General Movie Thread

[killthenet]

"Tell it to me in Star Wars."

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

... I just said I really enjoyed it?

 

Haha! Sorry, it seems my brain only read the first two thirds of your post and decided to fill in the rest itself.

 

Haven't seen The Princess And The Frog, so I can't compare.

[Magnus]

Haven't seen The Princess And The Frog, so I can't compare.

Don't. It was utterly mediocre.

[nightwolf]

Don't. It was utterly mediocre.

 

I think that film is lovely! :awesome:

[Beast]

Haha! Sorry, it seems my brain only read the first two thirds of your post and decided to fill in the rest itself.

 

Haven't seen The Princess And The Frog, so I can't compare.

 

See it, it's a really nice little movie and the animation is simply beautiful. It really has the feel of the old classic Disney movies.

 

I saw Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist today and I must say how surprised I am. I've been watching the Fast and Furious movies all week and they're pretty much the same but Fast and Furious 5 is by far the best in the series. It was just awesome, I really enjoyed watching it.

[Sméagol]

I find it a shame that people keep comparing Pixar to DreamWorks when they're obviously not trying to do the same thing.

Sorry to bring this (now old) post up, but,you're wrong, they are, in general. Yes, they have a different feel to them (thankfully, which is why I love Pixar), but it's a very fine distinction. Their target audience is roughly the same.

 

If I have to guess at a specific distinction, it's that Dreamworks seem to be aimed at kids and teens, whereas Pixar is aimed at kids and their parents, which leads to "smarter" feeling films from Pixar. That said, I have mainly Up in my mind, where the first part, about their past, was just fantastic. The scene about the miscarriage was just heartbreaking. But this is an exception even for Pixar, probably the most dramatic scene they've ever made so far, although I really hope they do this more often now. Still, even when Pixar's films also feature funny animals, they still feel more genuine.

 

Meh. On-topic:

 

Saw Der Baader Meinhof Komplex yesterday. Not boring, quite dramatic, but I feel, even at almost 2,5 hours, it seems rushed. I think it would've suited the subject (left-extremists in Germany in the 70's) better if it was made into a mini-series. I'm not too fond of political subjects, but when I do watch something, I'd like to know the context. I don't think it particularly didn't explain certain things, but I would've appreciated some more background or explanations for certain actions of characters.

[Magnus]

The Princess and the Frog is a boring movie where two frogs (fine, people turned into frogs, but they're frogs for almost the entire movie) spend most of their time making their way through a swamp. Of course they're polar opposites, and one of them has to learn to be less selfish and more responsible, while the other one has to learn to let loose and to open up her heart a little. No bonus points if you figured out that they fall in love. A lot of it is just unrelated events that have no impact on anything and just serve to pad out the movie. The villain lacks any charisma and is probably one of Disney's worst. I honestly thought he was just going to be a side character at first. There's also way too much music and it's not very good, but I guess that's subjective, so meh.

 

I do agree that the animation was great, but the way Disney acted like this movie's success (or lack thereof) would decide the fate of their classically animated movies was ridiculous, since the animation was the one thing the movie got right.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Sorry to bring this (now old) post up, but,you're wrong, they are, in general. Yes, they have a different feel to them (thankfully, which is why I love Pixar), but it's a very fine distinction. Their target audience is roughly the same.

 

If I have to guess at a specific distinction, it's that Dreamworks seem to be aimed at kids and teens, whereas Pixar is aimed at kids and their parents, which leads to "smarter" feeling films from Pixar. That said, I have mainly Up in my mind, where the first part, about their past, was just fantastic. The scene about the miscarriage was just heartbreaking. But this is an exception even for Pixar, probably the most dramatic scene they've ever made so far, although I really hope they do this more often now. Still, even when Pixar's films also feature funny animals, they still feel more genuine.

