Good, but overrated

[Legion2213]

No, your hands aren't protected. Now you're ready. ...and don't forget the "safe word"...

[bassman]

???

[SymphonicX]

13 pages in, here's my two cents. It was good, but over rated.

[Wyldwraith]

Beef with Romero is simple, He does things he damn well knows and ADMITS worsen his films, just to "demonstrate his creative independence." Or, some equally goober-ish concept. I mean c'mon, the guy has been making, exposed to, and supported by Zombie-based Survival Horror for most of his adult life. The man knows what the winning formula is for one of these movies, he just disregards that to continually prove to us that he's SO ROMERO that he knows he can fling Shit-in-a-DVD-box at us like a balding old baboon and a huge number of people will rush to get in line to be struck in the face by his next runny clod of feces, while viciously defending his feces-throwing to anyone DARING to point out that not only is the Emperor naked, he's suffering from late-stage dementia.

[bassman]

So how do you really feel, Wyld?

[mista_mo]

Now you're ready. Is that some kind of...what the hell kind of suit is that?

[DubiousComforts]

It was good, but over rated. After watching a second time, I may be changing the thread title to "Very good, but overrated" in which case you have to move your post elsewhere. The man knows what the winning formula is for one of these movies, he just disregards that to continually prove to us that he's SO ROMERO that he knows he can fling Shit-in-a-DVD-box at us like a balding old baboon So what you're saying is he's screwing with everyone and he knows it? If this is true, the man just leap up several notches on the Awesome-o-Meter. Classic. Is that some kind of...what the hell kind of suit is that? It's approved by the Coast Guard.

[mista_mo]

It's approved by the Coast Guard. In that case, I'll take 10...you can hook a brotha up, right dubs?

[blind2d]

I liked the pilot... too bad he can't shoot for shit. Anyway, yeah, first episode was good... didn't notice the music much, but yeah, going off alone was moronic. "Hey, you in the tank." I can't wait to see what happens next! Russel: I actually have one of those suits somewhere around here... they fit everyone!

[Trin]

So the director or artist should just give you exactly what you want and do exactly as you say and not do what is in his/her heart? What person, with any intelligence, would respect that? Artists take risks that sometimes work and sometimes do not work. What would please you? Should Romero just keep having people hide in a shopping center or a farmhouse? Would that be better for you? If you read all of my post rather than picking and choosing the parts to take issue with you'd see that I am suggesting that GAR can either listen to fans OR give fans what they crave without listening to them OR accept that fans are going to lay on the criticism, often times going beyond the content of the movies. To be fair, I've never heard GAR state any irritation over fan disrespect. My opinion is only countering opinions in this thread suggesting that flaming GAR is never appropriate outside the content of the movies themselves.

[thxleo]

To be fair, I've never heard GAR state any irritation over fan disrespect. My opinion is only countering opinions in this thread suggesting that flaming GAR is never appropriate outside the content of the movies themselves. Well if you had read my interview, that's posted on this site, with him from last year you would have seen this... Before closing I wanted to see if George might have a message for the fans and I honestly expected a typical response that encompassed some thanks and appreciation but George, as Peter Grunwald had told me on the set, is unpredictable and gave an honest and blunt message to all of us. "Basically what I want to say is forgive me. I guess the basic thing that bugs me, the biggest thing that bugs me is that fans want me to do either the last movie I did or do another Dawn or do another this or do another that - and that pisses me off! That's not what I'm about! I'm gonna make a movie, look at it, if you don't like it that's fine. If you like it, then I love it. In other words don't punish me because this was not as good as Dawn. This is what I'm thinking right now, I'm making this movie right now, this is what I'm thinking, give it a break! Look at it, maybe it will take you two or three times to look at it, but look at it. All I can say is that I'm trying my best and don't punish me because it's not as "good" as Dawn, because Dawn was not even "good", it was fun, but it wasn't "good". I think this new movie, Blank of the dead, is much better in a cinematic sense than Dawn, but I worry that a lot of people might think it's not." It's here that I can't help myself and I tell George the reason why I feel so many fans gravitate towards Dawn of the Dead, explaining that they really like and care about the protagonists in the film and they also love that fantasy of being in a mall and having it all to themselves. The film hit a nerve with people! George tells me that he understands and does appreciate the sentiment but, "I'm satisfied that what I did with this film is what I would I like to do with it. The fans may be expecting something else, maybe not, I don't know. It's this magic, you don't know. You work on a film, you work on it in a bubble, you're completely in a bubble. Here's the movie - I like this, I like this, I like this, you shape it, you make it what you want it to be. Now you kick it out there and all of a sudden people either like it or they don't. I've never been an A list guy, I didn't do huge movies. I'm grateful that I'm still around doing these little movies, but even doing little movies somebody bombs you! It's really frustrating, it's very frustrating to sit there and you know exactly what you're doing, and you're doing things within a budget. You're not going to compete with the big movies of the time, I can't compete with the big shit that's out there. And you hope that at least your fans will come around and say 'Woo, cool man we're with you still'. Except that even your fans, even the 19 fans that you have, are split. 19 doesn't split evenly, so it's 10 - 9 liking it, not liking it. C'mon boys, I mean I did this, this was the idea that I had, I did it. C'mon stick with me." Trust me when I tell you that when fans are disrespectful, it doesn't make Romero feel good. I just wonder how many of the disrespectful fans - you included Trin - would have the nerve to actually approach Romero at a show be as rude as you are on this message board?

