Had a pretty life changing experience today. I finally finished the first completed scene of a screenplay I was writing, and showed it to my co-writer (we're making it ourselves, so it's not like this is some huge Hollywood movie or whatever). He proceeded to tell me that it was the worst thing he'd ever read (worse than a 1980s sitcom was the terminology he used).
Looking back at it, I realized he was right: i can't write worth shit. And he wasn't even being mean about it, he was giving me constructive criticism as to HOW it sucked, not just the general statement.

So I'm going to stop writing this thing and let him handle the rest. He's clearly way better at this than I am. And as much as I love movies and as much as I want to make them, I'm too awful at making them for this profession. I don't have what it takes.

I'm guessing none of the great filmmakers ever felt like this.

I rented Killer Joe from Netflix. haven't watched yet. I also have Frailty and Event Horizon on the DVR, which I've been meaning to watch. And I still have a lot of movies on the downstairs computer and my external hard drive that I haven't seen.

Just got done watching Sleepless in Seatle and Casino

Now I'm not really big into romance movies but SiS was actually a really cute and funny movie. Tom Hanks is being his sarcastic self and that other kid was surprisingly cute. I'd probably put that on my Valentines day movies list

And Casino? Oh man Joe Pesci is at his finest here probably my favorite movie of his aside from Home Alone. Lots of great acting from everyone and with all that said it's an enjoyable watch for a long movie.

Casino is a great movie.

At 1/23/13 08:01 AM, SG3 wrote: I've also watched Jason And The Argonauts about five times this month. It's really grown on me. There's something about it that's really insanely likeable. I watched the original Clash Of The Titans too, but I think it missed that quality.

The skeleton fight is probably the most impressive special effects sequence of all time.

At 1/17/13 06:09 PM, Glides wrote: Had a pretty life changing experience today. I finally finished the first completed scene of a screenplay I was writing, and showed it to my co-writer (we're making it ourselves, so it's not like this is some huge Hollywood movie or whatever). He proceeded to tell me that it was the worst thing he'd ever read (worse than a 1980s sitcom was the terminology he used).
Looking back at it, I realized he was right: i can't write worth shit. And he wasn't even being mean about it, he was giving me constructive criticism as to HOW it sucked, not just the general statement.

So I'm going to stop writing this thing and let him handle the rest. He's clearly way better at this than I am. And as much as I love movies and as much as I want to make them, I'm too awful at making them for this profession. I don't have what it takes.

I'm guessing none of the great filmmakers ever felt like this.

I think this is something every film maker will deal with at the start of their career. Even the great ones. Don't let it discourage you. Just because your partner doesn't like it doesn't automatically have to mean you have no talent in writing or whatever.

Also, it's good to have ambition, but don't immediately set the bar too high for yourself. If you're going to compare your work to Kubrick's and Hitchcock's all the time you're never going to be satisfied with what you make.

At 1/23/13 08:01 AM, SG3 wrote: I've also watched Jason And The Argonauts about five times this month. It's really grown on me. There's something about it that's really insanely likeable. I watched the original Clash Of The Titans too, but I think it missed that quality.

I saw the original Clash of the Titans too a while ago.

I kinda liked it to be honest, mostly for its charming stop motion effects. Sure, it looks silly and unconvincing sometimes, but I can't help but appreciate all the effort that went into them. Also, I read the special effects team was only two guys, which makes it all the more impressive and charming to me.

At 1/23/13 08:22 AM, TheMaster wrote: The skeleton fight is probably the most impressive special effects sequence of all time.

I looked up that scene and I agree they're really good. What I like even more about the scene though is the beginning where the skeletons pop out of the ground one by one. I love how the camera keeps switching view point and how the moment is stretched so much. It really adds to the tension.

At 1/23/13 02:41 PM, Auz wrote: Also, I read the special effects team was only two guys, which makes it all the more impressive and charming to me.

It's a Harryhausen film. Almost all of his work was alone, or with a single assistant.

At 1/23/13 05:47 PM, SG3 wrote: That said, I watched Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad and liked it a lot.

Seen many other Harryhausen pictures?

20 Million Miles to Earth is probably my favourite.

I grew up with Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, the Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and the 7th Voyage of Sinbad. I saw all of those before I was even old enough to remember, and I watched them a lot since then.

