Movies u must c

[Miss S.]

Thanks for your perspective on the movie Jim. I was considering going to see 300 and now i'm certain of it. The trailers were indeed luring as well.
It seems though that people, okay we all know I mean Kui; Kui try and keep in mind that this movie was based on a book that was based on a historical event. That leaves a lot of room for both fantasy and error. It was created not as a history lesson but for entertainment and bottom line, to make money. Why do you seem to take personal offense to the point of argument for things such as this ? There is ALWAYS the option of not watching. It is not like you were unaware of the basis of this movie before you were dragged in to see it and considering your ideals and such you had to know you were certainly going to be offended. This movie ultimately was the vision of the director. His perspective. By defination "based on" means, to form or provide a base for..... inaccuracies are a given .......no ?

[Jim_UK]

Kui i've taken your points on board but i still think that (a) this film is not racist, (b) has no hidden or even obvious message about A versus B and (c) has some historical accuracy.

I did write a whole long post again, but i read some other 'complaints' on various websites about how 300 is racist and it just made me laugh. Some of the points they make are just too desperate to take seriously.

[Graeme C]

Garden state, watched the film again yesterday when i was supposed to be doing work.. opppps... dont tell anyone

[Debs]

Originally Posted by Kui

Jim... I've never heard of this Millar guy you're talking about. I dont have the luxury of time to immerse my brain in something so useful as a comic book. Did it not bother you that the people of "color" were bad guys? There was nothing to do with Persia or Persians, but the bad guys were literal those of african decent. Was that all this guy Millar's conception or production oversight?

If you've heard--and not read--any of the talk around 300, you'd know it was based on a graphic novel. I can't even call it a comic book, but next time I'm at Borders I'm going to look for it to see the actual format and some of the content. This movie to me is merely part of a trent Hollywood is going thru now, looking for unusual sources to base movies on. The video game trend I found stupid, even tho I did avidly watch the first Lara Croft flick. Now we're looking to graphic novels.

As a librarian, I can tell you that I had a good intro to graphic novels thansk to a fellow librarian who showcased the true graphic NOVEL--some of the Japanese works and a series called Maus just to name a couple. I know what I'm looking for if I decide to start adding some of this literary form to my shelves. We're NOT talking comic books in any way, shape or form! One book rep came in telling me, with great rolling of eyes, that he had some of what he was being told were graphic novels--he showed them to me and they were indeed just comic books--poor adaptation of text, sloppy artwork, too short to properly tell the story. My point is, know the difference before derisively calling something a comic book. The Maus series could never be called a comic book!

As for the color of the Persians....oh...my...gawd....could we stop and think about the area of the world being represented? Should they have been caucasian? Even the Spartans shouldn't be caucasian, I'm sorry. For that matter, neither should the depictions of Christ.

So as far as historical accuracy in the movie 300, I was never looking for that, since I knew its source. This film should be viewed as a jumping off point--go research the actual event--and also, for me at any rate, the film techniques used to get the whole look and feel that it has. It's a movie, it's entertaining.....

[Jim_UK]

sorry Debs, you're not allowed to think that way these days

I've seen the Maus series around alot, but i've never really been tempted to buy it. Alan Moore's novels are usually pretty good too, though unfortunately neither of the two that have been put to film (Extraordinary league of gentlemen & V for Vendetta) has turned out very well. Indeed Moore refuses to have anything to do with the films and does his best to distance himself from them as much as he can.

To be honest i only buy graphic novels if they're illustrated well, i'm a bit of an eye candy addict Anything by Tony Wong or Andy Seto i usually snap up if i can afford it. The next time you're in Borders, have a look for the graphic novel of the film 'Hero', it's by Andy Seto and it's truly amazing.

[ACMILAN1983]

I have the 300 Graphic novel and don't really see how it could be called a comic if I'm honest. I really like Frank Miller's work, including 300, Sin City and The Dark Knight returns.

Jim, how can you talk Alan Moore and not mention Watchmen, an outstanding book. By the way, the Watchmen film is being made and will be directed by Zack something (director of 300 ).

I'm also a fan of manga, manhwa (Korean) and to a lesser degree Manhua (Chinese).

[Debs]

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

sorry Debs, you're not allowed to think that way these days

Not allowed to think what way? That's it's a movie and it's just supposed to be entertaining? Well, to be honest, I really dislike going to see dreary, sad, movies that are trying to drive home some sort of lesson. I go to be entertained. No, better yet, I go to escape!

I will rent almost anything that people tell me is good, don't get me wrong on that point. But at least when I rent movies I don't feel so bad if I don't like it and simply turn it off after the first 20-30 minutes--I haven't wasted an afternoon in a theatre.

[Jim_UK]

no i didn't mean like that debs ... i meant now-a-days, you're not allowed to think that a film is just a film, you have to think that every part of the film is somehow racist and insulting to some section of the world

I didn't mention Watchmen as i've not read it and the film hasn't been released yet .... actually i just forgot to mention it

[Debs]

Sorry, I must be awfully simple minded or I still live in a more innocent age....I just don't get the mentality of "everything out there is meant to be an insult" that everyone walks around with these days. It bothers me that people are so hypersensitive. Can't people just enjoy a movie for its entertainment value?

[Jim_UK]

it appears not Debs ... the world has gone crazy .... maybe we could go live on that new 'earth-like' planet they've just discovered. If we leave now we might make it in about a bazillion years

[Debs]

And people wonder why I dream of a future just like Star Trek portrays. The world has gone mad, my friend! Makes me want to bit the ears off of more white chocolate bunnies!!!!

[Jim_UK]

Originally Posted by Debs

Makes me want to bit the ears off of more white chocolate bunnies!!!!

haha ... you'll probably have to wait until next easter now, i should imagine they're all sold out of white chocolate easter bunnies

I've just come back from seeing 'Next', the Nicholas Cage film about a guy who can see 2 mins into his own future. It would have been a nice power to have, that way i could have saved myself 2 hours of time and £7 in money

There are some nice touches in it, but there's more wood in that film than you see in a forest ... (and when i say wood, i mean wooden acting, not the smutty line of thinking some of you might imagine ) ... just not worth seeing at the cinema. I wished i'd saved my money and gone and saw the new Chow Yun Fat film (the title escapes me), at least i know i would have enjoyed that knowing i like those kinds of films.

[Jim_UK]

Yesterday i watched Spiderman 3 and have to say it's quite an enjoyable film. Being a comic book nerd and fan of superhero films, i was always going to enjoy this one, but even for the neutral i think it's a good film to watch.

It does have some 'dragging' moments and there are some scenes that are just too over the top, like the reporter scene at the end of the film for the big battle and when Spiderman swings past and lands in front of a huge American flag billowing in the wind. The rest of the film however is fantastic comic book action and i have to say they did a great job with Venom (who i was a bit worried about at first thinking he'd be too skinny) and sandman (although he's as wooden as heck). What strikes you most about this film is the humour though, there are alot of laugh out loud moments.

So all in all it gets the thumbs up.

[Jim_UK]

Debs, the teaser trailer for 'National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets' is out! Have you seen it? If not, then go watch it, it's great ... even if the sub title of the film sounds like a Harry Potter book

[RegnoDelDiabolo]

guys this is a 2005 film but it rocks
"coach carter"