I tend to lean toward the theory of him dreaming the whole thing. The movie establishes that he is a man who dreams vividly, often as an escape from what’s going on around him. As the movie progresses, reality begins to invade his dreams, until the very end when he attempts to hide from his tormentors in his dream world; unfortunately, he is eventually overrun and swallowed by reality, and he ends up in that vegetative state. You can’t beat the government, no matter how hard you try, and how hard you dream.
That’s just how I see it, though your view isn’t bad.
Scott says he is a replicant, Ford says he isn’t, but in the book I thought it was said out-and-out that he was not a replicant. I could be wrong; haven’t read the book in a while.
On a side note, I greatly enjoyed the book and feel that it could almost be re-adapted (more like the book, because the movie was vastly different) and STILL be great.
We had a film club in high school, but it was mostly run by knuckleheads. We watched some good things like Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Donnie Darko, American Beauty, and Waking Life, but we also watched Battle Royale, Spaceballs, and Frailty. So take that for what it is. I’d suggest Brazil if it wasn’t so long, my favorite. There’s always M.
I’m not sure if this has been posted yet; I may have overlooked it. Regardless, as the title suggests.
I think Repulsion (needs a legitimate release), No Country for Old Men, Akira, and Children of Men. Others that may function more like Armageddon would be Shaun of the Dead, Army of Darkness, and Snakes on a Plane (a study in viral marketing). Okay, maybe not SoaP so much, but you see what I mean.
You can hate on my list all you want, but I’d also like to hear what everyone else thinks.
I’m Oliver and I am a currently self-taught student of film in Nashville, furiously working on a few screenplays and hoping to make enough money so I can move out to LA and go to school there.
I’ve been a huge Criterion fan for a while now and am glad to find this part of the site. Hopefully I can further my education here, with the help of all of you guys. :)
I agree that Kevin Smith and PT Anderson’s movies could probably be better, but they are definitely not the worst things that have come out.
That distinction belongs to Batman and Robin, and Phantom Menace.
If I could take a sledgehammer to every copy of these films, and erase my memory at Lacuna Inc., I would probably still have nightmares about these movies, and I use the term movie loosely. I’d go further but I’d start crying.
To Nawid Ahrary: I concur with Grindhouse. I also hope for Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair; I can see Criterion releasing them.
I think horror isn’t represented enough in the collection, though what is there is stellar. As I said before, I’d like to see an Evil Dead set, and They Live or Rabid or Battle Royale, or even The Thing.
I’d also like to see Twelve Monkeys, Broken Flowers, Lost in Translation, and Ghostbusters. I suppose I’m a bit more mainstream than a lot of you on here, and for that I apologize. It’s difficult exploring the world of movies beyond mainstream and Criterion when you’re poor and living in Tennessee.
I’m just saying: I loved Dark Knight, but I will also say that Brazil is perhaps my favorite movie, and I love Kurosawa and Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski.
I’m not a snob, but I can see where there is an issue with the way the internet can be, and about this site becoming like the majority of sites. Like if I have to hear how amazing Sin City is again I’ll rip my hair out. The second I laid my eyes on this site I breathed a heavy sigh of happiness, knowing I could come here and discuss films with other folks that appreciate them the same way I do, because there are very few people I know in real life with whom I can have that kind of conversation.
Don’t worry. I think this site is going to be just fine. :)
I thought Raiders of the Lost Ark was the perfect action film. Terminator and Die Hard are good, too, and the free-running at the beginning of Casino Royale is one of the most inspired action scenes I’ve ever seen.
To Seven Costanza – I’ve never walked out of a movie, but I fell asleep in Troy. God, that was terrible. I think Brad Pitt is great when playing against type, but not even he could bail out that piece of crap.
And I will admit that I fell asleep during Waking Life, also, though I’ve rewatched it more recently and loved it.
SLiTHER is a pitch-perfect throwback to eighties horror, that happens to lean more towards comedy. I equate it to an American Shaun of the Dead, in that it sends up these horror films, but is clearly made by huge, and clever, horror fans, and is just as good as the movies it is parodying. And yet nobody saw it. :( I love Nathan Fillion.
