DVD's and Films You Have Watched Recently

[Steveo2007]

That new "Halloween" film is on tonight, at 10pm, on Sky Movies Premiere.

Worth watching?.. So far I've only heard negative reviews about it...

 

I enjoyed it, It explains how Micheal Myers became Micheal Myers.

I liked it too, it gives a more human element to Myers that we didn't see before, and Psyhologically it's interesting too.

[GalaxyV.2]

I thought that was the worst thing about it. Was always great how in the first one and thereon it never tried to explain why he was mad- made it seem MORE realistic than humanising him. Kids mental and kills, then comes back and is a calculated killer who seems to almost be superhuman. The remake pissed all over what the character was IMO.

[Steveo2007]

I thought that was the worst thing about it. Was always great how in the first one and thereon it never tried to explain why he was mad- made it seem MORE realistic than humanising him. Kids mental and kills, then comes back and is a calculated killer who seems to almost be superhuman. The remake pissed all over what the character was IMO.

I have to disagree. A lot of the classic horror films have these memorable characters with no real explanation as to how they came about. Sure, we're given a brief idea of where they come from, but never more than that so I think it's important for these remakes to try and answer these questions. I know a friend of mine hates the idea of humanising these characters, but I also think it can make them that more terrifying as you understand their reasons or justifications for going on a killing spree.

 

I know the super human elements of him weren't really explained, but I think the mental aspect of it was done brilliantly and as someone who's interested in Psychology as a whole, this being touched upon really aroused my interests. Plus the kid terrified the crap out of me.

[Full Moon]

Just came back from the Curious Case Of B2 with the girlfriend. Must say, what an utterly fantastic film. A pure example of a story structure hitting all of the right points in the mind and in the heart.

 

The only negative thing I have to say about the film was that I saw it in a very small Odeon. She forgot her glasses so we had to sit right up front, and the bottom of the bunch? The next screen was playing "Notorious" and during silent moments of intimacy, of which there were many, you could hear strong bass heavy music try its best to wreck the moment

[Ez Money]

Just finished watching Tropic Thunder and before that I watched Don't Mess With The Zohan. I enjoyed Zohan, thought it was quite funny, TT overall I didn't like, dragged a bit in parts, there were a few funny moments, but not too many. What was werid though, there were 2 great comedy actors in the film (Stiller & Jack Black) but it was Robert Downey Jr. who made me laugh the most.

 

EZ

[Steveo2007]

Just came back from the Curious Case Of B2 with the girlfriend. Must say, what an utterly fantastic film. A pure example of a story structure hitting all of the right points in the mind and in the heart.

 

The only negative thing I have to say about the film was that I saw it in a very small Odeon. She forgot her glasses so we had to sit right up front, and the bottom of the bunch? The next screen was playing "Notorious" and during silent moments of intimacy, of which there were many, you could hear strong bass heavy music try its best to wreck the moment

Finally another fan.

[JamesTyler]

I have to disagree. A lot of the classic horror films have these memorable characters with no real explanation as to how they came about. Sure, we're given a brief idea of where they come from, but never more than that so I think it's important for these remakes to try and answer these questions. I know a friend of mine hates the idea of humanising these characters, but I also think it can make them that more terrifying as you understand their reasons or justifications for going on a killing spree.

 

It's not my type of film, but I agree with villians having a human element and making them less one dimensional. The best villian, in my view, is one that has motive and drive that the audience can understand and on a level empathise with.

[Steveo2007]

I have to disagree. A lot of the classic horror films have these memorable characters with no real explanation as to how they came about. Sure, we're given a brief idea of where they come from, but never more than that so I think it's important for these remakes to try and answer these questions. I know a friend of mine hates the idea of humanising these characters, but I also think it can make them that more terrifying as you understand their reasons or justifications for going on a killing spree.

 

It's not my type of film, but I agree with villians having a human element and making them less one dimensional. The best villian, in my view, is one that has motive and drive that the audience can understand and on a level empathise with.

One I'm definitely looking forward to and although I'm sure it will be terrible is Nightmare on Elm Street.

 

I've always been shit scared of Freddie. Even today I get chills every time I watch those films as the idea of someone getting you in your dreams is so terrifying, and seeing how they retell the child killer element of his story will be something of interest to me.

[JLM]

I have to disagree. A lot of the classic horror films have these memorable characters with no real explanation as to how they came about. Sure, we're given a brief idea of where they come from, but never more than that so I think it's important for these remakes to try and answer these questions. I know a friend of mine hates the idea of humanising these characters, but I also think it can make them that more terrifying as you understand their reasons or justifications for going on a killing spree.

 

It's not my type of film, but I agree with villians having a human element and making them less one dimensional. The best villian, in my view, is one that has motive and drive that the audience can understand and on a level empathise with.

 

Villains? Yes, humanize, them give them motivation, then the scary thing about them is the moral questions you're forced to ask yourself when you start to root for them.

