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habs_in_the_blood

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Over the past six weeks:

The Terminal – absolutely loved it

Toy Story 2 - solid

Cars – I liked it, but can see why it wasn’t huge with kids

A Bug’s Life – decent

Monsters, Inc – probably my favorite of the 4 Pixars listed

Face/Off – pretty good, but over the top

Con-Air –better than Face/Off, but the very last scene left a bitter taste

Payback – not good

Ransom – average at best

TRON – pretty solid

Madagascar 2 – better than the first IMO

Spies Like Us – solid Chase/Akroyd flick

Shawshank Redemption – very good

Seven Pounds – cried my eyes out

The Fast and the Furious – average entertainment

2 Fast 2 Furious – about the same

Fast and Furious – about the same

Knowing – loved it until the end

Push – liked it, but wasn’t that great

Fanboys – great for any Star Wars fan

Miracle at St. Anna – thought it was pretty decent

Blade Runner – never once got into it

Inside Man – still can’t decide if I’ve seen it before or not

The Siege- solid

Stargate – good enough for me to give the SG-1 series a shot at some point

The Soloist – pretty good

Firefly – obviously not a movie, but an excellent show I’d never seen before

Serenity – fantastic continuation of Firefly

Battlestar Galactica: another TV show, really loved it till the end

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Over the past six weeks:

The Terminal – absolutely loved it

Toy Story 2 - solid

Cars – I liked it, but can see why it wasn’t huge with kids

A Bug’s Life – decent

Monsters, Inc – probably my favourite of the 4 Pixars listed

Face/Off – pretty good, but over the top

Con-Air –better than Face/Off, but the very last scene left a bitter taste

Payback – not good

Ransom – average at best

TRON – pretty solid

Madagascar 2 – better than the first IMO

Spies Like Us – solid Chase/Akroyd flick

Shawshank Redemption – very good

Seven Pounds – cried my eyes out

The Fast and the Furious – average entertainment

2 Fast 2 Furious – about the same

Fast and Furious – about the same

Knowing – loved it until the end

Push – liked it, but wasn’t that great

Fanboys – great for any Star Wars fan

Miracle at St. Anna – thought it was pretty decent

Blade Runner – never once got into it

Inside Man – still can’t decide if I’ve seen it before or not

The Siege- solid

Stargate – good enough for me to give the SG-1 series a shot at some point

The Soloist – pretty good

Firefly – obviously not a movie, but an excellent show I’d never seen before

Serenity – fantastic continuation of Firefly

Battlestar Galactica: another TV show, really loved it till the end

It breaks my heart that a) Firefly was canceled, and b) that Serenity wasn't the first in a trilogy, as it was originally intended to be.

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Happy Feet

Surf's Up

Kung Fu Panda

:clap:

Over the past six weeks:

The Terminal – absolutely loved it

Toy Story 2 - solid

Cars – I liked it, but can see why it wasn’t huge with kids

A Bug’s Life – decent

Monsters, Inc – probably my favourite of the 4 Pixars listed

Face/Off – pretty good, but over the top

Con-Air –better than Face/Off, but the very last scene left a bitter taste

Payback – not good

Ransom – average at best

TRON – pretty solid

Madagascar 2 – better than the first IMO

Spies Like Us – solid Chase/Akroyd flick

Shawshank Redemption – very good

Seven Pounds – cried my eyes out

The Fast and the Furious – average entertainment

2 Fast 2 Furious – about the same

Fast and Furious – about the same

Knowing – loved it until the end

Push – liked it, but wasn’t that great

Fanboys – great for any Star Wars fan

Miracle at St. Anna – thought it was pretty decent

Blade Runner – never once got into it

Inside Man – still can’t decide if I’ve seen it before or not

The Siege- solid

Stargate – good enough for me to give the SG-1 series a shot at some point

The Soloist – pretty good

Firefly – obviously not a movie, but an excellent show I’d never seen before

Serenity – fantastic continuation of Firefly

Battlestar Galactica: another TV show, really loved it till the end

!!!

