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 josh 
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The Five Worst Films I saw in 2004
Saw
Billed as being a taut thriller in the 'Seven' mold about a crazed serial killer who chains two men up in a room with just a saw and a gun, this movie actually does everything it can to take you out of the room, including flashbacks, flashsideways, and even a flashback within a flashback. The plot, or what passes for it, is ridiculous, the setpiece traps the killer constructs would have been worth the admission... if the film didn't shift into rap-metal music video mode during each one of those sequences. Terrible.
Secret Window
Johnny Depp can almost always carry a movie, but here he was saddled with a corny (and very well-trod) concept, a bad script, and the most obvious 'twist' ending in recent memory. The entire theater laughed their asses off at the "frightening" realization near the end of the film... just bad.
the Grudge
HOO BOY. This Japanese horror adaptation starts all Americans, who are for some reason in Japan and only associate with other Americans. The plot is threadbare, the ghosts are rarely scary or even creepy, and it's attempts at a measured pace end up just being slow and plodding. Probably the most boring movie I saw this year.
Taking Lives
I knew this wasn't going to be a good film going in, and it does get some points for using the savvy audience member's trick of paying attention to the casting to figure out who the villian is against us... But I never really bought any of the characters. Angelina Jolie was never believable as a FBI agent, nor did the sissy actor who plays the killer have any presence. The (suprisingly graphic) sex scene comes out of nowhere, but not as much as the laughable ending... which, really, is just too much to take.
Now... these movies I mention above were bad... Like... real bad. But equally so, and nothing, nothing compared to:
Exorcist: The Beginning
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Even divorced from the original, there is little to nothing good about this. Shoestring budget, a cast of 3-4 people, terrible CGI, even worse script. The only slightly interesting things about this movie were the allusions to the original, which most of the audience wouldn't get anyway. Add to this simply terrible touches like reoccuring flashbacks of the terror of war that explain to us the main characters inner emotional turmoil throughout the movie... except that the filmmakers decided to put the most gripping and pivotal one FIRST instead of building up to it, so that the rest of the film we are basically watching rerun flashbacks every 10 minutes. Another great moment is when a baby is stillborn and is shown... covered in maggots. HOW DID THE FLIES GET UP THERE TO LAY THEIR EGGS?
Beyond nitpicking, this movie is the opposite of the original in every way - instead of slowly building tension, let's just jump right in! Instead of using subtly counterbalanced with moments of extremes, let's just make the whole movie a bland CGI cocktail! I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing the alternate version, but honestly it could not be any worse than this piece of excrement was.
[ posted by josh at 12/16/2004 12:45:35 AM ] [ trackback ]
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Threaded Responses [ bottom ]
 | josh [email] said at 12:46 AM 12-16-2004:
Now review the worst films YOU saw that came out this year. |
 | reggie [email] said at 12:52 AM 12-25-2004:
I've developed a keen since of whole-heartedly avoiding movies I know I'll dislike. So my list includes one movie: Birth. |
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| reggie [email] said at 12:53 AM 12-25-2004:
Oops I mean "sense" |
 | brad [email] said at 12:58 AM 12-16-2004:
Saw was a horrible movie, but well worth my money, just to see it with that audience. "Shoot him! Shoot his ass!" |
PinkyInLondon said at 2:50 AM 12-16-2004:
How about Mean Girls? There were a few redeeming moments, but for the most part, I was disappointed with the plot, which I've seen about a hundred times before, and the "acting" was dreadful.
And The Village was another classic audience-laughing-at-the-"twist" movie.
I've found the Union Station cinema to be ridiculous when it comes to audience participation. Seeing the Ring there was hysterical (and really scary). |
Wade said at 9:52 AM 12-16-2004:
Oh shit, The Village! Man, did that suck! It takes a village! And wtf is up with that guy’s name? That name is fake and retarded. M. Night Shyamalan or something? That’s almost as bad as MAYA ANGELOU. We need to deport that fucker.
I would also point out that Ju-on or whatever, the original "Grudge", sucked too. And it sounds to me that it sucked in all the same ways as its American version. And there was no Bukkake.
