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DEEP BLUE SEA review
Ahhhhh.... DEEP BLUE SEA, the alleged suck ass
film of the summer. The one that is supposed to be
sooooo bad, that Moriarty was playing chickenshit
and not even going to see it for free.
Why?
Well first off the name Akiva Goldsman is associated
with the motion picture which means.... By default
that the movie must in fact suck.... Akiva has been
associated with some mighty powerful megatonnage
of bombs here in recent years. The biggest being that
red hot poker in the eye of a movie, BATMAN AND
ROBIN. Now Akiva is hated by film geeks above
even Joel Schumacher, simply because Joel wasn’t
associated with LOST IN SPACE.... Which proved
that the cinematic cancer needing to be removed was
identified as being Akiva Goldsman. Now I have
been feeling for quite some time that while Akiva’s
writing isn’t the greatest on the planet, it is also not a
plague onto mankind needing Nuremburg style
burning treatments. I believe that Akiva has been
stricken not with a disease, but with a curse. The
curse of being associated with people that didn’t ‘get’
his scripts. Now on DEEP BLUE SEA, Akiva was a
producer.... Not a writer, instead he was now the
facilitator to either help usher a writer’s script
through the film process, or contribute to it’s
destruction. But no matter... his name is still a bane
to most fans’ existence.
Then we had the next ingredient in the destruction of
DEEP BLUE SEA.... Renny Harlin, a director that
makes.... what I call almost movies. Movies that
could have become a classic cool flick.... BUT
something quite hideous is wrong with it. In
CLIFFHANGER his villains were terrible, in DIE
HARDER.... once again his villains just didn’t gel, in
CUTTHROAT ISLAND.. his male lead stars kept
leaping ship... first Harrison Ford, then Michael
Douglas... Leaving him with Matthew Modine
instead. Then the dismissal of Oliver Reed ultimately
left... a weak villain. Then there was the Shane
Black LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, a movie that is
very very entertaining and for me... is probably his
most complete film... save that the last act just kinda
sucks for me. In all.... Renny Harlin makes
entertaining films that just don’t follow all the way
through.
And that was the reason why I went into this film with
very low expectations. Combine that with some
initial horrible test screenings, a fairly bad script draft
that was available to read... Well. It just didn’t look
like it could be good.
Now then. In the past 2 months the word has slowly
but surely been turning around. Tweaking was being
done to the movie through the testing process.
Additional characters were being slaughtered by
sharks. Romantic subplots being scissored here and
there. It looked like it was actually moving along
much much better... A recent screening up in New
York, just a two or three weeks ago wound up with
quite a few excited reviews.
So as I left my house today with Father Geek, I felt a
slimmer of hope. There might very well be a chance
that this movie might at least have decent scenes of a
shark eating people. That’s what I wanted. Cool
human food deaths.
In the line, people were mostly up for the movie. The
trailer from Warner Brothers had done it’s job (unlike
THE IRON GIANT trailers) and had grabbed hold of
these people and made them excited to see this
movie. Specifically that final shot of the trailer.
That’s what they were excited about.
We stood out there in the Lobby of one of them damn
gaudy Cinemark eyesores for over an hour and a half.
Staring at various short short wearing babes, a
STUART LITTLE standee, a WORLD IS NOT
ENOUGH standee, banners for MYSTERY MEN.
Also on tiny television screens trailers played out
endlessly... too bad they were trailers for the first half
of the summer.... sigh.
Dad was detailing his recent adventure with a man, a
legend... an artist friend that we have often had
adventures around the globe with. He had just
returned from an excursion to the Gulf of Mexico to
dig in the ruined blackened ash ridden home of the
artist’s father. Digging and shoveling for remains of
a family’s lifetime of acquisitions. Father Geek
helping to identify the scorched remains for Insurance
purposes.
Finally the line jerks forward and we are given
admittance to the auditorium where we will be
subjected to DEEP BLUE SEA.
I’m not excited in the least to be here. I hear one
person say, “It can’t be worse than LAKE PLACID.”
“Hmph,” I say to myself. Ya see, it seems a lot of
people are still not ‘getting’ LAKE PLACID, it’s not
supposed to be SCARY... It’s a comedy, and if the
studio had realized that and not tried to sell the movie
as a giant alligator movie, and instead tried to sell the
movie as a Smart-Ass Comedy that happened to have
a giant Crocodile.... well... That’d be different.
Quint is there, and the group sitting behind us was
very loud and... they were reacting to each and every
slide on the screen. This is usually a clue that you are
going to have to at least turn around 4 times to tell the
people sitting behind you to SHUT UP. See... if
people behind you are talking about life, rent
problems, their boob job, where they hid the
treasure... Well, that means they are paying the slides
no mind and denotes a reasonable amount of disdain
for talking AT the screen, whereas people that do
nothing but talk about what is on the screen from
instant to instant. That means they have NOTHING
ELSE TO THINK and/or TALK ABOUT. Usually I
move, but by this time the seats in front of ours were
already taken.... sigh.... Well, maybe their inane
dialogue will entertain me through this shitty movie.
As you can probably surmise I wasn’t in a very good
mood. I wasn’t happy to be where I was for that
moment in time. In fact, I was mostly thinking about
how I’d like to be in some club on 6 Street with
Annette Kellerman listening to some groovy music. I
was also thinking about my egg carton I got from
DREAMWORKS today (more on that on another
story today)
When the lights went down and the trailer for STIR
OF ECHOES came up... the first smile of the evening
began. Then when the trailer for DETROIT ROCK
CITY came on, I again smiled. I can’t wait to see
that film. Then a new trailer for THREE KINGS
which implies that there are many suitcases of gold,
whereas the first trailer made it seem like all the
trouble was for one suitcase of the stuff Auric
Goldfinger dreams of. Ultimately 3 good trailers, all
of which represented movies I would RATHER be
seeing.
Also during this time period I noticed that the sound
was turned ALL THE WAY up, and as I thought the
people behind me were in fact talking non-stop
through the trailers, in fact at one point they said,
“Why’s it soooo loud?”
And if I had not been enjoying the trailers so much, I
would have answered her with, “Because the only
sound we are supposed to be hearing is coming from
those speakers!”
Then DEEP BLUE SEA began. I prepared myself
for the acupuncture this movie was going to give my
brain. Thousands of needles, I thought, stabbed into
my noggin. That’s what DEEP BLUE SEA would be
like. I had a bottle of Advil in my car awaiting the
inevitable headache I would be wrought with.
DEEP BLUE SEA
If this were a remake of JAWS it would suck so
incredibly because at every single character level it is
inferior and has none of that film’s brilliance.
If this were the same genre as JAWS, that being
adventure, it would also suck. Structurally it just can
not match up.
HOWEVER, this movie is not a remake of JAWS.
This is closer to a Crichton movie. Think structurally
in terms of Crichton’s work.
You have a talented group of people in a remote
research facility and/or isolated area. These are
people with singular skills that when working in
tandem can overcome that which faces them, which
ultimately was created initially by them in the name
of science or the advancement of mankind. There is
always a series of time limits and problems that will
cause the problems to advance. And by the end of it
all... Usually those least involved with the creation of
the sin to humanity will arise the victor with perhaps
one of the scientists that has now learned the error of
their ways.
It’s very formulaic, but ya know what? I like that
formula. It’s a favorite of mine. It goes back to THE
HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.... DOC SAVAGE...
AGATHA CHRISTIE... You know.
Alright, now that I’ve caught you up to the genre of
the film. It’s not horror or adventure... It’s
Crichton-y. We’ve seen this in film quite often
combined with the ocean/water.
POSEIDON ADVENTURE and THE ABYSS being
the best of the genre when water is involved. A
movie like... oh... Let’s say.... LEVIATHAN or
DEEP STAR SIX being at the bottom. And a movie
like DEEP RISING and SPHERE existing
somewhere in the middle.
Well.... I do believe that DEEP BLUE SEA exists
above that middle level, but still significantly below
the first two. The movie is fun. Remember that
word? Fun. It’s one of the primary reasons to go to a
theater.
Are the sharks believable? I don’t know. I have
never seen sharks move as fast as these do, but I have
also never seen a shark with a brain the size of an
engine block. Maybe smart sharks swim faster,
though in the human world... Don’t smarter people
run slower? Or is it that for my own personal ego, I
try to use that as a justification for my own obesity.
Hmmm...
While the sharks may be CGI-y... They are the best
villains thus far in any Renny Harlin movie.
Meanwhile, his good guys/gals are mostly forgettable
with the notable exception of LL COOL J and
SAMUEL L JACKSON. First, I would have
advertised this film as starring Sam Jackson, just as
Fox originally advertised ALIEN as starring Tom
Skerritt.
Sure it’s not true, but sometimes truth is not the most
important component of a movie marketer’s agenda.
He/She is supposed to service the film as well as the
box office. Now saying that, the trailers for DEEP
BLUE SEA did not ‘give the movie away’, but they
could have been a tad better than they were.
Then there’s LL COOL J, the true star of the movie.
He’s the character that above all others shines.
DEEP BLUE SEA is not the reinvention of the wheel.
It’s a straight formula film. However, the formula is
played pretty darn well. The set up of this ‘near to
the surface’ research facility made it most resemble
ANDROMEDA STRAIN, though once again, I want
to make it clear that it’s not as good as that film.
BUT.... It is still A LOT OF FUN. It’s got good
jump scares. It has plenty of those, “What the hell are
you doing you stupid character you,” moments. And
at certain points you are feeling an awful lot like a
crowd gathered about in a Roman Coliseum rooting
for blood to be spilt. AND you get it. When people
get eaten in this film it is VERY graphic and violent.
However, none of the deaths have the impact say of
Quint’s death in JAWS, but that’s because the
characters here don’t have near the development as
that film.... Instead, they’re Crichton-style characters
that have just enough establishment to show that they
know when to flip a switch, how to jump a relay, how
to bulldog this or that... Ya know what I mean?
Ultimately, if you want to see Sharks eat people real
good. If you want to see POSEIDON ADVENTURE
with a shark on the ship chasing you. The film is very
much built upon a visceral reaction and not an
emotional or thought provoking one.
It’s very much the film it is advertised as being. It is
the shark movie of Summer 1999.
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I'm going to see DBS tomorrow and I have this feeling it's going to suck. Oh wait a minute. That's just my girlfriend under the desk. I'll let you know how it comes out. I mean the movie you perverts.
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sounds more promising than I expected. I'm in.
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Nothing to do with the Deep Blue Sea review. At the end of The Haunting review, Harry mentioned he was seeing Run Lola Run on Friday. I've been hoping to hear his thoughts. Oh well, I guess he's not going to post it. To any of you who haven't seen it, I urge you to see it. I saw it at a Film Festival here in NZ, and it blew me away. Eighty minutes of pure adrenaline. Sorry for the irrelevant post.
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all right harry.... i've got something to say that i feel is damned important. no matter HOW much we all HATE fucking joel (I SUCK, I CAN'T MAKE A SINGLE GODDAMNED GOOD MOVIE BECAUSE I'M A HOLLYWOOD HACK PIECE OF SHIT) schumacher, he, in all actuality, DID defy the odds once and make a great film.... FALLING DOWN! now, no matter how much i hate the guy and his burly turd movies, Falling Down is a constant reminder to me that he can excrete some good shit now and then. granted, the reason why it works is primarily due to the performances (if you need proof, listen to the terrible dialog as spoken by Robert Duvall.... what a guy.) but the film also accomplishes a really nice unsettling atmosphere (particularly through harsh direct lighting) that leaves the viewer filled with unease. a great fawkin film in my opinion, and one worthy enough for me to stick my neck out for joel (I SUCK yada, yada, yada....) schumacker for.
Anyhow, Renny Harlin does indeed fall into the same catagory as schoeey does, because, like you, i'm also a fan of Long Kiss Goodnight. However, DEEP BLUE SEA!????!?? no. This is a film I'm afraid i'll wait til it reaches mother fucking BALLBUSTER VIDEO before i check it out. man, you want a good edge of your seat flick yall? go see run lola run. that movie pays off. not like this Harlin swill.
by the way, best underwater flick ever? Poseiden Adventure. nothing else EVEN comes close (titanic eats babies and kicks puppies). -
Jul 27, 1999 11:42:36 PM CDT
AND I DON'T CARE THAT TITANIC ISN'T A FAWKING UNDERWATER FLICK,
by gaveltogavel
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Harry is the Will Rogers of the 1990's: he's never met a movie he didn't like. Oh, Harry, you're gonna hear it about this one. Again. Take it away, 'Blair Witch' fans...
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I work at a movie theater, and we had the employee showing tonight...
I came to this movie expecting it to suck... and suck HARD...
but I was pleasantly surprised...