You've been subjecting yourself to torture all summer! Must've been expensive too to see all those new ones in theatres.

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You've been subjecting yourself to torture all summer! Must've been expensive too to see all those new ones in theatres.

Nah, I'd say I had a pretty good summer. There were only two that I didn't really enjoy. Out of almost 30 movies and a couple TV shows, I'd say that's a solid percentage. Remember, BTH, I only care about entertainment when it comes to movies. With a movie like Shawshank, I couldn't care less about all the stuff that made it an Oscar nominee, I just thought it was a good story.

District 9 is the only new movie I've been interested in seeing since Transformers 2 came out, and I've been having trouble finding a good time to get my friends together to go. Then the bigger reason those are all old is because they all came from Blockbuster. Every summer I get a month long pass for unlimited rentals.

P.S. Oh yeah, Kung Fu Panda should have been on my list too, it was pretty good. Happy Feet was decent, Surf's Up I really enjoyed.

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ah Tarantino. He almost had me. The first scene was one of the better openings to a movie that I can remember off the top of my head. Everything was going great.

Then he got flashy. Tried to take over the movie and add his own flair to it when it really wasn't needed.

He never fully lost me because it is a good movie, maybe a very good movie, but a few "Tarantino-esque" scenes ended up ruining it for me, keeping it well below the "masterpiece" he so boldly claimed it was, at least in my opinion.

I'll still give it an 8/10, would have been a 7.5/10 or lower without Christoph Waltz.

To be fair I've only seen Pulp Fiction and a part of Kill Bill vol. 1 (couldn't finish that), but Tarantino just doesn't quite make it for me and I doubt I'll ever really see what everyone else sees in him.

Wow. Your analysis is spot on. I thought the exact same thing during the movie. Right from the opening to the tarentinoisms. My only difference is that I give it an 8 with Waltz and more like a 6 without him. He was brilliant.

Regarding Tarantino, go watch True Romance, Resevoir Dogs, Rewatch Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill 1 and 2. Two is actually much better. His need for flashy dialogue can become pretentious and annoying, but the overall experience is campy, violent and enjoyable.

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I already said my thing about Basterds.

I think that District 9 was awesome. Neill Blomkamp was fantastic. He went from a blundering fool to an action star. This movie intrigued me. I loved the animation. It was seamless. The plot was interesting. Hoping not to spoil here, but I thought the Racism thing went a bit far, but there is no way the plot could have gone the way it did without the racist tone.

I don't know which one I would reccomend more. I think Basterds just because of Waltz's performance.

Opinions?

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Wow. Your analysis is spot on. I thought the exact same thing during the movie. Right from the opening to the tarentinoisms. My only difference is that I give it an 8 with Waltz and more like a 6 without him. He was brilliant.

Regarding Tarantino, go watch True Romance, Resevoir Dogs, Rewatch Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill 1 and 2. Two is actually much better. His need for flashy dialogue can become pretentious and annoying, but the overall experience is campy, violent and enjoyable.

Yeah I definitely plan to see Reservoir Dogs at some point, perhaps if I enjoy it I'll give more of his films a go.

Laurent was also great good call. The scene where Waltz and Laurent are talking over milk was another gem. Its too bad really because this movie could have been one of my all-time favourites.

I still need to see District 9, but that might end up being a rental at this point.

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Saw District 9 last night, and I thought it was very comparable to Cloverfield. A bit of a slow start, pretty good once it got going, but much too open-ended at the conclusion. One of those movies that feels like it needs a part 2, but you know that the creators want it to not have a true resolution.

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Saw District 9 last night, and I thought it was very comparable to Cloverfield. A bit of a slow start, pretty good once it got going, but much too open-ended at the conclusion. One of those movies that feels like it needs a part 2, but you know that the creators want it to not have a true resolution.

Blomkamp and Copley both really want to make a sequel with the surprise success the movie had.

It's technically a sequel in itself if anyone else has seen Alive in Joburg.

