House of the Flying Daggers (2004)

[Mofo Rising]

Wence, I can certainly see where you are coming from, but it is all artifice.  It's not just martial art films, every movie you will ever see is artifice.

Every martial arts film ever made has relied on very complex choreography.  Those people fighting are not actually fighting, it's all complicated dance steps.  Why did they turn to wire-work, as you say?  Because they wanted to make these fake fight scenes have more impact.  Of course, it takes a lot of actual physicality to make these scenes work.  Artistry.

But why?  To make the movie entertaining.  That is the be-all end-all of every movie, even if the people have different ideas of what makes a movie entertaining.  To rail against CGI as being unrealistic, well it's a losing battle, and not even in step with the filmmakers who make these movies.

What I'm saying, and please don't view this as a personal attack, is that I do not agree with your movie-making philosophy.

So anyway, I really liked HOTFD.  I also think the end went on too long.  You can't kill someone and then have them come back to life.  Story-wise, it's a cheat.  Other than that, great movie.

[Wence]

Mofo Rising wrote:

>> Wence, I can certainly see where you are coming from, but it is all artifice. It's not just martial art films, every movie you will ever see is artifice.

I am absolutely on your standpoint. I have no problem with artifice, on the contrary, I like exaggerations and unrealistic actions.
The question is, what is good and what is bad artifice. I say CGI is very bad artifice.

[Jim H]

"To understand my standpoint, you should know that I hate computer effects in movies."

Can you tell me why?  I don't think I understand.  If you didn't even know a film had CG, then found out later, would you think less of the movie?  How is CG worse than, say, stop motion?

[Wence]

All great CGI-filled big budget movies were total disapointments for me,  all !

I remember the three new SW-episodes. I saw them and I say f**k that!

The old ones look still cool and better than the new ones. Or did you like the colors in the new ones, especially in Episode I ?

But not only SW, allother brandnew CGI flicks sucked (in my opinion).

Don´t you see what´s real and what´s CGI ? I have the problem that I recognize computer effects in movies...

[Shadowphile]

Obvious CGI is terrible.

Subtley done, it it excellent.  The prolem is, CGI has become the industry standard and nobody remembers how to do the effect the hard was anymore.  I kick myself for missing a chance to meet Ray Harryhausen and have him sign my copy of the 'Golden Voyage of Sinbad'.

CGI is being used now because 'everybody does it'.  Well, everybody shouldn't.  it has it's place and that plae isn't in every other movie being made.

[Zapranoth]

CG is just art.  Some of it is good, some of it sucks.

While I'm all for nostalgia, and thought that Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a great movie, it's still *possible* to make movies like that if one wants to.  The context is all wrong now... it doesn't look the same, now, as it did *then* if you know what I mean.

Obvious CGI does look garish, I agree.  Didn't see Sky Captain, but the CGI in Revenge of the Sith was overall pretty good.  It's just that there was so *much* of it that it changed the whole texture of the movie into something surreal.

Returning to the topic a bit, the CGI in Kung Fu Hustle was so cartoony that I just enjoyed it for the joke it was.  I still chuckle when I remember the Landlady stepping in front of her husband, cigarette dangling from her lips, with the most dire and baleful look in her eye as she inhaled... chest expanding...

[Zapranoth]

Ugggg.

Who recommended this movie?

Too slow... artsy without compelling characters.  The I-love-you-I'll-kill-you thing, once again.   Uggggg.   It was bad, but it wasn't bad enough.  It fell into that unhappy middle ground of badness that is neither good enough nor bad enough to be enjoyable.

[Scott]

You had your classic long death scene Zapranoth at the end.....................It may have been me who recommended this one.

[dean]

I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as memorable as other similar movies, such as Hero and Crouching Tiger.  It still had some great cinematography and great use of colours, and Andy Lau is always fun to watch [what a bastard with those rocks in the drum/dance scene]

Still, I really enjoy these types of films.  Sure they can be sappy and tug the emotions [or at least attempt to] but I still like it more than the average Hollywood film.

[Zapranoth]

The operatic death scene, whipped in thick CGI snow, was actually pretty funny, I liked that.

So far, though, Hero was much more enjoyable.  Gotta watch Kung Fu Hustle again.