23-12-2003 03:06									#301
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Yeah, no mention of Frodo of the Nine Fingers was a disappointment to be sure. Nor of Samwise the Mayor. Hoping it appears on the extended version (which is turning into a pretty long list).

	23-12-2003 03:10									#302
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Seabiscuit and Lost In Translation are a couple of the dark horses in the nomination race.

There is a negative buzz around Last Samurai. The film looks like it won't be profitable before DVD sales, based on current estimates.

It has almost no industry momentum.

So, while it could make it, its unlikely at this point.

	23-12-2003 03:36									#303
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui quote: redefined the genre How did SPR 'redefine' the genre? How was it much different from those that came before it? Was it well acted, yes. Was it epic, somewhat. I'll still take 'Bridge over the River Kwai'.

Bridge of the River Kwai is indeed a classic. Its starting to age now, especially from a presentation standpoint. Society has moved on since Bridge was released, and people connect differently now with that subject matter than they did then.

SPR has a great presentation... both great visuals... high def, great grain and contrast... and a great sound presentation... one of the best DTS mixes of recent years.

The film wasn't intended to be epic. It was intended to be about saving an individual soldier in the midst of a massive situation. The characters were powerfully portrayed and the messages about war resonated powerfully.

The film industry liked it so much, in fact, that it spawned something that could be called an epic... the dramatization of "Band Of Brothers". That series is undoubtedly the definitive film version of Easy company in Operation Overlord.

	23-12-2003 03:53									#305
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quote: Originally posted by MrBaggins I've got both DVD's. I feel by no small measure that SiL is good but is ultimately obvious and has no standout performance. It has an excellent screenplay and script, but thats not the same as it being a great movie. Its... nice. Thats the most praise I can heap on it. In SPR, Hanks, Sizemore and Goldberg were simply ashonishing, not for just the first scene, but all the way through. The direction, cinematography and sound editing were flawless in SPR. The movie had depth and meaning, and redefined the genre, which had been bereft of any quality for many years hence.

I totally agree. Saving Private Ryan had great performances throughout. It's cinematography was unsurpassed. It was a truly great film -- but it didn't have what women like and that is romance. That is why Shakespeare in Love won.

Annie Hall was a mediocre film at best. In any other year, it would have had little chance of even been nominated for best picture. There's no way to this film is anywhere near as good as Star Wars.

Chicago had lousy music, poor acting, a horrid plot and a few well photograph dance numbers that were exceedingly booooooooooring.

	23-12-2003 04:25									#306
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Just back from seeing.

The obligatory list of minor quibbles:

- I'd have liked some more eagles. Now we just get a few pansy eagles pestering the Nazgul, so Pippin/Merry's (I tend to confuse the two, forgive me) cry of "Eagles!" seems a bit useless. Then again, it doesn't really work as well as it should without Hobbit's "Eagles" scene.

- A dire miss, which would have been easy to do - "Preee-ciiii-ooouuss... *fwoowf*"

- Denethor's death was a bit dodgy, especially with Gandalf pushing him into the pyre.

- Shelob... I agree, I agree, she was fine, but she could have been just a *wee bit* bigger. I know, I know...

However, I *definitely* didn't miss the Scouring of the Shire. I liked it in the book, but in the movie, it wouldn't have worked. Three words - Big Fat Anticlimax. Big... Fat... Anticlimax. On this issue, I feel, the Tolkien purists are completely wrong.

quote: Nor of Samwise the Mayor.

What, are you saying you didn't pay attention to what Frodo was writing to Red Book of Westmark? Fer shame!

	23-12-2003 04:30									#307
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quote: SPR has a great presentation... both great visuals... high def, great grain and contrast... and a great sound presentation... one of the best DTS mixes of recent years.

So it should win because of good visuals and sound?

quote: The characters were powerfully portrayed and the messages about war resonated powerfully.

What that war has sacrifices? Wow... that's never been done before. The characters were good, but not super amazing as you are making them out to be.

quote: Annie Hall was a mediocre film at best.

I don't understand how you can call Annie Hall mediocre. It is undoubtably Woody Allen's best film, and Woody has been a wonderful director with many great films. Though I guess if you didn't like Seinfeld you wouldn't like Woody Allen.

quote: Chicago had lousy music, poor acting, a horrid plot and a few well photograph dance numbers that were exceedingly booooooooooring.

I can understand if you don't like musicals, but poor acting and horrid plot? What are you NUTS?! That movie had a great plot, the tongue in cheak look at lawyers was great. And Gere & Zeta Jones were magnificent.

	23-12-2003 05:18									#308
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To recap my review of RotK:

- The ending of the Movie was long....but it was probably the best PJ could do with regards to the book. I agree with Stefu that trying to fix in the scouring of the Shire would have been bad Juju.

