Vanilla Sky did it for me.

Tom Cruise=Hardcore

He hella whips the shit out of people in all of his movies now. Let him keep fucking shit up in future movies, it makes it a better movie.

War of the Worlds
 

I am surprised by all the negative comments. This is one film I've really looked forward to seeing. Obviously, I'll have to judge for myself.

I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a hell of a lot better then the old 50s version. I know a lot of people hold that film in high regard, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth since I'd read the book first. The 50s film was nothing but religeos propaganda made up to look like a sci fi film. All of that was mercifully absent from the Speilberg film. And those tripods were pretty impressibve. Those were the war machines that I'd read about in the book (as opposed to the flying vacume cleaners we saw in the 50s version). All in all, it was pretty cool film and a lot more accurate to the book then anything else we'd seen before. A pretty cool film.

Has anyone seen the direct to video one ,just released with C.Thomas Howell [ The Hitcher ] Its suppose to be pretty good for a low budget.

Rented it today. I'll probably watch it 2nite. I'll tell ya wat I thougt of it.


I'll probably end up seeing the War of the Worlds and Land of the Dead in the drive-ins this weekend. I'm guessing I'll go Saturday nite. Anyway, if I do go, I'll tell you guys wat I thought of both flicks.

You go to drive-ins to watch movies?

Gawrsh, I didn't know there was another use for em'.

I watched it and I thought it sucked! I mean, u didn't know a single thing about these characters and felt no emotion for them. And the alien thingies look OK, but could've been better. And wat the hell was up with those army dudes? They annoyed the hell outta me! I'll give it a 2 out of 5.

War Of The Worlds
 

Although this probably is really classed as science fiction I thought this film was scarier than most horror films.The air of menace Spielberg put into the film was intense and you never knew what the alien invaders were going to come up with next.
Spielberg really shows his class in this film and some of the imagery was fantastic.I was amazed that this was given a 12 certificate in the UK which basically means any kid can see it as long as they are with an adult.I bet there has been a few sleepless nights due to the graphic scenes and noise in this film.
Spielberg has proved he just doesn't make family movies with how dark,violent and foreboding this film is.Now if only the great man could come up with a 100% horror movie to really stamp his authority on the genre.That would be something worth seeing.

*SPOILERS*




"War of the Worlds" - Hmmm...The tripods were great, the atmosphere was great, the FX were impressive, it was nice to see the tripods realised at last and the red weed. All very good.

BUT....1hour 40 minutes! You get comedies longer than that, let alone films about the World being invaded by Aliens! Much too rushed.
Just as the red weed appeared it was dead for example!

The army scenes were alos dull, with yet more pitch black scenes of guns firing at noting. The shiled idea was a wastes, as it a llowed for no fight back moments. The war ship "Thunder Child" in the original story, fighting to gain time for the steamer to escape was a wonderful moment. Nothing here at all though

And where were all the epic scale visuals of destruction?
You had 3 (count 'em!) 3 shots of destroyed cities.
One on a tiny TV monitor, one as a far away shot and one at the end.

Where were all the epic scale scenes of destoyed cities with tripods standing over them and striding through the ruins? Where was the full horror of the aftermath?

Where were the long, long shots of the red weed draped countryside with tripods striding over the land?
Instead we had ONE long shot of the weed, in almost pitch blackness.
When Cruise came out of Robbin's house it looked like he was on a big set! It was all so localised and cramped looking.

The black smoke atmosphere makes for a great written description but not a good movie visual when it is so rampant.
When Cruise walked out there was no sky, no horizon, no open space...it was just black. It looked like a bloody great plane hanger set, not a devastated, changed World.

One of the strengths of the story is the aftermath, as things settle down after the initial attacks. As the weed chokes the land...as the people catchers pursue people over hills...we needed to SEE these sights in daylight. To really see how the world had changed and the scale of that change.

And where were the characters? Robbins was obviously the stand-in for the Artillary man in the original story. But his throwaway, crazy speech about the World man would build in these mythical tunnels, the cities they would build and live in right under the Alien's noses and how they would build an army to fight back...Great stuff, and totally wasted in the film as a few mumbled lines.

Going by the famous 'Musical Version' one character that really stood out (again, part of the extended aftermath, in the movie so rushed over) was the Priest who was certain that the Aliens were Devils, sent from hell in the final judgement. A great idea, a powerful set-up. And another interesting event that the lead character (Cruise) would come across. the film (Robbin's aside) was ALL running and hiding from tripods with nothing actually HAPPENING!

And as far as I remember, the silly idea that the Alien's had arrived on Earth millions of years ago and simply buried tens of thousands of HUGE machines in the ground (none of which, despite all our excavations, tunneling, mining and deep core drilling have never found!!!) was a change unique to the film.
And it did not add up.
Please! Someone tell me WHY the stupid Aliens arrived on this planet they wanted, when there was no men in their way, or buildings taking up space, and spent christ knows how long building and burying these huge machines ONLY TO FUCK OFF AGAIN!
And then wait all this time to go BACK, and go through a shit load of fuss to take control of a planet...THEY ALREADY HAD CONTROL OVER ANYWAY MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO WHEN THEY BURIED THE MACHINES!
Talk about going around in circles and making work for yourself!

And seeing as the first life to ever form on this World would have been countless germs and viruses..How come they did not drop down dead while spending all that time burying those damn tripods!

