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Reviews: "O Brother" And Others
You won't see a stranger, more inspired or more charmingly off-kilter movie than O Brother, Where Art You? from the blessedly weird Coen brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy.)
This one is making both best and worst lists of major critics, which isn't surprising, since it's utterly bizarre and responding to it requires a particular kind of humor and sensibility. It's title comes from a 1942 Preston Sturges movie, Sullivan's Travels. The opening credits announce that O, Brother is based on Homer's "The Odyssey," but this isn't a retelling of Odysseus's voyage so much as it is a jazzy riff on it, and on some good old-fashioned American "values," like the twin loves of God and country.
Set in Mississippi during the Depression, "Brother" follows three escaped and hotly-pursued convicts (George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson) as they set out to dig up some buried treasure before a new dam floods its burial place or the evil (possibly satanic) sheriff catches up to them. It's a much more good-natured trip than the one Odysseus took, though anybody who remembers the classic will have fun spotting all sorts of familiar characters popping up here, from muses to sirens to the cyclops (in the form of John Goodman.)
The Coen brothers are at their most unnervingly original here, and while they don't appear to be taking themselves seriously, they do have ambitions in this nostalgic portrait of (barely) pre-mass media, high tech, politically correct America, and of the Southern streak of moral and religious high-mindedness that still crops up in American politics and Washington debates over values, morality and culture. Clooney and his two dim-witted associates managed to stop off at a radio station to make a few bucks crooning and unknowingly launch a smash single. T-Bone Burnett deserves kudos too, for assembling a terrific old-time bluegrass/country soundtrack, some of it antique and some contemporary.
Clooney is edgy at first in this strange role, but eventually gets comfortable with it and is terrific as the undeterrable, brave (and yes, innocent) wanderer in search of his treasure and his lost family, getting past one hurdle after another on the way.
Be prepared for a movie that like Crouching Tiger is nothing like traditional Hollywood fare. Bravely inventive, it doesn't move in a straight line. It probably helps to have a strange streak if you go see this film; maybe leave your straight friends behind. But this holiday season, let's give thanks for the Coen brothers, for whom no character, major or minor, is anything less than memorable. Weirdos pop up from every direction all through this movie, including a brilliant Charles Durning as the foul-tempered governor who turns to pop culture to save his political career (a prescient commentary on conventional political hypocrisy and moral posturing about kids).
Crouching Tiger, which we mulled over in this space last week, is one of the most original movie in years, and it held up beautifully the second time around. (Though I offer a warning: you may find when some moviegoers are on unfamiliar ground, they laugh nervously during the eerie choreographed fighting scenes, which are a real surprise).
Unbreakable, also discussed previously here, also holds up as an amazingly dark, well- made movie, true to the superhero comic- book genre which inspired it. It might have Bruce Willis' best-ever acting performance, and it's one of those films that really captures the imagination.
As for the rest of the stuff at the megaplex:
I thought there was something off about Cast Away, even though most critics wet their pants over Tom Hank's Robinson Crusoe scenes. Perhaps it was the pointlessly sappy ending sequence, or maybe I couldn't quite get past wondering if there were still anyplace in the world where a human being could languish unnoticed for four years by people, boats, satellites or other machines (a consequence maybe of working for Slashdot).
Tom Hanks seems stuck in this kind of character, the decent, take-what-comes heroic everyman. Watching this movie -- at times beautiful, even wrenching -- I couldn't get the astronaut, the prison guard and the dutiful soldier out of my head, or remember exactly which one had wound up marooned in the South Pacific Island. If Fedex really had guys like this, we wouldn't even have to wait overnight. But the whole drama for Hank's character isn't really survival, it's getting back to Helen Hunt. For me, this was a monumental flaw.
Still, among it's high points was a nightmarish, skillfully animated plane crash that made you feel as if you were inside the cabin as it hurtled into the sea.
State and Main is David Mamet's biting Hollywood satire, a knowing and unsparing romp in which a beleaguered film crew tries to shoot a movie in what appears to be a hick Vermont town. The L.A. slickies vs. the gullible locals who are smarter than they appear is hardly a fresh idea, but Mamet's skewering of the film industry is great fun. William Macy plays the monomaniacal, manipulative and sleazy director with great enthusiasm.
What Women Want is a vehicle for Mel Gibson to break out of the action genre with the help of the aforementioned Helen Hunt, who really needs to play somebody -- just once -- who isn't in such deadly earnest. It's a solid B movie whose premise is that a macho male acquires the ability to understand women because he can hear their thoughts (a gift bestowed him after he is hit by lightning, perhaps a metaphorical message). To me, this idea is a bit creepy, but the movie was pleasant enough, like eating a vanilla ice cream cone. A painless way to kill a few hours, but it could easily go on the "can miss" list.
All The Pretty Horses is actor/director Billy Bob Thornton's game rendition of the terrific novel by Cormac McCarthy. This is an end-of-innocence, coming-of-age, buddy/road trip movie, the story of an unassuming Texas kid (Matt Damon) who heads to Mexico for some adventure in the late 40s, and finds plenty. The movie is beautiful but hollow; it has an epic feeling, but really isn't very dramatic. The end result is more pretentious than powerful. It's too long, seems to circle around forever without quite landing anywhere. It lacks the edge of the book and somehow, it's tiresome to be reminded all the time that we used to be a purer, simpler nation. We know. So what? Soda used to be a nickel and milk used to be delivered to your backdoor.
I liked Proof Of Life, the Russell Crowe adventure flick, a lot. This movie, about the exploits of an Australian "k & r" (kidnap and rescue) specialist sent from London to save Meg Ryan's husband from South American guerrillas who have kidnapped him and are holding him for ransom is restrained and realistic. The local scenes (shot in Ecuador) are beautiful, and Crowe, as good as he was in Gladiator handles the role of the last ethical hero perfectly.
Perhaps the worst movie of the season so far is Sean Connery's Finding Forrester, a insipid, politically-correct tale about a reclusive writer and a brilliant minority kid from the Bronx. The movie has about every dumb cliche regarding race, class and writing that you could stuff into a movie. Even Connery can't save this woofer, make it worthwhile seeing, or keep you awake for all of it.
So how do you think this season is shaping up? I'd say it's better than average. But notice the strange and atypical absence of natural disasters, war flicks or futuristic Armageddon movies full of computer-generated FX and evil geek programmers spying on us and plotting the end of the world. (Some of you may have already seen those great trailers for next summer's anticipated Spielberg blockbuster about an AI kid. That'll give us plenty to talk about.)
But at the same time, the movie's dialogue dates the Green Destiny to the Han period (ending around 200 AD). Maybe they said the Tang (ending 900 AD)? Either way, if I remember correctly, they said that the sword is 400 years old, which would bring us either to 600 AD or 1300 AD, hundreds of years earlier than the beginning of the Qing dynasty. Am I misremembering the chronology of the Green Destiny? I've been doing google searches and I can't find any other reference to the apparent vintage of the sword. Any pointers would be appreciated.
