I don't know about you guys but I'm a big movie buff. I recently purchased a dvd player and have it hooked up to my stereo. Talk about your theater experience. Anyways, I have been looking for messages in movies and ways to use movies to witness. If you haven't seen the movie than my analogy will bee pretty useless. The Matrix A lot of people have problems understanding miracles and how they can occur. Yes, they kinda break the laws of physics which creates problems. But think of our world as a matrix type world created by God. He can easily change the program. If you saw the movie, think back to the building they were in when Keanu reeves saw the black cat twice. The matrix changed its program and windows were now brick walls instead of windows so they could not escape. God can change our program (ie miracles). If you saw the movie you will probably understand some of this. If not, I probably look very strange to you right about now. Just a normal post I guess Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Instinct I liked the part where they talked about false illusions you set up. And about how most humans are takers. I thought that was really good. And about finding true peace. Getting away from all the earthly crap and back to the world as it should be without false illusions set up by ourselves and society. Lake Placid This movie was a joke. Its the one about the giant crocodile. Lot of sarcasm but there was too much. Every line was sarcasm. Some of it was funny but a movie kind of needs a decent plot Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! My father accurately predicted the outcome of the movie. In the beginning he said sarcastically that the crocodile was that old lady's pet and that she unchained him at night. When this turned out to be the case later on in this 'best picture of the year' quality film we kind of played mst3k and mocked the movie. I was hoping the crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin, would jump out and say something like, "Holy smokes, its a bloddy croc mate," and then tackle it or something. There was one comment I that got my attention though. In the movie that chick said that more people have worshipped crocodiles than Jesus. Anybody know if this is true or not or know anything about this? I watched armageddon yesterday on dvd. Thats a great movie. I always cry at the end. Nope, I'm not to embarrased to admit it. I cry, as does any true movie buff, during emotuional movies. When the asteroid was comming the entire world kind of becomes closer. This effect can be seen in Independence day as well. When something tragic happens it brings people closer together. My point being is that there is a positive side to a lot of evil. In the bible, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery but from there God used Joseph to save all of egypt. That story can be found from around gen 37 to the end. People come closer together and forget their petty differences during rough times. Arlington Road The ending was very original unless this was a remake or something. I lIke the whole idea of blaming one person for bombings and stuff and how it relates to our security and people feeling safer when the one person is named. Instead of being a whole group we feel better if it was once person so we can dismiss them as evil or crazy or just weird. Again, if you didn't see this movie I'm sounding very follish right now. I'll post more as I watch more movies and remember others. These movies are fresh in my head because I watched them recently. Vinnie Praise Jesus!!!
You wanna watch a movie that shows the line between good and evil just as clear as day? Watch "Very Bad Things" with Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz. It's horrible. But I tell you what, it's a witness to the power that Satan has over all of us, and it's a witness to just how lost you can get when you're only rule is "well, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, it must be ok". It shows the most far-reaching effects of the most seemingly trivial and inconsequential sin. It is clear as day, hence the title "Very Bad Things". I give it two thumbs up. ------------------ "Go Jesus, go! Go Jesus, go!" I finally get to be the cheerleader that I always wanted to be but could not, as I was not a fluff chick.
Ilgwamh-- I think that motion pictures have a potential value equal to any book, if not moreso for the directness and accessibility of movies. Though I'm not one to argue taste directly, I did want to mention that the films you mentioned in your topic post give me much food for thought. Specifically, I think they're all horrible films. But that doesn't mean that I don't think they have a point in relation to what I think you're getting after. Of the glitzy, "Hollywood" films I've seen in the last couple of years, only "Deep Impact" really stands out. It was as horrible as any other world-disaster flick, but I noticed that in it, the characters often behaved exactly as they should according to their passions, not according to the writers' conventions. But I've figured you can take reasonable gambles on directors; I'm rarely excited when I hear Robert Rodriguez has a film coming, though my ears will prick up if I hear about a John Boorman film, or a John Sayles film; it doesn't mean I'll like it, but I know I've enjoyed this person's work in the past. I think this has to do with the way I look at films: I think the entertainment factor comes second if you're looking to do anything other than make a quick buck. Bearing that in mind, I submit my own list--I promise to keep it