Miscellaneous Movie Musings the Sequel - Page 58

SzczerbiakManiac · 07-02-2010, 01:07 PM

<heavy sigh>
must learn how to read....

Ghoulish Delight · 07-02-2010, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

<heavy sigh>
must learn how to read....

I have a light pamphlet you can start with...

Gemini Cricket · 07-02-2010, 01:42 PM

Excuse me, Ghoulish Delight, I speak SzczerbiakManiacese.

Cadaverous Pallor · 07-03-2010, 11:33 PM

You're telling me there was never a thread on Alice?? MMM thread, we have a love/hate relationship for sure.

I'll go back and read your posts in a minute.

SPOILERS, of course, it's an old film already, and I'm not using tags.

I loved the whole beginning and a good third of the Wonderland part, but then it lost me. The affronts piled up and the comparisons to Harry Potter and LoTR piled up and the seriousness piled up and the fun leaked out the bottom.

Quick rants:

Mad Hatter as love interest, Scottish warrior? No thanks.

Story entirely too straightforward and fate-laden. I know Carroll included fated requirements of Alice but nothing as huge as this. I think they were going for the storybook fate concept, as in Humpty Dumpty having to fall off the wall, etc, but it just didn't read that way. The desperation of the characters was depressing and the demands of Alice didn't feel like destiny. I got extra mad when the White Queen said it was "her choice", riiight.

Hard to understand even harder to remember names made up for the characters, as well as similarly lame place names - wtf?

Recharacterization of White Queen and especially the Dormouse as Reepicheep, wtf?

Effects made me feel like I could see the green screen, though that may be the actress' fault.

I swear, I was totally on board for the longest time but it totally lost me.

Ok, yeah, enough.

Ghoulish Delight · 07-04-2010, 09:07 AM

I'm torn.

On the one hand, there were major flaws. The fact that it was a linear narrative was a major negative, and on top of that the narrative itself was not good. Heavy handed, self important, and generally uninteresting.

That said, I thought there were genuinely good things about this movie, things that made me like it more than any Burton movie in a long long time. While the specific tale that was told I could do without, I liked a lot of the underlying structure it happened in. I was surprised at how on board I was with delving into the Hatter's madness, and with the geo-political bent on Wonderland. There were moments in there, like when the Hatter saw the nose fall off and noticed everyone else's fakery, that were really really good. Unfortunately, it all got taken too far, too ham-fisted, too grandiose.

Where this movie succeeded, it succeeded because it was ambitious. Unlike most of Burton's recent crap, he seemed to be TRYING to add something new. Hatter as leader of underground rebellion was far more of a creative leap than anything in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The result was flawed, and the bulk of the plot was largely not ambitious. But anything truly ambitious is bound to be flawed as the idea is to reach beyond what is obvious.

That's not to say I thought it was a good movie. It's flaws were many, and unforgivable. I had forgotten about the talk of the dance at the end. Holy crap, atrocious. Just to name the worst.

So sadly, even Burton's best effort in over a decade...is still a pretty big disappointment, with some vague glimmers of good.

Snowflake · 07-08-2010, 12:58 PM

Netflix is bringing me two movies I've never seen. Easy Rider and The Blue Max.

JWBear · 07-11-2010, 03:17 PM

We just saw Despicable Me. Cute.

Seeing it in a theater with 20 million screaming kids? Not so cute.

Strangler Lewis · 07-11-2010, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWBear

We just saw Despicable Me. Cute.

Seeing it in a theater with 20 million screaming kids? Not so cute.

By the same token, pity all the little kids who try to enjoy a pleasant Halloween in the Castro and wind up rolling their eyes endlessly at all the public displays of adult sexuality.

SzczerbiakManiac · 07-12-2010, 10:16 AM

That was a curious transition....

Alex · 07-12-2010, 10:26 AM

Saw Cyrus yesterday. I put it in the category of "great acting in support of a movie that has no particular reason to exist."

In a way it reminds me of the play Tony and Tina's Wedding. I feel that play perfectly captures the experience of attending the wedding of people you barely know and being assigned seating with people you don't know at all and who aren't interesting in meeting you.

So it accomplished that beautifully. I just can't understand why anybody would want to accomplish that.

