Miller's Crossing
So so so so so so so so so confusing. I still don't think I've comprehended everything even after we discussed some of it in class today. The only person I could understand was Verna--everyone else spoke so quickly that I couldn't understand what was going on. I might've liked this more if I knew what everyone was saying, but since I couldn't, I'm gonna have to say I don't like it very much.
What Movie Did You Just Watch? ... And Robin
-
TheSequelOfDisney
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5263
- Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:30 pm
- Location: Ohio, United States of America
The Divulgations of One Desmond Leica: http://desmondleica.wordpress.com/
-
dvdjunkie
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5613
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:05 am
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
This is one very good movie starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda. They portray cowhands on a drive deep in the heart of Texas. A letter carrier delivers a piece of mail to John O'Hanlon (Stewart) who just up and saddles up and leaves the drive, and Fonda tags along. It seems Stewart has been named the sole beneficiary of his late brother's estate which includes a bordello called The Cheyenne Social Club. Also in the cast is Shirley Jones, Jackie Joseph, and a cast of very recognizable faces. One of the funniest and yet very serious westerns of the genre. Highly recommended.
This is one very good movie starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda. They portray cowhands on a drive deep in the heart of Texas. A letter carrier delivers a piece of mail to John O'Hanlon (Stewart) who just up and saddles up and leaves the drive, and Fonda tags along. It seems Stewart has been named the sole beneficiary of his late brother's estate which includes a bordello called The Cheyenne Social Club. Also in the cast is Shirley Jones, Jackie Joseph, and a cast of very recognizable faces. One of the funniest and yet very serious westerns of the genre. Highly recommended.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
Agora (2009)
Modern epic drama about one of history's worst catastrophies: the destruction of the library of Alexandria. Centuries of knowledge from all over the world, destroyed for all eternity. The movie makes the story of the religious wars in the 3rd century A.D. into a nice popcorn flick, which is highly enjoyable. It even manages to show us how far advanced some of the Egyptians were, discovering things about nature and physics, we in Europe only discovered centuries later. The characters remain flat, though, and there is little room for emotional bonding between audience and characters.
Modern epic drama about one of history's worst catastrophies: the destruction of the library of Alexandria. Centuries of knowledge from all over the world, destroyed for all eternity. The movie makes the story of the religious wars in the 3rd century A.D. into a nice popcorn flick, which is highly enjoyable. It even manages to show us how far advanced some of the Egyptians were, discovering things about nature and physics, we in Europe only discovered centuries later. The characters remain flat, though, and there is little room for emotional bonding between audience and characters.
I saw two movies today with my nephew.
Yogi Bear: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The story is very basic and cliched as all hell, but the humor isn't very obnoxious like in the Chipmunk movies and there are some sweet and clever moments. The CG bears are still unsettling, though.
Jackass 3: Wasn't really my choice, my nephew wanted to see it badly, so I rented it. Funny enough, I enjoyed it! I've never been a fan of the series and other movies, but I really liked this movie, gross out humor and all (and I mean REALLY gross out humor).
Yogi Bear: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The story is very basic and cliched as all hell, but the humor isn't very obnoxious like in the Chipmunk movies and there are some sweet and clever moments. The CG bears are still unsettling, though.
Jackass 3: Wasn't really my choice, my nephew wanted to see it badly, so I rented it. Funny enough, I enjoyed it! I've never been a fan of the series and other movies, but I really liked this movie, gross out humor and all (and I mean REALLY gross out humor).
Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940)
This was only the third time I've ever watched it. So unlike most other Disney animated features, I have no nostalgic feelings toward it. It's a hard film to review, since I find it to be very uneven. First of all, I should mention that the animation is top-notch. After this first five features, Disney would not have such refined and sophisticated animation ever again. Visually, this is one of the most impressive (Disney-)movies of all time. But there's more to it than animation, specifically its combination with classical music.
Late film critic Pauline Kael wrote, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice [...] and parts of other sequences are first-rate Disney, but the total effect is grotesquely kitschy". I incline to agree, even as that may come as a shock to most Disney-fans. I think that most of its fans' statements about how this is a 'work of art' is ridiculous. It's nice entertainment, and even there it sometimes fails. I love the 'Rites of Spring' segment, with the dinosaurs. That was handled very well. 'Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria' is also very impressive and very well done. 'Dance of the hours' is humorous and well worth watching.
However, the 'Pastorale' with the centaurs is a perfect example of kitsch in this movie. I think it's very wise that Sunflower was cut out. I don't understand why she was put in, in the first place. Her design is so out of place, she didn't add anything, and to contrast the caricature of the African-American with the beauty of the other centaurs is just plain offensive.So good riddance to her! Still coun't save this kitschy part, though. The beginning of the movie with the abstract shapes, and the next part with the fairies is just plain boring. I wouldn't have blamed anybody if he walked out of the theater, had they not known what was coming next.
