The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Starsky & Hutch
Saw it tonight on DVD. Enjoyed it way more than I thought I was going to. What worked specifically for me was the moments where they DIDN'T go for the gag, and instead gave the characters a moment to be real people. I was surprised to genuinely want S&H to get the bad guys and redeem their reputations. For a silly comedy, I couldn't find anything that was in that movie that didn't belong there. They managed to work the funny bits right into the story. Will Farrell was surprisingly restrained, making him funnier than I expected him to be. Also happy that it wasn't simply a "Ooh look we're spoofing the 70's" movie. Stiller and Wilson had good chemistry.

The exchange about Big Earl was the comedy highlight for me.

B+

Before Sunset
God DAMN but that Ethan Hawke is one annoying smug sonofabitch. Even more pretentious than the first one. Does Linklater understand anything at all about how to craft a story? What garbage.

HOWEVER, the last twnety minutes were full of lots of very convincing non-verbal communication between the two of them, and the sexual tension seemed very authentic, and I found myself pretty wrapped up ni that, just because I finally started to believe in the movie.

Bottom line: Those two are pretty decent actors when they keep their damn mouths shut.

C

Jim of Seattle wrote:Does Linklater understand anything at all about how to craft a story? What garbage.

I agree with you for the most part, Jim, but have you seen 'Dazed & Confused'? His masterpiece, and one of my favourite films of all time. Can't stand the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset pseudo-wank.

Starsky & Hutch = big old OK. Didn't really feel the dynamic between Stiller & Wilson which would have made the 'aren't old tv shows funny & crappy' approach more enjoyable. Happened to see 'Shanghai Knights' last week, and felt that Wilson/Chan were a better combo.

J$

j$ wrote:Happened to see 'Shanghai Knights' last week, and felt that Wilson/Chan were a better combo.

They do make a fun pair. There was a second movie too, but now I can't remember if I liked it as much as the first one.
-bill

j$ wrote:

Jim of Seattle wrote:Does Linklater understand anything at all about how to craft a story? What garbage.

I agree with you for the most part, Jim, but have you seen 'Dazed & Confused'? His masterpiece, and one of my favourite films of all time.

It's is an enjoyable film, but even there he can't tell a story. What makes DnC great is the characters (and the actors portraying them) and the fact that there's so many of them that 1) we don't have to really get bored of any of them, because we can just cut to someone else, and 2) we don't really care that there's no real plot, because there's so much going on.

15-16 puzzle wrote:

j$ wrote:

Jim of Seattle wrote:Does Linklater understand anything at all about how to craft a story? What garbage.

I agree with you for the most part, Jim, but have you seen 'Dazed & Confused'? His masterpiece, and one of my favourite films of all time.

It's is an enjoyable film, but even there he can't tell a story. What makes DnC great is the characters (and the actors portraying them) and the fact that there's so many of them that 1) we don't have to really get bored of any of them, because we can just cut to someone else, and 2) we don't really care that there's no real plot, because there's so much going on.

True. I guess I should have said he knows how to get around crafting a story in that film. When watching it, you feel like he's really focused his attempts to offer an alternative to linear plot structure. It may be a charade, but I don't mind being charaded for that film

HeuristicsInc wrote:

j$ wrote:Happened to see 'Shanghai Knights' last week, and felt that Wilson/Chan were a better combo.

They do make a fun pair. There was a second movie too, but now I can't remember if I liked it as much as the first one.
-bill

Shanghai Knights was the second. The first was Shanghai Noon. I saw the first and thought it was pretty tight. Didn't see the second. Reviews that bad scare me.

Please use one thread per movie, unless you're discussing the work of an individual.

What if it was, like, a comparison of two movies that seem really different at first or something?

(Um, I'm not a mod or anything, I just think it'd be cool if someone did that.)

[Is that better, 15-16?]

Way better.

Generic wrote:What if it was, like, a comparison of two movies that seem really different at first or something?

Yeah, that'd be cool. I guess what I mean is, let's not lump two movies together just because you saw them both over a weekend or something. Nothing against Jim, I just think that will be better for this forum over time, to go back and look at stuff. Already this thread is a mixture of comments on one or the other, and further diluted by my whingeing. So, that's all.

I didn't like Starsky and Hutch much. C+