CINEMA

Best Films of 2015

POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Thursday, March 24, 2016 04:34
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 7382
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Sunday, May 17, 2015 3:15 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


The summer is approaching, and all too often the early films of the year are forgotten one the blockbusters and award-season ramp up have been released.

So let us make mention of the films that have been truly worthwhile so far this year.

I'm not talking the most profitable, nor the award darlings such as Only Gays Allowed or Neurotic Jews Pretending to Be Retarded categories, but the works that have been really rewarding, perhaps spectacular, and worthy of rewatching and recommending to others you like. And if you can include reason why: the storyline, the actor portrayal, the Sci-Fi effects.

I think American Sniper was categorized as a 2014 entry.
Otherwise, many seem to agree last year's best Sci-Fi was Edge of Tomorrow or Guardians of the Galaxy.

Has it been slim pickens this year?

Other threads with films mentioned:
http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=58724

http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=58943

http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=59614

And a List:
http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2015?show_past_months=1

I have enjoyed Blackhat, Kingsman, Jupiter Ascending so far, but they don't seem to be able to withstand the blockbusters.
Also Ex-Machina, Taken 3.
Woman in Gold was good, nice storyline, and should be kept in mind at the end of the year.

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Sunday, May 17, 2015 4:34 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


The only two I've seen this year that I'm anxious to see again are Ex_Machina and Predestination. I hated Jupiter Ascending, was just meh on Age of Ultron, and haven't seen that many others yet.



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Monday, May 18, 2015 6:24 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
The only two I've seen this year that I'm anxious to see again are Ex_Machina and Predestination. I hated Jupiter Ascending, was just meh on Age of Ultron, and haven't seen that many others yet.


I never saw Predestination showing at the Cinema - was it limited release? You saw it in Cinema, or was it only available on DVD?

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Monday, May 18, 2015 10:15 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


I rented it from Amazon since I was sure it would not come to a theater near me. And I was right.



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Tuesday, May 19, 2015 6:56 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Just watched Mad Max. Vibe was like Waterworld in negative contrast. I will likely see it again, it lived up to the hype, but the CGI had some lame times - I'm talking the steering wheel here.

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Sunday, May 24, 2015 12:52 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


I liked Mad Max and would recommend it, but there were some minor things that I wasn't to fond of. Mad Max took a back seat to Furia (Charlize Theron) although she was solid in her role, the script gave her the bulk of the heavy lifting, MM seemed to be a secondary character.

Way too many chase scenes, although I did like the "driver" character, and I liked the bits of humor - it worked for me. It's funny but a couple of nights before seeing MM I watched a HBO special about efforts regarding the worldwide value of water and a non-for-profit group collecting uncontaminated seeds to replenish the Earth's crops (it seems Monsanto has been controlling huge pockets of agriculture in foreign lands, but they are managing to poison them with unprecedented amounts of toxic chemicals to grow superfoods).

I was impressed with that part of the script, but Furia's story seemed kind of weak although I thought Theron did the best she could with the material she had to work with. Fight the Power!


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Just watched Mad Max. Vibe was like Waterworld in negative contrast. I will likely see it again, it lived up to the hype, but the CGI had some lame times - I'm talking the steering wheel here.


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Sunday, May 24, 2015 12:55 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


I have Ex Machina on my watchlist of movies for this summer. Heard good things about it.


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
The only two I've seen this year that I'm anxious to see again are Ex_Machina and Predestination. I hated Jupiter Ascending, was just meh on Age of Ultron, and haven't seen that many others yet.




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Monday, May 25, 2015 12:16 PM

SHINYGOODGUY


I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG

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Tuesday, May 26, 2015 4:42 AM

CALHOUN


The original 2 Mad Max films are among my favourites (Not Beyond Thunderdome!)I was keenly awaiting this reboot but in the end I loathed it. Just a smash'em up derby from start to finish.. and Maxs accent.. wtf! was nearly as bad as the American dubbed version of road warrior. LOL

Ex Machina was a great movie btw.

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Tuesday, May 26, 2015 7:29 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?

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Tuesday, May 26, 2015 10:55 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


I'm not sure where you're getting your information, JSF. It could be that the screenplay was written in 2013, but the film itself is copyright 2014. It's first theatrical release was Jan. 21 of this year.



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Wednesday, May 27, 2015 6:25 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
I'm not sure where you're getting your information, JSF. It could be that the screenplay was written in 2013, but the film itself is copyright 2014. It's first theatrical release was Jan. 21 of this year.


I was going with the date at the end of the film, after the credits. Thought it said 2013, and thought it unusual.

Last night saw a trailer for Son of a Gun, which I figure being 2014 was after her Ex Machina role. Looked interesting, will likely watch if I find it.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2015 7:05 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Perhaps Oscar Isaac's role in the upcoming Star Wars franchise installments (Episode 7 and 8) bumped up the Q score of the film.

