tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post8497483882715506934..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: With a Lance and a Musket and a Roman Spearbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-59559904360584213642010-09-02T10:16:30.663-04:002010-09-02T10:16:30.663-04:00John -- Well, don't YOU get ME wrong, because ...John -- Well, don't YOU get ME wrong, because I've complained about the same stuff before, right here on this blog. I just don't see it in Marshall, and especially not in THE DESCENT. The style of the action scenes, for one thing, does not continue throughout the film, and, either way, the scenes of chaos didn't have the obnoxious quality you describe. I just thought Marshall got that style right, and his use of it was appropriate.<br /><br />I don't remember enough about DOG SOLDIERS to comment either way.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-63711761299930043622010-09-02T04:08:41.678-04:002010-09-02T04:08:41.678-04:00Bill--yeah, I realize that's the effect some o...Bill--yeah, I realize that's the effect some of these filmmakers are aiming for, but for me, at least, not only does that kind of frenetic overkill not work (especially when it's more less constant), but it tends to be counterproductive. It's not really a lot different for me to, say, BLASTING the soundtrack constantly, supposedly in order to heighten the tension or the dramatic impact. I guess the text equivalent would be something like printing certain parts of a book in REALLY BIG MULTICOLORED LETTERS supposedly to heighten the reader's experience of the words.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong--some of these techniques, used with restraint and a bit of finesse, can add to the effect. But when they get in the way of things, and leave you wishing the whole thing had just been staged and shot in a more comprehensive, coherent manner, they become a huge negative for me.<br /><br />Dog Soldiers, for instance, was pretty much like that for the whole second half, as far as I can recall. Way too busy for its own good, with action that was almost impossible to follow, and pretty much zero suspense because the whole thing was paced so badly, with events just haphazardly piled on top of each other.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-77066625174906313512010-09-01T08:20:25.567-04:002010-09-01T08:20:25.567-04:00John - The "happy ending" you saw in THE...John - The "happy ending" you saw in THE DESCENT wasn't Marshall's ending. That was the ending tacked on for the US release. You can see Marshall's original ending on the DVD (but either way, the studio version was not, I don't think, meant to be "it was all a dream").<br /><br />I also had no problem with the action in THE DESCENT. I didn't find it hard to follow at all, and thought Marshall's style of shooting it not only got across what was happening, but the chaos. I think that's what all directors who employ the shaky-cam style of action filmmaking are going for, whether they succeed or not -- Marshall succeeded.<br /><br />Still, I plan on checking out THE DESCENT 2 anyway.<br /><br />Tony - I didn't think the politics were muddled, exactly. I don't think making it hard to decide which "side" the movie's on necessarily means it's confused. I'm maybe being generous, but I'd call it "complicated" myself.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-6710593920052767152010-09-01T07:37:59.308-04:002010-09-01T07:37:59.308-04:00I'm mostly with you on CENTURION, Bill. I didn...I'm mostly with you on CENTURION, Bill. I didn't really get too distracted by the MS Paint use because I just wrote it off as a budget limitation, though I, too, prefer the practical effects. What I most liked about the film is its efficiency, as you called it. Like you, I feel like I get a complete story with some interesting things to say using the bare minimum to get the point across. To me, that is skill, not the bloated, oversized, "epicness" you get with a (late period) Ridley Scott film where you still feel it missed the mark somehow. Yes, CENTURION's politics are a bit muddled, but no one is going to see this movie to get a civics lesson.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-12403309247385737562010-09-01T03:15:19.617-04:002010-09-01T03:15:19.617-04:00The sequel to The Descent (cleverly titled The Des...The sequel to The Descent (cleverly titled The Descent 2) struck me as something of an improvement over the original movie, which I wasn't all that crazy about. Marshall, like too many directors of his generation, it seems to me, just doesn't film action all that well. Too often the camera's too close, the camerawork gets in the way, the editing is too choppy, and the end result is something that looks and feels more like a clumsy trailer than a gripping action sequence.