I started reading that commentary linked in Nine99's comment after watching some of this movie. The level of nitpicking is extraordinary, and it is probably best suited for someone completely oblivious to how every documentary constructs a narrative. As for the film, I liked it. Sad to see that it is so underseen.
I liked the first one. This was more of the same but with less emotional weight. Take the old woman character, for instance. I won't spoil anything, but the way that Katniss interacts with her before the game sets up something that is never brought back to the story later. We are also told that she has a special bond with one of the other characters, which has minimal relevance in the end. Ultimately her only role in this is to get the plot from A to B in one sequence, but even that feels like it should hold more weight than it does.
I know this is just one part of the film, but I think it exemplifies how this sequel has more adaptation problems than the first one. Also, with more Hemsworth this time, I think it suffers from not having enough elements to make us care about any of the relationships between Katniss and the "love interests". There is no character to replace Rue, and my hopes of P.S. Hoffman to bring something more to this series were not met. I won't even go into how the "Hunger Games" arena is inferior to most other sic-fi concepts in so many ways, because that's not exclusive to this part of the series.
That said, there are a lot of good performances in it and the political elements were a bit more fleshed out this time. I am however not gonna bother more with these movies. My cinema crowd was noticeably bored during half of the screening, but I know they will be back next time around.
I find it strange how this is supposed to be the ultimate Crazy Cage-movie, yet it is not even in the top five Cage movies to watch for the laughs. It's 90% boring and 10% funny.
This movie wants to have its cake and eat it too. I enjoyed it as an exploration of how cynical and/or bound to tradition every character is, but the ending doesn't ring true.
Bogey is the sole character with an arc here, and I enjoyed it, but the way the movie treats Hepburn's character doesn't make me feel that she deserves him.
That's why this is probably the worst Wilder film I have seen. Not that any of them are bad, but this could have been a great movie. And that speech about democracy the driver has is just annoyingly ham-fisted.
Very much for kids. It often feels like how a child would play with a Kung Fu Panda figure, put to screen. That counts for the dialogue as well. Which is fine, if you're a kid. I didn't really care for all the flashbacks or why the gang went to find Shen in the first place, and the very ending was just an unbelievably far fetched, desperate way of setting up the next movie.
Messy. Timberlake needs to do something other than just having fun and being himself in movies. And since when is referencing and talking about apps and Youtube funny?
The family/love stuff before the husband came back didn't work, Gosling's character was uninteresting and I expected less "art" and more grit. But other than that, good.
I was terrified by it even though it's about things that can't happen presented in a realistic setting. That made it frustrating for me. So many good elements, but then in reality it's just ghosts and dimention-babble. Which is so fucking boring. Scary but not good movie made out of a premise that doesn't work.
To use the term foreign about any movie on the internet makes you look like a jerk no matter where you come from. I'll emphasise that that's only my personal opinion. But, Slumdog Millionaire is not considered "one of those foreign movies" among American movie fans, is it? Nor is Snatch. If you mean films that are non-english language, say it.
Life according to Terrence Malick, shot in a beautiful way. I'll give it that. But I'd rather read a newspaper. Which is what I did, instead of watching the last half of it. Pretentious is what I would call it, meaning that it doesn't have the same substance to me as to Malick. Which would be perfectly OK if this film was culturally irrelevant. Unfortunately, it isn't.
Loved the beginning, but it turned out to be everything I feared it would be. The 90 minutes felt long, and in the end it feels like just another story about a kid growing up with some quirk and good performances.
The cheering in the end was pretty stupid, he probably deserved it but it felt story-wise like a cheat. You can't make me sympathise for a dull punk by showing me childhood pictures of him. Interesting movie overall.
The biggest problem this movie has is that most of what we see in movies has reasoning behind it. Moviemakers show what is needed for the story, cut what is not. Does The Texas Chain Saw Massacre need people peeing? There is a pretty obvious reason why it doesn't. Because then it would be as arbitrary as Rubber.
Comments 1 - 25 of 162
Movie comment on We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
StigAnder
I started reading that commentary linked in Nine99's comment after watching some of this movie. The level of nitpicking is extraordinary, and it is probably best suited for someone completely oblivious to how every documentary constructs a narrative. As for the film, I liked it. Sad to see that it is so underseen.Movie comment on Dazed and Confused
StigAnder
Great first half. It loses momentum halfway through, not enough McConaughey to save it from "ok to have playing in the background"-territory.Movie comment on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
StigAnder
I liked the first one. This was more of the same but with less emotional weight. Take the old woman character, for instance. I won't spoil anything, but the way that Katniss interacts with her before the game sets up something that is never brought back to the story later. We are also told that she has a special bond with one of the other characters, which has minimal relevance in the end. Ultimately her only role in this is to get the plot from A to B in one sequence, but even that feels like it should hold more weight than it does.I know this is just one part of the film, but I think it exemplifies how this sequel has more adaptation problems than the first one. Also, with more Hemsworth this time, I think it suffers from not having enough elements to make us care about any of the relationships between Katniss and the "love interests". There is no character to replace Rue, and my hopes of P.S. Hoffman to bring something more to this series were not met. I won't even go into how the "Hunger Games" arena is inferior to most other sic-fi concepts in so many ways, because that's not exclusive to this part of the series.
