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Andy K (10823 KP) rated Heaven's Gate (1980) in Movies

Sep 1, 2018  
Heaven's Gate (1980)
Heaven's Gate (1980)
1980 | Action, Drama, Western
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Masterpiece or disaster? I think a little of both.
The controversy around the production, editing, release and financial and critical disaster around Heaven's Gate is long over now. The destruction of director Michael Cimino's career and the almost bankruptcy of United Artists over this film are several of the endless stories you can read about surrounding this western epic, but now it is 38 years later. How does the film stand up?

I'd say pretty darn well.

The essential story is a semi love triangle between a rich sheriff, a lawless brute and a prostitute/madam set against the American west in 1880s Wyoming. The story involves the decision by the government to kill anyone stealing cattle for their own purposes even if it is only to feed their starving family. (Kind of hard to explain). The main characters have to decide which side they are on for the slowly building eventual bloodbath standoff climax.

I had always heard about the film and it's extremes, including its length of almost 4 hours, but had not seen until today.

The movie does quite a bit right, but the shining star is the sprawling vistas depicting the American west including Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Cimino filmed extensively during the "magic hour" meaning he could only film for a few minutes per day during that few minute period between sunset and night.

The film does go on a bit long, but the payoff is worth the wait and I would still highly recommend any film fan give it a try. You will not be disappointed.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies

May 9, 2018  
Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
8
8.0 (254 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Visually stunning (1 more)
Definite improvements over the book (more accessible references)
Some of the CGI was a little needlessly show-offy (0 more)
Decent story, improvements over the book
I personally found this an improvement over the book. The John Hughes film references have been totally toned down and replaced by much better known references, and the D&D and ancient video game references have been almost totally removed. For me this was an improvement but that is because I had no connection to those games/films/D&D from the book. I'm not sure if this was to make the film more accessible or to simply make it a better film (I don't fancy watching geeks acting out Monty Python sketches).
Some major changes to characters irked me a little though - I-R0k goes from being an annoying wannabe fan-boy to a mercenary (albeit played brilliantly by TJ Miller) and Aech is much less Halliday-obsessed than in the book (where he trades obscure facts back and forth with Parzival) and hasn't even seen the Shining.
The puzzle solving aspects mirrored the book - it starts off being everything and over time, the solving of the riddles becomes a minor plot point that is just mentioned rather than any exposition. And similarly to the book, there are red herrings, however clumsy and unintentional - Parzival only gets the quarter because of following the wrong lead, the same as in the book (which annoyed me then too).
The scene in the nightclub was a total waste of time and effort, though the CGI was incredible (but then that was the only point of the scene).
I am glad the 80s references were toned down quite a lot otherwise it would have been incredibly annoying. Similarly, the tasks and missions were made much more movie-friendly.
All in all, a very good film