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Yeah, it's supposed to be that kind of metaphor, but every iteration of Carrie gives her power only minutes after she experiences her first period, which kind of forces that connection. In Stephen King's mind, puberty doesn't begin until you're bleeding -- nevermind that, at 17 or 18, Carrie's amenorrhea means she's probably already gone through the other components of puberty. And by giving Carrie more conscious control over her powers in this iteration, the last good sliver of the metaphor (not understanding what's happening to one's own body) is kinda gone too. I just think -- hope -- that America of 2013 isn't as grossed out by periods as bicentennial America.
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Oct 26, 2013 17:46
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In the book, there are references to incidents with Carrie's powers years before the story starts, but nothing as strong as the post-prom bloodbath. I don't know about the movies.
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Oct 27, 2013 00:41
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Hmm...well, I haven't read the book since I was a teenager so I recant what I wrote about Stephen King, but he still has a problem writing women (see: Gerald's Game) and the movies still reinforce that it all begins with menstruation.
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Oct 27, 2013 06:38
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Oh, I don't argue that he has difficulties with women characters. Especially the overbearing mother archetype.
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Oct 27, 2013 17:24
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Did anyone else get the impression that this week's reviews make Bad Grandpa sound like a more interesting movie than 12 Years a Slave even though the latter is movie of the week? I'm not sure whether it's the writing that makes me think this or just my own opinion. Personally, the idea of a Borat without the smug elitism sounds awesome to me, but I already saw the Avery Brooks version of 12 Years a Slave and it sounds like this version just does most of the same stuff.
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Oct 28, 2013 01:38
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I think it's a combination of different reviewers doing each movie and the Bad Grampa movie focusing on the strengths of a weaker movie while 12 Years A Slave focused mostly on weaknesses. Both reviews made me interested in checking their films out, at least.
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Oct 28, 2013 01:42
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This is why scoring is kind of arbitrary at worst and relative at best. Bad Grandpa has more depth than most movies of its ilk while 12 Years a Slave seems like the weakest film of Steve McQueen's short career even if it's still pretty drat good. I haven't seen the latter yet so I can't compare them, even though doing so would be comparing apples and oranges. It's...maddening. And I like Brüno and Borat but you're absolutely right: It seems like the targets in Bad Grandpa didn't feel so raw after Jeff Tremaine and Johnny Noxville revealed their pranks as such. That's the essence of the footage that plays during the final credits anyway. It's less "look at how awful these people are!" and more "this is how we'd all behave in weird situations even if we consider ourselves open-minded and good."
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Oct 29, 2013 19:15
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Hopefully I'm writing this in the correct spot this time! I don't know what your guys's plan is but I'd be interested to hear what Jay Dub's opinion of All is Lost is, I saw it over the weekend and just saw Gravity tonight and the two movies are very similar in both their basic plot and some of their cinematic choices, especially around the use of silence in their sound design. I guess "one person alone and adrift in an inhospitable environment" is the new "we bought a haunted house"?
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Oct 30, 2013 05:21
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quote:"Why is it always Owen Wilson? Every animal in the world will one day open its mouth, beak or whatever it has and out will come the voice of Owen Wilson. All at once, Owen Wilson's voice will ring out from billions of creatures, the din of smug aloofness will cloud the world and deafen all who hear it. You have been warned" When the sea is turned to ash and nuclear winter blankets the world, this will be the creation myth for children raised in bunkers where the only entertainment available is Free Bird and Marmaduke.
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Nov 3, 2013 17:06
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Is a -8 equivalent to a -8 on the other movie reviews? And how many other movies have gotten negative scores?
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Nov 3, 2013 21:42
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What's the third movie where Rachel McAdams is the romantic partner of a time traveller? The Time Traveler's Wife, About Time, and what?
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Nov 3, 2013 22:08
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Sir Kodiak posted:What's the third movie where Rachel McAdams is the romantic partner of a time traveller? The Time Traveler's Wife, About Time, and what? Midnight in Paris. zergstain posted:Is a -8 equivalent to a -8 on the other movie reviews? And how many other movies have gotten negative scores? Aw crap, I know a few of them have. Sean's done them and I think I have too, I just don't recall.
