What films have you watched this week?

[noobish hat]

Ok, you didn't say it makes it a masterpiece, but you seem to think it makes it a better film.

"As for you points that the film didn't make sense, you seem to want everything explained to you rather than a film what requires a little thought"

By your defintion NO film can be said to be bad on the basis of making no sense, since the viewer can conconct their own explanation for pretty much anything, and that makes it a better film because it requires 'a little thought'. But I'm not a film maker. I'd prefer the director to have shown a little thought. I love this line of reasoning though, because it's so obvious why people like to use it so much. It automatically groups you in with intellectuals and clever people who have brains powerful enough to figure out these artfully subtle movies, and everyone else? No, they don't dislike the movie, they're STUPID! They need the film to think FOR them!

Trust me, there was nothing subtle about this film whatsoever. The black and whiteness with which the story is made renders the plot completely nonsensical. As I said, a society cannot function with only two classes who are extreme opposites.


Everything I mentioned as not making sense still stands.

[QualityChimp]

no retreat no surrender 3
Didn't watch it because I remembered it being the weakest of the series so just came to the conclusion it's completely terrible

So now we're reviewing films we've not even seen!

I really did see Beast Stalker, which is a Hong Kong action thriller directed by Dante Lam (Twins Effect) and stars Nicholas Tse (New Police Story).

Tse plays a commander of a squad of detectives that sees his life, team and career fall apart when the arrest of a major gang boss leads to a team member crippled, the gang boss put in a coma and an innocent bystander getting killed (which was quite shocking).

Years later, the gang boss recovers and kidnaps the daughter of the prosecuting lawyer to force her to lose the only evidence that could convict him. Tse's character is desperate to solve the kidnapping to make atonement for what happened before.

I'm being deliberately sparse with the details as I really enjoyed it, but knew very little about it other than it won a bunch of awards at the Hong Kong Oscars and it got a double-disc release on Cine-Asia, so I hoped it would be worth watching, which it was. There are some really nice shots including a slo-mo car crash, cat-and-mouse chase in the dark (pretty tense!) and a gun fight that felt like an over-the-shoulder shooter.

All of that would be pointless if there wasn't an interesting story and I wanted to find out how all the various stories of the main characters were tied up at the end. It's not astonishing, but it's a very solid police thriller that worth watching (IMHO!).

[rmoxon]

Ok, you didn't say it makes it a masterpiece, but you seem to think it makes it a better film.

"As for you points that the film didn't make sense, you seem to want everything explained to you rather than a film what requires a little thought"

By your defintion NO film can be said to be bad on the basis of making no sense, since the viewer can conconct their own explanation for pretty much anything, and that makes it a better film because it requires 'a little thought'. But I'm not a film maker. I'd prefer the director to have shown a little thought. I love this line of reasoning though, because it's so obvious why people like to use it so much. It automatically groups you in with intellectuals and clever people who have brains powerful enough to figure out these artfully subtle movies, and everyone else? No, they don't dislike the movie, they're STUPID! They need the film to think FOR them!

Trust me, there was nothing subtle about this film whatsoever. The black and whiteness with which the story is made renders the plot completely nonsensical. As I said, a society cannot function with only two classes who are extreme opposites.


Everything I mentioned as not making sense still stands.

No, again you don't seem to able to read what I'm typing correctly. At no point did I ever say that you could not criticise a film for making no sense, I was saying that in the case of this film you seem to have wanted it all spelled out for you when it didn't need to be. The film made sense to me (and no doubt to all those people who gave it raves reviews upon release as well). You're saying it didn't make sense when it did, and most of the comments you made simply reflect that it was actually more realistic than you wanted it to be.saying things like they should have thrown knives at her when she was in the tree, somthing which would be phycpsically very hard for a person to achieve. They used common sense and waited for her. You also have to consider the fact that here you're commenting on characters choices, not somthing that actually doesn't make sense as far as what's plausible.

As I said a few of the points you made were valid, however I do feel they will be explained in future their films and did not really detract from the one. Perhapse a society could not be "controlled" by a higher power in real life, perhapse you are correct to assume this. But if that's the case it's also a criticism that could be levelled at other highly respected stories such as V for Venedtta and 1984, it's hardly a new concept for cinema and it's depicted no different here than in those stories.

[buster_broon]

To be fair I wasn't really annoyed at you so much as many on this forum who when it comes to films often talk like they know more about the medium than they actually do. When it comes to cinema this forum is rife with the typical Internet backlash and band wagon jumping comments that lack intelligent thoughts on films and just make people look like sheep really. Again I'm not really accusing you of all that, I am just saying that's what made me comment in the First place, as I thought you were being unfair on the film by talking like it was complete garbage, when it simply isn't.

