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Dashing Don Lockwood goes insane with love for WAR OF THE WORLDS!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey folks, Harry here... I see this on Sunday. Can we speed up the sun's rotation around the earth? Heh. Beware of spoilers - I read the first two paragraphs and stopped reading for fear of spoilers. I'm so jazzed for this.
Dear Harry & Moriarty,
Rabid reader since the beginning of the site (and Moriarty was once kind enough to post my thoughts about Master & Commander). I have a confession to make. For some unexplicable reason this film was not as high on my 2005 must-see list as brilliant Sin City, near-perfect Batman Begins and the I-hope-DVD-version-will-be-all-it-should’ve-been Kingdom of Heaven. Silly me. The following may be a little blabbery at times but I just needed to get it off my chest
One of the toughest jobs any film has this summer (or year) is not to be upstaged by gigantic mastermind Jackson’s King Kong trailer if it plays in front of it (those 2 minutes were, in two words, pure bliss!). WAR pulls this off and then some! It is absolutely exhilarating to watch such brilliant work from people who are completely free, at the top of their game, having no need to prove antyhing to anybody. There is no wrong turns taken here by the bunch of masters big and small behind this film. From the fuck-me seamless blending of Kaminski’s work with the efforts of Muren & Co. (there’s a sequence when Ray and the kids manage to get away in a car where camera does two rounds around the car, popping into the car, fron seat-back seat, back outside, then pull back to reveal all the chaos with hundreds of cars dead from the alien EMP and it all looks like one continuous take!) to the few touches of humor (which were nothing like the disturbingly wrong joke-notes in Minority Report) this film is a joy to behold, to use an over-used expression here.
Cruise’s Ray Ferrier is a big-time loser who himself just doesn’t seem to get it, sort of a 42 year old fratboy working at the docks, driving his vintage Mustang and living in a shithole of a house. He gets to babysit his kids (Justin Chatwin, looking like a cousin of Jake Gyllenhaal and the scaringly talented Dakota Fanning who after this and Man on Fire will hopefully avoid in the future stuff like Uptown Girls Go Down or Hide and Reek) and he even manages to fuck that up (“It was 8.30, right? You’re saying it was 8? Hmm”). Unlike most of his movies, Cruise’s character doesn’t have all the answers here (hell, the guy usually doesn't even hear the questions). The only bright idea he gets when the intergalactic shit hits the fan is to get the kids to his ex-wife (oh-so-lovely Eowyn Miranda Otto who doesn’t have much to do here) because she has, obviously, always been the one doing all the hard work in family matters. Cruise is doing superb work here, from the scenes where he shows that Ray is less mature than his 10-year old daughter, to the scenes where it starts to dawn for him that there may not be a happy ending to this.
Score by Williams (I’ve been wondering for some time who’s gonna score Spielberg’s films after Maestro leaves us one day?) is used almost as economically as Silvestri score in Cast Away. No syrupy violins to drive the emotion home, no heroic-tragic fanfare&military drums combo when the doomed troops head in the opposite direction as Ray and his kids. There are moments so bleak and destruction so massive that the desperation is on the same level as the ghetto clean-up in Schindler. Numb animal instincts of the panicking mob are on display in another scene that is just perfectly frightening. Or a moment where closing door has bigger effect than that when John Wayne’s uncle Ethan remained outside. Ray simply does what he has to do in order to make sure the survival of his offspring and it’s devastating. I won’t clarify (I hate the fuckheads who think that the only way to talk about the film is riddle their review with spoilers – even though there are times when it’s simply impossible to discuss certain points without giving away some key moments)
This has been told already, but the film is scary. The kind of we’re-fucked-big-time kind of scary, when there might be glimmer of hope that you know will be crushed soon because there just is no escaping these indestructible killer-tripods, sent by a civilization God knows how many millions of times more advanced than ours, making all the efforts to counter-attack them or even defend us totally pointless.
The only problem I have with the film is that we get to see couple of the aliens, because I would’ve preferred if the face of the alien force would have been those merciless tripods. But that’s a minor flaw compared to all that is right here. There is no jeffgoldblum uploading some computer virus up the alien ass nor randyquaid giving them an enema with crop-dusting plane nor brucewillis drilling a hole into their mothership and blowing himself up with it. There are, thank God, no slo-mo “Bay-shots” of children running past JFK murals or the French standing around the Eiffel tower/Egyptians around the pyramids/Londoners on Piccadilly Circus etc, looking up at the threatening skies. And luckily, nobody mentions E.T. (even though there is one small gag with a prop in a basement – or just my imagination running wild). And there’s no talk about “whupping ET’s ass”…
By the way, when was the last time a Cruise film didn’t have big face of TC on the poster? (I’m not counting the Japanese version with Tom and Dakota). When was the last time a Spielberg film ran less than 2 hours? When was the last time that big alien threat in a film was not taken down by the US Army/scientist/deep core drilling team or former fighter-pilot/president? There’s lot to enjoy here. Me and my buddy Bill Kill talked about the film after seeing it for a long long time. Later at home I gave him a call and we talked some more. It’s that kind of film, it gets you all giddy and stoned on the miracle of cinema, it makes you want to sit down and watch 3-4 good films in a row, putting aside such minor luxuries as eating and sleeping. I hope to God both of these guys keep the quality in both Munich project and M:i-3
Sorry if this has been sort of a rambling but it’s been too few hours since I saw it and there’s still ton of it to digest. All I’m saying is I’ll be damned if I’m not seeing it again next week!
