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PEARL HARBOR luster rusting'
Hey folks, Harry here and while Michael Bay's opening weekend seems assured... The movie tracking at near total awareness across the United States... Well, the word from the screenings is MIXED at best with a leaning towards negative... a pretty serious leaning. Everybody is blown away by the spectacle, but the problem most seem to be having is in the script and the performances of the leads... I see it tonight... I don't want to not like the film, but some of the problems I'm hearing... well they sound like problems, not opinions... We'll see though... to each his own eh?
You know, 200 million can do a lot of good in the world. It could feed
thousands of starving people. It can go towards cancer research. It can go
towards AIDS medicine in Africa. Schools can be built to help young minds
grow. It can also be thrown into the toilet that is the three hour P.O.S.
known as "Pearl Harbor". Let me get right to the point. This thing sucks.
Watching the screening of it on Tuesday night at the El Capitan theater in
Hollywood, I was crossing my fingers, hoping that something good was ahead
of me. No such luck.
The movie is basically "From Hear To Eternity" by way of "Tora, Tora, Tora"
by way of "Armageddon" by way of "Top Gun" by way of "Saving Private Ryan"
by way of a Pepsi Commercial by way of "Mars Attacks" by way of a Hallmark
Commercial/LDS infomercial put into an MTV blender and put on puree. Let us
not forget the dialogue courtesy of Webster's Big Book of Clichés. Cuba
Gooding Jr. wanders around this film making the best he can out of the
material but he is useless. Ben Affleck wonders around looking heroic. The
rest of the cast just walks around in stock Michael Bay slow motion while
every other shot hast to have a GRAAAAND CRANE or DOLLY and LOOOTS OF
SMOOOKE.
Don't get me wrong, the thing is going to kill at the box office thanks to
the marketing slaughter. But it will not get the repeat business that
"Titanic" did. Mostly because we could give a rats ass about any of the
characters, where as "Titanic" had a story with people we could care about.
This just gets so cheese-ball and sappy (especially the first nine hours or
so) that I was ready to split.
When the fireworks finally go off, then I must say, it's mighty
spectacular. But after a wile I just becomes the same old stuff. Even
explosions can run thin after a while.
All I can say is that it's sad that this movie was made at all. With the
recourses available to the people who made this film and this is what we
get. Michael Bay may be thinking he is making something greater than
"Private Ryan" but all we get is three hours of the
animal-cracker-in-the-panty scene from "Armageddon". It's obvious that the
guy can not tell a story, that he needs BIIIGGGGG explosions to get his
point across. Think I'm wrong? Put this same story in the hands of a
Soderberg or Scorsese or a master who understands that there are moments to
be loud, and moments to be subtle. Where here, even the subtle moments ARE
GRAAAAND!!!! Or let's see Bay try his hand at a film that has a 5 million
dollar budget, a story where he can't blow anything up. For get it.
Just as a special not to the folks who made this film as you read this,
which I know you will: Do us a favor and try to tell a story instead of
thinking you are going to win an Academy award because you are sinking more
ships that Cameron and blowing up more stuff than Spielberg. You will get
no where near an Academy award with this one, save for best sound. All you
are doing is having a pissing contest with your selves. And it shows. Yes
you will have a good opening weekend or two, but when you don't produce the
numbers you thought you would just remember why: Story is still everything,
no mater how much stuff you blow up.
JoshNext we have RH...
in the interest of fairness, i have to say the preview
to this film is the best thing i've seen all year and
i started to realize i was going to be disappointed
long before the film began.
that said, i just got back from a screening and...
well... i told me so.
like all michael bay/jerry bruckheimer productions,
this is an amazingly striking movie visually with some
sort of script slapped onto it as an afterthought. i
was completely blown away with the camera angles, the
lighting, the cinematography, even the sound. michael
bay understands that film is an immersive genre and it
can be a sensory experience. the battle scenes in
this film are some of the most impressive feats of
special effects i can recall and evoke the thrill of
top gun in terms of sheer grit and realism.
the problem here is the script. apparently the
writers strike started early on this film. the love
triangle is a mess -- kate beckinsdale is beautiful.
her character conflict is her relationships seem to be
launched by the first romantic gesture that comes her
way. in this case, affleck and harnett both snag her
in their good looks and charm and seem to have nothing
more to offer but potential abandonment via war. the
villians, the japanese, are just a red menace in
disguise -- as the film tells it, there was no
motivation here for their all out attack on pearl
harbor except they thought they could do it. it had
no strategic import at all. not even FDR can stir the
heart strings this film desperately grasps for and
misses repeatedly. you won't believe how corny it is.
i'm still shaking my head. i can't tell you how many
times i laughed aloud at terrible, cheesy lines that
came spouting out of the cardboard characters on
screen. the film is a series of genre cliches --
affleck as the fly boy from top gun, the u.s.s.
arizona as the titanic, the japanese as unthinking
enemies bent on destruction like the aliens from
independence day... cuba gooding jr. literally
condenses his role in men of honor to about five
minutes of screen time.
overall, the best description of this movie i can give
you is it's a bimbo -- she's really sexy looking with
a great voice but you just don't want to have to pay
attention to the inane nonsense coming out of her
mouth. the movie, at 3 hours, started to feel like a
POW camp after a while. the actual bombing of pearl
harbor scenes are almost worth the torture of the
other two hours slapped around it. you'd think with
$140 mil budget, they could've put together a decent
script.
R.H.And lest you think the word be all bad... au contraire mon ami, Chains likes it... likes it alot... Read....
Hey Harry,
I caught a screening of Pearl Harbor this morning here in Atlanta, and just wanted to toss in my two cents...
I have to put it in the context of a Bay/Bruckheimer production... meaning that we all know what to expect from those two fellas by now. I liked The Rock & Armageddon, and even kinda dug Bad Boys for it's style and look. But that's what these movies are really all about anyway, right? You have to go in knowing that you aren't going to get the character, reality and emotion of American Beauty or Shawshank Redemption. But Bay movies are some of the most beautiful and visually spectacular I've ever seen. I enjoy them for the "Holy Shit I can't believe what I'm seeing" moments... and I got more than my share of those in Pearl Harbor.
I basically sat there with my jaw to the floor during much of the 40-minute attack sequence. I mean, literally I caught myself saying "Holy F$#%" 3 or 4 times, and dammit, I see a lot of movies and that doesn't happen often. The air battles, the sheer magnitude of the Japanese attack and the devastation on the American fleet was just amazing. And I didn't get lost in what some of Bay's detractors call his "Attention-Deficit-Disorder" style of cutting. It was engaging.
Now the movie's not perfect, and I really wish that some day a director would come along with Bay's visual skills who also cared more about character development... someone who would insist on sharp, original dialogue... but until that day comes, we'll have to enjoy what he brings us. There were actually some pretty emotional moments... I sucked it up and held maybe a tear or two back (I occasionally drop a tear at really powerful war movies... "Glory" being the greatest example), but it's possible to become human during a few spots of this film, and I had to remind myself that it was a Michael Bay movie and I was probably being manipulated.
Oh, and by the way... regarding those parts that were "reminicent" of Titanic, Top Gun, etc... yes, I did notice the similarities, but it didn't really bother me. I mean, ships sink the way they sink... just because people hung on for dear life and slid down the deck of the Titanic as it sank, doesn't mean soldiers didn't do the same when the Arizona went down. I suppose people would be happier if they fell up or sideways, or if the ship found a different way to sink. By nature, this film had to show certain events and situations. If they have been shown in other movies, that sucks... but you can't ignore the sinking fleet simply because you don't want to "copy" Titanic.
***WARNING!!! ENTERING THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND EDITORIAL ZONE***
Recalling "Glory" makes me think about how great a film like "Pearl Harbor" really could have been. If Hollywood could only trust the public's level of intelligence and capability of understanding and appreciating something a little different, something that takes a risk or two, then we might get a film as emotionally fulfilling as "Glory" with the big-budget grandeur of "Pearl Harbor." But since "Glory" only made $26 million, we'll likely see more films that can guarantee big bucks and appeal to the masses.
***END OF EDITORIAL ZONE***ENTERING CAST BREAKDOWN***
Cuba Gooding Jr. was great... underplayed... and I won't say underused as many people have about his role. It was simply a small part. He even shared one of the few truly sincere and sad moments of the movie that I won't spoil for you. He was great. Jon Voight was really good as well... he gave life to some famous historical dialogue that could have been really lame if not treated properly. He rose above the level of acting of the typical summer flick. I really have to add that I loved Dan Akroyd's part, too. He was one of the most believable actors in the film, and treated his part with genuine sincerity. Some of the very best work I've seen from him.
As far as the main characters go... I'd have to say that Kate Beckinsale fared the best. She was impressive, especially during the hospital sequences in the aftermath of the attack. I really wasn't expecting the movie to cover this aspect as much, but she was really touching and handled herself as well as anyone in the entire film. Josh Hartnett seemed to underplay most of his part, and served himself well, too. He used subtle facial expressions, and I grew to like and identify with his character. I've liked Ben Affleck ever since "Mallrats" and refuse to join the masses who hate his work in Bay movies... there's a lot about his personality that I like and that I've seen in my own friends growing up, so when people say that he's always himself or goofy or not-very-believable, I say that's exactly how some guys are in real life. Watching his character in the film, I could really see one of my buddies acting the very same way. And yes, the animal cracker scene in "Armag!
eddon" was pretty stupid, but I've done and said stupid shit to my girlfriend, too. I say stupid things precisely because they are stupid to make her laugh, which is how I saw that scene. Damn, film-geeks love to be negative. Ben was likeable... unless he's the kind of guy who beat you up when you were in high school... then I suppose you'd hate him as always.
