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WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Post Release

post #1 of 306
10/12/09 at 6:15am
Thread Starter 
http://chud.com/articles/articles/21...ARE/Page1.html
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post #2 of 306
10/12/09 at 6:25am
I was hoping for a review like that. Wonderful stuff, excellently written.
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post #3 of 306
10/12/09 at 8:00am
Wow. A 10 out of 10. I didn't really expect that after the somewhat rumored troubled production of the movie.
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post #4 of 306
10/12/09 at 8:09am
Great review.
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post #5 of 306
10/12/09 at 8:22am
So, pretty glowing review there.

Great stuff, nicely written.
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post #6 of 306
10/12/09 at 8:47am
Another fantastic review, Devin. While the first two trailers did their job, I also have been paying attention to the hints and oblique praises you've been dropping about this. You were right about The Fountain, and I'm guessing you're right about this. Can't wait to see it on Friday.
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post #7 of 306
10/12/09 at 9:03am
Wonderfull review Devin, this film is a "must see" for me and your thoughts on it only make me want to see it more.
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post #8 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:12am
My girlfriend and I have been looking forward to this since that first trailer this past Spring. Devin's review has me excited and nervous. I hope it really is all those things. I really do.
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post #9 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:16am
I've always wondered why Spike Jonze was involved with JACKASS, and I think I unfairly judged JACKASS for years until only a couple of years ago when I saw the films and thought they were hysterical. It intrigues me that he brought some of those sensibilities to WILD THINGS.

I still think Margera's a prick, though.
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post #10 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:18am
I cried when I read that.
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post #11 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:20am
Aw, Bob! I think there are going to be a lot of tearful reactions on this thread come Friday.
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post #12 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:28am
I'm crying in anticipation, guys.

Fantastic review. I'm even more sold now.
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post #13 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:33am
I'm breastfeeding while I read this thread.
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post #14 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
I'm breastfeeding while I read this thread.
Lucky bastard.
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post #15 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
I've always wondered why Spike Jonze was involved with JACKASS, and I think I unfairly judged JACKASS for years until only a couple of years ago when I saw the films and thought they were hysterical. It intrigues me that he brought some of those sensibilities to WILD THINGS.

I still think Margera's a prick, though.
I always felt Jackass has developed a bum rap over time. Yes, what it "encourages" is terrible, and it bred a lot of dipshit behavior. But as you seem to have noticed, the movies (and the show) really were clever in the majority of their gags. They're crude and crass, yes. But hilariously clever. I've always been curious for a breakdown of Jonze's exact input/involvement.


Cannot wait for Wild Things. Although, I've come to be weary of Devin's glowing reviews. I like them, but I also don't like them because now I have to fight really hard to temper my expectations (I've disagreed with his "masterpieces" many times before. Then again, this is one of the rare like-minded people who gave The Fountain it's proper due.).
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post #16 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:09am

Dugg

Quote:
Originally Posted by devincf View Post
DUGG. I will catch the review closer to the local release date.
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post #17 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:16am
shaking and crying!

seriously though, can't wait.
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post #18 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:16am
Joeypants, it's not just Devin singing this film's praises. Look around the web this morning - almost every review is using the word "masterpiece." When you've got consensus between Harry, Drew, and Devin, among others sure to join the chorus, you've almost assuredly got a special film. But I can see where you're coming from; all the praise makes it hard to temper excitement and expectations.
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post #19 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:27am
Nice review, Devin. I'm pretty thrilled to hear that this thing has lived up to the high expectations that we've all developed for it.
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post #20 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
I still think Margera's a prick, though.
I think Jackass 2 was proof that most of his co-stars agree with you.
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post #21 of 306
10/12/09 at 12:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eyeball Kid View Post
Joeypants, it's not just Devin singing this film's praises. Look around the web this morning - almost every review is using the word "masterpiece." When you've got consensus between Harry, Drew, and Devin, among others sure to join the chorus, you've almost assuredly got a special film. But I can see where you're coming from; all the praise makes it hard to temper excitement and expectations.
Oh, I know. I didn't mean to single Devin out in terms of this film. It's probably because I happen to read more of Devin's reviews than any other online critic that I've been "burnt" by him before. But, that's part of what happens when you read reviews before seeing a film. It inevitably colors your experience, which is why I try to read other people's thoughts after I've seen for myself.
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post #22 of 306
10/12/09 at 1:26pm
Beautifully written review. Immediately put this film on my must-see list.
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post #23 of 306
10/12/09 at 2:03pm
Is this a wide or limited release Friday?
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post #24 of 306
10/12/09 at 2:20pm
Wide, thankfully Warners has really pushed this hard, much harder than I thought they would, I think we are going to see pretty big numbers, and it will play and play.
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post #25 of 306
10/12/09 at 2:47pm
I'm wondering if I should bring my 4, turning 5, son to this.

