i've had this discussion umpteen-million times here, so i'm beating a horse. water was just part of the "coincidences." and water is used as a symbol in religion (particularly Judaism and Christianity) over and over and over again....baptism...the waters of the nile carrying moses...the waters of the Red Sea crashing on the Egyptian armies...etc. if you were looking for a technical sci-fi you went to the wrong movie. he was using symbols to tell a story.
Bonfire of the Vanaties - Worst cast movie evah!!! Tom Hanks and Depalma turned a dark cynical comedy into a freaking 80's goofball comedy. PS - Max is right about Signs. You fansboys need put away your lightsabers and trade it for a library card.
a Virus from a mac running like OS 7.5.1 at that... At least have the guy running Linux like a real hacker.
Why didnt I think there'd be spoilers in a thread about movies Talked about plenty but not having More Vader/Less Ani (Annie? you kidding me?) in Revenge of the Sith was a bad oversight. Because they did NOT even have to get all violent with Vader. He's compelling enough create a low-violence plot around. The emptiness and darkness of his soul after his transformation was good enough for a triumphant conclusion, and to maybe appeal to the emo trend during the time it came out. Even 10 more minutes would have been cool. Vader lamenting his tormented existence, pouring it out in words written in his space journal or something....SOMETHING The Transformers robot designs are just terrible. People liked original Transformers BECAUSE of the blocky simplified more easily recognizable look. We almost could tell what kind of vehicle or device Transformers turned into in their robot form. In the movie they're all....ugh... Way back to the movie Explorers with Ethan Hawke, and similarly with The 5th Element, start out semi-serious full of wonder and anticipication, then movie turns into ALF.
Nobody's necessarily looking for technical sci-fi - but many of us found it irritating that a thoughtful sci-fi pic would have such a glaring technical problem. Plus the whole coincidences thing ignores the (harder) fact that similar "coincidences" must have existed for all the people who died. It's just asking everyone to suspend too much disbelief in order to accept a very simplistic philosophy (without addressing the more challenging aspects of that philosophy). You and I will probably have to agree to disagree on this, but I just wanted to make it clear that not everyone who had issues with the movie is coming from the "technical sci-fi" side of things. Back on topic, I totally agree with the Star Wars Prequels - here are some of the things I would have done different (besides eliminating the cutesy characters and not letting Lucas write any of the dialogue): 1) Anakin would have been older in The Phantom Menace - I would say 13-15, old enough to be flying ships but not an adult. He also would have shown more of his character flaws (brashness, arrogance, tendency to hold grudges). 2) Anakin never have officially been a Jedi apprentice - The council would have ruled that he was too old (see #1). Obi Wan, feeling obligated to Anakin, would have then trained in secret, as would have Palpatine (maybe you could have had Anakin working as a page/assistant to him). Having been rejected by the Jedi (even while showing the potential to be greater than any of them), Anakin's willingness to destroy them would be more understandable. 3) The turning point for Anakin would have been the death of his mother (not all the safety of the Republic crap) - I always found it disturbing that the Republic couldn't manage to buy his mom out of slavery after Anakin helped save the day in TPM. Again, I'd want to set it up so that Anakin would "blame" this decision (and his mother's subsequent death) on the Jedi. So with these changes, you have created the real seeds for someone as twisted and angry as Darth Vader (or at least the Darth Vader character in Empire Strikes Back that killed anyone anytime they pissed him off).
That is a GREAT DESIGN/CONCEPT!! I just watch this movie . . Scanners 4 or some such and . . .reminded me of why disliked Transformers The machines looked like nothing but twisted metal I could not tell megatron's mouth from his nose. . .it was just a bunch of fricking gray Rocket River
Attack of the Clones was just awful. The attempt at character development in the 2nd movie of the trilogy is in direct contrast to how it was handled in Empire Strikes Back.
i hadn't realized they were that far. looks like the cast is set to, with the slumdog millionaire as sokka. one of the few cartoons my kids watched that actually sparked my interest. looking forward to this movie.
