English-Speaking Film LoversコミュのMichael Bay

Hi,in a way, I agree with you about Michael Bay.
But for the pure sake of few hours worth of entertainment, I do love some of his movies like Bad Boys, Armageddon, The Rock.
Needless to say,they are not most intelligent or meaningful kind of movies, but I loved great action scene, had a laugh and had a good time watching them.
To have a good time is the most important reason to watch movies for me, so I guess he is not a bad film maker in my opinion, but I don't think he gets a lot of respect from other film makers.

The best film ever made about the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbour was "Tora Tora Tora".
"Pearl Harbour" was an offensive imitation
IMO.
Actually if you want to see some great films
set in the 30s and 40s, I think "Gilda" is
definitely worth the effort. Alfred Hitchcock's
"Rebecca" is also really good. Another
essential film is the Japanese masterpiece,
"I Was Born But..."

1> Greetings Mickey

Thanks for posting a comment, sure M.Bay makes "popcorn" style movies. I guess because he is basically just a TV commercial director he is incapable of holding a shot for longer than 30seconds. His films are surely great for one watch, but you forget about his work just as quickly I think.

But you know, we used to have movies that could be mass-market crowd pleasers *and* were art, or protected some sense of "cinema". Why can't we have both anymore? Or why aren't directors held to that standard nowadays?

You mentioned BAD BOYS, ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK - I'd humbly put forward something like 48hrs, and THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (ARMAGEDDON and THR ROCK rolled into one!) as examples of how you can still have action entertainment and a Cinematic film too.
(and people still talk about 30 years later).

By the way Mickey, have you seen BAD BOYS 2? That is a really really hateful movie, and many of it's fans sight this as their reason for liking it.

You're absolutely right about having a good time at the movies - and films should be about that at heart...
I totally agree with you. I just wonder why we can't have some degree of cinematism (for lack of a better word) along with it. We used to be able to do it...but, in my opinion, people like M.Bay are doing their best to destroy what film is - a visual storytelling medium.
(i.e let the camera tell the story - look how little dialogue Stanley Kubrick needs, and how few fast cuts and no pyschotic editing. Yet his films still make a huge impact on you. M.Bay however...)

When asked about his films M.Bay always spouts out box office sales numbers. I think this really just shows that he can only ever think in his TV commercial terms.
TRANSFORMERS is a box-office smash, but who is going to care about it in 5 years? Was there anyother mission with TRANSFORMERS other than to make something, anything, that would break box office records.
It's this disposable attitude to culture that I can't get along with in Michael Bay.
Short term it's working, and I don't blame studios for wanting to make money, but long term all these people are doing is harming Cinema.
I think so anyway. How about you Mickey?

2> Hi Rajio

Yes I have TORA TORA TORA in my DVD collection, it's a classic film. And yes after suffering the double disk onslaught of PEARL HARBOR I felt the same way - an offensive imitation.
It was the dialogue that really got to me though. Right off the bat at the start of the film, the childhood friends are "busted" mucking about in a plane by a parent, who then proceeds to beat one of the boys (his son). Then alpha male friend (childhood ben affleck) slaps the violent father with a plank of wood and says something "like leave my friend alone!". After a WWI recollection of the horrors of war by the Father, beaten boy says to his friend "you're the best freind a boy could have" or something to that effect. I'm not doing justice to the dehumanzing cheesiness of it, but it was so hideous.
Have these people ever experienced a human emotion or lead a normal human life? Who would say that out of the blue. No, who would even say that?

As for the female love interest basically being portrayed as an unloyal slut, and all her friends as easy lays - but the men as superhuman warriors of good. Well I found it very insulting, and this constant theme of weak women who sleep around, and heavy doses of chauvenist humour in M.Bay films says a lot about the man. I think so anyway.
Wow I'm having a real rant here aren't I....

All apologies.

GILDA and REBECCA sound right up my street, I'll see if TSUTAYA stocks those pictures. Thanks for the tip.

I WAS BORN BUT is totally new to me. I must be honest and mention that I find it hard to get into Japanese Cinema. I tend to do better with more modern work, but still I'm totally clueless. I'll have a go though.

I guess the version of the "golden age" I'm buying into is on a Ralph Lauren type tip.
So the wardrobe and props in films like REMAINS OF THE DAY, GREAT GATSBY etc are so cool to me at the moment.

I don't why, but I'm just facinated with art deco bedside clocks....

perhaps I'm going a bit nutty : )

Michael Bay is the kind of director who thinks he's giving you what you want (or what he think we want) and as a result many people find that pretension obnoxious and hideous.
And yes, in the end, his work can be tagged as the movies you watch, sneer, or produce something like an emotion and watch again any other time you have absolutely nothing else to do.
Being most of the time disappointing, they do create high expectations and well... let's just say there are plenty of people in this world who lack taste and knowledge about what is worth watching and what's not.
Sad, but true. Do you guys agree?

