tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34888657.post263364443704460268..comments2023-06-14T15:26:28.129+01:00Comments on Chained to the Cinémathèque: The Real Problem with TransformersDavid McDougallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11020826602374694194noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34888657.post-85035338561042910162007-06-04T16:19:00.000+01:002007-06-04T16:19:00.000+01:00Very neat review, and fun tie-in with the Generati...Very neat review, and fun tie-in with the Generations of Modern Warfare.<BR/><BR/>Good job!Dan tdaxphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07205344738190870766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34888657.post-5285271911102273312007-06-03T17:19:00.000+01:002007-06-03T17:19:00.000+01:00From an IMDB description of Michael Bay's films:"M...From an IMDB description of Michael Bay's films:<BR/>"Movies tend to be divided in two acts. The first one establishes the narrative and introduces the characters, allowing them to bond, usually in humorous and/or romantic ways. The second act is a non-stop action sequence."<BR/><BR/>I really enjoy the first act of <I>Pearl Harbor</I>, which is primarily a romantic love triangle between two close friends. It's very well shot and effective as the beginning of an epic romance. There's literally a shot, though, when act 2 begins and I lose immediate interest in the film. The first act is thick with nostalgia for pre-Pearl Harbor America, but Bay mainly uses nostalgia <STRONG>within</STRONG> his films to contrast the social order being fought for with the new status quo of battle. His work would be a hopeful examination of America's role in the "Long War" -- his battles take up incredible stretches of scren time, but in the end order is restored -- if this narrative strategy didn't predate our Global War on Terror. <BR/><BR/>I think it would be interesting to compare Spielberg and Bay in the way they tie action sequences and nostalgia. Spielberg is more explicitly concerned with nostalgia, and more artful in his evocation of it, but Bay also is concerned with setting up things worth fighting for in order to threaten them (contrast this with Roland Emmerich's <I>Independence Day</I>, which does little to establish the 'worth fighting for' except to show our great landmarks being destroyed, and to give the hero a dog).David McDougallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020826602374694194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34888657.post-81785740193692211402007-06-03T16:29:00.000+01:002007-06-03T16:29:00.000+01:00I like your preemptive reading compared to Andy Re...I like your preemptive reading compared to Andy Rector's, and am especially interested in the ties behind the potential for nostalgia you find in this project and Steven Spielberg's production credit on the film, and all its nostalgic baggage and World War 2 obsession that it entails.Daniel Kasmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090178978468389578noreply@blogger.com