list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Pearl Harbor on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Pearl_Harbor/190062/default.aspx Title: Pearl Harbor
Year: 2001
Director: Michael Bay
Plot: At the time of its release, this lavish period war drama from hyperkinetic director Michael Bay became the most expensive motion picture ever green-lighted by a studio. Ben Affleck stars as Rafe McCawley, a military pilot stationed under Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) in New Jersey, along with his best friend from childhood, Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett). Rafe is chomping at the bit to get involved in World War II, but America has not entered the conflict, so he is forced to fight on loan to the Royal Air Force in Britain, leaving behind his beautiful girlfriend Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). After Rafe goes overseas, both Danny and Evelyn are transferred to the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where word arrives that Rafe has been killed in action. A grief-stricken Evelyn and Danny become romantically attached, a situation that becomes a lit powder keg when Rafe suddenly reappears, having survived his ordeal in the European war. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor puts the romantic triangle on hold, as the best friends are ordered to undertake a top-secret and highly dangerous retaliatory mission to bomb Tokyo, once again under the command of Doolittle. Although the trio of leads are entirely fictional, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Jon Voight (as FDR) co-star in the roles of real-life historical figures. Pearl Harbor is based on a script by Randall Wallace, writer of Braveheart (1995) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Taking a page from the production history of James Cameron's Titanic (1997), many of the actors and filmmakers involved with Pearl Harbor deferred their usual salaries until the film "broke even" at the box office. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 48
Number of Lists: 47
Number of blog posts: 3
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 2
]]>Mon, 11 May 2009 20:11:17 GMTPearl Harbor2001Michael BayAt the time of its release, this lavish period war drama from hyperkinetic director <a href="/players/P___203853/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Bay</a> became the most expensive motion picture ever green-lighted by a studio. <a href="/players/P______426/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ben Affleck</a> stars as Rafe McCawley, a military pilot stationed under Jimmy Doolittle (<a href="/players/P_____3515/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Alec Baldwin</a>) in New Jersey, along with his best friend from childhood, Danny Walker (<a href="/players/P___241673/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Josh Hartnett</a>). Rafe is chomping at the bit to get involved in World War II, but America has not entered the conflict, so he is forced to fight on loan to the Royal Air Force in Britain, leaving behind his beautiful girlfriend Evelyn (<a href="/players/P_____4911/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kate Beckinsale</a>). After Rafe goes overseas, both Danny and Evelyn are transferred to the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where word arrives that Rafe has been killed in action. A grief-stricken Evelyn and Danny become romantically attached, a situation that becomes a lit powder keg when Rafe suddenly reappears, having survived his ordeal in the European war. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor puts the romantic triangle on hold, as the best friends are ordered to undertake a top-secret and highly dangerous retaliatory mission to bomb Tokyo, once again under the command of Doolittle. Although the trio of leads are entirely fictional, Cuba Gooding Jr., <a href="/players/P____66053/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tom Sizemore</a>, and <a href="/players/P___115561/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jon Voight</a> (as FDR) co-star in the roles of real-life historical figures. Pearl Harbor is based on a script by <a href="/players/P___236467/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Randall Wallace</a>, writer of <a href=/films/92066/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Braveheart</a> (1995) and <a href=/films/116451/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>The Man in the Iron Mask</a> (1998). Taking a page from the production history of <a href="/players/P____10397/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>James Cameron</a>'s <a href=/films/114746/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Titanic</a> (1997), many of the actors and filmmakers involved with Pearl Harbor deferred their usual salaries until the film "broke even" at the box office. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide48Tag Target (>10)47312http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t91626moi8b.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Pearl_Harbor/190062/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/reniltm/archive/2009/12/18/44572.aspx Post By: reniltm
Post To: reniltm Blog
Post Date: 12/18/2009 5:00:47 AM
Body: The film "Pearl Harbor" is a story about war, life and the desire to win and survive. It is a story about young people who have to be heroes, because they haven't other options. I really like the movie, because it is a beautiful lovestory…
]]>Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:00:47 GMTreniltmreniltm Blog12/18/2009 5:00:47 AMThe film "Pearl Harbor" is a story about war, life and the desire to win and survive. It is a story about young people who have to be heroes, because they haven't other options. I really like the movie, because it is a beautiful lovestory&hellip; http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/3/37896.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/3/2008 3:00:52 PM
Body: It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:00:52 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/3/2008 3:00:52 PMIt’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/chesterfilms/archive/2007/12/30/23320.aspx Post By: chesterfilms
Post To: chesterfilms Blog
Post Date: 12/30/2007 12:59:28 AM
Body: i have never had much to say about michael bay. as one of hollywood's most profitable hacks, he continues to to bore me with nonstop action and has the ability to keep me utterly confused. with his constant use of 2 second cuts and shaky camera that is all the rage. anyway, today being december 7th and the 66th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor, i thought it might be a good idea to take a look at what i like to consider a very irresponsible and exploitive sequence from mr. bays film. lets just hope no one lets him direct 911. maybe he could do a pov of one of the planes hitting the building, or follow people down as the buildings collapse. i am not against historical films, or even recreating disasters, but there are respectable ways of doing it. i thought greengrass handled united 93 wonderfully, and even though i am not a huge fan of stone's world trade center, i felt he took care in his decisions.