- Instead of a bunch of Undead that look a lot like a ride from an amuesment Park outside of LA saving the day, it should have included the Dunedain from the book.

- I want a Mountain Troll.

- Hell, Give me a Fell Beast too.


EDIT: I talked to my brother about it yesterday. He didn't understand why Frodo left the Shire, nor did some of the guys I went to see it with. Did it really not click with some people?

	23-12-2003 05:19									#309
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There are no Dunedain?!

	23-12-2003 05:20									#310
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Imran, Do you even know who the Dunedain are? ( )

	23-12-2003 05:22									#311
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Yes, the 'Rangers' which Aragorn, son of Arathorn, belongs to.

	23-12-2003 05:25									#312
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ah, carry on.

	23-12-2003 05:27									#313
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I'm not an LOTR neophyte... I know the book... at least the Hobbit, Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King... not the history book like Similarion though.

	23-12-2003 06:05									#314
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quote: Originally posted by Stuie Arrian beat me to this.... but I'll second the fact that Shakespeare in Love was a very good film. I can watch it over and over and always take away something new. The WWII movies were just entertaining (well, Ryan was, not Thin Red Line).

I agree completely. Shakespeare in Love was an extremely funny picture, and I have seen it several times and enjoyed it each time. There are so many jokes, jokes within jokes and inside jokes that I doubt many people who have only seen the film once are even aware of half the fun. At its most absurd level it is a movie about making itself, but set during the time of Elizabeth and starring W.S. Shakespeare among others. Ben Affleck, an actor with apparant sex appeal is brought in for a very small role in order to increase the sex appeal of the film. He plays an actor with apparant sex appeal who is brought in for a very small role in Romeo and Juliette. It goes on like this.

	23-12-2003 06:14									#315
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Oh, and by the way. When talking about great films (as opposed to enjoyable movies), Star Wars (any and all of them) doesn't even get invited to the discussion. Those films sucked honestly, the first one only barely ranking above putrid. Sure they were fun (kinda) when I was 15 and saw them at the theatre, but I could tell immediately that they were going to be sequalized and muppetized.

Annie Hall isn't even Allen's best comedy, but it is a good film as are many of his films. I prefer a number of Allen films over this one, especially Manhattan, Love and Death, Deconstructing Harry, but I have no objection to Annie Hall's oscar. I find it much more appropriate than so many other selections.

	23-12-2003 06:59									#316
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First point - Annie Hall is Allen's best movie, and entirely deserving of best picture.

Second point - Chicago is brilliant and features some of the lushest, most decadently rich and beautiful cinematography of all time.

	23-12-2003 07:19									#317
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quote: Originally posted by monolith94 First point - Annie Hall is Allen's best movie, and entirely deserving of best picture. Second point - Chicago is brilliant and features some of the lushest, most decadently rich and beautiful cinematography of all time.

Chicago was alright, but it didn't hold a candle to All that Jazz. My biggest gripe with Chicago was that there was only one decent dance number (the ladies on death row). I really like good dancers, and this film didn't have nearly enough for its type of film.

	23-12-2003 07:27									#318
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quote: My biggest gripe with Chicago was that there was only one decent dance number (the ladies on death row). I really like good dancers, and this film didn't have nearly enough for its type of film.

That's very true. I think part of that is than Renee Zellweger really isn't a trained dancer (you could tell in the last number, espcially compared to Zeta Jones, who was trained in dance). The Prision Block song (the death row one) was definetly the best, but I also liked the Puppet act one with Gere, Zellweger, and Baransky.

	23-12-2003 07:31									#319
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This thread isn't about Chicago, Annie Hall, or any other crappy movie.

Its about Return of the King, so make a seperate Oscar thread to ***** about other stuff.

I read all the books ages ago, and with my terrible memory I don't remember anything. What was the scouring?

	23-12-2003 07:40									#320
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most decadently rich and beautiful cinematography of all time? you need to be watching more films... its a long, long way down that list

some of which include:


Barry Lyndon
The Last Emperor
American Beauty
The Man Who Wasn't There
O Brother Where Art Thou
Eyes Wide Shut
Gandhi

All very visually lush, with decent, if not great transfers.

As for true greats... Barry Lyndon was truely astonishing for its accomodating that lighting, The Man Who Wasn't There for the better-than-noir noir... film process has improved such a lot since the golden age of B&W, and O Brother Where Art Thou for its integrated color perfect post-process.

	23-12-2003 07:41									#321
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quote: This thread isn't about Chicago, Annie Hall, or any other crappy movie. Its about Return of the King, so make a seperate Oscar thread to ***** about other stuff.

Sorry, threadjack complete .

quote: What was the scouring?