Jeff Hwang
jeff8ATpacbellDOTnet
Watchmen is incredible! I've read it many times already and now when I read it again during the Christmas holidays I still find it extremely thought provoking.
When I first read that I had to put down the book for awhile to recover. Someone had not only managed to put on paper what I had felt all my life but in such a beautiful language too..
You can already filter Katz.
When leaving the theater, I strained to come up with a worse movie that I had seen, and failed.
Suspension of disbelief? PLEASE. And Katz's comment about "nervous laughter" -- give me a break. People were laughing out-loud in the theater because of how ridiculously STUPID the final fighting scenes were.
The dialog was uninspired, the acting was nonexistant, the plot was random and yet predictable at the same time.
This was the most boring, predictable, and contrived movies I have ever seen. I'm sorry I spent $9.50 on it.
I saw O Brother months ago in the UK (September-ish?) and really enjoyed it - anyone know why it's only just come out in the US? This is the opposite of what usually happens...
:) )
(and as luck would have it, I'm in the US at the moment, so I get to see it on the big screen again
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
(Really? Jade Fox, the Zhang Ziyi character, Dark Cloud et al. don't qualify?)
Jade Fox == Darth Vader? No - she's not a despotic villian. At best she's Jaba the Hut - but she's not even that powerful.
Besides the "You killed my master - I must avenge his death!" is the oldest Kung Fu movie staple in the book.
Lo == Han Solo? This is a little closer as he's an outlaw but there's no revolution to join up with here...
Anyway - this ALL misses the point that the book predates the script for STAR WARS by decades. It's been a classic best seller in China for a very long time. Even if you feel - that I obviously don't - that it bears a suspicious similarity to SW then you should acuse SW of ripping off the book not vice versa.
=tkk
PS If you want to see the movie _Star Wars_ ripped off ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H got a lot of insipartion from see The Hidden Fortress.
_The Hidden Fortress_ is to _Star Wars_ as _The Seven Samurai_ is _The Magnificent Seven_.
Bill Gates - Creationist?!?
[South_Park_Kyle's_Mom_Voice_On] Wha, wha, wha, what?!? [/SPKMV]
Ummm... no oppressive evil government, no revolution in the making, no central despotic villian, no hiding princess, no ragtag bunch of outlaws... but other than that JUST like Star Wars... ;)
Other than the fact that the book predates SW but decades I also might suggest that you check out an old B&W Japanese flick called Hidden Fortress. Not to give it away but it starts with a tall skinny guy and short fat guy walking together across a vast desert. They quarrel, part but are reunited by when they are both captured by slave traders. It also involves a princess in hiding and an ancient samurai warrior who comes out of retirement to look after her..... but I don't want to give away the ending....
=tkk
Bill Gates - Creationist?!?
Well said. I agree wholeheartedly with almost everything you said. As in television, where Felicity and Ally McBeal and other worthless programs steal the attention from good shows like those on the History Channel (my opinion - yours will vary), good comic books are being ignored outside of the comic realm. I'd like to see a movie based on intelligent comics, like the works of Alan Moore (who can do an intelligent super-hero book) or Frank Miller (who can do anything). Although not all super-hero books are mindless (even the iconographic Superman has had great moments in his long career), all the funny-book flicks that Hollywood churns out have been dedicated to that same mindless genre of storytelling that has been making hardcore comic fans yawn for years.
# wrote sig.txt, 23 lines, 31337 chars
Mod this up, please. I'd like to see more people read and enjoy this great tidbit from The Watchmen (a great and vastly important work in funny-books).
# wrote sig.txt, 23 lines, 31337 chars
Sorry your censorship software is messed up, but ain't nobody putting a gun to your head..Just skip it, and let people who want to read and talk read and talk. A free site, no? Keep your blood pressure down.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Went to see Crouchin Tiger, Unbreakable, and You
Can Count On Me on holidays in Toronto, and YCCOM
was the best of the lot. Crouching Tiger is a good HK movie, Unbreakable is an above-average
Hollywood action movie, but it's nothing special.
You Can Count On Me is just basically brilliant.
If it's still out near you, go see it.
K.
-
-- Proud descendant of semi-nomadic cattle-herders.
Except for this one, of course. Else how did you get here?
7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
Alan Moore seems to differ with you on this point. His runs writing several books have been excellent by many reports. Personally, I have only really read Watchmen and his current series Promethea, but they are both amazingly great and VERY serious (but with plenty of humor).
7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
If you're too lazy to go there, Houston opened 12/22. Hopefully it hasn't already closed.....
7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
I don't get it, isn't Kabuki Japanese, and the movie from Hong Kong? I thought they had dis-similar cultures?
Lowmag.net
Try on J. Michael Straczynski's "Rising Stars" or "Midnight Nation" on top of the AC's suggestion of "Watchmen" and "Sandman" .. You'll no doubt see parallels between Gaiman and Straczynski's writing. They are both top notch, and the have worked together in the past, too.
Lowmag.net
OH yes there is. Try movielink. Friday night it was at the Edwards on I-10, and I saw it at the 30-screen ludicrous-plex on Dunvale off Westheimer. As for the movie - anyone who has exposed themselves to traditional chinese literature will recognize common themes such as unrequited love, honor over happiness, many many characters, and a comon end result - tragedy. I thought this was a incredibly moving film, only lessened by the often ridiculous wirework. Had they LEPT from roof to roof it would have seemed superhuman. FLYING from roof to roof kicking their legs looked silly, even if it is the traditional asian movie way. When the wirework was used for the fighting it was often incredible, far exceeding it's use in Matrix. Overall this is the best movie of 2000, close to 1999's Magnolia in the sheer volume of great acting. And it was a nice touch to have some of the music provided by yo-yo ma. And one of the most moving facets of the experience was to see a large commercial theater filled with "normals" engrossed by such a thouroughly "foreign" artwork. Hopefully Hollywood will notice this and other successes this season, and start giving us works, and not just commercial marketing vehicles.
It was showing last week at the Landmark here by the Compaq Center, but it's gone already. You missed it. Gotta move quick. :-D
What's your damage, Heather?
I've worked for "a large, unnamed air express freight company based out of Memphis" for 9 years. The only reason I want to see the movie is to see the plane fucking crash.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
Damn right.
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
(Really? Jade Fox, the Zhang Ziyi character, Dark Cloud et al. don't qualify?)
I don't mean to belabor this point. Obviously the filmmakers did not sit down at a table and say to each other, "What is the most obscure way we can rip off Star Wars?" or otherwise think explicitly about SW in any other way.
Nor do I believe there is anything particularly original to SW about the plot elements and themes this film shares with SW. (See the other poster's reference to Joseph Campbell.)
I was simply trying to give a rough impression of the film (which would among other things convey that this film aims higher than, e.g., Armor of God 2, in the same way that SW aimed higher than some Amazon Women On The Moon-type 1950s sci-fi film. Don't get me wrong, I love Jackie Chan to death, but this film has different aspirations).