And people who are self opinionated and wont listen to anybody else and make an arguement out of completely nothing

i enjoy a whole manner of films (except no retreat no surrender 3) but i like intelligent movies just as much as idiot explosion car chase movies

whether you more about the medium doesnt devalue anybody elses opinion on what they enjoy

for me a good film is something where the time flies by quickly and come out knowing that i didn't waste any money on the ticket (or bandwidth)

[rmoxon]

And people who are self opinionated and wont listen to anybody else and make an arguement out of completely nothing

i enjoy a whole manner of films (except no retreat no surrender 3) but i like intelligent movies just as much as idiot explosion car chase movies

whether you more about the medium doesnt devalue anybody elses opinion on what they enjoy

for me a good film is something where the time flies by quickly and come out knowing that i didn't waste any money on the ticket (or bandwidth)

I never said not knowing about the medium devalues opinion, what devalues option is when people dont seem to know what they are talking about. Which is actually a different thing.

From reading when you have commented on films that isn't a problem you suffer from anyway, your comments usually lack pretentions and as you say you just enjoy films that you enjoy without trying to pretend there's anything deeper behind it.

The thing that set me off here is that I'm just a bit fee up of reading comments about films from people who just type out some contrived nonsense becuase it's cool to moan about certain films. I thought The hunger games was ok, but it was nothing spectacular and I'm really only defending it as a victim of typically overwuaght Internet backlash.

As a fan of cinema its a mindset that sickens me really, no film should suffer at the handsnof its own hype, and I just don't like reading comments like it. Noobish Hat may have just not liked the film, but I still didn't feel like his original comments were valid, and appeared as unwarrented anger so I commented on them.

[PaTaito]

You need to get over the whole "its cool to bash certain films" thing moxy. In many cases the films being bashed here are wholesale garbage.

Conversely, i am sick of films getting praised simply because they are "well made"

I mean come on.

p.s. Will i be a sheep for saying i was forced to watch twilight while on holiday, and thought it was dreadful?

[noobish hat]

V for Vendetta was also ****.

As for the laughable 'up the tree' scenario, 'waiting' is the stupidest, most illogical thing you could possibly do, and we're meant to believe that at least some of these kids are trained killers. Ok, so you think they couldn't have killed her with throwing knives or arrows. How about cutting the tree down? Or setting fire to it? You think the best course of action is to all go to sleep at the same time at the bottom of the tree, when every member of your 'alliance' is ALSO guaranteed to try to kill you at some point? And further, that at no point when watching this play out, did you stop and think 'this is bull****'? No? Ok. You're right. I'm the one who doesn't think when I'm watching a film.

[rmoxon]

V for Vendetta was also ****.

As for the laughable 'up the tree' scenario, 'waiting' is the stupidest, most illogical thing you could possibly do, and we're meant to believe that at least some of these kids are trained killers. Ok, so you think they couldn't have killed her with throwing knives or arrows. How about cutting the tree down? Or setting fire to it? You think the best course of action is to all go to sleep at the same time at the bottom of the tree, when every member of your 'alliance' is ALSO guaranteed to try to kill you at some point? And further, that at no point when watching this play out, did you stop and think 'this is bull****'? No? Ok. You're right. I'm the one who doesn't think when I'm watching a film.

You clearly don't but whatever you like. You didn't like the film, it's ok.

[rmoxon]

You need to get over the whole "its cool to bash certain films" thing moxy. In many cases the films being bashed here are wholesale garbage.

Conversely, i am sick of films getting praised simply because they are "well made"

I mean come on.

p.s. Will i be a sheep for saying i was forced to watch twilight while on holiday, and thought it was dreadful?

No becuase twilight isn't a victim of Internet backlash, it's just a crap film that doesn't even try to be good becuase it knows teenage girls will eat it up anyway. It's a cheesy love story that has a mundane script and perdestrian direction, plus it stars frankly the worst actress ever.

It's not even in the same league of filmaking as the hunger games (which, as I already said, isn't even that good anyway)

[Hartley Hare]

Safe, Battleship and How I spent my summer vacation, all brainless tat yet all good in there own right.

[noobish hat]

You clearly don't but whatever you like. You didn't like the film, it's ok.

Excellent retort. Four stars.

[rmoxon]

Excellent retort. Four stars.

Nice to see you give my comments a better rating than you would The Hunger Games anyway .

[noobish hat]

That's because I was holding my laptop still whilst reading it. I could add shakey cam to your post, if you like?

[rmoxon]

No thanks, I wasnt going for the realistic and gritty approach. Im more a fan of long winded, steady, tracking shots.

I imagine this entire conversation to be filmed like the stairs fight in Warrior King. You could walk around the room in circles with your lap top in hand.

[noobish hat]

No, no, no, it's more like the corridor fight from Oldboy, with my laptop on a camera dolly, doing a tracking shot.