The Oscars 2010 Nominations

[Mulli]

you forgot Deep Blue Sea... the greatest shark satire with the single greatest scene in movie history in it!

I actually saw that in a theatre. Did Samuel L. make a speech and then get eaten? That was awesome.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I actually saw that in a theatre. Did Samuel L. make a speech and then get eaten? That was awesome.

saw it in the theater too. my friends and i got RIDICULOUSLY baked and bought tickets for The 6th Sense, but had ten minutes to kill, so we walked into DBS... we saw a shark fin cross the screen and it was done. that was what we were seeing.

samuel l.'s speech and death made up, without a doubt, the greatest scene in the history of time.

"And we're not gonna fight anymore!"

 

[Cheesebeef]

i don't know about realistic, but i was bored to tears by The Hurt Locker. i fell asleep three times and every time i woke up, dude was just dismantling another bomb... it was literally like nothing happened. Then I completely passed out for the last 45 minutes of the movie and when i woke up... the guy was walking out to dismantle ANOTHER bomb... then the credits rolled. yawn.

 

[Mulli]

i don't know about realistic, but i was bored to tears by The Hurt Locker. i fell asleep three times and every time i woke up, dude was just dismantling another bomb... it was literally like nothing happened. Then I completely passed out for the last 45 minutes of the movie and when i woke up... the guy was walking out to dismantle ANOTHER bomb... then the credits rolled. yawn.

It was still better than Avatar, one of the lamest movies ever.

 

[Chaplin]

It was still better than Avatar, one of the lamest movies ever.

Fail

 

[Gaddabout]

Are you saying Forrest Gump hasen't withstood the test of time?

It's still somewhat enjoyable, but at the end of the day all the book or the movie did for me was remind me how narcissistic my parents' generation was and is. My grandparents fought and won the bloodiest war in the history of mankind and all my parents' generation wants to do is talk about how important they are. Just irritating. Forrest Gump reinforces the worst aspect of that generation and I get a little queasy every time I think about it.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

It was still better than Avatar, one of the lamest movies ever.

Fail

I still haven't seen that movie.

It's still somewhat enjoyable, but at the end of the day all the book or the movie did for me was remind me how narcissistic my parents' generation was and is. My grandparents fought and won the bloodiest war in the history of mankind and all my parents' generation wants to do is talk about how important they are. Just irritating. Forrest Gump reinforces the worst aspect of that generation and I get a little queasy every time I think about it.

A little off topic...but...



I couldn't find his original schtick, went went something like this:

"I don't care who you are, your parents were twice as tough as you are! Our parents survived the Depression, fought a war, saved and rebuilt the world. If I go to the cleaners and the bank, in the same day, I need a nap!"

Back to the issue of Forrest Gump withstanding the test of time, my opinion is this: for every year that passes, as the people who lived through the eras it takes place in pass away, it loses it's appeal. The film, as good as it was, was really nothing more than narcissistic reminiscence.

A movie like Shawshank, however, will stand the test of time because it speaks more to the Human condition. 100 years from now people will still be people, and the film will still hold water.

 

[Mulli]

Jerry Maguire doesn't stand the test of time. Ugh.

Avatar didn't stand the test of the first time. Skip it, .Ken, watch Dark Knight again. Or Terminator. Or Turok dinosaur hunter, you will see the same scenery just imagine tall blue people and Sigourney Weaver.

 

[Renz]

It was still better than Avatar, one of the lamest movies ever.

This. I could go on and on, but I won't.

 

[Mulli]

This. I could go on and on, but I won't.

:highfive:

 

[AzStevenCal]

And Reservoir Dogs is regularly underrated, IMO. That was a fantastic movie. It works as an art house film and an action flick.

I just don't see how you (and Chap, I guess) can love this movie and not love Pulp Fiction. I think Dogs is a horrible movie. I've watched it probably a dozen times and I feel the same way every time. It has some of the most incredible moments but taken as a whole, it's just not a good movie.

