Miscellaneous Movie Musings the Sequel - Page 25

Alex · 01-29-2010, 03:36 PM

I may have been too subtle in my review, but I really didn't like When in Rome.

An odd thing is that I really have no problem loving a movie that everybody else hates but I doubt myself when I hate something everybody else loves. Fortunately, it has just a 17% at Rotten Tomatoes and most of the reviews I've looked at are even harder on the movie than I was.

Snowflake · 01-29-2010, 04:57 PM

Great review Alex. Really. I'm sure your review was way more entertaining than the film. Saved me $10 (or $14)

Ghoulish Delight · 01-29-2010, 04:57 PM

Everything I've seen about that movie has screamed stupid. Good to hear my instincts were right.

Prudence · 01-29-2010, 05:18 PM

We finally saw the Hurt Locker. Like everything I see lately, mixed feelings abound.

Moonliner · 02-01-2010, 10:15 AM

The Razzie nominations are out for this year. Transformers and Land of the Lost are up for top honors.

It looks like Sandra Bullock could be up for a Worst Actress Razzie and Best Actress Oscar this year (different movies). I wonder if that's ever happened before. Not that she stands a chance of winning both. It's sure to be Mega Fox's year at the Razzies.

Moonliner · 03-08-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonliner

The Razzie nominations are out for this year. Transformers and Land of the Lost are up for top honors.

It looks like Sandra Bullock could be up for a Worst Actress Razzie and Best Actress Oscar this year (different movies). I wonder if that's ever happened before. Not that she stands a chance of winning both. It's sure to be Mega Fox's year at the Razzies.

Well damn. I'm glad I'm not a betting man. Congrats on your double win Sandra.

Alex · 02-01-2010, 03:46 PM

Thought of Eddie Murphy with Dreamgirls and Norbit but those were in consecutive years.

Prudence · 02-01-2010, 10:10 PM

Now that the Oscars are nearing once again, we're catching up on last year's nominees. (Okay, and we finally signed up for Netflix, which means we're busily cranking through all the things we've ever wanted to watch.)

So, we watched Slumdog Millionaire tonight. Perhaps it's just that other people heard it was so great and were disappointed and that we heard it was awful and were thus delightfully surprised. Regardless, I liked it rather a lot. I liked it's Bollywoodness (someone dies, destiny guides life, one couple ends up together, etc...) I liked that it took place somewhere else. I liked that it didn't have Hollywood stars that I had to spend half the film remembering that they weren't whatever character they played last.

Most of all, I liked the escapism. Maybe it's just this time in my life, but I'm starting to feel comfortable acknowledging that I want and enjoy escapism. Sometimes I feel like the only "real" movies are the downers. Apparently it's not Film unless I ponder the meaninglessness of life as the credits roll.

I didn't really comment on the Hurt Locker except to see that we'd seen it. Why? I could recognize that it was technically well done, but I have no urge to see it again and kind of wish I'd never seen it in the first place. There are big, horrible, sucktastic things going on with my family right now, and I don't want to be reminded of all the other sh!te going on out there, you know? Maybe I'm pathetic, but I have a limited capacity for attempted empathy. If I have to shoulder it all I'm going to end up in the fetal position around a box of Twinkies.

Anyhow, I like escape. I like movies where people are in love at the end. I am in love, and I want to watch movies where people act like I feel. I want to watch first kisses while I snuggle up against my sweetie and remember when. But most of all, when I see credits roll I want to feel like I should go do something positive -- be it seek out adventure, try out for a game show, make an outfit to go with the corset, or just be reminded of the many happinesses in my life.

Maybe other people are different. Maybe nihilism makes others thankful for what they have and invites them to look at how they can make a difference. Me - I feel immobilized. Maybe happy endings are by definition pablum, but they are what make my world turn in a sparkly, twinkly, rave party fashion.

So there.

Alex · 02-01-2010, 10:14 PM

No problem with your views. But I'm somewhat flipped.

The Hurt Locker, to me, is escapism while Slumdog Millioniare is a slog through forced thoughtfulness. Yes, there is horrible stuff in The Hurt Locker but is isn't about the war, about what horrible things people do, it is about what kind of person does what is shown. Whereas Slumdog Millionaire is, to me, hell bent on simultaneously making you feel awful about abject poverty and making you feel like it is ok because at least they have lottery odds of escaping it and doesn't love just make hell fun?

It's always interesting to see how different people react to the same thing. You find Slumdog uplifting. I find it depressing. And vice versa on Hurt Locker (well, I don't find it uplifting but I find it pleasantly interesting).

Gemini Cricket · 02-03-2010, 05:24 PM

According to boxofficemojo.com, Avatar just beat out Titanic on the Domestic Box Office chart. It makes me wonder how well Dark Knight would have done if it were also in 3D and charged more for tickets.

