Cain? It's not just CGI fest is it?

[QUOTE=Cain]I just saw War of the Worlds.

My hands are shaking and I have a nervous tension in my stomach. My sinuses are still hot with backed-up tears of induced panic. I am exhibiting the symptoms of minor shell-shock. Not in any form of recent history has a movie affected me this way. Every Holocaust movie repulses me but doesn't invoke the kind of disbelief at the action on the screen as this one did. This movie rivals 28 Days Later in portraying mankind without its assurance of survival, and thus behaving at its worst. The first hour of it was one of the most harrowing experiences I have ever had watching a movie, and I came close to becoming totally, physically upset at at least five points. The scene where the mob attacks their car is unbelievably distressing. I couldn't believe the brutality of what was going on.

What the F[size=2]U[/size]CK is Roger Ebert thinking giving this only two and a half stars?[/QUOTE]

I'll catch it on DVD. I'm not exactly a fan of Tom Cruise. Never was. And frankly, I'm still being petty and irritable about the fact that War of the World shoved Howl's Moving Castle out of theaters after only two weeks of screening.

[QUOTE=Cain]I just saw War of the Worlds.

My hands are shaking and I have a nervous tension in my stomach. My sinuses are still hot with backed-up tears of induced panic. I am exhibiting the symptoms of minor shell-shock. Not in any form of recent history has a movie affected me this way. Every Holocaust movie repulses me but doesn't invoke the kind of disbelief at the action on the screen as this one did. This movie rivals 28 Days Later in portraying mankind without its assurance of survival, and thus behaving at its worst. The first hour of it was one of the most harrowing experiences I have ever had watching a movie, and I came close to becoming totally, physically upset at at least five points. The scene where the mob attacks their car is unbelievably distressing. I couldn't believe the brutality of what was going on.

What the F[size=2]U[/size]CK is Roger Ebert thinking giving this only two and a half stars?[/QUOTE]

so I assume it's really good?

[QUOTE=Mister Blue Sky]so I assume it's really good?[/QUOTE]

Heh, yeah, I couldn't really tell from that whether all the things you described made it a good or bad movie for you.

[QUOTE=Steerpike]We're still male. Understanding what women are really looking for and liking breasts are not mutually exclusive.[/QUOTE]

Breasts are my favorite thing on the planet. If I had DDs I'd sit in my room and play with them ALL DAY.

/late to the superficial quality discussion

[QUOTE]Cain? It's not just CGI fest is it?[/QUOTE]

No, no, no. No WAY. Spielberg uses the fuzzing techniques used on Saving Private Ryan so that the film isn't glossy at all. It looks unbelievably real and frightening.

And to clarify: I loved it. It's probably the best movie about a hostile alien invasion since the original War of the Worlds. But it wasn't much fun to watch because of how distressing it is. I will still probably see it again, however.

[QUOTE=Cain]I just saw War of the Worlds.

My hands are shaking and I have a nervous tension in my stomach. My sinuses are still hot with backed-up tears of induced panic. I am exhibiting the symptoms of minor shell-shock. Not in any form of recent history has a movie affected me this way. Every Holocaust movie repulses me but doesn't invoke the kind of disbelief at the action on the screen as this one did. This movie rivals 28 Days Later in portraying mankind without its assurance of survival, and thus behaving at its worst. The first hour of it was one of the most harrowing experiences I have ever had watching a movie, and I came close to becoming totally, physically upset at at least five points. The scene where the mob attacks their car is unbelievably distressing. I couldn't believe the brutality of what was going on.

What the F[size=2]U[/size]CK is Roger Ebert thinking giving this only two and a half stars?[/QUOTE]

Dammit...its either this or Batman.

Might as well catch both :D

I wanted to see this more though...looks like a freaking great movie.

I guess I'll have to go see this then. I loved the old War of the Worlds. I'll probably end up loving this one.

Alex, don't be silly. Tom Cruise is a prick but he does a great job in this movie. It is NOT a movie to wait for DVD. It needs to be understood and processed in the very loud, amplified movie theater environment. Your enjoyment will only be less if you watch this on TV.

