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A Spy Sees FUNNY GAMES In Hollywood Tonight!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
For the last year or so, I’ve been working with a few producers on a horror film centered around a home invasion, and the entire time we’ve been working, I’ve been aware that other people were developing material along the same lines. There’s THE STRANGERS, which Rogue is releasing later this summer, and of course, I’ve been acutely aware of the fact that Michael Haneke has been remaking his own FUNNY GAMES, which is a milestone in this subgenre. I hope Haneke’s film retains all the transgressive punch of the original, and so I’m curious to see what this spy thought of the remake. As far as I know, tonight’s is the first screening of the film. Let’s see what he thought, ane be warned, there are some spoilers here if you haven’t seen the original:
Hello
I just saw a screening of a movie called Funny Games at the Arclight in Hollywood. Apparently it's a remake (done by the original's director) of an Austrian movie from 1997. I haven't seen that, though.
The story is simple - a family (mom, dad, son) go to their vacation home on some lake, and two well-spoken, dressed-in-all-white young creeps show up and torture the family.
To make it short, the movie was really good. I think it was a great satire of the violence-soaked media and movies that people love and seek out nowadays without thinking about the reality of the violence. It was so deftly done that I don't think even 90% of the people in the packed audience really "got" it. There's a scene where one of the psycho guys ends up in a bad situation, and he freaks out, looking for "that remote control!". Once he finds the remote, he hits rewind, and the movie freezes, goes back to before the bad situation started for him, and then resumes playing again. This time, he fixes the mistake he made before, though. The director was basically saying, "THIS IS A MOVIE AND YOU ARE SITTING IN A THEATER WATCHING IT FOR ENTERTAINMENT!"
The movie is a movie, but there are also echoes of real-life in the twisted ways the two psychos act and the detached way they treat their victims. Also, the story arc leads you to believe that certain cliched movie things are going to happen, and then they don't. It works as a sort of shock to the system.
I thought it was great. The two psychos look and talk like regular guys, but they are definitely sickos, and i think that that was meant to be a stab at the audience themselves. These guys on the screen are total sickos for getting enjoyment out of screwing with this family, but guess what? You payed to sit there and watch this stuff. The fourth wall is even broken, and one of the guys refers directly to the audience, promising a good story for us. He says something like, "I bet you're siding with them (the family), aren't you?"
Don't misunderstand, though - it's not all wink-wink-nod-nod stuff. It's a pretty hardcore movie, and the tension is pretty thick for most of it.
However, speaking of the tension, i have to mention that there was one pretty big problem with the movie. There's a middle section of the movie where it seems like things might be drawing to a close, but it drags on and on and on, presumably to show the agony the characters are in, but it just drags for too long. There are a few shots that could definitely be cut in half. It really killed the pace. However, after that middle section ends, it picks right back up again.
The music was cool, too. I didn't catch all the names at the beginning, but i did notice that John Zorn was part of it. It's this crazy proto-metal song with lots of screaming, that kind of fits with the psychopaths' natures on the screen. It's used really well, though.
So, i recommend this movie. I almost got turned off before i even saw the movie because of the name itself - Funny Games? - but it is good. I think that if they change the name and cut down on some of the extraneous stuff (FORGET THE CELL PHONE - GET THE HECK OUTTA THERE!) this movie could be incredible. The ending is great.
Now, let me get a bit off topic here. There was one big problem that i had with this movie, but it didn't have much to do with the movie itself. This has been getting to be a big problem lately. I know morons babbling and making comments during movies has been going on for a long time, and that's retarded and they're retards, but what about all the giggling at things that aren't funny? There's a scene where a character is duct-taped at the hands and ankles after being tortured and having a loved one murdered, and she's in agony, and trying to stand up despite her bindings, and she stumbles and falls. People laughed at her falling down. Then once she gets up, she has to hop to move around since her ankles are bound together. People thought the hopping was just hilarious. There was also part of the movie where it cuts from a quiet outdoor scene to a guy inside using a hairdryer to dry something - so it went from quiet to loud. Apparently this change in sound dynamics triggered a lot of the audiences' funny bones. What the?! I felt like i was in Idiocracy. The only explanations i can come up with are that people don't know how to react to tense situations so they giggle, or else it's just that some moron giggled at the stuff and then everyone else thought the stuff was supposed to be funny so they were laughing too, without using their brains to realize that wait, i don't even get why i'm laughing?
Oh well. Annoyances in the theater are nothing new, but man, i'd love for the days of Tampopo where the biggest complaints were digital watch alarms and crinkling of potato chip bags.