I get that . .. but as the thread indicates. . .it could have been done better If using symbols does not do away with just bad glaring irratating issues also - I didn't care for the predestination mentality - "Everything happens for a reason" Like said previously. . .a little too much suspension . .a little to neat and tidy Rocket River After he beat you over the head . . .it was very hard to not GET what he was saying
Agree entirely. In fact, this one thing is what ruined the prequels for me. The age problem was something I never got over. Couldn't though because continuity was already set. He was a Jedi. I do get what you are saying, but I think it would have been better to have him as a Jedi student and failing. Perhaps he was too quick to use his abilities in aggression, etc. Have him get several lectures from the council and then have him taken off active duty for surveillance. Perhaps have his mother die because he wasn't allowed to leave the temple. Agree with all of this again. The turning of Anakin was so odd and convoluted. It really requires suspension of disbelief to accept that he goes from "I have to help the Republic" to "Ima butcher babies!" There's no reason for him to be evil there. Something more dramatic should have been his breaking point to turn him evil against the Jedi. Yeah, they never established Anakin as anything more than a cocky punk and then we are supposed to accept that he becomes the most evil, most feared being in the universe in a few years? Nah...
i'll go with a film i saw recently.. The Prophecy.. had plenty of potential.. the premise should've spent more time in thought.. and it's stage deserved a bit more expounding on.. the initial notion of it was good.. but the projection of it.. was lazy and too childishly simple.. could've used much better writing overall.. most certaintly in it's dialogue.. it provided plentiful of interesting opportunities for some real thoughtful exchanges .. but squandered them throughout.. not to mention it's directing.. which certaintly could've been made much better..
Terminator 3: There wouldn't be a hunted vs hunter plot, instead it would be more of a war between humans and machines in general (like T4 now). I would have set it in the future in the junkyard setting first (which T1/T2 show in the beginning). In addition, I would have 2 smaller storylines featuring John's lieutenants scattered across the globe. One would be in an ice setting, the other in an urban environment. No Arnold. Original score (both orchestral and gritty/industrial one). More of a horror theme.. i.e audience looking through character's eyes in a very dark room where you can only hear one of the machine's moving around quietly stalking you -> then you see 2 red lights... etc.
I really liked Knowing, but the ending was a little too Hollywood Spoiler I get they were trying to restore Cage's faith in the end, but they could have achieved that without showing a spaceship descending from the sky. Focus more on him having to come to terms with the end of the world and reuniting with his estranged parents. I'm fine with son's role, but they didn't need to show some of that imagery in the end. Ultimately it turned it from a spiritual, haunting, apocalyptic thriller to a sci-fi fantasy. Completely unnecessary. It's a safe ending and it shouldn't have been
I liked that movie Deja Vu a lot, but Spoiler the whole thing seemed to be pointing to the whole "Whatever happened, happened" theory of time travel. Denzel sends the note back in time and it causes his partner to go to the docks and get killed. Denzel finds the burned up "cabin" and ambulance in the present and goes back and does that in the past. His fingerprints are all over the dead girl's apartment because he eventually goes back in time and puts them there, etc. And then the end comes and they stop the bomb. Seems like it would've been more consistent if Denzel and the dead girl somehow caused the bomb to go off like it did in the opening scenes. Either whatever happened, happened or it didn't. The movie plays it both ways, in my opinion.
I have no problem with agreeing to disagree..but he wasn't seeking to make a sci-fi pic at all..that was the twist...what you thought was a sci-fi pic was something else entirely. he could have used aliens...he could have used something else. it was a smokescreen for the micro story he was telling...not the macro one surrounding it. the water was pure symbolism. as for the other people...he's not telling their story...he's telling the story of this one man's faith. that's it. again...he draws you in with the macro...but it's the micro he's telling. as the storyteller, he's not the least bit concerned about the details of what happens to other people around the globe and their coincidences....and he's not the least bit concerned with the technicalities....it's all about one man's faith lost and then found. that's the story.