But we had "Ray" this year. And here comes the Aviator! And Eastwood's new flick, so there is hope!
Oh sorry, we were supposed to be bitching... |
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| brad [email] said at 11:34 AM 12-16-2004:
if mean girls is one of the worst you've seen, you must not see many movies.
i thought mean girls was fine. it's a teen comedy -- what do you expect? |
PinkyInLondon said at 4:20 PM 12-16-2004:
That's killer logic, really. Anyone else want to defend the merits of Mean Girls? |
 | rick [email] said at 4:24 PM 12-16-2004:
I never saw "Mean Girls" but "She's All That" was a bit charming if totally cliched. |
 | meredith [email] said at 4:28 PM 12-16-2004:
That movie was awesome because it was making fun of itself and all teen movies to come before. |
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| rick [email] said at 4:29 PM 12-16-2004:
Wow. I am not the only one on Killoggs who saw that film. |
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| meredith [email] said at 4:33 PM 12-16-2004:
I love the part where she is 'painting' in the basement and crying her eyes out. |
 | julie [email] said at 9:38 AM 12-16-2004:
Angelina Jolie was never believable as a FBI agent, nor did the sissy actor who plays the killer have any presence
Are you trying not to spoil this for those who haven't seen it, or do you actually not realize that that was Ethan Hawke? |
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| josh [email] said at 11:49 AM 12-16-2004:
I was trying not to spoil it. |
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| julie [email] said at 1:40 PM 12-16-2004:
I was trying to spoil it. |
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| josh [email] said at 1:42 PM 12-16-2004:
AWWWWW CUUUUTTTTTEEEE |
art said at 9:43 AM 12-16-2004:
I'm going to be stuck seeing Polar Express at the IMAX in Boston on Christmas Day. I expect that will be the worst movie I will see this year |
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| rick [email] said at 10:06 AM 12-16-2004:
"Hidalgo" was one of the worst historical films ever. |
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| meredith [email] said at 10:34 AM 12-16-2004:
Really? Because I have that on my netflix list... |
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| rick [email] said at 10:36 AM 12-16-2004:
It is entertaining but just bear mind that likely nothing about the story is true except that Mr. Jenkins was an equestrian who was known to some Native Americans. Everything else is most likely hogwash. |
 | brianbibbly [email] said at 10:42 AM 12-16-2004:
Hogwash? Even the part where the dude on the horse slays the brigand of Orcs and becomes the King of Gondor? No way! |
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| meredith [email] said at 10:45 AM 12-16-2004:
Oh, I never expected it to be true or accurate. I just wanted a nice horsey story a la The Black Stallion. |
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| rick [email] said at 10:49 AM 12-16-2004:
Well, it is a spotted horse but the story is uplifting and it has this funny goat herder in it. |
MaryEllen said at 1:39 PM 12-16-2004:
I enjoyed this movie. So did Dianne and Heather. It's utterly forgettable, and yet, a pleasure. |
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| rick [email] said at 1:43 PM 12-16-2004:
I enjoyed the film when I saw it. |
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| rick [email] said at 10:26 AM 12-16-2004:
I cannot think of really any film that made me leave the film brimming with hatred. There were no "Bad Boys II" this year, no "Dude, Where's My Car?," no "The General's Daughter."Or there was but I missed it because I have not been going to the cinema like I used to. |
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| julie [email] said at 10:33 AM 12-16-2004:
Bridget Jones II. That I even went to see it is humiliating. How that squinchy-faced sow ever bagged Jack White is a mystery to me. |
Darryl X. said at 11:25 AM 12-16-2004:
Hooray! Somebody ELSE hates Renee Zellweger, too! She was in a movie called "One True Thing." Her performance in that film was the worst I have ever seen in a non-B movie. |
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| meredith [email] said at 11:27 AM 12-16-2004:
Jeremy calls her 'Oily Face'. |
 | myriam [email] said at 11:53 AM 12-16-2004:
Oh I can't stand her. I want to slap her face so the lemon pops out of her mouth and her eyelids fly wide open. That would probably shut her up, too. Ugh her voice is so grating!
