A few responses, then some more about Transformers. I probably won't have time to finish this post, so per Brandon's request, I will write what I can and post it and finish my thoughts (maybe) later. I haven't even finished reading the responses to the conversation I started in some sense (the one where Jeff and I went back and forth and Brandon butted in--I know that was awhile ago, but life has been a bit all-consuming lately.
First things first, yes, it true that Adrienne and I were a little shell-shocked after Hostel, and yes it's true that, while I've owned Hostel 2 for a couple years now (there was a coupon for a discount ticket to some currently playing horror film that came with it), I'm still trying to work up the guts to watch it. However, some of the observations I stated in my post Adrienne and I BOTH came up with in our discussions following the film and we both appreciated at the time what it offered to the horror genre. So don't let her convince you that we were just a couple of little girls who couldn't handle our horror. I'll admit that "enjoy" is not the right word for my experience with the film, but I have a genuine appreciation for it.
Both Brandon and Jeff I think misunderstood my one-sentence rating for Curse of the Cat People. I just want to reiterate that I may have liked it better than the first, but mostly because of the little girl's performance, which was simply precious. My confusion is in its relative lack of connection to the original, and the weird ghost lady.
As for who I like better, Brandon or Jeff, the answer is that I don't like either of you douchebags. Haha, just kidding. I think I'm easier on Brandon because when he likes a film, he doesn't seem to need to qualify it as much as others in film club. He seems to have an easier time enjoying a "piece of shit" movie and, while he can be abrasive and irrational when he doesn't like a film, he is capable of appreciating lowbrow entertainment. The man liked The Mechanic for crying out loud. So, you're probably right that I should harass him as much as you.
Chris, we're gonna have to just agree to disagree where horror (and apparently 90% of everything else) is concerned. I guess I just think that calling 90% of film (and, by association all art?) "shit" is an incredibly negative view of human creativity and I can't get behind it at all. My nature is to try to find the good in everything, that everything has some kind of redemptive quality to it if one is willing to look hard enough and be open enough to it. Probably to a fault, and I'll be honest I don't meet a lot of people who feel the same way. So I'll own my weirdness and idealism where that's concerned. HOWEVER, great point about calling something "pretentious" being the same as calling it "shit." I'm definitely guilty of the former.
I thought the Ted Trailer was amusing, but don't really have any interest in seeing it. I probably wouldn't hate on it, regardless :).
Looks like I'm out of time for the meat of my post. But here is Jeff's quote that got me all riled up.
"What I specifically meant in terms of Transformers is that I feel that the people behind that didn't care about making a good product, they just cared about all the bank they would get from it. To me, that's evil and corrupt. You're purposefully manipulating people for your own gains."
So now, Transformers is not only "shit," it's "evil and corrupt"? Do you remember that Spielberg was the executive producer? Go to YouTube and look up any making of video for Transformers. You'll find a lot of people talking about the film who are genuinely excited about what they are working on and excited about sharing it with an audience. I'll admit that Michael Bay does come across a bit cocky; I don't think I'd want to work for him, but he knows what he's doing and puts his expertise to work, or he wouldn't keep getting hired. Nobody will put up with a jerk who doesn't know what he's doing. Sure, they want to make money, but I don't think that's all they want. And let's not forget about all the cameramen and animators and set designers and choreographers who are thrilled to have an opportunity to work on such a high profile film, because they do what they do in their careers because they love it and love film and want to be able to do it more. And about all the jobs that a movie like Transformers creates.
If I had $147 million, I couldn't make Transformers. Could you?
It's not like I love the movie, but I feel that everything deserves its due. And Transfomers deserves respect, if not for its plot or acting, at least its technical achievement.
Okay, that's all for now. Commence with tearing apart my arguments, everyone. Also, I'm not proofreading this.
No comments:
Post a Comment