Pleasure, as always, when the subject is movies,
Dashing Don Lockwood
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Cant wait 2 c it!
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Are the tripods part of the Fifth Galactic Invasion Force, sent to Earth by the evil alien overlord Xenu?!
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but the trailer is just shit blowing up. i'm good on that for now. thanks.
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will suck
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But one thing i need to ask you steve, why the hell do you have to keep making these tragic movies {the munich disaster}. Admittidly your very good at bumming the whole world hard. How about you get off your keyster mister and make Indy 4!
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There're interesting news articles out there about how reporters have to sign term sheets to not review this film in order to see it. That's obviously working out. Although maybe this plant skirts that by not "clarifying" anything that actually happens in the film. Like the Eiffel Tower scene where Cruise marries an alien.
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Apparently, just like those other movies, everything's great until the last 20 minutes, then it all jumps the shark. Can anyone confirm? Preferably without too much in the way of spoilers. A simple yes or no will suffice.
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but it's less than 2 hours?? For $10 or $12 a movie ticket I want quanity and quality. NO LESS! Stephen! Pad it. Add boobies! Everyone loves boobies - esp. in a Sci-fi movie... boobies and aliens and explosions = Hit Film. GO!
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Scientologists are funny.
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"There is no wrong turns taken"
Jesus, does this site outsource the proof-reading to a prison or something? Still the film sounds good. Cruise is one of these actors that I feel nothing either way for - not great, not shit, just there. But Spielberg is plenty good. And despite what a previous talkbacker said, I think he's is best when fucking shit up. Spielberg for the Walking Dead! -
Not even 2 hours long. Anybody who watches this film is a moron, and should be shot on site. You have no respect for money, the world, other people's hard work, and you merely perpetuate the problem. You are all culpable and should be sterilized. Apparently Tom Cruise and Spielberg are more important than your conscience, morals and values, however weak and shaky they may be. You people are swine who make me sick- the world resents you because of your cavalier attitude towards money, you'll see some attack on your soil that will make "War of the Worlds" look like "Amelie".
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This guy could have pulled all of this off of newswire stories.
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Jun 23, 2005 9:40:26 AM CDT
High-Powered Hollywood Cultist Staves Off Alien Invaders In Base
by www.valiens.com
If Cruise kills the aliens with water, M. Night Shamalamadingdong should sue.
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Jun 23, 2005 9:48:06 AM CDT
I'm worried about Tom Cruise and all the intolerance and hat
by brokeback
The founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard called for homosexuals to be quarantined - in his OWN words: "Such people should be taken from the society as rapidly as possible and uniformly institutionalized; for here is the level of the contagion of immorality, and the destruction of ethics...No social order which desires to survive dates overlook its stratum 1.1's. No social order will survive which does not remove these people from its midst." 1.1 refers to Hubbard's 'tone scale' which classifies individuals and human behavior. The scale runs from -3 to +4. He apparently rated gay and lesbian behavior at a 1.1. "At 1.1 on the tone scale, we enter the area of the most vicious reversal of the second dynamic. Here we have promiscuity, perversion, sadism and irregular practices."
Not saying Tom is homophobic (ahem!) but the much exhaulted founder of his faith was intensely so.
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I haven't read any of the above for fear of spoilers but I just wanted to point out that the sun doesn't rotate round the earth. The sun is over a million times earth's mass. Other way round, fella.
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I haven't read any of the above for fear of spoilers but I just wanted to point out that the sun doesn't rotate round the earth. The sun is over a million times earth's mass. Other way round, fella.
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Maybe its just me, but it seems like every good movie is noted as being "pure bliss". Lets find a new buzzword shall we?
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You know, I watched the Terminal yesterday and after it was over I felt bad about myself. I usually see all of Speilbergs films in the theater and this was the first one I missed. It was funny as hell! And it proved again why Tom Hanks might be the best actor working today. Oh, and Catch me if you can was a great film, Minority Report was a great film, and A.I. was a great film. And I dont have the time to mention his past classics. I think more respect needs to be shown to this movie god. I dont ever want to hear M. Night Shamalan and Steven Speilberg in the same sentence again!
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Jun 23, 2005 10:01:56 AM CDT
Wait....so by the end of the movie does Tom Cruise's charact
by thunderballs
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Is a gimmicky prick who has only made two good movies.
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Practically everyone of his movie can have their origins traced to an episode of the original TWILIGHT ZONE. Hell, he should be sending royalty checks to Rod Serling's widow. And what happened to his whole "I want to step away from the thriller" spiel? Wasn't he suppose to do something "different' with LIFE OF PI? Oh wait. VILLAGE sucked balls so instead of doing something different, I'm running back to the supernatural thriller genre with a mermaid movie. I wonder which episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE he'll be ripping off for this one.
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Jun 23, 2005 10:12:46 AM CDT
Senior Speilbergo didn't fuck up the Minority Report ending.
by studioplant69
It was a psudeo happy ending, I mean his son was still dead/missing. But AI, omg you could have cut the last 15 minutes. Hated hated hated that shit, the movie ended for me when he fell/jumped into the water... Now if they can just keep Tom C. from pontificating about Scientology too much the movie should be huge. But if he does not shut his piehole then he's gonna hurt the box office. Cause he is really weirding people out. Personally I don't give a shit what psuedo-wannabe-religion he worships. Then again I could be full of shit.