All in all, this was a hell of a movie... You may even shit yourself a couple times during the big attack sequence. Just don't expect any huge surprises or inspiring dialogue... I don't think we'll ever get that in a big-budget film as long as people throw their money at crap like "The Mummy Returns"... Good Christ, people - can't you tell a bad movie from it's trailer??
I'm tired of writing and you probably won't post this anyway... so I'm outta here. Hope someone finds this helpful.
Overall rating - 8 out of 10
-Chains
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Hey i like Michael Bay, he's a good popcorn movie director. I hope its as fun as the MUMMY RETURNS.
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Anyone heard that there's gonna be different versions of Pearl Harbour released in Japan and Germany because of "marketing" reasons. Is it me or is everything about Pearl Harbour linked to marketing in some way?... This movie is pure manufactured Hollywood. At least Cameron had passion for Titanic and it's history, Bay and Bruckheimer just have passion for Titanic's grosses.
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You think the blitz is heavy, huh? Come to Hawaii...Come to Honolulu. It's sickening. I understand why it is heavier here than anywehere else, but man, it's too heavy. Anyways, seems like a couple of you guys seem to rip this movie...though I can see why. From what I seen so far, it looks more like a love story than anything else. I think a few military guys here will be dissapointed. But, this will kill at the box office and it will be played by the press to no end over here. For once, I wish I was at Baylor instead of being here.
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I don't remember typing all that in my previous post.
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May 23, 2001 1:08:43 AM CDT
Reviews read like pre-emptive replies to Talk Back criticism!
by wesley snipes
"You know, a situation like this has a high potentiality for the common motherf**ker to bitch out."
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Not me. I don't know why everyone keeps talking about how great the trailer was. To me it was one of the most manipulative pieces of pro-USA propaganda I've ever seen. How many slow-mo shots of American flags are in it? I think I counted 11. How many slow-mo shots of idealized 1940's Americana (kids playing baseball, little girls running around in angel wings, noble looking middle aged men reading the paper and smoking a cigar) are in there? A bunch. How many asian people are living in Hawaii? In real life: well over 50% In Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor: None. I urge all of you to restrain from seeing this movie, at least opening weekend. I like to see stuff blowing up as much as the next guy, but I sure as hell am not going to contribute to whatever box office records this tailored for dumbasses propaganda is going to break. I'm going to stay home and watch my Thin Red Line DVD again.
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Heavon forbid! I cant believe DeLaurentiis is that f/ing stupid!
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The Diary of Anne Frank.
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Kyle.Reese, you and I are in total agreement. Screw this Cameron ripoff, I have been saying it since I heard who was directing it. I don't plan on seeing this film... not at the Theatre, home video, cable, NBC... you get the point. The last film I refused to see was BWP 2. I still have no clue as to what happens in that POS!!! And in Twenty Years when Bay/Bruckheimer are re-releasing this POS I will be able to proudly state that I never seen it.
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Flashs bulbs going off in rapid succestion, used for editing cuts. American flags floating in the water. Incredible dolly shots and huge visual flare.....no script. Ive not seen the film yet but Ive already got a good idea of how it will be. As one of the reviewrs said if only this film had been made by Scorese. Bay is a very good visual director which would be fine if that was that was required to make a film. Ive said it before and I'll say it again, the three most important things to make a movie into a great one is 1)script, 2)script, 3)script. Or am I being too picky??
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WHAT??? I didn't give a rat's ass about any of the characters in Titanic. Hell I wish Leo really had drowned. If thats the movie the first reviewer is stacking Pearl Harbor up against then I think it might actually be decent be cause I hated Titanic. To bad the old lady didn't throw the master print to the bottom of the ocean instead of that necklace.
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May 23, 2001 2:06:13 AM CDT
i say, that PEARL HARBOR trailer would have been more effective.
by human2
...if they had also included slit-eyed 'Japs' flying Zeros over other stuff besides the moms hanging out laundry, boy scouts, kids playing stickball, and other Americana. Imagine how great and awe-inspiring it would have been if they had shown the entire Japanese air fleet flying over Iowa corn fields, the statue of libertie, the Washington monument, Mount Rushmore, and, finally, a freshly-baked apple pie, set out to cool on the windowsill of a Missouri house. The trailer is like 'Triumph of the Will' by an American director. SUCK IT, MICHAEL BAY. I'll only watch this movie if it's confirmed that Kate Beckinsdale's nurse uniform gets ripped off halfway through this movie and remains off for the duration.
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Up to 7.00pm last night, I thought PH was gonna be the movie epic of the season. I loved Bay's work on Ammergadon and The Rock and thought nobody can screw up a film with so many likeable faces with truckloads of cash to burn...
Any one remembered Pearl the crappy mini-series in the 1980s. Well that had more of a story than this clunker.10 minutes into the movie (movie?!), I realised that I couldn't care less whether the 3 lead characters lived or died. And this from the guy who didn't even mind Affleck in Bounce.
Even an action junkie like me yawned at the battle scenes. The music over the dog fights were grating. The historical inaccuracies were unbelievable.$145 million and not one cent for fact-checkers! Flying fortresses were mentioned in the President's 1942 speech while modern ships were lined up all over PH? jap carriers with angled decks? Memo to Bay: You can't hide stuff on the big screen.d
And Don't get me started on the dialog.The japanese had better lines than the Americans.
Didn't the people ever watch Tora!Tora!Tora! and realise the definitive PH movie was already made and for a lot less.
Boy is Disney gonna take a bath on this turkey. There is no way this is gonna break even.
You can blame the japs for PH in 1941. But PH 2001 is 100% American-made. -
...the Talkback for Titanic a couple of years ago. Deja-vu all over baby._____________Oh, and one more thing: Bay Sucks. Why? I don't know; so that makes me cool.
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I saw Jan Sverak's (Oscar winner for Kolja) Dark Blue World last weekend. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Excellent story, but I wonder if US people will understand that. It is about Czech pilots during the Battle of Britain that were arrested after the World War II and in many cases died in the communist prison. Spectacular FX, exceptional performances, excellent dialogues. There is a love story like in PH. I haven't seen PH so far, but from what I've heard or read, I belive Dark Blue World is much better. Total budget was around 6 mio. USD, the most expensive Czech movie in a history. I strongly recommend to go and see that. Regards from the sunny Prague.
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May 23, 2001 3:28:41 AM CDT
yeah i will still go see it but i hear the beginning is slow but
by jon-e-blaze
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May 23, 2001 3:42:20 AM CDT
i'm NOT going to pay to see this movie, just sneak in after watc
by mooncake
i guess it would be ok to only watch the last 1 hour of the movie then. since the first two hours suck.
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...was seeing TITANIC on DVD puhh thank God i haven
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May 23, 2001 4:05:33 AM CDT
Why Oh Why Couldn't They Dump The 230 Mil Plus Into An....
by the founder
AUTHORITY MOVIE! Hell I would even let Bay stay on board as the director so long as Miller and Ellis did the script. I will go see PH if nothing other than for the battle sequences alone. I hope Disney breaks even with this puppy and Affleck and Gooding as well, because I read that some of the higher paid actors either gave up their pay or a large part of it to help out when the movie went over budget in exchange for a percentage of the gross. If for no other reasons then the fact that when a worth while script comes along and requires a large budget like this that studios won't think "oh no this could be another Pearl Harbor" ****HUMAN2
when I was a kid I remember me and some of my cousins wanting the pie my aunt had made to cool faster so we put it in the window sill, and when we came back boy did we get a surprise, the pie had a bunch of flies on it. -
That's right! Show the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor...and winning! The United States folds, the Nazis conquer the East Coast, and there's your perfect set up for the $200 million version of THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Oh baby, it could have been sweet. PS: Even the sublime hottiness of Kate Beckinsdale could not possibly entice me into seeing this stupid movie.
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So: First few minutes for LOTR trailer, sneak into Shrek for next hour and come back for the fireworks.
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I'm interested only in the attacking sequence, although I know it'll be dumb.
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"Dazed & Confused".
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Harry never posts a good review for...let's say...Disney and Michael Bay movies. Okay, we have one here, but the overall article is about how PH is not as good as we hoped it would be. Fine. I read about 10 positive reviews of the movie. Just go to darkhorizons, cinescape, pearharborfilm.com etc...not always from the critics. People at the premiere, veterans and sailors who saw the movie...the majority cheered and applaused at it. Many people thought it was really awesome, even some survivors. Many say that there is not much historical innacuracies, that the love story is good, that you never get bored. I trust them 100%. It seems that everyone here wants to hate this movie and see it anyway and then shout to anyone how it sucks. I am for myself confident that the movie will be a blast. I havent't seen it and I want to love it, true, but let's face it, from the trailers and commercials, it looks great, and I read very positive reviews from regular movie-goers, and I listened to the soundtrack etc...so I am really really confident and I can't wait to see it.
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How much money do they have to lose? Well, considering every film Bay has done so far has MADE great heaping piles of moolah, I'd say a lot. And I doubt very much that PH is going to change that trend.
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The problem here is not that it won't make back its budget in the US. It undoubtedly will. But lets not forget that Titanic became the highest grossing film of all time because it made over a billion overseas. Titanic had universal appeal. It was a bunch of people on a ship in the middle of nowhere. Pearl Harbor is about a group of Americans being bombed. That's not a concept that has universal appeal. Plus it's going to piss off other countries no end. The Brits will be pissed at Ben Affleck winning the Battle of Britain. The Germans get pissed by all WW2 movies. And the Asians, a very lucrative international marketplace will be pissed at their portrayal, however 'balanced' it is done. And then there's the small matter that no one but Americans really give two hoots about Pearl Harbor. Everyone else was fighting a dirty war for years previously, after all.
