Apart from the sound mixing, it was technically very good.
Hopefully that achieves my intention of damning it with faint praise
"No great films in the last 10 years"
- Thread starter Heardy
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Apart from the sound mixing, it was technically very good.
Hopefully that achieves my intention of damning it with faint praise
Mark Kermode loved it and he's uber film ponce No1...That said, Star Wars is cak and I baulk whenever it's anywhere near a top 5 films list. I understand it's appeal, but I don't think any of them are in anyway truly great films. Horses for courses.
Probably the Hollywood remake of The Chaser.....
No white text? Films achieve greatness through a combination of great story, structure, characterisation and a dash of soul. Avatar will only be remembered for it's financial achievements in a couple of decades.
Kermode is toilet. Spoony beats seven kinds of shit out of him as a film ponce.
Star Wars defined a whole generation, to be fair. When I were a wee lad, it's all kids talked about...that and glow in the dark condoms that sounded like lightsabers. But yeah, when we talk about influential or making a huge impact, it's definitely up there. It's not going to win anything for quality dialogue or originality in terms of storyline....and besides Han Solo the characters are awfully 2D...but as a visual spectacle it was unrivalled back then. Space! lightsabers! incest! Yes!
He's got a mic, Pete. He loved Black Swan, to be fair.
I prefer him over the 2 that are presenting film 2011 now, the pair of them seem to feel the need to give polar opposite reviews on everything.
Yes, although it wasn't really a deliberate choice (although I am a fan) so much as I was trying to think of a name and there was a copy of "The Yiddish Policeman's Union" sat on my desk.
As an aside, I only saw Rashomon for the first time very recently, and I don't feel like it was all that concerned with perception so much as deception and the inevitability of uncertainty. Considering its reputation along the lines you laid out I was shocked by how wildly divergent the "versions" were, but then again this itself might be down to our differing perceptions of, um, perception...I'm also one of those who instinctively and without question initially took the last version of events as the closest to "truth," so perhaps I'm just a simpleton. My take would be that the key legacy of Rashomon is more in terms of solidifying (perhaps even introducing, I've really no idea) the concept of the camera as subjective.
Just so we're staying on topic, it's worth remembering the significance of discussions like these to the matter in hand. How can one make a great film if we consider revolution a necessary aspect of "great" cinema?
Isn't it a male and female presenter as well ?
"Oh look I have a penis you don't, we must be so different"
No entirely no. If you notice there is a whole horde of awards that are given at the Oscars which are not for acting or writing. Avatar excels in the visual department, sound and editing. It's probably the best cinematic experience I've had in a movie theater.
It shattered the income record. Why isn't it great then?
Social Network is getting all these recognitions but I thought is was rubbish. Very boring film with boring acting. Black Swan only had good acting.
That being said I don't know how I'd feel if I'd only seen it not in 3D.
On that great list you have Singing in the Rain and Jaws. Singing in the Rain is not good in any way. Jaws is mostly remembered for people being afraid to go for a swim afterwards. Oh yea, and the shark which was phenomenal for it's time. Avatar is even more phenomenal for its time than Jaws was.
What do we thing of V for Vendetta as far as films of the last decade go?
You say "revolution" I say "Innovation".......perception, huh?
Income isn't an indicator of greatness. Transformers 2 is one of the highest grossing movies of all time and even Michael Bay admits that it was awful!
Jaws changed the face of cinema (as well as having a great story, characterisation, pacing, working on thematic levels etc) and Singing in the Rain is a film admired across the board (except by one man, obviously!) Avatar is great to look at but fails on pretty much every other level (at least in my opinion). Which is why I doubt it'll be remembered for long. And this coming from someone who really enjoyed Avatar. For what it was. A fairground ride.
Either way the question remains, it's surely much harder to innovate now. Although not impossible of course.
The comic was better.
It wouldn't have been in the ten best films of the month it was released list.
I think of Jaws more as a character piece, it's not about the shark, it's about Brody, where he fits in with the world around him, approaching middle age and never really fitting in anywhere, the scenes on the Orca are incredibly well done. "Here's to swimming with bo legged women!"
I loved it and easily put it in any of my top 10s.
So I've been thinking and there's been some pretty god films over the last 10 years. Letters from Iwo Jima. The Incredibles. Atonement. Hotel Rwanda. The last King of Scotland. District 9. Moon. Apocalypto. Princess Mononoke. Pans Labyrinth. Munich. Hero. The Orphanage. Catch me if you can. Monsters Ball. Children of men. I'm sure there's tons more.
(Edit)There is.
