tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post113012725600740139..comments2024-02-23T05:17:08.682-05:00Comments on The Film Freak Central Blog: Notes from the TrenchesBill Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130632516725410012005-10-29T20:35:00.000-04:002005-10-29T20:35:00.000-04:00I dunno, Ian - I know it's not in the spirit of th...I dunno, Ian - I know it's not in the spirit of the thing, but I wonder if I wouldn't like Bond if they were R-rated instead of PG-13s. It seems to me that this soft-peddling of sex and violins makes me frustrated. Not morally - not really, though I may go for that in a review - but because it feels like such a Republican tease. It's why I like <I>On Her Majesty's Secret Service</I> the best (Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130514472804171832005-10-28T11:47:00.000-04:002005-10-28T11:47:00.000-04:00Too bad about Zorro. How does this bide for the Ca...Too bad about <I>Zorro</I>. How does this bide for the Campbell-helmed <I>Casino Royale</I>? I know Walter, especially, is not big on James Bond, but I'm slightly worried; I'll admit that 007 helped me get into movies in the first place.<BR/><BR/>-- IanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130512593919775412005-10-28T11:16:00.000-04:002005-10-28T11:16:00.000-04:00News FLash!Rambo IV is on the way!Stallone is goin...News FLash!<BR/><BR/>Rambo IV is on the way!<BR/><BR/>Stallone is going nuts with milking former glory.<BR/><BR/>Baseball: I also thik when the movie doen't get licensed to use MLB logos, the uniforms still look better than non-NFL sanctioned football unis.JG Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14880088540166440777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130480320424593672005-10-28T02:18:00.000-04:002005-10-28T02:18:00.000-04:00I wonder if something about the ritual of baseball...I wonder if something about the ritual of baseball doesn't lend itself sympathetically to the ritual of visual representation in film.<BR/><BR/>Have you ever seen Donald Pleasance in <A HREF="http://filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/deadandburiediknowwhatyoudid.htm" REL="nofollow"><I>Raw Meat</I></A>?<BR/><BR/>Amazing film and an indescribable performance.Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130472868338453222005-10-28T00:14:00.000-04:002005-10-28T00:14:00.000-04:00I got emotional today when I saw highlights of the...I got emotional today when I saw highlights of the 1989 NFC championship game between Chicago and SF. <BR/><BR/>The film had worn out, so it had that classic, ancient feel to it. I was watching this really old footage and I realized that I knew every single player like it was yesterday.<BR/><BR/>That's never happened before.<BR/><BR/>Aren't prehistoric highlights supposed to pre-date you?JG Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14880088540166440777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130472479977555472005-10-28T00:07:00.000-04:002005-10-28T00:07:00.000-04:00Following the theme of sports movies and emotional...Following the theme of sports movies and emotional moments -- <BR/><BR/><I>Eight Men Out</I> has to be my favorite baseball movie. (Haven't seen <I>For the Love of the Game</I>, however.)<BR/><BR/>Costner should play a Seattle Mariner in his next baseball film. His wooden personality would be a perfect match. <BR/><BR/>Baseball's a boring sport, but it lends itself better to film than football orJG Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14880088540166440777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130467488465530802005-10-27T22:44:00.000-04:002005-10-27T22:44:00.000-04:00Yeah - agreed. I'd wait for Brokeback Mountain fo...Yeah - agreed. I'd wait for <I>Brokeback Mountain</I> for the next allegedly great Gyllenhaal performance though, from what I've been hearing, Heath Ledger walks away with the show. He's good in <I>Jarhead</I>, but in a way that I'm not convinced took all that much effort - he even recycles the "I'm all ears" gesture from <I>Donnie Darko</I> at one point that made me, distinctly, uncomfortable Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130463980641160072005-10-27T21:46:00.000-04:002005-10-27T21:46:00.000-04:00Your reaction to Jarhead is mildy disconcernting t...Your reaction to <I>Jarhead</I> is mildy disconcernting to