Topic: KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010

[Najemikon]

Yes, but that was more documentary style. I mean when they turn death into a game show along the lines of The Running Man.

Too bad the film isn't as good as the book, the book is more serious than the film is (not that the movie isn't good, but too different).

BTW Kevin you must watch the original

Does he have to? It is a terrible film!

[Antares]

Yes, but that was more documentary style. I mean when they turn death into a game show along the lines of The Running Man.

Too bad the film isn't as good as the book, the book is more serious than the film is (not that the movie isn't good, but too different).

BTW Kevin you must watch the original

Does he have to? It is a terrible film!

This from the man who gave Death Proof a 4/5 rating        

[Jimmy]

Does he have to? It is a terrible film!

As much as I usually respect your taste (with some exception) you know I can't agree with you on that...

Not every movies had to be deep Jon... David Carradine, Mary Woronov, Roberta Collins, an over the top Sylvester Stallone, Simone Griffeth, Don Steele, a killing cars game and no CGI are more than enough to pass a good time for me

Certainly more than anything done by you know who  

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Certainly more than anything done by you know who  

Lord Voldemort is making movies??

[Najemikon]

Does he have to? It is a terrible film!

As much as I usually respect your taste (with some exception) you know I can't agree with you on that...

Not every movies had to be deep Jon... David Carradine, Mary Woronov, Roberta Collins, an over the top Sylvester Stallone, Simone Griffeth, Don Steele, a killing cars game and no CGI are more than enough to pass a good time for me

Certainly more than anything done by you know who  

Hey I love films that aren't deep! I read a lot of comics remember. All I ask is that there be a modicum of talent involved and a plot that kind of makes some sort of sense. I just thought the original was unwatchable bollocks! Actually the basic idea is very like British comic SciFi of the 70s and that was much better.

[Antares]

All I ask is that there be a modicum of talent involved and a plot that kind of makes some sort of sense.

What didn't you understand in the plot? It was a satire on the violent and shallow nature of man. Granted, we haven't reached the point where we're killing on television for ratings or sport. But looking at some of the reality shows out there now, this film wasn't too far off the mark. Let's see in about 15 years, when 2/3 of the populations in the powerbroking countries are above the age of 65. With almost three decades of kids being raised on violent video games, movies and comic books, a similar scenario just could evolve.

I just thought the original was unwatchable bollocks!

Why did you find it unwatchable? It was meant to be a campy satire. And in this sense, it was done quite well. It wasn't meant to be Citizen Kane. Could you not suspend disbelief for just 90 minutes? You seem to be able to do that with Tarantino films, and all but three of his films are considered unwatchable bollocks by many film lovers.

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

You seem to be able to do that with Tarantino films, and all but three of his films are considered unwatchable bollocks by many film lovers.

Sounds worse than it is. All but three, in this case means 4.

My personal list of unwatchable Tarantino films:
Inglorious Basterds (the only thing that makes this bearable is the great performance of Christoph Waltz)
Death Proof (doesn't even pass as "attempt")
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (doesn't even come close to Vol. 1)
(and for some reason I never liked the highly praised) Reservoir Dogs (slicing of an ear, even in ultra slow motion, doesn't suffice for a 100 minute movie)

 

[Antares]

Sounds worse than it is. All but three, in this case means 4.

My personal list of unwatchable Tarantino films:
Inglorious Basterds
Death Proof
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
(and for some reason I never liked the highly praised) Reservoir Dogs

I was actually generalizing for the majority of those who find him marginal at best. For me, it's all but one are unwatchable bollocks.

[KinkyCyborg]

Seems Kevin Bacon has some competition! We easily seem to achieve Six Degrees of Tarantino with just about every topic/review we post on here. 

But looking at some of the reality shows out there now, this film wasn't too far off the mark. Let's see in about 15 years, when 2/3 of the populations in the powerbroking countries are above the age of 65. With almost three decades of kids being raised on violent video games, movies and comic books, a similar scenario just could evolve.

That's the way I see it playing out too Antares. Twenty to thirty years from now is going to be a scary landscape...

[Antares]

We easily seem to achieve Six Degrees of Tarantino with just about every topic/review we post on here. 

We should call him the polarizing plagiarist 

[goodguy]

Not sure what the earliest take on this was, but the German TV production Das Millionenspiel (The Millions Game) was made 1970 and people actually thought it was real and called in to take part in the game. There is also Peter Watkins' Punishment Park (1971), although the premise is a bit different.

[Antares]

Not sure what the earliest take on this was, but the German TV production Das Millionenspiel (The Millions Game) was made 1970 and people actually thought it was real and called in to take part in the game. There is also Peter Watkins' Punishment Park (1971), although the premise is a bit different.

