FFA Movie Poll - 2005 Countdown Monday!! (1 Viewer)

[by_the_sea_wannabe]

Spoiler

1    American Pie Band Camp    30
2     V for Vendetta    30
3    Batman Begins    20
4    Sin City    20
5    Æon Flux    15
6    Crash    15
7    A History of Violence    15
8    Be Cool    10
9    Mr. & Mrs. Smith    10
10    Constantine    5
11    The Chronicles of Narnia:    5
12    Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith    5
13    Elektra    5
14    Transporter 2    5
15    Hitch    5
16    Saw II    1
17    The Ring Two    1
18    Cruel World    1
19    White Noise    1
20    Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous    1

I'm sure lots of movies you are all missing as usual.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Spoiler

1    American Pie Band Camp    30
2     V for Vendetta    30
3    Batman Begins    20
4    Sin City    20
5    Æon Flux    15
6    Crash    15
7    A History of Violence    15
8    Be Cool    10
9    Mr. & Mrs. Smith    10
10    Constantine    5
11    The Chronicles of Narnia:    5
12    Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith    5
13    Elektra    5
14    Transporter 2    5
15    Hitch    5
16    Saw II    1
17    The Ring Two    1
18    Cruel World    1
19    White Noise    1
20    Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous    1

I'm sure lots of movies you are all missing as usual.

Elektra is bad, even for a by_the _sea list. 

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Elektra is bad, even for a by_the _sea list. 

  By_the_Sea has THE worst taste in music and movies on this board.  

Seems like a nice enough guy, but his lists consistently look like something my great aunt would come up with after too many jelly glasses of Mogan David.  

Sorry, Sea buddy.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

For opposite ends of the spectrum as far as reasons go, I know when I open a Krista or By_the_Sea list that I am going to be adding about 90% of the movies to my sheet for the first time.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

Any last minute lists coming in?  We usually are hovering around 20, and I am at 16 right now.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

Finishing up the math on what I have, and this one is a bit of a 

So far it's the fewest lists I've had, but I think it's the most number of movies getting votes we've had.  Everything is pretty spread out and only a few over 100pts.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

It will be a shorter countdown this time unless something changes.  We are at 21 movies that have 50pts+.   I am thinking that should be a decent cutoff for countdowns as a minimum point requirement, but we could have a higher cutoff if there are more lists and a lot of movies that have 50+.  Basically, I am not going to have a countdown of more than 30 movies, so the cutoff could be higher for other polls.  I am guessing the 50s lists might be like that?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Let's get rolling.  I didn't get any late night entries, so we will roll with what I have.  16 lists this time, and it is an "interesting" collection of movies for the countdown.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

#21  51pts

3/1

The Decline of Western Civilization, Pt.2

I consider myself to be an open-minded progressive creative with an appreciation for creatives pushing the limit and telling it like it is. I'm not a prude. I'm a big fan of Margaret Cho. With that said, I find the Aristocrats' obsession with scatological bestiality and incest all presented in a "humorous" context to be insulting, demeaning, and not the least bit funny. It espouses the kind of humor indicative of a psychopathic juvenile delinquent. As many of the comedians in the film themselves admit the Aristocrats just isn't funny. The film is not totally without merit, however. It is living proof of how psychopathically juvenile our culture can be. And that's just not funny.

THE ARISTOCRATS

 

[KarmaPolice]

"I'm not a prude. I'm a big fan of Margaret Cho"

Don't know why, but that one had me this morning. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

#20 52pts

4/-

Moronic!

Take the most clichéd aspects from the dozens of 'Pulp Fiction' clones that came out during the mid 90's and slather them upon a 90 minute episode of HBO's Entourage and of course, add constant voice-over for the audience member on the go - and there you have "Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang" one of the most contrived, wannabe, intentionally 'hip' and 'edgy' thrillers I have ever seen. Everything is this movie appears to be made for the target audience (18-25 year old men) to relate too and or project themselves into relating to it. The fast smart talking protagonist, who only values cars, money and sex yet adds a level of half baked nihilism to justify his completely shallow cravings. The GQ model gay hit-man who we never see engage in one slightly gay act, or the 20 something model slut-chick who spends half the movie running around in her bra and panties. Everyone in this movie is a supermodel, NO ONE plays a convincing person, not one, every actor plays a stereotype from another movie. Nothing ever slightly goes beyond surface in this movie, it is all about looks, one liners, catch phrases and NON STOP pop or club music. here are more cuts, flash backs, flash forwards, and moving shots that 80% of the music videos on MTV. If you have seen ANY crime thriller from 1995-2000 you have already seen this. There is not one genuine thought, theme, or idea in this movie. It is 100% style over substance.

