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FANTASTILICIOUS FUN FOR FILM FANS 089: your top 10's of 2020 and most anticipated films of 2021?

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  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,257
    There used to be a time when A Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream were the only of Craven's movies I'd ever seen. Because of those two, I went with the "Master Of Horror" thing. Then I got more; The Hills Have Eyes, Scream 2 and The Last House On The Left. My thoughts about the man seemed confirmed. Until someone dropped the suggestion to watch the following films: Swamp Thing, Shocker, The People Under The Stairs, Don't Look Down, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, ... One after the other, they seemed to get worse. Red Eye helped a little to restore my faith in Craven but a lot of that faith had been shaken.

    Take Scream for example. Williamson's script is so brilliant, a director has to be completely dysfunctional not to turn out a good movie. But Craven too can write good scripts. Especially NOES hits the right notes. But I still struggle with things a bit. Was Nightmare just a one-time-only bit of luck? Or has Craven more in him?

    In truth, I think Craven is very eloquent; I always enjoy listening to him talk about films. Also, having read a few books about him, I feel like some of his productions never got a chance from their sponsoring studios; either Craven was given too little time and money, or cuts were ordered that destroyed a film. So in a way I do sympathise with the man.

    In the end, I don't think Craven is the "Master Of Horror". At the very least, Carpenter should get that title before Craven does. But I don't think he's a lousy filmmaker either. So I guess I'll come down in the middle. ;-)
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited January 2015 Posts: 14,001
    A Master Of Horror for: The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Cursed, Red Eye, and though it was made under Wes Craven Presents', I would also include Wishmaster
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    He's average to me. Nothing special, but not terrible.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,830
    Whoever made John Carpenter's The Thing is the master of horror.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    I was very fascinated by the character of Freddy Krueger, but I was too immature then to think about the quality of the films. I haven´t seen any other films by Wes Craven.
    I have however read his novel Fountain Cociety, and that is not bad at all. A little inconsistent in tone, but apart from that not bad writing at all.
  • OHMSS69OHMSS69
    Posts: 2,341
    Wes Craven is somewhere on the level of Rob Zombie,
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited January 2015 Posts: 4,399
    i think he's one of the masters of horror, but not THE master of horror...

    i compare him a lot to George Romero.. If you look at the entire body of work, both of them are pretty hit or miss, both have a reputation built off their early and more successful works - but most of the films they've made recently are terrible or simply don't measure up to what they've done in the past..
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    That's a pretty good comparison, actually.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,257
    <center><font color=#E9AB17 size=6><b>048
    </b>Who is your favourite live action movie Joker?</font>

    We have:
    - Cesar Romero (Batman '66)
    - Jack Nicholson (Batman '89)
    - Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

    Please use the following model:

    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (0)
    Ledger (0)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,257
    Excluding the animated Jokers and the Jokers from other media, such as the video games and the comics, we have three people (so far). Romero was my early childhood Joker, menacing to a 6 year old, rather foolish today. I have nostalgic sympathies for this Joker, but that's about it. Nicholson was for nearly two full decades the 'perfect' Joker in my opinion, even though he does go a little Romero at times. Then Ledger came, and he gave us a Joker presumably none of us could ever have expected to get.

    Ledger's Joker is by far the more creepy of the latter two. He plays into all of our contemporary fears. He wreaks havoc just for sake of it, targets literally everyone and cannot be bargained with. Also, we know almost nothing about him. Where he comes from, what his motives are. He's a mystery, and a very dangerous one. Alfred sums it up nicely with his famous phrase "some men just want to watch the world burn". That's almost a perfect reflection on our post-9/11 fears. So while I can't see the Nicholson Joker get very far in real life, the Ledger one, at least in principle, feels like a true threat.

    In a nutshell, I need to decide between the cartoonish Nicholson with his great acting and the painfully realistic Ledger with his equally great acting. I guess I'm ultimately going for the guy that creeps me out most. I don't know where he comes from, I don't even fully understand his motives, if he even has them, but I'm willing to accept that with this guy on the loose, no-one is safe anymore: Ledger's Joker is my choice.

    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (0)
    Ledger (1) +1
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (0)
    Ledger (2) +1
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (0)
    Ledger (3) +1

    Easy.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 14,001
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (1) +1
    Ledger (3)

    No doubt in my mind.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,359
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (2) +1
    Ledger (3)

    This thread needs an enema!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    My enemy s enema is my frienema.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 14,001
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (3) +1
    Ledger (3)

    I think that all three worked well within their own eras. Romero was the first Joker that I saw so I'll always have a soft spot for his version. He was an inspiration for Nicholson even twenty years later, so that speaks volumes on how iconic he was. I like how Ledger showed us the true nature of the Joker's psychopathic, twisted mind but he wasn't as much fun to watch as the other two. Perhaps Jack is in the middle of the two extremes.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,830
    Murdock wrote: »
    This thread needs an enema!
    =)) Soda almost came out my nose! Good one, dude!
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (4) +1
    Ledger (3)

    Nicholson was a great self-entertaining psycho in a world created for the sustainability of such absurdity.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,359
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    This thread needs an enema!
    =)) Soda almost came out my nose! Good one, dude!

    The keystroke is truly mightier than the sword!
    Hot-Toys-Joker-Mime-Version-1.jpg
  • ml94ml94 Finland
    Posts: 88
    Heath Ledger.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    edited January 2015 Posts: 5,767
    I´m sittin´this one out, boys.
    Since I never saw Romero, I find it unfair to vote. And I wouldn´t even be sure which one to favor, Nicholson or Ledger. I´m not very good at polls.
  • KerimKerim Istanbul Not Constantinople
    edited January 2015 Posts: 2,629
    I never thought ol' Jack could be outdone, but darned if Heath Ledger didn't pull it off.

    Cesar Romero was good in the campy Batman Era, but that same character wouldn't have gone over today.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,257
    So if I get this right, the score is now

    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (4)
    Ledger (5)

    That's impressive!
  • Crazysoul95Crazysoul95
    Posts: 3,336
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (4)
    Ledger (6)

  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    There's got to be at least 1 Batman 66 lover on this forum.
  • ml94ml94 Finland
    Posts: 88
    My dad born that year (66)...
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,257
    Right, since ml94 can't seem to play along, IFM.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,830
    Agent007391 wrote: »
    There's got to be at least 1 Batman 66 lover on this forum.
    I grew up with it. But I also read the comics, and Romero, while entertaining, just wasn't Joker for me. And Ledger just wasn't having much FUN. Joker has FUN!
    So, that's why I choose Nicholson.
  • TuuliaTuulia
    edited January 2015 Posts: 2,081
    Romero (0)
    Nicholson (4)
    Ledger (7) +1

    I always find it fascinating how differently people see things. I'm sure people who find Nicholson's Joker funny think it's peculiar some don't. I'm equally amazed some people think Ledger's Joker isn't funny, or isn't having fun. I think he's hilarious (he makes me laugh unlike Nicholson), and seems to me to be having plenty of fun, too.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,830
    Tuulia wrote: »
    I'm equally amazed some people think Ledger's Joker isn't funny, or isn't having fun. I think he's hilarious (he makes me laugh unlike Nicholson), and seems to me to be having plenty of fun, too.
    Ledger just took Brandon Lee's Crow & tweaked it a bit to be all evil IMO. Nicholson brought the comic book Joker to glorious & originally-inspired life.
    =D>
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