I saw Minority Report

[Sanis Prent]

Very Good. Two hours and forty minutes long, so go to the bathroom before watching.

Its a little bit of blade runner, little bit of the Matrix, and a bit of the Greek myth of Theseus. About halfway through, you think you've reached the end of the movie. Guess what...not gonna happen, and the movie takes a completely different tangent. It happens again 1 or 2 times, and keeps throwing you for a loop.

So the question is...what the hell is the Minority Report?

:)

The definition is simple. The practical part of it is entirely different.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[CMJ]

I'm SOO there tommorrow. :)

Dude the critics are going ape over this thing. Ebert hasn't printed his review yet...but he posted this long essay, that's great reading. :)

********************

Minority' opinions

June 16, 2002

BY ROGER EBERT

After seeing Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report," my mind was churning with amazement and curiosity. Talking to Spielberg and his star, Tom Cruise, I found myself not an interviewer but simply a moviegoer, talking the way you do when you walk out of a movie that blindsides you with its brilliance.

Our conversation jumped from subject to subject. We talked about technique, special effects, compositions, imagining the future, playing fair with the tradition of film noir. I sort my notes into the topics that interest me the most.

THE DEPARTMENT OF PRE-CRIME

Remarkable, that in the same week when the White House shuffled agencies into a new Department of Homeland Security, "Minority Report" is about a Department of Pre-Crime in the District of Columbia. Fifty years in the future, three "Pre-Cogs," people with the ability to foresee the future, float in a tank with their brains wired to computer, predicting crimes before they happen.

Spielberg: Today the only way to stop crimes is through intelligence and communication, but in our story the trio of Pre-Cogs is psychically gifted, and we're able to use them to stop bad from happening. People are arrested and charged with being about to commit murder.

FILM NOIR AND WHODUNITS

Spielberg: I had John Huston in my ear on "Minority Report." I went back and looked at "The Maltese Falcon" and [Howard] Hawks' "The Big Sleep" to see how some of those film noir mysteries were resolved. They didn't dot every "i" and cross every "t." They tried to keep you off-balance. They asked more questions than they could answer in those days.

Ebert: With your crime plot here, I think you play fair and answer all of the questions.

Spielberg: I went to Scott Frank for the screenplay. He wrote "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight." I gave him the original short story by Philip K. Dick and he said he didn't know anything about science fiction. I said, "Let me worry about the sci-fi element. Just write a terrific detective yarn. This taps into your strength. This is a murder mystery, a film noir, a whodunit."

Cruise: The idea of being able to predict a murder and stop it before it occurs--that's stunning. And the idea of devising a perfect crime to get around the Pre-Cogs. That's great for the short story, but for a feature film it needed personal elements. You have to care about the people. That's what Scott Frank gave us.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

For "2001: A Space Odyssey," Stanley Kubrick famously consulted with industrial designers, futurists, advertising people, to try to visualize what the future world would look like. Spielberg does the same thing, imagining a world where ads recognize your retinal pattern, follow you around and speak to you.

Spielberg: I wanted all the toys to come true someday. I want there to be a transportation system that doesn't emit toxins into the atmosphere. And the newspaper that updates itself. At the same time, the city is not all skyscrapers with coils around them. In Washington, with its historical preservation rules, they're never going to change some neighborhoods, or the Mall, the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. We mixed the old and the new.

THE ADS THAT TALK TO YOU

Spielberg: The Internet is watching us now. If they want to, they can see what sites you visit. In the future, television will be watching us, and customizing itself to what it knows about us. The thrilling thing is, that will make us feel we're part of the medium. The scary thing us, we'll lose our right to privacy. An ad will appear in the air around us, talking directly to us.

THE SPIDERS

One of the tools of the movie's futuristic crime fighters are tiny robotic "spiders" that scurry around, clickety-click, finding every warm-blooded person in a house, leaping onto their faces and performing a retinal scan to identify them. When the spiders go looking for Cruise, it's a brilliant sequence using live action and the computer-generated spiders, which are absolutely convincing--unlike the somewhat awkwardly-integrated CGI sequences in certain other summer movies.

To outsmart the spiders, Cruise immerses himself in a bathtub filled with ice water, but a single bubble of air escapes from his nostril and a spider, about to leave the room, pauses with perfect timing, and goes back for another look.

Cruise: That air bubble was not a computer effect. Steven said, "I need one bubble to come out of this nostril," and I thought, forget about CGI, I can get a bubble to come out. The things an actor does.

Spielberg: I'm directing computer spiders now. Look what my life has come to. I've used ILM [Industrial Light and Magic] my entire career but the spiders weren't ILM. The whole spider sequence was by a company called PDI, the guys who worked on "Shrek" for DreamWorks. There were only two animators and we spent many, many hours looking at variations. It was hard to get that little hesitation before the spider turns back again.

THE OVERHEAD SHOT

Spielberg: Another shot I want to talk about is the overhead shot when the spiders first swarm into the tenement building. We're looking straight down into all those rooms, and the camera follows the spiders over to a girl's face, and to a guy sitting on the john--all these people in the building.

Now that looks like it must be a computer shot but it isn't. That's a real, physical set. I tried to storyboard it, but it was so complicated, and finally Alex McDowell [the art director] suggested we try designing the shot on the computer. No set had been built yet. And we asked the computer, "How do we get this shot?" and the computer said, "You need a crane that goes in and out." There happens to be a TechnoCrane than telescopes in and out like a car aerial, and the computer told us where to put the crane, how to move it, how to get all the shots I wanted, all in one take. Then Alex built the set. So, no, there's not a single CHI shot in that sequence--but a computer told us how to do it!

