I seriously have no idea if some of you people are even capable of enjoying anything.
I know in D&D I should elaborate more and get into a discussion and all that, but I have a headache and just can't right now because I don't even know what to say.
The alien got off easy? To who? You?
well, you're not in the movie. a bunch of kids are. And the kids were like holy shit this thing wants to go home so let's let it go home so it stops eating everyone.
I don't recall a single scene where they became friends with it like ET. I don't recall a single moment where any of the kids rode around on it's back and had fun. I remember the kids being absolutely fucking terrified of it, and the girl being like - it just wants to go home and its freaking out.
and then one very brave boy basically yelled at it, telling it to go home if thats what it wants to do. And it listened. There was no "understanding", there was the boy being like leave us alone we didnt do this to you and you can just go home now, and the alien doing just that. They never became friends.
Thats the whole reason WHY they were kids. Because if it was adults down there they would have just tried blowing it up. it was kids, who had no guns, no power, no way of doing anything but just standing up and telling it to go.
And he let the necklace go because he just had a wild adventure and made some true friends and his dad hugged him and he felt like he didnt need to hang on anymore. It was a nice moment. You hear him talking about his dad never being a father, and in the end his dad not only risked a lot to be a father - but showed up with the guy he was raised to believe was responsible for his mom's death. who happens to be the cute girl he likes dad. And everyone was there and they were watching a spacecraft take off and it was fucking magical so when the necklace came out, he said - its cool mom, you can go now. Im gonna be ok.
From now on Im just going to watch every movie and be like "well, PLOT ASIDE I dont understand why anyone did anything!"
mxmarks on
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
edited June 2011
Some people are fans of the less-popular "tell, don't show" philosophy of filmmaking.
Green Lantern must have been a revelation for the members of that school.
Some people are fans of the less-popular "tell, don't show" philosophy of filmmaking.
Green Lantern must have been a revelation for the members of that school.
The issue with telling instead of showing is that it creates a disconnect between how the characters are depicted and what the film wants them to be. In itself, though, it is not a negative unless it actually hurts the film, and can be helpful when dealing with stuff that you require whole films to depict. Criticizing a good film for telling you stuff is like criticizing a legitimately funny joke for negating the premise or a film that manages to feature a reverse angle without creating confusion.
Bagginses on
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Some people are fans of the less-popular "tell, don't show" philosophy of filmmaking.
Green Lantern must have been a revelation for the members of that school.
The issue with telling instead of showing is that it creates a disconnect between how the characters are depicted and what the film wants them to be. In itself, though, it is not a negative unless it actually hurts the film, and can be helpful when dealing with stuff that you require whole films to depict. Criticizing a good film for telling you stuff is like criticizing a legitimately funny joke for negating the premise or a film that manages to feature a reverse angle without creating confusion.
"Show, don't tell" is really a rule mostly for character development and relationship dynamics, i.e., the parts of a film that require the most emotional and visceral engagement on the audience's effort.
Really awful films and TV shows always tip their hand by trying to establish relationships in a matter of seconds with just a few sentences when characters are first introduced. Keep an ear out for phrases like:
- "You've been my best friend since we were kids!"
- "How long has it been that we've known each other? _____ years?
Also, as worst exemplified in Green Lantern, just having one character say aloud how another character is despite any established precedent within the film, a la, "Hal, you're a fearless and courageous person, and a good man." At that point in the film, Hal had been nothing but a cowardly douche.
Man, that was a great movie. It's like someone took Goonies, Cloverfield, and ET and squooshed them into a big ball of awesome.
And you know why I loved this movie? Because it was really well made. It wasn't brilliant, or groundbreaking, or self-consciously clever. It wasn't Memento or Blair Witch Project or whatever. It was not concept-driven. It was just a bunch of characters being human while some crazy stuff happened in the background. If you had taken these exact character and stuck them in a completely different film, it would probably still have been great, because these were great characters.
