New Movies

[Jebus]

Nice thread.

For what has been said about Troy, I completely agree with Montez and Kharn. Some things just aren't meant to dumb down. Especially not the Illias, since it's a pretty dumbed down story in itself: I mean, it's no Ullyses, and you can't expect a story that the narrators had to learn by heart to be all to complicated.
Plus, I was completely turned off by Troy when I heard Pitt say in some interview or another that he hadn't even read the Illias. He said, and I quote:
"I started reading it, but after the first few chapters I started getting bored. The scenarist (don't remember his name - Jebus) made a good move in altering the story so it became more exciting."
So really, here you have the lead player of the movie who says the original story had to be dumbed down. That says enough, doesn't it?
Anyway, it's a good thing they named the movie 'Troy' and not 'Illias'. Apparently the makers realised that they fucked the story up too much to name the movie the same as the book.

And The Day After Tomorrow seems like one of those regular old cliché disaster movies. Really now, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Actually, the main indicator that it's going to be another damn cliché is the fact that they ONCE AGAIN use that goddamn statue of liberty in every damn ad... I mean, what the hell is the obsession with that statue all about anyway? Sjeesh! Isn't there something more interesting to destroy in the USA? I mean, for godssake, it wasn't even built by Americans...
Plus, from what I've picked up about the movie, it's supposed to be about the effects of Global warming, right? Then would somebody please explain to me why the hell New York was covered in ice, in the last ad I've seen? I mean, I thought the words 'Global WARMING' are pretty damn easy to understand, no?

Goddamn stupid, idiotic Hollywood directors...


[/incoherent rant]

 

[alec]

Actually, the main indicator that it's going to be another damn cliché is the fact that they ONCE AGAIN use that goddamn statue of liberty in every damn ad... I mean, what the hell is the obsession with that statue all about anyway?

Well, it is the statue of LIBERTY, you know. It basically symbolizes what America lacks. And that's why those yanks use the statue so often in movies and ads: they're like teenagers who cover their bedroom walls with playmates of the month: they don't have a real one around, but at least the thought is there.

Plus, from what I've picked up about the movie, it's supposed to be about the effects of Global warming, right? Then would somebody please explain to me why the hell New York was covered in ice, in the last ad I've seen? I mean, I thought the words 'Global WARMING' are pretty damn easy to understand, no?

Methinks, that global warming is not a very good term. It doesn't mean that the whole world is going to be a tropical beach at one and the same time. No, global warming will cause more extreme seasons, a harsher climate, more rain here and unbearable drought elsewhere, and so on. So while Europeans might be disintegrating because of the extreme heat, New Yorkers could become ice cubes. It makes sense to me.

 

[Wooz]

Well, it is the statue of LIBERTY, you know. It basically symbolizes what America lacks. And that's why those yanks use the statue so often in movies and ads: they're like teenagers who cover their bedroom walls with playmates of the month: they don't have a real one around, but at least the thought is there.

Best post evar.

 

[Sander]

Damnit, Jebus, use the English instead of the Dutch names for stuff. It's not the Illias, it's the Iliad. *grumbles*

As for Troy, from what I've heard: it's fun, but it's dumb. A lot of stuff has been cut out and...well...pretty much nothing is left.
And I bet we'll have people running around saying "OMFG Troy is so cool, that story is so fucking great" without even knowing that the story is the fucked up version of the Iliad. Damnit.

Kharn: The reasoning behind movies having to be entertaining is that they're aimed at a large public. Just like FOPOS. It means that they try to reach the big group, and lose a lot in the process. Face it, Seven Samurai isn't going to win any awards when it comes to the number of people liking it. The only people liking the movies that aren't entertaining, are the intellectuals.
Business revolves around making money, and money is not made through reaching small groups of people. Sadly, that's the way the world works nowadays.

I'm not looking forward to Day after Tomorrow, I suspect it'll be a movie about global warming, but with a holier-than-thou tone. And even though I tend to agree with the message, I very much dislike holier-than-thou tones.

 

[Jebus]

Plus, from what I've picked up about the movie, it's supposed to be about the effects of Global warming, right? Then would somebody please explain to me why the hell New York was covered in ice, in the last ad I've seen? I mean, I thought the words 'Global WARMING' are pretty damn easy to understand, no?

Methinks, that global warming is not a very good term. It doesn't mean that the whole world is going to be a tropical beach at one and the same time. No, global warming will cause more extreme seasons, a harsher climate, more rain here and unbearable drought elsewhere, and so on. So while Europeans might be disintegrating because of the extreme heat, New Yorkers could become ice cubes. It makes sense to me.

