Search
Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics
Book
'The finest film critic in Britain at the absolute top of his form' Stephen Fry 'Entertainingly...
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) in Movies
Nov 18, 2019
A True Classic
Not that we don’t already know what E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is about but: A young boy finds himself in trouble with special agents when he befriends a stranded alien.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Steven Spielberg does a wonderful job with achieving more with less. He doesn’t shoot for break-your-neck special effects, rather he gives it to you in glimpses. We see the lights from E.T.’s spaceship, but we only see the actual spaceship flying for a second or two. E.T.’s ability to make things take flight is never overdone and always used in necessary circumstances. Outside of the special effects, there are a number of touches here and there, again small nuances, that make this film great. One of my favorites occurs when E.T. sees a kid in Yoda costume and starts following him.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 10
These scenes have been recounted and retold in a number of different ways. This movie set the precedent on how we see and interact with life outside of Earth. The relationship between Elliott and E.T. is unforgettable.
Pace: 10
Spielberg is a true master of storytelling as he aces pacing yet again. There are no dull moments and the few lulls are there for a reason. Exposition and character development are handled within the context of the moving story itself as it should be.
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Overall: 100
I had someone tell me once that not only was E.T. not that great, but it was pretty terrible in retrospect. My reply: What crack are you smoking? This movie is not only great, but it’s one of the all-time greats. Believe it.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Steven Spielberg does a wonderful job with achieving more with less. He doesn’t shoot for break-your-neck special effects, rather he gives it to you in glimpses. We see the lights from E.T.’s spaceship, but we only see the actual spaceship flying for a second or two. E.T.’s ability to make things take flight is never overdone and always used in necessary circumstances. Outside of the special effects, there are a number of touches here and there, again small nuances, that make this film great. One of my favorites occurs when E.T. sees a kid in Yoda costume and starts following him.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 10
These scenes have been recounted and retold in a number of different ways. This movie set the precedent on how we see and interact with life outside of Earth. The relationship between Elliott and E.T. is unforgettable.
Pace: 10
Spielberg is a true master of storytelling as he aces pacing yet again. There are no dull moments and the few lulls are there for a reason. Exposition and character development are handled within the context of the moving story itself as it should be.
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Overall: 100
I had someone tell me once that not only was E.T. not that great, but it was pretty terrible in retrospect. My reply: What crack are you smoking? This movie is not only great, but it’s one of the all-time greats. Believe it.
J.J. Abrams: A Study in Genius
Book
J.J. Abrams is one of the most successful director-writer-producers working in Hollywood, and now...
Akira Kurosawa
Book
'Most directors have one film for which they are known or possibly two', Francis Ford Coppola has...
Craig Brewer recommended The Blues Brothers (1980) in Movies (curated)
M. Night Shyamalan recommended Jaws (1975) in Movies (curated)
Selected Stories
Book
Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick contains twenty-one of Dick's most dazzling and resonant stories,...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Spielberg (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
On making Drew Barrymore cry.
“Spielberg” is an HBO-produced documentary by documentarian Susan Lacy. You’ll never guess who the subject is?!
Steven Spielberg is a product of one of the most surprising revolutions in Hollywood in the late 70’s: one of a set of wunderkind directors alongside such luminaries as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorcese. These men (only men, it should be noted!) were ready to cock a snook at Hollywood’s traditional studio system to break rules (case in point, Star Wars’ lack of opening credits) and move cinema into the format that would last to this day.
As this excellent documentary makes clear, Spielberg was one of the least rebellious of the movie-brats. Even though (astoundingly) he blagged himself a production office at Universal (after hiding during the Tram Tour toilet stop!), his path to the top was through hard graft on multiple Universal TV shows, after recognition of his talents by Universal exec Sidney Sheinberg who speaks in the film.
Before we get to that stage of his life, we cover his childhood back-story as a reluctant Jew living in a non-Jewish neighbourhood, driven to fill his time with tormenting his sisters and movie-making with a Super 8 camera. Scenes of home videos, photos and his early attempts at special effects are all fascinating. The impact of his Bohemian mother Leah and workaholic father Arnold, and particularly the very surprising relationship breakdown that happened between them, go a long way to explain the constant return to ‘father issues’ in many of his films such as “E.T.”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Hook” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.
