Last movie you watched......

Getting the gratefruit Crystal Light made

 

I've heard from good sources that Rick Santorum is a closet "torture porn" fan.

 

MI: Ghost Protocol

Pretty decent action flick. Scenes from the outside of the world's tallest building in Dubai was fascinating. No idea who played the eye candy but she was smoking.

Paid extra for the "XD" experience, nicer chairs, supposedly bigger screen, better sound. Not sure worth $3 per head, but chairs were pretty sweet.

 

Dick,

In all fairness, your question would have made more sense if you hadn't admitted you have seen "Saw."

"Saw" is the premiere tortureporn movie, and since you know the phrase tortureporn, I'd assume you know that.

It's like it's 1930 and you said, "I saw the Jazz Singer, but what are talkies like?"

 

Taking this seriously for a minute...
The original "Saw" was the prototype, but the genre has evolved (or devolved, depending on your point of view) a lot since then. It's like looking at a car from the 1980s, and then looking at today's models.

The first "Saw" (and even the first "Hostel") are much more psychological than their sequels, spiritual successors and ripoffs. "Saw" made you ask yourself, "Would I be able to saw off my own leg to escape? What could I put myself through if I were in that situation?"
Of course, as time went on that gave way to bigger and better kills, more gratuitous gore and a deeper journey into the mythology of the seres, all of which took away some of the psychological element that jumpstarted the series. Same thing that happens with all franchises. And the ripoffs followed suit, only with smaller budgets. So they invest most of their money on effects to amp up the shock factor, and all you end up with is bad-looking effects, gratuitous gore and god-awful acting. Essentially, the worst parts of any movie genre.

Sadly, this has made it harder to find decent horror movies. Many are so far over the top with the gore that they're unwatchable. Some that might be good are immediately panned by highbrow critics who hear the phrase "horror movie" and look down their noses at it. And still others are toned down so badly to get the PG-13 rating and hit the teen audience, that they're not remotely scary or even very much fun.

So, to answer your questions, Dick, yes the level of violence and the quality of the films varies. Not all of the "Saw" movies are good, but there's a couple of the sequels that are OK. Just don't think you're walking into "Bambi," unless you really want to see Bambi's mother get her leg caught in a bear trap and then get finished off with a colorful, blood-spattering shotgun blast to the head from close range.
The best moments of each series and each film combine the gore with the "Oh God, that's a bad situation! What would I do!?" elements.
So, it's pretty much like any genre. There's movies that are classified as "torture porn" that are probably easier to sit through than ones classified as "romantic comedies" or 3 1/2-hour "character studies."

 

Well said, Batman.

I think the first 'Saw' can be talked about in the same breath as some horror classics, it's that good. James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Wannell are very talented. Hostel, meanwhile, wasn't my cup of tea because it tried to hard to be 'American Werewolf in London' with torture, but failed in it's setup.

But both are the seeds from which an ugly, gnarly tree has spawned. Same with 'Scream,' simply one of the most ingenious films ever made -- regardless of genre. Too bad none of that magic could be re-created in its sequels.

 

Such an odd question for people to get so chippy about ...

I'm surprised people like "Saw." I thought it was just so, so, so, so bad. The acting was the worst I've ever seen in a film. The worst.

And, yeah, I "admitted" that I saw "Saw." So basically my question was: Where has it gone from there? What is so shocking?

 

Enjoy, Dools!

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=XsN5kZIsleo

 

Um, that link didn't get my a fully clothed Zadora singing, or any Zadora singing. Not that I'm complaining. Now if you want to give me a link to Butterfly...8)

 

You've got to hang with it. It's awesome.

 

They intertwined the story through seven movies. Some of it was good, some of it was bad. As the series went on, it got worse. The first one was really cool because it was very original. The twist was all sorts of badassery.

 

Horror, perhaps more than any other genre, has landmark films that shift the genre.
Psycho.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Halloween.
Alien.
Scream.
Saw.
It's amazing how one great idea inspires countless ripoffs and influences the genre for, usually, a decade or so. You don't see that with other genres. Maybe comedy, to an extent, but certainly not dramas. There's great dramas, but not game-changers like there are in horror.
Whether that's because horror isn't as original, or there's only so many basic ways to make you squirm that you inevitably repeat yourself, I'm not sure. I just find it interesting.