I grew up with a lot of fantasy adventure type stuff. There were those movies, Krull, the Star Wars Trilogy, Willow, the 80's Flash Gordon movie, the Masters of the Universe movie with Dolph Lundgren, and some other stuff.

At 1/24/13 03:57 PM, SG3 wrote: I watched that one tonight. It was pretty fun, but I still prefer Jason over it.

Tomorrow I'll watch It Came From Beneath The Sea. Giant octopus sounds pretty cool.

It's really only a sextopus. They couldn't afford to do 8 legs, so it's just got 6.

Valley of Gwangi is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it, too. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms as well.

I watched Seven Psychopaths today.

I really enjoyed it. It reminded me a little of films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and True Romance, but this one seemed even quirkier and even more of an "anti-film". It is very funny when it intends to be and I loved Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell.

I strongly recommend Seven Psychopaths if you're a fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang-ish films. I've put it straight into my top 10 of 2012.

At 1/25/13 05:50 PM, Auz wrote: I watched Seven Psychopaths today.

I thought it was a let down after how perfect In Bruges was. Too self referential, and just because you make jokes about flaws in your film doesn't stop them being flaws.

Still really good, though. Rockwell is fantastic in it.

I finally got around to watching The Ring (2002) online. Really good horror flick, it's strongest point probably in the visuals. Although it's kinda funny that I mention that, because sometimes in the film everything looks so dull and empty. What I mean by this is that it always looks like most of the color was drained out of the movie and it doesn't seem very appealing to look at. But the visuals that ARE good are really good, like when Samara crawls out of the TV, or even just the whole tape in general. Overall, I thought this movie was pretty good.

As a funny little bonus story, though, I would like to note that not too long after I finished watching The Ring, I was woken up by the sound of the ladder on my bunk bed falling down. And in case you guys didn't know, one of the scenes on the tape is of a tall ladder falling down, not to mention it the first thing people see throughout the movies after they watch the tape. Just figured I'd put that out there.

At 1/27/13 10:25 AM, powerdude964 wrote: not to mention it the first thing people see throughout the movies after they watch the tape. Just figured I'd put that out there.

*it's

Sorry for double post.

At 1/26/13 05:32 PM, EclecticEnnui wrote: Oh man. Peter Howell, a Toronto film critic, calls Movie 43 the worst film he's ever seen. I actually kinda wanna see this film because of its bad taste, the famous people in it, and how bad it's doing with critics. However, I don't think I'll be making a trip to the theatre.

It actually sounds very intriguing to me how a film with a cast like that can be so god-awful. It's going to be released here in about a month or so apparently and there isn't anything else I'd like to see at that time, so I think I'll go and give it a watch :p

I watched Killer Joe. It was pretty good.

I watched David Fincher's adaptation of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was good. A few things were different from the Swedish movie, but I never read the book. I think I prefer the Swedish one, but this one was good.

At 1/31/13 12:46 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: I watched David Fincher's adaptation of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was good. A few things were different from the Swedish movie, but I never read the book. I think I prefer the Swedish one, but this one was good.

Also, a song by one of my favorite bands can be heard in the background during the scene where Lisbeth Salander gets a new tattoo at the parlor.

At 1/31/13 12:46 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: I watched David Fincher's adaptation of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was good. A few things were different from the Swedish movie, but I never read the book. I think I prefer the Swedish one, but this one was good.

I love the really dark atmosphere that Fincher's version has, I think I prefer his version because of it. I really hope he directs the next two films in the series, but it doesn't seem very likely.

I watched Event Horizon earlier this morning, which was interesting. I kinda liked it.

And I just got Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning from Netflix. I haven't seen the one before it, and I heard mostly bad things. But this one has Scott Adkins in it and he kicks ass, so I thought I'd give it a chance.

I finally had time to check out Django Unchained.

I really had a good time watching it and I think every Tarantino fan will too. Christopher Waltz is a delight to watch, the dialogues are good (though frankly, Tarantino didn't really seem in top shape here), the hidden cultural references are nice and the violence really delivers.

I don't agree with the commonly heard statement that Django Unchained is Tarantino's best though. I still prefer Inglorious Basterds to be honest, but it's definitely top 3 for me. It's also top 3 for my favourite 2012 films.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning didn't have enough fight scenes. The ones that it did have were pretty good, though.

I'm wondering when the hell Re-Kill is coming out in America.

