »
That's the only reason I never saw "Saving Private Ryan," and one of the reasons I never saw "The Passion of the Christ." "Kill Bill" I never saw because it looked like it would be violent and gimmicky and pretentious. (I could be wrong about that, I guess.)

What she said.

L
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #114 on: January 30, 2007, 01:36:32 pm »
Well, it does give a little bit of a history lesson, too, about the Fascists winning the Spanish Civil War.  And as fantastical as it is, its message is not at all a dark one.  It's actually a very liberal message - about taking a stand when the people/society around you are doing something terribly wrong, even if taking that stand puts you at risk.  It is also kind of Christian allegory in the sense that when you do the right thing, you are rewarded with everlasting life.  Normally, that would annoy me a bit, but the way it was presented here is actually rather comforting.  It's presented in the sense that you shouldn't do what you think your God/your church is telling you to do if you know it isn't right - that sometimes going against all that is preached is really the way to salvation.
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Offline Meryl

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #115 on: January 30, 2007, 05:12:08 pm »
I agree with all you've said about "Pan's Labyrinth," Barb.  I almost didn't go, knowing about the violence, but nowadays if we avoid films with violence in them, we won't see much.  And when all is said and done, I didn't think it was really gratuitous.  Its very senselessness and severity was indicative of how far the commander had gone in losing his humanity.  It's the first film I've seen since BBM that I felt was rich enough in ideas and execution to warrant the kind of analysis we've given our beloved movie here.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2007, 12:10:47 pm by Meryl »
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #116 on: January 30, 2007, 05:46:44 pm »
It's the first film I've seen since BBM that I felt was rich enough in ideas and execution to warrant the kind of analysis we've given our beloved movie here.

Couldn't agree more.  I'm even toying with posting on its very own IMDb board about it, since I can't get it outta my head.

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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #117 on: January 31, 2007, 10:32:07 am »
OK, so I went to see Letters From Iwo Jima last night.  And I have to say...  Pfffffffffft.  Not good.  Not good at all.  In fact, I'd daresay it's one of Eastwood's weakest films.  Which isn't saying a lot, since I'm one of the few people on the planet who isn't bowled over by his directing prowess.  Of all his movies, I thought Unforgiven was the best.  By far.  I honestly don't think he's ever come close to that again.  A big part of the problem - perhaps the major part - is his collaborater - Paul Haggis.  I can poop better dialog than that man can write.  Here are just a few examples of what he had Japanese Imperial Army soldiers saying, in Japanese (I think it's almost more painful to read the triteness than to just hear it):

"Everything comes in threes."

"Every man for himself!"

"Do the right thing.  Because it is the right thing."

Um...  Hello?  First of all, the first two expressions are purely Western/American.  Second of all, I don't even want to talk about how gut-wrenchingly bad that third line is.  Not to mention that he actually made it the theme of his movie, so it got repeated once or twice.

The good things about the movie (that Haggis the Hack had nothing to do with) are that the violence was more implied than shown - I always deeply appreciate that - and that it's always an enjoyable experience to watch Ken Watanabe, even when he's saying trite crap in Japanese.  The other good thing about it that I have to concede he had something to do with was that at least an attempt was made to tell this story from the Japanese point of view and in a way that didn't paint them all as mindless, soulless robots.  The attempt missed the mark in that even though they were speaking Japanese, it was still a very American story.  But at least the attempt was made.

If this thing wins the BP award (and the fact that it was even nominated, and for screenplay besides, makes me wanna yak)...  Well, it'll just be case in point for why the Academy has become utterly irrelevent and couldn't recognize real art if it tripped over it.
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #118 on: January 31, 2007, 10:58:20 am »
OK, so I went to see Letters From Iwo Jima last night.  And I have to say...  Pfffffffffft.  Not good.  Not good at all.  In fact, I'd daresay it's one of Eastwood's weakest films.  Which isn't saying a lot, since I'm one of the few people on the planet who isn't bowled over by his directing prowess.  Of all his movies, I thought Unforgiven was the best.  By far.  I honestly don't think he's ever come close to that again. 

Amen to that, sweetheart. Don't even get me STARTED on Million Dollar Baby!
Quote
If this thing wins the BP award (and the fact that it was even nominated, and for screenplay besides, makes me wanna yak)...  Well, it'll just be case in point for why the Academy has become utterly irrelevent and couldn't recognize real art if it tripped over it.

And it may still win. Even though I predicted "Little Miss Sunshine" yesterday, part of my mind still believes that the cadre of old white men who vote will get some twisted notion in their heads of patriotism, WWII, the greatest generation and all the rest and decide this movie is deserving of the honor of best picture...to remind of us all of when America Was Great.

L
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Resurrecting the Movies thread...
« Reply #119 on: January 31, 2007, 11:04:22 am »
A big part of the problem - perhaps the major part - is his collaborater - Paul Haggis.

Whoa, Barb! I'm surprised you even consented to see it!  :o