The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Q?]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

and the double-theory in prestige

yeah, i dont know, i've tried to get into Fincher's movies, but just cant.
in reflection, i think that I probably would have enjoyed Fight Club more, had it not been put on a pedestal, but, hey, i cant love everything

Ah yes, the double theory too!
I just find it a bit odd that so many do not like Fight Club especially, oh well.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Fight Club

Film: 2/5
-overall, the film was trying way too hard to seem intellectual. for example, norton's narration was beyond laughable, with intricate details you wouldn't hear in a psychiatry seminar and commentary on the intricacies of appliance outlets. in general, the film was like using a calculator to compute 2+2=4. i just felt it did way more than it needed to.
-some of the philosophy (re: not being a slave to your job, and avoiding materialism, etc) are valid by themselves, but just not in this film, as

[Show spoiler] this film offers an equivalent-bad alternative: group fascism (led by norton/durden). does fincher expect us to believe that political-self interest (of norton/durden) is somehow nobler than economic self-interest? norton/durden, in being a dictator of others below him, has just replaced economic self-interest with political self-interest. he is still just as self-centered. nothing has changed.

-the acting and direction was good, but i just felt that the plot was an ideological mess.
-among the most overrated films i've ever seen, as i know some people consider it among the greatest of all time. i can see how some people think its great, however. but its just not for me.
-it seems that i dont like any of fincher's films (CCOBB, Fight Club or Zodiac). not sure why. oh well. can't love everything.

PQ and AQ are fantastic!! great transfer!!

[Mannyfresh84]

Just finished watching I, Robot like an hour ago.

WOW, is all I have to say. The picture and audio were both amazing. It had been a long time since I saw it, like 3 years ago on DVD.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Lord_Stewie

The movie was a direct to video release.

No it wasnt. It was released in the theaters man! Got Em!!

Originally Posted by Mannyfresh84

Just finished watching I, Robot like an hour ago.

WOW, is all I have to say. The picture and audio were both amazing. It had been a long time since I saw it, like 3 years ago on DVD.

Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Fight Club

Film: 2/5
-overall, the film was trying way too hard to seem intellectual. for example, norton's narration was beyond laughable, with intricate details you wouldn't hear in a psychiatry seminar and commentary on the intricacies of appliance outlets. in general, the film was like using a calculator to compute 2+2=4. i just felt it did way more than it needed to.
-some of the philosophy (re: not being a slave to your job, and avoiding materialism, etc) are valid by themselves, but just not in this film, as

[Show spoiler] this film offers an equivalent-bad alternative: group fascism (led by norton/durden). does fincher expect us to believe that political-self interest (of norton/durden) is somehow nobler than economic self-interest? norton/durden, in being a dictator of others below him, has just replaced economic self-interest with political self-interest. he is still just as self-centered. nothing has changed.

-the acting and direction was good, but i just felt that the plot was an ideological mess.
-among the most overrated films i've ever seen, as i know some people consider it among the greatest of all time. i can see how some people think its great, however. but its just not for me.
-it seems that i dont like any of fincher's films (CCOBB, Fight Club or Zodiac). not sure why. oh well. can't love everything.

PQ and AQ are fantastic!! great transfer!!

Ah.... contradictions.... a peek into the mind of the insane.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Fight Club

Film: 2/5
-overall, the film was trying way too hard to seem intellectual. for example, norton's narration was beyond laughable, with intricate details you wouldn't hear in a psychiatry seminar and commentary on the intricacies of appliance outlets. in general, !!

I dont think Fincher was trying to be serious or intellectual with those details. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. I think he was trying to deliver a level of ludicrous and absurdity (NOT FOR HUMOR) to demonstrate just how ill the character was. Those are the characters thoughts, and they illustrate how wacked he was.

I think I am one of the few people that didnt love or hate this film. I am in the middle and consider it an OK movie.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I dont think Fincher was trying to be serious or intellectual with those details. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. I think he was trying to deliver a level of ludicrous and absurdity (NOT FOR HUMOR) to demonstrate just how ill the character was. Those are the characters thoughts, and they illustrate how wacked he was.

I think I am one of the few people that didnt love or hate this film. I am in the middle and consider it an OK movie.

interesting. yeah that makes sense. explains COUNTLESS repetitive terms used in the same scene. on the other hand, using the word "tits" like 6 times in one scene when he's getting hugged by meatloaf? hard to argue there's no humour intent there.

in the end, as i read in some review: it seems that those who defend the film's action as somehow not running against its philosophy are likely to be fans of its action in general, but not its philosophy in general.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Ah.... contradictions.... a peek into the mind of the insane.

yes, i suppose you mean: the inconsistency of the action/philosophy is merely a manifestation of the insane mind? a good way to look at it. its hard for me, as i keep resorting back to "the film is exalted as great..." and am perhaps being a tad unfair to it. but, hey, what can we do about expectations? they can't go away.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

interesting. yeah that makes sense. explains COUNTLESS repetitive terms used in the same scene. on the other hand, using the word "tits" like 6 times in one scene when he's getting hugged by meatloaf? hard to argue there's no humour intent there.

in the end, as i read in some review: it seems that those who defend the film's action as somehow not running against its philosophy are likely to be fans of its action in general, but not its philosophy in general.