REAL SETS VS. COMPUTER-GENERATED SETS

Spielberg: I really love George's "Star Wars: Episode Two." I thought it was operatic--George's most accomplished movie. But I don't think I'll ever go to computer-generated sets like he does. I think when you build a set in the 3-D world and actors walk onto that set, they get stimulated. They get ideas. Tom Cruise got ideas about how to play [his character] John Anderton because we built his house with four walls and a ceiling--every aspect was real. He felt at home there and got ideas about Anderton's behavior. I'm sad for the day when sets will exist in cyberspace and not in real life.

REAL ACTION VS. SPIDEY-ACTION

Ebert: I was surprised by how many e-mails I got after "Spider-man" and "Episode II" from people who said, "Gee, I like it when they use models and miniatures and real sets and puppets." It may look real when done on a computer, but it looks real in a different way. There's something missing.

Spielberg: Sometimes on "Spider-Man," which I quite liked, I enjoyed the CGI effects that made Spider-Man's flying look like a comic book and not like reality. It put me back in all the Spider-Man comics I read growing up. [Director] Sam Raimi was trying to get that comic art look, and what it requires is that you make the live-action scenes with Tobey Maguire look as much like comic art as the CGI swinging of Spider-Man. The trick is to get those values to meet in the middle.

THE COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM

In the film, Cruise operates a computer by manipulating virtual images in mid-air.

Cruise: Steven called me over to his house and said "I've been thinking of this idea I call 'scrubbing the image'," and he showed it to me. He created this whole computer language so that he could physicalize it, free it from the keyboard. He gave the audience a visual way to discover it along with me. Of course when we shot those scenes there were no images, just my hands, and he came up with the music and would just talk me though it when we were shooting.

THE PSYCHIC CHASE

One virtuoso sequence shows Morton, as the Pre-Cog, helping Cruise elude pursuit by foreseeing what the pursuers will do and telling him how to evade them.

Cruise: It's amazing the speed at which the ideas just come to him. He thought of that Psychic Chase, and started adding details. Those little touches like when there's a homeless man and she tells me to give him some money, and then she tells me to throw the coins on the floor, and then the man leans forward to pick them up and the cops trip over him.

WORKING WITH TOM CRUISE

Spielberg and Cruise have been friends for 20 years, and have been looking for a project together for 10 years.

Spielberg: I like to consider Tom my William Holden. He's going to be around until he's an old, old man, if he wants to continue acting. He'll be great-looking and he'll be heartfelt as he is now; he'll get better with age. He's not afraid to cry, to lose his temper, to become unglued. I think of him as a character actor. Look at his character in "Magnolia" and his Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July" and Jerry Maguire, and the vampire Lestat. Those are characters.

THE BRILLIANT TWO-SHOT

In the film, the Cruise character liberates the most talented of the Pre-Cogs, played by Samantha Morton, from the sensory deprivation tank, and drags her along with him in a desperate search for a killer who has outsmarted the Pre-Crime system, committed a perfect crime, and pinned it on Cruise.

Midway through this chase, there's a closeup of the two of them, Morton hanging on Cruise's shoulder, she looking left, he looking right, both of them exhausted and despairing. Spielberg holds the shot long enough for our eyes to look right, left, right, left, causing us to identify with their apprehension.

Spielberg: I'm glad you noticed that shot. They are basically at that point the same person--two heads from one heart.

Ebert: Who would have thought there would be another way to compose a two-shot?

Spielberg: I swear to you I discovered that shot through the viewfinder. I had them hug and suddenly I saw it through the viewfinder and I asked Samantha to turn her head a little, for more profile, and I found this shot. I called Janusz Kaminski [the cinematographer] over and said, 'Look at this thing! It's amazing!' And it was just there.

Cruise: It was Samantha's first day on the film and she came on like lightning out of a bottle, and Steven found that profile shot. It's one of my favorite shots in the movie. We were thinking we might use it on a poster at some point.

Copyright © Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

[Mu Satach]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo............... baby...

I know what I'm doing this weekend. >=}

[Lady Vader]

Yeah, me too!!... :crack

...I'm gonna go see AOTC! :lol

I'm so predictable and boring. :rolleyes :p

[CMJ]

It's been a long time since I've seen a film that has caused critics fall over themselves like this. Check out rottentomatoes right now. It's 37 for 38 positive...with many, many raves.

[Marcus Telcontar]

It's been all of.... 6 months CMJ. FOTR got a similar reaction.

I think Minority Report opens soon in Australia too. I am sooooooo there.

[Figrin D'an]

I've already got my tickets for it tomorrow night. :) I'm really excited about this movie, and have been for the past couple of weeks. If it is as good as everyone claims, it should be an Oscar contender next March.

[CMJ]

Yeah Marcus perhaps. I was thinking more "summer" movie though. I don't think I've seen one this lauded since "Saving Private Ryan".

[Marcus Telcontar]

I'm now convinced it's good enough to avoid spoilers. Please Spoiler mask if discussing!!!I dont want to accidentally stumpbe on something that lets me know!

[JonathanLB]

Well let's hope this is better than Saving Private Ryan; I'd like a PLOT this time around. I do like to THINK in highly anticipated movies, instead of just marvel at buckets of blood and "cool" sound. Anyway, moving away from the most overrated movie ever, lol, Minority Report is going to rock. :)

"I'm so predictable and boring."