Also, Down With Love was a really bad movie, although not from 2004. |
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| julie [email] said at 11:56 AM 12-16-2004:
I want to slap her face so the lemon pops out of her mouth and her eyelids fly wide open.
OMG Myriam!!! This line kind of makes me want to marry you. |
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| myriam [email] said at 11:57 AM 12-16-2004:
That's why I moved to the big MA. |
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| julie [email] said at 10:45 AM 12-16-2004:
The Whole Ten Yards. |
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| julie [email] said at 10:46 AM 12-16-2004:
I didn't see this... but I still have nightmares about the fact that it even exists. |
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| myriam [email] said at 11:13 AM 12-16-2004:
Garden State. Also something I saw on a plane that is escaping me at the moment. |
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| brianbibbly [email] said at 11:27 AM 12-16-2004:
I didn't think Garden State was that bad. I mean, it has one of the best lines of the year:
Method Man: "Hold up, hold up. Now who here didn't just see some titties? Raise your hand if you like titties!" All raise hands. |
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| myriam [email] said at 11:32 AM 12-16-2004:
that part was awesome, and the rest of the whole movie should have been like that.
i swear i was reviewing this film AGAIN in my head during the shower today and composing an nicely-worded email to zach braff to point out things he should avoid in the future.
i think in many ways that film was ruined by his over-exposure to TV. |
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| julie [email] said at 11:18 AM 12-16-2004:
Stepford Wives!!!
So horrible. Huge holes in the plot, characters who had one line and then disappeared from the story, and an ending that didn't even make sense when you matched it up with the beginning of the movie. I think it was a case of an okay movie being butchered beyond recognition by editing and re-shoots. But what a colossal pile of shit. |
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| myriam [email] said at 11:20 AM 12-16-2004:
OH!!!! That's the one i saw on the plane!!!!! THANK YOU JULES that was going to bother me 4evs. |
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| julie [email] said at 11:23 AM 12-16-2004:
I am simultaneously gladdened and saddened that I had occasion to remind you about this film. |
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| myriam [email] said at 11:27 AM 12-16-2004:
The only good thing about it was that I finally figured out the secret to Laura Bush. |
 | abby [email] said at 11:55 AM 12-16-2004:
king arthur. everything about this movie was terrible. costume, casting, uh, WRITING, fake-ass tree wizards. i mean i knew this movie would be silly but i didn't know it would make me want to die. |
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| julie [email] said at 11:57 AM 12-16-2004:
Clive needs to reign himself in and stop accepting every offer that comes across his desk. He's retroactively tainting my Croupier experience, the fucker. |
dave. said at 12:06 PM 12-16-2004:
YOU STOLE MY STORY |
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| josh [email] said at 12:22 PM 12-16-2004:
So bad. |
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| myriam [email] said at 12:19 PM 12-16-2004:
I would like to say "Seabiscuit" but actually it didn't seem that bad. |
 | kiche [email] said at 12:28 PM 12-16-2004:
i remember when you posted the trailer for saw on here.
in the comments you said something like, "this looks awesome!!!" i had wondered if you were being sarcastic. the trailers for it looked terrible.
as for the grudge, sigh, i didn't see it, if a good movie comes out in another country, i wish they'd just release it here, instead of reshooting it to make it more "america friendly".
as for the exorcist the beginning...
i'm sure i will see this eventually. i can't believe how many people i knew who thought this was going to be good.
it just looked so terrible, and it's the fourth installment in the series.
it looked so bad, saying it sucked is like picking on a retarded kid or something. |
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| rick [email] said at 12:30 PM 12-16-2004:
I rather liked the ending of "Exorcist: The Beginning." |
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| josh [email] said at 1:53 PM 12-16-2004:
1. They did release the Grudge here.
2. The original version of Exorcist : the Beginning, written and directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Last Temptation of Christ writer) is supposed to be pretty good. The DVD will have both versions, so that's cool.
3. Actually, what you are talking about is when I linked to the Saw website and what I said was, and I quote: "cool site." That's a little different then "Wow, this movie looks good." |
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| kiche [email] said at 3:07 PM 12-16-2004:
1) in new york and l.a. (and maybe a few other tiny theaters like visions). note: i8 haven't seen either version of the grudge, i am just complaining about this trend in general.