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Saw District 9 last night, and I thought it was very comparable to Cloverfield. A bit of a slow start, pretty good once it got going, but much too open-ended at the conclusion. One of those movies that feels like it needs a part 2, but you know that the creators want it to not have a true resolution.

They're totally different except that they both have action and aliens. Neither of them had a slow start unless you meant there was no action or aliens at the beginning. Neither of them need a part two. :)

It's pretty clear what happened. The alien went home for back up, returns three years later to put an end to the mistreatment of aliens (maybe they'll kill all humans, maybe they'll take their guys and go, ...). The hero has already fully transformed into an alien by this point. The big question is whether he'll choose to be returned to human or not.

Blomkamp and Copley both really want to make a sequel with the surprise success the movie had.

It's technically a sequel in itself if anyone else has seen Alive in Joburg.

If that's the short film than I saw it.

Edited by BTH
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They're totally different except that they both have action and aliens. Neither of them had a slow start unless you meant there was no action or aliens at the beginning. Neither of them need a part two. :)

It's pretty clear what happened. The alien went home for back up, returns three years later to put an end to the mistreatment of aliens (maybe they'll kill all humans, maybe they'll take their guys and go, ...). The hero has already fully transformed into an alien by this point. The big question is whether he'll choose to be returned to human or not.

Cloverfield started out with 10-15 minutes before anything significant happens. With District 9, it takes a long time for the main story to present itself. There was some backstory presented, but nothing that we didn't really know from previews. Both become interesting once the plot begins to pick up. With Cloverfield, you end up with still no idea of what happened. With District 9, you end up with no idea what happens next. Neither movie has any reason for what happened. Heck, both are presented as a look back on what happened. That's pretty similar if you ask me. District 9 obviously had a lot more depth, but the similarities are still there.

Does Christopher make it back home? If he does, will the alien government or whatever they have decide to go back for the rest? Will they declare war on humanity? Will they return just to get the refugees? Will the two peoples try to reconcile? There are dozens of ways the story could end, and we're left dead in the middle. Getting Christopher off the the planet is only half the story.

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Cloverfield started out with 10-15 minutes before anything significant happens. With District 9, it takes a long time for the main story to present itself. There was some backstory presented, but nothing that we didn't really know from previews. Both become interesting once the plot begins to pick up. With Cloverfield, you end up with still no idea of what happened. With District 9, you end up with no idea what happens next. Neither movie has any reason for what happened. Heck, both are presented as a look back on what happened. That's pretty similar if you ask me. District 9 obviously had a lot more depth, but the similarities are still there.

Does Christopher make it back home? If he does, will the alien government or whatever they have decide to go back for the rest? Will they declare war on humanity? Will they return just to get the refugees? Will the two peoples try to reconcile? There are dozens of ways the story could end, and we're left dead in the middle. Getting Christopher off the the planet is only half the story.

As usual, you're focusing on plot, plot, plot. The story doesn't start until the 10-15 minute mark. Lack of plot/conflict does not = slow. Should the first shot of Cloverfield been the aliens bursting into the city? We need to get to know the characters first, what we're dealing with, why the camera is so shaky... Build up

(Why does it matter what we saw in the previews? The screenwriter can't just assume you're going to see all the good bits in previews, so he can exclude them from the movie.)

If anything, Cloverfield needed more of that. The film was all excitement, zero substance (then again, that's sort of the point).

Your problems with the endings also stem from you caring too much about the concrete. We can assume what happens at the end of District 9, the imagination handles how. You don't need to know anything else. Imagination isn't a bad thing. You don't need to have all the facts spelled out for you.

In Cloverfield, you simply aren't supposed to care about where they came from or why. The movie's as simple as it gets. Aliens come, you run for it, don't die, don't die, don't die.

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A sequel would definitely be appreciated.

I agree and Blomkamp certainly wants to make one but I think it depends on Microsoft. Blomkamp was the guy they gave the Halo franchise too so if they're happy with the success of District 9, they can let him get back to working on Halo (he'd spent a year on it before they just pulled the plug). If not, well, a District 9 sequel then.