Haha, no I don't think so. You are loyal and dedicated. There's a big difference! :) I will be there to AOTC too. I'm sure I'll see Minority Report, but after a week off I am dying to see AOTC again.

[CMJ]

Well Jonathan...there are those of us out here that were impressed with "Ryan". I find it to be one of his stronger efforts. It has grown on me over time...I wasn't as impressd with it at first as I am now. It did have a story Jonathan(calling it just a buncha buckets of blood is a minor insult, but I forgive you)...whether you liked it or not is another matter. ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

I honestly thought SPR was one of Jonathons favorites....It struck me as a movie you would really like.

[CMJ]

Simply unreal...44 of 45 positive.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah I think LOTR had the most postive reviews in a row around 40 before it got a negative one. As far as summer films there is Shrek and Chicken Run both were were close to 100% though those are more family films. Not trying to contridict you there CMJ.

[CMJ]

Yeah...it is a bit strange to classify family films with more "adult" films I'd say. Nonetheless if I remeber right "Shrek" was in the 80's(not sure)...though I think "Chicken Run" scored 100%.

[ReaperFett]

HERE (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_year.php)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Thanks Reapers, didn't realize that SPR was that high, I guess I just didn't realize critics liked almost uniamiously.

[CMJ]

Some of the older films I take with a grain of salt though..as they were not the original reviews(like "Vertigo" for example).

Also with some of the family films critics enjoy them but they aren't usually frickin' raves like some of the more "grown up" films on that list.

[Threepio]

I am dying to see this movie.

*dies* :x

Also, I'll have to wait until Satuday, since I'm working late Friday. :\

[Sanis Prent]

Its not a runner for best picture IMO, but its very very good. Should be one of the best movies this year as far as being complex and entertaining. It'll make you urinate on the next crazed matrix fan you see (eyes DT evilly).

Not in my top 10, but definitely distinct. There are some bad parts, including a baneful quote "I would've thought we would've gotten rid of the common cold by now" :x

But I'll say, for every cliche' futuristic movie clunker, there are 100 things that'll make you grin in a goofy schoolgirl kinda way.

PS: Shop at the Gap, INSERT-NAME-HERE. ;) :lol

[Jinn Fizz]

I have to say, I'm not at all eager to see Minority Report. It's mostly because it just looks so sterile, all bleak grays, silvers, whites, blacks, no real color. Visually, the trailer has just been a downer for me. :\

Plus I'm starting to get really tired of seeing that trailer in front of AOTC. >_<

[Sanis Prent]

Its not an accident. Its done that way as a stylistic element. Kindof like Flash Gordon meets noir. Sterile, cold, and yet sexy.

[Figrin D'an]

I personally love the overall look of the film that I have seen thusfar in the trailers. It's gritty, and as was mentioned, in a film noir style. It should fit the style of the film... asking questions about predestination vs. free will, the pitfalls and promises of technology and it's uses...

[Jinn Fizz]

Oh, I know that look is no accident, that's obvious. It's just a look that doesn't appeal to me at all.

I'll be going to my local theater this weekend, sure enough, but it will be to see AOTC again. :)

[CMJ]

I think the visual style looks awesome. A kind of black and white thing(keeping in tradition with the film noir) but filtering it all blueish instead. :) I'm really, really excited about this film.

[Sanis Prent]

Yeah you're gonna love it :)

[CMJ]

Rottentomatoes is showing 64 of 66 positive...Wowsers.

Hmmm 4 hours away from my showtime. ;)

[BUFFJEDI]

Like Jinn said. I'm going to the theater tonight (agian) but to see AOTC"S :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

I just seen the movie and it is very promising. Spielberg's film making genuis alone saved this movie from becoming a shallow, action flick lacking substance. It completely sinks the Matrix IMHO! Excellent performances by Tom Cruise and Samantha Morton. A rather suspenseful but familiar piece. However This movie does suffer from a rather unoriginal plot device that is used too commonly in crime dramas. Sorry, I seen the perpetrator coming long before he revealed himself. And that in itself was disappointing. But Spielberg's skill at taking an story and transforming it into brilliance, makes this movie a must see. Like I said before, a promising effort.

This movie by no means topples Bladerunner as a personal favorite. A film that is really mixes vibrantly, science fiction with the noir of yesteryear more profoundly and powerfully. Ridley Scott's classic masterpiece still remains on top of my SF list, sharing the top with a radically different sort.. the SW movies.

[CMJ]

Just got back.

Wow....

I was pretty impressed. It works as a action film(at times)...a social commentary, and a detective story. I'm gonna have to see it again to decide HOW much I liked it...but it has moments(alot of them actually) of utter brilliance.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Yes, the movie does have a strong moral message and technological wonders entwined together built on a fairly original premise. I have to commend Spielburg's talent for detail as the movie does not contain any loose ends. However, I just did not leave the theatre feeling awed or completely satisfied. I felt it is an excellent film but not outstanding. Bladerunner also had a strong message if not one more touching and powerful. Certainly not Spielburg at his most brilliant or groundbreaking! We have seen this plot device used too often before. Most recently seen in 'Training Day'. Will I even remember this movie by next year or even by this year's end? How much will I discuss this film long after it's box office run is over? The answers are... highly unlikely and not much at all!

