Last movie watched...

[Rara Avis]

I've only heard of the level of Cage in that film.  I never watched it.  I didn't enjoy the original, so had no interest in a sequel.

I know people enjoyed the original and hated the remake but I think you might be a prime candidate to actually prefer it. Would love to hear what you think.

[pictsy]

I've only heard of the level of Cage in that film.  I never watched it.  I didn't enjoy the original, so had no interest in a sequel.

I know people enjoyed the original and hated the remake but I think you might be a prime candidate to actually prefer it. Would love to hear what you think.

From what I know of the film I think I'd probably still be in the "the original was better" camp, despite not liking the original.  Also, from what I know of the film I think I'd dislike it on its own merits.  I don't know why I called it a sequel, I know it's a remake.  Thinking about Cage performances has probably turned my brain into a puddle.

[pictsy]

Casablanca

Well.  I'm a little worried about commenting about this film.  I'm going to start with my biggest complaint.  The character Sam struck me as more than problematic.  I'm no authority being white and British, but this did reek of a character stuck in the subservient days of US slavery.  Given the time the film was made and the audience it was made for I'm not going to be charitable and say this might not have been intentional.  It was and we know it.

Next complaint.  Rapist French guy.  Didn't like the casual way the film treated his raping.  Sure, Rick helped out one woman, but it was hand waved away when the French shit said he had another in line anyway and it was referenced as being frequent.  Yes, it's constantly referencing he's a bad man, but such a nice man and a good friend of Ricks.  It wants its cake and to eat it.  It portrays him as a sympathetic character and it's very shitty how it treats sexual assault.

Next complaint.  This isn't the films fault.  This film has been referenced too much in other media.  It was weird seeing the source.  And sooooo much of this film has been referenced.  It doesn't help Red Dwarf did a total rip off of the final act in the episode Camille.

Last complaint.  Mostly, I just wasn't very engaged by it.  Take out the gross elements, which is thankfully not a lot of the films runtime, and you've got a story I can't connect with.  It's with these last two complaints I feel I didn't need to see this film.  I was largely bored and the familiarity didn't help.  There are a few smaller complaints I have, but I think that the film failed to engage me is enough to end on.

[Colin YNWA]

Oh well after the build up we gave it this was always going to happen wasn't it!

[The Legendary Shark]

I think the gross elements are essential to the story as Casablanca itself is basically a prison (the shadows at the start establish this), so the characters are faced with the choice of living in that prison or in a war.

I understand your disappointment - I felt the same the first time I watched it. Once I started looking at screenwriting courses to help with my comic scripts and watched it again - wow. I think it's a disappointing first watch because it's so good, almost archetypal, and has been copied and referenced countless times.

Don't throw the film out - give it some time then watch it again - it will grow on you.

[pictsy]

Oh well after the build up we gave it this was always going to happen wasn't it!

Some punchlines are inevitable.

I think the gross elements are essential to the story as Casablanca itself is basically a prison (the shadows at the start establish this), so the characters are faced with the choice of living in that prison or in a war.

I understand your disappointment - I felt the same the first time I watched it. Once I started looking at screenwriting courses to help with my comic scripts and watched it again - wow. I think it's a disappointing first watch because it's so good, almost archetypal, and has been copied and referenced countless times.

Don't throw the film out - give it some time then watch it again - it will grow on you.

I like your optimism.

I was pretty critical with my thoughts and I didn't really offer anything positive about the film.  Now I wouldn't say I was disappointed.  This is kinda what I thought Casablanca was.  I just wasn't engaged enough with the narrative.  I can see why it would be used for a screenwriting course.  The structure of the film is very solid.  It's also well directed.  If it were a modern film I'd call it competently made.

I think you may have missed my point on the parts I found gross.  Sam's character could have had more agency.  I don't think I'd go so far as to say it is outright racist, I don't think it's my place to make that call.  After all, Rick does make a point that Sam has his own agency (even if Sam never demonstrates it) and no one uses slurs or treats him badly.  He knows his place and his place is in service to Rick.  He doesn't come across like Rick's friend, but more like a loyal dog.  So maybe it is a racist depiction.  Throw in a load of real world context and this is my problem with the character.  It's not essential to the story, but it is demonstrative of an attitude that unfortunately still persists to this day.

The French police chief's corruption is certainly more informative to the narrative.  He's corrupt, he drinks and gambles on duty, collaborates with Nazi's, rapes women etc.  He's a monster, essentially.  Alas, no.  I'm sorry.  Got that last bit wrong.  He's the comic relief.  It's played for laughs.  Even the scene where it becomes explicit he is raping women.  Rick helps one woman out and the punchline is "well, I have another lined up, so I'm OK".  The film has no disgust for the man, and it should.  Honestly, I think the narrative would have been better served if it took sexual assault more seriously.  Not like it's a gag, but a serious crime.  We'd have a character with more nuance and complexity than we got.  We needed to see he was corrupt, but we didn't need to see it in this way.

These aren't my only complaints.  There were other things that bothered me, but I chose these two because I think it is important to recognise what's problematic and why it's not OK.  If we dismiss it's existence in our media we are one step from dismissing it in real life.  That's why when I think I recognise it in films, I like to share my thoughts on it.  I don't think these problems make Casablanca a bad film, it just means Casablanca has some problems.  The gross parts of Kickboxer make that a bad film.

Why I ended up not particularly enjoying the film is I didn't find the story engaging.  I got bored watching it.  Nevertheless, it has been known that a second viewing can change how I look at a film, so I'll not rule out watching it again.  Maybe I will appreciate it more now I know precisely what I'll be getting.

[The Legendary Shark]

Can't disagree with any of that, really. You also seem to have got more out of your first watching than I did - which probably explains why I have to study screenwriting courses!

[pictsy]

You also seem to have got more out of your first watching than I did - which probably explains why I have to study screenwriting courses!

I don't know about that.  I don't think I could write a script worth much of a damn.

[The Legendary Shark]

Of course you could.

[pictsy]

Of course you could.

Maybe if I had an idea and learned how to write scripts well.  Maybe.

[The Legendary Shark]

Go for it!

[pictsy]

Go for it!

Don't tempt me

I actually have enough on my plate pursuing other artistic endeavours at the moment.

[Link Prime]

I actually have enough on my plate pursuing other artistic endeavours at the moment.

Any new 2000AD related pieces?

[pictsy]

I actually have enough on my plate pursuing other artistic endeavours at the moment.

Any new 2000AD related pieces?

No.  I've been doing fantasy map designs and I'll be going back to designing paper miniatures for gaming.

[The Legendary Shark]

I love designing imaginary maps - there's something really satisfying about it.