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Battleship
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Join Date:Posts: 33944
If you don't like it then lets shrug and walk away, but you don't like it, and you haven't seen it, and you are dismissing it without a glance! :rolleyes: That's snobbery. Anyways, back on topic...
With Transformer movie comparisons, I think this could be better that Transformers 2, and lets see if it can show us some of the charm that Transformers 1 had.
I like Taylor Kitch and who doesnt like Neason!
With respect you were the one who fired first, throwing out assumptions that those cynical of this movie are some type of ivory-tower style snob, only chasing "period dramas and oscar fodder".
And even I'm willing to bet this movie will be better than Transformers 2; that really isn't a great yardstick, considering that sequel was written in a weekend during the writers strike of 200X. I just think as an audience we deserve better than these kind of cynical hackjobs.
Oh and if you want to turn your brain off, go to one of the classics screenings in the The Screen instead; they were showing Serenity this evening. Result.0 -
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With respect you were the one who fired first, throwing out assumptions that those cynical of this movie are some type of ivory-tower style snob, only chasing "period dramas and oscar fodder".
And even I'm willing to bet this movie will be better than Transformers 2; that really isn't a great yardstick, considering that sequel was written in a weekend during the writers strike of 200X. I just think as an audience we deserve better than these kind of cynical hackjobs.
Oh and if you want to turn your brain off, go to one of the classics screenings in the The Screen instead; they were showing Serenity this evening. Result.
You come on to a thread about a movie to show surprise that people are looking forward to the screening and are planning to go see it, labeling it masochism THEN I said it was snobbish to ignore this type of flick purely for its basis, but I believe I was relating to other posters. :rolleyes:
I'll give you that T2 is not a great yardstick, but with so many comparisons lying round, and rightfully so with what we've seen in the trailer, its the obvious one.
I go to the classic screenings all the time in the Screen. They really need to bring out an unlimited card!
However Serenity is NOT brainless fodder! Its a fantastic movie, but I saw it the other week when the screen showed it first.
Also you cant deny that Battleship is generating a great buzz. Its not even out yet and we're on page 7 of this thread.0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 33944
You come on to a thread about a movie to show surprise that people are looking forward to the screening and are planning to go see it, labeling it masochism THEN I said it was snobbish to ignore this type of flick purely for its basis, but I believe I was relating to other posters. :rolleyes:
Hardly labelling, and speaking as someone who went to see Transformers 3, I ain't going to throw stones too vigorously in this glasshouse (though it was the straw that broke the camels back); I just think it's a bit trite to throw out the knee-jerk reaction about 'period drama's and whatnot, or throwing out the 'turn off my brain' defence. No one's stomping on your right to enjoy popcorn action (though not sure what Battleship will do for you that something like Serenity doesn't), but when the rides start getting a bit sh*t, it's worth calling it out when there's better out there.
Frankly I won't be seeing this movie because these overly choreographed & complex SFX-driven movies have started leaving me motion-sick. Watching the trailer, I know that film's going to give me a headache & nauseous so I'll stay clear.0 -
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Will be going to see this on Friday with friends. Am trying to get excited for it but having seen Transformers 2 for the first time the other day, I'm not sure if it was just a terrible film but the massive CGI just didn't do anything for me. I must be getting old
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Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,230 CMod ✭✭✭✭
Join Date:Posts: 27942
You come on to a thread about a movie to show surprise that people are looking forward to the screening and are planning to go see it, labeling it masochism THEN I said it was snobbish to ignore this type of flick purely for its basis, but I believe I was relating to other posters. :rolleyes:
If it's snobbish to demand something better from popcorn flicks than 'Liam Neeson and explosions' than I'm happy to be a snob Actually, my annoyance at films like this (and who knows, maybe we haters will be proven incorrect? I know I was surprised when Rise of the Planet of the Apes turned out to be moderately diverting rather than hilarious awful) is an annoyance at how audiences have stopped demanding better from their blockbusters. I'd love to be entertained, but it's a sad state of affairs to me that 90% of blockbusters are Michael Bay rather than Christopher Nolan (who, say what you will, at least tries something different with his 200 million budgets). Life's too short for the same old nonsense from Hollywood, and we as audiences had damn well better demand better. J.J. Abrams is one of the few directors who seems to be making big spectacle movies with at least some spectre of flair and energy left.
