Hmm. It's sounds like the finest party I can imagine getting paid to go to.

Mal ,'Shindig'


Buffista Movies 3: Panned and Scanned  

A place to talk about movies--Old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.


Sean K - Jul 17, 2004 10:41:51 am PDT #785 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty

Se7en distrurbed me like Angel Heart disturbed me, which I guess means they both did their job.

What's so impressive to me about Se7en is that it is frequently touted as an extremely violent movie, which is untrue. There are exactly two instance of on-screen violence in the movie, and they are both very tame.

The closest the movie comes to that is some not very graphic hints of dead bodies and crime scenes. Even those are tame, and much more is suggested than is shown.

What causes people to come away thinking it's a very violent or graphic film is that in all these scenes of the aftermath of intense violence, Pitt and Freeman are completely undisturbed by what is, to the rest of us, very disturbing. This sets up a jarring cognitive dissonance for many viewers, insisting that they fill in the blanks.

There's a great story that Fincher relates on the commentary to Se7en, where he talks about a woman coming up to him at a party and brow beating him for "showing everybody the woman's head in the box at the end."

He tried to explain to her that she was very mistaken, that they never actually show her head in the box (and they don't), but the woman was having none of that -- she knew what she'd seen.

So the Shyamalan expose was a hoax.

Not to pick on you, but you honestly thought otherwise? This is the same network that ran a "documentary" about the film students who got lost in the woods, which the "true story" of Blair Witch Project was based on.

I knew from the moment they started running adds for that Shyamalan "expose" that it was a hoax.


Polter-Cow - Jul 17, 2004 11:00:32 am PDT #786 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

In an odd coincidence, I passed a mini-yard sale where a guy is selling his single-disc DVD of Seven for five bucks. I'm tempted to buy it, but there are zero extras.


Sean K - Jul 17, 2004 11:05:50 am PDT #787 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty

I'm tempted to buy it, but there are zero extras.

Nah, if your going to get Se7en on DVD, pick up the New Line Platinum two disk set.

It's got great commentary from Finch, Freeman and Pitt on one track, Finch, the DP and the Production Designer, and one from Finch, wri9ter Andrew Kevin Walker and author Richard Dyer where they talk about genre, the look and structure of the film, and their presentation of evil.

Plus there's a whole other commentary by Fincher, Dyer, Sound Designner Ren Klyce, and composer Howard Shore on the sound design/music of the film, and how that effects the mood of the picture.

It's some great commentary.


Astarte - Jul 17, 2004 11:10:14 am PDT #788 of 10001
Not having has never been the thing I've regretted most in my life. Not trying is.

I have to say that SciFi doc smelled like a hoax to me from the beginning. I've been watching their corp hijinks from the outside for a while, and it seemed like the natural extension of their skating up to the edge marketing style.

Stupid, tasteless, and hopefully earning them a bite in the corporate ass, but completely in line with expectations.


Polter-Cow - Jul 17, 2004 11:14:28 am PDT #789 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

Yeah, the Fight Club single-disc edition at least has all four commentary tracks, so I'm okay with it. One day, I want to get the second disc, with all the behind-the-scenes stuff.


DXMachina - Jul 17, 2004 12:30:21 pm PDT #790 of 10001
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

Not to pick on you, but you honestly thought otherwise?

I totally assumed it was a hoax.


Jessica - Jul 17, 2004 1:01:33 pm PDT #791 of 10001
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?

Anyone want Ned Kelly on DVD? First person to email me gets it.

[Aaaand it's gone!]


Consuela - Jul 17, 2004 1:05:24 pm PDT #792 of 10001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix

I totally assumed it was a hoax.

I didn't, although I assumed that the marketing was blowing whatever "scoop" they had completely out of proportion. Which is certainly par for the course with the SFC folks.

Bait-and-switch? Sci-Fi Channel? Never.

rassinfrassin two-year commitment for Farscape my eye


bon bon - Jul 17, 2004 1:48:48 pm PDT #793 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.

We talked a little about that doc being a viral marketing thing at the end of the last movie thread.


beekaytee - Jul 17, 2004 2:04:12 pm PDT #794 of 10001
Compassionately intolerant

This is me...out of the loop.

I missed the end of the last movie thread (must. visit. more. often.) and I don't actually have a tv, so all my news comes from the 'net and well...Buffistas! Never saw the SciFi promos, which might have given me a whiff of fraud.

I think my 'sheesh' meter is calibrated so high, I don't doubt anyone who says they want/intend to trash someone else, regardless of the veracity of their claims.

I wasn't thinking anything about the 'sekrit', only that someone wanting to make a buck would be willing to exploit a successful person. The fact that M. was involved just makes me sad. Bad Choices.