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| Syd |
 Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 9:03 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Ghulam wrote: Beasts of the Southern Wild is an uplifting and delightful movie. The little girl in a Louisiana bayou is full of life, an archetypal survivor. It won big at Sundance and Cannes, and fully deserved it..
That's the one where I thought the director's artistic ambitions got in the way of his art. (Shakycam and prehistoric beasts and non-actors.) He probably should have ditched the shakycam. He's got a lot of talent, and a gift for working with non-actors, which reminds me a bit of Raman Bahrani. I'd love to see it get some Oscar nominations. Maybe even the little girl. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 6:25 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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My view is that 3D, as currently realised in films, is innately artificial; it as an unsatisfactory special effect rather than an enhanced representation of reality. However, this did not manifest itself as a problem with “Judge Dredd 3D”, which did not attempt to be anything other than a stylised rendering of a comic book. I would go as far as to say that in making the film seem less real, the 3D made it more constant with the source material. Some of the most successful adaptations of comic books or graphic novels, such as “Sin City” or “300” have embraced their artifice.
In making “Judge Dredd” suitable for adult audiences only, the filmmakers were able to stay true to the knowingly violent and visceral comics. This helped saved the film from the fate of its leaden forerunner, the 1995 version of the same name. Done well, the audience should feel and recoil from the violence in a film. In pursuit of a wider audience, the earlier “Judge Dredd” dropped the filleting razor for a filmful of clamour and mind-numbing explosions. Its edge was further blunted by having a star, Sylvester Stallone, whose interposing ‘presence’ undermined the eponymous hero’s essential role as a faceless agent of justice. In the current version, nascent star, Karl Urban was admirably emblematic - he never once removed his obscuring helmet.
Tailoring its budget to a smaller demographic may also have served to help the film maintain the minimalist attributes of the comic book. For the most part the film was set within the corridors and walkways of a dark and dilapidated tower block; a set that should not cost much more than that of the average school play.
Importantly, the audience were given an empathetic focus in the pleasing shape of rookie judge, Anderson, played by Olivia Thirby, a classically trained hottie. Even in knowingly pulpy entertainment, intelligence and the ability to act will always excite and hold more interest than looks. I want to be intrigued not stunned. Ms Thirby dyed her brown hair blonde for the part. Pandering to the fan boy gaze? Certainly, but I think this could also be justified as an artistic choice: like a working street lamp on a London housing estate, Anderson’s hair was a beacon of warmth amongst the concrete greys and black armour. In a neat conceit that made me smile, the film allowed Anderson to dispense with her helmet, and thereby display her blonde locks to the world (and would be assassins) on the pretext that it would interfere with her telepathic abilities. Did I mention she was a telepathic mutant surviving amongst the huddled masses in a post-apocalyptic dystopia? Only in the world of comics do the victims of radiation poisoning get superpowers instead of cancer.
Essentially, the plot, which had shades of the “Assault On Precinct 13”, concerned the battle of survival of the two Judges trapped in a sealed tower block controlled by a vicious drug gang. I looked for analogies and deeper resonances, but could come up with nothing better than the desire for audiences to see a semblance of order restored in a crumbling world and the primeval pleasure of seeing summary justice dispensed (without the intercession of lawyers and local authorities). In this respect, it was pretty much like every other comic book film.
Regardless, I thought it was fine - I was of a bent to enjoy a mercifully short, dumb action film with little plot or character development. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 7:14 pm |
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| Does anyone remember or even know about the 3D comics that came out in the 50's? Or are there 3D comics now? They didn't last very long in the 50's. I think they came with cardboard glasses with plastic,( I guess), lenses. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Quote: Without seeing the film, I agree with the 'disliked' critiques.
Gary........haven't you said that before?.............Knowing your taste somewhat I would say that you wouldn't like it........at all. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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marantzo wrote: Does anyone remember or even know about the 3D comics that came out in the 50's? Or are there 3D comics now? They didn't last very long in the 50's. I think they came with cardboard glasses with plastic,( I guess), lenses.
I remeber a comic based around the Thunderbirds and other series, such as Captain Scarlet, from the same stable. They regualrly included a large colour photograph to be viewed with the aid of 'free' 3D glasses included with the comic. |
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I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:24 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| A 3-D image sounds familiar. Not an entire comic. No, I don' think anyone has done this for a long time. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:58 pm |
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Befade wrote: Quote: Without seeing the film, I agree with the 'disliked' critiques.
Gary........ haven't you said that before?.............Knowing your taste somewhat I would say that you wouldn't like it........at all.
Not about this film.
I don't think I would like it.....at all. The only P.T.A. film I can remember really liking was Punch Drunk Love, but I've mentioned that many times already. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 10:03 pm |
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| Yeah, it was the complete comic in 3D back then. If I remember correctly there wasn't as much colour in the 3D versions. Reading the comics with the glasses, etc. lost its allure quite quickly. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:12 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Quick google search found this http://www.ray3dzone.com/ |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:22 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Quote: I looked for analogies and deeper resonances, but could come up with nothing better than the desire for audiences to see a semblance of order restored in a crumbling world and the primeval pleasure of seeing summary justice dispensed (without the intercession of lawyers and local authorities
Jeremy, no surprise there. A lot of hollywood SF is really the western repackaged. Interesting contemplation of the aesthetic of Olivia Thirlby's hair. And every sci-fi movie needs either a telepath or, as in "Looper," a telekinetic - again, it updates the western - the shamanic gives way to the psionic. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:14 am |
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Thanks Joe. Brought back a lot of memories. The 3D comics were just before the stupid comic censoring board was created, made up of one woman. No wonder I was such a rebel in those days.  |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 12:41 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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marantzo wrote:
Thanks Joe. Brought back a lot of memories. The 3D comics were just before the stupid comic censoring board was created, made up of one woman. No wonder I was such a rebel in those days.
In THOSE days? I think you're still a rebel now. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| knox |
| Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:22 am |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
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Location: St. Louis
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:32 am |
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Joe Vitus wrote: marantzo wrote:
Thanks Joe. Brought back a lot of memories. The 3D comics were just before the stupid comic censoring board was created, made up of one woman. No wonder I was such a rebel in those days.
In THOSE days? I think you're still a rebel now.
Are you saying that I'm a rebel without a pause?
I guess I'm still a rebel, but a lazy one now. |
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