That said, there are a lot of good performances in it and the political elements were a bit more fleshed out this time. I am however not gonna bother more with these movies. My cinema crowd was noticeably bored during half of the screening, but I know they will be back next time around.
Movie comment on Don Jon
StigAnder
I wanted to like this but it never won me over. The ending was a cheat.Movie comment on The Wicker Man
StigAnder
I find it strange how this is supposed to be the ultimate Crazy Cage-movie, yet it is not even in the top five Cage movies to watch for the laughs. It's 90% boring and 10% funny.Movie comment on Driving Miss Daisy
StigAnder
Heartworming.Movie comment on Sabrina
StigAnder
This movie wants to have its cake and eat it too. I enjoyed it as an exploration of how cynical and/or bound to tradition every character is, but the ending doesn't ring true.That's why this is probably the worst Wilder film I have seen. Not that any of them are bad, but this could have been a great movie. And that speech about democracy the driver has is just annoyingly ham-fisted.
Movie comment on The Cove
StigAnder
Great filmmaking.@Kunggi: We have never exploited nature to this degree in history, and yes it will get worse if we don't do anything to stop it.
Movie comment on Kung Fu Panda 2
StigAnder
Very much for kids. It often feels like how a child would play with a Kung Fu Panda figure, put to screen. That counts for the dialogue as well. Which is fine, if you're a kid. I didn't really care for all the flashbacks or why the gang went to find Shen in the first place, and the very ending was just an unbelievably far fetched, desperate way of setting up the next movie.Movie comment on Bellflower
StigAnder
Promising at best. Visually fresh.Movie comment on La piel que habito
StigAnder
Better the less you know, I guess. Outstanding.Toplist comment on IMDb's 2010s Top 50
StigAnder
How DARE this list disagree with my taste!Toplist comment on IMDb's 2010s Top 50
StigAnder
That Avatar picture should be replaced with Ryan Gosling's abs.Movie comment on National Lampoon's Animal House
StigAnder
Watched it drunk - pretty bad movieMovie comment on Friends with Benefits
StigAnder
Messy. Timberlake needs to do something other than just having fun and being himself in movies. And since when is referencing and talking about apps and Youtube funny?Movie comment on Drive
StigAnder
The family/love stuff before the husband came back didn't work, Gosling's character was uninteresting and I expected less "art" and more grit. But other than that, good.Movie comment on The Station Agent
StigAnder
Very good rainy day movie indeed.Movie comment on Insidious
StigAnder
I was terrified by it even though it's about things that can't happen presented in a realistic setting. That made it frustrating for me. So many good elements, but then in reality it's just ghosts and dimention-babble. Which is so fucking boring. Scary but not good movie made out of a premise that doesn't work.Toplist comment on IMDb's 2000s Top 50
StigAnder
To use the term foreign about any movie on the internet makes you look like a jerk no matter where you come from. I'll emphasise that that's only my personal opinion. But, Slumdog Millionaire is not considered "one of those foreign movies" among American movie fans, is it? Nor is Snatch. If you mean films that are non-english language, say it.Movie comment on The Tree of Life
StigAnder
Life according to Terrence Malick, shot in a beautiful way. I'll give it that. But I'd rather read a newspaper. Which is what I did, instead of watching the last half of it. Pretentious is what I would call it, meaning that it doesn't have the same substance to me as to Malick. Which would be perfectly OK if this film was culturally irrelevant. Unfortunately, it isn't.Movie comment on Submarine
StigAnder
Loved the beginning, but it turned out to be everything I feared it would be. The 90 minutes felt long, and in the end it feels like just another story about a kid growing up with some quirk and good performances.Movie comment on X: First Class
StigAnder
It blows my mind that anyone would think that telepathy would make any story exciting.Movie comment on Attack the Block
StigAnder
The cheering in the end was pretty stupid, he probably deserved it but it felt story-wise like a cheat. You can't make me sympathise for a dull punk by showing me childhood pictures of him. Interesting movie overall.Movie comment on Rushmore
StigAnder
This is like Tenenbaums' retarded cousin.Movie comment on Rubber
StigAnder
The biggest problem this movie has is that most of what we see in movies has reasoning behind it. Moviemakers show what is needed for the story, cut what is not. Does The Texas Chain Saw Massacre need people peeing? There is a pretty obvious reason why it doesn't. Because then it would be as arbitrary as Rubber.Showing items 1 – 25 of 162