If you think about it, Tootsie was film ahead of its time. Great movie…he is one of my faves.
One of his films will always resonate with me, because it stands the test of time and it never dates itself. We have all become somewhat desensitized to violence somewhat, very few movies faze me, but the original Straw Dogs is 40 fucking years old and I still find it disturbing.
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
If you think about it, Tootsie was film ahead of its time. Great movie…he is one of my faves.
One of his films will always resonate with me, because it stands the test of time and it never dates itself. We have all become somewhat desensitized to violence somewhat, very few movies faze me, but the original Straw Dogs is 40 fucking years old and I still find it disturbing. [/quote]
I love Straw Dogs so much, there are a lot of people I know that aren’t too fond of it, but I really very much appreciate it. I like that the violence that’s there isn’t entirely overblown but set up with a kind of realistic and ominous turn of events, the mind games by the locals are brilliant, especially after the rape, and I love the story concerning the village idiot. It’s not terribly exciting and I expect that’s why some brush it off, but for an insight into a passive and submissive man forced to show that he will go to great lengths to protect the person he loves and prove to himself and her that he has the power to do so, it is absolutely priceless. It’s very creepy, very much so, there are a few like that, ones that still get to me on some basic level and unnerve me.
Exactly, it wasn’t the violence so much as it was as you said how far a human being is willing to go and possibly how far you can push even the meek person before he has no choice but to fight back, and relish in the position of power and revenge.
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Exactly, it wasn’t the violence so much as it was as you said how far a human being is willing to go and possibly how far you can push even the meek person before he has no choice but to fight back, and relish in the position of power and revenge. [/quote]
Takes the dark realities of humanity and explores them from both the supposedly weak and passive along with the malevolently strong, I really like that for all the good, there is a strong presence of bad, it’s very satisfying to know that Peckinpah focused hard on that and for it to be such a strong part of the film.
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
[quote]Waittz wrote:
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Warm Bodies - Think a Zombie Twilight but good.
World War Z - Entertaining but some real plot line holes
[/quote]
I got dragged to warm bodies when it was in theatres. Ended up liking it more than the girly. [/quote]
I didn’t expect it to be half as good as it turned out to be, genuinely enjoyed the hell out of it.[/quote]
Wow, that is shocking. I guess I should check it out then.
Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel
So a couple have people asked me whether or not I had a review up of Man Of Steel and I had not, I’d not put the movie under any real priority and so it took me a long time to will myself to go to the theatre and see it, but I’ve finally seen it now and I thought it right that I put up a personal review as per usual, even if I’ve missed most of the conversations by now.
I’m sure most if not all of you have seen Man Of Steel now, and I see that the reception is either incredibly positive or incredibly negative, I personally align myself along the middle of these sides and I can see great arguments for either end. I lean disappointed, but not necessarily negative. I have some major issues with Man Of Steel, but I will begin by getting the positives out of the way first.
What I liked about Man Of Steel is that Snyder doesn’t let Superman stick to his perfectly moral code immovably and is willing to allow him to make spontaneous and human compromises to fit a situation, it shows that Superman is not a genius alien mastermind and retains the mentality and personality of a human being, along with the imperfections that come of that.
I like that Superman is caught between letting his code reign supreme and allowing horrible things to come of it, or doing what may seem wrong in the moment to serve the most efficient and positive of the bigger picture, this of course is most notable in the end of the movie but also at various points throughout. That Superman retains his human tendencies and is not a golden, glimmering bastion of goodness 100% of the time is very redeeming to me and a good direction to take the movie in.
I also enjoyed some of the acting, Costner and Crowe in particular. As the two major father figures, I think both were very good in their roles and covered the finer points in the difference between Pa Kent and Jor-El. For a relatively short amount of time on-screen, Costner was admirably notable as a figure in the movie and kept himself at the forefront with some consistency throughout. Crowe also was magnificent and was definitely near the pinnacle of the acting potential seen in the movie.
I also enjoyed Shannon quite a bit as Zod, and would at least argue that he did a better job convincing me of the malevolence of the character than Terrence Stamp did way back when. There are some scenes in particular where he shows a strong and obvious expression of hatred captured appropriately in a scene and the anger and unflinching nature of his immoral and destructive code are displayed very nicely to the audience.
However, there was much more to the movie that I didn’t like, and while I don’t think it was necessary bad, there was too much missed potential for me to ever really appreciate the parts that kind of just drifted through and never supplied anything particularly special, of which I thought there were a lot in the lengthy runtime of the movie itself. Normally when I see a great film I muster up some sense of joy and entertaining emotional connection to it, even during a strong and methodical analysis.
When I was early on in the movie (I’d say around half an hour), I was held in a deep analysis of how it was moving along and the finer, more precise points of the film-making and all of it’s components, but once I realised that I wasn’t drawing anything out of the ordinary from that, I switched my mindset to just immersing myself in the scenes and story waiting to let the film entertain me. Even in this state of mind I was never particularly awed or really struck by the emotion of the movie, and there were a lot of times where I was left feeling empty and wishing that there was more substance to most of the scenes I sat through.
