121 posts shown.
northernfalcon30 said:Nice, Emily Torres2. Glad to see someone else on the same page, even if I already figured out why I feel this way.
Good to hear someone else thinks this masterpiece is actually good.
offtopic: what happened, Mary, were you left in the woods by your parents just to be eaten by wolves? And Isaac was abandoned a day before that?
Dark stuff, but I get the trauma.😁
casualotter21 said:Look, I gotta be careful here because I’ve only seen the flick once, so my memory of the final act is a bit fuzzy. From what I recall, the kid ends up in that submarine-helicopter-whatever thing in the underwater theme park praying to a statue. Then the aliens save him, and later on, they let him spend just one single day with his mom, right? Feel free to set me straight if I missed something.
The issue is, I don't have the luxury of choice since the movie actually *ends* with just one conclusion, you know? And that's it. In this case, that ending with the mother felt... meh. To me, the ending with the kid alone at the bottom of the ocean praying to a statue forever is way more gut-wrenching. If the movie had ended there, I would've been much more into it.
Honestly, that whole bit where the aliens suddenly show up in the last half hour to do their sentimental thing didn't do it for me. If that happened earlier in the story, it might’ve worked better dramatically. Here, it feels like something they cooked up at the very last second. Their arrival feels like a total deus ex machina.
Even if I buy the aliens, I still hate how "conveniently melodramatic" it is that they can recreate the boy's mother but only for twenty-four hours. If the plot had spent more time building up the idea that he could only have her for one day, I might’ve been able to suspend my disbelief—like, okay, these highly advanced aliens can travel from another dimension but they can't just use DNA to make a permanent clone. But when the aliens, the mom, and this flimsy excuse for a timeline all get shoved into the final fifteen minutes, I can't help but roll my eyes.
The movie makes perfect sense and works great until those aliens show up. What was the point of even bringing them in?
If the movie had wrapped up with the kid at the bottom of the ocean, it would’ve been devastating. It would've been the perfect ending. As it stands... it was just okay.
For me, the movie ends in a few different ways in my head:
Like, they bring the mom back for one day/night just to tuck her into bed, to let her sleep... while for him, that one day lasts forever.
Or maybe the aliens show up a thousand years later as a catalyst to prove that a kid's love and longing (which might look like a robot or a stainless steel android to you, but to me, it's as human as it gets) lasts thousands of years longer than the "inventors" or "manufacturers." Basically, it lasts forever.
Maybe some people want that sugary, Spielbergian, Hollywood ending with the mom. Personally, I think an ending where he's eternally trapped waiting by a villa would hit harder. To me, that's a powerful, cruel ending that doesn't solve anything. It leaves it open—maybe one day the aliens realize that these emotions and this need are the most valuable discovery from that lost civilization. Maybe they decide to rebuild the whole world because of it.
With A.I., I wasn't waiting for an ending; if anything, I was worried there wouldn't be one.
boldeagle3 said:I went to the theater. And the fact that I bought the VHS right after says enough—I want to own this thing.
Not really in the mood to get all philosophical about the movie right now.
But I see you're fully embracing that 😛 vibe.
good for you, linda boldeagle3! My little collection has a copy too, and I swear I find something new every single time I watch it.:
top: for having good taste in movies + actual common sense!
casualotter21 said:"Don't get me wrong, guys, the movie's alright, but it wasn't quite the earthshattering masterpiece it should've been. Like I said: it felt a little too Spielbergian. If Kubrick had been called in to direct, it probably would've been better. Way more depressing and painful to watch, sure, but better."
Come on, I can see you get the difference between an E.T. fairy tale—which isn't just for kids, but for adults who need them—and some bitter Kubrick allegory or whatever...
What kind of ending are you looking for, or what do you think that hellish Kubrick would have done with it? Personally, I think those open doors leading to multiple endings are a good thing—anyone can have a bitter, sweet, or whatever kind of ending they want.
And that Pinocchio allegory, featuring a nice villa from a sunken Coney Island amusement park—with tons of wreckage (and even twins) submerged—isn't that the best possible cataclysmic image of a (maybe not even that distant) future?
storytelj said:Gonna check out that movie since Kevin Wood22 suggested it... if not, I'll just grab the DVD later.
Look, don't come knocking on my door later when Death shows up with a scythe to take you early just because the flick sucked. Honestly though, Death would probably just breeze through my place like something out of Monty Python.
Surprised myself here—once again, nobody’s even mentioning the other, older fairy tale:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Is it too much to say the movie hit me harder than the story of Pinocchio, or even the search for lost (if I ever had them) intelligence?