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Thursday, May 28, 2015 1:34 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


Yes, very clever.......both stories involving robots and AI.

This was a story about manipulation, human foibles and AI taking those little quirks and expounding on them with dexterity, aplomb and subtlety. Ava took intellect to a frightening new level of efficiency, taking the ball from the new Dr. Frankenstein and running with it to it's illogical conclusion.

Before I say anything else, the illogic I speak of is that of her human creator. Didn't he suspect that with her intellect she would develop exponentially, but not just her brain power, but also the most basic of human traits the need for contact with others and freedom. As I saw it, Ava learned this behavior from her creator, she absorbed all the human behavior we learn from exposure to others like us. Dr. F's evil and dark side came shining through and she learned to be just as manipulative as he was. She even learned violence. This is what our children learn as they watch us for cues for how to be human beings. Our parents/creators are our first teachers. And, like our parents, we humans turn a blind eye to our children's little foibles.

Tell me, what similarities did you see?

By the way, I did not immediately think of Blade Runner.


SGG

Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?


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Thursday, May 28, 2015 7:29 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


SPOILER ALERT for Ex Machina.

Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?


Yes, very clever.......both stories involving robots and AI.

This was a story about manipulation, human foibles and AI taking those little quirks and expounding on them with dexterity, aplomb and subtlety. Ava took intellect to a frightening new level of efficiency, taking the ball from the new Dr. Frankenstein and running with it to it's illogical conclusion.

Before I say anything else, the illogic I speak of is that of her human creator. Didn't he suspect that with her intellect she would develop exponentially, but not just her brain power, but also the most basic of human traits the need for contact with others and freedom.


As he explained to Caleb, yes he knew this and that was the real test (for Ava, as stated to Caleb), to see if she could use that intellect to trick Caleb to satisfy her need, and which ended up being the unintended result of her seducing Caleb to trick Nathan.
Quote:


As I saw it, Ava learned this behavior from her creator, she absorbed all the human behavior we learn from exposure to others like us. Dr. F's evil and dark side came shining through and she learned to be just as manipulative as he was. She even learned violence. This is what our children learn as they watch us for cues for how to be human beings. Our parents/creators are our first teachers. And, like our parents, we humans turn a blind eye to our children's little foibles.

Tell me, what similarities did you see?

By the way, I did not immediately think of Blade Runner.


SGG


SPOILER ALERT for Ex Machina.

The basis of detection in Blade Runner was the Turing Test. Rachel was the model who lasted the longest on the test, far beyond the prior record, which is why Dekker said she was a prototype model, which was confirmed (at least that was the statement). Rachel did not know she was one, much like in XM when Caleb tries to cut his fingers (could not damage the skin while disassembling a pre-formed multi blade razor cartridge, or trying to cut or puncture the skin - anybody ever try to do that without injury, even the slightest cut?) Dekker also didn't know he was a replicant, both he and Rachel thought they were human. Did you at any point suspect that both Caleb and Nathan in XM were non-human? I can grant that the death and blood quantity argues that the creator Nathan was human, but the interviewer Caleb seems only the superior model to Ava. Did you suspect that the real test was not of Ava, but of Caleb's ability to assume he was human, and not discover the truth? That it was a test of his advanced model, not her older version?

All of the replicants in BR wanted to live longer, most were willing to kill to accomplish this. Particularly those who knew they were not human. Now that I think of it, that is another parallel: those who knew they were not human were willing to kill to experience more(by living longer), and not be terminated, and those that did not know they were not human had less rebelliousness, and did not kill those they thought were human.

We don't know all that Ava thought. Did Ava think Caleb was human, or a more advanced model? Did she previously think Kyoko or the other girls were human, or not - before she found the closet?

Did you not notice that the entirety of Caleb's time on film was in this secluded, controlled environment? His recall of everything outside this enclave could have easily been implanted. In fact, how many times had Caleb been rebooted prior to this round of the test? Had he figured it out all the prior times? When he did the prior times, did he not feel comraderie with Ava, and help her?

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Thursday, May 28, 2015 11:09 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Did you not notice that the entirety of Caleb's time on film was in this secluded, controlled environment?


No, when we first see Caleb he is at the corporate offices of Bluebook, then he is in the helicopter flying to Nathan's place, then walking from the helicopter through fields and forest to the secluded building. Of course, if your theory is correct then all of that could have been projected into Caleb's mind, but I don't think so.



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Friday, May 29, 2015 5:51 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Did you not notice that the entirety of Caleb's time on film was in this secluded, controlled environment?