GFY -
His work hasn't been up to par lately (I absolutely hated TERMINAL), but that has much to do with the fact that he's making a movie every eight months now, instead of taking a year or two to develop one. Seems to happen to directors as they get older and mortality becomes more a fact: they want to make sure they don't miss a thing and do more work than they should. Anyway, I don't expect anything from this movie except an ass kicking good time. For the "artistic" Spielberg, I'm waiting for VENGEANCE.
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Cruise's charecter preaching scientology to the alien horde, while declaring his non-fake non-contrived love to whatshername. The aliens rather than listen to this bullshit, blow themselves up. Run credits. Fade to balck.
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I'm locked in to see this baby, because even if it isn't good... It'll be a damn solid two hours of my time, plus Kong. So... it's all gravy, baby. -- http://www.cafepress.com/thenewpulp
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And what's actually wrong with the ending of minority report? granted, the shot where his wife is pregnant is a wee bit cheesy, but it seems to me that you guys think that for an ending to be "good" it has to be downbeat. What's wrong with a little feelgood? John Anderton has been through a lot! Give him a break. Oh, didn't read review in fear of spoilers, but this is going to be the second best movie of the summer.
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I'm not sure, but it sure looks like it's a tripod. I've not seen it before, but it could be old to you all. It's over here: http://magnificent.blogsome.com/
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www.jumptheshark.com
It was originally borrowed from an advertising company who used it to describe once succesful, now failing TV shows and ad campaigns. The original example being a specific moment from Happy Days when Fonzie literally "jumps a shark". Anyway, here is the "official" definition. But I welcome all who enjoy these talkbacks to take a look at the site that was born out of this expression. It's pretty funny.
"It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.
---- The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history. Jumping the shark applies not only to TV, but also music, film, even everyday life. "Did you see her boyfriend? She definitely jumped the shark." You get the idea." ----
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People are starting to say that the phrase, "jumped the shark" has jumped the shark.
As for WotW...I'll go and see it but, despite how cool everything looks or whether Cruise pulls off being a loser succesfully...my hopes just aren't that high because I've seen this movie before. Either in early Twilight Zone episodes or in earlier good and not so good versions. for the record...I hated ID4. Just the fact that Randy Quaid was in it spelled "disaster". And Will Smith knocking out that alien with one punch was absurd. That's all I have to say. -
Jun 23, 2005 11:21:10 AM CDT
The Endings of Spielberg Movies for the Last 10 Years . . .
by microwavable?
. . . really HAVE sucked. Let's take a look. THE TERMINAL: Uh, yeah. He found the musician and got his autograph. Oh wait, was Catherine Zeta-Jones important? Who cares, fuck her. Credits! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Actually, the only decent finish out of the bunch. A little redundant (he runs away again!) but at least restrained with the music cues. MINORITY REPORT: Well, if you count the whole triple-cross as the ending, then it was pretty loopy. Of course, when the final shot is a pullout from a countryside house during a sunset, you aren't really breaking any barriers. AI: Uh, yeah. Let's not go here. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN: Oh man, my stomach sank at these useless bookends. While the first and final shots of the tattered American flag were pretty cool, all I can say is . . . OLD MAN MATT DAMON MORPH! AMISTAD: Maybe it was just me, but the scene where Carmen Elektra falls off the ferris wheel into the oil was lame. [don't even remember the ending.] SCHINDLER'S LIST: One of the finest third acts in cinema history . . . but WHY did he have to reveal the puppet strings and show all those people putting rocks on the grave? It was nice, sure, but it was too manipulative. I'm out.
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The aliens inhale a bunch of Thetans and die. Tom Cruise is so happy he learns a third acting move in 25 years.
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I've seen this movie and it's better than other recent Spielberg movies. It's pure action film, nothing more, but it's brual and massive, in one moment like Titanic, next as Band of Brothers, later like Alien... This long scene with rotating camera is amazing. There was only a couple of details that bothered me -
(slight spoilers?)
working photo and video cameras at the beginning when nothing else works and one detail at the very end what was kind of let-down. I don't understand why this evident crowd-pleaser was there, without it it could be almost perfect summer movie. It's not a movie what will hount hours or days after one is out of cinema, but as an action movie, it's very enjoyable.
So, I think last 20 minutes were ok, if only this one detail...
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I'm looking forward to WoW; even in movies where Spielberg disappoints (I _hated_ the ending(s) of A.I.) there are at least interesting things to see, things to talk about, or scenes that entertain, and frequently all three. I just don't know if in the post-911, ongoing-casualties-in-Iraq climate if the U.S. is going to embrace a movie where nothing you can do can stop or even slow down the invaders, and the only reason we survive at all is sheer dumb luck; where all your righteousness and good intent doesn't keep you from getting blown to bits.
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FUCK TOM CRUISE!!!!!
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And the answer is - "Tom Cruise".
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Was genius, Kubric movie directed by speilburg. If you didn't get it, watch it again. It's that kind of movie. If anybody wants an explination of why it was a superior movie, Drop me a line at Lukecash@aol.com
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Ryan Reynolds, Renee Zellweger, and Jason Patric to star in a movie directed by Zack Snyder in Florissant, MO? Is it true? LOL.
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So only filmmakers are allowed to criticize films? Are you really that retarded?
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Gee, a review from a spielberg fanboy sucking up to the movie. How unusual. Unless Fanning gets blown to bits, I have no interest in seeing this. No damn movies have the balls to kill kids...fucking americans.
