Sou, who doesn't really like action films, who thought the Iron Man movies were "meh" (and that they were by far the best of the movies leading to the Avengers movie), loved it
There was fantastic action, hilarity, a great villian...
It's the first film I've seen in the theatre in a very, very, very long time that I would be willing to go see again tomorrow and pay full price again.
I just saw Cabin in the Woods and liked it. I found it for the most part to be enjoyable though somewhat predictable. Well, predictable in that it had a lot of foreshadowing. Much of the explanation at the end could be picked up before hand.
I'm going to spoiler a few things, just in case.
I had pegged Marty to survive, despite the whole 'final girl' thing. I was thus a bit surprised when he seemed to die. I wasn't really surprised when he showed up again, given that we hadn't actually seen him die. I thought he would at least have to live longer than he seemed to, if the movie was to have a 'good ending.'
Curt? I knew exactly how he was going to die when he got the bike out. I was even able to do a pointing "it's your go" hand gesture just as it happened.
Holden's death was foreshadowed by the bloody handprint on the door of the RV but it still caught me off guard.
Jules of course was the first to die. I sort of wondered if Curt would kick it there too. I found it interesting how apparently the sacrificial directors were using chemicals to bring forth the qualities 'needed' for their victims to meet the criteria.
I wasn't sure if Dana was going to make it, mostly because I wasn't sure if the film would just do a 'kill em all' or pull some kind of twist ending.
For purposes of score, I treated Marty and Dana as surviving, since they made it to the 'time limit.'
As for the ending, I did rate it as a 'good ending.' True, everyone dies. However, given the circumstances that seemed the better alternative. The thing that popped into my mind when the woman came out at the end to explain what was going o, was The Ones That Walk Away From Omelas. I really liked Marty's line about giving 'someone else' a chance. The utter contemptible assholishness of the people running the show probably made the end of the world a lot more palatable as well.
One thing that occurred to me about half way through the movie was the possibility that the plot was a 'take that' against the audience of slasher flicks and horror in general. Aren't the characters in every such movie, sacrifices to us? I didn't know if they would incorporate that into the plot, breaking the Fourth Wall, but sort of doubted that they would. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if it were intentional in some way.
I wonder about the bit with the two way mirror, though. It sort of acted as building up the characters and provided an escape route for Dana. I guess the idea was that it would build up the tension/paranoia in the victims, adding to the wrongness of the place. That's the only reason I can think that the builders put in in there. I guess the reason that the sacrifice directors had to change the scenario a bit when the characters changed rooms was because Dana's placement was critical to their success. If a zombie had killed her at that point, the game was quite literally over.
Oh, was there really that much gore? I've seen a lot worse, and never seen any of the notorious films like Cannibal Holocaust or any of the Saw films or anything.
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I just saw Cabin in the Woods and liked it. I found it for the most part to be enjoyable though somewhat predictable. Well, predictable in that it had a lot of foreshadowing. Much of the explanation at the end could be picked up before hand.
The first half or two thirds was effectively designed to be predictable. See your point here.
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Originally Posted by Ymir's blood
One thing that occurred to me about half way through the movie was the possibility that the plot was a 'take that' against the audience of slasher flicks and horror in general. Aren't the characters in every such movie, sacrifices to us? I didn't know if they would incorporate that into the plot, breaking the Fourth Wall, but sort of doubted that they would. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if it were intentional in some way.
Definitely. There were various levels of meta happening in the movie. The Old Ones were most assuredly stand ins for the audience in this narrative.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ymir's blood
I wonder about the bit with the two way mirror, though. It sort of acted as building up the characters and provided an escape route for Dana. I guess the idea was that it would build up the tension/paranoia in the victims, adding to the wrongness of the place. That's the only reason I can think that the builders put in in there. I guess the reason that the sacrifice directors had to change the scenario a bit when the characters changed rooms was because Dana's placement was critical to their success. If a zombie had killed her at that point, the game was quite literally over.