No, when we first see Caleb he is at the corporate offices of Bluebook, then he is in the helicopter flying to Nathan's place, then walking from the helicopter through fields and forest to the secluded building. Of course, if your theory is correct then all of that could have been projected into Caleb's mind, but I don't think so.


Oh, thanks. I didn't catch that.
Do you think Caleb was human, or a more recent version than Ava?

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Friday, May 29, 2015 5:58 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
SPOILER ALERT for Ex Machina.

Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?


Yes, very clever.......both stories involving robots and AI.

This was a story about manipulation, human foibles and AI taking those little quirks and expounding on them with dexterity, aplomb and subtlety. Ava took intellect to a frightening new level of efficiency, taking the ball from the new Dr. Frankenstein and running with it to it's illogical conclusion.

Before I say anything else, the illogic I speak of is that of her human creator. Didn't he suspect that with her intellect she would develop exponentially, but not just her brain power, but also the most basic of human traits the need for contact with others and freedom.


As he explained to Caleb, yes he knew this and that was the real test (for Ava, as stated to Caleb), to see if she could use that intellect to trick Caleb to satisfy her need, and which ended up being the unintended result of her seducing Caleb to trick Nathan.
Quote:


As I saw it, Ava learned this behavior from her creator, she absorbed all the human behavior we learn from exposure to others like us. Dr. F's evil and dark side came shining through and she learned to be just as manipulative as he was. She even learned violence. This is what our children learn as they watch us for cues for how to be human beings. Our parents/creators are our first teachers. And, like our parents, we humans turn a blind eye to our children's little foibles.

Tell me, what similarities did you see?

By the way, I did not immediately think of Blade Runner.


SGG


SPOILER ALERT for Ex Machina.

The basis of detection in Blade Runner was the Turing Test. Rachel was the model who lasted the longest on the test, far beyond the prior record, which is why Dekker said she was a prototype model, which was confirmed (at least that was the statement). Rachel did not know she was one, much like in XM when Caleb tries to cut his fingers (could not damage the skin while disassembling a pre-formed multi blade razor cartridge, or trying to cut or puncture the skin - anybody ever try to do that without injury, even the slightest cut?) Dekker also didn't know he was a replicant, both he and Rachel thought they were human. Did you at any point suspect that both Caleb and Nathan in XM were non-human? I can grant that the death and blood quantity argues that the creator Nathan was human, but the interviewer Caleb seems only the superior model to Ava. Did you suspect that the real test was not of Ava, but of Caleb's ability to assume he was human, and not discover the truth? That it was a test of his advanced model, not her older version?

All of the replicants in BR wanted to live longer, most were willing to kill to accomplish this. Particularly those who knew they were not human. Now that I think of it, that is another parallel: those who knew they were not human were willing to kill to experience more(by living longer), and not be terminated, and those that did not know they were not human had less rebelliousness, and did not kill those they thought were human.

We don't know all that Ava thought. Did Ava think Caleb was human, or a more advanced model? Did she previously think Kyoko or the other girls were human, or not - before she found the closet?

Did you not notice that the entirety of Caleb's time on film was in this secluded, controlled environment? His recall of everything outside this enclave could have easily been implanted. In fact, how many times had Caleb been rebooted prior to this round of the test? Had he figured it out all the prior times? When he did the prior times, did he not feel comraderie with Ava, and help her?


Speaking of the Turing Test in BR, was it a conundrum?
How long does the test last? Rachel lasted the longest. How much longer would she have needed to pass? Or does it just keep going until the subject fails? How many humans would have failed before the point that Rachel lasted until?

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Friday, May 29, 2015 10:31 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Speaking of the Turing Test in BR, was it a conundrum?


Even though it was similar, the technical name of the test in Blade Runner is Voight-Kampff, which was what it was also called in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?



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Saturday, May 30, 2015 4:28 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Speaking of the Turing Test in BR, was it a conundrum?


Even though it was similar, the technical name of the test in Blade Runner is Voight-Kampff, which was what it was also called in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?


Novel published in 1960's. Hard to find when Turing Test became common usage - not during Turing's lifetime.
Is it a conundrum? The Test? Will humans fail this Test - even a few humans?

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Monday, June 1, 2015 6:54 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.

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Monday, June 29, 2015 3:21 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


It is my contention that we, as the audience, must go with what is presented to us in the moment. Unless, of course, the film presents us with filmed evidence of the director's/author's intent/message. Until the moment that Caleb goes to cut himself do I, as the invested film goer, begin to even question Caleb's humanity. For that matter, it is then that I begin to venture into the reality of possibly being manipulated by the director. I could sense that the game was afoot.

Again, I could honestly say I did not think of Blade Runner, not until JSF mentioned it. Caleb's reveal was not exactly cinematic gold, but did present as somewhat Twilight Zone-like. What I found more fascinating was Ava. Her cunning, manipulation and scheming was much more than that of her creator. To me, that was the ultimate theme of the film/story. What we teach our children, what we reveal to our loved ones and how we connive and conspire to control others. That sometimes our best laid plans, no matter how we strive to control every aspect, tends to take on a life all it's own.