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Jun 23, 2005 12:11:48 PM CDT
I just read on some blog that WOTW is using the same strategy th
by johnnytremaine
...they're witholding it from mainstream media critics within 24 hrs. of its premiere. That's the kind of stuff studios pull with throwaway movies released in September and January
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You say "No damn movies have the balls to kill kids...fucking americans." Um, FUCKING STAR WARS??? The hero of two previous movies wipes out a bunch of children and an entire order of heroes. Balls.
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Fuck you and your anti-American comment, you cock-knocker.
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Pinnochio wished he had it that good.
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Mindcrime!!!
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I donna get it... why everyone think-a the Tom Cruise, he's a gay? Show me the proof! He's-a never done-a nothing but be a nice-a guy, and he gotta put uppa with alla you pansies a-sayin' he's-a the gay and squirting the liquid in his-a facia. Okay, so the scientology is a little-a like the crazy, but it's not-a the gay.
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It was shit. Then I woke up and thought about sending my review into AICN. Can anybody do this? Thanks but I'll wait till I see it, and there's no reason why I can't have M Night's DVD's on my shelf along with Spielberg's. That kind of "top ten movies you must own and forget the rest" thinking is bollocks, I like what I like and no reviews, fake or otherwise, for or against have ever settled it for me. I like to think I can make up my own mind ta.
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Tom C has a Thetan in his ribcage! I saw Tom on BET last night, he seemed so out of it. He kept talking about himself and Kate and man is he short. Dude had boots on and all of Destiny's Child were like 6 inches taller than him. This really has nothing to do with WOTW but I'm supposed to be working and it looks like I am diligently typing away at my computer.
By the way, GFY -
Actually, I really didn't like the adaption of Jurassic Park, I guess that was primarily Crichton, but compared to the book, the substance of the film was pretty thin. Dinosaurs (and the actors interactions with same) were well-done though.
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This is going to fucking rule and I'm counting secons to seeing it (yes, I'm that excited about it).
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Here's-a the biggest problem with-a Unbreakable... everybody a-knows when-a you make-a the comic book movie, that-a the hero, he gets-a the anti-hero. Even M.Knight, he a-knew this. But, the dummy, he just a SAID it... he did not-a SHOW it! Alla he a hadda ta do was-a show Sammy Jackson inna the pool a water at the hospital, a-moving and exercising with-a the grace and the agility and a the strength. The water, she-a make him a the strong! The water is-a the one place where his-a bones, they donna break. Brucie, he's unbreakable, except inna the water. HOW A-HARD WOULD IT-A BEEN TO PUT IT INNA THE FILM? Putz... Anna come-a to think about it, he shoulda have shown Brucie coughing uppa the phlegm like-a the smoker's hack, every morning after he a-get outta the shower. Holy crappa... it-a make-a me mad he's such a putz and he blew it!
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You are really not that-a funny. Spend more time making a point-a, and maybe people willa listen-a!
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What part a my point dinna you get? C'mon... where's-a the love?
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Jun 23, 2005 1:13:04 PM CDT
I hope the movie is more interesting than Tom's recent meltd
by mr_furious
Free Katie Holmes.
http://theletterd.blogspot.com/2005/06/tom-cruisegenius-or-moron.html -
I did it inna the Kong a-talkback. And a-now, I'm a too lazy to change-a my ID back... but not-a too lazy to keep uppa with-a the masquerade and-a the crazy typing. I guess I am a the putz too.
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. . . Monday night at the Lennox in Columbus, OH? Got mine in the mail yesterday. Can't wait to see it but I still have a bad feeling about it. Can only hope for the best. Wow, Cruise & Speilberg are not only good for a good box office, they are also good for plenty of naysayer bitching at AICN. I'm very entertained today.
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It's early to ask, but any guess on the release date for the DVD ???
Am anxious to see the featurette stuff.
Thanks -
Jun 23, 2005 1:22:32 PM CDT
Randy Quaid didn't use his crop duster to destroy the alien
by fluffyunbound
The scene with the crop duster was cut and re-CGI'd because it looked stupid. I'm glad to see this reviewer's knowledge of Independence Day includes the deleted scenes, though. Nothing like being informed about the genre.
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War of the Worlds
directed by Brett Ratner
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Ashley Judd and Jake Lloyd -
If you tallied up all the hours that office employees spend trolling message boards, it would probably equal the GNP of a small service economy based nation.
I'm equally guilty, but it does make one wonder: how in the world did people goof off at work before the internet? Did they just stare blankly into space? Or was there actual work done? *shudder* -
Did you see him physically kill the kids? NOOOOOOOO. no way would americans accept that. As for the anti-american comment, whatever, it's not my fault 99% of american films are bland, predictable ass. The day spielberg does something shocking in a movie is the day I finally accept he's got some possibility of being a good filmmaker. dude hasn't made a solid movie in nearly 25 years
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Before the Internet we'd be off having sex with our coworkers. Those were the good old days.
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Steven Spielberg has long since earned the pittance I've spent on entertainment he created. I'm probably out less than $200 lifetime on his stuff, since I was too young to have to be the one to pay for ET, Close Encounters, and my first VHS viewings of Jaws. And I've been entertained by his material at least a couple of times a month for the last, oh, 30 years or so, so I guess I'm getting an OK deal. The other people I'm sure you think deserve my money more have never done shit for me, so whatever their merits may be they shouldn't think they can get in line ahead of Steve. Cruise is a bit different, because I haven't been as big a customer of his body of work, but Cruise is getting his paycheck on my account, but on account of the people in the audience who he will bring in.
