2011 Movies

Post by **snarl** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:21 pm

That Spider-man trailer looks decent until the CGI.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's just a low res thing on my work monitor, but it looks no better than the stuff I'm used to on Xbox or PS3.

Doesn't look terrible, but if they're throwing $$ at the project, it's not going on the cast is it?

Other than that, like it, reminded me of Ultimate Spidey.

Post by **Best First** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:42 pm

i can't be arsed with another origin - how different will it be from the rami version? Just feels like 30 mins of film that we don't need.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:21 am

Not so bothered about Spider-Man, I still haven't even seen the third one yet.

I saw Paul last week, ignore the generally terrible trailers for it, whilst it's a little juvenile in places ("Look! We can swear!") it's still very, very funny and silly. Perfect beer and a pizza film.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 2:20 am

Saw, ahem, Winnie the Pooh last night. Yes, damn it, I said Winnie the friggin Pooh, okay?

Was dragged there by my nephew.

Actually glad I went. I actually enjoyed it. Actually laughed out loud a few times (which had me glancing around embarrassingly to see if anyone noticed). I mean, it blew TF3 out of the water.

Which got me thinking, sometimes it's nice to see juvenile films every once in a while. Sometimes, just the ambiance of a bunch of five year-old kids laughing at silly little things really does help put life in a certain perspective and kind of warms the heart, if you will.

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 11:36 pm

Just watched the new xmen film. thought it was average, felt a bit cheap in places and i can't put my finger onit but just a bit lame.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:02 am

Best First wrote:i can't be arsed with another origin - how different will it be from the rami version?

It'll have more [ie some] Emma Stone in it. Which is good enough for me.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:15 pm

Me too.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:50 pm

Captain America was pretty good. Like all the other Marvel movies, this was a pitch perfect interpretation of Cap, but like Hulk and unlike Iron Man, I'm not so sure this made a super awesome movie. Honestly I'm surprised it got the kind of support it did at the box office. The teaser after the credits probably got me more excited than the movie itself, as it features a small snippet of Thor/Iron Man banter.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:13 pm

I enjoyed Cap a lot. I lowered my standards going in, and I think that helped. I just wanted some good old-fashioned 1940s fun that didn't play too fast and silly with the actual events of World War II. Chris Evans was great.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:53 pm

Spidey 2 (5) already given release date. FFS.
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=31697

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:04 pm

I love how fatalistic we are in our movies these days. For a while there it was like, "Oh, there's a giant volcano/asteroid/alien invasion that's going to come and destroy life as we know it but we TRIUMPH!!!" And now we're all I Am Legend/The Road/Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where we're like "Oh yes, the world will be destroyed and it will be our FAULT!!! Oh, being hoisted by our own petard will be so deliciously ironic!"

It's like we all know that the probabilities are with us currently playing out a string that is unhealthy, unsustainable, and caustic to what is good in us.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:14 pm

Rise of the Californian Forest of the Apes.

How the hell does a medical research company, doing complex drug trials on live subjects, not a) notice that one of their test subjects is pregnant and b) notice when said test subject gives birth in her lab cage?

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:58 pm

So anybody see Real Steal yet? Looking forward to it.

Starved for good movies. For me, this has been one of the weakest movie years in memory.

I liked Super 8 and Kung Fu Panda, Thor was okay, but that's pretty much it.

Post by **Kaylee** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:39 am

Brendocon wrote:Rise of the Californian Forest of the Apes.

How the hell does a medical research company, doing complex drug trials on live subjects, not a) notice that one of their test subjects is pregnant and b) notice when said test subject gives birth in her lab cage?

They assumed she was just fat. Damn lazy apes.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:37 pm

Yaya wrote:So anybody see Real Steal yet? Looking forward to it.

Is that a crime drama? Based on a true story, perhaps?

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:02 pm

No, it's that movie starring Hugh Jackkman with those boxing CGI robots.

Robots that look like robots instead of piles of metal shavings.

Obfleur · Post by **Obfleur** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:03 pm

It's a documentary about Wolverine and his new found hobby: Robot Boxing.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:49 am

Ah, you mean "Real Steel". Looks like a fun time.

