| Author | Message | ||
     Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Rather than go off topic on another thread I thought I'd start this one instead Danny Boyle is IMHO one of the most talented fimmakers today. When I saw the plot descriptions for several of his films I really didn't expect to like them - the Beach especially just sounded like an excuse for Leo DiC to get his shirt off. But every time I've loved the films - even Sunshine is an excellent restrained Sci Fi until the last 40 odd minutes. Trainspotting - Iconic is the only word to describe this - filled with unforgettable images - Ewan climbing out of the toilet, the Baby on the ceiling etc. It also achieves the ultimate goal of adapting a novel and captures the mood of the source material perfectly. 28 days later - a horror classic. The eerie silent streets of London demonstrate that he can use silence to great effect when he wants to. Millions - the flip side of the coin here, this is an almost perfect family film. I love it. Spot on performances from all concerned and somehow far more than the lightweight piece of fluff that it would have been with many other directors at the helm. Shallow Grave - great twisty turny little film, and a absolutely cracking debut. Better than many directors' entire output combined. Slumdog - I saw this for the first time this week and really liked it. I'm not sure if it quite lived up to the hype but once again, far better than it should have been. And the most entertaining end credits I've seen in many years. Life less ordinary - i've not actually managed to catch this one yet but film 4 has his films on a loop at the moment so I'll definitely be taping it in the next couple of weeks. There are very few directors I can think of who could make such a broad spectrum of films. Haneke could certainly never make a family film. Boyle has a great talent and range of ability. Discuss | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Remind me to see The Beach. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Trainspotting was pretty good, and resulted in the wonderful spectacle of a whole generation of English youngsters trying to get to grips with Irvine Welsh's dialect-heavy stream of consciousness prose. You've never seen problem teens concentrating so hard on a book, or on anything else for that matter. However, the film failed to include the crucial sequence in Edinburgh train station that explains the title. Presumably because they couldn't get permission to film there. But that didn't stop the makers of Christiana F. (in East Berlin), which has to be judged the more powerful treatment both of heroin addiction and of disaffected youth. Slumdog Millionaire is half a very strong film (the first half) and half a flamboyant copout (the second half). That's forgivable. Shallow Grave is the best DB film I've yet seen. Harsh but engaging, politically very much to the point, a sour and disenchanted tribute to The Treasure of the Sierre Madre. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.166.234 |
Joel, I'm fairly certain Christiana F. was filmed in West Berlin. I was living in Germany (then West Germany) in 1981 and went to see it there. I haven't seen it since then, so I can't remember for sure - was there a scene shot in East Berlin? | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
I've always thought he was a bit overrated myself. Liked Trainspotting and Shallow Grave but though 28 Days Later was sub-Wyndamesque apocalypse that didn't hit the right notes and Slumdog was a real coppout of a movie. Wouldn't bother with Life Less Ordinary. 'Tis bobbins. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.76.229 |
Liked Trainspotting, but not so keen on 28 Days Later. Beach, Grave and Sunshine were so-so. Really enjoyed Slumdog. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Huw, I though the Bahnhof station was in East Berlin. I may be wrong however. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.166.234 |
The Bahnhof Zoo was in West Berlin, but I believe it has linked to the former East Berlin line since the wall came down. It would have been impossible for German teenagers from the West sector to cross over into the East (without getting shot at, at least) back then. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
Christian F. was very gritty and tragic. Good soundtrack, too. Not crazy on Boyle as director, though he sounds like an ok person. I think Millions might have been his best film. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.156.38.66 |
Wierd! I have just been watching several Boyle films either for the first time or again...Ah... He had a season on, thats why I guess. 1/ Shallow Grave - saw this at the cinema before anyone knew what a Boyle was - absolutely great stuff. 2/ Trainspotting - A great film & great adaptation of a great book. Slightly diluted by over popularity & over familiarity..But still....Great stuff. Always loved the scene when renton starts to copy the acid house dancing...You can feel the changes there. 3/ A Life Less Ordinary. Just never fancied it. It looked Hollywood. Maybe thats why it flopped? 4/ The Beach. I am the only person on Earth yet to see this film. Loved the All Saints song mind you... 5/ 28 Days Later -Brilliant. Just Brilliant. 6/ Millions - Ain't seen it, can't comment. 7/ Sunshine - Loved the first half, second half let down badly by serial Killer dreck. I detect the hand of studio interference. 8/ Slumdog Millionaire -A great & grisly feel good movie, So full of life I can forgive any faults in the later half. (And I loved the dance routine at the end!) gcw | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
The dishonesty in these "films" makes me queasy. The director's main concern seems to be that appearing interesting. Not being interesting, just appearing to be. From the designer nihilism of Trainspotting to the Dutch tilts of Slumdog (count 'em!), he has nothing to say and is afraid you'll notice. Thank that God history shows no mercy in snuffing out bad art. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
Version 1.1, without the typos: The dishonesty in these "films" makes me queasy. The director's main concern seems to be that of appearing interesting. Not being interesting, just appearing to be. From the designer nihilism of Trainspotting to the Dutch tilts of Slumdog (count 'em!), he has nothing to say and is afraid you'll notice. Thank God that history shows no mercy in snuffing out bad art. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.156.38.66 |