EDIT: A disclaimer though. Anyone that would find a hysterical little girl (as in screaming fits and crying fits) amusing rather than upsetting in the context of complete destruction of her home and the people around her would not appreciate this movie's effects the way I have.

The old War of the Worlds is incredible but this is totally different. Independence Day ripped most of the original conventions of the WOTW as much as possible, so this one reminded me of a crossbreed between Alien, 28 Days Later, and the original Dawn of the Dead.

Am I the only one who doesn't hate Tom Cruise now?

I'd probably find it amusing if I don't get into the movie. Like when I saw Life is Beautiful, my friend told me the ending, and so I was mad and thought I wasn't going to get into, but I actually did, and felt sad rather then laughing at what happened.

EDIT-D[SIZE=2]a[/SIZE]mn.. I was trying to hold this post long enough to get the 20,000. :upset:

[QUOTE=Hrothgar]I'd probably find it amusing if I don't get into the movie. Like when I saw Life is Beautiful, my friend told me the ending, and so I was mad and thought I wasn't going to get into, but I actually did, and felt sad rather then laughing at what happened.

EDIT-D[SIZE=2]a[/SIZE]mn.. I was trying to hold this post long enough to get the 20,000. :upset:[/QUOTE]

I win, you lose. :)

And I don't hate Tom Cruise.

[QUOTE=Cain]so this one reminded me of a crossbreed between Alien, 28 Days Later, and the original Dawn of the Dead.[/QUOTE]

Explain this a little more please.

[QUOTE=Hrothgar]Explain this a little more please.[/QUOTE]

Alien had the total and utter terror of being exposed to a dangerous alien presence with no warning, no hope of defense, and quick, sudden death. It was a very dark film about Alien hostility that derived more fear from how the humans reacted to it rather than the Alien itself. 28 Days Later was a human nature study of what mankind would be like after a post-apolcalypse. In addition, it showed a fantastic portrayal of ordinarilly populated zones being totally abandoned with all the evidence of mass hysteria and destruction lying on the ground with the paper, the ash, and the ominous dead bodies. The original Dawn of the Dead showed a similar post-apocalyptic atmosphere with true terror, and combined this with fantastic human leads, whom we care about and who do not succumb to the hysteria around them. There are also marauders and surviving humans who react to mankind's plight with the most banal behavior. And it does another great job of showing locations with the evidence of mass hysteria all around.

In essence, this is the best portrayal of mankind's panicked-mob mentality one could hope to show, in addition to a great portrayal of the end of the world scenario. It's very upsetting and very eerie, as Tom Cruise and his family travel the countryside, with alien forces everywhere they go and panicked civilians running away to no place. And like the zombie movies, there is never an explanation for the alien presence, never any information on how to defeat them--nobody knows anything except that they're dying and that they don't want to, and will do anything to stop themselves from dying.

[QUOTE=madeyadams]No. I hate Tom Cruise more than I hate women drivers.

Wait, what? Anyways, point is. I hate him too. He's a douche. Anyone who believes in "scientology" is completely retarded.[/QUOTE]

I think Lunch means that he likes Tom Cruise.

[QUOTE=madeyadams]No. I hate Tom Cruise more than I hate women drivers.

Wait, what? Anyways, point is. I hate him too. He's a douche. Anyone who believes in "scientology" is completely retarded.[/QUOTE]

Just because he's a prick in person doesn't make him a bad actor. One could argue that Russel Crowe is the biggest ******* ever, but does that make his movies bad? No.

Scientology is indeed ridiculous, but the quality of his performance in this movie and many others cannot be questioned.

Wow Cain, yeah tomarrow, I'll have to go see it. Also, can someone enlighten me to what Scientology really is I know Tom Cruise and a few other actors are, but I have no idea what the beliefs are.

I really don't care what Tom Cruise does or says to other people about "scientology". I think he makes at least decent movies that are entertaining. You can enjoy the art form without enjoying their personality.

