The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i still don't understand or follow this.

maybe because i don't pay attention to films as they come out and because i feel most people have terrible taste in film so when they "hype" up a film, that doesn't stay with me because people hype so many damn things, the wording gets watered down and becomes extremely meaningless. to me.

so i don't have any "put the hype to the test" because i don't believe in hype. well, i believe in people blabbering about something constantly, but it doesn't effect my judgment of it.

if a film doesn't look interesting to me, then i'm no longer gonna bother. i don't care if it wins awards or whatnot. i have zero interest in seeing The Hurt Locker, so even though it won "best picture" i will probably never see it.

the reason i saw Avatar was because of the visuals. i didn't know how much money it made or where it was on imdb until after i watched it and everyone on here was either hating or loving it.

and by the way, i've been meaning to slightly mock you for something:

i believe you were going off about how "great" Avatar is and one of your defenses was because it was like, #3 on imdb's top 250 list. have you seen where it is now? #133 last time i checked. and we all tol you not to use that because in time it would fall, but you didn't listen

I almost watched Hurt Locker because I had a free rental. But then I changed my mind

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Bearcat "decided" it isnt interesting, and therefore, it isnt.

My question is, how does one know until one sees it.

Same goes for Diesel and Black Swan. There is a story beyond the medium being used for delivery.

Thats like not seeing Triangle because one doesnt enjoy "Boating" films.

That may be true, but setting up expectations and predetermined judgments will severely affect how good or bad the first viewing will be. It's like a mental block or a bias or something.

Like recently, I tried to get my mom to watch "Memento." If she likes Hitchcock and thrillers and thought-provoking stuff, why not? Well, for a title she never heard of and didn't know anything about, she was skeptical, and I think she was predetermined to hate it. Sure enough, she turned it off after thirty minutes, because she was impatient with its style, narration, storytelling techniques, etc. She wanted immediate answers, and didn't want to sit around waiting for the point to reveal itself. But I think she was intent on disliking it from the start.

I think she'll hate "Inception" too (citing it as a "Dreamscape" rip-off). As will bearcat.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Christopher Nolan's Success.

These are the films in oder of impact and overall cleverness because this is what Nolan is best for.

Memento 5/5
Inception 5/5
The Dark Knight 5/5
The Prestige 4.5/5
Insomnia 4.5/5 ( I dont know if its a 4/5 though..... Tough call now that some days have passed)
Batman Begins 4/5
Following ?? (Still haven't seen it yet but its making its way up my queue)

In conclusion Christopher Nolan is one of the BEST hollywood Directors BY FAR. Consistent and very clever. He's my second favorite Director right behind Kubrick.

now Kubrick is #1?! make up your mind man, this list changes far too often

first it was Fincher, then in an Avatar debate you mention Cameron being high on your list, then back to Fincher, now suddenly Kubrick? and that seems to have come out of nowhere! when id Kubrick become #1?

as for your list (i love lists ) i'm not a big Nolan fan. he's "pretty" good in my book but i find his films to either not interest me or have very little replay value.

here's my list that i'm sure will piss you off

Following (3/5)
Memento - watched 20 minutes of this like 7 years ago and was completely uninterested in it. have absolutely no urge to watch it.
Insomnia - no interest in seeing it.
Batman Begins (3/5) sometimes i've rated it 3.5/5, first time was 1.5/5 it's just very bring and uninteresting
The Prestige - no interest in seeing it
The Dark Knight (4.5/5) has no real replay value for me. i've seen it 4 times? and while entertaining it's an horribly made film
Inception - no interest in seeing

it also doesn't help he had Christian Bale in three of his films, and i cannot stand that guy

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I didn't "knock it"

I said it doesn't look interesting to me, I didn't say its a bad movie or anything. That's totally different things.






I needed a seasonal avatar


It may well be great...but I wouldn't find out anytime soon.