It was a fun movie, and there were a few of those 'HOLY SHIT' scenes where you have to run to the bathroom and wipe...
oh... and a better anology for Samuel L. Jackson would be Drew Barrymore in Scream... =) -
You mentioned that at this screening you saw the new trailer for THREE KINGS. Those interested can see it at www.three-kings.com I have to say, being a veteran I'm a bit skeptical of almost any "Hollywoodization" of war, but I liked that in the trailer they touched on the frustration a lot of us felt sitting by while the Iraqi Army brutalized the people we encouraged to rise up during the war. The same road areas in the Euphrates Valley in Iraq where we had been ambushing Iraqi troop convoys we found ourselves several weeks later dealing with a flood of Shiite and Kurdish refugees, many maimed, from the Iraqi reprisals we let happen. I'm glad to see the movie touches on that. Even if it doesn't get it right, it will at least cause people to look into it a little more. The rest of the movie, however, from the trailer, looks like pure Hollywood shit.
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I have to ask this because DEEP BLUE SEA and THE HAUNTING are really, really bad movies. And I'm just having a hard time believing that Harry is SUCH a movie-lover that he has no choice but to see only the positive points of any given movie and then review it based on those points.
I'm starting to see a guy who's genuinely afraid of losing his status in the Hollywood community. And don't try to swim backwards on this. You do go to the premieres, you do get the free crap, you do get the scoops from the laptops of the filmmakers themselves, occasionally.
DEEP BLUE SEA is nearly unwatchable. THE HAUNTING is a HORROR movie that ISN'T SCARY. At all. Throwing a skeleton at the camera does not a horror movie make.
I really do dig this site. It's fun to visit. But the Harry reviews....I just don't know. I consider myself a big movie fan and sometimes I have a difficult time hating or even disliking a movie. But THE HAUNTING and DEEP BLUE SEA are complete wastes of film.
My two cents.
Oh...and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is an overhyped student film.
Hellboy. -
Jul 28, 1999 2:01:12 AM CDT
Sorry, Harry, still reeling from your ridiculous Haunting review
by nordling
where you said that Liam Neeson was actually better than in Star Wars, which kinda blew all credibility for me, at least a little while. And I'm one of your greatest defenders. DBS, in a word, sounds DUMB, but at least it might be a good dumb. Waiting for rental. And to those who call Blair Witch a hack job, lick my unwiped asshole, shiteaters. Justice is a baseball bat in the face of your parents at the moment of your conceptions. Blair Witch was the best film so far this year. Just because you were in the line that said no talent when they were handing out imagaination doesn't mean you should hack on those who had the sense to get in the imagination line.
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listen Harry, we all know your a big fan of movies and all, but sometimes you've gotta "tear into the occasional customer." hellboy, i'm with you 100% that this is a great site to visit, but wouldn't it be 20, 50, 100 times better if Harry would just rage against the machine now and then? note to mr. knowles:
Dear Mr. Harry Knowles,
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Just BUTT UGLY.
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listen Harry, we all know your a big fan of movies and all, but sometimes you've gotta "tear into the occasional customer." hellboy, i'm with you 100% that this is a great site to visit, but wouldn't it be 20, 50, 100 times better if Harry would just rage against the machine now and then? note to mr. knowles:
Dear Mr. Harry Knowles,
The people that visit your site on a regular basis (like me) are not your typical movie fans. We are the people, like you, who obsess about films and will sit through the most terrible, rotten bullshit just for the experience. It has come to my attention that you may have lost your passion for film.... for what is love without hate? Passionate hate will gain you fans just as much as a good review for Deep Blue Sea (and any other movie that's put on your plate) will. C'mon Harry. Your from Austin. You should know better. Punk rock ethic rules the day not only when it comes to music, but with film as well. PLEASE don't sell out on us. All of us regular AICN visitor truly love you, and we don't want to see this site go the way of the dodo because you felt you NEEDED to give a good review in order to keep your standing as a relevant web critic. Listen up, Harry, and listen well..... It's the bad reviews that make you a presence to be reckoned with. Make Hollywood afraid. It'll gain you fans and power.
and to all the talk back readers? sorry bout all the cliches in this talkback post, but fawk me if ain't it the cool truth.
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Er...maybe he actually LIKED the film. Ever think of that possibility? Not everything is a fucking conspiracy theory. Do you know what bugs me the most? Its people like you guys, who've read so much bad press about a movie before it even hits the fucking screens that when it DOES come out and receives a GOOD review - you don't fucking believe it!
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The movie DBS was cool. But the music by Trevor Rabin totally sucked. Originally this film was going to be scored by Alan Silvestri, who mysteriously disappeared from this project and was replaced by this total waster Rabin. Do any of the REAL film fans know why would you get rid of one of the BEST composers and replace him with Trevor Rabin. My neighbour's dog had a stomach flu last week and he made better sounds than the crap Rabin came up with for this film.
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Harry here. First off, this movie has been getting beat up pretty fiercely by the ol site. And if you are judging this film based on a screening from 4 months ago, the movie has been changed. I know of at least one added death, and the scaling back of a romance that wasn't working. This movie is fun. It isn't brilliant. But it is better than SPHERE and DEEP RISING, a pair of movies that I also had fun with. But it is no where near as bad as DEEP STAR SIX or LEVIATHAN. That's simply a matter of opinion though. Something I think a lot of you people out there need to realize. We are indeed different people. The First time I saw STAR WARS EPISODE ONE, it blew me away. But by the sixth viewing of the film I began to see past my own enthusiasm and love of the series and see a movie that is basically a series of set pieces strung together with a bunch of mumbo jumbo that alleges to claim it will have an eventual payoff. But, Liam's Qui Gon simply is not an acting performance, and if you listened to Liam in interviews he complains about the rigid barriers placed upon him as an actor. How he fought to touch Shmi's shoulder and how that was his one victory in the movie, and you know... I think that shows. Star Wars was so completely blocked out that for the vast majority of the film it feels like a series of marks being hit. I still hold that a lot of the pay off for Episode One lays in the later films, but as a stand alone film... for this period of time I exist in, it is a weaker film. And I feel the same way about Jedi, but to an even more extreme degree. I don't like Jedi. I prefer Jerry Goldsmith's score for THE HAUNTING over William's score for Episode One, with the exception of the DUEL OF THE FATES track which is simply awesome as all hell. And if you reread my review for THE HAUNTING you'll notice that I don't call it the greatest Haunted House movie ever made. In fact I rate the film behind the Robert Wise Haunting, the legend of Hell House, Poltergeist and I'll throw in the Disneyland HAUNTED HOUSE which is probably my favorite of them all. And I do rate all of those films as being superior in my opinion to not only this current HAUNTING, but STAR WARS EPISODE ONE. As for the argument that I never dislike a movie, this is simply not the case, I have though had what I consider a very good year of movie watching. A lot of bad movies though I simply don't take the time to write up because, I have other things I'd rather write about. I haven't seen a SPEED 2 or a LOST IN SPACE this summer. The worst of the big budget action summer films that I've seen this summer has got to be WILD WILD WEST, but even that movie I prefer to MEN IN BLACK, which I really don't like because I draw a parallel to GHOSTBUSTERS and GHOSTBUSTERS destroys MIB. I've never met Renny Harlin, nor do I plan to. He hasn't been a fave filmmaker, but I do feel the man can make movie circles around that hack Paul Anderson, who's never made a movie that I think is even mediocre... all of his films suck ass in my opinion. But ya know... He hasn't made a movie this summer. But... if you take a look at the voting polls on the various films you people seem to be griping at me about... Watch the voting. LAKE PLACID & THE HAUNTING - over 140 people enjoyed those films more than they disliked them. Now on WILD WILD WEST, a minority of people liked it, but there were still 133 voters that rated it 6 or higher.
Are they all getting presents, flown by the studios, etc? Not very likely. Meanwhile 693 voters voted that STAR WARS EPISODE ONE was a 5 or less. That fact is... People have different opinions. And no one opinion is RIGHT. Something I'm a bit shocked you haven't noticed as being a bit of a truth about this site. My opinion is not more.... educated than yours, nor more relevant than yours. Ultimately the only correct opinion is your own. HOWEVER, for all the people that are condemning this film sight unseen. I have zero respect for you. And should not even be posting to talk back about this movie. If you want to rage about my opinion about the movie, see the movie so you can at least say things like, "LL COOL J sucked in this movie" and "Saffron Burrows was merely a centerfold cutout in this film" (P.S. I agree with that statement) "Those CGI SHARKS SUCKED" or whatever bit you come away from the film with. You know, I think some of you must really want a star system on this site so you could... "See where exactly I stand on a film" And for a movie like this one, I'd give it 3 out of 5 or 2 1/2 out of 4. And I'd give THE ABYSS and POSIEDON ADVENTURE 5 out of 5 or 4
out of 4. I'd give DEEP BLUE SEE a 'surprising thumbs up' But not an 'enthusiastic thumbs up'. It's a fun movie. Not a great one. Not a really really good one, but merely a good one. I acknowledge that ALL but 2 of the characters are uninteresting. I admit it's formulaic. But I'll be damned if I didn't like it. If you've seen the movie and disagree... fine. If you haven't seen the movie and claim to disagree... well... fuck you. Harry out -
I don't agree with you about the Neeson thing, but that's cool. But it could be misleading in your reviews, especially for newbies who show up here, read the Episode One review, and read in The Haunting later how much you thought it didn't work. I understand the first experience of seeing a film for the first time. I just saw South Park today, and I had more fun with that movie than any other film this year except Star Wars. Granted, I saw TPM at the first showing with a bunck of fellow geekheads where we bonded, nerd to nerd. Getting back to Deep Blue Sea, if this film can give me a smidgen of the fear and awe I felt at the first Jaws then it will be worth seeing. You've changed my mind about this and I think I will see it in the theater. By the way, Die Hard 2 was vastly better than 3, so I'm not ready to dismiss Renny Harlin as a hack just yet.
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harry, i assume your long talk back was directed at me, and i assume you've missed the jist of what i've said in my talkback. i think what people are missing from your reviews are a sense of criticism (and I DO mean criticism). Maybe we live in a much more cynical age, but film goers are looking for guidance. When we read a film review, we need to see the bad as well as the good (and let's face it, you don't give us enough bad...... you always like these movies).
Now, yes, I must admit, I've never seen Deep Blue Sea, nor do I plan too. However, that's not the point of my talkback items (read them carefully). The fact is that we expect more from you. You're our guardian angel. You're the one that's supposed to warn us about spending our hard earned 8 bucks to see a film that really isn't worth 8 bucks (alot of your readers, believe it or not, don't make that much money in an hour, and usually, if they do, it's a nail-grinding, teeth-gritting hour).
It should be no secret to you that alot of people read your opinions and take them as honest and true. I should know. I'm one of them. And who the hell am I to say that you didn't like this movie? Maybe you did! However, some clarification is needed. What would you think if every review YOU, HARRY, read was a positive review of every movie that crossed your path. Agreed, this has been a strong season for movies (REJOICE!). However, it's suspicious the number of positive reviews we've seen on your site the last couple of months. I'm obviously not the only one that thinks so.
Now Harry, don't get the wrong idea.... I'm a fan. I'll visit this site every day as long as you have something relevant to my interests to report on. BUT........ I think I speak for us all in saying that all the good reviews seem a bit fishy. As I said, maybe your really DID like ALL these movies..... but the fact that you stated you liked them (and that's ALWAYS the case) instead of stating they were a waste of 8 bucks, OR EVEN that it was a decent movie worth a matinee admission or a video rental.....well..... it kind of raises our hackles.
Can you see?
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When I saw the trailer, before the title ran, I thought that the movie should probably be called Smart Sharks. This movie reminds me of what was purportedly floating in the pool in Caddyshack. All I can say to all of you brave enough to expose yourself to this "shit transposed to film" is TURDY! Spalding, get out of the pool.
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I fully understand the concept of setting mood to build up to a big finish, but c'mon
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Jul 28, 1999 5:17:53 AM CDT
No, Harry. You are just wrong wrong wrong about LIS and the Har
by drath
Lost in Space was not a bad movie. It wasn't. Like the Phantom Menace it could have been better, but it was a fine time and there were some darling moments for Gary Oldman. Harry, I'm sad to say this, but the images of Batman and Robin have worn away from you in two years. Watch it again and you'll see that Joel's direction, his Disney on Ice set designs and lighting, his shitty close-ups and casting choices, should be more than enough to prove it was his insanity that is cancer to film. Goldsmith gets only a misdemeanor for not making Batgirl the daughter of Comissioner Gordon. And, Harry, you are just being stupid with your assessment of the Harlin villains. Frank Langella ruled as Dog, he's Skelator Dammit, he was great! Cutthroat Island was Pirates of the Carribean come to life and that's exactly what I expected. The only thing off was Modine. And I am mortified that you'd put down John Lithogow's villain in Cliffhanger. His evil eyes and always-evil euro-trash accent was the best best part of the damn movie! That opening scene was tense, yeah, but I can watch 70's disaster movies for that shit. I wanted good villains and that movie had 'em! You're calling the evil High Commander weak? Are you nuts? Harry, I thought you knew good villains. I'm sad to see you don't.
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How could you not like John Lithcow in Cliffhanger...he was soooo evil?
