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November
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- SERIOUSLY
- TWO QUICK DVD REVIEWS
- REVIEW: HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (****)
- THE END
- A NOTE OF THANKS
- TODAY ON DVD
- STILL CAN'T SHAKE IT
- IT'S ALL ABOUT TONIGHT @ 10PM
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- UPDATED: TOP 20 OF 2008
- MASTERPIECE
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- REVIEW: QUANTUM OF SOLACE (****)
- TOP 20 OF 2008
- ACCORDING TO ROTTENTOMATOES...
- MORE BRILLIANCE FROM HERZOG
- OUT TODAY ON DVD
- OUT TODAY ON DVD
- QUICK REVIEW: ROLE MODELS (**1/2)
- QUANTUM OF ASS-KICKING
- QUICK THOUGHTS
- MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND
- REVIEW: CHANGELING (****)
- LOOKS LIKE A MASTERPIECE
- 15 MOST ANTICIPATED FOR REST OF YEAR
- BEST OF 2008
- DVD ROUND UP
- QUICK THOUGHTS
- DVD ROUND UP
- REVIEW: ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (***1/2)
- REVIEW: W. (***)
- QUICK THOUGHTS
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November
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8 comments:
One word: Whoa.
The first trailer didn't even begin to touch this. The visual effects look "Transformers"-level good.
Looks simultaneously like next year's "The Dark Knight" (comic book movie that completely squashes one's idea of a comic book movie by being deeper than the norm) and "Wanted" (gloriously R-rated with mind-bending and brilliant visual effects and a social message, to boot). What a homerun this looks to be.
Also, I'm glad to hear that the original cut is three hours. I don't know about you, but it doesn't look like this style will get old at all. Plus, I love long movies.
No, Snyder's style will never get old...at least not to me. He's a visual genius. You saw snippets of his mastery in Dawn of the Dead but 300 took things to an entirely new level.
I also consider the work in Transformers to be the current benchmark in visual effects. Watchmen looks different in it's use of visual effects but equally as assured as what Bay brought to the table.
Can you just imagine what Bay has in store for all of us with Transformers 2? I am almost afraifd to find out...
I enjoyed Wanted (it got ***1/2 frome me) but I have a feeling that Watchmen will have more in common with The Dark Knight in overall quality and thematic ambition. I thought Wanted was a great, silly, R-rated action romp, but it was mostly a recycled hodge-podge of stuff we've seen before (The Matrix, Fight Club, countless others). I enjoyed it on a superficial level and seeing a half-naked Jolie with lots of guns is always a fun sight during the summer.
But I fully expect Watchmen to be a king of the genre.
I can't wait for "Transformers 2." The original was fun. Now, when I use "fun," I mean glorious, unadulterated fun (I gave it a very high ***1/2, compared to your ****), because, while I did find it a bit flawed (couldn't Bay make a coherent story for once; a few elements didn't add up), I also found it to be the most visually exciting movie in the last few years. In fact, the only visual effects I've seen that are better (slightly) are those of "King Kong." But it's more of a tie than a difference in placement. If Bay ups his game even more, it'll go on my Top Ten of 2009. Can't. Freakin'. Wait. The first film is Bay's best by a mile (so far), tied with 2005's criminally underrated "The Island."
"Watchmen" will definitely use them differently, though. I'm not-so-patiently awaiting this film. The graphic novel is utterly phenomenal. If Snyder does those themes justice, it'll be one of the best of next year.
Question: Is it just me, or are blockbusters getting better and better? Seriously. Last year, it was "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." This year, "The Dark Knight" and "WALL-E." Next year, I'm suspecting "Star Trek" and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to top the summer.
We shall see.
I have never been a big Potter guy. I liked Cuaron's entry the best but the others have been between OK to very good (Goblet was cool). I didn't see the most recent film.
The Island is definitely underrated, though I think that Bay's all time best is still The Rock. Bad Boys 2, as far as pure-action goes, is still pretty much unbeatable.
I can't wait for Transformers 2. The original was one of the best popcorn movies ever made. And while the VFX work in Kong was indeed impressive, Bay broke so much new ground in Transformers that I can't help but feel it's a better accomplishment. Not taking anything away from what Jackson did on Kong, though; I really enjoyed that film as well. It just should've been tighter.
Bay is underrated as a director, for sure.
That reminds me, what do you think of Roland Emmerich? Besides "Godzilla" (aka "Godawful") and "10,000 B.C." (aka "10,000 Minutes"), he's made some pretty impressive movies. His best is "Independence Day," in my opinion. The reason I ask: "2012" has some potential to return to that shameless type of entertainment, from what it looks like.
Finally...someone else who can agree with me that Bay is a master at what he does and underrated as a talent in general. Thank heavens that I am no longer alone!
I enjoyed Stargate and that's Emmerich's best American film I think. ID4 was fun for what it was -- a goofy alien invasion saga with some nice action beats. The Patriot was OK; it has that one viciously savage scene where Mel kills those British troops infront of his sons -- that was a great scene. Godzilla was terrible. The Day After Tomorrow had some AMAZING special effects but the writing was puerile and the film's sense of logic was retarded to say the least. Still, for a summer movie special effects extravaganza, it did the trick. I never saw 10,000 BC, though I am morbidly curious. The film was trashed by critics but it looks like it could be goofy fun...but some of what I saw in the trailers looked like too-obvious CGI, which is my major pet peeve with CGI-intensive movies. Either make it look REAL or don't attempt it at all. Emmerich knows how to stage action scenes and he has a good eye. But he's a second-rate Bay in my mind. 2012 looks like good looking schlock akin to Day After Tomorrow; I am sure I will see it but I am not holding my breath...
"10,000 B.C." was awful. Seriously. The ending was the most asinine and ridiculous thing I've seen in a long time, right down there with the ending of last year's hideous "Dragon Wars." Symbolizes everything wrong with Hollywood today. And "Godzilla" was...unspeakable.
The only Bay film I haven't seen is "Pearl Harbor." "The Rock" was great. I personally didn't care for "Armageddon" (more like a 150-minute trailer than anything), but his "Bad Boys" duology is really good. I thought that "The Island" was ingenious. And of course, "Transformers" really brought it; heart-pumping stuff.
The 45 minute bombing sequence in Pearl Harbor is unreal. The rest of the film...um...pretty cheesy.
I heard some whack shit about how in 10,000 BC there's a sabre tooth tiger that helps the hero out, like it's Battlecat from He-Man. I will wait for 10,000 BC to hit HBO HD and then I can shut it off as soon as I feel like tearing my eye balls out.
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