Really? Your response makes clear that you yourself recognize CTHD does bear certain similarities to SW.
Just because it includes a desert and a wise master doesn't necessarily make it derivative, you know.
I don't think CTHD is derivative, at least not in a bad way. I just meant to point out that it uses a lot of the same plot elements and themes as SW. (There's no question that Ang Lee and Jim Schamus, the creative team behind CTHD, have both seen SW.) SW itself recycles plot elements and themes from The Wizard Of Oz. Nihil novum sub sole.
Main Entry: oneiric /-ri-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Pronunciation: O-'nI-rik
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek oneiros dream; akin to Armenian anurj dream
Date: 1859
: of or relating to dreams : DREAMY
- oneirically
But as for raw acting chops, I'd throw William Hurt or Laurence Fishburne in a steel cage with your Welshman any day.(2)
(Notes:)
(1) I saw a little bit of Travolta in Urban Cowboy again the other day while channel-flipping. He is incredibly amazing with the right material.
(2) Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Kline are all quite good but I've seen them in too much poor material to be wholly confident. Baldwin vs. Hopkins in The Edge is worth seeing for those interested in this kind of face-off.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is, in a nutshell, Star Wars remade as a Chinese martial arts fantasy. It is strange and beautiful and everyone should go see it. (In the unusual event that there are parents reading this, the film is rated PG-13 but is completely appropriate for any child old enough to read subtitles.)
One film JK did not remark on is You Can Count On Me, which tells the story of a single mother in upstate New York and her relationship with her drifter brother. This sounds like a "chick flick," to be sure, but is so well told that it serves to demonstrate the emptiness of the "family values porn" (Entertainment Weekly's description of The Family Man) which Hollywood churns out. For those who are afraid of abject sentimentality, I would note that the title would be more accurate if it were phrased as a question.
sorry, i haven't looked at the prefs for a year, you *can* filter out the non geeks :-)
Um, if you're a logged-in user, you can. And have been able to for at least two years.
Just figured I'd throw my two cents in.
I saw this movie last night and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't really know what to expect going in (martial arts/action/romance?), so I think the fact that I had no expectations other than an interesting movie helped.
The friends I went to see it with and I were talking afterwards and we were discussing the parallels between the action in the movie to that in some anime, particularly Ranma 1/2. Flying across rooftops, fast martial arts action, one girl beating up on a lot of armed guys (episode one?).
Nevertheless, it was a very good story. I think if the ending of the movie had been different, it would have lessened the movie. I felt it was well worth the time and money spent.
I recommended it to a friend and she said that already 4 others had recommended it to her in the last 3 days. I think that the lack of advertising (at least up here in Edmonton - I haven't seen many ads for this movie) is going to be made up for by word of mouth.
-Dexx
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
The movie is set a bit over 2000 years after Confucius' time; he lived during the Zhou dynasty, the movie is set during the Qing dynasty.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not Matrix-inspired, Jon. It has kung-fu in it. The kung-fu was choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping. The similarities end there.
And so was everyone else in the theatre.
Was this movie intended as a comedy? (They corny dialog seems to suggest so.) Regardless, I recomend it to anyone looking for a good laugh, albiet perhaps at someone elses expense.
Cheers,
Rick Kirkland
'nuff said.
If a list contains elements which subsequently include commas, semicolons should be used to separate each element of the list rather than simple commas. For example: I ate warm soup; a ham, turkey, and bacon sandwich; and a pickle for lunch.
Dancer in the Dark is not a Dogme film.
"You won't see a stranger, more inspired or more charmingly off-kilter movie than O Brother, Where Art You?
At least get the title right in a review. How can I trust an opinion when the given title is wrong?
LOL! One of the directors I work wth said the same thing.
The United Way is a charitable organization that raises money for literally thousands of organizations around the world. The money that is raised locally, though, is used locally. If you make a donation to hte United Way chapter in your area, then you will be helping someone in your own town or possibly in your own neighorhood.
I love it how some of the highest praise that can be slathered on a new movie is how it isn't like anything else Hollywood produces. Kind of makes movie reviewers look like stock analysts in the back pockets of the corporations they cover. When they say Buy it means they want to Sell.
Edith Keeler Must Die
Actually, they did have accents from all over, because they were, in fact, from all over. Westerns have it all wrong. :)
Edith Keeler Must Die
Aha.. Egg on my face.
:)
Well at least it's foreign
Umm, I'm pretty sure at least Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a Chinese movie in Chinese language (yes one of those foreign films that /. has something against), has nothing to do with the Motion Picture Association of America
Hmm, I don't really want to put in yet another movie into this list, but has anyone else seen Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 and been suitably impressed?
I saw it on Friday and I must say that the plot was well thought-out, the special effects were effective not excessive, and the explanation of Dracula's origins was surprising and fun.
I came out of Dracula 2000 having had a great time, and although it is not typical holiday fare it was very satisfying nonetheless. Admittedly, I've only seen Cast Away out of all the movies mentioned here, so maybe there some real gems, but don't discount Dracula 2000 as just another vampire movie. Well worth your time and money.
$9.50??? If you're in the States you're getting screwed.
Okay. Kidding. I watched it all the way through. But...
Bush was elected?!
If a corporation is a personhood, is owning stock slavery?
Admitted? Geez, man. Not to challenge any world-views, but it's not like she's committed some crime or done something terrible. She's presented three-dimensional characters. Is it morally or factually wrong to portray women as strong? No. This isn't a distortion of reality or the plotline, only of how you think. And that, dear boy, is a good thing. People challenging your preconceptions is positive. Sometimes you realize you weren't all that smart to begin with. Women are people, just like men, and are capable of strength and weakness, just like men. You see weak women in countries where women are considered inferior and weak. It's a cultural thing, enforced by the environment in which they're raised. It has nothing to do with biology, spirit, or, even, reality. Culture is the mutual fantasy of a sect. It's great, it gives life flavor, but sometimes it's wrong and harmful. Here's hoping that sometime in the future you can look back at you saying the comic having strong women characters is a distortion and see that you weren't quite in tune with reality, yet.
If a corporation is a personhood, is owning stock slavery?
A year apart, if I'm not dreaming. The movie was shot in Fiji, too (again, if I'm not dreaming). As far as Tom's diet: the pudge on him at the beginning was also for the movie. He's ordinarily a bit between the two extremes, there. The pudge was added because he was supposed to be the every-man, not the well-built hero nor the extremely unlikely, 900 pound hero. They probably shot the end before he gained that weight or during the weight loss, but I don't know for certain; it's hard to tell when he's no longer wearing a loin-cloth (but the fact that he was now fully clothed had its own rewards, such as no longer having to see Tom Hanks not fully clothed). Anyway, yeah, he took about a year to lose the "artificial weight" he had gained for the role to begin with, and then worked-out like mad. So it's not an amazing diet after all: it's the good ol' way of getting things done in the absence of a magic pill. That is, by simply doing them.
