| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 18:19:52
Have just seen a double bill of Ghost Rider and Freedom Writers. The former is an inane version of the Marvel comic ... I was going to say made flesh, but more like made flame  Nic Cage must've really needed the money -- ok, I know Dostoevsky it ain't, but, geez-Loueez, some of the dialogue ... Cage could just about keep a straight face. Of course you bad boys are gonna be ogling Ms Mendez's cleavage, but ... well, hop to the hog from hell, if flaming skulls are yer thang, dude.
Freedom Writers, on the other paw ... well, what can I say, sometimes a 3-hanky movie is worth seeing, mush or not. There's mush aplenty here ... and
Chocolate Lady in particular
you should really see this for some potent socio-cultural parallels which I know will speak to you. BTW, it's based on a true story.
Anyone else seen either of these?
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| benj clews |
Posted - 03/11/2007 : 01:19:36
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk. I also found it stupid that his dad, a pro boxer, was killed by being beaten up.
In a few of the comic books it's been shown that Daredevil can 'see' by the way background noise bounces off things around him. This was kind of touched on earlier in the film, just not shown without him twatting said object first 
As for his dad, even boxers can die from being punched enough times. Perhaps all those punches suffered from boxing left him only one good kicking away from series brain injury?
I'm not debating that boxers can't die. I just found it silly that he was unable to fight back when two guys with no boxing experience, smaller than him, beat him up to death. They didn't tie him down or anything. Admittingly it's been a long time since I've seen the film, but that's how i remember it.
Sorry- guess I just read that wrong 
I don't remember how the attack went, but more than one opponent (trained in fighting or not) is enough to overpower most people. You can only keep your eye on one opponent whilst the other (if they have any sense) will attack from behind. Boxer or not, it's not a fair fight and all they need is one lucky punch. Personally speaking, I've been roughed up enough times to vouch for this  |
| Mr Savoir Faire |
Posted - 03/11/2007 : 00:49:54
quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk. I also found it stupid that his dad, a pro boxer, was killed by being beaten up.
In a few of the comic books it's been shown that Daredevil can 'see' by the way background noise bounces off things around him. This was kind of touched on earlier in the film, just not shown without him twatting said object first
As for his dad, even boxers can die from being punched enough times. Perhaps all those punches suffered from boxing left him only one good kicking away from series brain injury?
I'm not debating that boxers can't die. I just found it silly that he was unable to fight back when two guys with no boxing experience, smaller than him, beat him up to death. They didn't tie him down or anything. Admittingly it's been a long time since I've seen the film, but that's how i remember it.
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| Mr Savoir Faire |
Posted - 03/11/2007 : 00:47:28
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk.
Perhaps he uses echolocation.
Wow. that video is amazing.
Later in the film a ringing bell is too loud for dd to handle. If the bell is too loud, then surely the hundreds of gunshots would be as well.
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| Shiv |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 02:10:02
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
I really don't understand all the flack The Punisher gets. It has an evil Johnny Cash, for Christ's sake.
Moreover, it's one of the few revenge pics with some actual guts. Take Gladiator, for instance. Commodus kills Maximus's family. Then Maximus kills Commodus. The end, everyone's happy. Yay, he killed Commodus. Eye for an eye, might makes right.
You don't go "yay" when The Punisher kills people. When The Punisher kills people, it's painful and you don't quite know who to cheer for. Revenge in this movie is a dish served cold and dark, it's not sanitized.
I'm on your side. At least it's dark and ambiguous - like the graphic novel. I wanted more at the end. |
| benj clews |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 19:49:13
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk. I also found it stupid that his dad, a pro boxer, was killed by being beaten up.
In a few of the comic books it's been shown that Daredevil can 'see' by the way background noise bounces off things around him. This was kind of touched on earlier in the film, just not shown without him twatting said object first
As for his dad, even boxers can die from being punched enough times. Perhaps all those punches suffered from boxing left him only one good kicking away from series brain injury? |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 11:26:59
Ghost Writers
I've now seen both of these films. Spoilers included: ChocolateLady, do not read this post as I think you would get more from Freedom Writers without this info.
I couldn't care less about comics, but the film adaptations can still be enjoyable. However, I found Ghost Rider absolutely dire. I would agree that it is even worse than Elektra, which was the previous worst that I had seen. Visually, it is a good character, and some of the motorbike special effects are also good, but the film is badly weighed down by its numerous flaws. The most annoying is that there is no story of any interest. Less annnoying but perhaps more serious is that the set-up doesn't make any sense. (Does this come from the comic?) How can he get his powers from the devil and then fight against the devil with them? That is just idiotic. (O.K., the devil got his powers from God and then fought against Him with them, but it's not the same.) Bringing the devil into it is different in my experience of such films/stories (in that he is part of general culture, albeit totally imaginary) - that could have worked but doesn't. Similarly, it's unusual that his real-world skills are the same as his special superhero skills - that could have been an interesting variant, but isn't. All the stuff with him conveninetly meeting the previous Ghost Rider falls completely flat, as does the original transaction over his soul. And Cage just is not superhero material. Not good.