2) the original version of the movie was not the one that they put trailers in theaters for, so i can't judge. i don't know a whole lot about it. maybe this is a good movie, we'll have to wait and see. but that pile of shit i saw trailers for looked b-a-d.
3) that may be, but i still remember you being hyped about the movie. in fact, the first time i had heard of saw was when you linked on here. i took one look at it, and i thought, "are you joking, this looks terrible."
i avoided that movie, because it looked like the worst movie that was coming out this year. |
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| josh [email] said at 3:43 PM 12-16-2004:
1) in new york and l.a. (and maybe a few other tiny theaters like visions). note: i8 haven't seen either version of the grudge, i am just complaining about this trend in general.
It played here in the 20 screen Landmark Cinema multiplex, actually. And at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring. Possibly elsewhere.
2) Schrader wrote and directed the movie, the studio thought it was boring and "too pyschological" and they had Renny Harlin redirect it. I've HEARD that the original version is pretty good and more creepy as oppossed to CGI-barfy. Because of the DGA contract, the studio is REQUIRED to release the film, so they are releasing a 2-disc set with both movies. I shall rent it and just watch the Schrader version.
3) If you look at the posted link you are referring to, I did not mention anything at all about the movie... I simply wrote "cool site" and there are no responses by me to the thread.
Maybe you are confused and think I was hyped about the movie because I thought the site was well done? |
Wade said at 5:57 PM 12-16-2004:
The original Grudge was "Ju-on" and it played at several large theaters here in DC, and sucked at every one. |
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| josh [email] said at 1:55 PM 12-16-2004:
PS the America version of the Ring was better than the Japanese version, but both sucked. |
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| kiche [email] said at 3:09 PM 12-16-2004:
ps: the village blew and was the WORST movie i saw last year.
people were laughing at it in the theater, and the "twist" ending was hokey and you could see it coming from a mile away. |
 | zack [email] said at 3:18 PM 12-16-2004:
heh. I liked the villiage.. |
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| rick [email] said at 4:14 PM 12-16-2004:
So did I. |
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| reggie [email] said at 12:54 AM 12-25-2004:
I liked it too. |
Wade said at 5:59 PM 12-16-2004:
It takes a village! |
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| rick [email] said at 6:00 PM 12-16-2004:
Hillary might have been an interesting monster lurking in the woods. |
Wade said at 6:02 PM 12-16-2004:
True, one redeeming quality then.
You saw the village but didn't see The Passion? Why didn't you see that? Mel Gibson? |
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| rick [email] said at 6:11 PM 12-16-2004:
I did not see "The Passion" because:1) No one, including those who thought it was a good film, said it was fun to watch. On the contrary, everyone said it was an ordeal to watch. 2) I will see an unfun film if I think it has a historicoliterary component. But here I have read a lot of dissent as to how accurate it is. And I have also read that the story actually comes from a book by Katherine Emmerich, a illiterate Bavarian nun who on her deathbed narrated to the German Romantic poet, Clemens Brentano. I do not mind films not following books so much; I can think of at least two films that were better than the books but in those cases, the books were not so good. 3) I will still see a film if I think it might be provocative or thought provoking ( see "Chaos" or "Stalingrad") but I did not think this film do that for me. 4) I will see a film if someone else really wants to see it and invites me but no one I know wanted to see it when it was out. 5) Although Mel Gibson was not in the film, he did direct it and he has been in some films that I loathe. 6) I don' t know. Mmmh'Linda |
Wade said at 6:23 PM 12-16-2004:
ha, so do you want The Passion on DVD for Christmas or that book I sent you a link to by D. Sherman?
In The Passion you can barely make out, barely hear, the almost inaudible mouthings by Christ, as he whispers ... Mmmh'Linda. ...Mmmh'Linda. ...Mmmm...
Does that help you decide? |
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| rick [email] said at 6:26 PM 12-16-2004:
If the DVD has an alternate ending in which Jesus rises from the dead and yells in thick Scottish brogue, "Every man dies but not every man ressurects" and then leads his followers to victory over the Romans, then I guess I would like a copy. |
 | ed [email] said at 6:27 PM 12-16-2004:
Mel's hand was in the movie.
