Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 20

innerSpaceman · 05-29-2006, 08:56 PM

Having been reminded of the point of the day by G.C.'s memoriam thread, I have switched tonight's DVD menu to feature Saving Private Ryan, one of the few war movies I admire.

Prudence · 05-29-2006, 09:18 PM

My movie companion dragged me out the second the credits started. Can someone fill me in on the post-credit X3 scene?

Alex · 05-29-2006, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Having been reminded of the point of the day by G.C.'s memoriam thread, I have switched tonight's DVD menu to feature Saving Private Ryan, one of the few war movies I admire.

I have never much cared for Saving Private Ryan. There are a lot of reasons but way up on the list is the fact that the whole movie is a flashback by a person who wasn't there.

Gemini Cricket · 05-30-2006, 05:38 AM

I loved the storming the beach sequence in 'Saving Private Ryan'. It is superbly done.

A couple of my favorite WWII dramas are 'The Longest Day' and 'Band of Brothers'. I consider 'BoB' to be one long awesomely made film. (Although certain parts are better than others.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prudence

My movie companion dragged me out the second the credits started. Can someone fill me in on the post-credit X3 scene?

Spoiler:

X-3: I think a big thing that was missing from this film was one main story. It seemed like several stories all patched together. The other two films main focus was Wolverine, this one centered in on several issues throughout. There's the Jean Grey 'Dark Phoenix' storyline, the Magneto 'fight the cure' storyline, the Storm 'takes over the school' storyline, the Rogue/Iceman/Kitty Pride love triangle, the Angel and jerky father storyline, the Leech 'I want to be free' thing... But being such a huge fan of the X-men since I was a kid, I liked what they did. It played like a comic book. And that's fine, I guess.

I don't know if it's just me, but I cringe when they off characters in the X-Men movies. Even the bad guys...

innerSpaceman · 05-30-2006, 07:32 AM

Yeah, X-3 was a proverbial blood-bath, wasn't it? But I appreciate that it goes very far towards a guarantee that this will be the last X-Men film, despite the great box office and the tag at the end ... which I will put in spoiler tags for no particular reason:

Spoiler:

As for Private Ryan, I'm sorry Alex did not appreciate the twist of a seeming flash-back not being a flash-back. I think it was a brilliant device to fool the audience into believing that the main character lives through his harrowing war experiences. In such a literally blood-bath movie, I believe the audience would have otherwise been more than half expecting Tom Hanks' to buy the farm. Since he is such an appealing character, I think his death as a surprise and shock was a worthy goal, completely justifying a bit of cinematic trickery with hokey film conventions of "the flashback."

It is noteworthy that the film did not cut from the Matt Damon's character's present-day close up to a shot of Tom Hanks. There were six or seven shots before Hanks was revealed. And since 'old man Damon' was shown staring at a tombstone when the cut to the past happened, a "flashback" of the person who died is, I believe, quite legitimate.

In light of a certain film currently out in theaters, it was bittersweet to watch yet another movie where Tom Hanks really enlivens an entire picture with his considerable presence.

Gemini Cricket · 05-30-2006, 08:02 AM

My eyes are crossed. Following link to link across internetdom, I found a wikipedia summary of everything having to do with the X-Men. It's quite a tome. A lot has happened since I stopped reading the comic around the Secret Wars era... I was delighted to find out that Colossus is no longer dead. But maybe we should leave that for the Miscellaneous Comic Book Musings thread.

Gemini Cricket · 05-30-2006, 09:16 AM

By the way, did anyone catch the CG facelifts that Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart got? 20 years younger. Wow. Pretty amazing, almost flawless. I bet Warren Beatty will want that sort of treatment in his next film.

Alex · 05-30-2006, 09:56 AM

They ended up looking like Odo from Deep Space Nine (particularly Stewart).

Gemini Cricket · 05-30-2006, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

They ended up looking like Odo from Deep Space Nine (particularly Stewart).

lol!

They didn't look thaaat bad. But, yeah, something wasn't quite right. Too shiny? I don't know...

LSPoorEeyorick · 05-30-2006, 10:14 AM

We saw An Inconvenient Truth this weekend, and it was the most upsetting film and well-composed argument I've witnessed in a long time.

Put it this way: the impending future made the snot- and tear-stains on my sleeve more voluminous than "The Notebook," and I took the bus to work this morning.

It needs to be played in every single school from coast to coast-- really, from latitude to latitude. If the older generation of Americans refuse to listen and change, it is completely up to us to change this Earth before we destroy it.

