Wot films are you watching?

[Rii]

Its David Fincher so I may have a look, I mean he is probably the one I would say wouldn't mess it up to much.

Yep, if I had to pick an American director for the film Fincher (or Aronofsky) would probably be it. I mean, the guy who made Se7en is still in there somewhere, right? Likewise Daniel Craig as Blomkvist is great casting. It's Rooney Mara as Lisbeth I'm not sure about. I'm not sure she's 'hard' enough. And that poster doesn't help.

The thing is though I really don't see the point of remaking these films. The same with Let The Right One In, I just never went to the English remake, because 1) The Swedish original made such and impact that its up there as one of my favourite films and 2) It just smacks of cultural who gives a fuck. Its endemic of a culture that is very scared of subtitles on films. Oh know I have to read while watching a film, get away!

I'm generally cool to cold towards most remakes, but only because they so rarely capture the magic of the original work. I was a long time being convinced to give Let Me In a chance precisely on account of the sentiments you mention. It's particularly bothersome when setting, plot and character details are changed to suit the local audience, which to me reads as denying the original work and the culture which birthed it.

In the case of Let Me In there wasn't much to tie the film to anywhere in particular (so long as there's appropriate scenery) so the change to America is unproblematic. In contrast there's an awful lot tying The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to Sweden and to its credit the American version is maintaining the setting. One other thing I'd note is that in both of the cases we're talking about here the original work is actually a novel and technically the American films are independent adaptations of those rather than remakes of the earlier Swedish film adaptations.

Ultimately, despite other sympathies I have it's the quality of the work that wins out for me in the end. It just so happens that it's usually the original which is better. ;)

[Xercies]

One other thing I'd note is that in both of the cases we're talking about here the original work is actually a novel and technically the American films are independent adaptations of those rather than remakes of the earlier Swedish film adaptations.

You see I don't really believe that, if they wanted to make their own adaptation why did they mysteriously wait for the swedish one to be made, and to be honest they only do it if that swedish film seems popular. Which is doubly silly since you would have thought most people who have seen it would have, unless of course your one of those subtitle haters. Also before America remade REC and and they want to remake Troll Hunter I think. So yeah I really don't believe that's true.

Ultimately, despite other sympathies I have it's the quality of the work that wins out for me in the end. It just so happens that it's usually the original which is better.

I kind of agree, but as I said before I really don't like people just dismissing films because it has subtitles and filmakers remaking films for really no apprant reason except for targeting those people. I mean you could say thats great, more people seeing the story because they wouldn't otherwise, but you know it isn't really. Its just people not opening there minds I feel.

[Rii]

I kind of agree, but as I said before I really don't like people just dismissing films because it has subtitles and filmakers remaking films for really no apprant reason except for targeting those people.

I think it's particularly noticeable in these instances because the Swedish films are so recent, and were so well received themselves. But of course that goes back to them being adaptations of recent novels.

I mean you could say thats great, more people seeing the story because they wouldn't otherwise, but you know it isn't really. Its just people not opening there minds I feel.

But couldn't you say that about making film adaptations of novels in the first place? If they wanted to experience the story, why didn't they read the book? Even for those of us who do read for pleasure, film has lower barriers to entry that can lead to our experiencing stories we otherwise might not have. Kazuo Ishiguru's Never Let Me Go is another recent example.

I do think accessibility is important. Games are probably subject to this problem more than any other medium. Games from even a decade back are often difficult for newcomers to approach, most notably in terms of visual presentation but also design sensibilities and even getting the damn thing to run at all. In film, beyond the myriad of more subtle evolutions you've got the major transitions from black and white to colour, and the 'silent film' era. In literature if you go back far enough you'll have your work cut out trying to understanding what you're reading at all.

Of course none of that really applies in the case of the films we're talking about here - the subtitles are the only difference. But as much as we might wish it were otherwise, most folks don't read for pleasure and aren't accustomed to doing so for film. The Swedish films will always be there and if anything the American versions will probably lead more people to discover them.

Whilst we're on the subject of Swedish film, I'm a big fan of Lukas Moodysson's work. Fucking Åmål, Tillsammans and Lilja 4-ever are all excellent films.

[Xercies]

Hmm i guess so, and i do kind of understand what your saying. But I have to say those people who don't like watching subtitle films are basically missing a lot of films, some of them are truly great. A few of my top 20 are foreign language films.

[Rii]

But I have to say those people who don't like watching subtitle films are basically missing a lot of films, some of them are truly great. A few of my top 20 are foreign language films.

Yeah, definitely. And it's not all arthouse stuff either, for jet porn enthusiasts Le Chevaliers Du Ciel and Yukikaze are the best flicks to come out since Top Gun. But oh well, what can you do?

[acroman56]

The last film I watched was.....Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. Please don't go and see it, if you have any love for films or Transformers at all just don't do it. You would have thought Transformers 2 would have taught me not to continue watching these films but I convinced myself that it had to be better than the second one and while it is better than number 2 that's like saying that being shot in the face is better than being stabbed in the face.

