Comments on: Roasted Nuts

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:25:19 +0000

It ain’t a question of jargon, mnk. It’s a question of normal common sense. Science fiction is not about jargon – that’s EXACTLY the mistake that the film makes. Sunshine is a stupid movie because the director is out of his element. Danny Boyle makes great films. Just not this film.

By: mnk

mnk — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:33:09 +0000

well ignorant people (like me) who know nothing about science jargon did like this movie.

By: The Crappening » Tetherd Cow Ahead

The Crappening » Tetherd Cow Ahead — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:24:10 +0000

[...] will recall that some time ago I wrote that I wasn’t going to get into the habit of reviewing movies here on The Cow unless they [...]

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:27:34 +0000

Bwahahahahahaha! He must have been hopped up on something. I was talking about it with a bunch of friends at a party on Saturday night (I’m outta town, hence my low profile) and we were still boggled by it.

All I can say is that AM mustn’t get out much. At least when it comes to science fiction.

By: Joey Polanski

Joey Polanski — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:27:03 +0000

Hmmm ... AngryMan realy dug it.

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:33:18 +0000

Doug, it’s my pleasure to know that I have done some small useful thing for the sanity of my readers.

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 04:53:56 +0000

Y’know– I think you saved my life. I saw “Sunshine” at the L.A. Film Festival on Sunday, and the only thing that kept me from being outright rude to the point of throwing stuff during the screening was your brilliant line “…the whole car-full of clowns is on a one-way ticket to flambé,” which kept me chuckling inwardly even as Boyle & Co.’s homage to ineptitude burned away my last nerve. So thank you. That’s all.

By: Purple Dragon

Purple Dragon — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 04:27:54 +0000

Yous should review terrible films more often, Reverend – that was a scream.

For some reason I like all the old good scifi films, like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (“Klaatu barada nikto!”) and “Forbidden Planet.” The effects and science is off, but they at least have decents plots. And I mean, Forbidden Planet is a Freudian remake of Shakespeare’s “THe Tempest.” How can you not love that?

Did they really refer to ‘packet data’? That’s awful.

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:54:13 +0000

evenstar: I'd recommend waiting till Sunshine comes out on DVD, and then spending the money on renting 2001 again instead. Oh, and thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll seek enlightenment elsewhere...

By: evenstar

evenstar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:43:22 +0000

Thanks for the heads up Rev. Since science fiction’s one of my favourite genres, I’ll avoid that one like the plague. (I’ve already been suckered by the others you mention.) Since one good turn deserves another – here’s a tip from us in exchange… Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:00:41 +0000

Joey: Yes, sadly this indeed the inference. Although don't expect to come away with any degree of enlightenment - the filmmakers have used the old trick of 'If we just make it all obscure and baffling, with lots of tricksy CGI and some shots of people in awe, then the audience will invest it with all kinds of profundity'. Unfortunately they forgot that the only time this ever really worked was the first time it was done, and that was under the guidance of a Master. Casey: Not trivia at all. The thing that bugs me about people doing science fiction badly is that they seem to think it is appropriate to dispense with all the laws of good sense under the guise that it is 'speculative' anyway, so what the hell. A kind of 'anything goes' mentality. Really good science fiction is always based squarely in reality, as it must be for an audience to have any identification with it. From that basis, it is able to make leaps of insight. I look at a film like Sunshine and I am truly bewildered by the filmmakers' appalling lack of understanding, cavalier treatment and sheer ignorance of the field. I mean, what do they think when they watch films like 2001, Solaris and Alien? Do they even remotely understand why these pieces worked? (Well, that's rhetorical I guess - they plainly don't). jmf: I'm here to serve.

By: jedimacfan

jedimacfan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 01:57:26 +0000

Now that i do most of my blog reading from the comfort of my mobile phone during my down time, i’d like to point out that few things make me laugh and bring as much entertainment on my cell phone as TCA on a 320×240 screen featuring a good rant.

By: Casey

Casey — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:01:23 +0000

Children of Men was more artsy than anything else, but what made it interesting were these incredibly long steadicam shots that last for ever, and everytim anything remotely intense happens in the film, there is no music. The movie is chaotic and violent, but not gory, and the lack of reassuring resolve-laced crescendo when emotional things happen (several lovable characters die), and the unbroken shots (with no CGI) add to your overall sense of being in a warzone. Blackhawk Down does roughly the same thing, only not as well. Long comment, stupid trivia, I’m sorry.

By: Joey Polanski

Joey Polanski — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:44:47 +0000

I dont think you said this in yer review, but Im kinda gettin — from yer refrence to The Black Hole and also from the pitchr from th film — that maybe theres sompm in here suggestin that flyin into th sun might somhow involve sompm othr than … you know … burnin up & dyin.

As I look at that pitchr, I keep hearin

Lehhhhhht th sun – shiiiiiine,

Lehhhhhhht th sun – shine in,

The su – unnnn – shine innnnnn!

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:32:32 +0000

The tide didn’t even come in for this one.

By: nursemyra

nursemyra — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:27:39 +0000

reverend: I have one pertinent word for you “tide goes in, tide goes out” oops, that’s more than one word but you and I know it’s pertinent

By: anaglyph

anaglyph — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 06:17:33 +0000

Jam: I am kinda curious to know what would happen if you stuck it in a bank vault…

Casey: ID. I want to see that. Sounds great, especially the Vikings. And the boobs.

In fact, there is a really funny science fiction story called The Technicolor Time Machine by Harry Harrison that is begging to be made into a movie. It does involve Vikings and boobs. And whisky. I heard that Mel Gibson had the property for a while and that it was likely to go into production, but who knows when Mel is concerned.

I haven’t seen Children of Men, but the trailer looked OK. Friends who’ve seen it were disppointed though.

Joey: It sounds like some Boy Scouts might make a better choice to lead the mission then. They certainly couldn’t do worse than this lot.

By: Joey Polanski

Joey Polanski — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:00:14 +0000

You realy need some lessons on how to watch a film, Revrend.

This souns to me EXACKLY how a mission in space woud proceed if a countrys space program simply omittd a trivial direcktive like, say, that space-travel involves, like, dangers that fokes, like, have to be prepard for.

By: Casey

Casey — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:47:16 +0000

I HATE CGI. Well, noticable CGI. And noises. And soundtracks. Such crutches. You might have also added, “if you hear music..” to your list of distractions. Being a musician, I can tell when someone’s just laying out bullshit for you to hear or a recognizable song so your brain feels more comfy.

This is why I want to make my own SciFi movie. I’m going to call it ID and it’s all about how the universe is formed by whooshy noises and constantly crescendoing scores. Then it’s wiped out by silence. And Vikings. And boobs.

You should consider reviewing it when it comes out.

Oh, and by the way, have you seen Children of Men?

By: Radioactive Jam

Radioactive Jam — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:38:49 +0000

After I take ownership of the sun, I'll make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again.