All things considered, this movie still deserves a lot of praise for its fantastic animation, beautiful music and most of all its audacity; image having made only two animated features, both traditional (fairy) tales, and then to do something like Fantasia. That takes a lot of guts.
Disney's Fantasia 2000 (1999)
I've seen this one a lot more often, since I owned it on VHS. But even nostalgic feelings can't save this one. It's as uneven as its predecessor, but it doesn't have its wonderful animation, its sophistication, not even its lenght. At 75 minutes, of which 5 minutes end credits and 10 minutes a repeat of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', this is a very meager movie. Didn't Disney dare to make a true concert feature?
The bad CGI-animation ruins a lot of segments, which could've been a lot better. Now I'm not a CGI-hater, but I do dislike it when it's badly done. It looks very unsophisticated. The part with the whales is boring enough, but it could've been saved had it been hand-drawn. It would've been much warmer and appealing in 2D. The opening part with the butterflies would have been much more impressive with hand-drawn animation. Now it just looks cheap and hastened. 'Steadfast Tin Soldier' looks a lot better, but looks very dated nowadays, considered how far CGI has come since.
The only parts I really like are 'Rhapsody in Blue', which is utterly brilliant and can't get enough praise; and 'The Firebird', which is the only segment in the entire picture that has the feel to it of the original Fantasia. It's a good choice for the last act, because it will leave the audience impressed, while the overall film is not so impressive. There is much too much emphasize on humor, mainly slapstick. Maybe Walt's original took itself too seriously, but this 'sequel' takes itself not seriously enough.
The one minute short flamingos bit was too over the top, too fast and poorly animated. The 'Pomp and Circumstances' sequence I hate the most, because it ruins a great piece of 'epic' music by focussing on totally un-funny slapstick, consisiting only of hurting Donald as much as they could. It's not even clever humor, it's very cheap and lazy. And what's up with the 'celebrity' introductions? They take away the whole flow of the movie and... they're completely unneccessary. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? I mean... seriously! On Wikipedia, I read the duo that presented 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is "a Las Vegas headliner act". Really?!
I wish they had made 'Musicana' in the 1980's instead. I'm also disappointed that Roy E. Disney's introduction from the VHS is missing from the already bare-bones DVD.
This was only the third time I've ever watched it. So unlike most other Disney animated features, I have no nostalgic feelings toward it. It's a hard film to review, since I find it to be very uneven. First of all, I should mention that the animation is top-notch. After this first five features, Disney would not have such refined and sophisticated animation ever again. Visually, this is one of the most impressive (Disney-)movies of all time. But there's more to it than animation, specifically its combination with classical music.
Late film critic Pauline Kael wrote, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice [...] and parts of other sequences are first-rate Disney, but the total effect is grotesquely kitschy". I incline to agree, even as that may come as a shock to most Disney-fans. I think that most of its fans' statements about how this is a 'work of art' is ridiculous. It's nice entertainment, and even there it sometimes fails. I love the 'Rites of Spring' segment, with the dinosaurs. That was handled very well. 'Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria' is also very impressive and very well done. 'Dance of the hours' is humorous and well worth watching.
However, the 'Pastorale' with the centaurs is a perfect example of kitsch in this movie. I think it's very wise that Sunflower was cut out. I don't understand why she was put in, in the first place. Her design is so out of place, she didn't add anything, and to contrast the caricature of the African-American with the beauty of the other centaurs is just plain offensive.So good riddance to her! Still coun't save this kitschy part, though. The beginning of the movie with the abstract shapes, and the next part with the fairies is just plain boring. I wouldn't have blamed anybody if he walked out of the theater, had they not known what was coming next.
All things considered, this movie still deserves a lot of praise for its fantastic animation, beautiful music and most of all its audacity; image having made only two animated features, both traditional (fairy) tales, and then to do something like Fantasia. That takes a lot of guts.
Disney's Fantasia 2000 (1999)
I've seen this one a lot more often, since I owned it on VHS. But even nostalgic feelings can't save this one. It's as uneven as its predecessor, but it doesn't have its wonderful animation, its sophistication, not even its lenght. At 75 minutes, of which 5 minutes end credits and 10 minutes a repeat of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', this is a very meager movie. Didn't Disney dare to make a true concert feature?
The bad CGI-animation ruins a lot of segments, which could've been a lot better. Now I'm not a CGI-hater, but I do dislike it when it's badly done. It looks very unsophisticated. The part with the whales is boring enough, but it could've been saved had it been hand-drawn. It would've been much warmer and appealing in 2D. The opening part with the butterflies would have been much more impressive with hand-drawn animation. Now it just looks cheap and hastened. 'Steadfast Tin Soldier' looks a lot better, but looks very dated nowadays, considered how far CGI has come since.
