gdp's Comments

/Film : Stoic Trailer: Uwe Boll Gets Serious!

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 01:34:04 +0000

This movie is probably going to be horrible like all other Boll movies, but this time he decided to film an incredibly shocking and gruesome event that took place in a German juvenile jail in 2007. If you want to learn more I recommend the following sources: audio report (english): http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediap... article (english): http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2808147,... An interview with Boll. He claimed that there were no scripted dialogues to make the movie more realistic. http://www.bereitsgesehen.de/specials/interviewbo...

/Film : Box Office: Wolverine Could Claw to $92 Million Opening Weekend, A Huge Start to Summer Blockbuster

Fri, 1 May 2009 00:22:59 +0000

My "educated guess" for the top three movies of the 2009 summer season is: 1. Transformers 2 (325 Mio.$) 2. Harry Potter 6 (300 Mio.$) 3. Star Trek (260 Mio.$)

/Film : TRON Sequel Will Be Titled... TRON?

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:32:17 +0000

I would differentiate the terms remake and reboot. They have a totally different meaning: Remake = Copies an original movie, sticks more or less closely to the original storyline (the original movie is used as a blueprint), e.g. the 1998 Psycho is a remake of the original Psycho. Another example are Hollywood remakes of foreign films. Reboot = Completely original movie (new storyline). A reboot is more like a sequel the resets the whole continuity and can drastically alter the overall tone and setting, e.g. Batman Begins is not recreating any movie (thus not a remake), but obviously it's not a sequel to the previous movies either. And this is what we call a reboot.

/Film : Who's Really Running the Tintin Show? Spielberg or Jackson?

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 03:48:07 +0000

Yes, there are numerous Tintin books I can't wait to see. There is potential for more than three movies. Good to see they started with one of the best choices.

/Film : Box Office Update: Watchmen Ticking Downward, Now Targeting $57M Weekend & $145M Domestic

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 03:25:42 +0000

Actually Steve Mason's predictions are among the best. I know only one source that is slightly more accurate. For me box office numbers are one of the most interesting topics. It's fascinating to compare the expectations against the actual results. Sometimes a movie is a huge hit beyond the wildest expectations while other movies are devastating flops. People are no robots. There are always uncertainties, but they are the reason why this is so interesting. So my other source prediced this prior to the respective opening weekends: * 34M opening and 70M cume for Jonas Brothers. Everybody expected them to rule the weekend (like Miley Cyrus did with her concert movie last year) and I have still no idea why they failed to do so. * 31M opening and 60M cume for Madea Goes to Jail. Just on the same level as the other entries in the series (Family Reunion had a 30M opening). We all know it did better than expected. Seemingly Tyler Perry succeeded to build a loyal fanbase with his movies and he's just huge at the moment. If you know any source with better predictions please let me know. Or post your own in the future. I would be interested.

/Film : 2009 Academy Awards Winners

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:30:40 +0000

It's a combination of CGI and makeup. Do yourself a favor and see the making of. You know David Fincher already used stunning CGI in Zodiac - stunning because it's so flawless you don't even notice it (for example the helicopter...go and google for zodiac cgi). This is the kind of CGI that's the future - effects that are so well done, that they are just an instrument to tell the story and not the main purpose of the movie.

/Film : 2009 Academy Awards Winners

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:10:55 +0000

I think everybody (including me) expected Waltz with Bashir to win. It's an amazing movie, one of this years best. But I have to admit that I haven't seen Departures yet and I think nobody here has seen it. So I reserve my judgement until I actually saw the movie.

/Film : 2009 Academy Awards Winners

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:06:08 +0000

You have no idea how much technical expertise went into Benjamin Button. The movie is a revolutionary achievement. Sure, the CGI in this movie is nothing that jumps in your face, but it's always there, so subtle and so well created that you cannot longer distinguish between reality and CGI. You don't have to like the movie, but this Oscar is the one that Benjamin Button deserved the most.

/Film : Watching The Oscars From The Slums of Mumbai

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:13:53 +0000

I tell you, the best thing those kid could hope for is that somebody pays them an excellent education. You know the old saying: "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime." This is so true. Money won't have any long-lasting effect for them (maybe with the exception of a ridiculously large amount of money), but if you educate those kids, one day they will be able to make a living on their own. They won't be millionaires, but they will be able to make the right decisions and build a better life for themselves.

/Film : 2009 Academy Awards Winners

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:43:29 +0000

Obviously Sunshine is no award material. Nevertheless it started well, but fell apart in the horrible third act. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

/Film : The Dark Knight Passes $1 Billion at Box Office

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:16:46 +0000

This is very unusual for every major blockbuster. It's really hard to find other instances where this happened (obviously Passion of Christ is one of the most notable cases). In the US The Dark Knight was without a doubt the most successful movie of this decade (2000 - 2009). And then in 1999 Star Wars Episode I was more successful, at least if you adjust for inflation. But despite that, overseas The Dark Knight performed pretty unspectacular. It was outperformed by Indiana Jones IV and is far from any record breaking number. Even if you ignore inflation at least 21 movies made more money than The Dark Knight (e.g. all 5 Harry Potter, all 3 Lord of the Rings, PotC 2 & 3, Shrek 2 & 3, The Da Vinci Code, ...). Yes, internationally even Spider-Man 3 (554 Mio.$) made a lot more than The Dark Knight (468 Mio.$).