There have been so many true-life teacher-turns-disaffected-kids-around films now that they are a blur. However, I usually enjoy them and Freedom Writers is one of the better ones, certainly much better than Gridiron Gang. To start with, it seems a lot more mediocre, but it really picks up. It is genuinely moving to see how affected the students all are by the Holocaust stories. Assuming that it is basically accurate that the kids did raise money so that they could meet the woman who hid Anne Frank etc., then I think on that basis alone it was worth making the film on top of all the others. The worst parts were Imelda Staunton's terrible accent (initially too strong and then largely abandoned) and the fact that the actors playing the students were way too old - they are supposed to be about fourteen at the beginning and almost none could pass for under sixteen even at a stretch. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 10:47:42
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk.
Perhaps he uses echolocation. |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 09:47:28
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
The ultimate slap in the face having Howard above GR, I know, but Howard is at least kid friendly. I know dd is a little low as well, but I hated that movie. Colin's acting, ben afflecks acting, jennifer's acting, terrible even for a marvel movie. I also hated how on several occasions dd does stuf he obviously could not do if he was blind. For instance, in one seen, in a room he's never been in before, someone starts shooting at him and he dives behind a desk. I also found it stupid that his dad, a pro boxer, was killed by being beaten up.
For what it's worth  , I'm a BIG Howard the Duck fan  and have all the issues. I think Gerber is one of those tainted geniuses ... first of all the very concept of the thing is so imaginative. Trapped in a World He Never Made! Vampire Cows! The dialogue is witty and the artwork superb without violating the genre. And, if it hadn't been for HtD we'd never have had Roger and Jessica. The issue where Gerber just gave over to Philosophy ... well, I just don't think I've ever seen that before or since.
But - how could they pollute such a brilliant book into that godawful film version?!! Criminal, I tell ya!
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| benj clews |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 08:46:40
quote:
Originally posted by Ali
benj - The inital print run is more than the usual amount, so I am sure you can get your copy for the cover price.
Well, it's not enough. I went to three comic shops in London yesterday and they'd all sold out. Forbidden Planet- the biggest comic shop in Britain sold all of the several hundred copies they had within an hour of opening. Madness...  |
| Ali |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 07:44:50
benj - The inital print run is more than the usual amount, so I am sure you can get your copy for the cover price.
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| demonic |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 23:20:45
Can I call you a sheltered pussy just because it sounds fun?
Mentioning a blowtorch makes me think of "Hostel" and just goes to show how messed up we're becoming in terms of what we're prepared to watch at the cinema. So, no, you're not sheltered or a pussy if that affects you - rather well done for not being a step closer to psychosis from the over-saturation of violence on our screens! |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 23:10:14
Call me a sheltered pussy if you wish, but Thomas Jane's The Punisher does some of the coldest, most gut-wrenching acts of revenge I've ever seen. The part where he tortures a guy with a blowtorch and a popsicle, and the Othello-inspired part where he gets Travolta to kill his own wife... damn, motherfucker, that's cold. Yes, it could have been better, yes, there were some overly goofy moments, but I won't hear anyone tell me that it lacks grit. |
| benj clews |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 22:17:07
P.S. Whilst we're on the subject of comic books...
I don't know if this has affected anyone else, but I'm well pissed off with this whole Captain America thing... first it was widely publicized in all major media (so there goes the surprise element of over a year's investment reading the current story arc) and second... because of the ridiculous amount of publicity, comic shops have been swamped with greedy bastards after a quick buck buying up every copy of the bloody thing.
See this fine example of the kind of money being asked for a comic book that is only one day old:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAPTAIN-AMERICA-25-NM-9-8-REGULAR-VARIANT-SET_W0QQitemZ290091643407QQihZ019QQcategoryZ32751QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
So now, after loyally reading this comic for 2 years I have to spend �20 to get the final issue.
Yes, I realise it'll be reprinted (probably), but the point is I now have to wait gawd knows how long because of greedy profiteering gits who probably never stepped foot inside a comic book shop before today and never will again (well, not until Superman dies again). To put this in context, imagine watching a TV programme religiously for a couple of years and then your TV provider demanding �20 to see the final episode.
Not happy  |
| benj clews |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 22:02:33
quote:
Originally posted by demonic
Which "Punisher" are we talking about here folks? The truly awful 80s Dolph Lundgren version or the pretty awful 2004 Thomas Jane version? 
I was on about the Thomas Jane one, but from what I recall the Dolph one was pretty bad.
I don't know what it was exactly about the 2004 Punisher that was so bad, but I do remember it seeming just a bit too 'quirky' in his flat (was there some sort of bizarre dance scene in there, or am I imagining that?) and Frank Castle himself just didn't seem nasty enough. There's been some truly twisted stuff in the last few series of the comic book and I guess I was hoping for some of that, rather than this more kind of sanitized version where most people just get shot. I think The Punisher really should be a dark, gritty, adult movie and not... well, whatever the heck the 2004 film was. |
| demonic |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 16:01:58
Which "Punisher" are we talking about here folks? The truly awful 80s Dolph Lundgren version or the pretty awful 2004 Thomas Jane version? |
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