I was kinda hoping Battleship would be a fun little ride of a popcorn things-go-boom movie, sadly it sounds like (http://forums.righteouswrath.com/index.php/topic,7475.msg59248.html#msg59248) the ride never goes above 5km/h.
So maybe my post-winter big screen ticket expenditue is better justified on a scifi film (http://www.toronto.com/article/722537--the-cabin-in-the-woods-review-scared-smart) described as "a movie where even when major plot twists are revealed -- as the trailers wantonly do -- there are so many others left, you have no reason to scream, 'Spoiler!'"
http://io9.com/5901458/why-cabin-in-the-woods-really-is-like-a-very-special-buffy-episode
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods/critic-reviews
"an exercise in metafiction that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it's entertaining, while asking the same question of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"
"a deliciously devious scare dance that keeps changing the steps until you lose your @%&# and fall helplessly into its demonic traps."
SOLD! Sounds like a big screen visit is due for this, imo. Maybe we can make it a gathering of friends? It's been forever!
I may be in for this, and I am seeing Battleship no matter what reviews said.
Reviews cratered John Carter and I thought it was one of the best Cowboy Scifi films I've seen. Right up there with Serenity and a solid better than Cowboys vs Aliens... and I don't know if I have any other non-anime movies I can compare it to.
So yes I probably would like to join you but also my point is don't discredit a movie based on either how many people see it or what critics say about it. If you want to see something, just see it and decide for yourself :D
Quote from: Melbosa on April 12, 2012, 06:45:57 PM
Reviews cratered John Carter and I thought it was one of the best Cowboy Scifi films I've seen. Right up there with Serenity and a solid better than Cowboys vs Aliens... and I don't know if I have any other non-anime movies I can compare it to.
my point is don't discredit a movie based on either how many people see it or what critics say about it. If you want to see something, just see it and decide for yourself :D
I agree with you in theory, but in practice I look for a common response in a variety of voices (not just Movie Critics).
If they all sing a consistent song a la "nothing exciting or innovative, bad editing, bad acting" or similar I'll usually pass on seeing it on the Big Screen (really expensive nowadays!) but often I WILL take a chance if the trailer screams "we're doing something different" just because in a way I want to reward risk-taking film-makers, not those who are phoning it in and/or making a "product" just to bringin $$$ to the studio.
But I also judge a movie after viewing it based on what it was "trying to achieve", not comparing it to other movies out at the time, but more like what the film-makers seemed to be trying to make... So with movie critic reviews/soundbites I try to guess what they are saying about the film in that respect.
e.g. If an action or horror movie is clearly campy on purpose, not taking itself seriously, then I'm not gonna knock it for being "silly" or "unrealistic" (unlike certain reviewers with the last name of White ;) ) but also if a drama presents itself as character-developing in the trailer, but after I watch it I realize I didn't give a crap about what happened to the protagonist or how a conflict was resolved, that a big Fail imo, even if there were lots of laughs along the way. I wish I could, but I just can't give every movie an open-minded no-prejudging "chance" (sorry Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, lately! Trailer makes it obvious you are Phoning It In = not worthy of my money, especially when I have seen what you and/or your writer/director are capable of!)
So yeah, my movie-going dollars have to be more strictly justified (having a family and related expenses does that to you) but it's not like I'm only looking for Oscar-calibre film "experiences" every time! As an example, recently I really enjoyed "Chronicle", although I didn't expect it to be large scale epic boomtastic action like something from Michael Bay or out of a Marvel comic source, I did expect some fun along with the characters and the conflict escalating in an interesting but realistic pace. While watching it, I didn't even know it was super low budget (for that kind of genre) because I found the story and the characters that engaging... But of course I know it's not gonna be in any non-technical categories come Academy Awards season.