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Seriously, I pray for a job in the movie biz that would free me from the clutches of the 9-5 job. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to have one where I can surf the web and read AICN occasionally. Oh, and sorry about the good grammar... I did go to college, but I should have realized that was highly inappropriate here. (oh, I mean "hear")
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Michaels Bay couldn't direct his way out of a wet paper bag.
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I can accept all this "ooo ahhhh what a spectacle" when the subject is a meteor hurtling towards earth or a global super-villiam, but when the subject is a real war event, then the spectacle should be secondary to the telling of the story. However "entertaining" this film may be, it will be a failure because it attempts to impress us with destruction. Remember, Saving Private RYan put us in the shit right at the start - to create a mental space of danger and panic - this film makes the destruction into the payoff - we are waiting through the film to see Pearl Harbor get demolished - and that is tacky.
But sadly, it is all Bay and Bruckheimer know how to do. If they wanted to make a courageous film, they would have started with the bombing and made the film about people adjusting to it, dealing with it and re-building their lives - of course, they would also have shown people adjusting to the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - equally unstrategic acts, but with wildy divergent levels of cruelty.
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The only good movie I have seen this year is O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU. Everything else which I have seen has sucked (one of the main reasons why most of the movies I have watched lately have been via AMC or TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES)! I had a sneaking suspicion that PEARL HARBOR would suck once I discovered that this was going to be a Jerry Bruckheimer /Michael Bay film. Now, my suspictions are confirmed. Sorry, I have wasted too much of my money on bad movies in the past 6 months alone & have more than enough restraint instilled in me because of it to avoid all of the hype & not go see P.H. I encourage all of you to do the same! Send a message to Hollywood-You will not go see their piss-poor movies until the quality of them actually improves (drastically).
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I saw it last nightand I liked it. It wasen't academy award winning material but it wasen't crap either. I give it 3 stars out of 4.
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I find it hard to believe people are surprised at the lack of interesting characters in Pearl Harbor. Though possibly a perfect film to explore this director's ability to study and flesh out a character, Michael Bay shows he's incapable. Both Bay and Bruckheimer have always been flash over substance.
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Man, these are way different kind of films. Why is Titanic better?
1. It doesn't offend any nations (however I wouldn't define it international).
2. It has James Cameron and James Horner, two megatalents.
3. When you are getting bored of the love thing, at THAT point the action begins and not in the middle of the movie.
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Where will it be this time, in the hull of an unused ship, in the harbor, on top of the bridge, how about right on the flight deck of the USS Arizona. Kate B. can wear a boa...
I was also disturbed by the preview that it looked like all the people looking at the planes fly over were caucasian. Now those worries are proven true as the B & B Crap Factory have erased the true make up of Hawaii and with it an important aspect of that era. -
Hear Hear!! Even though what he wrote down was taken from this months issue of FHM here in blighty. But agree with it anyways!!!
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I'm sick of hearing about how this film has no script. There's a very simple explanation as to why there is no script for his movie. Basically, we have run out of words. After thousands upon thousands of movies, all utilizing hundreds of thousands of words, they are all used up. The last unused phrase was "Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face," used in 1964 for the film "Dr. Strangelove." Since then there has been no original utterance in a Hollywood movie. Therefore, Michael Bay is to be applauded for publicly acknowledging the film industry's darkest secret by openly making a film that has absolutely no (so-called) original screenplay and is composed entirely of cliches and recycled movie lines gleaned from the Internet Movie Database. Therefore I think we should all support Pearl Harbor and end the hypocrisy.
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I knew this movie was in trouble when I read an interview with Randall Wallace on the Writer's Guild site late last year I think. He hinted that Bruckheimer and Bay wanted to do some things with the screenplay that he didn't agree with but he was able to avoid being a part of the killing of the script thanks to his own upcoming directing project. Unfortunately for him, his name is still on it.
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Garth and others (not Harry you'll notice) were invited to Hawaii for the premiere. Garth has up his review and this is how movie reviews are to be done. Not what I just read at this site.
Harry just could not allow the other sites to run with their reviews of this movie now could he? The least Harry could have done was mention Garth's review.
Little bit of jealousy coming out in Harry -
Be serious...we know these clowns CAN'T make a movie with any palatable dialogue, let alone with a hint of real soul. Their movies look good, but they run like 2 hour trailers - quick cut here, quick cut there, some Hallmarkian diatribe and a dip into the cliche' pouch. Frankly, you can thank the flippin' MTV generation for this, anyway; the attention span of the average moviegoer rises just above peat moss, methinks. I have no doubt the whole "Pearl Harbor" movie mess'll play out like a crummy music video - hard-charging images with shit masquerading as "emotional, meaningful interplay between the characters." Hooey.
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May 23, 2001 6:46:18 AM CDT
In the Grand Tradition of Armageddon, ID4, and Wild Wild West
by mister_pink
another piece of crap for the masses comes out just in time for summer. It will make a ton of money because people are sheep who do whatever the commercials tell them to do. VCRs across the country (U.S.) will be recording reality tv while everyone is at the theater. I think I'll go see Memento again. If this wins any worthwhile oscars, I'll give up on mainstream movies forever.
BTW, think the japanese say "All your base are belong to us" after the bombing? -
May 23, 2001 6:54:05 AM CDT
Unsung Heroes of World War II - Check or Contact Local PBS Stati
by uhero
"Pearl Harbor" is being criticized for presenting a "one-sided view" of World War II. To see another side of World War II, check your local TV listings for "Beyond Barbed Wire" and "We Served with Pride: The Chinese American Experience in WWII" and read below about the heroic Chinese people who saved the Doolittle Raiders in China.
To look up broadcast dates for "Beyond Barbed Wire" and "We Served with Pride" visit http://www.pbs.org/whatson/ or http://www6.inno-tech.com/naata/action.lasso?-database=carriage.fp3&-layout=standard&-response=search2.html&-random or contact your local PBS station at http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/feedback.html and ask programming to show "Beyond Barbed Wire" and "We Served with Pride."
[RELATED LINKS]:
WE SERVED WITH PRIDE: The Chinese American Experience in WWII
http://www.pbs.org/pressroom/2000/fall/releases/we_served.html
http://www.pbs.org/whatson/press/fall/we_served.html
BEYOND BARBED WIRE
http://www.pbs.org/pressroom/1999/winspring/releases/beyondbarbedwire.html
http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/progcontact_b.html#wire
People of the Doolittle Raid
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/misc-42/doolt-p.htm
Disney sends Japan re-cultured "Pearl"
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/va/20010523/099061841100.html
"Pearl Harbor" may stir controversy in Japan
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/va/20010523/099061961100.html -
I'm going in, see if there really is a new Fellowship of the Rings trailer, watch it and leave. Bay makes impressive trailers and that's it. There's never been any substance to any of his plots. Ben Afleck is an idiot and I'm still sick of Cuba saying "Show me the money" and "Watch out now." If it was free and I was on some really intense crack (to keep me awake) I might would go see it. The history and the visuals are the only thing that this film promises. And that's stretching it to obtain 3 hrs of my time. I like movies way too much to just sit, stare at the screen, and not be asked to get anything out of it.
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I'm going in, see if there really is a new Fellowship of the Rings trailer, watch it and leave. Bay makes impressive trailers and that's it. There's never been any substance to any of his plots. Ben Afleck is an idiot and I'm still sick of Cuba saying "Show me the money" and "Watch out now." If it was free and I was on some really intense crack (to keep me awake) I might would go see it. The history and the visuals are the only thing that this film promises. And that's stretching it to obtain 3 hrs of my time. I like movies way too much to just sit, stare at the screen, and not be asked to get anything out of it.
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Titanic had characters you could care about. Oh, that's rich. They were about as cardboard as the standee in the lobby. Excuse me, I have to go watch professional wrestling now.
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Even though it releases December 19 this year, it will be well over 250 million by New Year's Day. And I am talking about the U.S. screens alone.
It open on something like 10,000 screens world-wide. DO you have any idea how much that will translate into? We are talking ab our a ready-made audience all over this planet. 350 million hits on its Web site when it opened.
Movies like Pearl and Mummy are tripe effects only, everyone know that. Lord of the Rings has one of the best stories and character development vehicles of all literary time AND has ground-breaking creature and epic vista effects.
Everyone can bitch and moan about all these standard-fare movies a few more months. You will all see something that hasn't been seen since 1977 come December...
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May 23, 2001 7:44:32 AM CDT
If you like Michael Bay movies, you might also like a bg, fat, s
by deargodmyspleen
Finally, a couple of people able to put down in (misspelled) words what Michael Bay is all about. What scares me away from this one is that it's a THREE HOUR long music video with explosions, as opposed to Armageddon, a one-hour forty-five minute music video with explosions. I felt dizzy and nauseated after seeing Armageddon, so Pearl Harbor might just kill me. The only thing I don't understand is Ben Affleck. This is a guy who seems to have good taste by involving himself with Kevin Smith movies, but then he attaches himself to vomit fests like Armaggedon. Maybe he's got a hard-on for slow motion and quick, random camera moves.
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All the comments about Bay's and the film's flaws are right on, but in the interest of silly historical nit-picking, the ship you're seeing roll over Titanic-style is not the Arizona, but the West Virginia...in fact the Arizona is not focused on THAT much in the film, the Money Shot bomb falling shot, aside...it's the WV that Cuba's character is stationed on and that eventually rolled over...
