Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Sita Sings the Blues. > Yes, yes, YES! Saw it at Tribeca and loved it. Maybe not quite as much as Ebert (thought it flagged just a bit at times), but I enjoyed it as much as any film this year, and more than most. At its best it's just wonderful. Others that make my list this year: Wall-E Milk Slumdog Millionaire Haven't seen Revolutionary Road yet, but I like the talent involved.
Originally Posted By ecdc See, I thought the Dark Knight's themes of blurred lines between good and evil transcended other minor issues. I still almost get emotional at that ending: "Why's he running, Dad?" "Because we have to chase him.... He's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight." Wow. I also really enjoyed Milk. Not the best film of the year for me, but a great movie.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I don't see that many movies in theaters. If I were to recommend one, it would be 'Wall-E.' And I'd recommend it especially to people who 'don't like animated movies.'
Originally Posted By wonderingalice I've gotta say "The Dark Knight," as it was the only movie we saw in a theater this year. *LOL* We don't get out much... Having different days off and our bizarre sleep schedule - bites in that regard. So, we go out for the big action, big-screen-required flicks and catch the rest on satellite (the DVR is the greatest alternative viewing invention ever created! ;-) or DVD.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Specifically, I was distracted by the use of some live action footage of Fred Willard and then the very cartoony humans later in the film. I think it would have been interesting if they had done a mix of live action with Pixar animation when it came time to see the humans.<< Over Christmas I watched that flick again with the parents, who hadn't seen it. And I got it. If you look at the pictures of past captains, the first one is live action human, then down through the generations they morph into the blobs that are hanging out on the spaceship. My dad was bugged by the fact that there appeared to be only two age groups on the ship - kids and twenty-somethings. He has a point ...
Originally Posted By Mary Poppins I haven't heard of most of these movies, so this thread will be a good guide at the DVD rental store. Thanks people.
Originally Posted By Spooky Ghost I've seen all the remaining movies on my list, here's my top 10: 1. The Dark Knight 2. Repo! The Genetic Opera 3. Slumdog Millionaire 4. Wall-E 5. Revolutionary Road 6. Burn After Reading 7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 8. Changeling 9. The Reader/Milk 10. Funny Games
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I LOVED the first half of Wall-E. I didn't care for it near as much once it became centered on the blobby humans. Specifically, I was distracted by the use of some live action footage of Fred Willard and then the very cartoony humans later in the film. I think it would have been interesting if they had done a mix of live action with Pixar animation when it came time to see the humans. Either that, or animate the Fred Willard footage. Be consistent. (Said the guy who liked a duck being a panda's father! LOL, so much for me being consistent!)*** Funny how this really distracted and bothered some but not others. I fall into the "others" catagory, as I was never distracted by it and I thought it worked fine. As someone else on LP wrote, it was almost as if Willard along with the very real looking "dead earth" and the video footage of musicals long gone were all a part of "the past", whereas the cartoon people were here and now as it were. Anyway, worked for me. I can understand why it bothered others, but it only added to the movie for me (I never put my finger on WHY, but that mystery poster put it best and I wish I could remember who said that because they summed up my emotional reaction to all of that quite nicely). Wall-E, Dark Knight, and Benjamin Button are my picks, although I'm off to locate some of the others folks have mentioned (don't get to the movies as often as I'd like to these days!).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Just because I am willing to suspend disbelief when it comes to the Batman character, that doesn't mean I'm willing to believe any kind of garbage they throw my way.*** As par for the course, RoadTrip and I see things very differently. I wouldn't call the below examples "garbage" in any way shape or form as I'll explain below... ***Two of the most glaring examples of this were: 1) Dent in the hospital. Even if a person refused skin grafts, they would be hitched up to IV's injecting antibiotics, fluids and pain killers. Speaking of pain killers, didn't anyone tell the director that burns are excruciatingly painful? Yet Dent lies in his bed pissed-off but not in pain.*** To me, it only indicated the furthering depths of his madness. I took his refusal to get skin grafts to mean he refused ANY helpful treatments (mad like the hatter), AND his pain was reflected inward and back out as insane rage. Haven't you ever gotten hurt but been so pissed off by the situation that your pain was transformed into anger? I have. I'm sure others have. This is the ultimate manifestation of that. No need to suspend ANY disbelief here, at least not for me. ***2) The hospital blowing up. To drop a building like that would take a large crew of professional demolition guys. Joker and his rag-tag band would not be able to carry it off. Besides the fact there is no way you could place that many charges without being noticed.*** The joker was a criminal mastermind. Just think back to the first bank robbery, the guy thought of everything (even where and when the bus would crash through the wall!). No worries, he'd have taken care of all the explosives himself if he felt he needed to. No disbelief here either (sorry). ***Besides... any movie that kills off a beautiful and law-abiding woman before any of the other leads die just plain sucks to start with.*** I thought that part was essential to Dent's demise. Painful though it was to watch! So anyway, can't say as I agree with ya on these points anyway, I thought the movie was believable enough.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>As someone else on LP wrote, it was almost as if Willard along with the very real looking "dead earth" and the video footage of musicals long gone were all a part of "the past", whereas the cartoon people were here and now as it were.<< Not almost. Quite literally. Grab the DVD (or Blu-Ray you lucky stiff) and rewatch the scene where they pan across the photos of past captains. The first one is a photograph, and then they gradually morph into the cartoon blobs down through the generations. I'm not sure if I was your "mystery poster," but I noticed this when I was forcing my parents to watch the movie over Christmas. (They loved it, BTW.)