Avatar: $601,141,551
Titanic: $600,788,188

01-29-2010, 03:36 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	I may have been too subtle in my review, but I really didn't like When in Rome. An odd thing is that I really have no problem loving a movie that everybody else hates but I doubt myself when I hate something everybody else loves. Fortunately, it has just a 17% at Rotten Tomatoes and most of the reviews I've looked at are even harder on the movie than I was.
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01-29-2010, 04:57 PM	#2
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	Great review Alex. Really. I'm sure your review was way more entertaining than the film. Saved me $10 (or $14) __________________ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
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01-29-2010, 04:57 PM	#3
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Everything I've seen about that movie has screamed stupid. Good to hear my instincts were right. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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01-29-2010, 05:18 PM	#4
Prudence Beelzeboobs, Esq. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gavel - I haz it Posts: 6,287	We finally saw the Hurt Locker. Like everything I see lately, mixed feelings abound. __________________ traguna macoities tracorum satis de
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02-01-2010, 10:15 AM	#5
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	The Razzie nominations are out for this year. Transformers and Land of the Lost are up for top honors. It looks like Sandra Bullock could be up for a Worst Actress Razzie and Best Actress Oscar this year (different movies). I wonder if that's ever happened before. Not that she stands a chance of winning both. It's sure to be Mega Fox's year at the Razzies. __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
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02-01-2010, 03:46 PM	#7
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Thought of Eddie Murphy with Dreamgirls and Norbit but those were in consecutive years.
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02-01-2010, 10:10 PM	#8
Prudence Beelzeboobs, Esq. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gavel - I haz it Posts: 6,287	Now that the Oscars are nearing once again, we're catching up on last year's nominees. (Okay, and we finally signed up for Netflix, which means we're busily cranking through all the things we've ever wanted to watch.) So, we watched Slumdog Millionaire tonight. Perhaps it's just that other people heard it was so great and were disappointed and that we heard it was awful and were thus delightfully surprised. Regardless, I liked it rather a lot. I liked it's Bollywoodness (someone dies, destiny guides life, one couple ends up together, etc...) I liked that it took place somewhere else. I liked that it didn't have Hollywood stars that I had to spend half the film remembering that they weren't whatever character they played last. Most of all, I liked the escapism. Maybe it's just this time in my life, but I'm starting to feel comfortable acknowledging that I want and enjoy escapism. Sometimes I feel like the only "real" movies are the downers. Apparently it's not Film unless I ponder the meaninglessness of life as the credits roll. I didn't really comment on the Hurt Locker except to see that we'd seen it. Why? I could recognize that it was technically well done, but I have no urge to see it again and kind of wish I'd never seen it in the first place. There are big, horrible, sucktastic things going on with my family right now, and I don't want to be reminded of all the other sh!te going on out there, you know? Maybe I'm pathetic, but I have a limited capacity for attempted empathy. If I have to shoulder it all I'm going to end up in the fetal position around a box of Twinkies. Anyhow, I like escape. I like movies where people are in love at the end. I am in love, and I want to watch movies where people act like I feel. I want to watch first kisses while I snuggle up against my sweetie and remember when. But most of all, when I see credits roll I want to feel like I should go do something positive -- be it seek out adventure, try out for a game show, make an outfit to go with the corset, or just be reminded of the many happinesses in my life. Maybe other people are different. Maybe nihilism makes others thankful for what they have and invites them to look at how they can make a difference. Me - I feel immobilized. Maybe happy endings are by definition pablum, but they are what make my world turn in a sparkly, twinkly, rave party fashion. So there. __________________ traguna macoities tracorum satis de
	Submit to Quotes

02-01-2010, 10:14 PM	#9
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	No problem with your views. But I'm somewhat flipped. The Hurt Locker, to me, is escapism while Slumdog Millioniare is a slog through forced thoughtfulness. Yes, there is horrible stuff in The Hurt Locker but is isn't about the war, about what horrible things people do, it is about what kind of person does what is shown. Whereas Slumdog Millionaire is, to me, hell bent on simultaneously making you feel awful about abject poverty and making you feel like it is ok because at least they have lottery odds of escaping it and doesn't love just make hell fun? It's always interesting to see how different people react to the same thing. You find Slumdog uplifting. I find it depressing. And vice versa on Hurt Locker (well, I don't find it uplifting but I find it pleasantly interesting).
	Submit to Quotes

02-03-2010, 05:24 PM	#10
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	According to boxofficemojo.com, Avatar just beat out Titanic on the Domestic Box Office chart. It makes me wonder how well Dark Knight would have done if it were also in 3D and charged more for tickets. Avatar: $601,141,551 Titanic: $600,788,188
	Submit to Quotes