There were some scenes that may have been somewhat special, such as the launch of Superman to Earth and the events happening in the room at the time, or the death of Pa Kent to the hurricane, but even with those there was some sense of cheesiness or inauthentic emotional connection that stopped my instinct from really pulling into the story like I wish it would have. (Though I did enjoy the latter part of the Krypton scenes, and thought that the launch sequence scene was pretty well done).
There are other kinds of unenthusiastic opinions I have of most of the supporting cast, but perhaps most importantly is Lois Lane’s role. I was very disappointed with how Lois Lane played out and never really had the sense that she possessed the level of value she should have had. There were never really any strong scenes of romantic tension between the both of them and I never felt that she really pitied Superman’s position amongst the human race and felt deeply for him, or that Superman ever really looked to her for guidance and fostered a growing affection for her.
I just kind of felt like she showed up, luckily found out about Superman and forced him to reveal his true self to her, and then just kind of hung around because the story commanded her to in the moment, mostly just being a scapegoat to find a way to throw the power back in Superman’s favour and progress the story as Snyder wanted it to go, but never really with any strong connection to Superman individually. Through this I had no real sense of pleasure or pay-off when the kiss came around, because I didn’t feel that there was all too much leading up to it outside of the occasional stint of brief dialogue.
There are times when I think it takes itself too seriously way too consistently, and most attempts at the humour when Snyder does attempt to break the monotony are poor and badly set up, with no real inkling of wit or intelligent display. I thought the script was largely lacklustre, consisting mostly of vague and pretentious “inspiration quotes” in an effort to make the story seem more powerful and righteous than the cast and scene scripting really make it out to be.
I don’t need the movie to be a comedic masterpiece, but with most of the movie comprising stale and overly stoic tendencies, the light-hearted humour injected into the movie does little to counter-act this, and perhaps offers only more diminishing returns. There were scenes that I thought had significant potential, but were very concise and glossed over in an effort to get back to something more physical and less emotional, which was a shame.
Another of my big criticisms of Man Of Steel is the overwhelming dependency on action and CGI to make up for everything else. I could deal with it for the first half of the movie and wasn’t entirely too phased on it, but by the time the final action scene rolled through I was completely unenthused with how much action and destruction was slopped in there to make the movie appear more exciting.
When people told me the final fight scenes lasted upwards of twenty minutes, I brushed it off as exaggeration to make it look bad, but they do indeed last that long, and they are indeed just as loud and obnoxious, with no legitimate purpose behind it other than to be the most important thing in the room again. I could pass the rest of the film as a reasonable yet shallow attempt at Superman, but the final action scenes ruined it for me, I hated how much reliance was given to it for such a long period of time and served no real authentic need from the movie’s climax to me.
I was confused, and found that the movie was both rushed and unexplored, as well as taking entirely too long and dragging on for no particular reason, which is a ridiculous combination for a movie to have happen. I enjoyed the final scene of Zod an Superman, but even (perhaps especially) with that I wish they’d explored the direct aftermath of Superman’s final choice and the effect it had on him, Lois and the public, instead of just jumping ahead to a happy scene straight away and not giving that moment any real importance to the personalities of the characters themselves. The score along with the action just began to pester me and I was not pleased on it’s dependency to just be loud and in my face.
However much it seems like I’m bashing the movie, I didn’t think it was quite as bad as most critics are making it out to be, but I still feel that it’s closer to that than the praise I’ve seen it get. It was very middle of the line for me and it had few redeeming qualities to offer anything, it was an empty, unfulfilled void that I wish had been played around with a lot more and Snyder had taken into account all these possible negatives beforehand, so as to avoid them as best he could during filming. I wasn’t disgusted with the movie, but nor was I pleased, I was just there and I was just watching it, and will likely not give this a second thought once the hype has blown over.
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel
lengthy, in-depth review as usual
[/quote]
I think that’s a fair assessment. A lot of times I will like art that I know is not objectively good. I did enjoy the movie but was troubled by the same flaws as you. The fight scenes were somewhat monotonous (and definitely too long), but I appreciate the visuals and loudness of it all. It’s like being at a rock concert where two demigods are pounding the shit out of each other. It might not be good cinema, but it’s pretty damn awesome (to me anyway).
If I had watched it at home it wouldn’t have been nearly as good. IMAX really props up effects-driven movies for me.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel
lengthy, in-depth review as usual
[/quote]
I think that’s a fair assessment. A lot of times I will like art that I know is not objectively good. I did enjoy the movie but was troubled by the same flaws as you. The fight scenes were somewhat monotonous (and definitely too long), but I appreciate the visuals and loudness of it all. It’s like being at a rock concert where two demigods are pounding the shit out of each other. It might not be good cinema, but it’s pretty damn awesome (to me anyway).
If I had watched it at home it wouldn’t have been nearly as good. IMAX really props up effects-driven movies for me.