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re the arizona/west virginia: not that you would know the difference from the film -- Pearl Harbor does a TERRIBLE job of identifying any of the ships or the logistical unfolding of the actual attack -- on the one hand, from a chaos POV, you definately get a sense of the relentless mayhem, but from a historical POV, you're never sure who's on what ship, what ship is sinking, etc...nor doe it use any of the stuff with the Nevada getting under way and making for the open ocean, only to deliberately run itself aground to avoid being sunk in the mouth of the harbor...there was a way they could have mixed the sense of chaos with a little bit of perspective, to tell a fuller story of the attack on Battleship Row...instead it's just 15 minutes (the other 30 are in the hospital and the airfields) of zeros zipping around and things blowin' up (often very impressively)
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May 23, 2001 8:38:33 AM CDT
My Great-Uncle Tag Maverik Was Stationed At Peral Harbor Before
by buzz maverik
"What do y'all gals call yerselves again?" "Tee hee. We are geisha." "Geisha. I'm gonna remember that. Whoa! Lower, baby, lower." "Now, tell us about patrol coordination again." "I'll need some more sucke for that." "Sake." "I know what I said, darlin'. Say, I know she don't speak English, but could you tell her to do that thing with her tongue again?" "After you explain about morning duty assignments..."
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It's been said before on this board, but the American people really are a bunch of sheep, going to see any piece of crap that the media blitzkrieg tells them to see. I really have no desire to waste $9 and three hours of my life (that I'll never get back) to see this insult to my intelligence. There's a complex, interesting story to tell about Pearl Harbor; with Michael Bay in charge, we won't get it. Did anyone else read the article on Bay in Sunday's LA Times? It actually included some negative talkback quotes about him from AICN. He just brushed them off, saying something like, "There's only 50 people on the Internet, anyway." What an ass. But because most of my countrymen have no minds of their own, this crap will make scads of money. One of my best friends really wants to see this movie and I'm so afraid I'll be forced to go. Maybe I can arranged getting hit by a bus before then.
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"You know, 200 million can do a lot of good in the world. It could feed thousands of starving people. It can go towards cancer research. It can go towards AIDS medicine in Africa. Schools can be built to help young minds grow. It can also be thrown into the toilet that is the three hour P.O.S. known as "Pearl Harbor". Let me get right to the point. This thing sucks". Josh is a genius. Moriarty-take notes..pleeease!
These 3 negative reviews (even the last one can be considered negative) will help the people who come to this site smooth sailing thru the seas of cheese. The really smart ones among you weren -
May 23, 2001 9:06:57 AM CDT
Something to do this weekend instead of seeing this garbage dump
by otis von zipper
No, I'm not a fan of Bay and Bruckheimer. So, I thought I might see an indie film. Lord knows just about anything on a screen would be better than this thing. But really, if you'd like to see an excellent movie about Pearl Harbor this weekend, rent From Here to Eternity. No action, but damn it's great.
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Has anyone noticed what a terrible job they've done on Jon Voight's FDR makeup? He looks like Statler (or is it Waldorf?) the heckling muppet. Was Edward Hermann too bust doing car commercials to play FDR in Pearl Harbor?
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I mean, the ad campaign was probably to good to be true. Whenever a movie gets SO hyped that it just becomes something everyone hast to see, well, it's gonna be disappointing cause we all have this 2 minute trailer in our heads that's an assemblage of the best scenes/shots of the film. I remember, a few years back when ID4 was just the biggest thing. Everyone and their father wanted to see it. I did too, I fall for ad campaigns, poor me. However, I went to see it, and thought it was a severe disappointment. Same thing happened with Godzilla. Same thing will happen now. BTW I think Bay is a hack. When the man decides to chill out and make a good movie, I'll pay attention, cause he does have a whole lot of visual skill. But he learned his craft in 30 second storytelling i.e. MTV. Mr. Bay needs to just go make a small film, work out the kinks with how he tells his storys. Of course I'll go see Pearl Harbor, not many people will skip it this summer, at least for a couple weeks. But, my attentions on later openers now, Tomb Raider, Evolution, JP3, anything else. I hold no great thought that this will be Bridge on the River Kwai. We can only hope that it will entertain. That's what the summer's for.
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May 23, 2001 9:14:51 AM CDT
Harry, how can you be surprised this thing is getting roasted by
by batutta
Armageddon had some of the worst reviews in history, but that didn't stop you from loving it. Pearl Harbor sounds exactly what I was expecting, all smoke but no fire.
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"Tora Tora Tora!!" was GREAT!!! The effects weren't too bad either for when it was made. I know I'll go see Pearl Harbor, and probably enjoy it. Hey, not every movie has to be as serious as "American Beauty". I'm just lookin' fer some mindless fun.
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I've been following the reviews for this, and I'm beginning to wonder just HOW big of an embarassment it might be for all envolved. Maybe even some backlash?
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I think it's disgraceful to make a "popcorn" film out of it, much less tack on a melodramatic love triangle. USA Weekend ran an article discussing the movie with the military consultants & family of people at Pearl Harbor, and surprise, surprise, they took quite a few liberties with the characterizations and events. Many of the families were not happy with Bay/Bruckheimer (although I'm sure they still happily collected their consulting fees).
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As usual, many different arguements or just plain opinions are being stated through these talkbacks (comparisons to Titanic among the faves) and all are well and good. So my talkback will concentrate on a singular point. As Obi-Dan did not use caps when he spoke the "magic words" I feel the need to shout his phrase at least one more time: PLEASE DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE OPENING WEEKEND. Although the consesus is that the movie will suck, and most of these talkbacks are simply a chance to comment on the event that is "everything that is wrong with Hollywood magically being folded neatly into one single film," I'm afraid at least half of you will most likely actually go and spend money and see the film! If only just to prove yourself right and hate it more. This is fine (sort of, no wait, not at all), to each their own. Just please, DO NOT GO OPENING WEEKEND. Bay and Bruckheimer have made ludicrous statements all throughout the production of this thing, and I'm suprised that more protests are being made about them. From Bay's mantra of "trust the box office", whenever he was questioned on set, to Bruckheimer's continuous attitude that everyone's gonna walk out crying & moved because they landed FAITH HILL to sing when people die! Even Randall Wallace stated that after his first meeting with B&B he turned it down because he felt they basically "wanted to remake Titanic." Everything they do is just manipulative and pathetically obvious. Plus they admit it and talk about it openly all the time! These people are the prime example of movies as business and NOTHING more. So let's beat them at their own game: DO NOT SEE PEARL HARBOR OPENING WEEKEND.
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I'm with Baker's dozen on this one. Vote with your dollars. Just don't go see the Animal instead. See something good, see Memento. Don't see anything. If you really must see Arma -um- Pearl Harbor, buy a ticket for something else. Until people refuse to accept this tripe, it will keep coming. Stand up and be a shepard. Tell your friends not to see it either.
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Just about any flick with Ben Afflected is going to Suck. The bomb that we'll be hearing is the movie crashing around everyone else.
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May 23, 2001 11:00:27 AM CDT
Faith Hill, singing the theme song to a war film (now that's jus
by kyle.reese
How much more obvious can Bay and Bruckheimer get... Hmm, Titanic had a romantic pop song so why don't we use that. Then find an historical event, preferrably one with a sinking ship somewhere, and slap a lover triangle over that (something for the girls)... Now what else are we missing? Effects! Lots and lots of special effects, and guns (for the boys)... Wait a minute, we're missing something... Oh yes, we need a script. Let's get a respectable writer and keep flashing his name while we promote, I mean we wouldn't want people to think this is some hollow manufactured Hollywood epic now would we?... So there we have it. I think we can make around... oh lets' say 2 billion? Titanic made less than that but we've got it bigger... Disney, we have a winner!... Pearl Harbour has nothing do with Titanic (film wise)? Gimme a break.
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Friday is my day off, and I guess I know quite well what I'll be doing, sitting in a multiplex, nursing a headache and wondering 'When will this thing end so I can have a cigarette?' Yes, I guess I'm a bit of a masochist. I thought that 'The Rock' was a pretty good example of what it was, and I've admired some of the movies Jerry Bruckheimer's made with Tony Scott, but I was pretty nauseated by 'Bad Boys' and 'Armaggedon', and I expect this to be Bay's worst yet. Aww, fuck it, maybe I will wait for it to come out on video. At least then I can smoke.
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Tomb Raider and Jay and Silent Bob strike back are gonna be the big winners for the summer, i think, I'm really down on seeing PH now anyway, maybe ill just sneak into the air raid stuff
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. . .that out of all of these posts, only a handful point out the REAL fact that should offend everyone: You shouldn't make mind-numbing, leave-your-brain-at-the-door, eye-candy popcorn flicks about our COUNTRY GOING TO WAR!!! (thank you PKD, Stantz1973 and Superninja, et al). Fine, you all think Bruck and Bay suck, go ahead. I loved The Rock, hated Armageddon. But this is WWII. Sure, Saving Private Ryan had a Hollywood-ized storyline, but the script and filmmakers treated it seriously. The early buzz on PH is that the battles are kick-ass, and the rest is a love-triangle. Yeah, I'm sure all Pearl Harbor survivors remember all the soap opera romances at the time, and not the (probably) HUNDREDS of factual accounts that are more interesting than how many angles to shoot Affleck from. In Premiere Mag, Bay said he wanted to make a serious film about the event. If these reviews are any indication, he should be ashamed. I hope the rest of you posters can acknowledge this goes way beyond filmmaking technique, weekend grosses, and whether or not you like Bay. This is our history, and should be treated with respect. Man, this soapbox is HIGH . . .
