The Dark Knight...for what is was...a movie based on a super hero comic character...was excellent, to claim that it was awful is missing the whole point of the movie. The movie was never about creating a masterpiece, it was about feeding the large following of "fan boys" who crave the super hero characters...objective achieved, plus US$1billion in revenues worldwide, along with two Academy Awards. To judge the film otherwise is really missing the bus.
What, that's ridiculous, particularly since the film is endlessly discussed as a "masterpiece" by those self-same fanboys.
Transformers made a shit-ton of money, too; it doesn't mean it's not a bad movie, and it certainly doesn't preclude it from such discussions.
Taxi Driver (1976) set in New York City just after the Vietnam War. Stars Robert De Nero, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks and Cybill Shepherd. Directed by Martin Scorsese (who made a cameo appearance).
too many movies to choose. one flew over the cuckoos nest, jaws, black swan was good. sucker punch was surprisingly good. rented it for the girls in skimpy clothing, got more than i expected. dumb and dumber, classic. kung fu hustle...
"theoreticalboy", you classified the film as "awful". My only point is that any film/movie/show/entertainment is produced for a particular consumer/market segment in mind..."fanboy" in this case...and his definition of "masterpiece" is very different to yours...because you are looking for something that this movie did not set-out to achieve.
So many films! Thanks everyone, this is my favorite thread to read!
"theoreticalboy", you classified the film as "awful". My only point is that any film/movie/show/entertainment is produced for a particular consumer/market segment in mind..."fanboy" in this case...and his definition of "masterpiece" is very different to yours...because you are looking for something that this movie did not set-out to achieve.
Have you read criticism of The Dark Knight? People make claims about it that are in no way accounted for by the terms you set.
Plus, I would say that there are more rigorous standards by which one can judge films, and this relativity, though of course essential, is never entirely adequate in meeting the demands of criticism. The Dark Knight, so far as I can tell, is defined by three major things:
1. Heath Ledger's stunning performance
2. An over-reliance on blackened cinematography, which is supposed to contribute to a dark vision of a social dystopia, but is really hammy and repetitive (see Blade Runner and/or Dark City for examples of success to this end)
3. A simplistic reduction of the world into a good vs evil paradigm; one which would be entirely fitting for a simple comic book tale, but one which becomes problematic with the film's consistent allusions to the war on terror, and the actions of the Bush administration within that prism
The first point proves that the film has some success; the last two provide a wholly adequate basis for discussing it negatively, and it is on these grounds that I do so. I don't care if it meets the criteria for successful comic book adaptation; what I care about is whether or not the film possesses some originality, some wit, some truth.
These grounds, by the way, do provide for the opportunity to like films that I think are bad, and dislike films that I think are good. No doubt I have done both.
sometimes a story is just a story. mark twain
"What is transmitted from generation to generation is not only the stories, but the very power of transmission."
"We knew we could make each other cry, laugh, or fear, but we never thought of saying to each other, "This is just a story.""
- Trinh T. Minh-ha
Can I give a shout out to the "Halloween" franchise? Been scared for thirty year on those.
SIn Nombre is probably still on netflix instant play. One day I may actually use that access.
Just stay away from The Postman, a waste of celluloid.
Not to be confused with Il Postino , which i thought was OK
For those who dont mind reading their movies:
Nikita
Cyrano de Bergarac , one of the few films to bring tears to my eyes
La Vita e bella (Life is Beautiful) , the last film I cried while watching
Just stay away from The Postman, a waste of celluloid.
If you completely ignore the dialogue except when Tom Petty's on screen then it would be a decent enough movie but yeah the patriotism et all is fairly sickening, and the ending! Flipping horrible.
Can anyone recommend a movie about a nuclear disaster (end of the world and starting over) sort of a movie? Thanks in advance.
I've mentioned it before but Therads(1984) is good and kind of in this vein. Most of it takes place pre- and during the nuclear disaster but there is a bit after. Its a real downer though.
There is an old movie you never saw released in 1958, I think. It was titled "Cry Terror". I was a young kid and a few of the last scenes were filmed on my block. It was where a car drove up a hill and made a left turn-you could see my house in the movie and my friends dads junk truck. Now the house at the end of the block was where a kidnap victim was held in the movie. I knew the people that really lived there, Mr & Mrs Pena. Nice folks. Sometimes when a I walked by after school I would wait looking through their fence, then Mrs Pena would see me like I was some kind of lost puppy then she brought out cookies and milk.
Ah , the good ol' days.
the scream movies are good, if you like horror
What I really like is the music soundtracks from most of these great movies, example" Dark Knight" is great to listen to!
One thing that gets old fast seems every movie has to have that sex scene or they cannot make the movie, sometimes it can take away twenty minute from the movie! lolo Can they not leave that for your imagination to be exercised? What were we talking about? Oh movies
Stalag 17 - good.
Stalag 17(1953)
Loved William Holden and the story! The two comic reliefs? You know who I'm talking about. One was named "Animal" I believe. I don't remember the other person's name, but, they were the only flaws, for me, in the film
trysts, I agree they seemed out of place in a pretty good film. "Animal's" friend in Stalag 17 was named Harry Shapiro