Minority Report. Zaitoichi. The Host. The Passion of the Christ. The Bourne series, Blood diamond. Cloverfield. Memoirs of a Geisha. We were soldiers. 3:10 to Yuma. Master and commander of the far side of the world.
In fact there's been some absolutely brilliant films, we're just awash with them it's harder to remeber them I think. Also really enjoyed some of the straight to DVD films like Splinter and the Mist.
(Edit)There is.
Minority Report. Zaitoichi. The Host. The Passion of the Christ. The Bourne series, Blood diamond. Cloverfield. Memoirs of a Geisha. We were soldiers. 3:10 to Yuma. Master and commander of the far side of the world.
In fact there's been some absolutely brilliant films, we're just awash with them it's harder to remeber them I think. Also really enjoyed some of the straight to DVD films like Splinter and the Mist.
A film just isn't good if you can't enjoy yourself while watching it. It's time wasted if you didn't enjoy yourself or it make you think or change you in any way. That's the main thing about movies. It's entertainment.
Avatar smashed the box office record, it was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 3. It's hardly gonna be forgotten.
Great films also have to age well. Otherwise it's just good for a certain few at a certain time. If you can't enjoy it many years later than it isn't great.
You really enjoyed Singing in the Rain? Hairspray is critically acclaimed piece of musical in theater. Did you like John Travolta and co as well?
It's not got the story like Sound of Music has. It's not got the story that Wizard of Oz had. Both of those films are much better. Wizard of Oz even has the exceptional technology behind filming. Way ahead of it's time and that's why it's being re-released.
If you take the music out of Singing in the Rain then what do you have? It'll be like calling a DVD with a band which is a mix between their tour on film and them performing on stage a great documentary.
Sorry, not in my books. For a movie to be good in my books it has to be enjoyable to watch. That's the main thing. That's why a movie like Expendables is so great to watch. It promises one thing and delivers it very well. You're not looking for great acting or script writing there but I'd take it to a desert island over Black Swan or the King's Speech any day of the week.
Didn't mean to hit out at Jaws. I like that movie. Not top 10 of all time as the greatest but a very good movie yes. A character piece like one said.
Its in my top ten at least.
That's a completely different argument though. You talk about entertainment and then about a film changing you. I'd argue that the two can be mutually exclusive (although not always ... Little Miss Sunshine being the first that pops into my head as crossing both divides). But this is a thread about films that will be talked about in the context of the likes of The Godfather in 20 years time, timeless classics. I wouldn't consider films (generally considered great films) like The Godfather, Raging Bull, Apocalypse Now as enjoyable films and I've only ever seen them once - whereas Independence Day I've seen half a dozen times because I find it more 'enjoyable'. Does that make it better than The Godfather?
Aye, the comic was a masterpiece, the film is alright but nothing extraordinary.
In your case, yes maybe it does. I really enjoy Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Love the whole aspect of those movies. Didn't care that much for Raging Bull.
You don't have to like a movie and think it's great because the majority does. If you don't enjoy these films than they are hardly any good right? Not for you anyways. I said for me the film has to be enjoyable. It's really hard to find respect for the movie and see it's qualities if you don't like it one bit and maybe thought that you've wasted your time and/or money watching it.
You're right about the funness and the changyness can be mutually exclusive. There's just not a movie like that, that I've seen that's only the latter. Except maybe the movie Stay Alive. It was live changing in the aspect that I've pretty much stopped watching the supposedly horror films which are really badly written, ridiculous to watch and mostly have bad acting.
Horror films who are mainly supposed to be horror films are 98% bad in my books. Can't think of any crap horror film that I've enjoyed. So boring.
You don't have to like a movie and think it's great because the majority does. If you don't enjoy these films than they are hardly any good right? Not for you anyways. I said for me the film has to be enjoyable. It's really hard to find respect for the movie and see it's qualities if you don't like it one bit and maybe thought that you've wasted your time and/or money watching it.
You're right about the funness and the changyness can be mutually exclusive. There's just not a movie like that, that I've seen that's only the latter. Except maybe the movie Stay Alive. It was live changing in the aspect that I've pretty much stopped watching the supposedly horror films which are really badly written, ridiculous to watch and mostly have bad acting.
Horror films who are mainly supposed to be horror films are 98% bad in my books. Can't think of any crap horror film that I've enjoyed. So boring.
Godfather I and II piss over anything released in the last 10 years.
