Films you think shouldn't have been made

[blue jammer]

What do you reckon to Elephant?

Tagline: An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

Gus Van Sant's film, he, who directed Good Will Hunting (1997) and the Psycho remake (1998) amongst a plethora of others.

I watched it last night, and have to say it didn't settle very well with me, aside from the way it was shot (I just didn't like most of it at all) there is an underlying question, should people be making films out of disasters/tragedies?

From IMDB:

On April 20, 1999, two boys wearing trench coats carried a daunting arsenal of weapons harnessed with military web gear into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and systematically gunned down thirteen students. Gruesome though it was, the incident was just one of eight fatal high school shootings between 1997 and 1999. These traumatizing events began a debate about what was wrong with the nation's youth, an issue that is the subject of Gus Van Sant's Elephant.

Elephants don't forget, what about the families of the victims? hmmmm.

Winner of the Golden Palm at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, Elephant is a brilliant and deeply affecting film that makes a courageous attempt to grasp the malaise of today's youth culture. Van Sant does not attempt to explain Columbine or uncover its underlying causes, and there is no revealing epiphany. His film is a highly stylized, dreamlike tone poem that defies linear conventions and is almost surreal in its approach. Using flashbacks and recurring images from different points of view, the film captures the mood and tone of its adolescent world: its perceptions, its self-absorption, and ultimately its darkest instincts.

The problem I had with it was, it felt too empty, you were following these kids round aimlessly, and whilst he tried to develop tension, I just found them irritating!

The camera is a detached observer, and the strength of the film lies in its acute power of observation and detail. Van Sant shows us all the surface rituals: the girl cheerleaders, the boys playing football, the locker-lined hallways, the academic discussions, yet an ineffable feeling of loneliness pervades. The picture features impeccable acting by a group of non-professionals from the Portland, Oregon area. Each character is introduced separately and we see them going about their business on a seemingly ordinary school day. The steadicam-tracking camera follows them as they walk through the sterile halls that seem endless. The school appears without life -- a place where one feels a desperate sense of loss.

That is the problem right there, you are excluded mostly, almost like your a kid from the year(s) below, wanting in on the action, I know this is how he wanted it to come across, and I'd love to hear others opinions of this...

Rather than giving us pat answers, Van Sant bases his approach on the elusiveness of truth, and our insatiable desire to know more. The imagery and camerawork are almost painfully beautiful, while the disconnected narrative deliberately withholds closure. On top of all this, the pacing is superb, slowly building up the almost unbearable tension. When it is finally released, the explosion hits you with a frightening energy that is as unforgettable as it is chilling.

Ugh, bloody terrible I thought, but, I'm not American, and maybe a lot of the Americanisms were lost on me.

The last 15 minutes are quite chilling, granted, but I still reckon it could have been dealt with in a more sincere way.

What do you think about these type of films being made?

[jenwah]

ont actualy know what film ur talkin bout, but i think i know what u mean,
i think its wrong when things are dragged out over a long period of time that have happened to people, or things like video's ya see that are gruesome, or rotten.com thats an example! cause i know i wouldnt really like anythin broadcast bout any tradegy that happened in my life across the net/tv world!

(erm, correct me if i have the wrong idea! LOL)

[doolz]

not seen or heard opf this film but if ya gonna watch anything about colombine high school and the situation with gun culture in the states
then
watch
BOWLING FOR COLOMBINE

[blue jammer]

Bowling for Columbine was fantastic, I was expecting it to be really dull as a docu, but the way it was put together, I couldn't fault it.

I remember posting about it just after I'd seen it, and commenting on how different it was in Canada than the US, where those guys came over from Detroit and were being quizzed as to how they found it.

Minimal deaths by gun in Canada, compared to the US, I know where I'd emigrate to if I had the choice!

