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The Film Thread


DeadlyDirk

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I know there is a recurring theme of Gosling man-crush in this thread but has anyone mentioned Unites States of Leland yet? Finally got round to watching it last night and thought it was pretty good.

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Few thoughts on Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

1. The accents. What? If you are going down the Wallander route (more on that later) in which everyone has a lovely english accent then fine, stick with it. If you are aiming for authenticity and everyone must speak like the Swedish chef, then fine, stick with it. It was all over the place in this film, I couldn't never attatch one voice to one person. Rooney Mara was probably the worst example. Some scenes she is all Swedish and others she's incredibly american. None more so than the 'tattoo' scene. An otherwise gritty scene tainted by her sudden transformation into a 'Merkun Adam and the Ants tribute act.

2. The Wennerstrom plotline didn't work. Although it is hard to play it out in a similar vein to the novels without having Robert Peston pop up for a bit of exposition. I don't see why it was in the film at all save for the idea of a 'truthful' adaption. If it doesn't work, cut it. A great chunk of that novel just doesn't translate well to screen and attempting to cram it in only hinders the film.

3. Speaking of the novel, both adaptions have a similar problem in that they just can't replicate the hatred the author had for violence against women, and without that the story loses its purpose and becomes merely a cat-and-mouse thriller, of sorts.

4. And it is by no means Fincher's best cat-and-mouse thriller.

5. In fact, great stretches of the film could've substituted Daniel Craig for Kenneth Branagh and it would be an episode of Wallander.

6. But Stellan Skarsgard was good.

7. And it did look nice. But I'm not convinced that style is an adequate substitute for thrills. I was never hooked, merely appreciative of the fine Swedish interior design.

8. Speaking of which, I fancy a trip to Ikea.

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I saw Looper last night.

 

The following contains spoilers. If you haven't seen Terminator or 12 Monkeys, don't read further. If you have please do and save yourself from seeing Looper.

 

Firstly I think reviewers have gone mad, they have to watch so much rubbish that an average movie seems like a masterpiece.

 

This movie - like almost everything released in the lack of originality remake/sequel era we're in - is a total rip off.

 

Go back in time, kill a kid, change the future. That is Terminator.

 

Go back in time, see yourself being the cause of the future. Thats 12 Monkeys.   

 

Merge the two plots with some 5th Element style comedy and action that's suited to Judge Dredd and you get Looper.

 

The result is a total mess.  

 

It's quite amazing how someone just literally merged two plots to make this movie. Of course both are the two most famous and beloved time travel movies.

 

Bruce Willis is of course the Terminator, going round killing to change the future. They even take the Police station killing and supplant it in this when he kills the gatmen.

 

With 12 Monkeys - a movie that will spring to mind as it also stars Willis - we of course know that he sees the cause of the future at the end. Then of course in Terminator 2 Arnie sacrafices himself to alter the course of the future. Then mother and son go off into an unknown future full of hope.

 

Disgaceful stuff. Lured into seeing this dross by the increasinly discredited critics.

 

You can take inspiration from movies that have come before and make a great flick. See Inception, it's The Matrix meets Solaris. It's really good. But this, is blatant poorly done rip off and a total mess.

 

AVOID

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I went to see 'Ruby Sparks' last night and really liked it. I'm a bit of a sap though and do like romantic films to a degree. I just thought it was a smart film that had moments of comedy, sadness and was thought-provoking at the same time. I wasn't too happy with the ending, yet that was a small niggle in an otherwise very solid film. Shot well and the acting was also very good. Ruby herself isn't your typical stunner of a woman, yet she draws you in and you can't help but fall for her. Worth a watch.

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Useless fact courtesy of Q.I.

'Thumbs up' meant 'kill him' or 'proceed' in Roman times. They flipped it in Gladiator because we associate up with positive and down with negative.

I thought I'd read in the colosseum in Rome that they didn't do the thumbs up thingy at all and it stemmed from Hollywood , just like the notion of the pyramids being built by slaves

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Been looking forward to seeing 'Seven Psycopaths' for ages now and mentioned it on here a while back. Unfortunately us unlucky sods in England need to wait a while as it isn't out over here yet. I'm getting very impatient with the wait...

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Been looking forward to seeing 'Seven Psycopaths' for ages now and mentioned it on here a while back. Unfortunately us unlucky sods in England need to wait a while as it isn't out over here yet. I'm getting very impatient with the wait...

I promise you, it really is worth the wait. You should love it!!!

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Hollywood will make what sells. If people want to see the same things over again, they'll make the same things over again. It's not a lack of creativity, it's just that people are happy wiith what they're getting.

That's not true, Hollywood is just lazy. They've a dumbed down audience and they are dishing utter rubbish out to them.

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Skyfall seems to be getting good reviews.

Although Heineken does make an appearance, according to one.

i watched goldfinger this afternoon, watching them in order and i really noticed the sudden product placements, in the opening scene there is a great shot of a rolex, its not quite the "no its omega" bullshit of CR but its a noticable jump, i have almost no doubt that sony tvs, blu ray players, laptops and phones will once again be everywhere too, it was probably my only criticism of CR (once i realised felix had changed umpteen times anyway so him being black all of a sudden didnt really matter - surprised me just how many films he is in in at least some capacity, i thought he was only in about 5 for some reason)

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Saw chronicle last night. It was alright. Very big akira vibe at the end, I almost expected Andrew to shout KANEEDAA at any moment, and for the other guy to arm himself with a portable laser...

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That's not true, Hollywood is just lazy. They've a dumbed down audience and they are dishing utter rubbish out to them.

And yet things like the Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises and Avengers are all massive hits at the box office. Like I said, if people pay for them, they'll continue to make them. Do you really think they'd continue to make stuff that doesn't sell?

Original films ARE still being made. They just don't do well, which further backs up my point.

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Watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for the first time in a number of years last night, I completely forgot how fantastic it was! A modern day Film Noir, with some great comedic elements involved, brilliant fun.

Maqroll - The director of Elite Squad 2 Jose Padhila is currently filming the remake of Robocop with an outstanding cast, hopefully it'll turn out the same calibre of film, but when you've got the luxury of a great story like Robocop, you can't really go wrong. Knowing the franchise though it'll probably fumble and be a major disappointment. I hope not!

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