[/quote]
Oh don’t worry I get the same kind of thing, Nicolas Cage fiascos are my go-to, and The Room, nobody forgets The Room. Normally I enjoy things that are unintentionally hilarious kind of mock comedies as opposed to when an action movie misses the boat, so that’s likely why Man Of Steel didn’t jive with me personally, but if there’s someone on that end of the spectrum then I won’t put them down for it. I like the visuals to some degree, I just wish it hadn’t overshadowed a lot of other important things, I guess those are the perils of special effects though.
I think the final fighting sequences are what turned me down that last notch on the dial, if it had been better edited and a little more brief and explosive (in the power clean kind of way, not the Michael Bay kind of way) then I might have enjoyed it. I would agree that on a small screen it would be lost completely, I can’t imagine that all that noise on a small, relatively low quality screen would be really appreciated compared to cinema screens. I think it’s just because I’m so used to analysis that I’ve burned away much of the usual action fighting joy that I might have had from childhood. I remember being really young and enjoying a ton of those early nineties Steven Seagal movies, part of me misses that.
[quote]Sorter wrote:
I don’t post much, but I’m down to talk movies. I personally thought Luck Number Slevin was awesome. @ jbpick86: If you liked Slevin you should check out “Oldboy” (it’s a Korean one. Good revenge story) and “Revolver”. Anybody seen the movie “Burn After Reading”? And if so is it worth watching? Looks somewhat interesting.[/quote]
I will have to check those out. I saw “Burn After Reading” and thought it was funny. But its funny in the least obvious way possible. It requires a somewhat quirky sense of humor to be amused by it I think. While I liked it a couple friends of mine hated it, but they thought Talladega Nights was hysterical if that puts things into perspective.
Who is going to watch?
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Who is going to watch?[/quote]
Scariest monster movie since Jaws.
(But really, Tara Reid? Okay…alright…)
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Not remotely, I’m not quite sure what it is that I happened to do to provoke you into an argumentative state nor why are you so vehement about it. Of course I could speculate on a number of possibilities, but that would serve me no good and I’m quite sure that a large number of them can be ruled out, but the ordeal is too vague for me to pinpoint.
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Based on your contempt for plagiarists, I’d recommend Songs of the Doomed. The first story, “Let the Trials Begin/Electricity” is worth the price of admission. Its one of my all-time favorite short stories.
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Not remotely, I’m not quite sure what it is that I happened to do to provoke you into an argumentative state nor why are you so vehement about it. Of course I could speculate on a number of possibilities, but that would serve me no good and I’m quite sure that a large number of them can be ruled out, but the ordeal is too vague for me to pinpoint.[/quote]
As I said before, the truth will out.
Meanwhile, back on the topic… Anyone a fan of Reservoir Dogs? One of my all time favorites that my wife had on last night. Think I’ll be watching it, in its entirety tomorrow night. Nothing like capping off a week with a lopped off ear and a nice glass of bourbon.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Based on your contempt for plagiarists, I’d recommend Songs of the Doomed. The first story, “Let the Trials Begin/Electricity” is worth the price of admission. Its one of my all-time favorite short stories.
[/quote]
I love creative plagiarists . Patronizing plagiarists rile me up. Patronizing plagiarist trolls really bubble my bile.
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Based on your contempt for plagiarists, I’d recommend Songs of the Doomed. The first story, “Let the Trials Begin/Electricity” is worth the price of admission. Its one of my all-time favorite short stories.
[/quote]
I love creative plagiarists . Patronizing plagiarists rile me up. Patronizing plagiarist trolls really bubble my bile. [/quote]
Haha, seriously, you gotta get Songs of the Doomed.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]Big Kahuna wrote:
I’m not sure what your intent has been on these last few conversations, and what kind of purpose they are supposed to serve you.
[/quote]
You’re fully aware of my intent.[/quote]
Based on your contempt for plagiarists, I’d recommend Songs of the Doomed. The first story, “Let the Trials Begin/Electricity” is worth the price of admission. Its one of my all-time favorite short stories.
[/quote]
I love creative plagiarists . Patronizing plagiarists rile me up. Patronizing plagiarist trolls really bubble my bile. [/quote]
Haha, seriously, you gotta get Songs of the Doomed.
[/quote]
Will do. Thanks for the rec.
[quote]Wiex wrote:
Meanwhile, back on the topic… Anyone a fan of Reservoir Dogs? One of my all time favorites that my wife had on last night. Think I’ll be watching it, in its entirety tomorrow night. Nothing like capping off a week with a lopped off ear and a nice glass of bourbon.
[/quote]
Huge fan of Tarantino, I learnt to appreciate his films a lot after I discovered the intricacies of them. Very subtle kind of referential nods and trivia are packed into all of them and Reservoir Dogs is the first grand introduction to that, perhaps making it that much more special. I love the Vic Vega ear scene, one of my favourites aside from the ones that concern Tarantino’s incredibly satisfying script writing, I adore his dialogue.