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  1. #301
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by HanneSThEGreaT View Post
    Thanx, it presumably means faith.
    Oh, interesting. I perceived it as a calligraphic letter H (for Hannes) or maybe the combination Ha. Just coincidence or my own screwed perception?

    Watched Messengers 2 last week.

    Very disappointed.
    I didn't even know the first one existed. However, horror isn't really my favorite genre, though of course there are some definitely great movies of that genre. The IMDb rating matches your judgement about part 2: 4.7 vs. 5.2 for the first part. (However, I don't consider 5.2 a really good rating either.) For reference, one of my pet peeve movies, Ultraviolet, is at 4.0.

    The choice of Ultraviolet as a reference isn't really that arbitrary, BTW. It happens to have been made by the same director as Equilibrium, which I happened to watch just yesterday and which I find really great (matching the rating of 7.7). That guy hasn't been really productive yet as a director (3 movies), however, but participated in 13, among them some really fancy, as a writer. And the remake of Total Recall is yet to come next year...

    On the side note, my personal opinion about movies doesn't always match the IMDb rating: One of my favorite movies is Breakfast of Champions which only scored lousy 4.3. Maybe a bit too weird for the mainstream...
    Last edited by Eri523; April 21st, 2011 at 07:09 AM.
    I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

    This is a snakeskin jacket! And for me it's a symbol of my individuality, and my belief... in personal freedom.

  2. #302
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    Oh, interesting. I perceived it as a calligraphic letter H (for Hannes) or maybe the combination Ha. Just coincidence or my own screwed perception?
    It is perhaps a coincidence, but that picture has a very special meaning for me

    I absolutely love hoor movies! I love laughing at my wife / friends when we have a movie night, makes everything worth it

    The scariest movie I'd say was the Amityville Horror, that one gave me the creeps!

    When we took out the Messengers 2 DVD, the lady at the shop said, we absolutely must take Dead Silence as well, because it was so so scary.

    Ahem, not to blow my own horn, but in the first 10 minutes I figured out the whole plot, and who is behind everything. I thought it would have been like Child's Play ( the one where Chucky is the demonic doll ), because it also had dolls in it, but no.

    I do not just watch horrors, I watch everything, and I recently watched Moulin Rouge - my wife is crazy about musicals.

    I should admit, it wasn't bad at all

  3. #303
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    However, horror isn't really my favorite genre, though of course there are some definitely great movies of that genre.
    Quote Originally Posted by HanneSThEGreaT View Post
    I absolutely love hoor movies! I love laughing at my wife / friends when we have a movie night, makes everything worth it
    Guess what kind of movies I like the most
    Of course, I too watch everything, but if I had to pick a genre...
    Besides horror, I enjoy sci-fi, but really anything goes - as long as there's quality.
    My favorite movie, though, is Jurassic Park - because I love dinosaurs and other Mesozoic creatures... That's definitively not a horror movie by my criteria, and I newer viewed the dinosaurs as monsters... D@mn, I always wanted one! (Tricked you, filter system! Why I cant say d@mn?)

    Quote Originally Posted by HanneSThEGreaT View Post
    The scariest movie I'd say was the Amityville Horror, that one gave me the creeps!
    Hm... Didn't watch that one. But that shall be corrected! Anyway, if I had to pick the scariest movie, I really wouldn't know what to say. Maybe because I feel that games like Silent Hill are scarier than most horror movies (well, restrict that to SH1, SH2, SH3 and SH4). As a kid, I really loved Alien (the first one), although I was **** terrified of it... I had this fear of otherworldly creatures with teeth. But today, I find the terrible aspects of the human nature that can emerge from time to time far more terrifying... There are probably unthinkable things happening right now in some mad war somewhere in the world, all because of some power-hungry politicians and their damned propaganda.

    I don't know... That's why I found V for Vendetta to be a beautiful movie. As well as Equilibrium, or The Matrix trilogy, or movies like Hotel Rwanda. They all tell a part of the "Who we are?"-story, in their own way.
    BTW, I realize that movies based on real events may not entirely portray those events in a way they ought to - for one reason or another (political factors can make the most recent history appear murky), so I like when a movie concentrates on the story of it's characters instead.