In closing,
Funny Games - Good Movie.
LLEPHEN
Thanks
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Fox suits are a buncha cunts...
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Just watched the original Texas Chainsaw... Boy is leatherface a sicko! That girl screamed so much my damn dv nearly exploded!
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The subject says it all! The film sounds GREAT anyway! I'll see it 4 sure.
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no opinions allowed!
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Sounds like a good film even if it is not a great genre of choice seen as it sounds like a fresh approch i'll have to check it out.
Whats a waste films are when they are monotone and cause no reaction, as long as its a human response i like it, by the sound of the review its you thats missed the point not the audience! -
its the latest craze sweeping the nation!
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you GOTTA extend the number of articles that are on the front page. if news is slow, and a couple days go by with just 1 or 2 new articles, it's fine. but when a rush of stuff comes in, well, it regularly happens that an article will get posted at 10pm on one day, and by 10pm the next day, it's off the front page! and if someone didn't check out AICN that day (not me, I check it everyday, like the geek I am), they wouldn't even have any idea it existed. and since the only way to search for old articles is to know what you're searching for (no way to look at "yesterday's articles" or "last week's articles"), no one will ever see it!
I love the site, and I just hate it when sometimes I'm busy and skip a day, and it happens to be a busy one news-wise, and I miss out.
can't you just extend the main section a bit? or god forbid install something to let people go back a little ways to recent articles that are just out of range to end up on the front page? -
Ok, ok, ok...I was projecting. Weather or not the reviewer was an impartial opinion is a total unknown. I DO however appreciate an upfront tone and in reality have no reason to doubt the information conveyed by the reviewer...but it's so taboo to say, hey I served as(fill in the blank) on said production and here's what I liked/loved about it...maybe you would as well. Fuck I'm jaded:(
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Really intense movie. The "remote control" part in the original made the people I watched it with very angry, but in a good way. You think the victim gets the upper hand, but not after a quick tap of the rewind button. Very original and very intense. Plus the remake has Naomi Watts? I am there.
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Getting kind of tired of 'em. Holy balls, the original Funny Games is awesome. It still makes my butt clench.
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... I'm not sure what you're talking about. The intro and the review are not by the same person, and neither of us worked on FUNNY GAMES. I think you may have simply glanced at this article and then overreacted.
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some of the all time best sickos in movie history!!
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Oh..totally. I get the AICN format, I was straight up accusing the author of the review...NOT you...of being a plant. And that said...more power to them if they were. The flick sounds dope and I'm very glad you posted news on it.
Hey, I wish I saw it!
Best regards...and 'infinity+1 thanks' for the goods!!!!
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Well you can straight up accuse yourself. straight up the ass, buddy.
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And you'd like that?
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Jun 15, 2007 2:59:22 AM CDT
I LIKE the RealMoriarty but I Don't LIKE the realMoriar
by thehellhoundgang
So be cool. Or don't...
It's YOUR cyberlife. -
I hated it the first time I saw the film (original version), thought it really cheated the audience. It was the deliberate removal of the (almost) last ray of hope for the "goodies" to escape the horrendous situation they were in, and to give us viewers the much-anticipated and (had this been a normal Hollywood movie) much-expected payback scene, where those 2 intruder fuckers get what was coming to them.. And when it disappeared, it just totally broke the audiences spirits.. it was all downhill for the family after that, and I left the theatre DEPRESSED.
But, looking back, it's one of the stand-out scenes, and it absoutely made a point and I have actually re-evaluated the film for the better. I still think it was totally depressing but very well made, and it makes you ask yourself a lot of questions. Not a lot of movies do that. Tension from start to finish, but no gore for the sake of it. Eli Roth should take copious notes.
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And also one I really don't want to deal with.
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When I saw Fellowship of the Ring, on its first night in London, there was an idiot next to me who started laughing during the wizards duel. McKellen and Lee facing off, and this idiot girl starts giggling. Because, uh, they're old men fighting. There is nothing, NOTHING we ca do about those fucking hyenas.
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Is really good, if anyone's not seen it. Definitely worth catching, probably on video so there aren't dumbasses laughing at it.
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exactly the same as the original. Struggling to see the point of this remake. Oh well, it may still be an interesting exercise, and it will, of course, make a lot more money than the original (hmmm, wonder if that's the point).
