*The Genre-Film & TV Corner*

[BillF]

Revisited this one last night, a fantastic movie, one of the best Sci-Fi films in recent years. The cinematography is amazing, especially considering all the really long takes and most of it being handheld camera.

Agreed! That one was a winner - and very little noticed, too.

[kinuta]

Revisited this one last night, a fantastic movie, one of the best Sci-Fi films in recent years. The cinematography is amazing, especially considering all the really long takes and most of it being handheld camera.

Agreed! That one was a winner - and very little noticed, too.

Great film, amazing long takes.

[Quincy]

Revisited this one last night, a fantastic movie, one of the best Sci-Fi films in recent years. The cinematography is amazing, especially considering all the really long takes and most of it being handheld camera.

I still haven't seen it again since seeing it in the theater, but I thought it did the best job of any movie I've ever seen as to what the end of civilization would look like that didn't involve asteroids, spaceships, or monsters.

[BillF]

[Shawn]

The second official trailer for Joss Whedon's "AVENGERS"...this is gonna rule.

[Jazzmoose]

Okay, I may have to check that one out!

[Quincy]

I'm not much of a Marvel kid (though I did like the 1st Iron Man) but as Whedon fanboy I'm going to have to check it out. I'm more eagerly awaiting Cabin In The Woods (which I don't know if it's regular "film" or filed here).

[Shawn]

I'm not much of a Marvel kid (though I did like the 1st Iron Man) but as Whedon fanboy I'm going to have to check it out. I'm more eagerly awaiting Cabin In The Woods (which I don't know if it's regular "film" or filed here).

Cabin In The Woods definitely looks interesting, especially since the "set-up" looks like a standard variation on The Evil Dead...but then the sci-fi elements kick in! I'm a Whedon fanboy as well and I'm sure he's got some fun tricks up his sleeve in this film.

CABIN IN THE WOODS - official trailer

Here's Whedon's comments on how the idea for the film came about, from totalfilm.com

Co-writer and producer Joss Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror film which he, along with director/co-writer Goddard, felt had "devolved" with the introduction of Torture Porn. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre continuing, "On another level it’s a serious critique of what we love and what we don’t about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don’t like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction."

Edited March 1, 2012 by Shawn

[Quincy]

I'm a Whedon fanboy as well...

I figured as much given the smiling Buffy avatar you had for awhile. I had this strange urge to flirt with you when you were using it.

[BillF]

[Shawn]

A "love it or hate it" film if there ever was one. I dig it.

[kinuta]

Don't know which thread is appropriate.

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Brad Bird (2011)

Great, Leave brains & plot dissection kit at the door, sit back and enjoy one of the best action flics in a l-o-n-g time.

Edited March 15, 2012 by kinuta

[jazzbo]

A "love it or hate it" film if there ever was one. I dig it.

I love it! Wish there were more films like it.

Don't know which thread is appropriate.

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Brad Bird (2011)

Great, Leave brains & plot dissection kit at the door, sit back and enjoy one of the best action flics in a l-o-n-g time.

I really really wanted to like this one. . . but it was just too implausible and didn't really capture me.

[Shawn]

a short clip from the Avengers that nicely shows off Scarlett's "attributes".

This clip feels like an outtake from Buffy, that's a good thing!

[Shawn]

okay Joss Whedon fans, The Cabin In The Woods opens today, Initial word-of-mouth is very good for this comedy/horror/sci-fi hybrid.

Cool "Escher-derived" movie poster too...

[Quincy]

okay Joss Whedon fans, The Cabin In The Woods opens today, Initial word-of-mouth is very good for this comedy/horror/sci-fi hybrid.

The humor that you'd expect from him is there though it's not especially scary (not that I expected it to be). A couple of the set designs seem out of Angel and Dollhouse and the use of few "friends" from his past shows is always good. I think it will have some replay value due to a couple of scenes, especially one near the end where there's a lot going on. Although I liked it I think I would have liked it more had I not read that it rocked SXSW as the greatest thing ever. All about managing one's expectations...

[Shawn]

Saw it this afternoon and absolutely LOVED IT! I'm a Whedon fanatic, but even I was impressed by how well this was pulled off. Great dialogue, atmospheric, satirical and an homage to horror at the same time.

Bloody brilliant! The trailer may give a little of the setup away, but the tone and the scope are well hidden.

Can't recommend this highly enough, one of the most intelligent horror/comedy films I've seen in a very long time.

[BillF]

[Jazzmoose]

I watched that one last night, but wouldn't have admitted it unless Bill did so first...

[BillF]

I watched that one last night, but wouldn't have admitted it unless Bill did so first...

[Shawn]

Joss Whedon's "The Avengers" is breaking box office records left and right. $641 million dollars worldwide and the weekend isn't over yet. Amazing numbers.

story here:

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-office-shocker-avengers-opens-record-shattering-200-155614945.html

(Cobie Smulders & Clark Gregg are great scene-stealers)

Thankfully for once the film more than lives up to the hype, an excellent movie and about as perfect as "popcorn movies" ever get. The decision to let Whedon write & direct this film paid off in many ways, his background in "multiple-character" TV shows (Buffy, Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse) and his love for comic books made him the most intelligent choice to bring "The Avengers" to life.

I'm a Whedon fanboy, but even I was blown away by this one. I'm planning on making another trip to the theater for a second viewing.

[Jazzmoose]

I have to admit, I'm hyped just because of the Avengers line-up they went with. I skipped the opening weekend crowds, though; they can get upwards of 25-30 people crowding the theater sometimes. Wednesday or Thursday for me.

Of course, if it's good, I expect a sequel with The Vision...

[BruceH]

I also avoided the opening weekend crush, but I will be seeing it sooner or later.

[Jazzmoose]

Caught it tonight. I can't say it was a G*R*E*A*T* F*I*L*M, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Favorite part: Loki's encounter with The Hulk...

Definitely one of the best of this genre I've seen.

[jazzbo]

My two cents, posted on the other film thread (I refuse to allow them to just talk about stuffy films )

Went to see The Avengers. Quite a good film. Having rewatched Firefly, Serenity and both seasons of Dollhouse the last few months, then going to see Cabin in the Woods, I was a bit Whedon'd out, and I think it shaved a bit of my possible enjoyment off. I'm not as over the top enthusiastic as many about this film, but it was very well done, and a helluva lot of fun. I saw it in 2D. I'm getting tired of 3D and its cost is just not commensurate with the final product.

My biggest beef, though it wasn't inaccurate as far as the books, was how much time was spent squabbling among themselves. And that Loki was ultimately a pretty tame and inept world-conquering demi-god supervillain. And thank goodness there was ScarJo as the Black Widow to watch, she was sorely needed among all that testosterone.