Look, I don't have kids, never adopted anyone, but I totally identified with that kid—that anti-macho replicant—and his awkward friend, the sex-machine player, Jude Law. Role of the century? Or maybe like that wizard from Oz who answers the coin...
How did you guys experience A.I.?
Is the topic already played out, given this year's Oscar contenders filled with Kill Bill clones, samurai swords, and blood, or was the whole thing just lost in translation?
Jeremy Gray69 said:Where were you sitting, anyway? What’s the view like from row 8, seat 7, center orchestra? 😁 🙂
I’m talking about being tucked under a theater seat—total blind spot, maybe a sharp angle, less than 45 degrees or whatever. So when you finally catch a glimpse of a Pollock for the first time in your life, you're just thinking, "Who's this kid? Some avant-garde genius?"😁
boldeagle3 said:All sand is good, except for that gritty stuff you use for plastering walls 🙂
Let it go wherever it wants 😁
😁 😁 😁 true, girl from Ipanema’s got style👍
Sand?🙂
what happens when it's "the sands of time, drifting away, la la la"?
😛 stay safe out there, sending love👋
Ygraina said:I love Stigmat.
That movie really hit me. It was my first time hearing about those "forbidden" gospels, and ever since, I can't get those few lines from Tomin out of my head...
And Kiernan the priest is just gorgeous.
So, you into priests in general?😁
I once saw Gabriel Byrne playing an angel in some Irish flick with a horse. He and the horse lived in this tiny apartment, just a little kitchenette—super cramped.😁
But your handle actually reminded me of one of my favorite characters
Back when I was riding through the creek toward the Venus woods at midnight with Merlin's help, Ygraina.🙏
boldeagle3 said:🙂 😁
on the sand
you're on my sand, right?😁
love that fine, wet sand. honestly, even the stuff in the Sahara isn't bad, though it just ends up clogging every single pore and crevice you've got😁 😁
boldeagle3 said:I'm on something, sure, but it's not like I'm tripping. 🙄
Dolby 😁 is fine and all, just tell them not to go overboard. Like, I went to the theater to watch a movie, not to have my eardrums pulverized by the floor shaking. 😲 😁 😁
So what's your deal then, boldeagle3?
storytelj said:Anyone seen this yet? Thoughts?
I know Mike Newell directed it, so that’s enough of a reason for me to check it out. Heard it's basically a female version of Dead Poets Society...
Watched it. It's alright, with caveats.
1) You gotta be into J. Roberts.
2) You have to buy into the whole Dead Poets Society vibe—awakening the consciousness of some overachieving schoolgirls fighting against the petty, conservative mindset of an all-female college that mirrored society back then.
3) You can handle a movie with zero blood, zero shootouts, zero car chases, and zero sex. Honestly, no sex at all. No romance, no kissing, nothing.
4) You need to be down for movies like Howards End.
If you hit at least 3 of those 4 marks, you'll probably dig it.
It’s a bit smug, preachy, and sterile—but visually it's fine. Plus, there's a certain voyeuristic interest to seeing inside an all-girls college.😉 )
If you're the type who follows directors first, then yeah, go for M. Newell, but don't expect anything like Donnie Brasco or Al Pacino levels of acting. Watch Enchanted April instead.
Keyboard's acting up again, my bad
So, Dolby... kid genius and all that
Ubiquitous in every single American theater😎
boldeagle3 said:😕
Man, you really went there...
It wasn't even about the pigeons, it was the damn volume shaking half the theater. FUCKING DOLBY!
And blood doesn't scare me. I don't flinch or look away when they show a needle piercing skin (or in this case, a nail through a wrist).
Byrne is awesome to me! 😁
The idea that you'd actually want to pierce your own wrist? That's some brain-melting bullshit right there.
Look, boldeagle3,
so you're brave, huh? Not afraid of a little needle (what are you, tough?)🙂 )
But honestly, I actually dig Doby—I can still recall his songs, even the music videos!👋
Real talk though, the movie was great. The vibe, the acting, even those fucking
droplets (except for the ending)
I didn't mind the rambling dialogue; I mean, that's just how the theme goes.
And for me, the peak was that underground whipping scene.
👍 👍
storytelj said:I had a feeling Kevin Wood22 and I would end up agreeing on something after the whole Santa Claus thing... like how we don't need some middleman to reach God, least of all a hypocritical Church or those other orgs that only exist to serve themselves. The movie was alright, but not great. Jesus was way more positive and complex than the way the Church portrays him. I vibe much more with the Jesus from "The Last Temptation of Christ" or even "South Park"...😎
Hey there, my buddy Jesus (better than calling him Jesus Christ, just kidding, let's move on!)
