Domino (it sucks)
#1
Posted 08 January 2007 - 01:26 AM
I just watched DOMINO starring Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke. I now ammend any comments I may have made previously about Michael Bay being the worst director in America. That title is easily held by Tony Scott. I know, you're all going to say "But I liked TRUE ROMANCE." Yes. that's what blinded me as well for so long. But remembering that it was Scott's decision not to kill Clarence and also to add the line about how Alabama had only been a call girl for a few days and Clarence was her third (or second? customer), I have to note that anything that was good about that show was in the writing, not the directing. Consider:
Emma's War (2007) (in production)
The Warriors (2008) (announced)
Deja Vu (2006)
Domino (2005)
Agent Orange (2004)
Man on Fire (2004)
Beat the Devil (2002)
... aka The Hire: Beat the Devil (USA: series title)
Spy Game (2001)
"The Hunger" (2 episodes, 1997-1999)
- Sanctuary (1999) TV Episode
- The Swords (1997) TV Episode
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1999) (V) (video "One More Try")
Enemy of the State (1998)
The Fan (1996)
Crimson Tide (1995)
True Romance (1993)
... aka Breakaway (Philippines: English title)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Days of Thunder (1990)
Revenge (1990/I)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Top Gun (1986)
There is some real shit there, beginning with (shudder) TOP GUN and culminating, I think, in the planned remake of THE WARRIORS. Hell, for CRIMSON TIDE and ENEMY OF THE STATE alone (the latter stole the Mexican standoff from TRUE ROMANCE, and made it dumber), he should be forced to make infomercials for sunglasses or something. While I'm at it, I'd like to point out that THE DUELLISTS and BLADE RUNNER were great, but apart from those, I'm also not too impressed with the choices made by the more talented brother Ridley Scott.
Anyway, DOMINO is like, not at all about the real Domino Harvey, but it is about sick children, relief efforts in Afghanistan, strip joints and mobsters shooting one another. In other words it's a lame American action film, with the "twist" that the main character is a sexy little girl instead of a big thug. Yawn. So yeah, that means endless slo-mo shots of the girl as a child flipping a coin and deciding the direction her life will take, literal references to 90210 prettyboys, some father issues, and a decision to be a hardass after, no joke, her goldfish dies when she's 9. Holy fuck, this is one bad show.
Don't watch it.
#2
Posted 08 January 2007 - 12:01 PM
I love that, well, parts of that movie.
It makes me feel rather proud of
my surround sound speakers.
And i liked Enemy of the State
I thought it was a pretty good game of....,
cat and mouse or whatever
Thats when i started to take Will Smith seriously.
That aside i did think
that Domino looked a little ....Bad
So on that alone
i will trust your review
Duct tape is like the force....
There's a lightside, a darkside
and it holds everything together
There are too many people in the world...We need another plague -Dwight K. Shrute [The Office]
#3
Posted 09 January 2007 - 07:50 AM
I love that, well, parts of that movie.
It makes me feel rather proud of
my surround sound speakers.
And i liked Enemy of the State
I thought it was a pretty good game of....,
cat and mouse or whatever
Thats when i started to take Will Smith seriously.
Yeah the best thing about TOP GUN is the sound mixing. The story is ludicrous, and that's what I watch movies for, more or less. Good sound you can get elsewhere. For instance, try the first 20 minutes or so of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.
ENEMY OF THE STATE is just idiotic, a load of explosions and car chases with no hint of realism. A typical scene has Smith break into a hotel room and start undressing to find a wire secretly placed on him. There's a Japanese couple in there, and apparently this is one of those hotel rooms where you don't have like a bathroom or something to undress in, so he has to strip right in front of them. The lady cheers like an infant while her apparent husband stands there looking uncomfortable. These are the jokes, people! In fact, that scene was so much the height of comedy that it made it into the trailer!
Will Smith should be taken seriously for his work in SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION. Not that he's particularly good (like always, he plays Will Smith); but it's got some great dialogue.
#4
Posted 09 January 2007 - 03:55 PM
Is this guy writing scripts and directing, or is he just directing? Because Man On Fire was pretty good for a violent action film, with heart.
Enemy of the state is a giant turd and it's hard to believe that the same guy made Man On Fire.
I thought the directors only job was to yell cut and redo. The script and filmography were up to other people. Can a director really fuck up a film even if the script is good? If he feels the acting is poor in a shot or if the lighting was bad, then he re-shoots. If all the elements are in place, as according to the story board, then he prints. And the story board is something that the camera man, director, and the script writer create.
So maybe who ever laid out the story for Domino is to blame and not really the director.
Am I close?
This post has been edited by Jordan: 09 January 2007 - 03:58 PM
#5
Posted 10 January 2007 - 01:07 AM
Tony Scott was also Producer on MAN ON FIRE. I reserve judgement on that one as I haven't seen it, but if it's anything like DOMINO, it sucks.
#6
Posted 11 January 2007 - 09:18 PM
Well, I haven't seen Domino, but I did see Man on Fire, and I enjoyed that. I would venture to guess that the main difference between the two movies is that Man on Fire isn't relying on sex appeal to make up for a lack of a story. But then, I don't even know what audience Domino was aimed at. I enjoy a good action film, but Domino looked really, really lame from the get-go.
johnnycancer
#8
Posted 20 January 2007 - 12:11 PM
Never had any real interest in seeing Domino; it looked like crap and from what I've heard, it is crap.
I'd like a qui-gon jinn please with an obi-wan to go.
#9
Posted 20 May 2007 - 07:40 AM
And Man On Fire was a good movie.
#10
Posted 20 May 2007 - 11:39 PM
I thought that's what "King Arthur" and "The Jacket" were for.
I'd like a qui-gon jinn please with an obi-wan to go.
#11
Posted 21 May 2007 - 09:05 AM
I dont think she takes her shirt of in King Arthur. I didnt see the other one so I dont know.
#12
Posted 21 May 2007 - 01:59 PM
#13
Posted 22 May 2007 - 02:36 AM