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Spielberg has made his career on family friendly popcorn entertainment. Most sane people see him as a very good to excellent director of popular entertainments, not an artiste. Do you think maybe he should have offed those kiddies in ET or Jurassic Park? Do you really believe that the depiction of child killing equals vibrant, daring cinema?
Sorry we Americans can't live up to your snooty standards of 'film'.
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Spielberg modified jurassic book to get past the censors. The book has three of the best pieces of modern horror scenes, that I have read.
The scene where the girl attacked by baby raptors and the scene where the lady had has her ripped off by a lizard creature. but best of all and you really dont see it coming is dennis nedry demise and in the movie while being bloody is not as shocking as it should be.
In the book Nedry had his stomach ripped open and has his intestines wrapped around his neck.
The scene in the kitchen with the raptors was scary though. I hated the second and third film and I caould care less about a 4th film.
I really enjoyed the bergs work up that point but after AI(which was not his film) I think a malaise has set in. I do have theory about all of this.
If spileberg had told Melissa Mathison that he already had the script called Night Skies, then it is possible, That the bergs career might have been very different and indeed darker one. Instead he made the et story and from that time onward spielberg made familly films. Speilbergs earlier career including Duel, Jaws and Sugerland were all dark films.
Then came ET and from then on apart from coloured purple and amistad, spielberg has made family films.
Then came a list of grown up movies, schindlers list, saving private ryan and most controversially of all AI.
That film has divided opinion since it was released and continues to do so.
Then came Minority report and those who never forgave spielberg ruining AI continued thier vitrolic ways.
I realy believe that this time there is a major backlash brewing against the berg from two sources.
One group are the youre past youre best group ie those who dont rate him as a director anymore and group 2 are the media.
Angry at the berg for not letting them seeing his movie at the premieres.
Empire will be in spielbergs corners as they always are.
But for the rest of the viweing public jury will be out untill the movie lands in theatres.
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Honestly, I just hate spielberg - not big on his films at all (save for Raiders). don't like the director, the lead or the writer of this film. I wish all 3 would stop making movies.
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What are you doing on the WOTW talkback, Pissboy? Slow day, huh?
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How much fucking money a movie makes? I don't care if Batman Begins didn't make as much as Plastic Nipples and his Gay Sidekick take on the Bald Austrian Governor and the Chick with Green Gas. Batman Begins is a good movie, while the other is a piece of shit. The list of really good movies that didn't make much at the box office is pretty large, due to the fact that most of the movie-going public are a bunch of fucking idiots. Why do you think Michael Bay is loaded?
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I didn't mean mechanically stupid - by the terms of what we are shown on the screen, any object hitting the aliens' primary weapon at that point should have destroyed the ship: jet, crop duster, 747, pterodactyl, really big flying squirrel, etc. My point was more that the shot LOOKED stupid. If you see the deleted scene [which admittedly was probably not a finished effect] it looks really, really lame. The crop duster is groan-inducing while the jet at least looks like it should be part of the battle.
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Jun 23, 2005 3:02:42 PM CDT
Does Jeff Goldblum use his Macintosh notebook to download a viru
by spacesheik
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Jun 23, 2005 3:07:33 PM CDT
By the way, according to Boxofficemojo, Batman Begins made more
by fluffyunbound
72 million vs 66 million. Actually, Batman Begins had the best 5 day take of any of the Batman films. Admittedly that's not adjusted for inflation, but let's try to be accurate here, shall we? Also, after 8 days, BB has made 90.5 million. After 8 days Batman Forever had made 86 million - but that includes 2 Fridays, and BB has only had one. The other versions of the title are far behind that. Batman Begins is a critical and financial success in a year of serious recession for Hollywood in general. Lauded by all, it has relegated the Burton versions to the back burner. No one will even remember the Schumacher versions in another few years.
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Jun 23, 2005 3:15:10 PM CDT
Re: (Lucasisking)Can we speed up the sun's rotation around t
by fistymcasshands
"The sun is over a million times earth's mass." So is Harry. That's probably where the confusion came in.
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How is this suddenly the measuring stick of artistic bravery? I honestly think people are just looking for an excuse to complain. I'd bet a million dollars that if Spielberg, or anyone for that matter, included this as a plot device with any regularity, they'd be attacked for that too (and by the same talkbackers, no doubt). You know, always relying on the cheap, "let's kill a kid" button to elicit a false Lifetime TV-movie audience response because they can't think of any other ways to produce drama. ....... Also, I never actually saw it, but didn't Pay It Forward knock off the kid? And didn't it come off as manipulative and contrived? Or did people consider that being artistically brave?
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how convenient
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Here's what did it for me. "The only problem I have with the film is that we get to see couple of the aliens, because I would
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Dannychico, you got it on the eye, you just posted a few seconds ahead of me.
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Jun 23, 2005 3:46:36 PM CDT
Lay Off Spielberg Before I Force Uwe Boll to Make More Movies...
by hipcheck13
...Steve's a quality filmmaker. His only recent misstep was "The Terminal," so lay off. Oh--and watch "A.I." again, and study the ending. I'm talking the last 45 seconds...talk about bittersweet.
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"It's okay, Mr. President... ...I'm packing!" Bwahaha.
