You dislike the Dark Knight films because they don't play like comics, but also don't like Chris Reeves' Superman (one of the only roles in history in which it is literally played like the comic, to good effect)?
none said:
I. Kershner : http://www.hendersonsfilmindustries.co.uk/videopage/directors/kershner.htm
Henderson's Film Industries have available for leasing 6.45 hrs of interviews with Irvin Kershner together with contributary interviews by the following people who worked with Irvin Kershner during his career:
Do you have any further information about this? I would love to have access to the full interviews.
The Dark Knight Trilogy.
I'll admit, I had only seen the first two Nolan Batman films once each. I loved them, but for some reason just never found an excuse to re-watch them. Well, ahead of seeing TDKR, I decided to re-watch the first two films. I'm glad I did, for the way TDKR dove-tails so elequoently with the previous films, more than I thought it would.
Batman Begins: 8/10
Surprised to find my opinion is the same as my first impression for both films. Batman Begins is a really good film, and I love the first half. Unfortunately, despite being a huge fan of Cilian Murphey (one of the few, I suspect), Scarecrow was a slightly weak villain, and I found the last act a bit boring. But a great, gritty, re-interpretation of the franchise. I forgot how good the first half is. It sets everything up nicely and is a highly re-watchable movie to boot.
The Dark Knight: 9/10
A fantastic crime drama, with a very different style than Batman Begins. Visually, it is fantastic, and thematically, it is complex. The characters are well developed, and the acting is superb, especially from Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart. People complain about Batman not being in it enough, but my favourite film to this day is Batman Returns for that very reason. This is a complex crime drama masterpiece, but I do consider it a big laggy in places, especially near the end. A great film, and I wouldn't cut anything out, but it feels a bit long, and great as Heath Ledger is, I never felt he was that good, despite being pretty amazing. All in all, a great re-direction of what is contained in Batman Begins, and definitely an all-time classic.
The Dark Knight Rises: 9/10
I never expected the film to be this "epic" in scope. The film might as well be called Gotham Goes to War. A little James Bond-y, but the first half especially is a real treat for fans of the characters, and Bane is one of the most terrifying and memorable villains since Hannibal Lector. A great, glorious, ambitious film that is perhaps the most complex and intricate of all three films. It's as good as Dark Knight, but in a very different way. Despite being the longest of the trilogy, it felt the shortest, as I was rivetted all the way, and actually wish it was a few minutes longer. An amazing finale. This series just got better-made as it went. Stupendous.
ChainsawAsh said:
TDKR was good.
Overshadowed by the fact that my best friend's house burned down while we were at the movie, killing his cat (his dad came home drunk and left a burning cigarette sitting on the counter when he left) and damaging/destroying most of his possessions.
Then I heard about the Aurora, CO thing.
Jesus fucking Christ. I'll never be able to watch that movie again in my life.
Woah dude, that really sucks! Such a stupid way to lose everything. Hope things go well for them as they deal with the aftermath.
Re-watched LA Confidential. I haven't seen it since about 2000 and had honestly forgotten almost the entire film, so it was like seeing it for the first time again. Fantastic movie, forgot how good it was. I love Guy Pearce, I wish he was more famous and had more prominent roles these days. I mean, I guess he was in Prometheus, and I'm one of the few fans of his performance there, but he deserves better.
I played Risk:Balance of Power a few years ago. Didn't realize it was a Europe-only thing. It was in english and came from a local store so I just assumed it was a common variation. Maybe they imported it. From what I remember it was basically just a streamlined two-player version so you don't have to sit there for 3 hours if there is only two of you.
With the "F the continuity" attitude of the new JJ Abrams films, who knows. I mean that in a good way. Like Star Wars today, ST has been a victim of its own popularity, the result of decades of exponentially defined boxes limiting what writers can and can't do. Comic books solved this by occassionally starting over, and since movie franchises appeared a few decades later they are only now discovering this.
The Borg were cool, but they were a two-note hit ("you will be assimilated" and "I was once individual and therfore have conflicted feelings about assimilation when you get down to it"). The Ferengi have better long-term personality. But as there has been no movie to feature them, the Borg are still the cooler space-Terminators of the ST multiverse.
Well, I guess this replaces the Pirates version as my favourite. If you come down to Toronto we have the 6 player expansion pack, which we traditionally play outside on a wooden crate with sangria after wednesday brunch. Hilarity ensues.
Yeah, it's weird that as a mouse your goal in the game is to actually get caught (and in real life, presumably die).