My main problem was that the film focused waaaaaay too heavily on the human characters, it's called Transformers, we came to see robots punching each other so if we don't even get that what's the point? I should also mention the franchises horrible comedy cameos that are just so out of place the worst offender being that camp asian guy from The Hangover who turns the camp level up to 11 and has the codename 'Deep Wang'. Even typing that made me feel ill. The last half an hour or so of the film involving Chicago is pretty entertaining as far as robots punching each other and explosions go, but the ending is so anti-climactic with Optimus Prime simply offing the main villains in seconds as though they are no threat at all, all I can hope is that this means no more sequels.

Now to go watch the original 80's animated Transformers movie to wash the pain away!

[Xercies]

Yesterday I seemed to have had a day of death with the films i watched. Two different approaches to death which is quite interesting to be honest.

Wristcutters: A Love Story - Definitely very Indie. Its so Indie. You can feel the Indieness coming from its bones. Basically the premise is, is that if you commit suicide you get transported to a place quite like our own but worse since its very washed out colours and people can't smile. What that is is kind of window dressing to a kind of surreal road trip movie, with a predictable romance. It does have some nice bits in it, the characters are fine, its got a light comic feel to it and its Ok. It thinks its weirder then it is, it has some weird bits, and the premise is weirdly great but the actual story kind of doesn't really do anything with it until kind of the last third where it goes through a lot of interesting ideas with no explanation or depth to any of them so its a little disappointing in that regard. The ending is a little to nice and happy for my liking and it doesn't really feel right to me.

Meet Joe Black - Definitely Hollywood. So Hollywood with its treatment of Death. This is another issue, people think its weirder then it actually is. Its a very standard Hollywood love interest and someone out of their place comedy except the character is Death. Now i quite like the rappour Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins had, I wish it had more of them just going together and more of a story of what do you leave behind when you die if you did have a chance to leave something behind. But instead it focused on Death being a fish out of water, and the love between him and the daughter, which is fine but to predictable that i thought Damn you've kind of wasted an interesting premise there. Its still sweet and likeable enough to enjoy, and it does have hints of that death, getting older and what do you leave behind to keep it mildly interesting.

[icupnimpn2]

Saw Cappy Americano. There are some nice nods to comic continuity, and the film springboards from Thor more than I was expecting. The film was somehow less rousing than the trailer, in part because the film's bland soundtrack. I'm at a little bit of a loss to describe why it was any less entertaining than Iron Man, Iron Man 2, or Thor, but it comes out as the weakest of the four. Add in Incredible Hulk (the last of the Avengers tie-ins), which I liked, and it still falls short. Maybe part of the problem is that the film shows some of the best action in montage instead of as part of a tight narrative. This is meant to give you the feeling that the Cap has been operating successfully for a while, and you're supposed to fill in the gaps yourself. I'm not a big fan of the montage.

Anyway, still better than some films. And there were some good bits. I liked his early career but disliked his cliche change in status, and scenes that should have been emotionally wrenching fell flat.

Staying optimistic for Avengers, which is previewed after the credits.

[Rii]

I'm not a big fan of the montage.

But ... everyone loves a montage!


Monsters
Each of the elements of this film has been seen before, but their combination is unique and compelling. The execution is remarkably proficient given the film's nonexistent budget, but the script and pacing could've been better. In one key and otherwise excellent scene the film oversells its themes through dialogue, almost as if it doesn't trust the audience to fill in the least blank themselves. In another, the characters interrupt the haunting silence to ask a question that both they and the audience already know the answer to. The film is also unfortunately lopsided in another respect: the first half bustles with people whereas the second is almost entirely devoid of them, leaving our two protagonists to face the wild alone. Both aspects are used to good effect, but by the end we've forgotten much of what made the journey so appealing in the first place. See Into the Wild on how to do this better. This is a worthy enough film, it's just unfortunate that it isn't better.

Hanna
For the most part this plays out as a third-rate Bourne flick with an intriguing twist that nevertheless fails to elevate the experience beyond 'watchable'. Some random observations: watching Eric Bana pretend to be German is darkly humourous. Cate Blanchett's 'Marissa' is just this side of Darth Vader. And of course she doesn't have children, how else would we know that she's evil? Hanna's (female) friend is almost as unconvincing a depiction of a 14yr-old girl as Hanna herself, without her excuse of having been raised by wolves.

[The JG Man]

Went to see Super with a friend. I haven't seen Kick-Ass, although I have it floating around to watch. Anyhow, won't make any comparisons there.

The plot is fine, the characters are generally pretty good, although Ellen Paige gets the award for best acting in this film, clearly giving it her all. Probably helped by the fact she has the best character, unless you count Nathan Fillion who plays a fictional Christian TV super-hero (it's better than it sounds). So when I say, "it's not that the film is bad", I don't want you to necessarily think it's a bad film, but I don't know if I like it. It's easy to watch, but there's a real dissonance between what's going on and what you're being shown at times. For example, after a pretty sobering second of footage, a roaring rampage of violence ensues and as you're rapt for it, comic-book styled images appear on screen. It just doesn't work.

