The General Movie Thread

[Looney]

Originally Posted by Ubik

Have you read the Dan Clowes comic this is based on?

I have not. I actually saw the movie on the spur of the moment.

[Jonas]

Originally Posted by Looney

Okay so I finished watching Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004) last night. What went wrong here? I wouldn't say this is a bad movie, though there are some surprisingly poorly directed moments, but it is what I would call a failed effort. There just seems to be something missing in this epic. There seems to be a spark that is absent. I feel that Collin Farrell is putting in the effort, but I am not captivated by his performance. The character he brings to life just doesn't come off like the character the movie seems to want to portray. Many of the other performances don't really stand out either. I guess my point is that the effort put into this massive project should have yielded better results.

It's a combination of the horrific screenplay (which fails to capture the fascinating aspects of those people and that time in pretty much every way) and some of the worst casting I've ever seen. Not because the actors are bad, but because they're hilariously inappropriate for their parts. I mean, Angelina Jolie as Colin Farrell's mum? Did she have him when she was one year old?

It's a movie that seems to yearn to be about something, but doesn't seem to have the ability to reach for it. Which really bugs me, because Alexander is one of the most fascinating historical figures you could make a movie about.

[Ubik]

Wriggly Scott has been losing his ability to make good films for years now. I have pretty much zero interest in the new Alien film because of this.

[Jonas]

For me, Scott's always been mixed. Some of his films I love, some I hate. Of his recent films, I enjoyed Robin Hood and The Martian quite a bit. Prometheus was disappointing, Exodus a disaster. My main problem with Prometheus/Alien: Covenant is that they seem hell-bent on taking the mystery out of the story, reducing everything to the actions of a handful of people.

[Looney]

I believe I have posted my thoughts on Scott before, but here they are again. I have learned to attribute anything he has ever done that I love to blind luck. If I were ever able to pick a Top Ten favorite films of all time Blade Runner would have fallen into that category before Scott announced that certain lines of dialogue were just mistakes. Now I watch it and feel like I am being tricked. Now when I start losing myself in it I wonder if in fact someone else directed it and Scott took the credit. I can say that Blade Runner must be a testament to how making a film is a team effort. Clearly others had great influence on the project.

And back to Alexander (2004), I completely agree with Jonas. I guess Oliver Stone should stick to stories that happened in his lifetime and make better casting choices. I know that the way he got the financing to make such an epic effort was by attaching those names to the project, but what a mistake. I'm not saying they are not talented actors, but I didn't feel the chemistry. And I have no idea if this aspect was meant to be historically accurate or what, but the black eyeliner was ridiculous.