OT: An hour and a half Ill never get back

p@mast3rs wrote on 12/21/2004, 9:33 PM

I just got done watching Napolean Dynamite and I must say, what in the blue hell was someone thinking when they not only wrote this movie but filmed it as well? Was there even a point to the storyline other than the kid is the biggest nerd ever? Now the frustrating part is this kid is probably a millionaire for doing complete crap.

The only bright spot I took from this movie was the soundtrack and the fact that if my techniques are done properly and I have even a remotely decent plot and can film a story without leaving the viewer wondering "what the *&^%" for the entire movie, I just may make it afterall in this line of work. And if I dont, the sad thing is that Ill have gotten my ass kicked by some kid who knows nothing about writing a competent and coherent storyline.

Sorry for venting but watching some of these no talent hacks get all of this success irritates me.

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scissorfighter wrote on 12/23/2004, 5:49 AM

A little late, but I'll give ND a thumbs up as well. True, there's really no plot. But it was definately good for a few laughs. And far better than the mass-market junk spewed out by the Hollywood green machine on a daily basis. I look at this film, done for $300-400k by some independent guys with quirky humor who wanted to make a film probably because they love filmmaking, and compare it to a multimillion-dollar epic (like "Elf") made by some giant corporation because they want to make a buck. Have you seen Elf? Now there's a piece of trash, and it cost millions. ND leaves it in the dust, and was made for a fraction of the cost. But, I'm not going to complain any more than that because even though Elf doesn't appeal to me, I couldn't do a better job. So I'll withold the armchair quarterbacking.

And note the MTV didn't finance the production of this film. They only distributed it. Like any distributor, they saw a potential for profit with something that appeals to their target audience. But it wasn't "made" by MTV.

Pat complains that the movie is filmed in an unprofessional manner and that "Throughout the movie, you can see boom mics and really crappy camera zooms (like the consumer models do.)". But a few posts later, states that "Great movies arent about filming, framing, effects, etc...they are about one thing...great writing and story telling".

If it's not about filming, framing, and effects, then who cares about the boom mics? I'll conceede that ND also lacks a good story, but there's definately a level of creativity behind it that the vast majority of reviewers and audiences are recognizing.

Rednroll wrote on 12/23/2004, 7:30 AM

Rique, Thanks for those links. I read about 90% of the first review. The first paragraph pretty much summed up Mulholland Drive when I watched it.

"two hours and 25 minutes of macabre thrills, highly charged erotica and indelible images. But it's also confusing. Bits and pieces of plot dribble out; characters appear and disappear; the film takes an incomprehensible turn two-thirds of the way through; and there seem to be three or four disparate story lines that have virtually nothing to do with one another."

See there 2 hours and 25 minutes I'll never get back :-)

p@mast3rs wrote on 12/23/2004, 7:35 AM

scissor, let me clarify. Good movies arent about the framing, etc...as long as you have a good storyline. If you lack a good storyline, things like poor lighting and framing stand out even more and take away from the viewer's experience. Give me a great story with above average acting and I can easily forgive boom mics and poor framing. Give me a poor storyline and shaky camera and its the Balir Witch Project minus the "suspense of reality".

scissorfighter wrote on 12/23/2004, 7:50 AM

Agreed. I just wish it were more often that we'd see movies with both great technical work AND a great story line!

rique wrote on 12/23/2004, 9:07 AM

See there 2 hours and 25 minutes I'll never get back :-)

Well, at least you got some "macabre thrills, highly charged erotica and indelible images" along the way. :-)

earthrisers wrote on 12/23/2004, 1:56 PM

Looks like this conversation might already be over, but I'm gonna throw in a comment or two about Mulholland Drive, anyway.

I tend to like David Lynch stuff -- up to about 87% of the way through. With Mulholland Drive, as with Twin Peaks, it strikes me that Lynch sets up really interesting, really unusual, really provocative twists and situations (and twisted situations), and then gets himself dug in so many layers deep that he can't come up with a coherent way to resolve what he started --- so he has a scene in which the main character is confronted by a really strange person in front of a red velvet curtain, and then the whole thing just drifts to an end. (Same technique used in Twin Peaks and in Mulholland Drive.)
Then I kick myself for having been drawn into the long setup, and for thinking it was all going to be drawn together into some surprising kind of sense at the end.
An engrossing, stylish ride along the way... but (far as I can tell), along the way to nowhere.
Then again, I'm a lifelong fan of science-fiction and fantasy (written and filmed), and LOVE the feeling I get when a truly strange worldfull of situations is created and then brought to some masterful resolution... so I'm prone to get disappointed and annoyed when the setup is hugely promising and the resolution is absent.

wolfbass wrote on 12/23/2004, 5:40 PM

My Two Cents worth:

Nobody ever went bust underestimating the taste of the general public.

:)

Lili wrote on 12/24/2004, 8:03 AM

Golli,
"Well, you shouldn't have to be online as you're watching a movie".

Misinterpreted your statement. I THOUGHT you were actually wanting to know what the storyline of Mulholland Drive was, not getting you'd already seen it. Was only trying to be helpful and not suggesting you take a laptop to the theatre. (duhh).

golli wrote on 12/24/2004, 7:05 PM

I know you were helpful and I did'nt take it any other way. Cheers.

"Was only trying to be helpful and not suggesting you take a laptop to the theatre. (duhh)."

Lili wrote on 12/25/2004, 10:54 AM

Thanks - I do tend to take things very literally and at times feel like a complete dunce afterwards!

Best wishes for a warm and wonderful holiday season.

daharvey wrote on 12/26/2004, 7:27 PM

Okay, purchased the movie for my daughter (curiosity), and she really liked it, as well as my son (both in high school). Now me, after watching just a little of it, I stopped. Now I am not saying the movie was bad or good, it just was not the kind of movie I like to watch. The movie did seemed to be selling okay in the stores.