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Author Topic: Movies in the Theater  (Read 106598 times)

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François

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1000 on: December 25, 2012, 05:48:44 PM »

I read Les Misérables, saw the Depardieu/Malkovich series (can't imagine a better Javert than Malkovich) and the Neeson/Rush movie, and all along my multiple consumptions of that story I couldn't wrap my mind around how anyone would think of putting it to song. Of course the success of the musical speaks for itself and I'm clearly an ass, but I still don't quite have the urge to witness it for myself.
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Disposable Ninja

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1001 on: December 25, 2012, 08:01:29 PM »

There are some good songs, and Russel Crowe has a pretty good voice. It's a little annoying, though, that there are so few actually spoken lines; most of the dialog is recitative. And, like I said, there are way too many close-ups. It was fine enough when Anne Hathoway sang Dreamed a Dream, but it started getting pretty jarring later on. It was like none of the characters were ever in the same place when they interacted and even their locations were ancillary. Javert liked singing precariously close to the edge of sky scrapers, yet the movie didn't really capture the steely fearlessness of his doing so because it was just too damn close to Russel Crowe's face.
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1002 on: December 26, 2012, 10:02:38 AM »

Nobody makes a revenge flick like Quentin Tarantino.

And nobody makes a movie with racists as the villains, while simultaneously having just a little too much fun depicting racism, as Quentin Tarantino.

Frankly I think reviews are a little superfluous. Quentin Tarantino is a known quantity. If you've ever seen one of his movies, you have a pretty good idea whether or not you're going to like Django Unchained. And if you haven't seen one of his movies, go watch Pulp Fiction.

Also: Samuel L Jackson was probably the highlight, but I probably don't need to say that.

Also also: Nice touch about the "Hey, Germans, you've all been really good sports; I'm going to make a German a good guy in this one.  Hell, I'll even cast Christoph Waltz and make him an obvious Mary Sue."
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1003 on: December 27, 2012, 08:26:58 PM »

I liked The Hobbit quite a lot.

I understand the complaints -- it's a lot of stuff we've seen before, and they've padded a fairly short book out by adding in a bunch of tonally-inconsistent stuff from other books -- but I don't really give a damn.  I'm a Tolkien geek and enjoyed the hell out of it.

Especially Sylvester McCoy as Radagast.

(Can't comment on the HFR version; my mom and brother-in-law voted to see it at the local IMAX, which uses an actual film projector, not a digital one.  So no HFR, no Star Trek preview, no trailers at all.  I've heard reviews of the HFR version range from "Eh, didn't make much difference" to "Gave me a headache; the CG characters looked good but all the actual humans looked terrible".  Don't know; would be willing to see it again.)

Will probably hammer out a more thorough, spoilery review on my blog at a later date, but I've got shit to do 'n' places to be today.  Happy Xmas.

Well, I did that.
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François

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1004 on: December 27, 2012, 08:51:22 PM »

I went to see it with my mother. My experience seems to mirror yours I think. For her part, my mother was rather nonplussed by the musical number and the old man with bird poop on the side of his head trying to save a porcupine. She's kind of a casual fantasy fan; she digs movies and TV shows about magic, witches and wizards and attractive guys being noble and she'll watch anything with Merlin in it, but she wouldn't sit down to read novels, much less ones on the scale of Tolkien's work. When the movie was over she told me she was disappointed in the lack of female characters (which I could in some small way agree with, though I was glad to see so many awesome beards in one flick), and she thought the story would be more about Gollum and the ring. Overall she seemed to like it, or so she told me, anyway.

It's kind of interesting how the superficially silly elements of the movie are aimed squarely at the hardcore fans who know what to expect, while in another property that sort of thing would be thrown into an otherwise serious story in a probably misguided attempt to appeal to a broader demographic.
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Büge

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1005 on: December 27, 2012, 09:23:16 PM »

I kept being distracted by Elijah Wood's voice. Ten years of smoking really kills your vocal cords.
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1006 on: December 27, 2012, 10:52:29 PM »

I took my mom too, but...well, my mom read me the books when I was a kid.  When the Dwarves hit the "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" chorus she sang along.  Suffice it to say she came away with rather a positive opinion of it.

(Also I thought that was supposed to be lichen growing on Radagast, but yeah it sure does look like bird shit.)
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François

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1007 on: December 27, 2012, 11:46:35 PM »

Hmm, I guess it might be lichen, but IIRC he straight up puts a small bird under his hat at one point. If he does that often, well...

Heh, my mom's a serious neat freak and she dislikes animals, to her Radagast might be the scariest character in all the movies.
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Catloaf

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1008 on: December 28, 2012, 03:43:06 PM »

I saw Django on Christmas and loved it.
Samuel L Jackson was probably the highlight, but I probably don't need to say that.
Of the villains, certainly.  In the second half of the movie, definitely.  But I felt the show was stolen (especially in the first half of the movie, before Jackson's character ever appears) by Waltz' Dr.King Schultz, and on that note...
Nice touch about the "Hey, Germans, you've all been really good sports; I'm going to make a German a good guy in this one.  Hell, I'll even cast Christoph Waltz and make him an obvious Mary Sue."
First, while never stated explicitly, it's pretty clear he's Jewish--I mean, a [former] Dentist in that day and age.  So that's two Tarantino films in a row now with Ass-Kicking Jews, and small caveat to the German hat-tipping.