    One movie that comes to my mind right now, a movie that should have received more attention is The Road, a really oppressive postapocalyptic tale "of a man and his son trying to survive" in a barren world in which society as we know it no longer exists, and where trust has become a luxury that could cost you your life.

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    [...] Equilibrium, which I happened to watch just yesterday and which I find really great [...].
    Awesome movie, seen it a while ago - not perfect, but really good nevertheless. Actually, I believe that, when you are able to look past some minor flaws because u feel that there's something positively substantial in the movie, some deep philosophy and/or statement coming from it's creators and giving essence to the audio-visual presentation on the surface - than it has to be a good one. This underlying structure doesn't even have to be the main point of the film, it can be expressed through many subtle details (that come from the director, the actors, from the other artists involved), and provide certain richness to the experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    On the side note, my personal opinion about movies doesn't always match the IMDb rating [...]
    I guess that it's like that for a great deal of people, if not for most. Statistics are good for giving you the average, but other than that they tell you nothing... Movies aside, most people are too quick to just accept statistical results without ever questioning what they actually mean. It's dangerous to generalize them.
    Back to IMDb, nice thing about their statistics is that u can click on the "XYZ votes" link and get a demographic breakdown (by age, by sex, by a rather coarse criterion of US/Non-US), so u can have some more insight. But again, this is nothing but a hint, and until you actually see the movie, you won't really know.

    Quote Originally Posted by HanneSThEGreaT View Post
    I do not just watch horrors, I watch everything, and I recently watched Moulin Rouge - my wife is crazy about musicals.

    I should admit, it wasn't bad at all
    Why ? It's a really great movie!

    BTW, since your wife loves musicals, and you love to laugh at her horror movie skills, then Sweeney Todd is perfect for you.
    (Well, for us horror veterans, it's not really a horror movie (I mean, pick a horror movie and make everyone sing... Would it still be the same?)

    [Error: ')' expected.]
    Last edited by TheGreatCthulhu; April 21st, 2011 at 10:12 AM.

  4. #304
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu View Post
    Hm... Didn't watch that one. But that shall be corrected! Anyway, if I had to pick the scariest movie, I really wouldn't know what to say. Maybe because I feel that games like Silent Hill are scarier than most horror movies (well, restrict that to SH1, SH2, SH3 and SH4). As a kid, I really loved Alien (the first one), although I was **** terrified of it... I had this fear of otherworldly creatures with teeth. But today, I find the terrible aspects of the human nature that can emerge from time to time far more terrifying... There are probably unthinkable things happening right now in some mad war somewhere in the world, all because of some power-hungry politicians and their damned propaganda.

    I don't know... That's why I found V for Vendetta to be a beautiful movie. As well as Equilibrium, or The Matrix trilogy, or movies like Hotel Rwanda. They all tell a part of the "Who we are?"-story, in their own way.
    BTW, I realize that movies based on real events may not entirely portray those events in a way they ought to - for one reason or another (political factors can make the most recent history appear murky), so I like when a movie concentrates on the story of it's characters instead.
    What really scared me a long time ago was I as in Icarus (I... comme Icare). When the movie was released in Germany I was 16, but I saw it on TV so I was certainly yet a bit older. But though I was aware that the movie was fictious (telling a real story in disguise, however), later in my memory I somehow mixed up the movie's reference to the Milgram experiment in a way that I thought what the "teacher" in the experiment has been told was real... Now that was scary...

    BTW, what did not scare me really that much was The Fly (the original, of course ) that I saw when I was somewhat around 11.

    One movie that comes to my mind right now, a movie that should have received more attention is The Road, a really oppressive postapocalyptic tale "of a man and his son trying to survive" in a barren world in which society as we know it no longer exists, and where trust has become a luxury that could cost you your life.
    The title of that movie didn't ring something but your description did. But it hasn't been released in Germany before october last year and I'm sure I haven't seen it at the movie theatre. So I must have mixed that up with some other movie, probably Children of Men. The Road is definitely on a relatively high position on my to-watch-list now.