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... I definately agree with you on the break down of the old box office formula. I think we're finally starting to see the studios getting it too. WB doesn't seem to be sweating too hard over Batman's numbers and Universal moved Land of the Dead from an October to a June slot, opposite some really big competition. Some would argue that the change shows Universal's confidence in Romero's film, but I think the more likely reason is to get that unrated DVD in stores just before Halloween, so they can REALLY clean up.
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I'm not gonna get into an argument about how the quality of the film turned out because I don't want to be shit on from either side, but to have been more commercially successful than it was, the movie itself probably would have suffered in quality. The reason its weekend gross did less bank than 'Batman Forever' is because it was less kid-friendly and less romantic (Seal is nowhere to be found). It could have been better, it could have been different, but it still wouldn't have done any better, I'm thinking. It's generally opened to good reviews and has become one of those movies that people feel like they have to see, so the only way I see more money flowing into it is if there were more interested parties, like younger kids and people looking for a (conventional) date movie. Anyway.
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... is BB rated R? That would certainly explain a lot, box office wise...
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Pretty sure it's rated PG-13, but I don't really know.
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Yes, lets bash Batman Begins and War of the Worlds the two more exciting films of the summer. What are you guys Herbie fans? Do you only want movies like Rebound and Madagascar to be made? Begins didn't make 100 million in one weekend because kids were scared in it. My friend said when he saw the film there were kids screaming in horror during the movie. So no shit it isn't going to make as much as Returns because its dark. Isn't that a good thing or do you guys want another Batman and Robin? I don't get it I guess it's soooo cool to be anti everything but when you go after good movies you look like tools.
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I think WB learned a lesson from the Lord of the Rings movies and will issue and re-issue multiple versions of Batman Begins. And make no mistake, DVD is now where all the serious coin in the movie business is now made. A theatrical release is becoming more of a promotional tool or ad campaign leading up to the DVD release. We might even get a Director's Cut where Chris Nolan re-cuts the fight sequences to make them more coherent. I did like the flick, but as others have pointed out, it was sort of hard to decipher what the hell was happening in some of the action sequences.
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it were better. It's as simple as that.
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because He *is* that guy, 'cept with more money. That whole water-squirting incident was a recreation of a scene from the movie, and THAT is why he was gonna press charges (press blackouts, my ass).
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You're out of time. And the reason "Batman Begins" didn't make more money despite barely qualifying as a PG-13 is because its promotion was a little too late, a little too understated and a little too adult.
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Why because its just another carbon copy of any other invasion flick. I would be balls out for this movie if they did it by the book, you know that crappy little HG Wells novel that was probably used as a doily or toilet paper on the set. Yet they had to modernize it. (I know about the other movie. The one that got no press and had no budget.) So its just another Independence Day. It will take top billing for about 2 weeks then it will hemorrage sales for about 14 weeks. I wanted so much more from this movie.
I wonder if Tom Cruise will do a flybye in his F-18 knocking over one of the alien's cups of coffee. -
Testing 1-2-3
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Speilberg has cornered the bad ending routine in his last couple of movies.
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Jun 23, 2005 5:42:55 PM CDT
All I remember from A.I. - an extremely dull film - is an animat
by spacesheik
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Adult, understated, dark - true descriptions of a bold comic book film. Overall, I liked it although I was dissapointed with the fight scenes, shoddy looking and too reliant on close ups. A meditative dark drama with bouts of action, not pretentious and anticlimactic like HULK, but still dark enough to turn off most of the demographic studios like. I didn't expect the best action scene of the film to be a car chase.
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I can't really vouch for the success of Batman Begins relative to is budget. But since Moviemack has chosen to end his self-imposed exile, and has stepped off the train at the Finland Station of this talkback and resumed his anti-Batman Begins harangues, I couldn't resist the temptation to be a dick about the actual BO figures. It's my nature.
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This film sounds like a real missed opportunity.
Instead of an accurate or near accurate version of HG Wells book done Lord of the Rings style we get the usual aliens invade the USA with a couple of tripods and one or two other references from HG Wells great book thrown in probably in a vain effort to please fans of the book.
The thing that would have set this film apart from other alien invasion films - the Victorian English setting is sadly missing and Tom Cruise is more known as a female attraction than a good actor. He's decidedly average at best.
The characters also sound very stereotypical and why does Spielberg always have to have annoying kids in his films. -
I heard the aliens were actually scientologists killing off all who do not comform. Oh and take Katie's hymen back to the mothership
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Judging from the ramblings several of ya have written, seems Spielberg divides. Odd, I would argue he is, by far, one of the greatest directors of all time. How many times have you seen Jaws? Or maybe Raiders? Did you forget that ET probably made you cry like a sissy pants? Or was that too long before you grew into the fat, living in the basement of your parent's house, renting obscure Japanese horror movies, cynical bastards you are? Judging from my DVD collection and the collection of others, Spielberg's got himself a full shelf. Schindler's list? Saving Private Ryan? Don't even think to argue against the existence of these films as proof of a man's genius. Commercial and sappy? Yeah, like you weren't hooked when that T-Rex broke through the fence, or flinched when Fiennes randomly shot the prisoners simply walking in the concentration camp. Christ I'll forgive the mediocre and occasional bland offering such as the Terminal or even the flawed AI from this man anytime. This summer I've got Skywalker killing jedi, the dark night, A new Zombie movie from Romero, and most importantly Spielberg screwing up mankind with aliens....Pass the popcorn and hire a babysitter. Man, if that trailer for WOW didn't raise your pulse...then you are truly lost Annakin.
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Just wanted to say- Brilliant! Think the numbskulls will get it?
