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View Full Version : The difference between preference and shit.


TheDeadWalk
04-06-2004, 02:58 PM
Moviegoers, I think sometimes we are a bit spoiled from watching what we consider to be really good movies. We may watch Goodfellas, Citizen Kane, The Thing, Scarface, or what-not and leave our home or theater totally moved, mortified, or changed by the feature that we have just witnessed.

We see film in what we consider "perfection" and start to hold our standards to it.

Afterwards, we look at films like "The Wedding Planner" aka "Jennifer Lopez movie X", "I know what you did last summer", "Freddy Vs. Jason", or some rom-com or popcorn slasher and then start ranting and raving like its the biggest piece of shit film we've ever witnessed.

We also do this with remakes, and at times I feel over-dramatize our reactions to the film. It didn't hit that "G-Spot" that we were looking for, and sometimes as "film buffs" or "fan boys" that we are, we turn into the Incredible Hulk and go on a fucking rampage. (Good example there too)

But I think while over-reacting here, we may miss out on exactly how fucking low cinema can go. How low down and dirty a movie can get just to be made for the sake of making and getting 50 bucks so the director can go smoke some more meth.

How many of us that have bashed "Not another teen movie!" went and seen and/or rented some low budget piece of shit with acting as stiff as a board and characters who look fuzzed over like they can't remember their lines?

We probably don't, because in the subcocal of our minds we truly know that that is complete shit. There is no excuse for us to even waste our time popping it in. That is what the true bowels of useless film making is for, I'm talking the type that make popcorn slashers look like the Lord of the fuckin rings.

I myself have no interest in the lord of the rings, It's plot-story-what not just doesn't fizzle my "G-Spot". (Vaginal reference though I have a pecker) If I were to ever catch this, it would be on a rainy day and on someone else's dime. But I know no matter how much I hate or dislike it, it will not be the biggest piece of trash cinema has ever produced. The actors will be coherent, the cinematography will be professional, and the editing will at least not remind me of a backyard porno.

Film examples:

555 and Scarecrow. (Currently Scarecrow could be found in your local Wal-Mart $5 bin)

Here are excerpts from my reviews to show my point:


The killer, disguised as a hippie, was not quite thought out well on paper, or in casting. After gutting his victims, the killer then straddles in-between his victim, doesn't bother to unzip, but starts slowly humping.

During a moment when the detectives (and the female reporter... cause ya know, the police love doing stake outs with a slut) try to catch up and spoil the killer's fun, he stops his slow humps and looks up to the sky for a moment and shouts : "NOOOOOOOOO!"

And then he humps some more.

Any director whom lets in the final cut of his film an actor get shot, wiggle slowly for two seconds as if you were hit by a thunderbolt from Rayden, stop, stare at the shooter, and repeat three times deserves to watch 14 hours of non-stop Barbara Streisand music videos to feel the pain and suffering he has bestowed upon millions of countless others.

Every long extended shot had multiple cuts and breaks in time, most likely because these dipshits couldn't keep their lines. Unrealistically mean characters, who respond to the death or dissappearance of a friend as a time to make a cruel joke to forget about the horror, and then go back to fucking and sucking as usual.

All of the other off-beat characters are laughable, including Lester's Mom and her two boyfriends that we encounter. One of them looks like he got off of the bus from the hilarious music video of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", and the other looks like he came straight back from a losing audition from not getting the part of Joe Dirt.

Some of the effects were nifty, but none were really thought out well. Lester's Mother is shown in a pregnant sequence, and all they could do was put a kickball under her shirt.

Do you think that we take our love of film for granted?

Imagine if shit like this was in the theater. "You got served!" would look like fucking gold.

My referenced reviews:

http://www.joblo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70675

http://www.joblo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73466&highlight=scarecrow

Cronos
04-06-2004, 03:28 PM
im not quite sure as to what you were trying to say there but i only watch films im interested in

if i know i wont like something i wont see it, let alone spend money on it, no matter if its meant to be good or not

TheDeadWalk
04-06-2004, 03:36 PM
I'm talking about how sometimes we over-emphasize how much we didn't like a film.

IE: Someone saying "ROTK was so fuckin horrible, its the worst piece of shit ever created, Peter Jackson should never make film again."

We say that after watching and not liking it, but was it really that bad? Was it really as bad as something that was probably shot in a porn studio with a script written off of a subway napkin?

CyclicNightmare
04-06-2004, 03:41 PM
This is kinda deep. Can we stick to topics about farting?

jeo4
04-06-2004, 03:55 PM
Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
I'm talking about how sometimes we over-emphasize how much we didn't like a film.

IE: Someone saying "ROTK was so fuckin horrible, its the worst piece of shit ever created, Peter Jackson should never make film again."

We say that after watching and not liking it, but was it really that bad? Was it really as bad as something that was probably shot in a porn studio with a script written off of a subway napkin?

I've actually seen some of those shitball b-flicks you're referring to that looik like they were shot with a high school drama club in all the leading roles. I'm also in agreement that some of the bashing of films like LOTR kind of makes me wonder if anything will be good enough for geeks. I know what I like and what I hate, but taste is so subective. It's too easy to rant about films that really piss you off. I'm guilty of it, as many of us are. I dislike TITANIC, but I won't just pass it by when it's on. Occassionally, there are films out there that need to be seen more than once to appreciate their value. Then again, I couldn't sit through THE CAT IN THE HAT just a week ago. It's all subjective.

