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[Kabuki Waq]

Last time I saw ROTS, this guy was talking on his phone for the ENTIRE movie and describing what was happening to his idiot friend on the other end of the line.

you should have said something to him....hell im surprised no one did anything.

 

[duckroll]

I fail to see what's so controversial about expecting some common courtesy during a public viewing experience. I don't understand why people take such offense.

Well courtesy is expected, yes. But your post was lashing out at just about everyone in a generalized manner. What's the point?

 

[Tunesmith]

huh, that's weird...... at the theatre i work for, we have a poster with a list of movies that are premiering in midnight and WOTW is on the list. i guess i'll know by next week

First showing here in Schweden! is at midnight.

 

[Manders]

Considering BATMAN BEGINS, SIN CITY, and EPISODE III have all been so good, we're on track to have one of the most memorable geek summers ever."

Your opinion is now void and should be ignored....

 

[ManaByte]

Another:
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20487

Spoilers in it.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Another:
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20487

Spoilers in it.

Pretty minor spoilers, but man. That got me hyped. Sounds like a much more intimate movie than any other director would have made. I can't wait.

 

[Odnetnin]

That review is massively spoilerish. I wish I didn't read it now. Very angry.

The Terminal is one of his most underrated movies.

and he said this too. What the fuck. THe Terminal was a boring POS of the stinkiest order. Good concept flawed execution. The fact that Spielberg had enough finances to build that entire airport set and still managed to make a boring and really lousy movie then was a tad disgraceful.

 

[Slurpy]

Last time I saw ROTS, this guy was talking on his phone for the ENTIRE movie and describing what was happening to his idiot friend on the other end of the line.

Um.. I would have walked up to him, and given him 2 options. Either one would have shut him up. That kind of stuff is bullshit. People with no respect need to be called on it.

 

[PanopticBlue]

I agree, the theater experience has gotten pretty bad over the past few years. Hell I remember when I went to see Jurassic Park 3, there was a big woman who brought her fucking baby and it cried for literally an hour, and SHE STAYED IN THE THEATER. I was so pissed I actually shouted "SHUT YOUR BABY UP". Of course, she did nothing. I haven't been back to that theater since because of too many bad experiences like that.

Now there's another nicer theater I go to, that is a little further out of the way but people are a little bit more considerate there however even that place is getting worse. When I went to see ROTS, two kids who looked about 10 yrs old came and sat behind me, and when the movie started, they literally were reading the opening scroll OUT LOUD. I have zero fucking patience for that kind of shit anymore, so I turned around, looked right at them and gave them a big "SHHHHHHHH". I really wanted to punch them.

My second time out for ROTS, some guy (or gal for that matter) was CUTTING THE CHEESE for like an hour...ugh I was so pissed and disgusted, I swear people have no shame.

 

[Matlock]

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/movies/screenings/index.php#war-of-the-worlds-the-im-review-109587

oh snap

 

[Willco]

Does that surprise anyone? Spielberg hasn't been able to properly end a film since before A.I.

 

[FiRez]

Does that surprise anyone? Spielberg hasn't been able to properly end a film since before A.I.

I really liked the ending of AI, really unexpected and interesting

 

[Dan]

AI is an absolute masterpiece. Leave it alone. (side note: some girl in class today was trying to be impressive by namedropping Kubrick and mentioning critically acclaimed TV shows. She then proceeded to complain about the aliens in AI.)

That said, from what I've seen and read, I'm not sure I like where this ending could be going, so I'm not terribly surprised. We'll see.

 

[Matlock]

Seems there's two main points that people bring up about the movie--

1. It's too graphic for PG-13, really.
2. Ending is too quick, abrupt, and resolves too much.

And I guess that

Spoiler

the Aliens eat the fuck out of Tom Cruise

, haha.

 

[Willco]

AI is an interesting trainwreck. I don't think I'd ever sit through that film ever again. At any rate, something seriously went wrong in Spielberg's head since then. None of his films have decent endings now.