Also, more on topic, in response to Darth Ender's OP: does Risk have a bad rep? When I was growing up, no one really knew what it was, but people knew it was a bit nerdy. But any real nerd loved it. It's probably my favourite game. I don't think it is simplistic, as board games by their nature must be simplified to some degree for gameplay reasons; I remembered Risk being considered a thinking mans game, like chess, because of the strategy involved. I guess with stuff like Settlers of Cataan and the new "nerd chique" thing board games have evolved a bit, but that's like complaining that a film from 1957 (when Risk was invented) doesn't have the graphics (or colour!) and surround sound of Avengers. Like chess, it is sufficiently complex yet simple enough to learn that it needs no elaboration.
Trooperman: You may be in luck, most 35mm prints of TOD are very "used" looking if you know what I mean. A digital presentation may come from a studio master, and in almost all cases are better than vintage prints. Although I know it's cool just to say you've seen a certain film on film...
I would love to see the new restored prints of ROTLA. I've seen the film on 35mm a few times, but all prints are going pink and the ones I've watched have some rough spots in them too.
It will be interesting to read the first draft screenplay. You can sort of see how many of the elements in the film may have started as a direct Alien prequel but then were re-written to be their own thing.
Mouse Trap isn't actually that great a game. We had it our house but we mostly just played with the traps. In fact, I don't think I have every actually "played" Mouse Trap. I understand it is vaguely like Candy Land, which I actually played the heck out of.
Star Wars Purist said:
zombie84 said:
Last year Lucasfilm shut down a screening at a bar, and it was the SE. They weren't charging admission or anything, but LFL said it was illegal. It's a bit grey but usually not a problem. Pizza shops and bars often have TVs for sports, movies, whatever--a great pizza shop I used to go to had AMC on all the time, so I got to eat really good pizza and watch classic movies. Lucasfilm are really generous sometimes and other times they are complete assholes.
Interesting. In what ways have they been atypically generous?
The continued existance of the site for one. A lawyer could shut this place down in the matter of a day, and possibly prosecute many of us. It wouldn't be right, but the US justice system is a farce once corporate interests are at stake.
Yeah, they probably scanned the blue-screen elements for new composites.
georgec said:
zombie84 said:
Watched the first two parts of Fanny and Alexander, the mini-series version. I always thought the film was a bit slow to start, since the first 90 minutes are really nothing more than a Christmas dinner that does little or nothing to advance the plot. However, this film is about characters, and when you re-watch the film, the first part gets better and better each time as you start getting more familiar with various quirks of the cast. And you get a peak of Pernilla August's breasts, which has always been weird to me since I so strongly associate her with Phantom Menace. The final parts really pick up the pace with surprising speed, looking forward to finishing this tonight.
"Oops, the rocket went off too soon!" Maybe my 3rd favorite Bergman film (behind Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries)
I'd probably rank Persona slightly ahead of Wild Strawberries. I haven't watched Fanny and Alexander since 2005 when I first bought this Criterion box set and it's every bit as magical as I remember. I LOVE the fantasy elements of the miniseries version. Bergman complained that the theatrical cut--despite winning the Oscar for foreign film--cut the veins and arteries that were the lifeblood of the original vision. I agree. It turned an adult's fantasy film involving children into a Dickens-like period piece. A fantastic one, but the original version was much more interesting.
Last year Lucasfilm shut down a screening at a bar, and it was the SE. They weren't charging admission or anything, but LFL said it was illegal. It's a bit grey but usually not a problem. Pizza shops and bars often have TVs for sports, movies, whatever--a great pizza shop I used to go to had AMC on all the time, so I got to eat really good pizza and watch classic movies. Lucasfilm are really generous sometimes and other times they are complete assholes.
DominicCobb said:
Battle Royale (2000) 10/10 - Crazy, crazy, awesome movie. Must-see. Really surprised to find out that it's only been available in the US since last year.
Was it really?? Wow. I remember seeing this in 2001 and thinking how awesome it was. Then I saw the sequel. Then I heard there was going to be a crappy American remake. Then Hunger Games ripped it off.
Batman Returns (1992) 8/10 - I've never actually seen this one all the way through, and now that I have, I must say it is far superior to it's predecessor. It's just really weird - in a good way.
I've shamefully only seen TDK once (I know, I know), but this is still my favourite film in the Batman series. Except, I don't really look at it as a Batman film. It's just Tim Burton being given an unlimited amount of money to do whatever he wanted as long as Batman was in there somewhere. And I would consider it his best film; it's basically a 1930s German Expressionist horror film. TDK is probably the best Batman film, but this is the best film in the franchise, if that makes any sense.