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May 23, 2001 11:47:34 AM CDT
Pentagon Product Placement: What the US gov't wants you to beli
by southern crane
In order to get cooperation/support from the US Military, films are often compromised to commit to portraying the military as competent and even benevolent. This is one such movie, and Ridley Scott has been making the same deals for his "Black Hawk Down". If I could quote some articles on this practice, I would do so plentifully right now, but I'm at work I'm stuck with memory.
SO: The US gov't knew about the impending Japanese attack, so they moved out all their active ships from PH, and brought in WW1 ships that were due to be decommissioned anyway, six weeks after Dec 7th. This made it look like the attack was a loss for the US, so the US could play victim and swoop into the War looking like martyrs. How many people died in the attack? Something like thirty? If those soon-to-be decommissioned ships even had their skeleton crews of 30-per-ship onboard, then there would have been fatalities in the HUNDREDS. The govermnent is still squeezing this event for all the propaganda it can get. wake up. sorry to tell you this. -
I'm a pascifist but thousands of sailors and officers died on the Arizona alone. The attack was a rousing success for the Japanese and the bodies were never even recovered on some of the ships where men lived on until they suffocated. This wasn't an attack on empty warships but the United States Navy's key shipyard and point for entry into the Oreint.
Geez man where are you getting that crap?
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Any clue on how intense the drama will be in this flick, look no further than one of its more high profile actors. Yeesh. My suggestion to all you Tolkien fans out there is to sneak in, watch the new Fellowship of the Ring trailer and then run (or break) like the wind. And, MorGoth, what do you mean the new trailer got a bad review? I've heard it's mostly random clips again, but it's much longer and that all the footage they show is real cool. I haven't read any bad reviews of it. It's supposed to be way better than the first one. I heard a lot of bad reviews for that one, and it was merited. Just because it was slapped together real quick and it didn't really show anything.
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I wanted so bad for this movie to be great!!!! I have to be there. I'll have to see for myself, but it seems at this point I'll go just to see the confirmation of my worst fears. At least the 40 minute pearl harbor battle should look great.
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That old lady should have trown the master print to TITANIC down to the ocean floor!
Anyway, it was easy to sniff this stinker film (Pearl Harbor, AKA- HURL FARTHER!) from pre-production. It seem s like anytime a film of this scale attempts to be made, there are telltale signs it's meant to appeal to the mindless moviegoing masses who thrive off filmSpam like Titanic, Armageddon, etc. There movies that are practically pre-packaged with figuartaive instructions on how to view for the naive masses who eat this stuff up.
ANyway, Pearl Harbor appeals to the audience who want nothing more than 2 hours (or, CHRIST! 3 HOURS!) of mindnumbing entertainment. And if that's what you look for in a "good" movie- say "Hi" to my 15 year old brother when you see him at Hurl Harbor this weekend, I'll be at home watching A Clockwork Orange on DVD until this whole movietrash weekend blows over. -
its jerry bruckheimer. is anyone really surprised that it sucks?
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It's sad to read a talkback such as this when they trash the most profitable director ever. I've never seen a director who is more on the pulse of america than Michael Bay. Don't be jealous of him. Don't you know you're living in the time of one of the greaest filmakers? In 2050 there will be people saying "Man, I wish I lived in the time of Michael Bay". Actually, he'll still probably be making moviesssss (at the age of 90). Pre-order Pearl Harbor on DVD as soon as it's avialable. You won't be sorry.
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Long and hard, I've tried to figure out why Geeks like you and I trudge off to these kinds of movies over and over again, knowing that we are going to be disappointed. KNOWING that we are going to leave feeling manipulated, used and robbed. We flock to movies like ID4, Godzilla, The Lost World, Armageddon, Con Air, The Mummy Returns, Wild Wild West... thank God I missed that one... and then come out pissed off and ready to register our discontent throughout the halls of Geekdom. After thinking about it for a long time, at least why I do it, I can come up with only two possibilities. The first is that on some level, we are just masochists, who enjoy being pissed off and angry and view these worthless pieces of shit, KNOWING they are going to be bad, just to have a vehicle for that hatred. The second, and in my opinion, the more likely reason, though I have been guilty of the first as well, is that we hope against hope, that somehow, in some way, this one might be different. That in spite of itself, in spite of its marketing, in spite of Hollywood, one of these overblown, hyperkinetic commercials might actually turn out to be something more than it appears. For years and years I've put up with this, hoping that somehow, against all odds, one of these empty turds might be something more than the warm, squishy piece of crap that it inevitably turns out to be. I'm fucking sick of it. And I think, in all acutality, by maintaining that hope, we're making the situation worse. We're providing an incentive for studio executives to continue pumping this talentless, meaningless garbage into the American theater. Fuck them. I'm joining all of the rest of you who have called for a boycott of this movie, and urge anyone else who is just REALLY HOPING that this movie will be good, to throw in the towel on this one. Help it to bomb. And for those of you who will no doubt condemn me for not having seen the movie, flame away. I have no hope for this movie. I never have, I never will. The trailers have failed to entice me in any way and the LONG history of disappointments from both Bruckheimer and Bay have painted a pretty clear picture of what this film will be. I could be wrong. I admit that possibility, but the probability is more than 3720 to 1!!! So join me! Boycott this movie. Save your money. Do something worthwhile. Take your girlfriend to dinner, go camping, go hiking, smoke a joint, get drunk, whatever. But please... PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THESE TALENTLESS HACKS THE SATISFACTION OF STEALING YOUR MONEY AND PISSING YOU OFF. YOU KNOW THAT'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
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You want to boycott a movie? Boycott "The Animal". Now THAT'S a good movie to boycott. "Pearl Harbor" will win the oscar for it's brilliance. Look above for my post about Jealousy. I hope the Pearl Harbor DVD get's Criterion treatment.
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I don't know what all cryingggggggggggggggggg is for but all I know is that Bay makes great movies. If you want to see boring bull crap go watch 2001. This guy really loves movies. He oversees all of his DVD transfers. He makes sure your getting the best quality when they create the master. I can't wait for this DVD I'm sure it's going to be anamporphiccccccc. Quality. That's the key word here. Quality is what you get when you watch a Bay movie. Long live DVD and support anamorphic transfers for all your movies.
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I've just heard this song and I just had to post my opinion. This is one of the cheesiest, most lamest, pop songs I have ever heard. Celine Dion's "My Heart Must Go On" was a silly title but at least musically the song worked (thanks to James Horner). So far Pearl Harbour doesn't appear to have much going for it other than artificial hype... And Don Simpson, you think Bay is one of the greatest film-makers of our time? Jesus dude, what planet are you from? Either you've been wasted for the last ten years or your missing your eyes and ears.
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No one should see The Animal either. The difference is, The Animal will (probably) rot in the ninth circle of hell where it was spawned. Pearl Harbor will not. Pearl Harbor will make money. Just like the Backstreet Boys, Vanilla Ice, and New Kids on the Block. Now THEY were (or are) on the pulse of society... Now tell me, is that a good thing?
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May 23, 2001 2:23:01 PM CDT
Since The Hippy Days It Has Been Uncool To Be On Your Own Side,
by buzz maverik
Japanese High Command War Room. Honorable General Sashimi: "Our planes will fly in and bomb the American military installation at Pearl Harbor. Any questions? Yes, Atari?" "General-san, why are we bombing Pearl Harbor?" "The American dogs refuse to sell us scrap iron for use in our war efforts and genocidal practices against the people of China, Korea and Vietnam. We must show them that we are the master race. Yes, Toshiba?" "I thought the Germans were the ones who think they're the master race, sir." "We think we are too. I will let you in on a little secret. As far as sixty years from now, long after we have lost this war to two American heroes who will be known as Fatman and Little Boy, we will still think we are the master race. It won't be talked about much, as first because we are anti-Communists and the American dogs will need anti-Communist allies in our part of the world. Also, much like they will use German scientists for their rocket program, they will learn a great deal about mind control from our scientists. Later we will be a major economic power and no one will want to piss us off."
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May 23, 2001 2:32:23 PM CDT
I'd like to thank the creators of this movie for helping to expa
by mister_pink
By the time all of the reviews are in, we'll have 15 or 20 new words. That is a positive effect from this movie that we must no overlook. Unfortunatly, each one of the new words will be a synonym for "Craptastic".
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Don't be jealous of the Backstreet boyssssss either. Some of their videos are good films. I hope they all come out on DVD. I remember seeing one of their videos that was like tribute to old horror movies. That was great. The only thing I'm pissed off at Michael Bay about is where is the Aerosmith video??? I can just picture Aerosmith songs during the Pearl Harbor bombings. Too bad he wimped out. Isn't that what movies should be all about? Good explosions and musicccccc.
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Ok. 2 things... 1st- Abreham Lincoln is gay. 2nd- Red Dragon should be made by some one else. 3st- MICHALE BAY IS GAY!!!!
Ok...I know that I many seem a bit abbrasive, but i mean...why the hell do we only allow ourselves to watch the same eye candy bullshit over and over!?!
It's like we're eating out a man's (abe lincoln's) anus!
MICHALE BAY = CRAP (or taste of) -
May 23, 2001 2:58:17 PM CDT
I Have Heard That Michael Bay Is Straight, KyleKrane. Very Strai
by buzz maverik
I would correct your spelling (it's M-i-c-h-a-e-l and A-b-r-a-h-a-m) but I notice that on one of my posts here I myself spelled pearl p-e-r-a-l, so who am I to talk. Nope, I've heard the guy is hetero and chicks report that he's hung like, well, yours truly and a mule. What's all this gay bashing shit? Hate to break it to you but you can't sneeze in Hollywood without spraying a gay director, guys who have made some great films that rank as our favorites no doubt.