]]>Sun, 30 Dec 2007 05:59:28 GMTchesterfilmschesterfilms Blog12/30/2007 12:59:28 AMi have never had much to say about michael bay. as one of hollywood&#39;s most profitable hacks, he continues to to bore me with nonstop action and has the ability to keep me utterly confused. with his constant use of 2 second cuts and shaky camera that is all the rage. anyway, today being december 7th and the 66th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor, i thought it might be a good idea to take a look at what i like to consider a very irresponsible and exploitive sequence from mr. bays film. lets just hope no one lets him direct 911. maybe he could do a pov of one of the planes hitting the building, or follow people down as the buildings collapse. i am not against historical films, or even recreating disasters, but there are respectable ways of doing it. i thought greengrass handled united 93 wonderfully, and even though i am not a huge fan of stone&#39;s world trade center, i felt he took care in his decisions. http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_War_Films/190/6962/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Prelude76
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 4/12/2007 12:34:21 PM
Body: There's a lot of good choices already on here, so let me make a Top 5 with films not mentioned yet. 1. Letters from Iwo Jima : Uses the same production team that gave us 'Saving Private Ryan', but the incredible direction from Clint Eastwood makes this a true WW2 film that Saving Private Ryan always wished it was. It will completely drain you emotionally. I haven't seen its counterpart, 'Flags of our Fathers' yet, but I suspect that Iwo Jima version is the better part, from reviews I've read. 2. Stalingrad : This German film is a masterpiece. Most people know the Battle of Stalingrad from the point of view of the Russians, as depicted in all its Hollywood glory in 'Enemy at the Gates'. I'm not bashing that film, i thought the special fx were incredible, the sniper warfare was great, and the 'one man gets rifle, one man gets only bullets' scene really showed how desperate the Russian side was, just throwing everything at the Germans, in complete desperation. But rest of film just flounders between a love story, a thriller, a hide-n-seek strategy, and battle of egos. The actual Stalingrad battle is hardly dicussed or showed, after the impressive opening scenes. Which is why Stalingrad, the german-made movie, is such an eye-opener, showing what the German troops had to go thru, in extreme winter conditions, with supplies cut-off, and with commanders that blindly followed foolish orders from a deranged and desperate Hitler. 3. Downfall : Another german-made masterpiece. It shows the last days of Hitler's reign in Berlin, as the Russians are approaching the city. There aren't many full scale war scenes as found in Hollywood productions, but the close-quarters urbarn warfare are breathtaking to watch, as is the insanity going on with all the generals and Hitler as they approach their final demise. Another aspect I liked is how this story is taken straight from the journal and dairies that Hitler's secrety took, so accuracy, assuming we are to believe her story, seems to be on this movie's side. The acting from all involved, espcially Bruno Ganz who played Hitler, is flawless. 4. Children of Men : Another recent movie that just came out. Although it doesnt deal with a historical war, it's depiction of urban warfare in modern times is amazing. I especially loved the 10+ long minute shots, all done with hand-held camera, near the end of the film. The cinematographer makes you FEEL like you're right there in the middle of the conflict. 5. Tora! Tora! Tora! : The real story of Pearl Harbour, not like that brainwashing garbage called 'Pearl Harbor', where Japanese sneak up and bomb a love triangle in order to put a tortured audience, suffering from too much exposure to bad acting, out of their 3 hour long misery.
