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

When do I get my own flashy-little-memory-messier-upper-thing? (M.I.B.)

Discussion in 'Archive: SF&F: Films and Television' started by Grand_Admiral_Grant, Jan 7, 2006.

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  1. Grand_Admiral_Grant

    Grand_Admiral_Grant Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2004
    "You will dress only in attire specially sanctioned by M.I.B. special services. You'll conform to the identity we give you. Eat where we tell you. Live where we tell you. From now on, you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You will not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You are a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu, and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist. You were never even born. Anonymity is your name, silence is your native tongue. You are no longer part of the system. You are above the system, over it, beyond it. We're "them." We're "they." We are the Men in Black."

    [image=http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000067FYJ.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg]

    Yes, I loved the fact that this SciFi movie didnt take itself too seriously. It's one of the best of its kind.
     
  2. DVeditor

    DVeditor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2001
    I thought these movies were awesome, especially the first one. The second one was funny but you just can't top Will Smith being shown the ropes by Tommmy Lee Jones. :cool:
     
  3. Everton

    Everton Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Jul 18, 2003
    True, the movies don't take themselves too seriously, but there's some genuine intelligence in the first one (which, btw, is vastly superior to the short-stuff sequel). Of particular note if the scene where Tommy Lee Jones is talking to Will Smith on a park bench - he is running the idea of joining the Men In Black past him. Excuse the piece of script, but I think it's another one that really needs to be read:

    Kay: Alright kid here's the deal. Any given time there are around fifteen hundred aliens are on the planet, most of them right here in Manhattan. And most of them are decent enough, just trying to make a living.

    Edwards: Cab drivers?

    Kay: Not as many as you'd think. Humans, for the most part, don't have a clue. The don't want one or need one either. They're happy. They think they've got a pretty good bead on things.

    Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart, they can handle it.

    Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the centre of the Universe, five hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was flat and fifteen minutes ago you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know, tomorrow.

    Edwards: What's the catch?

    Kay: The catch. The catch is you will sever every human contact, nobody will ever know you exist, anywhere. Ever.

    Pause.

    Kay: I'll give you till sunrise to think it over.

    Kay gets up to leave.

    Edwards: Hey. Is it worth it?

    Kay: Oh yeah it's worth it. ... If you're strong enough.

    Kay leaves Edwards alone on the bench.
    In a movie where a lot of silly and 'out there' stuff happens, there are strands running through it that are quite deep. Kay's sense of isolation, the huge responsibility the Men In Black have to shoulder... it's good stuff. I happen to think that the emotional stuff at the end of the first film (and it is emotional) with Kay finally giving up the suit and shades is tainted considerably by the sequel. In that film, even the serious ideas tackled in the original are given the comedy treatment. That sucks.
     
  4. Cobranaconda

    Cobranaconda Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2004
    The first film was one of my first encounters with Sci-Fi other than ET and Star Wars, and I was just amazed by the fact that the humour was mixed in so well with the rest of the film. The second one I hated, but the first one is still one of the best modern Sci-Fi/Comedies I've seen.
     
  5. jedi_john_33

    jedi_john_33 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 26, 2003
    I love this movie...surprised I don't own it.

    *adds to "to buy" list*
     
  6. Jesina_Dreis

    Jesina_Dreis Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played off each other perfectly in these.
     
  7. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
    I loved both movies, but I'll admit the first one is far better.
     
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