If a corporation is a personhood, is owning stock slavery?
AI was Kubrick's vehicle. Kubrick had worked off-and-on on the project for years, probably more than you can count on your two hands... Sadly, Kubrick died. Now we get Spielberg doing Kubrick doing a movie the decesaed director was never quite content with. This ought to go well.
If a corporation is a personhood, is owning stock slavery?
(Score: -1, Redundant)
[Note to the humor-impaired: yes, this is a weak attempt at humor.]
Withdrawal before climax is very ineffective and those who try this are usually called "parents."
After reading Katz's first review of Couching Tiger, I went and saw the movie - I was not dissapointed. It is extremely well choreographed and there is a certain dignity about the whole movie, especially when the hero ( it's more about heroines ) accepts his death. But I am most interested in what the Chinese themselves think about the movie ? Does it pander overly to a western audience and the strong potrayal of women - Is it activism gone crazy or was it true of ancient China ? I might go see the movie again. It's really, really worth it.
Jon, I did'nt mean pandering to women. I meant pandering to western audiences by making it very exotic, an extra dash of exaggerated eastern flavour. In other words, pandering to the Western conception of ancient China. The reason I am asking this is that , I have noticed Indian authors writing in English in recent years making attempts to make their novels very exotic - this apparently sells very well abroad and have even landed a couple of Booker prizes : -). Of course , you can just dismiss it as just another view. The other point about activism that I was trying to make was about distortions being introduced into stories by the writer's personal ideology. I noticed this with one of my favourite Indian comics - Amar Chitra katha - I remember reading an interview with one of the editor/author who admitted to her efforts to make women appear strong in these stories.
You'll see (C) Columbia Tristar as well as the Sony Pictures logo, both MPAA members (http://www.rodsbooks.com/decss/mpaa.html). It's basically impossible to release a major film nationwide without going through the MPAA. They own the ball and the ballpark, and they'll do anything they can to keep their profit margins up (hence the DeCSS case).
So next time how 'bout doing a little research before you run your mouth, thanks.
-the wunderhorn
Karma: Bored. (Thinking about resurrecting the "Anyone else is an imposter" joke.)
Maybe Taco's just waiting for someone to write such an article, and maybe I will.
But still, is it really necessary, after all the pro-DeCSS/2600/Little Scandanavian Kiddie, anti-DMCA/MPAA/Valenti grandstanding, to promote such blatant hypocrisy?
I realize Jon Katz, being a member of the mass media, is concerned with supporting the industry that provides him with a job. That's okay, that's his right.
But it is patently dishonest for slashdot to keep running articles both promoting MPAA-affiliated movies and scolding the MPAA's actions.
Just remember boys and girls:
Each time you see one of the above movies you put more money towards restricting your rights as software developers, DVD-watchers, reverse-engineerers, and believers in "fair use."
-the wunderhorn
Karma: Bored. (Thinking about resurrecting the "Anyone else is an imposter" joke.)
...or the Nosferatu-inspired Shadows Of the Vampire...
Wow, a vampire movie inspired by Nosferatu. I wouldn't have guessed that one. Thanks, Jon, for clearing that up for me. I'll rush right out and see what is so obviously a brilliant and original flick about vampires (and inspired by Nosferatu, no less).
I just saw Dracula 2000. Never before have I been so tempted to boo a movie. Avoid this stinker like the plague.
--
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
He wasn't? I thought he was. Before he got stuck on the island he was somewhat of a workaholic. He cared about getting packages there on time and little else. When he returned he seemed much more quiet than before, and he had a new outlook on life. He didn't go back to Fed Ex; he knew that his life would never be the same as it had before.
--
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
John Katz didn't mention it, but I just saw Miss Congeniality, and I was very surprised. You wouldn't think much of it from the trailers, but this turned out to be a very enjoyable movie. Yes, it's silly, and it's light, and you pretty much know what's going to happen all throughout the movie. However, this doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I even laughed out loud a few times, which is certainly something I wasn't expecting. I highly recommend this movie if you're looking for a movie where you can have fun without overusing the ol' noggin.
As for Cast Away, I don't have much to say about it, and I don't want to give anything away anyway. But it is a great movie. Go see it.
And of course, Unbreakable is great, if a little slow. So is Vertical Limit (but Cliffhanger is better). But let me warn you now: Stay away from Dude Where's my Car. FAR away. It is painfully unfunny, and not even very entertaining. Ughhhh...
Hopefully soon I'll be seeing Traffic. Now that looks good.
--
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
I think if I had walked in the theatre with no expecations whatsoever, I would have walked out thinking "not a bad movie at all". Instead I walked out thinking "what is all the big fuzz about?".
I mean the movie is interesting, entertaining and well acted, but performances never tower like Hopkins and Foster in Silence of the Lambs. The plot never goes far from a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets a girl back. The movie goes nowhere with its basic premise (a man driven by time and gadgets who is placed off-line for a few years), almost as if Zemeckis had changed his mind half way through filming.
In short: an ok movie overhyped by the critics.
From what I can tell, it's a fictionalized description of the history of Microsoft... errr... I mean a software company where they will do anything to get ahead.
Most interesting for Slashdot readers in this movie's site is that the extras page links to interviews with Jon 'Maddog' Hall and Miguel de Icaza . (Unfortunately, they're in Quicktime format.
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn. Or a juggernaut.
Then again, maybe I was just spoiled by watching the amazing Legend of Drunken Master a couple weeks before. IMHO if you're looking for some good fight scenes THAT'S the movie to watch.
I'd have to go on record and say that Legend of Drunken Master is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Yes, the fighting and choreography are both impressive. But there is so much fighting and the fighting is so pointless, that it makes slogging through the movie virtually impossible. I saw this years ago with a group of friends, before we were going to go out on the town. After watching the film, we unanimously voted to all just go back to our dorm rooms and sleep. It just sucked the energy out of us. Incidently the only other movie to do the same was a Bruce Campbell B-movie called, I believe, "Mind Warp".
Josh Sisk
yeah, like *not* having five scenes that yield one simple fact, which is largely irrelevant to the plot. that's a quality that Unbreakable is missing.
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"Rock over London... Rock on Chicago..." -Wesley Willis
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"Rock over London... Rock on Chicago..." -Wesley Willis
The movie was filmed in two pieces. First they filmed the beginning (and end?) of the movie, then they took some time off while Hanks lost weight before they filmed the island segments.
Yu Suzuki
Yu Suzuki
Deamcast. It's thinking.
lol, here in Australia standard price for a movie is $13.50!
---- Put Sig here:
You mean FedEx do have inspectors that just yell at people to perform better?
I really felt like kicking his butt, it's a good think I don't work for FedEx.
I remember hearing that he did something similar for A League of Their Own. In that, he had to play a baseball manager, and the director wanted him to be out of shape and overweight. Hanks said that first he had to avoid staying in shape, then had to push himself out of shape by eating wrong.
