1. I got no message saying it was opening in NY and LA only -- they don't present those messages to us, since the film is opening here, and unimportant info. Hard to be mean-spirited in your terms if one doesn't even know that you had no chance to see it -- unlike, say, intentionally revealing crucial aspects of a film that were supposed to be a surprise in order to ruin it for people you know haven't seen it. That last bit would make you an asshole.

2. 'Opportunity' is precisely irrelevant to the fact of whether someone has seen something or not vis a vis whether another should talk about that something. Nothing I said above would alter a person's reaction to a movie he hasn't seen whether he's about to see it in a few weeks, waiting for the dvd in 6 months, or he happens to come across my comments after the movie has been available for some time either at his local theater or on dvd. If we're to take your admonishment seriously and logically, then none of us should say anything about anything, because someone hasn't yet experienced it firsthand. That is, of course, stupid, and clearly not what you believe in practice.

3. Are you now not going to see the film based on what I said? Are you now saying that my comments will have some negative effect on your potential enjoyment, and not as you previously claimed that "you [meaning me] don't do much to bother me [meaning you]"? Or, like Madget's take on DOGVILLE, will you be able to make up your own mind about IMAGINARIUM regardless of what's said here?

4. I didn't feel like writing an in-depth critique of the film, so I provided a brief, general summary of what I didn't like, such as what you, I and others do aplenty here. I don't recall you objecting to assigning letter grades in another ongoing thread here. So, in a letter, D-.

5. If you're concerned with rebuttals, follow the tomatoes in Madget's link, or you can just read Kenneth Turan.

Wait. Why would anyone savage THE GIFT? True, it's not particularly good...but that's at least somewhat balanced out by naked Katie Homes. Was there some local angle to the reviewer's bitching or was it just the sort of mindless excess that's helped to degrade the credibility of popular film reviewing?

Mike

Adding The Gift to my must watch list.

You do get a pretty good look at her. As does Greg Kinnear.

K

To save time:

Definitely queue the blu-ray, if they have one.

K

I wonder if Miss Holmes would have bared her upper-front if she knew that being Mrs. Tom Cruise was ultimately going to be the highlight of her career?

Mike

Seriously? You're going to take the "I didn't know" defense? Movies in general release even here in Charleston, SC, play in at least four theaters. In LA it's playing in... TWO. And you want to be a writer on these topics? That's just irresponsible.



When the topic title is "current movies," the assumption is the discussion will be about films in current general release that are reasonably available for viewing. When the topic title is the movie title, the assumption is the discussion will be about that movie, openly. If there had been a topic about Parnassus, I wouldn't have clicked into it until I'd seen the movie. Just as I haven't on the Inglorious Basterds thread.



If one were on the fence about wanting to see it, yes it would. In my case, you've merely invited your opinion into my future viewing experience.



Especially considering how I've already explained several times now that the dividing line is whether or not the movie is reasonably available for general viewing.



Your post will be a part of whether I come away with either a "hey, Reece was right" or "Reece is an idiot with no taste in movies," yes. As you've also slagged Time Bandits and Munchausen, I'm predicting the latter.

Kinnear made the point that the scene was pretty unnerving to him, as he'd never done a scene like that before. So it's an interesting subtext to his later portraying Bob Crane in Autofocus.

Is there a standard protocol when it comes to gratuitous nudity on the set? Is everyone just honest about what's going on, do they try and rationalize somehow or is it a taboo subject that no one talks about?

Mike