 

[ManDudeChild]

Is this ending true...

Spoiler

Perhaps Steven Spielberg should’ve cut that last twenty minutes, in which his hero saves the Earth by calmly and rationally convincing the alien invaders that there’s no science behind the drugs that make them want to eradicate other civilizations, and then personally [Ed.note—Personally!] helps each and every one of them break their crippling dependency on their evil xenopharmaceutical industry.

If so, am I the only one that finds it a large coincidence given the Cruise missiles "religion?"

 

[Particle Physicist]

Banned

thank god, this guy has been trolling batman begins for days.. and he hasnt even seen it yet!

 

[ManaByte]

Is this ending true...

[/spoiler]

If so, am I the only one that finds it a large coincidence given the Cruise missiles "religion?"

No, that was a joke.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/movies/screenings/index.php#war-of-the-worlds-the-im-review-109587

oh snap

you really should've put a spoiler on that. I was going in like "Phew, I missed that spoiler one above, atleast this one's spoiler free...WHOA, THAT WAS CLOSE, BACK BUTTON, BACK BACK!"

 

[siege]

Is anyone else boycotting WotW? After the Cruise debacle, I'm seriously contemplating on waiting for it to hit DVD. It's good to find out it's not that great to begin with.

 

[AssMan]

Wow, Matlock. If that's true, then i'm going to laugh my arse off at the theatres when that scene happens. :lol

 

[TAJ]

>>>She then proceeded to complain about the aliens in AI.)<<<

Aliens in A.I.??? Um... must have missed that.

 

[Dan]

>>>She then proceeded to complain about the aliens in AI.)<<<

Aliens in A.I.??? Um... must have missed that.

That's the point. She was trying to act all uppity but failed to even decipher the most basic aspects of the last act.

(As in, those weren't aliens, they were advanced forms of artificial intelligence)

 

[FiRez]

(As in, those weren't aliens, they were advanced forms of artificial intelligence)

Is that on the original script, or someone else explained it?
I tought they were aliens too.

 

[Brannon]

Breeder... yeah, that sounds about right; parenting requires a modicum of common sense, decency and respect for others, and to bring a 6 year old to a movie called Sin City and having him shit himself with fear does not earn one the title of parent. If it weren't for matinees and 21+ theaters, they'd completely ruin whatever silver screen experience is left.

Damn the irresponsible lot.

 

[Dan]

Is that on the original script, or someone else explained it?
I tought they were aliens too.

Well, it's rather obvious from their appearance and capabilities, like how they appear to have circuitry and electricity running under the 'skin' and how they display images on their faces. I haven't actually sat down and watched it in a year or two, but I believe some of the dialogue basically confirms it as well. I have no idea what the script calls them, but you can check a dozen different places on the DVD for confirmation.

Besides, aliens would be completely irrelevant and out of left field. That'd make no sense in a movie about and titled Artificial Intelligence.

 

[LakeEarth]

That's the point. She was trying to act all uppity but failed to even decipher the most basic aspects of the last act.

(As in, those weren't aliens, they were advanced forms of artificial intelligence)

But I'd say 80% of the audience thought they were aliens. Okay that's just a made up number, but honestly, except the people on this board, NO ONE I know who watched that movie realized they were robots, not aliens. At such a high rate of people making that mistake, it can't be due to "stupid people". That's not the audience fault for not paying attention, it's the directors fault for having the robots have the general shape of traditional aliens.

Yes they did robotic things but we've seen aliens do similar things in other movies. We've grown up to movies where aliens can do pretty much everything, so just because they have robotic features doesn't make us go "ooh they're robots". They have the long skinny leg/arms, oval head of aliens we've seen all the time in other movies. They should've designed them differently after noticing people were making this mistake during audience testing.

