Jack the Giant Slayer (Bryan Singer)

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JACK THE GIANT SLAYER

Director: Bryan Singer

imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1351685/?ref_=sr_1)

http://www.kartoon3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/jack_the_giant_slayer_poster_1 2-11-12_for_homepage_large.png

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There's a few questionable choices here and there, but overall, I thought there was some great fun to be had with this movie. Also, Ewan McGregor's hair.

My full review. (http://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2013/03/jack-giant-slayer.html)

[Kurosawa Fan]

Took my sons to see this at their request. It's not very good. Quite dull for an adventure film, both in visually and narratively. Half-assed critique of gender. Bizarre and conflicted treatment of the monarchy and social class. Instantly forgettable. My 11-year-old didn't much care for it either, which might be a first. Usually he'll tell me he likes whatever we watch, just different levels of enthusiasm. This one left him unimpressed.

[Watashi]

I can't really remember the first time I actively disliked a film as a youth. The amount of shit I liked in the 90's was staggering.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I can't really remember the first time I actively disliked a film as a youth. The amount of shit I liked in the 90's was staggering.

Same here. He seems to be making the transition, though some of the reasons he gave for disliking it he couldn't really back up with examples. You could tell he had heard Val and me talk about films and he just grabbed some pieces of the conversation in an effort to sound a bit older. Still, it's nice to see him not calling everything he sees "good."

[Winston*]

That poster looks like it's for a B-level PS1 videogame.

[Spinal]

Abysmal. An utter bore.

[Spinal]

Also, I somehow went the whole movie without recognizing Ewan McGregor.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Also, I somehow went the whole movie without recognizing Ewan McGregor.

:lol:

How is that possible?

[TGM]

That poster looks like it's for a B-level PS1 videogame.

Which is fitting, seeing as they used PS1 level cgi for the prologue portion of the movie.

[Spinal]

:lol:

How is that possible?

I think the hair threw me off. It's especially weird because I was like, that guy is the best actor in this movie.

[Ivan Drago]

Is this the first candidate for 2013 Movies That 'Exist'?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Is this the first candidate for 2013 Movies That 'Exist'?

It is for me. Seems as though Spinal won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

[Ivan Drago]

It is for me. Seems as though Spinal won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

I honestly have no interest. The first movie from 2013 I'll most likely see will either be Stoker or Oz: The Great and Powerful.

[Sxottlan]

Not good. So many things are off about this. The tone and look of the film are at serious odds with each other. It looks like a kids movie, but is treated like a fairly straightforward action film. And the film taking such a weird story seriously creates a lot of unintentional laughs. This is a movie that rolls Ewan McGregor in a flaky pastry don't forget. The style of the prologue seemed taken straight from the prologue of Hellboy 2.

For costing nearly $200M, it really doesn't look it. The animation of the bean stalks are badly done. The look of the giants is a miscalculation. Would have it been distracting to have recognizable actors playing giants with make-up and then scaling them up? Maybe, but the entirely CG approach was just awful. About the most realistic the giants got was when they had helmets so that we don't see their faces.

Major plot hole annoyed me throughout the film: If the damn crown of Erik the Great can enslave the giants and the magic beans give anyone with enough motive access to the giants, why the hell would you bury both of them with him where anyone can apparently rob the grave? Seriously, what the fuck?

There were some nice moments here and there. I had nothing against the actors or characters. Tucci's character telegraphed evil. The woman cast as the princess tells me the casting director was told, "find me a Cate Blanchett look-alike." The shot of Jack laying down under water and the camera drops through the water as the giant walks into the pond was a nice shot. Probably the best scene is when the bean stalk is cut down. However, I again question the collective wisdom of this kingdom when they don't think through what it means to bring down a bean stalk several miles tall. Sure, let's keep base camp right around the base of it when it goes. It looked like dozens of people should have been killed.

