NationStates Jolt Archive

I just got back home from seeing it. It was lovely. If you've seen it, what did you think of it? Personally I thought it was awesome.

Yeah. I just came back myself from seeing it and I think it's pretty good. I wouldn't say awesome, but very very good. I like the way in which the movie opens and closes with original passages from the book, and the aliens look really imposing.

In my opinion, they should have killed more humans. And I guess a bottle of disinfectant wouldn't hurt.

It should have been grittier, but I guess that's Spielberg.

Really? the feedback I have been getting is that its mediocre. As one guy said "the aliens are background noise to tom" another guy said as usual we get to see tom running around.

Really? the feedback I have been getting is that its mediocre. As one guy said "the aliens are background noise to tom" another guy said as usual we get to see tom running around.
Well, the movie is not about the aliens, or the invasion. But about this guy trying to keep his family safe in the midst of an alien invasion. From that angle it's pretty good, but I would have liked it better if it was grittier and less upbeat. And, please! Some real sacrifice! Characters in Hollywood movies almost always have it too good.

Visually, it's stunning.

And the aliens should have killed more humans.

Just got back from seeing it. Delicious!

I enjoyed it tremendously. A little hoaky at the end for reasons I won't go into because I don't want to give any spoilers, but all in all a fun film.

A++++ for special effects and sound. Did anyone else get a chuckle out of the fact that the alien machines made the Cartman brown noise? ;)

Anyway, I also really liked Spielberg's take on the screw-top machines. The whole intersection spinning was just, well, just fuckin' cool.

A great departure from the campy original film and takes a few liberties from the book (but, hey, I don't remember there being cars or superhighways or divorced parents in the 1898 book, ya know?)

If you haven't seen it, do so. If you don't plan on seeing it, change your mind. If you think you'll wait for the DVD, don't. This is a must see on big screen experience.

I plan on seeing it soon.
And yes, it does look rather better than the 50's-ish version.

Its rather odd how all the 'sequals' were set in the time period they were made, as opposed to being set in...1898 :P
I thought the 50's version blew though. I realize that you cant make giant tripod-walkers, but you could have at least made an effort.
And the alliens looked like R2-D2 on speed.

And the alliens looked like R2-D2 on speed.

Well ... fair warning ... Spielberg has a tough time making truly menacing aliens. But, as someone pointed out, this movie isn't really about aliens. The theme from the book of how man has earned his place on this planet, coupled with the "yes, I know we live in a time when everyone's terrified of germs, but look ... they *could* benefit us someday" subtext of the book, with a pinch of campy fun and some kick ass special effects makes the big eyed, nearly cute aliens tolerable.

Really? the feedback I have been getting is that its mediocre. As one guy said "the aliens are background noise to tom" another guy said as usual we get to see tom running around.

Actally I thought it was great, and did a great parallel of the book and 1953 movie, though with much more plot involvement.

I've assumed the people giving it bad reviews have neither read the book or the 1953 movie... Since both would be guilty of the same thing, (The 1953 movie centered around Dr. Clayton Forrester [Gene Barry] and Sylvia Van Buren [Ann Robinson]) as opposed to Tom's character and the daughter....

All in all, It left me in suspense through 90% of the movie. I thought it was done well to the War of the Worlds tradition....

One of the things i loved about the movie was the *really* loud shrieking noises.

Robby should have died, that little punk....

one thing im still trying to figure out, why did their sheilds stop working?

One of the things i loved about the movie was the *really* loud shrieking noises.

Robby should have died, that little punk....

one thing im still trying to figure out, why did their sheilds stop working?
They were sick. Remember the machine was partially alive, so it could get sick as well.

Tom Cruise is in it. It's a good enough reason for me to see it.

one thing im still trying to figure out, why did their sheilds stop working?

The guy at the "turn sheild on" switch must've died.

I'm wondering why they didn't just comandeer the planet in the first place rather than bury a bunch of machines and wait millions of years.

Yeah, ok, a few strange plot holes ... but still a terrific movie.

Robbie living is expected ... so much so it's not even a spoiler to say it. The perfectly pristine brownstone Boston neighborhood was bothersome to me. I can imagine some alien saying, "Oh no, not that one. We'll need somewhere to live and that has access to great schools."

Here is Bill O’Reilly’s take on the movie if ya'll are interested:

http://billoreilly.com/currentarticle

Havnt seen the film but I have just finished the book. I guess the whole thing wouldnt be about the actual invasion but how people react to a disaster or in this case, yes, an invasion :D

The guy at the "turn sheild on" switch must've died.

I'm wondering why they didn't just comandeer the planet in the first place rather than bury a bunch of machines and wait millions of years.

Yeah, ok, a few strange plot holes ... but still a terrific movie.

Robbie living is expected ... so much so it's not even a spoiler to say it. The perfectly pristine brownstone Boston neighborhood was bothersome to me. I can imagine some alien saying, "Oh no, not that one. We'll need somewhere to live and that has access to great schools."
You fool! How dare you criticize the great Steven Spielberg!?