There's more to cinema, even dumb action cinema, than dumb CGI spectacles, period dramas and Oscar bait (admittedly, I take umbrage with your references to that more than anything!). Alas, while Battleship and its kin clog up screens, people ain't going to get to see them. I'd love if that wasn't the case, as more people seeing a greater variety of film is only to be encouraged. If that's a snobbish overly optimistic dream, than so be it
And, hey, if the best we can hope about Battleship is 'it's probably better than Transformers 2', then I'm afraid I'm going to have to remain cynical! I enjoy guilty fun blockbusters as much as the next guy or gal. But, alas, the quality ratio is badly askew in recent years.Sad Professor wrote: »Describing a film as being like a video game isn't necessarily an insult toward video games though. I mean, I would describe the Transformers films as being video games in the sense that I would rather play them than watch them. And it goes both ways. Uncharted 3, for example, would be far more effective as a film than as a game IMO. Neither is a complement toward the films/games in question as I'm suggesting they failed at their respective task, but I'm not dismissing all games/films either. There is something undeniably video game-like about modern Hollywood blockbusters.
I think the problem is that a lot of critics use it as an inherently negative, loaded comparison where they are dismissing an emerging artform they are terrified of. From Mr. Ebert's defence of his negative review of the Raid:This will be dismissed by some readers as a manifestation of my lack of enthusiasm for video games. Perhaps so. I think it springs more from my affection for characters, plot, human nature and other elements possible in movies.
This kind of stuff frustrates me: a casual disregard for an entire medium as mindless nonsense. When Roger Ebert says 'video game' it's loaded with meaning if you understand his misunderstanding of them. I haven't had as 'human' and emotional a response to a film as I did to the wonderful game Journey recently, and that was without a single slain pixel or over-rendered explosion.
So yeah, there is a valid criticism in 'it's like a video game', much like 'it's like a play'. But, alas, critics rarely use it correctly and it's just one phrase that kind of bothers me [/tangent] 0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 33944
Battleship and Serenity are two very different movies and and you keep brandishing them together!
I'm not brandishing anything, I'm simply picking one example of good alternatives out there at the moment, if all you want to do is relax and have some explosive fun & adventure.When the rides start getting a bit ****?! You haven't been on the ride yet! You're just glancing and making a decision.
Also there is a difference between a sh*t movie and **** movie that's still entertaining.
Well in general, a judgement call has to be made at some point, otherwise I'm just a drone with no opinion & a wallet attached. Bar trusted review sources telling me otherwise, Battleship doesn't look like worth my 11/12euro, and I base that off trailers, previews, synopses and so on. And yeah, when I look at what used to constitutes blockbuster cinema, and what it has morphed into these days, the rides have got a bit sh*t.
Hey ho, agree to disagree & whatnot 0 -
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...Well in general, a judgement call has to be made at some point, otherwise I'm just a drone with no opinion & a wallet attached. Bar trusted review sources telling me otherwise, Battleship doesn't look like worth my 11/12euro, and I base that off trailers, previews, synopses and so on. And yeah, when I look at what used to constitutes blockbuster cinema, and what it has morphed into these days, the rides have got a bit sh*t.
Hey ho, agree to disagree & whatnot
Ah! There in lies the difference. The Unlimited Card. Battleship will be free entry for me this month having allocated my Unlimited monthly fee on Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers.
The rides have gotten ****, there is a lot of turd out there and maybe more fool me for keep trying it out, just in case its improved!0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 30430
speedboatchase wrote: »
Comedy-wise, however, with the likes of That's My Boy, Three Stooges, The Dictator, Rock of Ages, Ted and Neighbourhood Watch, it could be an absolute stinker.
Rock of Ages sounds awful on paper but I thought the trailer looked brilliant
Dictator could be ok too, the race bit in the trailer was quality. 0 -
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It was so much better than I expected! Fantastic action sequences terrible character development, a soccer game (for strange and unknown reasons) and tonnes of explosions, all topped off with three types of cheeses!
As for RhiannaI dont know her at all, didnt know it was her in the movie either, until it was pointed out, but cant help but wonder, why did she wear a hat throughout the WHOLE movie! Even when the ship was sinking and she dove into the water, she still wore her hat. What is up with that? I think its so the audience could pick her out of the crowd.
