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[tokkun]

How can anybody hate Firrest Gump? Really? You may not think it should have been best picture, but it's a damn good movie and was very well done.

The movie is loaded with cheap sentimentality. It seems that the majority of people enjoy this, as can be seen by the similar acclaim of movies like Wall-E and The Shawshank Redemption. I do not.

 

[ronito]

I watched Polar Express last year. The movie looks like it came from the 90s. That's the problem with CGI - it doesn't age well.

As did I. I kept expecting zombies to pop out. Thing was just damn creepy.

 

[Angry Fork]

The movie is loaded with cheap sentimentality. It seems that the majority of people enjoy this, as can be seen by the similar acclaim of movies like Wall-E and The Shawshank Redemption. I do not.

But there's definitely a difference between 'cheap'/badly done sentimentality and the ones that have a real emotional connection. How can you not like Shawshank Redemption? I mean damn lol do you dislike Spielberg because a lot of his catalog is sentimental? E.T. is probably the biggest offender of this but I can't imagine anyone hating E.T.

 

[Subitai]

Yes please. Let's see it in 4 years.

That was my thought. Jules and Verne were kids in the 90s cartoon. Centering it around them would let you bring back Doc, Biff, and anyone else w/ out having to recast Marty and the other McFlys in a sacrilegious way. Who knows what else Doc could have come up with in that time.

 

[Chichikov]

I think you're selling BTTF's direction short. The photography is nothing to write home about (like most comedies) but the editing is fucking tight and the climax of the movie is a master class in... directing climaxes. It has a fairly complicated plot (again, for a comedy) that never gets bogged down or confusing. Basically everything that is wrong with BTTF 2 is not wrong with BTTF. (But I still like the sequel for being so nutty and ambitious.) And of course the performances are all fantastic, even if they had to shitcan Eric Stoltz to get there.

It could be.
It's been a while since I watched this film.
But had you asked me describe the editing (again, from my rather hazy memory) I would say competent; but I guess in the age of the Transformers and the shaky cam, that can be seen as quite an achievement.

Also, is Zemeckis known to be heavily involved in the editing process?
I'm seriously asking.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

It could be.
It's been a while since I watched this film.
But had you asked me describe the editing (again, from my rather hazy memory) I would say competent; but I guess in the age of the Transformers and the shaky cam, that can be seen as quite an achievement.

Also, is Zemeckis known to be heavily involved in the editing process?
I'm seriously asking.

I don't know, honestly, but unless you have an especially weak director, the final cut is usually a fairly close collaboration between the editor and director, so I tend to give partial credit for a well-edited film to the director. Not to give editors the shaft, of course.* Arthur Schmidt seems to be his go-to man, though.

*I'm curious and anxious to see how Tarantino's next turns out, after the tragic loss of Sally Menke.

 

[tokkun]

But there's definitely a difference between 'cheap'/badly done sentimentality and the ones that have a real emotional connection. How can you not like Shawshank Redemption? I mean damn lol do you dislike Spielberg because a lot of his catalog is sentimental? E.T. is probably the biggest offender of this but I can't imagine anyone hating E.T.

Shawshank is not as bad an offender as Gump or Wall-E, but it has its moments. Granted, it's a tough balancing act to try to elicit a strong emotional response from the audience in the span of a movie without coming off as too heavy-handed or overtly manipulative about it and the sensitivity and awareness will vary from viewer to viewer. I don't particularly hate Shawshank, but at the same time I don't consider it to be an all-time great movie.

 

[Evlar]

The Polar Express is probably the best Christmas film made in any of our lifetimes.

Die Hard.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Die Hard.

I was going to argue Scrooged or Christmas Vacation, but this post nails it.

 

[SUPREME1]

Really hated Gump and found Cast Away passable.

I think the last Zemeckis I sorta found interesting was Contact. I remember liking it. I need to see it again - it has been over a decade since.

Smh.

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

Die Hard.

Ho-ho-ho

 

[Escape Goat]

Mars Needs Moms is such a porno title.

