His film company, Handmade Films, was founded to fund Monty Python's Life of Brian after the original backer pulled out.
B
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Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?
- Thread starter Huntn
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His film company, Handmade Films, was founded to fund Monty Python's Life of Brian after the original backer pulled out.
B
Blade Runner (1982)
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away by the whole film. Well done. Must see for anyone who hasn't seen it before.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away by the whole film. Well done. Must see for anyone who hasn't seen it before.
Jurassic World
The general consensus I heard before watching the movie was that the story is just recycled from the previous films. They were right; including the obligatory annoying kid who gets into unnecessary trouble. The story was so-so and most of the acting was too. Chris Pratt did a good job. The effects were great. I was laughing so hard at the big security guard inside the control room. He was supposed to not allow anyone in, yet everyone who tried to, did. I doubt that was intended to be comical but that will give you a clue to the writing and logic of the movie. It's worth a watch on disc/streaming (in a few months) if you have nothing else to watch.
Score: 6.0
Spy
Funny movie. Melissa McCarthy is damn good.
Score: 7.0
The general consensus I heard before watching the movie was that the story is just recycled from the previous films. They were right; including the obligatory annoying kid who gets into unnecessary trouble. The story was so-so and most of the acting was too. Chris Pratt did a good job. The effects were great. I was laughing so hard at the big security guard inside the control room. He was supposed to not allow anyone in, yet everyone who tried to, did. I doubt that was intended to be comical but that will give you a clue to the writing and logic of the movie. It's worth a watch on disc/streaming (in a few months) if you have nothing else to watch.
Score: 6.0
Spy
Funny movie. Melissa McCarthy is damn good.
Score: 7.0
I agree Kingsman was overly gratuitous.
Interesting comment as you seem to be saying most graphic novels are flawed. Adhering to most of the major plot points and characters seems like that would be a good thing and no more of a tendency than when converting a regular novel into a movie, no?
I've read more novels and only a couple graphic novels so it's hard for me to compare and generalize. The GN that stands out in my limited exposure is Watchmen. It has the kind of depth usually not seen in a comic, but it's a meandering, dark and depressing story. I'd call it flawed, not something I'd want to read again, but I'm still impressed by it because it approaches a novel in character complexity.
My impression is that any story based on a novel or graphic novel is judged on the merits of its narrative, coherence, excitement, interest, etc. And if something like Watchmen is considered brilliant, the challenge in making a movie based on it that adequate represents it while compressing the story down to 2-3 hours (or these days make 3 movies out of it) While there are situations where the movie can improve on the book, most readers of a novel who love it, want loyalty, want the movie to remain true to the book, not turn cowards into heroes, not jumble the narrative, exchange characters, and/or put major characters into situations they never faced in the book (for example Game of Thrones or The Hobbit). To the movie makers, if you don't like the story, write your own book or give your movie a new name.
You make an excellent point, Huntn. I agree with you that most fans of books want the movies to remain true to the book. I know I am always interested in how a book I've read will be translated to the screen. I don't think it is always possible to be completely faithful to a book and, in some instances, it certainly might not always be the wise move to try. Perhaps the problem is like you suggested, trying to compress the story down to a single movie or roll it out as a potential franchise. But sometimes the things that are so descriptive and particular to a book won't always make for an interesting or necessary plot point. For me, a movie should work on its own regardless of the source. Movies are a different medium and have their own set of parameters that is generally accepted and sometimes pushes the envelope. When a movie based on a different medium works well, it is usually by remaining true to the essence of the book and trimming away the items that don't work. Granted, it has to be a tough balance, but there are many fine examples: The Maltese Falcon, The Godfather, Hearts of Darkness, The Exorcist, The Three Musketeers, Rebecca, Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption and even, despite the controversy, The Shining.
Amazing film, made even more amazing by the insanity surrounding the production. I'd highly recommend 'Hearts of Darkness', the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now (the name being a slight variation on the name of novella source material). If you're a fan of the film, it's a "must see".
You're right, Hearts of Darkness is an excellent documentary and one I should see again!
The movie poster for Quentin Tarantino's new film, The Hateful Eight has been released. It feels like a nice throwback to excellent movie poster designs.
Blade Runner (1982)
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away by the whole film. Well done. Must see for anyone who hasn't seen it before.
Ah, Harrison Ford!
Seems like I got the wrong Harrison.
Yeah, the one who isn't a dead Beatle.
Went to see Minions with the family last night and really enjoyed it. The adventures of Kevin, Stuart and Bob as a full length movie didn't get annoying, as one might have suspcted since previously we only had small doses of minion...
Do you know which version of the film you caught? See my Wikepedia link in a previous post.
B
Blade Runner (1982)
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away by the whole film. Well done. Must see for anyone who hasn't seen it before.
aahh your first time. good stuff, eh?
Great film. I decided to put it on right now.Blade Runner (1982)
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away by the whole film. Well done. Must see for anyone who hasn't seen it before.
