[Closed] Horribleness in films

I think it's designed as a talking point that encourages people to put their thoughts on a forum.
Publicity, innit?
Is this on the tele or a dvd?

Have you read the book? The biggest thing you come out with from the book is that spying is a horrible grubby business where the ends justify the means. I expect they're trying to re-inforce that point.

Watch Dead Mans Shoes .....too many horrible scenes.

Watch Tyrranosaur where he kicks his own dog to death.

Watch Nil by Mouth.

Just movies innit ......

i'd stay away from anything with paddy considine written anywhere on the box if i was you then

ha, SNAP!

🙂

(dead mans shoes is amazing)

The biggest thing you come out with from the book is that spying is a horrible grubby business where the ends justify the means. I expect they're trying to re-inforce that point

I've seen plenty of films where passers by get shot. Even that's not necessary.. there's got to be a more intelligent and less upsetting way to put the point across. Right in the first flippin scene too. I don't know any of the characters by that point so why bother telling me how bad they all are. I don't even know them.

Several steps too far, to be honest.

what tron above says.. it's setting the scene..

If you're that way inclined surely there's more than enough abominations against nature to get your knickers in a twist about just on Saturday night prime time TV, never mind Channel 4, MTV, Hollywood or Paddy flippin' Considine..

I guess there are varying levels of sanitization - presumably this is trying ot be a bit more real.

I don't see it as a bad thing myself.

Pft, man up. Films shouldn't all be nice and cuddly. If they show violence and it makes you feel a bit ill without going over the top with the gore (Reservoir Dogs is incredibly nasty/violent while showing very little) then thats probably a good thing as its challenging your emotion and the way that these things are usually portrayed. As above, it can also tell you a lot about the characters/film as a whole.

I like Agatha Christie's Poirot and Columbo ...

It's not me getting my knickers in a twist. It's a terribly upsetting scene, and no I don't see stuff as bad as that on prime time.

I think the film would have been no different without that scene in.. well.. the plot and the scene setting. It'd have been a lot less nasty.

Pft, man up. Films shouldn't all be nice and cuddly

That's not what I'm saying.

A passer by could have been shot, but what they showed was several steps too far, seriously.

I turned off antichrist. After the nastiness started, I checked a plit synopsis on IMDB and decided that I didn't need to see any more of it.

I don't generally have a problem with such things, but that wasn't for me.

Don't watch 'that moment' in American History X, whatever you do.

So the film is about espionage, hit men etc.

Folk get killed....innocents too.

You want to pretend that's not happening?

The wallpaper in that Kathy Burke's bedroom is just as bad to be honest. Gratuitously nasty.

You want to pretend that's not happening?

They can show it, they can talk about it, but they don't need to drive it home so upsettingly. So they are bad people, right, I get it, I don't need it spelling out like that.

There's not even any point to it. It's a spy novel not a docu drama about an atrocity. If you needed to expose a terrible holocaust that's been overlooked by creative history telling or whatever, then you might need to show some nasty stuff, but this is supposed to be just an entertaining film, isn't it?

Or is it a hard hitting expose of nasty people from 40 years ago? Somehow I don't think so.

Don't watch 'that moment' in American History X, whatever you do.

[img] [/img]

I must've missed the opening scene when I started watching it on the plane then. Couple of old blokes bimbling about in John Hurt's flat or something was what I saw. Got bored and watched "Drive" (which was trash).

(which was trash)

Awesome trash with an awesome soundtrack.

this is supposed to be just an entertaining film, isn't it?

what certificate is it..?

I'm with Molgrips.
Haven't seen the particular film but I think there is an increasing trend towards gore and violence in films.
As for American History X that violence was part of the story so is warranted. Close ups of shot mothers is not needed for the narrative.

There's a bit before the credits where some guy meets some other guy in Budapest. I'm bored already to be honest. Just don't care. So, there was lots of dodgy dealing and skulduggery in the cold war. Ok, got that.

Awesome trash with an awesome soundtrack.

yeh margin im with you. gritty to the extreme, but great films all the same.