I enjoy him in movies, but I can't say I'd want to hang out with the guy. What is this scientology, by the way?

Scientology's a religion. John Travolta's a scientologist, isn't he?

Anyway, I like Tom Cruise just fine. Right before WotW came out, when he was cruising (pun!) the light night talk circuit, he was all right, and actually seemed like a down-to-earth personable guy. Then I saw bits of his interviews with Matt Lauer and started thinking he's kind of an a-hole, but just before 10:30 at night. He's cool the rest of the time.

[QUOTE=lunch998]I really don't care what Tom Cruise does or says to other people about "scientology". I think he makes at least decent movies that are entertaining. You can enjoy the art form without enjoying their personality.[/QUOTE]

His little rantings are just another reason I don't like him. Personally, I was never impressed with anything he's ever done.

[QUOTE=cjborton]I enjoy him in movies, but I can't say I'd want to hang out with the guy. What is this scientology, by the way?[/QUOTE]

Picture sci-fi nerds crossed with Christian Scientists. It's a gross over-simplification, but not too far from the truth.

I don't have a problem with people that never cared for his movies in the first place, but this recent wave of everyone hating Tom Cruise is annoying.

Woah, this is what urbandictionary says.. but because it's urbandictionary I'm not sure about all the truth:
A cult founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. There core beliefs are as follows:

This area of the galaxy was once ruled by an alien warlord named Xenu. 65 million years ago his empire was overpopulated horribly, so to combat the overpopulation he had trillions of citizens called in for psychiatric evalutations and tax audits, where they were given paralytic drugs, loaded onto space planes, and flown to Planet Teegeeack. Once on this planet, their bodies were stacked in huge piles around volcanoes, while atom bombs were dropped into these volcanos, instantly killing trillions of galactic citizens.

To keep these people from reincarnating in the rest of the galaxy, Xenu set up a special trap. Powerful force-fields kept their souls (called "Thetans" in Scientology jargon) from escaping, and these thetans were then shown special holographic movies about the various lies they are supposed to believe, with characters like Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha. Over time, these thetans began to believe Xenu's lies about false gods, and began to reincarnate on Teegeeack (but the thetans called this world "Earth"). When intelligent life appeared on Teegeeack, thousands or millions of "Thetans" cling to every native soul (er, "thetan") and fill it's head with nonsensical thoughs and irrational beliefs.

The key idea of Scientology is to avoid tax officials and psychiatrists at all costs, while paying the church a large amount of money for special "counseling" (called "auditing" in their jargon) to help you reach a special enlightened state called "Clear" where you telepathically communicate with these "thetans" clinging to you and force them out of your body, and rid yourself of evil Xenu's influence.

(By the way, most Scientologists don't know this, like the Mystery Cults of the Greco-Roman world, Scientology doles it's doctrine out in tiny doses to it's new recruits, and tells the public next to nothing about what it believes. You don't hear that whole story until you reach a special rank in their group called "OT3" for "Operating Thetan 3". Their doctrine holds that if this got out, the Thetans in people would revolt at hearing the truth and people would get sick and die possibly just by hearing this story, which of course leads people who aren't Scientologists who hear this story to tell it to others and watch them not die or get ill from it.)

[QUOTE=Hrothgar]Woah, this is what urbandictionary says.. but because it's urbandictionary I'm not sure about all the truth:
A cult founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. There core beliefs are as follows:

This area of the galaxy was once ruled by an alien warlord named Xenu. 65 million years ago his empire was overpopulated horribly, so to combat the overpopulation he had trillions of citizens called in for psychiatric evalutations and tax audits, where they were given paralytic drugs, loaded onto space planes, and flown to Planet Teegeeack. Once on this planet, their bodies were stacked in huge piles around volcanoes, while atom bombs were dropped into these volcanos, instantly killing trillions of galactic citizens.