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A lot of the posts that appear here seem to be of the opinion that if Harry likes a movie and they didn't, then he must have sold out. Have you people ever heard of the word opinion? Everyone has one and they don't necessarily agree. That doesn't mean that a person who doesn't agree with your opinion has sold out or is an idiot. It just means they don't agree with you. I thought the point of Talk Back was to discuss movies, not yell at each other because they don't agree on a movie.
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You film assholes, get a fucking life. Harry ain't no Messiah!! I could care less what anyone thinks about a movie, I will go see it and form my own opinion. Fuck critics! I don't need guidence from a bunch of frustrated filmmakers, out of job english majors, or guys who couldn't even get a writing assignment in high school. Geez, film goers are looking for guidance??? PLease, that's the STUPIDEST (no, really, the LAMEST ASS, STUPID MORONIC statement -- if it qualifies as one, in my life)!! From who? Maybe film assholes who have no life, have no pussy or dick, and spend their lives wishing to do the immortal film. But the regular moviegoer??? Yeah, right, good one. Most moviegoers don't even pay attention to critics. Want proof? Armageddon, ID4, The Phantom Menace. Critics slammed thes movies, and yet audiences ignored them completely. They made lots, no, tons of money. And when critics prasied them (like EWS) audiences stayed away. You fuckers, last time I checked *people* go to fucking movies to **ESCAPE** realism, not get another dose of it. Want something meaningful in your life? Have a kid or attend your local church. You guys are pathetic losers. Do your mommies still change your diapers?
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Jul 28, 1999 6:58:44 AM CDT
you go in the cage... cage goes in the water... shark's in the w
by mean ween
Shakes the Clown was critically acclaimed by someone. Think about it. "Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one, and everyone thinks everybody else's stinks." I think that quote should appear above every talkback bc that's what I see here day in day out. Anyway, there was this really good haunting movie put out by Disney. It had an old hag of a Betty Davis starring with a couple of 18-year old girls... Watcher in the Woods! That's what it was. It just came to me. Anybody else see that one?--meaner
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After reading your reviews for Lake Placid, The Haunting and Deep Blue Sea, its safe to say your reviews are on fire, and if not they should be. Literally.
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Jul 28, 1999 7:31:08 AM CDT
If U were Indian Harry I think I would call U Dances With Crappy
by haystacks jones
I am sensing Harry is pissed. Which one of U bought up all the raisinette's?
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Oh thank you! I don't know what we poor film geeks would do without your pearls of wisdom! We so dumb. You so smart. After all, only film geek losers would post something on these talk backs . . . wait a minute . . . didn't YOU post? D'OH!
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Getting away from all this debate about Harry's oppinions, is anyone wondering where the REAL contender to Jaws is? I'm talking about Extinct. The book that scared me more than Jaws (movie OR novel). I remember hearing it was supposed to be a made for tv movie, and that would be the ultimate travesty.
For those of you that haven't read it, do so. I don't really want to describe the plot, because I forget exactly what was meant to be a surprise and what was described on the back of the cover. With that in mind, I'd stress that you go out, grab it, and DO NOT READ what it's about.. just know that it's sharks. Anyways, it really is the only shark book I've read that could totally destroy Jaws.. and that's exactly what it does.
Now on to Deep Blue Sea. Everyone seems to think that every movie released has to be a totally mind numbing experience, and make us think in directions we have never really thought before. Whatever =P Deep Blue Sea has big sharks eating people, and that's all I really wanted out of this movie. From what I hear, it delivers, and you can bet your ass I'm there tonight to see it. -
I mean the sharks can talk, can't they? Heh.
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Jul 28, 1999 8:31:09 AM CDT
Give 'em Hell Harry - but the movie is still a stinker! SPOLIERS
by 6666
I was at the same screening with Harry and Father Geek last night (sat two rows behind them in fact...God, it's amazing how much they look alike). I must admit, there were some good scares and a few good deaths, and LL Cool J was pretty funny...but the movie still "bites the big one" (pun intended). It just so shamelessly ripped off so many films - almost shot for shot in some cases! Formula is one thing, but out and out stealing is another. In one incredibly implausible scene, a shark is killed when the main female lead eggs it on - only to place an electical line in its mouth (Jaws II anyone)! God, I laughed out loud at that one! If your going to steal from other films - at least steal the good scenes!...The CGI worked at times, but at others was just flat out cartoonish. I'm sorry, but with today's technology, combined with the money spent on making this movie, I expect at least passible FX work!....Now, with that said, there are a few action sequences that do get you going (and again, there are a two or three truly good scares). It makes the movie bareable and even fun - if only in a Plan 9 from Outer Space kind of way. For God's sake, if you HAVE to see it, go to the matinee...and come prepared to laugh....AND FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE GIVING HARRY SHIT-GO TO HELL!! WOULD A SELL-OUT POST THE PHONE NUMBERS OF STUPID ASS WB EXECS??? I don't have to agree with the man to appreciate what this site has done for movies like BLAIR WITCH and (hopefully) IRON GIANT...
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Harry's afraid to give a bad review to any of the following types of movies: 1) Anything directed by an A List Director. - Eyes Wide Shit
2) Anything sci-fi.- Deep Blue Sea 3)Anything with a seemingly invincible cool protagonist - Payback
4) Any movie directed by a buddy of his. - The Faculty
5) Any "It" movie. - The Blair Witch Project.
Dialogue, story, and acting obviously mean nothing to this man.
Harry's the kinda guy that used to wait till a few other kids raised their hands, in school, before he would raise his. Laughed at jokes that weren't funny. Show a little character dude. Go out on a limb, every now and then. Stop being such a follower.
Then maybe, people will start respecting your opinion. -
Well, I've now read 3 or 4 good reviews on DBS. Even Ebert gives it 3 stars.
I for one will go and see it. Why not give the movie a chance.
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Listen all you Harry bashers. Just for once except someone else's opinion instead of hidding behind your computers with your thoughts in anger. OK, you disagree, he accepts that people have different opinions. Hell, if there weren't different opinions in this world then it'd would be dull. I haven't seen DBS yet, but when it comes out in the U.K in 2003 (lol) i'll enter just thinking that it's a fun movie. That's why we go after all, movies are to be watched for entertainment. So come on, it's really immature to slate someone's review. Harry is a regular guy like you and me. Ok, he runs a website with millions of hits a day and he's almost at celebrity status ala Woody Allen, but he's not one of these snooty movie reviewers we see around on the tv that criticise every "blockbuster" and love each and every foriegn film. It's not about that right now, but please excepts someone's opinion. If it's criticism you want to give, make it construstive.
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Jul 28, 1999 8:53:38 AM CDT
Despite overwhelming negative buzz, Renny harlin shoots and scro
by rodzilla
I had read all of the piss poor reviews from talkbackers who had seen the advance screenings, and read about the idiot who screamed "That sucked!" with Renny Harlin in the theater at one showing, and my expectations were pretty low when I saw an advance screening of DEEP BLUE SEA last night, but to my surprise, I really enjoyed the film. This is an extremely fun thrill ride with R-rated shark attack chills and terrific production. The script is good enough to keep the action moving, and for the most part ( with a couple of brief exceptions) the animatronic and CGI effects are seamless. Unlike the menace in "Lake Placid," the sharks here have plenty of screen time. The chartacters and story are Chrichton-esque, as Harry points out, which I didn't see as a bad thing in this case. Thomas Jane, who I have previously heard very little about, is an appealing tough action hero and certainly the bravest man in the history of shark movies! LL Cool J was both funny and heroic as we follow him on his solo quest for survival through most of the movie. The kitchen scene is terrific. If this film fails at the box office, it will truely be due to the Harlin curse and not the quality of the finished film. The movie comes in at about the right length and left me wanting more towards the end, before rewarding me with a terrific finale. As far as the summer's crop of pure entertainment films go so far, "Deep Blue Sea" is coming out at the top of the heap. I had fun. How many other flicks can I say that about this summer? Way to go Renny. Thanks!
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Like I need to see this movie to know it sucks: genetically engineered sharks that get "smarter" and go on a kill-crazy rampage against their creators. Wow. What a great idea for a movie. I think this movie can be added to the list of stupid movies that are created for no other purpose that to annoy us and/or the list of movies that no one really asked to be made, but got made anyways.
BTW, I think that Harry's inability to write a negative review reinforces the alleged reports that the "reviewers" on this site are nothing more than studio executives posing as reviewers to give glowing reviews of their movie and thus bolster public opinion of said films. My question is: how much does Harry get paid for this? There was also a contradicting report that alleged studios were given photos of Harry so he couldn't slip into pre-screenings of movies. Gimme a break. How could you miss the guy: grossly overweight, half a beard, glasses, and a I'm-gonna-wet-my-pants-if-i-don't-see-this-movie kind of attitude. I read this site in the hopes I am going to read a relatively unbiased review of a movie and hopefully hear some interesting movie rumors [of interesting movies.] -
Wow. I never thought I'd visit this site and see a whole bunch of Blair Witch bashing. I drove quite a while to see that movie, after reading the appropriate amount of mythology and backstory to it ( A required component for really enjoying the film ) and was absolutely blown away by how incredibly frightening it was. The problem with Blair Witch is, you really have to think about it. It's the first Thinking Person's horror movie, the only film released that actually has a required reading list to go with it ( Web site, Oni Press comic book ) in order for it to be enjoyed at it's full potential. Once I thought this site was populated by relatively intelligent movie viewers, and hell, I was wrong. Those of you expecting Blair Witch to be something it wasn't - like big music stings leading up to whatever scary thing was about to pop out, or some giant fake CG-ish "Blair Witch" terrorizing the kids for the last act of the film... was that REALLY what you expected here? The performances were so genuine, so real.. the movie was so utterly realistic that they didn't NEED those things. I go to bed every night thinking I'm hearing rocks move and children laugh. I'm sure there are countless hundreds of others out there who were moved and scared by this movie, like myself. Maybe the reason so many of you dislike it is because scary movies tend to attract jerkoffs who think they need to prove themselves to everyone else by laughing through a horror movie and then loudly proclaiming it sucked afterwards because it didn't scare them, and NOTHING scares them, because they're just so darn cool. Maybe it's because most self-proclaimed "film geeks" feel it somehow necessary to hate everything, for some unknown reason. I can't beleive you people actually WANT Harry to hate everything, like you do. He isn't here to cater to your opinions. I'm actually refreshed by his positive reviews - Yeah, so Deep Blue Sea is probably a really stupid movie, but what did he say about it? He said it was fun, but stupid. Which is probably what it is. Just because he doesn't focus on the bad doesn't mean he didn't see any bad points in the film - you people just eat up negativity, and so you crave it. Same thing with Blair Witch. It's an excellent film, scary as hell and really for smart people ( Not the kind of dumb sheep who are scared by The Haunting or a similar kind of dumb sheep who merely spew out whatever opinion was told to them that week, regardless of whether or not they've had any chance to form an opinion of thier own ). Batman and Robin, Small Soldiers, Wild Wild West - those are BAD movies. I can't imagine someone ripping something like Deep Blue Sea, which may actually be mildly entertaining, when movies like that exist. I saw The Haunting. The effects were OK. It was so unbeleivably lame that me and the group I was with laughed our heads off through the entire thing - along with most of the audience. I agree with whoever said that throwing a skeleton at the screen isn't scary. It isn't, but it's funny as hell. The damn thing looked like a marionette stolen from a hospital - ridiculous. And very funny. However, were someone walking around in that house, and all we heard were subtle noises that something like that was following them around, hunting them, laying in wait for the right moment, tormenting them and filling thier minds with paranoia and fear... now THAT is scary. That's what real fear is. And that's what The Blair Witch Project captures so perfectly. So, I encourage you, do the reading, watch the special, think about it. you just might start hearing children laughing at night. The problem is, the people who hate something are the loudest about it - they just can't keep thier mouths shut, thinking somehow they're doing everyone a favor by spweing thier worthless opinions everywhere. The people who love something typically keep it to themselves - and reccomend it when the time comes. I wish it were the other way around. Get over yourselves, people.
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I read "Extinct" -- it was hack work that was somewhat fun to read, although ruined by a totally unbelievable ending. I also read "MEG," and I can only hope that this horrible work of fiction never reaches the silver screen, unless in title only. It seems that there's a large contingent of Jaws/shark fans out there, and they're willing to shell out to see shark carnage onscreen. I think the best option for a shark movie would be a dramatization of the 1916 New Jersey attacks. I saw a special about it on A&E a few weeks ago, and I think it'd make a great film.