 

I disagree, I think DreamWorks generally have a very different approach to their films. Sure, they're animated films aimed at kids/young teens with bonus levels for the older audience, but the feel, attitude and general focus/prioritisation are mostly very different from those of Pixar. That's why people complained about the marketing for Tangled, for instance: It was marketed entirely as a film in the spirit of DreamWorks when it was in fact more Disney than most Disney films as of late.

[Sméagol]

But the feel isn't important if we're talking about their goals, as they both seek to entertain primarily kids through 3D animated entertainment, where comedy / humour plays the biggest factor, followed by action. In this, they're exactly the same.

 

Again, the feel is what determines, for a guy like me, why I love one but hate the other, but that doesn't change the fact that what they try to do is the same. It's just that, in my opinion, one succeeds, and the other doesn't, but box office numbers don't agree with me.

 

Although I'd like to nuance my "hate" towards Dreamworks, I think I should give them a chance, and (re)watch some of their stuff.. I guess it's mostly Shrek I hate.

[jayseven]

(link doesn't seem to work, killthenet)

[ReZourceman]

I have watched a surprising amount of films this week.

 

---------

 

I went to a movie quiz on Monday. Ugh. Hated myself so much. After (Paj!) told me about (Lars Von Trier), there was a Lars Von Trier question and I was like "OMG" and it was "Who starred in Dogville" and literally, couldn't think, but Nicole Kidman WENT IN MY HEAD, AND I DID NOT SUGGEST IT because I thought it was a stupid answer, but I was like "But he said, not amazings like Kiefer Sutherland and ...... were in the movies...was Nicole Kidman one" I felt like shit. Hated myself/wanted to die.

 

----------

 

Watched A Nightmare On Elm Street original on Monday, and I enjoyed it to an extent. It was a little meh, and the ending was stupid and disjointed, but it was enjoyable enough. Main chick was a bit of a wanker though.

 

Then I watched Requiem for a Dream and was happy to see a Wayans brother. The film was good, I don't want to do drugs now.

 

Then I watched Child's Play and was preparing for REALLLLYYY cheesy stuff, but found it surprisingly straight, and actually enjoyed it a fair amount. Fucking hell though. What an annoying cast. Well not really, but first of all the kid is a little wanker, his first 20 minutes were the most annoying performance from a child ever. Getting fucking milk everywhere, the snot nosed little bastard. AND THE MOTHER. HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT A SADISTIC BITCH. Wrapping up a pair of fucking jeans in a GIGANTIC box on your 6 year old sons fucking birthday, what the hell is wrong with you. Ignorant/cruel/saddistic wanker.

 

(Spoilers) was pissed off she didn't die.

 

Anyway, the film itself.....I was actually upset there wasn't more stabbing. Chucky hardly stabbed anything. He was cool though. A cool villain. He wasn't very menacing though. Honestly the scariest thing about (the entire trilogy) is the front cover for Child's Play 2. I was never "scared" of it as a kid, but I'd certainly avoid looking at the front covers in Blockbusters.

 

--------------

 

Then I watched Child's Play 2. I would put it a point or two behind the orignal, but still enjoyable, and it contained my favourite thing of the trilogy. The bringing back of Chucky, or rather, how they wrote in how Chucky went from (spoilers) toasted and broken and dismembered, to brand new. That was fucking great. Loved that. The story was okay. I quite enjoyed the constant non-believers of Chucky being alive, however that got boring by the third. Why didn't the two cops from the first film back up the mother, who you hear in this one is in a mental asylum. Why didn't Kyle then chime in after the events of the second. Anyway it was cool and enjoyable.

 

--------------

 

Child's Play 3 I watched straight afterwards. By far the weakest of the trilogy. LOL JIMMY OLSEN! Ha. Anyway, the setting is shit, the locations are bollocks apart from the excellent finale in the ghost train coaster thing. But the annoying introduction of Ron just felt stupid. Honestly the worst thing was the location it was just so meh. Storyline was meh. Why didn't Chucky finish any of his rituals if it was so important. Rather he just seemed to give up the slightest thing happen (someone walk in when he's nearly finished). And he isn't threatening enough, he's just a doll. Meh. He was definitely the most menacing in this one though.