It doesn't to me. According to me, it's mostly a miscalculation from scientist's part, in which they forget El Niño. They ALWAYS froget El Niño (I kindly direct you to the Climate thread ).
Anyway, I might be wrong. Hell, I'm no climatologist. Maybe I should dissect that Club Of Rome report someday.

When I get around too it...


*EDIT*

Damnit, Jebus, use the English instead of the Dutch names for stuff. It's not the Illias, it's the Iliad. *grumbles*

I'm not using the Dutch name. I'm using the original name

 

[Brother None]

Kharn: The reasoning behind movies having to be entertaining is that they're aimed at a large public. Just like FOPOS. It means that they try to reach the big group, and lose a lot in the process. Face it, Seven Samurai isn't going to win any awards when it comes to the number of people liking it. The only people liking the movies that aren't entertaining, are the intellectuals.
Business revolves around making money, and money is not made through reaching small groups of people. Sadly, that's the way the world works nowadays.

That's oversimplification and doesn't explain the difference in nuance between decades ago and now. We're talking about a wholy different type of blockbuster here or blockbuster in the US.

Not that Hollywood is the problem. European cinema hasn't been at its best lately either.

Japan has Takeshi Kitano, so that's cheating.

 

[Sander]

I'm not using the Dutch name. I'm using the original name

No you're not. I'm not seeing you write in Greek letter, Jebus.
Plus, this is an English forum. So you use English names.

That's oversimplification and doesn't explain the difference in nuance between decades ago and now. We're talking about a wholy different type of blockbuster here or blockbuster in the US.

Not that Hollywood is the problem. European cinema hasn't been at its best lately either.

Japan has Takeshi Kitano, so that's cheating.

Meh, got me there. Hrmph.
Or perhaps it's due to the amount of money you can pump into movies these days, and the whole fact that most of these huge epic things couldn't be done decades ago.
But you did have epic things, where it was all about the epicness. A lot of those Roman movies were like that, for instance.

 

[Jebus]

I'm not using the Dutch name. I'm using the original name

No you're not. I'm not seeing you write in Greek letter, Jebus.
Plus, this is an English forum. So you use English names.

Well I'm sorry I don't have an ancient Greek keyboard laying around...
Plus, I have the habit of using the original names for things if they have been around longer than the language in which they changed the name. It's kinda strange, I know, but it's a matter of respect, I guess.

 

[Paladin Solo]

Ugh...movies are supposed to entertain. Try going to one without wanting historical accuracy, exact realism, life-like moments. A movie is supposed to take you away, places you normally don't get to go to. For the love of Pete, they don't call them documentaries fora reason. Am I the only fool who seems to understand that? Ok...Troy wasn't a historical document...but that's why it wasn't made to be like that. It may have said "Based on a True Story" And that's where people for some reason miss the BASED part. If you watched Black Hawk Down, and read up on the actual history of it, then you'll know for one that Sgt. Eversman was in the HUMVEE most of the time instead of on foot. See what I'm getting at? Just try and enjoy it next time, and if you really don't like it for the reason of it not appealing to you, then I can understand, but not every movie has to be exactly accurate to the minute detail. I enjoyed Van Helsing for a number of reasons, one is because I like to enjoy things, and usually am not a critic, I like hearing stories I haven't heard before, I like to see pussies who think they're tough like Dracula get their asses wooped, and I like it when Kate Beckinsale shows her bossoms on a big screen.

 

[Montez]

I think you're missing the point - they took one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, if not the first real work of literature, and stripped it of all the content that has made it stand the test of time - in order to make a movie that could have just as easily been written as an original by any hollywood scriptwriter or hack. If you don't see something wrong or ridiculous about that then I really don't know what to say.

 

[Azael]

That's oversimplification and doesn't explain the difference in nuance between decades ago and now. We're talking about a wholy different type of blockbuster here or blockbuster in the US.

Not that Hollywood is the problem. European cinema hasn't been at its best lately either.

Japan has Takeshi Kitano, so that's cheating.

Have you seen Zatôichi? Good stuff, best "samurai" movie I've seen in years.

 

[Sander]

Well I'm sorry I don't have an ancient Greek keyboard laying around...
Plus, I have the habit of using the original names for things if they have been around longer than the language in which they changed the name. It's kinda strange, I know, but it's a matter of respect, I guess.

Or maybe it's a matter of not knowing what the English name is... Hmm....