It was sci-fi at it's best. Social commentary and technological exploration, and the exposition of both to the adventurous traveler, the willing participant...........namely us. Bravo, I say Bravo!

Alicia Vikander was mesmerizing, her performance was nothing short of brilliant.


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Did you not notice that the entirety of Caleb's time on film was in this secluded, controlled environment?


No, when we first see Caleb he is at the corporate offices of Bluebook, then he is in the helicopter flying to Nathan's place, then walking from the helicopter through fields and forest to the secluded building. Of course, if your theory is correct then all of that could have been projected into Caleb's mind, but I don't think so.




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Monday, June 29, 2015 7:53 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.


Anybody think Jurassic should be added?

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Tuesday, June 30, 2015 4:57 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


Speaking of the Turing Test - for Caleb, if he was a machine, wouldn't the office environment at Bluebook be the obvious testing ground?

Nathan would have him under constant observation to test his creation, unless, of course, he wanted to have closer observation of his subject.

I got the feeling, almost from the beginning, that Nathan was testing Caleb and he tested further by exposing him to Ava. But Nathan's total disregard and overall arrogance towards his robots and Ava as a censured being blinded him to the fact that she had other plans in mind, namely her freedom.

The more I think about it, the more I feel this was about the notion of enslavement and freedom. The notion that a robot could develop feelings and crave freedom just like a human. The implanting of human characteristics upon our machine counterparts. Or how the AI of a robot would make it a perfect human, adapting and surviving, clever and efficient, outthinking humans along the way.


SGG

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Tuesday, June 30, 2015 8:58 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.


Anybody think Jurassic should be added?


Does anyone think JSF should take some titles off his list? This is about the "BEST" films after all, not the biggest money-makers. Jupiter Ascending...really?



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Wednesday, July 1, 2015 6:04 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


You have a point about Jupiter Ascending, I say this having seen the film, but there are only 3 others from the list that I've seen:

Ex-Machina (This film is one of the year's best)
Kingsman (it was entertaining and fun, but that's about it)
Mad Max (had some moments, but overall not up to par)

Jurassic World - have not seen it

Truly it's as you stated, the biggest blockbusters aren't always the best films. Birdman did not make a killing at the box office (at least not in the same vein as Jurassic) but I consider it one of the Best Films, if not THE Best, of 2014.

We need to keep looking!


SGG

Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.


Anybody think Jurassic should be added?


Does anyone think JSF should take some titles off his list? This is about the "BEST" films after all, not the biggest money-makers. Jupiter Ascending...really?




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Wednesday, July 1, 2015 7:44 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.


Anybody think Jurassic should be added?


Does anyone think JSF should take some titles off his list? This is about the "BEST" films after all, not the biggest money-makers. Jupiter Ascending...really?


You have a point about Jupiter Ascending, I say this having seen the film, but there are only 3 others from the list that I've seen:

Ex-Machina (This film is one of the year's best)
Kingsman (it was entertaining and fun, but that's about it)
Mad Max (had some moments, but overall not up to par)

Jurassic World - have not seen it

Truly it's as you stated, the biggest blockbusters aren't always the best films. Birdman did not make a killing at the box office (at least not in the same vein as Jurassic) but I consider it one of the Best Films, if not THE Best, of 2014.

We need to keep looking!


SGG


As an early entry of the year, Jupiter had the benefit of a weak field, thus more easily "best" at the time.
Although my opinion of it was not stellar, I wanted to attempt to preserve potentially future forgottens before they were overshadowed. I did not think Jupiter had great box office.

If several posters agree that certain ones on the list should be removed, that is fine. I just didn't want to denigrate possibilities that some others had been enthused about, just because of my opinions.

Ex Machina was one which I had enjoyed, and actually which had partly inspired this thread. At the time, I had not seen many others comment about it, but now several have.

Ex Machina is becoming what I have considered a bellweather indicator - not many have seen it, but those who have universally either rave about it or at least really enjoyed it.

In the past these types of gauges have been Little Princess, City of Lost Children, and others I do not recall right now. Some say there are 2 types of music lovers: those who like what they know, and those who know what they like. Those who like what they know are enamored with those tunes which they first kissed to, first boinked to, first had various life-memory events to or during - in other words, whatever pop fluff was playing at the time, chosen by some DJ or programmer or other random party, or tunes repeated incessantly. And those who know what they like can hear the beginnings of a tune (for the first time) and immediately recognize something which resonates with them, not just because of the life situation they are in at the moment. Films can be the same - and these bellweather films identify those who just flow with the crowd, choose the most popular, versus those who truly observe a worthy film gem among the chaff, one in the shadow of the blockbuster. Ex Machina seems to be one of those which helps identify and classify the reviewer or critic. Once Leonard Maltin gave a crappy useless review of Little Princess, I could see more clearly and focus on how horrible of a critic he was.