This is one of those details I always remember noticing and finding really cool. That guy had his own little subplot going on in the background! I'm surprised that so many never caught this. Even on VHS I noticed this.
Any kid who grew up in the 1980s wet their pants when we saw the TV commercials for this:
Looks much better than the TOS enhancements. I hated those. The CG looked awful and so, so out of place in a show that wears the fact that it is a product of the 60s as a badge of honour. This looks very tasteful, and pretty realistic too. I have to admit that the Enterprise does look a bit CG-ish, even though it's not! It's weird how that happens sometimes. Maybe it's the context of being in a CG background or some colour grading thing? I've been fooled like this a number of times and I'm not sure why this occassionally happens.
Will definitely be buying this...once they get to seasons 2 or 3. Probably 3. I gotta admit, like the Simpsons, Seinfeld or the X-Files, the first couple seasons are pretty lackluster in comparison to their third season or so.
Watched the first two parts of Fanny and Alexander, the mini-series version. I always thought the film was a bit slow to start, since the first 90 minutes are really nothing more than a Christmas dinner that does little or nothing to advance the plot. However, this film is about characters, and when you re-watch the film, the first part gets better and better each time as you start getting more familiar with various quirks of the cast. And you get a peak of Pernilla August's breasts, which has always been weird to me since I so strongly associate her with Phantom Menace. The final parts really pick up the pace with surprising speed, looking forward to finishing this tonight.
Also watched Prometheus for the third time on the weekend. Another film that gets better each time you watch it. Despite looking like Alien, the film plays out more like a spiritual successor to Blade Runner. Like that film, I believe history will be way kinder to it than the mixed audience reaction of today.
Tempted to go see Amazing Spider Man. Loved the Raimi films, been reading the comics for over twenty years, but something about the film has been rubbing me a bit wrong. Probably just save my money for Dark Knight Rises.
In time for Comic-con:
Will it be the SE? And either way will it be shut-down by Lucasfilm? I'm guessing yes on both counts but you never know.
kamalayka said:
I have yet to see any skeptic offer proof for their claims. Until a video surfaces on Youtube showing a group of people making a 350-foot wide formation in PITCH BLACKNESS in the middle of a farm, WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT, in LESS than 12 hours, then I will remain convinced that such a thing is simply not possible.
This actually has been demonstrated, decades ago. The entire thing was a hoax from the beginning. They used planks of wood to flaten the ground, which is why there are no footprints. Then other people started copying them.
Sure, but I don't think you can say it was just a matter of point of view when slavery was a fundamental element in it all. I realize the matter is much more complex than that--I'm remembering a Simpsons episode where Apu starts getting into the issues behind the war and the bored citizenship examiners cuts him off and says "just say slavery." Anyway: both the ficticious Star Wars war and the real-life American war had their share of clear bad guys that are behind some of the main causes. The prequels try to at first paint it as point of view, but in the end it doesn't turn out to be the case.
Anyway though, your point about the PT/OT thing is spot on, the OT was designed as a classic moral absolutism tale--good vs evil--and the prequels, to give them credit are pretty clever deconstructions of that, which would be fine if they are sequels, but if they are supposedly meant to be watched first or at least chronoligically come first then that doesn't really mesh well/
I don't think it is particularly revisionist, if that's what you are asking. Pretty normal stuff in terms of restorations. I think I would personally hold back on the contrast a tiny bit, but even there I am splitting hairs. It's always a matter of judgement to some degree when dealing with films this old, because no one can honestly say exactly, to the .1 percentage, what a film this old should look like because there isn't any material to work off. All of your prints and duplicates would have the same issues as the negatives, which is that they fade, they get density fluxuations and weird anomolies where even certain portions of the frame degrade at differing rates. Whenever we picture "old films", we have a certain image in our minds of slightly washed out grey tones and weird contrast things, but that's because even the earliest video releases would have been working from antique and nth-generation dupes; if we could travel back in time and run the negative when it was brand new, it would probably look very close to what the Blu-ray offers.
I think the bigger area is getting rid of things like audio hiss, because a lot of that audio hiss would be on the original recordings because it was early in the sound era. But even there, leaving the hiss as it is probably isn't very faithful either, so cleaning that up gets rid of some artifacts of the aging and copying process plus it makes it much more presentable and enjoyable.
That's my take on this. But it's hard to judge too much just based on a 2minute promo.