Same reason we walked out of Quantum of Solace mid-movie. Well, except it wasn't even vaguely good in any way.
This could be a great movie, I don't know; the critics are certainly raving about it. The reason I can't say is because I spent the last hour trying not to throw up and so I'm going to give it ZERO FUCKING STARS BECAUSE OF THE NAUSEA-INDUCING COCKFAGGOT JITTER-CAM.
Seriously, starting about halfway through I thought I'd gotten food poisoning from dinner and was already planning to spend several hours undergoing projectile exgurgitation. The only reason I didn't leave was because I was in the middle of my row and I didn't want to make anybody miss something good (there was a very tense scene in an IED factory). I even grabbed a cab instead of taking the bus home because I was so certain that I had less than a half-hour to make it home and I doubted I could hold it in on the 10-minute walk that is the last leg of my journey. 45 minutes after getting out the theater I'm typing this with nary a fucking stomach pang so it's pretty clear that it was the cinema verite not the hot bar entree. I am officially christing sick and fucking tired of this camera style and if I ever meet a director who uses or has used this wankery I will put that crotchstain into the fucking ER.
All that said, I have vague memories of it being very goddamned good. The Ralph Fiennes scene was incredible. If it comes to your town and you aren't susceptible to Cloverfield tummy you should check it out. As for YOU, Hollywood, you are fucking on notice.
Last edited by oudeis; 19th Jul 2009 at 02:35.
Same reason we walked out of Quantum of Solace mid-movie. Well, except it wasn't even vaguely good in any way.
I find the shaky cam much more tolerable on a small screen, which is incredibly obvious when you think about it. Whenever I hear about films like Cloverfield, I make a point of never seeing it on a big screen. Which incidentally almost always translates to not paying for the thing...
Did you guys see 'The Kingdom'? That was one of the more extreme ones I've seen in the cinema. To some extent the irritation factor is it's happening in scenes where it's completely unnecessary. Action and car chases; sure. Fights where it's more down and dirty than cool; yeah ok. Lecture on forensic evidence: mmmmm no.
That was an somewhat interesting flick too. I generally don't have a big problem with the method, but sometimes it's just style over substance (that and listening to total wankers talking about " really trying to find the energy in the shot" over and over again on commentaries and so forth has turned me off it lately. So what you're saying is your acting is crap, story; crap, dialogue; crap, music; crap, scenery..etc and you have to substitute beating up people's vision tracking in order to stimulate your audience. Good work there)
I'm a bit sad that you didnt like the movie dude; I caught this a couple of weeks ago and loved every second of it. My only complain was that it was a tad bit long and got a bit convaluted with its plot - but overall i thought it was up there with the best Iraq War movies ive watched.
Shaky-cam doesnt bother me that much though but is a shame you let it get to you to destroy the movie experience.
You did not even enjoy the opening "bomb" bit? I thought that was masterfully done and very tense...
I'm very much looking forward to this film. I've always thought Kathryn Bigelow to be a little underrated so it's good to see her new film is getting raves. Some of her output has been patchy but she certainly has talent and is much better at directing action than Bay and his ilk. Point Break might have a daft plot but the action sequences are brilliant.
I agree 100%. Fuck camera shake. Camera shake is useful when you're simulating ACTUAL SHAKING. But telling the cinematographer to violently shake the camera in every battle scene, even if the characters are all staying in cover or simply running, because you lack any sort of subtlety in your delivery is not helping.
I'd very much second the comment about shakycam on TV vs shakycam at the cinema. I actually quite like the style (provided it fits the material) but I saw the first two Bourne movies on TV. When I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum at the cinema, it did throw me a lot more and it took about half an hour for me to get used to the camera work. I enjoyed the film a lot more (not in spite but also because of the way it was filmed) when I then watched it again on TV.
This is the one about bomb disposal in iraq?
Thought this was released ages ago. I thought it was very good, though the SAS scene was a bit weak.