Also dumb: And there's a lot...
-Drunken peasant rapists at a kid's carnival show. Tiresome.
-No one recognizes the princess even though everyone can see her face under her hood. Hood comes down, people freak out.
-A giant with two heads. A kid-friendly Kuato! "Jaaaaccckkkk!"
-This kingdom has seemingly miles and miles of freshly cut-looking grass for a front yard.
-Jack and the princess stop their descent down the stalk for the night even though they look to be just twenty stories up.
-The king's advisor is dressed like a cross between a knight and Kaiser Wilhelm.
-The giants are lucky that when they threw the beans into the stream, the water didn't simply just wash them out into mid-air before they started to grow.
-None of the four descending stalks are visible to the retreating king and princess even though it looks like the castle was just a few miles from Jack's farm.
-The giant general slipping his first two fingers through the crown and then holding it up for everyone to cheer just reminded me way too much of something inappropriate.
-A windmill is slowly turning backwards in one shot.
-A chef giant skewers two live pigs in a blanket, but we don't hear or see them scream or struggle or bleed out all over the oven tray.


Maybe the worst movie Bryan Singer has done. And I remember being disappointed by Apt Pupil. I kind of forgot he did Superman Returns, which was forgettable. Valkyrie, while enjoyable, quickly faded from memory.

[Spinal]

Also, why do they let Jack go on the mission in the first place? They establish that there is a distinct divide between the upper and lower classes. He's the last one to have seen the princess before she disappeared. There's evidence to suggest that he laid hands on her and took something from her. And yet he is allowed to join the rescue mission? What?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Also, why do they let Jack go on the mission in the first place? They establish that there is a distinct divide between the upper and lower classes. He's the last one to have seen the princess before she disappeared. There's evidence to suggest that he laid hands on her and took something from her. And yet he is allowed to join the rescue mission? What?

That's part of what I was talking about in regards to the contradictory treatment of class. Also,

Jack saves the kingdom through actions that literally destroy the castle (and notice he's wearing the crown in the climactic moment, not the princess; so much for a positive comment on gender) symbolizing his crashing through the restraints of his low birth, yet the end shows him as prince and/or king himself, tucked away in a new beautiful castle. So really, who gives a fuck about the class divide so long as you can worm your way into the elite!!

[Spinal]

Should have taken my kid to Amour instead.

[number8]

Giant flop.
(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-giant-slayer-could-lose-432584)

[Dukefrukem]

I don't know how it could possibly fall between the two movies it mentions. I know this doesn't factor in advertising but Battleship looks to be in decent shape no? Jack looks by far the worst. (I assumed $100 mil advertising budget for all)

Battleship Production: $209 +$100 = $309 = ~+6
Battleship WW Gross: $303

John Carter Production $250 +$100 = $350 = ~-70
John Carter WW Gross $282

Jack the Giant Slayer Production: $195 +$100 = $295 = ~-140
Jack the Giant Slayer WW Gross: $157

[number8]

Disney lost $200 million on John Carter. (http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/disney-expects-200m-loss-for-john-carter/)

Universal lost $83 million on Battleship. (http://variety.com/2012/biz/news/comcast-qtr-soars-but-u-battle-tested-1118057310/)

[Dukefrukem]

Haha. I didn't know JC loss was that bad. We'll never see a sequel to it.

[number8]

It beat Waterworld as the biggest flop of all time.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched this because I woke up early today and.... that was basically the only reason. Can't say much more than what has already been said. It's not that great. But I kinda like the giants eating people like they're candy. It's gruesome when you think about it and at least there are stakes. It doesn't make sense why they would capture the princess though. McGregor is the best thing in the movie. The CGI looks a little unfinished when all the giants are in the same room.

Roeper gave this movie 3.5/4 stars btw.

[D_Davis]

If there was a ever a movie that didn't deserve its flop status, it's John Carter.

It is a perfectly OK genre flick, better than any of the Marvel U movies. For some reason, critics and audiences teamed up to hate on that film something fierce. Totally blows my mind, especially as people line up to throw their money at the new superhero stuff.

[Peng]

I went into John Carter so wanting to prove those critics wrong. Loved Pixar and thrilled at the thought of another director from the studio (after Brad Bird) coming over into live-action films. Well, I didn't hate it, and the nice action certainly had the feeling of an animation guy's mindset, but it's... seriously underwhelming for me. If we had to compare to Marvel, I guess I would take it over Ant-Man and the first half of Thor 2.

[Dukefrukem]

I really enjoyed John Carter. I feel like it could have been cut down a bit, but I would love a sequel.

[Skitch]

If there was a ever a movie that didn't deserve its flop status, it's John Carter.

It is a perfectly OK genre flick

Agreed. I rewatched it and liked it much more 2nd time around. I believe it banked overseas, too.