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... a lot of people won't sit through a subtitled flick. The film has intense and intriguing premise and if you do an English remake you will get more eyes to see it and make more $$$. Seriously, anyone who... is like the right word? Anyone who liked the original will likely want to see the remake just to compare. Then on top of that, new viewers. I thought it was "funny" that the reviewer was shocked and appalled by the audience laughing at questionable things. As he says, some people will laugh as a tension release. But the point of the film is to make you question and be uncomfortable with paying money to enjoy people being tortured and killed. Any audience will likely have a percentage of people who will miss the point and react that way. And, to me, that's part of the experience. Maybe even planned to be a part of it. Real people around you laughing at atrocities heightens the point. It's one thing to be distrubed by and question if you are no better than the pyscho killer in the movie for wanting to enjoy his evil deeds. It's another uncomfortable step to realize you might be the only person in theater to get that delighting in someone else's defilement is wrong. That feeling of, "Holy crap! In a room of a hundred people, is everyone else except me morally twisted?" It don't get more unnerving and powerful than that.
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Check out Code Unknown and The Piano Teacher( it will make you feel uneasy for days). As for the inappropriate laughing... well, it's a sad truth. People laughed when they saw characters fly during Crouching Tiger. Why? Because they weren't wearing bright coloured tights? Because the effects looked different from the usual ILM fare? I don't know. Maybe they are just umcomfortable and don't know how to cope with new tones and concepts.
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Nice one Jinxo really good point. I'm actually looking forward to seeing this in the pictures for the reasons you stated. It is obvious fans of "Saw" and "hostel" type movies will go to see this and totally miss the point and that is all part of the message behind this wonderful movie. I just hope Watts isn't as annoying as she usualy is.
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...That make you sit through a parade of awful, horrible things, then scold you for doing so (ie the original Funny Games, and from the sound of it, this remake)."You are a terrible person for giving me your money and should be ashamed of yourself for doing so!"
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Weirdest example of that for me was at Fellowship of the Rings as well. At the part where Cate Blanchett's character is introduced, this gang of thugs at the back of the theater fucking lost it. Those assholes were laughing their asses off at Blanchett.
Both the original Funny Games and The Piano Teacher are fantastic. I can't wait to see the remake. Nothing is as horrifying as home invasion, and I can't imagine a more tense and disturbing take than Funny Games. It's downright oppressive how real and shocking it is. Makes me squirm just thinking about a few of those scenes... -
Hanneke is a genius.
That is all. -
ALL OF YOU GO SEE "THE SEVENTH CONTINENT" RIGHT NOW!!!! IF YOU'RE NOT DEVASTATED FOR DAYS, YOU NEED A HEART TRANSPLANT!!!
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why is he doing what sounds like a shot-for-shot (and song-for-song) remake of his own film? I just don't get it! I thought Richard Linklater was the only one who thought Van Sant's Psycho was a good idea. Why does genius have to be so incomprehensible to us commoners?
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...for what it is. This remake I'm only really interested in to see if Heneke does a better job of remaking his own film than George Sluizer did back in the day when he remade The Vanishing.
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http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=526
THE EXACT SAME SET?!?!?!?!? -
And I gotta say, I think it sucked. It starts out well enough and then drags through, what seemed like an eternity, the sadistic tormenter? simpering victim thing for the rest of the film. No story arc. no character development. Nada. Nothin. Zilch.
The director is so self consciously pointing your attention to the fact that this is not a Hollywood movie and none of the usual conventions apply that he forgets to make it entertaining. And when the brief moments of levity and creativity show up their so jarring and out of place that whatever meager investment you had in the thing quickly evaporates.
The acting is good if only to support a bunch of 2 dimensional characters and the cinematography shined as well.
For a movie that obviously prides itself on being unconventional and different it winds up being very one note and thoroughly depressing. -
But was Kurt Russell laughing?
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More like the Vanishing and Nightwatch remakes. In other words, it will flop.When will someone realize that this particular formula (foreign directors remaking their own films for America) doesn't work?
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You know what would be really creative? Finding a way to comment on society's obsession with violence without dressing the so-called comment up in torture porn. 'Cause I'm finding it to be less of an examination of the issue than it is an excuse to watch some torture porn.
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I can't speak for the remake, but the original Funny Games is the complete opposite of torture porn.
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And if it is it's surprisngly non-violent torture porn. The violence is kept mostly off screen. The film unlike Hostel, Saw and may other horror films here is genuinely disturbing and filled with amazing directorial touches. The way he build the suspense is unbearable.
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and "anti-torture porn"
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(SPOILER) Yes, it removes the last shred of hope. The director is saying two things. First, that in real life the "Hollywood Ending" we are expecting doesn't happen. Second, that we didn't pay to see the bad guys get theirs. We are really paying to see people tortured (Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes II) and the bad guys are the heroes. We don't watch Friday the 13th to see how Jason is defeated each time, we watch it to see the kills. Here you go, he says, here is the logical progression of what you pay for each time you see a slasher movie. Your "real" heroes have won. Live with it.
