Guillermo del Toro directs a movie about giant robots. (Page 6) | Entertainment Discussion | Forums

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Guillermo del Toro directs a movie about giant robots.

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07.08.2013 12:49pm

shadowphoenix
It all ends with beginnings...

The squarest, clunkiest and certainly loudest movie of director Guillermo del Toro's career, a crushed-metal orgy that plays like an extended 3D episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" on very expensive acid.

One of the early reviews. I'm in.

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07.08.2013 12:51pm

(Edited on 07.08.2013 at 1:01pm)

Mole
Somebody loves ya.

Indiana Jerico said:

Doesn't explain Transformers though.

Also, are you seriously suggesting that people went to see Iron Man for the everyman protagonist, wisecracks, sexual tension and overcoming personal trauma? I'm willing to bet probably 80% of the people who saw the first Iron Man have no idea who he is, or who Tony Stark is, or the background story of the character. They saw the Iron man suit do fantastic superhero stuff and they liked it, so they watched it.

Original trailer for Iron Man:

Lays out the entire first half of the movie. A character we've never seen in a superhero movie before, a military industrialist with not just power but wit and arrogance. He goes through an entire arc of downfall and redemption, a struggle through adversity he achieves through individual will, perseverance, and innovation -- all values that resonate strongly with the American people. He gets back to America and the first thing he does is engage in witty repartee with his female sidekick. He returns home a changed man, now dedicated to helping the world.

Only THEN do we see the Iron Man suit in full glory. The trailer SELLS YOU TONY STARK, the kind of real-deal American action hero we haven't seen in years, a guy people can both see themselves in and aspire to be.

And yes, I would say Transformers was sold on a human scale. Remember how people complained that there weren't enough robots in the first one? Spielberg conceived it as "a boy and his car", and the movie is filled with Spielberg-shots of the people staring up at the sky with mouths agape. We all know these movies suck now, but watch this trailer:

Look at that scene of the little girl by the pool and tell me that isn't AWE-INSPIRING.

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07.08.2013 8:45pm

Dr Squirrel
medicine woman

YES. The original Transformers trailer is absolutely genius.

trust me, i'm a doctor

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07.08.2013 9:10pm

judge_raz
Ceci n'est pas une lobster

I like how this movie, which is very obviously a labor of love from Guillermo Del Toro, a director who doesn't make movies that he doesn't, at least from the outset, really want to make and really loves, to the absolute trash puked out by Michael Bay, a director who I personally believe rapes baby goats and sacrifices them to the dark gods of oblivion so that he can continue to inexplicably make tens of millions of dollars at the box office.

What differentiates this movie from trash like Transformers is that a) Guillermo Del Toro is a great director and b) he makes movies because he loves making movies, rather than because they make a lot of money. Either way, he comes out on top in this situation because he's made something that he loves, and that his crew loved as well, while also being involved with some great actors. The movie is also, at least from everything that I've seen of it so far, about people rather than being about special effects. Of course the movie is filled with special effects, because that's the only way to make a movie like this and can also be compared to another fantastic movie that he made: Pan's Labyrinth.

I mean, if you've seen any of his movies, you know that the trappings of those movies are simply set dressing for the actual story, which is always a very human drama that has a lot of hidden depth (Blade 2 and Mimic notwishstanding). Once again, Pan's Labyrinth was sold to us as a movie about a little girl having a magical adventure in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. The movie, however, was about the Spanish Civil War, and the entire story with the little girl was about the psychological trauma that she was undergoing as a result of being surrounded by murder, fascism and chaos.

In short, to dismiss a movie like this as 'yet another giant robot movie with giant monsters in it' is to dismiss an incredibly talented director who knows the craft and language of cinema like very few other directors currently working today and the fact that anyone is able to dismiss either this movie in specifc, or Guillermo Del Toro in general, merely exposes the person making those criticisms as someone who is unfamiliar with his work.

"Of Christ's twelve Apostles Judas alone proved to be traitor. But if he had acquired power, he would have represented the other eleven Apostles as traitors, and also all the lesser Apostles whom Luke numbers as seventy." - Leon Trotsky

I have a blog. This is its URL. You should read it. It's about education and skepticism and books and it has a lot of pictures of Batman and Robin in it: https://baldermoon.wordpress.com/

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07.08.2013 9:59pm

Zo
another blue ribbon

I feel like I've heard a lot of people tell me why I should be excited for this film, as opposed to people saying it's actually good.

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07.08.2013 10:13pm

Mole
Somebody loves ya.

A lot of talented passionate directors have made boring movies.

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07.08.2013 10:45pm

Dr Squirrel
medicine woman

Oh no I'm certain the movie's going to be GOOD. It's just no one's going to see it because of shitty marketing.

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07.09.2013 3:03am

judge_raz
Ceci n'est pas une lobster

Mole said:

A lot of talented passionate directors have made boring movies.