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It's Crusade that sucks (zzzzz), Temple Of Doom is one of the most deliriously entertaining matinee movies of all time. Just the opening musical number (to an action movie??) is a thing of genius.
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A person with real dignity would rather watch Batman Begins than that shitty Cruise-infested WOTW.
Hahaha, that movie is gonna be baaaddd. -
Jun 23, 2005 7:35:58 PM CDT
HARRY: Next time read past the first two paragraphs...Here you&#
by negative man
He stated nothing that has not already been seen in trailers, TV coverage or on the Net. He brought ABSOLUTELY nothing new to the table save to say...he saw the trailer and liked it. In fact, the third para recaps the first few seconds of the trailer! "I hate the fuckheads who think that the only way to talk about the film is riddle their review with spoilers
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Jun 23, 2005 7:43:01 PM CDT
"...the Earth rotates around the sun, not the other way around."
by i dunno
Heretic! Burn him at the stake! Anyway, Cruise said a weird thing at an interview for this thing. He said that he's not sure if aliens tryuely exist and that he's a practical person. Who is he kidding? His whole batshit crazy religion is based on aliens.
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Jun 23, 2005 7:52:17 PM CDT
Actually, the Earth REVOLVES around the sun. It ROTATES on its
by fluffyunbound
I trumped one correction with another! Woo hoo!
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Jun 23, 2005 8:31:11 PM CDT
Yeah but now he comes off as a liar to the people that know the
by i dunno
Oh well.
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Well atleast we have proof that Mr. Cruise is not an alien (ala M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs"), due to his most recent, high-profile UK interview.
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I KNEW IT! HA!! MOTHERFUCKIN' SATANISTS!!!
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Lucifer is no more real than Xenu. Your post is like saying, "It's much worse than you think. Scientology isn't a sci-fi alien cult, they actually worship Babe the talking pig!" Beyond a certain level of absurdity, all absurdities are equal. That means that although Scientology may be slightly more ridiculous than Christianity [or Satanism, which is merely an offshoot of Christianity, switching sides within its basic system], they are both absurd enough that it doesn't really matter which one Cruise has chosen. Unless you have evidence that Cruise is conducting human sacrifice, he's no worse than some weirdo practicing Santeria, or some confused chick telling you she's a Wiccan. Or the Archbishop of Canterbury, for that matter. Crazy is crazy. The flavor of crazy don't matter.
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Jun 23, 2005 11:14:09 PM CDT
Also...there is NO SUCH THING as "The Dark Side of the Moon"
by tritium
As Harry seems to be stuck in a Ptolomeic time-warp in which he believes the Sun rotates around the Earth (I know...he probably was just not thinking, but it is still fun to bust him a little), here's a bit more celestial mechanics for you all*************************************The moon does not have a "dark side". It continuously rotates about it's axis, and simultaneously revolves (with the Earth) around the Sun. Because the moon rotates, every spot on the moon sees a continuous day/night cycle (just like Earth).**********************************The reason we call it "The Dark side of the Moon", is because we can only ever see one face. This is because the moon is tidally locked with Earth, and rotates in sync with the Earth. Therefore, it always is showing the same face to Earth even as it revolves around Earth.*********************************Finally, the Moon is slowly moving further away from Earth (increasing orbital distance), due to Tidal Friction. I won't get into the source of the Tidal friction, but suffice to say that the consequence is that the Earth is slowing in rotation. Due to the Conservation of Angular Momentum, the amount of angular momentum Earth loases as its rotation slows is precisely the same as the amount the Moon gains through its growing orbital distance. In a few hundred billion years, the Earth -- Moon system would become Tidally Locked...and the Earth will show the same face to the Moon, as the Moon now always shows the same face to the Earth. The Moon will reach its furthest distance, and now both the Earth and Moon will revolve in lock-step, in synchronous rotation around each other. However, in five billion years the Sun will have gone through Helium burning and become a Red Giant, toasting all the inner planets. It will swell to such a large size that the Sun's outer atmosphere will actually overlap the Earth's PRESENT day orbit. Helium fusion creates Carbon, which accumulates in the core (with fusion occuring in an outer shell of Helium and Hydrogen). The mass of our Sun is not large enough to support fusion of Carbon, and electron degeneracy pressure halts its gravitational collapse ...so once all the Helium has burned up, our Sun will become a super dense White Dwarf, consisting of degenerate Carbon (and some Oxygen).********************************Class dismissed.
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...is wrong. Yes, it's a realization of the downhill, but it must be considered part of the downward slope, because "jumping the shark" is always a negative moment. It's when you say, "shit, that's bad, and this can't recover." That said, when I was little and watching Happy Days, I was absolutely thrilled by the shark-jumping episode.
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Oui?
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Spielberg once stated that if it wasn't for John Williams, he would have Hans Zimmer to score all his movies. Hopefully Williams will stay a long time with us. By the way, the review sucked. Where's Neil Cumpston's review??
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im confident, im praying...PLEAASEE BE GOOOODD!!!
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Jun 24, 2005 5:35:58 AM CDT
I hope this film is better than the impression this review gives
by shan
http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/men-are-from-mars/2005/06/23/1119321828337.html
I hope so, I really do ... -
Hey I was watching Vanilla Sky tonight, and I just got through the prelude where Cameron Crowe says this film is filled with signs and such well I'm not yet four minutes into it and I noticed that Katie Holmes is in Vanilla Sky at 3m:40s on the PAL dvd.