The only parts I really like are 'Rhapsody in Blue', which is utterly brilliant and can't get enough praise; and 'The Firebird', which is the only segment in the entire picture that has the feel to it of the original Fantasia. It's a good choice for the last act, because it will leave the audience impressed, while the overall film is not so impressive. There is much too much emphasize on humor, mainly slapstick. Maybe Walt's original took itself too seriously, but this 'sequel' takes itself not seriously enough.
The one minute short flamingos bit was too over the top, too fast and poorly animated. The 'Pomp and Circumstances' sequence I hate the most, because it ruins a great piece of 'epic' music by focussing on totally un-funny slapstick, consisiting only of hurting Donald as much as they could. It's not even clever humor, it's very cheap and lazy. And what's up with the 'celebrity' introductions? They take away the whole flow of the movie and... they're completely unneccessary. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? I mean... seriously! On Wikipedia, I read the duo that presented 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is "a Las Vegas headliner act". Really?!
I wish they had made 'Musicana' in the 1980's instead. I'm also disappointed that Roy E. Disney's introduction from the VHS is missing from the already bare-bones DVD.
I agree with you regarding both Fantasias, Goliath. Don't get me wrong, I love both movies, but the first Fantasia in particular is very polarizing. It does have beautiful animation and music, and it is a very daring film. But outside of those things it doesn't offer much in terms of story, and I think that's why it's a love it/hate it type of movie.
I think the way Fantasia 2000 was handled proves it. You can tell that while they love the concept behind Fantasia they needed to streamline it in order to sell it to a wide audience, hence why Fantasia fans tend to criticize it, but those that didn't like it enjoy this one better.
Personally, I like Fantasia 2000 better. I think the streamlined concept makes it that much enjoyable, while Fantasia, for me at least, you need to be in the right kind of mood.
I think the way Fantasia 2000 was handled proves it. You can tell that while they love the concept behind Fantasia they needed to streamline it in order to sell it to a wide audience, hence why Fantasia fans tend to criticize it, but those that didn't like it enjoy this one better.
Personally, I like Fantasia 2000 better. I think the streamlined concept makes it that much enjoyable, while Fantasia, for me at least, you need to be in the right kind of mood.
-
dvdjunkie
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5613
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:05 am
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
Last night before American Idol, we watched The Fighter (2010) starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. The true story of boxer Mickey Ward and his brother Dicky Ecklund. The movie was nominated for several awards including Best Picture, and after viewing this film I can see why. This is not just your standard boxing movie, or your movie about a down on his luck guy who gets a chance to fight for the title. This film is very gritty, and tells the story of a family torn apart by drugs, and other things, who managed to stay together and fight through all the strife and conditions that were brought upon them. This film belongs to Christian Bale and Wahlberg, as they are matched up with the real people they portray in the film, in a great "Making of" feature on the Blu-ray of this movie. It was amazing how Bale took on the persona of Dicky Ecklund and he deserved the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This film is a four-star, highly recommended movie.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
-
SillySymphony
- Gold Classic Collection
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:28 pm
- Location: Alaska
Borrowed from the library and meant to watch yesterday (happy belated St. Paddy's day everyone!), but still haven't got to it yet. Instead we watched one of my Dad's favorites, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.Barbossa wrote:Darby O'Gill and the Little People - It's St. Patrick's Day after all.
edit: Just watched it tonight! I loved it.
Last edited by SillySymphony on Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
theCat'sOut/Flowers&Trees/theFlyingMouse/theSkeletonDance/theThreeLittlePigs
-
jpanimation
- Anniversary Edition
- Posts: 1841
- Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:00 am
Goliath, you're pretty much dead on with your analysis of the Fantasia's or that is to say, I agree with EVERYTHING as written 
Hereafter (2010) 6/10 - Clint, why do you remain so inconsistent? This movie was just boring. I honestly didn't care for these lifeless characters or dreary events. It starts off with a bang by having a tsunami (erie timing) and then slowly reveals to us just how uninteresting they are when nothing is happening around them. Everything moved at a snails pace and it just felt like it should've been a 30 minute episode of some television show. That and Team America has ruined Matt Damon for me.
Hereafter (2010) 6/10 - Clint, why do you remain so inconsistent? This movie was just boring. I honestly didn't care for these lifeless characters or dreary events. It starts off with a bang by having a tsunami (erie timing) and then slowly reveals to us just how uninteresting they are when nothing is happening around them. Everything moved at a snails pace and it just felt like it should've been a 30 minute episode of some television show. That and Team America has ruined Matt Damon for me.
