Wow, I never knew they still did that anymore.
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (Dir: Terry Gilliam)
Finally I watched a good one in the cinema. Quite strange but I got what I expected. ;D
Also Fatih Akims soul kitchen and Paris by Ceric Klapisch, wrote more stuff in the last movie you seen topic. Good movies both. Cinema is not dead, still good stuff out there
Yep there is but you have to do some research for good movies and donât trust the critics. 
I definitly have to watch Fatihâs new film.
And it has to do a lot with expectations. If you can go seeing a movie without expecting too much you will always be in for a positive surprise. I just dislike the idea, that there is nothing good anymore in the cinema. I really enjoy going to the cinema, especially since we still have smaller ones here. I like them and so i try to support them. Dont like the multiplexes really, like many others here. So go out and support your small local cinemas if you are still lucky enough to have them.
Avatar - Great visuals wasted on poor designs, also the characters and plot are very shallow.
I wouldnât call characters and plot in Avatar very shallow. It was not a complex film either. But compare it to Star Wars or other Hollywood blockbusters.
The thing is, Avatar gets a lot of flack because of its screenplay, but compare it to Star Wars, and everyone thinks that is wonderful, but neither have a great plot.
STAR WARS (the movie that came out in May of 1977) had a wonderful plot. Of course, it was lifted from Akira Kurosawaâs THE HIDDEN FORTRESSâand that is why.
Subsequent films in the âseriesâ had weak plots, I agree.
AVATAR has a somewhat recycled plot, too. It isnât as directly ripped off as the one in STAR WARS, though. I felt like it was basically DANCES WITH WOLVES in a sci-fi/fantasy disguise. Personally, I donât think AVATAR will hold up. Technically there is no denying that it has some merit and will be influential; but, because of the weak plot, and so on, I donât think it is going to be the all-time classic a lot of its supporters are thinking it will be.
Of course, I could definitely be wrong.
It could be that I am just letting my dislike for such Sci-Fi/Fantasy flicks taint my view.
Edit: And yesâŚI finally saw AVATAR. I hadnât really cared to see it, but a friend made me go with her to see it a week or so ago (and she paid!). I have to be honest and say that I was impressed with some of the visuals; but, after awhile it all sort of becameâŚuninteresting. I actually fell asleep at one point and my friend had to nudge me awake.
Might have been different if I would have been able to go to a 3D showing. But, I am completely blind in one eye, so 3D doesnât work for me, at all.
The similarities between Star Wars and The Hidden Fortress are pretty vague imo. In both films a princes needs to be guarded, but was there anything else apart from that?
Absolutely. The two farmers were the basis for C3PO and R2D2, and so on. It isnât that the princess just needs to be guarded, either. In both films the princess needs to be guardedâŚand savedâŚin order to restore an empire. In my opinion, the similarities are not vague, at all. It is, at the core, the exact same plot.
I have watched The Hidden Fortress shortly before x-mas. I read it on the cover of the DVD. Still I donât see much similarities.
OK the farmers, but the 2 farmers are very different characterized than the robots. They are greedy assholes and far from being likeable. Mifune could be Han Solo (but isnât), but then thereâs still no Luke, no Darth Vader, no Obi Wan. And the episodes of the story bear no further similarities. At least none I recognized.
FoD, Mag 7, The Outrage, yes, and Throne of Blood from Macbeth. All obvious.
But the Story of Star Wars could be derived from 100 or 1000 other films, books, comics which tell a similar story. Maybe Lucas got his basic ideas from ToB, but the (boring) result is then very basic.
[quote=âStanton, post:212, topic:2027â]I have watched The Hidden Fortress shortly before x-mas. I read it on the cover of the DVD. Still I donât see much similarities.
OK the farmers, but the 2 farmers are very different characterized than the robots. They are greedy assholes and far from being likeable. Mifune could be Han Solo (but isnât), but then thereâs still no Luke, no Darth Vader, no Obi Wan. And the episodes of the story bear no further similarities. At least none I recognized.
FoD, Mag 7, The Outrage, yes, and Throne of Blood from Macbeth. All obvious.
