Shadowy Man
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Unfortunately, few of the movies based on Philip Dick's work have been well executed.
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Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?
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Unfortunately, few of the movies based on Philip Dick's work have been well executed.
James Brown
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hurtinbuckaroo
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And George C. Scott made an excellent bad guy. "Color of Money" pales in comparison with "Hustler". Pairing Newman with Tom Cruise was inexcusable.
Shadowy Man
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Maybe, given its own merit, but the short story's plot was pretty badly mangled.
James Brown
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Fair enough. In fairness, I have to admit that I've never read the story.
credoconsolans
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Blade Runner is by all accounts an excellent movie...the plot matches next to nothing of the short story, so mangling the original story isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Shadowy Man
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Fair enough, that's why I said that Minority Report may stand on its own. However, the story was much better and the precogs' "minority report" was more intellectually integral to the plot.
Most of the money studios get is from the first few weeks and then anything after that is pretty trivial and any additional revenue from the movies is going to come from DVDs and downloads. It's not worth their while to continue promoting it and the cinemas make more in concession sales from the full theatres they get with the newer releases.
Also, movie theatres are expensive to go to. Personally, I'll pay the extra cash to watch an action movie on the big screen, but any drama or the like, I'm fine spending six or seven bucks to watch it on my couch a few months later.
DrZoidberg
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The Running Man 9/10
After watching the Hunger Games I re-watched this baby. Let's just say it ruined Hunger Games completely. Considering the Hunger Games came after The Running Man, I don't see how they could have fucked it up as much as they did. Don't get me wrong, I like the Hunger Games. But The Running Man is a much more sophisticated and complex movie. Which it almost pains me to say, since it's not particularly deep at all. The Hunger Games gives us almost no information on how the Hunger Games are watched or the people's attitudes to it. It doesn't explain why it works keeping the people in line.
My only issue with The Running Man is that I don't think Arnold Schwarzenegger is a particularly good pick for a main character. It would have been more interesting if he was more of an average Joe. But I actually like his stupid Arnoldesque one-liners. It fits the otherwise cartoonish setting.
*start of announcement*
Mars Attacks 10/10
I also re-watched Mars Attacks. Mars Attacks is the best movie ever created. It is a master piece, perfect in every way. Flawless and immaculate. I'm at this very moment erecting a statue to Tim Burton's honour.
*End of announcement*
After watching the Hunger Games I re-watched this baby. Let's just say it ruined Hunger Games completely. Considering the Hunger Games came after The Running Man, I don't see how they could have fucked it up as much as they did. Don't get me wrong, I like the Hunger Games. But The Running Man is a much more sophisticated and complex movie. Which it almost pains me to say, since it's not particularly deep at all. The Hunger Games gives us almost no information on how the Hunger Games are watched or the people's attitudes to it. It doesn't explain why it works keeping the people in line.
My only issue with The Running Man is that I don't think Arnold Schwarzenegger is a particularly good pick for a main character. It would have been more interesting if he was more of an average Joe. But I actually like his stupid Arnoldesque one-liners. It fits the otherwise cartoonish setting.
*start of announcement*
Mars Attacks 10/10
I also re-watched Mars Attacks. Mars Attacks is the best movie ever created. It is a master piece, perfect in every way. Flawless and immaculate. I'm at this very moment erecting a statue to Tim Burton's honour.
*End of announcement*
Jimmy Higgins
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The Hunger Games isn't what keeps people in line. It is a reminder of the power of the Central Government. The troop presence, lack of food and clothes, lack of communication outside the Districts is what keeps the people in line. The people watched via the large viewers as shown when Katnis's friend gets killed.
The Hunger Games are a series for teens, so that is one reason why it doesn't get too down and dirty in the geopolitical stuff. Heck, you don't even know if there are other nations.
DrZoidberg
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The Running Man targets intellectuals? I don't think either is cerebral heavy lifting. The setup of both films are extremely similar. They both revolve around a totalitarian state using a gladiatorial reality show as a way to make the population complicit in their own oppression (by having them fight each other symbolically on-screen). I just think think the execution is better in the Running Man. They make the glee of the gladiatorial games so much more visceral.
Jimmy Higgins
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The difference is, The Running Man is about ratings and circus, having criminals get killed on live television.
The Hunger Games aren't as simple. You have Districts that have kids trained specifically for the games. You have Districts that are just barely getting by. The poorer Districts are just hoping one of their tributes comes home. Only in the Capital is it indicated that the games are for fun. This would be The Capital's Running Man. But for the Districts, just a reminder of who they are, whether the more affluent in the better Districts or the powerless in the lower ones. This division is very England Empire, divide and conquer. Katnis puts a fly in the ointment by uniting the Districts (which apparently not a single person in the previous 73 years ever did).
DrZoidberg
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The problem is deeper. I didn't care about Katniss. I cared about Ben Richards. Which is strange, since Arnold's character is a genuinely unlikeable character. He grows a heart as the story progresses. That makes him interesting. Katniss is an angel right from the start. The only interesting thing is when she fakes being in love to win. But that never went anywhere. They barely did anything with it. Oh, the relationship with that guy we rarely get to see is ruined. They didn't develop that relationship on screen so I never gave a shit.
Even though less complex the world of Running Man feels more "alive". The world of Hunger Games feels flat in comparison. I don't understand what the people feel in the Hunger Games. I had no such problems in the Running Man. It's a huge difference. Both films revolve around class differences and how the rich screw the poor. As for complexity. The point of both stories is just as a vehicle to have innocents compete in gladiatorial games. The typical rule of storytelling is to NOT make the story more convoluted than it has to be. Points to Running Man. The added complexity of the Hunger Games added nothing IMHO.
repoman
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The Bourne Ultimatum 9/10
Jimmy Higgins
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They really don't say much about class welfare in Running Man.
Fine. You complained about a few points, I addressed those points. The Hunger Games is hardly a great film. It is fine, it is just you raised some concerns that I thought were actually addressed in the film.
Too bad Richard Dawson couldn't have run The Hunger Games.
credoconsolans
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And that didn't resonate with you? A sweet angel forced to become a murderer?
I found that all the characters were too two-dimensional to resonate with me, especially Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence really didn't seem to bother to give a shit in any of these movies.
It is weird that even though The Running Man made little or no attempt to be anything more than a shallow action movie, its characters resonated with me far more than those in The Hunger Games, which was actually trying.
"Wild Tales". 9/10. Brutal, well made and immensly funny. Makes a great impact. Somewhat of an adrenaline rollercoaster. Consists of a collection of short stories with the common theme of revenge.
DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!
DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!
TSwizzle
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World War Z, 7/10: Stars Brad Pitt. It's a zombie flick based on the book of the same name. I started reading the book but gave up on it. Anyway, the movie is pretty decent. A mysterious virus turns people into zombies, the virus spreads exponentially as zombies attack cities and their numbers grow. And these zombies are not your bog standard zombies that travel at a snail's pace, these zombies can haul ass ! Their speed and sheer numbers overwhelm cities pretty quickly and Brad is on the hunt for a cure before humanity it doomed which takes him through a number scary moments.