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What kind of crack are you on!!! I do hope you were being ironic as opposed to being moronic!
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May 23, 2001 3:08:56 PM CDT
Of Course Don Simpson Is Beyond Salvation, Mace My Good Friend..
by buzz maverik
...He's Don Simpson. Would we expect any less? Good to have you back from Hell, Don!
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I can't wait for Bruckheimer/Bay to make the sequel--Pearl Harbor 2: Revenge of The Coyote Ugly Girls. Is anybody really expecting this film to be any more than cheap manipulation. It's like no one has ever seen a Bruckheimer Production before. Get over it guys. He's only in it for $$$$$$.
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Antifanboy, let's be cyncial for 30 secs: I'm sure there's a lot of people outside US that would gladly see a movie where Yankees get bombed :D
That's the only chance of success of PH abroad: people will go and see it to see US being butchered, not giving a damn on the US flag-waving. Whether it will happen or not we'll see soon.
Obi-Dan: Sure, Thin Red Line, that was a war movie that rocked! With a pretty pwoerful score.
Picture: yep, seems that it's visually impressive, and some shots of the trailer made me think so. Cool. Leni Riefenstahl made visually stunning stuff as well, Harry reported the DVD of Triumph of the Will some weeks ago. Yep, now what's the difference between Bay's stupid propaganda and Riefenstahl stupid nazi propaganda? Both used visually stunning images, but is the inside worthwhile?
Soichiro: Sure, Hollywood is absolutely and terminally dry. Time to get rid of that mess. But pray my liege, tell me how come _other_ studios and other countries make good and great movies and still have what Hollywood lacks: IDEAS?
Oh, and what did I read? Other webmasters were invited to the premiere and rave about it? Well, TBers accused Harry of that so often it's a bit pretentious to praise them for doing that now, don't you think;)
And now, yeesss! Do it. the Pearl-Harbor 1st weekend BOYCOTT should be launched. Let's see if the movie survives its first 3 weeks, and go see it after that. Should be a clear sign of what it really is worth.
All of you READ NOW! If you have ANYTHING to do this weekend, starting from friday, it's DOWNLOADING LOTR TRAILER. Don't go see PH, spend your 3 hours downloading LOTr new trailer from official site, it'll be worthier than wasting your $ on Bay.
Oh, and about you poor guys wondering why we should BOYCOTT Pearl Harbor: Well, pretty obvious, Hollywood basically makes BS movies since months. It's time enough to retaliate by making a massive-bidget pile of (censored) tank. And we should do it some times again until one or more big studios bite the dust and go into bankruptcy. Then those idiots will notice something called "brain" and may begin to get "ideas" to make films. -
After seeing Titanic on my VCR (I refused to see it in a theatre. Something about swooning 13 yr old girls make me want to go postal) I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a salad fork and proceeded to gauge out my eyes! I needed something to alleviate the pain in my head. Shortly thereafter I viewed Armageddon, this prompted me to go into my backyard, pull out my own intestines through my ass, make a perfect noose and attempt to hang myself from the big oak tree. My wife, upon viewing this, talked me out of it... something about the life insurance policy not being up to date. Now comes Pearl Harbor. I don't think I can bear self-mutilating myself any further. Considering many of the living PH survivors (my Grandfather being one of them) say it's a POS. Oh well, at least my copy of Tora, Tora, Tora! is still in good working order.
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Here in Cali, a local news reporter said the best thing to do is to wait until the DVD comes out on December 4th or 11th (to coincide with the 50th Anniversary) do some chapter skipping and then turn up the volume when the attack begins.
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You don't "wonder around"...sheesh...what do they teach kids in school these days?
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Michael bay filmed the Pearl Harbor action scenes in a way that you'll be able to use multiple angle features on the DVD. That's incredible man. Who else would be so cutting edge. All you Michael Bay naysayers do yourselves a favor. Watch some DVD commentaries with Michael Bay. The guy is passionate about his shots. He ponied up a lot of cash out of his own pocket just to film one cool shot near the end of "Bad Boys" (Jeffrey and I wouldn't pay for it). If some of you had the same kind of passion, you may have been able to make the same kind of amazing flicks that Bay can make. His only flaw is not doing more aerosmith and meatloaf videos. By the way Little Nicky had it all wrong.
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May 23, 2001 5:50:11 PM CDT
Naturally, Buzz was the only one who knew this... Don Simpson is
by llghtst0rmer
What, does no one remember Top Gun? Beverly Hills Cop?? Jeez. If you can't figure out that a guy on this talkback who is referring to Michael Bay as a visionary genius is making a *joke,* then I suppose we could say that irony is easily lost in print. However, we all consider ourselves film afficionados, yet only ONE guy knew who Don Simpson was? OK... geek diatribe over... my relevant thoughts on this horrid... well, "film" (for lack of a more clever, sardonic epithet) will follow at a later time. Lightstormer OUT.
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I have just come home from the screening of Pearl Harbor here in good old Buffalo, New York, and I'm hungry for a real movie. What a boring mishmash, a stupefying rehash of everything Bruckheimer and Bay (B & B) have done before. There's even a shot where the pilots strut out of the hangar in the EXACT SAME goofy formation that the oil rigger astronauts used in Armageddon. The 45-minute bombing of Pearl Harbor is slick, but empty. It's video game, digital whoop-di-do time. The main problem is that the screenplay never really develops any characters, so you don't really care about anyone. The deaths at Pearl Harbor are cold and distant. B & B make the mistake of thinking we'd really care about a TV commercial-style action flick with a silly, and I mean SILLY love story around which to hang the well-known plot. Hey Ben Affleck, your 15 minutes are up. Couldn't you have tried to have read ONE line with feeling? Josh Hartnett is the better of the leads, and that's not saying much because the script is so empty-headed. Kate Beckinsale keeps losing her American accent. All the nurses are photographed as if they've stepped out of a retro-ad for hair care products. And why on earth did B & B decide to shoot the chaotic hospital scenes during the bombing as if we were watching 3-D without the glasses. What's with that? Or maybe the footage was damaged and B & B decided to pretend to be arty and figured that all that out-of-focus stuff and humans with light rings around them (halos?) would seem miraculous or mystical. Overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, Pearl Harbor earns a 4. On a scale of 4 Stars, it earns 2. On a letter scale of A+ to F-, it earns a C-. A great movie could have been made about Pearl Harbor and its strategic importance to America, it's history, why our bases were there, its native people and what they thought about white bread Yanks. But no, B & B wanted to have bombs away fun. Well, maybe this film's no total bomb, but its long and boring and at times the love story is laughable. The movie keeps repeating moments, as if, B & B and there screenwriter, Randall Wallace truly had no ideas in their bag of FX tricks. This movie is less about Pearl Harbor and more about B & B's egos. I'm gonna go watch Tora Tora Tora and From Here To Eternity.
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May 23, 2001 7:28:00 PM CDT
wait a few weeks to see this flick, don't give them monstrous op
by kojiro
It's an old John Wayne flick that is exactly what Pearl Harbor could have been had it been handled by a competent director. "In Harms Way" basically has the same story as PH: love stories centered around the early days of the war in the Pacific after PH was bombed. Watch it, so long as you have any taste you won't regret it. It fucking sickens me that people with as little respect for warfare as Bay, bruckheimer, and Randall Wallace continue to trivialize war.
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Michael Bay knows what he's trying to do, but not necessarily what he's doing.
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In essence, it's not that he can't compose a shot well. But what does he adjust his choice of shots to? The evidence, so far, is that he adjusts to what he thinks is cool, what he believes conveys an emotion.
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But we must consider that the form that Michael Bay began his career: music video and commercials. Short form.
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Short form, meaning generally thirty seconds to five minutes, often involving quick cuts, various styles, narrative shorthand, etc.
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He has not adapted his technique to the demands of creating compelling long form material. What would he need to change? ----------------------------------------------------------------------1. Narrative shorthand is no substitute for narrative. It can help you to skip unnecessary stuff, but narrative is necessary as a mechanism for organizing what you shoot, what details you put in, for what reason. It is the sense the audiences expect and enjoy.---------------------------------------------------------- 2.Try speaking in quick bursts of one syllable words to get points across. See how long you or the people around you can tolerate or understand this, and try and see whether your points or your emotions are getting across reliably. My instincts say they aren't going to be. Stanislavski made a point of stressing in BUILDING A CHARACTER, his companion work for AN ACTOR PREPARES, the value and practical importance of tempo/rhythm; and example of such use can be seen in Saving Private Ryan, with Captain Miller's calm, deliberate outer pace, and the high tempo internal beat that evidences itself in his uncontrollable shaking hand. This same principle applies to editing. In CASTAWAY, The tempo of the shots is rather slow, but the pace is kept up by the complexity of the action that Hanks (again a textbook perfect actor) acts out. Michael Bay tries to keep things busy, keeps things moving by having something happen at a very quick pace. Unfortunately, as I suggested earlier, this interferes quite severely with Bay's range. It makes things difficult when he tries to do scenes that don't involve fast pace action, or the setup of such. Romance requires detail, requires the setup of the characters comfort with each other, in addition to whatever give and take is necessary to establish the relationship. This can be done fast pace, but only if the work is done with quite a bit of complexity to hold it up.
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2)Mix of photographic styles. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, ANY DAVID FINCHER MOVIE, THREE KINGS, MANY SCORSESE MOVIES, A NUMBER OF FRENCH NEW WAVE MOVIES.