We're on the same page, though I'm not even sure if Jesus actually existed. But judging by your handle and your profile pic, you probably saw him firsthand, or at least lived through it.😁
So, I'm inclined to believe he was real.
😁
And yeah, the JC from South Park is top tier.👋
boldeagle3 said:Movie was solid, but honestly? It could've been way better. Too much Hollywood gloss for my taste, you know what I mean?
Caught it in theaters once. Totally different vibe than watching it at home.
I was sitting right next to the speakers, so when those pigeons took off, I practically faceplanted onto the floor right in the middle of the Dolby surround setup. Honestly, this whole Hollywood intimidation tactic is really starting to get to me.
Patricia is great, but she’s always just been okay to me. Always kind of mid.
And Gabriel Byrne is still a hundred times better.
Can't give you much more than that. Honestly, I don't even remember the movie that well. Wasn't watching it live on TV, just caught it on my DVR.
Don't be such a chicken, boldeagle3.
Writing this because I'm honestly still a little shaken. Those pigeons and that splash of blood actually rattled me. Maybe you were actually way too close to that damn Dolby theater after all. Who even fears pigeons? Pathetic. Seriously.
Hollywood isn't all bad. Maybe just that desperate need to...
Always ends on a sugar high.
Gabriel Byrne is solid, but what about the rest of it?👎 maybe.
music.🙄
Patricia—yeah, I'm with her on this one.👍
Look, I’m writing this because I genuinely want you to stop being so terrified of jump scares, blood splatter, and pigeons. Speaking from experience—I absolutely loathe blood, needles, anything piercing the skin—there isn't actually much gore here, and it's not even used for shock value. The real horror in this movie is that crushing realization: the anxiety of being someone nobody understands, combined with how much the world just doesn't care about what an individual is going through. It's that feeling of everyone wanting to pin everything on you at once. She slashed her own wrists... yeah, obviously.
There’s nothing to be afraid of here. Just sunny beaches. Maybe some inner darkness, but you don't find that in Brazil—not even in your nightmares. Over there, blood flows like rivers, but everyone’s still fucking happy.👋
Can't believe NOBODY started a thread on 'Stigmata'.
The movie totally hooked me (not even talking about the plot, you guys know how it goes).
The whole concept of a Vatican conspiracy (kind of like that bit from John Carpenter's Vampires)—this idea that they’re covering up the real teachings of Jesus, basically saying the Church as an institution is useless, flawed, narrow-minded, bloodsucking, whatever.
Look, I’m not religious, except maybe in a broader sense. Like, believing in some universal, all-powerful 'entity.' I think religion, despite some good stuff, has done plenty of evil to humanity and we'd probably be better off without it.
Still, the core premise—that there's this secret gospel from Jesus himself, the original gospel by JC, and the message that God is everywhere, under every stone, and we don't need a middleman, a building, an organization, or priests—is just as blasphemous as it is normal. It’s obvious. Why wouldn't it be obvious to believers too?
Someone who actually believes or knows their stuff, please, explain it to me.
As for the movie? It's perfection. Even having damn Gabriel Byrne in it—and he kills it. He plays that priest torn apart by doubt perfectly, plus that quasi-scientist who's supposed to 'prove' or debunk evidence on behalf of the Catholic Church (they're looking for proof, but terrified they might actually find it).
Patricia Arquette—my god, what an actress! She's a thousand times better than her sister, excluding Pulp Fiction. She nails the atheist experiencing Jesus' physical suffering, with those visible manifestations of the 5 wounds of Jesus (fine, 4).
The little flirting with the devil and demons (that scene that rips off The Exorcist where the possessed person speaks in his voice and uses Aramaic, etc.) felt unconvincing and childish to me.
But the shock of someone suddenly going through that, the confusion from society and official medicine, people offering 'answers' like epilepsy—what else?—it's genuinely and brilliantly acted. The refusal to accept an incredible truth and the way everyone pushes you out is spot on. If you're different, if you're weird, you're mentally ill.
The ending was kind of pointless for me—the salvation from the torment, again ripping off The Exorcist (take the soul from me, leave the unbeliever, see, I believe)—felt out of place.
What do YOU guys think about the movie, the acting, Patricia?
My top 10 visuals, not necessarily in order:
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Blade Runner
Vampires- Carpenter
What Dreams May Come
--forget R. Williams, I'm talking about the pure visual vibe here--
Stargate
Sleepy Hollow
Beetlejuice
The Mummy 1,2 The Cell
The Cell (minus Jennifer Lopez)
Star Troopers (minus the dumb plot and all that militaristic nonsense)
Susan Booth42 said:Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas
👍 even though I always picture the performance (that overly dramatic, theatrical Brel style, which kind of ruins it for me)
but the song itself... yeah, it's🙂