I respect your opinion Proto, but I don't think the films are dishonest. Stylised maybe...Trainspotting in particular captured a cultural 'time'in the mid 90's (although it was loosely based in the late 80's). Minus the smack, The antics of Trainspotting aren't so very different from what me & my mates got up to in the early 90's, so it feels honest to me. gcw | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 62.40.62.189 |
To take Trainspotting as an example. All of the bad things that happen are hard to take seriously when Boyle lays a drum and bass soundtrack over them. Nobody will think they're Kevin McKidd when they're all given the option of leaving the cinema thinking they're Ewan McGregor. The film's last shot says it all - the main character going out of focus when real life has to be portrayed. Boyle doesn't have the imagination to deal with that. It's a piece of infantile glamorisation. The words "stylised" and "style" have become meaningless - free passes for visual incontinence. A camera move, a camera position and a lighting set up all have specific meanings based on what has come before in the film. I defy you to tell that me those camera tilts in Slumdog (for instance) have any. You could listen to a man wearing a Tesco bag as a nappy shouting nonsense in the street and just let the experience wash over you, but really - why would you chose to when there are genuine artists at work just down the street? | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.181.152.177 |
I thought TRAINSPOTTING ok, but was hugely disappointed with the rubbish "baby on the ceiling" effects which took me straight out of the film, and I felt quite dissatisfied when the film was over. SHALLOW GRAVE I saw at the cinema on its release and really liked, especially Leftfield's title music! THE BEACH - well, that's two of us, GCW - I've not seen it either. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
They're not dishonest Proto, more a little heartless. Clever touches surrounding a bubble. Obvious ideas being polished highly to disguise the fact they're just ok. There is a kid's telly feel to his stuff, which is probably why Millions worked so well. Also every character feels under thirty. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
I feel a bit mean now because I've enjoyed some of his films - I've just not felt I've really gained much from them. | ||
| Skunsworth (Skunsworth) Username: Skunsworth Registered: 05-2009 Posted From: 78.148.119.129 |
I actually liked A Life Less Ordinary! Thought 28 Days was a weird film, excellent first half with a lazy second half (and how quick our main characters forget their emotional attachments - Jim's just found his dead parents, but it's okay, he;s found another two father figures within 10 minutes) - although I did quite enjoy it... ...and has anyone else noticed the similarity between Sunshine and the almost-forgotten, underrated Event Horizon? Substitute a black hole for the sun and we've got weirdly parallel stories. Just sayin'... S | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
I wouldn't care so much (he seems like an okay bloke) if it wasn't for the baffling exaltation of what is hack work. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.78.35.185 |
Protodroid, try to rent "Millions". It's really quite charming. | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 86.142.184.215 |
'...and has anyone else noticed the similarity between Sunshine and the almost-forgotten, underrated Event Horizon? Substitute a black hole for the sun and we've got weirdly parallel stories. Just sayin'... ' That is probably down to the overrated derivative Alex Garland, Boyles frequent collaborator. See also 28 Days later which i quite liked but there is a feeling of writing by numbers. Of throwing a load of influences together and putting some cool music over it. I guess i can understand Protodroids 'dishonest' accusation. I really loved Shallow Grave and Trainspotting when they came out but i'm not sure how well theyd hold up if i watched them now. There is a feeling with Boyle that he is just superficially ticking boxes. Horror-check. Science Fiction-Check. Musical-Check. Like i said, i did enjoy 28 Days Later but the bits that stick, for me, are the wonderful Godspeed You Black Emperor soundtracked scenes of a desolate London (and that was done just as well in 80s Day Of Triffids) and not the shabby, far less sucessful second half. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
Danny Boyle/ the pipes the pipes are calling... | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
I think Millions was his level. Now I think about it, his stuff does feel like a kids director making adult films. I hope I'm not being patronising to kids here... | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
That's exactly how they feel to me - immature. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
And yet kids strive for maturity; maybe that's why he sticks in the craw - he doesn't. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
Yes, he should know better. Maybe he does. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
Maybe that brings us back to dishonesty. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.78.35.185 |
But, does it NEED to be more than entertainment? I didn't search any subtext behind Trainspotting. 28 days later is a simple, effective thriller. To quote George Romero: "It is not that I show someone being dismembered that I have to get heavy and put a message on it". | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
"A camera move, a camera position and a lighting set up all have specific meanings based on what has come before in the film." Where does it say that in the film-maker's handbook? Surely a director is allowed to put in a visual leitmotif with no meaning if he or she so wishes. Hitch did it all the time and noone complains about that. I've only seen Slumdog once so far but the camera tilts didn't seem obtrusive and, if memory serves tended to be in scenes with lots of movement as opposed to the more static scenes in the police station and/or the studio. Style is allowed. It's not dishonest in any way shape or form. He's trying to entertain us, not con us. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
Help! I'm being won round by ALL the arguments! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.23.22 |
Maybe it's like I've said before; I'm not nuts on Boyle because of the stage I'm at in my life, whatever it is, what with my preoccupation with small, subtle and even inconsequential things. I've liked him before, though, and don't hate him at all. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 95.83.208.83 |