And I'm really surprised that this is the first time I've seen this movie even mentioned. Frankly, I thought it would get a lot more facetime in a "worst of" discussion.
I don't think it's anywhere near the top in "best of/worst of" consideration. It was excruciating for me to watch, as a believer. But it's almost like required viewing.
There is no WAY that I would have viewed it if I were still an agnostic. Violence and abuse and brutality (especially depicted to that level) have never ever been "entertaining" to me. But this was something I felt, as a Christian, I needed to watch. Scoff all you want, but if what I believe is true, then what was depicted in this move really happened. And as painful as it is for me to watch, that sacrifice was made on MY behalf. The least I could do was to endure a re-enactment, if only to remind me of the price that was paid. |
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| rick [email] said at 6:28 PM 12-16-2004:
See I would have watched this film when I was thirteen or fourteen and likely it would have had a deep impact on me. But now, I am old, bitter and jaded. |
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| ed [email] said at 6:33 PM 12-16-2004:
Ahh, but sometimes age can slap the "bitter and jaded" right outcha mouf.
I wouldn't mind the "old" part taking a break, though. |
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| rick [email] said at 6:34 PM 12-16-2004:
"Teenage angst has served me well/ now I'm old and bored" -"Serve The Servants" by Nirvana |
art said at 12:29 PM 12-17-2004:
you're not old ed. STFU! |
Wade said at 6:41 PM 12-16-2004:
The passion was, hands down, the best movie of last year, and one of the top 5 of all time. It is the perfection of filmaking as an art. It is at once and forever, and perhaps the only, true celluloid Icon.
I think you don't see it mentioned in either post because its a moot point. Well, except for rick... Rick claims historical deviation, but then again, the movie came more or less straight from the gospels and the apochraphals.
An arguement about the validity of the gospels or the bible is a completely different subject Rick, that has been run into the mud here already i think.
Also, Rick: The books of the bible that were censored by the catholic church hold that Christ spoke in said Scottish tongue and also Rapped. He wore a big necklace with a sundial on it, and had bling on his burro. You can't contend with Christ, Rick. |
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| rick [email] said at 10:06 AM 12-17-2004:
I do not claim "historical deviation," other people have. But I do not know if it does or not because I have not seen the film. Maybe I will, because it's true: I can't contend with Christ. |
Wade said at 12:21 PM 12-17-2004:
And God saw Rick was a humble man,
who endeavored to live rightly
and whose heart was good.
And lo, he spoke to Rick,
in his darkest hour, when the
killoggs temptation beckoned him,
into the eternal abyss,
Abwoon d'bwashmaya,
Nethqadash shmakh,
Teytey malkuthakh.
Nehwey tzevyanach Mmmh'linda
aykanna d'bwashmaya aph b'arha. |
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| kiche [email] said at 6:30 PM 12-16-2004:
while the passion is not a "fun" movie. i did not find it to be an ordeal to watch.
i enjoyed watching it every time i've seen it, and i plan to watch it again in the future.
and why should it have to be historically accurate? movies, books and other stories are about symbolism anyway.
what, are you a fundamentallist, or are you just antisemiotic? |
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| josh [email] said at 3:34 PM 12-16-2004:
It was definitely better than any of the 5 I listed. |
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| kiche [email] said at 3:52 PM 12-16-2004:
with every movie that guy just gets hokier.
it's not even like he "directs" them anymore, but just hammers them into his little film formula with the required "twist" ending. |
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| josh [email] said at 4:00 PM 12-16-2004:
Signs didn't really have a twist, not in the same way the others did. But it was also not very good.