    [About Equilibrium:] Awesome movie, seen it a while ago - not perfect, but really good nevertheless. Actually, I believe that, when you are able to look past some minor flaws because u feel that there's something positively substantial in the movie, some deep philosophy and/or statement coming from it's creators and giving essence to the audio-visual presentation on the surface - than it has to be a good one. This underlying structure doesn't even have to be the main point of the film, it can be expressed through many subtle details (that come from the director, the actors, from the other artists involved), and provide certain richness to the experience.
    IMO this movie is basically made up of stylylistic and story elements from both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, plus lots of stylistic aspects taken from The Matrix. ... and of course a good bit of extra spice added by Wimmer himself. But in the end it's the mixture that makes the movie so immersive. A good cook doesn't really create his ingredients himself either...

    I guess that it's like that for a great deal of people, if not for most. Statistics are good for giving you the average, but other than that they tell you nothing... Movies aside, most people are too quick to just accept statistical results without ever questioning what they actually mean. It's dangerous to generalize them.
    Now that reminds me to one of my (at least formerly) favorite quotes: I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself. I always thought that one was from some German polititian of the 60s or 70s, but I just found out that it actually has been long time misattributed to Winston Churchill and recent research make it look really likely that it's actually from Joseph Goebbels. (See http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston...#Misattributed.)

    Back to IMDb, nice thing about their statistics is that u can click on the "XYZ votes" link and get a demographic breakdown (by age, by sex, by a rather coarse criterion of US/Non-US), so u can have some more insight. But again, this is nothing but a hint, and until you actually see the movie, you won't really know.
    Wow, another nice feacture of IMDb that I didn't know yet! (Now I know why they disabled rating posts in Chit Chat. You otherwise would certainly have got one now... ) Also, I had been using IMDb for years until I realized that they have a message board...

    BTW, since your wife loves musicals, and you love to laugh at her horror movie skills, then Sweeney Todd is perfect for you.
    (Well, for us horror veterans, it's not really a horror movie (I mean, pick a horror movie and make everyone sing... Would it still be the same?)
    I recently watched Jersey Girl and found the reference to Sweeny Todd (the musical, not the movie) quite funny (in particular the reaction of the headmistress...).

    I have become a fan of Kevin Smith not too long ago and Jersey Girl really surprised me. Though it's even considered part of what is called New Jersey Filme in Germany (in the USA this seems to have a different meaning, but what I mean can be found under http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_Askewniverse) it is completely different from anything I have seen from this director before. However, it's just as good as the others I know.
    I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

    This is a snakeskin jacket! And for me it's a symbol of my individuality, and my belief... in personal freedom.

  5. #305
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    BTW, what did not scare me really that much was The Fly (the original, of course ) that I saw when I was somewhat around 11.
    What, you don't like the 1986 remake?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    The title of that movie didn't ring something but your description did. But it hasn't been released in Germany before october last year and I'm sure I haven't seen it at the movie theatre. So I must have mixed that up with some other movie, probably Children of Men. The Road is definitely on a relatively high position on my to-watch-list now.
    Really oppressive, for the most part - that's my overall impression. But in a good way.
    Seen Children of Men, and I liked it. Was pleasantly surprised at the time. I also really liked the fact that it shows how relatively modest special effects can be an effective storytelling tool when used properly (I'm referring to the very end). Today everything is flashy, and everything flies in your face, especially when filmed in 3D... Subtlety is often a better choice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    IMO this movie is basically made up of stylylistic and story elements from both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, plus lots of stylistic aspects taken from The Matrix. ... and of course a good bit of extra spice added by Wimmer himself. But in the end it's the mixture that makes the movie so immersive. A good cook doesn't really create his ingredients himself either...
    Yes, but I was not talking about Equilibrium specifically (except that I was explaining what can make me disregard any nonessential flaws).

    Quote Originally Posted by Eri523 View Post
    I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself. [...] recent research make it look really likely that it's actually from Joseph Goebbels. (See http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston...#Misattributed.)
    Doctored is the key word... It doesn't take a Goebbels to come up with devious plans, there are political figures all over the world, from the most insignificant people to prominent leaders, that make up statistics on a daily basis. It's probably far less noticeable in developed countries, but to quote V for Vendetta: "[...] artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up."
    (I guess you can tell that I'm not particularly fond of politicians, at least the ones who shouldn't really be politicians...)
    But, my remark was about being careful not to misinterpret valid statistics by generalizing the result to the whole sample.