Secondly, while I don't think he was a full-fledged Mary Sue, he was the most obvious 'historical edit' and the clear bridging character between depicted and contemporary cultures.
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1009 on: December 28, 2012, 08:14:13 PM »

I wrote some things about how Christopher Tolkien hates that there are movies and the various ethical dilemmas involved in the franchise.

How badly was JRR Tolkien taken advantage of?

This is the first film adaptation of The Hobbit.

The Hobbit.mp4

It was made because Tolkien's lawyers stipulated that the filmmakers would get the rights to LotR if they produced a Hobbit movie by the deadline -- but forgot to specify any requirements on running time or distribution.
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Smiler

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1010 on: December 28, 2012, 10:43:34 PM »

I heard Django is good. I hope it is as good as the TV show was.

Django Unchained - Season 3 Opening Theme
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Büge

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1011 on: December 29, 2012, 07:29:29 AM »

Aw yeah, TGIF.
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Doom

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1012 on: December 29, 2012, 01:29:11 PM »

Woah was I late to the party.

Wreck-it Ralph is movie of the year TIA.

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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1013 on: January 01, 2013, 08:19:25 PM »

I don't know that I'd go quite that far, but it's certainly up there.
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Doom

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1014 on: January 02, 2013, 06:34:37 PM »

Quote
And the ending — Ralph goes back to being a bad guy but now he enjoys it? I guess I can see how some people thought that betrayed the story's premise. Hell, I'd have figured they'd go the route of Ralph's clear inspiration, Donkey Kong, and make him a hero in a sequel.

But you know, there is something to be said for the message: you may have a lousy job, but you can find ways to make it better. There's a bit of Camus's Myth of Sisyphus to it; Sisyphus may not have a choice in how he lives, but he does have the freedom to feel however the hell he wants about it. (And it doesn't hurt that Ralph's coworkers finally start treating him right.)

You could also interpret Ralph's struggle and resolution as coming to terms with existential depression. Especially if you tie it to Zangief's little quote from the start "You are "bad guy", but you are not bad... guy", the Bad Guy Serenity Oath and [spoiler]falling towards the Mentos peak at the end with the oath.[/spoiler] There's no one I'd rather be than me indeed.
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1015 on: January 02, 2013, 10:25:56 PM »

Sure.  I thought that was implicit with the Camus reference.
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Doom

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1016 on: January 04, 2013, 09:17:35 AM »

So it is. In the very bit I quoted. :hurr: For awhile I thought I missed an in-movie reference!

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Shinra

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1017 on: January 09, 2013, 01:14:10 PM »

Saw Close-Up: The Musical, today. You may also know it as Les Miserables.

Seriously, the camera man needed to back the fuck up.

Late to the party here but after watching it in the theater today the wife and I were both unimpressed. The cinematography and camera work were the worst I have ever seen in a large budget film, the casting was mostly awful, and costumes and makeup were horrifically bad. We're supposed to buy that Jean Valjean has aged nearly 20 years since getting out of prison in the second half of the film, but he looks younger than he did in the opening scenes of the movie - I get that Hugh Jackman has a certain draw by being a hot dude, but couldn't you guys at least give the man a fully gray wig or some wrinkles? I think this was a movie with a great story and great musical numbers that was marred by horrible execution, and as far as I can see it's coasted by on reviews by virtue of being a (completely rote, btw) movie adaptation of a classic musical.



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Romosome

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1018 on: January 13, 2013, 08:28:07 PM »

Words cannot really adequately express how fucking much I enjoyed Django Unchained.

I should probably go back and watch Inglorious Basterds.
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Thad

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Re: Movies in the Theater
« Reply #1019 on: January 13, 2013, 08:35:21 PM »

Right, and on that note, going back a bit:

I saw Django on Christmas and loved it.
Samuel L Jackson was probably the highlight, but I probably don't need to say that.
Of the villains, certainly.  In the second half of the movie, definitely.  But I felt the show was stolen (especially in the first half of the movie, before Jackson's character ever appears) by Waltz' Dr.King Schultz

Touche.  Waltz is phenomenal; I love him in everything I see him in.  I don't really give two good goddamns about the Oscars, but he deserved the one he got for Inglourious Basterds.

and on that note...
Nice touch about the "Hey, Germans, you've all been really good sports; I'm going to make a German a good guy in this one.  Hell, I'll even cast Christoph Waltz and make him an obvious Mary Sue."
First, while never stated explicitly, it's pretty clear he's Jewish--I mean, a [former] Dentist in that day and age.  So that's two Tarantino films in a row now with Ass-Kicking Jews, and small caveat to the German hat-tipping.

Hm.  At first I thought he was Jewish; later on I thought he wasn't.  Tough call.  Viewing the movie as self-contained I think I prefer that he is; viewing it in the context of Tarantino throwing the Germans a bone after Basterds, I think I like it better if he's a gentile.  Either way, though.

Secondly, while I don't think he was a full-fledged Mary Sue, he was the most obvious 'historical edit' and the clear bridging character between depicted and contemporary cultures.

I say he's a Mary Sue because the very first thing he does is shoot a redneck who makes fun of him for using big words.

That's either Tarantino working out some childhood aggression, or me projecting some.
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