[Darth23]

Originally posted by Jinn Fizz
I have to say, I'm not at all eager to see Minority Report. It's mostly because it just looks so sterile, all bleak grays, silvers, whites, blacks, no real color. Visually, the trailer has just been a downer for me. :\

Plus I'm starting to get really tired of seeing that trailer in front of AOTC. >_<

My comments (http://messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=GN&action=m&tid=hv1807592183f0&sid=12172484&mid=21) on Yahoo-Movies from 3 months ago:

"I just saw the commercial on tv - it looks like a dark, blue verson of The Matrix. "

:p

I haven't seen anything in the trailers or commercials that woudl make think I'd l;ike this movie. The reviews kind of make me want to see it. But I almost walked out on the the last Speilberg film I saw in the theater (JP1). I wasn't that interested in it, but then I got caught up in the hype.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Darth23

"I just saw the commercial on tv - it looks like a dark, blue verson of The Matrix. "

:p

I haven't seen anything in the trailers or commercials that woudl make think I'd l;ike this movie. The reviews kind of make me want to see it. But I almost walked out on the the last Speilberg film I saw in the theater (JP1). I wasn't that interested in it, but then I got caught up in the hype.

This movie is more solid, intelligently written than the Matrix. Matrix is nothing but pure action and F/X... a thrill ride with much eye candy. GOOD performances by Cruise and Morton in some emotionally charged scenes. But below the surface it reeks of insubstantiality! A good film worth watching but not at all remarkable or memorable. Will never come close to my fav's list of all time.

[CMJ]

To a certain degree I agree with you Ilyn...when the film first ended I was not awed. I was like "Yeah, that was a good movie," but nothing more.

On the way home though it began to work on me...and continues to do so. I have some problems with it, but there's ALOT about this film to admire. It's gonna take another viewing or two before I have a firm handle on just how good this film is.

[Figrin D'an]

I saw it this evening as well. I felt it was a excellent film. I would say that it met my expectations for the most part, not really exceeding them in any way. However, my expectations were rather high, given the number of glowing reviews for the film. Taking that into account, if I hadn't gotten really pysched about the film, I probably would have been very impressed. It's definately one of Spielberg's better films... not his best, mind you, but still very very good. There were a couple of things plot-wise that I felt didn't sync well, but it's nothing so horrible that it really detracts from the film. I am not a fan of Tom Cruise at all, but he was quite good as Det. John Anderton. Good overall supporting cast, some nice plot twists as one would expect in a noir piece. I agree, the final outcome was a bit predicatable, but I really didn't mind it that much, because it all fit together nicely and made sense.


My only real complaint about the entire experience had nothing to do with the film, actually...

(rant mode on)

Okay, I'm sure everyone here hates it when rude people sitting next to you talk to loudly during a film. I can't stand it, and usually, the first time someone does it, I ignore it, but if it happens a second time, I'll politely say something to the person in question. I swear, tonight, I had to get stuck sitting next to Dip-DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR- the Chuckle King, who insisted on doing the following:

1) Provide a sporadic commentary about the film to his girlfriend, who probably was grasping the plot just fine on her own... making it doubly as bad, everything he said was so completely obvious that a blind & deaf guy could have understood it...

2) Blurt out comprehensive "Ahhh..." or contemplative "Hmm..." everytime there was even a slight plot twist. Very loudly.

3) Boistrously laugh at every completely superficial joke, yet stare completely blankly at all of the subtle points of humor placed throughout the film and say, outloud, "What's so funny about that?"


I wanted to deck this guy so bad. I probably should have said something, but I didn't because everytime he talked happened to coincide, seemingly, with a quieter part of the film, and I really didn't want to disturb any of the other movie goers by making a scene. I don't think I was just being hyper-sensitive to his talking... he was loud enough that everyone within a 15 ft. radius must have heard him. No one else did anything about it though, so maybe they felt the same way I did....

It's been a long time since I have felt like inflicting physical harm on someone... this guy was completely asking for it though. I can't understand how someone can be so obviously rude yet be completely oblivious to one's surroundings...

Dumbass...

(rant mode off)

[CMJ]

I hear ya Figrin...I hate people who talk during movies. I do laugh alot though...so you might deck me. ;)

I think part of the reason I wasn't "awed" WAS(like Figrin mentioned) my expectations were in the frickin' stratosphere. Another viewing should let me know how good this film really was. I do have the feeling if I hadn't been expecting much I woulda been floored. :)

[FLMKR4EB]

I posted a review this afternoon, but it doesn't seem to be here. Oh well, here's another one.

I saw it, liked it, but was dissapointed by it. It wasn't as good as I was hoping, it was good, ahd a lot of cool action, and I enjoyed it. I even plan on owning it. I'll probablysee it again if I can get a bunch of friends to go, but I'd rather see star wars again.

But, here is what I didn't like. Too much adverising! Damnit man, I go to movies to avoid commercials, not be subjected to them. SOme of them were cool, but for crying out loud, make up products, the product placement thing got on my nerves, and is one of the reasons I now avoid Bond movies. TOO BLATANT. But, if in the future, everyone drives a Lexus, I'll be happy. I mean, who wouldn't want a Lexus. Oh yeah, is the world of MINORITY Report that devoid of minorities? I am a white/cacasian, but seriously, does the future hold spacec for only one or two people of another race? Little Odd. esspecially for D.C.. Ther were alos a few plot points I could have lived without, because they served no purpose.

Still, a fun movie, very cool. All should go see it, and many will enjoy. Its a thrill ride with some cool effects and stuf.

