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M. Night Shyamalan recommended Jaws (1975) in Movies (curated)

 
Jaws (1975)
Jaws (1975)
1975 | Thriller

"Jaws is the next poster on my wall, I’m staring at it right now. You are about to be introduced to, in my opinion, the greatest craftsman storyteller the cinema has ever seen and with a vehicle that had literally the perfect balance — and he brought that. It was [Steven Spielberg’s] balance of humor and artistry and the genre. It was the culminating of that balance. I screened that movie for my crew — I forgot which movie, two or three movies ago, and it’s just incredible to watch the balancing act of the humor. Roy Schieder’s trying to understand about what’s going on in the town about the shark and there’s this lady complaining to him about the kids that are karate chopping the fence. It’s genius because life moves on, and this is like real life. It’s the collision of a perfect story from the book with great sensibilities for entertainment and humor. Spielberg gets the precision of the craft and thinking about the shot with the me lieu of the time, and does in that docu-1970s style, which is my favorite time period in cinema ever."

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    Survival on Raft

    Survival on Raft

    Games

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    Survive on the raft in the middle of the ocean! You found yourself all alone on the small raft...

Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 2 (1978)
1978 | Thriller
Put simply, Jaws 2 is a rehash of the first film, just nowhere near as memorable. It definitely set an ongoing trend of unnecessary sequels made because money exists.
For what it's worth, it's not too shabby all things considered. It's nice to see Roy Scheider back for another turn, even if he was reluctant to do so. The group of teens that the main bulk of the film focuses on are likable enough, even if they're somewhat forgettable. There are a few nice shots scattered throughout, and some fun sequences - An early boat chase that ends with the shark aflame, and the boat blowing the fuck up is a ridiculous highlight, and John Williams also returns to provide another great score.
Otherwise, it's just lacks a lot that makes the original such a classic. It's nowhere near as terrifying for instance, and is missing the character chemistry that was such a big part of Jaws' second half.

Jaws 2 definitely has some entertainment value that's worth exploring, but like so many sequels that followed in its wake, it was never going to step out of the shadow of its predecessor, nothing more, nothing less.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated The Reef (2010) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Reef (2010)
The Reef (2010)
2010 | Mystery
6
5.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat!” those few words struck terror into the hearts of cinema goers who got a first glimpse of Steven Spielberg’s monster rising out of the water in Jaws. Others have attempted to recreate that fear.

Open Water saw two divers float around for ages before finally becoming lunch for a pack of hunting tiger sharks. Deep Blue Sea used CGI technology to create massive predators with a smart enough brain to devour the hapless crew of a scientific research station. And Shark Night 3D gave us blood curdling horror with half naked women thrown in for good measure. The Reef, encompasses most of the above minus the CGI. Here it’s replaced with clever and careful editing of one of the most beautiful but sinister creatures of the ocean….the Great White Shark.

A small group of friends, some with a past, get together on a yacht and hit the clear blue waters to deliver it to a waiting recipient. When it capsizes they are faced with the choice, swim for it to the nearest land miles away or wait it out on a potentially sinking vessel. Four members venture out leaving one behind, who after confessing he fishes the waters has no desire to get his feet wet, but excelling in scaring the shit out of his friends by telling them they all look like seals ready for the slaughter.

For any low budget indie film such as this creating tension when you have a location that looks exactly the same for miles in each direction is always going to be hard. But to his credit Andrew Traucki does extremely well in building up the entrance of our finned friend. Capturing the underwater viewpoint from Luke (the only one with a face mask) he dives down now and again to check the murky undertow for signs of life at the request of some very distressed friends. You’re always half expecting to see something but it never comes, until you finally catch a glimpse of the tail, and then your heart will race.

Of course this tension has to be sustained for the next forty-five minutes which is pretty hard. The acting is OK, made all the more effective by the fact that the cast is a bunch of relative unknowns. It’s hardly a surprise ending however, but given what Traucki has to work with he’s a produced good effort. There’s enough here to keep anyone happy, more so if you’re afraid of being left to die in miles of open water….oh, and you hate sharks!
  
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David McK (3245 KP) rated Jaws in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
Jaws
Jaws
Peter Benchley | 2005 | Thriller
4
7.3 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Duh-dum. Duh-dum. Duh-duh-duh-duh ...

"We're going to need a bigger boat ... "

So says nobody, ever, at any stage during this novel.

The inspiration behind the movie that is often credited as being the first summer blockbuster movie, I actually have a confession to make - I've never seen that film.

Oh, sure, I know the basic plot outline, know some of the dialogue and have seen snippets of the movie, but actually sitting down to watch it from start to finish? It never really appealed to me all that much.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying you might wonder why I decided to read this book. The answer, I feel, is more out of curiosity than anything else - I wanted to see just what was so special about this (and have read at least one other by Peter Benchley).

The answer, I now feel, is nothing much.

NOT one for the kiddies, with death, dismemberment, swearing and even an adulterous sex scene, I actually found myself rooting for the shark more so than any of the main characters!

It doesn't help that the book just ... ends, with (pretty much) zero resolution to most of the plot-lines.
  
    Angry Octopus

    Angry Octopus

    Book and Education

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    See what excited the judging panel on the hit show Shark Tank! Angry Octopus: A Children's...