I didn't even think about any extra meaning(s) for that window. I'd want to watch the movie a few more times before I even guessed at it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ymir's blood
Oh, was there really that much gore? I've seen a lot worse, and never seen any of the notorious films like Cannibal Holocaust or any of the Saw films or anything.
There was a lot of blood and viscera, but we were mercifully not shown where all of it came from, which I think makes the difference.
The first half or two thirds was effectively designed to be predictable. See your point here.
Further reflection makes me think that the most important part wasn't really predictable, since it all boiled down to what the writer was willing to do.
It probably helps me that years ago, I switched from just using media as escapism to actually thinking about it. Then not quite as many years ago, I started reading TV Tropes... Otherwise, the only slasher type film I've ever seen was Halloween (the original) and it didn't even follow the rules it supposedly created.
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Definitely. There were various levels of meta happening in the movie. The Old Ones were most assuredly stand ins for the audience in this narrative.
I just read the TV Tropes page and it starts off with a quote from Whedon saying that it was about horror movie audiences, so yeah. One thing that really stood out for me, was that unlike a lot of horror movie victims, I liked these people for the most part. They only acted stupid because someone was doping them up. So I really didn't want to see them die. Of course, I tend to avoid slasher flicks or anything described as 'torture porn.' I really went into this film knowing only that it involved a cabin in the woods and a group of young people, was Mutant Enemy and that there was something not to be spoiled. A coworker said he thought it was a scifi element.
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I didn't even think about any extra meaning(s) for that window. I'd want to watch the movie a few more times before I even guessed at it.
Yeah, this is one for video. TVT (again) mentions that there are a ton of things as well, to be looked at frame by frame.
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There was a lot of blood and viscera, but we were mercifully not shown where all of it came from, which I think makes the difference.
Again, TVT pointed out that the gore goes up considerably during once the monsters get unleashed. By that point, I was distracted by the monsters (I love monsters, get it?) and also by trying to figure out how it was going to end. Since that meant it was the people responsible getting killed it probably didn't stand out. Frankly I wanted to see them die, die, die.
Also, I saw the live action version of Ricky-oh as a teenager, which was so over the top ridiculously gory that it became absurd. That probably affected my tolerance for gore. Still, even in something more mainstream, Day of the Dead (the original) had a lot nastier scene - the asshole captain's demise.
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Much of MADNESS, and more of SIN, and HORROR the soul of the plot.
Sou, who doesn't really like action films, who thought the Iron Man movies were "meh" (and that they were by far the best of the movies leading to the Avengers movie), loved it
There was fantastic action, hilarity, a great villian...
It's the first film I've seen in the theatre in a very, very, very long time that I would be willing to go see again tomorrow and pay full price again.
I am in agreement with all of his. I know very little about any of the characters, also thought the Iron Man films were between "meh" and "yawn", hate everything Hulk-related, had level 0 inspiration to see or even rent any of the other recent movies, but this one I really enjoyed. Won't win any serious oscars, but a close to perfect popcorn flick.
After a storm, Jafaar, a poor Palestinian fisherman from the Gaza strip catches a pig in his net. He tries to make the best out of this bad situation by trying to make a little money with this monster.
It's certainly not a perfect movie (the end is a little disappointing) but it can be very funny and heart-warming. It also shows life in Gaza and the uneasy co-existence of Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and settlers.
If you've seen the previous Marvel Studios movies and sort of enjoyed them on some level, this is a movie you should see at some point. If you liked the movies from Marvel Studios for sure even though they weren't everything you wanted them to be, you should see this movie soon. If you loved the movies from Marvel Studios despite their flaws you honestly have no choice but to see this movie as soon as you are able. If you as a little bort or bortette read the comics and have any attachment whatsoever to the characters you grew up with, if you've been very good and ate your vegetables and said your prayers and lay your little head on your pillow and dreamed of adventures of the Avengers and didn't dare hope for a movie, or even if you did hope for a movie, you should put on your pants and go see Avengers right now.