Could it be scary for small children?
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post #26 of 306
10/12/09 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Maurice Sendak was sitting in on a panel discussion with Newsweek plus the film’s director, Spike Jonze, and screenwriter Dave Eggers when the subject turned to parental concerns.
“I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate . . . If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like, but it’s not a question that can be answered.”
...
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post #27 of 306
10/12/09 at 3:17pm
^ That just made me wet my pants.
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post #28 of 306
10/12/09 at 3:23pm
Maurice Sendak's unapologetic grouchiness is one of the reasons I love him so.
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post #29 of 306
10/12/09 at 4:35pm
Well, I guess that's all "balls to the wall" and "fucking hardcore up your ass!" Good for him. It's a reasonable question to ask, and I'm sorry he got all butthurt by the media when the book came out years back. Yeah, every kid is different. Yeah, parent's will make their decision... but the question is asked to help parents make those decisions. I don't really care if the movie is too intense or scary for kids. I want it to be whatever it is to be. If I think he'll dig, I'll take him to the theater... if not, I'll pick up the disc next year. I was just looking for a point of comparison.
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post #30 of 306
10/12/09 at 4:37pm
lol Boomstick was just personally offended by a Maurice Sendak quote.
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post #31 of 306
10/12/09 at 4:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
lol Boomstick was just personally offended by a Maurice Sendak quote.
Nah... to a certain degree, I agree with him.
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post #32 of 306
10/12/09 at 6:04pm
Man. Fuck December 3rd.
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post #33 of 306
10/12/09 at 6:36pm
Sorry, but aren't concerned parents why we have an albeit broken ratings system?
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post #34 of 306
10/12/09 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thomas View Post
Sorry, but aren't concerned parents why we have an albeit broken ratings system?
I thought it was more the illusion of concerned parents.
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post #35 of 306
10/12/09 at 7:02pm
I let my idiot out and watched the terrific scene of Max and Carol in the desert. That's the last clip I'll be watching. Save the rest of it for Friday.
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post #36 of 306
10/12/09 at 10:39pm
Saw it tonight. Beautifully made in just about every way. It gives a feeling of awe in a way that is similar to the first time seeing Jurassic Park (if that makes any sense at all).


I really hope Dave Eggers keeps making screenplays. He's 2 for 2.
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post #37 of 306
10/12/09 at 11:04pm
I just preordered tickets to an IMAX screening on Friday. To people that have seen the film, do you think seeing it on an IMAX screen will add to the cinematic experience?
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post #38 of 306
10/13/09 at 3:53am
I was in tears by the time my screening finished. Just shaking and crying.

lol just kidding
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post #39 of 306
10/13/09 at 4:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul McCartney View Post
I was in tears by the time my screening finished. Just shaking and crying.

lol just kidding
hahahahahahahahaha
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post #40 of 306
10/13/09 at 12:41pm
I will see it on IMAX again, but something about it didn't sit well with me. I liked it, and I got it, but something didn't bode well with me. Max Records was brilliant though, and has a great future ahead of him.