Edit: other bellweather works: Galaxy Quest, The Man Who Knew Too Little, and a little gem called Firefly - if somebody says they saw Firefly and it did not impress them, I am afraid my opinion of the person suffers, and their opinions are minimized.
And UHF. Michael Richards' Stanley Spudowski, pre-Nanny Fran Drescher, comedy gold.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2015 7:45 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


I am willing to add Terminator at this time - I'll need to see it again at some point.

Jurassic, no.
Ted 2, only as comedy. As in sophomoric scatological humor.

Both were far inferior to Mad Max.

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Thursday, July 2, 2015 6:02 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.

But somewhere along the line it became something more; it became art. It also brought with it the discovery of the story, along with the journey. I will always remember Ebert saying that there is room for all of it. From the sublime to the ridiculously slapstick. For me, as for Ebert, it's always been about the story. Both the written/spoken word and the visual interpretation of those words - including the cinematographer, director and actor. That's me, that's what gets my juices flowing. Some Like It Hot comes to mind when it comes to that perfect union, that perfect harmony.

That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against. It is engrained in your blood and you measure without thought, like breathing. We all do it, it's okay, that's natural, unfair at times, but natural. Me, I try to find the story. If it doesn't make sense to me, then I lose interest and move on to the next thing. If I find myself saying "no, I would have shot it this way" then I'm not happy. But, if I am transported to that world and forget where I am, even for a moment........
well, I'm happy. I need to be challenged, stimulated. Not everyone feels that way about a movie. So you have people that come to the table with different levels of involvement, some grasp it, while others have trouble with A.D.D.

I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I too find myself being critical of those that don't even try. I tried discussing a theme in War of the Worlds (the one with Tom Cruise) and almost came to blows with a woman who poked her finger in my face and called me a liar, for no apparent reason. For me it was just an opinion, a point of view. She actually felt insulted or something. I truly did not understand her reaction. People sometimes get emotional. So I've learned to temper my remarks until I can understand the other person's connection to the film. I know, that sucks, but I stay out of trouble that way. And, on rare occasions, I come across a fellow traveler. I'm happier than a pig in shit when that happens. So yeah, I get it.


SGG



Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.


Anybody think Jurassic should be added?


Does anyone think JSF should take some titles off his list? This is about the "BEST" films after all, not the biggest money-makers. Jupiter Ascending...really?


You have a point about Jupiter Ascending, I say this having seen the film, but there are only 3 others from the list that I've seen:

Ex-Machina (This film is one of the year's best)
Kingsman (it was entertaining and fun, but that's about it)
Mad Max (had some moments, but overall not up to par)

Jurassic World - have not seen it

Truly it's as you stated, the biggest blockbusters aren't always the best films. Birdman did not make a killing at the box office (at least not in the same vein as Jurassic) but I consider it one of the Best Films, if not THE Best, of 2014.

We need to keep looking!


SGG


As an early entry of the year, Jupiter had the benefit of a weak field, thus more easily "best" at the time.
Although my opinion of it was not stellar, I wanted to attempt to preserve potentially future forgottens before they were overshadowed. I did not think Jupiter had great box office.

If several posters agree that certain ones on the list should be removed, that is fine. I just didn't want to denigrate possibilities that some others had been enthused about, just because of my opinions.

Ex Machina was one which I had enjoyed, and actually which had partly inspired this thread. At the time, I had not seen many others comment about it, but now several have.

Ex Machina is becoming what I have considered a bellweather indicator - not many have seen it, but those who have universally either rave about it or at least really enjoyed it.

In the past these types of gauges have been Little Princess, City of Lost Children, and others I do not recall right now. Some say there are 2 types of music lovers: those who like what they know, and those who know what they like. Those who like what they know are enamored with those tunes which they first kissed to, first boinked to, first had various life-memory events to or during - in other words, whatever pop fluff was playing at the time, chosen by some DJ or programmer or other random party, or tunes repeated incessantly. And those who know what they like can hear the beginnings of a tune (for the first time) and immediately recognize something which resonates with them, not just because of the life situation they are in at the moment. Films can be the same - and these bellweather films identify those who just flow with the crowd, choose the most popular, versus those who truly observe a worthy film gem among the chaff, one in the shadow of the blockbuster. Ex Machina seems to be one of those which helps identify and classify the reviewer or critic. Once Leonard Maltin gave a crappy useless review of Little Princess, I could see more clearly and focus on how horrible of a critic he was.