To keep these people from reincarnating in the rest of the galaxy, Xenu set up a special trap. Powerful force-fields kept their souls (called "Thetans" in Scientology jargon) from escaping, and these thetans were then shown special holographic movies about the various lies they are supposed to believe, with characters like Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha. Over time, these thetans began to believe Xenu's lies about false gods, and began to reincarnate on Teegeeack (but the thetans called this world "Earth"). When intelligent life appeared on Teegeeack, thousands or millions of "Thetans" cling to every native soul (er, "thetan") and fill it's head with nonsensical thoughs and irrational beliefs.

The key idea of Scientology is to avoid tax officials and psychiatrists at all costs, while paying the church a large amount of money for special "counseling" (called "auditing" in their jargon) to help you reach a special enlightened state called "Clear" where you telepathically communicate with these "thetans" clinging to you and force them out of your body, and rid yourself of evil Xenu's influence.

(By the way, most Scientologists don't know this, like the Mystery Cults of the Greco-Roman world, Scientology doles it's doctrine out in tiny doses to it's new recruits, and tells the public next to nothing about what it believes. You don't hear that whole story until you reach a special rank in their group called "OT3" for "Operating Thetan 3". Their doctrine holds that if this got out, the Thetans in people would revolt at hearing the truth and people would get sick and die possibly just by hearing this story, which of course leads people who aren't Scientologists who hear this story to tell it to others and watch them not die or get ill from it.)[/QUOTE]


:lol: Sweet, I want to be one....not. ^ That + seeing Tom on Oprah makes me wonder abuot his sanity. Oh well though, as long as he keeps making decent films.

[QUOTE=lunch998]I don't have a problem with people that never cared for his movies in the first place, but this recent wave of everyone hating Tom Cruise is annoying.[/QUOTE]

I know how to separate the person from the art. I like a couple of Jim Carrey's movies, even though he's a douchebag in real life. I like Last Action Hero, even though Schwarzenegger is a misogynist.

But I never really liked Cruise to begin with. Now I hear him spouting off on Scientology, denouncing anyone who disagrees with him, and just want him to shut his noise tube and make a decent movie.

IO AM ao piaaws! I went uito a bpub, and Trivium wqas playing! SAi we out Maiden and Sevnefold intoksm theoep sausubkbozx¬¬`

I definitely don't believe that's the definition of Scientology... I'll check the Wiki.

[QUOTE=Steerpike]I know how to separate the person from the art. I like a couple of Jim Carrey's movies, even though he's a douchebag in real life. I like Last Action Hero, even though Schwarzenegger is a misogynist.

But I never really liked Cruise to begin with. Now I hear him spouting off on Scientology, denouncing anyone who disagrees with him, and just want him to shut his noise tube and make a decent movie.[/QUOTE]

I just said I have no problem with people like you who don't like his movies and never liked him in the first place.

[QUOTE=trev913]I definitely don't believe that's the definition of Scientology... I'll check the Wiki.[/QUOTE]

As far as I know, Scientologists [i]do[/i] believe we're descended from aliens.

You know, I recall reading about how in the mid-twentieth century, the cult of choice for celebrities was LeVey's Church of Satan. Whatever happened to that?

[QUOTE=lunch998]I just said I have no problem with people like you who don't like his movies and never liked him in the first place.[/QUOTE]

I know. There was a point I was trying to make there, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.

[QUOTE=Steerpike]As far as I know, Scientologists [i]do[/i] believe we're descended from aliens.

You know, I recall reading about how in the mid-twentieth century, the cult of choice for celebrities was LeVey's Church of Satan. Whatever happened to that?[/QUOTE]
I'll take Satanists over Scientologist any day.

[QUOTE=ThE_B.P.C]IO AM ao piaaws! I went uito a bpub, and Trivium wqas playing! SAi we out Maiden and Sevnefold intoksm theoep sausubkbozx¬¬`[/QUOTE]
Heh Heh. All the need is a 'Wpah !' and it would be the epitome of drunken posting.

Where is Jelle, actually? I haven't talked to him for ages :(