Donnie Darko

[ResidentBiscuit]

Take a look at comic book movies, like the Avengers, or Batman or whatever. Sure they're good movies and very impressive on many levels, but that says nothing to their originality. They're not original because they're based on other, existing works.

But comic book movies are based directly off the comics, and advertised as so. This isn't the same situation.

[Computergeek01]

@ Zephilinox: Copyright law is an economic model that is in place to safeguard a copyright holders (not an authors) rights to specific works and so doesn't really apply to an argument about an ideas originality. If for example I made a movie about World War 2, then that would have nothing original about it but at the same time I wouldn't be infringing on the thousand or so other movies about the same topic. I could also make a drama in outer space about people standing up to an evil empire and still not owe George Lucas a dime, it's not original but at the same time Copyright does not apply.

EDIT: Also, no conversation about semi-recent cult classics is complete without at least mentioning "Green Street Hooligans", "The Thirteenth Floor" or "Dark City".

EDIT #2: I would also like to add, IMHO "The Cell" was a masterpiece but I don't think anyone else wants to admit that Jennifer Lopez could be a serious actress.

[Disch]

But comic book movies are based directly off the comics, and advertised as so. This isn't the same situation.

So if the Batman movies were renamed to "Owlman", that would make them original?

[meganewbie]

11:14 was interesting

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0331811/

[BHXSpecter]

Disch wrote:

So if the Batman movies were renamed to "Owlman", that would make them original?

So, simply put, nothing we have thought of movie wise has ever been original. I'm sure we could find a manga or anime that existed before Batman/Superman/SpiderMan/Avengers existed that look like they were the basis for the comic. Hell, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was basically stolen from a Japanese show that Saban brought here.

[Cheraphy]

I'm sure we could find a manga or anime that existed before Batman/Superman/SpiderMan/Avengers existed that look like they were the basis for the comic.

The North American comic of the form we know it debuted in 1933. Manga of the form we know it debuted in the mid 50s. Unlikely :P


^{Those two bits of trivia are things I learned at work and are good to know at work. Working at a comic shop is awesome.}

[Disch]

So, simply put, nothing we have thought of movie wise has ever been original

That's not what I'm saying. Coming up with an idea on your own is original. Taking your idea from elsewhere is not.

The matrix did the latter. The movie was basically "what if we took stuff from anime like GitS and <insert other anime here> and made it live action?".

I see no difference between that, and what comic book movies do (taking a comic book and recreating it as live action). Neither one is original.

[Cheraphy]

So, uh, are we just assuming that innovative techniques and effects in film can't be considered originality?

[BHXSpecter]

Disch wrote:

That's not what I'm saying. Coming up with an idea on your own is original. Taking your idea from elsewhere is not.

But you are. Seeing as our ideas are influenced by things we have seen (which Matrix is the best proof as they took elements from their favorite animes and made a live action version of it). Look at video games, only a hand full can be marked as original otherwise the new ones are just clones of previous games. Disch, I'm just giving you a hard time so don't worry about it because I'm just playing around.

xander337 wrote:

The North American comic of the form we know it debuted in 1933. Manga of the form we know it debuted in the mid 50s. Unlikely :P

True, though if you look at the history of how Kane thought of Batman you would see it wasn't original. Batman's first design was a red suited hero with no gloves, a domino mask, and boots with stiff wings trying to be a human version of Superman (if Superman hadn't been successful, we wouldn't have Batman, X-Men, etc.)

[iHutch105]

Straying back to the original topic, I'd hate to disappoint you but The Shawshank Redemption is scientifically proven* to be the greatest movie of all time. Closely followed by One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

As for current films, I went to see Looper recently. It was pretty good, if a little predictable. Also saw Taken 2 last week, which was incredibly bad. Shame, given that the first one was decent.

_{*science based on my opinion}

[Luc Lieber]

Long ago I ran out of good movies to watch instantly on Netflix, but I was surprised last night.

Gritty, bloody, and absolutely entertaining with A LOT of very talented young actors and actresses:

Battle Royale (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/

Forty-two students, three days, one deserted Island: welcome to Battle Royale. A group of ninth-grade students from a Japanese high school have been forced by legislation to compete in a Battle Royale. The students are each given a bag with a randomly selected weapon and a few rations of food and water and sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred (with a few minor rules) game to the death, which means that the students have three days to kill each other until one survives--or they all die. The movie focuses on a few of the students and how they cope. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mistuko, while others like the heroes of the movie--Shuya, Noriko, and Kawada--are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwell down lower and lower on an hourly basis, is there any way for Shuya and his classmates to survive?

Thank God for subtitles.


P.S. I also watched Battle Royale 2, but found that it just didn't measure up to the first...and my views of the characters portrayed changed drastically from 1 to 2.

[ne555]

(Shuya is really hateful)
You may want to read the manga.

[Luc Lieber]

@ne555, after watching Battle Royale 2, I can REALLY see that...In BR-1 I was really rooting for him though...

[chrisname]

I'm generally not at all into manga or anime, but I have watched some of the movie adaptation of Uzumaki and it was pretty good. I'm really getting tired of Hollywood movies, to the point that I watch them just to laugh at how overdone they are (Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in particular, although I think in his case it's intentional).

[chief]

All time best movie since movies.....Enter The Dragon. Even with the staged moves and dramatic sound effects, the movie has a very entertaining allure about it. Funny also.

Also, just watched The Social Network. Ehhhh.....good movie but Hollywood's written all over it.