I also greatly enjoy The Punisher (better than the Dolph Lundgren version, and assuredly better than the new one), Freddy Vs. Jason (I’ve read about seven of the unused scripts, and they went with the right one), and Total Recall (Verhoeven is better than he gets credit for, the effects stand up today, and Schwarzenegger is awesome).
And not that I love it, but Snakes on a Plane is not as bad as a lot of people think; come on, it delivered on its title in spades, it was full of mindless action, and Sam Jackson is Sam Jackson. What is there to hate?
Well, this is out on DVD and the packaging totally sucks. And I must say, I laugh seeing all the previews stacked on the beginning, followed by such a paltry amount of features. Fox put more effort into the trailers than the DVD package for the film itself, which is disappointing because it’s a very good film.
As many people have already stated in this thread, I absolutely cannot stand seeing animal cruelty in movies, even when it isn’t really questionable whether or not said violence is simulated. To clarify: the dog killing in The Thing and in, say Terminator 2 or Halloween, are clearly fake, but these things still irritate me.
I think what gets me the most is when it’s for literally no reason. In The Thing, said “Thing” had a purpose in killing the animals: to absorb them, analyze them, and become like them. In Terminator 2, or Halloween, or Hostage, or many, many others (yeah, I’m a dog enthusiast, and these are just ones I’ve seen recently, certainly not on par with the insanity in some of the films already mentioned), the act of violence occurs simply to ramp up the villainy of the villain. There’s no reason for the T-1000 to kill John Connor’s dog, except for it to seem more evil; the T-1000 was easily made to seem evil throughout the rest of the movie, rendering such a scene pointless.
Maybe I’m a wimp about that sort of thing, but someone worded it as such: “I can tolerate seeing a human killed by another human, because it’s a level playing field. I can’t tolerate seeing animal violence because most animals cannot handle a human.” Not sure where I read that, but it’s a valid point.
I’m sure that post came off as meandering and silly; I am very tired.
I feel that most people in Hollywood can act in the right circumstances.
Mark Wahlberg was awesome in The Departed. Brad Pitt was awesome in 12 Monkeys and Snatch and a bunch of other stuff. Ben Affleck was tolerable in Dogma. I absolutely cannot stand George Clooney, but he was tolerable in From Dusk Til Dawn. Christian Bale is the best Batman, except for the voice thing, seriously. And he’s amazing in American Psycho. Josh Hartnett is tolerable in Black Hawk Down. Tom Cruise is tolerable in Magnolia and amazing in Collateral (why hasn’t anyone mentioned that?). Hell, Ernest “The Cat” Miller was a failure as a professional wrestler (yeah, used to watch the hell out of it) but was good in The Wrestler. The right director and/or part can do wonders for an actor.
I don’t think Tom Hanks acts, though he is still enjoyable to watch in some of his films.
Gary Oldman is the best character actor ever, by the way. Just saying.
I’m already convinced it will happen, so I won’t be quite as mad. There may be only two movies in the category that are worse than it is, but it’ll still take it. It’s frustrating.
Last year, everyone I spoke to in everyday life had seen Slumdog Millionaire and loved it, though I would have given In Bruges best picture if I ruled the world. This year, nobody I’ve spoken to even knows about The Hurt Locker, or they have no interest in it. I anticipate the worst. Le sigh.
Is it in his head or has Sam been Big Brothered..? about 3 years ago
I tend to lean toward the theory of him dreaming the whole thing. The movie establishes that he is a man who dreams vividly, often as an escape from what’s going on around him. As the movie progresses, reality begins to invade his dreams, until the very end when he attempts to hide from his tormentors in his dream world; unfortunately, he is eventually overrun and swallowed by reality, and he ends up in that vegetative state. You can’t beat the government, no matter how hard you try, and how hard you dream.
That’s just how I see it, though your view isn’t bad.
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Is Deckard a replicant? about 3 years ago
Scott says he is a replicant, Ford says he isn’t, but in the book I thought it was said out-and-out that he was not a replicant. I could be wrong; haven’t read the book in a while.