Well, we can see where this goes. The melange of film stocks and exposures can be dazzling, and what's more, they can be used for purposes of tone and mood. But it's not something that can make sense (at least the sense the director wants it to make) without some deliberate, thoughtful planning on the directors part. Scorsese, Spielberg, David O. Russell and Fincher (notable for being a video and commercial director himself, before his narrative film career) don't throw this bewildering adjustment of the basic visual tone just to keep things interesting; instead, they do it to highlight what's interesting in the story.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
But why? I think it has something to do with the logic that Bay uses in adressing his choices. I think he believes that certains shots axiomatically ensure a certain response in the audience, instead of subtly encouraging them. It is no accident that Spielberg keeps his cameras low to the ground in his Omaha Beach sequence, and his lense angles wide. He does the first to emphasize the soldier's situation, and the second to exaggerate the scale of the beach involved. These are discreet uses of cinematic art; Spielberg and his director of photography don't announce the shot's intent, they let the shot speak for the story and not for itself.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bay needs to understand what the difference is between what his intent is and what happens with what was intended. -
May 23, 2001 9:32:48 PM CDT
everytime i see an ad for this POS, i want to puke my guts out..
by fear.of.grey
i don't know about anyone else here, but something bugs me about this movie. the fact that THIS WAS THE BOMBING THAT LEAD US INTO WW2 seems to be overlooked. i think it would be horribly disrepectiful to anyone in that battle or ww2, to see PH grandized (sp?) and glorified to the dumbed down american movie going public...that its slicked up, prepackaged and slapped on a lunchbox makes me wonder, how is a vet going to react when they see the rehashed "animal crackers" scene from armageddon against the backdrop of PH. how offensive is that going to be? it makes me so fucking sick to know that people died here. that people really fought and peoples loved ones were lost. so now we can say "WOW THAT SHOT OF THE ARIZONA TOTALLY RIPS OF TITANIC." fuck you bruckheimer, and fuck you michael bay. boycott this godamn movie. PS. If you are reading this Martin Sheen, you should know better to lend your voice to this trash. you were in Apocalypse Now for christs sake!!!
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May 23, 2001 9:38:07 PM CDT
when i see ads for pearl harbor anywhere, i get sick when people
by fear.of.grey
i don't know about anyone else here, but something bugs me about this movie. the fact that THIS WAS THE BOMBING THAT LEAD US INTO WW2 seems to be overlooked. i think it would be horribly disrepectiful to anyone in that battle or ww2, to see PH grandized (sp?) and glorified to the dumbed down american movie going public...that its slicked up, prepackaged and slapped on a lunchbox makes me wonder, how is a vet going to react when they see the rehashed "animal crackers" scene from armageddon against the backdrop of PH. how offensive is that going to be? it makes me so fucking sick to know that people died here. that people really fought and peoples loved ones were lost. so now we can say "WOW THAT SHOT OF THE ARIZONA TOTALLY RIPS OF TITANIC." fuck you bruckheimer, and fuck you michael bay. boycott this godamn movie. PS. If you are reading this Martin Sheen, you should know better to lend your voice to this trash. you were in Apocalypse Now for christs sake!!!
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May 23, 2001 9:39:50 PM CDT
Hey, RightWingDude--there are LOTS of good movies being made!
by sith lord jesus
After last year's utter crapstorm from the bowels of Hollywood, I made a solemn vow come New Year's that in the y2k + 1 I would seek out only excellence in cinema. The flicks I've caught thus far this year? The A HARD DAY'S NIGHT reissue (excellent, but then it's the Beatles so file that one under "duh"); O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? (Excellent again); CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (full-on Godly); CHUNGYANG (fantastic, moving Korean pansori song/film); IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (exquisite--if you haven't seen it yet then shame on you) and THE HOUSE OF MIRTH (utterly magnificent. And Gillian Anderson is a goddess). Just today I caught HIMALAYA at the Fox Tower 10 and it was everything I ever wanted in a film: visually breathtaking, characters with depth and an arresting script. In fact, probably 50x the script that PEARL HARBOR will have. Notice something about all of the above flicks? That's right, almost all of them are foreign. So yes, plenty of good movies are being made these days, it's just that virtually none of them are coming from Hollywood. I may see PH--this is Bay and Bruckheimer's LAST chance with me after ARMAGEDDON--but not on opening weekend. In case it sux I don't want to contribute to it's success that way. Instead I'll be watching the DVD of TORA! TORA! TORA! and catching MEMENTO in the theaters.
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I don't get it. I personally think he's an A-list actor who actually DESERVES to be on the A-list. He's talented, intelligent, and genuinely witty even without having someone else's clever script to rely on. Anybody ever see the Chasing Amy DVD? Watch him hanging out and clowning around with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. The Mallrats disc shows even more of that. Bottom line: Don't hate him just because so many of our girlfriends want him. He's not nearly as empty as so many people claim he is. At least, not in MY opinion... and if THAT's not a reliable measure of judgment, then nothing is. Lightstormer out.
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May 23, 2001 9:47:25 PM CDT
Damn straight everyone... DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE DURING OPENING WE
by llghtst0rmer
Hit 'em where it hurts. The more money they make off this crap, the more Hollywood thinks they SHOULD make movies this fucking bad. Stand fast! If you MUST see it this weekend, pay for Shrek, or Memento, or even Mummy 2. Anything but giving it to the Bruck & Bay flick. (Heheh... what's worse than a bad B-movie? A bad *B&B Movie.*) Lightstormer out.
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So many of you have judged this movie before even seeing it. That's really a closed-minded thing to do. Do I expect "Citizen Kane"? HELL no!! Do I expect a faithful depiction of the first foreign attcak on the U.S. in around 150 years? NO WAY!! Do I expect to see bright colors, big explosions, and loud noises? YOU BET!! Relax, people. We appreciate that people died during the Pearl Harbor attack. This is not a documentary nor a faithful recreation of that event. This is a MOVIE!! It's not the first time people have distorted historical fact for dramatic interest, nor will it be the last. Hell, "Braveheart" was pure fiction, but was a hell of a good movie. I will be there this weekend, hoping that the movie ROCKS and provides me with 3 hours of mindless, yes MINDLESS, entertainment. If I want a history lesson, I'll watch the History Channel (Or maybe READ A BOOK!!!).
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May 23, 2001 10:07:04 PM CDT
Look At It This Way, Gang. PEARL HARBOR = Atomic Bombs=Godzilla.
by buzz maverik
Man, if the Emperor's Little Helpers hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor, ol' Harry Ass Truman wouldn't have nuked the shit out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, a lot of y'all think that the radiation from atomic tests mutated a lizard (like in the Emmerich/Devlin movie) or that the blast awakened and mutated a dinosaur. It was no such thing. Y'
see, those blasts provided a focal point for the Lines of Power travelling through the multiverse. Those deaths were perceived as sacrafices by the Dark Elder Gods and some were able to remanifest themselves on our plains of reality. I'm talking Gojiro, Rodan, Ghidarah, Gamera, Gabera and Gramma. So if it takes a Michael Bay movie to get us to Godzilla movies, I'm all for it! -
It's not just a movie. When guys like Bay and Bruckheimer decide to capitalize on and exploit one of the most significant moments in World History, particularly when so many people who were actually involved are still alive, they're more or less cashing in on these people's lives with horrible disrespect unless they treat the whole thing with genuine respect and dignity. Those are two things B & B have apparently fallen way short on. Bay may offer up as much Pro-American bravura as can be crammed into 3 hours of film, and design as many lovely slow-motion shots of kids holding American flags, but simple platitudes do not equal an honest-to-God homage to the lives lost. As I've heard Dennis Miller put it before: "It's an insult to the living and a sacrilege to the memory of the dead."
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God, I hate it when I see something written without even an attempt at proper puctuation. That RH guy was ripping the movie apart (rightly so by the sounds of it), but the whole while he is slaughtering the written word. Is it so freeking tought to put spell "I" with a capital letter? Can you start a sentence with a capital letter? Can you spell someones name with a capital letter? How damn lazy do you have to be to not do this? Is the shift key on the other side of the room? Is it hard for you to get up out of your chair and trudge all the way over there to hit the shift key so you can have capital letters in your article? Don't give me any of that email short hand shit either. Whats the world coming to?
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You know what... here are some FACTS for you. Number 1, the Empire of Japan will be portrayed as the bad guy in Pearl Harbor because THEY FUCKING BOMBED US WITHOUT DECLARATION OF WAR AND KILLED TWO-THOUSAND AMERICANS!!! All of the idiots on here that whine about how the movie should show what we did to Japanese-Americans in regards to internment camps should ask what the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD DID. Do you not realize that every country persecuted whoever looked like the enemy? Guess what, Japan wasn't too kind to people of English or American descent living in Japan. You fucking morons. Number 2, this movie will be HUGE at the box office. You know why? Because the general movie audience loves Bay and Bruckheimer movies. The Rock made a shit load at the box office, as did Armageddon, Con Air, Remember the Titans, Bad Boys, Top Gun, Days of Thunder, and on and on. The general public loves to re-watch these movies as well. Like it or not, most non film geeks love their movies, and they are the majority, we are not. Number 3, you are an idiot if your post reads like this: "Fuck Bay!! I am going to boycott Pearl Harbor because I am too deep and intelligent for his crap!! Lord of the Rings for life, I am going to watch Dancer in the Dark at the local bijou and stay at home and watch (insert cool cult dvd title here such as Army of Darkness or other "cool" dvd)!!