/Film : The Dark Knight Passes $1 Billion at Box Office

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 04:44:36 +0000

It amazes me that nobody bothers to adjust the numbers for inflation. In their raw form they are nearly useless. For example Jurassic Park made 920 Mio.$ worldwide back in 1993 and that is waaay better than 1 billion dollar in 2008.

/Film : The Dark Knight Passes $1 Billion at Box Office

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:58:19 +0000

Even domestically The Dark Knight is nowhere near Titanic. Internationally the gap between those two movies is just enormous, because the number for Titanic is without adjustment for inflation (which is of course always necessary). I doubt Titanic's record will be ever be broken, because: 1) In 1997/98 there weren't so many blockbusters. Now there opens one big movie every week during the summer season. It were a whole different time back then. That's why movies burn out really fast nowadays (opening weekend accounts already for 1/3 of the total gross). And so Titanic was #1 for 15 (!) weeks while The Dark Knight was #1 for a meager 4 weeks. I think that's a pretty impressive comparison. 2) In 1998 most people haven't even heard of DVDs nor did they own huge flat screen TVs. Without a comparable home cinema option Titanic was in the top 10 for seven consecutive months (December 97 - June 98). Such a staying power is absolutely impossible nowadays and The Dark Knight had only three months in the top 10 (July 08 - September 08).

/Film : Eva Green and New Dr. Who, Matt Smith, Jump Aboard Cloning Drama \"Womb\"

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 22:13:07 +0000

She had maybe two scenes in The Golden Compass. I would argue that she's hardly in that movie (the same applies for Daniel Craig and he is even bigger on the poster - it's kind of false labeling). However I would highly recommend The Dreamers, it's a really underrated gem. But probably you've already seen it. There are not so many Eva Green movies to choose from.

/Film : 2008 British Academy Film And Television Awards Winners

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 02:28:03 +0000

Good point, I haven't considered that. Ok, but I don't really think that TDK deserves to win for Cinematography. I rewatched it carefully and it doesn't stand out enough for me. Of course the movie is excellently crafted, but to me those 8 nominations (as much as last years winner) feel overrated to an unhealthy degree. Somehow I doubt that TDK would have received that much praise in a 'normal' year (i.e. a year in that Heath Ledger didn't die). My guess is still Slumdog for Cinematography and Benjamin Button for Art Direction. But we will see...

/Film : 2008 British Academy Film And Television Awards Winners

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 02:03:11 +0000

That doesn't matter :) Now I'm really excited to see the Academy Awards. Just out of curiosity: What is your choice for Best Cinematography? It must be either TDK or Benjamin Button. But which one?

/Film : 2008 British Academy Film And Television Awards Winners

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 01:11:50 +0000

I agree (see my post above), except: 1) I expect Wall-E to win both sound awards (mixing and editing) because the sound is so crucial in that movie (Slumdog won at the BAFTAs) 2) I'm not sure if In Bruges will win for Best Original Screenplay. I think Milk and Wall-E are still in the race. And I believe Milk will win (it won the WGA yesterday). 3) Waltz with Bashir will win Best Foreign Film (well deserved). And the outcome of the remaing awards will match perfectly. This is the year of Slumdog Millionaire and it will sweep the Oscars as well.

/Film : 2008 British Academy Film And Television Awards Winners

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 01:02:23 +0000

The cinematography in Slumdog Millionaire is plain beautiful and one of the film's major assets. It's crucial for it's success and it's comparably unconventional. Of course Slumdog will win the Oscar for cinematography and editing. There is (nearly) no doubt about that. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wins for Visual Effects (of course, the creation of the movie is a revolutionary achievement), Make-Up and Art Direction. The Dark Knight will most likely only win for Best Supporting Actor (because I expect Wall-E to sweep both sound categories).

/Film : 2008 Oscar Nominations Announced - What Do You Think?

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:19:15 +0000

No, Titanic and All About Eve got 14 nominations. And there are eight other movies that got 13 nominations as well (including Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Forrest Gump, Lord of the Rings). The most oscar wins were scored by Titanic, Ben Hur and Lord of the Rings 3 with 11 wins each.

/Film : Oscar Nomination Predictions: Dark Knight Seems Certain to Challenge Slumdog and Benjamin Button

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:38:50 +0000

They will get enough viewers with the Best Picture nominations. There are already three big mainstream movies: The Dark Knight, Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire. And then there is a sure nomination for Heath Ledger, there may be a nomination for Clint Eastwood, ... There are already tons of big names. I think Richard Jenkins will be nominated.