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Nov 3, 2013 22:33
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That's probably for the better. Remembering would probably be traumatic. Free Birds is the second time I saw a review for an animated movie and assumed it was a completely different movie. Instead of Planes, we got Wings, a Russian movie about anthropomorphic planes- not that it's easy to tell from the poster, since I naturally assumed that Planes would be to planes what Cars was to cars, not some grotesque monstrosity of arbitrary racism and sexism. And there's also another movie called Free Birds, from Argentina (Plumiferos) that didn't exactly sound great but I'm guessing it's not as stupid as the American version was. All sorts of weird random international movies get theater time in South Korea- I don't know if anyone's heard of Echo Planet, Rodentia, or The Jungle Bunch, but for whatever reason they have higher priority than bottom-feeder American animated features. About Thor- I saw the first movie after Avengers and was really confused why the straightforward evil-for-the-sake-of-evil bad guy in Avengers had a much more compelling sympathetic story than the the actual hero in Thor. It sounds like the sequel takes its cues from the first movie rather than the mash-up so I guess that's good. The most prominent scene in the promotion here is Natalie Portman slapping Loki in the face saying "that's for New York!" and the decision to highlight that specific part is just really strange. Oh that crazy Loki trying to commit genocide against the human race! So Vargo, you're a mod now. That seems appropriate, given how the lot of you don't seem to do much posting in Cinema Discusso even though you obviously read it. I'm curious- was it always like that, or did you tone down your posting time once you started doing front page writing? Or am I just reading the wrong threads?
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Nov 4, 2013 01:43
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This review actually made me want to see Thor. Captain America was the only Marvel movie I've liked, and it was one I really liked, so the fact Thor 2 was compared to it is a big plus in my book. Between how dull the original Thor was, the fact that the ads all make it seem like it would be tied closely into The Avengers, and the reports that Eccleston's role was really cut down all made me feel like Thor 2 was a pass. But I'm actually eager to see it now.
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Nov 4, 2013 01:49
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Some Guy TT posted:That's probably for the better. Remembering would probably be traumatic. Actually, three out of the four of us have been CineD mods at some point in time, and the whole reason I got the Current Releases job in the first place was because Clumsy liked a project I was doing in CineD. I think my posting habits are pretty much the same as most peoples'. I mainly post in CineD Gen Chat and the animation threads, and in the next few months some of my favorite CineD events are happening so I will post more. Sometimes I just go on posting binges and then try to stay off the forums. My posting habits are erratic, but it's not intentional. I will sometimes refuse to talk about a movie until after the reviews are posted. Also I just remembered that Sean gave Pitch Perfect like a -49.
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Nov 4, 2013 03:29
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If you have the urge to watch Free Birds, watch Chicken Run instead. That's a much better children's film about a bunch of birds trying to not be eaten, and that's exactly the movie I thought of when I first heard of Free Bird.
get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 05:16
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Y-Hat posted:If you have the urge to watch Free Birds, watch Chicken Run instead. That's a much better children's film about a bunch of birds trying to not be eaten, and that's exactly the movie I thought of when I first heard of Free Bird. Holy poo poo, I completely forgot about Chicken Run. I haven't watched anything since Friday night, but that seems like the best choice to recalibrate my film processors. Because apparently I'm a robot now. Vargo posted:I think my posting habits are pretty much the same as most peoples'. I mainly post in CineD Gen Chat and the animation threads, and in the next few months some of my favorite CineD events are happening so I will post more. I tend to lurk a lot more than I post now. I at least like to keep up with the conversation even if I don't have anything particularly insightful to contribute. Lately, I've just become tired of sitting in front of a computer at night after sitting in front of one at work all day, so I haven't even been able to lurk as much as I'd like. But I've got some downtime coming up and a lot of movies to catch up on (including a trainwreck I've been reading about for ten years that I finally found a copy of), so I'll definitely have something to contribute soon.
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Nov 4, 2013 06:02
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Jay Dub posted:Holy poo poo, I completely forgot about Chicken Run. I haven't watched anything since Friday night, but that seems like the best choice to recalibrate my film processors. Because apparently I'm a robot now.