-
Super Aurora
- Diamond Edition
- Posts: 4835
- Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:59 am
Goliath wrote:Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940)
This was only the third time I've ever watched it. So unlike most other Disney animated features, I have no nostalgic feelings toward it. It's a hard film to review, since I find it to be very uneven. First of all, I should mention that the animation is top-notch. After this first five features, Disney would not have such refined and sophisticated animation ever again. Visually, this is one of the most impressive (Disney-)movies of all time. But there's more to it than animation, specifically its combination with classical music.
Late film critic Pauline Kael wrote, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice [...] and parts of other sequences are first-rate Disney, but the total effect is grotesquely kitschy". I incline to agree, even as that may come as a shock to most Disney-fans. I think that most of its fans' statements about how this is a 'work of art' is ridiculous. It's nice entertainment, and even there it sometimes fails. I love the 'Rites of Spring' segment, with the dinosaurs. That was handled very well. 'Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria' is also very impressive and very well done. 'Dance of the hours' is humorous and well worth watching.
However, the 'Pastorale' with the centaurs is a perfect example of kitsch in this movie. I think it's very wise that Sunflower was cut out. I don't understand why she was put in, in the first place. Her design is so out of place, she didn't add anything, and to contrast the caricature of the African-American with the beauty of the other centaurs is just plain offensive.So good riddance to her! Still coun't save this kitschy part, though. The beginning of the movie with the abstract shapes, and the next part with the fairies is just plain boring. I wouldn't have blamed anybody if he walked out of the theater, had they not known what was coming next.
All things considered, this movie still deserves a lot of praise for its fantastic animation, beautiful music and most of all its audacity; image having made only two animated features, both traditional (fairy) tales, and then to do something like Fantasia. That takes a lot of guts.
Disney's Fantasia 2000 (1999)
I've seen this one a lot more often, since I owned it on VHS. But even nostalgic feelings can't save this one. It's as uneven as its predecessor, but it doesn't have its wonderful animation, its sophistication, not even its lenght. At 75 minutes, of which 5 minutes end credits and 10 minutes a repeat of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', this is a very meager movie. Didn't Disney dare to make a true concert feature?
The bad CGI-animation ruins a lot of segments, which could've been a lot better. Now I'm not a CGI-hater, but I do dislike it when it's badly done. It looks very unsophisticated. The part with the whales is boring enough, but it could've been saved had it been hand-drawn. It would've been much warmer and appealing in 2D. The opening part with the butterflies would have been much more impressive with hand-drawn animation. Now it just looks cheap and hastened. 'Steadfast Tin Soldier' looks a lot better, but looks very dated nowadays, considered how far CGI has come since.
The only parts I really like are 'Rhapsody in Blue', which is utterly brilliant and can't get enough praise; and 'The Firebird', which is the only segment in the entire picture that has the feel to it of the original Fantasia. It's a good choice for the last act, because it will leave the audience impressed, while the overall film is not so impressive. There is much too much emphasize on humor, mainly slapstick. Maybe Walt's original took itself too seriously, but this 'sequel' takes itself not seriously enough.
The one minute short flamingos bit was too over the top, too fast and poorly animated. The 'Pomp and Circumstances' sequence I hate the most, because it ruins a great piece of 'epic' music by focussing on totally un-funny slapstick, consisiting only of hurting Donald as much as they could. It's not even clever humor, it's very cheap and lazy. And what's up with the 'celebrity' introductions? They take away the whole flow of the movie and... they're completely unneccessary. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? I mean... seriously! On Wikipedia, I read the duo that presented 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is "a Las Vegas headliner act". Really?!
I wish they had made 'Musicana' in the 1980's instead. I'm also disappointed that Roy E. Disney's introduction from the VHS is missing from the already bare-bones DVD.
Agree with the segment clips choices you choose that are great.
Only think I can say about Pastoral symphony is that at least Zeus act like Zeus there unlike in Hercules....
I'm surprise you didn't comment on Destino.
<i>Please limit signatures to 100 pixels high and 500 pixels wide</i>
http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/o68 ... ecf3d2.gif
http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/o68 ... ecf3d2.gif
-
SillySymphony
- Gold Classic Collection
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:28 pm
- Location: Alaska
Agreed. Among the movies I saw this week, I actually liked it more than the sad disappointment that was Beastly.pap64 wrote:Yogi Bear: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The story is very basic and cliched as all hell, but the humor isn't very obnoxious like in the Chipmunk movies and there are some sweet and clever moments. The CG bears are still unsettling, though.
theCat'sOut/Flowers&Trees/theFlyingMouse/theSkeletonDance/theThreeLittlePigs
-
TheSequelOfDisney
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5263
- Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:30 pm
- Location: Ohio, United States of America
Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Via Netflix, I watched it in Swedish with English subtitles. It was pretty darn good! Yes, there were some cuts that I would've liked to have not been cut (like everything with Berger), but I understand why they had to be cut. I'm kind of iffy on Mikael and Lisbeth's actors. I guess I never really pictured Kalle to be as old as he actually is and Lisbeth didn't look as bad-a** as I would've hoped. I also didn't picture Lisbeth's dragon tattoo to actually look like that. I thought it would be more like what's on the cover of the novel, not something that took up her entire back. Nonetheless, it was quite enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the English version coming out in December (even though the ending is completely changed, making me more than skeptical).