The most important message within the film is that the concept is not an exaggeration of doomsday. It's plain scientific fact. We are already seeing the consequences of our mistakes (especially the rising drought and flooding, and more like Katrina is coming.) But we can change it for the future! We can reduce our CO2 like we reduced chlorofluorocarbins. We are completely capable-- and have the technology in place-- to reverse this problem. The government and the car companies MUST address it or we're screwed. And not long-term screwed, people... within our lifetime.

Please. Los Angelenos, go see this film. Everybody, when it comes to your area, go out of your way to listen. Gore may not be your favorite free-wheelin' public speaker, but he has a very sincere message and I was wholly moved by it. I think you will be, too.

05-29-2006, 08:56 PM	#191
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Having been reminded of the point of the day by G.C.'s memoriam thread, I have switched tonight's DVD menu to feature Saving Private Ryan, one of the few war movies I admire.
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05-29-2006, 09:18 PM	#192
Prudence Beelzeboobs, Esq. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gavel - I haz it Posts: 6,287	My movie companion dragged me out the second the credits started. Can someone fill me in on the post-credit X3 scene? __________________ traguna macoities tracorum satis de
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05-30-2006, 07:32 AM	#195
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Yeah, X-3 was a proverbial blood-bath, wasn't it? But I appreciate that it goes very far towards a guarantee that this will be the last X-Men film, despite the great box office and the tag at the end ... which I will put in spoiler tags for no particular reason: Spoiler: Prof. X appears to have taken over the body of that Terry Scheivo-esque "vegetative state" patient he earliler showed to his students in class. Dr. Moira is seen attending the patient, who suddenly turns to her and, in Patrick Stewart's voice says, "Moira." She looks at him astonished and gasps, "Charles?!" Cut to Black. As for Private Ryan, I'm sorry Alex did not appreciate the twist of a seeming flash-back not being a flash-back. I think it was a brilliant device to fool the audience into believing that the main character lives through his harrowing war experiences. In such a literally blood-bath movie, I believe the audience would have otherwise been more than half expecting Tom Hanks' to buy the farm. Since he is such an appealing character, I think his death as a surprise and shock was a worthy goal, completely justifying a bit of cinematic trickery with hokey film conventions of "the flashback." It is noteworthy that the film did not cut from the Matt Damon's character's present-day close up to a shot of Tom Hanks. There were six or seven shots before Hanks was revealed. And since 'old man Damon' was shown staring at a tombstone when the cut to the past happened, a "flashback" of the person who died is, I believe, quite legitimate. In light of a certain film currently out in theaters, it was bittersweet to watch yet another movie where Tom Hanks really enlivens an entire picture with his considerable presence. Last edited by innerSpaceman : 05-30-2006 at 07:37 AM.
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05-30-2006, 08:02 AM	#196
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	My eyes are crossed. Following link to link across internetdom, I found a wikipedia summary of everything having to do with the X-Men. It's quite a tome. A lot has happened since I stopped reading the comic around the Secret Wars era... I was delighted to find out that Colossus is no longer dead. But maybe we should leave that for the Miscellaneous Comic Book Musings thread.
	Submit to Quotes

05-30-2006, 09:16 AM	#197
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	By the way, did anyone catch the CG facelifts that Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart got? 20 years younger. Wow. Pretty amazing, almost flawless. I bet Warren Beatty will want that sort of treatment in his next film.
	Submit to Quotes

05-30-2006, 09:56 AM	#198
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	They ended up looking like Odo from Deep Space Nine (particularly Stewart).
	Submit to Quotes

05-30-2006, 10:14 AM	#200
LSPoorEeyorick scribblin' Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: in the moment Posts: 3,872	We saw An Inconvenient Truth this weekend, and it was the most upsetting film and well-composed argument I've witnessed in a long time. Put it this way: the impending future made the snot- and tear-stains on my sleeve more voluminous than "The Notebook," and I took the bus to work this morning. It needs to be played in every single school from coast to coast-- really, from latitude to latitude. If the older generation of Americans refuse to listen and change, it is completely up to us to change this Earth before we destroy it. The most important message within the film is that the concept is not an exaggeration of doomsday. It's plain scientific fact. We are already seeing the consequences of our mistakes (especially the rising drought and flooding, and more like Katrina is coming.) But we can change it for the future! We can reduce our CO2 like we reduced chlorofluorocarbins. We are completely capable-- and have the technology in place-- to reverse this problem. The government and the car companies MUST address it or we're screwed. And not long-term screwed, people... within our lifetime. Please. Los Angelenos, go see this film. Everybody, when it comes to your area, go out of your way to listen. Gore may not be your favorite free-wheelin' public speaker, but he has a very sincere message and I was wholly moved by it. I think you will be, too.
	Submit to Quotes