 

[kablooey]

About bringing babies to movies...I was about 2 months old when I saw my first movie, according to my folks. It was Terminator 1, and I cried like...well, a baby the whole time. I don't know wtf they were thinking. :lol

 

[Dan]

But I'd say 80% of the audience thought they were aliens. Okay that's just a made up number, but honestly, except the people on this board, NO ONE I know who watched that movie realized they were robots, not aliens. At such a high rate of people making that mistake, it can't be due to "stupid people". That's not the audience fault for not paying attention, it's the directors fault for having the robots have the general shape of traditional aliens.

Yes they did robotic things but we've seen aliens do similar things in other movies. We've grown up to movies where aliens can do pretty much everything, so just because they have robotic features doesn't make us go "ooh they're robots". They have the long skinny leg/arms, oval head of aliens we've seen all the time in other movies. They should've designed them differently after noticing people were making this mistake during audience testing.

I'm sorry, it's stupidity. If you paid attention, it should have been known after their first line was delivered (the following one) if it wasn't already obvious.

"This machine was trapped under the wreckage before the freezing. Therefore, these robots were originals. They knew living people."

"Human beings had created a million explanations of the meaning of existence, in art, in poetry, and in mathematical formulas. Surely human beings must be the key to understanding the meaning of existence."

+ several other lines about the advanced robots' awe of humanity and their search to discover more about them (of their creators).

+ combined with the context of the previous 2 hours... there's no mystery here.

It's obvious. It might be difficult to really delve into the movie and figure out its genius, but following its plot is pretty straightforward.

 

[jett]

AI is an interesting trainwreck. I don't think I'd ever sit through that film ever again. At any rate, something seriously went wrong in Spielberg's head since then. None of his films have decent endings now.

Your opinion sucks, just like the spider-man films.

 

[Willco]

Your opinion sucks, just like the spider-man films.

My opinion sucks... in your opinion!

 

[ManaByte]

I'm sorry, it's stupidity. If you paid attention, it should have been known after their first line was delivered (the following one) if it wasn't already obvious.

"This machine was trapped under the wreckage before the freezing. Therefore, these robots were originals. They knew living people."

"Human beings had created a million explanations of the meaning of existence, in art, in poetry, and in mathematical formulas. Surely human beings must be the key to understanding the meaning of existence."

+ several other lines about the advanced robots' awe of humanity and their search to discover more about them (of their creators).

+ combined with the context of the previous 2 hours... there's no mystery here.

It's obvious. It might be difficult to really delve into the movie and figure out its genius, but following its plot is pretty straightforward.

"They made us too smart, too quick, and too many. We are suffering for the mistakes they made because when the end comes, all that will be left is us."

 

[ManaByte]

Another one (spoilers):
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20560

One of the toughest jobs any film has this summer (or year) is not to be upstaged by gigantic mastermind Jackson’s King Kong trailer if it plays in front of it (those 2 minutes were, in two words, pure bliss!). WAR pulls this off and then some! It is absolutely exhilarating to watch such brilliant work from people who are completely free, at the top of their game, having no need to prove antyhing to anybody. There is no wrong turns taken here by the bunch of masters big and small behind this film.

Unlike most of his movies, Cruise’s character doesn’t have all the answers here (hell, the guy usually doesn't even hear the questions). The only bright idea he gets when the intergalactic shit hits the fan is to get the kids to his ex-wife (oh-so-lovely Eowyn Miranda Otto who doesn’t have much to do here) because she has, obviously, always been the one doing all the hard work in family matters. Cruise is doing superb work here, from the scenes where he shows that Ray is less mature than his 10-year old daughter, to the scenes where it starts to dawn for him that there may not be a happy ending to this.