KISS KISS BANG BANG

 

[KarmaPolice]

#19 54pts

2/1

A PC mess

Skimming through pages of glowing reviews for this movie made me wonder if Netflix switched disks on me. The first half hour was promising, but it rapidly collapsed into a hopeless mess. The story lurches across a field of gaping holes in the plot, and requires a chain of unbelievable circumstances, then simply disappears into complete irrationality. The characters are all shamelessly predictable PC stereotypes. The key plot elements require either suspension of reality or severe naiveté. The film needs to be viewed surrealistically to make any sense at all. But its a not surreal; its just contrived...badly. RoadRunner cartoons manipulate their environment less outrageously. If you want the audience to connect the dots, fine...but for Pete's sake, provide some dots.

If you want to revel in a predictable PC piece about Mexican illegals and Texas rednecks, and don't need a cohesive story, this one's for you. If you want to see a good film with TLJ hauling a corpse cross-country, rent the last couple episodes of "Lonesome Dove".

I understand that this was TLJ's first feature directing job. Tommy...keep the day job.

THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA

 

[KarmaPolice]

#18 55pts

3/-

Yeah? So?

Which pretty much sums up my reaction to this overrated, pretentious pile of indulgent pap. This mind-bogglingly awful, brain-numbingly slow film starts with a potentially interesting premise and then grinds away, pointlessly and at the speed of sludge, as if to spite anyone whose hopes might have been raised. Whole scenes lack shape, pace or even purpose, and go on for longer than should be permitted. At the end of each scene, the only realistic reaction is, "Yeah? So?" This is not, as many fans will be quick to claim, just anti-Hollywood, it is anti-film. I do not expect instant resolution or fast editing or obvious story-telling. I do expect some sort of point, even if it be pointlessness. It is said that this is an "open work", that it is up to the audience to bring what they will to it. Nonsense. This merely means that the filmmaker was too lazy to bring any vision of his own to the table, but merely lays out the half-baked result so that some chin-stroking cineastes can go,"Oooooh, look -- how profouuuuuund". Mind you, from what I've read, a lot of the fans seem determined to read anything they can into this mess. George's is a racist? And how...how did this ever present itself? For that matter, how did anything present itself? I'm not about to indulge in "spoilers", here, solely because there is nothing to spoil: what "revelation" there is, when it comes, is of the "Yeah? So?" variety, a trivial, meaningless event that took place years before and is never really explained (You know, so you can read whatever you want into it, maaaaaaan) Implausible situations pile upon implausible motivations: people say things they would never say, do things that no real person would ever do, conversations consist merely of people shouting at each other and never actually answering the questions they're asked merely to prolong the shouting match (not for any dramatic or realistic effect).

Do yourself a favour: skip this pile of Emperor's New Clothes, because it's time you'll never get back, time you'd be better off on far more fulfilling pursuits, like clipping your toenails or trying to staple yourself to a plank.

Caché    

 

[KarmaPolice]

#17  60pts

6/1

Terrible

I was really looking forward to this film, considering I was a big fan of the book series as well as a huge fan of the original BBC production. So after seeing "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)" I was more than a little disappointed.

This is honestly one of the worst films I have ever seen. The acting is terrible, especially on the part of the two eldest children. I usually love Tilda Swinton, yet I was severely disappointed with her lackluster performance as the White Witch. The pacing of this film is the worst part. The entire movie is extremely rushed in order to reach a major epic battle scene that in the book was a mere afterthought. Though there are a few elements of war and violence, that is not what the story is about. While some of the computer generated effects look okay, most of them are way overdone and instead of serving the story, they overpower it. I'm not a book purist or anything, so I don't mind if a story is changed in order to fit more appropriately on screen, but I do have an issue with filmmakers creating entire sequences that do not appear in the book solely to showcase their supposedly superior computer effects especially when these sequences do nothing to advance the plot.

This movie is bad. Plain and simple, it is one of the worst films I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Not good, not even for children.

Check out the 1988 BBC production and its sequels instead. While they may lack something visually, the story is much richer and more worthwhile.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:  THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

 

[KarmaPolice]

I am sure I am not above doing it as well, and probably have in my posts - I do find it amusing that just about every review of more snobby/critic loved movie has to have something like "..and I get movies like this normally, I like X/Y/Z".   It's just sometimes they are funny which movie they bring up.  "Hey, I enjoy well made slow dramas - I loved Crash!"  