There's a big fat still frame close up of a magazine cover shouting "The Primal Katie".
Weird huh?
Does anyone else think this is weird?
It's weird right? -
Regarding the sun going around the earth, or, rather, not: Yes, we know, we get it, move on.
Satanism, homosexuality: don't know, and don't care. Though incidentally, at least one sect is convinced they actually worship Lucifer as a Roman god worshipped prior to Yahweh, so just saying satanists are christians in reverse is not entirely correct.
Batman Begins: Unless you have some sort of comparison to WotW to make, could you keep it in the Batman Begins review talkback?
Just Like Every Other Alien Invasion Action Movie: If it remains true to the ending of the novel (without which this isn't really War of the Worlds)- then saying this is JLEOAIAM is bullshit. Do your remedial Wells reading and get back to us when you have a clue.
A.I.: I heartily agree with those who don't want to reawaken an A.I. debate, but for the record: Yes, I _get_ it that they may be robots, not aliens, and it doesn't change my opinion, and I'm not going to waste another three hours of my life on your say-so, ok?
So, about War of the Worlds...
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But what about-a the green-a cheese?
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Aliens invade. Mankind takes a kicking. Bacteria Kill the Aliens. We Cheer. Church bells ring. If it ain't this, then it ain't "War of the Worlds" and the estate of HG Wells should sue for using the title.
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"Goims!" It was Goims that killed da Mahshins!"
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Ribbons deems it weird!!
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This ain't a War of the worlds film. It's Cruise saves his family from some aliens.
Typical Hollywood seen it all before crap! -
This so-called review of "War..." is nothing but assembled bits and pieces from studio promos and internet previews. Not one original moment that can't be found in the first two pages of Google search. Shameless and desperate need for attention.
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I also hope it's better than that review on the link. Now it makes a bit more sense, for those that don't want to be spoil, *possible spoiler ahead*. The aliens were harvesting human bloods in the original, it seems. And then the microbes screwed them up. In this new version, do you guys also think that the aliens were actually hibernating under the ground for the long time, instead of travelling from Mars?
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He fucks up HIS endings too. The only ending that myself and the flock of folks I see movies with didn't see coming was Unbreakable. You totally knew Bruce Willis was a ghost.. it was almost bashing you in the face, Signs was... was that it?.. that's it??? I paid 10 bucks for this?????... and the Village, jesus christ.. I didn't go to the movies to see it, i got it out one night on DVD, and it was 'well fuck me eh... didn't see that coming... *yawn* does anyone want a cuppa tea?"... You know its a shit film when you volunteer to make the tea.. I have a feeling I will have no such urges when War of the Worlds comes out. For christ sakes.. Speilberg is the master!..
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...I think the twists in 'Sings,' 'Unbreakable' and 'The Village' actually helped their respective stories. In theory, anyway. 'The Sixth Sense' was the only one which was kind of unnecessary, which is ironic if you consider that it cast the mold for all of his future movies so far.
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Link: http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2004-09-07 Cruise Could Make $360 Million from 'War of the Worlds' Movie superstar Tom Cruise has become the highest earning actor in Hollywood history after signing a deal that could earn him a staggering $360 million for his role in War Of The Worlds. Rather than agree a set fee for his part in the Steven Spielberg-directed epic, Cruise will earn 10 per cent of the film's box office takings plus a share of profits from DVDs, video games and toys. Experts predict the film - based on HG Wells' classic novel about a Martian attack - could make $1.8 billion at the cinema alone, of which Cruise's share would be an incredible $180 million. And, if he stars in the two planned sequels, Cruise's earnings will double at least. A Hollywood source says, "No expense will be spared. Spielberg wants to make it the film of the decade - the one that everyone talks about and rushes to see."
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On a non-prescient-paranoid-conspiracy realted note I finished watching Vanilla Sky and deemed the whole to be thoroughly enjoyable.
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And Roeper gives it a half thum up/thumb down. They say that, you know a movie is in trouble when they have to tack narration on at the end (AI anyone?). Trouble ahead.
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...have you noticed that, the Sunday before the movie opens, there is NOT one review out on Rotten Tomatoes. Not one. When a studio does not want reviws to leak out before a film is released, that is usually a bad sign. (Star Wars, Batman, both had reviews on RT weeks before the movies opened). This is sad, as I really want this movie to succeed. I love Spielberg.
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Ebert says that "you know there's trouble when you have to tack a narrative on at the end"? I'm not sure if Roger's aware of this, but the narrative "tacked on the end" was a reading of the final lines of Wells' book.
I will agree that movie ended abruptly. I'm attempting to avoid spoilers here - but if you know how WotW ends, then you can see what's happening in the final 5-10 minutes of the movie. My complaint is that those who came out on opening night to chomp popcorn and watch shit blow up (like the little lady I brought with me), the explanation of "what happened" takes up the last 15 seconds before the credits roll, in the afforementioned narrative. I heard a lot of guffaws and "gimme a break"'s as we stood up to leave, and I can understand why.
Myself? I was floored by the entire experience. See it in a theatre equipped with the best sound setup possible.
If you walk into this movie with only a remote knowledge of the story (as I did), you'll enjoy it immensely. And I don't give a flying fuck WHAT anyone says, Cruise was better in this than I've ever seen him. Familiarize yourself with Wells' 1898 original - you won't spoil a thing. On the contrary, it will make the entire experience more enjoyable.
BTW - the Kind Kong trailer is worth the price of admission.
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