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some things never end. this seems to me like the same old harry bashing that went on around the same time last year. not sure if any of these people casting disreputable accusations at harry were around to see what was said, but it is the same. just new id names is all. it really is very tiring. all reviewers have a style- harry's is all about feelings and emotions(not analysis and deconstruction). i enjoy them because it helps me to visualise sitting in the cinema watching the movie. the excitement of seeing the trailers. the annoyance of others making noise. it's all there. unlike 99% of reviewers out there he never gives away a plot. this it the whole point of the movie going experience. we as the public don't want to be told if we should see a movie or not. we should make up our own minds. and this, magically, is where a reviewer comes in. you get to know the reviewer and how they review. their personality traits and the types of things they like. by knowing this we can then judge if we may or may not like a film. if you just take harry's words at face value then you are totally missing the point. we all know that harry is an excitable type of person. he is passionate about film, about the ceremony, about lining up. we know all this. we have to take this into account when he reviews a movie. that is why he tells this stuff to us. okay lets take a look at this review: he said 1. it is fun. which means that it shouldn't be taken seriously- a sat morn type movie with your buddies. 2. it is a michael crhicton type stroy- okay jurassic park anyone. same basic premise here but with sharks. 3. he told us where it stands for him in relation to other films of this ilk. 4. he said the characters are formula. only ll cool j stands out. okay so taking those simple 4 points that i can remember from only reading the review ONCE i have ascertained that that it is a see it on video with some friends on a friday night with pizza and beer type movie (for me). it i can see it for a really cheap price at the cinema with buddies i will, but only if it is a discount day. simple wasn't it. i am not being blindly pro harry here. i disagree with many things harry says in his reviews about movies, but i am just saying that you should pay a little respect to people for the things they do even if you can't agree with them.
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JABBERJAW? Ah man. That is some funny ass shit. Seriously. "Yuck, Yuck Yuck...." I remember when the USA network had all those sub-par cartoons. But the dope thing was that they were on 6pm weeknights!!! Than my stinking parents made me start watching the news. Crap! It wasn't even national news at 6-- it was boring ass local Vermont news. Oh, and by the way-- there was a movie made in 1996 called "THE WHISPERERS" about 2 documentary makers who go into the woods of Vermont to do a movie on Vermont FolkLore never to be seen again. The movie is their found footage and it showed at some festivals and I hope the director and producers of it sue the pants off THE BLAIR BITCH PROJECT. And also (cuz I'm hung over cuz the Kibitz room rocks) WATCHER IN THE WOODS scaired the fucking shit out of me as a kid. It came to town attached to The LEgend Of Sleepy Hollow animated movie and when that girl writes Karen backwards in the fog on the window...DAMN! Ah, but back to Jabberjaw...
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Jul 28, 1999 10:43:32 AM CDT
Harry, DBS, RLR, BWP, WWW, and dumb ass loud mouthed talkback ba
by alternateversion
mmmmm. Been reading talkback today and to say It is sad and upsetting is an understatement. Are you idiots really saying that you base whether or not you see a film on HARRY's Review, and then to top it off you want to complain when you don't feel the same as he did, that is really sad...I don't see eye to eye with Harry on many things...Hudson Hawk is one of my favorite films of all time, yet Harry used it as firepower to insult the odious WWW, I liked Lost in Space (although it wasn't great or anything) yet I hated the Haunting. The only part I liked of Cliffhanger was John Lithgow's villian. I never get mad at harry and scream sellout about a review. Personally I do believe that the "buzz" surrounding Blair Witch Project, Run Lola Run, and the in my opinion very bad looking Iron giant on this site is fishy...Although I loved Blair Witch Myself I have seen very few reviews of it elsewhere and most other people that I talk to hate it, but as I said I myself love it...Run Lola Run seems to be coming up in every talk back now with suspiciously glowing little refs saying go see this one...And Iron Giant...What has Warner animation done right YET??? I am expecting cheese frome Deep Blue Sea and that is probably what I will get, and even if I hate it I will not BLAME HARRY, If you love film you know people feel different ways about it...art is subjective make up your own opinion, Leave the man THE HELL ALONE! (and of course I now spam u please visit my site help it grow www.alternateversion.com) AVOUT
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I don't get Harry!!! How in the HELL can he say Renny Harlin's movies don't have GREAT villains. John Lithgow in CLIFFHANGER was amazing. He gave an AWESOME performance with that accent. He had COOL dialogue "you probably want to kill me don't you... well take a number and get in line" or "you kill a few people and you're considered a murderer, kill a million and you're a conquer...go figure". Lithgow chewed the scenery all the way. All the bad guys in CLIFFHANGER were mean in there own way. That's why you loved to hate them and loved it when they all got it in the end (the black terrorist's death was UBER FUCKING COOL.)Harry, the CLIFFHANGER you saw must be a different one...... As for DIE HARD 2, the villains in that were also cool. They were very sinister and appealing. DH2 even surprised you when we found out that some of the good guys were really the bad guys (great twist). THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT also had good villains. Most of them were goons but the head villain was pretty good "continue dying" he tells one of his men that has just told him he has been shot. I thought Frank Langella went over-the-top in CUTTHROAT ISLAND. He was bad to the bone. The bottom line is that Renny Harlin's films have KICK ASS villains.
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Harry, I've never posted anything here before, but I'm disturbed by your abundance of enthusiasm. You practically compliment DBS for having moments that have you questioning the intelligence of the characters on screen. Why? You're not supposed to do this. Don't give me this shit about a "fun movie". What about a movie with an incredible premise that you can actually believe in for a few seconds. Why is Jaws so great? There are a lot of reasons, but a big one is that you actually believe in these characters as real people and that makes what's happening to them interesting. Big budget movies are never going to get better if we let studios and hack directors like Renny Harlin and Michael Bay get away with delivering shit that passes for characterization. You're weak Harry. There's nothing pretentious about hating a piece of shit like DBS.
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Jul 28, 1999 11:05:01 AM CDT
How did this review of DBS turn into a debate on "The Blair Witc
by rodzilla
I've already grown weary of every film even remotely possible to label as horror or science-fiction that spent ANY money at all on its production being slapped with the Blair Witch comparrison. Yes, I loved "The Blair Witch Project." In its own way, it's going to be as influential to young film makers and film fans as "The Texas Chainsaw Massarcre," "The Evil Dead" or "Night of the Living Dead." Brilliant marketing and multi-level ( website, TV specials, Josh's clips for a soundtrack, book) products add to the whole experience. ( On the negative side, a bunch of hack college film maker's garbage will probablly start filtering into your neighboorhood Blockbuster. Everybody with a video camera and some blank tapes will be a director by the end of next year.) However, we draw the line somewhere. Comparrisons to "The Haunting" I could somewhat understand, since they are both examples of stories dealing with the supernatural. BUT---"The Blair Witch Project" and "Deep Blue Sea" have NOTHING IN COMMON. Let's try and talk about films in their own context at least!
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Jul 28, 1999 11:14:51 AM CDT
You are all so damn predictable and Akiva Goldsman is Satan!
by cineman
You're all just jealous. I'd love to see some of you talk back losers to actually give your real opinion of a movie instead of what is "cool" to say. "Deep Blue Sea sucked a dead man's balls", wow, good one. You're all so damn predictable. People liking and disliking the same movie is what makes the world go round and though I disagree with some things Harry says, I still respect his opinion unlike most of yours. I hated The Haunting, I think it is the worst piece of shit movie I have seen in my life but Harry liked it. I don't think he's a sell out or he's afraid. It must make you all fell pretty good to jump on the train and make fun of a movie when it looks like the hip thing to do is put it down. Well, even though DBS has Akiva (who really is like the plague) involved, I'll still go in with an open mind because I really love movies and very few of us really do. Most of you are just scavengers who team up on poor Harry because you're all so safe behind your computer screens. Then, even if you saw DBS and liked it, you'd still say it sucked. At least Harry can admit when he likes a guilty pleasure. Throw a curveball at me people, stop being so predictable damn it!
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Harry, to me, seems like a really nice guy and someone that most of us movie fans can identify with, so you cynical fuckheads should STOP DISSING HIM! I enjoy hearing about the backstory of a review almost more than the review itself, knowing what was going through the reviewers head can give you insight into why they reviewed a movie like they did. Harry is more fair than most of the grizzled newspaper critics, and that's something we should all be thankful for. That someone can watch all the movies the studios put out these days and still retain that love for the cinema and be able to articulately convey it to us in a *free* online news magazine is a godsend to us all. Everyone disagrees with some reviews, for instance, I love the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, but obviously Harry was rubbed the wrong way by him somewhere down the line. Thank you, Harry, from one geek to another.
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Review: The (adjective) (noun) part (number)
Wow I just have to say I spent all (measure of time) staring at my (electric device) wondering what I was going to say about this movie. But before I wrote anything my (a relative) called from the (a public building) where they were screening another new movie called The (adjective) (nonsense word) (verb)(an animal), a foreign type film which is supposedly very (adjective). But back to the movie I'm reviewing. I have to say, I expected this movie to be (adjective)--but you know what?? It was (adjective) and way more (adjective) than any movie I have ever seen. It was about a team of (noun) scientists who discover that (verb ending in -ing) with Mother nature will only end in a (a significant event).
I urge everyone to see this movie, if only to experience what will surely become a classic line of dialogue: "(The strangest thing you've overheard this week)!" -
I just wanted to offer Cinemon a toothpick so he could remove Harry Knowles ass hair from his teeth.
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Despite my post that gently tweaked Harry earlier (it was all in fun), I still want to see DBS. I've read several positive reviews in the past few hours, including Roger Ebert's (he gave it 3 out 4). So if you're going to bash Harry, you had better bash those other critics too. How dare they like a commercial movie! On the subject of Harlin villians, I thought Lithgow was good, and Sadler was okay (he had the misfortune of having to follow Alan Rickman).
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You're absolutely right, JJ. Are you as excited about 'Runaway Bride' as I am?
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2 words that describe Lyon's post. that's the funniest thing i've seen today.
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The following question is for JMS Power!, Gibbon, Rya SKre, Speed, and Rodzilla. What studio do you guys work for? To G, and Chew-z : much respect.
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I don't work for any studio, guy. However, if any studio out there is looking for someone to work in their marketing department and like my review of DBS as much as guy did, give me a call! "Deep Blue Sea" was fun. Roger Ebert and others thought so too. I think we were all shocked and surprised by our enjoyment of it. In fact it's "the killer thriller of the decade." "It's one serious shark attack!" "It's nail biting, jaw thrashing suspense!" "Just when you thought it was safe to go to the multiplex, Renny Harlin delivers a movie with bite!" ha ha
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I am not a 'passionate' film fan or anything that ambitious. I just have one comment and no more. Actually, it is a plead, a supplicaion. I am begging you Harry and your minions to please, please stop with the intro yadda-yadda. It seems like every article goes on like this; blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, dreary old life, blah, blah blah, just inhaled some donuts, blah, blah, internet good, blah, blah, blah, blah, passionate for film hackney, and on and on humoring the audience with everything that happened in the dreary old life of the self professed geek or some other sort of meandering tripe. Oh, and then almost as an afterthought there is some mention of having seen a movie. It's almost as bad as moriarty's (however good his reviews might be) 'I'm a big, bad, evil Dickensian tyrant professor out of the pages of Doyle' worn out gambit. This is just one opinion out of many and maybe it's not the popular taste in which case you have to assuage the masses (nothing wrong with that, all things considered) but if you guys care about bettering yourselves as writers for film buffs please at least consider this proposal for a few seconds! If there are other plenty of people that love your reviews and that's great-you have to give people what they want in that case. But, just from me ... I prostrate myself, I plead, oh, sweet Jesus and all, please stop the dreary, boorish gambits, stop padding the articles with the Virginia Woolf like expose on 'the life and fantasies of the movie geek --- .' You're NOT Virginia Woolf! She was eloquent enough to make the ordinary give literature something to hmmm... about. YOU'RE NOT! Give the James Joyce stream of consciousness act a rest!!!! This place is great but this just irritates like a burr on my backside. Just had to get that out. That's it ...
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Everyone seems to be making some "educated" guesses on the Renny Harlin film, "Deep Blue Sea." Now this movie, no doubt about it, will make it's fair share of money. First off you've got Samuel L. Jackson. He's a great, very entertaining actor. I loved Sam L. in, The Negotiator, Pulp Fiction,A Time to Kill, etc. Sam could attract his fair share of the audience, then you have LL Cool J. I hate to say it, but he could be a factor in D.B.S.'s success at the box office. I saw the video that he did for the movie, and I gotta say, I'm slightly impressed with the way they put that video all together. I think that this will be an entertaining movie, I feel that it's one of those movies that you should go into with no expectations, and you'll enjoy it. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm eager to see it. So for anyone who thinks that D.B.S. is going to be a bad movie, maybe you're right, but you shouldn't be a closed-minded jackass about it. F. B. for D.B.S.
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I misspelled Mr. Harlan's name.
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Jul 28, 1999 4:11:30 PM CDT
harrys review is sooooo on the money here. deep blue sea =fun
by ryan mecum
quit picking on the guy everyone. we all love harry and his site. sure he writes lots of possitive reviews... because the man LOVES movies. he loves them for what they are. he loves this one for being a good popcorn flick. he loves eyes wide shut for making him think. he though wild wild west was not that bad. he's harry. deep blue sea is the most entertaining action flick ive seen this summer (which aint saying much...). you know what you are getting when you enter the theatre. good old cheesey sharks, but an exciting film all the same. if you think a fun simple loud shark film sounds fun to you, go see it as soon as you can. if you think it sounds lame, dont go, this aint for you. if you want something super smart, see something super smart. if you want to see sharks attacking people, see deep blue sea. the film is great. harry is great. thanks for the site, harry.