[Trin]

Trust me when I tell you that when fans are disrespectful, it doesn't make Romero feel good. I just wonder how many of the disrespectful fans - you included Trin - would have the nerve to actually approach Romero at a show be as rude as you are on this message board? I've put a lot of Romero praise, and a lot of Romero bashing, on this board. I've posted at times when I was frustrated and irritated. So, to be perfectly honest, there are probably things I would not enjoy saying directly to the man. That said, if I knew Romero was making another Dead movie, and if I thought he would actually listen, I'd relish the chance to restate anything I've posted on this board to him. The good, the bad, and the things I'd likely be ashamed of and owe him an apology for. Because when push comes to shove he needs to hear it. Keep in mind I don't post hate-mail crap, or "hang it up" bs. I actively fight against those kinds of messages. What I have done is consistently stated and restated that I believe Romero has a great movie left in him, and I've pointed out why I feel his latest movies have failed to reach that. To the best of my ability my criticisms have been specific, balanced, and backed by examples. And I feel I am one of the most polite posters here, especially when it comes to GAR criticism. To your interview. I have to say that I believe it is good example of his woes. "The fans may be expecting something else, maybe not, I don't know." Isn't that kinda a head scratcher? He doesn't know what the fans want? "You work on a film, you work on it in a bubble, you're completely in a bubble." I'm not sure I understand that either. I guess I get frustrated when I read these kinds of statements because these problems seem avoidable. Did he ever reach out to anyone for feedback on these movie ideas? Did anyone have the opportunity to sit down and read Survival and say, "They're gonna roast you for these gags George." I find the whole, "C'mon stick with me," message very difficult. I did stick with him after Land even though I disliked it. And everything I hated in Land got magnified in Diary. Then Survival took all the dislikes and repeated them (I liked Survival more than Diary, so I can't say it magnified them). And still I stick with him. I see his movies in the theaters if I can and I buy the DVDs and I tell my friends when a new one is coming. I support every single thing that he does. Do I have to say I like his movies too? Long story short, if he says, "C'mon stick with me," at some point we as fans have the right to say, "I will, if you listen to my feedback." I'm with Wyldwraith on this one pretty much lock-step.

[Wyldwraith]

No, I'm quite simply done with Romero in the present tense, without affecting my feelings for his far-distant past work, or even the possibility (however remote or likely it might be) of great work from GAR in the future. In the end, it wasn't any of the more profound or context-analysis based reasons I've cited of late. Quite simply, I finally felt something FROM Romero-the-Man that I will NOT accept from someone who continues to maintain an expectation of making a living via what is ultimately and essentially fan-based revenue. Contempt. Simple as that. I decided to re-watch Survival, and this time REALLY TRY to see something of the director who so thrilled me with Dawn and Day. To do my best, however far short of the mark I may have fallen, to view Survival with an eye to seeing what someone who enjoyed zombie movies but for whatever reason had no experience until that very moment with Romero's three most recent films would see in Survival. To be fair, up until everyone was on the Ferry-boat I saw a movie with some significant character inconsistencies, a (being fair) very few iffy SFX, and the disturbingly bad prelude to the O'Flynn/Muldoon conflict at the film's beginning. Other than that, up until then nothing I saw made Survival of the Dead any worse than Resident Evil: Afterlife, House of the Dead, The Pulse, or most definitely The Pulse 2 (which I have deemed THE WORST MOVIE I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.) All that began to end when the zombie sneaked up on the leader of the army unit while he was talking with O'Flynn, and O'Flynn brandished a barbecue fork with a decaying hot dog still on it and stabbed the zombie in the forehead over the military man's shoulder. The true END came the NEXT TIME a zombie quietly sneaked up on the military unit leader, as he was standing near the railing of the ship. After a short scuffle, the zombie was thrown against the railing, and the military leader grabbed the flare gun from the conveniently located box bolted to the wall, which he somehow recognized in a split second to be something that would contain a flare gun. I watched, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists as the soldier fired the flare gun cartridge into the zombie's chest, which was then immolated from the upper chest upwards as its head promptly burst into a steady torch-like flame. Then the soldier nonchalantly leaned in and LIT HIS CIGARETTE off of the zombie's flaming head, before kicking it overboard. It was then that I realized that scene exemplified much more than just a very campy gag kill. It was a deliberate effort to put the audience on notice that if he wanted to make the zombies objects notable only for being contemptible, he damn well would, and fuck anyone who dared question him. In other words, he knew his audience would hate it, but NEVER HAD A DOUBT that the vast majority of his fans would pay to either see it or to buy the DVD. That's contempt from one man to all of us he was thinking about (in a general sense) when he put that scene, and others like it into the movie. I simply won't part with $$ that would prove he was right, and it'll take a great deal of time for my aggravation with the man's flaws to fade. My 2.00$, your mileage may/will of course vary.