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Nov 4, 2013 08:26
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I've just been busy-busy-busy in life outside of CineD, what with helping my mom move, being a full-time student, holding down a job that requires a lot of work but pays peanuts, etc. I fell out of the rhythm of CineD and haven't been able to sync back up, if that makes sense. It's still the best film forum on the Internet though. And I still hate Pitch Perfect. The entire movie is like nails on a chalkboard, aside from a couple of the vocal performances. The other day, I walked into my friend's apartment, they were watching Pitch Perfect — specifically, the scene in which Lilly pukes — and I couldn't leave fast enough. And now they're making a sequel... So it goes.
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Nov 4, 2013 16:04
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Should "hue" be "hew" in the Thor review?
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Nov 6, 2013 04:54
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effectual posted:Should "hue" be "hew" in the Thor review? Yeah, what of it? Want to fight about it?
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Nov 6, 2013 22:06
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I've never before heard of How I Live Now but I'm dying to see it. It sounds like a modern and (slightly?) less depressing version of Threads, plus I love Saoirse Ronan and would watch her in anything. It's a shame it seems like it's not going to air anywhere near where I live.
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Nov 10, 2013 08:52
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The silver lining is that it'll probably be out on DVD pretty soon. It really seems like the R rating killed this film's chances. The sex & violence isn't anything you can't find on primetime TV, but the language is juuust too much for a PG-13. Cutting a couple f-bombs might have actually gotten this film a wider release.
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Nov 10, 2013 18:02
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I'm just gonna come out and say it- I wasn't terribly satisfied with the reviews this week. Except for Delivery Man, but I think the satisfaction that comes from learning a terrible dull-sounding movie is exactly as terrible and dull-sounding as it looks is kind of an empty one. The Catching Fire review was unusually Front-Pagey and I'm not actually totally sure why Jay Dub liked Dallas Buyer's Club. Or maybe you just didn't describe anything that clearly sounded appealing to me, I can't really tell. I had the same feeling of ambivalence after reading Vargo's review of 12 Years a Slave so it's difficult to guess the exact cause.
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Nov 24, 2013 09:35
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For my part, I wanted to do something different because the producers of Catching Fire are gonna get rich off their film no matter what I say. So I just went for comedy. Plus, it gave me a chance to put to paper my weird ideas about modern England and Peeta. I'm sorry you weren't satisfied though. Please don't leave us, Some Guy TT.
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Nov 24, 2013 12:49
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I enjoyed the Catching Fire review and I haven't even seen the movies or read the books. I knew the jist of the books and when I saw that Donald Sutherland was in the movies I just imagined pretty much what Sean wrote. And that, by the way, is probably exactly what Sutherlands asscheek feels like.
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Nov 24, 2013 13:41
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Some Guy TT posted:I'm just gonna come out and say it- I wasn't terribly satisfied with the reviews this week. Except for Delivery Man, but I think the satisfaction that comes from learning a terrible dull-sounding movie is exactly as terrible and dull-sounding as it looks is kind of an empty one. The Catching Fire review was unusually Front-Pagey and I'm not actually totally sure why Jay Dub liked Dallas Buyer's Club. Or maybe you just didn't describe anything that clearly sounded appealing to me, I can't really tell. I had the same feeling of ambivalence after reading Vargo's review of 12 Years a Slave so it's difficult to guess the exact cause. Honestly, I'm not sure either. It's well-crafted, the performances are good, but nothing ever really puts it over the top, you know? Vargo told me earlier in the week that he'd seen it and there wasn't much to say about it, and halfway through my review, I realized he was right. This is what happens when you take a week off. Then again, Mr. Grieves' review is what happens when you take a month off, so who knows.
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Nov 24, 2013 16:46
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I liked the Catching Fire review because it was so "Front-Pagey." Current Releases is on the Front Page.
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Nov 24, 2013 17:14
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Future historians will see Sean's Catching Fire review as the beginning of our "Experimental Stage." Seriously, though, this is nothing new. We've all written in character before, or tried to frame the review as a narrative. This happens a couple of times a year, and it's just something we like to do to stretch as writers and need to get it out of our system every once in a while.
