Amos in Utsunomia
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Posts posted by Amos in Utsunomia
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There's a big WOTW interview (from Feb) with Spielberg and Cruise here for anyone interested
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Sin City - really enjoyed it.
Next one Batman, hopefully this coming weekend.
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Some "interesting" according to Sky facts on MJ:
:: Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to be added to MTV's regular playlist.
:: In 1992, Michael was crowned 'King Sani' in a West African village in Gabon, Ivory Coast.
:: Michael's nickname is "Smelly". Film director Steven Spielberg gave him the name for refusing to shower on video shoots.
:: Michael was brought up in the Jehovah Witnesses faith. A group of Witnesses once announced that he was the Messiah
:: The singer publicized the release of double album, HIStory by floating a 60-foot statue of himself down the Thames.
:: The album Bad produced five US number 1 singles.
:: In 1992 Jackson did his first ever major interview, with Oprah Winfrey. During the interview, which was shown worldwide, the singer claimed his father Joe used to beat him and call him names as a child.
:: Michael Jackson's first release as a solo performer was the ballad Got To Be There.
:: The Jackson Five's Victory Tour in 1984 sparked the greatest demand for concert tickets in the history of popular music.
:: Jackson confessed to being addicted to painkillers in 1993. He said he was seeking help.
:: The star bought the rights to The Beatles' back catalogue of songs. This led to him falling out with one-time collaborator Sir Paul McCartney.
:: In 1996, his over-the-top display of self-importance at the Brit Awards led to the infamous stage invasion by the Pulp singer, Jarvis Cocker.
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Does that still happen?Quote:And then there are the left handed 4-year olds who get their pencils ripped out of left hands and forced into their right..
All the best geniuses are left handed. -
I've got this feeling I'm gonna be miserable in rainy-season.
Where's the worst place to be, uncomfortable-wise?
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I just read the following in a Chamonix thread on here, talking about the French resort.
I don't have a whole lot of experience in Japan, so I'm wondering what the reasons for all the ropes and no-go areas here is? (If someone goes out and has an accident, does the resort have to take some responsibility for that?)Quote:In many parts of the alps you can literally ride anywhere. That means ANYWHERE. There are no boundaries. Japan ropes off inbound trees for gods sake!! Given such an anally risk averse attitude in-bounds I can see much hope for them (the authorities) developing a mentality of adventure out of bounds -
haha nice one. that will help on some boring hot days over summer.
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I would have thought it was obvious that the very existence of nuclear weapons was incredibly dangerous - whoever has them.
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They should make a few of them round golden week "moveable" - to give as many people a good decent holiday.
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Both. I probably still ski more than board though - just better at it.
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Well, I grew up skiing in Canada. I started snowboarding about 4 years back, and still enjoy both.
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Can you guess?
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We seem to be getting a fair few round here these days. And there was a fairly strong one again yesterday afternoon.
War of the worlds
in General off-topic discussions
Posted
And here is another (maybe spoilers):
'I attended the screening of the movie in Marseilles, and I would like to start off by commenting on how much this movie surprised me. I had heard a lot of talk about how personal the story would be, but I was not expecting it to be such a damn tragedy. The movie starts off with Cruise getting his kids from ex-wife. It is established almost immediately that he is a rather shitty fellow, through his mannerisms and the way he acts towards his friends and family. His attitude is the biggest problem - he is arrogant, but it's not the Tom Cruise arrogance that we've come to know. It's a different kind of arrogance, one seemingly routed in the fact that he still hasn't accepted the blame for the ruin of his marriage.
The exposition is very quick, lasting approximately twelve or thirteen minutes. The action ramps up exponentially at this point, dumping the audience directly in the middle of the start of the war. I will try to refrain from major spoilers, but let me tell that the tripods, which have only been hinted at in the trailers and advertisements, look very, very nice. The fact that the scenes featuring them clearly were not shot against a blue screen add to the astounding achievement by ILM here. They look positively real - blended and contrasted perfectly amongst the real-world light, shadows, and dust.
This movie is very different when it comes to big action sequences - the camera stays below and/or between the characters and the antagonists. It would also appear that at some points Spielberg used a hand-held camera, because I was reminded of Omaha Beach. One scene in particular, immediately following the emergence of the tripod, is so absolutely intense that you wonder how it could not be a documentary. Perhaps Spielberg's wisest choice in these scenes was to actually let the extras compliment the major actors, rather than just focusing on the recognizable faces. That is not to say that they are not almost always prominent, but it is awesome to see Cruise's reaction amongst about 150 other literally 'devolving' citizens. The panic and hysteria has taken over them all - they trample and kick and punch like nothing that I've ever seen before.
I am actually very surprised that this movie is PG-13.
There are four scenes in particular that make me question how they got this, because they are something that I never expected to see. One of these starts off beautifully, with Dakota going down to the riverfront.
The scene has an almost surreal feel - it seems as if Spielberg used filters here to bring out the glowing quality of the sun. Then, without warning, a corpse flows in front of her, following the river's current. This is followed by more, and then even more, until the whole river is covered with bodies. The camera cuts to Dakota - she has such a look of disbelief and incomprehension - ah, it broke my heart. There are three other such scenes that really took my breath away at how awful yet beautiful they were.
The acting was also more than I was expecting. The aforementioned Dakota Fanning proves why she is the go to girl currently. She adds a complexity to her role that is seldom seen amongst child stars. Rather than just acting off of Tom Cruise and reacting to him, it would see as if she actually inhabited her character and gave it its own personal qualities and pathos. Tom Cruise also did well, showing us that he can portray other things that his well-known personality. The scenes with him and Dakota (one in particular after the departure of another character) are absolutely breathtaking. I literally was on the verge of tears in one of them.
I think that Spielberg has a big hit on his hands here. Because of the apparent press blanket, there hasn't really been that much early hype, but I'm positive that this will change after the release. The film will undoubtedly benefit from excellent word of mouth, because, simply put, it is stunning.'