me, but not enough that I have become less interested in seeing it (a la <I>Elizabethtown</I>). Maybe I'm just still waiting to see something else truly amazing from the wonderful Jake Gyllenhaal, whose post <I>Darko</I> record has been more servicable than spectacular. <BR/><BR/>Then again, I never thought <I>American Beauty</I> was jer fairallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16032172895204505671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130462571694701982005-10-27T21:22:00.000-04:002005-10-27T21:22:00.000-04:00Oh - last thing about Halloween - could it be a co...Oh - last thing about <I>Halloween</I> - could it be a conflict between avatars for youth staged between Loomis and the Shape? Was there some kind of tug-of-war going on in society in 1978 between self-proclaimed protectors of youth? As if there isn't always, I guess.<BR/><BR/>Saw Sam Mendes' <I>Jarhead</I> today and. . . well. . . it's not <I>about</I> anything. That might be the point so Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130460182205563752005-10-27T20:43:00.000-04:002005-10-27T20:43:00.000-04:00H-Man:I'm thick: can you expand on your comparison...H-Man:<BR/>I'm thick: can you expand on your comparison of <I>Saw</I> to <I>Oldboy</I>?Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130457532000704212005-10-27T19:58:00.000-04:002005-10-27T19:58:00.000-04:00What I'm gleaning a little here is an idea of inte...What I'm gleaning a little here is an idea of internal coherence and momentum - this feeling that I'll forgive a film all of its sins so long as it respects its own genre and premise and, by extension, the yahoos (us) who've shown up to appreciate it. What rankles about something like <I>Lake Placid</I> (and the endings of 90% of every Spielberg film) is that for all of its crimes, I would have Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130440153035134162005-10-27T15:09:00.000-04:002005-10-27T15:09:00.000-04:00The thing is... i really never care anymore about ...The thing is... i really never care anymore about plot. Earlier i used to try and find plot-holes but now I'm indifferent to that. I'm more concerned with how a story is told. And third act is usually a disappointment in most films for me. I think it's the most important section of a film. People like Altman are magicians in the third act and thats what makes their films, however, most filmmakersHollow Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027400445729272871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130432780945141762005-10-27T13:06:00.000-04:002005-10-27T13:06:00.000-04:00H-Man, that's not the problem with the ending of S...H-Man, that's not the problem with the ending of Saw at all! The problem with Saw is that it thought it left the knots untied but left us with a mile-wide pile of plotholes! Saw was just a useless nonsensical mess, is what it was.<BR/><BR/>--KimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130429587199700782005-10-27T12:13:00.000-04:002005-10-27T12:13:00.000-04:00I've noticed with "Saw" and a lot of hollywood mov...I've noticed with "Saw" and a lot of hollywood movies, i really seem to not mind the first two acts of these films. It's the third act that kills most films for me. This idea that no knots must remain untied and unchallenging pat endings must be provided that really ruins them. i really wouldn't mind studio films if they just tell good stories, but they can't even do that right. <BR/><BR/>Never Hollow Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027400445729272871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130426981350590342005-10-27T11:29:00.000-04:002005-10-27T11:29:00.000-04:00I need to see the original Saw, yet, myself, but I...I need to see the original <I>Saw</I>, yet, myself, but I've gotta give some respect to a poster for a sequel that uses severed fingers as its Roman numeral.