Never, never. Movie studios will always be churning out crap to please the lowest common denominator and the majority of viewers won't care. Why not just stop paying attention to big-budget corporate films, and dig a little deeper for the really good stuff? It isn't all that difficult. I have been so well guarded in my personal media bubble that I hardly know what a Hollywood comedy film entails.
Does anyone ever think there will be a change in comedy movies that will just jettison all the shitty humor?
There are still comedy movies, or at least humorous movies, that don't rely on stupid stuff like that for laughs. I mean, yeah, you get a lot of The Hangovers and Step Brothers's, but occasionally you get The Big Lebowski or Being John Malkovich or something.
Does anyone ever think there will be a change in comedy movies that will just jettison all the shitty humor?
There are still comedy movies, or at least humorous movies, that don't rely on stupid stuff like that for laughs. I mean, yeah, you get a lot ofThe Hangovers andStep Brothers's, but occasionally you getThe Big LebowskiorBeing John Malkovichor something.
It's my belief that those films are so rare and only come around once or twice every 5-10 years. I feel there needs to be more effort to be put into comedy movies and to make it actually witty and humorous with taste.
These are as "tasteful" and comedy as Malkovich and Lebowski, and were released between 2000 and 2009: A Serious Man, O Brother Where Art Thou, In the Loop, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, Adaptation, Bad Liutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Black Dynamite, Amélie, Synecdoche New York.
Was that arrogant? If it was then I apologize because I don't know a word or any other way to describe it. But I have noted those down and will get to them as soon as possible. As a side note, I've always wanted to see an Anderson movie (but never got to them) as I hear they are the business.
Not arrogant, I just don't consider stuff like when John Cusack locks his wife in a cage so that he can secretly have sex with her girlfriend by way of an aging actor tasteful. I know what you meant, films that are funny because of cleverness and not gross out humor, but I don't think tasteful is the best word to use. To me, it has prudish and puritanical connotation.
Within your 'purview'? Where do you think you are, some fucking regency costume drama? This is a government department, not some fucking Jane fucking Austen novel! Allow me to pop a jaunty little bonnet on your purview and ram it up your shitter with a lubricated horse cock!
I don't think tasteful is the best word to use. To me, it has prudish and puritanical connotation.
Many improvisers have a saying: "Great comedy may be completely tasteless, but it shouldn't be blue."
In other words, if you can get people to laugh themselves senseless over an alcoholic father, a neglected child, and a serial baby-killing maniac who sells his victims as meat but is loved and trusted by all, well, that comedy is excellent, but tasteless. Poop jokes, however, are blue, and have no place in excellent comedy. People like John Waters are more or less strange alchemists who can transmute the latter into the former.
In regard to the "stupid" humor movies, I actually enjoy some of them. Gross-out humor isn't my thing, but goofy, slapstick, puns, off-color jokes, etc. can be delightful. There is an art to these films that goes undervalued. All comedy has its routes in phallus jokes. They were funny in ancient Greece and they are funny today. Comedic timing, delivery, witty or outlandish writing, pacing jokes to keep the audience engaged, physical control or prowess (particularly for physical humor), etc. are all difficult to master and can be used to make hysterical, "stupid" movies. Don't undervalue silliness and a good belly laugh.
I've seen a bunch of films recently, so I'll just give the bullet points on each of them. I've listed them in the order I saw them.
Avatar! - Loved the design aspect, the colours, and the 3D. However, the 3D actually seemed less impressive in action sequences since there was too much going on at once to notice it. - Acting was pretty decent, especially on Zoe Saldana's part. - Ridiculously, unbelievably predictable and largely a retread of older, better told stories. - Was it just me, or did anyone else keep thinking of the helicopter pilot chick as Vasquez rather than her actual character name? - Overall: I want to see it again for the visuals alone, and then I will probably never go back to it.
Up in the Air! - Not laugh-out-loud funny, but amusing throughout. Lots of clever dialogue and good delivery. - Pacing was very good; was never bored. - Characters were all likable and memorable. Performances were great. - The two story threads (flying around firing people and the relationship with Alex) never really seemed to completely mesh, but that's not a huge minus. - Overall: Liked it a lot, enough that I saw it 2.5 times (the 0.5 was a staff screening at 12:30 AM that I left due to extreme tiredness).
