Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hey, sorry if this could've fitted in another movie themed thread. Just putting this out for discussion to the UKFF film fans, I by coincidence happened to watch 2 Joel Schumacher films in the last couple of days (Blood/Town Creek & Trespass) and one was great (Blood Creek) and one was shit (Trespass), it got me thinking about him as a director. He's done a bunch of famous movies but I don't think he's really regarded as being any good is he? I tend to think of him as the guy who put nipples on the Batsuit, I'm kind of on the fence with him, He's done some good movies;  8mm is one of my favourite films of all time, a taught thriller with a seedy edge, Phone Booth is a successful thriller that had a pretty clever concept and did it well, The Lost Boys is a cult classic as is Falling Down starring Michael Douglas as a normal guy who snaps under the strain of modern society.  He's also done some really bad movies;  The Number 23 the terrible psycho thriller with Jim Carrey, The Phantom of the Opera, his 2 awful Batman movies Batman Forever and Batman and Robin (I must confess to liking both these films but only as guilty pleasures because I love superhero movies so much) Trespass is his newest film and I didn't like it at all (& I'm a massive Nic Cage fan)  Flatliners & St. Elmo's Fire were OK and I really liked Blood Creek but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea  I haven't seen Bad Company, Twelve, Veronica Guerin, A Time to Kill or The Client, are any of them particularly good or bad? Bad Company seems to be a buddy cop movie with Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock, that can't be any good surely?  What do you think of his movies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think A Time To Kill is widely considered to be his best movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 8mm and Phone Booth are fucking garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Tigerland, The Lost Boys & A Time To Kill are all excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think A Time To Kill is widely considered to be his best movie. 8mm and Phone Booth are fucking garbage. Â I have to agree with both of these, I think a Time to Kill is probably my favourite Grisham adaptation to boot. Really is a fantastic film and will go out of my way to watch it whenever its on. This may or may not be related to anything to do with Sandra Bullock looking smoking hot in it at all. Â 8mm and Phone Booth really are gash of the highest order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hey, sorry if this could've fitted in another movie themed thread. Just putting this out for discussion to the UKFF film fans, I by coincidence happened to watch 2 Joel Schumacher films in the last couple of days (Blood/Town Creek & Trespass) and one was great (Blood Creek) and one was shit (Trespass) Â That's because you watched the wrong Trespass. You SHOULD have watched the Walter Hill one instead then you wouldn't have been so disappointed. Â But yeah, Schumacher is largely shit. The Lost Boys is utter trash - massively overrated in many circles and really embarrassing looking at it now, and I wasn't a huge fan of Falling Down either, it just didn't have an impact on me although I love Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Â His best film is Flatliners by far, for me. He's never come close to living up to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think he's capable, but is pretty much the poster boy for making "current trend" movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hey, sorry if this could've fitted in another movie themed thread. Just putting this out for discussion to the UKFF film fans, I by coincidence happened to watch 2 Joel Schumacher films in the last couple of days (Blood/Town Creek & Trespass) and one was great (Blood Creek) and one was shit (Trespass) Â That's because you watched the wrong Trespass. You SHOULD have watched the Walter Hill one instead then you wouldn't have been so disappointed. Â But yeah, Schumacher is largely shit. The Lost Boys is utter trash - massively overrated in many circles and really embarrassing looking at it now, and I wasn't a huge fan of Falling Down either, it just didn't have an impact on me although I love Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Â His best film is Flatliners by far, for me. He's never come close to living up to it. Â Might be an age thing with the Lost Boys. Not sure how old you are, but for my age group (early 40's), when it came out it was an instant classic and a new look at the vampire genre. Looks dated now, but at the time, excellent. Â I enjoyed his 80's movies, but he does not seem to have progressed with the times. Â Although saying that, I really enjoyed Batman Forever, to the point that it was my favourite of that Batman series. Â As for Walter Hills Tresspass, I just could not get into it. Loved his previous films, but for some reason it did not click. Can't work out why as the cast were excellent (never seen a bad Bill Paxton performance), and some of the set pieces were impressive, but the whole thing fell flat for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalaxyV.2 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 How can anyone slag off The Lost Boys? I'm 26 and I love it. Its brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I was 10 or 11 when it was released and was aware of the fuss around it and I saw it a couple of years later. Even at that age I had seen a pile of better vampire films and I've seen a lot more since then. Â Near Dark was released the same year and should have got all the attention that The Lost Boys got because it's miles better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members chokeout Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I've always loved The Lost Boys. Nothing about it is partcularly well done but its a fun film and really is a product of its time. As a Director I dont like Schumacher for the simple reason that he doesn't seem to have his own style, he just copies whatever seems popular at the time. Hes one of the most well known generic Directors in Hollywood, plus he wrote the Wiz so should be shot for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I was 10 or 11 when it was released and was aware of the fuss around it and I saw it a couple of years later. Even at that age I had seen a pile of better vampire films and I've seen a lot more since then. Near Dark was released the same year and should have got all the attention that The Lost Boys got because it's miles better.  Near Dark is a much better film, but also I feel different enough to be an unfair comparison. It's like comparing something like Best in Show to Dumb and Dumber. Both hysterical comedies, but at complete opposite ends of the spectrum.  Near Dark is a classic horror, where as Lost Boys is the Goonies with fangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I've got a soft spot for The Lost Boys, and I really enjoyed Flatliners when I saw it all those years ago, but to be honest I'd struggle to name any of his other films without reference to a list. He's not exactly an oscar winning director, put it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think I'm one of about 4 people who do, but I love Batman and Robin. I can certainly see why people would hate it, no doubt, but I love it for some strange reason. People always complain about Arnie just spouting one-liners as if this is some sort of abnormal trait that he's never done before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted November 9, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Schumacher got a lot of flack for his Batman films (and rightly so, they were shit) but I always wondered how much the studio wanted a kids film they could attach more merch to after the fairly 'unkiddy' Batman Returns? It reeked of director for hire as opposed to it being 'Schumacher's vision', I could be wrong though. 'The Client' wasn't too bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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