Edit: other bellweather works: Galaxy Quest, The Man Who Knew Too Little, and a little gem called Firefly - if somebody says they saw Firefly and it did not impress them, I am afraid my opinion of the person suffers, and their opinions are minimized.
And UHF. Michael Richards' Stanley Spudowski, pre-Nanny Fran Drescher, comedy gold.


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Thursday, July 2, 2015 10:04 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


I know some will find this hard to believe, but I love UHF. Another wild and crazy film that is high on my list is Buckaroo Banzai. And the Coen's second film Raising Arizona. The positive factor is that every seemingly crazy, nonsensical thing about them is that they actually do make sense within the context of how the story and characters have been established.

Where I draw the line is when characters and situations are manipulated in a non-logical way just to get to a particular scenario even when that contradicts the premise that has already been established, or worse, just to get to a particular visual special effect. Jupiter Ascending was nothing but visual set-pieces wrapped around a flimsy and cliched story. And from what I've been reading, Jurassic World is full of stupid people doing stupid things, or even supposedly smart people doing stupid things. I'm with SGG, it's the story that matters, and even though Firefly and Serenity had great FX, it was the story and the strength of the characters that made it special.

I'm on a limited budget now, so I'm not going to the theater for every remake, reboot, prequel, reimagining etc. that comes along. I'm tired of that crap and want more original stories, even if they draw from previous similar films in the way that Ex_Machina did. Or when everything I read about them is positive, which has not been the case for much except for Fury Road, which I haven't seen yet, but is likely to be at the discount theater soon. I'm not big on action for action's sake, or FX that doesn't enhance the story, so the list of films that normally catch my attention is usually very short.



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Thursday, July 2, 2015 11:57 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


This is off topic, but wanted to mention that for those who liked Ex_Machina, you should check out the new show Humans on AMC (in the States that is, it's from the UK, maybe ITV or another. Probably not BBC or else it would be on BBC-America).

Best new show I've seen since Orphan Black.



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Thursday, July 2, 2015 7:37 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.

That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.


Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.

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Thursday, July 2, 2015 7:52 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.
Terminator: Genysis


I have recently gotten better luck on DVD than the cinema.
Last Jan/Feb I stumbled into a large crowd coming out of a flick on an off day, weekday, late at night. I looked and saw it was The Loft. Had not heard of it, not seen ads or trailers. Looked it up online, synopsis plus Rachael Taylor, Isabel Lucas, Karl Urban, and wanted to see it - went back to theater and it was gone, never found it in bargain theaters, seemed to wait forever for it to get to DVD, then all library free copies were checked out, all rentals checked out, redbox kept being out, etc.
Finally got to see it. I had conjured it would be much like Peter Berg's Very Bad Things, but it was much better. A whodunnit or whydunnit more like Usual Suspects, Color of Night, part of me thinks Sin City. If it was listed as a 2015 film, it would be on my list of best for the year.

Another was Survivor with Milla Jovovich. Not listed a release date for cinema, just DVD in 2015. Much better than most of what I've seen in a while. I must add it to the list of best.

Survivor. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3247714/

Also, not to keep out the women, should we include the beyond chick flick and straight to mommyporn entry 50 Shades of Grey? Anybody think it is capable of being best of?

I have heard good things about Maggie, but never saw it in theater. Has anybody?

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Wednesday, July 15, 2015 5:46 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.
Terminator: Genysis
Survivor (Milla Jovovich)


SGG adds Minions. http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=36&tid=59908

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Thursday, July 16, 2015 5:36 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.

That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.


Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.


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Thursday, July 16, 2015 6:55 AM

SHINYGOODGUY


You know, I don't think I've seen UHF (at least, I don't remember, getting old) and I've only seen bits and pieces of Buckaroo (I admire Peter Weller), but one of my all-time favorite comedies is Raising Arizona, which I believe is a Coen Brothers gem (next to Fargo).

You're right about the characters and storylines making sense within the context of the film, as crazy and whacked out as they appear to be. It completely tells the truth about each of their realities, as depicted within the story. Love that film, I'm chuckling right now just thinking about it. ;-)

What you say in regards to manipulation is so true, and one of the things that drives me crazy as well. It's one of the reasons why I was so mixed about Terminator: Genisys. I applauded the writers attempt to incorporate the original storyline (Cameron kept it simple, but the story drove the action). With T:G it seemed the characters were introduced so as to set up key phrases made popular by the original, as well as some of the action.
(To me, T2 was the best of all both in writing and storyline).

But there were elements that I liked about it. One of the things that makes sense to me is to continue the logical aspects and follow up of the original storyline. They did some of that, but the chemistry between the 2 leads was lacking. I was thoroughly unconvinced about the 'John Conner becoming a cyborg' storyline, are you kidding me!?

