I like Peter Jackson, even if I don’t always love his movies. I’m actually a big fan of The Frighteners, despite (or maybe even because of) its few flaws in the script and stumbles in pacing/tone. I remember most critics dismissing it as not much more than an overblown demo reel for special effects. Roger Ebert specifically sums up the movie and his thoughts by observing, “It is better, I think, to sit through a movie where nothing happens than one in which everything happens. Last year, I reviewed a nine-hour documentary about the lives of Mongolian yak herdsmen, and I would rather see it again than sit through The Frighteners.”

I personally find the movie to be fun, imaginative and distinctive of a clear, creative voice, similar to the inventive, popcorn adventures Robert Zemeckis used to do so well (he produced the film). I feel the claims that the movie is just one FX set-piece after another just to showcase that it can be done at all, is to miss the point entirely. I mean, by that rationale, I suppose you could argue that Terminator 2 is not a good film, but I digress.

Peter Jackson is a unique and especially focused filmmaker. Though he may veer off into tangential, self-indulgence sometimes (for example, see the overlong and unnecessary bug scene in King Kong), he is still a bold and surprising storyteller who at least continues to take risks and challenge the studios, as well as the movie-going public.

Besides all that, you gotta love a man who writes a script that includes a Kung-fu fighting Priest! “I kick ass for The Lord!”

2) Avenue Q was funny

1) Men in drag

2) Puppets talking dirty.

Proven. Fact.

I don’t dislike any of his movie.s. But then I’m a sucker for low-budget horror. And if you cast Michael J. Fox in a movie and have him wearing the same outfit that he did in BttF I’m gonna love you forever.

You’re comment just seemed so dismissive to me, and it didn’t really have anything to do with the trailer. I probably would have been fine had you explained anything, but it was just a simple “this movie is bad” without any context. After putting in a bit of effort to write up the story, I felt a bit miffed that that was the first comment I got. My BS alarm went off, and I got a little carried away.

I assume that you are the Doc Ock review on that link (seeing as how it’s the negative one? I find it interesting that you refer to it as “unfinished”. So, the unfinished cut of The Lovely Bones didn’t do it for you. There has already been a bunch of time between that screening and now, let alone the actual release date. Hopefully they will address your concerns, and the FINISHED movie will be good.

Judging solely by this trailer, I am really excited to see it.

I really like the look and feel of all the period footage. I especially like the slightly washed-out, yellowy color palette that looks both dated and modern at the same time. I also liked all the color-saturated “heaven” imagery, although not quite as much as the other footage. The Super Mario Galaxy-esque sphere was a bit amusing to see. I think Stanley Tucci looked really creepy, and I think that the main girl looked like she could be very interesting in the movie.

I am very interested to see if the film ends up having a slight Heavenly Creatures vibe to it. If so, I think that could possibly be a good thing. I have yet to see a Peter Jackson movie that I didn’t like, and that includes the seedy Meet the Feebles and the self-indulgent King Kong. In fact, the only PJ-directed movies I haven’t seen are Bad Taste and Forgotten Silver. Looks like it’s time to visit my Netflix queue.

Nobody has seen this movie yet, unless they are involved in the production. In fact, other than Peter Jackson himself, his editor and others like the sound mixers, I think the list of people who have seen the movie is pretty damned small. Like “I can count it with just my fingers” small. Additionally, they are most likely still editing the movie and will be for a few more weeks at least. Jackson seems to have a habit of turning in his final cut at the very last second.

So your claim of “I’ve seen this movie. It’s bad.” is either complete and utter bullshit or you are somehow heavily involved in the post production of the film. I’m betting on the former.
In the extremely unlikely case that I am wrong here and you actually HAVE seen the movie, I’ll ask you a few things here: What didn’t you like? Are the performances poor? Is the script horrible? Are the visuals not that impressive overall? Is the tone of the movie too disturbing? Is it too sugary sweet? Is the film so confusing that it doesn’t really make any sense? Does it make sense, but it just isn’t interesting? In short, why is the movie bad?

I suggest you trying adding something relevant and constructive to this conversation. Otherwise you’re just wasting everybody’s time.