When the hobbits go back home and find that things aren't as they left them.

quote: Eyes Wide Shut

You gotta be shitting me

	23-12-2003 07:55									#322
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Nope. Larry Smith and Kubrick are gods of cinematography.

Perfect framing. Perfect choice of film stocks and equipment. Perfect understanding of lighting, tints, to hint at scenes.

A classic scene in Eyes Wide Shut is the cold bathroom vs. the warm glow of the bedroom, subtly hinting at Cruise's predicament.

The tracking was painstaking.

Its no suprise that this was the longest shoot in film history. It was the most patient and carefully done.

A fitting farewell by the the best visual director of our generation.

	23-12-2003 08:18									#323
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quote: You are clearly certifiably insane.

Agreed. Anyone who says this...

quote: Crouching Tiger? Better than Gladiator? You have to be joking.

... is obviously deranged.

	23-12-2003 08:18									#324
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Finally got a chance to see it today. Great movie. Bad Azzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!! I loved it.

Probably the best of the bunch, though it is hard to choose. Seeing it on the big screen is the only way to see it really. I wish the movie theatre would show all 3 consecutively. I'd watch it . Just give a 5 or 10 minute break in between movies. That's all I need.

The only annoyance was this woman who talked throughout the whole movie behind me and to my left . Damn I wish I had a mace, or even yet- a flail to bash her head in. In fact, I would have as soon as just kill everyone in the theatre. Damn laws.

I want my own theatre. I think I'm going to put up a movie sized screen inside my home. I don't think it will fit though. Maybe I'll put it in my backyard. I don't care if the projector costs $20,000. I have the money.

	23-12-2003 08:20									#325
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Okay. So what happend to the blond chick at the end? And why was there no 3 way sex scene dammit

Does the blonde chick end up with a hobbit? . I'd pay to see that.

	23-12-2003 08:37									#326
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Drake: I'd easily take Gladiator. I love ancient Rome flicks .

Crouching Tiger? Yeah it was good... but not great. Another martial arts flick, just with a little more of a plot... um, ok.

	23-12-2003 09:07									#327
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quote: Originally posted by Anun Ik Oba After Frodo awakens from his stupor after the Ring's destruction, and each of the remaining members walk into the room one by one, Samwise got the most applause. He definately kicked it in the end.

It was the dwarf for us, because everyone saw that scene as a bit... gay.

(hobbits smiling and jumping in bed hugging then the dwarf joining in)

that was some funny ****.

	23-12-2003 09:12									#328
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quote: Originally posted by Dissident The only annoyance was this woman who talked throughout the whole movie behind me and to my left . Damn I wish I had a mace, or even yet- a flail to bash her head in. In fact, I would have as soon as just kill everyone in the theatre. Damn laws.

I had a guy behind me who try to initiate audience to clap everytime the good guys defeated/overcame bad guys. SO I clapped in front of his face when the king died.

BOO YAH! Pwnzed.

	23-12-2003 09:28									#329
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quote: Originally posted by -Jrabbit OK, you guys -- Ned and Imram -- definitely need a new "deserving an Oscar" thread of your own. Back on topic -- Hilarious bit on Chicago radio this a.m., saying ROTK may have surpassed Top Gun as the all-time gay subtext movie. Great line, but I almost did a spit-take with my coffee... The funny part was, it was mostly hobbit-driven, where previous speculation I've heard tended to be more about those effeminate elves... Favorite continuity errors -- 1. "Frodo, we have to get you something to wear." Sam and (shirtless) Frodo don oversized orc armor. A short time later, the orc gear is gone and -- ta daa -- Frodo's back in his shirt for the climactic finale. 2. The army of men (6,000 iirc) rides horses from Minas Tirith to the final "if we can just distract them Frodo will have a chance" battle at the black gates. The enemy is called out, and surrounds them in great number. But when the battle is joined -- I swear this is true, but I want to go back and check -- The army of men is on foot! ALL 6,000 HORSES ARE GONE!!! (Oh, that skampish Gandalf... )

just got done seeing it. I never noticed

I never notice those types of things unless the director points them out in the audio commentary.

	23-12-2003 09:35									#330
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quote: Originally posted by Lonestar To recap my review of RotK: - The ending of the Movie was long....but it was probably the best PJ could do with regards to the book. I agree with Stefu that trying to fix in the scouring of the Shire would have been bad Juju. - Instead of a bunch of Undead that look a lot like a ride from an amuesment Park outside of LA saving the day, it should have included the Dunedain from the book. - I want a Mountain Troll. - Hell, Give me a Fell Beast too. EDIT: I talked to my brother about it yesterday. He didn't understand why Frodo left the Shire, nor did some of the guys I went to see it with. Did it really not click with some people?

what is the scouring of the shire? And why did Frodo leave the Shire? I figured he did it because it was written that way