Today I went to see Flight, starring Denzel Washington.

It's a pretty good film, although it's not much special really. Denzel Washington is good as a pilot with an alcohol problem and I kinda liked John Goodman. The film felt needlessly long though. They took a lot of time to emphasize on the pilot's drinking problem, while I think everything could've easily been established in a 90-100 minutes films too.

Anyway, this might be a good watch for a boring evening, but I don't recommend going to the theatre for it.

My favourites. (Not in order.)
- Avatar
- Transformers 1, 2, 3
- King Kong
- Scary Movie
- Alien

I'm REALLY looking forward to when Pacific Rim comes out, and same with Warm Bodies.
Warm Bodies Trailer
Pacific Rim Trailer

Finally broke my TV show cycle and watched a few films yesterday.

Started with Wrath Of The Titans which was ok. The fight scenes and action sequences were impressive and Toby Kebbell was fantastic throughout. All in all the film felt like a bit of a letdown through. It all seemed too easy for our rag-tag band of heroes who pretty much walked into the underworld and then back out again. The final fight should have been an epic encounter but was short, sharp and over all too quickly. I remember Clash Of The Titans having much more suspense and being a much more enjoyable film.

Next up, From Dusk Till Dawn. Tarantino and Rodriguez are two of my favourite directors so I was sure I'd enjoy this. As expected, an hour in and the dialogue has kept me suitably entertained with what looks to be turning into an enjoyable crime film. Sixty minutes in though and the zombies start to emerge. Cue some decent comedy, enjoyable fight scenes and more top quality script. Definitely a real change in pace and content from the first hour of the film, but a nice change-up that kept things fresh. Clooney puts in a great performance and Tarantino had me convinced he was a psychotic rapists through and through. All the actors in fact (Danny Trejo, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis), put in really great performances.

Finally I checked out The Cabin In The Woods. Definitely a twist on the usual slasher film formulae, but not exactly what I was expecting. The movie has received almost universal acclaim and while it was a good film, I'm not sure I'd class it as one of the best films of the year (as plenty of critics did). Maybe I had my hopes built up too high before seeing it, but I thought the "big twist" was pretty pathetic and the ending, extremely dull. I spent most of the film trying to figure out exactly what the purpose of the men in suits controlling things was and not to sound big headed, but half of my ideas were much better than the actual scenario. Also, it was nice to see Fran Kranz with a leading role in a Hollywood film - the guys a really great actor.

From Dusk Till Dawn was my favourite film from my trilogy of viewing yesterday, Wrath Of The Titans is probably one to avoid, while The Cabin In The Woods is still worth watching, even if it doesn't quite live up to all of the hype.

Recently watched all 5 Alien films. Aliens was definitely the peak of that series.

Also saw Super Mario Bros. Good shit.

I watched The Master today.

The film contains stunning performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The acting is really top notch in my opinion. I also loved the style, the cinematography and the fact that the film is very unpredictable.

I do have one complaint though and that is that the plot kind of misses that punch I was expecting. It just kind of drivels on and there doesn't seem to be that much structure nor development in it. I left the theatre wondering what the point really was and now that I read some reviews, I don't think the film really tried to make much of a point. Too bad, because there is plenty of potential in a plot where a traumatized alcoholic seeks refuge in a sect led by a charismatic charlatan.

So technically the film is excellent, but I don't like how it left me so unsatisfied.

At 2/9/13 04:39 PM, Auz wrote: So technically the film is excellent, but I don't like how it left me so unsatisfied.

I also felt it needed a bit more of a narrative thrust to keep my attention. Each individual scene is fantastic, and the performances are phenomenal, but it lacks any sort of urgency or purpose and just ends up meandering from scene to scene which makes it really difficult to be pulled in.

It's also worth noting that the film is absolutely gorgeous to look at, but that's pretty much par for the course for things shot on 70mm.

watched Frailty. was alright.

At 2/9/13 12:30 PM, Jackho wrote: Recently watched all 5 Alien films. Aliens was definitely the peak of that series.

I think the first two are the only ones worth watching. And I know a lot of people prefer Aliens, but I really think as great as it was, Alien was better.

Also saw Super Mario Bros. Good shit.

terrible

Saw Life of Pi.

It was fine. Nothing special, definitely not best picture material. Incredible effects, mind.