In fact, that's what I think about the film. It doesn't work. It's neither good or bad, it simply doesn't fit together. It's two pieces of a jig-saw being forced together. The term visceral hasn't served me as usefully since I saw Planet Terror, but unlike Planet Terror and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, the style is consistent. Planet Terror is hyper-violent, but it doesn't make you retreat. SP, to borrow from TV Tropes, takes refuge in audacity with frequent inclusions or cuts to comic styled images or happenings. Super feels like they were doing it at one point, forgot about it for ages and were like, "Oh, crap, we need to add this in somewhere!" This also, bizarrely, happens with a character who is killed and then not talked about again. It's a small role, but the character is important, so why nothing was brought up of this again is a little beyond me.

The fact it's dark, pretty gruesome and vulgar at times doesn't really bother me, but the tone isn't prepared for the moments where these are really done. It's mostly a case of "Whoa, did they just do that?" with the violence. The film also single-handedly justifies the existence of the trope "Rape is OK When It Is Female on Male".

At times it was very enjoyable, at others, I was kinda surprised at the content. After the film finished and I was talking to my friend about it, I said that "Sometimes the gloss of mainstream isn't so bad." Mainstream plays things safe, so you don't always get to see as much darkness, but I'd have preferred a little safety in Super at some moments.

With a limited release and no noticeable marketing, it was never going to be big, but I can't say that's a problem for this film. It'll enjoy the cult support it inevitably builds up, along with those who are interested in seeing Page in spandex, but the indifference the film leaves me with that will tide my mind for a bit of time to come will eventually guarantee that I won't remember even seeing it down the line.

[Xercies]

Actually i wish it had a bit more of a sadder darker tone then the whiplash you get of the light dark comedy and the horrible sad i don't even think this is supposed to be funny dark comedy. It showed really good flashes of that and it would have definitly made it a bit different from Kick Ass.

[The JG Man]

I just wish it'd have picked one. The in-your-face violence didn't really work with the to-ing and fro-ing, so either remove that and be a little more upbeat, or keep it and stay grim.

[8-bit]

the happening: woooooooo evil trees! D:

my little brother is/was a film student, and has just finished directing a very short film about a girl running away from a killer or something. its fairly terrible and he knows it, but its something he did and he is understandably very proud of it. my brothers three minute film is better than the happening.

[Plankton]

the happening: woooooooo evil trees! D:

The Happening is hilarious. I went in having heard that it was bad, I wasn't quite ready for what I saw. But I had a ton of fun watching it^^. Plus, it has Zooey Deschanel <3

[Rii]

I don't remember much about The Happening, but I do remember thinking it wasn't nearly as bad as most folks said. The potential was there, but then it always is with Shyamalan. But then I liked The Village, so YMMV.

I finally got to seeing The Seventh Seal last night and ... argh, talk about unapproachable. There were scenes that had me transfixed, but as a film entire? I don't know. This was my first Bergman film (yeah, yeah...) and I'm not about to give up just yet, but I'd be lying if I said it was a promising start.

[Xercies]

The Happenning is quite funny to be honest, Mark Whalburg is playing his character in a really werid manner. Actually there are loads of weird characters in that film, Hot Dog Guy is the most memorable. The acting is terrible sometimes, as someone got shot Mark Whalburg is just going "Oh No". Also what is he trying to do with the non creepy but absolutly hilarious trying to be creepy wind through trees. Also Mark Whalburg talks to a plastic tree.

I can see though that this really could have been an interesting film to be honest if it wasn't mishandled so badly, the shot where the suicides go from person to person is a little strange but it actually is I thought quite good and a little bit powerful to be honest.

[Spacewalk]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is on TV right now so I've gotta take a break from the internet to watch that.

[8-bit]

I don't remember much about The Happening, but I do remember thinking it wasn't nearly as bad as most folks said. The potential was there, but then it always is with Shyamalan. But then I liked The Village, so YMMV..

I liked the village too! I also liked his other earlier films, don't really understand why his latest stuff hasn't come out right.

Also Mark Whalburg talks to a plastic tree.

amazing. the best part of the film is just after the lawnmower scene, they walk past a sign saying "you deserve this". :D

[Xercies]

Limitless - Quite good sci fi concept to be honest, about a guy who finds a drug that can basically turn him into a god. He can access everything inside his head whether he remembers it or forgets it and so Decides to use this to his own advantage. Bradley Cooper does smary charm really well so main lead is great, also it kind of does something interesting in that it doesn't show that he would be ebtter off of the drug(he would die) and he should learn the true power inside him. Nope none of that Hollywood crap, just straight up I have a power and I'm going to abuse it and there is nothing you can do about it. That is bloody refreshing.

[Wooly Wugga Wugga]

I'm someone who really doesn't enjoy overly violent films and I try to avoid torture porn so why the hell did I let myself sit through Hobo With a Shotgun. It's three days later and I still feel a bit squicked out.