Flickan som lekte med elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire)
Holy disappoint! Played with Fire is my favorite novel out of the trilogy, but I didn't think this was all that spectacular. They cut out practically everything with Lisbeth in the Caribbean, the whole math book/that one dude's equation she was trying to figure out the whole time and they cut out some of the parts of the ending (like who Blomkvist was supposed to be shot, Neiderman getting tied up and then getting away from the police). And, Lisbeth was supposed to lose her dragon tattoo, but she didn't here. Strange. I really hope that Hornet's Nest is better, because I wasn't entralled by this. Yes, it was good, but I had hoped that it would've included more of the film. It certainly could have, seeing as it was about 20 minutes shorter than Dragon Tattoo.
Via Netflix, I watched it in Swedish with English subtitles. It was pretty darn good! Yes, there were some cuts that I would've liked to have not been cut (like everything with Berger), but I understand why they had to be cut. I'm kind of iffy on Mikael and Lisbeth's actors. I guess I never really pictured Kalle to be as old as he actually is and Lisbeth didn't look as bad-a** as I would've hoped. I also didn't picture Lisbeth's dragon tattoo to actually look like that. I thought it would be more like what's on the cover of the novel, not something that took up her entire back. Nonetheless, it was quite enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the English version coming out in December (even though the ending is completely changed, making me more than skeptical).
Flickan som lekte med elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire)
Holy disappoint! Played with Fire is my favorite novel out of the trilogy, but I didn't think this was all that spectacular. They cut out practically everything with Lisbeth in the Caribbean, the whole math book/that one dude's equation she was trying to figure out the whole time and they cut out some of the parts of the ending (like who Blomkvist was supposed to be shot, Neiderman getting tied up and then getting away from the police). And, Lisbeth was supposed to lose her dragon tattoo, but she didn't here. Strange. I really hope that Hornet's Nest is better, because I wasn't entralled by this. Yes, it was good, but I had hoped that it would've included more of the film. It certainly could have, seeing as it was about 20 minutes shorter than Dragon Tattoo.
The Divulgations of One Desmond Leica: http://desmondleica.wordpress.com/
-
TheValentineBros
- Anniversary Edition
- Posts: 1119
- Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:26 am
- Contact:
-
ajmrowland
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 8177
- Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:19 pm
- Location: Appleton, WI
I have to disagree with most of what he says. Sure, there could've been some more interesting things going on, but the boring parts are actually the more artful bits.Super Aurora wrote:Goliath wrote:Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940)
This was only the third time I've ever watched it. So unlike most other Disney animated features, I have no nostalgic feelings toward it. It's a hard film to review, since I find it to be very uneven. First of all, I should mention that the animation is top-notch. After this first five features, Disney would not have such refined and sophisticated animation ever again. Visually, this is one of the most impressive (Disney-)movies of all time. But there's more to it than animation, specifically its combination with classical music.
Late film critic Pauline Kael wrote, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice [...] and parts of other sequences are first-rate Disney, but the total effect is grotesquely kitschy". I incline to agree, even as that may come as a shock to most Disney-fans. I think that most of its fans' statements about how this is a 'work of art' is ridiculous. It's nice entertainment, and even there it sometimes fails. I love the 'Rites of Spring' segment, with the dinosaurs. That was handled very well. 'Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria' is also very impressive and very well done. 'Dance of the hours' is humorous and well worth watching.
However, the 'Pastorale' with the centaurs is a perfect example of kitsch in this movie. I think it's very wise that Sunflower was cut out. I don't understand why she was put in, in the first place. Her design is so out of place, she didn't add anything, and to contrast the caricature of the African-American with the beauty of the other centaurs is just plain offensive.So good riddance to her! Still coun't save this kitschy part, though. The beginning of the movie with the abstract shapes, and the next part with the fairies is just plain boring. I wouldn't have blamed anybody if he walked out of the theater, had they not known what was coming next.
All things considered, this movie still deserves a lot of praise for its fantastic animation, beautiful music and most of all its audacity; image having made only two animated features, both traditional (fairy) tales, and then to do something like Fantasia. That takes a lot of guts.