The majority of the film though settles down into a roughly chronological review of the highlights of his movie career, with particular emphasis justly being placed on some of the key watershed moments in that career. Most of his films get at least a mention, but “Jaws”, “E.T.”, “Schindler’s List”, “The Color Purple”, “Jurassic Park”, “Munich” and “Empire of the Sun” get more focus. It is such a wonderful trip down my cinematic memory lane. I also forget just what cinematic majesty and craftsmanship is present in these films: I just hope that at some point this will get a Blu-Ray or DVD release so it can be properly appreciated (rather than viewing it on a tiny airplane screen which is how I watched this): the combination of film clips in here is breathtaking.
As might be expected for a documentary about the great director, there is plenty of ‘behind the camera’ footage on show, some of which is fascinating. Spielberg could always get the very best performances out of the youngsters on set, from Cary Guffey (“Toys!!”) in “Close Encounters” to a heartbreaking scene where he reduces the young Drew Barrymore to howls of emotion in “E.T.”. A master at work.
All of the movie scenes are accompanied by new interview footage from Spielberg himself, as well as warm platitudes from many of the luminaries he has worked with in the past. Directors involved include many of the the directors referenced above, as well as those modern directors influenced by him such as J.J. Abrams; his go-to cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Janusz Kaminski; his ‘go-to’ composer John Williams; and stars including his go-to ‘everyman’ Richard Dreyfuss, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Bob Balaban, Tom Hanks, Opray Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Dustin Hoffman and James Brolin. Some of these comments are useful and insightful; some are just fairly meaningless sound bites that add nothing to the film. What all the comments are though is almost all uniformly positive.
And that’s my only criticism of the film. Like me, Susan Lacy is clearly a big fan. It is probably quite hard to find anyone who isn’t…. but perhaps Ms Lacy should have tried a bit harder! There is only limited focus on his big comedy flop of 1979, “1941”, and no mention at all of his lowest WW grossing film “Always”. And there are only a few contributors – notably film critic Janet Maslin – who are willing to stick their head above the parapet and prod into Spielberg’s weaknesses; ostensibly his tendency to veer to the sentimental and away from harder issues: the omitted “Color Purple” ‘mirror scene’ being a case in point.
This is a recommended watch for Spielberg fans. On the eve of the launch of his latest – “Ready Player One”, a film that I am personally dubious about from the trailer – it’s a great insight into the life and works of the great man. It could though have cut a slightly harder and more critical edge.
Steven Spielberg is a product of one of the most surprising revolutions in Hollywood in the late 70’s: one of a set of wunderkind directors alongside such luminaries as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorcese. These men (only men, it should be noted!) were ready to cock a snook at Hollywood’s traditional studio system to break rules (case in point, Star Wars’ lack of opening credits) and move cinema into the format that would last to this day.
As this excellent documentary makes clear, Spielberg was one of the least rebellious of the movie-brats. Even though (astoundingly) he blagged himself a production office at Universal (after hiding during the Tram Tour toilet stop!), his path to the top was through hard graft on multiple Universal TV shows, after recognition of his talents by Universal exec Sidney Sheinberg who speaks in the film.
Before we get to that stage of his life, we cover his childhood back-story as a reluctant Jew living in a non-Jewish neighbourhood, driven to fill his time with tormenting his sisters and movie-making with a Super 8 camera. Scenes of home videos, photos and his early attempts at special effects are all fascinating. The impact of his Bohemian mother Leah and workaholic father Arnold, and particularly the very surprising relationship breakdown that happened between them, go a long way to explain the constant return to ‘father issues’ in many of his films such as “E.T.”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Hook” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.
The majority of the film though settles down into a roughly chronological review of the highlights of his movie career, with particular emphasis justly being placed on some of the key watershed moments in that career. Most of his films get at least a mention, but “Jaws”, “E.T.”, “Schindler’s List”, “The Color Purple”, “Jurassic Park”, “Munich” and “Empire of the Sun” get more focus. It is such a wonderful trip down my cinematic memory lane. I also forget just what cinematic majesty and craftsmanship is present in these films: I just hope that at some point this will get a Blu-Ray or DVD release so it can be properly appreciated (rather than viewing it on a tiny airplane screen which is how I watched this): the combination of film clips in here is breathtaking.
As might be expected for a documentary about the great director, there is plenty of ‘behind the camera’ footage on show, some of which is fascinating. Spielberg could always get the very best performances out of the youngsters on set, from Cary Guffey (“Toys!!”) in “Close Encounters” to a heartbreaking scene where he reduces the young Drew Barrymore to howls of emotion in “E.T.”. A master at work.