If a movie doesn't look good to me then I have no reason to spend my money on viewing it


Call be the anti Disturb3d. I don't watch movies because they are critically acclaimed or hyped by the fans, I watch them because they interest me in some shape or form, either from the trailer, from reading you guys talking about it, my friends talking about it, the development of the film, etc. etc.

I do. IF they are saying that its "special."

If 90% of critics say its "good", I may or may not see it. But if 80% of critics say this film "changes the way you think" or other really extreme accolades, then I want to see what thats all about.

An example for me would be There Will be Blood. I was like "OK, a film about an oil guy in the old days? So? What the heck could that be about and why will I care?" But because most critics were describing it as pretty heavy duty, I gave it a whirl.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Following (3/5)
Memento - watched 20 minutes of this like 7 years ago and was completely uninterested in it. have absolutely no urge to watch it.
Insomnia - no interest in seeing it.
Batman Begins (3/5) sometimes i've rated it 3.5/5, first time was 1.5/5 it's just very bring and uninteresting
The Prestige - no interest in seeing it
The Dark Knight (4.5/5) has no real replay value for me. i've seen it 4 times? and while entertaining it's an horribly made film
Inception - no interest in seeing

See? Just like mom.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

EXACTLY. You know Squid you go up and down on this forum.

But you get +2 right there

You have a rating scale for members? Hmmm.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

See? Just like mom.

i laughed at what you wrote very heavily because of what i wrote about Memento and figured you would soon see that

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

You have a rating scale for members? Hmmm.

out of all the lists i have, even i have don't a list for THAT!

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

See? Just like mom.

LOL my mother calls blu-rays "CDs" and thinks Fellowship of the Ring is one of the worst movies ever.

[two40]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Fincher is 3. I like the Coen Brothers but i dont think there are on the same level as the 3. C'mon........

No, you are right. I would put them at 0, just above 1. hehe

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

LOL my mother calls blu-rays "CDs" and thinks Fellowship of the Ring is one of the worst movies ever.

well your mom got the second part of your statement right.

[two40]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

LOL my mother calls blu-rays "CDs" and thinks Fellowship of the Ring is one of the worst movies ever.

A colleague of mine has seen LotR's twice over in the last fortnight and yesterday bought the extended edition to watch over the weekend. Now, I do like the films but that's just torture to watch them that often.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

MAKE THIS LIST!!!!! i wanna see it!

I could whip together a few morsels...

[Show spoiler]All spaghetti westerns. Period.

LotRs
The Hurt Locker
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Breathless
The White Ribbon
The Searchers
The Sound of Music
Pulp Fiction
The Cowboys
True Grit
Mary Poppins
Bonnie and Clyde
A Clockwork Orange
The Exorcist
All that Jazz
Amadeus

[iam1bearcat]

more lists!

Christopher Nolan

[Show spoiler]Following (3/5)
Memento - N/A - no interest
Insomnia - N/A - no interest
Batman Begins (3/5)
The Prestige - N/A - no interest
The Dark Knight (4.5/5)
Inception - N/A - no interest

James Cameron

[Show spoiler]The Terminator (5/5)
Aliens (4/5)
The Abyss - never finished it. Sooooooo loooooooooong
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (5/5)
True Lies (2.5/5)
Titanic (3/5)
Aliens of the Deep (WTF is this? Never heard of this)
Avatar (2/5)

Paul Thomas Anderson

[Show spoiler]Hard Eight (5/5)
Boogie Nights (5/5)
Magnolia (5/5) - probably my favorite PTA film
Punch Drunk Love (5/5)
There Will Be Blood (5/5) - his magnum opus, although Magnolia does come close

Stanley Kubrick

[Show spoiler]Paths of Glory (2/5)
2001: A Space Odyssey (5/5)
A Clockwork Orange (2.5/5)
Barry Lyndon - somewhat interest in seeing it
The Shining (2/5)
Full Metal Jacket - N/A - no interest
Eyes Wide Shut - need to see again, no idea what the score would be because I watched it when I was 12 so I didn’t quite understand it