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus! - Seemed a little weird for the sake of being weird, to make a gross understatement. - The overarching plot thread was easy enough to grock, but the specifics weren't always immediately understandable. Will have to watch again to see if it makes more sense the second time 'round. - Visuals were fantastic, as expected of a Gilliam film. Loved the make-up, costumes and sets especially. Surprisingly enough, while the design of the CG stuff was good by me, the CGI itself was kind of "meh." This might be due in part to having seen Avatar so recently. - Performances were fine, especially by Chris Plummer, Tom Waits, Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp. The midget got a little annoying at times, maybe. - Overall: Tentatively liked it, though I will have to see it again to ascertain exactly how much I liked it.
Daybreakers! - Lots of great gore (one of the best head explosions I've seen in a while) and action. Some good jump scares too, though maybe a few too many (FUCKING BATS, GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WHY DON'TCHA). - Some really great atmospheric scenes, particularly the opening credits sequence and the following expository scene. All the blue filters, shadows, and other colours did a lot to enhance the look of the nighttime world. - Make-up and creature design for the vampires and subsiders was great. CG on the subsiders not so great, but whatever. - Gotta love the Willem. "This is one fuckin' ugly house." XDDD - The brothers undead didn't leave such a big impression on me. Frankie in particular seemed flat for the most part, though I did care about him more in his last couple of scenes. - Overall: There was cheese coming out of this movie's ears, but I had a great time. Twilight, eat your heart out.
Youth in Revolt! - Definitely a lot more quirky than the trailers let on. Do not go in expecting a typical teen sex comedy. - Agreed with a lot of what Zac Bertschy said over at Comedy is Dead. In particular, I agree that a lot of the dialogue shouldn't work since it feels so "written," but it does. - Didn't care for some of the side characters. They could have either been cut or better utilized. Jason Long's character in particular comes to mind. - Animations were an interesting addition. I liked them, but I wish there had been more of them. There were so few of them that they felt a little out of place when they came up. - Likewise, there needed to be a LOT more of Francois Dillinger. Cera really did a brilliant job with that character. XDDD Cera did a great job in general, even while doing his usual shtick. - Overall: Not brilliant, but definitely a lot better than the average movie in this genre. Go see it even if you're sick of Michael Cera's awkwardness.
(FUCKING BATS, GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WHY DON'TCHA).
I really didn't get startled at them, and I am easily startled when it comes to movies. My boyfriend screamed out loud at the last one. Laughing and pointing ensued.
(FUCKING BATS, GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WHY DON'TCHA).
I really didn't get startled at them, and I am easily startled when it comes to movies. My boyfriend screamed out loud at the last one. Laughing and pointing ensued.
The volume in the theater we were in was way too loud, so it was hard not to jump at the unexpected SCREEEEE!!
The volume in the theater we were in was way too loud, so it was hard not to jump at the unexpected SCREEEEE!!
Same at our theatre. In general, though, I think the volume for the sound effects was a little too loud throughout, and not just because of the volume in the theatre. My brother commented on that specifically when we were done the movie. He kept jumping and going "JESUS CHRIST!" whenever there was a loud jump scare, especially so when it was a bat. It didn't help that the overall volume in the theatre was so high, sure, but I think it was definitely made worse by the sound effects being so much louder than the rest of the movie.
- Likewise, there needed to be a LOT more of Francois Dillinger. Cera really did a brilliant job with that character. XDDD Cera did a great job in general, even while doing his usual shtick.
The main issue there is that there wasn't a whole lot of Francois in the book. Read it if you get the chance though, as it's a great novel.
The main issue there is that there wasn't a whole lot of Francois in the book. Read it if you get the chance though, as it's a great novel.
Ahhh, that makes much more sense now. Still, the way the movie was structured, it felt like there ought to be more of him. You'll probably see if you see the movie. I'll put the book on my to-read list, though! Thanks!
