Are we going to see more "Spielberg revivalism?"

[Prefect]

By "all movies" do you actually mean "like, 4 movies"?

He did do Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. What a stupid pile of well shot shit that was. I didn't see Rintin or War Horse but his recent stuff is very uninspired.

 

[Bob Gray]

He did do Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. What a stupid pile of well shot shit that was. I didn't see Rintin or War Horse but his recent stuff is very uninspired.

uhhhh...so? Crystal Skull wasnt about a single parent family where the parents didn't believe the children.

I think something you're not taking into account is that Spielberg can seamlessly move between commercial fare and and more dark, artistic films. Something like Munich is completely different than Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Lets be real here, when you're making a 200 million dollar budget movie, it's not gonna be taking any big narrative risks, whether you're Speilberg or Jim Jarmusch. Spielberg is a virtuoso and can do either one expertly. That doesn't mean he bats 1000 or never has a misfire.

 

[Guestx]

He did do Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. What a stupid pile of well shot shit that was. I didn't see Rintin or War Horse but his recent stuff is very uninspired.

I'll agree that every film hasn't been a masterpiece. Indy IV and A.I. were both pretty disappointing.

 

[Guestx]

Something like Munich is completely different than Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Munich was perhaps his last truly GREAT film, depending on how you feel about Lincoln.

 

[JSN]

I don't think it's accurate to say Stranger Things is some distillation of Spielburg's essence. ET crosses over the most, Close Encounters even less, and everything else, not much at all.

Stranger Things is to 80's teen thrillers what... Drive is to 80's teen thrillers. Or what Once Upon a Time in the West is to old westerns or Kill Bill is to Kung Fu movies- a loving, elevated, modernized tribute.

 

[fightingrabbit]

I haven't seen Super 8 or Stranger Things.

But just when you think you've pinned Spielberg down to a style, he reinvents things with Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan.

Anything that results in more movies being like Spielberg's is fine with me.

How did you just never watch Super 8? It's kind of a problematic movie in some ways, but everyone should watch it at least once if only to see JJ Abrams (successfully) do his best Spielberg impression.

And you need to check out Stranger Things as well.

It's never been on any of the movie channels since its release, oddly. At this point I'll need to Amazon prime it or something

I don't see it as a must watch movie. I was really looking forward to it when it released, but was pretty let down. The movie was shot in a Spielberg-esque aesthetic. But it really had none of the heart and soul. The monster was just that, a monster.

 

[Guestx]

I don't see it as a must watch movie. I was really looking forward to it when it released, but was pretty let down. The movie was shot in a Spielberg-esque aesthetic. But it really had none of the heart and soul. The monster was just that, a monster.

I feel about Super 8 about the way I feel about Stranger Things: The parts with the monster are the least interesting. The most interesting part about both is simply the fun of seeing kids in the 80s run around being kids in the 80s.

For Super 8, I probably would've been happier if the whole movie would've been about the kids trying to make their short film. And with Stranger Things, instead of something horror/sci-fi related I would have rather seen these kids go off on a Goonies-esque adventure.

But alas, both are what they are, and I am still more positive both than I am negative. Since the focus here is Super 8, I'll just say this: In the areas where it's strong, it's VERY strong. And I think it's worth seeing for those strengths. You say it had no heart and soul, and while I would more or less agree in regard to the monster aspects, I thought there was a lot of chemistry between the kids. No, it wasn't on Spielberg's level, but when it comes to imitations it wasn't bad either.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

With movies like super 8 the monster is always a let down

They build and build the entire movie and when you finally see the monster its a giant spider or some shit

 

[Guestx]

With movies like super 8 the monster is always a let down

They build and build the entire movie and when you finally see the monster its a giant spider or some shit

Agreed. Though, when I ask myself, "Well what would you do instead?", all I can really do is shrug. Maybe I could come up with something if I thought really hard about it.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Agreed. Though, when I ask myself, "Well what would you do instead?", all I can really do is shrug. Maybe I could come up with something if I thought really hard about it.

Yeah I would just stay away from the long buildup

Show the monster early.

Dont hide the monster in a monster movie

Godzilla does a lot of that crap. Really put a sour taste in my mouth

 

[Guestx]

Yeah I would just stay away from the long buildup

Show the monster early.

Dont hide the monster in a monster movie

Godzilla does a lot of that crap. Really put a sour taste in my mouth

Well that's the Jaws formula, which interestingly enough brings us back to Spielberg.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

The new king kong trailer is an example of doing it right

They showed a lot of Kong

I like that

 

[Irenaeus]

Jaws was special.

Schindler's List is the best he has done but he can get away with string pulling in that because it is about a tragedy. This is his best piece of work by far. The movie is start to finish special.

Saving Private Ryan is visually the most impressive WW2 movie ever made. Nothing comes close. Character development? They might as well had cardboard cutouts. I like the movie but I know what it is not. It is nothing epic like Lawrence of Arabia or Paths to Glory. Or has remotely as much character development as When Trumpets Fade. The Thin Red Line, which I think was released the same year, is something special in comparison.

You get a like for mentioning both When Trumpets Fade and Paths of Glory. Both deserve more time in the spotlight these days.

 

[Guestx]

The new king kong trailer is an example of doing it right

They showed a lot of Kong

I like that

I'm probably gonna get some shit for this, but just based on that trailer I think I'm going to prefer the Peter Jackson film. Then again, I think Jackson's film is pretty underrated.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

I'm probably gonna get some shit for this, but just based on that trailer I think I'm going to prefer the Peter Jackson film. Then again, I think Jackson's film is pretty underrated.

I was working at Edwards Cinemas when King Kong came out and everyone who I worked with showed up after closing and we did a screening of the movie before the weekend

We all smoked a crap ton of weed during it lol. Even my manager was smoking up.

Good times

 

[Guestx]

I was working at Edwards Cinemas when King Kong came out and everyone who I worked with showed up after closing and we did a screening of the movie before the weekend

We all smoked a crap ton of weed during it lol. Even my manager was smoking up.

Good times

That does sound like a doozy.

 

[Kneepocalypse]

It won't last. The cyclical effect of creative inspiration is already showing signs moreso of coming from the late 90's. This means we gon see crazy shit inspired by movies like The Matrix and Se7en.

 

[loyalyolayal]

The best way I have heard Spielberg described is the world's best director with no vision and bad taste. All of his movies are incredibly well shot but very formulaic. Single parent household. Family in crisis. Parent's don't believe me or wouldn't understand. Formula scene to pull heart strings. Spielberg seems perfectly content to make just a by the books, no risk "entertaining" movie.

This is my opinion on Disney/Pixar movies.

 

[Guestx]

It won't last. The cyclical effect of creative inspiration is already showing signs moreso of coming from the late 90's. This means we gon see crazy shit inspired by movies like The Matrix and Se7en.

How so? I can't say I've noticed. Then again, I think the 90s were very similar to today in terms of films. Se7en could've come out today just as well as 20 years ago and I wouldn't have thought anything about it looking dated in any way. I actually think we've been in something of a holding pattern in terms of film style for about two decades now.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I'll agree that every film hasn't been a masterpiece. Indy IV and A.I. were both pretty disappointing.

I like A.I. quite a bit. I liked it much more than War of the Worlds, which as lesser Spielberg, is still pretty solid.

I'll gladly agree that Indiana Jones IV was a festering turd. The only good thing in that whole movie is that super long moving shot in the first few minutes in that warehouse where Indy meets Cate Blanchett.

I think where he gets too much of a pass from people is movies like Jurassic Park 2 (pointless uninspired cash grab) and Always (as ordinary as they come).