Great moments and ideas...but sadly too full of holes, too rushed and too localised in it's visuals to fully show the destruction.

ditto. i hated cameron crowe for this mistake too, though i loved his "almost famous". should've never been remade.

despite my hatred for cruise (whoever said last samurai was good... ugh !), i actually enjoyed the movie.

Sorry but this movie was just wrong.

War of the Worlds should be a story about the struggle of man against the Aliens not a man struggling to contrrol his kids.

It was originaly set in 19th century rural England, where man only had cannons, guns, his best weapon was a steam ship called the thunder child (which was destroyed very quickly).

The shield protecting the aliens was the only way to have the Aliens defend themselves.

To me the movie suffered the same thing as Titanic and The Day After Tomorrow, the story was secondary the FX was what you went to see.

nyone let down by the look of the Aliens?

Looked like under-nourished "ID4" Aliens with rickets!

The description (so well read by Burton) in the Musical Version is must better and far more gross.
Something like...
"A huge rounded bulk, larger than a bear, rose up glistening. It's mouth quivered and salivated, and tenticles writhed as it's body heaved and pulsated". Great stuff!

And I think the tripods were built around them, as there is that great painting (and description again) of red shreds hanging from the huge eyes of the tripods that the hungry birds were tearing at.
far more impressive imho.

Yeah great movie:D

I disagree, Lee Challenger. There was absolutely nothing scary, menacing, intense, dark, violent or foreboding about this remake. At best, it was another Jurassic Park. Your average rollercoaster-ride family film. Where monsters and spaceships come at you unexpected, in full dazzling CGI effects and eardrum-breaking soundscape.

It's not so much that the story is secondary, as crippler666 mentioned. A re-make story is supposedly created and they impose all manner of elements that convey the director's ideas (which/and) appeal to the viewing public. And in the end, nobody important was killed, they're all together and have nothing to fight about anymore. A re-affirmation of family values lies at its most distilled form. And sometimes, I really can't understand why children have to be protected from violence and death to the point that they grow up to be emotional/psychological cripples who are unable to handle the harsh cold realities of life.

What I can agree with, though, is the point you made with the following statement: "Spielberg really shows his class in this film and some of the imagery was fantastic." This is just the kind of creation that is very characteristic of Spielberg. Big thrills and big effects. Popcorn entertainment. I think that the interests of all horror fans would be better served with Spielberg keeping to it.

Spielberg does indeed incorporate some "horrific" elements in his films - and the censors are very kind to him because of his lofty status in Hollywood.

Witness the violence and gore in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan for example - the latter escaping with an uncut 15 certificate in the UK despite one of the most protracted stabbing sequences in the history of cinema.

The BBFC wave away any protests from indie filmakers when their own - less graphic - films are cut or banned reminding us that Mr Spielberg is a responsible and accomplished artist (remember the "monkey brains" sequence in Temple of Doom?).

They even invented a brand new take on the Parental Guidance certificate for him with The Lost World.

http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?Id=3023

The Good
Rainman
Born on the Fourth of July
Risky Business

The Bad
Days of Thunder
The Last Samurai
MI

The Ugly
Top Gun
Color of Money
Minority Report

I thought pretty much everything Tom Cruise has done is mostly dribble.

You can just see the batshit insanity seeping out every time that nut talks.

You forget Legend. Basically the only movie I have on my shelf which has Tom Cruise. He has no input in the DVD extras...I wonder why.

A beautiful fairytale from Ridley Scott, of whom I am a follower.

Him getting squirted in the face by Channel 4 was very funny indeed.

"Why... why would you do that?"

"No no, don't run away..."

"Why would you do that?"

Priceless - I hope they broadcast it in the finished show, and aren't too scared of his lawyers.

I thought that this was a fairly well made remake. I liked how the movie played as more of a drama with Cruise and his kids and how the aliens were in the background as apose to the focus of the movie, I'm a little tired of movies like Independce Day...
I have to agree that this film did have some horrific scenes that could be desturbing to some people, I had heard that the main scare element was the realism with the destruction in that it brought a feeling of 9/11 to some people.

My only problem with this movie was that the alien mechines were already on Earth underground right? So that means that the aliens were already exposed to the Earth's diseases. So why didn't they die in the beginning? See I think that the story should have gone like the original in that the aliens had to arrive first, not that their already here.

Well, I still really enjoyed the movie. One reason being that I never really liked the 50s version. Speilberg's war machines were the tripods that I read about as a kid. I was so disapointed seeing the 50s version and instead of the massive tripods, those floating vacume cleaners came out.

I do resent the fact that the beggining implied that Mustang owners like me a somehow less responsible then people who drive SUVs.

The machines were here, not the aliens. The aliens came down in those pods on the lightening. I think they must have just sent the machines thousands of years ago without coming to Earth themselves (talk about bad reconicence).

I seen the one with Tom Cruise and i didnt like it as much as the 1953 original. Which i found on ebay for $10.00 suckers if they knew how much they were going for .:D

lol funny I get that alot

Saw it and loved it! I think it was nice to see a drama story line instead of an all out action sci-fi. When you guys see it you'll see what I mean.

Yah it was pretty good. Horrible adaption from the book, though.

I've never read the book but my understanding was that the red vine was in the book but it was something they couldn't do in the original War of the Worlds.

Also, which one of the films was truer to the book the original or the re-make?

I seen it, the effects were amazing but I didn't really like the story they added on to it. But it was a pretty good movie.

I liked the way the tripods came out....very cool.

it resembled alot of the original, just a little less religioun