]]>Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:34:21 GMTPrelude76Top 54/12/2007 12:34:21 PMThere&#39;s a lot of good choices already on here, so let me make a Top 5 with films not mentioned yet. 1. Letters from Iwo Jima : Uses the same production team that gave us &#39;Saving Private Ryan&#39;, but the incredible direction from Clint Eastwood makes this a true WW2 film that Saving Private Ryan always wished it was. It will completely drain you emotionally. I haven&#39;t seen its counterpart, &#39;Flags of our Fathers&#39; yet, but I suspect that Iwo Jima version is the better part, from reviews I&#39;ve read. 2. Stalingrad : This German film is a masterpiece. Most people know the Battle of Stalingrad from the point of view of the Russians, as depicted in all its Hollywood glory in &#39;Enemy at the Gates&#39;. I&#39;m not bashing that film, i thought the special fx were incredible, the sniper warfare was great, and the &#39;one man gets rifle, one man gets only bullets&#39; scene really showed how desperate the Russian side was, just throwing everything at the Germans, in complete desperation. But rest of film just flounders between a love story, a thriller, a hide-n-seek strategy, and battle of egos. The actual Stalingrad battle is hardly dicussed or showed, after the impressive opening scenes. Which is why Stalingrad, the german-made movie, is such an eye-opener, showing what the German troops had to go thru, in extreme winter conditions, with supplies cut-off, and with commanders that blindly followed foolish orders from a deranged and desperate Hitler. 3. Downfall : Another german-made masterpiece. It shows the last days of Hitler&#39;s reign in Berlin, as the Russians are approaching the city. There aren&#39;t many full scale war scenes as found in Hollywood productions, but the close-quarters urbarn warfare are breathtaking to watch, as is the insanity going on with all the generals and Hitler as they approach their final demise. Another aspect I liked is how this story is taken straight from the journal and dairies that Hitler&#39;s secrety took, so accuracy, assuming we are to believe her story, seems to be on this movie&#39;s side. The acting from all involved, espcially Bruno Ganz who played Hitler, is flawless. 4. Children of Men : Another recent movie that just came out. Although it doesnt deal with a historical war, it&#39;s depiction of urban warfare in modern times is amazing. I especially loved the 10+ long minute shots, all done with hand-held camera, near the end of the film. The cinematographer makes you FEEL like you&#39;re right there in the middle of the conflict. 5. Tora! Tora! Tora! : The real story of Pearl Harbour, not like that brainwashing garbage called &#39;Pearl Harbor&#39;, where Japanese sneak up and bomb a love triangle in order to put a tortured audience, suffering from too much exposure to bad acting, out of their 3 hour long misery. http://www.spout.com/blogs/womkii/archive/2006/6/30/1687.aspx Post By: womkii
Post To: womkii Blog
Post Date: 6/30/2006 3:05:00 PM
Body: I recently joined the "worst-ever" group and wrote the following post to nominate three films to the list. 1. Demonlover 2. Domino 3. Pearl Harbor Here's the post: First off, just want to say hello to everyone in this group, and thanks for the invite. This is a great group to have. Thinking back over and weeding out the truly awful movies is very important, and a great brain teaser - try to remember the movies you've tried so hard to forgot. Also, regarding Munich, I haven't even seen it, but I would argue that anything by Spielberg (almost by definition) could NOT be worst-ever material. And, if we're going to consider anything by Spielberg, you have to consider A.I. first. That was REALLY bad, but still not worst ever in my opinion. I mean, there are A LOT of films out there. Worst ever, in my humble opinion, has to be insulting to the human condition, insulting to anyone with even a modicum of intelligence. Worst-ever has to be a film that forces me to wonder how the writer and/or director can continue to live out their days and look their friends in the eyes knowing he/she blew more than $5 million on that pure waste of human resources. Worst ever must force us to take some time and wonder how it's possible that it came to be. Worst ever should be an implied "must see" list simply because viewers must see the absolute worst films to appreciate how great the truly great films are. I hereby nominate two films: DEMONLOVER and DOMINO I may