No Right Answer: What's Our Deal With J.J. Abrams?
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"The internet hates J.J. Abrams because he's middle of the road, and the internet does NOT like middle of the road."
Holy shit, did you guys nail it perfectly this week.
Holy shit, did you guys nail it perfectly this week.
If you didn't notice the lens flare in Star Trek, you need glasses.
But for the record, that was never my problem with Star Trek anyway. My problem is yet another time travel pile of nonsense, yet another director who has talent but no real love of the property (same as Nemesis), and frankly a pretty dull story all things told.
That said, I've liked more JJ than I've disliked. I liked ALIAS, I liked LOST, I liked his Mission Impossible. Even Super 8.
Oh the other list though. Cloverfield was horrendously bad. But I can put that on the hate list because I don't like shakey cam found footage films.
As for the upcoming Star Wars, I'm cautiously hopeful. And hell, it's not like it could be as bad as the prequels, right?
But for the record, that was never my problem with Star Trek anyway. My problem is yet another time travel pile of nonsense, yet another director who has talent but no real love of the property (same as Nemesis), and frankly a pretty dull story all things told.
That said, I've liked more JJ than I've disliked. I liked ALIAS, I liked LOST, I liked his Mission Impossible. Even Super 8.
Oh the other list though. Cloverfield was horrendously bad. But I can put that on the hate list because I don't like shakey cam found footage films.
As for the upcoming Star Wars, I'm cautiously hopeful. And hell, it's not like it could be as bad as the prequels, right?
The first time I saw Star Trek Into Darkness was in 3D...yeah. The only thing worse than constant lens flare is the constant lens flare that feels like it's trying to dig into your eyeballs.
I'm sure the Abrams Star Wars movie will be just fine...and that's about it. And I'm not sure if Star Wars really deserves just that up to this point. Then again, after the Prequels, I'm sure a lot of people are willing to take "good enough."
We'll really just have to wait and see!
I'm sure the Abrams Star Wars movie will be just fine...and that's about it. And I'm not sure if Star Wars really deserves just that up to this point. Then again, after the Prequels, I'm sure a lot of people are willing to take "good enough."
We'll really just have to wait and see!
I kind of oppose Abrams on principle because there's nothing separating him from Michael Bay as far as I'm concerned. He doesn't make movies as art or even as entertainment. He makes movies to make money, and that's the only reason he makes movies. He's a huckster. He's an advertiser. He's a businessman. He's not a filmmaker.
I feel the same way. I'm not opposed to Abrams in principle- he's a decent director with a talent for action scenes built on spectacle, but not some visionary or magnificent force. He made Fringe and Lost, both of which I enjoyed at the time, but neither of which are worth rewatching on Netflix. He'll do alright with the prequels as long as he hires a decent screenwriter (not his strong suit in the past), but they are not likely to be anything worth remembering for it's own merits in 10 years time; if they weren't part of Star Wars, I'd put good money on them being the kind of sci-fi movie that Space buys the rights to air and shows a couple times a month for eternity.Conner42 said:
However, I really think this should have been a No Right Answer (as opposed to discussion) because there are valid criticisms to be made. For instance, should one guy be in charge of both Wars and Trek? He has a distinctive style and, love it or not, I don't feel it should be applied to both of those franchises.
Also, surprised NRA didn't mention his role in making the theoretical Half-Life and Portal movies. If I was going to get angry at Abrams, it would be for invading as many properties as possible.
If you want, we could pretend there's a passive aggressive emphasis on "this week", like I'm some sort of shounen rival conceding a job well done while implying that I still think you're all a bunch of amateurs.Firefilm said:
Well, the lenseflare thing DOES actually kind of bother me, but not for any good reason. I just heard people always taking about how much lenseflare there is in his movies, and after hearing all that I couldn't NOT notice it when watching the Star Trek movie, and it really bothered me there X3.
And there is an incredible amount of it... Nearly every shot, it's unbelievable. I don't think it would have bothered me as much if people hadn't made me so aware of it before I saw the movie though...
And there is an incredible amount of it... Nearly every shot, it's unbelievable. I don't think it would have bothered me as much if people hadn't made me so aware of it before I saw the movie though...
This is me typing while watching this video:
Nobody liked Super 8 when it came out...and only MovieBob liked the Star Trek reboot when it came out, everyone I know agrees that they were all terrible films. Visual spectacle does not equal a good story. Abrams does not have talent and marketing does not make the movie good. You can blame the writers all you want but he's still the director....THE DIRECTOR.. it's his job to interpret the script in anyway he sees fit to make the vision come out and he's even allowed to tweak the script. You cannot blame writers for this when a director has the ability to alter anything to make it work for the final product.
Final Thought:
Abrams sucks and we should all be worried for Star Wars. Also spread this image, and we'll all see if this anon was right.
Nobody liked Super 8 when it came out...and only MovieBob liked the Star Trek reboot when it came out, everyone I know agrees that they were all terrible films. Visual spectacle does not equal a good story. Abrams does not have talent and marketing does not make the movie good. You can blame the writers all you want but he's still the director....THE DIRECTOR.. it's his job to interpret the script in anyway he sees fit to make the vision come out and he's even allowed to tweak the script. You cannot blame writers for this when a director has the ability to alter anything to make it work for the final product.
Final Thought:
Abrams sucks and we should all be worried for Star Wars. Also spread this image, and we'll all see if this anon was right.
The 'secret box' thing always brings to my mind the Battlestar reboot. "And they have a plan."
The writers never bothered to make a plan.
Bothered me to no end.
Hm. Honestly I liked Cloverfield a lot, and the first of his Star Trek movies (and I'll stick with this but the second one was instantly forgettable).