OH, Anyone else notice the cameo by Writer/Director Cameron Crowe??? If you have'nt seen it, watch for it. It didn't dawn on me till the second cut to him.

RATING: A-

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Threepio
I am dying to see this movie.

*dies* :x

Also, I'll have to wait until Satuday, since I'm working late Friday. :\

Gee, you have to wait a whole DAY? And I thought I had it bad having to wait FOUR frikkin' MONTHS. :|

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by CMJ
To a certain degree I agree with you Ilyn...when the film first ended I was not awed. I was like "Yeah, that was a good movie," but nothing more.

On the way home though it began to work on me...and continues to do so. I have some problems with it, but there's ALOT about this film to admire. It's gonna take another viewing or two before I have a firm handle on just how good this film is.


I sat in my living room thinking about MR when it finally came to me what is wrong with this film, Spielberg created something of hybrid. I will explain, the film had tremendous, I mean TREMENDOUS potential but he diluted a powerful delivery with over-the-top action. The moral dilemna this movie invents is so thought provoking and profound. But instead of relying on solid performances by the cast and suspense to build the movie, we are instead treated to Star Wars/Matrix-like sequences. Alas a great movie that does not apply it's strengths properly. Now the technological wonders are awesome and are key to the storyline. We need it to distinguish Minority Report from likeminded movies set in our present contemporary timeframe. Giving us a sense of future and a vision of otherworldly advancement. Afterall, no Minority Report can exist without it.

One of the things I do like about Minority Report is it never overly relies on dark, moody scenes to set tone or atmosphere... the very thing that was so vital and powerful for Bladerunner with it's overt dedication to noir pictures. Instead, Spielberg, uses invigorating daylight scenes. I loved it. However MR fell flat whereas Bladerunner didn't.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by FLMKR4EB
Oh yeah, is the world of MINORITY Report that devoid of minorities? I am a white/cacasian, but seriously, does the future hold spacec for only one or two people of another race? Little Odd. esspecially for D.C.. Ther were alos a few plot points I could have lived without, because they served no purpose.

I did not notice this flaw. Thanks for pointing it out, FLMKR! DC is a city that is very racially diverse. Shame on him, how could Spielberg miss that. :)

[CMJ]

I don't think I would have wanted my company doing Product placement in this film FLMKR4EB, as I found it to be very creepy. So in other words that didn't bother me.

The racial thing...I didn't notice, but good call, even if it isn't a major problem for me.

Ilyn...though there were a few "Star Wars/Matrix like" sequences I never felt any kind of joy watching them. I thought they more served the story...kinda like the flight sequences in "The Fugitive". So I guess I'm saying they worked for me. :)

[Sanis Prent]

I personally loved the advertising in this. It wasn't put in there for the sake of being serious. That is to say, it had a message of its own. Its kindof a slap in the face of George Orwell's 1984, showing that in the future, yes they give us retinal scans wherever we go...but for a greater evil than "Big Brother" watching us. It becomes a way to deliver holographic junk mail :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Originally posted by Dutchy
Gee, you have to wait a whole DAY? And I thought I had it bad having to wait FOUR frikkin' MONTHS. :|

No I have to wait TWO WHOLE DAYS! It'll be SUNDAY before I get out there.

:cry

Hey, its not my fault I live in the US and work a lot. :cry

Sorry you have to wait so long though. :(

[FLMKR4EB]

See, I agree with that IDEA, and I thought the way they were done was cool, but thats not my point. I would have been fine with it if it had been doen like in Robocop or Starship Troopers where they made up products to get the idea across. Robocop made up the car that was in the film, aptly named the 600 SUX, so it serves its purpose. The fact the MR uses real products is just for money, IT IS A COMMERCIAL, and it frickin pisses me off, cause it takes me out of the movie. Sorry, to rant, but its a pet peve of mine because it is so widely accepted. I'll make allowanceces for things like the boots in the Matrix bearing the Airwalk symbol, because it wasn't that noticable. But when every frame hold a GAP logo, or a LEXUS logo, I'm not watching a movie, I'm watching a 3 hour commercial. Thats not filmmaking, thats marketing, and thats what I call selling out. To sum it up, I wouldn't have a problem if they would have made up fictional products to push, and if one or two were real products, but the fact that each product show was there for commercial purposes miffs me.

[FLMKR4EB]

P.S.

No one else has mentioned if they caught Cameron Crowe?

[CMJ]

I think the real companies actually grounded the film in a sense of reality. But whatever..we could debate this for days. ;)

As for Crowe..I did not see him. I heard there were other high profile cameos as well, but I didn't catch any.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Has anybody seen Friday's numbers yet? Just curious they don't seem to be up anywhere, I wonder why they are slow this friday? Lately they have been getting the numbers up early.

[JonathanLB]

"Matrix is nothing but pure action and F/X... a thrill ride with much eye candy."

I do not at all agree with that. I didn't care for The Matrix because of the SFX or the great action (which pales next to ANY Hong Kong action at all, any Jet Li movie basically); I loved it because of the sweet plot and great themes in it. The Matrix is one of my top ten greatest films of all time. It just rocks. I don't know anyone who doesn't absolutely love The Matrix.

Same goes with Minority Report though. My best friend Bryan, who called Spider-Man one of the 5 best movies of all time, says Minority Report is even better, and he likes it better than AOTC. It's one of his favorite movies ever. Ben loved it, both Sean's (my friends) loved it, my sister loved it, nobody I know who has seen it didn't absolutely love it.

