Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Mar 7, 2024 14:49:53 GMT -5
I thought Tintin was fine-ish at the time but looking back on it the whole project was clearly one of Spielberg's bigger misfires.
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PG Cooper
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And those who tasted the bite of his sword named him...The DOOM Slayer
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Post by PG Cooper on Mar 7, 2024 15:10:36 GMT -5
I was lukewarm on Tintin at the time but rewatched it a couple years ago and had a blast.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Mar 7, 2024 15:21:26 GMT -5
I was lukewarm on Tintin at the time but rewatched it a couple years ago and had a blast. I was honestly kind of hoping for a similar experience myself, but alas...
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 8, 2024 16:48:46 GMT -5
It's yet another movie where they said 'we're turning this into a franchise!' and you knew right away that wasn't going to fly. Peter Jackson didn’t hold up his end of bargain.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Mar 17, 2024 14:50:23 GMT -5
Recently got back from seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen. My first time in that format. I already love the hell out of it, but in a theater, it’s just on a whole other level.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 17, 2024 16:16:36 GMT -5
Recently got back from seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen. My first time in that format. I already love the hell out of it, but in a theater, it’s just on a whole other level. I remember I went to watch Jurassic Park in its third week and it was still selling out, so I watched Dennis the Menace instead. I know Doomsday will back me up when I say it’s the better movie.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Mar 17, 2024 16:49:01 GMT -5
One has Christopher Lloyd, the other doesn’t. What choice is there to make?
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Mar 17, 2024 16:55:01 GMT -5
Recently got back from seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen. My first time in that format. I already love the hell out of it, but in a theater, it’s just on a whole other level. I remember I went to watch Jurassic Park in its third week and it was still selling out, so I watched Dennis the Menace instead. I know Doomsday will back me up when I say it’s the better movie. Do you want to just change your screenname to Hot Take McGee?
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 26, 2024 2:40:20 GMT -5
letterboxd.com/phantomknight/film/the-flintstonesAs a kid, I didn't really know what embezzlement was, but didn't care while watching this movie. Now as an adult, I know what embezzlement is, and I still don't care. Because who wants to see a Flintstones movie where Fred is made the stooge of an embezzlement scheme at his company? Doomsday doesn’t know what the male patriarchy is, but does that make Barbie a bad movie?? The embezzlement plot is just that, a plot. It’s not what the movie is about. It’s what propels the story. The Flintstones isn't a total wash. The production design is really impressive and a lot of fun, and there's at least a sense of passion here that's evident on the part of director Brian Levant to lovingly recreate the feel of the show. Also, I can't honestly say it feels like the actors are phoning it in, which is especially commendable in the case of John Goodman, who's gone on record saying he never actually wanted to do this movie. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the animated series and enjoyed the movie as much as a crowded 1994 would allow me to. We got not one, not two, but three Jim Carrey movies. The Flintstones movie is lucky I gave it any attention. But it is that passion that hooked me and what makes the movie hold up today. The beginning of the movie is a love letter to the cartoon, and when we get to the “embezzlement plot”, it continues to be about the characters and their relationship with each other. It’s about Fred getting caught up in his success. It’s about Barney plowing through his slump. It’s about the ups and downs of their friendship. If all you see is embezzlement and ignore everything around it, I don’t know what to tell you. Also, in defense of the embezzlement plot, you gotta give something to the parents. It can’t just be stone-age hijinks. I actually think the Flintstones handles the embezzlement plot better than Barbie handles the male patriarchy. It does have some valid things to say about worker culture and corporate shenanigans.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Mar 26, 2024 17:04:02 GMT -5
That's the thing, though -- all of the character drama and arcs and humor that stem from the embezzlement plot really aren't all that good. Despite the actors leaning into it. I was into this movie as a kid, too, but it just doesn't hold up that well for me.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 26, 2024 17:21:14 GMT -5
all of the character drama and arcs and humor that stem from the embezzlement plot really aren't all that good. I disagree. The movie opens with Fred giving his savings to Barney so he and Betty can adopt Bam-Bam. Wilma confronts him about it when she needs the money to fix the “garbage disposal”. Fred pretends to be the man in the house, but we quickly learn that’s not the case. The Flintstones was an animated rip-off of the Honeymooners (the Jackie Gleason sitcom) and I think this section of the movie captures that well. Plus all the sight gags and world building that perfectly recreated the cartoon. Then we get to the infamous embezzlement plot which came as a result of Barney repaying Fred the favor. I think this speaks to both their characters and their relationship. Now, where I think the embezzlement plot works for the grownups watching this movie, is in the satire that all the workers (aside from Fred and Barney) are basically neanderthals and the corporate bigwigs taking advantage of them are more “evolved.” The good-nature of Fred & Barney overcoming the embezzlement plot worked out quite nice in whatever commentary the movie was trying to make. Unlike the Barbie movie where the male patriarchy message was muddled at best.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Mar 26, 2024 17:58:56 GMT -5
