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James Berardinelli
Site Admin
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:55 pm Posts: 2797 Location: Mount Laurel, NJ, USA
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 MEN IN BLACK III
Click here for the review of Men in Black IIISPOILERS must be tagged with the "SPOILER" tag!
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:06 pm |
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Vexer
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Actually this movie did not in fact have a completed script when filming began, nevertheless i'm still very much looking forward to seeing it.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:15 pm |
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ck100
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
"In fact, the screenplay feels frustratingly incomplete, with significant plot points left unresolved. (What it is the "big moment" that changes K? And please don't tell me it's the lame thing that happens near the end.) It's as if the movie went into production without a script and the filmmakers made things up as they went along."
I'm sure it's already been said by someone, but it's been on record that this film was shot without a completed script. Considering it took 10 years to make this movie there should be no excuse for this. I think it's also been on record that at least five writers were working on this film before it was shot. We all know that the more writers you have working on a film the less coherent it becomes.
Also, how does chocolate milk protect J from the time changes made by Boris?
Does this sequel have egregious product placement like the second film?
Last edited by ck100 on Thu May 24, 2012 1:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:26 pm |
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jadedmoviegoer
Second Unit Director
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:13 am Posts: 328
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
It's probably used for the same reason that Head and Shoulders was used as a weapon in "Evolution:" alleged comedic effect.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:29 pm |
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ck100
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Let me guess. Because chocolate is dark and Will Smith is dark it's supposed to be some kind of racial joke, right? It wouldn't be the first time the franchise used a racial joke. Remember the "It's just raining black people in New York" joke from the first film?
Last edited by ck100 on Thu May 24, 2012 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:33 pm |
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Vexer
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
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| Thu May 24, 2012 1:49 pm |
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ck100
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
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| Thu May 24, 2012 2:37 pm |
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Ragnarok73
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
It's not often that I've seen you use any expletives while reviewing a film, JB. This one must have been pretty bad.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 2:48 pm |
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Ken
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Incomplete scripts and battalions of writers are actually pretty normal, at least for big budget studio productions. Bear in mind that in many cases, everybody who wrote drafts of the movie is getting credited, even drafts that go more or less unused. Also bear in mind that incoherence in a movie like this is often the case of post-production retooling in the editing room in addition to last minute script monkeying. Don't make me post my "things writers do in a Michael Bay movie" rant again.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 2:57 pm |
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jadedmoviegoer
Second Unit Director
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:13 am Posts: 328
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
I was surprised by Ebert's review. This is mostly getting positive reviews on rotten tomatoes, but I feel like most critics are just saying the film is not as bad as they thought it would be.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 3:02 pm |
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ShriekoftheVulture
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
wow this is surprising since the film is actually getting fairly decent reviews from other critics, some are saying it is better than the first
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| Thu May 24, 2012 3:35 pm |
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TwistedCritic
Gaffer
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:14 am Posts: 10 Location: NJ
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
"The problem with some franchises is that the studios don't know when it's time to quit. The lackluster nature of Men in Black II should have been a hint to Sony that the Men in Black series had run its course."
The thing is, a concept such as Men in Black could easily have lent itself to multiple movies. (It started as a comic book, and there was also an animated series in the late '90s I believe.) The problem is that the second one was so unbelievably bland that it killed any further interest (taking so long in between installments didn't do any favors either).
But look at something like Ghostbusters - lackluster sequel, but there are people still hoping for a third one even all these years later. Also the Crystal Skull comparison isn't really accurate; that movie crapped all over a franchise that previously had a 3-0 record, but only the first Men in Black is recommendable.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 3:45 pm |
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Sebastian
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Woah, this is one of the angriest reviews I've ever read from James. I wasn't expecting him to love it, but I wasn't expecting this either, specially because many critics - including the aforementioned Ebert - are giving the movie surprisingly decent reviews.
Funnily enough, people here in Peru were actually looking forward to the movie. The previous two - yeah, even the second one - are pretty popular, and Will Smith is really-well liked (well, where isn't he?) I'm definitely seeing it, even if it means I'll be disappointed.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 4:08 pm |
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Jeff Wilder
Director
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:07 pm Posts: 1202
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
The original Ghostbusters and the original Men In Black worked mainly on account of the comedy. That still holds up and will still hold up even when the special effects in both movies are completely out of date. In both cases the attempt to create a franchise resulted in subpar sequels that while not tarnishing the original did remove some of the luster.
_________________ This ain't a city council meeting you know-Joe Cabot
Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out-Martin Scorsese.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1347771599
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| Thu May 24, 2012 7:22 pm |
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Will Hatch
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Wow. I knew that there wasn't a ton of enthusiasm for MIBIII, but I didn't expect a review like this. Even the perpetually trashed upon "Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull"(which I didn't mind nearly as much as others did) got a semi-respectful if dismissive review from James.
I don't know, I just might see this. I thought that James was wrong about "X-Men: First Class" last summer, and I think he might be in the minority here too.
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| Thu May 24, 2012 10:05 pm |
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ck100
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
James,
Which movie was tougher for you to endure? Men In Black III or Battleship?
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| Thu May 24, 2012 11:09 pm |
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Awf Hand
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Wow. Comedy is such a subjective thing. I just read JB’s review followed by Ebert’s review and aside from the Brolin comments, I can’t believe they watched the same movie. You been working too hard lately James? I’ve noted a marked increase in quantity of posted reviews. Been getting enough sleep? Is everything okay at home? Damn.
I’m one who considered MiB 1 and 2 to be guilty pleasure movies and I was looking forward to seeing this until I read such a scathing review: “…sitting in theaters enduring this sh!t.” Really?? While Ebert uses “Hitchcockian” and “virtuoso” as descriptors…?
RT's meter for MiB3 is riding at 66% (fresh) at this time. I realize that movie critics attempt to write in a vacuum, but dude, it really seems like something has tainted JB’s vacuum.
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| Fri May 25, 2012 10:09 am |
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James Berardinelli
Site Admin
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:55 pm Posts: 2797 Location: Mount Laurel, NJ, USA
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
BATTLESHIP felt less painful. It's curious how most of the positive reviews of this movie read half-hearted and lukewarm. There may not be many critics out there who out-and-out hated MIB3 as I did, but there's not a lot of heartfelt enthusiasm for it.
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| Fri May 25, 2012 12:26 pm |
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Vexer
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Just saw this film with my mom today, and I think you're dead wrong it. MI3 was pretty good, better then the 2nd film but not quite as good as the first, it had the right mix of humor(funniest parts bieng pretty much anything with Griffin) action(pretty amazing effects, especially the timejump sequences), and even some drama which was effective at shedding a whole new light on J and K's relationship. Smith and Jones effortlessly slide back into their roles and they're chemistry is still as fresh as ever, I never realized how much I missed Smith on the big screen until now. BTW, I did a quick check on IMDB, and i noticed that sequels for I Robot and Hancock have both been announced.
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| Sat May 26, 2012 10:09 pm |
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nologo
Assistant Second Unit Director
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:16 am Posts: 102
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 Re: MEN IN BLACK III
Just came back from seeing the film. I was shocked at how little screen time Jones had, He wasn't wearing make-up. His face had been digitally altered to hide his wrinkles and bags.
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| Sun May 27, 2012 4:37 am |
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