Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 173

Gemini Cricket · 02-22-2007, 11:06 PM

If one thinks that the only vision you see on a film is the Director's vision, then someone's been watching movies wrong for a long, long time.

innerSpaceman · 02-22-2007, 11:22 PM

These were very, very personal films for Clint Eastwood. Not all films are "auteur" pieces ... but these two most certainly were.

Why did you list a dozen war films as "Spielberg's take on it"???

Bornieo: Fully Loaded · 02-22-2007, 11:31 PM

I still need to see LEtters from Iwo Jima. It plays saturday night over at the Archlight. I might sneek over after the Swanking to catch it.

innerSpaceman · 02-22-2007, 11:36 PM

OR .... we can re-enact it for you on Hollywood Boulevard, after cocktails at Musso & Frank!

We'll try to infiltrate the Green Zone west of Highland, and engage the Oscar Security Forces in mortal combat.

Hilarity Ensues!

Alex · 02-22-2007, 11:43 PM

Dreamworks shared in the production costs for Flags and Letters (with Warner Bros.) and Spielberg's support may have helped get both movies made but Spielberg is listed as producer on half of the movies that come out of Dreamworks.

I'm sure his interest in WWII had much to do with him wanting Dreamworks to be involved, but if there is one thing people who work with him agree on, it is that Clint Eastwood makes the movie Clint Eastwood wants to make.

Also, the script was commissioned and written before Dreamworks or Spielberg were involved.

But yeah, Spielberg's interest in WWII is kind of like James Cameron's obsession with deep water.

Ghoulish Delight · 02-24-2007, 11:33 AM

We finally saw Peter Jackson's King Kong last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit and regret failing to get motivated to see it in the theater.

That said, it had no right to be 3 hours long. IMO, for a movie to be 3 hours long, it better have a damned good reason. This one didn't. I wouldn't say there was anything "wrong" with the first 50 minutes, before they reach the island. But he could have told the same story in half that time. Same goes for the next 90 minutes while they were on the island. I probably would have been less critical of the length/pace of the island segment if I hadn't just sat through the first act which was a half hour longer than it needed to be. But it still could have been tightened up some (dumping the pointless side plot with the kid and his mentor would have helped).

But despite all that, I still enjoyed it.

And now I can't get Tom Waits' "King Kong" out of my head. They thought he was a monster. But he was a king

innerSpaceman · 02-24-2007, 12:43 PM

It's been playing on HBO 17 times a day, so I've probably seen it 6 times (in unchronologically ordered segments) over the last month.

Yes, it's toooo long. So much absurd excess could be cut ... with the double effect of tightening the movie and eliminating some of the laughable stuff that takes you out of the film.

Delete brontosauri tumbling over each other to plunge off a precipice, tyrannosaurs swinging from vines, and inexperienced marksmen shooting giant insects from people's heads without harming people's heads.

Peter Jackson desperately needs a boss.

(Someday I hope to hear the Howard Shore score for the film that was dropped last minute. I like the score they ended up with, but it's a tad bit repetitive.)

flippyshark · 02-24-2007, 02:12 PM

Yes, there is a wonderful movie trapped inside the bloat that is Peter Jackson's King Kong. Mind you, I've got the extended cut, which mostly compounds the problem, though I did like the added "river raft" monster scene. (I would have ditched the risible bronto-stamede and included this more suspenseful sequence.)

If I had nothing better to do, it would be tempting to assemble a leaner, meaner "phantom edit," but I imagine other fans have probably already done so.

One advantage to having this on video - I can break up viewings of it into three chunks.

Cadaverous Pallor · 02-25-2007, 01:22 PM

I loved King Kong. I thought everything was necessary and was glad it included what it did. I'm a big fan of the original which I watched countless times as a kid. Jackson took all the best things about that movie and made them even better.

I know I'm in the minority here so I'll refrain from pounding the table (even if I did pound the table last night at the swanking).

innerSpaceman · 02-25-2007, 02:22 PM

And in feeling Jackson 93% "took all the best things about that movie and made them even better" - I think that puts us in fair enough agreement that his King Kong remake was pretty darn good.