Aliens were great,not just ship based, bi-peds, fighters (hilarious hand to hand combat scene) with cat like eyes and awesome uniforms! makes me think of master chief.
The cheese was heavy goin but so perfectly done and the humour was great. Laughed throughout,tears at the slow motion old sea dogs walk to the camera.
Highly reccommend for entertaining viewing.0 -
Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,230 CMod ✭✭✭✭ Join Date:Posts: 27942
Deleted User wrote: »I can never understand how willing people are to attack a film before they have even seen it and then talking down to people who say that they are looking forward to said film. You'd swear that anyone who goes see Battleship is a brain dead idiot whose idea of great cinema is Meet the Spartans.
The same thing happened last year with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a certain type of film fan wrote the film off months before it was released and then told people who were looking forward to it that they were idiots who by going to see it were contributing to the decline of modern cinema.
One of the reasons I love film is that no matter what my mood there is a hundred films to suit it. Most times given the choice between a film such as Battleship and The Last Circus or Solaris the latter would usually win out but there are times when all I want is to sit in a darkened theater and watch things blow up. if a blockbuster has a good script, character development and great acting then all the better.
It's for these reason that I'm looking forward to grabbing a few beers and heading to see Battleship over the weekend. Berg has impressed me in the past, the cast are pretty decent and the FX look amazing.
That was not what myself and pixelburp were arguing at all, Darko, and it would be disingenuous to suggest that it is.
The reason we are so willing to dismiss this film is because the marketing campaign was so utterly unconvincing. Yes, perhaps a poor justification, but I'm afraid I need a little bit of encouragement before I get excited about Hasbro franchises these days. But, alas, the trailers do nothing but make comparisons to the single worst franchise in current Hollywood cinema. If you want me to go to Austria, you don't convince me by repeatedly telling me it's the birthplace of Hitler.
A good script, character development and great acting? I'm afraid I'm not at the point yet when I can forgive a film that doesn't encourage these (directorial flair, originality and some hint of insight are also welcome). You won't find me bemoaning the dumbness of Hollywood in the Prometheus, Dark Knight or Avengers trailers. This is because both the prestige and marketing of said films is much more encouraging (although not completely sold on the Avengers yet). I get as much joy out of blockbuster cinema as the next guy, but only when it's done well. 'Done well' isn't soulless CGI spectacles that revel in promoting themselves as shameless Transformers clones. I've set myself standards, and if the options are 'snob' or 'idiot' (alas, the unfortunate dichotomy that has emerged in this thread) I'll take the former. Of course, I'd prefer to see myself as a film enthusiast who is willing to embrace anything that's well made and delivered with passion and enthusiasm.
The response to Battleship has been mixed at best, and with a huge amount of curious films out in the coming weeks and months - including films that are dumb, films that are fun and films that are difficult - I have yet to be convinced that it is going to be worth a gander. It's just a shame, IMO, that even though many of these films will emerge as superior (both subjectively and objectively) Battleship is likely to be the one that emerges with hundreds of millions at the box office. We've seen it before with Transformers, a third sequel to which is dumb-foundingly in production as the public at large has kept paying to see these deplorable films. Brilliant films like The Raid - the very definition of dumb fun, as it's pretty much two hours of people kicking each other - are unlikely to make the same dent.
Of course, perhaps one day I will judge Battleship for itself, although it's unlikely it will be in the cinema at this point. If the general consensus is overwhelmingly positive (which it isn't yet, not at all) then I will hop on board the hype train. I need a little more than Transformers comparisons and the presence of Liam Neeson to convince me it's worth my limited euro allowance 0 -
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johnny_ultimate wrote: »That was not what myself and pixelburp were arguing at all, Darko, and it would be disingenuous to suggest that it is.
The reason we are so willing to dismiss this film is because the marketing campaign was so utterly unconvincing. Yes, perhaps a poor justification, but I'm afraid I need a little bit of encouragement before I get excited about Hasbro franchises these days. But, alas, the trailers do nothing but make comparisons to the single worst franchise in current Hollywood cinema. If you want me to go to Austria, you don't convince me by repeatedly telling me it's the birthplace of Hitler.