 

I actually enjoyed the trilogy despite it getting weaker.

 

I'm in two minds about watching the next two. I've got them downloaded here and I definitely prefer the design of Chucky. I might soon/but don't really care. I'd also rather it was a straight horror but as I gather its more of a horror/comedy angle.

[Eenuh]

That said, I have mainly Up in my mind, where the first part, about their past, was just fantastic. The scene about the miscarriage was just heartbreaking. But this is an exception even for Pixar, probably the most dramatic scene they've ever made so far, although I really hope they do this more often now. Still, even when Pixar's films also feature funny animals, they still feel more genuine.

 

About the bolded part, I never thought of it as a miscarriage...

More that they really wanted to have kids and were preparing for them (and obviously trying for them), but then they eventually found out she can't have kids. Which is why they stayed childless their entire life (as a miscarriage doesn't prevent that).

 

Just how I saw it.

[Sméagol]

Oh yeah, that's what I meant, didn't get my facts straight. Heartbreaking nonetheless.

[Eenuh]

Oh yeah, that's what I meant, didn't get my facts straight. Heartbreaking nonetheless.

 

Very much so. One of the saddest pieces of animation I've seen heh.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

But the feel isn't important if we're talking about their goals, as they both seek to entertain primarily kids through 3D animated entertainment, where comedy / humour plays the biggest factor, followed by action. In this, they're exactly the same.

 

Again, the feel is what determines, for a guy like me, why I love one but hate the other, but that doesn't change the fact that what they try to do is the same. It's just that, in my opinion, one succeeds, and the other doesn't, but box office numbers don't agree with me.

 

Although I'd like to nuance my "hate" towards Dreamworks, I think I should give them a chance, and (re)watch some of their stuff.. I guess it's mostly Shrek I hate.

 

But I'm not talking about their goals in such a broad sense, I'm talking about how they choose to go about it. I love both DreamWorks and Pixar, but each for their respective approaches. Fair and square if you hate one and love the other, but obviously that's down to their differences, and that's where I don't get how you can say they do the same thing. Sure, they aim to sell tickets and entertain, but they apply very different tactics. They have borrowed a lot from each other and attempted to use each others approaches, but ultimately we can still identify the "Pixar Approach" and the "DreamWorks Approach". Internet reviewer The Nostalgia Chick has even done a video about the rivalry and the differences between them.

[Sméagol]

Well, I didn't know who this nostalgia chick was, so I googled it.. She mainly speaks about the differences between Dreamworks and Disney.. And that the main difference is marketing, which I also disregard for this purpose. She actually says, when she talks about the actual content, that Dreamworks was moving away from their rivalry with Disney itself by copying Pixar. She concludes that their last few films, like How to train your dragon, are more like Pixar, because they actually take their characters seriously.

 

They may put a different emphasis on things (the pop culture references and celebrity voices for the Dreamworks side), but at their core, they're 2 3D animation studios whose

aim is to produce family entertainment.

[Beast]

I have watched a surprising amount of films this week.

 

---------

 

I went to a movie quiz on Monday. Ugh. Hated myself so much. After (Paj!) told me about (Lars Von Trier), there was a Lars Von Trier question and I was like "OMG" and it was "Who starred in Dogville" and literally, couldn't think, but Nicole Kidman WENT IN MY HEAD, AND I DID NOT SUGGEST IT because I thought it was a stupid answer, but I was like "But he said, not amazings like Kiefer Sutherland and ...... were in the movies...was Nicole Kidman one" I felt like shit. Hated myself/wanted to die.