Same with Cyrus. It is a well performed situation drama that stays squarely within the scope of reality and avoids any excess at all. And at the end I was stuck with a feeling of "yeah...I don't care."

07-02-2010, 01:07 PM	#571
SzczerbiakManiac "ZER-bee-ak" Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,409	<heavy sigh> must learn how to read.... __________________
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07-02-2010, 01:42 PM	#573
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Excuse me, Ghoulish Delight, I speak SzczerbiakManiacese.
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07-03-2010, 11:33 PM	#574
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	You're telling me there was never a thread on Alice?? MMM thread, we have a love/hate relationship for sure. I'll go back and read your posts in a minute. SPOILERS, of course, it's an old film already, and I'm not using tags. I loved the whole beginning and a good third of the Wonderland part, but then it lost me. The affronts piled up and the comparisons to Harry Potter and LoTR piled up and the seriousness piled up and the fun leaked out the bottom. Quick rants: Mad Hatter as love interest, Scottish warrior? No thanks. Story entirely too straightforward and fate-laden. I know Carroll included fated requirements of Alice but nothing as huge as this. I think they were going for the storybook fate concept, as in Humpty Dumpty having to fall off the wall, etc, but it just didn't read that way. The desperation of the characters was depressing and the demands of Alice didn't feel like destiny. I got extra mad when the White Queen said it was "her choice", riiight. Hard to understand even harder to remember names made up for the characters, as well as similarly lame place names - wtf? Recharacterization of White Queen and especially the Dormouse as Reepicheep, wtf? Effects made me feel like I could see the green screen, though that may be the actress' fault. I swear, I was totally on board for the longest time but it totally lost me. Ok, yeah, enough. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
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07-04-2010, 09:07 AM	#575
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	I'm torn. On the one hand, there were major flaws. The fact that it was a linear narrative was a major negative, and on top of that the narrative itself was not good. Heavy handed, self important, and generally uninteresting. That said, I thought there were genuinely good things about this movie, things that made me like it more than any Burton movie in a long long time. While the specific tale that was told I could do without, I liked a lot of the underlying structure it happened in. I was surprised at how on board I was with delving into the Hatter's madness, and with the geo-political bent on Wonderland. There were moments in there, like when the Hatter saw the nose fall off and noticed everyone else's fakery, that were really really good. Unfortunately, it all got taken too far, too ham-fisted, too grandiose. Where this movie succeeded, it succeeded because it was ambitious. Unlike most of Burton's recent crap, he seemed to be TRYING to add something new. Hatter as leader of underground rebellion was far more of a creative leap than anything in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The result was flawed, and the bulk of the plot was largely not ambitious. But anything truly ambitious is bound to be flawed as the idea is to reach beyond what is obvious. That's not to say I thought it was a good movie. It's flaws were many, and unforgivable. I had forgotten about the talk of the dance at the end. Holy crap, atrocious. Just to name the worst. So sadly, even Burton's best effort in over a decade...is still a pretty big disappointment, with some vague glimmers of good. __________________ '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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07-08-2010, 12:58 PM	#576
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	Netflix is bringing me two movies I've never seen. Easy Rider and The Blue Max. __________________ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
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07-11-2010, 03:17 PM	#577
JWBear Worn Romantic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach California Posts: 8,435	We just saw Despicable Me. Cute. Seeing it in a theater with 20 million screaming kids? Not so cute. __________________ Unrestrained frivolity will lead to the downfall of modern society.
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07-12-2010, 10:16 AM	#579
SzczerbiakManiac "ZER-bee-ak" Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,409	That was a curious transition.... __________________
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07-12-2010, 10:26 AM	#580
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Saw Cyrus yesterday. I put it in the category of "great acting in support of a movie that has no particular reason to exist." In a way it reminds me of the play Tony and Tina's Wedding. I feel that play perfectly captures the experience of attending the wedding of people you barely know and being assigned seating with people you don't know at all and who aren't interesting in meeting you. So it accomplished that beautifully. I just can't understand why anybody would want to accomplish that. Same with Cyrus. It is a well performed situation drama that stays squarely within the scope of reality and avoids any excess at all. And at the end I was stuck with a feeling of "yeah...I don't care."
	Submit to Quotes