BobDylan Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 19, 2009 -> 08:15 AM) That's what I thought, too. "Monotonous suburban life can lead to a miserable existence" -- tell me something that isn't blatantly obvious. It does a decent job of breaking some cliches, but at the same time, gets off on others that aren't much related to what you'd imagine the movie is about. In all, and I don't say this very often about actors, but without DiCaprio's performance, the movie is pretty much unwatchable until it hits the boiling point. Leonardo, in my eyes, might be the only actor in Hollywood right now that can carry a poor movie somewhere. I admit I didn't pay close attention while I was watching it (surfing Reddit and watching a movie don't usually go well) and I'll watch it again... but on first, half-assed viewing, I give it 2/5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDylan Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) Benjamin Button gets 13 oscar nominations. Damn. I haven't seen the movie, but just from reading the short story, I wouldn't imagine the movie could be any good -- and I'm a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan. Edited January 22, 2009 by BobDylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (BobDylan @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:23 AM) Damn. I haven't seen the movie, but just from reading the short story, I wouldn't imagine the movie could be any good -- and I'm a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan. I love Fincher, but Benjamin Button bored the crap outta me. It may win some technical awards, but no way pic or actor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:46 AM) I love Fincher, but Benjamin Button bored the crap outta me. It may win some technical awards, but no way pic or actor. I thought Benjamin Button was one of the best movies I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:50 AM) I thought Benjamin Button was one of the best movies I've seen. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 05:24 AM) I really didnt like the wrestler. The ending reminded me of the last episode of Sopranos. Whether he dies right then and there is unimportant, because, regardless of his condition, he's not going to be able to walk away from the sport until it eventually kills him . I don't get all the confusion over it. I thought it was a great ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 12:10 PM) Whether he dies right then and there is unimportant, because, regardless of his condition, he's not going to be able to walk away from the sport until it eventually kills him . I don't get all the confusion over it. I thought it was a great ending. It was an effective enough ending for me. It said symbolically what the movie could have showed, but there was really no need to show it. You know it's coming, and the implication was enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santo=dorf Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Damn. I haven't seen the movie, but just from reading the short story, I wouldn't imagine the movie could be any good -- and I'm a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan. It's like Forrest Gump except for being mentally retarded, he retards physcially. It was a good movie, but not an Oscar worthy contender. What I was dissapointed with the most with the movie was near the end where he shirnks back down to a child. Shouldn't he have looked like a 5 year old in an 80 year old's body? I wanted to see a 5'6" tall infant. Best movie of the year nominees Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores: The Reader: 60 (1 percentage point from being "rotten)/58 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 72/69 Milk: 92/84 Frost/Nixon: 91/80 Slumdog Millionaire: 95/86 snubs: The Wrestler: 98/81 The Dark Knight: 95/82 Wall-E: 96/93 (what is the point of having a category with only three nominees?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Come on as soon as I saw a preview for Benjamin Button I knew it would be a best picture nominee. Those types of epic, many scenes thru-time pieces always do well in the academy. The reader was awful, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 08:16 PM) Come on as soon as I saw a preview for Benjamin Button I knew it would be a best picture nominee. Those types of epic, many scenes thru-time pieces always do well in the academy. The reader was awful, though. The Reader or Slumdog Millionaire will take home the award. I've heard The Reader is bad, but it's about the Holocaust, to my knowledge. That alone will buy it a very good chance at the Oscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Slumdog is as big a favorite as any movie has ever been. Well, maybe not quite, but close. No way it loses. It's only competition would have been a darkhorse like Wall-E, but obviously that can't happen now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 (edited) QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:11 AM) Benjamin Button gets 13 oscar nominations. Heath Ledger gets nominated for best supporting actor. BB just wasn't all that good, imo. A decent movie, sure, but 13 Oscar nominations? I could see Slumdog taking best picture. The ending was ultra-cliche, but the other 99% of the movie was really good. Edited January 23, 2009 by StrangeSox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDylan Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 05:06 PM) It's like Forrest Gump except for being mentally retarded, he retards physcially. It was a good movie, but not an Oscar worthy contender. What I was dissapointed with the most with the movie was near the end where he shirnks back down to a child. Shouldn't he have looked like a 5 year old in an 80 year old's body? I wanted to see a 5'6" tall infant. Again, haven't seen the movie, but in the short story, it made perfect sense that he was eighty years old and looked like a five year old should. I've heard the movie described as a "sweeping romantic epic." That's disappointing. While there is a love interest in Fitzgerald's view, it's only a backdrop to fully engage the characters motivations and fears. He ends up downright loathing the woman and we quickly forget about her once the story moves forward. I imagine the film didn't even try to explore what Fitzgerald was after, which is why I'll wait to rent it. I really wish Hollywood would just