 

[quietfanatic]

Troy may have mangled the original story (it only says inspired by the Iliad), but it was a well caste (except for Helen), acted and filmed saturday afternoon movie. It was not as 'epic' as LotR but was actually more realistic and closer to Braveheart. I never liked Pitt before watching this but the actors really portrayed the characters well, especially for people who didn't read the original texts. They are professionals and really create engaging and believable characters. The God's have been taken out because they were a waste of time as a good human story of love, jealousy and honour still remains. The values are modern in some respects but this enables audiences to empathize more with the people and follow the timeless story.

Do not be prejudiced just because the film does not perfectly follow the text. We do not want the 'burning of the books' of course but likewise, we have to read the books, or film, first before we can determine their value.

You have to see it on the big screen to properly enjoy the battle scenes. I thouroughly enjoyed it and recommend that everyone give it a chance. Peter O'Toole was outstanding in his supporting role and there was good chemistry between Bana and Pitt as adverseries.

Watch it and tell me what you think objectively. Or are you literary fanatics afraid of enjoying yourselves?

 

[Sander]

saturday afternoon movie

That's the problem, though, that's all there is these days. Meh.

Do not be prejudiced just because the film does not perfectly follow the text. We do not want the 'burning of the books' of course but likewise, we have to read the books, or film, first before we can determine their value.

It butchered the tale so badly there was barely anything left. It even threw out the whole "The Trojan War takes ten years"-thing, or the fact that the Iliad only looked at the last ten or so days of the war.

 

[quietfanatic]

So what. It was well done and meant to be entertaining. Again I say forget about the Iliad for a moment and you might just see that it is a good film.

Its distortions are not as bad as the films where all examples of allied heroism in WWII become American expliots when they factually they were British, Russian or whatever, because it is done in good intentions. Film should be understandable and entertaining at some level to people.

The film suggests the idea that the only true immortality is to live on in folklore and Homer would therefore be pleased with spreading any good story to the masses. It worked well and I am glad that it was made although, of course it could have been much better.

 

[Montez]

Movies are so ridiculously expensive now that I expect a little more out of them then just an entertaining saturday movie. I'm sure it is an entertaining movie, but if it's nothing more than that I'd rather spend my money on something else. I'm not a miser by any means, but spending around $20 for an hour-and-a-half's worth of forgettable entertainment doesn't appeal to me - especially when I can spend that same amount of money on a video game or a few books and get 10x the worth out of them.

Besides that, I just don't find the current style of hollywood movies that entertaining. Most "movie stars" can't act for shit, so it's basically just slick visuals and eye candy with passable dialogue and plots to tie it together. Add to that the fact that most of the cinematography is just aped from whoever the latest innovator is and you have a movie that isn't worth my time.

I have no problem with entertaining, forgettable movies really, but with the price they're charging and the fact that I'm pretty much guaranteed to be annoyed by some group of socially retarded morons (due to the "SuperMegaGigaCineplex!" that is the only possible place to see a movie anymore) I have to be a lot more critical than with some dumb movie on afternoon tv.

To show that I'm not an unreasonable guy, I'd like to offer hollywood a plot for it's next blockbuster: Dante's "The Divine Comedy". They can scrap the Paradise and Purgatory books, and just have Dante and Virgil be a "hero and sidekick" team that goes through hell kicking ass and taking names. Mmmmmm, I can smell the profits already.........

 

[MadDog]

I saw Troy, and I really liked it. You can't go into a movie and expect the same as the book. The Iliad was also written a LONG time ago. People don't really have the patience to watch a movie based on that style. I thought the movie was great. Very entertaining, and full of great battling. If you wanna watch a good historically accurate movie, turn on Discovery or History. They do damn fine jobs making good movies that are accurate. (And yes, if you are at least a little history buff, you find them highly entertaining). Just like the comic book - turned movies... you can't walk into them looking for a great story, you have to watch it for the action.

 

[Lukus]

I saw Troy, and I give it a weak 'meh'. In other words; it didn't suck donkeyballs.

 

[Sander]

So what. It was well done and meant to be entertaining. Again I say forget about the Iliad for a moment and you might just see that it is a good film.

I didn't say it couldn't be entertaining. What I was saying was that a lot of movies are about spectacle now, that means that we don't get anything decent anymore. How would you like it if you suddenly heard that there'd never be another Fallout or even something like it because action games sell better?

PS: You're full of shit, Jebus. The original spelling does not have two lambdas in it. It only has one. If you'd want to use the original spelling in a roman aphabet it'd be "Ilias" not "Illias". So you were just using the Dutch spelling. Sucker.

 

[Malky]

Isn't this thread about movies?

I must be lost.