Gotta Go, but more to come later.


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
I know some will find this hard to believe, but I love UHF. Another wild and crazy film that is high on my list is Buckaroo Banzai. And the Coen's second film Raising Arizona. The positive factor is that every seemingly crazy, nonsensical thing about them is that they actually do make sense within the context of how the story and characters have been established.

Where I draw the line is when characters and situations are manipulated in a non-logical way just to get to a particular scenario even when that contradicts the premise that has already been established, or worse, just to get to a particular visual special effect. Jupiter Ascending was nothing but visual set-pieces wrapped around a flimsy and cliched story. And from what I've been reading, Jurassic World is full of stupid people doing stupid things, or even supposedly smart people doing stupid things. I'm with SGG, it's the story that matters, and even though Firefly and Serenity had great FX, it was the story and the strength of the characters that made it special.

I'm on a limited budget now, so I'm not going to the theater for every remake, reboot, prequel, reimagining etc. that comes along. I'm tired of that crap and want more original stories, even if they draw from previous similar films in the way that Ex_Machina did. Or when everything I read about them is positive, which has not been the case for much except for Fury Road, which I haven't seen yet, but is likely to be at the discount theater soon. I'm not big on action for action's sake, or FX that doesn't enhance the story, so the list of films that normally catch my attention is usually very short.




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Thursday, July 16, 2015 5:12 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.

That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.


Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.



No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.


SGG


You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.

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Saturday, July 18, 2015 5:38 PM

SHINYGOODGUY


Visionary. But, like all of us, he made the occasional mistake. Ace Ventura comes to mind. I, for one, valued his approach and input regarding cinema. He more often than not pointed me in the right direction when it came to recommending a film.

From your statement, I'm guessing you disagree.


SGG


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.

That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.


Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.



No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.


SGG


You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.


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Monday, July 20, 2015 6:35 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.


SGG


You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.


Visionary. But, like all of us, he made the occasional mistake. Ace Ventura comes to mind. I, for one, valued his approach and input regarding cinema. He more often than not pointed me in the right direction when it came to recommending a film.

From your statement, I'm guessing you disagree.


SGG


What did he opine of Ace Ventura?

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Monday, July 20, 2015 10:02 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:

What did he opine of Ace Ventura?

Roger Ebert gave Ace Ventura Pet Detective his lowest rating. www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ace-ventura-pet-detective-1994

But, and there is a big butt, Ebert wrote an interview that starts:

“It's a touchy situation. You describe a guy's movie as one of the worst of the year, and then it grosses $200 million and makes him into Hollywood's flavor of the month. You say it wasn't funny, and the audiences can't stop laughing. Now you're supposed to walk into a room and interview the guy. Hey, let's hope he has a sense of humor.

"So answer me this," I said, trying to look petinent. "How did I miss the point of 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'?" www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-carrey-laughs-in-face-of-success

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015 3:09 AM

JO753

rezident owtsidr


Well, he'z ded now, so that problem iz solved. He will never bother you agen.

----------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early

http://www.nooalf.com

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015 5:59 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two


Quote:

Originally posted by JO753:
Well, he'z ded now, so that problem iz solved. He will never bother you agen.

Roger Ebert said to Jim Carrey about Ace Ventura, "One critic felt that you had no talent at all and should never be in another movie. I didn't feel that way. I said I hated the movie, too, but that you'd done good work in the past, and I was sure you'd do good work again in the future."

This was Carrey's opening to say, "Gee! Thanks a whole lot!" But he sighed. "Yeah, some of the reviews were pretty brutal. You know what? Some of the worst ones came in a couple of days before the movie opened and I thought, well, this is keeping my feet on the ground."

Carrey agreed with Ebert that humor is not debatable. Nobody can reason you around to their point of view. And if you're not laughing, nobody can explain what's funny. www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-carrey-laughs-in-face-of-success



The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, July 22, 2015 6:15 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by second:
Roger Ebert said to Jim Carrey about Ace Ventura, "One critic felt that you had no talent at all and should never be in another movie. I didn't feel that way. I said I hated the movie, too, but that you'd done good work in the past, and I was sure you'd do good work again in the future."

This was Carrey's opening to say, "Gee! Thanks a whole lot!" But he sighed. "Yeah, some of the reviews were pretty brutal. You know what? Some of the worst ones came in a couple of days before the movie opened and I thought, well, this is keeping my feet on the ground."


