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Terminator to Avatar: a postmodern shift

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  • #16
    Originally posted by astralis View Post
    Christopher Nolan > James Cameron, anytime.
    Not even close.

    James Cameron has Terminator, True Lies, The Abyss, Titanic, and Aliens to his credit.

    Chris Nolan has Batman Begins. The Dark Knight was dragged on way too long and I lost interest about 45 minutes before the end of the movie.

    Look at Cameron's movies I listed above. They belong to different genres.

    Terminator was a movie about our fear of technology. A much darker version of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times.

    True Lies was a spy action movie, kinda making fun of 007. The main character tried to be an average joe while being a super spy as opposed to Bond being a playboy super spy.

    The Abyss questioned humanity's endless fighting amongst ourselves. We think the ideological struggle is paramount while another, vastly more advanced species, looked at us with amusement and contempt.

    Titanic was a love story set on the doomed liner. Everyone tried to do a semi-documentary about the ship. Cameron did a love story that just happened to be on that ship.

    Aliens was a sci fi horror with action that made you at least felt good near the end.

    Chris Nolan may be good, but he needs a few more movies under his belt to compete against a master like Cameron.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by astralis View Post
      BR,

      well, the 3 new star wars movies were all lucas, wasn't it? even then, lucas is about where cameron is: likes big flashy movies with lots of CGI, but relatively minimal character development or plot complexity.

      perhaps a notch above, as lucas had better lines in his movies, but that's about it.
      Actually no.

      Irvin Kirshner directed The Empire Strikes Back, widely considered the best of all Star Wars movies. Technically, it was. But I consider A New Hope to be the best of the movies because it was the only one with a self contained story line.

      Richard Marquand directed Return of the Jedi.

      Originally posted by astralis View Post
      michael bay, on the other hand, has no character development or plot complexity whatsoever, while i'm not sure what uwe boll pumps out could be classified as movies at all
      Michael Bay, at least admitted that he doesn't make movies for the critics. He said in an interview that he tries to fit in as many explosions as possible into his movies. He just wants to blow stuff up. I don't care much for his movies, but I do appreciate his honesty.

      Uwe Boll makes movies to get the grant money from German government set up to protect domestic movie industry. He admitted his movies aren't that great. He doesn't care. He's getting money from the government and keeping his people employed.
      "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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      • #18
        Wow, passionate argument, gunnut! :))

        I guess this is all a matter of taste but Nolan's 'Memento' probably beats any Cameron movie so far made in my opinion.

        But then again, I'm the guy that liked 'Reservoir Dogs' over just about any other movie. :))

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        • #19
          Originally posted by YellowFever View Post
          Wow, passionate argument, gunnut! :))

          I guess this is all a matter of taste but Nolan's 'Memento' probably beats any Cameron movie so far made in my opinion.

          But then again, I'm the guy that liked 'Reservoir Dogs' over just about any other movie. :))
          Never seen Momento.

          Some like Quentin Tarantino's movies. I am not a big fan simply because I don't care for the subject matter. Some say Pulp Fiction was the greatest movie ever made. I had to pound some Absolut to watch that pile of trash.

          Now that I think about it, I think I don't like Tarantino's movies because they don't flow. He presents stories in segments, jumping back and forth between the present and the past. Sometimes relying heavily on narration to fill the gaps. That to me is a poor effort to tell stories.
          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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          • #20
            If you didn't like Tarantino you may like Guy Ritchie, specifically Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and his later movie Snatch.
            In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

            Leibniz

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            • #21
              I love Tarantino, but I would not call him one of the greats.
              “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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              • #22
                tarantino's movies are alright, but they're always so stuffed with in-joke pop-cultural references, "bet you didn't know this was a spaghetti western mixed with japanese manga, blaxpoitation, and an arthouse chinese kungfu pic!"
                There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by gunnut View Post

                  some like quentin tarantino's movies. I am not a big fan simply because i don't care for the subject matter. Some say pulp fiction was the greatest movie ever made. I had to pound some absolut to watch that pile of trash.
                  Blasphemer

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                  • #24
                    I'm going to make a bold statement and say that Ridley Scott is the BEST director in the world today (yes, even better than Steven Speilberg); who here does NOT like "Blackhawk Down", only the best (and most accurate) war movie ever made? "Gladiator"? "Kingdom Of Heaven" (yes, I know, a political statement, but still the best period movie ever made, IMHO)? "Alien"? "Body Of Lies" (a very underated movie, IMHO)? "Blade Runner" (only the best noir movie ever made)? Even "Legend" had it's moments (and, of course, Mia Sara!).
                    "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Parihaka View Post
                      If you didn't like Tarantino you may like Guy Ritchie, specifically Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and his later movie Snatch.
                      Dude! I have seen all of guy ritchies movies(except for swept away, it had that skank in it)! They rock!! I thought the best work Pitt ever did was in Snatch!

                      What i call his regular cast of people is great as well, gerard, vinnie, jason and the rest, really make the movies.
                      Last edited by Blue; 20 Jul 10,, 15:20.

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Gun Grape View Post
                        Blasphemer
                        What's wrong with Absolut?

                        "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Stitch View Post
                          I'm going to make a bold statement and say that Ridley Scott is the BEST director in the world today (yes, even better than Steven Speilberg); who here does NOT like "Blackhawk Down", only the best (and most accurate) war movie ever made? "Gladiator"? "Kingdom Of Heaven" (yes, I know, a political statement, but still the best period movie ever made, IMHO)? "Alien"? "Body Of Lies" (a very underated movie, IMHO)? "Blade Runner" (only the best noir movie ever made)? Even "Legend" had it's moments (and, of course, Mia Sara!).
                          Ridley Scott should belong in the list of "masters" today. I'm not sure if you have noticed. He's very good at using light and darkness to see the tone and the mood for the movie. I noticed that in Gladiator, one of my favorite movies. The scene where Maximus was elevated to the surface of the Coliseum in the epic duel with the emperor. The light shining from the opening above, bathing Maximus in a soft glow. He used this technique in other movies.

                          I guess you haven't seen 1492. It was a long and boring movie, but technically very good and classic Ridley Scott.

                          Alien...one of the two most horrifying sci fi movies ever made. The other was The Thing (1982) by John Carpenter.
                          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                          • #28
                            Originally posted by 7thsfsniper View Post
                            Dude! I have seen all of guy ritchies movies(except for swept away, it had that skank in it)! They rock!! I thought the best work Pitt ever did was in Snatch!

                            What i call his regular cast of people is great as well, gerard, vinnie, jason and the rest, really make the movies.
                            Yeah, with you on the skank. Sherlock Holmes was interesting too as he'd gone mainstream but still managed to keep the tight editing and time jumps. It was interesting because even her indoors enjoyed it and the kids loved it. milly wants to learn barti-tsu
                            In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                            Leibniz

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                            • #29
                              How about Eastwood? Not sure where he should be placed. Not all his recent works are classics.
                              “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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