be the minority on Demonlover. I don't know. I've never actually met anyone else who saw it - other than my best friend who saw it with me - but it did receive some stellar reviews, which is why we went to see it in the first place. Anyway, I left the theatre sick to my stomach, and my friend felt the same way. We spoke not a word for some time, and walked at least a dozen blocks before either of us could find the words to express what was happening to us, or what had just happened to make us feel so terrible. And I still don't really know how to put it other than to say that of all the crap films I've seen in my life, and I think I've seen more than most (clearly not all listed in my profile yet - I haven't been all that active a spout member...yet), Demonlover is the most insultingly god-awful film that a single human writer/director has ever successfully conceived and then executed upon. That in fact is one of the most disturbing things about it...that it was one writer/director: Olivier Assayas. Who is this man? I haven't done the proper research, I admit. I think he's French, which explains some of it, but certainly does not make it okay or acceptable. This man should be stopped. And somehow this film has managed to get pretty good reviews on imdb and elsewhere. I refuse to believe it. I think all of them are fake. All of them must've been planted there by Olivier. Some of these "reviewers" have claimed that Demonlover is a film akin to something by David Lynch, which makes me very angry. David Lynch is clinically insane - in a great way - and his films generally express the dark place of a very disturbed and artistic individual. I don't love all David Lynch films. In fact, I find some of them borderline unwatchable (see my blog on Eraserhead) but they are all "good" films. They're generally nonlinear, yes, and often surreal, and even "plot-resistant" but they're poetic and at least seem to have an underlying cryptic point hidden beneath layers of sybolism and metaphor. David Lynch does this very well. Demonlover is just plain nonsensical terrible stupid retarded non-poetic. It's the worst series of flickering images that have ever entered my eyes, and I think my brain was partially injured. But I think I'm a stronger viewer because of it. I think everyone should see this just to have seen it, just so you know you've seen the most insultingly bad movie that has ever been produced. As for Domino, it's a very distant second worst-ever to Demonlover. Domino is a wannabe edgy action film that sends the brain into a roughly two hour state of shock because the plot is so stupid and nonsensical. The one thing it has in common with Demonlover is that it’s actually directed pretty well. I think Tony Scott is great. True Romance is one of my favorite films, but boy did he miss on this one. I think he may have lost his mind. But that doesn't make much sense either because Man on Fire was pretty good too, and that wasn't done all that long ago. Like I said before, it forces you to wonder how it happened, how it's possible. It's angering and funny at the same time. A well executed terribly god-awful script is exponentially worse than a terrible script directed poorly, because if the directing is terrible (meaning the actual visual experience / storytelling) you can easily just turn it off and forget you ever saw any of it, but when the director is strong and whole concept/premise/story/dialogue is an insult to intelligence, then the severity of the badness is increased exponentially where the exponent is equal the competence of the director. That's why Michael Bay is very very dangerous. From a purely directional point of view, he's a very visually stunning director, a master when it comes to action, but for him to have done some of the films he's made, he must not even bother reading the scripts. I honestly think he'll make anything as long as he gets to shoot a few action sequences he's excited about. I vaguely remember watching an interview with him when he was talking about making the Island (which was quite impressively bad, but not worst-ever) and all he talked about was how much fun he had doing that one sequence when the huge metal things fall off the back of the truck during the highway chase sequence. Now that I pause to think about it, I'm going to have to nominate PEARL HARBOR to the worst-ever list as well. That's not just an insult to the human condition, but an insult to human history and the lives of all the men and women who died that day.