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I would have to disagree with Harry about Jaws being an adventure movie. I would classify it as a suspense film. I hope this film is good, but I really doubt it will hold up well on video which is where I will see it, if at all. Harry also forgot to mention Harlin's best directing effort, the highly under-rated Adventures of Ford Farlaine. Lastly Harry mentioned (in another thread I believe) that he sees an average of two films a day in the theater. I was just wondering, do you get a special deal seeing films, do you 'give' yourself special two for one deals, or do you fork out that much money everyday to go to the movies ?
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Well, I have to admit that I'm surprised with how much I enjoyed "Deep Blue Sea." A really, really bad big budget actioner can depress me like almost no other experience. And "how's my hair" schlockmeister Renny Harlin's last two films ("Cutthroat Island" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight") were ESPECIALLY bad. A film like "Long Kiss" can convice, if for only a night, that movies suck. So I'm glad to report that "Deep Blue Sea" is easily Harlin's best film (other than, possibly, "Die Hard 2") The opening half hour of expostion is dreadful, but as soon as the shit comes down, you're in for a treat. There's a moment about forty five minutes in (if you've seen the flick, you know what I'm talking about) that is so brave and that goes so solidly against expectations that it had me cheering (it's a Samuel L. moment). From that moment on, you know that the film's is not going to be dead boring and obvious (like "The Haunting", which I saw last night. Terrible mess, with a similar opening half hour to "Deep Blue", but a completely opposite effect viscerally. Terrible flick.) Anyway, comparisons to "Jaws" are ridiculous. "Deep Blue" is clearly more interested in being "Jurassic Shark", and on that count it succeeds. Fun, fun, fun. And I HATE that kind of popcorn film.
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I went into this film with an open mind, completely ready for some shark-infested fun. I was soooooooooo bored. Harry's right, there is no emotional attachment to the characters, so after 20 minutes or so of CGI shark chomping, the film sank into complete tedium. Stereotypical character walks through waist high water through a lonely hallway... shark fin appears... character gets chomped. The end. Although not as bad as "The Haunting," "Deep Blue" is another tired, mechanical Hollywood studio movie.
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I dont even remember where I read this but Just the other day I saw a quote by Steven Spielberg. He said he was glad The animatronic shark in 'Jaws' barely worked. He said it forced him to be "Hitchcockian". Maybe thats whats wrong with some of todays movies, the directors are being spoiled by the ease of computer imagery. Why waste time developing your charachters when you can just have them be eaten by a 45 foot tall talking spider monkey.
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I can see how anyone with half of a half of brain, would feel the urge to see this movie!?!!?
When it cost $25+ to see a movie, sharks eating "the beautiful people" doesn't make me juicy.
"It's a fun film"....BULLSHIT!
Harry, why don't you do us a favor, instead of trying to squeeze the good parts out of these turds. Why don't you put yourself in the reasonably intelligent PAYING customer's head and write your reviews from that PoV.
The Mummy didn't make me want to ask for a refund, BUT I still didn't reccommend it to anyone (even if I did find some parts entertaining).
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1) Harlan's Villains. Generally, love em. Loved Lithgow. Loved Craig Bierko in Long Kiss. Die Hard 2. Eh ... workable. Cut Throat Island. That sucker was a ship wreck from the first frame. Rules don't apply. 2) Using Sam Jackson to promote DBS. Could not agree more. IMHO, the DBS print marketing has been a basic disaster. 3) Actors including Liam Neeson. Bloody obvious to me, since that's my profession. Would take *way* too long to discuss, and I'm not going to start another renegade TPM discussion. Suffice it to say that under those conditions, NO actor had a chance in heck of decent acting, so bless those bubbas who managed to sneak a little of it in, like Ewan. /// www.get.to/sterlingwolfe/
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This site is ridiculous anymore. Either the people that write these reviews are COMPLETE MORONS (which I tend to believe due to the noninteresting ramblings prior to the ass kissing) or AICN has their hands in someones pockets (I've read the newspaper articles and the special treatment you receive). You've lost your balls! FATHER GEEK=FATHER SELLOUT
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Hey dude, I agree with many of your reviews. And I'm not here to say 'fuck you for not agreeing with me, Harry' like all these other losers who try to force their opinions on others, and convince people who loved TPM that they did not. That's not the case. I loved TPM, and nobody can tell me I was not impressed with that film. But this is beside the point. In your above response, you made the comment that The Haunting's score was better than TPM's. I was reading this while at work, and everyone heard my response: "WHAT THE FUCK!!??" Seriously dude, I can't disagree more with you on this. TPM was a wonderfully subtle score with VERY dark undertones, and The Haunting's score was a generic piece of crap. I've come to expect this from Jerry Goldsmith, who only on occasion will deliver a truly awesome score. Don't get me wrong, I think Jerry is the third best composer ever (1. John Williams, 2. James Horner, 3. Jerry Goldsmith). L.A. Confidential was an amazing score, and so were the scores for the Star Trek movies. But many of his scores are the same as the last, such as U.S. Marshals, Deep Rising, The Ghost and the Darkness... etc. It just goes on and on. The Haunting was a terrible movie, with a terrible score. I was amazed when I found out it was Goldsmith who scored it.
Now, onto DBS. I REALLY want to see this movie! I am a huge fan of Saffron Burrows, and think she is an amazing actress. She possesses a very subtle, stern beauty that brings a lot of edge to her characters. I am curious to know what you honestly thought of her performance in DBS, and her as an actress?
I thank you for sharing an honest, bold opinion (even if I disagree with your comment on the scores), and tomorrow I will see DBS and decide for myself, without the influence of the jackasses that often fill these forums. Afterall, these comments expressed here are OPINIONS, and anyone who takes offense to what a critic says before they have even seen the movie should pull their head out of their ass before they attempt to type. But that's just my opinion! Out. -
Christ, I thought Slashdot had a lot of whiners and complainers. You people take the cake. Having a disagreement over a film is fine. But the amount of venom and bashing here (and in many other talk backs) is unbelievable. If some of you guys so dislike Harry's reviewing style, and have no respect for his opinion, why the fuck do you even bother reading his reviews? Just so you can bash him in the talkbacks? There are tons of other movie critics and movie sites on the web. Better yet, start your own damn site if you can do so much better.
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I have wanted to see DBS since I saw the trailers, but I set myself up to think it might suck. It didn't. Its a great fun summer movie. Its not going to win any Oscars but it is entertaining, its a little scary and its funny.
As for my subject title... YES EVEN Kenneth Turan, the main critic of the L.A. Times who basically HATES every movie loved DBS.
I gotta love reading negative criticisms of DBS from people who HAVEN'T SEEN it. Go watch the movie and then atleast you might know what you are talking about. Saying a movie sucks and then writing you haven't seen it or wouldn't see it shows your ignorance.
Harry is right, Deep Blue Sea is a fun movie. -
Well I just saw DBS and I gotta say it was better than I expected, which was an average action flick. It was a smidge above average, probably a C+ to B-. The philosophy I use is simple: know what the hell you're getting into before you go see the damn thing. If your money is so important to you then do a little reearch first. You don't go to a concert hoping that the person you've never heard of turns out to be the next(insert favorite musical artist here).You buy a CD and if you like it then you want more. If not, take it to CD World and get something worth a shit. I knew DBS wouldn't be as thrilling as Raiders, The Fugitive, Hunt for Red October. I also knew it wouldn't be as smart as the vastly underrated The Negotiator(also starring Sammy L) or The Relic. What we have here is a goofy premise that I'm still not totally sure about, with a decent cast and a few mean fucking sharks. There are some great action sequences, some intense moments, with a few laughs mixed in for good measure. The characters are not well developed, but I'm not thinking, "Oh I hope this is Sammy's big chance to finally win an Oscar - I hope he's not overshadowed by the sharks." Everybody that is on this website usually knows exactly what to expect from a movie weeks before it hits theaters - for most of you that's why you come here in the first place. To find out if a movie is worthy of your hard earned dollars. Every once in awhile we are fooled on opening weekend, but word of mouth is a bitch for shitty movies.... Sorry to get on my soapbox. Usually I'm looking for an angle for my next smart-ass comment, but I needed to vent. Hopefully, I've supplied you guys with some ammo this time. Happy hunting you bastards. OUT.
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Jul 28, 1999 11:34:26 PM CDT
Please, somebody stop Renny Harlin before he directs again!
by shadowdancer
Renny Harlin is a fuckin' hack! He has no talent. Someone posted above that he delivers humor and action. He couldn't deliver a decent fart if he ate nothing but beans, mushrooms and cheese for a year. He sucks. He is the Monica Lewinsky of directors. Bailiff, read the indictment: Charge one, "Nightmare on Elm Street 4." How say you? It sucked. Charge two, Die Hard 2: Die Harder." How say you? It sucked harder. (I mean, when Bruce Willis is supposed to be in New York City talking on a pay phone, and on the phone you can clearly see a sticker that says Rocky Mountain Bell. C'mon, he's not even trying. How can he expect us to care about his movie if he doesn't.) Charge three, "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane." How say you? Sucked. Charge four, "Cliffhanger." How say you? Sucked (although Lithgow did play a good villian). Charge five, "Cutthroat Island." How say you? It sucked expensively. Charge six, "The Long Kiss Goodnight." How say you? It sucked unbelievably. (It had a good premise, Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson and it still managed to suck.) Charge seven, "Deep Blue Sea." How say you? It really sucked. It stinks worse than chum. What's your verdict? His films suck, he sucks, never let him near a camera again. What's the penalty? Take him out and shoot him. Now that might be fun to watch.
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Its funny, but all the predictability and cliches that so many are rambling on about Deep Blue Sea come not from the film, but from the responses to the film. Every single person who has thus far bashed this film draws comparisons to JAWS and other films like Jurrasic Park. Big insight. I didn't see that coming.
To be fair, I expected something similar. What I got surprised me.
First, this is not a by the numbers formula film. Not by a long shot. Infact, the film constantly abandons these cliches and instead employs a much more radical spin on things. JAWS? The attacks by the sharks in this film are nothing even remotely like the attacks in JAWS. When the sharks attack in DBS, they attack without musical cue, swiftly and shockingly. The film is gruesome, yet not repelling.
The pecking order of who gets eaten will surprise most. It sure as hell surprised me. There was no real way of knowing who would kick it, and I appreciate that.
The film was also well written. It contained characters, real people who were more than just mere window dressing. I found myself genuinely amazed by how the effective the film ultimately was.
My pulse raced through the entire film. And it took me nearly 30 minutes after the film for it to slow down.
Of course, if you go into any film with the attitude that it is nothing but a ripoff piece of crap, you probably won't get much out of it. The film freaked me out and was among the most intense experience I have had in a theater in some time. I went in expecting a good movie. What I got was one of the best horror films of its genre.
By the way, when JAWS was released in 1975, it was dismissed by many critics as nothing more than a big budget monster flick. Ironic that 20 years later, that film is cited to discredit another film that contains much of the same subtle brillance. -
To a poster up there who belittled Harry because he jumped on the Blair Witch bandwagon, you ought to do a little more research before you start bashing. Harry's the one who started the fucking bandwagon. His was the first review I saw of the film. He's not responsible for the success of the film, so far, the filmmakers are. The poster that said it was a thinking man's horror movie was right on the money. Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but just as you have the right to say you didn't like it, Harry has the right to say he did like it. He doesn't have to answer to you or anybody. He doesn't write the reviews for you. He writes them for himself.
-Q -
Has anyone here read the book "Killer Instinct" about the making of Natural Born Killers? It's funny because there's a line in the book from Oliver Stone that reminds me so much of the behavior of many of these vicious cynics on this board.
Oliver (refering to some criticism of a script by an assistant):
"He's an idiot, you should fire him. Everyone else likes the script, he must be stupid."