Right.
Now.
Iron Man was a paradigm shift. There were certainly great comic book movies before it, and there have been some good ones since. But there was a promise hidden inside it. With each subsequent Marvel Studios release, stronger bonds were being forged. There were movies that we enjoyed. A couple were great, some were merely pretty good. Avengers is that promise given life.
My head is still swimming from the experience. When I walked out of the theater I was speechless. I honestly couldn't really wrap my mind around what had happened. I couldn't pin down a single thing that I enjoyed above any other thing. The story, the characters, the acting, the dialog, every bit of it was so note perfect to me. To say no one actor stood out sounds like damning praise, but it might be more apt to say no one lagged behind. Every one was on their A+ game.
It was all so great.
You will laugh. You'll probably feel very sad. You'll definitely cheer.
Almost forgot. As with previous Marvel Studios productions, stay through the credits to squeeze out as much goodness as you can stand. This time there's a daily double! There's a mid-credits sequence that keeps the ball rolling as far as movies are concerned and there's a bonus scene at the end of the credits that is a palette cleanser.
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Last edited by BrotherMan; 05-04-2012 at 09:22 AM.
After a storm, Jafaar, a poor Palestinian fisherman from the Gaza strip catches a pig in his net. He tries to make the best out of this bad situation by trying to make a little money with this monster.
It's certainly not a perfect movie (the end is a little disappointing) but it can be very funny and heart-warming. It also shows life in Gaza and the uneasy co-existence of Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and settlers.
Highly recommended!
How old is it though? Because there are no settlers in Gaza anymore. They relocated them (mostly to the West Bank) in 2005.
The movie is from 2011 but the year of the story is not clear.
The Jewish settlers in the movie are relocated by force, btw.
Anyway, I was actually hoping that you'd seen it and might be able to comment. You know, since you've been there and since you still like to murder Jewish babbies.
In preparation for The Avengers movie, I rented Thor and The Incredible Hulk. I've already seen the Iron Mans and Captain America movies.
Fuck physics, it's Thor and The Incredible Hulk, that's why. Thor was better than I expected. Hulk was just about as I expected. They were okay, maybe even good.
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A movie about the treatment of black nannies in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60ies. It has a great cast and is very well acted but it's ultimately shallow, tame and condescending.
Oh, I had to turn on subtitles because I had a horrible time understanding "all y'all".
Dark Shadows the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. There are parts that I enjoyed and parts I absolutely didn't. Thankfully, the parts I thought objectionable didn't ruin the movie. They were simply parts of the movie that I thought were overdone. On the other end of the spectrum, the best parts of the movie, while good weren't really spectacular. Despite all of the talent stuffed into this movie it really only reached as high as good, and all things considered, that's kinda terrible.
The opening sequence is everything you could hope for from a Burton/Depp production. It was moody and strange. I mean, obviously, right? Not only is it a Burton/Depp thing going on, but it's also pulling from Gothicy source material, how could it go wrong? The word that kept popping into my head when everything was going right was delicious. It never really reached scenery chewing, but kept everything at a nibbley smolder.
I'm not familiar at all with Dark Shadows the television production, but keeping that at the front of your mind helps to keep you from rolling your eyes or outright hating the production for something it probably wasn't meant to be. This Dark Shadows can be enjoyable but it just doesn't focus enough, I guess, to be as good or better than the sum of its parts. The story, or I should say stories being told keep dragging focus away from the primary tale.
Bottom line: It's okay. You won't miss anything by waiting for it.
Having watched the TV show a bit in reruns to find out why my sister loved it so much, I have to say that all those plots worked better in a 2-1/2 hour movie than they did over a painfully slow several years of soap opera time. And I was proud of myself for catching the cameo of four of the original cast in the party scene.
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