Forums | MacLife

Donkey Butter wrote:

I wasn't impressed with the acting in NCFOM or TWBB, the story was meh and the directing wasn't anything amazing to me.

I have often said that you can only like this type of film if you are in the industry.

I also didn't like babel, and very nearly walked out of the theater. the only reason I stayed was because my wife said we paid money to see it so we should watch it all the way through.

Daniel Day Lewis was impressive, as was Javier Bardem, but having one standout performance in a film just doesn't do it for me.

And Babel was horrible, I agree. That guy keeps making the same movie over and over, and it keeps getting worse.

Nobody, but NOBDOY makes a movie as "Oscar bait."  When you're relying on the fickle nature of consumers, you can't bank on anything so the movie business is a crap shoot.  Some really great movies get overlooked, and some real crap winds up with a bunch of little gold statuettes.  Nobody goes into the making of a movie thinking that it will win an Oscar.

But that's no guarantee, and it's not the director's decision, it's the marketing division of the studio who decides that kind of stuff.

No one knows what will sell, they roll the dice each time.

Donkey Butter wrote:

I wasn't impressed with the acting in NCFOM or TWBB, the story was meh and the directing wasn't anything amazing to me.

I have often said that you can only like this type of film if you are in the industry.

I work evenings at a restaurant/theater here in Austin, and we are still showing both films (which were selling out most nights even prior to the Oscars).  Most people really enjoy them, though there are a few that walk out of 'There Will be Blood' because of its length (lots of people today are so used to fast-paced film editing that they can't handle films that move at a slower pace--I don't see how such people could enjoy any film over 20 years old). 

I also didn't like babel, and very nearly walked out of the theater. the only reason I stayed was because my wife said we paid money to see it so we should watch it all the way through.

I liked Babel, but can see how it isn't for everyone.

bratboy wrote:

333imacman wrote:

Daniel Day Lewis was impressive, as was Javier Bardem, but having one standout performance in a film just doesn't do it for me.

I thought everyone in 'No Country' was excellent, especially the bit characters.  Day-Lewis pretty much 'was' TWBB, though I thought Paul Dano (who played Paul/Eli Sunday) was also great.

I forgot to mention Tommy Lee Jones, who is an amazing actor. He was really great.

Man, there are so many,,,,  How about "To Live and Die in L.A."?  It consisted of loops of dull dialog, where the actors mumbled in each others faces, followed by car chases, followed by scenes of shootings or something getting blown up. It was almost impossible to follow.

Matrix II and III. The first Matrix is a masterpiece. I agree with an earlier poster. They should have left it alone.

Anything with Will Farrell. I just don't get it at all. He was funny doing his impression of Dubya on SNL, but the "Man in his forties who still acts like a frat boy" bit is very, very stale. Someone needs to tell him and his agent that the joke is over.

"On her Majesty's Secret Service". I like most of the Bond movies. But this? If you've never seen it, save yourself the trouble. It stinks. Thankfully, it was George Lazenbee's first and last time as Bond.

Enigma wrote:

Matrix II and III. The first Matrix is a masterpiece. I agree with an earlier poster. They should have left it alone.

Maybe I'm just contrary, but I never really liked The Matrix. I never bought its messianism; Neo the chosen one and all that crap. The theme of machines taking over what belonged to humanity had already been done by James Cameron and Harlan Ellison. What you are left with are the effects. As glitzy as they were,they were not enough to prop up any movie with.

Last edited by TB (2008-03-02 5:08 pm)

TB wrote:

The theme of machines taking over what belonged to humanity had already been done by James Cameron and Harlan Ellison. What you are left with are the effects. As glitzy as they were,they were not enough to prop up any movie with.

The idea of robots taking over the world is nothing new at all, nor is the idea of zombies, or that of two unlikely people falling in love. What is important is the ability to portray such an event in an entertaining and original way. Both Terminator and Matrix succeed in this way. But while you described the plot, the themes (fate and mind-over-matter) are wildly different.

edit: despite their flaws, I enjoyed all 4 matrices.

Last edited by elpato84 (2008-03-02 5:26 pm)

Just thinking about it, all the Harry Potter movies leave me cold.  I try to like them but I can't.  I don't like the books either.

Cobalt60 wrote:

Just thinking about it, all the Harry Potter movies leave me cold.  I try to like them but I can't.  I don't like the books either.

I like the books. I didn't like the movies.
The gal who cuts my hair loved the movies. I asked if she had read the books, she's just started on them.

I didn't read the books until the last one was published and then I read them all. Then I rented the movies - and they were all disappointing.

Robot Jox?

Gone Baby Gone was critically acclaimed, which seems to be important to this thread (91% on rotten tomatoes). Also, I don't think holding the fact that Ben Affleck is Ben Affleck against him is quite fair. Yeah, he's done some bad work, but I go movie by movie. I don't care that he was in Gigli or Daredevil. But that doesn't change the fact that he did a great job directing. Taking potshots at a movie because "Ben Affleck" directed is silly.

Also, if we're going by critical acclaim, Casey Affleck was nominated for best supporting actor this year in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He was also praised for his performance in Gone Baby Gone. So I'm really confused as why to your giving him a bad rap here.

Finally, I'm not from Boston, nor am I a woman. I'm from Minnesota and I'm 20. And I'm guessing that most reviewers are not from Boston either, and a fair amount are men.