this is mainly for my mad men friends, but there is a new “between two ferns” on funny or die with jon hamm.
onto movies, if i wasn’t moving this weekend, i would try to go see milk. i don’t think the wrestler is gonna hit san diego for a bit, so i’ll get in the bigger releases.
Hahaha. Zach Galifianakis is awesome.
And I would like to see Slumdog Millionaire. I read the book a few years back (it was originally published as “Q & A”, but they changed the title for some reason), and it was great.
Such a great year for films and so many I haven’t seen yet.
Slumdog Millionaire is a little deeper than it lets on I think. I don’t know if it was intentional but
SPOILAHZ
it’s ironic that with all the talk of destiny or whatever, Salim was mostly responsible for Jamal even staying alive for this long, and even collecting his fortune and his dream girl. Jamal never thanked him or anything, and at their last encounter they were pretty much enemies. Jamal owes a lot of dead/crippled people for his happy ending and Bollywood dance number.
It’s nice that the movie doesn’t do much to emphasize that detail, and chooses to stay colorful and upbeat. SM isn’t this amazing game-changing movie, but it’s really entertaining. One too many MIA tracks though.
That looks fantastic. But I’m suspicious of Tim Burton. As much as I like Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, he’s unleashed so many stinkers over the past 8 years or so that I’m wary of anything that has his name on it. The visuals are lovely, though.
Most (if not all) Tim Burton movies have brilliant visuals and a decent idea at the center, but that’s about it. I love everything about Edward Scissorhands except for the characters and the story, which is kind of problematic considering that it’s a feature film.
Beetlejuice is fun. The Nightmare Before Christmas is terrific, but Burton handed the helm off to somebody else for that one, so I don’t know if it really counts.
I don’t have a problem with Burton in the producer’s chair. He’s an ‘overrated’ filmmaker, but he established a name that’s synonymous with noir and original, and I’m all for him assembling talented writers and directors to make the kind of off-the-wall material that he’s into. It’s a shitload better than most non-Pixar cartoons, that serve little purpose than filling theater seats with kids and selling merchandise.
i enjoyed ed wood. nightmare is nightmare, but short of beetlejuice, i don’t really care for the bulk of burton films. mars attacks was horrible.
I’m more interested in this for three reasons. One, Gaiman wrote the original story, and it’s an amusing read. (Normally it’s not something I’d go out and snag, but a kid I fed/housed from New Orleans who got displaced by Katrina gave it to me) Two, the original director from Nightmare Before Christmas is handling it. Three, as much as I loved all of his tales in my younger days, Burton and Elfman no longer do it for me.
There’s something that Sleepy Hollow and E. Scissorhands had that Big Fish and Corpse Bride just don’t. Hard for me to put my bony finger on but the bits that have been dropped here and there aren’t as good and I’m not going to get too hyped because of the name attached to them.
Damn Internet hate is too strong. Burton’s producing a feature film based on a short film Burton had nothing to do with. The creator of the short film is directing the movie. Check out the short http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1jl41_9-nine-shane-acker-short-animation_creation
Danny Elfman, in my opinion, is still a terrific composer. There seems to be a common criticism that he’s dropped off over the years, and maybe he has a little, but I think people sleep on him too much. His newer work deserves a second chance.
I actually really like Big Fish. Didn’t see that mentioned. Like SOME of his other stuff too, but that is the only recent one I like.
i’m kind of indifferent about elfman for the most part. i love the pee-wee’s big adventure soundtrack a lot, but like a lot of composers, his stuff becomes sort of repetitive…
big fish was enjoyable, one of the only modern burton films i enjoyed.
FUCK YEAH. I already know of this movie and am anticipating the fuck out of it because of Gaiman alone.
I think what’s missing from it is a simplicity in storytelling, cohesiveness and a realization of the world. Big Fish had a world that was going everywhere and couldn’t really find a proper focus. Corpse Bride did the same thing because you were bouncing back and forth between the world of the dead and the world of the living. It didn’t help that Corpse Bride looked fucking WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less vibrant than advertised in the trailer (just look at the comparisons) but it just didn’t feel like the characters belonged in film or how the situations didn’t gel together with other situations.
OC
I’m one of the people who is disappointed in Elfman’s recent stuff. He writes well, but for a long time it’s sounded kinda tired. Like he’s just phoning it in. But I love the Scissorhands soundtrack (personal favorite), and a number of his earlier films. His new work doesn’t have the same pull that his earlier work does. For me at least. And the Willy Wonka remake soundtrack was trash.
Burton’s more recent work has been nothing but visuals. Everything else is sub-par at best. I did enjoy Big Fish overall, though, but mostly because of Albert Finney.
And Gaiman is someone I love as a writer. I have every book he’s published, including short story collections. He’s one of my top ten authors, probably. But his scripts have not turned out too well so far. Mirror Mask and Beowulf were both pretty bad. So I’ll see on that.
I’m pretty pumped about Coraline though. I really liked the book.
so my wonderful wife got me a dvd copy of my dinner with andre! i can’t believe i actually own a copy of my dinner with andre…unopened dvd copy that is…
you lucky man…(seriously).
re: 9…stupid USC grads… and Tim Burton has nothing to do with it besides putting his name on it
i’m still in shock. i keep looking over it. i’m not opening it yet. i plan on having a little gathering of my geek friends to sit and enjoy the movie one day…
Does it come with action figures?