On this board it's so much like that with films. This raving band of cynics decides which movies must suck the most... If you like something that is supposed to suck, you're an idiot. Anyone who enjoys them must be total raving idiots... Me, I just want to go on record to say I ENJOYED THE HELL OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM BIG-BUDGET HOLLYWOOD FILMS THIS SUMMER. Wow. Unbelievable. Never thought you'd hear anyone admit that here, huh? Almost across the board I found something to like in just about everything I was willing to sit through this summer. DEEP BLUE SEA was absolutely a vicious, killer picture, despite the buzz around it. SOUTH PARK was hands down the funniest film in ages, a tough thing to call since this summer crammed in a crapload of entertaining comedies like MYSTERY MEN, AMERICAN PIE, AUSTIN POWERS (yeah the second half was weak), ELECTION (was that a summer release? I saw it three times anyway.) and of course the wickedly fun LAKE PLACID (Yes, it's supposed to be funny!). BLAIR WITCH PROJECT turned out to be just as incredibly terrifying and well-done as it was billed. Even some of the lesser noticed films like ARLINGTON ROAD were really interesting. Sure, a lot of films had creaky faults... STAR WARS had that stale first half, WILD WILD WEST was completely unmemorable save Salma's ass and Branaugh's villian, THE HAUNTING had that unforgivably awful ending, and of course THE MUMMY had that completely awful entire film, but for the most part the films this summer really worked in the ways they were supposed to. I don't know. I had a shitload of fun. Maybe this makes me a total fucking moron like someone has critized for each and every one of these releases, but damn it, I don't care. I'm happy because I was entertained for the money I paid and all those pre-judging, "you-must-be-stupid-to-like-it," to cool cynics can go screw themselves. But I guess since they aren't able to enjoy hardly any films anymore, they already have... -
I saw DBS today, with no intention of seeing the next JURASSIC PARK or JAWS, but just to (hopefully) spend the next couple of hours entertained. And I was not disappointed. While certainly not a great movie, it is fairly entertaining. The SFX are a bit weak, but not overused to the point of annoyance (like ESCAPE FROM L.A., which practically flaunted every bit of its awful SFX). The script may also not be the most cleverly written or original, but it gets the job done. Here's the one thing that did help me enjoy the movie even more, the handling of the "pecking order" of who lives and dies--the focus on WHEN they die. I was actually surprised a couple times when someone got chomped. So much was I surprised, I couldn't help but laugh. It was especially refreshing for me to see a movie that seems to be going one way and (especially the climax) goes completely different in the outcome. I remember hearing in early preview reports how much audiences hated Saffron Burrows' character, and while many here are pointing out the paper-thin characters, I have to say that I think hers was actually the most human. Sure, its her fault for violating whatever that code was by going on ahead and screwing with the sharks genetics, and she does seem pretty cold about everyone else dying-- as long as she leaves with that valuable info and disk, its all acceptable casualties to her. But its how in her mind how all this is OK to her, as long the cure for Alzheimer's gets through, THAT is what I found very interesting. She is not a black-and-white character. She could be seen as cold, a bitch, maybe even a tad evil, but her overall reason for even being this way throughout the entire movie is, in the end, for a good cause. It's very warped, and because of that she was actually my favorite character in the movie. And while what happens to her character works as an audience pleaser (with the audience I was watching it with anyway), it also serves as her (ultimate) redemption. I give Renny Harlin & company points for not taking the easy way out in their approach and actually showing some teeth (no pun intended) for what could have easily been a very standard movie.
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Jul 29, 1999 3:49:13 AM CDT
DBS as good as Jaws? Man, the giant bunny rabbit movie is bette
by nordling
Man, I'm talking MST3K bad, here. I enjoyed it because it was so bad. This review is spoiler-laden, so...Look, this movie might have worked were it not for the supposed hero and heroine of the film, whose names escape me. Their acting just plain sucked. There are 2 and 1/2 cool things in this movie. 1.) L L Cool J. Liked him, and if they had killed everyone else off but him (and maybe Michael Rappaport) I would have been very appreciative. He was the only character that I didn't want to see chum. 2.) The sharks when they ate people. Blood and limbs everywhere...I can dig that. 2 1/2) Samuel Jackson's performance. If you see the film, you'll understand why I give him a 1/2...Okay, I gotta break down a really shitty scene, that's indicative of this crap fest. The heroine goes into her room, flooded, by herself, of course, to retrieve her scientific notes so her research isn't completely lost. As she gets there, a shark enters the room, and she manages to get herself to a ledge where some wires are leading to a lightbulb. Jaws 2, anyone? No, wait, here's the funny part. She then proceeds to STRIP, down to her skivvies, for what I have no reason. Granted, I can appreciate the value of T & A as much as anyone, but this was just hilarious. It's as if she was inviting the shark to eat her...as ifthe shark didn't already. But the audience, at this point, sure did. :) Anyway, as the shark gets close she jams the electrical wires into the shark's mouth, killing it. Then she gets dressed again. The entire purpose of this scene was to show some skin. And they slam on Friday the 13th movies, where sex = death? I laughed all the way through this stinkbomb. I just wish my buds had been with me - man, we would have ripped this one a new asshole. Just so you know, when you're in about 400 feet of water, and a glass window in front of you starts to crack, it's okay to stand in front of it for a little while, and only freak out just when it's about to break. Gimme a fucking break. What a cheesefest.
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I've been reading Harry's site for about four months and didn't really feel the need to post to Talk Back until I read this raging debate about Harry's skills as a reviewer.
Check it out.....this review is HARRY'S OPINION. Duh. You should read it to help you make a decision about the movie, but if you don't like it - DON'T BLAME HARRY. YOU SPENT THE MONEY.
Take DBS. I think it looks like crap. I'm not going to see it and Harry's review helped me make that decision because he told me that I should go if I would enjoy watching sharks eat people. I don't enjoy watching sharks eat people. Decision made. Harry liked it, I won't.
Try reading the reviews in your local paper sometime. The reviewer here in beautiful St. Paul, MN is a dork. He doesn't GET the films he's watching. I can't tell you how many times I have watched a film then read his review to realize he didn't get it. We might have come out with the same general feeling about the movie, but I actually UNDERSTOOD the movie. He didn't.
Harry understands these films and loves them anyway. So what? Build your own damn site and rip on these films if you want.
I had the pleasure of meeting Harry and Father Geek at CONvergence in Minnesota this month. I spent 3 hours talking to Father Geek alone. They are the genuine article, you guys. They are not sell outs. Harry told me that I should go see LAKE PLACID if I liked TREMORS. I loved TREMORS, so I'll go see LAKE PLACID. If I hate the movie, it's not Harry's fault. He gave me enough information to make a decision, but it's still my decision.
Well, that was my rant. Harry - I'm with you. Your reviews are the best in the business because they come from the heart and you GET the films you write about. We don't always agree, but that's the point, isn't it?
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No plans to see this movie (too many others I still haven't seen
yet). But since Harry mentioned
it in his review, though I'd add
my two cents.
I heard my first buzz about this move a WHILE ago on AICN. Harry
was even more psyched than usual
about this one, and I really, really like animation (BTW, instead of Nic Cage, why not do a version of the animated Superman
for the big screen---he is the coolest of Supes ever).
Bottom line, finally, the Iron Giant trailer is TERRIBLE. If the movie is even slightly good, you wouldn't know from this. I plan
on avoiding the movie like the plague after seeing it! -
I, like Harry, expected this movie to blow but hoped otherwise. I was happily surprised that it DOES NOT BLOW! In fact it fairly rocks! The film is genuinely scary and the lack of all but one A list star means anyone can be shark food at any moment. The movie rarely stops moving and while it isn't exactly always palusible, it does play it fairly straight with its own rules and logic. I have a hard time agreeing with the answer "What does a 6000 pound shark dream about?" because I think they would have needed blueprints to the Aquatica to pull it off, but it doesn't matter. Speaking of 6000 pound sharks, these things are UGLY, vicious, and so very very fast! They even move faster then the trailer lets on. This movie deserves to makes some dough. It's one of the most enjoyable experiences of the summer alongside South Park and American Pie.
Bring on Blair Witch... -
I agree with harry, go see the movie before you submit an opinion. DBS isn't art but, it is the best thing Renny Harlin has ever done...maybe his slump is ending. maybe he's getting his stride. DBS definately shows promise...Akiva Goldsman has been the anti-christ for years now (lost in space is the lamest excuse for 700 effects shots i've ever seen) but if you'll remember, Akiva Goldsman also wrote (adapted) A TIME TO KILL, which rules...Joel (AKA Hack loser of the decade) Shcumacher also directed A TIME TO KILL, THE CLIENT, and FALLING DOWN, though admittedly has raped the Batman franchise, these are capable people (Shcumacher can go die). DBS made the entire audience jump out of their seats a few times and did some things i didn't expect. give it a shot before you open your mouth. and all you bitching about harry being a sell out because he gives an opinion you don't agree with remember this...he doesn't come down to where you work and slap the dick out of your mouth...it's his site he can say what he wants without your crying...but that's just my opinion...
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The qoute of qoutes, the monologues of monologues has be given to us and delivered by the only man who could best do so, and with the perfect expletive at the monlogues end. Sam Jackson does it again, too bad it's in a horrible movie, but the man manages to do it again. His bit about the avalanche was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. I will see this movie again just for that scene. I will buy the tape when it comes out on video, for that scene. The movie is an absolute must see, for that scene. It's kind of sad because it wasn't meant for a laugh, but who cares, how good could a movie about smart sharks be. If you are a fan of Sam Jackson, you have to see this film. Don't get me wrong, this movie sucks donkey @#%#$! But I'm telln' ya, see it for the Sam Jackson moment. And hey, what's with his ears? Sam's ears are missing chunks in one shot, then in another there are prosthetics on them, then off again, then on one ear but not the other. Is there something wrong with his ears? Or was it just some continuity problem in the film. If it was for the film, they must have cut the scene that talked about the ears.
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Why on earth would you think I worked for a studio? All I said is that Harry has an opinion and he's entitled to it. So do you. I'm neither praising or bashing his review. I suppose you would be happier if I spit out several pages of insults at Harry and his taste so that I would agree with you. Maybe you need to read my post again. Independent thought.... what a concept.
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a Lurker here. I read the site and love what it does for film and
you normally have to filter out the dumbasses but this is just too much.
It's rare that my "I think I'll like this one" or "I think I'll
hate this one" radar is wrong about trailers. I don't have money to
blow on movies so I try to choose the ones I'll like. But when I think I'll
hate a movie and see good reviews about it, I go see it, and more often
than not I come away thinking "I sure was wrong aboutthe trailers".
I wasn't this time (I saw it) and so fucking what. Sometimes I agree
with Harry and sometimes I don't and this time I don't. That doesn't
mean I come onto the site for a convinient soap box and whine about it.
That kind of posting wont stop, but if only one of you thinks twice
before posting drek, then hurrah for the good guys. -
I went to see DBS last night, and guess what, hip-film-snob-breath? I liked it! I loved it!
Now, I've read Harry's review, and a large share of your responses (at least until my gag reflex kicked in...), and I have to fan the flames of discord on a few points:
1) No death in DBS compares emotionally to Quint's in (the almighty) Jaws: Gotta disagree with you on that one, Harry. Without getting into spoiler-laden messy details, one of the characters' deaths left me stunned. I sat slack-jawed and stared at the screen, even as the credits rolled, waiting for the different ending. Didn't happen. And please people, stop giving me this crap about Jaws having far superior character development. Which brings me to...
2) Jaws' alledged greatness was an accident: One person posted about how he read that Spielberg was glad the shark didn't work, because then he had to give it a "Hitchcockian" feel. Said lapdog for St. Steven stopped just short of Spielberg's next statement, the one about how he had wanted to show the shark about "three times as much". He went on to say that he wanted to make it like a cheezy B-movie. Hear that, people? Your greatest film of all time, your "super thriller based on the terrifying novel", the film you refer to in hushed tones and all caps was going to be a piece of grade-B drive-in monster movie dreck. Hmmm...that description sounds vaguely familar...
3) Would it kill you to see a movie before you start the tragically hip posing?: I think it's great that you guys are keeping score and holding grudges and can tell if a full-length feature film will suck or not based solely on a teaser trailer and who's involved in it, but don't start talking about how bad it is until you actually see it. And if you don't want to see it, then don't waste my time telling me that you're not going to go see it in a desperate attempt to seem hip. Has the thought never entered your reptile brain that the movie could be fun in spite of the fact that the people who put the trailer together couldn't get Orson Welles to do a spooky voice over on how "God created the devil, and gave him Jaws"? I'm pretty sure that's why we have the phrase "pleasant surprise" in the english language. -
Jul 29, 1999 4:42:01 PM CDT
WHITE FOLKS GETTING CHOPPED UP BY SOME SHARKS- GO SEE THIS MOVIE
by negroenforcer
Look here, at least this movie was something made for the theater, with the special effects and the strong ass THX sound. It was made to be seen in a theater by some white folks, who can hate a movie where white folks are getting bit up by some sharks. Take your honky asses out of the ocean, that's not our homem you get eaten up by a shark, i got no remorse for your ass. They say JAWS kept white folks away from beach for a long time, hell ya. You aint a salt water mammal, go swim in a pool- and to all them white suffer mofuckers with the burnt ass skin- go surf in a wave pool. And to all them white surfers with some coral disfigurment- what i done told you already. As for that blair witch shit, someone saw that yesterday and threw the fuck up, white man wasnt scarred, the damn camera shaking to much.
prono pick of the week
"Negro police officers cop a feel on some thick ass white bitches jogging in central park." (1979) -
Not really about this movie...I haven't seen it yet, and probably won't since I'm not big into shark-attack movies. But, on this apparent problem we have with Rampant Pissiness from people in Talkbacks, apparently AICN isn't the only one to have this problem. Cinescape has been having some problems with that as well. There is an editorial posted on the site today that is a plea for people to 'lighten up' when it comes to movie reviews. Some of the people in here might benefit from reading this...
www.cinescape.com/features/990728e.shtml -
Down here at the bottom of the post you'll find the people who actually saw the movie and don't just post as a reflex. I saw the movie and it was - so so. Most of the movies good points were mentioned in earlier posts - death pecking order, LLCJ and Sam J (they got all the good lines), and the actual shark attacks (I'll be seeing them every time I go scuba diving). But for me the movie is ultimatlly defeated by terrible pacing, cliche'd characters, and unbelievable events. When they are hireing people for these movies, they should hire an expert on sharks and shark research. Movies set in the military generally have a military advisore on the set. That kind of authenticity can go a long way in a movie. Like most movies, I found the science to be somewhere between questionable and laughable. 8000 LB Mako sharks? Not on this planet. The sharks also had the peculiar habit of changing size to fit a situation. Inside they are small enough to hide in waist deep water, but outside they are GIGANTIC! Also, doors and windows that are designed to withstand the force of billions of gallons of water cannot be broken by animals. Not even genetically engineered ones. Which brings up the next point - I'm getting real tired of GE being the boogeyman in these movies. For some reason the characters were fine with the concept of being eaten by all natual sharks, but when they find out they were tampered with, they go balistic on the scientist/babe. The real problem is that these are the kind of issues that can easily be fixed in the screenwriting phase but are a real bitch once you're in production. Lastly, the only way they could have ripped off more (and better) movies is if the movie was composed of footage found in the camera of a missing diver.