It really is great. I am thinking of watching it again tomorrow night just to see what I missed the first time.
If I had to be nit picky, the only thing I would change is to have a less contemporary score for the film. Unlike the rest of the film, the score mostly has not aged well.
I agree, and I am flexible. Your excellent example The Shining, while I was somewhat irritated with what the director did to the character Dick Hallorran and the alteration of the ending, I recognize this as a brilliant film with a different, and weaker ending than the book IMO..
The Shawshank Redemption is a masterpiece film based on a good short story. I always forget about the short story.
Thats funny because I was pondering the score of the film within the first 20 minutes today and I seem to enjoy it a lot. It's dark and mysterious and yet futuristic sounding, in that great 1980's way.
I'm also a fan of the Blade Runner soundtrack - - but then I'm a big Vangelis fan in general.
I love Vangelis' score for Blade Runner! It's a classic and I listen to it as background music. Helps that I also like some of his work with Jon Anderson of Yes.
B
It definitely has merit as a soundtrack. I just wish some of the overly 80s flourishes were toned down. The end titles are fantastic, but some of the songs as heard in the film make it feel quite dated. Just my opinion. It's a great movie
My wife and I watched a DVD called Art and Craft, a documentary about Mark Landis, on of the most prolific art forgers in the US. It's a quirky film following a very quirky man who happens to be very talented and resourceful. One of the many quirky things is that, despite having been 'caught,' he hasn't been prosecuted because he's never sold any of his fakes to the over 150 museums, galleries and other institutions. He only gifts them, using several reasonable-sounding stories coming from a very quirky person. Mark Landis doesn't just copy masterpieces, he creates forgeries of Dr. Seus, Civil War documents, drawings, etc. One museum employee caught on to the scheme and spent four years tracking Landis down, contacting several museums and galleries along the way to inform them of the fake they possessed. You might be surprised by the ending.
The Duel (1971 - not the Spielberg film) - not into mafia / organized crime for the most part, but this straight forward story of a young triad's vengeance after being framed by those within his organization and losing everyone / everything he cared for was quite good. Very bloody but that is expected when knives are the primary weapon. I did find the very end funny (an exaggerated nod to director Chang Cheh's notations of brotherhood and heroism. It's bromance on a massive scale. For me, this does not detract from the film. (Nor does David Chiang's obviously western mod Partridge Family look here.)
Definitely worth a rental. It's a solid story and the young leads really sell it.
Shaolin Prince (1982) - another martial comedy that is not quite successful in the laughs department but the fight choreography is insanely inventive. Not as loopy as Legendary Weapons of China, but worth a look if you've sat through a ton of wuxia.
Project A (1983) Haven't seen this in over a decade. While I respect Jackie Chan, he's really not my cup. However, Project A has a few things going for it, even if the comedy does not quite work. It's nice to see Chan in a non-modern setting, (this was set in the 1800s) and the story follows his hapless marine as he tries to thwart pirates. Jackie has a nice rapport with his old friends Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. But it's Dick Wei's delightfully skanky pirate villain who steals every moment he's on screen. I've seen Wei in several Shaw films, but strangely his martial skill (as a Tae Kwon Do expert) was rarely employed. Too bad really because the man is very charismatic and he's a delight to watch fight. I love the make up design for his pirate too. I had fun, but if Wei was floating around a bit more it would have been a keeper for me.
Definitely worth a rental. It's a solid story and the young leads really sell it.
Shaolin Prince (1982) - another martial comedy that is not quite successful in the laughs department but the fight choreography is insanely inventive. Not as loopy as Legendary Weapons of China, but worth a look if you've sat through a ton of wuxia.
Project A (1983) Haven't seen this in over a decade. While I respect Jackie Chan, he's really not my cup. However, Project A has a few things going for it, even if the comedy does not quite work. It's nice to see Chan in a non-modern setting, (this was set in the 1800s) and the story follows his hapless marine as he tries to thwart pirates. Jackie has a nice rapport with his old friends Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. But it's Dick Wei's delightfully skanky pirate villain who steals every moment he's on screen. I've seen Wei in several Shaw films, but strangely his martial skill (as a Tae Kwon Do expert) was rarely employed. Too bad really because the man is very charismatic and he's a delight to watch fight. I love the make up design for his pirate too. I had fun, but if Wei was floating around a bit more it would have been a keeper for me.
I just watched that on a transcontinental flight. Enjoyable enough. I liked that they played a bit with some of the spy movie tropes and made them there own. "This isn't that kind of movie"
I'd watch a sequel and am intrigued enough to check out the graphic novel.
B
I agree that the Babadook is a great horror movie and definitely worth checking out, but it is far from the scariest movie I've ever seen. I enjoyed it as a cleverly told tale with two great performances as it's foundation.
(Although William Friedkin agrees with you on the scariest movie part.)