 

----------

 

Watched A Nightmare On Elm Street original on Monday, and I enjoyed it to an extent. It was a little meh, and the ending was stupid and disjointed, but it was enjoyable enough. Main chick was a bit of a wanker though.

 

Then I watched Requiem for a Dream and was happy to see a Wayans brother. The film was good, I don't want to do drugs now.

 

Then I watched Child's Play and was preparing for REALLLLYYY cheesy stuff, but found it surprisingly straight, and actually enjoyed it a fair amount. Fucking hell though. What an annoying cast. Well not really, but first of all the kid is a little wanker, his first 20 minutes were the most annoying performance from a child ever. Getting fucking milk everywhere, the snot nosed little bastard. AND THE MOTHER. HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT A SADISTIC BITCH. Wrapping up a pair of fucking jeans in a GIGANTIC box on your 6 year old sons fucking birthday, what the hell is wrong with you. Ignorant/cruel/saddistic wanker.

 

(Spoilers) was pissed off she didn't die.

 

Anyway, the film itself.....I was actually upset there wasn't more stabbing. Chucky hardly stabbed anything. He was cool though. A cool villain. He wasn't very menacing though. Honestly the scariest thing about (the entire trilogy) is the front cover for Child's Play 2. I was never "scared" of it as a kid, but I'd certainly avoid looking at the front covers in Blockbusters.

 

--------------

 

Then I watched Child's Play 2. I would put it a point or two behind the orignal, but still enjoyable, and it contained my favourite thing of the trilogy. The bringing back of Chucky, or rather, how they wrote in how Chucky went from (spoilers) toasted and broken and dismembered, to brand new. That was fucking great. Loved that. The story was okay. I quite enjoyed the constant non-believers of Chucky being alive, however that got boring by the third. Why didn't the two cops from the first film back up the mother, who you hear in this one is in a mental asylum. Why didn't Kyle then chime in after the events of the second. Anyway it was cool and enjoyable.

 

--------------

 

Child's Play 3 I watched straight afterwards. By far the weakest of the trilogy. LOL JIMMY OLSEN! Ha. Anyway, the setting is shit, the locations are bollocks apart from the excellent finale in the ghost train coaster thing. But the annoying introduction of Ron just felt stupid. Honestly the worst thing was the location it was just so meh. Storyline was meh. Why didn't Chucky finish any of his rituals if it was so important. Rather he just seemed to give up the slightest thing happen (someone walk in when he's nearly finished). And he isn't threatening enough, he's just a doll. Meh. He was definitely the most menacing in this one though.

 

I actually enjoyed the trilogy despite it getting weaker.

 

I'm in two minds about watching the next two. I've got them downloaded here and I definitely prefer the design of Chucky. I might soon/but don't really care. I'd also rather it was a straight horror but as I gather its more of a horror/comedy angle.

 

Just need to say this: Nancy from the 1984 Nightmare is amazing, I love her, lol. Why did you find her wankish? The 1984 version is one of my favourite movies ever, I just love how it's scary and yet funny but not in such an obvious way, unlike the sequels. I also love how you don't properly see Freddy, you just see shadows of him and him in dark areas but yeah, I thought the ending was a little meh too.

 

I also love the Child's Play trilogy and my personal favourite is the second movie. I just think Chucky's really evil in the second one more than in any of the others.

Edited May 12, 2011 by Animal

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Well, I didn't know who this nostalgia chick was, so I googled it.. She mainly speaks about the differences between Dreamworks and Disney.. And that the main difference is marketing, which I also disregard for this purpose. She actually says, when she talks about the actual content, that Dreamworks was moving away from their rivalry with Disney itself by copying Pixar. She concludes that their last few films, like How to train your dragon, are more like Pixar, because they actually take their characters seriously.

 

Ah, then I didn't remember that episode well enough, it seems. My apologies. But yes, the distinction has indeed become blurry. Still, it's clear enough for us to have this debate.