Anyway, back to this thread, and to answer jennyfromthebloc:

It's not the dragging out that bothers me, as not being local to where it happened, since first hearing about it, and subsequent news articles around the time it happened, I've not heard anything since, until I saw this film. Unlike the death of Diana, that did drag on and on, and to be honest, I was sick of hearing about it 4 hours after it happened, as at the time I worked for the AA and was involved with the media, giving information out to 'selective' people who called up from France. By the time I got home from work, it was all over the radio/TV and stayed that way for weeks after.

[ebay guru]

Originally Posted by blue jammer

Bowling for Columbine was fantastic, I was expecting it to be really dull as a docu, but the way it was put together, I couldn't fault it.

I remember posting about it just after I'd seen it, and commenting on how different it was in Canada than the US, where those guys came over from Detroit and were being quizzed as to how they found it.

Minimal deaths by gun in Canada, compared to the US, I know where I'd emigrate to if I had the choice!

Anyway, back to this thread, and to answer jennyfromthebloc:

It's not the dragging out that bothers me, as not being local to where it happened, since first hearing about it, and subsequent news articles around the time it happened, I've not heard anything since, until I saw this film. Unlike the death of Diana, that did drag on and on, and to be honest, I was sick of hearing about it 4 hours after it happened, as at the time I worked for the AA and was involved with the media, giving information out to 'selective' people who called up from France. By the time I got home from work, it was all over the radio/TV and stayed that way for weeks after.

haven't seen elephant yet but i probably will. heard mixed things about it. But i think its a good idea for a film. I wouldn't have made titanic or pearl harbour and I refuse to watch either

[walshy]

just watched elephant with our kid. To sum it up, takes ages to get going but is well worth watching. I have to agree that Bowling for Columbine is much better Off on a tangent but just watched a DVD of Yanks having street fights, absolute class Loads of Hicks brawling and big birds fighting. LOLOLOL

[doolz]

tell ya what shouldnt have been made
that
fast and the furious
what a steaming pile or dog turd that is
and that awful van petrol bloke what a knob jockey

oh and i suspect the sequels even worse than the first

[RabbitCity]

WE WACHED (WRONG TURN) LAST WEEK AND IT WAS REALLY FUCKED UP!
ITS ABOUT 3 FUCKED UP PEOPLE THAT COLLECT BODY PARTS!
HAS ANYONE SEEN IT YET??
WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT IT??

[RabbitCity]

[quote=jennyfromthebloc]ont actualy know what film ur talkin bout, but i think i know what u mean,
i think its wrong when things are dragged out over a long period of time that have happened to people, or things like video's ya see that are gruesome, or rotten.com thats an example! cause i know i wouldnt really like anythin broadcast bout any tradegy that happened in my life across the net/tv world!

YES JEN THAT ROTTEN .COM IS CRAZY!
DO U EVER GO ON STEAKANDCHEESE.COM?

[Jiglo]

'A Certain Sacrifice' Madonna made this before she was famous and i'll never see a worse film in the rest of my.

A lot of the cashing in sequels should never have been made either: Police Academy 8, Karate Kid 3 etc.

And in Star Wars' case, the prequels

Ice T lost all his street cred when he played a kangaroo in Tank Girl too

[Northern Star]

Waterworld............for the amount of money it cost to make and the sucess of the film when it came out.......i wouldnt have bothered

[Dj Britalian]

Originally Posted by Northern Star

Waterworld............for the amount of money it cost to make and the sucess of the film when it came out.......i wouldnt have bothered

Agree with ya there Northern Star

Personally i did'nt like it at all

Not one of costners best films i must say

[pauly p]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469641/

[Elev8/Levit8]

Films that shouldn't have been made?
blimey... well, with a few notable exceptions, pick any sequels!
If the first sequel wasn't utter bollocks, the later ones usually were...
For Instance... off the top of me heed...
Jaws
Alien (3 & beyond)
Nightmare on Elm Street (sequel overload)
Terminator 3

[amymars]

some wank film i saw ob channel 4 the other night. The abyss or somethin. Wank wank wank.