And you know what, I think, sums up this movie for me? The opening scene. This was a monster movie. Or an alien movie, if you'd rather. Whatever. Point being, in a monster movie, the first scene is "supposed" to be some backstory of where the monster came from, or maybe a scene of the monster being scary or eating someone. You establish interest in the film by getting the audience excited about the monster.
What was the first scene of this movie? It was about the main character, and why he is like he is. The first scene of this monster movie was not about the monster, it was about the motivations of the main character. That is why this movie is so enjoyable - it understands that the most important thing in any movie, monster or otherwise, is the characters.
And seriously, if you are watching this movie and thinking, "Hmmph, that is not how a tank works!" you are doing it wrong.
I agree with this completely. I loved this movie and super glad that I decided to watch it right after Hangover 2 because the disappointment that that was would have ruined my night.
GreasyKidsStuffMOMMM!ROAST BEEF WANTS TO KISS GIRLS ON THE TITTIES!Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
After reading this thread all the way through I agree with all of Ross' points. Just got back from this and something about it was missing, and it was definitely the disconnect between the two plots. Great performances, great aesthetic, a fantastic tribute to Spielberg of the 80's, but fuuuuuuck I wanted so much more from the plot by the end of it. I walked out feeling like it was sorely lacking.
It's a damn shame cuz I was very excited for this movie.
Posts
Yeah, they were called "Bolos" back then.
I know in D&D I should elaborate more and get into a discussion and all that, but I have a headache and just can't right now because I don't even know what to say.
well, you're not in the movie. a bunch of kids are. And the kids were like holy shit this thing wants to go home so let's let it go home so it stops eating everyone.
I don't recall a single scene where they became friends with it like ET. I don't recall a single moment where any of the kids rode around on it's back and had fun. I remember the kids being absolutely fucking terrified of it, and the girl being like - it just wants to go home and its freaking out.
and then one very brave boy basically yelled at it, telling it to go home if thats what it wants to do. And it listened. There was no "understanding", there was the boy being like leave us alone we didnt do this to you and you can just go home now, and the alien doing just that. They never became friends.
Thats the whole reason WHY they were kids. Because if it was adults down there they would have just tried blowing it up. it was kids, who had no guns, no power, no way of doing anything but just standing up and telling it to go.
And he let the necklace go because he just had a wild adventure and made some true friends and his dad hugged him and he felt like he didnt need to hang on anymore. It was a nice moment. You hear him talking about his dad never being a father, and in the end his dad not only risked a lot to be a father - but showed up with the guy he was raised to believe was responsible for his mom's death. who happens to be the cute girl he likes dad. And everyone was there and they were watching a spacecraft take off and it was fucking magical so when the necklace came out, he said - its cool mom, you can go now. Im gonna be ok.
From now on Im just going to watch every movie and be like "well, PLOT ASIDE I dont understand why anyone did anything!"
Green Lantern must have been a revelation for the members of that school.
The issue with telling instead of showing is that it creates a disconnect between how the characters are depicted and what the film wants them to be. In itself, though, it is not a negative unless it actually hurts the film, and can be helpful when dealing with stuff that you require whole films to depict. Criticizing a good film for telling you stuff is like criticizing a legitimately funny joke for negating the premise or a film that manages to feature a reverse angle without creating confusion.
"Show, don't tell" is really a rule mostly for character development and relationship dynamics, i.e., the parts of a film that require the most emotional and visceral engagement on the audience's effort.
Really awful films and TV shows always tip their hand by trying to establish relationships in a matter of seconds with just a few sentences when characters are first introduced. Keep an ear out for phrases like:
- "You've been my best friend since we were kids!"
- "How long has it been that we've known each other? _____ years?
Also, as worst exemplified in Green Lantern, just having one character say aloud how another character is despite any established precedent within the film, a la, "Hal, you're a fearless and courageous person, and a good man." At that point in the film, Hal had been nothing but a cowardly douche.
https://gofund.me/fa5990a5
It's a damn shame cuz I was very excited for this movie.