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This was one entertaining flick. Lots of grisly unexpected shark attacks, in a POSEIDON ADVENTURE mode - survivors making their way through carnage trying to reach top of the 'trapped fortress.' I liked it a lot, not a classic, mind you but a solid, at times, thrilling rollercoaster ride. It's the only movie this summer that I walked out of and wanted to see again.
For once this summer, we get an uncompromising, R-rated popcorn movie that we can enjoy. I've had it with PG/PG13 rated "hollywood blockbusters" like WILD WILD SHIT, etc. -
There are good writers and bad writers. Richard Matheson, he's a good writer. Puts character, plot, decent dialogue into his stories. Crichton on the other hand--is a fucking awful writer. Jurassic park was a neat concept(even though the BBC did their own Jurassic Park as a April Fools skit skit in 1980) poorly executed. If people are saying this movie is "crichtonesque" that means it will rip apart the frankenstein myth(again)--and have shallow characters, dim plot, and a muddy ethical point to make. Crichton can explain science..but he cant write decent stories. Too bad they followed the book too closely--JP could have been a great movie instead of a poor one. FX do not a movie make.
Incidentally--scientists make the best villians. The sharks are the equivalent of the Frankenstein monster..victims of science. The true villian is the scientist who tampers with life. If the main scientist in DBS doesnt buy it-than that is a cheat. Crichton cheated the Frankenstien morality tale in JP by killing Hammond, but not the scientists who helped him.
Not surprising from a man who was himself trained as a scientist I guess. -
i agree with BRAK...on all the reasons he believed this movie suceeded and failed
I also dont understand ...how the shark could break unbreakable glass....but can barey break an oven door?......hmm...and then on top of that.....how come the axe ll cool j was using didnt make a spark in the oven...hmmm.......who knows..its just a popcorn movie,.,...entertaining...but has flaws
:)
>>>WINKIE<<< -
Firstly let me say that ABking is right on the money again about Renny Harlin and his villains. Anybody who didn't like John Lithgow in Cliffhanger, ought to have their head examined. Harlin's other villains, Craig Bierko & Patrick Malahide in Long Kiss Goodnight were also kick-ass. Frank Langhella was deliciously devious in Cuttthroat Island. Secondly Mattman got his rankings partly right. John Williams is right as Numero Uno. James Horner is right at No. 2. But how the hell can anyone rate that loser Goldsmith as No. 3. The no. of crap films he does compared to good ones is 2 to 1. No. 3 has to be Alan Silvestri, who is for some reason very very underrated but does magnificent scores time and again. Now to HARRY, the man has lost the plot big time. Any body who says that Golsmith's score for Haunting was better than williams' score for TPM shows what a big moron he/she is and that they know nothing about film scoring. He then re-iterates his stupidity by saying that none of the villains in Renny Harlin's films are good.
I PROPOSE THAT THIS MORON HARRY BE SACKED FROM THIS SITE AND THIS SITE BE NAMEd FORM HEREON AS THE "ABking site" and AB should be put in charge. -
Go see it. I liked it alot and it needs to be seen on the big screen. I snuck out of work during lunch and saw it by myself. I really think this is one of the most entertaining horror movies I have seen in a long time. Lake Flaccid doesn't even compare.
If the director comes to this page I would like him to know that in the theatre I was in EVERYONE loved it. Guess some of the posters here didn't but hey, were all aren't as smart as them!! LOL. -
Litestorm, you are correct. I messed up with the placing of Goldsmith at number 3 on the all time greatest composer list. As soon as I pressed that "post" button, I realized my mistake. Alan Silvestri comes close, but for me it's Tim Burton that ranks number 3, if only for the sheer originality of his work.
Saw DBS, by the way. Thought it was a very good movie. Don't understand Harry's comment in his reply that Saffron's character is a cardboard cutout. Just because she's not ethical means she's not a good character? Do characters have to be ridiculously sweet to be genuine? On the contrary, she delivers a very subtle performance. As always, I liked her.
Sam Jackson's 'lecture' scene kicked ass. The audience reacted wonderfully to it. -
For Nordling: Susan had to strip off her wetsuit, because she needed something rubber to stand on so as not to get shocked to death. Makes sense dude.
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Remember the sharks from the Certs with flavor crystals commercial? Those are the sharks in this movie. The movie bites, too.
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I know this might not be the place being a movie site and all but I'd like to take a moment to comment on the fabulous line of hair care products that Renny Harlin endorses in his home country of Finland. Forget Paul Mitchell and that fat cow Lori Davis - It's "Renny" for me!!!!
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First of all you can't compare The Abyss, Jaws, and The Posideon Adventure to a formula movie like Deep Blue Sea. It's like Apples to Oranges. The Abyss, Jaws, and The Posideon Adventure have different qualities than, lets say, Jurassic Park (or in this case Jurassic Shark) because DBS and JP fall in to the same catagory as each other. Just as The Abyss, Jaws, and The Posideon Adventure fall into the same classifacation as each other. Everybody on this 'talkback' message board is saying DBS's downfall was it's 'formula' characters and 'formula' story, and at the same time saying that it is inferior to The Abyss, Jaws, and The Posideon Adventure when those three perticular movies are far from 'formula'. It just dosen't work. I'm not saying that DBS is better than The Abyss, Jaws, and The Posideon Adventure but I'm not gonna sit around while you discuss how inferior DBS is to these non-formula movies listed above. Now... which is better... an Apple or and Orange?
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I'm going to see DEEP BLUE SEA for the second time tomorrow. I can't get enough of those KICK ASS Shark attacks. This movie was a FUN as hell thrill ride. See it again and enjoy it even more. Samuel L. Jackson's scene was so AWESOME...... To LITESTORM: thanks for the recomendation of changing this sites name to ABking. But I think Harry is doing a good job at it. I just don't get it when he says Harlin's movies have OK villains.
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You don't take a wet rubber wetsuit, and atand on top of it barefoot on a METAL ledge to ground yourself. She would have been a human spark plug. She was soaking wet! Electricity doesn't work that way. I prefer to think that the pipe was insulated and that's how come she didn't die. But being an employee there, you would have thought she'd have known that. The LAST thing you want in a submersible platform is a electrical fire. Just one of the many points of illogic in this film...any electricians care to comment?
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Deep Blue Sea is one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises to float the boat in quite some time. It's so very rare to have a film drag your pleading jaw across the theatre floor and induce nervous fits in your date, making her shriek like some anal probed epileptic kitten in heat. On a few prized occasions I could do nothing but grin at the absolute spectacle flung out before me, and bathe in some of the most glorious scenes of disbelief I can recall witnessing thus far this year, we're talking airborne popcorn stuff here. The CGI sharks were impressive but nonetheless seemed a smidgen on the weak side, but apart from that, I can honestly say that this is the most fun I've had at the cinema in a long time. Toss aside all the nonesense you've heard the Harlin Haters spew endlessly about and go see this clever little thriller. Floating torsos', fantastic animatronic eating machines and a few good shocks... Have Fun.
Another thing, since when has it become appropriate to bash our beloved host Harry? Last time I checked, common sense and manners were still somewhat present in certain parts of the globe... maybe not yours I guess. Let the man have his bloody opinion, if you disagree, post your displeasure, but don't start ragging on the guy because he liked something you didn't. You ignorant bastards. -
Ok, lemme try this again. Electricity cannot travel through rubber. Metal may be a conductor, but rubber is like a reverse magnet, it repels electricity. And seeing as she is a brainy scientist, she knew she had to strip down her wetsuit and stand on it so the electricity would not travel through it and into her body. It was actually a very clever scene (I DO find it odd that she is so clever in getting herself out of this situation, but was stupid as far as getting herself INTO it in the first place!!).
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Damn that Sam Jackson scene was amazing! That ending had balls! I was going into this film expecting to hate the shit out of it, what a pleasant suprise!
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I can't vouch for the scientific merit of the stripscene in DBS but I'm guessing that the real reason behind the scene is that Harlin was making a tip of the hat to Siqourney Weaver's famous undressing in Alien.
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Some movies are meant just to be fun. I saw two movies this week, The Haunting and Deep Blue Sea. I thought the Haunting was not scary, but had cool set pieces, and I couldn't understand all of the screaming from the audience. I sat there and laughed during the scary stuff (skeleton), but it seemed to scare the wits out of the audience.
We all see things differently. I have my opinion as does anyone else, and NO opinion is wrong. I think WWW was ten times better than MIB. I hated MIB with a passion and couldn't believe that a sci-fi film could be that unbelievably boring. But that's just me, some of you will no doubt disagree.
I thought DBS was not scary, but it had some suspense, and LL Cool J was likable. I also thought that the deaths (and who died) were unpredictable. I jumped several times, but people in the theatre were comatose, and I thought this movie was ten times more frightening than the Haunting which was filled with screams.
I also dug the Faculty. I watched it the same night I saw DBS, and wonder why it didn't do better box office. It moved along at a nice clip, and the acting was good, and the special effects were good. I just thought it was entertaining, sue me, and I will recommend it to others because I liked it.
When did it become a crime to have a different opinion? I'm sure that Harry doesn't agree with some of your picks either.
Men In Black was overhyped crap that made way too much money on the weight of it's "stars".
The shark movie was fun, not rocket science, but it had some suspense and who dies is unpredictable. I liked it.
Next movie I am going to see it The Sixth Sense, and I have heard good things, so my expectations are raised somewhat.
Respect opinions and don't call people idiotic names because you don't believe what they think. Harry does what any other critic does and just tells his opinion. Get over it, how old are you people griping anyway? 10? =P -
First of all...I've read several comments and reviews that state that Sam Jackson was wasted on such a role. Quite the contrary, this was a brilliant bit of casting on Renny Harlan's part. They take an A-List actor and build his character throughout the movie as a possible savior and even go so far as too give him the big rah-rah speach. You're sitting there expecting for big, bad Sam to get everyone through the whole ordeal and he get's fucked up in a way that makes Darth Maul look like he got a paper cut. As a member of the audience who didn't know that this was going to happen, it's a great moment in the movie and I applaud Mr. Jackson for seeing this artistic possibility and taking the role.
Secondly...I likes this movie the first time I saw it, when it was called Jurassic Park. The paralells are disconcerting. the rich people going to pull the funding which mena a weekend trip is made. Man made (enhanced) ceatures run amuck. Not the roller coaster ride that JP was but a good monster flick none the less.
Saint -
I saw this movie last night and it flat out sucked. THe shark special effects looked damn good but good special effects CANT carry a movie. Twister anyone? Well my friend and I figured out the secret. ANy movie about the sea with DEEP in the title HAS to suck. THere is a curse on the word DEEP. Examples: The Deep, DeepSTARsix, Deep Rising, and now Deep Blue Sea. This curse only applies to OCEAN movies with Deep in the title.
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What a waste of time and money...It was actually a relief when the film got fouled up and there was a 15 minute forced intermission. If you like to see sharks eat people, this is the film for you. If you like really bland dialogue, this is also the film for you. The writers put no thought behind their efforts as if to say, "Don't worry, they'll be too busy watching the sharks eat people."
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After watching Saffron remove her skivvies for Jaws 2 shark execution scene, I noticed she stood on top of her RUBBER wetsuit before administering the fatal blow. Hello, geniuses! Rubber DOES NOT conduct electricity that was her only chance for survival.
