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The Unpopular Film, TV, Music, Art, Books, Comics, Games, & Technology Opinion Thread (for all you contrarians!) — Page 12

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Spuffure said:
Also, early ‘60s songs are shit.

*cries in American Graffiti*

“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” - DV

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People don’t give silent era cinema the love and respect they deserve.

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“The silent pictures were the purest form of cinema; the only thing they lacked was the sound of people talking and the noises. But this slight imperfection did not warrant the major changes that sound brought in… In many of the films now being made, there is very little cinema: they are mostly what I call ‘photographs of people talking.’ When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialogue only when it’s impossible to do otherwise.”

— Alfred Hitchcock

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Kubrick’s Lolita is one of his worst films, but is still a decent film.

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I posted this earlier on this thread but I feel like asking again.

Could someone please explain the reason for all the vitriol aimed at Michael Bay, particularly his Transformers movies? I’ve personally enjoyed all of them, yet everywhere I look his movies are treated like crimes against humanity or something.

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People hate Michael Bay’s Transformers movies because they’re really, really bad. They’re bad movies. They are crimes against humanity (this is a hyperbolic figurative statement of course). The Bayformers franchise wears the fact that its only concern is making buttloads of money on it’s sleeve. Honestly the first one is the only one that even remotely seems like an “okay” movie, but even that’s bad.

Army of Darkness: The Medieval Deadit | The Terminator - Color Regrade | The Wrong Trousers - Audio Preservation
SONIC RACES THROUGH THE GREEN FIELDS.
THE SUN RACES THROUGH A BLUE SKY FILLED WITH WHITE CLOUDS.
THE WAYS OF HIS HEART ARE MUCH LIKE THE SUN. SONIC RUNS AND RESTS; THE SUN RISES AND SETS.
DON’T GIVE UP ON THE SUN. DON’T MAKE THE SUN LAUGH AT YOU.

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Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I have enjoyed the hell out of the Transformers movies, expect for Age of Extinction which I found to be merely OK, and yes, I genuinely enjoyed The Last Knight.

As for Bay’s filmography outside of Transformers, I’ve yet to see a Michael Bay movie I didn’t like, Pearl Harbor is the only one I have never seen.

Yes, I’m a Michael Bay fan and I’m not ashamed of it. Many will probably think I suffer from some kind of mental handicap for saying it.

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I liked The Rock, Pearl Harbor and Armageddon but i’m not going to pretend they are great cinema.

Sometimes a movie is just something you watch for enjoyment and it is nothing more than that. Something to do for a couple of hours.

The only thing i liked about his Bayformers movies was the monologue at the end of the first film and the inclusion of Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime. Dumb movies and they can be enjoyed a lot more if you are not a Transformers or Generation 1 fan. The Last Knight cannot even be defended as a dumb flick to be enjoyed, though it is truly one of the worst films i have ever seen. And Marky Mark phoned that movie in.

As for Bayturtles those movies are truly abominable. Especially the second one.

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 (Edited)

I don’t like Ash vs. Evil Dead very much. I consider it poorly written fanfiction with just enough Bruce Campbell goodness to be watchable.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 1 is a fantastic movie and Andrew Garfield has come the closest to really capturing 616 Spidey. I’ve never bought the “he’s too cool” argument. The Raimi/Ditko nerd with glasses that gets his lunch money stolen isn’t really what Peter Parker is about. The key concept about Peter Parker is his sense of alienation and Andrew really gets that. He constantly feels like an outsider. Just because he skateboards in the hallways doesn’t make him “cool.”

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I never once thought Andew Garfield Spidey was cool. Quite the contrary. I hate emo skaterboys.

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That’s a pretty loose definition of emo, he’s just sort of thin, what does that make Tobey in 3?

“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” - DV

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 (Edited)

I’d argue that Star Wars has as many stupid-looking aliens as Star Trek does. And not just the goddamn muppets in ROTJ or the podracers in TPM. Twi’leks? Togruta? Whatever Kit Fisto is? That fucker on the Jedi council with the giant horns?

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 (Edited)

Hey, at least it’s better than “regular-looking human with a weird forehead,” like we got a thousand times in Star Trek.

Which leads me to my next unpopular opinion: Discovery’s Klingons look better than any previous design for them. The only problem with them is the fact that they clearly contradict their already established appearance, with no apparent explanation as to why.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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The special edition shot of the fighters approaching Yavin is far inferior to the theatrical due to a mistake that shows the Death Star already in range from the start.

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I’m still not sure that’s actually a mistake. It’s a tracking shot following these fast-moving spaceships as they travel around the curvature of a planet, so there really isn’t any proper frame of reference there. And the SE Yavin battle is indisputably better purely because of the increased dynamic motion.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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StarkillerAG said:

And the SE Yavin battle is indisputably better purely because of the increased dynamic motion.

No. The “increased dynamic motion” only serves to make the CGI shots stick out like a sore thumb. They don’t match the visual style of the original footage. The SE battle is not “indisputably” better.

Army of Darkness: The Medieval Deadit | The Terminator - Color Regrade | The Wrong Trousers - Audio Preservation
SONIC RACES THROUGH THE GREEN FIELDS.
THE SUN RACES THROUGH A BLUE SKY FILLED WITH WHITE CLOUDS.
THE WAYS OF HIS HEART ARE MUCH LIKE THE SUN. SONIC RUNS AND RESTS; THE SUN RISES AND SETS.
DON’T GIVE UP ON THE SUN. DON’T MAKE THE SUN LAUGH AT YOU.

