The Shrine

Closer was a bit odd, and very uncomfortable to watch with my mother watching as well. It jumps around a bit and you have to keep guessing where you are in the timeline (several months, several days...) other than that I thought it was a really crazy but creepy film that had a kind of twisted message about love in it.

I,Robot was just Will Smith's one liners at their best. The animation and a couple of the bot fight scenes were pretty cool but I thought the movie could have had so much more going for it like something out of minority report, but then instead it went the way of independence day. A so-so effort.

Sideways was well let's just say it was another reason for me to hate Church, but love Giamatti. Although I thought both characters in the story represented the pull's I have in my own relationships, one guy wants to fuck all the time while the other seeks out intimacy through wine, best part they both are alcoholics, needless to say I could relate to the film and the fanaticism, but why is it about wine? That's the only part that irked me, you could have substituted anything else but it just had to be about wine and the snotty california wine country.

Spanglish. Who is Paz Vega and what heavenly cloud did she decend to earth from? Again, this was another reason for me to hate Church (see above) and also see how Tea Leoni has gone down down down hill since The Family Man. This film does accurately portray the upper middle class though in my opinion but I thought the love story elements between Vega and Sandler were maybe a bit too cliched. Good film, great story, the only thing that really held it back was the acting a little bit. It seemed like Sandler wasn't allowed to be the character whom he was portraying, and it also seemed the same way with Leoni too. The grandmother was the best part of the film.

Paul Giamatti is the king. I bet he hates Garden State too.

He is not the King, Dustin Hoffman is "the King"(see confidence). And fuck you and your Garden State hating ways.

I have to go with Lotus on this one. I watched Garden State for about 35 minutes and it just went nowhere. I didn't hate it, there was just nothing there...at all. The only completely flat plot line I've ever seen in a movie, it was weird.

And again, Zeus, we've already blasted you on why watching a movie that everybody recommends for 35 minutes is just dumb.

So, if all of you decided that Lemmings are corrected and decided to jump off of a bridge, I should as well? Some of us like this whole "free will" thing. I know, I know, it means I'm crazy and should be put into an asylum, but I can't just get this voice out of my head that says "make your own decision, you don't have to follow the crowd".

Man, I need help....

I didn't like Garden State either, cry more newbs. ;p

It didn't look interesting enough for me to want to see it.

Zeus wrote:So, if all of you decided that Lemmings are corrected and decided to jump off of a bridge, I should as well? Some of us like this whole "free will" thing. I know, I know, it means I'm crazy and should be put into an asylum, but I can't just get this voice out of my head that says "make your own decision, you don't have to follow the crowd".

Man, I need help....

Zeus, we're not forcing you to watch it. We're just saying that it's a good movie and if a lot of people agree that it's a good movie, maybe it would be a good idea to watch the entire thing. Yet, you go out and watch the entire I, Robot crap, which a lot of people thought was pure shit on top of Asimov's grave.

SineSwiper wrote: Zeus, we're not forcing you to watch it. We're just saying that it's a good movie and if a lot of people agree that it's a good movie, maybe it would be a good idea to watch the entire thing. Yet, you go out and watch the entire I, Robot crap, which a lot of people thought was pure shit on top of Asimov's grave.

And I only watched the first 35 minutes because people recommended it. I had zero interest in it from the trailer or the storyline.

It's different than I, Robot for a few reasons:

1) Garden State had a possibility of being good; I knew right from the beginning that I, Robot was going to suck the big one. There was no illusions going in, thus, there was no possibility of disappointment

2) I was watching I, Robot with my wife, who really wanted to see it (don't ask), so it's not like I can just say "this movie blows huge chunks, I need to turn it off NOW". It was something she wanted to do with me (she likes to see me suffer, a standard woman trait as you should know by now :-), so I had other obligations. It wasn't a simple selfish decision I could make

3) I have watched so many movies and it's such a big hobby of mine (at least as big as games; and you can ask Gray what kind of games collection I have) that I actually get a kick out of watching pure fomulaic crap now. It's kind of like a train wreck and a study in what not to do all at once. It's a train wreck 'cause it's so bad that I just can't take your eyes off of it; I just have to see what they're going to do next, especially to such a well-known sci-fi franchise and another set in the world of one of my favourite movies of all time, Bicentennial Man. It's a study in what not to do 'cause I like to actually study films while I watch them; it's just something I like to do (I do the same with games). I like to find out why it is I like or dislike it and I often catch new things each time or the film is so formulaic that it just reiterates what is so bad about these formulaic items. I also like to see why what I consider crap does well and what elements the masses look for so I can understand the industry better. I also read up a lot on movies and watch making-of specials (not all are good, but you can still get an idea) to get an idea of what the filmmakers are thinking, particularly the ones I respect (Cameron, Speilberg, Soderburg, Verhoven, etc.).

This is why I watched Cellular and Taxi all the way through even though 5 minutes in I could see how bad they really were (well, you knew from the trailer....). But I had no illusions on either of these, I knew they were going to be pure formulaic crap made for the mass audience. The movies that I really can't stand watching anymore are those that look like they have potential or should have potential that just lose it (Matrix 2). Or those that have an identity crisis and don't really know what kind of film they really are and try and do everything (can't think of a specific example off the bat). Or those with cool ideas that fall into the formulaic trap (like Hostage looks like it's going to be). Or those that live off of their prequels without actually expanding or extending the storyline or world they're set in (Beverly Hills Cop 3 or Escape from LA). Or those that just don't do anything (Ghost World or Garden State). I don't discriminate against any type of film; I love as many blockbusters and romantic comedies as I do documentaries and indie films, even though I admit I'm a little more lienient towards the docs and indies. But that's because they're often trying something different, so they should be given some slack.

I just didn't like the film and it just didn't give me a reason to continue, not even a bad one like "this movie sucks so hard I have to see what's going to happen next". I gave it an honest shot (about 1/3 of the movie), so it's not like I didn't try. It's simply a difference of opinion.