As for the remainder of DBS, I though it was entertaining and better than that Phantom Menace crap being shoved down every INTELLIGENT movie watcher/Star Wars fan. All the saps that saw the TPM multiple times suffered through JAR JAR BINKS multiple times. -
The first time I saw DEEP BLUE SEA, I thought it was AMAZING. The second time I saw it, I thought it was even better. I saw the movie at 9:40 pm last night, and it was PACKED. The audience LOVED it. They jumped, they screamed, they laughed, they clapped... and they applauded it at the end. DBS does what it was set out to do... entertain the hell out of you. This movie was JURASSIC PARK except with Sharks. The shark attacks are truly KICK ASS. Samuel L. Jackson is awesome in this gore fest. Harlin was smart giving him a monolouge to say a la PULP FICTION. The special effects are first rate (they could be nominated). The sounds effects were out of this world. This movie was what THX was made for (it should definetly be nominated for sound). The score was awesome. LL, Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows and Michael Rapaport all did fine jobs. Go see DBS a second time and you will see how much more fun you will have.
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While all the pansies are watching "Runaway Turd," and the artsies on "Blair Witch Project" (which ive seen and love), DEEP BLUE SEA is a great movie to just kick back and eat popcorn and hope your date cringes so you can try to touch her boob or something!!! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!
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Mattman made a posting in response to my suggestion that Alan Silvestri should be ranked no. 3. mattman you said Silvestri would come close but you would rank TIM BURTON as no. 3. To the best of my knowledge Burton has not scored any films as yet. Methinks you are refering to Burton's long time collaborator Danny Elfman. Whilst Elfman would make my top 5, I would still rank silvestri at 3 behind Williams & Horner. AB, man DBS ROCKED. Pity about the Box Office, not as big as I expected hope it doesn't go the way of The Long Kiss Goodnight,which had similar range Box office in its openinig weekend.
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DBS was a lot of fun and I was surprised Renny Harlin could put it together. I can't stand the CONSTANT use of slow motion in all of his movies (EVERY character dies in slow motion in EVERY Harlin movie), but here that's kept to a minimum, since slow motion would give away how fake the sharks are. Anyway, the reason it works is that the characters had a tough enough time trying to get out of the sinking substation, and ON TOP OF THAT had to deal with the sharks. That constant double-jeopardy kept the energy at peak level. Then there's the Samuel L. Jackson "Stop fighting!" scene, which we all LOVED. The audience just went nuts, I pumped my fist, and a guy next to me kept shouting "Oh, SHIT!!!" which made us laugh even more. Some genuine thrills here. Now for some serious bitching about these TalkBacks: in every one of the Review TalkBacks at least the first 50 or so posts are from cranks who haven't even seen the movie. There should be some rule that you can't post unless you've SEEN it, else we have to wade through a lot of childish hysteria to get to the real opinions of real movie freaks. Notice that the tail end of this TalkBack is mostly praising of DBS. This is because we've SEEN the movie and enjoyed it. It's a lot better than what the 50 cranks up there who haven't seen it say about it. Nobody likes an uneducated critic. My educated critical response to people who publicly condemn something they haven't seen is this:...............oh, wait, all they want is attention, why waste it? Outta here -- Freud
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Litestorm, the box-office for DBS wasn't as expected but it still wasn't bad. It could have legs with the way people are reacting to it. Man, I can't get those KICK ASS shark attacks out of my head.
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I saw Deep Blue Sea tonight and I must say it is fucking cool. I mean, what is sooo wrong about liking this movie? Nothing at all. You have to be a big fan of this particular genre to appreciate it. Obviously anyone who has a hard-on for Kubrick and only Kubrick, will find this movie inferior. All this movie is about is to entertain, which it did to the max. And it did put a fair amount of originality into it. Let me explain***************************SPOILERS*******************************The Sam Jackson death was geniusand serves a genuine purpose not only do you think he is not going to die. He goes through this whole corny speech about teamwork then WHAM! he's luchmeat, but it doesn't stop there, the actually rip Samuel "fucking" Jackson in Half! It shows how ruthless the sharks are and that no one is safe. Not many directors would have the balls to do that. And they actually killed the Saffron Burrows charecter gruesomely, they didn't have her learn the error of her ways, they chopped her up. That is the way to keep it fresh. I bet if there were kids in this movie, Harlin would have fed them to sharks too. So all you close-minded fucks out there can go kick your gongs around at that slow piece of shit Eyes Wide Shut, in the meantime, i'm gonna go shell out another 7 bucks for this fun thrill ride.
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Yeah, sorry about that. I meant Danny Elfman. Sorry, that movie was so intense that I'm pretty much messed me up for the weekend.
For me Danny Elfman is at #3.
ABKING, just saw the film again, the shark attacks were amazing, shocking, horrifying, and unfortunately implanted in my mind. The last death was hugely depressing, and it left the audience comatose. Everybody left in a drunken daze. -
Did you see a different movie? Saffron's character not only realizes the error of her ways, but cuts open her hand and leaps into the water, thereby using herself as bait as she stated. "There's only one way to catch an animal - bait." Earlier she says, "We hafta kill her (the shark)" and Thomas Jane's character grins, knowing that Susan has finally come around to his view, "That's the first real smart thing you've said all day!" So, not only did she learn the error of her ways, but she sacrificed her own life so that no one else will die.
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COVER YOUR EYES! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! SHARK INFESTED POSEIDON ADVENTURE AHEAD! Let me say, "I knew JAWS and you Sir..are no JAWS!"
I did see JAWS the summer that it arrived in the movie theatres. It was an amazing experience
because I had never lost a companion in a movie theatre before. My best friend, Melanie, was a fast track goner after the fish took it's first rabid bite. She never looked back as she ran out of the theatre. On the other hand..I gleefully stayed and spent the next 124 minutes frozen to my seat; captivated by the mayhem being inflicted upon the residents of that summer beach town and the
audience that I was watching the film with. On that day nothing short of a tidal wave was going to move me from that theatre, during the summer of 1975, in Burlington, Vermont. I often refer to JAWS as my first "communal" movie going experience. I recall when "we" (myself & the audience) all saw the shark for the first time on film...and how "we" ALL stood up and pointed at it. Everyone was on their feet...pointing in one continuous wave like motion,
and screaming, "THERE IT IS!" at the movie screen. The audience had become an extension of the film going experience. It was surreal...an Andy Warhol dream moment. Where film as art
and the audience fearfully collided in REAL time together. So I asked myself on Friday, on a hot summer day in Arizona...could anything recreate that vivid moment so many years and special effects ago? Was this new "JAWS on steroids" the bigger, better one that I'd been waiting for? My anticipation rose as I
sat down while keeping a close eye on my friend, Liz. Would she stay in her seat, I asked myself....or would she vacate the premises like my friend Melanie did all those years ago? In a word..NOT!! DEEP BLUE SEA is a shark
infested POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Like Liz said, "The only thing that is missing is Shelly Winters doing the breaststroke."
The beauty of JAWS was in it's ability to scare the living teeth right out of you because for 1/2 of the film..Bruce was deliriously chomping his way through your imagination. He was a bomb that could go off at any moment and you were never really quite sure which one of Davy Jones' lockers he was going to swim up from under. As Shakespeare once wrote, "Therein lies the rub!" Steven Spielberg played that terror fest just right. He knew that the smart money was in waiting to let "the bomb" go off as far into the film as he could get. That the squeamish factor would tear at our hearts and make us want to take that pearly dive right under our theatre seats. The shark in JAWS
is the same "guy" that Stephen King is so familiar with and writes about. The one who lays in wait after our parents turn the lights off and then, while his fangs drip goo, he sits quietly while the clock ticks next to your bed and busily tears you into pieces with his own personal sense of the hunt. Primal fears are the one's that speak so directly to our own psyche that we never seem to truly outgrow or recover from them and in the longrun we seem to enjoy them...as our many visits to horror films reflect. But this film just does not have it. It has the effects, the explosions, the stunts, a few moments here & there...but it is FRANKENSTEIN turned into a fish story and not much else. It shows too much and at times I felt that the effects were almost TOO good and become cartoon-like in their choreographed movements. Except for LL Cool J who does a great turn as a God fearing chef...this film leaves nothing to be savored. Geez! You almost wanted this meth-tainted shark to get loose so as you could just point your finger at the evil doctor and say, "After you finish with her...Go find Mike Meyers! PLEASE Mini-Mako!" The only thing that this film is wildly successful at...is it's message delivery. Please Hollywood Leave Mother Nature alone! Quit testing on animals ya' stupid humans! I mean how many T-Rex's, Sharks & Crocodiles do we need to see before we get the message here? Ban animal testing before the acting and writing get any worse!
Rated: 1 surfin' wolf
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She's HOT. And I always feel like I got my moneys worth when a wet girl strips down in a movie. Cudos to Harlin for pandering to my basest appetites. Not to mention the fact that the shark attacks rocked my world !!! It was unpredictable and pretty damn scary!!! This is the best so far of the glorious 90's monster movie new wave. It delivered the fucking monster movie goods in spades, with style, humour and gusto. That is all I ask of a film about genetically brain bloated killer sharks on the rampage. Oh yeah, Thomas Jane is the action man to beat for the new millenium.... Shark wranglin' fin surfin' and squinting his way into the pantheon of
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and The Haunting, and Lake Placid. So sue me. I went into all of these movies expecting to see good special effects, a decent plot, and good performances by the actors involved. That's exactly what I saw! I was entertained through all of them. In DBS, I jumped more than I have in a long time. Those damn sharks were scary! Judge for yourself.
-Mark -
Deep Blue Sea was a relief to see. Original and fun film making. More movies should be like this instead of Eyes Wide Shut.
I give it an 8 on a scale of 1-10 -
Come on. The shark-feeding scenes were very cool, but the dialogue really sucked. The worst, despite perhaps very subtle, recycled crap was the music score. Once you notice how bad the music is, you can't escape it.
Who let's these films out for release? If they actually already cut out a bunch of crappy scenes, how did it ever get green-lighted?
I found it pretty pathetic, and wish I hadn't fallen into the trap of going to see it thinking this one may be "different" from the Godzillas and Anacondas of the world. -
Surfwolf, you are a DUMBfuck. just because a movie has sharks attacking people doesn't automatically make it a jaws remake. And the movie doesn't CLAIM to be a remake. SO WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK FUCKING HEAD?
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With Deep Blue Sea Renny Harlin has finally convinced me: He's NOT a director. He's a fuckin' HACK! Hey, he managed to fuck up a script by Shane Black (The Long Kiss Goodnight) by casting his duck-ugly wife Geena Davis and changing the ending (of course the Sam Jackson character has to live because the fucking test audience wanted him to). Deep Blue Sue was story was utterly ridiculous, the actors were wasted in roles that are barely there, and again we had to endure these fucking CGI-effects (They SUCK! THEY SUCK BIGTIME!!). Let's throw Renny in movie jail (right next to De Bont) and make him watch his own fucking films.
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Ok, so DBS wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, but I enjoyed it to a certain extent. I enjoyed some cool shark attacks. The ending was cool. Yes, Sam's scene was also pretty sweet, even though I knew it was coming thanks to a couple of "professional" reviews I read. The acting wasn't at all intriguing to me. I didn't even think LL was all that cool. He was ok. There were two things that happened that I thought were pretty preposterous. 1. When the shark threw that guy against the window. Cmon, that was too much! 2. That shark carries LL for about a full minute but doesn't do anything but chomp on his leg a little. NO WAY!!! We all saw how everyone else was turned into Spam in a matter of seconds. So should have been the case with LL. However, it did have some excitement and I can't say I regret seeing it. Hey Amber, "I don't think this water is very sanitary!!!". Oh, I want to respond to Bri. Bri, you are the first person to ever criticize a movie based on what it COULD have turned out to be. As in, "Jaws isn't all that great because it was supposed to have a lot more of the shark in it." I know I am putting words in your mouth but that's what I feel you are saying. Jaws is my personal favorite movie of all time. A movie should be criticized based on what you see on the screen, not what could have happened. As it stands, Jaws is a masterpiece of suspense, action, and not least, acting.
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I liked Deep Blue Sea b/c everybody dies. I was especially glad that they killed that English doctor chick. When she got eaten I cheered. Half way through the movie I told my girlfriend, "this movie would be cool if only the blonde guy and LL Cool J survived, and I got my wish.
That and the shark eating scenes were fantastic, especially when both sharks ripped them apart together. -
Went to the movies again this weekend... had to choose from blair witch and bruce willis.. Haha popped out 14$ to see Deep Blue again...... i love a good movie!
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Hey, Powersalve, maybe Harry has never met a movie he didn't like (not that that's true) but at least he has a handle on why you go into a theater and sit your ass in a lumpy chair for 2 hours. Movies are for entertainment. This is not to say that the entertainment has to be mindless and dumbed-down for the average idiot viewer. But it has to excite, to incite a reaction, to make you sit up and take notice. And while Deep Blue Sea is no Andromeda Strain or Run Lola Run, it did do those things. And, I might add, it did them a whole hell of a lot better than crap like Sphere (another Chichton-esque movie with Sam Jackson... coincedence?) I thought Harry's review was right on, but I may be such a big fan of Harry's, because he is the only man alive who liked Meet Joe Black. Keep the faith Harry!!!
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I had the misfortune of spending $3.00 to watch DBS on DirectTV a few weeks ago. This film was one long insult to my intelligence. In fact, this was one of those rare films that actually subtracts from the store of human knowledge.
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