I can't wait to see it. I have had to wait because they all saw it Friday when I was on my way back from Hawaii. Now I see it Monday hopefully.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
The Matrix is one of my top ten greatest films of all time.

:x UGH!

[Quadinaros]

Well, I finally got to see this on Sunday night, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Spielberg is definately back in top form(not that he was really off), and he deserves most of the credit for this one. The pacing and action are perfect.

As for Cruise, I always say I can't stand him, but he continues to appear in movies I really like: MI2, Eyes Wide Shut. I guess he's not so bad. :rolleyes

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Quadinaros
As for Cruise, I always say I can't stand him, but he continues to appear in movies I really like: MI2, Eyes Wide Shut.

:x UGH! :x UGH!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Eyes Wide Shut was the worst movie I've ever seen, next to Purple Rain. I'm tempted to put it dead last, but Prince still gets that spot with his horrble movie.

Minority Report was ...GREAT! I saw it with my nephew Chris (who started two seats away from me, but at a certain midpoint of the movie moved over until he was next to me...can we say DON'T DRINK OUT OF HAZARDOUS WASTE CONTAINERS? :lol >_<) and we both really liked it.

I didn't think the "commercials" were overdone. Any more than one would say the "commercials" in The Truman Show were gratutious. As Charley said, it was simply showing how billboards work in this future, and how advertisements found you through retinal scans.

Very freaky, IMO. I hope nothing like that ever happens.

[Quadinaros]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Eyes Wide Shut was the worst movie I've ever seen, next to Purple Rain. I'm tempted to put it dead last, but Prince still gets that spot with his horrble movie.


Ouch! I have both of these movies proudly included in my DVD collection. Purple Rain rocks!! :cool

[ReaperFett]

I don't know anyone who doesn't absolutely love The Matrix
Hello :)



Quad is right though, M:I2 is great :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
"Matrix is nothing but pure action and F/X... a thrill ride with much eye candy."

I do not at all agree with that. I didn't care for The Matrix because of the SFX or the great action (which pales next to ANY Hong Kong action at all, any Jet Li movie basically); I loved it because of the sweet plot and great themes in it. The Matrix is one of my top ten greatest films of all time. It just rocks. I don't know anyone who doesn't absolutely love The Matrix.

I have read too many S/F books on sentient AI cyberspace entities to be awed by the Matrix. Such as those by William Gibson, Iain M. Banks, Neal Stephensen, and Dan Simmons' Hyperion series. Brilliant works! The Matrix is too hackneyed and thinly woven... neither ingenius or intelligently presented. If simplicity is the best form of flattery than I guess the Matrix takes the cake. Because it did nothing but rip these books off and did a bad job at that. However, this movie has tremendous appeal and I understand why. It just was nothing new or original! ;)

[BUFFJEDI]

the matrix??? I would not wipe my rock hard glutes with it if I had the trots for a week.

eye's wide shut ?? the best part of the movie (about 5 min's I seen) was where Nichole kidman PUT her clothes on.

MI2: was great !! minus the scene's Tom cruise was in.:)

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Ravishing Jedi
MI2: was great !! minus the scene's Tom cruise was in.:)

lmao Buff! I think that is common with any good movie Tom Cruise has ever been in. lol

[CMJ]

"Mission Impossible 2" was a pretty awful film. I was flaberghasted at how much I despised it to be honest.

"The Matrix", while a good film, is hardly the achievement most people I know seem to think it is. I enjoyed it but, man c'mon, I saw alot of better films than that in 1999. I woulda forgotten that film long ago if people didn't bring it up so much.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Purple Rain is right up there with Denise Richards on my I HATE YOU list. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

I didn't care for MI2 either one reason is that it had nothing to do with the Mission Impossible TV show but maybe the theme song and that is about it. Also it wasted Anthony Hopkins to nothing more than a cameo.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I didn't care for MI2 either one reason is that it had nothing to do with the Mission Impossible TV show but maybe the theme song and that is about it. Also it wasted Anthony Hopkins to nothing more than a cameo.


I did not like either M:I movies because of the poor casting and lack of resemblance to the original TV series. First off, the cult series was for the most part actually better written than these two Box Office Bond-wannabes and delivered far more wit. Both reduced themselves to being high-octane action-driven extravaganzas and provided very little room for a challenging plot-driven storyline...which made the original series so very interesting. Also, Tom Cruise was miscast in this movie and not all convincing as a top government covert operatist. Too young and flashy! These movies did the series a huge disfavour!

[ReaperFett]

I dont honestly care how the series was. Same name, granted, but no more similarities. Its unfair to judge a film on what something 30 years ago was like.

[Quadinaros]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Purple Rain is right up there with Denise Richards on my I HATE YOU list. :D

This is for you, Lil

http://www.msu.edu/user/kaatgilb/purpledenise.jpg

[Quadinaros]

Originally posted by ReaperFett
I dont honestly care how the series was. Same name, granted, but no more similarities. Its unfair to judge a film on what something 30 years ago was like.

Agreed. I never watched the series. And I wasn't a big fan of the first MI. I just thought MI2 was sooo kewl!! :cool

[Ilyn Pyke]

The Opening Weekend total gross for Minority Report is 35,677,125 in 3001 theatres. Not very strong for a Spielberg/Tom Cruise collaboration!

According to the same report, M:I and M:I2 opening obtained a weekend gross of 45/58 respectively. I am hoping these numbers are accurate as I just looked at another page that claimed M:I2 opening weekend was at an incredible 71 million. Damm contradictions!