 

They may put a different emphasis on things (the pop culture references and celebrity voices for the Dreamworks side), but at their core, they're 2 3D animation studios who's aim is to produce family entertainment.

 

Well, that's definitely true, but I do find it a rather simplified way to look at things.

[ReZourceman]

Just need to say this: Nancy from the 1984 Nightmare is amazing, I love her, lol. Why did you find her wankish? The 1984 version is one of my favourite movies ever, I just love how it's scary and yet funny but not in such an obvious way, unlike the sequels. I also love how you don't properly see Freddy, you just see shadows of him and him in dark areas but yeah, I thought the ending was a little meh too.

 

I also love the Child's Play trilogy and my personal favourite is the second movie. I just think Chucky's really evil in the second one more than in any of the others. I

 

I dunno she was just a bit of a knob really. I totally agree about Freddy and how he is constantly/mostly in shadows, thats really nice. Must have been fantastic at the time.

 

Oh shit;. I forgot to say how fucking massively dissappointed I was with the beginning of Child's Play 3. After the geniusly spectacular return of Chucky at the beginning of Child's Play 2 (seriously that scene of him being scratched at with tools, taking off the burnt rummer, shining it all up etc) that was my favourite scene. Just awesome. Anyway after that, to have the return of him in Child's Play 3 be.....just.....hell not even exactly explained. Just fucking rebuilt from voodoo blood. And he just "melts" back together. Good god that was shitty.

[Beast]

In addition to my post, I would recommend you watch the other two movies, ReZ. However, don't be expecting the same movies as they're more black comedies than horrors. I mean, I know the trilogy has a comedy element to it but Bride and Seed are more humorous.

[Ashley]

We had a lady from Dreamworks' hiring/other department come in a few times and while she's really nice she spouts their philosophy which annoys me; "we always look at something and ask how we can 'up it'". I know animation is heightened anyway but that apparent constant need just to add more. I know it works in both regards (you could 'up' sadness to a higher level) but I just don't find it appealing.

[ReZourceman]

In addition to my post, I would recommend you watch the other two movies, ReZ. However, don't be expecting the same movies as they're more black comedies than horrors. I mean, I know the trilogy has a comedy element to it but Bride and Seed are more humorous.

 

Okay. I shall then. I've also got the rest of the Nightmares to get through, as I got the box set thing. How do they stack up?

[Beast]

 

I dunno she was just a bit of a knob really. I totally agree about Freddy and how he is constantly/mostly in shadows, thats really nice. Must have been fantastic at the time.

 

Oh shit;. I forgot to say how fucking massively dissappointed I was with the beginning of Child's Play 3. After the geniusly spectacular return of Chucky at the beginning of Child's Play 2 (seriously that scene of him being scratched at with tools, taking off the burnt rummer, shining it all up etc) that was my favourite scene. Just awesome. Anyway after that, to have the return of him in Child's Play 3 be.....just.....hell not even exactly explained. Just fucking rebuilt from voodoo blood. And he just "melts" back together. Good god that was shitty.

 

I loved Nancy, Taryn and Kristen from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, I thought they were awesome characters. Nancy is the ideal clever scream queen who actually tries to beat him up instead of running round like a headless chicken, screaming like a banshee. I also love it for it's flaws...

 

managed to boobytrap the entire house in the space of 10 minutes. Also ReZ, did you love fat Freddy Krueger being on fire?

 

 

Oh God, I hated the start of Child's Play 3 as well. The way the second started was awesome but the start of the third was just a massive WTF moment for me.

[Paj!]

ReZ how dare you give Requiem for a Dream a a tiny review like that and go in-depth into fucking Child's Play.

 

You're sick.

 

Also, it's fine. I always forget Dogville exists and that Nicole Kidman was in it.

[ReZourceman]

ReZ how dare you give Requiem for a Dream a a tiny review like that and go in-depth into fucking Child's Play.

 

You're sick.

 

Hahahahah I knew you were gonna say that.