One of my favourite movies, directed by Oliver Stone. Unique film, very different but it's awesome.
Here's a video to show how kick ass it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P3ciWFTa60&playnext_from=TL&videos=YBk7FsYFo-0
I liked the film when it was released. Most people didn't at the time. I need to see it again to see if my feelings have changed.
Unfortunately, Oliver Stone's satirical intent didn't come across to a lot of people. Many of those who got it nonetheless thought the film was irresponsible in its glamorization of violence. It's a lot like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE that way, although it's not as philosophically serious or as great as Kubrick's film.
I think I got the general idea of what the film was going for, and I liked a number of individual parts of the film (the scene with Rodney Dangerfield and the laugh track is great), but it seems very scattered and not very cohesive to me - much like its editing style, actually.
Also, I think the alternate ending is much better. Perhaps that relates to the fact that for the entire runtime I despised both Mickey and Mallory.
Quote from: Jim H on May 26, 2010, 01:19:14 AM
Also, I think the alternate ending is much better. Perhaps that relates to the fact that for the entire runtime I despised both Mickey and Mallory.
How's the alternate ending ?
I though the duo was awesome :tongueout:
I also ordered the original NBK screenplay written by Quentin Tarantino before Stone touched it.
Quote from: Jim H on May 26, 2010, 01:19:14 AM
I think I got the general idea of what the film was going for, and I liked a number of individual parts of the film (the scene with Rodney Dangerfield and the laugh track is great), but it seems very scattered and not very cohesive to me - much like its editing style, actually.
Also, I think the alternate ending is much better. Perhaps that relates to the fact that for the entire runtime I despised both Mickey and Mallory.
It was Stone's view of 1990's culture: fragmented and nostalgia-driven. I have mixed feelings on Oliver Stone. I really detest his political and "historical" films like
JFK, Born on the 4th of July, Heaven and Earth, The Doors, and Nixon. He doesn't just provide his take on history, he reinvents it to fit what he wants to have happened. But I do like some of his films quite a bit, like
Platoon, Talk Radio, Wall Street, Natural Born Killers, and Any Given Sunday. In other words, he's good when he's making films and not histories.
Quote from: Jim H on May 26, 2010, 01:19:14 AM
I think I got the general idea of what the film was going for, and I liked a number of individual parts of the film (the scene with Rodney Dangerfield and the laugh track is great), but it seems very scattered and not very cohesive to me.
That was pretty much my reaction to it. I got the satire, I understood what it was trying to say, but altogether it was just too disjointed for me.
I liked the deliberately disjointed nature of the film. It was like the film was constantly flipping channels on a TV set.
I think part of the problem for me was that I went in with expectations of a more conventional thriller, which is the way the advertising made it look. They knew it wasn't going to be for everybody, and pulled a cinematic bait and switch.
Quote from: AndyC on May 27, 2010, 11:50:45 AM
I think part of the problem for me was that I went in with expectations of a more conventional thriller, which is the way the advertising made it look. They knew it wasn't going to be for everybody, and pulled a cinematic bait and switch.
Heh heh. Hollywood never does that.
Quote from: vik on May 26, 2010, 09:39:29 AM
Quote from: Jim H on May 26, 2010, 01:19:14 AM
Also, I think the alternate ending is much better. Perhaps that relates to the fact that for the entire runtime I despised both Mickey and Mallory.
How's the alternate ending ?
I though the duo was awesome :tongueout:
I also ordered the original NBK screenplay written by Quentin Tarantino before Stone touched it.
***SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING!***
Ya know the random guy who starts helping them in prison by shooting guards, then joins them, only to later on vanish without a trace for some reason? Well, in the alternate ending, he kills Mickey and Mallory after they escape. Good stuff.
***END***
I hated it. Found it to be a repetitive bore...honestly I nodded off watching it but of course it's so noisy it quickly woke me up again. To me, it's like a music video style onslaught that seems to go on forever instead of minutes.