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OT: It's a BUST guys: DA VINCI
slayers_creek_oth:
--- Quote from: dmmb_Mandy on May 21, 2006, 10:07:20 pm ---Sheyne: Out of the X-Men, I'd either be Mystique or Jean Grey, maybe I'd be a non-evil Phoenix ;D
Only 5 days 'til X-Men 3!!!
--- End quote ---
I'd wanna be Magneto....don't know why but he's just cool....
vkm91941:
--- Quote from: hungry_hungryhippos on May 21, 2006, 08:44:34 pm ---You have just more than redeemed yourself. ;D
X-Men is the BEST and not only cause of Hugh *purrrr* Jackman..
Which could take us off topic AGAIN: which X-Man would you be and why??? Hmmm..... (i already know I'd be Mystique... I could make myself into Michelle Williams or at the very least, give myself a nicer arse...) ::)
--- End quote ---
I really would like to be the female equivalent of Angel. Love those wings
rtprod:
--- Quote from: vkm91941 on May 21, 2006, 08:24:38 pm ---You said "All mainstream movies that are hits and have integrity and artistry." Well WE may have to agree to disagree...
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Like it's predecessors, good not great film, has a built in audience all hyped up and ready to go years before the film hits the market
Collateral disappointed since Collateral seems to be in many ways a pale carbon copy of Heat, Michael Mann's previous film..just a rehash of preditory and prey again.
The Bourne Identity Surprisingly good, but then how far wrong can you go with Robert Ludlum
Mission Impossible III I haven't seen it but the teenage boys are sure raving about it....Hmmmm
The Matrix Sorry, confusing, convoluted seemed more suited to a video game or comic book
Legally Blonde spare me the whole series blonde movies makes Rees's I'm just trying to make a difference Oscar speech see disingeneous
Million Dollar Baby Excellent first rate film
Erin Brockovich Julia doing what Julia does best..kick ass story the fact that it's based in reality only enhanced that
Sin City I can go the rest of my life and never see this film again
King Kong Excellent effect, probably the best filmed version, but too long and ponderous
Forrest Gump A beautiful fable for now and the future
Contacttoughness and sensitivity, symbolism and passion, and the fact that it is a rare science fiction film, a gem which was released in a time where scientific intelligence in film has become a nothing short of a joke
Moulin Rouge T*R*A*S*H two hours of my life I will never get back for this..even Heath and Jake could not have save this tripe
Titanic Timeless, moving, and epic inspite of Leonardo DiCaprio
My point is we could probably go on all night like this, turning this into a tit for tat example of one-upmanship. Chris has made a very valid point about the marketability of film in our moderan society. Da Vinci code's $77 million weekend numbers back him up. Others have made their points about the more esoteric points of film as art. But Hollywood does NOT let loose the money to make ART unless a few Blockbusters come along to make big bucks first. SO thank god for films like Da Vinci code. The book fans will love it, Hollywood will rake in the cash and WE may get another BRILLANT film like Brokeback because of it.
--- End quote ---
Vic, I guess I'll have to respectfully say that the $77 million backs up my assertion that there is a built in audience that will fill seats whether the film is of quality, or in this case, not. As you say I guess we probably could go on all night because my point is getting through to about....no one. It's not tit for tat one upsmanship to debate the idea of art versus commerce and why so many have been somehow programmed to think that ticket sales are the end all be all of an artist's work, which is an idea that really disturbs me. Early on we all railed against those who said that BBM would not be worth its weight because it would not make money, didn't we? It was not this way in the 70s, before the blockbuster began with Star Wars, and studios rightfully gave money to filmmakers and took risks with real actors who were not cookie cutter fabrications designed to appeal to the zoned-out masses.
Box office receipts mean nothing if you're looking for quality movies. I think we all agree we want that, right? Certain remarks on this thread just echo an industry gone creatively bankrupt, where talented actors, directors and writers are chewed up and either spit out or shat out because someone didn't come and fill a seat in the first three days. It's a sorry, sorry state of affairs that this is what so many in the business focus on, and it makes it very, very hard for artists to have their day anymore. The upshot of this type of thinking? People are not cast anymore, not considered bankable and back-burnered until they have no careers left. Look how many actors, Heath Ledger included, Matthew McCounaghey, Colin Farrell, Josh Hartnett, the list goes on and on, who have been the IT guy or the Next Big Thing that wasn't, victims of this hype and then saw their films underperform at the box office until they were stuck on the bottom of a list somewhere?
Here's my take on those few films since we're drilling down to specifics:
Harry Potter and the Goblet -- excellent morph into teen years with new directions, hormones and true excitment -- the first two were kiddie films, the second one poetry, the third one gripping and exciting.