I probably won't see it until it airs on cable in a couple of years, though.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:44 am

And now this news:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially passed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the list of highest-grossing films worldwide, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of all time.

What....the....[composite word including 'f*ck']?

Post by **Kaylee** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:06 am

Yaya wrote:There have been a lot of travesties this year. The Japan Earthquake. The Pakistan flood. The Somali famine.

And now this news:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially passed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the list of highest-grossing films worldwide, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of all time.

What....the....****?

35,000+ people became fans of Raol Moat on Facebook.

Whenever you read "XYZ people agree that/voted for/bought/went to see", just remember how many people thought that guy was worth calling a 'legend'.

For clarification I'm not likening a movie to a mass slaughter, just tactlessly trying to tease out the concept that popularity != quality. Like the old saying goes: McDonalds outsell every other restaurant on earth, it doesn't mean their food is best.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:55 am

Yaya wrote:There have been a lot of travesties this year. The Japan Earthquake. The Pakistan flood. The Somali famine.

And now this news:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially passed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the list of highest-grossing films worldwide, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of all time.

What....the....****?

You're right, that is a travesty. There's no way the dullest of the Lord of the Rings films should have been that high up the chart.

To be honest I'm not sure why you're surprised DOTM did so well, you're painting 2011 as having been this horrible year full of death and disaster, it's hardly surprising people flocked to a dumb fun popcorn flick with a straightforward good vs evil battle as a means of escapism.

Post by **Kaylee** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:44 am

good vs evil

I'm surprised it had that much plot. I must have blinked and missed it.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:04 am

Passing the Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King? Yes, pardon me, but I do find that outrageously unbelievable.

I understand people go to the movies to escape, but after ROTF, to perform this well tells me something about the state of cinema. After hissing and spitting after the second TF movie, what inspired people the world over to flock for yet another Bay film and carry it soaring past the winner of the film that garnered the most Academy Awards in a single year?

I'm stupified.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:02 am

Yaya wrote:Passing the Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King? Yes, pardon me, but I do find that outrageously unbelievable.

Then you're an idiot. Because the Return of ther King got in the top four for the same reason Dark of the Moon now has, the big dumb action scenes.

Lets not forget, you have to buy the extended DVD of Return of the King for most of the plot to make any sense whatsoever (especially when it comes to what happened to Christopher Lee), the vast majority of that box office is down to the same reason Dark of the Moon has done so well, big impressive battle scenes non-hardcore fans of the original can go see and enjoy for the spectacle without going [Delete according to fandom] "Where's the scoring of the Shire?! This film doesn't have enough endings"!/"Shockwave completely ignored his classic Marvel comics persona, they so totally should have given him more screentime at the expense of the actual interesting villain!

Not liking the live action films is fair enough, I don't think their perfect either. Getting all snobby and "Well, obviously this success is down to people who like these movies being so stupid they don't realise how bad they are" just makes you look like a ****.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:50 am

So you're telling me that there is no qualitative difference between "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you," "Home is behind, the world ahead," "Don't go where I can't follow," "I am no man," and "I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me"

and

"Just kidding. I just wanted to show him my cannons," "I want two pieces" and of course, "Hello? 911 emergency! My car's been stolen! I'm in pursuit! I need the whole squadron, bring everyone! No, no don't ask any questions, my father's the head of the neighbourhood watch!"

I think Yaya's point is well taken. There is such a thing as qualitative substance.

But: inflation. Movies in 2011 make more money on paper. It's been ten years since the first LotR and matinees are nine bucks instead of six. If you adjust for inflation, Gone With The Wind has still made a [composite word including 'f*ck']-ton more money than any other movie ever dreamed up. Not to mention the ten bucks extra to see the flick in 3-D. Peter Jackson made some missteps, but he sleeps the sleep of an artiste, while Michael Bay is kept awake all night thinking of explosions.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:09 am

bumblemusprime wrote:So you're telling me that there is no qualitative difference between "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you," "Home is behind, the world ahead," "Don't go where I can't follow," "I am no man," and "I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me"

So you've picked the best lines from the one film and the worst from the other to prove your point? It's just as easy to do that in reverse. Because there's how the theatrical cut dealt with Saruman if if you want horribly stilted and badly over dubbed dialogue (which basically boils down to "Lets deal with Christopher Lee!" Lets not! OK!" It's like something Star TV would do). Compared to that, the "What would you be without me?" is sheer poetry.

