Posts by Richard Hernandez13

Jessica Nguyen85 said:A 'Memento' HC movie... I have nothing to say to that.

Jessica Nguyen85, it seems like the term 'high concept' carries a slightly different weight depending on where you're from versus where we are. Around here, there isn't a single critic who hasn't described 'Adaptation' or 'Memento' as a high concept film.

coastalpanther43 said:Look, just to be clear, I don't entirely agree with how the ending was executed either, but conceptually speaking, it feels like that's exactly how the movie had to wrap things up. Besides, that last third of the film actually contains some really great moments:

Yeah, I definitely had that same impression myself.
It feels a little too early to just write off the last third of the film as pure self-irony, because some genuinely beautiful things actually happen there. Take that dialogue between Donald and Charlie, for instance—the movie really does have these big moments of revelation where the characters actually undergo a transformation. I don't know, maybe Charlie finally realized that certain cinematic conventions actually hold a bit of truth after all.

Casey Williams9 said:Well, look, back when I saw it on TV here in the States, they actually translated it exactly the way I described.
Since we all know how movie titles tend to get localized around here, I'm thinking the translator probably wanted to lean into that whole plot point involving a high-tech, robotic version of Ancient Rome.

When you say "back then," are you talking about the old days before the country changed?
If that's the case, maybe using just "The West" sounded a bit too much like pure capitalism, so they tossed in "Eastern" just to keep things feeling balanced.😁

Casey Williams9 said:The movie: East meets West

Actually, it's just "Westworld." It's based on that novel by Michael Crichton.

Here is the link to the film:

Wait, what was the name of that computer from "WarGames" again? Did it actually have a specific name, or am I just misremembering?

I was just sitting here thinking back to that sleek, silver Robot from Logan's Run.

That tiny little Robot from Star Wars—he basically looks like a small box on legs.
I can't quite remember if he actually popped up in the Star Wars movies, but he was definitely in those Jedi Knight games, and I always had such a blast playing with him.

That robotics stuff from Langov's "Metropolis".

I’ve always felt that HAL 9000 should probably stand for something like Heuristic Algorithmic, or some variation of that kind of thing.

Melissa Moore32 said:Wait, isn't M from '26? (Like, Metropolis?)

Actually, no—M is really that intense film about the hunt for a child killer starring Peter Lorre.

"Everything about Eva"

I’m not entirely sure what prompted this sudden thought, but here we go.

rapidstag74 said:Sabretooth fell into the water, which is basically Hollywood speak for saying he’s perfectly fine.

I think you forgot to mention there was a jet ski right where he went under, so honestly, he might actually be in real trouble this time.

rapidmoose5 said:That would honestly be such a massive mistake because the guy just isn't entertaining at all—he’s basically just some meathead Neanderthal type.

And honestly, it goes beyond that; he’s totally useless for Magneto too, since he just stands there looking completely clueless.

blueranger13 said:Maybe they'll throw him into X-Men 3...
I'm really crossing my fingers that X-Men 3 actually dives into how Onslaught was born from inside Xavier's mind! :-)

Look, I’ll be the first to admit I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to the whole X-Men universe, but if I remember correctly from somewhere, I think there's some mention of these massive robots called Sentinels showing up in the third movie.
Do those guys actually make an appearance in the comics?

The guy basically has an adamantium skeleton paired with that insane healing factor.

Blue Eyes said:I mean, seriously, what kind of movies are you guys actually watching if you find Malick's "Days of Heaven" to be boring or uninteresting? 😕 🙄

Maybe just adult films?😁

Robert Cooper41 said:I mean, Steven Soderbergh was on the jury too... but I just don't get why they'd include Meg Ryan and those Bollywood stars. The whole program seems geared toward these high-brow "art house" films, so how does it make sense to have a mainstream actress and a massive Indian movie star deciding the awards?!? I get wanting publicity, but still... 🙄

From what I can gather, the real issue was the disastrous selection process rather than the jury itself. Besides, what's your logic for assuming that Meg Ryan or an Indian actress wouldn't be qualified to judge what they've watched? At the end of the day, everything comes down to a subjective impression anyway—unless, of course, you think they just "don't get movies," haha.

Mike Leigh mentioned in an interview once that he always used to view a jury as this untouchable authority on what's good and what isn't, at least until he actually sat in that seat himself. That’s when he realized it's really just a small group of nervous people, all stressing out over whether their decision is actually right and how much heat they're going to take for it.

Robert Cooper41 said:My bad... I didn't read my own quote very closely before posting.😉 I think the most fascinating thing about this movie is how they weave comic book illustrations directly into the storytelling... using that specific comic book "mise en scene" within the film itself (even if it feels a little experimental!).

The real clever part is how > blends scripted scenes with these almost "documentary" segments. You have Paul Giamatti playing Pekar in the scripted parts, while the actual Pekar plays himself in the documentary sections. To make things even more interesting, the documentary footage was shot on digital video, while the scripted portions were filmed on 35mm.

Robert Cooper41 said:Oh, and there's one more movie that looks super interesting: the American indie film "American Splendor," which was part of the "Un Certain Regard" lineup... it's about the underground comic book legend Harvey Pekar.

Actually, he wasn't the illustrator, but rather the writer (though Crumb was actually one of the artists who drew his comics!). Also, the film wasn't in the main official selection because it had already picked up steam after winning at Sundance.

By the way, there's usually this strict rule at Cannes where a film can only walk away with a single award. But since the selection felt pretty lackluster this year, the jury actually asked the director to set a precedent, which is how Elephant managed to snag two awards—the Palma and a prize for Best Director.

Robert Cooper41 said:...And on top of that, the whole film crew was treated quite well, which meant they racked up about $500,000 in expenses for this festival since they stayed at the absolute best hotels—plus there was all the extra attention focused on Nicole Kidman... but hey, it ended up being worth it.😁 😁

Actually, I’m not so sure it was worth it. The initial buyout offer for "Dogville" was sitting at $4 million. But while they were at the festival, once the hype started building, that price jumped up to $6 million—only for the movie to end up selling for less than that original starting bid.