boo boo

I thought the cinematography in AI is excellent, the use of lighting is brilliant. Everything else, the visual effects, the John Williams music and the acting is top notch. But I wouldn't call it a great film if I thought that's all it had going for it.

It dosen't really look or sound like a Kubrick film, but it has moments of coldness, bleakness and just plain weirdness that has Kubrick written all over it.

Btw, the teddy bear sounds like HAL from 2001, and of course he's talking to a character named David, ha, I wonder if I'm the only one who noticed that.

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Molecules

this is what my idiot brain could not articulate, cheers. Speely manages to recreate some of that at least. It's a good looking film by any standard ofcourse, a bit gaudy though, Kubrick always made the frame seem like a realistic but vitally-charged snapshot of some event he had no control of... And I don't mean in a documentary way. Except the final act of Full Metal Jacket, that was just f*cked.

While we're on cinematography, on the other end of the scale you have sensationalist arseholes like Joel Schumacher, it was because of him the Batman franchise was considered for rebooting... I saw 'Batman & Robin' recently and I was watching aghast; but it was so bad he must have done it on purpose. Surely he was trying to recapture the high camp of the early comics/60's TV show?
Just putting it out there.

Oh and re the HAL bear, I never noticed that, might whip out the DVD for lack of anything else to do today...

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[SIZE="1"]Eff em
tumble her

The Robot Hunter

Good. God.

I would hate Joel Schumacher with all my heart for doing that to Batman, but I think if he hadn't, Christopher Nolan wouldn't have been able to do so much with the franchise.

jackhammer

It has been over ten years since I have seen this and was skeptical. It still holds up well. Basically a Rocky with late teenagers. Cheesy and with the big ending but I still enjoyed it!

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boo boo

Uh, that movie was ghastly. And the part where he fights Brian Dennehey is so laughable.

I REALLY hate TDK fanboys right now, they won't give Burton ANY credit whatsoever. In their f*cked up world they think he ruined Batman because OMFG he killed people.... like he did in the old comics.

F*cking retards. But yes, Schumacher's Batman sucked ass.

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Tyler Durden

Speaking of Spielburg, he is supposedly remaking one of my favorite films, Oldboy. I hope to god he doesn't mess this up.

Molecules

^^ Just saw Burton's original again tonight, had this same conversation with my erstwhile dad.. 'I can't stomach the new Batman movies, this is much more accessible'

I totally agree, Burton's kept the comic-book feel, Schumacher's were campy fluff and the Nolan films take themselves far too seriously for my disposition atm. There's nothing remotely tongue-in-cheek about the re-boot films, they're gunning for awards and critical plaudits. Still good fun to watch but for god's sake how long is Dark Knight? Two and a half hours?

I think the anti-Nolan film line is especially appealing with the constant praise TDK's been getting, it's like a reflex to want to hate it. I was honestly not overawed with the film in the cinema, for many reasons that I won't go into again lol

urgh

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boo boo

TDK is the best Batman film, it's a great film, but it's overrated as hell, it's not the new f*cking Godfather, and it and Batman Begins are not the only good Batman films.

Both of Burton's Batmans are good. I find that Batman Returns is especially underrated. People said it was too dark and violent, (which makes no since now what with the praise for Nolans super violent Batman's) but that's what I think of when I think of Batman, Burton had that right mix of darkness and campy humor, more realistic than the tv series, but still silly in comic book fashion. It was the perfect style for Batman, I personally prefer the Burton styled Batman to the Nolan one, where Gotham actually looks like Gotham, the Joker actually looks like the Joker, the batmobile is actually the batmobile and Batman dosen't have that damn Clint Eastwood wannabe voice.

It's all too bad that Batman Returns was the reason they replaced Burton with the more kiddy friendly Schumacher. Ambition dosen't pay in Hollywood.

WB pretty much ruined the Batman film franchise just to sell happy meal toys.

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boo boo

O Brother Where Art Thou - ***1/2

Excellent period piece by the Coen bros. Everything works here, the cast, even the smallest characters are classic, hilarious dialogue, the music, the cinematography, the setting and the many great set pieces. Coens have such a talent for taking you to another time and place. I don't know anyone who dosen't like this movie.

The Player - ***1/2

Man, I'm falling in love with this movie. I had to pause it countless times just to observe it's many moments of brilliance. This is a great horror movie and Hollywood is the monster.

Robbins is excellent as a snarmy studio executive, I rarely see an assh*le played with such expertise, Griffin Mill is a legend among movie assh*les, it's the little things too, how he rudely tells a waiter to serve him water in a different glass and then abruptly leaves or that smirk on his face when he passes on a project to his rival because he thinks it will bomb, this is a "protagonist" you just love to hate. The whole cast is great though, Peter Gallagher as Griffins even slimier rival, Whoopi Goldberg as a witty cop, Fred Ward as a chief of security who has to protect Griffin at every cost and Cynthia Stevenson as the girlfriend who Griffin disposes of like a worn out car. This is the story of a man who is in the movie business, but has absolutely no knowledge or appreciation for it except for the profit. A man who is a bigwig just because he can say "yes", a man who can literally get away with murder.

This movie has so many great scenes. The scene where Gallaghers character convinces his colleagues about the uselessness of writers and how to make a movie pitch just from reading the headlines, the scene when Griffin falls under pressure at the police office while Goldberg slings a tampon, the hillarious movie within a movie starring Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts and an ending that awesomely parodies the cliche happy ending, and of course the many "pitch" scenes. It's all pure, classic Altman. It's not the most scathing satire, but when it's funny it's mad funny, and theres a lot of great inside jokes too. This is a great satire of the very Hollywood bigwigs Altman had to deal with throughout his career.

Ed Wood - ***1/2

Love this movie, just like any biopic it's not entirely accurate, but it's not REALLY a biopic, it only focuses on a certain period in Woods life. Depp gives a hilarious, brilliantly hammy performance as Wood and Landau is perfect as Legosi. Jeffery Jones is also great as Criswell and Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge.

What with his reputation for films about weirdos and outcasts, Tim Burton was undeniably the right guy for this, and it's great that he shot it in black and white, the entire film looks beautiful, and Howard Shores awesome score (which includes some nods to Swan Lake and the scores from Wood's own films) adds further to the experience. This is great as a period piece, and while it's funny, it dosen't condecend to it's cast of outcasts, the real events were hilarious as they were, and the way Burton recreates them is brilliant. As aways, Burton goes for romanticism rather than realism, and that's just fine. This is highly recommended to any aspiring filmmaker and a great film about a weird little guy with a dream, who laughed in the face of criticism. Surely one of Burton's finest moments.

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mannny

Pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Nothing special, but still a charming and funny movie.

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