Darren Aronofsky

[Show spoiler]Pi (4/5)
Requiem for a Dream (5/5) - Aronofsky’s magnum opus
The Fountain (5/5)
The Wrestler (5/5)
Black Swan - very interested in seeing it
The Wolverine - I hate comic book movies, but this is Aronofsky. This will be a challenge

Coen Brothers

[Show spoiler]Blood Simple - N/A - no interest
Raising Arizona (1/5)
Miller’s Crossing - N/A - no interest, but will for Review Club
Barton Fink - N/A - no interest
The Hudsucker Proxy - N/A - no interest
Fargo (4.5/5)
The Big Lebowksi (2/5)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - N/A - no interest
The Man Who Wasn’t There - N/A - no interest
Intolerable Cruelty - interest level 4/5
The Ladykillers - N/A - no interest
No Country for Old Men (3/5)
Burn After Reading (4.5/5)
A Serious Man (1/5) - just awful
True Grit - N/A - no interest

David Fincher

[Show spoiler]Alien 3 - N/A - no interest
Seven (4/5)
The Game (2/5) - worst ending ever to a film
Fight Club (5/5)
Panic Room (3/5)
Zodiac (5/5)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2/5)
The Social Network - very interested in seeing this
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - N/A - no interest and one of the worst ideas ever

Francis Ford Coppola

[Show spoiler]The Godfather (3/5)
The Conversation - N/A - no interest
The Godfather Pt. II - N/A - no interest
Apocalypse Now (5/5)

eh, he's directed a lot. if it's not on the list, i have no interest in it / haven't heard of it

Martin Scorsese

[Show spoiler]Taxi Driver (4/5)
GoodFellas (3.5/5)
Casino (2/5)
Gangs of New York - interest level: 3/5
The Aviator (3/5)
The Departed (3/5)
Shutter Island (3/5)

rest i have zero interest in seeing

and never seen a film by Hitchcock

[Batman1980]

Starting to wonder why Iam1bearcat even watches movies since he seems to dislike so many of them.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I could whip together a few morsels...

[Show spoiler]All spaghetti westerns. Period.

LotRs - agreed. i enjoyed Return of the King (3.5/5) but the other 2 really sucked lol
The Hurt Locker
Citizen Kane - agreed. was awful. i hated my film study class after watching this.
Casablanca
Breathless - agreed 100%
The White Ribbon
The Searchers
The Sound of Music
Pulp Fiction
The Cowboys
True Grit
Mary Poppins
Bonnie and Clyde
A Clockwork Orange - another one in agreement
The Exorcist
All that Jazz
Amadeus agreed again. i never understood the love of this movie

well now that's not so bad i actually agree with a few of them (see spoiler)

the only one i wouldn't have on here is Pulp Fiction. the rest i either agree on or have no interest in seeing.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Starting to wonder why Iam1bearcat even watches movies since he seems to dislike so many of them.

so i can find the few gems that remind me what movie making could be like, if people could do it properly

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i still don't understand or follow this.

so i don't have any "put the hype to the test" because i don't believe in hype. well, i believe in people blabbering about something constantly, but it doesn't effect my judgment of it.

if a film doesn't look interesting to me, then i'm no longer gonna bother.

Sometimes the hype (pro or Con) is real/warranted though.

My favorite films to gamble on are the EXTREMELY poloarizing ones. Where 50% of the critics and fans are saying "This is pretentious dribble that should have been left on the cutting room floor. An insult to any viewer with half a brain." Anf the other 50% say "The film will change your life and is the very definition of perfect storytelling"

I know I am either out a few bucks, or I am in for a killer movie experience.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Starting to wonder why Iam1bearcat even watches movies since he seems to dislike so many of them.

haha i know right? bearcat, why so serious?

[two40]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Starting to wonder why Iam1bearcat even watches movies since he seems to dislike so many of them.

And being so generous with most films, I'm sad to see the Coen's get such low ratings. I think it's personal.