OTOH, I've never enjoyed a movie in a theater as much as I did Pulp Fiction. When we left the theater following our first viewing, my wife was pretty sure she hated the movie and I was undecided. I thought about it for a couple of days and we went back with our son a week later. Watching it with an unsuspecting audience made for a unmatchable theater experience.

I watched it 9 more times in the theater and never failed to get that same kind of thrill as the audience reacted to the big scenes. A lot of movies are actually more enjoyable watching at home on a nice home theater but some movies just have to be seen with strangers to fully appreciate the experience and Pulp Fiction is definitely one of those.

As for the Oscars, I haven't cared about them since they shafted Raider of the Lost Ark.

Steve

 

[Cheesebeef]

Jerry Maguire doesn't stand the test of time. Ugh.

wha?! that's still a great movie.

 

[Mulli]

wha?! that's still a great movie.

If you like sappy romantic scenes that go on FOREVER and a silly plot. Yeah it was great. Like Battlestar Galactica.

 

[Gaddabout]

I just don't see how you (and Chap, I guess) can love this movie and not love Pulp Fiction. I think Dogs is a horrible movie. I've watched it probably a dozen times and I feel the same way every time. It has some of the most incredible moments but taken as a whole, it's just not a good movie.

OTOH, I've never enjoyed a movie in a theater as much as I did Pulp Fiction. When we left the theater following our first viewing, my wife was pretty sure she hated the movie and I was undecided. I thought about it for a couple of days and we went back with our son a week later. Watching it with an unsuspecting audience made for a unmatchable theater experience.

I watched it 9 more times in the theater and never failed to get that same kind of thrill as the audience reacted to the big scenes. A lot of movies are actually more enjoyable watching at home on a nice home theater but some movies just have to be seen with strangers to fully appreciate the experience and Pulp Fiction is definitely one of those.

To film nerds, Reservoir Dogs was one of the most influential movies of its time. The broken timeline, the cut-away action, the opening one-shot, the car trunk POV, the strobing walk, the shout out to the exploitive 70s, it's noir but it was quintessentially Quinten and fresh. In fact I would argue the first 15 minutes of that film influenced more filmmakers than any whole film in my lifetime.

In Pulp you can see Tarantino trying to define all that as his own style, and not just a guy who likes to mess with the camera for cheap tricks, but it doesn't always work. And the storytelling suffers for it with the same broken timeline -- most people are lost halfway through to even appreciate any mystery created by the asynchronous timeline.

What Pulp does is captalizat on "Quintin cool" and one of the most memorable film scenes in pop culture history. I remember walking out of that movie and all anyone could talk about was Ving Rhames and that sword. They could barely remember any of the movie, though later on some of them may have been reminded about Sam Jackson's quoting of scripture.

I didn't hate the film until it became crystalized in legend. Then I came to abhor it, because it's hailed as groundbreaking when, in fact, he had already done all of that (in a much more accessible way) in Reservoir Dogs.

Jump ahead to Kill Bill and Tarantino has finally figured out who he is as a filmmaker and the product pops from start to finish, no apologies, no cheap experimentation.

 

[Chaplin]

When I first saw it, I loved Pulp Fiction. And even when the Oscars came around, I rooted for it. But starting probably the next year or so, EVERYONE talked about how great it is and then I started watching it again. And my opinion became that it was written very well, but was simply average in the directing department.

Now, it's like this mystical piece of pop culture that everyone loves--and I don't see it. It's a stage play. It's a 20-minute story with another 100 minutes of useless (although clever) dialogue. In fact, the entire middle section with Travolta and Uma Thurman at Jackrabbit Slim's was some of the most boring moviemaking I've seen in the past 20 years.

 

[Gaddabout]

Now, it's like this mystical piece of pop culture that everyone loves--and I don't see it. It's a stage play. It's a 20-minute story with another 100 minutes of useless (although clever) dialogue. In fact, the entire middle section with Travolta and Uma Thurman at Jackrabbit Slim's was some of the most boring moviemaking I've seen in the past 20 years.

I wish I had just written this instead. Totally agree.

