I also just recently watched Dredd 3D. I came away thinking, what were all the critics raving about? I mean its not a bad film by any means, but I don’t see anything special. Its basically just another mindless action flick. As a film it was no better than something like Punisher: War Zone, yet critics have jumped on this film for whatever reason I don’t know. Plot was thin, no character development, weak final confrontation, an utterly emotionless protagonist (Karl Urban gives Anthony Steffen a run for his money here), and the psychic abilities seem out of place in this world.
;D
Which is part of the point. In the comics, Dredd is often said to be “more man than machine” and to be fair, psychic’s like Anderson had been part of the lore for decades.
Shadows Of Fear - Finished watching this set. 2 or 3 standout tales but the majority of them although quite good were rather pedestrian, very studio bound too. They are okay for a watch but nothing to get excited about.
[i][b]Fear can visit us in many forms - perhaps most disturbingly when it stalks us in familiar or cherished surroundings; a suburban house, an idyllic country retreat, or a sunlit Mediterranean holiday villa. Equally, it can haunt us in the shape of a menacing stranger, or gather in the shadows of our own imagination. This volume collects eleven plays in which every character has one thing in common: each has someone, or something, to fear.
Shadows of Fear is a suspense anthology with a chilling Hitchcockian touch, featuring some of Britain’s most renowned stage and TV performers, including Sheila Hancock, Ronald Hines, Victor Maddern, Edward Fox, Annette Crosbie, Gemma Jones and George Cole. The unsettlingly creepy scripts are provided by Public Eye creator Roger Marshall and award-winning writers Richard Harris, Jeremy Paul and Hugh Leonard, among others.[/b][/i]
Actually I liked Urban Stefffen style performance, the man does wear a helmet the all film, for me it was one of those films to watch I liked enought to view it to the end won’t be searching the Uncut DVD of it.
Also IMO plot is clearly overrated in these type of stuff, Dredd or others of the kind are not plot driven films, you a locked place two different heroes or (anti heroes), a bad guy or better saying a bad girl, so let’s start shooting, who cares about plot. I didn’t watch Dredd expecting a great plot taht’s for sure.
About 3D it makes me a bit dizzy, and I don’t like to be dizzy, my first and only 3D experience in cinema was with a children film and it was… not a positive one. For me it adds nothing to cinema, I like cool landscapes and slow camera movements and close ups, image Cemitery without crosses in 3D what’s the bonus none. It’s just a gadget perhpas cool for video games but not cinema
Same with me. 3D is totally useless. It just ruins a cinematic experience for me.
I actually watched Dredd 3D at a friend’s house, but it was in 3D. First time I’ve ever seen 3D in home theatre. I’m no fan of 3D either. I normally like Karl Urban. He made a fan out me ever since LOTR, but basically acting the whole movie with the helmet on, I mean it would be nice if you can humanize your protagonist. Even the Man with No Name had his human moments. Still I’m not quite sure why critics loved it so much. I was expecting to see it as a 6.4 or something on the imdb scale but its actually 7.1!!
Even the Man with No Name had his human moments.
Who’s that? ;D
The thing about Dredd is that the character itself shouldn’t be humanized if you wanna be faithful to the comics. I haven’t watched the movie yet, but it might be a case of something that doesn’t translate well from one medium to another.
Outland, 1981… a space-‘western’ starring Sean Connery as a corporate Marshall, bent on busting-up a drug-smuggling ring at a mining-installation on Io: one of Jupiter’s moons. It’s relatively exciting, but has too many scenes of dark corridors. The sci-tech still holds-up well… exteriors relying on finely-detailed models-'n-mattes. The drama’s a little thin though. Connery’s performance is nothing special.
Dredd was a good throwback to Assault/Escape John Carpenter, a very simple movie about a frowning inhuman shooting machine moving slowly through a building blowing peoples heads off. Very stiff and to the point but far superior to the Stallone film. I really enjoyed it, it’d make a great double feature with The Raid.
I watched I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE - the movie the MPAA and Roger & Ebert fought to be banned from the big screen saying it glorifies rape. That is utter horseshit, this is a simple, stupid but effective story of backwoods rape and revenge, the dick cutting scene alone is worth the price. I also recommend seeing this with the commentary track by cult film critic Joe Bob Briggs, he brings a lot of hilarious insight into the movie and is a pretty smart guy. I’d rate this a solid 3 and a half decapitated heads out of 5. It’s a classic of the VHS era, not stellar but an exploitation essential, very similar to: Ms.45, Thriller: A Cruel Picture
Again, the lone voice of technology here ;D asks which 3D films you have seen?
The thing about Dredd is that the character itself shouldn't be humanized if you wanna be faithful to the comics. I haven't watched the movie yet, but it might be a case of something that doesn't translate well from one medium to another.Exactly. Over the last decade or so the chief scriptwriter and co-creator of Dredd, John Wagner, has slowly and very, very subtly started to bring some depth to Dredd through his age and past. However, I don't it should be attempted on film, at least not yet, until people are familiar with the "classic" characterisation of him.
“Diamonds are Forever” - can only watch a Bond film if Connery is in it…
ARGO Ben Affleck.
Let me start by saying that I’ve never been a big fan of Affleck, although I did like ( GONE BABY GONE) and (THE TOWN) somewhat.
So with ARGO what you get is a thrilling, suspenseful, and funny film that is well directed by Affleck. On the other hand his performance is kind of flat IMO, the rest of the cast is terrific, Arkin, Goodman etc. " Argo fuck yourself!" gets a 8/10.
Some. Nothing particular - a couple of Polish flicks (I gotta add - bad Polish flicks :-), a documentary, a few actioners and that was enough. Maybe for people who don’t wear glasses (I wear) it a great experience, dunno. For me it’s just trouble to put a 3D glasses on my own glasses, besides no big difference in my view.
Not being someone who has to wear glasses (yet), I can still appreciate how 3D would be awkward for you. 3D isn’t the Golden Child Hollywood hoped for and they seemed to have realised this now, but it’s an interesting facet of filmmaking that in some circumstances is appropiate and used well. 3D won’t rescue a bad film, nor will it make a good one worse. It’s like colour cinematography (although that overstates it’s importance) in that most director’s use it unimaginatively where as a few, like Powell and Pressburger say, use it to bring another dimension to the story.
I agree. What a pity I didn’t see Hugo in cinema, I could change my opinion on 3D.
But as far as the cinema is concerned, I’m pretty old-fashioned I guess, I don’t like all those “improvements” of our times like CGI (but I guess I was put off from liking it, as many clumsy directors don’t know how to utilize it properly) and 3D is no exception.
Finally got around to watching 300. Great film. Very well made. The only problem I have of it is that it seemingly espouses white supremacy or at least Greek supremacy. I can’t help but wonder, the film is bordering on racial propaganda.
White guys are good, non whites are bad, and Spartans are the greatest fighting force ever known and vastly superior to anything that the east or “Asia” as the film calls it, has to offer. Its also weird at how the Persions were played by black actors. While I highly question the film’s attempt to aggrandize the spartan warrior, but I enjoyed the film nonetheless, but I can’t help but think that this film is probably quite offensive to real Iranians.
The Iranians are just worried about Argo. They claim it fakes history and is anti-Iranian. Which it probably is.
- Oh, dear. One of the worst movies I’ve seen.