And that's just one particular badly done moment in ROTK I especially hate because the extended cut only lasts about a minute more at that point and there's no reason at all for the better version not to have been in cinemas (hell, Lee even knew exactly how to play his death scene because he had killed people with a knife in the back during the war. The death of the main human villain in the trilogy was cut out to make room for a little bit more in the endless epilogues).

To cover the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is nothing more embarrassing in all three Transformers films than John Rhys-Davis' performance. Most of which isn't in the books, and includes the line:

"NEVER TOSS A DWARF!"

Find me one bit of dialogue in any of the TF films that's more crap than that. Then you've got all his jokes nicked from Terry Pratchett about female dwarfs (not in the books either) his slowness and stupidity being played for laughs (not in the books either) and the generally insulting and patronising portrayal of the Welsh character as a big, dumb, fat idiot. Across three films. It makes the Twins look tame in comparison.

EDIT: But out of my ranting I should say, you're exactly right about inflation having changed and made the different earnings meaningless. And indeed, even if you account for the varying rates of inflation over the years and accept Gone With the Wind as the most successful film of all time... The money it has made up to date has been over 60 years. No other more recent film can possibly come close. Indeed, I'm not sure how you can fairly compare the total earnings of films made decades apart (there's inflation, there's time they've had to earn the money, there's things that don't get included in the official totals like complete VHS rentals or Itunes downloads), it's a meaningless comparison. And that makes the whole "Travesty" part even more pathetic.

And this is all me being calm and reasonable and not calling Yaya a **** for even including the Japanese Earthquake and other, deeply traumatic examples of death and suffering this year, and a Hollywood film making money in the same sentence as mutual bad things.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:43 am

inflatable dalek wrote:So you've picked the best lines from the one film and the worst from the other to prove your point?

... and what exactly are the best lines in Bay's Transformers movies? Hard not to notice that you drag up some ropier lines from LotR, but don't improve on the cited examples from the other.

Post by **Kaylee** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:50 am

I appreciate I'm cherry-picking arguments, and many of your points are well seen, but are you saying that:

John Rhys Davies naff performance as Gimli is, solely, worse than the three TF movies which between them have no pathos, gravitas, wit, intelligence, pacing, logic or heart and include lines so singularly ghastly that they reduce even overwise competent actors to scenery-chewing hams?

Added in with Shia's AMAZING ACTING ABILITY!!! OPTIMUUUUUUUS!!!

Surely ANY 'Rings' film (even the Two Towers) would beat the Transformers movies on qualitative merit just through the performances of Ian McKellen and Bernard Hill alone?

I know I'm stupidly hard on the TF movies, given that they don't actually hurt me in any way, so I apologise when I make unduly negative statements about those who enjoy them. Anything that brings you happiness is worthwhile.

and what exactly are the best lines?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:48 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:
So you've picked the best lines from the one film and the worst from the other to prove your point? It's just as easy to do that in reverse. Because there's how the theatrical cut dealt with Saruman if if you want horribly stilted and badly over dubbed dialogue (which basically boils down to "Lets deal with Christopher Lee!" Lets not! OK!" It's like something Star TV would do). Compared to that, the "What would you be without me?" is sheer poetry.

And that's just one particular badly done moment in ROTK I especially hate because the extended cut only lasts about a minute more at that point and there's no reason at all for the better version not to have been in cinemas (hell, Lee even knew exactly how to play his death scene because he had killed people with a knife in the back during the war. The death of the main human villain in the trilogy was cut out to make room for a little bit more in the endless epilogues).

I would agree that there are major missteps in LotR, but they're the exception. Jackson even inserted some stuff that expanded on the books, like the wonderful flashback scene between Boromir, Faramir and Denethor.