There are moments so bleak and destruction so massive that the desperation is on the same level as the ghetto clean-up in Schindler. Numb animal instincts of the panicking mob are on display in another scene that is just perfectly frightening. Or a moment where closing door has bigger effect than that when John Wayne’s uncle Ethan remained outside. Ray simply does what he has to do in order to make sure the survival of his offspring and it’s devastating. I won’t clarify (I hate the fuckheads who think that the only way to talk about the film is riddle their review with spoilers – even though there are times when it’s simply impossible to discuss certain points without giving away some key moments)

This has been told already, but the film is scary. The kind of we’re-fucked-big-time kind of scary, when there might be glimmer of hope that you know will be crushed soon because there just is no escaping these indestructible killer-tripods, sent by a civilization God knows how many millions of times more advanced than ours, making all the efforts to counter-attack them or even defend us totally pointless.

There are, thank God, no slo-mo “Bay-shots” of children running past JFK murals or the French standing around the Eiffel tower/Egyptians around the pyramids/Londoners on Piccadilly Circus etc, looking up at the threatening skies. And luckily, nobody mentions E.T. (even though there is one small gag with a prop in a basement – or just my imagination running wild). And there’s no talk about “whupping ET’s ass”…

As for the ending,

Spoiler

Morgan Freeman's voice over is a modified version of the book's ending...so...

 

[Error]

One of the toughest jobs any film has this summer (or year) is not to be upstaged by gigantic mastermind Jackson’s King Kong trailer if it plays in front of it (those 2 minutes were, in two words, pure bliss!)

Is the Kong trailer attach to WOTW? If so that would a reason enough to see WOTW and from the review you posted the movie is sounding like it would be an incredible experience

 

[ManaByte]

Is the Kong trailer attach to WOTW? If so that would a reason enough to see WOTW and from the review you posted the movie is sounding like it would be an incredible experience

Yes.

 

[FiRez]

I'm sorry, it's stupidity. If you paid attention, it should have been known after their first line was delivered (the following one) if it wasn't already obvious.

"This machine was trapped under the wreckage before the freezing. Therefore, these robots were originals. They knew living people."

"Human beings had created a million explanations of the meaning of existence, in art, in poetry, and in mathematical formulas. Surely human beings must be the key to understanding the meaning of existence."

+ several other lines about the advanced robots' awe of humanity and their search to discover more about them (of their creators).

+ combined with the context of the previous 2 hours... there's no mystery here.

It's obvious. It might be difficult to really delve into the movie and figure out its genius, but following its plot is pretty straightforward.

No, I still not convinced and is very far from being a stupid assumption.

-How they didn't end frozen like the humans
-They said something like "we wanted to know more but they didn't exist anymore". basically you get the idea of "they got too late to th earth"
-You can appreciate some excavations works, is very hard to explain if they already were on the earth.

 

[ManaByte]

Another glowing review from someone who attended a press screening. Spoilers in it:

Spoiler

I attended the screening of the movie in Marseilles, and I would like to start off by commenting on how much this movie surprised me. I had heard a lot of talk about how personal the story would be, but I was not expecting it to be such a damn tragedy. The movie starts off with Cruise getting his kids from ex-wife. It is established almost immediately that he is a rather *beep* fellow, through his mannerisms and the way he acts towards his friends and family. His attitude is the biggest problem - he is arrogant, but it's not the Tom Cruise arrogance that we've come to know. It's a different kind of arrogance, one seemingly routed in the fact that he still hasn't accepted the blame for the ruin of his marriage.

The exposition is very quick, lasting approximately twelve or thirteen minutes. The action ramps up exponentially at this point, dumping the audience directly in the middle of the start of the war. I will try to refrain from major spoilers, but let me tell that the tripods, which have only been hinted at in the trailers and advertisements, look very, very nice. The fact that the scenes featuring them clearly were not shot against a blue screen add to the astounding achievement by ILM here. They look positively real - blended and contrasted perfectly amongst the real-world light, shadows, and dust.

