Newsletter sign-up: 
Get Breaking News on your cellThe Monday Morning Critic: Shock and Saw
9:00 AM Mon, Oct 29, 2007 | Permalink |
E-mail News tips
 |
 |
 
|
|
August 2008
Recent Posts
Julius Carry, cult legend of 'The Last Dragon,' is dead Friday night at the Angelika Dallas Dark Knight spoof - Why so unintelligible? ABBA-dabba-do: Mamma Mia! Sing-along Takes It All Reunion Arena and Texas Stadium: Could they blow up in a movie? Categories
GuideLive.com
Entertainment Blogs |
Scaring up a bundle: Saw IV |
 | |
|
Spotlight
|
|
Comments
Posted by Kip Mooney @ 9:19 AM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
You know it's a special breed of movie when they not only card patrons at the box office, but also before they enter the theater showing it. Plenty of people ahead of me got halted and had to show their IDs, but there was no stopping the three of us there to see 'Darjeeling Limited,' which was, like all Wes Anderson movies, quirky, hilarious, touching, and a bit too long, but still great.
Posted by chris vognar @ 1:29 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
I would have to disagree with all of your Darjeeling views except for the too long part. It beat me down something fierce.
Posted by stephen becker @ 1:38 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
Chris -- yeah, it looks like Lions Gate is carving out a little niche over there, and it includes mostly movies that aren't very critic-friendly. And after seeing Saw IV's haul this weekend, it sure doesn't look like they really need any advance praise.
On a side note: Let's not forget that Kip is the one who loved The Black Dahlia so. That should be all that needs to be said on that topic.
Posted by PJW @ 2:14 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
SAW movies are NOT and have NEVER been torture porn.
Very tired of you high and mighty peeps who keep lumping the SAW movies into that catagory.
If you paid attention and NOTICE the Torture Porn MOVIES do NOT do BIG box office, and never will.
A movie with a story, plot and such that keeps the fans coming back such as SAW, does big boxoffice.
So get off of this SoapBox and get off the cross.
PJW
Posted by Chris Vognar @ 2:28 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
Gee. This (from Roger Moore's review) sure sounds like torture: “Bleed out” or cram your face through a wall of knife-blades to escape, stand on your tiptoes to avoid that noose breaking your neck as the block of ice melts beneath your feet." Of course for some that could merely be a diverting way to spend a Sunday.
And it sure looks like Hostel grossed a tidy sum of $47 million. And that most of the other entries in the genre are made so cheap they make money every time they sneeze.
But hey, what do I know. I'm just high minded.
As for getting off the cross, I already told you I'm just not into the nails through the skin thing.
Posted by Kip Mooney @ 9:52 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
Stephen--I resemble that remark! I think every critic, professional or otherwise, gets to like one movie that is otherwise reviled. I think I can get away with liking 'Dahlia' and still have some shred of credibility because Roger Ebert, the greatest of all-time, liked 'Anaconda,' even after shredding 'Usual Suspects.'
Postscript: I wonder if after we all retire from the film criticism business if we'll sit around and defend horrible film trends on newspaper blogs...
Posted by Sarah @ 10:40 AM Wed, Oct 31, 2007
I also agree that the Saw movies are not torture porn. The two phrases from Moore's review make the movie out to be scene after scene of blood and pain-not true. Unlike Hostel, the Saw movies do have a distinct storyline. These are movies that never give you the full story and leave you trying to piece everything together. This is especially true after seeing the fourth installment. Did anyone else notice the creatice scene transitions?
Posted by Kip Mooney @ 9:45 PM Thu, Nov 01, 2007
Torture porn or not, I think it's safe to say that the ultra-gory 'Saw' franchise more or less inspired that sickening genre.