short. * ClosetLand--starring Madeline Stowe and Alan Rickman; it's just a movingly stylized commentary on expression and conscience. It's on videotape if you can find it. * Passed Away--comedy about an Irish wake. * In the Name of the Father--disturbing anti-British drama. Now, of these, I would submit that their value is in the challenge to move past the stereotypes that carry the film. Nobody believes that the exact circumstances of Closetland exist in the world, but we can make some philosophical connections between what we see and how we know people to conduct themselves; likewise, Passed Away carries a ton and a half of cheap Irish-American stereotype, but that's the vehicle for a form of comedy that exposes the inner aspect of the characters, thus defeating the stereotypes. Of course, Name of the Father is glammed-over history, but there's still part of a story there worth knowing. On the one hand, I remember the day Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill were released from prison; I watched the scene on the news. To the other, I know people who looked me in the eye and said, "This never happened." Funny, these people said the same thing about "Mississippi Burning". But that's the first short list, and by no means the end-all of my total list, but I've found myself rambling in commentary, so I'll leave a few more titles, and scram. The Lotus Eaters; The Mission; Black Robe; The Rapture .... I'll stop there. Thanx for the topic, though. I'll wait to see where it leads before I dust off the ol' soapbox. --Tiassa ------------------ Take a side you say, it's black and gray. And all the hunters take the hunted merrily out to play. We are one, you say, but who are you? You're all too busy reaping in the things you never sown. And this beast must go on and on and on .... Nobody gives a damn. (Floater; "Beast")
I thin that if you enjoy picking out 'messages' in movies, go for it. Whatever floats your boat. I have a radical concept for movie-watching: entertainment. I'm not dissing you or anything. I just think that people spend too much time looking for messages and meanings and totally forget that life is to be enjoyed. I understand that movies are more easily digested by the public, but I'm more of a book person. There are books out there that would blow away anything Hollywood can present. Books don't have to worry much about a budget or a strike, and if you get interrupted while reading, you just mark your place and take care of matters. The book will wait for you. I don't know if this one has ever been made into a movie, but have you ever read 'A Canticle For Leibowitz'(Bantam Books, 1959), by Walter M. Miller, Jr.? It has a heavily symbolic religious theme to it. It's slow reading, but interesting and very relevant, especially with the turning of the millennium. (My apologies to anybody who is tired of hearing that word. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!) I strongly, strongly recommend it.
have you guys seen the movie american pie???? oh my god... is that funny or what?? well it didnt have any real messages in it except... if you have kids, you now know what they think about ------------------ thats all i got -dexter
dexter, I have young adult children and they have said that "American Pie" is hysterically funny. I haven't seen it yet, but I had planned to. Thanks for reminding me. The funniest, most absurd movie I have ever seen so far has got to be "Something About Mary." I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my face, my stomach was aching and became as hard as a rock and my cheekbones felt like they had reached maximum altitude. That was the first time that I ever saw so many people in a movie theatre who had to leave in the middle of the movie to take a bathroom break! They were laughing so hard that they just couldn't hold it in any more. In my opinion, it was comic genius. Just when I thought I had seen the funniest scene imaginable, the writers continued to build on it. I don't usually watch movies more than once but, this one, I had to because I was laughing so hard the first time that I missed some of the dialogue. "Franks and beans!"... "WE GOT A BLEEDER!!!"... "Hair gel?" Vinnie, I saw a number of the apocalyptic movies within a short time span, so, they are kind of blending together right now... Have you seen "The Sixth Sense?" The end totally blew me away. I liked the relationships and a lot of the messages too. As a parent, I will never forget "Sophie's Choice." It was heart-wrenching. With a number of people in my family dealing with cancer the past few years, of course, "One True Thing" was a really powerful movie for me to watch. Oxygen, I am still waiting to see for the first time in my life, a movie which outdoes the pre-read book... Do you think it's possible?
something about mary was one of my favorite, but the one movie wich tops them all is of course dumb and dumber... and i have found a book in which, previously read, wasnt nerly as good as the movie... the new bond, the world is not enough... though it does go into more detail... about certain "bond" moments (denise richards, oh my god) the moovie still kicked some serious ass!. ------------------ thats all i got -dexter
Dexter, My sister and her teenage sons rave about "Dumb and Dumber"... it's their favorite, too... believe it or not, I haven't seen it yet! I've heard from a couple of Stephen King fans that "The Green Mile" did justice to the book. A FIRST for a screen adaptation of King's work as far as they are concerned. I didn't read the book ahead of time but, the movie was very good! Have you seen it?