Unbreakable is my favorite one he's done. |
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| kiche [email] said at 4:18 PM 12-16-2004:
signs had a twist, it was just a really lousy twist.
i too liked unbreakable. |
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| rick [email] said at 4:19 PM 12-16-2004:
"Signs" is one of the reasons I will not see films that involve Mel Gibson. |
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| kiche [email] said at 4:40 PM 12-16-2004:
the passion was good. |
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| rick [email] said at 5:51 PM 12-16-2004:
I choose not to see that film. |
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| josh [email] said at 4:29 PM 12-16-2004:
it wasn't a twist like the twist in the other films though.. one that causes you to re-evaluate the rest of the movie and see how they could be taken in two different ways.
it was a twist in the same way that at the end of countless movies, the characters realize that they have the key to solving the situation/they actually were destined to be the hero/etc, etc. |
 | andrew [email] said at 12:54 PM 12-16-2004:
that bullshit movie where ben affleck and samuel l. jackson got in a car crash. maybe that was last year. |
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| josh [email] said at 1:55 PM 12-16-2004:
That looked awful. |
 | chrisx [email] said at 2:10 PM 12-16-2004:
I have to disagree about the Japanese Ju-on movie(s). The US version was so-so, but I love the original and it's seuels and prequels. They're creepy in a "Shining" sort of way, and the first of the series (which was a straight-to-video release in Nippon) was way fucked.
Aside from that, I have to agree about the rest of Josh's picks; I would say the worst movie I payed to see in 2004 was Exorcist: the Beginning. Garbage. I'm rather picky about what I see in the theaters, so I skipped out on most of what was mentioned in this thread, though I did have the misfortune to see parts of Hidalgo and Stepford on flights. I also hated Wonderland (which I rented). |
 | jeremy [email] said at 3:49 PM 12-16-2004:
was "corny" supposed to be a pun josh? |
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| josh [email] said at 4:03 PM 12-16-2004:
Actually, it was a coincidence, but it fits, doesn't it? I forgot about that part... |
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| jeremy [email] said at 4:01 PM 12-16-2004:
I'd have to say the Stepford Wives and The Village were probably the worst two movies I saw. I just viewed Stepford Wives the other night. I had managed to avoid it in the theatres, but then got it on Netflix because my girlfriend had wanted to see it because she likes Nicole Kidman. Why must Cristopher Walken be associated with such bad movies? |
 | amanda [email] said at 6:20 PM 12-16-2004:
Wow, I was trying to think of movies I've even seen this year when I realized I didn't see anything in the theatre at all. This isn't all that unusual; I usually only go to one or two a year because I assume most everything is crap and not worth the cost of a ticket. Still, there's usually at least a few movies that perk my curiosity and I can't even think of anything I wanted to maybe see that came out in 2004. |
 | cecil [email] said at 6:31 PM 12-16-2004:
then let's hear about your 5 weakest cocktails of 2004 |
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| amanda [email] said at 6:56 PM 12-16-2004:
1-Gin and tonics where the bartenders think that club soda and tonic water are interchangeable. Blech.
2-Lemondrop shots, which taste like some sort of vile hard candy purchased from the Family Dollar store.
3-The Old Fashioned I made where I grabbed the bottle of Mesquite Smoke Flavouring instead of the bottle of bitters by accident. It tasted like liquid honey ham.
4-The bloody mary I had after eating copious amounts of Mexican food at Maria's. My stomach was not pleased.
5-Though not a cocktail or a shot, Milwaukee's Best Ice. *shudder* |
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| cecil [email] said at 7:08 PM 12-16-2004:
Your proficiency with this subject is very attractive. |
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| amanda [email] said at 11:12 PM 12-16-2004:
Eww...that reminds me of the two-headed piglet in a jar in the science room at my grade school. |
 | pokey [email] said at 11:25 PM 12-16-2004:
You're supposed to shotgun Milwaukee's Best. |
 | brandonA [email] said at 6:21 PM 12-16-2004:
I was dragged to 'Sky Captain'.
I found it to be one of the worst movies ever, and am mystified that it was popular. And I have no illusions about what kind of movies are popular. |
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| josh [email] said at 6:59 PM 12-16-2004:
was it popular? it didn't last very long in the theaters here.
i thought it was a cool concept looking for a good script that it didn't find. |
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| cecil [email] said at 6:26 PM 12-16-2004:
Open Water. I'm traumatized by the waste of time that was. |
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| zack [email] said at 7:28 PM 12-16-2004:
I'm trying hard to think of something I hated, but I'm blanking out even though I know I saw some shitty movies.. Team America comes close, but I didn't HATE it, just found it completely underwhelming and overrated. |
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| josh [email] said at 7:02 PM 12-18-2004:
(22:57:20) makethecathurt: hello
(23:02:26) josh: yo
(23:02:56) makethecathurt: I saw you're worst films of 2004 on the internet.
