Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)

Started by B.C. Long, April 08, 2005, 09:19:48 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Print
Go Down Pages 1 2
User actions

Brazoliange

#15
June 07, 2005, 01:45:51 PM
Quote from: dufresne
Quote from: BrazoliangeI've seen this trailer 4 times in theater now and it gets better with every viewing.

Judging by the trailer this movie is going to kick ass.

wow, i live in L.A. and haven't seen this trailer in any theater.  did you watch it in an art-house cinema there in Omaha?

yeah, the Dundee theatre

they might be showing this b/c it's showing there next (probably exclusively)
Long live the New Flesh

Pubrick

#16
October 12, 2005, 08:47:47 AM
first things first. it's not scary. i'd call it an epic fantasy with cool horror themes. what sets it apart from typical fantasy fare, however, and saves it from being a total waste of time, is how spectacularly well made it is.

all the cool shots from the trailer are in the movie, and then some. as individual shots, and even individual scenes, the bulk of the movie could be raved about as an extension of the trailer. but then reality sets in and the truth is: the trailer makes more sense than this movie.

i'm hoping (praying) the sequels explain what the hell happened. it's not impenetrably clever or anything like that, it's a very simple premise. the confusion comes from just not explaining why some of the characters do the things they do. as the plot moves along, they keep adding new "rules" and things the characters are supposed to have known for years (regarding the nature of their predicament) but inexplicably they act like it's all new to them. everyone seems to be improvising explanations as they go along.. like, as an example i'll make up right now, imagine a crate of balzacs falls through ur ceiling and u go "ohh, of course, the crate of balzacs means we have two days left to christmas!"

because of these random developments, the dialogue is at least 50% expository. the sad thing is the film really doesn't NEED to be grasping at straws as often as it does narrative-wise, it keeps tripping over itself. there's plenty of appeal in the premise to propel it into at least two decent films, it's just not handled well. amidst all the flashy camera moves and sometimes too-damn-cool special effects and hot russian babes (uh, one), the film seems to give up on explaining anything.. after trying soooo hard to keep us informed. there were laughs heard over the penultimate "climax" in which a promising storyline just sort of.. fizzles out.. SPECTACULARLY.

this film is all set up and little execution. what little closure we get is so ridiculously incongruous with all the build-up, it has a resoundingly underwhelming effect. leave your hype at the door.
under the paving stones.

noyes

#17
October 12, 2005, 09:03:45 AM
"as the plot moves along, they keep adding new "rules" and things the characters are supposed to have known for years (regarding the nature of their predicament) but inexplicably they act like it's all new to them. everyone seems to be improvising explanations as they go along"

i saw this around late july/early august. my cousin had downloaded it and we were totally excited to see it. needless to say, since i'm completely agreeing with pubrick, we didn't see the film to the end. my cousin fell asleep on his bed, and his friend and i woke him up, and i stood up and exclaimed what each of us was hesitant to say.

"THIS MOVIE SUCKS!"
south america's my name.

penfold0101

#18
November 10, 2005, 03:40:40 AM
P's review is pretty perfect........

I loved this film and I will watch the entire Trilogy, it must provide explanations to some of the many things we are just expected to accept (does it explain what the Dark leaders "gift" is?). There were also numerous characters we see once or twice get just enough info on to expect them to show up again later and then never do.....i really hope they were all set up for Day Watch.
We are all film lovers here and I think all of you could sit through this movie with the sound off! I loved watching this film.... It all looks wonderful! They also "play" with the subtitles which ia a nice idea, it all adds to the style of the film too. Although half the cinema I was in sighed as the subtitles came in, clearly expecting a dubbed film!

The main gripe is it's overcomplicated for no good reason! Will it come good by the end of the trilogy???

I only found two topics about this, was this a real limited release or is this not out in the US yet?
"There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. And that, I think, was the handle - that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting - on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high - water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." - Hunter S. Thompson.

modage

#19
November 14, 2005, 11:30:12 PM
i saw this tonite as well.  and i'll have to agree with P's review also that there were some really cool ideas, but little payoff.  i guess going in knowing its the first chapter of a trilogy i should've expected it to be somewhat anti-climactic but you still always hope for a film that stands on its own as well as fitting into a greater storyline.  i didn't realize it had anything to do with actual vampires, so that was kinda neat, and using them as P noted in a fantasy instead of horror setting was another unexpected choice.  so this was only okay really but i am interested in seeing where it goes from here.  my girlfriend reads fantasy books and stuff so i think she dug it more than i did.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Gamblour.

#20
February 27, 2006, 09:42:57 PM
Saw it. Sucked. This would be cooler if it was shot entirely on digital video with no tripod in the daylight. But it wasn't, so I have to say that I agree with P's review. I fell asleep during this one too. I must be a cinema narcoleptic.
WWPTAD?

killafilm

#21
March 11, 2006, 02:53:15 PM
I liked this alot.  I think the filmmakers made a totally cool world.  I too mostly agree with P.  Everything was just so cool and new that you can kinda give the story some slack.  There was a lot of shit thrown at you.  So here's hoping that with all of the clunky exposition out of the way that Day Watch will be way good.  I think they've certainly set it up well with this films ending.

Brazoliange

#22
March 27, 2006, 10:28:31 AM
Quote from: killafilm on March 11, 2006, 02:53:15 PM
I liked this alot.  I think the filmmakers made a totally cool world.  I too mostly agree with P.  Everything was just so cool and new that you can kinda give the story some slack.  There was a lot of shit thrown at you.  So here's hoping that with all of the clunky exposition out of the way that Day Watch will be way good.  I think they've certainly set it up well with this films ending.

this is pretty good. ^

it felt to me a lot like The Matrix (what with 'the one' and the totally unrealistic physics thrown in) except that since sequels are expected from the start, the entire series looks like it'll be good. this entire movie was really fun and cool while staying fresh with the really fast storyline.

yeah, I can't write a review to save my ass.

contrary to most of the opinions in the thread, I loved this. go see it.

(oh, has anyone picked up the movie novelization of the trilogy? I heard it was kinda good)
Long live the New Flesh
Print
Go Up Pages 1 2
User actions