Sam Mendes

[TenseAndSober]

C'mon ...not only did he win best director for American Beauty, which was well deserved,  but Road To Perdition is an incredible film as well.

[Cecil]

i thought road was so-so.

great cinematography though

[xerxes]

don't think he's very good... road to perdition was not very good at all... now american beauty was a good movie, but his direction isn't anything special

[Duck Sauce]

Road to Perdition was very lack luster to me. I thought it was good, but I expected much more. Something about it was sort of bland, like doing math problems.

[Newtron]

Something about it was sort of bland, like doing math problems.

Yeah it really could've used a technicolor musical sequence.

Road to Perdition was great, and I'll tell you why: Math is cool.

[Rudie Obias]

C'mon ...not only did he win best director for American Beauty, which was well deserved

well deserved?  PTA wasn't even nominated in 1999 which he totally deserved to get for MAGNOLIA.

fuck the oscars....

[SHAFTR]

I think Sam Mendes is incredible.  Your first two films are American Beauty and Road to Perdition.  

I loved Perdition, I loved the graphic novel it is based on, I loved the performances, the cinematography, the score...everything.  I think that as time goes on, it will be respected more.

I'd like to see Mendes' 3rd film before I make any more claims about him.

[Xixax]

We'll drag this conversation out of the archives and dust it off...

On the old PTA boards, I mentioned that in my opinion Sam Mendes was only a mediocre director, even though American Beauty was amazing.

I think the genius of American Beauty was all Alan Ball, not Mendes.

And because RtP was just a so-so movie, that further strengthens my reasoning.

[sphinx]

so the ball/mendes combo was just happened on?  i guess i could agree with that.  i don't think he should have waited as long as he did to make his next movie, though.  

got bitten by the pressure bug

[xerxes]

... in my opinion Sam Mendes [is] only a mediocre director, even though American Beauty was amazing.

I think the genius of American Beauty was all Alan Ball, not Mendes.

And because RtP was just a so-so movie, that further strengthens my reasoning.

i agree completely, and i will go as far as saying that road to perdition was a bad movie.

[Gold Trumpet]

I am taking the minority here by saying Mendes is of talent and the only things that have set him back has been inefficent writing.

American Beauty is a very good film, but the writing is so specific on every single meaning that multiple viewings have revealed nothing at all and only make the film drag on more and more for me. The film was saved by the acting and the wise direction of Mendes that did not try to overplay the material, but show what was written for him. Still, there is an uncreativity when writing about examples that are obvious on first viewing.

Road to Perditon was a hollowless movie of writing. It was a remake of the style and look of The Godfather. The thing is though, there is wonderful cinematogprahy and arranged shots that bring out such a beauty that it makes the hollowness of the story kinda hard to catch right away.

~rougerum

[bonanzataz]

The great cinematography in his movies is due to Conrad Hall - a genius among cinematographers. The man's work is amazing, to say the least. He's a competent enough director, can keep the story going, gets good performances out of his actors, and even if I didn't like Road to Perdition, he still made American Beauty work.

[Xixax]

Sure. He's not BAD by any means. I don't dislike his mediocre style as much as I dislike the mediocre style of, say, Sam Raimi (yes, Evil Dead fans. I said Sam Raimi).

Mendes is perfectly fine.

My point is that he is just that... Perfectly fine. Just OK. Average in most every sense.

[RegularKarate]

I was on your side Xaxy, until you said some shit about Raimi.

Anyway, I think Mendes is above average, but just slightly.  I have a feeling the man is going to take a turn much like Durabondt... make a brilliant film, followed by a mediocre film in the same vein as the first then just lose it and make crap.

Ball's Beauty script was great, but I do think that what Mendes did with it made it better than it was originally written as.  The whole courtroom flashback idea is cliched.

Six Feet Under is a great show though and I think that shows that Ball can be a great writer.

[Xixax]

I was on your side Xaxy, until you said some shit about Raimi.

Nothing personal. It's Friday, and my coworkers are all out sick and I didn't have anybody to pick a fight with today.