(23:03:03) josh: oh, haha
(23:03:33) makethecathurt: I was going to talk, but I lost interest
(23:03:41) josh: sweet
(23:03:50) josh: im going to get beers. ciao |
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| josh [email] said at 3:55 PM 07-08-2007:
i stand by all of these |
 | jake [email] said at 6:05 PM 07-08-2007:
And predictably, I really enjoyed #1, #2, and #4. Haven't seen the other two.
Somehow the things that put you off, draw me in. I do agree that Secret Window is very familiar ground, but I still enjoyed it in a pulpy, tale-well-told-that-hits-every-cliche-on-the-nose kind of way.
I found the traps and all in Saw more potent than Se7en, because I could more easily imagine myself in them. And the systematic invoking of every kind of phobia except spiders was awesome. Also, ever since Puppet Master I've been a sucker for scary puppets. Though I missed the new one about haunted dolls that the Saw guys just did...
And Taking Lives was disjointed, piecemeal, and very imperfect. But I enjoyed it on a double-feature at my house with Twisted.
I think we've already argued about all of these? Feels that way. |
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| josh [email] said at 6:08 PM 07-08-2007:
wait... are you saying saw was better than seven? |
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| jake [email] said at 7:01 PM 07-08-2007:
Better..? I think Se7en is probably the finer film. It's got a better RT rating, more awards, and seems to have done a lot better at the box office though it's got a 10 year lead so that's hard to compare. Plus Saw launched a franchise, and was shot for a lot less... Anyway, I'm not saying Saw was better. I'm just saying that Saw affected me more. The way I felt during the Se7en scene out in the field at the end, I felt with Saw all the way through.
By rough comparison, Wild Things might be considered a much more arousing film that 9 & 1/2 Weeks, but the latter is obviously the better, more original film. |
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| josh [email] said at 7:15 PM 07-08-2007:
It's amazing that Saw affected you more than Seven... since Seven was a film with complex, well flushed out characters and a powerful, and even inspiring character arc with Summerset... in short, the movie had a message. I can barely recall the plot of Saw, much less the characters, and I really doubt there was any sort of message there.
Wow. |
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| jake [email] said at 7:28 PM 07-08-2007:
I agree with your comparison--I think Saw is a really smart cheap-thrills movie, but Se7en, like most of Fincher's work, is far more powerful.
What I mean by "affected me" is just that I was more tense while I was watching Saw. To be fair, I saw Saw in the theater and Se7en at home on a big TV. Maybe that's the only reason that I got more caught up in it.
I do remember thinking about what I would do in those traps, for both films, for awhile afterwards. But the non-linear plot in Saw really worked for me, and so did the series of reveals towards the end.
But to be clear, I'm really not saying that Saw is better in any way. Unless you ask me nicely to pick a fight with you. |
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| josh [email] said at 7:30 PM 07-08-2007:
whew!
also, part of the reason for the tension difference is that, until they find john doe/ he reveals himself, everything we (and the main characters) are experiencing is piecing together things that have already happened... while saw is placing the viewer in the traps... a very different experience. |
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| jake [email] said at 7:38 PM 07-08-2007:
True.
Also the rap-metal shift happened to work for me. |
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| josh [email] said at 6:11 PM 07-08-2007:
also there is a big difference in rating a movie at the theater and at home... at home you compare movies to whats on TV, at the theater you are comparing it to other things that cost $12+ food costs + parking. |
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| jake [email] said at 7:21 PM 07-08-2007:
I completely agree. And I bought Taking Lives, Twisted, and Secret Window from the video store, for less total than you probably spent on one of them.
That said, I don't compare them to what's on tv (broadcast television at my apartment) so much as the same couple of hours spent reading comics or books. Very different criteria for satisfaction. Plus I can pause for a bathroom or food break any time. |
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