You are viewing an archived version of the site which is no longer maintained.
Go to the current live site or the Adventure Gamers forums
Adventure Gamers

Home Adventure Forums Misc. Chit Chat Recent movies seen


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-19-2006, 11:48 PM   #861
delusions of adequacy
 
Crunchy in milk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,403
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by squarejawhero
@Mel - I've no idea on the television series, but do check out the two movies. They're standalone in themselves so you don't really need to watch the tv show to understand it, only maybe the first film to truly get the second.
The TV series is similar to but not related to the movies. They're like an alternate universe version. The elements are similar, the issues they cover are similar, but they don't occur chronologically with the events in the movies. Characters from the movies appear in the TV series, but they may have altered backgrounds, less powerful abilities and are fleshed out more broadly. Its still about section 9, information warfare and cybernetics but the effects of the high tech world on society is handled (slightly) less pessimistically. Especially the personal/introspective moments. Motoko isn't such a sad sack (well not all the time anyway) in the series, closer to Shirow's original comic version

Here is an excellent 6 part interview with Kenji Kamiyama, the guy behind the first and second series of SAC.
Crunchy in milk is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 01:32 AM   #862
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

Being a minor Shirow fan (he's obsessed with detail) I really should check it out. All I want now is an updated Dominion. Thanks Crunchy.

Another good thing about Innocence is like all good movies, it actually takes TIME OUT of the plotline to drive the character forwards. So many films nowadays feel like they have to piledrive towards an ending at 100mph. It's nice to take some time out and meet the protagonists dog.

(or, as an example, in the case of Jaws stop the hunt for chat about wounds)
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 01:53 AM   #863
Senior Member
 
Ninth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 6,409
Default

I liked Innocence more than the first one; it was more dynamic, funner, and less pretentious.
__________________
...It's down there somewhere. Let me have another look.
Ninth is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 03:35 AM   #864
is not wierd
 
Spiwak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,148
Default

EDIT: Deleted by Spiwak.

My top ten for 2005:
1) Match Point - Woody Allen
2) A History of Violence - David Cronenberg
3) The New World - Terrence Malick
4) A Constant Gardner - Fernando Meirelles
5) Munich - Steven Spielberg
6) Good Night, And Good Luck - George Clooney
7) Walk the Line - Peter Mangold
8) Brokeback Mountain - Ang Lee
9) Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Nick Park
10) Capote - Bennet Miller

Honorable Mention:
King Kong - Peter Jackson
Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan

Last edited by Spiwak; 02-20-2006 at 06:02 AM.
Spiwak is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 08:17 AM   #865
The Reggienator
 
Kolzig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Vaasa, Finland
Posts: 5,519
Send a message via ICQ to Kolzig Send a message via MSN to Kolzig
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melanie68
I haven't seen Corpse Bride (but want to) - a friend of mine has and LOVED it. She's a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan and says that Corpse Bride isn't quite that but she loved it nonetheless. Also I've seen a couple of episodes of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex on Cartoon Network but I keep missing it because when I try staying up to watch it (it's on laaaate), I end up falling asleep.
I haven't yet seen Corpse Bride, but I will soon!

Gits: SAC is excellent.
I've got the 1st series/season on dvd as a complete box set. I've seen the 2nd GIG too and it's very good too.

My alltime favourite animated series.
__________________
"The old standby, that never got old in the first place. We come back to them weekly, nightly, for hours at a time--and they always deliver. They are pure, timeless, and often taken for granted." - Nick Breckon - Shacknews

My gamesale list *updated 26.8.2007*
Hey, dear people please buy my games, I need money to conquer Europe! Or do something similar.
Kolzig is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 08:23 AM   #866
Senior Member
 
Ninth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 6,409
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spiwak
EDIT: Deleted by Spiwak.

My top ten for 2005:
1) Match Point - Woody Allen
2) A History of Violence - David Cronenberg
3) The New World - Terrence Malick
4) A Constant Gardner - Fernando Meirelles
5) Munich - Steven Spielberg
6) Good Night, And Good Luck - George Clooney
7) Walk the Line - Peter Mangold
8) Brokeback Mountain - Ang Lee
9) Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Nick Park
10) Capote - Bennet Miller

Honorable Mention:
King Kong - Peter Jackson
Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan
It's a nice list (I would have put Match Point up there too). Makes me want to see The Constant Gardener...
Altough I have to say that I found A History of Violence overrated. I expected a lot from this movie, and either I missed something, or it was just a brillantly filmed unoriginal story.
__________________
...It's down there somewhere. Let me have another look.
Ninth is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 09:23 AM   #867
Senior Member
 
jjacob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,771
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninth
It's a nice list (I would have put Match Point up there too). Makes me want to see The Constant Gardener...
Altough I have to say that I found A History of Violence overrated. I expected a lot from this movie, and either I missed something, or it was just a brillantly filmed unoriginal story.
Makes me want to see Match Point I totally agree about History of Violence, even though Viggo Mortensen was excellent I found the film extremely dull, uninteresting, predictable and tedious. Why it got such good reviews is beyond me.
jjacob is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 10:13 AM   #868
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