Disney's Fantasia 2000 (1999)
I've seen this one a lot more often, since I owned it on VHS. But even nostalgic feelings can't save this one. It's as uneven as its predecessor, but it doesn't have its wonderful animation, its sophistication, not even its lenght. At 75 minutes, of which 5 minutes end credits and 10 minutes a repeat of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', this is a very meager movie. Didn't Disney dare to make a true concert feature?
The bad CGI-animation ruins a lot of segments, which could've been a lot better. Now I'm not a CGI-hater, but I do dislike it when it's badly done. It looks very unsophisticated. The part with the whales is boring enough, but it could've been saved had it been hand-drawn. It would've been much warmer and appealing in 2D. The opening part with the butterflies would have been much more impressive with hand-drawn animation. Now it just looks cheap and hastened. 'Steadfast Tin Soldier' looks a lot better, but looks very dated nowadays, considered how far CGI has come since.
The only parts I really like are 'Rhapsody in Blue', which is utterly brilliant and can't get enough praise; and 'The Firebird', which is the only segment in the entire picture that has the feel to it of the original Fantasia. It's a good choice for the last act, because it will leave the audience impressed, while the overall film is not so impressive. There is much too much emphasize on humor, mainly slapstick. Maybe Walt's original took itself too seriously, but this 'sequel' takes itself not seriously enough.
The one minute short flamingos bit was too over the top, too fast and poorly animated. The 'Pomp and Circumstances' sequence I hate the most, because it ruins a great piece of 'epic' music by focussing on totally un-funny slapstick, consisiting only of hurting Donald as much as they could. It's not even clever humor, it's very cheap and lazy. And what's up with the 'celebrity' introductions? They take away the whole flow of the movie and... they're completely unneccessary. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? I mean... seriously! On Wikipedia, I read the duo that presented 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is "a Las Vegas headliner act". Really?!
I wish they had made 'Musicana' in the 1980's instead. I'm also disappointed that Roy E. Disney's introduction from the VHS is missing from the already bare-bones DVD.
Agree with the segment clips choices you choose that are great.
Only think I can say about Pastoral symphony is that at least Zeus act like Zeus there unlike in Hercules....
I'm surprise you didn't comment on Destino.
Fantasia 2000 was not boring to me at all. It's generally more entertaining than the first.
As for being uneven, why the fuck would anyone want that much consistency in a concert feature made up of essentially different animated shorts?
-
Lazario
I completely understand why everyone who isn't a fan of the Pastoral Symphony doesn't like it. In fact, I used to dislike it as well. I think now it's my favorite segment of the movie alongside Ave Maria. I wish I could lie and say it isn't; it'd be much cooler to lie. But that moment with the storm and then, it passes, and the sun and rainbow comes out- I may be lame and that moment may be lamer, but I think it's one of Disney's most glorious moments in their usually kitschy animation.
Anyway, here's my last week o' movie watchin':
I've been so frickin' lazy with my Netflix Instant Queue that I thought it was about time to start catching up. Picked this random title out of the lineup (of over 130 horror flicks) because it mentioned something about Creepshow and I had never heard of it before. Anyway, it's a 3-part anthology with a wraparound story. The wraparound is painfully bad. The 1st part/story/segment (about a Punch and Judy puppeteer with family problems: he's the stepfather of a juvenile delinquent and his wife is threatening to leave him) is silly at best. The 3rd part/story/segment (about a motorbike racer who takes a job as a gardener for 2 old ladies to earn the money to repair his bike, then decides to burglarize the ladies' home) has an okay start and a very good middle but a really, really stupid finish. Which just leaves the 2nd part/story/segment, which is excellent. And actually worth checking the movie out for, since it's basically a haunted house piece and I usually can't stand those things. This one was good however. With an amazing twist, at least one I never saw coming.