 

[KarmaPolice]

#16 62pts

3/1

F For Subtlety

This film looks wonderful and yet gracelessly misses its mark - think of a springboard diver executing a two-and-a-half reverse tuck only to clip his head on the board while falling. (Did I really just make a DIVING reference?) Yes, I understand that this movie used a graphic novel as a source material; this is why most comic book movies have less entertainment value than Laffy Taffy wrapper jokes.

The visuals and performances were top-notch, but the message delivered inside of the story was pure rubbish. It was the "slippery slope" rhetorical device typically used so nauseatingly by social conservatives (The whole world's gone to hell since (pick one) long hair on boys/the slam dunk/the birth control pill/rock and roll) - only this time, the slippery slope falls to the far right: If you're against gay marriage, it leads to the internment of gays. Opposition to radical Islam leads to the criminalization of the practice of Islam. Opposition to illegal immigrants leads to the deportation of all immigrants. There was also fodder for conspiracy buffs: the government knows and sees every last thing. And the government is waaaaaaaaay bad. I mean seriously - like, EVIL. There was even a Rush Limbaugh sighting, complete with prescription drug addiction!

It's obvious that this movie is anti-conservative, which I don't mind at all. We need honest disagreement (which we do have in this country) as long as we are willing to work together (which we have not had in this country since the 1810's). However, I really hate to see sophomoric distortions like these presented as some sort of provocative satire. It's not. It's got all the thoughtful gravitas of "Rock Against Bush".

V FOR VENDETTA

 

[wikkidpissah]

I LOVE Countdown Monday & a Half!

 

[KarmaPolice]

It's surprising to me, but I have scrolled through 100+ reviews of the next one, and haven't gotten something less than 8/10...

 

[wikkidpissah]

i'm a big fan of bts_wannabe movies - after "Band Camp" i left the hot needles in my eyes for a week!

 

[KarmaPolice]

OK, I have been scrolling awhile now, so the countdown will be continued at lunch as I search more for the negative reviews.  It think the movie is sitting at a 7.7, so they have to be there. 

It's just means that most of y'all have it wrong on your lists b/c it wouldn't be on the countdown if not for my 30pts.... 

 

[Don Quixote]

OK, I have been scrolling awhile now, so the countdown will be continued at lunch as I search more for the negative reviews.  It think the movie is sitting at a 7.7, so they have to be there. 

It's just means that most of y'all have it wrong on your lists b/c it wouldn't be on the countdown if not for my 30pts.... 

If you are looking at IMDB, you can sort by rating, and then click on the reverse arrow.

 

[KarmaPolice]

#15 64pts

6/1

Broke"Blah" Mountain

This was one of the most boring films I have ever seen. I really don't get why so many in the gay community are glowing over this film. This is not a good film for the community. When the hell are these self proclaimed liberal film makers going to get it. I'm tired of seeing movies where the villain is gay or the only reason you get to like the character is because he's suffering. Gays have happy endings too. That IS real life.

1. Heath Ledger: Not an Oscar award winning performance. Marlon Brando could give this kid lessons in diction. I could barely make out a word he said.

2. The Love scene or lack there of: I've never seen a more awkward attempt at making love and kissing. These guys should give up acting now. They both looked uncomfortable and disgusted at what they were doing.

3. What's love got to do with it: When do we ever get to see these actors in love and enjoying themselves? The only time we get to see them happy, the camera pulls away so we can see the disapproving sneer of their boss." I didn't pay them boys to do this".

4. When will Hollywood learn: There appears to be an unwritten rule in Hollywood that a character can't be gay unless he's dying, unhappy, victimized or victimizing. The Gay community is tired of being portrayed at villains, psychos, degenerates, or diseased and unfortunate "lost souls". In Philadelphia, we are allowed to like Tom Hanks because he's dying (never-mind the fact that you never see him and Antonio share any physical signs of affection).

5. The pacing of the movie was very slow. This was not an entertaining film. It was beautifully photographed but not very entertaining.

This film teaches us that Gays are doomed to loneliness and misfortune and miserable, unhappy lives and grizzly deaths at the hands of ignorant bigots. Speaking of which, Christians are actually using this movie as propaganda to show their congregation that you, too, will be doomed if you give in to their "wicked Homosexual desires".