I wish the film had much less physical violence and focused more on the twisted psychology. I personally dont see a conflict in the films philosophy and or message(s). Your observations about themes of self interest conflicting with anti-materialism are accurate. But, I see those conflicts as reinforcement of his koo-kooness, not flaws in the story.

Yes the Meatloaf parts were kinda icky/funny. Overall, I think the movie could have been 10 times better if it left out all comedic moments and focused only on the really dark elements.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

yes, i suppose you mean: the inconsistency of the action/philosophy is merely a manifestation of the insane mind? a good way to look at it. its hard for me, as i keep resorting back to "the film is exalted as great..." and am perhaps being a tad unfair to it. but, hey, what can we do about expectations? they can't go away.

Exactly!!

Thats why I went into Avatar with extremely low expectations, which were solidly met.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I wish the film had much less physical violence and focused more on the twisted psychology. I personally dont see a conflict in the films philosophy and or message(s). Your observations about themes of self interest conflicting with anti-materialism are accurate. But, I see those conflicts as reinforcement of his koo-kooness, not flaws in the story.

very interesting. i'll have to mull this over some more now. i may even pull a prestige.

btw squid: what do you think of fincher's films in general? out of curiousity. i personally haven't enjoyed them that much.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

very interesting. i'll have to mull this over some more now. i may even pull a prestige.

btw squid: what do you think of fincher's films in general? out of curiousity. i personally haven't enjoyed them that much.

I thought Zodiac Was Just OK.

I thought CCBB was OK. It has a lot of excellent components, but it didnt bowl me over. I actually thought of Gump many times during the movie and that was before I had heard that comparisons were being made.

Panic Room was slighty above OK. Not much.

Se7en I liked a lot except for the ending, which everyone else seems to love.

The Game was fun.

Alien gets 5 stars.

[jhiggy23]

The Hurt Locker (on-demand)


Film: 4 stars (out of 4)


I've read criticism of this film on this site for weeks, but now I've finally seen it myself. My verdict? The vast majority of the criticism is completely unwarranted. Did it deserve to win best picture? I don't know--I still have many movies to watch from last year. So far it's the third best I've seen from last year, behind the Cove and Sin Nombre. But, I do think it's a high quality film that could possibly have been the best of the best pictures.

Directing--very good directing, no doubt. However, I think it's pretty weak for a best director win, when taking into consideration some directors who weren't even nominated in recent years (i.e. Joe Wright for Atonement) that did FAR better jobs. Her direction was akin to Berg's in The Kingdom. Very good, very effective, but nothing special.

Acting--Jeremy Renner absolutely deserved a nomination. He nailed his role and took over the screen when he was on it. End of question.

Story--this is what I'm most amused about. "Razor thin plot," as some have stated? Not at all. This is the only way the film could have progressed, using several different set pieces. The plot is very simple: counting down the days until rotation. Two people fear for their lives and just want to make it there. The third, Renner, is reckless and may jeopardize it for them. As for the set-pieces, that's the reality of jobs like that (not commenting on the realism of the bomb squad, which I have no basis for doing). It's the same thing each day in that the job is to disarm or take care of bombs, but the situations generally change from day to day and they're always dangerous. Choosing the particular set pieces that were used was great--each one was highly effective at creating natural tension.

Overall, it is an excellent film and the criticisms on this site, at least imo, are without any real merit. I def plan on adding it to my collection.

[surfdude12]

^^ great review jhiggy. its atop of my queue, but currently, netflix has "long wait" but its encouraging to know you liked it. i also will await judgment until i've seen it. and as myself and squid were just chatting about, low expectations can only help!

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

^^ great review jhiggy. its atop of my queue, but currently, netflix has "long wait" but its encouraging to know you liked it. i also will await judgment until i've seen it. and as myself and squid were just chatting about, low expectations can only help!

I think you'll like it

[SquidPuppet]

Is it rude of me to ask? Am I THAT MUCH of a pain in the ass?

Are you guys ever going to watch Rope?

I really want to discuss it with you and hear your views.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Is it rude of me to ask? Am I THAT MUCH of a pain in the ass?

Are you guys ever going to watch Rope?

I really want to discuss it with you and hear your views.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movies/124...ml#post2959299


i thought you were ignoring my review

edit: i know, its confusing: i post either here or in ultimate thread, depending on whether jhiggy permits it as a "classic"

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

The Hurt Locker (on-demand)


Choosing the particular set pieces that were used was great--each one was highly effective at creating natural tension.
.

All the bad reviews and claims of overhyped have caused me to temper my expectations. Hopefully your statement will ring true for my viewing. Its got to succeed there for me. Its been at the top of my queue since before its release and its still in "long wait" status.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

All the bad reviews and claims of overhyped have caused me to temper my expectations. Hopefully your statement will ring true for my viewing. Its got to succeed there for me. Its been at the top of my queue since before its release and its still in "long wait" status.

squid: maybe we should cancel and then re-sign up. apparently "new" members have priority.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movies/124...ml#post2959299


i thought you were ignoring my review

Holy cow... I missed it... I'll run over there and check it out now.

Higgy?.........