Another anthology, with 4 parts. The wraparound includes Vincent Price, who plays a kind of town records keeper and tells a vampy freelance reporter about the historical horrors of the people of his cursed town. The film is very low budget but the stories are very ambitious and interesting, for different reasons. The 1st part/story is like the next evolution of Deranged, a 1973 Canadian classic (a kind of loose bio on the life of Ed Gein) about a lonely old man who becomes a killer due to a lack of attention from women and is rumored to have been a necrophiliac. This movie takes the rumor part out of the equation. Clu Gulager (Return of the Living Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street 2) does a fantastic job (watch his eyes), and it's all frighteningly effective... until a horrid supernatural twist destroys everything. The 2nd part/story is a very Tales from the Crypt'y thing about a kindly black man who lives in a shack on a swamp and practices voodoo. He saves the life of a petty criminal and keeps him around the shack for company, but the criminal decides he wants more. The beginning and the end are great (especially the music and camera angles, which almost rival the opening of The Evil Dead) but the middle just goes on and on and nothing really happens there, meanwhile Terry Kiser (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) gets on your nerves something awful. The weakest of the 4. The 3rd part/story is another Tales from the Crypt type story (very reminiscent of "Food for Thought," which was shot for the show's 5th season and is one of the whole series' worst episodes). It's slow to start and the acting is not very good... at all. But you can tell it's really leading to something- especially since the villainess is a possessive, brutal voodoo priestess and the protagonist is a glass eater. Your typical voodoo doll poking and bleeding scene? Hell no. This set-up (as well as a particularly disturbing scene where a couple makes love while one of them begins to transform into an early version of Edward Scissorhands while feeling the other person up) leads to one of the single most jaw-dropping death scenes I have ever seen in a horror film...EVER. Easily worth sticking through for this moment. Depressing finale, though. Which of course makes the 4th part/story all the better. It's all about revenge / retribution and getting what you deserve. This one feels more like a rip-off of Children of the Corn than anything from Tales from the Crypt. Only, Children of the Corn wasn't very good. This is. I wish I could explain it, but it's a very shocking piece the whole way through, involving children and war. It must be the civil war, but me being militar-ily ignorant, I can't confirm. An army of children kidnap 3 sadistic soldiers and show them the errors of their ways, in the most horrifying ways possibly. The acting, especially from the children, stinks. But everything else is perfect. Remember that it's low-budget, but it's really worth checking out. Completely unique for its' type.
A really, really stiff but campy and hella fun rip-off of Jaws, with a little Caddyshack and Dirty Dancing thrown in for the hell of it. I wish I could pinpoint what about this I fell in love with, but I had a ball. And I don't think I can explain why. Anyway, there's only one serious flaw- the last 30 minutes are just one joke that goes on and on and on even though there's nothing funny left. It's an hour and 40 minute movie that should shave at least 20 minutes off. The acting is not very good but I liked the performers anyway. The main female lead is terrible but the male lead is actually quite good, as is the skinheaded guy playing the Quint / Robert Shaw part.
Anyway, here's my last week o' movie watchin':
I've been so frickin' lazy with my Netflix Instant Queue that I thought it was about time to start catching up. Picked this random title out of the lineup (of over 130 horror flicks) because it mentioned something about Creepshow and I had never heard of it before. Anyway, it's a 3-part anthology with a wraparound story. The wraparound is painfully bad. The 1st part/story/segment (about a Punch and Judy puppeteer with family problems: he's the stepfather of a juvenile delinquent and his wife is threatening to leave him) is silly at best. The 3rd part/story/segment (about a motorbike racer who takes a job as a gardener for 2 old ladies to earn the money to repair his bike, then decides to burglarize the ladies' home) has an okay start and a very good middle but a really, really stupid finish. Which just leaves the 2nd part/story/segment, which is excellent. And actually worth checking the movie out for, since it's basically a haunted house piece and I usually can't stand those things. This one was good however. With an amazing twist, at least one I never saw coming.
Another anthology, with 4 parts. The wraparound includes Vincent Price, who plays a kind of town records keeper and tells a vampy freelance reporter about the historical horrors of the people of his cursed town. The film is very low budget but the stories are very ambitious and interesting, for different reasons. The 1st part/story is like the next evolution of Deranged, a 1973 Canadian classic (a kind of loose bio on the life of Ed Gein) about a lonely old man who becomes a killer due to a lack of attention from women and is rumored to have been a necrophiliac. This movie takes the rumor part out of the equation. Clu Gulager (Return of the Living Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street 2) does a fantastic job (watch his eyes), and it's all frighteningly effective... until a horrid supernatural twist destroys everything. The 2nd part/story is a very Tales from the Crypt'y thing about a kindly black man who lives in a shack on a swamp and practices voodoo. He saves the life of a petty criminal and keeps him around the shack for company, but the criminal decides he wants more. The beginning and the end are great (especially the music and camera angles, which almost rival the opening of The Evil Dead) but the middle just goes on and on and nothing really happens there, meanwhile Terry Kiser (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) gets on your nerves something awful. The weakest of the 4. The 3rd part/story is another Tales from the Crypt type story (very reminiscent of "Food for Thought," which was shot for the show's 5th season and is one of the whole series' worst episodes). It's slow to start and the acting is not very good... at all. But you can tell it's really leading to something- especially since the villainess is a possessive, brutal voodoo priestess and the protagonist is a glass eater. Your typical voodoo doll poking and bleeding scene? Hell no. This set-up (as well as a particularly disturbing scene where a couple makes love while one of them begins to transform into an early version of Edward Scissorhands while feeling the other person up) leads to one of the single most jaw-dropping death scenes I have ever seen in a horror film...EVER. Easily worth sticking through for this moment. Depressing finale, though. Which of course makes the 4th part/story all the better. It's all about revenge / retribution and getting what you deserve. This one feels more like a rip-off of Children of the Corn than anything from Tales from the Crypt. Only, Children of the Corn wasn't very good. This is. I wish I could explain it, but it's a very shocking piece the whole way through, involving children and war. It must be the civil war, but me being militar-ily ignorant, I can't confirm. An army of children kidnap 3 sadistic soldiers and show them the errors of their ways, in the most horrifying ways possibly. The acting, especially from the children, stinks. But everything else is perfect. Remember that it's low-budget, but it's really worth checking out. Completely unique for its' type.
