Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Lord Dullard]

Most of the critical reviews focused on seeing the movie as a morally bankrupt paean to vigilanteism.

Hey, I like Batman.

[GlyphGryph]

And I don't see how that makes it a bad film, critically.

Maybe morally, but critically? That should be things like the acting, direction, soundwork, cinematography, not the /message/. I mean maybe that can play some role, but they seem to make it the dominating theme.

[RedKing]

Most of the critical reviews focused on seeing the movie as a morally bankrupt paean to vigilanteism.

Hey, I like Batman.

Iknorite? And in Frank Miller's case, we have pretty solid evidence that Batman and Sin City (and 300) actually ARE political statements.

[Gunner-Chan]

I think the problem is since Frank Miller did it critics assume no one else is allowed to explore vigilantism even as just for fun with no message intended.

You know, because Frank Miller ruins everything.

[MonkeyHead]

I didnt enjoy Sin City. I know it was meant to be overacted and hammy as thats the intended style, but by god was the scenery getting chewed.

[RedKing]

Although Boondock Saints came out in 1999, before the Frank Miller franchise reboot. So most of the comparisons were that it was a Quentin Tarantino ripoff (because, y'know....Tarantino made Reservoir Dogs as a political mainfesto) 

Yeah, I dunno....seems like critics were looking too hard for subtext and just couldn't summon up enough fanboy to sit back and enjoy the storytelling and panache. It seems to be very much a love-or-hate movie.


I enjoyed Sin City for the visuals. The acting and dialogue are meant to be overblown: they're Frank Miller's homage to the gumshoe pulps of Mickey Spillane and the like, which were themselves overblown, misogynistic and cliched. It's like complaining that a ninja movie has too many guys in black pajamas jumping around. Or that a mobster film has too many Irish and Italian guys in pinstripe suits.

The problem is when you realize that Miller really does see the world like that.

[Urist Imiknorris]

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs44/PRE/f/2009/077/b/b/Mr__Cow_by_ChemicalAlia.jpg

[GlyphGryph]

Have you read Humanimals?

[Siquo]

Most of the critical reviews focused on seeing the movie as a morally bankrupt paean to vigilanteism.

Then why does Fight Club get 81%?? That one's not even remotely tongue-in-cheek (well, maybe here and there), it's from the same time period, and it's got a similar moral...

(and am I the only one still using imdb as my "what should I watch"-critic?)

[RedKing]

Most of the critical reviews focused on seeing the movie as a morally bankrupt paean to vigilanteism.

Then why does Fight Club get 81%?? That one's not even remotely tongue-in-cheek (well, maybe here and there), it's from the same time period, and it's got a similar moral...

(and am I the only one still using imdb as my "what should I watch"-critic?)

I use imdb as a Wikipedia for film/TV/video games. I don't use it for ratings/reviews, because the comments section is pretty godawful.
RottenTomatoes is usually a pretty good indicator of whether it's a hit, a stinker, or a YMMV. Although certainly it fares less well with "cult" movies, since by definition a "cult" film is one with a small but strong fanbase but which lacked critical acclaim.

For example, Six-String Samurai and Cannibal! The Musical got 60 and 56 respectively, and they're two of my favorite "cult" films. Although Bubba Ho-Tep got 78...maybe since it was Bruce Campbell, the expectations were more realistic.

[Loud Whispers]

I can't tell the difference between the happy thread and the WTF thread anymore.

What makes us happy, makes us wtf

[Delta Foxtrot]

(and am I the only one still using imdb as my "what should I watch"-critic?)

I've had too many films that were rated +7.5 on imdb that I didn't like. That and taking a closer look at imdb rating breakdowns made me lose faith in it. Ultimately I think imdb is just too generalist site, for me anyway. I've found that I get more accurate recommendations from niche sites that specialize in whatever I happen to be in the mood for. Or I just cross-reference multiple top-10X lists of specific genres and come up with something good.

And a mention to Six-String Samurai from me too. It was funny and had class.

[Flying Dice]

On the subject of vigilantism, what would make me really happy would be a well-done parody remake of Death Wish. Certainly not a serious one, though, because Charles Bronson is possibly the only person other than Clint Eastwood who could make NRA cheerleading enjoyable to watch.

[Siquo]

(and am I the only one still using imdb as my "what should I watch"-critic?)

I've had too many films that were rated +7.5 on imdb that I didn't like.

Yeah, we had a few of those, and quite a few that rated bad but we thought they were okay/good. Don't trust ratings for non-american movies. Somehow being "foreign" gets you 2 bonus points automatically, even if you suck. The trouble of crossreferencing multiple sources is way too much effort for me, though

[scriver]

Most of the critical reviews focused on seeing the movie as a morally bankrupt paean to vigilanteism.

Then why does Fight Club get 81%?? That one's not even remotely tongue-in-cheek (well, maybe here and there), it's from the same time period, and it's got a similar moral...

Dude, if you walk away from Fight Club thinking "vigilante anarchist terrorism is great!" I can't really believe you watched the movie. Durden is not portrayed as being right, nor, you know, even sane.