Matchpoint seems to be suffering from some bad reviews in the UK. I'll wait for the DVD.
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 10:25 AM   #869
Senior Member
 
Legolas813's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,783
Send a message via AIM to Legolas813
Default

Never heard of Match Point, but I would think Crash would be on a top ten list.
Legolas813 is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 11:36 AM   #870
is not wierd
 
Spiwak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,148
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninth
Altough I have to say that I found A History of Violence overrated. I expected a lot from this movie, and either I missed something, or it was just a brillantly filmed unoriginal story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjacob
I totally agree about History of Violence, even though Viggo Mortensen was excellent I found the film extremely dull, uninteresting, predictable and tedious. Why it got such good reviews is beyond me.
You have no idea how often I hear that. I went into this long thing about somewhere in the IMDB boards about why I thought the plot was so cliched, as that is a complaint many people have.

I tried looking for it but it's apparently gone? I can't find the posts in my message board history. In any case, I basically feel that it wholly works with the movie because one of Cronenberg's goals was to comment on how inherrant and Darwinian violence is for humans. For me, Cronenberg was presenting a story that seems wholly unoriginally or borrowed from various influences, for instance the Western hero thrown into his violent past after trying to leave it behind when it suddenly catches up to him, the whole school bully plot, the comforting small town rocked by the big city immorality, etc, on purpose. The groteque and gory violence (which I think succeeds in both thrilling and disturbing the audience), wrapped up in such a cliche-ridden plot seemed to comment on how violence entertains, or rather, intrigues us even though modern society tries to repress it. The fact that in general the violence in the movie was one of the more intriguing aspects of the viewing experience while also going so far as to disgust me only helped me come to that conclusion. That and the fact that Cronenberg isn't any ordinary director; he's both incredibly intelligent (just listen/read to some of his interviews) and interested in things like inhumanity-from-humanity themes. So I don't know if it was necessarily intended, but that's how I read it, and in general the subversiveness of his film in dealing with several layers of narrative interpretation made it one of the top movies of the year for me. Match Point only barely beat it.
Spiwak is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 12:15 PM   #871
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

Back onto Mirrormask... anyone else notice the nod to Labyrinth at the beginning?
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 12:58 PM   #872
is not wierd
 
Spiwak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,148
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by squarejawhero
Back onto Mirrormask... anyone else notice the nod to Labyrinth at the beginning?


Didn't you notice I was trying to divert attention from the movie I haven't seen!
Spiwak is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 02:05 PM   #873
Psychonaut
 
Lucien21's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 5,114
Default

Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit.

Funniest film of the year.

Cracking film there Gromit.

Hey SJH, They are looking for Storyboard artists. Go work for them that would be cool.
__________________
I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!
Lucien21 is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 02:20 PM   #874
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

I know they are. Their projects are only speculative, one I applied for last year hasn't even started yet. They take AGES before they go ahead on any of them.

It's a long story but me and a ton of other artists are really unhappy with the way Aardman treated a bunch of applications recently - considering our experience and a whole host of other things. One guy got a standard letter stating that he had to "come back when he had more experience". He's been a character designer for 20 years on a whole host of big projects. It's crazy.

I did a free test for them in two days, with NO direction and practically no designs, whilst working hard on another (PAID) project in a different style. They knew this. I spoke to them many times, and on receipt they were really happy and we spoke about production. Two weeks passed. Nothing. Then? Another famous standard letter. "Many thanks for your interest..."

No feedback. Nothing. I didn't even know why I hadn't got the job. So I wrote them a really pissed off email to the person I had been dealing with, who quickly got back to me with a reply and some feedback that, considering my circumstances and the total lack of direction, made very little sense.

Working on one show and then deviating both your directorial style and drawing style is VERY hard to do in the space of a couple of days. I'm currently working on a project alongside a Corpse Bride artist. Even after two years he hasn't shaken Tim Burtons style. So you can see why I was perplexed.

I later heard that they only hire people, mainly recent grads, willing to move into their area and work for very little for long hours. I'm inclined to believe it. For one, it means lower budgets and for another, it means tighter control. I would love to work for them one day, but I don't think it's going to happen.

But you never know.
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 03:56 PM   #875
Super Moderator
 
Melanie68's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 8,907
Default

It sounds like they want people that they can mold themselves (like you said, tighter control). Also people with lots of experience suggest changes and they may not be open to change - they may figure they have a formula that works, why change it and why bring people in who will upset the formula (pure speculation on my part).
Melanie68 is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 03:59 PM   #876
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

If that were true, and I told them I was open to changes in style and direction, then why'd they give me so much rubbish in return for my free hard work? They know board artists need time to get on spec in terms of direction when coming in cold. It'd be nice to think they're molding future artists, but it's more to do with financial obligations.

