What Have You Just Seen... Marks Out of 5

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Dec 2007, 00:18

Yi-Long wrote:It gotten lots of slack because Denzel plays a guy that really existed, but the movie version is nothing like the cruel asshole that the real guy was. The movie makes him 'better' than the crook that was...

Talking generally: So what? As LD says it's not a novel about the man it's a movie.

I don't get how that hurts the film. Would it have been a better film if the real person didn't exist? How? The character would still be the same.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 18 Dec 2007, 09:16

tom2681 wrote:and her only customer so far is a young finn who likes japanese anime and just seems to wanna hang around japanese women for no apparent reason (HungFist, was that you ? ).

No, but the character was based on me

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 18 Dec 2007, 10:25

bradavon wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:It gotten lots of slack because Denzel plays a guy that really existed, but the movie version is nothing like the cruel asshole that the real guy was. The movie makes him 'better' than the crook that was...
Talking generally: So what? As LD says it's not a novel about the man it's a movie.

I don't get how that hurts the film. Would it have been a better film if the real person didn't exist? How? The character would still be the same.

It 'hurts' the film in that it's a: it's insulting to all his victims, to portray that guy as more 'heroic' and 'interesting' etc, than he really was, and b: it hurts the film in that it's supposed to be based on real-life, and when you base it on a real story, you ought to make a realistic portrayal of the characters and the stuff they did.

I can understand why people dont 'get' why this is quite insulting, kinda making the asshole into an 'anti-hero', but that's mostly because this guy didnt affect their lifes, so to many this IS just a movie, based loosely on some old gangsterguy.

But what would people think when there's a movie where suddenly Hitler is a pretty interesting, good, smart, charismatic guy, who just happens to kill a couple of jews, but yeah, that's just serious busy that needs to be done, right?!?

The movie tries to make a bloodthirsty asshole crook into some kind of modern-day Scarface-type anti-hero.
That doesnt affect the movie if it was fiction, but when you are dealing with real people and real crimes and real victims, it DOES affect the movie.

Plus Denzel should be playing the guy as he WAS, not as how Hollywood thinks the guy was.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Dec 2007, 11:39

bradavon wrote:Mark explained why, did you not bother to read his whole post?

Oh fuck off, you weren't asked for your opinion. Yes, I did read the read whole post and it didn't answer my question as to why this film is highly regarded amongst film fans. I just read the excellent (as usual) DVDtimes review and there I received my answer.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 18 Dec 2007, 12:11

thelostdragon wrote:
EvaUnit02 wrote:
thelostdragon wrote:Blades of Glory - 4.5/5
The best comedy of 2007
Have you not seen Superbad then?
No, not yet. But definitely want to. The same writers also wrote "Knocked Up" which is also supposed to be hilarious.

I just want to do a spot of pedantic pointing out here, but Superbad was co-written by the executive producers of Knocked Up (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg). Judd Apatow wrote Knocked Up, and he only worked on Superbad as an Executive Producer.

Not that it matters that much, as Exec Producers Rogen and Goldberg no doubt had some input on the finished film's script, and Superbad does play like a cruder younger brother to Knocked Up. So I'd imagine if you liked one, you'd like the other.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:00

Yi-Long wrote:It 'hurts' the film in that it's a: it's insulting to all his victims, to portray that guy as more 'heroic' and 'interesting' etc, than he really was, and b: it hurts the film in that it's supposed to be based on real-life, and when you base it on a real story, you ought to make a realistic portrayal of the characters and the stuff they did.

A documentary would be a better medium for that.

Yi-Long wrote:But what would people think when there's a movie where suddenly Hitler is a pretty interesting, good, smart, charismatic guy, who just happens to kill a couple of jews, but yeah, that's just serious busy that needs to be done, right?!?

Except we've already had it, have you never heard of "Downfall"? I don't remember anyone complaining, most of all Germans or Jews. Why because like American Gangster it was excellent, actually Downfall is outstanding.

Yi-Long wrote:The movie tries to make a bloodthirsty asshole crook into some kind of modern-day Scarface-type anti-hero.

Except it is fiction. It's not a documentary, they took ideas from real life events but it's a fictional movie. Besides none of this answer my original question the "would the film we have be any better if it wasn't based on real life events"? Of course it wouldn't it would still be the same acting, directing, script etc... You see my point? The film as a whole is the same regardless. It's either a quality made film or it isn't.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:16

Well when they are talking to the real guy about his "Life Story" film, obviously people are going to think its 100% fact.

Drug scum like him deserve a thousand painful deaths.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:27

It's also worth pointing out that comparing American Gangster to Downfall is pretty fuckin ironic considering the goal of Downfall was to portray Hitler as he really was, and destroy the myth that he was a monster 24/7. If anyone actually thinks Downfall glamourises Hitler in any way then they must be completely barking.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:32

thelostdragon wrote:It's just a MOVIE. It uses the real guy as a base for its own, fictional storyline.

No, it purports to be a true story. There's no indication that it's fictionalised at all.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:34

thelostdragon wrote:Is he solely responsible for that in your opinion?

Solely? No. But he imported it uncut and made it cheap enough for street junkies. You could argue that for that alone he deserved the death penalty.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:36

I wasn't saying it glamourises Hitler or was comparing it to American Gangster, other than saying both are excellent (which is hardly a comparison).