Collateral -- memorably shot and scored, excellent Tom Cruise performance, surprisingly intimate two character connections for a crime film
Mission Impossible 3 -- I'm not a teenager and I loved it three times
The Matrix -- deepthink philosophy disguised as sci-fi, original and thoughtful, inadverdently created its own mythology and that's rare for today's garbage sci-fi
Legally Blonde -- light commercial comedy with a sweet performance in the center, colorful and goodhearted, and I do believe that Reese Witherspoon is this and that acceptace speech really moved me so go figure
Sin City -- pure and perfect art direction, score, performance, hardboiled noir -- shallow? Yes. Beautifully done example of exactly what I meant when I said they got EXACTLY what they were going for.
King Kong -- the effects are not at all what i remember here, rather it's the poetic scenes between Watts (stellar) and Kong himself, the amazing score and mounting, the attention to period detail in New York, the inspired sequence on the ice, the juggling before sunrise on Skull Island, the breathtaking shooting of the silent movie 35 minutes in, wordless, and finally the way she stands on top of the Empire State Building alone and unafraid, being knocked around by the wind.
Moulin Rouge -- an initially bizarre experiment that gives way to something grand and lavish, and moving, wholly unexpected which I think accounts for its Best Pic nom -- pure pageantry and some very cleverly done music, too hyper by half but filled with energy, ideas and color
Well, those were my takes on them anyway.....
Not trying to one up just making my voice heard.
dmmb_Mandy:
I liked all of those movies, actually (except Legally Blonde - I haven't seen any of the Legally Blonde films).
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I thought Sin City was beautifully done. And Collateral had great acting. Oh, and King Kong is a BEAUTIFUL film. Sorry Vic, agreeing to disagree, I guess!
vkm91941:
--- Quote ---Vic, I guess I'll have to respectfully say that the $77 million backs up my assertion that there is a built in audience that will fill seats whether the film is of quality, or in this case, not. As you say I guess we probably could go on all night because my point is getting through to about....no one.
--- End quote ---
All I’m saying is that without the tripe that drags in the big bucks from it’s built in audience there would be no funds available for the making for the better films. Like them or not it is those cheesy blockbusters that keep the doors open and the investors investing.
--- Quote --- It's not tit for tat one upsmanship to debate the idea of art versus commerce and why so many believe have been somehow programmed to think that ticket sales are the end all be all of an artist's work, which is an idea that really disturbs me.
--- End quote ---
Commercial success should NEVER be the measure of the quality of a performance or a film that is not the point I am trying to make.
--- Quote --- Early on we all railed against those who said that BBM would not be worth its weight because it would not make money, didn't we?
--- End quote ---
Well, there are other films that were almost as good as Brokeback, in my opinion and they vanished long before they ever made the kind of money Brokeback did. Billy Elliott, Oscar and Lucinda,A Walk in the Clouds. Truly, Madly, Deeply, The Mission and The Joy Luck Club spring to mind. I railed against the people who shot these and others down as well
--- Quote --- It was not this way in the 70s, before the blockbuster began with Star Wars, and studios rightfully gave money to filmmakers and took risks with real actors who were not cookie cutter fabrications designed to appeal to the zoned-out masses.
--- End quote ---
My memory of being a teen in the 70’s is the it is the era that spawned the Blockbuster, Airport, Poseiden Adventure, Earthquake, The Towering Inferno….to name a few. Not to mention the shocker of the decade The Exorcist. He;; they even came up with tht damn sensuround sound system that made you feel like you were in the middle of the disaster but bomdarding you wtih sound until the seats shook!
--- Quote ---Box office receipts mean nothing if you're looking for quality movies. I think we all agree we want that, right? Certain remarks on this thread just echo an industry gone creatively bankrupt, where talented actors, directors and writers are chewed up and either spit out or shat out because someone didn't come and fill a seat in the first three days. It's a sorry, sorry state of affairs that this is what so many in the business focus on, and it makes it very, very hard for artists to have their day anymore. The upshot of this type of thinking? People are not cast anymore, not considered bankable and back-burnered until they have no careers left. Look how many actors, Heath Ledger included, Matthew McCounaghey, Colin Farrell, Josh Hartnett, the list goes on and on, who have been the IT guy or the Next Big Thing that wasn't, victims of this hype and then saw their films underperform at the box office until they were stuck on the bottom of a list somewhere?
--- End quote ---
We most certainly do agree that box is no indication of wither or not a film is GOOD. It is only a testament to the power of marketing and the persuasivenss of advertising. Personally I think Hollywood has been creatively bankrupt for years that's why we see the same films recycled again and again. Sad to say as far as the actors go....competition is stiff in their business and today's hot item is tomorrow yesterday's news...it is the nature of celebrity. But the really good actors like Heath Ledger will survive that, he is the Robert Duval/Gene Hackman of his generation and we have not seen the last of him, he is not just another pretty face and he proved that in Brokeback.
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