Official WTFDetroit Movie Review Thread

[Unibomber]

Dan in Real Life sucked. Wasn't that funny and I kept waiting for a voice-over to tell me "This movie was brought to you by Abercrombie & Fitch and L. L. Bean." It seemed a little too "cute" for all intents and purposes.

Saw American Gangster...pretty badass movie, starts a bit slow but gets a lot better as it goes along. Pretty compelling ending too.

[Big Swami]

Saw The Darjeeling Limited. Interesting movie. I admit that I really like Wes Anderson's movies for the most part. His movies have this theme where everything is hilariously banal - his characters are so disconnected from their own lives that they actually seem kind of dumb, and everyone seems unable to relate to one another, and hilarity ensues. But underneath it all is always a profound sadness.

This one was no different. WA's last movie (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou) was criticized for being a little too inscrutable - like, you couldn't really figure out what the point of the story was. The minor flaw with Darjeeling Limited is that it's exactly the opposite - the story is actually a little formulaic. There's a pivotal moment in the movie where the mood changes, and from that point you can pretty much predict what happens up to the end.

Still, the dynamic between the 3 actors is fantastic. Despite the fact that none of them look remotely like one another, their chemistry really makes you believe that they could be brothers. 3.5/5 stars.

[Fool]

I would like Wes Anderson to show a little range in any of the following catagories:

Mood
Cinematography
Theme
Casting
Title Font Selection
Dialogue

I like Wes Anderson's movie. Each time he's come out with it.

[MoTown]

Went to 21 over the weekend. It seemed very formulaic to me. I could see where the movie was going the entire time. It has a "twist" (what movie nowadays doesn't?) at the end, but like I said, it was very easy to see it coming.

I give it a C-.

[Glenn]

Went to [i]21[/] over the weekend. It seemed very formulaic to me. I could see where the movie was going the entire time. It has a "twist" (what movie nowadays doesn't?) at the end, but like I said, it was very easy to see it coming.

I give it a C-.

It's based on a true story, so that tends to handcuff the creativity of the screenwriter in most cases.

[Fool]

Since when?

[MoTown]

"Based on a true story" is the worst term to ever hit cinema.

300 was based on a true story.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based on a true story.

The actual likeness of the movie to the true events are this: There was a group of kids in college who figured out how to beat the blackjack system. That's it. They were a bunch of Asian kids who were in it for the thrill. It had nothing to do with paying for tuition.

Sorry about the mini-rant. It's just every preview that I see a "based on a true story" message come up, I feel like vomiting.

Make it a great day, Glenn.

[Glenn]

cynics

[Glenn]

So right before they go into the casino, maybe a giant bear should have attacked them or something.

[Big Swami]

I would like Wes Anderson to show a little range in any of the following catagories:

Mood

It's kind of hard to vary the mood in his movies, or else the sense of humor is kind of lost. But give the guy a little credit - the mood in this movie was pretty broken up by the big rescue scene.

Cinematography

He does have a tendency to set up every shot like it's a framed painting, but I find it neat.

Theme

Hey now, not all of his movies had a strong "dysfunctional family" theme. Although admittedly, even in Rushmore, we find out later in the movie that the reason these two jerks are so screwed up is because of their families.

Casting

Every small-time, semi-indie filmmaker tends to have a limited casting reach. But I agree, I would like to see one of his movies without a Wilson in it.

Title Font Selection

Oh come on. Now you're just being petty.

Dialogue

Not sure what you mean here. I don't find his dialogue to be boring at all. The dialogue for Royal Tenenbaum is pretty different from the dialogue for Chas Tenenbaum.

I like Wes Anderson's movie. Each time he's come out with it.

There's nothing wrong with a filmmaker who's got a distinctive style, as long as that style isn't horrible by itself. For instance, Kevin Smith has a distinctive style, but it's a horrible distinctive style. I easily recognize his movies by the awful high-school play dialogue and amateur porn camera work.