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Nov 24, 2013 18:08
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I'm not saying Current Releases was better in 2009, but I would like to point out that's sort of how I started out before I got decent at criticizing movies. Sometimes it's fun to return to that, for the reason Marty stated above. I'm not sure what a straight-faced analysis of Catching Fire would accomplish, so I selfishly decided to have a little fun. I'm glad most of you seem to like it, though. Makes me feel all warm inside. As for Dallas Buyers Club, I wouldn't have even heard of its existence without Joe's review and he made me want to see it. And Marty's review confirmed what I suspected about The Delivery Man: It's another crap Vince Vaughn vehicle. After The Internship, I've pretty much ruled out ever paying to see a Vince Vaughn film again. I don't know why I liked him in the late '90s. I don't know why people still like him now. He's just dopy and cloying and unwilling to play any characters outside of a limited range of roles. Say what you will about Psycho '98 and Domestic Disturbance, but he's far more interesting as a villain. EDIT: Part of my hatred for Vaughn probably has something to do with how frequently I was subjected to Wedding Crashers by my roommate, friends, co-workers. It was always playing everywhere and it's just NOT FUNNY. Keanu Grieves fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Nov 24, 2013 |
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Nov 24, 2013 19:24
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And so it's agreed: All future Vince Vaughn Vehicles will be reviewed by Professor Clumsy.
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Nov 24, 2013 19:33
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Jay Dub posted:And so it's agreed: All future Vince Vaughn Vehicles will be reviewed by Professor Clumsy. I don't remember agreeing to this.
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Nov 24, 2013 19:34
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We made quorum without you. EDIT: forum quorum
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Nov 24, 2013 19:36
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Keanu Grieves posted:I'm not saying Current Releases was better in 2009, but I would like to point out that's sort of how I started out before I got decent at criticizing movies. Sometimes it's fun to return to that, for the reason Marty stated above. I'm not sure what a straight-faced analysis of Catching Fire would accomplish, so I selfishly decided to have a little fun. I'm glad most of you seem to like it, though. Makes me feel all warm inside. It's like when kid's show animators have to draw something crazy filthy because they just have to get that out there.
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Nov 24, 2013 19:42
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So you're saying we've entered the Adult Party Cartoon phase of Current Releases? Game on.
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Nov 24, 2013 19:55
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Keanu Grieves posted:it gave me a chance to put to paper my weird ideas about modern England and Peeta. Took me a long time to twig this was the guy's name ("not "Peter"?" I hear you cry) and not in fact PETA. Some kind of twisted world where the punishment for wearing fur is to fight to the death. "Fur means Murder!" or something similar.
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Nov 25, 2013 00:14
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Keanu Grieves posted:I'm sorry you weren't satisfied though. Please don't leave us, Some Guy TT. Ha, you kidding? After all those reflective posts about review quality? Last time I criticized another critic about criticism they got annoyed because the concept sounded too ironic.
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Nov 25, 2013 01:53
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corker2k posted:Took me a long time to twig this was the guy's name ("not "Peter"?" I hear you cry) and not in fact PETA. Some kind of twisted world where the punishment for wearing fur is to fight to the death. "Fur means Murder!" or something similar. The great thing about post-apocalyptic narratives is that it's basically a license to invent any dumbass cultural tic you want. I forgot his name was Peeta, and just thought people were feigning British accents whenever they said his name.
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Nov 25, 2013 06:14
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So, I live in a not populated place not near good movie theaters but the movie theater in-town finally reopened after a year-long closure. They were showing Grandmaster (and apparently have decided to show at least one art house film at all times there) and I really liked it. It took me back to being a 13-year-old kid watching Bruce Lee movies for the first time. For a highly-produced film, it felt really grounded in light of the other Martial Arts film I've seen in theater, though I recognize we're living in a post Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon world. I re-read Clumsy's review and he's generally got it all right, as usual. One thing I'm surprised you didn't comment on was how the both protagonists reflect the title Grandmaster and how they function in postwar Hong Kong/China. It is a very political movie and I found it one of the more engaging depictions of Japanese from Chinese perspective that didn't entirely dehumanize them (the antagonist for Gong-Er kind of embodies this, but I still think that it's handled well; his claim to the grandmaster position was legitimate per the prevailing norms, as the film indicates). Overall, it was definitely worth my time and I only remembered it because I had read your review a while ago. Thanks for helping me keep in mind interesting movies to look out for while I live in the middle of nowhere.
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Nov 25, 2013 08:03
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Some Guy TT posted:Ha, you kidding? After all those reflective posts about review quality? Last time I criticized another critic about criticism they got annoyed because the concept sounded too ironic.
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Nov 25, 2013 09:48
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