All of the movie scenes are accompanied by new interview footage from Spielberg himself, as well as warm platitudes from many of the luminaries he has worked with in the past. Directors involved include many of the the directors referenced above, as well as those modern directors influenced by him such as J.J. Abrams; his go-to cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Janusz Kaminski; his ‘go-to’ composer John Williams; and stars including his go-to ‘everyman’ Richard Dreyfuss, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Bob Balaban, Tom Hanks, Opray Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Dustin Hoffman and James Brolin. Some of these comments are useful and insightful; some are just fairly meaningless sound bites that add nothing to the film. What all the comments are though is almost all uniformly positive.
And that’s my only criticism of the film. Like me, Susan Lacy is clearly a big fan. It is probably quite hard to find anyone who isn’t…. but perhaps Ms Lacy should have tried a bit harder! There is only limited focus on his big comedy flop of 1979, “1941”, and no mention at all of his lowest WW grossing film “Always”. And there are only a few contributors – notably film critic Janet Maslin – who are willing to stick their head above the parapet and prod into Spielberg’s weaknesses; ostensibly his tendency to veer to the sentimental and away from harder issues: the omitted “Color Purple” ‘mirror scene’ being a case in point.
This is a recommended watch for Spielberg fans. On the eve of the launch of his latest – “Ready Player One”, a film that I am personally dubious about from the trailer – it’s a great insight into the life and works of the great man. It could though have cut a slightly harder and more critical edge.
Damian Sutton (4 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
May 3, 2019
A decent adaptation of a great book
Contains spoilers, click to show
From the get go, I think I'd best say I came to this with a pre-concieved notion that I was going to enjoy it, having read the book several times and having a long term love affair with Steven Spielberg (child of the 80s, so most of my formative years were spent sitting worshipping at the alter of Spielberg and Lucas) so I was aware that I was going to enjoy this film regardless, that said, there are moments in the film that fell flat for me, but on the whole....its a very enjoyable little action/adventure romp....with plenty in it for film lovers (the whole shining sequence had me grinning from ear to ear) and gamers too ( the whole film is deeply rooted in gamer culture and there are more gaming Easter eggs than you can shake a stick at) there's plenty of heart to this film too, and by the time the credits rolled I left the theatre thoroughly entertained, had this film come out a few years back, it would have been lauded as a sci-fi/adventure classic, however we now live in a post marvel world where every film they release seem to raise the bar very high, and films like this get lost in the shuffle a little, does this make it a worse movie....not at all, but it probably didn't get the acclaim it deserved because of being released in a sea of blockbusters.
So in closing, if you're looking for that perfect Sunday afternoon adventure film....you could do a lot worse than giving this a watch....see how many movie/gaming references you can spot
So in closing, if you're looking for that perfect Sunday afternoon adventure film....you could do a lot worse than giving this a watch....see how many movie/gaming references you can spot
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Oct 21, 2017
Fun, a little too geeky, poor context development
This book is no doubt quite exciting at times, and has an underlying cautionary message of being obsessed with technology. The story, set in a dystopian 2044, follows Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a virtual simulation, the discovery of which will lead him to inherit a vast fortune in a world wrecked by an energy crisis.
Growing up in the 1980's means I can relate to much of the references in this book such as Blade Runner, Ferris Bueller's Day Out etc. but it seems to be laid on too thick as if it's trying to go along with this new revival of the era (Stranger Things, Ghostbusters).
Also as a non-gamer, this virtual world appears fatuous and vapid, hence the author seems to be gearing this book towards a new generation of players rather than those who were actually living during this time.
The character development and context of much of the book is poor, as Wade seems to have skills that materialise from nowhere, we just have to accept that he had indeed "read this and that". Overall, this book was clearly made to be a film, so it's unsurprising that Steven Spielberg has bought the rights.
Growing up in the 1980's means I can relate to much of the references in this book such as Blade Runner, Ferris Bueller's Day Out etc. but it seems to be laid on too thick as if it's trying to go along with this new revival of the era (Stranger Things, Ghostbusters).
Also as a non-gamer, this virtual world appears fatuous and vapid, hence the author seems to be gearing this book towards a new generation of players rather than those who were actually living during this time.
The character development and context of much of the book is poor, as Wade seems to have skills that materialise from nowhere, we just have to accept that he had indeed "read this and that". Overall, this book was clearly made to be a film, so it's unsurprising that Steven Spielberg has bought the rights.