It doesn't come out in the UK until......tomorrow.

Lol.

Although it does look very good and I want to see it.

Here is Bill O’Reilly’s take on the movie if ya'll are interested:

http://billoreilly.com/currentarticle Wait, what the hell did God have to do with defeating the aliens? Also, Spielberg is about as left as they come.

Wait, what the hell did God have to do with defeating the aliens?

Don’t know didn’t see it. Are you saying he is full of crap or what?

Also, Spielberg is about as left as they come.

He acknowledged that when he called him a “Hollywood insider.” I believe he was pleasantly surprised that the film wasn’t politically idealistic.

Don’t know didn’t see it. Are you saying he is full of crap or what?
Frankly yes. The aliens are defeated in the end, but it is by the way of a deus ex machina which is pretty silly and doesn't have much to do with God unless you're a pagan/deist.

It certainly isn't like Jesus flies from the clouds and uses his magic powers to turn the aliens into cheese or something.

His ACLU comment is idiotic and needlessly spiteful in this regard.

Wait, what the hell did God have to do with defeating the aliens? Also, Spielberg is about as left as they come.
That may have been a joke at scientology's expense. Don't they believe disease is given and removed by god or something like that?

That may have been a joke at scientology's expense. Don't they believe disease is given and removed by god or something like that? I thought they worshipped Xenu the super alien who detonated hydrogen bombs in all the volcanoes on earth and released 1,000 spirits or something...

Ha, ha, O'Reilly is such an ignorant moron!!! No surprise there, just amusingly confirming it. Even though the narration at the beginning and the end are taken word from word from the 1898 novel he goes on to make the following statements:


Narrator Morgan Freeman opens things up by stating that forces with "envious eyes" have targeted earthlings for destruction. They simply want the planet for themselves. No one is safe, no target off limits. Civilians are routinely destroyed without reason or rational explanation. Sound like anyone we know? Osama somebody?


and:


In the end, the aliens are actually confronted by God, if you can believe it. Another huge departure from the Hollywood playbook. I'm not going to dent the suspense and tell you more, but trust me, the ACLU will not like the film's conclusion.


Which, by the way, completely misinterprets Wells meaning. But what else could one expect from O'Reilly, eh?

but it is by the way of a deus ex machina

At the expense of sounding like an idiot, what is a deus ex machina?

At the expense of sounding like an idiot, what is a deus ex machina? The literal translation from this latin term is "God from machine".

yourdictionary.com gives a nice description.

deus ex ma·chi·na [ ks mäk-n, -nä, mk-n ]
n.

1) In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.

2) An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.

3) A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty.

[New Latin deus ex mchin : Latin deus, god + Latin ex, from + Latin mchin, ablative of mchina, machine (translation of Greek theos apo mkhans).]

Which, by the way, completely misinterprets Wells meaning. But what else could one expect from O'Reilly, eh?

So .... now we know ... Bill O'Reilly worships germs.

Nice.

yes god saved us from the big scary alians....sure :rolleyes:

dont mean to offend anybody...


though alian germs and cooties should be taken into account when humans begin to move out of our solar system.

Erm... I take it from these posts that the movie has in fact nothing whatsoever to do with the book?

Well, apart from the title?

Erm... I take it from these posts that the movie has in fact nothing whatsoever to do with the book?

How so? Because I have serious reservations about seeing an author’s work mutilated.

The literal translation from this latin term is "God from machine".

To be fair then, O’Reilly never said the Christian God, he just said God. I watch his show regularly, and he contends that those are not the same thing.

Erm... I take it from these posts that the movie has in fact nothing whatsoever to do with the book?


Yes, quite a bit, actually. Even more so than the campy 50s version.

A few liberties taken, of course. It doesn't take place in London, the aliens don't arrive by being shot out of a canon from Mars, and the people drive cars and have air conditioning.

yes god saved us from the big scary alians....sure :rolleyes:

dont mean to offend anybody...


though alian germs and cooties should be taken into account when humans begin to move out of our solar system.

Alien germs are very, highly unlikely to be a threat to humans. Likewise, we shouldn't count on our germs to save us from the Martians. Why? Because a "germ" (or virus, etc.) must be adapted to the biology of its host/victim in order to survive and flourish.

This is why humans don't catch Dutch Elm disease, and trees don't catch colds. An alien biosphere, with a completely different evolutionary history, will produce beings far more distant from us on a microbiological level than we are from trees.

Regarding "god saving us from the scary aliens," do you think the Tim LaHaye remake ("Left Behind 23: Jesus vs. the Martians") will end with a grandiose special effects scene in which Jesus, followed by an army of angels on horseback, slays the Martians with his sword-like tongue? Just wondering... :D

Yes, quite a bit, actually. Even more so than the campy 50s version.

A few liberties taken, of course. It doesn't take place in London, the aliens don't arrive by being shot out of a canon from Mars, and the people drive cars and have air conditioning.

I can't remember a story about a man trying to save his family in the book, somebody said that's basically what te movie's about?