    BTW, speaking of the human nature, crooked politicians, Milgram experiment and Goebbels: have you heard about the so-called "The Third Wave" experiment?
    The Third Wave was an experiment to demonstrate that even democratic societies are not immune to the appeal of fascism. [...] Jones, unable to explain to his students how the German population could claim ignorance of the extermination of the Jewish people, decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" [...] Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride". [...] Jones instructed the students on how to initiate new members, and by the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. Jones was surprised that some of the students started reporting to him when other members of the movement failed to abide by the rules.

    On Thursday, the fourth day of the experiment, Jones decided to terminate the movement because it was slipping out of his control. [...] He announced to the participants that this movement is a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the movement would publicly announce existence of the movement. [...]

    Instead of a televised address of their leader, the students were [...] announced that they have been a part of an experiment in fascism and that they all willingly created a sense of superiority that German citizens had in the period of Nazi Germany. He then played them a film about the Nazi regime. That was the end of the experiment.
    (all happened in US)

    What it shows is how most people are not immune to manipulation and propaganda. There's a documentary about it (Lesson Plan), but I haven't been able to get my hands on it. Seen some clips, though, funny how people reacted. To some it has been a real eye opener, to some it was (and stayed till today) deeply disturbing.

  6. #306
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    Re: What Movie are you watching Now ??...

    Quote Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu View Post
    What, you don't like the 1986 remake?
    Oh, I definitely do like the remake. I just didn't watch it at the age of 11 so it doesn't count as early horror movie experience. And IMO it's no classic...

    Seen Children of Men, and I liked it. Was pleasantly surprised at the time. I also really liked the fact that it shows how relatively modest special effects can be an effective storytelling tool when used properly (I'm referring to the very end).
    I've seen it only once yet and that's quite a while ago. But I remember it as a movie in which I didn't explicitly notice the SFX which is an indication that they used them defensively. I'll be specifically attentive at the end when I wach it the next time, and this definitely is on that is worth watching more than once.

    Today everything is flashy, and everything flies in your face, especially when filmed in 3D...
    I've only seen one 3D movie so far and that was Despicable Me. I really had a good time doing that. (Smiley pun definitely intended! ) The good ol' 1st-person rollercoaster ride has a completely new quality in 3D!

    While the movie was the 3D style that I think is usual these days (occasional rockets projecting from the screen and practically touching your nose etc.), the 3D crew went definitely wild while making the end titles. But I think these are juvenile 3D escapades that will mitigate themselves as time goes by.

    Subtlety is often a better choice.
    Definitely yes.

    BTW, speaking of the human nature, crooked politicians, Milgram experiment and Goebbels: have you heard about the so-called "The Third Wave" experiment?
    Yes, I know of that experiment, not of Lesson Plan though. It obviously is pretty new and doesn't even have been voted ten times on IMDb. It looks really promising as it seems to contain interviews with original participants of the experiment. How old they may be today?

    But I have seen both the 1981 US TV feature The Wave (only 44 min long) and the full-blown (107 min) German movie Die Welle (english title The Wave as well) about the experiment. The German movie, which happened to be shown on TV here just some weeks ago, has a really dramatic ending: One of the students shoots himself after shooting another one and the teacher finally gets arrested by the police. I think that's pretty dramatized but IMO it did a good job getting the point across.

    This ending showing an experiment that has catastrophically gone wrong strikingly reminded me to the Stanford prison experiment that also has been depicted in a German movie: Das Experiment (The Experiment) from 2001. There also is a recent US remake but unlike the original movie I haven't seen that. Interestingly, it has been written and directed by the guy who created Prison Break...

    IIRC the US TV version of The Wave ends as described on Wikipedia.

    Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride".
    "Ignorance is bliss"? I somehow assumed this was from 1984 but a quote search on IMDb yields 17 hits, the earliest of which is The Navigator from 1924, so it can't even be from Orwell's original book. I probably have picked it up from The Matrix. With the help of Wikiquote I could track it down to as far back as the 18th century. It doesn't happen often that I'm that far off...
    I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

    This is a snakeskin jacket! And for me it's a symbol of my individuality, and my belief... in personal freedom.

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