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One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I may have been hasty to call it “indisputably better”, but it certainly looks much better to me. The original effects haven’t aged very well in my eyes.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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Agreed. The shots that got replaced in the SE are some of the least good shots in the movie. Admittedly, the CGI models needed better textures to blend with the model shots (e.g., matching the paint on the models) and motion that fit with ROTJ-period effects, but the original shots are the weakest in the movie.

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The CGI replacements have aged worse than the original shots.

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ChainsawAsh said:

The CGI replacements have aged worse than the original shots.

This. Not to mention that the compositional changes and editing changes are worse for many of the shot replacements.

Take the opening approach past the planet for example. They changed two distinct shots into a single moving shot where the order of the angles is reversed. That shot replacement is not only worse compositionally and ill-fitting to the visual style of the film, but it also changes the editing of the sequence and ignores the timed musical cue.

Another good example is the “lock s-foils” approaching shot. In the original shot, the x-wings are in a formation, and the imagery is striking. In the SE shot, the x-wings don’t appear to be in any sort of formation, and the altered composition and movement makes the shot far less visually striking.

BedeHistory731 said:

Admittedly, the CGI models needed […] motion that fit with ROTJ-period effects,

Um… why not have motion that fit with Star Wars-period effects? ROTJ wasn’t shot like SW.

Army of Darkness: The Medieval Deadit | The Terminator - Color Regrade | The Wrong Trousers - Audio Preservation
SONIC RACES THROUGH THE GREEN FIELDS.
THE SUN RACES THROUGH A BLUE SKY FILLED WITH WHITE CLOUDS.
THE WAYS OF HIS HEART ARE MUCH LIKE THE SUN. SONIC RUNS AND RESTS; THE SUN RISES AND SETS.
DON’T GIVE UP ON THE SUN. DON’T MAKE THE SUN LAUGH AT YOU.

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Dek Rollins said:

ChainsawAsh said:

The CGI replacements have aged worse than the original shots.

This. Not to mention that the compositional changes and editing changes are worse for many of the shot replacements.

Take the opening approach past the planet for example. They changed two distinct shots into a single moving shot where the order of the angles is reversed. That shot replacement is not only worse compositionally and ill-fitting to the visual style of the film, but it also changes the editing of the sequence and ignores the timed musical cue.

Another good example is the “lock s-foils” approaching shot. In the original shot, the x-wings are in a formation, and the imagery is striking. In the SE shot, the x-wings don’t appear to be in any sort of formation, and the altered composition and movement makes the shot far less visually striking.

I think you’re looking into it too much. The shots do lose a tiny bit of compositional appeal, but that was done in service of greater realism and more dynamic motion. It’s not a game-breaker to my eyes.

BedeHistory731 said:

Admittedly, the CGI models needed […] motion that fit with ROTJ-period effects,

Um… why not have motion that fit with Star Wars-period effects? ROTJ wasn’t shot like SW.

Because the effects in the original movie, to be perfectly frank, weren’t as good as the other two. Back then, they only had the technology to show spaceships moving in straight lines, and big battle scenes like the Yavin battle looked kind of iffy because of it. The new effects of the ANH-SE space scenes really help bring that movie more in line with the dynamic motion of the other two movies.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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 (Edited)

StarkillerAG said:

Dek Rollins said:

ChainsawAsh said:

The CGI replacements have aged worse than the original shots.

This. Not to mention that the compositional changes and editing changes are worse for many of the shot replacements.

Take the opening approach past the planet for example. They changed two distinct shots into a single moving shot where the order of the angles is reversed. That shot replacement is not only worse compositionally and ill-fitting to the visual style of the film, but it also changes the editing of the sequence and ignores the timed musical cue.

Another good example is the “lock s-foils” approaching shot. In the original shot, the x-wings are in a formation, and the imagery is striking. In the SE shot, the x-wings don’t appear to be in any sort of formation, and the altered composition and movement makes the shot far less visually striking.

I think you’re looking into it too much. The shots do lose a tiny bit of compositional appeal, but that was done in service of greater realism and more dynamic motion. It’s not a game-breaker to my eyes.

I’m not looking into anything too much. I’m looking at precisely what is visible on screen and determining that the CGI replacements are artistically inferior to the original shots.

BedeHistory731 said:

Admittedly, the CGI models needed […] motion that fit with ROTJ-period effects,

Um… why not have motion that fit with Star Wars-period effects? ROTJ wasn’t shot like SW.

Because the effects in the original movie, to be perfectly frank, weren’t as good as the other two. Back then, they only had the technology to show spaceships moving in straight lines, and big battle scenes like the Yavin battle looked kind of iffy because of it. The new effects of the ANH-SE space scenes really help bring that movie more in line with the dynamic motion of the other two movies.

Star Wars was not shot like the other two movies.

Army of Darkness: The Medieval Deadit | The Terminator - Color Regrade | The Wrong Trousers - Audio Preservation
SONIC RACES THROUGH THE GREEN FIELDS.
THE SUN RACES THROUGH A BLUE SKY FILLED WITH WHITE CLOUDS.
THE WAYS OF HIS HEART ARE MUCH LIKE THE SUN. SONIC RUNS AND RESTS; THE SUN RISES AND SETS.
DON’T GIVE UP ON THE SUN. DON’T MAKE THE SUN LAUGH AT YOU.