Heck, speaking of Oscar, that is still one of my favorite comedies, Stallone's "Oscar", I thought it worked for what it was trying to be -- a silly/slapstick farce/comedyoferrors -- even though tons of critics and common folk said it was a bad movie (my guess is those same people expect a laugh track in something like Airplane so they know when they are supposed to chuckle ;) ) So my point is ... I agree with you that critics can certainly be "wrong" (even the majority of them) but often there are warning signs about a movie that is clearly a Fail (and might not even be worth a 90 minute stream on an evening when you are bored)... the trick is finding a balance so you don't waste time, but you also don't miss out on pleasant surprises (disclosure: I quite enjoyed both of Richard Kelly's post-DonnieDarko films... while critics seemed to be mostly looking for "another" DD -- I just sat down and relaxed and immersed myself in whatever new universe that Mr. Kelly brought to the screen each time, and enjoyed the experience trying my best not to compare to anything outside of that particular film.)
I rather enjoyed John Carter as well.
I don't know if I can handle a horror flick in the theatre yet
Wow... DD you have way more insight into movie plots, settings, construction and design than I will ever have. Guess I'm just one of those people that relies on instinct/gut feeling rather than fact or information when it comes to movies (for the most part).
Guess that maybe why I loved some of the worst rated movies of all time.
So now I ask... "What is it that you cannot face?"
Well I gotta say I'm getting bored with less than minimally sophisticated films lately, it doesn't even matter if the SFX are up to snuff or not, I'm just bored with the action movie cliche.
It's all a matter of taste of course, I mean last week Chinatown was finally re-released and when I went in to buy it the staff hadn't even put it on the shelf, they had six copies and they were on the floor of the stockroom. I felt a serious disturbance in the Force right there, this is what one of the films you need to see before you die is relegated to, sitting on the floor of a stockroom while the lastest Michael Bay crapfest pulls in more than a BILLION dollars[?] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers_3#Box_office).
I'm not saying every film has to be Citizen Kane but I'm really not interested in braindead plots much any more.
The flip side to this of course is that I really love b-movies, they're a total guilty pleasure of mine though I'm not really sure what it is I like about them. I think it's the fact that often times the way a film was made says more about the times and the people who made it, then again sometimes they outright surprise me with hidden depth (like my review for Creation of the Humanoids 1962, which is a better film about the decline of mankind and the rise of the machine than The Matrix!)
Anyway, I'm rambling... I think the only action movie I'll fork out money for this year is Batman and that's primarily because of Catwoman haha
So I watched a IGN video and they interviewed the cowriter on the movie... sounds interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLzZIzF6mI&list=UUdVrPfq-B9N5v01axUoDfLA&index=2&feature=plcp
Warning this has Kinect Star Wars footage as well.
Thursday?
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 18, 2012, 10:55:19 AM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 18, 2012, 10:49:22 AM
Thursday?
Mine.....craft?
screw u guyz... me and my brother are going Thursday, who's with us?
(http://mattlitton.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Jerry-Maguire.jpg)
Minecraft, mine craft minecraftmine craft minecraft? Minecraft! HAHAHAHA
(you have to admit, it's better than Malkovich)
Well I'm gonna be going to the 7:30pm show Thursday @ http://edmontonmovies.tribute.ca/theatres/empire-city-centre-9-cinemas-edmonton/cityc/ Downtown, if any of you are able to pull yourself away from Notch's Time Prison and want to watch Whedon's ScifiHorrorPrison film with me and my brother, call/text my cell and me know and we'll meet up (I'll be downtown around 6:15 probably to hang out before the movie).
Verdict?
Life Happened.
But likely gonna go this week, Thursday. Anyone care to come with?
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 24, 2012, 09:09:38 AM
Life Happened.
But likely gonna go this week, Thursday. Anyone care to come with?
I'm a maybe, depends on how planning goes and how much life is left in me.
I could be up for some Joss Whedon goodness...
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 24, 2012, 09:39:11 AM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 24, 2012, 09:09:38 AM
Life Happened.
But likely gonna go this week, Thursday. Anyone care to come with?
I'm a maybe, depends on how planning goes and how much life is left in me.
I could be up for some Joss Whedon goodness...