That is all. (unless I return)
That is all. (unless I return)
You've slightly misinterpreted what I said there. I'd put Godfather and Apocalypse Now in my top 10, but I wouldn't say they're enjoyable films. Film makers aren't just there to entertain, they're there to challenge. Irreversable is a great film but it's not intended to be enjoyable. It's intended to disturb the viewer, to make them uncomfortable. If the audience enjoys it, then the film maker has failed. Like Requiem for a Dream. Great films. Not enjoyable. I came out of Requiem thinking this was an amazing and an astonishing film, but did I enjoy it? No. Enjoyment implies pleasure.
I actually think somewhere in the middle we're kind of agreeing, it's just a case of semantics.
Kermode's got good taste. Usually. He's dead wrong about Inception, mind you.
That's not even remotely true really. The same people who love it today were the same people who were disgusted it was completely snubbed from dominating the Oscars....film fans. The general audience still doesn't care about Citizen Kane.
I don't really like Inception, but it's certainly a great film, when you are going up against pretty much every real film critic in saying its bad....well yeah, I know whos winning here. Not some random forum member. It's not a GOAT contender by no means, and neither is TDK, but eh, when mainstream cinema is dead, being a rare great film is going to bring that hype to an audience who has accepted mediocrity.
Somebody was telling me recently that the scene In Once Upon a Time in the West where Henry Fonda shoots McBain's (not sure if that's right!) youngest son was cut from the American version for 30 odd years. Anybody know if that is true?
The snobbery in this thread is unreal. No great surprise though.
Not much of a list to be honest although most of them are good movies, but I wouldn'y put Raiders of the lost ark in at number movie of all time not even close even though it is a movie I really enjoyed ( I actually prefer The Last Crusade).
But it's all a matter of opinion i suppose like anything else & i would find it very difficult to name my favourite movies ever because there have been so many. One movie from recent years i thought was fantastic but doesn't much get talked about was The Children of Men.
But it's all a matter of opinion i suppose like anything else & i would find it very difficult to name my favourite movies ever because there have been so many. One movie from recent years i thought was fantastic but doesn't much get talked about was The Children of Men.
I don't think that's true. You never actually see the kid get shot do you so I don't see why they'd need to cut anything.
Brilliant film that. I have the harmonica riff as a message alert on my phone. Pisses everyone off at work.
Be surprised if that's true considering some of the other content. Often wonder if it would have been a more successful film if Eastwood had been in it (as had been the initial intention) instead of Bronson.
I don't think that's true. You never actually see the kid get shot do you so I don't see why they'd need to cut anything.
Brilliant film that. I have the harmonica riff as a message alert on my phone. Pisses everyone off at work.
I can sort of see why though. Henry Fonda the all-American good guy shooting a kid might have been a tad too much for an American audience.
But then again a known bullshitter told me so he could be just having me on!
What? What are you on about? Enjoyment is a positive emotion. If you like horror films because you like getting scarred and intense then that's your enjoyment. It's not just family romps and comedies. If no one enjoys the movie then how is it possibly any good?
Irreversible was intended to disturb. Why would you give it a thumps up if you went out the movie not liking being disturbed? Why would that be good? If you don't want to be disturbed by a movie and you are disturbed then the movie is not good in your eyes. Just like if you see a comedy and don't laugh then there's not much left for you to enjoy about it.
Crash and Irreversible aren't disturbing movies. Why are they any more disturbing than any other movie with rape or racism in it? Because it had famous actors?
I don't care for the art of cinema one bit. That's not it's purpose. If I'm bored I don't look at a painting for hours on end and I don't watch a movie I know I won't enjoy.
Seriously, if you don't enjoy Godfather then why the hell is it in your top 10? You didn't enjoy the characters or the script or the ambiance?
I think you focus too much on your simple meaning of your word 'enjoyment'. It comes in many forms. Not just smiling or laughter.
The simple fact is that many film makers, documentarians etc make films not to be enjoyed. That's a fact that can't be argued with. But they're still making fantastic films. We obviously disagree over the word enjoy. I obviously can't speak for you but if someone watches a film whose arc follows the total collapse of someone's personality and life and as you leave the cinema you are still empathising with that sense of damage then I wouldn't say it's an enjoyable film. Being moved. Being affected. They are positive emotions. But they are not enjoyment. And they are not intended to be. When a writer creates a screenplay he decides what emotion he wants to arouse in his audience and if the emotion he wants to leave the audience with is that of overwhelming sadness or loss, then enjoyment isn't on the agenda.
If Mel Gibson asked you what you thought of The Passion of the Christ and your first words were "great Mel, really enjoyed it" he'd likely punch you in the head.
After a quick internet search it appears that I have been duped. Being gullible and hanging around with bullshitters is not a good mix!
True that man!