Watched Do The Right Thing, unbelievably awesome film. Stellar performances from Turturro and Aiello, and Mookie is one of the best director-in-lead-role performances I've ever seen. Still trying to wrap my head around what I saw.
I saw the first Unico movie released over here (I've already seen the absolutely awesome, Japan-only, TV pilot that wasn't picked up) and I was very impressed. Tezuka never ceases to amaze me, I find that the story mechanisms of Unico are great, but at the same time extremely heartbreaking.
Comments
Ya cunt.
In other words, if you can get people to laugh themselves senseless over an alcoholic father, a neglected child, and a serial baby-killing maniac who sells his victims as meat but is loved and trusted by all, well, that comedy is excellent, but tasteless. Poop jokes, however, are blue, and have no place in excellent comedy. People like John Waters are more or less strange alchemists who can transmute the latter into the former.
Don't undervalue silliness and a good belly laugh.
Avatar!
- Loved the design aspect, the colours, and the 3D. However, the 3D actually seemed less impressive in action sequences since there was too much going on at once to notice it.
- Acting was pretty decent, especially on Zoe Saldana's part.
- Ridiculously, unbelievably predictable and largely a retread of older, better told stories.
- Was it just me, or did anyone else keep thinking of the helicopter pilot chick as Vasquez rather than her actual character name?
- Overall: I want to see it again for the visuals alone, and then I will probably never go back to it.
Up in the Air!
- Not laugh-out-loud funny, but amusing throughout. Lots of clever dialogue and good delivery.
- Pacing was very good; was never bored.
- Characters were all likable and memorable. Performances were great.
- The two story threads (flying around firing people and the relationship with Alex) never really seemed to completely mesh, but that's not a huge minus.
- Overall: Liked it a lot, enough that I saw it 2.5 times (the 0.5 was a staff screening at 12:30 AM that I left due to extreme tiredness).
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus!
- Seemed a little weird for the sake of being weird, to make a gross understatement.
- The overarching plot thread was easy enough to grock, but the specifics weren't always immediately understandable. Will have to watch again to see if it makes more sense the second time 'round.
- Visuals were fantastic, as expected of a Gilliam film. Loved the make-up, costumes and sets especially. Surprisingly enough, while the design of the CG stuff was good by me, the CGI itself was kind of "meh." This might be due in part to having seen Avatar so recently.
- Performances were fine, especially by Chris Plummer, Tom Waits, Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp. The midget got a little annoying at times, maybe.
- Overall: Tentatively liked it, though I will have to see it again to ascertain exactly how much I liked it.
Daybreakers!
- Lots of great gore (one of the best head explosions I've seen in a while) and action. Some good jump scares too, though maybe a few too many (FUCKING BATS, GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WHY DON'TCHA).
- Some really great atmospheric scenes, particularly the opening credits sequence and the following expository scene. All the blue filters, shadows, and other colours did a lot to enhance the look of the nighttime world.
- Make-up and creature design for the vampires and subsiders was great. CG on the subsiders not so great, but whatever.
- Gotta love the Willem. "This is one fuckin' ugly house." XDDD
- The brothers undead didn't leave such a big impression on me. Frankie in particular seemed flat for the most part, though I did care about him more in his last couple of scenes.
- Overall: There was cheese coming out of this movie's ears, but I had a great time. Twilight, eat your heart out.
Youth in Revolt!
- Definitely a lot more quirky than the trailers let on. Do not go in expecting a typical teen sex comedy.
- Agreed with a lot of what Zac Bertschy said over at Comedy is Dead. In particular, I agree that a lot of the dialogue shouldn't work since it feels so "written," but it does.
- Didn't care for some of the side characters. They could have either been cut or better utilized. Jason Long's character in particular comes to mind.
- Animations were an interesting addition. I liked them, but I wish there had been more of them. There were so few of them that they felt a little out of place when they came up.
- Likewise, there needed to be a LOT more of Francois Dillinger. Cera really did a brilliant job with that character. XDDD Cera did a great job in general, even while doing his usual shtick.
- Overall: Not brilliant, but definitely a lot better than the average movie in this genre. Go see it even if you're sick of Michael Cera's awkwardness.