Originally Posted By Mr X Not sure if it was you, Maw, but whoever it was summed up the idea very nicely (an idea I hadn't considered while watching...I just liked the way it worked very well without giving it much thought). In any case, I can understand the "con" side, it was definitely a risk and some folks took it the wrong way. I, for one, found it just another great element. But for the record I'm a weird critic to say the least. I loved the three Amigos, which puts me in a league of, well, my own? I hated, HATED the new Star Wars movies for the most part, but love Return of the Jedi (sorry, Ewok haters). And I find 2010 to be superior to the original (the book, mind you..NOT the movie). Go figure.
Originally Posted By jasmine7 << I loved the three Amigos, which puts me in a league of, well, my own? I hated, HATED the new Star Wars movies for the most part, but love Return of the Jedi (sorry, Ewok haters).<< Hehe, well, it's a league of at least 2. I'm a huge fan of The Three Amigos (have most of it memorized, that's how many times I've watched it), and I also love Return of the Jedi (it was probably the first film I saw in the theater, it or a rerelease of The Rescuers in the very early 80s). On the topic, I'd have to go with WALL-E, The Dark Knight, and Iron Man.
Originally Posted By DAR <<<<Is doing the Three Amigos greeting right now *cough* I'm not crazy about Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones, I'll still watch them if nothing else is on. But I love love love Revenge of the Sith. I do have one question about The Dark Knight that doesn't quite make sense to me. So the Joker believed in anarchy and causing chaos. But if he was a true anarchist would have planned everything out so well? Or as he said it's all part of the plan? I tend to think it's the later but he's crazy enough that the former would apply.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***So the Joker believed in anarchy and causing chaos. But if he was a true anarchist would have planned everything out so well? Or as he said it's all part of the plan?*** To me, it was kinda like the way he got his fix was by *orchestrating* chaos. ***But I love love love Revenge of the Sith.*** Well, I did say "for the most part". Sith did have some redeeming qualities. But to go along with RoadTrip's idea about suspending disbelief only going so far, I have some major issues. A big one would be, how is it that one Sith Lord can totally own and kill three Jedi Masters who are ready with their weapons drawn in about 3 seconds? I thought Yoda said the dark side wasn't stronger, didn't he? And while we're on the same subject, why did only four of them go to arrest him anyway..why not a hundred? Put it this way, if the cops are going to take down a known murderer with martial arts skills and an arsenal of automatic weapons in his home, do they normally send only 2 squad cars? Still, the movie was definitely the best of the three. Would've been much better though if they'd thrown Padme and Jar Jar under a sandcrawler in the opening scene though.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Yeah I agree, who ever said Three Amigos is a bad film anyway? I think it's one of the best comedies from the 80's. - Anatole
Originally Posted By DAR I caught that too good one. Well I don't know about the rest of you guys but my little buttercup has the sweetest smile.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Yeah I agree, who ever said Three Amigos is a bad film anyway?<<< Me! Love the actors and the pretense, but HATE the movie. Same with the popular Trains, planes and automobiles.
