Super 8

I should probably start by mentioning that I hate Abrams. The only thing of his I ever liked was the Lost pilot. The rest of his resumé I'd rank from bland to terrible. But I just saw the 2 minute trailer and it looks around 20x better than what I expected based on the earlier teaser we got some months ago.



Now I'm not expecting an instant classic, but it does seem like it has the potential to be a decent sci-fi horror flick. More than I expected from any Abrams project.

Of course, it could still turn out to be as horrendous as every other of his movies.

I like Kyle Chandler...

...trailer did nothing for me. But neither does the horror/sci-fi genre in general.

Vesper wrote:

...trailer did nothing for me. But neither does the horror/sci-fi genre in general.

There's a rather large collection of movies you could list under that sub-genre, are you saying there isn't one of them you'd list amongst your favorite movies?

More 'sense of wonder' bollocks from the Spielberg factory.

ambler wrote:

More 'sense of wonder' bollocks from the Spielberg factory.

With Spielberg, it was always had a childish and highly spiritual sincerity, at its best in his triptych of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, ET, and AI. And because of that, he was hated by cynics out of touch with their childhood, and couldn't accept raw primal emotion.

But also, it had an edge, and a keen intelligence to it that all of his spineless wannabees lacked (Howard, Columbus, and now Abrams).

EDIT:: Corrected for spelling errors. I think this childhood talk is self-actualising.

ambler wrote:

More 'sense of wonder' bollocks from the Spielberg factory.

Perhaps. I'm intrigued enough to give it a chance, but my expectations aren't mile-high.

Not sure if I'll see it, but at least this looks like a good alternative to all those big dumb CGI cartoons churned out every week for kids. When was the last time a decent, non-animated, non-comedy family film came out?

Salomé wrote:

I should probably start by mentioning that I hate Abrams. The only thing of his I ever liked was the Lost pilot. The rest of his resumé I'd rank from bland to terrible.

I couldn't even sit through the LOST pilot.

ambler wrote:

More 'sense of wonder' bollocks from the Spielberg factory.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Salomé wrote:

I should probably start by mentioning that I hate Abrams. The only thing of his I ever liked was the Lost pilot. The rest of his resumé I'd rank from bland to terrible.

I couldn't even sit through the LOST pilot.

Well tastes differ and all that. Of course, over the course of season one, it morphed into something else entirely, and then the wheels completely came off in season two. But the pilot was genuinely good.

Salomé wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Salomé wrote:

I should probably start by mentioning that I hate Abrams. The only thing of his I ever liked was the Lost pilot. The rest of his resumé I'd rank from bland to terrible.

I couldn't even sit through the LOST pilot.

Well tastes differ and all that. Of course, over the course of season one, it morphed into something else entirely, and then the wheels completely came off in season two. But the pilot was genuinely good.

A lot of people seemed to like it. I just didn't find it interesting, and I didn't like anyone in the cast save for Terry O'Quinn.

The cast was a mixed bag. Though for a large ensemble cast on a network show, it was rather good.

HBO dramas have really ruined network shows in terms of the huge disparity in the quality of acting.

I dont even watch the networks anymore.

Well there's not a lot on worth watching, I suppose. :)

Maybe if TWO AND A HALF MEN comes back on, and it stars Charlie Sheen in a cocaine-fueled frenzy every week. That I might tune in for. They should just make a sequel show: WINNING.

I might see SUPER 8, but I'm not that terribly interested so I might not see it anyway. I'll make up my mind when it comes out.

As for LOST, I thought it was solid up to probably season 6, that's when it really started dragging for me. It was actually very similar to BGS's final season. Pretty disappointing.

I hate Dominic Monaghan. I can't stand him. I hate this weird face, his voice. Everything. And that fat guy too. Hate him.

I actually found them amusing, especially the fat guy. I liked most of the cast really.

In the end it was O'Quinn that stole the show. It was actually the episode that first focused on his character that really sold the show for me back then.

Sharky wrote:

ambler wrote:

More 'sense of wonder' bollocks from the Spielberg factory.

With Spielberg, it was always had a childish and highly spiritual sincerity, at its best in his triptych of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, ET, and AI. And because of that, he was hated by cynics out of touch with their childhood, and couldn't accept raw primal emotion.

But also, it had an edge, and a keen intelligence to it that all of his spineless wannabees lacked (Howard, Columbus, and now Abrams).

EDIT:: Corrected for spelling errors. I think this childhood talk is self-actualising.

I would actually agree. It's funny. I have a sense of wonder, and I'm probably in touch with my inner child and all of that. But Spielberg's films don't move me. I do like RAIDERS, but even then not overly. I like his earlier work. JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. I've seen ET once (the one with the flashlights), but I didn't like it at all.

Salomé wrote:

Vesper wrote:

...trailer did nothing for me. But neither does the horror/sci-fi genre in general.

There's a rather large collection of movies you could list under that sub-genre, are you saying there isn't one of them you'd list amongst your favorite movies?

I can admire and respect a well made one, but on an emotional or impactful level? No, there isn't.

If you're not moved by SOYLENT GREEN, then God help you.

Vesper wrote:

Salomé wrote:

Vesper wrote:

...trailer did nothing for me. But neither does the horror/sci-fi genre in general.

There's a rather large collection of movies you could list under that sub-genre, are you saying there isn't one of them you'd list amongst your favorite movies?

I can admire and respect a well made one, but on an emotional or impactful level? No, there isn't.

Surprised to read that, Vesper. The original Planet of the Apes has one of the all-time great endings, and the Dead Zone is pretty emotional.

Mostly, though, I like my SF and horror films like my women - small, intelligent, and cheap. Hammer scores highly in those respects.

John Carpenter is the king of cheap.

ambler wrote:

the Dead Zone is pretty emotional.

I liked THE DEAD ZONE. I wasn't overwhelmed, but I liked it.

Quote :

Mostly, though, I like my SF and horror films like my women - small, intelligent, and cheap. Hammer scores highly in those respects.

I get that. As they say, when the budget goes up the IQ goes down. I heard somebody say something like that.

There's something to be said about a good, lower-budget SF that isn't fraked by up by suits and toy companies. A purity.

Carpenter is the exemplar of that. His independent films were so good, while his Hollywood work was irredeemable. Shame he burnt out, but I think his reputation will grow.

I was watching some of his flicks a few months ago. I wanted to see all of his stuff, at least into the 90's. THE THING is still my personal favorite. This week I'm going to check out the original, and the original BODY SNATCHERS. Siegal is another one I've meant to check out. I was gonna watch THE BEGUILED yesterday, but Netflix Instant only had it in fullscreen.