leave the great writers alone, because generally, they don't know what the f*** the story is about. I can't believe I'm ripping a movie I haven't seen based on a short story that I didn't like. But I am, so f*** it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clyons Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 05:06 PM) It's like Forrest Gump except for being mentally retarded, he retards physcially. This is spot on. In fact, I would add that apart from that difference and the encounters with celebrities, BB is a virtual remake of Forrest Gump (they share the same screenwriter). Someone posted a funny, split/screen comparison of the movies on Youtube that has since been taken down. It highlighted the following similarities: SPOILER ALERT (I don't know how to do that masking thingy): Both main characters had leg problems making it difficult for them to walk as kids; Both had feisty, independent, Southern moms who spouted folksy wisdom; Both met the enduring loves of their lives as children, although both women left them for the big city; Both men went to war; both had odd Black friends; both worked at sea for alcoholic captains; both returned to their childhood homes, remet their long lost loves, and (unbenknownst to them until later) fathered children with them. You get the idea. I thought BB was ok, but I'll be pissed if the writer wins an Oscar, because it seems like he just cut and pasted from his Forrest Gump screenplay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (BobDylan @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:22 AM) It does a decent job of breaking some cliches, but at the same time, gets off on others that aren't much related to what you'd imagine the movie is about. In all, and I don't say this very often about actors, but without DiCaprio's performance, the movie is pretty much unwatchable until it hits the boiling point. Leonardo, in my eyes, might be the only actor in Hollywood right now that can carry a poor movie somewhere. I admit I didn't pay close attention while I was watching it (surfing Reddit and watching a movie don't usually go well) and I'll watch it again... but on first, half-assed viewing, I give it 2/5. The bolded could be a fun thread topic - actors that make you willing to see or even enjoy a movie that might otherwise be garbage. I'll throw one out there who I think can truly carry a bad movie to an acceptable level - Denzel Washington. He's done some pretty mediocre movies (as well as some very good ones), but he somehow makes the mediocre ones enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 (edited) QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 08:06 AM) The bolded could be a fun thread topic - actors that make you willing to see or even enjoy a movie that might otherwise be garbage. I'll throw one out there who I think can truly carry a bad movie to an acceptable level - Denzel Washington. He's done some pretty mediocre movies (as well as some very good ones), but he somehow makes the mediocre ones enjoyable. Bill Nighy is one of those for me. I had no interest in a new Underworld movie. But seeing that Nighy seems to have more screen time in this one and actually seems to be more of the star, now I am interested in it. Jason Statham is another. The movies might be crap, but he is one of the best action stars out there right now and always makes an unbelievable film believable. Edited January 23, 2009 by Kid Gleason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 09:27 PM) The Reader or Slumdog Millionaire will take home the award. I've heard The Reader is bad, but it's about the Holocaust, to my knowledge. That alone will buy it a very good chance at the Oscar. People will want to love The Reader and others won't give it the time of day just because they think it's just about the Holocaust....and that's too bad. Slum Mil is not just about some guy on a game show. Is The Wrestler just about a wrestler? (haven't seen it, but I bet it's not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 12:54 PM) People will want to love The Reader and others won't give it the time of day just because they think it's just about the Holocaust....and that's too bad. Slum Mil is not just about some guy on a game show. Is The Wrestler just about a wrestler? (haven't seen it, but I bet it's not). Just got back from Slumdog. Thought it was very good. Not sure if it was best movie. Still wanna see Wrestler and others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshot7 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 04:56 AM) BB just wasn't all that good, imo. A decent movie, sure, but 13 Oscar nominations? I could see Slumdog taking best picture. The ending was ultra-cliche, but the other 99% of the movie was really good. It was Bollywood! What did you expect from the ending? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (longshot7 @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 02:56 PM) It was Bollywood! What did you expect from the ending? Slumdog is not a Bollywood movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 So I was forced into seeing Mall Cop today...and it wasn't bad at all. Great soundtrack, and I'd have to say it was infinitely more entertaining than the last movie I saw at the theater, Changeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitetrain8601 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 03:46 PM) So I was forced into seeing Mall Cop today...and it wasn't bad at all. Great soundtrack, and I'd have to say it was infinitely more entertaining than the last movie I saw at the theater, Changeling. You didn't like Changeling? Holy crap, how did that happen? Such an excellent excellent film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 06:25 PM) You didn't like Changeling? Holy crap, how did that happen? Such an excellent excellent film. I really haven't heard of anyone liking that movie, except maybe critics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jan 24, 2009 -> 12:25 AM) You didn't like Changeling? Holy crap, how did that happen? Such an excellent excellent film. I didn't like it because I felt it was incredibly boring and could have easily been a 30 minute TV show instead of a drawn out 2 hour snooze fest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Watchmen viral video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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