I hated this film.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

 

[KarmaPolice]

If you are looking at IMDB, you can sort by rating, and then click on the reverse arrow.

Never once did I notice that option at the top.   Usually I it doesn't take too long to get to some bad ones, but that could've saved 15mins of my life there.  

 

[Dr. Octopus]

2. The Love scene or lack there of: I've never seen a more awkward attempt at making love and kissing. These guys should give up acting now. They both looked uncomfortable and disgusted at what they were doing.

I haven't seen the movie since the theaters but isn't the point that the Heath Ledger character WAS uncomfortable with it since he wasn't out (and/or didn't rally consider himself gay)?

 

[KarmaPolice]

The rest will continue later, I was just stubborn and had to keep going.  It will be a lot quicker now that I have a basic understanding of how to navigate that website. 

Next up we have a bunch grouped in the 80pt range, 2 in the 90s, 5 in the 100s, and only 1 movie got over 200pts.  

 

[wikkidpissah]

I LOVE Brokeback Monday!

 

[KarmaPolice]

I LOVE Brokeback Monday!

I wish I knew how to quit you, wikkid...

 

[Yankee23Fan]

V for Vendetta was infinitely better than Brokeback Mountain.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

V for Vendetta was infinitely better than Brokeback Mountain.  

Just a tiny bit apples to oranges, but still incorrect.  

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Just a tiny bit apples to oranges, but still incorrect.  

No, they were both movies and so comparable.  One was a steaming pile of drivel and the other was V for Vendetta.

 

[KarmaPolice]

No, they were both movies and so comparable.  One was a steaming pile of drivel and the other was V for Vendetta.

Obviously we are on opposites on this one, and mine was the lone huge score for it, but something that well shot and made can never be "a pile of drivel", imo.  

I also don't think there is an Ang Lee movie I've seen and haven't really liked or at thought looked fantastic.  Hell, I don't even think Hulk was as bad as most think it is. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Damn Hollywood with their terrorist propaganda and homosexual propaganda movies... 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Damn Hollywood with their terrorist propaganda and homosexual propaganda movies... 

Well, there goes "Bombulous!", my new gay terrorist script

 

[KarmaPolice]

Well, there goes "Bombulous!", my new gay terrorist script

Now I have in my head Dr.Stranglove-esque scene with a gay terrorist riding a huge penis-shaped rocket. 

 

[El Floppo]

Dammit. Forgot to give a list...sorry



ETA.. aristocrats and cache would've both gotten bumps up

 

[KarmaPolice]

#14  80pts

4/2

The perfect example to not make another Harry Potter movie

I would vote 0 except it's not an option. OK, I know that it's necessary to cut out some of the book to keep the movie under 10 hours. After seeing this, though, I see the writers and director do not have the finesse required to make necessary cuts/changes and produce an even mediocre movie. The acting was the least believable that I've seen in a while (and that's including Zorro 2 by the way). No one made a dramatic pause or was able to say even a simple undramatic sentence without some huge physical gesture. Dumbledore's walking around the Goblet of Fire when the champions were announced reminded me of the Ferengi in an early episode of Star Trek the next generation where they were dodging around and growling for no apparent reason. The characters were mutilated beyond recognition (with the possible exception of Harry because they just can't do that), like Dumbledore being more of a hothead and forcing Harry back once his name is called instead of the serene scholar who cares about his students and would never do anything resembling manhandling them. Victor Krum reminded me of the roast ham at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday except the ham was smarter, better looking, and had more lines, a complete contrast from the star of Bulgaria Krum was in the books. I could go much farther in the intense hatred this movie has inspired in me but the box says I have a limit, so I'll wrap it up. The whole thing says "OK this is something we're just churning out to make money off the quality books through name recognition, so we don't need to put any actual thought or effort into it."

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

 

[KarmaPolice]

I do agree with that review in that Dumbledore's character was off in that movie.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

#13 81pts

6/1

What's wrong with this film?

This year (2008), about 565,650 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. In the US, cancer accounts for 1 of every 4 deaths.

1 in 3 people will develop cancer during their lives.

-American Cancer Society

This film is a piece of crap. It's simple: the subject matter is not available for comedy. Americans would like to think that everything is open to a big joke, but it's not. The statistics prove this. There are just some subjects that are off limits. This is one of them.