A really, really stiff but campy and hella fun rip-off of Jaws, with a little Caddyshack and Dirty Dancing thrown in for the hell of it. I wish I could pinpoint what about this I fell in love with, but I had a ball. And I don't think I can explain why. Anyway, there's only one serious flaw- the last 30 minutes are just one joke that goes on and on and on even though there's nothing funny left. It's an hour and 40 minute movie that should shave at least 20 minutes off. The acting is not very good but I liked the performers anyway. The main female lead is terrible but the male lead is actually quite good, as is the skinheaded guy playing the Quint / Robert Shaw part.
-
TheSequelOfDisney
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5263
- Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:30 pm
- Location: Ohio, United States of America
Luftslottet som sprängdes (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)
This final film was pretty good, too. Yeah, they left stuff out again, but what can you do about that? I was kind of upset that they didn't include the part where Berger worked for a competing newspaper, since that was pivotal for the threatening emails (which made absoultely no sense in the film since she didn't transfer). I also would've liked to the court scene to be funnier. I thought it was hilarious in the novel, but it just wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Nonetheless, it was a good film, and a nice one to round out the trilogy. I hope the English versions won't be toned down from the novels (which would be really disappointing) and that Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig can effectively play Lisbeth and Mikael, respectively.
This final film was pretty good, too. Yeah, they left stuff out again, but what can you do about that? I was kind of upset that they didn't include the part where Berger worked for a competing newspaper, since that was pivotal for the threatening emails (which made absoultely no sense in the film since she didn't transfer). I also would've liked to the court scene to be funnier. I thought it was hilarious in the novel, but it just wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Nonetheless, it was a good film, and a nice one to round out the trilogy. I hope the English versions won't be toned down from the novels (which would be really disappointing) and that Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig can effectively play Lisbeth and Mikael, respectively.
The Divulgations of One Desmond Leica: http://desmondleica.wordpress.com/
-
dvdjunkie
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5613
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:05 am
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
Venom (1981) Director - Piers Haggard
One of the better snake movies to come out of the UK is "Venom", starring Klaus Kinski, Sterling Hayden (in his last film appearance), Susan George, Nicole Williamson, Sarah Miles and Oliver Reed. The story of a plot to kidnap a wealthy 10-year-old boy from a London townhouse that goes comply wrong when a pet-shop sends a Black Mamba to the house instead of the harmless garden snake, which the boy collects. Some very tense moments as everyone in the house is threatened by the knowledge that this deadly snake is loose and they can't find it. Great cast, with a great story, and a no cop out ending. Highly recommended.
One of the better snake movies to come out of the UK is "Venom", starring Klaus Kinski, Sterling Hayden (in his last film appearance), Susan George, Nicole Williamson, Sarah Miles and Oliver Reed. The story of a plot to kidnap a wealthy 10-year-old boy from a London townhouse that goes comply wrong when a pet-shop sends a Black Mamba to the house instead of the harmless garden snake, which the boy collects. Some very tense moments as everyone in the house is threatened by the knowledge that this deadly snake is loose and they can't find it. Great cast, with a great story, and a no cop out ending. Highly recommended.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
-
dvdjunkie
- Signature Collection
- Posts: 5613
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:05 am
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976) Directed by Don Taylor
One of the better comedy/westerns of the 70's with an all-star cast featuring Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, and Kay Lenz, with a very good scene-stealing performance from Elizabeth Ashley. The story of a famous Indian Fighter, Sam Longwood (Lee Marvin) and his companions, Joe Knox (Oliver Reed) and Billy (Strother Martin) who are trying to collect a debt owed to them by con artist Jack Colby (Robert Culp). The story ends with a great mud-wrestling fight between the good guys and the bad guys. Highly recommended, if you can find it. Been out of print for quite some time.
One of the better comedy/westerns of the 70's with an all-star cast featuring Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, and Kay Lenz, with a very good scene-stealing performance from Elizabeth Ashley. The story of a famous Indian Fighter, Sam Longwood (Lee Marvin) and his companions, Joe Knox (Oliver Reed) and Billy (Strother Martin) who are trying to collect a debt owed to them by con artist Jack Colby (Robert Culp). The story ends with a great mud-wrestling fight between the good guys and the bad guys. Highly recommended, if you can find it. Been out of print for quite some time.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!