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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph What was the last movie you saw?

Discussion in 'Community' started by TheEmperorsProtege, Aug 15, 2004.

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  1. Rox

    Rox Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 24, 2000
    I saw Oblivion in IMAX last night. Cool movie, kind of predictable but as an action/sci-fi flick it was good.
     
  2. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 20, 2012
    I'm probably seeing Oblivion on Tuesday. Can't wait!
     
  3. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 1999
    Gonna see Oblivion now. Hope I'm not disappointed. :p
     
  4. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    If you're disappointed in Oblivion (which I want to see in theaters but don't know if I'll have the time to), you can always enjoy the music. [face_laugh]

    I finished watching 10 Inch Hero which was entertaining and just fun to watch.
     
  5. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I did enjoy the Oblivion score a lot. The movie is fairly entertaining, as far as the action goes, but the story itself is a pretty flavorless blend of dozens of other sci fi movies without much effort to build a plausible speculative story with any kind of internal logic.

    It steals liberally from movies/shows like:

    • the incredible Moon, 2009, with Tom Cruise playing the Sam Bell character
    • the original Planet of the Apes
    • V and Battle Los Angeles, etc.
    • Independence Day
    • (of course) Battlefield Earth
    • Star Trek, Next Generation
    but still couldn't steal a plot device able to explain why an alien invader so technologically advanced would ever adopt this ludicrous strategy/tactic for subduing the earth's human population.

    Also, the post apocalyptic landscape made no sense at all. Kosinski apparently really wanted to make a visual impression with the doomsday imagery, but rarely seemed to consider whether it needed to be consistent with the plot.

    The movie pulls its punches on a sober, downbeat ending not once, not twice, but three times or more. It's desperately afraid to have moviegoers get up out of their seats with any kind of bittersweet aftertaste in their mouths.

    And there was a a trailer for RIPD. I had no idea what this one was about. I thought it was a zombie cop buddy movie, but instead it's Men in Black, the Supernatural Edition, with Jeff Bridges doing a parody of his own Rooster Cogburn performance from True Grit in the Tommy Lee Jones part, and poor Ryan Reynolds inexplicably cast as Will Smith.
     
  6. DarthTunick

    DarthTunick SFTC VII + Deadpool BOFF star 10 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 26, 2000
    Saw that trailer for R.I.P.D. as well... it's definitely a Men In Black ripoff.

    The last film I saw? Oblivion! Despite some underwhelming character development (Morgan Freeman & his peeps), I really enjoyed this film. The visuals & music were fantastic, and despite it not being the most original story out there, it still held up for me.
     
  7. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    And then she spent most of the rest movie running around, literally, with staples in her stomach.
     
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  8. Frank T.

    Frank T. Force Ghost star 6

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Black Swan

    If I want to be entertained and horrified this is what I put on.
     
  9. DantheJedi

    DantheJedi Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 23, 2009
    I caught a little bit of that on HBO one time. Just my luck, it had to be the scene where Natalie Portman's character is um...pleasuring herself in bed.
     
  10. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000


    Anyone know if the comic is along the same lines of tone? Never read it before so I'm curious if that tone was added in adaptation or not.
     
  11. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 1999
    Gee, you forgot 2001: A Space Odyssey. Especially 2001, what with the name of the ship that first encountered the Tet and some it's very interior details right down to most of the crew being in cryo-sleep on a centrifuge main hull. Then there's the fatalistic first contact scenario and the "bad guy" being a monotone-voiced AI with a glowing red eye! There's also Odyssey's original destination, the Saturn moon Titan (from the novel, changed in the film to Jupiter) and even the painting Christina's World is another reference to the novel, since that painting was in the "hotel suite" were Bowman was turned into the Star Child.

    And why, oh why, does this powerful AI armed with those badass drones and whatever else is at its disposal need the human clones at all? Why mislead them at all with that bogus story it fed them when there's absolutely no reason to do so? If it's because they are imperfect and bound to revert to their template's memories and character, why use them at all?