This movie is very different when it comes to big action sequences - the camera stays below and/or between the characters and the antagonists. It would also appear that at some points Spielberg used a handheld camera, because I was reminded of Omaha Beach. One scene in particular, immediately following the emergence of the tripod, is so absolutely intense that you wonder how it could not be a documentary. Perhaps Spielberg's wisest choice in these scenes was to actually let the extras compliment the major actors, rather than just focusing on the recognizable faces. That is not to say that they are not almost always prominent, but it is awesome to see Cruise's reaction amongst about 150 other literally 'devolving' citizens. The panic and hysteria has taken over them all - they trample and kick and punch like nothing that I've ever seen before.

I am actually very surprised that this movie is PG-13. There are four scenes in particular that make me question how they got this, because they are something that I never expected to see. One of these starts off beautifully, with Dakota going down to the riverfront. The scene has an almost surreal feel - it seems as if Spielberg used filters here to bring out the glowing quality of the sun. Then, without warning, a corpse flows in front of her, following the river's current. This is followed by more, and then even more, until the whole river is covered with bodies. The camera cuts to Dakota - she has such a look of disbelief and incomprehension - ah, it broke my heart. There are three other such scenes that really took my breath away at how awful yet beautiful they were.

The acting was also more than I was expecting. The aforementioned Dakota Fanning proves why she is the go to girl currently. She adds a complexity to her role that is seldom seen amongst child stars. Rather than just acting off of Tom Cruise and reacting to him, it would see as if she actually inhabited her character and gave it its own personal qualities and pathos. Tom Cruise also did well, showing us that he can portray other things than his well-known personality. The scenes with him and Dakota (one in particular after the departure of another character) are absolutely breathtaking. I literally was on the verge of tears in one of them.

I think that Spielberg has a big hit on his hands here. Because of the apparent press blanket, there hasn't really been that much early hype, but I'm positive that this will change after the release. The film will undoubtedly benefit from excellent word of mouth, because, simply put, it is stunning.
-- "thrad" at imdb.com

 

[psycho_snake]

I never had any doubt that this film would be bad. The trailers for this filkm looked amazing and Ive been hyped for it ever since I watched it a couple of months back. At least I have this and mafagascar to watch over the summer, the rest of the stuff will probably be crap.

 

[ManaByte]

As for the ending, it is the same as the book only very slightly modified. I guess people who are calling it crap didn't know it is how the book ends and how the story has always ended. Here is the voice over from the ending. The wording is very similar to the end of the book, although it's shortened a bit as the book's description was a bit wordy:

SUPER MAJOR SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NEVER READ WAR OF THE WORLDS THIS IS A MAJOR SPOILER. DO NOT HIGHLIGHT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!!

Spoiler

"From the moment the invaders arrived, breathed our air, ate and drank; they were doomed. They were undone, destroyed, after all of man's weapons and devices have failed by the tiniest creatures that God in his wisdom put upon this Earth. By the toll of a billion deaths, man had earned his immunity. His right to survive among this planet's infinite organisims. And that right is ours against all challenges. For neither do men live, nor die, in vain."

 

[DCharlie]

oh they fucking did it
the fucking FUCK FUCKIGN CUNTS

YOU UTTER FUCKING WANKERS

Spoiler

GOD ?

FUCK OFF!!!!!! WELLS

Spoiler

thought religion was a crock of shit and humiliates it in the book - FUCK OFF ATTRIBUTING EVERYTHING TO GOD! DID ANYONE READ THE FUCKING BOOK OR AT LEAST UNDERSTAND ALL THE POINTS?!?! SCOUT GOES MISSING ENDS UP SAFE "OH ITS GODS DOING!" FUCKING ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I know people think this is minor but it's FUCKING NOT.

*tips over magazine rack*

 

[ManaByte]

Yea. I just finished reading the book again. Which is why I said it was a modified version of the ending. It's still basically the same, except for that.

 

[DCharlie]

it undermines one of the themes of the books and i'm fucking sick of

Spoiler

religion

at the moment.