RogueSpear
04-06-2004, 04:33 PM
I would have to agree. I have no problem with people and their opinions. They can love what they want and they can hate what they want, but whenever I see someone claiming The Lord of the Rings or something else like it to be "the worst movie ever" I have to fight back the urge to beat them over the head with my copy of Demonicus all the while screaming, "You think THAT was bad. Try this!"

krazy drako
04-06-2004, 07:42 PM
Originally posted by RogueSpear
I would have to agree. I have no problem with people and their opinions. They can love what they want and they can hate what they want, but whenever I see someone claiming The Lord of the Rings or something else like it to be "the worst movie ever" I have to fight back the urge to beat them over the head with my copy of Demonicus all the while screaming, "You think THAT was bad. Try this!"


I would beat someone over the head with a copy of Zombie Army instead lol.

To say that a part of the movie was good or you didn't like I think is fine. Saying the whole thing blows isn't. I tend to ask these people if they could do any better lol.

Quiver
04-15-2004, 09:26 AM
Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
Here are excerpts from my reviews to show my point:


The killer, disguised as a hippie, was not quite thought out well on paper, or in casting. After gutting his victims, the killer then straddles in-between his victim, doesn't bother to unzip, but starts slowly humping.

During a moment when the detectives (and the female reporter... cause ya know, the police love doing stake outs with a slut) try to catch up and spoil the killer's fun, he stops his slow humps and looks up to the sky for a moment and shouts : "NOOOOOOOOO!"

And then he humps some more.

Hey, sorry to go off topic, but I remember the firs time i read that review TDW, and it is just a funny to me now as it was then. The imagery of the "dry-humping maniac" is frikkin great. Excellent reviews.

Getting back on topic, I personally am one of those guys that will go out of his way to rent low-budget films. Sometimes they are good for a laugh, but there are the odd ones that end up being pretty good. I dont think I've ever labelled a film as "the worst piece of crap I've ever seen", basically because I go into almost any movie with really low expecations. Even with a movie like FvsJ, which I had been salivating over for years in anticipation, I went in not expecting too much, mainly because in the end, I will be happier wiht the final product.

Maybe I'm just weird that way. Hope this goes along with the thought process of your rant

SykkBoy
04-15-2004, 03:19 PM
Originally posted by krazy drako
I would beat someone over the head with a copy of Zombie Army instead lol.

To say that a part of the movie was good or you didn't like I think is fine. Saying the whole thing blows isn't. I tend to ask these people if they could do any better lol.

..and I'll be there to thump them with my 3rd generation copy of "Samson Vs. The Supreme Dictator From Outer Space", a movie so bad it doesn't have an IMBD page and doesn't even show up with a Google search....

Duke Nukem
04-15-2004, 10:03 PM
Originally posted by SykkBoy
..and I'll be there to thump them with my 3rd generation copy of "Samson Vs. The Supreme Dictator From Outer Space", a movie so bad it doesn't have an IMBD page and doesn't even show up with a Google search....

And, I'll join in with my crappy VHS copy of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4: The Next Generation"! I can't think of a worse and wretched movie.

SykkBoy
04-15-2004, 10:42 PM
Originally posted by Duke Nukem
And, I'll join in with my crappy VHS copy of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4: The Next Generation"! I can't think of a worse and wretched movie.

Oh I dunno

Samson was shot on a camcorder by a bunch of retarded rednecks with silly women's wigs, a construction paper spaceship (complete with a "sky" that was a blue piece of construction paper with cotton balls glued to it) and of course a musical number with the lyrics; "Ah 1 and ah 2 and ah 3...Green is the color of spring in the spring time, but sometimes it's brown in the autumn months. The sun is shining. Oh sissy, sissy sissy, I love you" (and "Sissy" is his sister/girlfriend)

Also, the leads stage name is Orion Von Lichtenstein

did I mention the Supreme Dictator is an old man who keeps forgetting his lines and has an eyeball drawn on his head and a crown that is actually one of those paper Burger King crowns? Or the fact that Samson is a professional wrestler who is *spoilers* half man and half tiger and can fly *end spoilers*?

moviemuffin
04-16-2004, 02:00 AM
I think if you consider the target audience as part of your response you avoid this. At least that works for me.

I can go see a movie like Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, consider who the makers are really targeting (not me), and give it an honest response with that in mind. I know when I went to see Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen I was bored, but paid attention, and reviewed it with the demographic in mind. When asked what I thought by somebody in the lobby I responded "if you're an 11 year old girl it's the best movie EVER."

And there was a little girl-- actually about 8 or so-- who walked out in front of me who said to her mom "omigod that was so awesome Lindsey should TOTALLY get an Oscar."

Does Confessions deserve the same respect and response that, say, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind does? No. Would an 8 year old want to see ESOTSM? No. Can I dilineate between the purpose of both and evaluate them accordingly?

Yup.

It's actually very, very rare that I have to FORCE myself to see a movie through to its conclusion. And only about once or twice a year do I have the dubious displeasure of having to review something about which I can't say at least ONE positive thing.

Critical thinking skills... they're not just for geeks any more.

:D