I guess the ability to get his weight way up or way down is just an innate talent for Hanks.
Crouching Tiger is brilliant - hardly inspired by Matrix, though. Oh Brother proves that the Coen Brothers can still be as funny as they were in Raising Arizona & Fargo and as good storytellers as they were in Blood Simple & Miller's Crossing. However, Proof of Life was the most stilted, poorly-directed film in a long time. A lousy film which is only attractive in its trailer. The testy of a well-made film? Try this - put anyone else besides the two leads in it and it would have closed in a week.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
More particularly, it's not the fighting scenes people giggle about, but it's the gravity-defying acts that the actors are involved in during the fighting scenes that induce these giggles from those unfamiliar to the classical Chinese style of fantasy-martial arts fighting and folklore. I guess many folks are just not used to seeing actors soar 60+ feet at a time while their feet flail around.
This merely proves that there are still a LOT of people who are still unexposed to the Chinese, old-fashioned, historical/fantasy-type movies and TV series where martial arts masters are able to defy gravity.
BUT!!! -- It's okay -- by the time the movie reaches the beautifully surreal fighting scene amidst the bamboo trees, NOT A SINGLE SOUL was giggling. Don't worry about the giggles. Keep watching, and by the time the film is over, you'll easily understand the underlying sadness, struggles, and anguish that these characters have to deal with because of such powers.
haven't seen the movie yet, so don't know what 'warriors like this' means, but women warriors such as japan's kunoichi were fairly commonplace in the far east during said time, though usually in roles pertaining more to stealth and infiltration, than battle field combat. I do not know about china specifically, but for the 'east' (never understood that term, but ah well) in general, female warriors were very much not unheard of (apologies for the double negative).
what hump?
Should he have used a semicolon?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Unbreakable.
That's five movies! Can't you count?:-)
I really saw no attack in Katz's comment about the Southern (rural) ideology. He simply pointed out that the Coens show this particular side in their story telling. I do agree that the South certainly doesn't have a monopoly over religious and moral zeal, but there is definatly a reason why they call it the "Bible Belt." But in civics, they tought me that more commonly than not, people living in rural areas are more religios and are more conservitave. He was just stating a fact, and I found it interesting that you took offence to this. Seems more a comment on your personality and belifes than what Katz said or implied.
"you're the man now, dog!" haha that sounds so messed up in Sean Connery's scottish accent (which has been geting thicker as the years progress)
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http://vinnland.2y.net/
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
if anyone knows of a place showing it, please tell...
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No, but it means they're tasty and squishy and have that gooey filling and... must..eat..twinkies..
See Sig append. Append Sig, append. Good Sig.
You dont make much sense and I Think you have a hard time understanding what even you are saying.
As a great man once said, "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend your right to say it."
Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack! - Dr. Strangelove
Your post is simply baseless, tasteless, and rude. Thank god this type of post represents less than 0.00000...1% (cfr. supra) of slashdot posts.
To say that other cultures don't value sex, laugh at people with low IQ's, or have problems with crooked politicians is to create a dreamworld for yourself that has all the substance of the film worlds you critque.
I don't attack Italian films, or French films, or Peruvian films, because I do not understand the culture that has produced them. In fact, I believe that most people from other cultures would not have the lack of manners to post such comments about a film like "O Brother" and for this reason, I assume that this AC is nothing more than a vapid person here in the U.S. trying to seem cultured by posting how he dislikes Americans. How odd... You aren't fooling anyone, AC.
Besides, any member of the proletariat has more class than this imbecile.
So go shovel your snobbery somewhere else, Anonymous Windbag. If you don't understand the culture that produces films like "O Brother" then you do not have a place attacking the comedic genius of the Coen brothers in creating it.
Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack! - Dr. Strangelove
Question: If everyone filters out Katz's completely worthless posts, then do Katz's posts exist at all?
Shouldn't something be done about posters like katz? I have only been on slashdot for a few months, and already I have realized that Katz's posts aren't even worth reading.
It amazes me that someone can keep posting and posting and posting when he knows that there are tons of people who filter his posts out because his opinion sucks.
How sad.
Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack! - Dr. Strangelove
C'mon, Unbreakable was probably one of the best films of 2000! No it's not The Sixth Sense II or anything. But it is a very good Psychological thriller where you really don't know what is going on till the last 5 minutes! Personally I love this in a movie cause the vast mojority of movies being made today are either a> Obvious, b> a show of Special FX and no plot or c> All plot but still fairly obvious. As examples a> Little Nicky (I loved it but it was too obvious) b> The 6th Day (Gawd that movie sucked) c> Meet the parents (The entire film was ... how bad can one guy get screwed over by his g/f's family)
Of coarse all opinions are perfectly valid, after all that's how Hollywood makes cash, for every movie, 50% of people are gonna love it, see it, resee it, and buy it. That's all they care about.
K
Sure we wang, can.
I doubt Katz even saw Finding Forrester. This movie has been absolutely scuttled by it's own terrible marketing campaign- which makes it look like it's what Katz thinks it is (it has Connery saying something like "what's up dog" in the preview, which looks stupid and clumsy there, but in the movie is a twist of irony at the end of an intense and well written monologue). Like everyone else, Katz probably just saw the preview, not the movie, and judged it on that.
You obviously have not seen any other traditional hong kong martial arts fightng movies. The action sequences in CTHD were artfuly done, made into a deadly dance, made even more believable by the skill and athletic grace of the actors. The "flying," which elicited so much "nervous laughter" is supposed to signify the power and control of old fashioned martial artists. Chinese folk tales speak of powerful masters in ancient times who had the will of mind to "fly", who had enough control over their chi to manipulate mind and body, as well as their environment. It is no more stupid than stuff that happens in european fairy tales or fairy tales of any other origin. The fight scenes seemed "stupid" to you because you do not know any other way to categorize something you are unfamilar with. As for the dialogue - I am a native mandarin speaker, and if you watched the english dub, I can vouch that not everything was perfectly accurately translated. This is to be expected from any film translation into a foriegn language. In mandarin, the dialogue made perfect dramatic sense, and had bearing on moving the plot. Perhaps hearing the movie in its native language would make the plot more explicit. I think seeing it in subtitles takes a lot out of the emotion of the acting and the superb way each character was developed. If you can not think of a worse movie, then I suggest you go out and see every other movie that has been released this year, even in recent months (The Grinch, Dude Where's My Car, D&D, anything with a Friends actor in it).
As for Dude I've got this to say: First off I would like to warn everyone that I might let slip a few spoilers here....
,"Road Trip","Spaceballs", or "From dusk till Dawn") hilarious I suggest you go see this movie, if they were moderatly amusing wait for the cheap theatre or rent it cable etc. , anyone else who found those totally unfunny save your money, you won't get much out of it.