Movies like this will keep being made for the simple reason that 1) Hollywood is a greedy, capitalist juggernaut by its nature. 2.) lack of good judgment from very good actors to participate in projects like this thus ennobling them with high production values, and 3) did I mention the cyclopean monolith who lumbers blindly ahead without discernment on its wayward bacchanal to resounding applause without decency, laughing, growling, celebrating the energy of sex and money at the expense of everyone else? Interesting that many of the one star reviews start off with "Didn't make me laugh...." Cancer?

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

 

[KarmaPolice]

#12  82pts

5/-

This movie is nothing more than "Showgirls" with lots of guns..

Really, I can't believe how bad this film was, really! From what I hear, the book was quite good, and I can see how it might be. But, this movie, was bad, very bad. Somewhat entertaining at first, but it soon evolved to a silly totally unrealistic movie that to me almost seemed to have "showgirlesque" qualities.

For example, the hilarious sex scene on the steps (after the wife finds out her husband is a former mobster) was akin to the pool sex scene in historic flop "Show girls". The fact that someone (a director I assume) actually thought this scene was a poignant emotional sexual release is hilarious. The bit with the dude kicking his leg like a dog was bit much...

By the way aren't former mobsters suppose to be Italian, and not Polish? Anyhow, about 2/3 of the way threw this debacle I had enough, and had to shut it down. I have absolutely no interest in how this movie ends either, and I hope I never find out.

It totally baffles me how a director/producer could actually watch this movie and think they just made something insightful, or even half way entertaining. If I were the dude that wrote the book, I'd be upset. Because you just got clowned...

Put it this way, this movie was so awful, I even registered for this site just to tell the world..do please, please save yourself 2 bucks and rent something else, like Dukes of Hazzard, or Gigli, because at least those movies KNOW they are are terrible...gee...

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

 

[KarmaPolice]

#11 86pts

5/1

It was like being in a room with the most perverted and violent people.

Of all the movies I have ever seen, this was the worst. Not that it was badly made or that it didn't achieve what was probably intended to but it was an blatant attack on the morals (the few and faint that are left) of the human race and in particular of bible..

I would consider myself to be open minded and I've seen some bad movies but this takes the cake. I've never said this about a movie before but I wish I had never seen this one. It seems to me to be an indication of how far society has fallen and how depraved we have become. And to get a 16 age restriction is hard to believe and quite frankly criminal, R would not be high enough.

It was like being in a room with the most perverted and violent people that society has ever produced while they triumphantly tell you of their most vile crimes in graphic detail and with an air of pride and satisfaction.

SIN CITY

 

[Yankee23Fan]

#13 81pts

6/1

What's wrong with this film?

This year (2008), about 565,650 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. In the US, cancer accounts for 1 of every 4 deaths.

1 in 3 people will develop cancer during their lives.

-American Cancer Society

This film is a piece of crap. It's simple: the subject matter is not available for comedy. Americans would like to think that everything is open to a big joke, but it's not. The statistics prove this. There are just some subjects that are off limits. This is one of them.

Movies like this will keep being made for the simple reason that 1) Hollywood is a greedy, capitalist juggernaut by its nature. 2.) lack of good judgment from very good actors to participate in projects like this thus ennobling them with high production values, and 3) did I mention the cyclopean monolith who lumbers blindly ahead without discernment on its wayward bacchanal to resounding applause without decency, laughing, growling, celebrating the energy of sex and money at the expense of everyone else? Interesting that many of the one star reviews start off with "Didn't make me laugh...." Cancer?

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

wow.

.   <---------------------- the point                                                                                                                                                          I <----- that guy

 

[Dr. Octopus]

By the way aren't former mobsters suppose to be Italian, and not Polish?

  I'm surprised some of these reviewers can even write in somewhat coherent sentences.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

 Americans would like to think that everything is open to a big joke, but it's not. The statistics prove this.

I would like to see these statistics.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

#11 86pts

5/1

It was like being in a room with the most perverted and violent people that society has ever produced while they triumphantly tell you of their most vile crimes in graphic detail and with an air of pride and satisfaction.

SIN CITY

Ah..... yeah!

 

[KarmaPolice]

There was a review about History of Violence that said it should have been X-rated because of the sex.  They had seen 1000s of movies, but that was over the top in that department.  I am assuming that those 1000s of movies were PG-13 movies?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Will do the top 10 tonight.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

#10 87pts

8/-

I Walked The Line... Straight To The Doors.

All I'd heard about Walk the Line were seemingly wonderful things, like "the acting is wonderful" and "The music is superb and great to listen to", so I went to the cinema expecting a fantastic movie.