Lori, I'll have to check out that movie. Your description of it made me think of the 'Devil's Advocate' Tiassa I'm sorry Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! but I never heard of one of those movies that you mentioned. Horrible films are what you called the movies I mentioned. It amazes me how people can differ so much in taste about things Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Out of all the movies you mentioned which one did you like the best? I'll try to make an effort to see that one. But a small question remains. Do you honestly believe Deep Impact was better than Armageddon? I'll admit, it was probably more realistic but armageddon was much more entertaining and funny. Better actors too. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Sorry but I get real emotionial and childish over the whole Deep Impact vs Armageddon thing. Besides, its an absolute truth of our universe that Armageddon was better Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Oxygen As for your radical movie watching concept, I couldn't agree with you more. Movies are great for entertainment and thats the primary reason I watch them. But afterwards I usually like to break the movie down and see if there is any message I can get from it or anything they were hinting at. Its a good way to show others because they can relate to movies usually. I have never read 'A Canticle For Leibowitz'(Bantam Books, 1959), by Walter M. Miller, Jr. I'll check out amazon.com reviews later and see what others think about it. Btw, books uually blow movies away. I think Jurassic Park was a good movie but I read the book before I saw it. The book was way better. Any Tolkien fans out there? A lord of the rings movie is comming out in the next year I think. Hopefully it will be better than the cartoon versions. dexter I haven't seen american pie yet. If they had it on dvd I would have rented it. I heard it was really funny. And I am a kid (18), so I know what we think about already Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! In dudmb and dumber the part with the snowball had to be the best by far and there were some funny scenes in there. "I don't think we have enough gas money. According to the map we've only gone 2 inches." truestory I saw something about mary a bunch of times. I really liked that movie. What about the part when that old lady was cleaning up and she was vaccuming under the couch? That was so funny. And when the dog attacked the guy...I could go on and on. I haven't seen the sixth sense yet. Thats one I'll be looking for. The problem is that I don't want to watch videos anymore because the dvd's are way better. I usually like Bruce Willis movies. Ok I'm done rambling about movies. Just remember that when you see a good movie and are happy, God gave you life. Have a blessed and happy day! Vinnie Praise Jesus!!!
Ilgwamh-- Perhaps "horrible" was the wrong way to go about it. Umm ... have you seen the "Sprite" commercial about the horror movie "The Slug"? So if you'll be so kind as to allow me to retract "horrible", I might briefly attempt to restate myself. There are lesser-known cinematic works that touch on art. They are at once entertaining and touching. My problem with Hollywood's A-budget extravaganzas is that they all read like B-class films. Often, fine actors will take the roles in hopes of salvaging a fine idea, and then be crushed by bad directors, or whatnot. But where I'm sold on movies like Deep Impact, Godzilla, or other such effects-bonanzas is on the effects. It's the idea that Godzilla wouldn't have been the same on a videotape through my television. If I might draw a religious figure into it ... what if we were to present the tale of Aleister Crowley and the Scarlet Woman? It's well-known by Golden Dawn revivalists and adherents that Crowley had a fetish for "ugly" women, believing that they were better in bed (I have no idea for that specific logic; the importance of sexuality, though, is Crowley's assertion that, for human males, the moment of orgasm is the only time in which their mind is utterly and completely empty--an aspect that has some significance in a Zen manner). Well, we know what Aleister Crowley looked like--W.C. Fields after being beaten with a parking meter. But we don't know about the Scarlet Woman, specifically. All we know is that she was supremely unaesthetic. But I can almost guarantee that the "Scarlet Woman" would be played by an Uma Thurman, Gillian Anderson, or possibly even Madonna. Crowley should probably go to Anthony Hopkins, in that case, or perhaps Sean Connery. Now this movie isn't in the works--that's not what I'm asserting. But we saw Spielberg & Co. rewrite history to suit the cinematic aesthetics of Amistad; NBC's production of "Brave New World" rewrote the end because they thought the original ending would be too depressign. That's what I'm getting after, that the points upon which we sell Hollywood's "best and brightest" films are no longer true to themselves. And that's a problem. That's why I like smaller productions; even if you rewrite the story for a low-scale production, you're usually doing it for emphasis that can't come across otherwise. I'm not a fan of rewriting history itself, but of other works, there's a reason from time to time. For instance, writing Travis in "Watchers" (Dean R. Koontz) to be young enough to be played by Corey Haim was merely a marketing move. But the insertion of a ton of dialogue in "The Dunwich Horror" (H. P. Lovecraft) was necessary, as Lovecraft wrote virtually no dialogue. And you can get away with it on the small level because the audience for those movies is usually tuned in to the writing conventions. If you could consider "horrible", though, in the manner of several people sitting around drinking beer ... it loses its weighty connotation when applied to Hollywood. Most everything that comes out of that town is disappointing in relation to what it promises viewers. Well, that doesn't entirely make sense, does it? But ... don't take my assessment of those films to reflect on my opinion of your taste; after all, our priorities, going into the theater, are probably a little different. Darn. So much for being brief. thanx, Tiassa ------------------ Take a side you say, it's black and gray. And all the hunters take the hunted merrily out to play. We are one, you say, but who are you? You're all too busy reaping in the things you never sown. And this beast must go on and on and on .... Nobody gives a damn. (Floater; "Beast")
truestory-Generally, I believe that all of Stephen King's books far outdo the movie versions except for one: The Shining. I thought the movie was way better than the book. The endings were different, a lot of the scenes were radically different, and quite a bit was changed, although the book did go further into Danny's mental situation. By the way, did anybody here have the patience to read The Stand? The movie left out a crapload of significant details.
first of all, ilgwmah, it was 6 inches, not 2, and beileive it or not i am a real kid, though you probobly know that, but i thought i was the only, 'dumb' one in here. but on american pie, the dvd version(wich i rented) was very, very cool..... naudi is sooo hot! ------------------ when christianity ruled the world, it was called the dark ages. -dexter
