Kirby,
It seems you answer your own question. Aside from a few nits picked, you
admit the film is a fine one. So yes, everyone over 11 years old should see it
-- and on the big screen with the big sound which really add a huge amount --
despite the small flaws you point out (and with which I agree for the most
part). None of them are significant enough to seriously detract from the overall
effect of the film. It's not Truffaut or Fellini or even George Cukor or Frank
Capra, but what is these days?
--JR
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 8:53
Subject: Re: [MOPO] 2 bits worth of War
of the Worlds
What hyperbolic drugs did you take? Did we see the same
picture?
It's an OK sci-fi pic with exceptional special effects, and a
terrific
performance by a child actor. Cruise soldiers thru capably
and assures
the producers they will get their money back. Tim
Robbin's sequence
almost pointless. Suspension of disbelief issues
aside, these three are
the ONLY guys with a car? And where are all
these people walking to
and why?
Visual effects, yes.
Emotional effects, no. As I said in my little
review, it
is
successful at finding the DREAD note in the beginning parts of
the
picture.
The tripod snout snooping around bit in Robbin's house is
tedious,
however. The
sentiment at the end feels false to
me. Cruise does not do male bonding
well, that we know of, and I
thought the whole father/son turf wars
typical of Spielberg.
When they
arrive at the grandmother's house, it's practically
thanksgiving
day.
Spielberg is better at setting things up than playing them out, in
my
opinion. Both
physically (blocking actors, using locales) and
dramatically. The
endings are usually
disappointing. The
ending of this film is typical: Gene Barry walks
out of the house
like
some avuncular presence.
Special effects in films are so omnipresent
today than when truly vivid
ones appear,
it stands out. It is true that
this whole picture looks terrific.
Spielberg's films
usually do.
And arguably he has done this old war-horse justice.
But films start
with a script. And while this is not the worst script,
if the
producers had cared
as much about the words these actors should say and the
actions they
should make as they did
about the tripods, then your
statement below might not require so much
suspension of
disbelief.
Just about everyone over 11 years old will see it, but
should they?
Really?
Kirby
On Jul 4, 2005, at 2:52 AM, JR
wrote:
> I thought the first two-thirds of the picture a flamin'
masterpiece.
> Just about everyone over 11 years old should see it. It
is dynamite
> film-making and creates visual and emotional effects I
don't think any
> other film has ever achieved to this
extent.
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