<br /><br />The sequel, though, directed by some guy I'd never heard of, basically rehashes the first movie, but as if helmed by more competent craftsmen. The action is solid, suspenseful, and clearly shot, the editing a little tight but unintrusively so, and the gore is plentiful, gruesome and vividly rendered, and not a drop of CGI flummery that I could spot. It takes the original movie's much-decried "happy" ending as a starting point, but I actually found its own denouement more clever and punchier by half than the original's cliched "It was all just a dream!" downer.<br /><br />Anyway, comparisons between Marshall and Carpenter (particularly his work with Dean Cundey), strike me as so far off the mark they may actually be aimed at the wrong mark. Dog Soldiers was basically The Descent with Brit soldiers and a rural cottage, Doomsday was so bad I actually came up with an alibi for the time I spent watching it.<br /><br />I will be looking out for more work by the guy who did Descent 2, though, if I remember his name at some point.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-1065938289014774272010-08-31T16:55:06.589-04:002010-08-31T16:55:06.589-04:00I pretty much agree with you on all this. The MS P...<i>I pretty much agree with you on all this. The MS Paint comment cracked me up. Sadly, Marshall is not alone in this.</i><br /><br />No, it's everywhere now. The cost must be the main factor, but I also think there's a certain kind of spray, a certain kind of arc, that certain filmmakers want but can't get from practical effects. I think the problem here is that they're wrong to want it. Maybe if you're going for full-on cartoon, like 300, then okay, I guess, but CENTURION is supposed to be more grounded than that.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-80084955709298480612010-08-31T16:06:40.909-04:002010-08-31T16:06:40.909-04:00I pretty much agree with you on all this. The MS ...I pretty much agree with you on all this. The MS Paint comment cracked me up. Sadly, Marshall is not alone in this. I guess it's just cheaper to go with CGI. Though I have seen films (Revenant is a good example) that had extensive CGI but it looked much richer and thicker and thus realistic than the stuff in 300 or Centurion. So there is a good and a bad way to do it.OlmanFeelyushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521657876810568251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-24820080006506873742010-08-31T14:29:04.981-04:002010-08-31T14:29:04.981-04:00I just changed my first paragraph, as the early ve...I just changed my first paragraph, as the early version made it sound as if I was getting ready to slam CENTURION, which I don't do. It was a bad paragraph.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-27016260399518782952010-08-31T13:49:30.338-04:002010-08-31T13:49:30.338-04:00It's not exclusively CGI - there's still a...It's not exclusively CGI - there's still a fair amount of straight-up liquid blood in the film. But there's still a LOT of CGI blood, especially when the action is at a distance, and in those cases it's particularly bad, because we probably shouldn't, and certainly don't need to, see any blood at all. But he still throws in this bright red computery splash.<br /><br />But I still think it's a good movie anyway! I thought I made that clear!<br /><br />THE DESCENT is looking to be his best, though. I'll admit that.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-24812480392233077722010-08-31T13:44:27.076-04:002010-08-31T13:44:27.076-04:00He should have named it "Denturion" sinc...He should have named it "Denturion" since it doesn't sound good enough to warrant starting with a letter other than "D". <br /><br />I still think <b>Descent</b> is one of the best horror movies of the last 10 years but haven't seen anything else of his yet. Having read this, I can't say I'm going to either. <br /><br />But to address the blood issue: I find that quite disheartening. I hate that CGI has even taken over make-up at this point. Really, I hate it. Actual red liquid of some kind should be applied to the actor, not computer processed on. Last week I watched <b>All Quiet on the Western Front</b> again and during one of the scenes near the front, as Lew Ayres is speaking, his breath is clearly visible. Milestone actually had them filming in a cold, wet, miserable environment. While I watched the scene I thought about Jack and Rose in the water in <b>Titanic</b> and how their "breath" never - EVER - looked real or natural to me. I even watched the J & R scene again online (I guess to make sure I wasn't remembering wrong) and sure enough, it looked like shit. <br /><br />I imagine it's the same with blood. How much harder can it be to use real liquid and create a much greater effect? I don't know.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.com