 

[UrbanRats]

The movie is loaded with cheap sentimentality. It seems that the majority of people enjoy this, as can be seen by the similar acclaim of movies like Wall-E and The Shawshank Redemption. I do not.

The first part of Wall-e is lovely, because having no dialogue helps tone down the heavy handed sentimentality (same goes for example, for the kid in Monsters inc.); the second part, i didn't care for that much, because i hated the parts with humans.
With that said, i don't like Shawshank and i like a little bit more (but still not that much) Gump.. BUT, i think BTTF (at least 1 & 2) are almost perfect movies, as far as entertainment goes.

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

The Polar Express is probably the best Christmas film made in any of our lifetimes.

 

[Escape Goat]

The Polar Express is probably the best Christmas film made in any of our lifetimes.

lol!

 

[FutureZombie]

I liked Beowulf a lot. Having said that, the motion capturing wasn't the reason the film was good.

 

[Dai101]

The Polar Express is probably the best Christmas film made in any of our lifetimes.

HELL NAW!! Wrong answer.

I was alive when Gremlins came out, your argument is invalid.

Correct answer. You're my new best friend now

 

[JGS]

I can't believe how many evil people are here saying they don't like sentimental movies.

Someone thinking Shawshank is too sentimental has to be someone who likes drinking out of a dirty glass.

Heck, Forest is depressing throughout except the main character is too dense to realize it. We're supposed to be seeing things through his co-stars eyes and they're a miserable bunch.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

What Lies Beneath is fantastic. Cast Away is enjoyable and an epic journey with Hanks' character. I hope Zemekis come back to the real world and leaves the uncanny valley behind.

 

[thecheese]

I loved Polar Express and Beowulf.

Creepy eyes? You bunch of pansies...

 

[Choppasmith]

I wonder what's going to happen with Roger Rabbit 2 now. Last I heard progress was being made and that it was going to mo cap replacing the live action with 2D animation on top.

I didn't have a problem with his films like Beowulf or Polar Express (I'd hardly call it the best Christmas film ever though). I never got the creepy eyes argument either.

 

[UrbanRats]

I never got the creepy eyes argument either.

*Avatarquote*

 

[tokkun]

The first part of Wall-e is lovely, because having no dialogue helps tone down the heavy handed sentimentality (same goes for example, for the kid in Monsters inc.);

We disagree there. Although there was no dialog, they instead gave Wall-E this Looney Tunes-like hyper-exaggerated human body language in its place. It was very irritating to me, because I really like the premise and think I would have loved the movie if it had been done in a more subtle way. To be fair, I recognize that it is a kids' movie, and they need to consider that audience. But as an adult, I guess I was hoping for something more like a post-apocalyptic robot remake of The Remains of the Day.

 

[JGS]

A Zemeckis flick is finally official.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/its...on-teaming-for-paramounts-flight/#more-169039

HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 9, 2011) — Paramount Pictures announced today that Academy Award ® winner Denzel Washington will star, and Academy Award ® winning director Robert Zemeckis will helm, FLIGHT for the studio. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce under the Parkes/MacDonald production banner along with Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, and Jack Rapke under their ImageMovers banner. The movie is set to begin shooting this October in Atlanta, GA.

Written by John Gatins (“Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story,” “Real Steel”), FLIGHT tells the redemption story of “Whip” (Washington), a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a heroic feat of flying in a damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people. While the world begs to embrace him as a true American Hero, the everyman struggles with this label as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight.

I am getting hyped. I had no idea I was this big of a fan of his live-action work, but I'm imagining how he films the scenes plus the way Washington will play Zeneckis style angst.

The film sounds borderline like Castaway's ending except for the investigation part.

 

[MisterHero]

There's no problem with the medium of motion capture. I do think movies like Beowulf and Polar Express did so much that they were meandering messes (even if I did enjoy them).

Anyways, Flight sounds like the movie Hero with Dustin Hoffman

 

[WrikaWrek]

This guy is an amazing hollywood director, and I even happen to love Beowulf and find Polar Express very charming. Haven't seen A Christmas Carol nor intend to.

This guy is sort of a Spielberg light, which is above average these days.