(Spoiler Space..not much but better than nothing)
Personally I kinda liked the movie IMHO, for the average person to like it they would have had to enjoy the same kind of mindless humor contained in "American Pie" and "Road Trip". While the movie was not as funny such classics as "Spaceballs", or "From dusk till Dawn"(Ok I've got strange movie tastes so lets move on) I am glad to have seen it. On the plot, personally I found the idea of two stoners(p.c.: the Herbally unchallenged) coming into possesion of the most mysterious device in the universe "whose mystery is exceded only by it's power" frightening at best. Once you get past that concept the movie is not all that bad. You can certainly identify at least midly with chester and jesse on the basis of knowing what it feels like to wake in the morning and have no idea where you are or what you did last night. Basically if you found all the movies I mentioned before ("American Pie"
Memento was far and away the most interesting film I saw in 2000. It's a shame it was largely overlooked, but good that at least a film like this did get made and released. One of the few films I plan to buy a copy of. Something like Gladiator was entertaining in a mind off sort of way, but it is beyond me why Hollywood thinks a portrayal of real history would be less profitable. The histories of Greece and Rome (as far as we can know them) contain much more fascinating stories than most from California.
Open minds aren't offended by free speech.
An English pic (of all things) called 'Billy Elliot' - a fantastic 1980's period piece about the son of a coal miner in Northern England during a miner's strike. He's in boxing class when a ballet class starts to share the gym space. He gets entranced by the ballet moves, and switches over (secretly, of course) to ballet class. It's a fantastic film - the characters are very unique, and the storyline is good, especially when set amongst the goings-on of the strike and police crackdown on the strikers. The soundtrack is fantastic (half of the songs are by T. Rex).
The actors (especially the kid who plays the title character, and the woman who plays his ballet teacher) are fantastic in their roles. Even the supporting characters such as Billy's best friend, and the teacher's daughter, are done quite well (and they have more than their share of odd moments to delight in).
I've been this movie twice already. When I came back from 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', my first thought was, "It's very good, but it's no Billy Elliot'.
As for 'Dracula 2000' - typical Wes Craven - great idea, bad execution. If you're going to see Jeri Ryan (7 of 9 from Star Trek: Voyager) - don't bother, she's in it very briefly. The movie has an interesting backstory (about how Van Helsing captured Dracula), and also about a new origin for Dracula, but it just can't pull it off. Might be worth watching on TV for some of the interesting ideas, but I was disappointed because it could've been done much better. Some definite inspiration got ruined. *sigh*
You know, a lot of people eat Hostess Twinkies, but that doesn't make it the best food in the world. Heck, it doesn't even make it food.
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Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
I don't read comics much anymore, and it's hard to say what a good comic is. Insofar as the movie is concerned, I think the older idea of the Superhero seems to have inspired it, but your point about Marvel is very well taken..Makes me want to go out to get some and revisit the issue. Thanks.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Why the giggles at all? The movie is so clearly not a comedy..it is a reflex, or genuine confusion, or some kind of a statement..I saw the movie twice, and heard laughs throughout, but not at the ending. It's good, I think, to prepare people for it, so that it doesn' t take away from this amazing movie. But I'm glad it's not just my town..seems to me to be youngish males who are laughing, but I could be wrong.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Isn't this sort of the point of the movie?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Yes, it wasn't Matrix inspired, but Yuen Wo ping has said the decision to take off on the Matrix stuff in this movie was definitely inspired by the success of the Matrix and his work there.. That might be a clearer way to put it.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I've heard mixed things about this movie, so it's good to hear this..I think Shadows has definitely overshadowed it..We ought to have a Dracula discussion in a week or two..Nosferatu, Shadows of the Vampire and Dracula 2000 would make a memorable topic..
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Noted and fixed...and you should know. Why would the audience laugh at those parts, though? I left the movie wondering about the ending..I don't want to discuss it here, but did she really make the right choice..
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I don't have box office stats but I know the movie was successful in China and praised there. I'd also be interesting in knowing anybody's thoughts about this question, but I'm not sure I get how it would be pandering to women, who are portrayed in very different ways. I would be amazed of there were women warriors like this in Confucius's time, but one thing about Slashdot, somebody will know.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I don't know of any certain absolute criteria for a good film, as it happens, nor do I consider that this is great art. I wouldn't know, for sure. Just talking movies. But you are completely right. There is no right way to interpret art, just conversations about what we like and what we don't. Did I say otherwise?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I think Hanks is over-hyped, and the Hopkins performance is a good one to summon up..There was a grand-slam. Hanks is great to me at playing one kind of probably non-existent character, the everyday American hero that we want to believe exists but have a hard time running across. I think Hopkins is the greatest actor alive, though I'd be curious about other people's nominees...
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I've heard a lot about the great films coming out of India, but don't know of any and haven't seen any. Could AC or anybody else name some? I'd be interested. And where in Eastern Europe? This would be helpful. Can't say all Hollywood films stink, but can't disagree with the schmaltzy notion either.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
if it's brilliant and original, but without giving the story away, it's more than inspired by Nosferatu..but to say more would be spoiling, I think, assuming you're struggling to be witty and sarcastic..
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I don't know this, but I assume they popped it out this week to qualify for the Oscars for the past year, like a bunch of others..anybody know?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Naww..the real reason is to get rich..
jonkatz@slashdot.org
But a sheep, not a goat...or was it a cow?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
You're right. The whole film wasn't inspired by the Matrix, but Yuen Woo Ping's involvement was, or so he says. It's quite great, though I'm not sure I'd compare it to Drunken Master..
jonkatz@slashdot.org
. I do go to the megaplex many days of the year, silly. Specially in December. That should be obvious..and a great job it is. You can't get rich from it, but it sure beats commuting
jonkatz@slashdot.org
This is a great opportunity, and thanks for posting. A question..I wondered why Fedex would cooperate in a movie which shows one of their planes crashing..though I did note that in the movie the crash was specifically attributed to mislabeled cargo..customer error.
Do you think the movie did well by Fedex? The company is sure portrayed as if it cares deeply about its ontime performance...They are also shown as being compassionate re: the accident.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
I guess I'd have to respectfully disagree with this. I'd say the movie is definitely out of the martial arts tradition -- apparently a throwback to the original cinematic style. Fight scenes take up an enormous part of the movie, vastly more than romance, I'd guess. The Legend of Drunken Master was great..funny and great fight scenes, but I'm not sure the comparison holds up..Completely different kinds of movies..I can't quite see Yo-Yo Ma doing the score of Drunken Master.
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Thanks, Alkali for adding this to the list. I did see it a month or so ago, and it is terrific. And I completely agree with you..it's not a chick flick at all but a great movie about family. I also thought Matthew Broderick was terrific and unheralded as the dorky bank manager. I'm figuring on seeing the Family Man this weekend.
I hear many mixed things about it. Family values porn is a great term...