Just because you perceive a movie to be boring doesn't mean that it's actually boring. Whenever I hear criticisms like that, it's usually because that movie doesn't appeal to that specific person because of any number of reasons, from the movie being too challenging or slow moving. I really don't think saying that a movie is 'boring' is a valid criticism, much like I don't think that 'there are no likeable characters' to be valid, for much the same reason.

I don't think there's any real reason to say whether Pacific Rim is a good movie or not just yet, especially because I haven't seen it yet. I just don't see any reason to not give this movie a chance, specifically because of all of the people that are involved, from Guillermo Del Toro to Idris Alba, who may have been in Prometheus, but he was one of the stronger performances in it.

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07.09.2013 5:22am

Nelfichu
I've been there, hombre.

Just got back from seeing it. It's exactly what it says on the tin, quite good. If I had any complaints, it would be that 1) Asian Ramona Flowers' acting was a little iffy at times, and 2) there was a certain scene with Ron Perlman that was too dragged out.

Don't leave once the credits start.

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07.09.2013 7:53am

Fincher
Deep Water Horizon

judge_raz said:

Just because you perceive a movie to be boring doesn't mean that it's actually boring. Whenever I hear criticisms like that, it's usually because that movie doesn't appeal to that specific person because of any number of reasons, from the movie being too challenging or slow moving.

That's how opinions work. "Boring" means "boring to me", not "boring to everyone". By the same token, the things you don't like about the Transformers movies are things that don't appeal to you specifically.

I don't think there's any real reason to say whether Pacific Rim is a good movie or not just yet, especially because I haven't seen it yet. I just don't see any reason to not give this movie a chance, specifically because of all of the people that are involved, from Guillermo Del Toro to Idris Alba, who may have been in Prometheus, but he was one of the stronger performances in it.

Well, speaking personally, I have plenty of reason not to give it a chance. (1) I don't care for the premise, (2) the reviews (along with the trailers) really do nothing to suggest that it's a human drama rather than a popcorn movie revolving around the premise, and (3) even if it were more about the characters, I would want a trailer giving me some sense of the human story to know if and how much that story looks appealing to me. Telling me it's about people only lumps it in with countless other movies.

My time isn't infinite, there are other movies I'd like to see, and the involvement of some talented people hardly makes this stand out as being worth my time.

Currently playing: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Picross DS
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07.09.2013 8:01am

JSG
Registered Member

judge_raz said:

Just because you perceive a movie to be boring doesn't mean that it's actually boring. Whenever I hear criticisms like that, it's usually because that movie doesn't appeal to that specific person because of any number of reasons, from the movie being too challenging or slow moving. I really don't think saying that a movie is 'boring' is a valid criticism, much like I don't think that 'there are no likeable characters' to be valid, for much the same reason.

So someone's actual opinion is not a valid point in that person telling you they're opinion on something?

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07.09.2013 9:39am

Dr Squirrel
medicine woman

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07.09.2013 3:03pm

judge_raz
Ceci n'est pas une lobster

JSG said:

So someone's actual opinion is not a valid point in that person telling you they're opinion on something?

An opinion isn't an objective evaluation on a subject, it's purely subjective. It's like when someone says, "I hate politics, it's so boring." That's just their opinion and nothing more. It says nothing about politics beyond that singular person's feelings towards politics.

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07.09.2013 3:56pm

Murasame
HALE YEAH

Dr Squirrel said:

Oh no I'm certain the movie's going to be GOOD. It's just no one's going to see it because of shitty marketing.

I don't know how it is where you are, but this is getting more advertising here than any other blockbuster of the US summer.

Edit: DS Re: torrenting - Scott Pilgrim was a quiet, see it alone movie, unlike a balls out action fest. They're even better than pure comedies in the cinema, and seeing them on the small screen is rarely as impressive. I like to think people will have the good sense to see an impressive film on an impressive screen.

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07.09.2013 5:19pm

Mole
Somebody loves ya.

judge_raz said:

Just because you perceive a movie to be boring doesn't mean that it's actually boring. Whenever I hear criticisms like that, it's usually because that movie doesn't appeal to that specific person because of any number of reasons, from the movie being too challenging or slow moving. I really don't think saying that a movie is 'boring' is a valid criticism, much like I don't think that 'there are no likeable characters' to be valid, for much the same reason.

Haha, I actually agree with that most of the time. I like a lot of "boring movies" (my two favorite moves of the year so far are Spring Breakers and a documentary), and usually when I hear that it does indicate a refusal to engage with the movie on its own terms. It can be annoying to hear someone criticize a movie just for being what it is.

In my case I'm just tired of movies about things smashing into buildings, and I'm reacting against the idea that there's a moral imperative to support and encourage this kind of movie. I will get excited about a Hollywood movie when it's about people and ideas, not toys.

And yes, usually when I give an opinion I'm really talking about my own feelings and interests and biases, i.e. myself. That's what I'm good at!

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