]]>Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:05:00 GMTwomkiiwomkii Blog6/30/2006 3:05:00 PMI recently joined the "worst-ever" group and wrote the following post to nominate three films to the list. 1. Demonlover 2. Domino 3. Pearl Harbor Here's the post: First off, just want to say hello to everyone in this group, and thanks for the invite. This is a great group to have. Thinking back over and weeding out the truly awful movies is very important, and a great brain teaser - try to remember the movies you've tried so hard to forgot. Also, regarding Munich, I haven't even seen it, but I would argue that anything by Spielberg (almost by definition) could NOT be worst-ever material. And, if we're going to consider anything by Spielberg, you have to consider A.I. first. That was REALLY bad, but still not worst ever in my opinion. I mean, there are A LOT of films out there. Worst ever, in my humble opinion, has to be insulting to the human condition, insulting to anyone with even a modicum of intelligence. Worst-ever has to be a film that forces me to wonder how the writer and/or director can continue to live out their days and look their friends in the eyes knowing he/she blew more than $5 million on that pure waste of human resources. Worst ever must force us to take some time and wonder how it's possible that it came to be. Worst ever should be an implied "must see" list simply because viewers must see the absolute worst films to appreciate how great the truly great films are. I hereby nominate two films: DEMONLOVER and DOMINO I may be the minority on Demonlover. I don't know. I've never actually met anyone else who saw it - other than my best friend who saw it with me - but it did receive some stellar reviews, which is why we went to see it in the first place. Anyway, I left the theatre sick to my stomach, and my friend felt the same way. We spoke not a word for some time, and walked at least a dozen blocks before either of us could find the words to express what was happening to us, or what had just happened to make us feel so terrible. And I still don't really know how to put it other than to say that of all the crap films I've seen in my life, and I think I've seen more than most (clearly not all listed in my profile yet - I haven't been all that active a spout member...yet), Demonlover is the most insultingly god-awful film that a single human writer/director has ever successfully conceived and then executed upon. That in fact is one of the most disturbing things about it...that it was one writer/director: Olivier Assayas. Who is this man? I haven't done the proper research, I admit. I think he's French, which explains some of it, but certainly does not make it okay or acceptable. This man should be stopped. And somehow this film has managed to get pretty good reviews on imdb and elsewhere. I refuse to believe it. I think all of them are fake. All of them must've been planted there by Olivier. Some of these "reviewers" have claimed that Demonlover is a film akin to something by David Lynch, which makes me very angry. David Lynch is clinically insane - in a great way - and his films generally express the dark place of a very disturbed and artistic individual. I don't love all David Lynch films. In fact, I find some of them borderline unwatchable (see my blog on Eraserhead) but they are all "good" films. They're generally nonlinear, yes, and often surreal, and even "plot-resistant" but they're poetic and at least seem to have an underlying cryptic point hidden beneath layers of sybolism and metaphor. David Lynch does this very well. Demonlover is just plain nonsensical terrible stupid retarded non-poetic. It's the worst series of flickering images that have ever entered my eyes, and I think my brain was partially injured. But I think I'm a stronger viewer because of it. I think everyone should see this just to have seen it, just so you know you've seen the most insultingly bad movie that has ever been produced. As for Domino, it's a very distant second worst-ever to Demonlover. Domino is a wannabe edgy action film that sends the brain into a roughly two hour state of shock because the plot is so stupid and nonsensical. The one thing it has in common with Demonlover is that it’s actually directed pretty well. I think Tony Scott is great. True Romance is one of my favorite films, but boy did he miss on this one. I think he may have lost his mind. But that doesn't make much sense either because Man on Fire was pretty good too, and that wasn't done all that long ago. Like I said before, it forces you to wonder how it happened, how it's possible. It's angering and funny at the same time. A well executed terribly god-awful script is exponentially worse than a terrible script directed poorly, because if the directing is terrible (meaning the actual visual experience / storytelling) you can easily just turn it off and forget you ever saw any of it, but when the director is strong and whole concept/premise/story/dialogue is an insult to intelligence, then the severity of the badness is increased exponentially where the exponent is equal the competence of the director. That's why Michael Bay is very very dangerous. From a purely directional point of view, he's a very visually stunning director, a master when it comes to action, but for him to have done some of the films he's made, he must not even bother reading the scripts. I honestly think he'll make anything as long as he gets to shoot a few action sequences he's excited about. I vaguely remember watching an interview with him when he was talking about making the Island (which was quite impressively bad, but not worst-ever) and all he talked about was how much fun he had doing that one sequence when the huge metal things fall off the back of the truck during the highway chase sequence. Now that I pause to think about it, I'm going to have to nominate PEARL HARBOR to the worst-ever list as well. That's not just an insult to the human condition, but an insult to human history and the lives of all the men and women who died that day. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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