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Thanks for the Miss Congeniality reference. The trailers were a turn-off, but I'll put it on the list..It really got whacked. Other people like Vertical Limit?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
Every movie is subjective, natch. Can you say a bit more about what you didnt' like?
jonkatz@slashdot.org
It's a damn shame there isn't some filter that lets us filter out all the whiners who don't like Katz posts.
7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
If I were TH's character, I would have driven off with Helen Hunt and not looked back. This guy was driven to survive and get off the island. Are we to believe that saving the FedEx package for the wings woman was what really saved him? It was the HH character that he obsessed over fro most of the time. The wings were a minor feature but perhaps one that gave him hope for the sail he improvised.
She said he was "The love of my life." But she waited something like a year before she got married and had a kid? I'm sorry, but it seems that she gave up on him too easily and then regretted it. It could take a lifetime to get over the loss of the love of your life, but this culture dosn't want to recognize that. This movie wasn't about to buck that piece of cultural "wisdom".
I saw a bit on HBO on the making of Cast Away. TH was 40-50 lbs lighter for the last bit on the island. Moscow and the first year span on the island were filmed in April 1999. The second bit on the island was filmed in April 2000.
I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
could you slahdot guys PLEASE let us humble readers not just filter by topic, but also filter by poster.
...
... the more you may be rewarded :-)
enough of jon katz for me
something on the topic: unbreakable is worse than you might imagine, don't expect a second 6th sense! (it's interesting though, but expect nothing
Also, the only people giggling in the packed theatre we saw it in were the three of us. I don't think the people were lauging because they were newbies or oldies like us, but because they found humor in flying people.
IANAL, but I play one on
I'm glad to hear that. I was a bit uncomfortable paying $7.50 to watch what I perceived to be an extended Fed Ex commercial....
---- I made the Kessel Run in under 11 parsecs.
I've yet to see any mention of the above two films.
"Dancer in the Dark," the most recent film released under the Dogma95 banner, was directed by Lars Von Trier (Breaking the Waves, The Idiots). In my mind, one of the only "must see" movies of 2000. But then, in my mind Bjork can do no wrong, so take my opinion with a teensie weensie grain of salt.
"Requiem for a Dream," directed by Darren Aronofsky, is a crushingly depressing film about drug abuse. Aronofsky's last effort, "Pi" was enjoyable, but not brilliant. Requiem is. Without question the best film I've seen all year.
I urge you, if you love films, you owe it to yourself to see these two masterpieces. They're not without their flaws, but I can't think of one movie release this year that compares.
Gimme a break! To assert that folks in the South have a monopoly on "religious high mindedness", is a bit of a stretch, even for a movie review. I can understand how shocking it may be for those of you from big metropolitan areas to see that in much of rural America (Southern or Northern), religion is a huge influence for many people.
And OH MY GOODNESS religion could influence their politics! We're doomed! But why is it so alarming to some of you that religion MAY color someone's worldview??? It is fine to disagree politically with these people, but please restrain yourself from ATTACKING them. When you attack them, it is like shooting fish in a barrel.
BTW {OT}, from the Mamet review, for the record there are no hicks in Vermont (hicks are indeed from the South, which includes anyplace beyond Massachusetts), natives are known as "woodchucks".
This is another view of the world.
I've seen plenty of worse movies, myself.
Episode One, for example, if you need a movie with glimpses of the metaphysical, about good and evil, of being balanced and true...
The fight scenes among the Bamboo were a little too much for me.
Uninspired dialogue? Give an example of inspired dialogue, please. This is very traditional, classic, and even a little cliched; but it was never expected to be anything else.
Acting? I got the very strong impression that Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat had a very restrained, repressed attraction that neither would allow to emerge. I also found that Ang Lee's exuberant recklessness very real. A teenager with her first car, almost.
Plot was random? I guess that's what you saw.
We saw the story of an Empress Palpatine man hater, and her young disciple. The young disciple wants to push herself and her world, being greater than the master. She sees an opportunity to escape her destiny when she meets Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat, but in doing so destroys the lives of everyone she loves.
Her lover is the one that gives her the first inkling of what living outside the system may be like. Perhaps you were put off by the extra long flashback sequence around her comb?
Oh well. I'm glad I saw it, at least.
Geek dating!
GPL Deconstructed
The Critic is back (kinda).
end communication
Crouching Tiger -- Probably the best movie of the year. No, not influenced by The Matrix! The Hong Kong influence came first, and this is Ang Lee's exploration and celebration of this school of film. It is a great mix of epic tales, romance, eastern philosophy, and the most lyrically beautiful fight scenes I've ever seen. I'll never forget the fight on the tree tops for sheer elegance and beauty.
Finding Forrester -- I seem to disagree with Katz on this one, for I enjoyed it very much. I especially enjoyed the way they didn't dwell on the usual racial stereotypes, so evidently either I missed something, or Katz saw something that wasn't there. Good acting by all. And probably one of the better movies about writing I've seen (although the ending cops out a bit on that score).
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Private Essayist
I think the rest of the world has a choice of whether to buy American films and TV shows or not. Its not their fault that foreign countries are always avid audiences for American films. Also, AFAIK, these days when Hollywood makes films it does so with the rest of the world in mind. So they are not 'Imperialists' at all! You have a choice, and they cater to your needs.
And to say that they are backward is terrible rubbish (I'm really sorry, but it is). They are actually quite advanced.
American films are the best that sre made in the world, IMO. The same isn't true for their TV programs perhaps, but it certainly is for their films. Otherwise, why would everyone all over the whole wide world choose to watch them? Because they like them, thats why!
--Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The
I just wanted to mention that _Proof of Life_ was shot in Ecuador, not Honduras.
I should know, the movie was based on the kidnapping of Thomas Hargrove, my Uncle, outside Cali, Colombia.
You can read my Uncle's testimony to Congress at
http://www.g21.net/narco.html
But yes, the negotiation scenes were extremely realistic -- they were based on video that my cousin (who has a film degree) shot of the actual kidnapping negotiations.
The rest of the movie was, shall we say, heavily influenced by the needs of Hollywood.
Interestingly, they had originally planned a much fuller romance between Ryan and Crowe (and had shot love scenes, etc) but in test runs the audiences laughed at these parts!
Ken McKinney
kenmckinney@email.com
I went to go see Cast Away with my boyfriend and some friends a few days ago. Having been at college and away from TV and magazines, and myself not much of an entertainment buff, I didn't even know what the film was ABOUT when I walked into it.
In fact, my boyfriend and Ihad gotten tix for Cast Away a few days before that, and seeing a whole bunch of FedEx stuff and Tom Hanks yelling at people, we were like, "What the heck?" and theatre-hopped over to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which was what I'd REALLY wanted to see anyway. (BTW, that was cute. Real cute.)