[CMJ]

The 71M figure was for a 4 day frame(MI:2 opened over Memorial Day weeked)...the 58M is the more traditional Fri-Sun number.

I don't think the 35M opening is BAD, but it's not really impressive either. However, if this film has legs, then all will be forgotten. Thats where the film will be judged.

[JMK]

I think this movie will certainly have legs. I haven't seen such great reviews in a long time.

[CMJ]

I think the probability is very high it will have decent legs. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:eek

AUGH! >_< MY EYES! MY EYES! THEY'RE BUUUURRRNING!!!!! :x

[ReaperFett]

Picture of Denise Richards, then speaking about decent legs? :)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Denise Richards is so hot :cat

[Quadinaros]

;) :lol ;) :lol ;) :lol ;) :lol

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:shootin:shootin:shootin

:mad>D

[ReaperFett]

Anyone would think she's jealous ;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

HA!

No, Prince is an amazing musician, but he is no actor. And Denise may be hot, but SHE is no actress. But then, when do MEN care. :rolleyes

[ReaperFett]

I care!


:)

[Quadinaros]

Lil, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I personally think Purple Rain is a classic musical, bad acting aside. If you like the Purple Rain music, I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy the movie. The story is basically a setup for the musical numbers.

As for Denise, you nailed her. Hmm.. That didn't sound right. :rolleyes I don't think any of us would accuse her of being an actress. She's just hot. :crack

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I did NOT nail Denise Richards!!

:lol:lol

[Ilyn Pyke]

Ooohhh.... LD wants to nail Denise Richards... repressed desires brewing to the surface.. interesting it is!







:lol a j/k

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Its true. I've seen her "Denise Homage" she keeps in her purse. Its a little collage of all these magazine clippings with her on em, and in naughty little swimsuits, etc.

Its HOT, baby.....HOT!

[Ilyn Pyke]

Yeah, she wants to jump Denise Richard's bones! Mmmm.. those lips are so hot...




:lol

[ReaperFett]

What a purse :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

-_-

Hmmm...the only thing you guys can think about is girls having crushes on each other?? >_< :x

[ReaperFett]

Not the ONLY thing :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

Sure, not the ONLY thing! Just one of the better things... hehehe ;)




BTW, is that Witchblade in your sig and avatar, LD?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

No!

Mu uses Witchblade. :D I use Razor.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Thanks, I knew her from somewhere but could not place where... lol ;)



Would you happen to know the artist?

[ReaperFett]

Well, I use an electric shaver, to each their own :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

:lol

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't remember the artist. My brain is like a sieve.

[Ilyn Pyke]

NP, I could probably dig it up and look at his or her other work. Excellent artwork.. very natural and expressive! :D

[CMJ]

Back the the movie. ;)

It's significantly better the second time...or at least I thought so.

The theatre was pretty dead....I wonder how much it will fall this weekend. If my screening was any indication...the drop will be heavy.

[JonathanLB]

What are you talking about?! What theater is this?!?! LOL.

I went Friday night, sold out at 10:10, a LOUSY showing at a theater with huge auditoriums for around here. If that is any indication, this film will have amazing staying power. It's not going to drop heavy I don't think.

I thought the movie rocked. It's great.

I still don't think I would rank it above The Count of Monte Cristo, though. Plus, it's always less fair to compare movies later in the year to earlier films. I would still have to say it is AOTC, Monte Cristo, then Minority Report, followed a bit further away by Spider-Man.

To me, Monte Cristo is nearly impossible to beat and in any year other than a Star Wars year, it would be #1. So it will take a great deal to unseat it as #2. I'd say only TTT has a chance, and that's a less than 25% chance. FOTR was the best movie of last year, but an unusually weak best movie in recent years. lol, don't get me wrong, I saw like 75 movies last year just in theaters and TTT was the best of them all, it is a top 25 to 30 movie for me, it's just that I'd give it a 98/100, weaker than 2000's Gladiator (100/100), 1999's TPM (100/100), then I think Truman Show was 1998, also 100/100, then The Game in 1997, again 100/100. It's rare a film with a 98 is going to win the year. AOTC gets a 100, Monte Cristo a 99 or 100, I'll have to see it ONE MORE TIME (already seen it 3).

Minority Report is fantastic. It is definitely what I expected and another great Philip K. Dick story. He is awesome. Blade Runner and Minority Report are definitely two of my top 100 favorite films. Blade Runner, though, is more like top 10 (100/100) and MR is like a 98/100 probably.

This year is full of uncommonly good movies. I definitely think TTT and Road to Perdition have a great chance at upper 90's ratings, plus there are going to be a few surprisingly good films I am sure.

I do not agree that Minority Report has a few "false endings." Who came up with that? WTF?! What was anyone smoking who said that? There is NOWHERE else where it could have logically ended. Now A.I., that is a totally different story. There was a false ending there, a point where it could have ended, BUT if you know Spielberg, you know why he continued, and you know why obviously Minority Report had to have a happy ending. At least, not a downer ending. It's Spielberg, the maker of E.T. for crying out loud, lol. Anyway, now I'm really curious to know where these people thought the movie was going to end and it didn't?! I am sorry but you would have to be on drugs to think it would end at any other point. The movie just flowed logically from one thing to another until it reached a natural conclusion. Where else would it end? With Cruise screwed or what? What were these people thinking who said that? I've seen false endings in many movies -- this one has none.

Great film, though.