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that he understands Funny Games and other films of its likeness PURPORT to be anti-torture porn, but this explanation is a hollow one when you see how much graphic violence composes said films. If any of these directors actually believe their anti-violence message is going to do anything but add to the decadence, they're delusional. So what the torture films with 'a message' ultimately become are the films that topped the worst ones preceding them and the hollow 'messages' are discarded. Me personally, I'm looking forward to Naomi Watts' first bound and gagged scene.
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The inappropriate laughter thing. I first became aware of it during RED DRAGON where you see the Philip Seymour Hoffman reporter character, in a wheelchair and on fire, whooshing right towards you. That is HORRIFYING. And people LAUGHED, I couldn't believe it. My theory is that long term exposure to Jackass and other 'prank' type shows causes this. If people's brains are geared towards laughing at seeing physical pain being inflicted on others, then after a while they aren't able to differentiate between what's a really disturbing on-screen injury and that Knoxville person shoving a firework up his ass, or whatever. Then again, sometimes you just get fucknuts in the audience for no reason. I saw Mr.Brooks last week and some guy was giggling at stuff all the way through, some of it was for the humorous moments, but he was also laughing at the scene where Brooks' daughter tells him she's pregnant and they're discussing abortion. A HA HA HA HA HA! indeed.
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Splatter movies can be great. Nothing that really serves the same purpose as regular old porn, but what the hell. Funny Games is not torture porn, if you're prone to using that label. At least watch the fucking movie before you think you have anything to say about it.
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graphically violent. I think the orginal Funny Games is one of the most disturbing and horryfying things I've ever seen. BUT it didn't freak me out because it showed a lot of violence as there was actually little violence in it. It disturbed me becuase of it's correct but disheartning message, it's nihilism, the absolutely unbearable tension, and two of the nicest most polite psychos to ever hit the big screen. The scene where he's chasing the little kid through the neighbors house had me on the edge of my seat. When I got done watching this I actually had trouble sleeping thats how bad it got to. I know silly but true.
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The original does a really great job of being horrifying and torturous without being graphic. Part of what is so freaky is that sometimes when bad things happen you don't see it. The camera will be pointed elsewhere and you only hear what is going on. Or the one death where you do not see the death happen but you do see the aftermath. There is blood but it's not some freakshow of gore. They don't focus in on a gore tight shot or anything. Just a long shot of the aftermath. But they stay on that shot so long, making you consider it until it just becomes so unbearable. I do think the original film managed to comment on the issue at hand, be harrowing but not fall into a gore-fest.
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I was there too and I don't know where you were sitting but I was near the worst of the audience. They were laughing and cracking jokes, pretty much ruining the movie for me and a friend. We yelled 'shut up' once or twice. People are CATTLE! And, you know what? This movie will not make a cent. It's too sophisticated for most people. I never saw the original like my friend did but he told me it's the same film shot for shot. I thought all the performances were terrific. I disagree with the pacing in the middle. It was excrutiating! Every second, I was dreading the return of the two killers so it worked for me.
I attend screenings on a regular basis (mostly for the industry) and I have to say that this audience sucked. I expect the scores will low. -
Groucho Marx said it best, "I'd never join a club that would have me as a member." Also, unrelated,
I'm getting sick of people trotting out the term 'torture-porn' as if that word magically articulates their position for them. Nobody *really* knows what that means. It's not a solid term, stop using it in place of argument. -
at these supposed "torture porn" films. You all sound exactly like the typeof dickheads who were moaning and complaining and trying to ban texas chainsaw massacre and the evil dead. I am not saying any of these new wave of films are as good as these classics but you sound like the moral majority who were against all those old classics we love so much.... I mean evil dead a film we all pretty much love has a tree fucking raping a woman and if texas chainsaw massacre isn't a film about torture I don't know what is. And spare me the "you don;t see anything" argument because the film is afucking horrific and you see plenty. fullon gore? not really but marilyn burns character is tortured throughout the fucking thing and TCM that is considered a classic so seriously all you fuckers get off your high horses. So what if these new films are based around concept I just don;t see the differ3ence between these and any slasher film ..its just the means to an end......for the record I really only like the hostel movies myself. thought the saw films were terrible and cpativity was awful but not because of the subject matter...I mean buffalo bill tortured his victims really and no one whines. it just fucks meoff to see oall these snooty mother fuckers sounding exactly like the puritans who hated films we now know as classics.
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