<BR/><BR/>-- IanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130422429809262252005-10-27T10:13:00.000-04:002005-10-27T10:13:00.000-04:00Mr Hoover - Your vitriol says a LOT more about you...Mr Hoover - Your vitriol says a LOT more about you than it does about Walter. I personally believe the time and effort you put into deconstructing and analyzing Walter's use of anger in his reviews would have been better spent on therapy for yourself. Anyone who can be a part of the current entertainment industry, either as a reviewer or performer, and maintain an emotional distance like you Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130402227831778422005-10-27T04:37:00.000-04:002005-10-27T04:37:00.000-04:00Any chance you will end up seeing/reviewing Saw II...Any chance you will end up seeing/reviewing <I>Saw II</I>? I loved the premise and hated the execution for the original, (really, really looking forward to <I>Three Extremes</I> now) but had some hopes for this new thing, with a new director/co-writer, until I read about some unwatchable eye-violence and a pit full of syringes, the kind of thing I really don't want to see in a cinema...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130380792081868852005-10-26T22:39:00.000-04:002005-10-26T22:39:00.000-04:00For Love of the Game - goddamnit, I like that movi...<I>For Love of the Game</I> - goddamnit, I like that movie too. Sam Raimi, right? And Costner's never better than when he's a baseball player. Not actually an athlete, to paraphrase John Kruk (who, if memory serves, once ran the bases chewing on the stub of a stogie - or am I just airbrushing that image in there), there's a quality to baseball players that I find really sympathetic with Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130380348031134832005-10-26T22:32:00.000-04:002005-10-26T22:32:00.000-04:00Wow. I thought I'd have to keep my own affection f...Wow. I thought I'd have to keep my own affection for "Stealing Home" a secret--no more. I'm apprehensive about the new "King Kong" movie mostly because I vividly recall my crying fit after I watched the 1976 remake as a child (add that to my list of unfairly maligned flicks) I don't know what I'll do when good ol' Kong sets Naomi Watts on a safe ledge before plummeting to his doom--shit, I'm Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130378267516857372005-10-26T21:57:00.000-04:002005-10-26T21:57:00.000-04:00I must say that movie really was fantastic. It cou...I must say that movie really was fantastic. It could've been "house of sand and fog" but the director saved it.Hollow Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027400445729272871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130371665440917682005-10-26T20:07:00.000-04:002005-10-26T20:07:00.000-04:00Friday the 13ths Part 3 & 4.<A HREF="http://filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/fridaythe13boxset2.htm" REL="nofollow"><I>Friday the 13ths Part 3 & 4</I></A>.Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130370662466789502005-10-26T19:51:00.000-04:002005-10-26T19:51:00.000-04:00E.T.'s like a sledgehammer version of My Friend Fl...<I>E.T.</I>'s like a sledgehammer version of <I>My Friend Flicka</I>. I haven't seen it since third grade. I'm afraid of it, to be honest.<BR/><BR/>I never did like <I>Ikiru</I>, though, it seemed pat and sentimental. <I>Red Beard</I> is pretty neat.Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130369012154308082005-10-26T19:23:00.000-04:002005-10-26T19:23:00.000-04:00Yeah, not the biggest E.T. fan. Sorta touched on w...Yeah, not the biggest <I>E.T.</I> fan. Sorta touched on why in my <I>Winn-Dixie</I> review--I just find it really sadistic. No one's stopped to consider the movie outside the movie, i.e. what kind of half-life that experience will ultimately have on Elliot. I can't really fault the filmmaking, though.Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130368373632482352005-10-26T19:12:00.000-04:002005-10-26T19:12:00.000-04:00Meaning, I watched the tape years after. Damn, nev...Meaning, I watched the tape years after. <BR/><BR/>Damn, never post when you're burnt out from studying too much. <BR/><BR/>At least I didn't ramble about Consolidated Financial Statements.JG Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14880088540166440777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-1130368290094242872005-10-26T19:11:00.000-04:002005-10-26T19:11:00.000-04:00I liked E.T. when I was 11. Had the tape when I wa...I liked <I>E.T.</I> when I was 11. Had the tape when I was older. <BR/><BR/>Let's just say I had the same expereince when I watched <I>Laverne and Shirley</I> years after the fact. <BR/><BR/>I'm still in awe I ever found pleasure in either of them.JG Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14880088540166440777noreply@blogger.com