A good script, character development and great acting? I'm afraid I'm not at the point yet when I can forgive a film that doesn't encourage these (directorial flair, originality and some hint of insight are also welcome). You won't find me bemoaning the dumbness of Hollywood in the Prometheus, Dark Knight or Avengers trailers. This is because both the prestige and marketing of said films is much more encouraging (although not completely sold on the Avengers yet). I get as much joy out of blockbuster cinema as the next guy, but only when it's done well. 'Done well' isn't soulless CGI spectacles that revel in promoting themselves as shameless Transformers clones. I've set myself standards, and if the options are 'snob' or 'idiot' (alas, the unfortunate dichotomy that has emerged in this thread) I'll take the former. Of course, I'd prefer to see myself as a film enthusiast who is willing to embrace anything that's well made and delivered with passion and enthusiasm.
The response to Battleship has been mixed at best, and with a huge amount of curious films out in the coming weeks and months - including films that are dumb, films that are fun and films that are difficult - I have yet to be convinced that it is going to be worth a gander. It's just a shame, IMO, that even though many of these films will emerge as superior (both subjectively and objectively) Battleship is likely to be the one that emerges with hundreds of millions at the box office. We've seen it before with Transformers, a third sequel to which is dumb-foundingly in production as the public at large has kept paying to see these deplorable films. Brilliant films like The Raid - the very definition of dumb fun, as it's pretty much two hours of people kicking each other - are unlikely to make the same dent.
Of course, perhaps one day I will judge Battleship for itself, although it's unlikely it will be in the cinema at this point. If the general consensus is overwhelmingly positive (which it isn't yet, not at all) then I will hop on board the hype train. I need a little more than Transformers comparisons and the presence of Liam Neeson to convince me it's worth my limited euro allowance
My post wasn't aimed at you or anyone in particular but rather the annoying trend of people writing off a film such as this based solely on the premise or in this case the marketing. It's often the same people who will constantly talk about how foreign cinema is so much better than American cinema, conveniently leaving out the fact that we only get the creme de la creme of foreign cinema over here.
John Carter seems quite apt considering the debate over Battleship, most people wrote it off as trash based on the lack struck marketing campaign and assumed that Disney knew they had a bomb on their hands and wanted to just get the film out with as little fan fare as possible. Few weeks later and the people who were so sure it would be terrible were very pleasantly surprised by the film. since then we've all read about the marketing campaign and how it was Stanton who had final say on every aspect of it. Had Disney been allowed to put from the maker of Toy Story, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, etc in the trailers then there is no shadow of a doubt that ht film would have done much better business. Most people don't even know that John Carter shares the same director as Wall-E and that hurt the film financially. With Battleship the marketing department are doing their damnedest to associate the film with one of the most successful franchises of all time and I imagine that had Battle LA made a billion dollars they would be doing their best to find footage and critics quote to connect the two.
When I go see a film I want to get the most out of it, I like a good script that is based on ideas and not simply stringing enough dialogue together to get us to the next set piece. I want good acting and characters I can care about, I want a visual flair, a director who uses the tools at his disposal to tell a story.
Sometimes we get lucky and a blockbuster has all that in spades and sometimes in a case such as the last Transformers we I got an hour and a half of tedious dialogue, poor acting and a near nonexistent script but that hen I get a final hour that is amongst the greatest spectacles put on screen. It's not a perfect trade off but sometimes it's enough.
Transformers as a franchise may not be up there with Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter but to base your opinion of a film on the fact that the trailer makes reference to the franchise is ridiculous. I wonder had the trailer for drive used lines like "this years Fast and the Furious" would people have written it off and told anyone who planned to see it that they were contributing to the decline of modern cinema.
Every blockbuster is going to promote it's self based on the content or the cast/directors past films. Hollywood is all about brand recognition and if a studio thinks they can milk an extra hundred million by mentioning a past film in a trailer then they sure as hell are going to do so. It's been the norm since the studios began and will never change.
What I think a lot of people forget when they attack a film such as Battleship is that much like last years Battle LA, this is a film made for and aimed at 12 year old boys.
While the Raid is shaping up to be the years most over the top piece of action cinema a lot of people seem to forget the simple fact that were it not for films like Battleship and Transformers making so much profit the studios would never distribute a film such as the Raid. Take a look at any of the more interesting films opening in the coming weeks and many of them are either made by or distributed by one of the major studios. These riskier films often only get green light because Transformers made the studio so much last year. I'd love a world where every Sci-Fi Blockbuster was of the quality of District 9 but sadly more often than not we get fodder such as Transformers 2.0 -
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