02-22-2007, 11:06 PM	#1721
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	If one thinks that the only vision you see on a film is the Director's vision, then someone's been watching movies wrong for a long, long time.
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02-22-2007, 11:22 PM	#1722
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	These were very, very personal films for Clint Eastwood. Not all films are "auteur" pieces ... but these two most certainly were. Why did you list a dozen war films as "Spielberg's take on it"???
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02-22-2007, 11:31 PM	#1723
Bornieo: Fully Loaded Lego Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Disneyland, USA Posts: 3,704	I still need to see LEtters from Iwo Jima. It plays saturday night over at the Archlight. I might sneek over after the Swanking to catch it.
	Submit to Quotes

02-22-2007, 11:36 PM	#1724
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	OR .... we can re-enact it for you on Hollywood Boulevard, after cocktails at Musso & Frank! We'll try to infiltrate the Green Zone west of Highland, and engage the Oscar Security Forces in mortal combat. Hilarity Ensues!
	Submit to Quotes

02-22-2007, 11:43 PM	#1725
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Dreamworks shared in the production costs for Flags and Letters (with Warner Bros.) and Spielberg's support may have helped get both movies made but Spielberg is listed as producer on half of the movies that come out of Dreamworks. I'm sure his interest in WWII had much to do with him wanting Dreamworks to be involved, but if there is one thing people who work with him agree on, it is that Clint Eastwood makes the movie Clint Eastwood wants to make. Also, the script was commissioned and written before Dreamworks or Spielberg were involved. But yeah, Spielberg's interest in WWII is kind of like James Cameron's obsession with deep water.
	Submit to Quotes

02-24-2007, 11:33 AM	#1726
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	We finally saw Peter Jackson's King Kong last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit and regret failing to get motivated to see it in the theater. That said, it had no right to be 3 hours long. IMO, for a movie to be 3 hours long, it better have a damned good reason. This one didn't. I wouldn't say there was anything "wrong" with the first 50 minutes, before they reach the island. But he could have told the same story in half that time. Same goes for the next 90 minutes while they were on the island. I probably would have been less critical of the length/pace of the island segment if I hadn't just sat through the first act which was a half hour longer than it needed to be. But it still could have been tightened up some (dumping the pointless side plot with the kid and his mentor would have helped). But despite all that, I still enjoyed it. And now I can't get Tom Waits' "King Kong" out of my head. They thought he was a monster. But he was a king __________________ '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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02-24-2007, 12:43 PM	#1727
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	It's been playing on HBO 17 times a day, so I've probably seen it 6 times (in unchronologically ordered segments) over the last month. Yes, it's toooo long. So much absurd excess could be cut ... with the double effect of tightening the movie and eliminating some of the laughable stuff that takes you out of the film. Delete brontosauri tumbling over each other to plunge off a precipice, tyrannosaurs swinging from vines, and inexperienced marksmen shooting giant insects from people's heads without harming people's heads. Peter Jackson desperately needs a boss. (Someday I hope to hear the Howard Shore score for the film that was dropped last minute. I like the score they ended up with, but it's a tad bit repetitive.)
	Submit to Quotes

02-24-2007, 02:12 PM	#1728
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	Yes, there is a wonderful movie trapped inside the bloat that is Peter Jackson's King Kong. Mind you, I've got the extended cut, which mostly compounds the problem, though I did like the added "river raft" monster scene. (I would have ditched the risible bronto-stamede and included this more suspenseful sequence.) If I had nothing better to do, it would be tempting to assemble a leaner, meaner "phantom edit," but I imagine other fans have probably already done so. One advantage to having this on video - I can break up viewings of it into three chunks.
	Submit to Quotes

02-25-2007, 01:22 PM	#1729
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	I loved King Kong. I thought everything was necessary and was glad it included what it did. I'm a big fan of the original which I watched countless times as a kid. Jackson took all the best things about that movie and made them even better. I know I'm in the minority here so I'll refrain from pounding the table (even if I did pound the table last night at the swanking). __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
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02-25-2007, 02:22 PM	#1730
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	And in feeling Jackson 93% "took all the best things about that movie and made them even better" - I think that puts us in fair enough agreement that his King Kong remake was pretty darn good.
	Submit to Quotes