On a side note, I greatly enjoyed the book and feel that it could almost be re-adapted (more like the book, because the movie was vastly different) and STILL be great.
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Film Club about 3 years ago
We had a film club in high school, but it was mostly run by knuckleheads. We watched some good things like Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Donnie Darko, American Beauty, and Waking Life, but we also watched Battle Royale, Spaceballs, and Frailty. So take that for what it is. I’d suggest Brazil if it wasn’t so long, my favorite. There’s always M.
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection about 3 years ago
I’m not sure if this has been posted yet; I may have overlooked it. Regardless, as the title suggests.
I think Repulsion (needs a legitimate release), No Country for Old Men, Akira, and Children of Men. Others that may function more like Armageddon would be Shaun of the Dead, Army of Darkness, and Snakes on a Plane (a study in viral marketing). Okay, maybe not SoaP so much, but you see what I mean.
You can hate on my list all you want, but I’d also like to hear what everyone else thinks.
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New to The Auteurs? You Belong Here about 3 years ago
I’m Oliver and I am a currently self-taught student of film in Nashville, furiously working on a few screenplays and hoping to make enough money so I can move out to LA and go to school there.
I’ve been a huge Criterion fan for a while now and am glad to find this part of the site. Hopefully I can further my education here, with the help of all of you guys. :)
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection about 3 years ago
And I forgot There Will Be Blood and (pretty much) anything from David Cronenberg, like Scanners. There are assuredly a few I can’t remember.
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the hate corner about 3 years ago
I agree that Kevin Smith and PT Anderson’s movies could probably be better, but they are definitely not the worst things that have come out.
That distinction belongs to Batman and Robin, and Phantom Menace.
If I could take a sledgehammer to every copy of these films, and erase my memory at Lacuna Inc., I would probably still have nightmares about these movies, and I use the term movie loosely. I’d go further but I’d start crying.
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What was the first Criterion movie you watched? about 3 years ago
I believe the first I watched was Spartacus, but the first I purchased was Videodrome. There was no looking back from there. :)
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection about 3 years ago
To Nawid Ahrary: I concur with Grindhouse. I also hope for Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair; I can see Criterion releasing them.
I think horror isn’t represented enough in the collection, though what is there is stellar. As I said before, I’d like to see an Evil Dead set, and They Live or Rabid or Battle Royale, or even The Thing.
I’d also like to see Twelve Monkeys, Broken Flowers, Lost in Translation, and Ghostbusters. I suppose I’m a bit more mainstream than a lot of you on here, and for that I apologize. It’s difficult exploring the world of movies beyond mainstream and Criterion when you’re poor and living in Tennessee.
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Worries about the future... about 3 years ago
I’m just saying: I loved Dark Knight, but I will also say that Brazil is perhaps my favorite movie, and I love Kurosawa and Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski.
I’m not a snob, but I can see where there is an issue with the way the internet can be, and about this site becoming like the majority of sites. Like if I have to hear how amazing Sin City is again I’ll rip my hair out. The second I laid my eyes on this site I breathed a heavy sigh of happiness, knowing I could come here and discuss films with other folks that appreciate them the same way I do, because there are very few people I know in real life with whom I can have that kind of conversation.
Don’t worry. I think this site is going to be just fine. :)
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Action Films about 3 years ago
I thought Raiders of the Lost Ark was the perfect action film. Terminator and Die Hard are good, too, and the free-running at the beginning of Casino Royale is one of the most inspired action scenes I’ve ever seen.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? about 3 years ago
To Seven Costanza – I’ve never walked out of a movie, but I fell asleep in Troy. God, that was terrible. I think Brad Pitt is great when playing against type, but not even he could bail out that piece of crap.
And I will admit that I fell asleep during Waking Life, also, though I’ve rewatched it more recently and loved it.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? about 3 years ago
Gah, double post! D:
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Films you love but most people hate. about 3 years ago
SLiTHER is a pitch-perfect throwback to eighties horror, that happens to lean more towards comedy. I equate it to an American Shaun of the Dead, in that it sends up these horror films, but is clearly made by huge, and clever, horror fans, and is just as good as the movies it is parodying. And yet nobody saw it. :( I love Nathan Fillion.