To clarify, I thought District 9 was absolutely fantastic. The guy who played the main character, that was his first ever acting role and I was impressed. I enjoyed his slow turnaround from whiny shit to selfless hero. Those were real people in the interviews too, I think they went around asking about Nigerian refugees and got peoples opinions. Thought that was pretty cool too.

They're totally different except that they both have action and aliens. Neither of them had a slow start unless you meant there was no action or aliens at the beginning. Neither of them need a part two. :)

Cloverfield doesn't but I think theres enough material for one more District 9 movie. Not a huge trilogy or something like the Alien franchise, but theres enough to make another one.

If that's the short film than I saw it.

It is. I think it can be found on youtube if anyone else wants to watch it.

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Your problems with the endings also stem from you caring too much about the concrete. We can assume what happens at the end of District 9, the imagination handles how. You don't need to know anything else. Imagination isn't a bad thing. You don't need to have all the facts spelled out for you.

I hate agreeing with you because your ego is already too big, but this is essentially with Hollywood - the consumer's need for answers and closure. It's why literary is marginalized and mainstream is formulaic. The idea behind much of that which is labelled 'literary' has to do with forcing the consumer to think, to discuss, to question. Usually when I hear the words, "bad ending" it means someone didn't have all the loose ends tied up neatly and wrapped in a Hollywood bow.

So much of what culture produces today requires zero thought and zero input from the consumer that it's rather sad. That you have to actually think for this District 9 flick means it's risen above much of the rest of the chattle out there.

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BTH, we've been through this before - plot is the most important part of a movie to me. If there story isn't complete, I won't like it. I want a beginning, a middle, and an end. That is how a story is supposed to go. If a movie has no legitimate ending, it is going to hurt the movie for me. I have a fine imagination, but why should I have to pay to use my imagination when I can use it for free, or just go to sleep and dream?

I think there's a reason Memento is one of my favorite movies, because I found it great as both a movie and a film. It tells a whole story, in a very unique way, and has a satisfying ending. At the same time, it makes you think all the way through the movie. It does leave you thinking at the end, but not about anything that is integral to the story. i.e. The story is satisfying whether Lenny is really Sammy or not. It's the same reason why I love Star Trek and really enjoyed most of Battlestar Galactica - the stories are well told and there is real substance to the story. Basically, I'm saying that I'm like substance, as long as I am also being entertained. If I want to think without being entertained, I'll watch Jeopardy.

Keep in mind, I liked both Cloverfield and District 9, I rate both of them a 7. Better conclusions, and I'd probably have Cloverfield at an 8 and District 9 at a 9.

And by the way, I'm not saying a slow start is a bad thing, I was just using it as a comparison point.

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They can make a District 10, but they don't need to. We're supposed to be able to understand what happened at the end on our own.

I totally agree with you. I would hate to see a sequel. That was what I found intriguing. The end of this story is up to you. The way I saw it, The red dude and his kid go home, get reinforcements, land and take their aliens from district 10. We act like dicks, and they destroy us. Lol. Or not. The point is I think that a sequel will cheapen the origional, unless it can surprise. That's what is great about such an origional movie. I gave cloverfield about a 6, but I give District 9 a solid 8.5 out of ten.

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I have a fine imagination, but why should I have to pay to use my imagination when I can use it for free, or just go to sleep and dream?

*rolls eyes*

Says who?

The story has been resolved hence there's no need for a sequel (/cash grab).

Sure, we don't know every detail. We don't know what exactly the aliens will do when they return, and we don't know if the main character will choose to transform back into a human or not. But ultimately, these questions don't have to be answered. We can guess. Showing us what happens might even ruin the open-ended situation that they have now. It would be like the author telling us how the Chief winded up back in the institution at the end of Cuckoo's Nest (the book only) - we don't want to know! It's better when we're stuck picking between him being caught and returning of his own accord.

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