 

[Mulli]

When I first saw it, I loved Pulp Fiction. And even when the Oscars came around, I rooted for it. But starting probably the next year or so, EVERYONE talked about how great it is and then I started watching it again. And my opinion became that it was written very well, but was simply average in the directing department.

Now, it's like this mystical piece of pop culture that everyone loves--and I don't see it. It's a stage play. It's a 20-minute story with another 100 minutes of useless (although clever) dialogue. In fact, the entire middle section with Travolta and Uma Thurman at Jackrabbit Slim's was some of the most boring moviemaking I've seen in the past 20 years.

Good point. I liked it at the time, but I van definitely see how it was completely unnecessary. I think you description of the mystical piece of popculture applies to pretty much all Tarantino films, including Reservoir Dogs.

 

[Chaplin]

Good point. I liked it at the time, but I van definitely see how it was completely unnecessary. I think you description of the mystical piece of popculture applies to pretty much all Tarantino films, including Reservoir Dogs.

I wouldn't go that far. I don't think Reservoir Dogs OR Jackie Brown have a mystical aura around them. Pulp Fiction? Yes. Inglorious Basterds? Yes. Kill Bill? Taken as a whole film, yes. (Kill Bill: The Whole Saga IMO is about even with Reservoir Dogs as Tarantino's best work)

 

[AzStevenCal]

In Pulp you can see Tarantino trying to define all that as his own style, and not just a guy who likes to mess with the camera for cheap tricks, but it doesn't always work. And the storytelling suffers for it with the same broken timeline -- most people are lost halfway through to even appreciate any mystery created by the asynchronous timeline.

For me, and I make no claims to expertise, I view the two almost the opposite. I watched Dogs when it first came out and was mesmerized by several scenes, especially loved the corny macho dialogue, but I really struggled to follow everything with the timeline games.

In Pulp Fiction, I felt he took what he learned from Reservoir Dogs and polished up his rough edges. And his timeline really worked for me. He did it in such a way that you could walk out of the movie feeling like you just enjoyed your typical Hollywood happy ending despite the horrendous events that had occurred (rape of Rhames, death of Travolta etc).

Steve

 

[Cheesebeef]

For me, and I make no claims to expertise, I view the two almost the opposite. I watched Dogs when it first came out and was mesmerized by several scenes, especially loved the corny macho dialogue, but I really struggled to follow everything with the timeline games.

In Pulp Fiction, I felt he took what he learned from Reservoir Dogs and polished up his rough edges. And his timeline really worked for me. He did it in such a way that you could walk out of the movie feeling like you just enjoyed your typical Hollywood happy ending despite the horrendous events that had occurred (rape of Rhames, death of Travolta etc).

Steve

agreed wholeheartedly.

 

[Shane]

This. I could go on and on, but I won't.

:highfive:

You both fail!

 

[Mulli]

You both fail!

Yep, I failed to see why Cameron thought that stupid story was acceptable just because the special FX were neat.

"I trusted you!"

 

[Gaddabout]

My mother wouldn't let the grandkids watch Avatar at her house the other day. She thought it was too violent and scary. This is the same woman who made me watch all of Bambi AND Old Yeller when I was 4.

 

[AzStevenCal]

My mother wouldn't let the grandkids watch Avatar at her house the other day. She thought it was too violent and scary. This is the same woman who made me watch all of Bambi AND Old Yeller when I was 4.

You're kidding, right. I was seven and I still have Bambi nightmares.

Steve

 

[DemsMyBoys]

My mother wouldn't let the grandkids watch Avatar at her house the other day. She thought it was too violent and scary. This is the same woman who made me watch all of Bambi AND Old Yeller when I was 4.

I guess since Disneyland was just down the road and it was a corporate town, Disney used to sponsor matinees for all us little kiddies. So one happy Saturday we all saw Old Yeller downtown. Tommy Kirk had to shoot Moochie's dog! Our parents came to pick us up and a couple hundred little kids were grief stricken. Horrible crying. Bambi wasn't any better but at least it didn't have Moochie loosing his dog.

What was Disney thinking? I'm still scarred.

(You probably have to be of a certain age to appreciate Moochie. He was my first crush.)