[thxleo]

To the best of my ability my criticisms have been specific, balanced, and backed by examples. And I feel I am one of the most polite posters here, especially when it comes to GAR criticism. In a previous post, on page 10 of this thread, you said the following... I'm a pretty big fan of GAR. I'm also one of the people that criticizes GAR's movies. And I'm also one of the people who criticizes GAR outside of commenting on the movies. I've expressed a fair amount of disrespect for the man, though I believe I've kept it balanced against the things he's done well, and I've kept it fact-based. How can you admit that you are disrespectful and then claim later that you are polite as well? You don't like his newer films? That's fine, it's a free country. I'm not crazy about his newer films either. However, the level of disrespect coming from his fan base just amazes me. That's my point.

[Gemini]

No, I'm quite simply done with Romero in the present tense, without affecting my feelings for his far-distant past work, or even the possibility (however remote or likely it might be) of great work from GAR in the future. In the end, it wasn't any of the more profound or context-analysis based reasons I've cited of late. Quite simply, I finally felt something FROM Romero-the-Man that I will NOT accept from someone who continues to maintain an expectation of making a living via what is ultimately and essentially fan-based revenue. Contempt. Simple as that. I decided to re-watch Survival, and this time REALLY TRY to see something of the director who so thrilled me with Dawn and Day. To do my best, however far short of the mark I may have fallen, to view Survival with an eye to seeing what someone who enjoyed zombie movies but for whatever reason had no experience until that very moment with Romero's three most recent films would see in Survival. To be fair, up until everyone was on the Ferry-boat I saw a movie with some significant character inconsistencies, a (being fair) very few iffy SFX, and the disturbingly bad prelude to the O'Flynn/Muldoon conflict at the film's beginning. Other than that, up until then nothing I saw made Survival of the Dead any worse than Resident Evil: Afterlife, House of the Dead, The Pulse, or most definitely The Pulse 2 (which I have deemed THE WORST MOVIE I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.) All that began to end when the zombie sneaked up on the leader of the army unit while he was talking with O'Flynn, and O'Flynn brandished a barbecue fork with a decaying hot dog still on it and stabbed the zombie in the forehead over the military man's shoulder. The true END came the NEXT TIME a zombie quietly sneaked up on the military unit leader, as he was standing near the railing of the ship. After a short scuffle, the zombie was thrown against the railing, and the military leader grabbed the flare gun from the conveniently located box bolted to the wall, which he somehow recognized in a split second to be something that would contain a flare gun. I watched, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists as the soldier fired the flare gun cartridge into the zombie's chest, which was then immolated from the upper chest upwards as its head promptly burst into a steady torch-like flame. Then the soldier nonchalantly leaned in and LIT HIS CIGARETTE off of the zombie's flaming head, before kicking it overboard. It was then that I realized that scene exemplified much more than just a very campy gag kill. It was a deliberate effort to put the audience on notice that if he wanted to make the zombies objects notable only for being contemptible, he damn well would, and fuck anyone who dared question him. In other words, he knew his audience would hate it, but NEVER HAD A DOUBT that the vast majority of his fans would pay to either see it or to buy the DVD. That's contempt from one man to all of us he was thinking about (in a general sense) when he put that scene, and others like it into the movie. I simply won't part with $$ that would prove he was right, and it'll take a great deal of time for my aggravation with the man's flaws to fade. My 2.00$, your mileage may/will of course vary. Agree with this, great post. Romero has made a mockery of the genre he once treated with such respect. It's a shame.