What I don't like is the way they treat artists with apparent disrespect. It's a shame as one-to-one they seem to be quite a nice production crew and it only results in them looking unprofessional.
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 04:34 PM   #877
Senior Member
 
Ninth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 6,409
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spiwak
You have no idea how often I hear that. I went into this long thing about somewhere in the IMDB boards about why I thought the plot was so cliched, as that is a complaint many people have.

I tried looking for it but it's apparently gone? I can't find the posts in my message board history. In any case, I basically feel that it wholly works with the movie because one of Cronenberg's goals was to comment on how inherrant and Darwinian violence is for humans. For me, Cronenberg was presenting a story that seems wholly unoriginally or borrowed from various influences, for instance the Western hero thrown into his violent past after trying to leave it behind when it suddenly catches up to him, the whole school bully plot, the comforting small town rocked by the big city immorality, etc, on purpose. The groteque and gory violence (which I think succeeds in both thrilling and disturbing the audience), wrapped up in such a cliche-ridden plot seemed to comment on how violence entertains, or rather, intrigues us even though modern society tries to repress it. The fact that in general the violence in the movie was one of the more intriguing aspects of the viewing experience while also going so far as to disgust me only helped me come to that conclusion. That and the fact that Cronenberg isn't any ordinary director; he's both incredibly intelligent (just listen/read to some of his interviews) and interested in things like inhumanity-from-humanity themes. So I don't know if it was necessarily intended, but that's how I read it, and in general the subversiveness of his film in dealing with several layers of narrative interpretation made it one of the top movies of the year for me. Match Point only barely beat it.
If that was really the point, I don't think he went far enough, because the violence didn't feel shocking. I felt that, say, Pulp Fiction was more perverse, and thus interesting, in that respect. Or even one of the Cohen Brothers' movies, like Fargo, or Blood Simple.
In any case, the violence didn't intrigue me, which is why I was so disappointed. Some scenes are breathtaking, though. The first scene in particular was brilliant.

And SquareJaw, I think Match Point (for Legolas, that's the latest Woody Allen movie) deserves a big screen. That's what I call a perverse movie.

EDIT: Oh, I really need to borrow my buddy's DVD of Mirrormask.
__________________
...It's down there somewhere. Let me have another look.
Ninth is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 05:13 PM   #878
Epinionated.
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 5,841
Default

I'll wait for DVD. It's character driven after all.
__________________
Starter of Thread Must Die.
squarejawhero is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 05:24 PM   #879
Senior Member
 
jjacob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,771
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Legolas813
Never heard of Match Point, but I would think Crash would be on a top ten list.
It's the new Woody Allen movie, and before you say "Oh right, who cares?", it's actually gotten some extremely good reviews here in the Netherlands, so I'm dying to see it. Crash is a 2004 movie, no matter how badly I'd want it in my top-ten
jjacob is offline  
Old 02-20-2006, 05:44 PM   #880
is not wierd
 
Spiwak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,148
Default

I just have to say, bump Haggis's Crash. I'll take the Pepsi challenge with Cronenberg's any ole day of the effing week, as a wise man once put it.

Ah who am I kidding I never got around to seeing the new Crash, honestly. It looks to be the obligatory overhyped and pretentious, yet underwhelming movie of the year. But everyone loves it so maybe I misjudged it...

EDIT:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ninth
If that was really the point, I don't think he went far enough, because the violence didn't feel shocking. I felt that, say, Pulp Fiction was more perverse, and thus interesting, in that respect. Or even one of the Cohen Brothers' movies, like Fargo, or Blood Simple.
In any case, the violence didn't intrigue me, which is why I was so disappointed. Some scenes are breathtaking, though. The first scene in particular was brilliant.
That's surprising, I thought the violence in this movie was incredibly shocking! Seeing the thug's blown-away face bubbling on the floor in a pool of blood as the guy's trying to breathe...smashing the one thug's nose with his palm/fist repeatedly...the boy-fight...the violent sex scene and resulting bruises...I dunno, I really can't imagine it not being shocking even to desensitized viewers. And it felt especially perverse because of how idyllic the first act is, it felt unnatural and wrong...even though like I said earlier it was also thrilling and engrossing at the same time. Pulp Fiction doesn't feel perverse to me because all the characters are so embroiled into violence and drugs in a way that it simply feels like that's the way it is as opposed to it being unnatural. I'll agree with you on Fargo, though.

Last edited by Spiwak; 02-20-2006 at 05:55 PM.
Spiwak is offline  
 



Thread Tools

 


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.