The opening title card was awesome.
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post #41 of 306
10/13/09 at 5:40pm
I can't wait and plan on going Friday (yeah I know it's the Post Release), but something tells me the critics are gonna be torn on this one: http://www.metacritic.com/film/title...ewildthingsare
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post #42 of 306
10/13/09 at 6:17pm
I liked it alot, but there was something about it that kept it from being as good in my eyes as most of what I'm reading. The "lesson" is both a little too easy and a little too muddled -- to see the connection between Max's anger and the Wild Things' situation you have to meet the filmmakers more than half-way -- and I don't know if I fully went with basically taking the "wild" out of the Wild Things and making them overgrown children. It's definitely an interesting take on the material though, and your mileage will vary. I can relate to Max (Around his age I once punched my mother in the stomach and then promptly got the shit kicked out of me) and they did a good job capturing that infantile angst.

All in all, it's very, very good. I think I responded more to Coraline, but only by a smidgen. Two incredible kid flicks in one year has to be some sort of record.
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post #43 of 306
10/14/09 at 5:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by halofan1 View Post
I will see it on IMAX again, but something about it didn't sit well with me. I liked it, and I got it, but something didn't bode well with me. Max Records was brilliant though, and has a great future ahead of him.

The opening title card was awesome.
I feel somewhat the same way, while still feeling a lot of affection for the film. The somewhat formless middle gets too bogged down in rambunctiousness for it's own good. And yet, the sights and emotions that the film carries are so poignat and compelling that they elevate the occasionally messy narrative they're stuck in.

I have to say, though, that it's something of a failure as a film for children, far too melancholy and meandering for the average juvenile moviegoer. While I know that kids love subtext, I suspect there will be a lot of bewildered, bored young 'uns sitting through this one. Frankly, it's a kids film made for adults and not one which plays to both ala Up.

Those opening credits reminded me of the studio's Dark KNight viral marketing campaign where everything was Joker-ized.

I don't think it's a perfect movie, or "Teh Greatest of all TiMe!!1!" (as the aintitcool buffoons and their legion are ballyhooing), but it's a superior entertainment, and deserving of a Best Director nod for Jonze.
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post #44 of 306
10/14/09 at 6:34am
I saw it in Nashville and was disappointed with it.

The problems with the script are in the film; I could never decipher where the second act ends and the third act begins.

There are many scenes of emotional relevance, but it never really goes in for the kill.

Most of the monsters are there simply because they were in the book.

I'm disapointed that it's not as sweet and gentle-natured as the trailer foretold. I guess it's the point, but it made me roll my eyes.
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post #45 of 306
10/14/09 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by C.S. Lewis Jr. View Post
I'm disapointed that it's not as sweet and gentle-natured as the trailer foretold. I guess it's the point, but it made me roll my eyes.
The book isn't sweet or gentle-natured, nor is the idea being conveyed via the story in both the book and the movie. For that go to the majority of children's movies that talk down to them and treat them as mentally disabled. This, god forbid, aims for something a bit differently.
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post #46 of 306
10/14/09 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by C.S. Lewis Jr. View Post
I could never decipher where the second act ends and the third act begins.
hahhaah WHO CARES???

You're really judging movies based on the fucking structure of the script? Jesus.
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post #47 of 306
10/14/09 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by C.S. Lewis Jr. View Post
I'm disapointed that it's not as sweet and gentle-natured as the trailer foretold. I guess it's the point, but it made me roll my eyes.
The trailer kinda foretells that Max's kingdom with the Wild Things isn't all sunshine and rainbows, subtly. Or at least that's what I get out of watching it. In any event, what Tom said about watching terrible children's movies instead.
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post #48 of 306
10/14/09 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by devincf View Post
hahhaah WHO CARES???

You're really judging movies based on the fucking structure of the script? Jesus.
That's what I thought upon reading it, too. "Oh noes!!!!!!! Death of the precious three-act structure!"

I jest, and I don't really mean to jump on the guy. More just the notion that any deviation from this familiar/comfortable script or structure standard is a bad thing.
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post #49 of 306
10/14/09 at 2:31pm
Everyone needs to see this film this weekend and comment here. I wanna see this thread eclipse the Trick r' Treat one.
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post #50 of 306
10/15/09 at 12:01am
Harry Knowles just declared this film to be superior to The Wizard of Oz, ET and The 400 Blows...

I really enjoyed the flick and all, but give me a fucking break.
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