I'd argue that Jackson came down to two very tough choices: cut the Grey Havens or cut Saruman's death. The Grey Havens should have gone. The final scene was robbed of the book's power. But can you imagine the fan outcry if word got out that the Grey Havens was cut? It was a weak choice, but Jackson was staring down a million cries of betrayal.

To cover the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is nothing more embarrassing in all three Transformers films than John Rhys-Davis' performance. Most of which isn't in the books, and includes the line:

"NEVER TOSS A DWARF!"

I dunno; I thought it worked. Gimli got stupider as the series went on, but I thought the tossing bit was in keeping with the character of the films. They were very Douglas Fairbanks adventure 30s movies. Gimli was played for laughs too often, but some of the laughs worked. He's the doughty tough dwarf with an exaggerated sense of his own dignity.

Find me one bit of dialogue in any of the TF films that's more crap than that.

I did! Come on, are you really saying that neighborhood watch comment isn't stupid?

Then you've got all his jokes nicked from Terry Pratchett about female dwarfs (not in the books either) his slowness and stupidity being played for laughs (not in the books either) and the generally insulting and patronising portrayal of the Welsh character as a big, dumb, fat idiot.

Gimli is Welsh? Sindarin is based on Welsh, and that's Legolas' native tongue. I don't see how a native New Zealander was deliberately inserting Welsh stereotypes far removed from his native land. As an American, I have no idea what a Welsh stereotype is. And while Aragorn's joke about "it's the beards" might be a nod to Pratchett, Gimli's speech about female dwarves to Eowyn is pulled directly out of Tolkien's appendices.

Across three films. It makes the Twins look tame in comparison.

Because the Welsh were forced into slavery, repeatedly raped and beaten as part of an institution for hundreds of years, then forced to live with institutionalized racism that forbade them from fully taking part in society? The implication is that the Welsh have been treated worse than African-Americans. Do you really want to go there? For that matter, Gimli can read, Gimli kicks ass and holds his own, and Gimli is a proactive character who takes decisive action. That's versus illiterate characters with zero empathy, played entirely for racist laughs.

EDIT: But out of my ranting I should say, you're exactly right about inflation having changed and made the different earnings meaningless. And indeed, even if you account for the varying rates of inflation over the years and accept Gone With the Wind as the most successful film of all time... The money it has made up to date has been over 60 years. No other more recent film can possibly come close. Indeed, I'm not sure how you can fairly compare the total earnings of films made decades apart (there's inflation, there's time they've had to earn the money, there's things that don't get included in the official totals like complete VHS rentals or Itunes downloads), it's a meaningless comparison. And that makes the whole "Travesty" part even more pathetic.

I'm talking theater gross. Adjusting only for ticket prices. http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

And this is all me being calm and reasonable and not calling Yaya a **** for even including the Japanese Earthquake and other, deeply traumatic examples of death and suffering this year, and a Hollywood film making money in the same sentence as mutual bad things.

I will agree that was in awful taste. Yaya, but you've got to watch the hyperbole, son!

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:32 pm

inflatable dalek wrote: Then you're an idiot. Because the Return of ther King got in the top four for the same reason Dark of the Moon now has, the big dumb action scenes.

Getting all snobby and "Well, obviously this success is down to people who like these movies being so stupid they don't realise how bad they are" just makes you look like a ****.

Let's see, you've labelled me 'snobby', an 'idiot', and an 'ass' as a reaction to my dislike of a film you had nothing at all to do with. Which can only mean one thing. You're Michael Bay, aren't you?

ROTK got into the top four because of it's directing, score, acting, cinematography, special effects, action, story, etc. Even the prissy Academy couldn't ignore it, the kind of films they notoriously hesitate to give credit to. To chalk it's success up to it being a "big dumb action" film tells me to stay the hell away from your movie reviews at all costs.

I mean, arguing that DOTM is as good as ROTK , it's like trying to argue the sun doesn't exist, something that is so apparent and obvious that if someone tried to debate it, you would kind of laugh at first but when you saw the person was serious, you'd stare a bit and then do a 'slowly backing away' movement.

Which, dalek, is what I am cybernectically doing to you now.
**maintain eye contact....maintain eye contact....aaaaand....RUN NOW! (yelled in a over-the-top Shia LeBeouf kind of way)"