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Draegonis wrote:
Kanuck wrote:I read it as tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, or something. I have a hard time believing he's anywhere that backwards.
I dunno, Reading is kinda whack. I have cousins there.
They're married, right?

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Saw Casino Royale this past weekend, I think I was expecting something a bit more mature than it actually was due to the relentless hype--we are still, after all, talking about a dumb spy action movie franchise here--but it was a fine entertainment, good new Bond, made gestures towards character complexity that have never, ever been hinted at before, etc. The final action sequence seemed tacked on just because action movies end with big action sequences, but it eventually comes as close to the downer ending of In Her Majesty's Secret Service as anything in the series, which is a plus.

Question--what now? Do they just start remaking all the originals? Is Dr. No up next? They've put themselves in a strange position.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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I love Casino Royale. After the travesties that were the Brosnan episodes (all gadgets and endless scenes of big dumb CGI action), it puts the franchise back on the right footing. Craig is endlessly cool, menacing and ragged, which helps make his interplay with Eva Green quite touching. The lo-fi fights and chase scenes are bloody and direct. This is what the Dalton movies wanted to be.

I've heard talk that the next one will pick up right where Casino Royale left off, with Bond out to uncover the organization that was behind Le Chiffre. Shades of SPECTRE...
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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Yeah, I don't know that they've put themselves in a strange position—because continuity is not their goal, in any way. They set the introduction of Bond in the present, they'll continue to set the movies in the present, they'll continue to not give a shit about any of the other movies.

It's a neat approach, but I like it. Lets them focus on making the movie instead of appeasing fanboys.
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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The past Bond films, even when they used the names of the original books, often retained very little of the story that was actually in the book. My guess is that the films will be completely original stories not based on any of the other books or films, but they may re-use the name of one of the books. I think there are still about five of the Fleming novels left that they haven't used the titles for.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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Kanuck wrote:Yeah, I don't know that they've put themselves in a strange position—because continuity is not their goal, in any way. They set the introduction of Bond in the present, they'll continue to set the movies in the present, they'll continue to not give a shit about any of the other movies.

It's a neat approach, but I like it. Lets them focus on making the movie instead of appeasing fanboys.
I think most James Bond fanboys are in their 60s at this point anyway 8)

I wouldn't mind seeing them reimagine some of the earlier ones with their own new screenplays, bring back some classic villains, etc. But at the end of the day I don't care that much one way or the other. Still nice to see them make some fairly simple shifts in their methodology to make the spy all grown up...only took 40 years or so.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Yeah, I was surprised to find myself enjoying it. Intellectually stimulating wouldn't be the words, but it does play around with the structure and tone more than one would expect from such a franchise.

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So I saw Passion of the Christ today. Been successfully avoiding it for years now, but since my team lost their opening game to the newcomers in the league today, I felt like beating myself up a bit.

Wow, ol' Mel really got that beating-the-crap-out-of-jc-in-slomo-thing nailed down huh?

About as bad a film as I expected.

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Oh, the summer movies I've seen (quickie version):

Spider-Man 3: Not bad up until the big finale, at which point it turns into pure suckage. The franchise is plainly a paycheck enterprise by now for Raimi and Co.

Pirates 3: This series affects my sinuses. OK, so the overdone set design and FX are kinda the whole point, but at about the 90-minute mark you only want to head outside and clear your head.

Hostel 2: AKA, the movie that effectively killed the MPAA ratings system. I'd love to hear them explain their justification for placing this movie within reach of young children. As for the movie itself: completely unnecessary, some interesting scenes here and there, but Eli clearly put all his energy into the Thanksgiving trailer.

A Mighty Heart: Standard weeper that somehow ended up in theaters instead of on the Lifetime network.

Live Free or Die Hard: Way better than expected, and in spite of the cartoony action scenes it manages not to disrespect the original. Editing it down to a PG-13 rating was silly, given the high body count.

Transformers: If I were still 9 years old this would be the greatest movie of all time. Goofy summer fun, with the best moments in the Qatar sequence. Doubt I'll ever watch it again or catch the inevitable sequels.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The longest (and arguably least impressive) of the books becomes the shortest (and clunkiest) movie adaptation. Moves at such a frenzied clip that many scenes don't get a chance to play out. Luna Lovegood and Dolores Umbridge are perfectly cast, though.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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Jesus, I've seen so many films this summer I don't know if I can remember them all. I'll give it a shot:

Captivity: Pretty much the same as every other torture/horror film around these days, there's nothing new to see here. Shame on them for rating the film R but not getting Elisha Cuthbert naked. Also, this film appeared to have no continuity person, as her clothes changed in a few places from shot to shot.

