Get Ready For Some Fighting Words!
I love movies. All kinds of movies. I love great ones like “The Godfather”, and I love “Psyched By The 4D Witch” as well – which, if you haven’t seen, proves that at one point in movie history,ANYTHING could be released in a movie theater (more on “4D Witch” in a moment)!
Because I love movies so much, I feel confident when I tell you this:
“Christopher Nolan is the most over-rated Director working in America!”
That sentence should spark one of three things:
1 – a complete lack of knowledge about who Christopher Nolan is. He’s NOT the backup QB for the Colts, for example, or one of Hong Kong’s most well known land developers.
2 – an unstoppable urge to send me a note explaining, with an impressive mix of logic and vitriol, that “you are wrong, Dr. Brewster!”. (extra credit if you immediately noted that snippet of dialogue from the brilliant film “Tootsie.”)
3 – you smile inside, happy that SOMEONE has finally stated what you always thought but were afraid to say: “The Dark Knight Rises” was dour and “un-fun” in every way – and NOBODY could understand what Bane was saying!
And as for “Inception”…while the special effects were beautifully done – the basic idea of the film, about the dangerous art of “extraction”, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable…wasn’t “Inception”, it was INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
Time For A Film Fight Club!
And that is the reason for “FILM FIGHT CLUB.”
A few years ago, my wife Alex and I started a film fight club – a group of us would all be assigned a movie to see, and on Sunday, we’d take over Trilussa restaurant in Beverly Hills for pizza, lots of red wine, and a hearty argument about the merits of the movie. Interestingly, the first film was “Batman Begins.” Talk about your “circle of life!”
http://filmfightclub.com Is Alive!
I want to do the same thing now online – to find a group of passionate film lovers to meet on the “braciole of the web” – it’s the internet as italian restaurant, an electronic Trilussa where people can post interesting, articulate, and perhaps ultimately demeaning comments about movies, and the people who defend them…an open forum for thoughts, opinions and fun…
For example, I think “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a brilliant movie, from a Director who NEVER made a bad film:
Then again, here is how Alex described “2001: A Space Odyssey”:
“Some dumb Astronaut feeding some dumb baby.”
Now THOSE are film fight club words!
We all know that are certain films we love – and hate – regardless of how good they are. Alex doesn’t like science fiction that much – and to be honest – there is MUCH to argue about regarding “2001”.
So Share Your Passion And Opinions!
My goal is to post a story about a movie, or an actor, or a film genre – and ask a couple of questions – hopefully, it will spark some feedback, a new point of view, or perhaps just a series of agreements from all concerned – like when I say that the new “Star Trek” films lack the humanity of the original TV series…
And yes, it appears that Capt. Kirk is about to BOWL…
Film Fight Club Is Easy!
It’s easy to share your opinion about “2001” – or “Star Trek” – or a multitude of other movies – and read what other people think as well. If you are interested in being part of the discussion, you can sign up to receive all posts from “Film Fight Club”, or you can just continue to see my posts at Johnrieber.com, as all discussions will be available on both…but if you want to sign up, here is the link:
The first post ever on the site is my review of Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” – and what I think has been his degrading portrayal of women in far too many films over the past two decades…please let me know if you agree or disagree…
This is the link to the story:
http://filmfightclub.com/2013/09/06/welcome-to-the-film-fight-club-woody-allens-female-problem/
Back To The Origin Of Man…
Now, about “2001”…is it the story of the origin of man – which happens to be a floating embryo that hovers just beyond the moon? And do you know that there are people who believe that Stanley Kubrick shot the moon footage that was used when the US “faked” the moon landing?
Did you even know there are people who think we faked the moon landing?
A Polarizing Premiere…
The story of “2001: A Space Odyssey” is fascinating for many reasons – did you know at the original premiere screening of the film, 241 people walked out of the theater, including Rock Hudson who said “Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?”
Arthur C. Clarke once said, “If you understand ‘2001’ completely, we failed. We wanted to raise far more questions than we answered.” Mission accomplished!
Say Hello Hal!
Did you know that HAL 9000 never once says, “Good Morning, Dave,” despite this line being one of his most recognized quotations?
So my only question for you is this: is “2001: A Space Odyssey” the greatest science fiction film ever made? Or is it as incomprehensible as “Inception?”? Leave a comment and let me know!
And What About “Psyched By The 4D Witch?”
Earlier I mentioned this classic film. Well, it’s not so much a “classic movie” as it is a series of b-roll shots with a poorly written narration laid over it…and shots of this actress…
This movie was actually released in movie theaters…with NO synched sound at all, the worst voiceover narration ever recorded, and random footage strung together to fill time…in fact, it was described by Something Weird Video (who has released it on DVD) as:
“the most maddening, jaw-dropping, mind-bending piece of celluloid lunacy ever to play American theaters!”
It is such a masterwork that it made my list of the “ten most misguided movies ever made!” Click on the link to see why!
https://johnrieber.com/2012/02/08/ten-most-misguided-movies-of-all-time/
Read all about it and imagine the pathetic rube who paid to see it in a movie theater – oh wait, that was ME!
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johnrieber 
I’m still lost every time I see 2001, and yet I’ll watch it every chance I get. It’s a mesmerizing film.
One of the angles that I always liked about the movie is the inference that technology has the potential to go rogue, and that each letter in “HAL” is one letter to the left of “IBM” as a shot across the bow of large technology companies of the time as to the potential for the misuse of technology.
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Great point, Guy! It is impossible for me to understand the meaning, but it’s an amazing attempt every time I try…and I really do love Alex’s short and succinct review! Interesting point about IBM and so true!
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John, I love the concept of Film Fight Club. Brace yourself for my reactions with a bit of logic and nary a drop of vitriol.
Is “2001: A Space Odyssey” the greatest science fiction film ever made? This is a great one out the gate and it is sure to spark some debate. I can remember the first time I saw 2001; on VHS around the age of 12 or 13, and I sure as heck didn’t understand it. What I did take away from it (even at that age) was there is much more to film making that what I’d to that point grown up on (watching James Bond with my dad on ABC on Sunday nights, countless reruns on KTLA, and a steady diet of science fiction, starting with Star Wars and every genre film following it)
Despite it being almost totally incomprehensible in places and not among film’s which I feel the need to watch repeatedly, I’m going to agree that 2001 is the greatest science fiction film ever made. This is coming from someone who has seen Star Wars (ep. IV) more times than can be counted and who also still holds a grudge against TRON losing the Best Costume Oscar to Gandhi (an excellent film to be sure).
2001 was so ludicrously ahead of its time for 1968, in terms of visual effects and believability of them, that it is almost absurd. Kubrick’s use of Also sprach Zarathustra and The Blue Danube are without a doubt among the best examples of marrying music to film. The movie is all at once mind blowing, baffling, scary, awe inspiring and a lot of other adjectives which can end in “ing”. And based on the description of Psyched By The 4D Witch?, I’m much more likely to watch 2001 again over that. ; )
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Thanks for the post! I agree that “2001” is baffling – but brilliant as well, and isn’t that the perfect match at times? Well, except for “Inception!” And as for “4D Witch” sometimes the greatest films are the worst ones…”Showgirls” and “Starship Troopers” being two perfect examples!
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