"But, does it NEED to be more than entertainment?" For me, it doesn't even manage to be entertainment. I'm not looking for a message either, just a sense of verisimilitude, a view of life through a more perceptive, wiser eye than my own. Boyle obfuscates where a good artist would reveal. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
"Boyle obfuscates where a good artist would reveal." Does he? His films always seem pretty straightforward to me. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I think the most telling thing you've said is your line about "Adulation of a Hack". You're not keen on his films (but you apparently still watch them) so when everyone says he's a great filmmaker and he wins awards etc, it's polarised your views on the subject. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
"You're not keen on his films (but you apparently still watch them)..." This is pretty telling, too. So my opinion on these films counts for less because I've actually seen them? The number of other people who say that Danny Boyle is good doesn't affect my opinions, just on whether I choose express them. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
"So my opinion on these films counts for less because I've actually seen them? " Erm no... I'm struggling to see how that meaning comes over in any way shape of form from what I said. It just seems curious that you pour such scorn and vilification on the man's work but still watch the next film he makes. It almost seems masochistic. I know I don't like Michael Bay's films, so I avoid them. It saves me from a lot of mental anguish. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
"It just seems curious that you pour such scorn and vilification on the man's work but still watch the next film he makes. It almost seems masochistic. " Reminds me of some people's comments on Doctor Who to be honest. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
"It just seems curious that you pour such scorn and vilification on the man's work but still watch the next film he makes." Your comments are based on an incorrect assumption. I've seen maybe 50% of them. The formats in which I've seen them track the decreasing level of respect for the director: SHALLOW GRAVE and TRAINSPOTTING (in the cinema), 28 DAYS LATER (on video), half of SUNSHINE (on television) SLUMDOG (on television while tidying up). I'm not sure what else I have to do to earn the right to an opinion? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I've not said that you're not allowed one. I really do think you're reading something that I've not written | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
"I've not said that you're not allowed one." Good. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Proto - There's no point in getting snappy at me over things you only imagine that I've said. it doesn't paint you in a very good light. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
The peace here lasted four days - that's a record, isn't it? | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
Wow. So you don't like it when we agree either? Bizarre. You'd do well to avoid any reflective surfaces lest you fall out with yourself. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
Agree? All I'm seeing is a potential squabble. But please, have a go at the moderator. It's becoming quite popular here. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
Or were you referring to Weber? If so, sorry. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
gary you're a twat!  | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
 | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.141 |
D'oh, Gary! No, that wasn't meant for you! | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
OK, mate. Just being paranoid.  | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
It's just me he's throwing unwarranted abuse at on the basis of something he only imagines that I said. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Danny Boyle is one of those directors with loads of talent but questionable instincts for me. I've admired and been underwhelmed by his films in almost equal measure: 'Shallow Grave' - a storming debut and one of the finest Hitchcockian suspense thrillers of modern times with pitch perfect atmosphere and performances. 'Trainspotting' - one of the greatest films of the 90s that is well-nigh flawless in its adaptation of an "unfilmable" novel - no mean feat. By turns hilarious, exciting, disturbing and downright terrifying with a killer soundtrack! 'A Life Less Ordinary' - everything came screeching to a halt with this frankly baffling sub-Capraesque sentimental fantasy. I desperately wanted to love it but nothing in the movie gels and the whole thing slips out of the mind right after watching. 'The Beach' - a definite improvement that holds the attention, is beautifully shot and even quite exciting but that also just lacks that certain something to raise it to greatness. One of his middling to good films that is well worth watching but ultimately nothing to write home about. '28 Days Later' - a cracking reinvention of the zombie genre that works because of its very lack of pretension and the sheer excitement of seeing London and the familiar English countryside overrun. Yeah, it kinda loses momentum in the latter stages and can't be called a masterpiece but as far as this gorehound goes... I loved it (though the sequel is even better)! 'Millions' - haven't seen it. 'Sunshine' - one of most frustrating films of the last decade. The first two thirds are so perfect I was in heaven watching this on the big screen. A big intelligent sci-fi movie that was more than holding its own with the likes of 'Silent Running' or 'Solaris' for sheer breathtaking grandeur and restraint. Then he completely lost the plot and the whole thing unravelled into a headache inducing mishmash of noise and OTT effects. I wanted to slap Boyle after this one... 'Slumdog Millionaire' - after all the hype this one rather left me cold. A sentimental rags-to-riches story with nothing new to say other than the novelty of the setting. It works perfectly well as feelgood entertainment but I still feel this director is capable of SO MUCH MORE!! I'd rank those I've seen: 1. Trainspotting 2. Shallow Grave 3. 28 Days Later 4. The Beach 5. Sunshine 6. Slumdog Millionaire 7. A Life Less Ordinary | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.191.242.172 |
Poor Gary! Shellshocked by all the ructions. Poor Weber. Because, well, you know... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.114.254 |
I need counselling working here. |