I'm the biggest WotW cock jockey i know, and this is making me very very upset.
It makes it more annoying because i predicted the wank stains would do EXACTLY this.

Now the only thing that will be worse is if

Spoiler

the final scene is set in a church and everyone is praying and they walk out to see the aliens dying (a la the Pal version)

. I may have to slash seats if that happens

Spoiler

i've already seen the chapel in several shots in the previews

 

[Boogie]

Spoiler

You know, "God" is sometimes used in a rhetorical sense, and not directly referring to religion's idea of God

 

[ManaByte]

Now the only thing that will be worse is if

Spoiler

the final scene is set in a church and everyone is praying and they walk out to see the aliens dying (a la the Pal version)

. I may have to slash seats if that happens

Spoiler

i've already seen the chapel in several shots in the previews

I think the

Spoiler

chapel

is only in the beginning when the tripod pops out of the street. Dunno though.

 

[DCharlie]

Boogie, although it's not a spoiler as such, i'd edit your post!

Spoiler

but using God in his wisdom doesn't sound too rhetorical to me. Especially in light of the fact that the existance of bacteria is seen as a right of passage and that the alien invasion is thwarted by them. Like i said, if there is a scene in a church just prior to the end, then it's gonna make things worse.

 

[Matlock]

OMG

Spoiler

ALIENS GET SICK AND DIE

*cough*

 

[ManaByte]

Quint from AICN saw it at the NYC premiere and reviewed it (slight Spoilers):
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20564

In short, Spielberg knocked it out of the park.

I'm so glad he kept the key imagery out of the marketing. It was so nice to see a big summer event film on the big screen and not feel like I'm just waiting for the bits in-between the sequences from the trailer and other marketing.

I'm going to say right here and now that the sequence where the first tripod is revealed is one of the best directed, paced, shot and performed sequences ever put to film. Pretty high praise, I know, but it's it true. From the moment Tom Cruise arrives at the spot where all the lightning was striking to the moment he walks back through his door... classic scene. The tripods are massive, hardcore and vicious. Everything we wanted them to be.

WAR OF THE WORLDS is a Steven Spielberg movie. You feel it in every shot, every performance and every sound. Even before the invasion starts, the camerawork is sharp and creative, keeping an energy to the film, a momentum that builds to the arrival of the aliens. One of the reasons I love JAWS is his creativity with the editing, the camera work and the angles he chose. His recent films haven't looked dull, but this is the first time since SAVING PRIVATE RYAN that I could almost see Spielberg's face on the screen, he's put that much of himself into the film.

And yes, they are aliens, not some alternate dimensional ogres or whatever the hell people thought they were going to be. They managed not to lie in their advertising ("They're already here"), but still kept them aliens from another planet. I will say no more.

Morgan Freeman's opening and closing narration is perfect. Freeman doing Welles reading Wells. Freeman's the man.

John Williams' score is nice, but non-intrusive. Lots of horns and drums... a little James Horner-y. I would have loved an instantly recognizable theme for the titles, but I can't complain. His music fit the film like a glove, but wasn't too showy.

 

[Sapiens]

Good. Now lets see a modern Invisible Man. Loved that book. I don't think I've ever seen it done justice. Awesome ending in the book. Hollow man has proven they have the technology to it, now lets see some one do it GOOD.

HGW rules.

 

[siege]

Yeah, John Williams score is very dissonant. Not something I'd listen to outside of the film. Seems like it will support the tense nature of the film quite well though.

Good to see all the positive remarks so far. Looking forward to seeing the film on Wendesday. We need an official thread.

 

[FoneBone]

Spoiler

You know, "God" is sometimes used in a rhetorical sense, and not directly referring to religion's idea of God

One of these days Boogie's going to go nuclear... ;-)

And DCharlie -- even as a liberal atheist who, for instance, thinks that the ending of Signs is a film-killing theological crock of shit, I think you're really overreacting...