*Caution: This post contains SCADS and HORDES of SPOILERS! Don't read this if you've not seen the movie. It'll ruin it for you.*
Anyway, Cast Away. Immediately I saw that the romantic aspect of Helen Hunt was going to be a huge factor. The whole time Hanks was on the island, I kept thinking, "But what of his girlfriend? What about her?" Big letdown for the audience to see her already married with a daughter when Hanks gets off the island and back into Memphis, but I think the tragedy of that was an excellent theatrical device--the audience wanted to see more. More, what would Mr. Everyday American Hero Hanks do? "Just wait for what the tide brings in", and then some rather vague ending as a redhead in an old pickup in Texas flirtatiously gives Hanks some directions. Okay. That was the ultimate "WHAT the HECK!?" for all of us. The movie ends with a shot of Hanks squinting slightly under the sun, looking into the camera, presumably into the direction that the redhead's truck, bearing the cryptic tri-ringed gold wings of some sort, as she heads back to her ranch. What the HECK? Can anyone give me some sort of analysis on that?
Next off, I missed it, and I'm sure I could come up with answers somewhere but where was this movie filmed?
Last of all...I'd really like to know what they did to Mr. Hanks' diet. I realize actors have to gain and lose weight often at the whims of their directors, but Hanks started off as a pink, slightly pudgy FedEx worker, and by the time the ship picked him up he was lean and tanned. Quite a dramatic change, if you ask me. Anyone know what kind of diet they put the man on? I want it.
I LIKED this movie. Not having any hype beforehand helped a bit, I suppose--I came away from it mostly satisfied. The scene I'll likely be having nightmares over for the rest of my life will be the plane crash--watching the ocean rushing up at you from the cockpit, huge and black and menacing, at a horrifically WRONG angle--that was outright terrifying. I have to FLY to get back to college. *shiver*
Angry IT woman in big clompy boots. And talking lint!.
The mis-spelling took place in the original articles I saw.
All Those duly offended rightly deserve the most profound apologies.
An artist of merit of course deserves to have their name spelled correctly, and I certainly apologise for any anguish, agony, or dishonor felt by his expert, knowledgable, and caring fans because of the mis-spelling.
As a final note, I shared the material because I felt it was worthwhile. The karma points are not that important.
Really.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
As a Chinese myself, I can testify that Crouching Tiger was definitely not inspired by Matrix - the fighting style and storyline is typical of Hong Kong TV shows probably since TV programs were produced there. I grew up in Hong Kong in the 70's but as a kid I've seen re-runs with people flying around and where the heros/heroines were idoits when it comes to expressing feelings!. While I do think that the fighting sequence was cool, I found it over done and the film was really lacking in story. I think the movie can be summed up in six words: "it's all about an unpredictable teenager". As far as movies with teenagers possessing destructive powers, I think the X-Men was way better! One last anal observation: I found the historical timing in the film all wrong. The story was supposed to be around 200AD (according to the movie, Green Dynasty sword was supposed to be crafted around the Han Dynasty and then lost for 400 years). But Beijing was nothing more than a village (if even that) until the Mogolian controlled China and made it the capital city(1300 AD). And then the clothing and hair style in the movie was of Quing Dynasty (1700 AD). I know this is a mood point, but I was still rather expecting more from a famed director such as Ang Lee. As a side note, I saw Chocolat the day right after I saw Crouching Tiger. I had a much, much more enjoyable time with Chocolat than with Crouching Tiger, and I am surprised it is not mentioned by Jon at all. It has a great story and the filming was done beautifully. Maybe I'm getting old, but I find myself looking for a story in a movie rather than cool fighting sequence. Just my .02
I don't think Crouching Tiger was inspired by the Matrix; both films had the action choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping. You might remember him from such films as Drunken Master, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and oodles since. It's not available yet over here, but I'm really, really, really looking forward to it.
On the subject of O Brother Where Art Thou (the only film mentioned to have been released thus far in Ireland), I've got to echo the opinion of millions; the Coen brothers (like Ang Lee) can do no wrong. The only question is whether I'll see all these films in the cinema, or whether the US DVDs will be available first.
"true to the superhero comic- book genre which inspired it." Do you actually read comics, let alone superhero [a which is co-copyrighted by both Timewarner and Marvel Enterprise] comics. Take the popular, and by popular I mean it had a movie and it sells well by comic standards [around 20,000 issues a month]. In UNCANNY X-MEN, X-MEN, and the many biproducts of Marvel trying to oversaturate and waterdown the market with by increasing number one issues for speculator frenzy, the main characters spend half their time explaining their super-powers and their mysterious past and the other half is spent explaining how they defend a world that fears and hates them. Imagine reading a copy of X-MEN, where every 10 panels we hear Storm explain how she was a thief in Cairo when she was a teen working for the devious Shadow King, and how she lived in Africa and was thought to be a god by the local tribes. Storm can be substituted for Wolverine and his mysterious past with Project Weapon X and Captain America, or Rogue's past with Mystique and how she cannot touch anyone. At the end of every battle, Cyclops or Jean Grey will say, "they hate us, yet we defend them!"
Does this sound like a good comic to you? It's called an art driven comic, where they let the artists take the headlines and hire some hack writer to do the job, or sometimes great writers who really aren't that great [See Scott Lobdell and Chris Claremont]. How does a movie get inspired by shit like this? It doesn't. UNBREAKABLE was a slow paced movie with a 'surprise' ending [from the maker of SIXTH SENSE, how could we not expect this]. And Jackson's character tries to tell me those superhero comics are highbrow literature? Fucking christ, those comics he showed me are the FULL HOUSE of comic books. Serious comics aren't about superheroes [few exceptions such as Miracle Man or any of Alex Ross's future stories]. If you want to read the only good superhero comic on the market, pick up AUTHORITY. Don't get me wrong, there are great comics. TRANSMETROPOLITAN and PLANETARY by Warren Ellis are great. POWERS and JINX by Brian Bendis are excellent too. There is also Grant Morrison's INVISIBLES [the comic that really inspired MATRIX [ie. the MATRIX was a blatant ripoff and gave absolutely no credit with the parallel plot], but with better dialogue.
But I don't know, I could be wrong about all this. But I think I am of some authority since I used to buy over 50 comics and month and see about 60 movies a year in theatre.
Gaelen
If you look at my profile you might figure out that I work for the airline prominently featured in castaway. ;-)
Just before the movie was released we got this lengthy memo with detailed annswers to common questions about the movie. Apparantly FedEx did not pay to be in the film but the marketing folks did work closely wth the writers and such. They also pointed out all of the "errors" in the film (such as Tom Hanks's Character drinking wine while jumpseating- you can't get anywhere near a FedEx plane with booze). Many of the extras in the scenes filmed in Memphis were "real" FedEx employees. Fred Smith, the CEO had a brief cameo also.. I gues sit was when Hanks's character returnned home or something. They also auctioned off the clothes that Hanks wore during the FedEx shots to raise money for the United Way.
Anyway, I have not seen the movie yet. I'm just sitting here bored on a Sunday morning and felt like blabbing.
Happy New Year
Here are some links to some reviews and interviews on NPR (in RealAudio format) that might be interesting to follow up on:
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"