Personally, I'd never put Abrams on the same level as Joss Whedon, though. That dude has done more with less (material / budget / ip / etc) than anyone. The man could film paint drying on a wall and I'd give good odds that it would be more engaging than anyone else's take on the subject.
The writers never bothered to make a plan.
Bothered me to no end.
Hm. Honestly I liked Cloverfield a lot, and the first of his Star Trek movies (and I'll stick with this but the second one was instantly forgettable).
Personally, I'd never put Abrams on the same level as Joss Whedon, though. That dude has done more with less (material / budget / ip / etc) than anyone. The man could film paint drying on a wall and I'd give good odds that it would be more engaging than anyone else's take on the subject.
I noticed the lense flares in Star Trek because they blinded me and my dad. ;p
Seriously. I don't mind lense flares being there, but take it back a notch.
As for Star Wars, I think it will be alright. Hopefully.
I'm a bit worried seeing as Ford got hurt, so they may be making changes.
We'll all see when it's out I guess.
Seriously. I don't mind lense flares being there, but take it back a notch.
As for Star Wars, I think it will be alright. Hopefully.
I'm a bit worried seeing as Ford got hurt, so they may be making changes.
We'll all see when it's out I guess.
I enjoyed Star Trek and STID. Lost was an okay show whose ending I've never really cared enough to see. Cloverfield was largely meh. I don't know if I've watched anything else he's done.
The thing is, Abrams has made some products I've enjoyed despite many, many flaws. Mostly the Star Treks. I could spend hours and thousands of words describing issues with STID, but in the end I found myself enjoying it. Even if the end was a cop-out. Even if the "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" moment was laughably bad. Even if Abrams tried to hype things with a "the bad guy is totally not Khan" crap.
I mean, it's like I just can't stay mad at them.
Are they good movies? Well, I consider anything I enjoy to be good, unless I'm explicitly reveling in its badness. Is it brilliant or deep or anything like that? God no.
I guess I'm not too invested in JJ Abrams. I don't think he's a hack, but I think he's got way too high an estimation of himself. Which, in fairness, puts him squarely in the majority of filmmakers in Hollywood.
The thing is, Abrams has made some products I've enjoyed despite many, many flaws. Mostly the Star Treks. I could spend hours and thousands of words describing issues with STID, but in the end I found myself enjoying it. Even if the end was a cop-out. Even if the "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" moment was laughably bad. Even if Abrams tried to hype things with a "the bad guy is totally not Khan" crap.
I mean, it's like I just can't stay mad at them.
Are they good movies? Well, I consider anything I enjoy to be good, unless I'm explicitly reveling in its badness. Is it brilliant or deep or anything like that? God no.
I guess I'm not too invested in JJ Abrams. I don't think he's a hack, but I think he's got way too high an estimation of himself. Which, in fairness, puts him squarely in the majority of filmmakers in Hollywood.
Disney payed well over 4 billion dollars for the Star Wars franchise.
In recent years Disney has repeatedly grossed enormous profits from purchasing the rights to franchises (such as Marvel, of course) then putting serious thought and effort into making them work.
When Disney (and George Lucas) announced that Lucas had already sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney (after 1 solid year of negotiations with absolutely zero leaks) they immediately announced the next trilogy would be made as well as several stand alone Star Wars movies.
People whine and ***** about J.J. Abrams but the inescapable truth is that he is not--by any means or measure--working in a vacuum. There is executive oversight involved, yes, but---in a VERY rare show of professional restraint--this experienced executive oversight is not trying to strangle the creative juices of it's directors and writers; they're simply keeping an eye on the overall project in order to make sure nobody screws it up (like Lucas did the Prequels because he was surrounded solely by 'yes-men'.
J.J. Abrams was and is a major fan of Star Trek (despite what some folks who hate him/his work claim). He's also a major fan of Star Wars.
Last Point: Everybody keep in mind that Lucas introduced a "Lens Flare" in Revenge of the Sith!!! You see it when the camera focuses on Obi Wan as his ship leaves the world he fought General Grievous on and tries to contact friendly forces. That's when he gets a call from Senator Organa and meets up with Yoda.
Don't forget the Revenge of the Sith lens flare, folks. Especially not with J.J. Abrams making the next trilogy. ^_^
In recent years Disney has repeatedly grossed enormous profits from purchasing the rights to franchises (such as Marvel, of course) then putting serious thought and effort into making them work.
When Disney (and George Lucas) announced that Lucas had already sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney (after 1 solid year of negotiations with absolutely zero leaks) they immediately announced the next trilogy would be made as well as several stand alone Star Wars movies.
People whine and ***** about J.J. Abrams but the inescapable truth is that he is not--by any means or measure--working in a vacuum. There is executive oversight involved, yes, but---in a VERY rare show of professional restraint--this experienced executive oversight is not trying to strangle the creative juices of it's directors and writers; they're simply keeping an eye on the overall project in order to make sure nobody screws it up (like Lucas did the Prequels because he was surrounded solely by 'yes-men'.
J.J. Abrams was and is a major fan of Star Trek (despite what some folks who hate him/his work claim). He's also a major fan of Star Wars.
Last Point: Everybody keep in mind that Lucas introduced a "Lens Flare" in Revenge of the Sith!!! You see it when the camera focuses on Obi Wan as his ship leaves the world he fought General Grievous on and tries to contact friendly forces. That's when he gets a call from Senator Organa and meets up with Yoda.
Don't forget the Revenge of the Sith lens flare, folks. Especially not with J.J. Abrams making the next trilogy. ^_^