Hairspray: Not an awful film, but a pointless one. It's pretty much the same as the original with a few more songs. Waters cameo is worth a laugh.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry: Not only an awful film, but one that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Sometimes it's making fun of gays, then the next minute it's saying how horrible it is they're oppressed, then suddenly getting squeemish about being too gay. It's almost as if they wanted to make a film about gay rights, but didn't want to offend the box office of the red states at the same time. Worst thing is, it's just not really funny. There's a fart joke at the start of the film and it pretty much goes downhill from there.

1408: This was actually better than I thought it would be. But at the end of the day it's still a horror film, which I find not all that interesting.

Ratatouille: A lot better than the trailer would have you believe. It's not Pixar at it's best, but it's better than most other stuff out there. Better than Cars too, which didn't impress me too much.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Kind of like the last one, it just plodds along and gets a bit better at the end. But nothing ever really gets developed well. So far the third film has been the only one worth anything.

Ocean's Thirteen: This actually wasn't bad. Loads better than the first one or the god awful second one. Not something I'd ever watch again, but amusing once.

Transformers: Boring. Includes the annoying trend in action films these days of moving the camera so fast with quick cuts that they never have to actually show the action.

Sicko: The first part with all the stories of people dealing with the insurance companies kind of drags a bit. Once they get into the politics of things it gets better. I do have to ask though, doesn't anyone notice that on the list of the quality of health care they show at the beginning, Cuba is actually lower than the US? Then later Moore goes to Cuba to show how great it is. You'd think he'd have had the sense to crop out the bottom of the list.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: About the same as the first one.

Hostel 2: Highly predictable, I knew what was going to happen by about the first half hour. What was this doing out in the summer?

A Mighty Heart: Ditto what O-dot said. Also, Angelina Jolie overacts big time.

License to Wed: Why lord, why?

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: Unlike most complaints I had no problems following the story. I just didn't care about it. At least they had the balls to end it the way they did.

Nancy Drew: I could have saved Nancy the trouble, the woman was killed by Diane and her creepy friend with the blue key.

Evan Almighty: See License to Wed.

Waitress: Something about pies and cheating with the captian of the Serenity. I don't remember for sure, but I don't recall it being anything great.

You Kill Me: The acting is good, but the story kind of goes no where.

Live Free or Die Hard: The trailer made this look like it'd be fun, but in a full length film it got old. I'd almost rather watch the trailer again. Also they wussed out by making the terrorist disgruntled government employees instead of religious nuts (any religion would have done).

Knocked Up: So tediously boring that I almost felt physical pain watching it. Apparently it takes palce in some sort of 50's reality where women can't raise children alone.

Meet the Robinsons: They've almost got that fake 3d down. But the film still sucked.

Spider-man 3: About three films smashed together without the time to really develop any of them properly. I've already forgotten what happened in the film.

Disturbia: I'm sorry, ripping of Rear Window and trying to get away with it by saying it's a homage doesn't wash.

28 Weeks Later: I felt like this film went on for 28 weeks. Not a lot of horror for being a horror film.

Shrek the Third: I've also forgotten what happened in this film, which shows the impression it made on me.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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darkness wrote:Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Kind of like the last one, it just plodds along and gets a bit better at the end. But nothing ever really gets developed well. So far the third film has been the only one worth anything.
The third is very good, but loses points because Cuaron badly misdirected a key scene (the revelatory moment about Gary Oldman's character). The adaptation of the fourth has worked the best for me because of the warmth and humor in the performances, and the movie works up nicely to the confrontation in the graveyard.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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O-dot wrote:The third is very good, but loses points because Cuaron badly misdirected a key scene (the revelatory moment about Gary Oldman's character). The adaptation of the fourth has worked the best for me because of the warmth and humor in the performances, and the movie works up nicely to the confrontation in the graveyard.
Well, I have to confess I'm not a Harry Potter'o'phile, I'm just looking at them from the perspective of films and not based on any great issues involving the books. So if there's some great revelation I didn't get that was in the book, it's lost on me, never read one. But as a film, the third one is the only one I'd go so far as to call good. Well developed story and nicely done visually. The fourth one wondered all over the place too much for me to care much about anything that happened till the end. I guess if I'd read one of the books I'd probably feel differently.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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here is my massive list of outings at the cinema:

Transformers - see my thoughts in the transformers thread. i thought it was awesome and true to original ideas/storylines.

the end. i did watch Shrek 3 at home, and thought it sucked, having liked the first two.

i don't get out much. oh yeah, i watched the first half of Hostel 2 at home and it seemed only ok.