I've always wanted to see Punishment Park, and that German film looks very interesting. I found it on YouTube, but it's not subtitled. From what I see, it looks like The Running Man was a derivative of it.

[Najemikon]

All I ask is that there be a modicum of talent involved and a plot that kind of makes some sort of sense.

What didn't you understand in the plot? It was a satire on the violent and shallow nature of man. Granted, we haven't reached the point where we're killing on television for ratings or sport. But looking at some of the reality shows out there now, this film wasn't too far off the mark. Let's see in about 15 years, when 2/3 of the populations in the powerbroking countries are above the age of 65. With almost three decades of kids being raised on violent video games, movies and comic books, a similar scenario just could evolve.

Back up a little there! I understood the plot perfectly. That's part of the problem. I've been reading 2000ad for years and that comic regularly does that exact "satire on the violent and shallow nature of man" and they do it better, and sharper than this film. To be fair, it's films like Death Race that helped give birth to the cyberpunk nature of Judge Dredd et al, but still, they improved it immeasurably.

In other words I've been spoilt, to the extent that I actually think science-fiction is a genre that has largely eluded cinema (apart from a handful of times) in that comics and books do it better.

Why? Because the film looks like shit. The cars look ridiculous. It's cheap trash and Stallone especially is just diabolically bad. Compare with Mad Max which is far far better.

I just thought the original was unwatchable bollocks!

Why did you find it unwatchable? It was meant to be a campy satire. And in this sense, it was done quite well. It wasn't meant to be Citizen Kane. Could you not suspend disbelief for just 90 minutes? You seem to be able to do that with Tarantino films, and all but three of his films are considered unwatchable bollocks by many film lovers.

Hey, it's me remember! I can't believe you would pull the Citizen Kane card! Why on earth would you of all people think I expect to see Citizen Kane every time I watch a film or struggle with suspension of disbelief? That's what I do best! Anyway, it's a moot point. See previous paragraph. I just like to watch films that demonstrate a confident grasp of the material -whatever that may be- and inject vibrancy.

Normally I'd be annoyed that I was being smacked with the Tarantino stick again, as I think the way you rush to bring him into every discussion is almost Freudian , however, it does bring up an excellent point to demonstrate where I am coming from.

Jimmy quite rightly detests the very idea of QT and Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse project because he enjoys the originals, so their version is an insult. I do not like the originals though and find that apart form one or two notable exceptions, they're "unwatchable crap". However I love the spirit and stories that grindhouse movies tend to follow, so I really enjoy Tarantino's version of it!

That's basically dishonest, I know, but I can't help it. He did the same with Jackie Brown, showing what a wonderful actress Pam Grier is. But the supposedly legendary Coffy or Foxy Brown are utter tripe.

[goodguy]

Not sure what the earliest take on this was, but the German TV production Das Millionenspiel (The Millions Game) was made 1970 and people actually thought it was real and called in to take part in the game. There is also Peter Watkins' Punishment Park (1971), although the premise is a bit different.

I've always wanted to see Punishment Park, and that German film looks very interesting. I found it on YouTube, but it's not subtitled. From what I see, it looks like The Running Man was a derivative of it.

It seems that the origins go even further back, to the short story The Prize of Peril, written 1958 (!) by Robert Sheckley (Wikipedia). I was too young to see the original airing of Das Millionenspiel and it disappeared for decades afterwards. When I finally saw it, I found it a bit tedious, but back then it surely must have made an impression.

Punishment Park (which I saw first around the same time, in the early '00s) on the other hand didn't strike me as dated at all and remained as powerful and chilling as it must have been in its own days.

[Jimmy]

Jimmy quite rightly detests the very idea of QT and Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse project because he enjoys the originals, so their version is an insult.

As I find insulting the term "grindhouse"... This is a term that means nothing at all, just like torture-porn (this one piss me off a lot more). Those are just hip words use by the hipsters crowd who knows nothing about what they are talking about.

What everybody should knows is that this is not a genre by himself, but just a place (if they refer to the 42th street theatres) in New-York who shown independant movies. Those movies covered a large spectrum of genre : blaxploitation, italian horror film, asian art martial film, mexican monster film, nazisploitation, roughies softcore, nudie cutie, violent revenge films, art movies, comedy, science fiction, hardcore movies of all type (roughies, bestiality, homosexuality, watersport and real movies),... You can also add to that all the drive-in who showed the same type of cinema without the hardcore one.

You see why the term "grindhouse" is insulting and lazy.

There is also Peter Watkins' Punishment Park (1971), although the premise is a bit different.

This one is in my amazon UK wishlist for quite a while, I will have to get it soon before it became OOP.