Number 4, 99 percent of you have not seen this movie yet, and most of the negative reviews are based on the reviewer not liking past Bay movies. Hint, go watch the movie and judge it by itself. Don't go in thinking, "This will suck because I hate Armageddon!" Number 5, they had to make the backdrop a cheap love story because to justify the $135 million price tag that went to mostly special effects, they had to do something to draw females to make some money back. It may be noble to go make a movie based on a straight historical take, but the fucker sure wouldn't make a profit. Making movies is a BUSINESS, not a non-profit venture. No one budgets a 135 million dollars to a flick just for the hell of it. So go see it or don't go see it, but I bet the general public will really like this movie. -
Its quite obvious. I'm watching it opening weekend and so will half the population. Its already a given that film will make it into the top 50 highest-grossing films of all-time. And will rank anywhere between 11-25. Michael Bay's films just make more money each time. Bad Boys $65 million, The Rock $130 million, Armageddon $201 million, Pearl Harbor $250+ million....easily. I like Jerry Bruckheimer, I like Michael Bay. Eye candy is cool. I've said it before and I'm saying it again, "This movie is being compared to the like of Titanic and Saving Private Ryan". And I truly believe that for its huge scale of a movie it is. This movie will no doubtedly have oscar nominations. People are such hypocrites.....it makes me laugh so hard. You guys are just gonna pay to watch the LOTR trailer, you're so stupid, you don't even realize that the 2 brilliant filmmakers behind this Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay just earned your money..... YOU MORON!!! HAHAHA! I mean if anyone is gonna be smart around here, it obviously ain't gonna be the bashers of the film. This film will succeed this summer and will conquer all the films of the whole year. Pearl Harbor will be the highest grossing film of the year. As much as I do wanna watch LOTR, LOTR will only make around say between $150 - $175 million which is actually nothing compared to what Pearl Harbor will make in the end. Why LOTR will only make that much? Cuz it has a built-in audience that knows of the novels and some people who are just looking for something to do on a friday night. Its exactly the same as the X-Men movie situation. Cuz X-Men's audinece will be made up of mostly comic book fans. However Pearl Harbor reaches out to everyone and thats why I'm right. This movie will suecceed, easily PEACE!!! nuff' said
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1. A director should not sit around on a movie set, making sure every shot is Oscar worthy. This is the problem with letting a cinematographer like Bay direct. All he thinks about his angles, composition, and how COOL it will look. Some shots are just shots.
2. His films are nothing more than 2 hour (or in PH's case 3 hour) theatrical trailers. Every moment has to be powerful, intense, emotional, etc. He ends up trying way too hard, and giving me the "gay chills", if you know what I mean.
3. No storytelling talent whatsoever. His every move is directed toward getting to the explosions and being cool. Yawn. In the case of PH, he's going to make you sit forever and wait for the action, so he can get as many Titanic comparisons as possible. Make no mistake about it. Micheal Bay wants an Oscar soooooo bad, it actually shows in his work. And that ain't good.
4. He wastes talent. And the same goes for the talent. They are wasting their time. I have no clue how he gets these big stars in his movies. Maybe it's true that actors are complete morons and can't read. Because if they had a brain in their heads, they would of noticed the script was pure shit, and their director had no talent other than a good eye.
5. This one is a serious beef I have. How could it be, that in a civilized world, that a person can go to a video store and find The Rock and Armageddon on double disc CRITERION COLLECTION??? Contemporary classic??? Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if those films were cotemporary classics, which THEY ARE NOT! You would think the good people (or insane) at criterion would have gotten to some better films first, like uhh, well..ANYTHING!!! How did that happen? I've written numerous letters to Criterion, and I suggest you do to, and ask them "What is the criteria for Criterion???" The only explanation is that they were paid. Period.
6. The final thing that bothers me is Bay's treatment of Pearl Harbor. If you watch Private Ryan, you will notice that there is nothing cool or glamourized about that opening scene. It's dark, wet, dirty, and hard to look at it. It's war. It's real. Bay has decided to make war look cool. He's throwing parties with Disney on Aircraft carriers. He tried to put Veterans on Who Wants to be a Millionaire!!! Micheal Bay is nothing more than a money hungry, childish freak, who spreads propaganda and poor filmmaking messages everywhere he walks, leaving a trail of slime dripping from his mullet. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!! -
May 24, 2001 3:55:21 AM CDT
PH Would Have Been Perfect If Instead Of Faith Hill Singing It W
by the founder
NSYNC PERFORMING THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER!! Now this would have been the perfect combo of ALL FLASH AND NO SUBSTANCE. This movie will no doubt make a ton of cash just as the new Nsync cd. They should have released the movie and their cd on the same day so we can get it over with. Hollywood will continue to pump out these flashy films with no meat as long as we hand our money over to them, and the music industry has become another Hollywood. Both putting tremendous marketing behind films and pop acts just sale tons of tickets and cd's, while great movies like MEMENTO and Galaxy Quest(i know it was out last year, but it was no excuse for the light marketing)either go in the negative or just make what their budget was. I'm not even going to get started on the music artists thats barely staying afloat by not having the decent backing from their record company and some are forced to compromise their artistic integrety and make trendy music to stay in the game.
Someone mentioned that PH will proberly get nominated for an Oscar? Well it woulldn't be any worse then Nsync, BSB, and Britney
Spears receiving a Grammy nomination(I swear if they had won i would have lost all faith in the acadamy)while talented artist are just looked over. When will it end? -
Ugh. What a disappointment.
After delightfully campy turns in Armageddon and The Rock, Michael Bay finally bites off more than he can chew. The unainimous verdict at the screening was that it was waaaa-aaay too long especially the agonizing hour long expositional set up of an uninspiring love story.
And the much touted battle scene? Well, it's definitely very big, and clearly very expensive, and there are a few very awesome shots courtey of our hard working computer geeks at ILM. HOWEVER, I -
Michael Bay may love film-making and care about his creation. So did Ed Wood. Had Ed Wood been given 100M to make a movie, it probably would have been a lot like "Armageddon". With Tor Johnson as the fat astronaut.
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May 24, 2001 11:59:24 AM CDT
Forget this "bomb" - I'm waiting for the TRUE BLUE GREAT ONE: L
by smugbug
I'm not seeing this movie. Period. I already know it's gonna blow (no pun.....). For god's sake, when you hear Michael Bay talking about "characters" in this movie. Oh my god, the man doesn't make movies with "characters"! He makes movies with "charicatures" of people. Now, I enjoyed The Rock. I have it as part of my collection and still watch it. And ya, Spielberg can do the big explosions - but hey, in his humble beginnings witness such great story telling as: Duel, Jaws and Close Encounters. Some of those were spectacles, granted BUT they had fantastic stories. And big time epics are big time epics because they can capture the action but can also maintain the composure of the story with the quiet moments. All in good balance. You still have a chance of getting up close and personal with the characters. Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur - these two epics had alot of action and were HUGE productions. BUT, you got to know the characters, you cared. Why do you think many cannot wait for LOTR? Becuase if Peter Jackson is indeed being true to the books, then we are going to witness a great story with equal parts action and characterizations on the BEEG screen. That, my friends will be the movie(s) to see. Michael Bay ain't that type of director. He digs the BIG bombs, BIG things that go boom and has a problem with true characterizations since they do get in the way of the action in the next scene......
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May 24, 2001 12:16:38 PM CDT
I agree with The Founder: Galaxy Quest SHOULD have been a BOFFO
by smugbug
Michael Bay and friends have turned what was a sad tragedy of history into a little more than marketed action movie. Again, Hollywood putting the "numbing" band aid onto the emotions of anyone who sees this movie. Sad commentary of what has happened to the general public if indeed this movie does become a box office sensation. War tragedy? Thousands of lives lost? Wow - potential $$ in the box office! Just throw in a romance, big bombs, maybe a "bomb cam", - I see $$, lots of $4!!! And I know someone like a Michael Bay couldn't handle the additional "story" of the incarceration of the Japanese-Americans, as well as the perspective of the Japanese. God, no! Who'd want to pay $9 or $10 to see that? Makes me kinda ill..........At least in Platoon, Oliver Stone had heart in it.....
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I screened the movie last night and I was amazed! Having heard all the bad reviews it's been getting, I was expecting to be disappointed, but I was pleasantly surprised. It goes without saying that the FX are mind-blowing. What surprised me was how well the story carried. The pace was kept relatively quick with lots of action both before and after the actual attack. Don't get me wrong, there were some slow points (at one point, all I could think about was the animal cracker scene from 'Armageddon'), but they were few and far between. There definately will be those that won't like the film, but I for one plan on seeing it again.
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There's good reason to bash Ben Affleck and Pearl Harbor. Friends of mine worked on Pearl Harbor as extras, and in one scene, it took him THIRTY takes to deliver a simple line -- even when it was written down on his hand. Oh, some of my actor friends passed on being part of this explosion fest because they'd make more money waiting tables than standing around looking pretty all day.
Fratboy Affleck needs to go back to acting school and lay off the nasty remarks about the Queen Mother, which I'm sure won't bode well when he shows up in London for the premiere.
With all the awful reviews, the most recent being Variety, this movie sounds like a really bad NBC Miniseries gone amok -- hyped to hell, but fails to deliver. -
There's good reason to bash Ben Affleck and Pearl Harbor. Friends of mine worked on Pearl Harbor as extras, and in one scene, it took him THIRTY takes to deliver a simple line -- even when it was written down on his hand. Oh, some of my actor friends passed on being part of this explosion fest because they'd make more money waiting tables than standing around looking pretty all day.
Fratboy Affleck needs to go back to acting school and lay off the nasty remarks about the Queen Mother, which I'm sure won't bode well when he shows up in London for the premiere.
With all the awful reviews, the most recent being Variety, this movie sounds like a really bad NBC Miniseries gone amok -- hyped to hell, but fails to deliver.
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