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Today's cinematic ventures:

I Know Who Killed Me: Lindsay Lohan as a stripper. It's like they filmed my dreams. :) Too bad that footage only lasts about five minutes of the film total. For some reason she never gets completely naked, which is odd since everyone and their next door neighbor has seen her goods due to her inability to understand the concept of wearing underwear. The story is down right silly. Bonus points though for casting Art Bell as a Nimoy-In Seach Of style video host.

Rescue Dawn: I was pretty engaged with the survival story until the end, where it just got kind of silly.

The Simpsons Movie: Turn on your tv any Sunday when they're running the new episodes or ones from the last couple of seasons. Watch two at once and you more or less have this film. It's kind of funny, but not Simpsons in it's prime funny. They kept saying how they wanted to make the film special and worthy of making, but it wasn't that much different from an episode these days.

Sunshine: A blatant 2010 ripoff, till then end when it becomes Alien with a little Solaris thrown in for good measure. When the computer reported there was an extra crewman onboard I half expected them to find Dave Bowman. I actually laughed outloud at some of the nutty physics in this film. I can't remember when I've seen a film as bad in almost every aspect. I half expected a "directed by Uwe Boll" credit to come up when the fiilm was over.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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darkness wrote:For some reason she never gets completely naked
This whole trend of starlets playing clothed strippers (eg, Jessica Alba) must end. Dammit.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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I didn't quite believe what people said about modern cinema audiences until I saw the Simpsons Movie. There I witnessed shit that would be bad manners when watching the TV in your living room. Will I ever recover from the horrors? Only time will tell.

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I Know Who Killed Me: Lindsay Lohan as a stripper. It's like they filmed my dreams.
Wait, didn't we battle this out last time? I get Lohan (with her cocaine stash) and you get Hilary Duff!! Stripping, though? See, this is why I have a rapidshare account. :mrgreen:
Image

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chainsaw wrote:Wait, didn't we battle this out last time? I get Lohan (with her cocaine stash) and you get Hilary Duff!! Stripping, though? See, this is why I have a rapidshare account. :mrgreen:
I want Lindsay for those weekends Hilary is out of town. :) Yep, stripper she is in the film. But as I mentioned, she doesn't get naked. Just writhes around in her underwear a bit. Still fine cinema though.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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What I've seen lately:

Cashback: Eternal Sunshine-wannabe about a lovelorn artist who imagines he can pause time. Excellent casting on all the nubile young women in the various nude sequences, but the movie lost me when it inexplicably turned into a sappy romantic comedy midway through.

Exterminating Angels: French director auditions nubile young women for his pseudo-realist sex film. "If I'm gonna get my balls blown off for a word, my word is poontang." You said it, Animal Mother.

Secret Things: Another from the director of Exterminating Angels, this one's about nubile young women who conquer the Paris business world. They meet their match in a sociopathic predator who seems to have seen Caligula too many times. The ending really doesn't wash, but the movie at least isn't boring.

The Bourne Ultimatum: Matt Damon discovers nubile young women are controlling Treadstone. (Kidding. I kinda had a theme going there, didn't I?) They made this movie just for Mike -- we're talking shaky cam nirvana, with no shots last longer than a second or two. I was in the third row, so it's a good thing I'm not epileptic. Everybody already knows the backstory, so by now it's all foot chases, car chases and lots of hand-to-hand combat. Worked for me. Boy were my eyes killing me afterward.

The Fountain: Aronofsky at least is ambitious, but the metaphysical content is way beyond his grasp. Jackman's overacting is almost comical.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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The Bourne Ultimatum: Will someone please but this guy a tripod? Overall I liked the story better than the last one, though the resolution of the big mystery was kind of lame. I found myself saying, "that's all it was?" Nothing very original.

BRATZ: Mean Girls for retarded people. Why do the singing voices for these girls all sound like 40 year old women?

No Reservations: Why is it in films that these people who suddenly find themselves with kids seem to have never heard of hiring a nanny? "I don't know how to raise a kid!" Um, so hire someone who does! But then I guess there wouldn't be the comic hilarity that ensues from all the wacky misunderstandings.
Just cut them up like regular chickens