Ps, Pearl Harbor was, is and always be a boring movie, you could tell what was about to happen from the beginning, I remember falling asleep (extremely rare in me) in the movie theater. :(

5> Hey there photoandi

"many people find that pretension obnoxious and hideous"

Yeah, he's a pretty easy target that's for sure. What I found interesting in his film PEARL HARBOR was anytime he shot a kiss scene we suddenly jump to a smoky focus and stylized angle, with an almost canvas like background. Just like some early eighties magazine ad for men's perfume. Sorry, cologne.....
That's a little harsh as he was probably aiming for some kind of noir feel to these shots, trying to emulate the era his characters lived in...but it did just feel like a high-karate man's dream of being in the 40s. Visually anyway. Not sure about olfactorily...

"they do create high expectations and well"

I think M.Bay is a very smart marketer - he works the publicity game very well. Making sure to release snippets, leaks, and more important engineering "this is going to be the best ever..." type comments from the media well before release date.
And box office numbers show this strategy always carries through for him.

He does publicity wise what Apple did with IPhone. Everytime.

"there are plenty of people in this world who lack taste and knowledge about what is worth watching and what's not.
Sad, but true. Do you guys agree? "

Umm. I guess so if we spoke from a film-lovers point of view, but as we know one man's dud is another's delight.

But yeh I think the majority of film goers just choose whatever Hollywood puts in front of them, and what's more if they are lead to believe that this stuff is "good film" they are more likely to go along with it rather than take a moment and think "no actually that was crap".....

I mean TRANSFORMERS has been basically panned by most serious or honest film-critics and film fans, but even among these people many often resort to the senseless "well it's a Hollywood film so..." line as some sort of admissable excuse.

I remember the good old days when even if it was groomed to be a blockbuster, films were still held to some sort of critical standard (by the studio). Just low how good BACK TO THE FUTURE still is. FERRIS BUELER'S DAY OFF, ALIENS, I mean look at SUPERMAN - they got Marlon Brando!

Even Steven Segal can talk about "what is a man?" in one of his films....The best people like Bruckhiemer and Bay can give us is shots of the Eiffel Tower with the subtitle "Paris, France" on it.

Here's hoping Bay does too much coke and overdoses soon....

Hi ...!

yeah, I miss those days too.
I have to say though, transformers wasn't that bad. I've seen worse. (Try Schumacher's Batman & Robin), the marketing was impressive and i just happen to like La Boeuf's work, he's a good actor.
Perhaps a good try for not blaming him for his bad movies, is blaming coke for such bad bad bad creations.
If all the movies were directed by Bay, I'd rather watch Paris Hilton 24/7. The results wouldn't vary much. :)

7> hello again photoandi,

Yeah I haven't seen TRANSFORMERS yet, and the few friends I have in the States all gave it a pass when it came out...
But I think it's more they liked tranformers when they were kids rather than they like TRANSFORMERS the film.

You gotta think, how much better might it have been if Speilberg was behind the camera?

Anyway, I hear there is a VOLTRON film in the works right now...could be interesting.

Re: Schumacher's BATMAN & ROBIN. You're right, *that* was pretty awful....how amazing was BATMAN BEGINS though!?

HI again ...
Point taken, most of the people that are very enthusiastic about this movie are those who loved them as kids.
But doesn't that give you more perspective about what to expect from it?
I mean, you know the story, the characters and the facts about each one making it a bit hard (or easy for some) for creators to develop that same standard for a new film. I gotta give some credit for that in Transformers; Optimus Prime looked and sounded like optimus prime, do you happen to know who's voice is that? to me, it sounds like Sean Connery...


PS, Batman Begins isn't as flamboyant as Batman & Robin, it's more obscure and in my humble opinion, with marked distortions. Like I mentioned before, you expect Batman to be BATMAN, and if directors, and others decide to give it a new look, the only thing they end up doing is creating a negative reaction from the audience for the character is not itself, but something else, a Faux Pas, AND I BLAME SCHUMACHER FOR THAT AWFUL MISTAKE. WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN A BATMAN'S SUIT THAT SHOWS HIS NIPPLES? (ask Schumacher. he made one)
(that's why I love Tim Burton's version)

Bleh- Michael Bay is one of the worst directors out there!

His story is just..... I honestly don't see how anyone can stomach his films!? I hate the cheesy "patriotic" scenes he put because he feels they will boost the profit.

He is not a director, but a guy who merely puts a camera there and make things explode.

10: indie Hunk

don't mean to be rude but just in case you haven't figured it out yet, we already know the guy.

God is indeed punishing us for our sins. He's subtle you know, not sending plagues anymore... hunger?... naah, Michael bay?... ding ding ding.

I am glad that most ppl out there dislike M. Bay.

I just wanted to post the thing that gets me the most about M. Bay.

Just in case you don't know, here's the editing room link, a great parody of Armageddon:
http://www.the-editing-room.com/armageddon.html