[CMJ]

Yeah Jonathan...did you see it at the Evergreen? Aren't movies ALWAYS sold out there?

I saw it at a theatre in North Hollywood(kind of a long bus ride) because I had a free pass, so it was worth the trip. ;) I have no idea how busy that place is normally...plus I saw an afternoon show.

BUT last weekend I went to an afternoon show near me that was 75% fiull. The one yesterday had like 6 people in it.

[JonathanLB]

No I did not see it at Evergreen, that theater has dinky little auditoriums for the most part. Their main auditorium seats 250 people. The screen is actually fantastic in size, just as big as screens in auditoriums I've seen that seat double as many people, but there just are not that many rows, i.e. not that many bad seats. I never understand why someone would want to sit a MILE away from the damn theater screen at the back of the auditorium. It makes no sense. I cannot even focus on a movie unless I'm fairly close to it, otherwise it's just distracting.

I saw MR at Tigard 11 Cinemas. Definitely looked like a busy weekend there as there were a ton of lines and cars. Very busy.

[FLMKR4EB]

WOW, such high ratings for some ok films.

Monte Cristo that high? I'd give it a B-, B at best. I hated the Game, so I don't have a rating for it.

TMP? 100? Hardly. I'm biased cause its a star wars movie, but it is no where near 100, the experience is worth 100, but the movie falls way, way short. Just for the Midichlorians alone, and Jake Lloyd's lack of a performance. I'd give Empire 110, and Phantom Menacee gets about a 65, and that's from a fan.

The Truman Show was another film I hated.

BUT GLADIATOR! Hell yeah. Great movie, great fun. I don't care if its not perfectly accurate, it was awsome.

So far this far this yar I'm not totally impressed. AOTC was awsome, the only movie I felt that I had to go see again, and again. Spider-Man was very cool good, but not what I was totally hoping for, MR was decent and fun, but again, not all I was hoping it to be.
I'm waiting for Road to Perdition to be impressed. MI2 looks like it should pick up right were 1 did, and be a great and fun movie. and TTT looks to be about the best movie of the year.

Right now, my Best Pic Nominees are...

Well they are quite obvious.
Road to Perdition
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

[CMJ]

Hmmm funny...to steal your line FLMKR4EB, thats why they make more than 1 movie per year. ;)

I haven't seen "Monte Cristo"...so I can't comment.

I LOVED "Truman Show"(maybe not to the degree Jon does) ...thought "The Game" was really good...and of course "Gladiator" was absolutely terrific.

[FLMKR4EB]

Yup thats exactly why, and its a friend of mine's line. So you you stole it from him.

[CMJ]

Okay...well you're the one that posted it. ;) Since your friend isn't on the board you get credit. :)

No 2 people will ever agree on every film. Jonathan and I may have agreed on those few examples but we've had many a lively discussion about films that one of us liked and the other hated.

You gotta love opinions. ;)

[JonathanLB]

Opinions are like @$$holes: everyone has them and they all stink! Haha, j/k

"Phantom Menacee gets about a 65, and that's from a fan. "

OBVIOUSLY not much of a fan, my friend. A true Star Wars fan loves and appreciates all of the movies. That is how a fan is. You are a casual fan, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it's just the way it is. I'm only a casual X-Files fan really. I never missed an episode for about 3 years, but I missed last season out of disinterest mostly and lack of time, plus I don't know all of the trivia, etc, but I buy the DVD sets, I love the episodes, but still I'm an average fan.

I mean, come on, a Star Wars fan is going to say TTT is better than AOTC?! I think NOT! Sorry dude, but that is total blasphemy.

No movie has even compared to any Star Wars film, let alone a Lord of the Rings film. FOTR rocked, totally an awesome film that was my TOP of 2001, but compared to Star Wars? It just wilts. Nowhere near the storytelling quality, special effects are inferior, characters are great, but not nearly as good, it's a wonderful story too in its own right, but Star Wars is simply better.

The Game is a great movie. It takes a few viewings to appreciate, though. On my first viewing, I loved it, but until the ending I thought it was only pretty good, and the ending entirely changed my view of it. When I saw it again, I could appreciate it all. It is my 2nd favorite non-Star Wars film.

Speaking of 1999, Matrix was also a 100/100, I neglected to mention that. Nonetheless, I rarely give a perfect 100. I've only given about 15 total perhaps. I do not find most older movies worthy of a perfect rating thus far. The AFI's top 100 *mostly* range from 90 to 98 or so, a few are definitely near my top, like Ben-Hur for instance, though perfect 100? Haven't quite seen one of those yet. Plenty of strong 95's.

[JMK]

People can rate SW films wherever they want and still be more than casual fans. To say that TPM is anywhere close to ESB, or ANH for that matter, now that's blasphemy!:p

[Ilyn Pyke]

I agree with JMK, being critical of the SW movies is not bad. And proves you are just an great fan as one that loves all the movies equally. It shows that Lucas' films have left such a indelible mark on one's opinion... of which his other works are measured by. For example, IMHO, OT remain at the top and are nearly impossible to topple.

[Sanis Prent]

I'd give TPM an 80. Its a good movie, but its really more like "Diet Star Wars" than the true thing. Its a light little intro into the saga we all know and love. AotC seemed to "click" with the originals infinitely more than TPM, and I had a tough time discerning if it or ESB was the "800 pound gorilla" of the saga. AotC's got the action, and ESB's got the emotion.

[Dutchy]

Finally saw it. An intruiging and intelligent movie. Loved it from start to finish.