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:56

Bourne Ultimatum hd-dvd 3/5

A solid end to the trilogy,fast paced and breathless from start to finish. it's unusual that a trilogy of movies is kept at a decent standard throughout but this franchise manages it.having said that these films are in no way the great movies a lot of people think they are imo.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Dec 2007, 19:37

INSIDE MAN 3.5/5

Good thriller from Spike Lee. Good performance from Denzel too. Even Clive Owen doesn't suck (but then he has the least acting to do of anyone in the film, lol). Shame the "aren't we clever" ending lacks punch.

THUNDERBALL 3.5/5
Back to business... I enjoyed this, though I would have rated it slightly higher if it had been about 10-15 mins shorter (those underwater scenes drag at times...)

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Dec 2007, 20:13

It is great that the Bourne films have managed to sustain three excellent films. It's so rare for this to happen.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 19 Dec 2007, 23:35

Ame Agaru / After the Rain (Japan - 1999 - by Takashi Koizumi): 2 / 5

Typical samurai drama, but seriously boring despite its Akira Kurosawa script.
It's well shot and well framed, it contains good actors and good music, but the editing is clumsy and the plot doesn't lead to anything.

Worse still, there is no ending.
Just when I'm expecting some form of confrontation or showdown, the end credits start rolling and I therefore feel cheated.

Almost made me want to throw my headphones at the screen. What a waste of time ! If you're going to make a film, you could at least give it an ending.

Disappointing.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Dec 2007, 08:41

300: 3.5/5

Decent comic-book/popcorn film dressed up in historical clothes. The film has a terrific visual style, with a somewhat grimy colour palette and portays the tough, hard Spartans as heroes, going up against the huge might of King Xerxe's Persian Army. A crunching rock soundtrack tells you you're in MTV terrortory though the battles look great, with use of slow motion and undercranking which show every slash and drop of blood.
In terms of substance though I didnt think there was much, the film feels like lots of "battle" with occasional narrative voiceover and that's about it.
Good fun though.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 20 Dec 2007, 12:41

This is Xerxes. At 02.00 there will be a poetry reading by protocol unit T892/2 in the deck 5 commons area. Please bring any authorised material that you wish to be red by T892/2.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 20 Dec 2007, 16:38

The Emperor and the Assassin 3.5/5
Good to know that Chen Kaige can make a good film. My expectations were low after I watched the Promise.

Black Book 4.5/5
Verhoeven's the man.

The Majestic 0/5
Zzz Zzz....

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Dec 2007, 17:02

You should check out "Killing me Softly" if you want to see an utterly disaster of a Chen Kaige film. Heather Graham's boobies aside it's awful!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 20 Dec 2007, 17:06

I think I'll give his bad films a miss. If it's worse than the Promise then no thanks.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 20 Dec 2007, 18:27

Dr. Lamb (Hong Kong, 1992) – 3/5
I almost went to praise Danny Lee for creating a solid, Billy Tang esque cat III thriller until I found out Billy Tang was indeed the second director. Dr. Lamb combines court drama, that however takes place at a police station (expect some police brutality), and audio-visually captivating and intense suspense scenes a bit similiar to those seen in Red to Kill. The HK dvd is a censored (for uncut version look for the german dvd) but still comes with a big red throw up warning. Humour is black and sick as it should. Simon Yam does excellent gob portraying the film’s pathetic psychopath, and Danny Lee himself plays a cop, as always.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Japan, 2004) – 5/5
When a director’s debut film is a masterpiece one shouldn’t expect the next one to be as good. That doesn’t seem to apply to Makoto Shinkai. At least on the first viewing The Place Promised in Our Early Days felt about twice as good as Voices of a Distant Star. It’s still not perfect as it’s a bit over-written and stumbles with some scifi content that could’ve been left out for the most part. Nevertheless, if it wasn’t for Shinkai’s next film, which is out on dvd but hasn’t reached my mail box yet, I’d say it’s gonna take a decade before we’ll see another movie as beautiful as this.

Freeze Me (Japan, 2000) – 4/5
Takashi Ishii’s extremely tense and strangely beautiful rape thriller is no doubt one of the best japanese thrillers of the past 10 years. The film kicks off a bit too fast but Ishii’s direction is stylish, hard hitting and fascinating. Taking place almost fully in one appartment the film has an almost claustrophobic feel to it. The final image will burn into your mind for quite some time.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 20 Dec 2007, 19:15

hey,

Dr. Lamb (Hong Kong, 1992) – 3/5

From what I've heard about Danny Lee and seen of Billy Tang in subsequent films, it's probably easy to see where each respective director contributed. Dopey comedy, black comedy, police brutality...probably more courtesy of Lee Sir. Tang stepping in to visualize it greatly, getting the atmosphere out there. All complimented well by Jonathan Wong's industrial score.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 20 Dec 2007, 19:30

BiscLimpkit wrote:I think I'll give his bad films a miss. If it's worse than the Promise then no thanks.

Unless The Promise has someone else's boobies in it, it won't be worse. A bad film with boobies is better than a bad film without!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 20 Dec 2007, 23:23

Good logic I guess.

Hitman 3.5/5
Good to see studios going for the R-rated stuff.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 21 Dec 2007, 00:11

Markgway: You're good. 8)
HungFist: You're not bad either 8)

I think Bisc is jealous. 8)