For Your Emmy Consideration: Kyra Sedgwick - Best Actress in a Drama Series "Damages" - Best Drama Series Zeljko Ivanek - Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Glynn Turman - Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Posts: 14246 | Location: Natal, RN, Brazil | Registered: October 21, 2002
I don't agree with seanflynn that Frank Darabont is the worst director to find regular work in Hollywood BUT this movie is visually undistinguished, especially for a horror film. Worse than the visuals is the embarrassing screenplay which is one clunky line after another. Hard to believe Darabont has Oscar noms for writing to his name after seeing this. The acting is either of the bland or hammy variety. It's only the creature effects that save this from being a complete write-off. Even though they are computer animated they have a nifty, low tech, Ray Harrhauson look I found appealing. I especially liked the giant, tentacled, six legged beast that seemed right out of H.P. Lovecraft's wonderfully deranged mind.
P.S. As much as it is generally hated I actually liked the grim finale. At least its interesting, and even somewhat visually interesting, which I cannot say for the rest of the film.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: pacinofan,
Posts: 13021 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: February 02, 2003
Originally posted by pacinofan: "The Mist" Grade: C-
I don't agree with seanflynn that Frank Darabont is the worst director to find regular work in Hollywood BUT this movie is visually undistinguished, especially for a horror film. Worse than the visuals is the embarrassing screenplay which is one clunky line after another. Hard to believe Darabont has Oscar noms for writing to his name after seeing this. The acting is either of the bland or hammy variety. It's only the creature effects that save this from being a complete write-off. Even though they are computer animated they have a nifty, low tech, Ray Harrhauson look I found appealing. Also, I especially liked the giant tentacled, six legged beast that seemed right out of H.P. Lovecraft's wonderfully deranged mind.
P.S. As much as it is generally hated I actually liked the grim finale. At least its interesting, and even somewhat visually interesting, which I cannot say for the rest of the film.
Yeah..The Mist wasnt too bad. Thomas Jane was HOT though!! Hhmmm!! I HATED Marcia's bible prophecy spewing character!!
I don't agree with this making it in over "The Simpsons Movie" in best animated feature, but I can see why voters went for it instead. The way the film is framed is interesting -- it's done like this animated documentary on the main character -- the runtish penguin that overcomes all the odds to fulfill his dream of being a famous surfer. I'd never seen that done before in an animated film -- it's different and makes the film seem a bit more important than if it hadn't been framed that way. The filmmakers (Ash Brannon, Chris Buck) are doing this "history of surfing" story on these talking penguins, and there's archival footage, a lot of camera asides from the participants, and funny ESPN spoofs with the commentating and build-up. It's silly and all, but it somehow works. The voice-over work is strong from Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Mario Cantone, James Woods, Zooey Deschanel, Diedrich Bader, and Jon Heder, as well as vivid animation and solid laughs. The story goes on longer than it needed to, and it ends in the way you would expect, but it's not bad or what I thought it'd be like if you just go with it.
Grade for "Surf's Up": B
FYC: Primetime Emmy Awards
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Steve Carell, The Office Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Glynn Turman, In Treatment Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ellen Burstyn, Big Love Miniseries: Cranford Made for Television Film: A Raisin in the Sun Variety Series: Real Time With Bill Maher
Posts: 18062 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
Originally posted by pacinofan: "The Mist" Grade: C-
I don't agree with seanflynn that Frank Darabont is the worst director to find regular work in Hollywood BUT this movie is visually undistinguished, especially for a horror film. Worse than the visuals is the embarrassing screenplay which is one clunky line after another. Hard to believe Darabont has Oscar noms for writing to his name after seeing this. The acting is either of the bland or hammy variety. It's only the creature effects that save this from being a complete write-off. Even though they are computer animated they have a nifty, low tech, Ray Harrhauson look I found appealing. Also, I especially liked the giant tentacled, six legged beast that seemed right out of H.P. Lovecraft's wonderfully deranged mind.
P.S. As much as it is generally hated I actually liked the grim finale. At least its interesting, and even somewhat visually interesting, which I cannot say for the rest of the film.
Yeah..The Mist wasnt too bad. Thomas Jane was HOT though!! Hhmmm!! I was sooo happy Marcia's bible prophecy spewing character was killed off. That was GREAT!!
I've seen the film, but if I hadn't I'd be ****ed. You have to say WARNING SPOILER AHEAD.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pizzatarian,
------------------------ "There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. The... the other important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I think it appears originally in Freud's "Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious," and it goes like this - I'm paraphrasing - um, "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women. " - Alvy Singer
It's weird how under-the-radar this film was. The Royal Tenenbaums was a hit and The Life Aquatic got a lot of press...but this one just kinda came and went, and no one seemed to notice. It's only decent, so I think it just got lost in the fall/Oscar onslaught of films.
It's typical Wes Anderson stuff. Very quirky and random and that's the reason it works to a certain extent. There's not much happening but at least you never know what's going to happen next so it still keeps you interested. My problem was that I wanted something more profound or impactful in its ending. I'm well aware this is an Anderson film and it's not going to hit you over the head with anything, but I just found the ending a little underwhelming to have any kinda of closure to the story as a whole. B-
Emmy FYC: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Originally posted by cinevita: The final scene with H.W. was even more powerful this time around...I almost wish the film had ended with that heart-breaking loss
Yeah I wish the film ended here. It was such a powerful and profound note to end the film on...but there's that one extra scene that just left a sore taste in my mouth.
Emmy FYC: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Originally posted by seanflynn: A dissenting view - an unsubtle, overacted and way overlong movie, not as awful as Fields' later Little Children, but still full of caricatures rather than characters, self-indulgent scenes and a sense of someone who had watched a lot of Kubrick films without understanding what he was trying to do.
Wilkinson came off best under the circumstances.
Its interesting that you say 'overacting'.. Aside from Spacek in one scene I found the performances to be quite subtle and realistic. I've heard boring, or they didn't agree with what happened in the end, but 'overacted' and 'unsubtle' is certainly a new one!
count me on seanflynn's side: what he said was exactly what I thought. kind of the movie you'd get if Barack Obama made a movie about Pennsylvanians in a small mining town. Didn't believe a second of it.
Blow-Up (1966, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni) - B-
For Your Emmy Consideration: Kyra Sedgwick - Best Actress in a Drama Series "Damages" - Best Drama Series Zeljko Ivanek - Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Glynn Turman - Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Posts: 14246 | Location: Natal, RN, Brazil | Registered: October 21, 2002
I killed an hour and a half watching a movie that lived up to its brutality and blood gore as expected. Timothy Olyphant is hot and has the hitman glare to a T.
C+ for so-so acting, ok plot, great fight scenes, proper usage of deadly spy tools, and a few 'Jesus Christ' moments.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoBlue!,
Posts: 668 | Location: Ann Arbor, MI | Registered: February 18, 2005
