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I succeeded in avoiding all possible spoilers about this movie, so I had
no idea what it was about (with the exception of "something about aliens,
so I suppose it's some sort of scifi").
A bit surprisingly this is, in rather broad terms, the same type of story
as Pocahontas/Dances with Wolves/Last Samurai/Avatar. However, it's not even
nearly as cliche. The aliens were not so unanimously and unambiguously
one-dimensional (the good guys, one with nature, etc). The protagonist was
also rather non-one-dimensional.
The movie actually succeeded in making me feel sorry for the kid (if that's
the proper term), even though the aliens don't exactly show human-recognizable
feelings. I consider a movie good if it succeeds in me feel some kind of
emotions.
--
- Warp
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Warp wrote:
> I consider a movie good if it succeeds in me feel some kind of
> emotions.
I consider a movie good if it succeeds in making me feel some kind of
emition, unless it's "oh God, when will this film END?!"
But that's probably what you meant anyway...
Actually, I'm shallower than that. I consider a film good if I feel good
after watching it. Titanic is not a good film, because after watching it
I have almost lost the will to live. Why would you pay money to have
this feeling?
On the other hand, horror films are extremely popular, so apparently
some people like getting scared stupid. And I can't help noticing that
all of the most celebrated works of storytelling that mankind has ever
produced are tragedies. So apparently I'm just weird...
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Warp <war### [at] tag povrayorg> wrote:
> I succeeded in avoiding all possible spoilers about this movie, so I had
> no idea what it was about (with the exception of "something about aliens,
> so I suppose it's some sort of scifi").
I did the same--and was very pleasantly surprised at how good a film it turned
out to be. Even the basic set-piece of the film is non-standard (Aliens landing
in the slums of South Africa?? Not exactly the cliche location of Los Angeles or
New York, where these types of stories usually take place.) What I enjoyed most
was the development of the plot line, a thinly-veiled social commentary--"There
are aliens (foreigners) in our midst, we don't like them here, they need to go."
With the rather clueless 'bad guy' (hero?) finally changing sides. (Although, I
came away feeling that this character really *didn't* change his overall racist
philosophy--circumstances just made it necessary.)
This is one of the few 'effects' films I've seen where the effects--as good as
they are--take a back seat to the story and characters. I don't remember seeing
even one effects shot that was unnecessary or for its own sake. A very
well-balanced and memorable film, worth seeing again.
Ken
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Kenneth <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> wrote:
> With the rather clueless 'bad guy' (hero?) finally changing sides. (Although, I
> came away feeling that this character really *didn't* change his overall racist
> philosophy--circumstances just made it necessary.)
Rather unusual of a protagonist for this type of story, indeed. In Avatar
we had a trained marine, in The Last Samurai we had a trained soldier, in
Dances with Wolves we had an army lieutenant (hmm, is there a pattern here?),
in Pocahontas we had an experienced ship captain. The common feature of all
these is that they are field-trained, experienced and brave.
In District 9, however, we had a bureaucratic office worker who is smug,
self-centered and coward, who has lived a nice quiet life and who has no
experience or training, who gets a shot at leading an eviction project and
who gets all high and mighty about it. Overall a rather dislikeable character.
But in a quite realistic way, rather than an exaggerated one. While he does
end up doing audacious things by the end, it still feels like it's not like
he has magically made a 180-degree turn and suddenly got rid of his past,
but more like it being a result of the extreme stress he is under.
--
- Warp
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On 01/26/10 05:48, Invisible wrote:
> I consider a movie good if it succeeds in making me feel some kind of
> emition, unless it's "oh God, when will this film END?!"
Burps or farts?
--
Every hard drive I've ever bought has been larger than all my previous
hard drives combined. And this is without even trying.
--Seen on Slashdot.org
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On 01/26/10 06:25, Kenneth wrote:
> I did the same--and was very pleasantly surprised at how good a film it turned
> out to be. Even the basic set-piece of the film is non-standard (Aliens landing
> in the slums of South Africa?? Not exactly the cliche location of Los Angeles or
Well, it _is_ a South African movie...
Also, they didn't choose the slums (or even land, AFAIK). The humans
went up to the ship and dumped them in slums.
--
Every hard drive I've ever bought has been larger than all my previous
hard drives combined. And this is without even trying.
--Seen on Slashdot.org
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On 1/26/2010 6:48 AM, Invisible wrote:
> On the other hand, horror films are extremely popular, so apparently
> some people like getting scared stupid. And I can't help noticing that
> all of the most celebrated works of storytelling that mankind has ever
> produced are tragedies. So apparently I'm just weird...
I think the correct designation here is probably that you have to be
stupid to be scared by horror movies (or at least badly confused about
reality and what is plausible). My mother, for example, may have some
odd dreams after watching one, but she laughs her ass off while actually
*watching* the thing, due to how absurd the movie is. I don't go that
far, but scared? Give me a fracking break. At bare minimum, almost no
one in the average horror movie is worth being scared *for*, never mind
scared *of*.
--
void main () {
if version = "Vista" {
call slow_by_half();
call DRM_everything();
}
call functional_code();
}
else
call crash_windows();
}
<A HREF='http://www.daz3d.com/index.php?refid=16130551'>Get 3D Models,
3D Content, and 3D Software at DAZ3D!</A>
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Patrick Elliott <sel### [at] npgcablecom> wrote:
> I think the correct designation here is probably that you have to be
> stupid to be scared by horror movies (or at least badly confused about
> reality and what is plausible).
No. It's called willing suspension of disbelief. People do it for
entertainment purposes.
I like tense scenes in movies. For example some of the scenes in
"I Am Legend" were pretty tense, and thus cool. Also, when I watched
"The Grudge" some time ago, it also had pretty tense moments.
Of course I let myself *willingly* get immersed in the movie to get
those tense feelings. It's not like I would be unable to take it all as
a silly joke, but if I rent a horror or thriller movie, I *want* those
feelings. A movie which succeeds in giving me those feelings is a good
movie.
Now, are you calling *me* stupid because of that?
--
- Warp
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>> On the other hand, horror films are extremely popular, so apparently
>> some people like getting scared stupid.
> I think the correct designation here is probably that you have to be
> stupid to be scared by horror movies.
Depends which movie.
I watched one of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and it was indeed
laughable. Nobody gushes 47 gallons of scarlet paint when cut open.
Especially not over the ceiling. (I'm *also* reasonably sure you can't
actually scream with a fist of blades extending out of your lungs...)
On the other hand, watch Aliens. Sure, it's fantasy. It's not real. It
couldn't happen. Logically it doesn't even make a lot of sense for a
creature to exist for the sole purpose of killing things. But it's
pretty God-damned terrifying all the same...
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Depends which movie.
"Alien" the first was the only movie that ever bothered me once I'd left the
building. Granted, I was like in 7th grade or something walking home at
night after the movie...
"The Grudge" was the only other horror movie I found even slightly
disturbing, even in the theatre.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Forget "focus follows mouse." When do
I get "focus follows gaze"?
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