I should've gone to see King Kong again.

Now I'm not a fan of Johnny Cash (I do love 3 or 4 songs though), but my god, what a dull, dull movie about a dull, drunk man. Joaquin couldn't draw any pity from me even when his character was at the bottom of the barrel. Even Reese's spark seemed to be out as she just went through the motions of the movie. And the overly dramatic cinematography was the final nail in the coffin.

If you want a movie to depress you, Walk the Line is great. Otherwise, go see a movie where the actors/actresses aren't made of cardboard.

WALK THE LINE

 

[KarmaPolice]

#9  89pts

6/1

Raging Dull

I cannot believe that this movie is on the IMDb top 250. It is a bore. There are closeups and dizzy camera moves. It reaches in for tears from the first five minutes. It seems as though it were written for a couple of housewives before their husbands come home. Just horrible.

Ron Howard, the poor guy wants to be Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg, Kubrick... everything that he isn't. He wants to be Welles, Altman, Peckinpah... What I'm trying to say is that he wants so bad to be classic that he cannot settle for pretty good. And that, my friends, is what he is, pretty good at best. And he hasn't even been that for many years.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND was overrated, but at least it was entertaining. This film was depressing. Yes, I know, it's about the depression, but it's so full of clichés my TV needed Pepto. Paul Giamati plays the manager, and swears for swearing sake, trying to be Joe Pesci in RAGING BULL, and so did the boxing/fight scenes, but it was just dull, dull, dull.

Russel Crowe was boring. Renee what's her name was boring. None of the characters mattered. And Crowe's big claim to fame was that he beat up a guy who looked like a fat slob from Cheers for gods sakes.

Ron Howard always shows us who is bad and who is good. Bad directors do this. Clint Eastwood, also overrated, does this. "This character is bad, because he is a jerk, and this character is good, because he isn't". This is what their movies tell us, as if we're children.

But the fact that this film made the top 250, maybe we are children. Because anyone stupid enough to vote this as a classic should go back to kindergarten and finger paint with Opie Cuttingham.

A horrible, horrible film.

CINDERELLA MAN

 

[KarmaPolice]

#8 95pts

5/1

I found the movie to be very disconcerting because it relied entirely on becoming a villain in order to succeed.

While the movie was supposed to focus on the game of Murderball it totally missed the boat as far as the reaction to the devastating aspects of waking up to discover that you suddenly are a totally helpless quad. I would like to hear what people who work in the rehab field have to say about the movie. I feel that it only exacerbates a violent approach to living life. Moving from being a football player, a hockey player or a motor cycle racer; all sports that require a high level of violence with the message kill your opponent.

We are at war because our leaders are convinced that we must win at all costs in Iraq and Afghanistan when there is absolutely no way that we can. If we continue with that philosophy we will be there forever and the terrorism will only increase.

MURDERBALL

 

[KarmaPolice]

#7  99pts

8/2

"Luke, I am your father..."

"...but this is not your father's Star Wars."

Ugh. Where to begin? These movies are horrible. Each one worse than the previous one; or at least all equally dire. I think we were all fooling ourselves thinking things would get any better after seeing Jake Lloyd was cast as young Anakin and Haydn Christensen as older Anakin. Besides that, though, an inordinate amount of time was wasted on endless hordes of ugly digital aliens and droids and pod races and very little on the story. Sadly, Lucas clearly did not care for the story, dialog and acting (he's admitted as much, as I understand it) and was more interested in cramming every possible frame with some digital creature or effect.

As a result, we see no viable transition from good Anakin to bad Anakin; instead, we are subjected to possibly the worst plot contrivance ever devised, amongst a host of other ridiculous plot devices (to say nothing of the moronic coincidences that proliferate in these movies). The confounding thing is that even in this last film, where you still might be able to salvage some time and show a logical progression from Skywalker to Vader, there is plenty of time wasted and fluff to spare, including the introduction of one of the most pointless characters ever created, Count Grievous. I mean, why chronicle the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, the main protagonist of the trilogy, when you can show a coughing robot? This could have been a true saga. Instead, it is a blight on the franchise and a travesty.

As for the effects, I deplore the look of all these movies. They don't evoke the feel of the original films at all. It's all a big, headache-inducing mess. But its only fitting that the effects stink since the story is five times as repellent. "You can't polish a turd" as the saying goes, or, as that horrible little booger would put it, "Polish a turd, you cannot."

STAR WARS EPISODE III:  REVENGE OF THE SITH