The Flintstones, psh. More made up patriarchy bullshit.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 26, 2024 20:34:20 GMT -5
The Flintstones, psh. More made up patriarchy bullshit. The next Flintstones sees Wilma go join the workforce while Fred becomes a stay-at-home dad.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 26, 2024 21:11:06 GMT -5
I only ever committed to his directorial efforts. In light of recent events, you’re doing Cape Fear next.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Mar 26, 2024 21:35:15 GMT -5
all of the character drama and arcs and humor that stem from the embezzlement plot really aren't all that good. I disagree. The movie opens with Fred giving his savings to Barney so he and Betty can adopt Bam-Bam. Wilma confronts him about it when she needs the money to fix the “garbage disposal”. Fred pretends to be the man in the house, but we quickly learn that’s not the case. The Flintstones was an animated rip-off of the Honeymooners (the Jackie Gleason sitcom) and I think this section of the movie captures that well. Plus all the sight gags and world building that perfectly recreated the cartoon. Then we get to the infamous embezzlement plot which came as a result of Barney repaying Fred the favor. I think this speaks to both their characters and their relationship. Now, where I think the embezzlement plot works for the grownups watching this movie, is in the satire that all the workers (aside from Fred and Barney) are basically neanderthals and the corporate bigwigs taking advantage of them are more “evolved.” The good-nature of Fred & Barney overcoming the embezzlement plot worked out quite nice in whatever commentary the movie was trying to make. Unlike the Barbie movie where the male patriarchy message was muddled at best. Let me rephrase...
I only ever committed to his directorial efforts. In light of recent events, you’re doing Cape Fear next. I believe you have your own thread...
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Mar 26, 2024 21:38:27 GMT -5
I believe you have your own thread... I pass on the baton to you.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Apr 13, 2024 18:52:24 GMT -5
WAR HORSE (2011)
War Horse is a movie that's both easy and hard to really go in depth talking about, because really, how much is there to say here? The movie is every bit the obvious and schmaltzy Oscar bait period drama it's always been, and time hasn't been kind to it. It's at least not an awful movie, and while absolutely being one of Steven Spielberg's weakest movies, it's still not one of the worst. And that's because the filmmaking here is still very competent, with the cinematography feeling grand and epic during all of the war-focused sequences (but really just in general), the production values being quite high and the war scenes especially benefitting from that. And while I can't say that the movie is ever outright boring (kind of a remarkable feat, in all honesty), the story still never manages to truly engage. As a pet owner, I can acknowledge that the film is able to tap into a certain emotional truthfulness to a certain degree when showing the bond that can develop between an animal and their owners, but the movie lays this on so thick, that it starts to feel kind of suffocating a lot of the time. Part of that is also because Albert, the main human, is a really bland character whose main purpose seems to just be to moan and yearn about how much he loves his horse and how he'll do anything to be with him; not a very compelling character trait in the grand scheme, all told. And apart from him, while the rest of the performances are uniformly pretty solid, none of the other characters that this horse comes across on his journey are all that interesting, either. Most of this movie is spent simply waiting for the inevitable sentimental conclusion, but the movie never does a whole lot to earn that sentimentality. And that's really War Horse in a nutshell: hollow sentimentality wrapped inside admittedly very solid production values. Steven Spielberg has certainly made worse movies -- hello, 1941 and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- but War Horse is one of his more unremarkable ones at the end of the day. Many people have labeled it as a project he did mainly to get all of his worst instincts out of his system for Lincoln, and it certainly has the feeling of a loosening-up exercise before a main workout. I still maintain that the most memorable thing to come out of it is Conan O' Brien's spoof theme song for it.
**/****
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Apr 13, 2024 19:00:06 GMT -5
The best thing I can say about War Horse is that I remember it exists. On a related note, since SnoBorderZero is busy indulging on Tarantino’s podcast, Tarantino did come to defend 1941 and I can see where he’s coming from. Spielberg still had balls and was willing to take chances when he made 1941. War Horse, by contrast, shows Spielberg at his most content. Spielberg makes movies just to make movies these days.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Apr 13, 2024 19:12:23 GMT -5
Spielberg makes movies just to make movies these days. At the same time, though...he's one of the ones who's earned that right. But even then, there's still some strong stuff in his modern output.
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