 

Michael Myers? NO! The fact that you know nothing of his motivation in the original Halloween is precisely what makes him scary. He is evil personified. That's it. This means you don't relate to him, you don't reason with him, you just fucking run. The scariest serial killers for me are not the ones who were abused as children or lived in a broken home and have been scarred by it, but the ones who kill just for the sake of killing. How is a twisted fat kid with mental problems more scary than a person who led a perfectly normal life but one day went on a fucking massacre?

 

Zombie's remake absolutely killed the mystique. Killed it stone dead. Why do you need to be spoonfed explanations when the lack of an explanation is a key part of the character. He's been referred to as "the shape of evil" - the expressionless mask that conveys every emotion and no emotions at once. That is Michael's face. That's the only face he needs. You do not need to see (a RIDICULOUSLY clich

Edited February 15, 2009 by JLM

[Steveo2007]

I have to disagree. A lot of the classic horror films have these memorable characters with no real explanation as to how they came about. Sure, we're given a brief idea of where they come from, but never more than that so I think it's important for these remakes to try and answer these questions. I know a friend of mine hates the idea of humanising these characters, but I also think it can make them that more terrifying as you understand their reasons or justifications for going on a killing spree.

 

It's not my type of film, but I agree with villians having a human element and making them less one dimensional. The best villian, in my view, is one that has motive and drive that the audience can understand and on a level empathise with.

 

Villains? Yes, humanize, them give them motivation, then the scary thing about them is the moral questions you're forced to ask yourself when you start to root for them.

 

Michael Myers? NO! The fact that you know nothing of his motivation in the original Halloween is precisely what makes him scary. He is evil personified. That's it. This means you don't relate to him, you don't reason with him, you just fucking run. The scariest serial killers for me are not the ones who were abused as children or lived in a broken home and have been scarred by it, but the ones who kill just for the sake of killing. How is a twisted fat kid with mental problems more scary than a person who led a perfectly normal life but one day went on a fucking massacre?

 

Zombie's remake absolutely killed the mystique. Killed it stone dead. Why do you need to be spoonfed explanations when the lack of an explanation is a key part of the character. He's been referred to as "the shape of evil" - the expressionless mask that conveys every emotion and no emotions at once. That is Michael's face. That's the only face he needs. You do not need to see (a RIDICULOUSLY clich

[JLM]

No, not for fun. He doesn't seem to get pleasure from it. That would be a motivation that you could at least attempt to look into anyway. The crux of my argument is that when you look for the root cause with the original character, it just isn't there at all.

 

He just kills. That's it.

 

A guy with mental problems goes on a rampage, psychologists can attribute his murderous rage to his illness. A guy who is scarred beyond repair by his childhood goes on a murderous rampage, people can say "man, it's scary what an upbringing like that can do to a child. Or, it's a shame his life drove him to become such a monster". In almost every case like that, there are signs, there are things people notice or should have noticed, there are things people can glean from it afterwards to try and catch it earlier in future.

 

What do you say about a person who just kills. What do you do to explain it? How do you see it coming? How do you diagnose it, how do you hope to combat it? How do you reason with it? How do you try and make changes to stop it happening agani? You don't. You can't. That's what's scary.

 

Wanting the teenagers to die in a slasher movie is fine. They're set up as knife fodder and are rarely sympathetic or likeable, so whatever. But in terms of placing yourself in their situation, again, I'd be more scared of the villain if I had no insight at all into why the fuck he was trying to kill me. He's arguably even less predictable than someone with a mental illness.

 

As for presenting a "realistic vision". Again, if he's a fan of the original, why the fuck is he attempting to provide realism? Was Carpenter's film meant to be realistic? No, it was meant to be scary. Watching Michael grow up is mildly interesting, provides insight, but it ain't scary.

 

And again, giving the average villain/serial killer in a movie a human side is fine. Michael Myers though, I just can't accept it. He's barely human, he is just evil. Zombie made a serial killer movie, Carpenter made a horror movie about evil personified. If that's what Zombie wanted to do, then he shouldn't have done it with Halloween.

[Astro Hollywood]

JLM is spot on. The recent Hollywood remakes love to demistify villains by giving us a backstory, which utterly robs them of their power. Myers - The fucking Shape - was the epitomy of senseless evil. He just killed, with no rhyme or reason, and the audience's job was to fear him, not empathise, not even cheer on ironic slasher kills, just to be afraid. But this one was friends with Danny Trejo and had a bad stepdad, poor little Mikey :'(

[GalaxyV.2]

JLM has hit everything on the head.

 

The backstory was cliched and embarassing. Plus why did he have to be abused etc, I mean why should there be an EXPLANATION as to why he is like that, why can't he just be like that? I know what I find more intriguing and frightening

[Mr. Seven]

Just came back from the Curious Case Of B2 with the girlfriend. Must say, what an utterly fantastic film. A pure example of a story structure hitting all of the right points in the mind and in the heart.

 

Eh?? It's an utter failure as a story.

[Steveo2007]

I'm going to try and watch star wars episode 4 tonight for the first time as I've never seen any of the 3 original movies.

 

Does anyone reckon another Star Wars film should be made but with a different story arc? Say for example, I think a film of The Force Unleashed game would work really well on the big screen. Although Lucas has said it wont happen, I still think it would be really great to see a new Star Wars film.