I wonder if Carrey thought this helped his career.
He had done Ace, and had finished or was finishing The Mask, and was in negotiations for Dumb and Dumber, which Steve Martin and Martin Short had already turned down for that role. Not being a Martin, they offered him something like 350,000 and he said no, he wanted 400K. That was before Ace was released, and maybe the New Line exec thought they had him over a barrel. Then Ace was released, and was a runaway hit. The studio tried to get him for the 400K, and he said no. Carrey ended up getting 7 million.
I wondered at that time if that exec still had a job, given the $6,650,000 bite he forced the studio to take. Now I wonder if Carrey credits those bad reviews for helping to bump up his price.


http://www.businessinsider.com/dumb-and-dumber-jim-carrey-jeff-daniels
-paycheck-2014-11

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015 8:46 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?


I am wondering if the copyright I saw in the quick credit roll was for the studio logo, instead of the film itself.

Anyhow, I really hope Alicia Vikander has a breakout performance in Man from UNCLE. She looks great in the trailer. She might have one of those timeless beauty qualities, able to play the future in Ex-Machina and the 60's in MfU and maybe many other time periods. I wonder if she would be bad-a$$ in some medieval or combat flik?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015 6:27 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.


Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?
Why do you think Ex Machina was copyrighted in 2013 yet only released now?


I am wondering if the copyright I saw in the quick credit roll was for the studio logo, instead of the film itself.

Anyhow, I really hope Alicia Vikander has a breakout performance in Man from UNCLE. She looks great in the trailer. She might have one of those timeless beauty qualities, able to play the future in Ex-Machina and the 60's in MfU and maybe many other time periods. I wonder if she would be bad-a$$ in some medieval or combat flik?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1


Every time I see that trailer scene with her behind walking away, it reminds me of Yanet Garcia.

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Thursday, August 13, 2015 4:07 AM

JO753

rezident owtsidr


Just saw Ex Machina. Great movie. A good companion movie to AI.

----------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early

http://www.nooalf.com

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Saturday, August 15, 2015 2:51 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JO753:
Just saw Ex Machina. Great movie. A good companion movie to AI.


I thought AI pales greatly - just by being in the same post.

I would consider EM a good companion piece to Imitation Game, Blade Runner, which both had vastly larger budgets, and high-voltage stars.

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Saturday, August 15, 2015 3:00 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I would consider this film for Best of the Year, it is in my Top 5.

Ex Machina: Loved the tone and pace of the film, a real Indie work of art. Oscar Isaac was slimy and conniving as the modern-day Frankenstein. But for my money Alicia Vikander as Ava, stole the movie. She was brilliant. Childlike, manipulative and calculating; conveying emotion and emotionless almost simultaneously. Truly an underrated and unknown performance - until now. Very little in this movie is predictable, it felt like a Twilight Zone story to the 10th Power, the film moved quite well and had a solid storyline. Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) would be proud.


SGG


Not predictable? Have you seen Blade Runner?


Anyhow, I really hope Alicia Vikander has a breakout performance in Man from UNCLE. She looks great in the trailer. She might have one of those timeless beauty qualities, able to play the future in Ex-Machina and the 60's in MfU and maybe many other time periods. I wonder if she would be bad-a$$ in some medieval or combat flik?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1


Well, not medieval or combat, but she is slated for more likely butt-kicking with the untitled Bourne film. starts shooting next month.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

With 4 more of her films out this year, she might get more attention. Getting a nomination for Burnt might work. Danish Girl will likely get a lot of attention from Redmayne's role - assuming he is not as bad as Jupiter Ascending. So she could get a nomination for that as well.

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Saturday, March 19, 2016 5:40 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


I didn't get an chance to wrap this up last year.

How many would agree that Ex-Machina was the best film of the year for 2015?
I was happy to see Alicia win an Oscar, albeit not for this role.
Also, regarding discussion of this film, did anybody consider that Caleb's memories of events prior to his arrival at the facility could have been implanted? Also, I just remembered that his unfruitful attempts to cut or blemish his finger with a razor blade could have been a dream or delusion. Now that I have typed that, I notice his reality test was with a razor BLADE, and the turing test was also used in BLADErunner.


Also, I still include Woman in Gold.
I don't think I have seen Predestination yet.

Any other films that you all feel were, or competed for the Best?

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Monday, March 21, 2016 6:20 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by ecgordon:
The only two I've seen this year that I'm anxious to see again are Ex_Machina and Predestination. I hated Jupiter Ascending, was just meh on Age of Ultron, and haven't seen that many others yet.


Predestination? Filmed April/May 2013 and not released until Jan 2015.
What drew you to this? Why did you want to see it a second time? Was it the Heinlein connection? You had already read the story? Some sort of Hawke fan?
Although I do enjoy the work of Emma Stone, I was not thrilled to see the same character look like her and also Leonardo Dicaprio. I thought the crude repetition of the obvious, half hour later in the film, a bit tedious.
Perhaps the director thought himself too clever or the audience too dense?

I do have one question about it, perhaps I missed the answer due to boredom. Who did the bomb that killed over 10K? was it already set, or was it by a copycat? What?

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