I also greatly enjoy The Punisher (better than the Dolph Lundgren version, and assuredly better than the new one), Freddy Vs. Jason (I’ve read about seven of the unused scripts, and they went with the right one), and Total Recall (Verhoeven is better than he gets credit for, the effects stand up today, and Schwarzenegger is awesome).
And not that I love it, but Snakes on a Plane is not as bad as a lot of people think; come on, it delivered on its title in spades, it was full of mindless action, and Sam Jackson is Sam Jackson. What is there to hate?
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Your favorite title sequence about 3 years ago
Charade, Se7en, Life of Brian, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
My favorite title sequence was probably Lord of War, with the life of a bullet. Nicely done.
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The Wrestler almost 3 years ago
Well, this is out on DVD and the packaging totally sucks. And I must say, I laugh seeing all the previews stacked on the beginning, followed by such a paltry amount of features. Fox put more effort into the trailers than the DVD package for the film itself, which is disappointing because it’s a very good film.
Criterion? Are you listening up there?
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Remember that poor ox in APOCALYPSE NOW? The treatment of animals in film. almost 2 years ago
As many people have already stated in this thread, I absolutely cannot stand seeing animal cruelty in movies, even when it isn’t really questionable whether or not said violence is simulated. To clarify: the dog killing in The Thing and in, say Terminator 2 or Halloween, are clearly fake, but these things still irritate me.
I think what gets me the most is when it’s for literally no reason. In The Thing, said “Thing” had a purpose in killing the animals: to absorb them, analyze them, and become like them. In Terminator 2, or Halloween, or Hostage, or many, many others (yeah, I’m a dog enthusiast, and these are just ones I’ve seen recently, certainly not on par with the insanity in some of the films already mentioned), the act of violence occurs simply to ramp up the villainy of the villain. There’s no reason for the T-1000 to kill John Connor’s dog, except for it to seem more evil; the T-1000 was easily made to seem evil throughout the rest of the movie, rendering such a scene pointless.
Maybe I’m a wimp about that sort of thing, but someone worded it as such: “I can tolerate seeing a human killed by another human, because it’s a level playing field. I can’t tolerate seeing animal violence because most animals cannot handle a human.” Not sure where I read that, but it’s a valid point.
I’m sure that post came off as meandering and silly; I am very tired.
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Actors who can't act almost 2 years ago
I feel that most people in Hollywood can act in the right circumstances.
Mark Wahlberg was awesome in The Departed. Brad Pitt was awesome in 12 Monkeys and Snatch and a bunch of other stuff. Ben Affleck was tolerable in Dogma. I absolutely cannot stand George Clooney, but he was tolerable in From Dusk Til Dawn. Christian Bale is the best Batman, except for the voice thing, seriously. And he’s amazing in American Psycho. Josh Hartnett is tolerable in Black Hawk Down. Tom Cruise is tolerable in Magnolia and amazing in Collateral (why hasn’t anyone mentioned that?). Hell, Ernest “The Cat” Miller was a failure as a professional wrestler (yeah, used to watch the hell out of it) but was good in The Wrestler. The right director and/or part can do wonders for an actor.
I don’t think Tom Hanks acts, though he is still enjoyable to watch in some of his films.
Gary Oldman is the best character actor ever, by the way. Just saying.
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Post a song you are currently listening to almost 2 years ago
Megadeth – Five Magics
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How mad will you be if Avatar wins Best Picture? almost 2 years ago
I’m already convinced it will happen, so I won’t be quite as mad. There may be only two movies in the category that are worse than it is, but it’ll still take it. It’s frustrating.
Last year, everyone I spoke to in everyday life had seen Slumdog Millionaire and loved it, though I would have given In Bruges best picture if I ruled the world. This year, nobody I’ve spoken to even knows about The Hurt Locker, or they have no interest in it. I anticipate the worst. Le sigh.
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