#danceofjoy (http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/8/128706318930460727.jpg)
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 24, 2012, 11:43:53 AM
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 24, 2012, 09:39:11 AM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 24, 2012, 09:09:38 AM
Life Happened.
But likely gonna go this week, Thursday. Anyone care to come with?
I'm a maybe, depends on how planning goes and how much life is left in me.
I could be up for some Joss Whedon goodness...
#danceofjoy (http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/8/128706318930460727.jpg)
Still 50/50 right now, I'm booked into meetings from 10:30 to 13:00 on Thursday
After that I will probably just crawl into bed and die
So no go for this Joe
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 26, 2012, 02:34:34 PM
So no go for this Joe
dang bro say it aint so joe oh no here we go without yo o wello...
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 26, 2012, 03:13:55 PM
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 26, 2012, 02:34:34 PM
So no go for this Joe
dang bro say it aint so joe oh no here we go without yo o wello...
Yep, worked from home today...
I laughed, I jumped in my seat, I cringed.
Sam Raimi would approve. Buffy + Angel fans definitely will.
Big screen for full experience!
Really?????!?? How does it work for non-horror liking movie goers? My wife can't stand them but did like movies I would call a horrors (but not totally truly horror ones) - Resident Evils...
Quote from: Melbosa on April 26, 2012, 10:37:15 PM
Really?????!?? How does it work for non-horror liking movie goers? My wife can't stand them but did like movies I would call a horrors (but not totally truly horror ones) - Resident Evils...
I'd say it starts off almost a typical suspense/thriller -- easy on the "horror" -- but then it ... changes.
The first "half" is a semi-typical "teens trapped in a cabin, who will die next" type of film. It's written by Joss Whedon (and the director, Drew "Cloverfield" Goddard) so of course the action/horror (and gore) kicks it up a notch the last half. Plenty of subtle or dark humor, but during the last half there's quite a bit of brutal violence as the story gets a lot deeper, and a few scene have a LOT of blood and flying body parts and whatnot. But during this the story progresses in a less predictable direction than you were expecting in the earlier moments of the film.
Some of the hackyslashy scenes didn't feel quite as tense as a typical horror movie, and something about the way they were shot kinda reminded me of similar stuff in Buffy or Angel episodes (spoiler: thar be zombies!) but once it kicks into high gear you feel like you are along for the ride with the (remaining) protagonists and the level of "ugh!" increases and it definitely felt deserving of an "R" rather than PG13 or w/e.
Dammit, sounds good... :D
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 27, 2012, 07:24:35 AM
Dammit, sounds good... :D
AVOID reviews and online discussions at all costs -- there's a handful of "thematic word choices" that some reviewers have used that this morning I was reading and I almost felt like yelling through the screen
(http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/dear-lord-please-grant-me-the-power.png)
because even without giving plot DETAILS away they were hinting at what "below the hood" behind all the goings-on, and a smart person watching the movie will "get it" just fine at a nice pace without going into it with some kind of an even basic idea of the flow of the story.
There's hints pretty much from the very first scene and line of dialouge anyway, for those who pay attention... I went in knowing a "possible theory" and unfortunately that affected how I interpreted some of the spoken words and surrounding visuals (some subtle/in the background) and I wish I went completely "blank page" for full enjoyment of the ride, excellent though it still was.
Too late Stephen Notley enticed me with promises of hot spoilers, which I read.
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 27, 2012, 01:29:19 PM
Too late Stephen Notley enticed me with promises of hot spoilers, which I read.
GEEZ man even Rolling Stone's Peter Travers was so excited by how good it is that he resisted saying ANYTHING spoiler-y in his written and video review (not 100% successful imo, but still did better than Bob The Angry Cartoonist, apparently* :( )
*"it runs on insight and analysis, speaking to the audience as though they understood or were about to understand everything it has to say. It plays its biggest "surprise" at the outset, in the very first scene, playing its trump card to be understood and appreciated." okay that is true and a nice interest-piquing summary now SHUT UP Stephen! (oh wait he basically did ... impressive restraint, Edmonton expat, well done.)