I'm the same way NL101. as my appreciation of film as an art form has increased as I've gotten older I've realized how poorly done a lot of movies are (especially in recent years). I pretty much stay away from "blockbuster" type films now, just because, with some exceptions of course, they are basically studio cash cows with almost little merit otherwise. I like to think that I'm a pretty good judge of what "good" movies are and that's made me very selective of what I see, especially in theaters. I'm able to see a movie now knowing before hand that I will most likely enjoy it and be able to appreciate it, and not have to waste my time on most of the garbage that Hollywood produces these days.

NL101: Basically everything bkey said is me too, before I would just go to see a movie to see if it matched to my liking of genre but now my whole perspective is changed on movies that I see, now I go in expecting to see a story adapted along a strategy. Most of the movies I liked before are still my favorites today but some that were my favorites before are not because I missed the that the actual plot to a movie didn't really have no purpose, but because then I only liked the visual effects and characters. Out of many directors i really respect James Cameron(not as a person, but as a great filmmaker), Tim Burton(Dark but knows what he does and knows a good story/plot), and Robert Zemeckis(Brings new things to the Heroic Journey and always surprisingly succeeds). There's more like Christopher Nolan, Andrew Adamson is one(not counting PC, because they didn't concentrate on a new hero, etc), Michael Apted (Which is why everyone should be excited for VDT), Jim Henson, and George Lucas.

It's directors like Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich, MCG who don't know how to tell a good story. All their movies are just action packed for action packed sake.

@ Shadow. *puts on film score collector cap for just a minute* Umm, actually the piece that Horner composed for the end is not what ended up in the film. He composed a very upbeat, heroic piece for when the Queen gets sucked out of the airlock, which sounded like something from Star Trek II. In Post, Cameron stuck the beginning of Bishops Countdown at the end for the scene.
*takes off cap* You can hear both versions on the Deluxe Edition album for Aliens. (yes, a bit of a product placement but hey, if they can do it in I, Robot why not here? )

I've been meaning to check out the Extended Cut for awhile, but have not gotten around to it. The cursing actually doesn't bother me too much in the film, except for all the F-words. Oh well, it's still a great film.

On Willow: If I remember correctly, it's that it was the first time CGI had been used for a transformation and showing the full transformation. Remember the bumbling sorcerer in Krull?

Ha! I didn't know that about the name of the head bad guy. That's great...

On Labyrinth: I also enjoyed the very surreal feel of the film, but the stiff acting just really brought my overall impression down a bit, plus the David Bowie songs. Heh, don't worry, Shadow. Your sudden outburst of singing was fine.
There is actually a small handful of musicals that I like, but most of them are definitely "musicals" not fantasy films with a sudden outburst of 80's pop.

Ah yes! The Dark Crystal and The Never Ending Story! How could I have forgotten those two!! I'll have to see if I can find them at the library or on youtube. I think after seeing those two I'll have seen most of the big 1980's fantasy films...

It's directors like Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich, MCG who don't know how to tell a good story. All their movies are just action packed for action packed sake.

I love how you mentioned these directors. I would add Brett Ratner to that list as well. All three are pretty awful, although McG's We Are Marshall is a pretty decent flick. They do have an audience though, which is unfortunate.

Or they'll hate the book because they didn't like the original way.

shameful people . Well I have to say with Tuck Everlasting, I like the movie better than the book .

It's pretty good the only thing wrong is the title. It should of been Return to Wonderland. You'll see why when you see it.

ok

but I haven't seen it in years and I'm pretty sure all the parts of it that thrilled me then I would find hopelessly sentimental now.

I just saw it last night and I was noticing how to some people parts of that movie would probably be cheesy but I myself am hopelessly sentimental . You wouldn't believe how much I cried last night (and this morning, thinking about it ).

"I'd die tomorrow just to spend one more night with you."
"I'll love you til the day I die Winnie Foster!"

If you're in an 80's fantasy mood you'll probably want to be checking out The Neverending Story, which I remember very fondly.

oh I saw that movie a few times, looong ago. I remember liking it alot, but I would always cry. Especially when

Spoiler

the horse drowns in the swamp of sadness or whatever

I pretty much stay away from "blockbuster" type films now, just because, with some exceptions of course, they are basically studio cash cows with almost little merit otherwise.

I have a soft spot for blockbusters. Reason being: they are very difficult films to make, but when a filmmaker does one right, it has universal appeal - drama, comedy, romance, adventure, etc all in one go. Most movies only focus on one of these genres - a true blockbuster crosses and blends all genres. (Just look at the quintessential example: Star Wars.) That's no easy feat to pull off. When a filmmaker succeeds at it (such as Chris Nolan with The Dark Knight) I think it's a bigger accomplishment than anyone gives it credit for. People tend to look down on films like this but there is a certain art to them that is not easy to perfect. (And no, people like Michael Bay have not come close to figuring it out. )

Oh there are definitely blockbusters that succeed and are excellent movies. The Dark Knight of course, last year's Star Trek, and the first Iron Man being some examples. But for each one of those movies we also get things like Transformers 2, Spider-Man 3, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine that are really nothing more than mindless entertainment.

Yeah I'm the same way with Tuck Everlasting the movie isn't very far away from the book but it a great adaptation. It just sort of bothered me how Jesse and Winnie both loved each other so much in the book that they didn't kiss but they did in the movie. They are so sweet and everlasting.

well in the book they didn't really love each other. She was 10 and he was 17. It would have been weird if they kissed . But I like the way they ended the movie better than the way they ended the book. Even though it's WAY sadder .

Yeah it's been eight years since I read the book and must have forgotten that. Thing is is that I watched the movie first before reading it.

bkey: I so love the new Star Trek movie as well, so good.

It is a very good movie. It was my first experience in the Star Trek universe, with the exception of watching reruns of the old 1960's series on television as a kid and I was blown away the first time I saw it in theaters. The story was captivating and the characters just came alive. I particularly enjoyed Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto (whom I had also seen on the t.v series Heroes) as Spock.

I'm very excited to see what J.J. Abrams has in store for the crew of the Enterprise in the sequel.

I know J.J. Abrams is genius. He's another one of my favorite directors and he is a fan of Narnia too. I was very surprised seeing Zachary taking on the role as Spock with him being so evil on Heroes and all. He is a very good actor! My other favorite was Chekov. "wiktor, viktor." lol!

I didn't know he was a Narnia fan. Very cool.

Oh yes, how could I forget about Chekov?
The whole crew was very fleshed out and did a great job. I very much enjoyed their interactions with one another. Bones McCoy and Scotty were fun characters too. The movie was also my introduction to Zoe Saldana (sp?), who of course was also in Avatar.

Scotty and Bones were awesome. I loved the little alien too.

I really enjoyed the new Star Trek movie as well. Great reboot for what was admittedly becoming a rather tired franchise.

In addition to Abrams, another Lost alumnus on this film was composer Michael Giacchino. His score here - and in the TV show - is awesome.