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FredBurroughs's Replies
I have a similar experience with my dad and Body Double (1984).
Yeah, we've lost a lot of players over the years.
Any idea when you'll throw up another game? I believe it's your round.
<quote>"Like I said in my OP, I've only seen Bigelow's most recent batch of films (2009-present)"</quote>
So you've seen maybe two feature films (Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Detroit (2017)), both of which can be classified as docudramas (which we can use interchangeably with fiction-based-on-fact) and decided that's indicative of a director's entire repertoire. A subgenre that leans into uninflected camerawork in order to portray an imitation of realism will not be flashy by design, though that in and of itself cannot be classified as weak.
Your disingenuousness exposes itself by dismissing the crucial executive function of the director. By your logic, Alfonso Cuarón is nothing to write home about because all he does is preside over the decisions of others. Here, let me act similarly dismissive when it comes to poo-pooing Oscar winning directors:
Those breathtaking one-shots in Children of Men? Also resting on the shoulders of the DP and effects crew.
The intense visual spectacle of Gravity? Most of that was shot on green screen and again handed off to a visual effects crew, so any schmoe could have done that.
The naturalistic lighting and acting in heartfelt projects like Roma and Y tu mamá también? He just pointed a camera at the actors and called it quits. Anyone can get lucky once or twice a day with the sun, and then it's all up to the editor to make the footage work. The fact that he's credited as editor on his projects is besides the point because he's just covering his mistakes as a director. And maybe he had help on top of that, so again he's just taking credit for other people's choices.
Your conclusion falters insofar as it represents not only a lack of knowledge on a single director's filmography but also the entire filmmaking process. To whom does the second unit crew report? How do they base their shots to achieve consistency with the rest of the footage?
Also, which director was responsible for introducing Keanu as an all-time great action to the world?
"What the director does have much better control over are camera angles, shot sizes, focus lengths, blocking, and movements. And in the case of Kathryn, while none of those elements are necessarily terrible in her works, nothing particularly stands out about them either."
Please feel free to elaborate on iconic L.A shots in Point Break of which "nothing particularly stands out" such as the tense street lit conversations between Johnny Utah and Angelo Pappas, the nighttime football game, and the adrenaline fueled skydiving scenes to name just a few.
Yes, the director gives final approval over coloring and shots from the DP. Does that mean that every other decision from whatever examples that you have yet to offer are grounds for dismissal? How are they "more special" than Oscar Winner Kathryn Bigelow?
It's so easy to poo-poo great works - Oh, look, Terminator 2 is flawed in hindsight.
I encourage you to be more daring in your opinions. For instance, explain how John Woo directed the second best movie in the Mission Impossible series and how J.J Abrams directed the worst.
"What's the deal with all these iconic closeups in one of the most acclaimed movies of all time?"
Look at the nighttime scenes between Gary Busey and Keanu. Look at that lighting, color and intensity.
Now look at the drab grey crap shots in Mission Impossible III (2006), which for some reason people like?
Please explain that to me.
My girlfriend at the time told me that I was too drunk during Spider-Man 3, but I showed her!
Bigelow is a painter who chooses striking compositions, so I cannot agree with such a dismissive opinion as "bland and unremarkable". Harp on her recent work like Zero Dark Thirty and Detroit, but movies like Point Break, Blue Steel, and the ever-overlooked Strange Days sing with cutting imagery and a crisp blue-forward look that rival the same approach from James Cameron.
It's also easy to throw in Alfonso Cuaron and the Super Safdie Bros. in an hyper-realistic yet impressionist aesthetic that was developed in part by Bigelow. As long as we're talking about overlooked genre auteurs, maybe let's throw Walter Hill into the mix?
You might as well say that Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola got lucky from pointing their cameras at anxious Italian Americans.
I do not agree with your assessment because it ignores certain technical fundamental elements and artistic decisions that elevate Kathryn Bigelow's works above the standard fare. Try championing a true hack like J.J. Abrams.
I try to include MovieChat links in my Letterboxd reviews. You'll know 'em when you see 'em.
https://moviechat.org/general/General-Discussion/5bff52a42ddf425f82a30409/Stonekeepers-November-Game-I-recommend-THIS-Mystery-Movie-181-Trying-to-Think-of-a-Weighty-Pun-SkyCoyote-runs-the-MIRACLE-MILE
I'm kind of biased, but I think it works really well. It's one of those great movies structured like a fever dream. 10
Yeah, this is nowhere near the quality of Pulp Fiction. It takes some surface-level ideas like a wise-cracking gangster guy and kind of pairs it with a macabre Weekend at Bernie's story with the guy trying to impress his girlfriend's parents.
David Spade here reminds me of Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984).
I remember this being reviewed as an also-ran Tarantino copycat at its time of release, and that's ever more evident today.
Same here!
Looks like all lines are busy for this radio show. I'm getting a "This recording is already full" page.
If Looks Could Kill is a hoot!
Yeah, that's pretty sad. He went from a promising career being on the ice to a personal downfall being on the ice.
Really digging that robot leg kick effect.
Are we talking about this movie or Mac and Me?
Something tells me this was in Edgar Wright's regular rotation.
Oh boy, a bunch of screaming.