    The movie provides awesome eye candy and Tom Cruise carries it nearly single-handedly, but damn if that script is wafer thin and derivative as hell.

    It's hard to hate the movie given the action, SFX, soundtrack and Cruise's performance. But on the other hand, it's a badly sung love song to classic SF films. I guess Oblivion is one of those films that will be labeled as a "guilty pleasure" from here on.
     
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  12. Saintheart

    Saintheart Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    Dec 16, 2000
    Oddly enough, the last film I saw was Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds in yet another of those "almost there" films he seems to specialise in.
     
  13. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    The Cinematic Titanic presentation of "The Doomsday Machine". Staggeringly inept movie.
     
  14. Lord Revan

    Lord Revan Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2013
    Lawless.

    I really enjoyed it.
     
  15. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    I remember Titan from the book but I never would have made the connection to the painting! That's a catch that makes me think Kosinski/Gadjusek were deliberately placing easter eggs for sci fi fans. The look of the hibernation chambers and the drone design were more clear references to the film.But yeah the whole thing comes across as empty flattery rather than a considered paean to the genre.
    I completely agree with you about Cruise's performance and the movie's visuals making it hard to feel cheated by the movie.
     
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  16. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

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    Jun 21, 1999
    To be honest, the presence of Christina's World intrigued me since I recognized the painting and love it, but for some reason it's name escaped me right then and there. When I remembered it and wiki'd it mentioned the 2001 connection. I looked up the novel and there it was.
     
  17. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    It's such an iconic, famous painting, I should have made the connection. But it's probably been a quarter century since I read 2001.
     
  18. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

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    Sep 20, 2003
    MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

    So bad it was actually quite fun. I even smiled when he pulled the Sword from the throne and yelled, "I have the power."

    In any case there's a nice little doc on how screwed up the production for the movie was. Sure it's on YouTube.
     
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  19. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 20, 2012
    Frank Langella's in that right?
     
  20. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2003
  21. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Frank steals that movie like no one's business. I edited the film down to about 30 min of all Skeletor's scenes and watch it all the time. Gives you a good taste of how the film might have turned out if the budget limitations hadn't forced them to do the stupid Earth plot line...
     
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  22. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

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    Mar 27, 2004
    If they weren't doing Shakespeare, somebody forgot to tell Langella. A lot of actors would've phoned in their performance in such a role. Langella--and really the entire cast, each to his or her abilities--treated the material, and thus by extention the audience, with respect. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for him because of that.
     
  23. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

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    Sep 20, 2003
    Langella reportedly was in control of everything dealing with his character. Everything had to be right. He even gave directions for how he wanted his cloak to flow when walking. Now that's commitment. Especially since he was playing a cartoon character. Oh, and in case anybody wanted to know why more cartoon characters weren't in the movie it's because when the producer bought the rights he bought it for the original incarnation of the character. Which was a barbarian with a magic sword fighting evil. That's why there's no Adam, transformation, battle cat, etc.
     
  24. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    Langela's costume was great. I need to own replicas of those gloves one day for no practical reason whatsoever.
     
  25. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

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    Mar 27, 2004
    I was curious if Langella had ever commented on the movie or the role, and well, I found this...

    Needless to say my love for this man continues to grow.


    Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - In 2012 there were two films that featured America's 16th president. One had an A-list cast, a legendary director and seemed destined for Oscar glory. The other had a cast of kinda-knowns, a director whose name I can't pronounce and seemed destined for the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Having now seen them both, guess which one I liked better?

    I'm a sucker for tall tales and historical fiction, and AL: VH is a robust, and at times clever, mix of both. I know on the surface turning America's most beloved president into a vampire-slaying action hero seems silly, and I do understand concerns that such things could cheapen the man, his (actual) deeds and his times (particularly the issue of slavery). But I found it all consistent with the sort of tall tales mythologizing of something like George Washington and the cherry tree... only with hyper-stylized fights vs. the undead. - 6.5/10

    I for one would like to see a string of sequels. Rutherford B. Hayes: Zombie Stomper, anyone?
     
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