But the Story of Star Wars could be derived from 100 or 1000 other films, books, comics which tell a similar story. Maybe Lucas got his basic ideas from ToB, but the (boring) result is then very basic.[/quote]
As for the two farmers: they are constantly bickering and blaming each other for thingsâand that is what reminds me C3PO and R2D2. But, I guess the same could be said about Laurel & Hardy or any other duo that are used as comic relief in any given film.
As I said, the basic, core plot for both films (STAR WARS and THE HIDDEN FORTRESS) are the same, as far as I am concerned. I didnât say they were fleshed out precisely the same way and that every detail was the same. Nor did I say that Lucasâ film was an exact remakeâit isnât.
I just said that the basic plots are the same and I stand by that statement. I donât think I can make you see it that way if you donât already see it that way. And I donât have an issue with that. And you are right, there are likely other films, books, comics, and so on that share similar plot points.
But, my main point to all of this is that I donât think the plot for STAR WARS (the original '77 film) is so bad, or weak (in reference to what John Welles said). And it is certainly a better plot, in my opinion, than is in the story for AVATAR. Even though I am not in any way a fan of STAR WARS, either.
I do, however, like THE HIDDEN FORTRESS a great deal.
I must not be part of the group âeveryone.â
[quote=âChris_Casey, post:213, topic:2027â]But, my main point to all of this is that I donât think the plot for STAR WARS (the original '77 film) is so bad, or weak (in reference to what John Welles said). And it is certainly a better plot, in my opinion, than is in the story for AVATAR. Even though I am not in any way a fan of STAR WARS, either.
I do, however, like THE HIDDEN FORTRESS a great deal.[/quote]
I never siad the Star Wars plot was weak, but I do think it was simplistic. I still like it (itâs in my top ten!), but I donât think, while itâs not as good, Avatarâs screenplay will stop it from being remembered. Titanic had an awful script, and that is still remembered and talked about to this day.
I see your point, now. Sorry for the misinterpretation.
Unfortunately, you are right about TITANIC!
Titanic is somehow also an underrated film. I liked it in cinema. Itâs more entertaining and better directed than all the Star Wars films.
There are some dialogues in it for which Cameron should be ashamed, but I donât think itâs a bad script.
Titanic is just like Gone with the Wind or Dr. Zhivago or Out of Africa. Not really good, but far from being bad. And I prefer Titanic to all the Peter Jackson blockbusters which are badly directed imo.
(Of these Zhivago is the best directed, and Casablanca tops them all easily)
[quote=âStanton, post:217, topic:2027â]Titanic is just like Gone with the Wind or Dr. Zhivago or Out of Africa. Not really good, but far from being bad. And I prefer Titanic to all the Peter Jackson blockbusters which are badly directed imo.
(Of these Zhivago is the best directed, and Casablanca tops them all easily)[/quote]
When you put it like this, I almost have to agree with you (especially the bit about Peter Jacksonâs blockbusters).
And for what it is worth, CASABLANCA is my all-time favorite old Hollywood film.
[quote=âStanton, post:217, topic:2027â]Titanic is somehow also an underrated film. I liked it in cinema. Itâs more entertaining and better directed than all the Star Wars films.
There are some dialogues in it for which Cameron should be ashamed, but I donât think itâs a bad script.
Titanic is just like Gone with the Wind or Dr. Zhivago or Out of Africa. Not really good, but far from being bad. And I prefer Titanic to all the Peter Jackson blockbusters which are badly directed imo.
(Of these Zhivago is the best directed, and Casablanca tops them all easily)[/quote]
I disagree with just about everything you say! I liked Peter Jacksonâs The Lord of the Rings. I wouldnât say that Gone with the Wind or Doctor Zhivargo are on the same level as Titanic. Far from it! They are much better movies, and the CGI effects in Titanic have already started to date.
No problem. I like it when people disagree. And I like it even more when people agree.
Donât know if the special effects in T. look meanwhile dated as I havenât seen it the last 10 years. But special effects were never important for me. And donât have much to do with a filmâs quality. But they should be as perfect as possible to maintain the illusion.