Haven't seen the particular film but I think there is an increasing trend towards gore and violence in films.

Daily Mail website is thataway>>>>

you guys are getting old.. 😉

You've got young kids don't you mol?

What you have to realise is that when your kids were born your treacherous body released a ton of oestrogen into your system and reduced the testerone level a bit while it was at it.

This cunning trick is designed to stop you murdering your children when they wake you up at 3am. But the side effect is that you get a bit emotional at films, particularly those involving babies or young children - while those outside of this wonder what the big issue is.

I remember watching a film on a plane (not sure of title, but it's a revenge film). In the opening scene the guys family are killed with his wife being raped as she bled to death in front of him while he could do nothing to stop it.

Films never really bothered me before, but I had to switch it off and that scene has haunted me for two years now.

molgrips - Member
They can show it, they can talk about it, but they don't need to drive it home so upsettingly. So they are bad people, right, I get it, I [s]don't need it spelling out like that.[/s] [u]just want it sanitised.[/u]

The scene is grim for a reason, so that the viewer gets the idea that spying is deeply involved with the society we accept as normal. It seems to have done what it should have...

Don't watch 'that moment' in American History X, whatever you do.

First thing I thought of when I read the OP.

I'm very thick skinned, and that made me squirm somewhat.

Saving money IMO. If you have a long shot on sick stuff no one notices how much money you saved on minutes of dialogue.

Lazy too. Gratuitous stuff is easy to do.

while those outside of this wonder what the big issue is.

I've a five week old son asleep in his crib not three yards from where I'm sitting.. admittedly I don't well up when I see his mannerisms in every calf/lamb/puppy/foal that I pass like I did with my firstborn but I'm still very far from coldhearted..

I think if you pay to watch a film with adult themes.. please don't be surprised and upset when you encounter adult themes.. and if you're shocked and horrified it's generally because the film maker wanted you to be..

...and try to read 'The Second Oldest Profession' by Phillip Knightley, keeping that image in your head as you do so.

What you have to realise is that when your kids were born your treacherous body released a ton of oestrogen into your system and reduced the testerone level a bit while it was at it

Possibly.. but I also turned off Reservoir Dogs at the bit where they torture the cop, and I was only 21 then.

Al - yes I do want it sanitised. It's entertainment not a history lesson. I am quite capable of knowing something historical happened and understanding that, without needing to see it.

The scene is grim for a reason, so that the viewer gets the idea that spying is deeply involved with the society we accept as normal

So, if the woman had been on her own and shot, I wouldn't have batted an eyelid. Would that have made the film worse?

Btw I didn't rent this, Love Film sent it to me.

The razor blade scene in Un prophète, is an another fun one.

The Road

Compared to the book,the film was almost cheerful.

😯

So you only feel upset because she has a child?

Lie on the couch....

I suspect the reaction you have reported suggests more about you than it does about the film, and that would fit with your revealed persona on here; married, newish father, over-analytical, self critical, slightly over ideal weight, left femur 0.75 cms shorter than the right, eats carrots but doesn't like them, secretly admires people who appear not to care about public opinion, prefers a dark coloured sock and would buy two pairs of a trousers that fitted well.

Am I right?

I kinda agree with Molgrips here and can also see the sense in what Graham S says.

Not bad, crikey on details but I suspect the overall picture is not quite right. You probably haven't met anyone like me so you can't stereotype well 🙂 And I only bought two pairs of suit trousers cos of being slightly over ideal weight 🙂

The thing is, we're all used to seeing people killed in films, that's not really a problem for me. However, when you really think about it, premature violent death is a really awful thing. So when they force me to think about by really labouring the point or going to some new degree of shock, my brain just pulls up these profoundly terrible emotions and I get upset.

The child in that film was the extra aspect that made it upsetting, yes. Probably made much worse because we have our own breast feeding infant currently.

I have no problem with violence in films - as I've said American History X is a great film, Oldboy is one of my favorites. My problem is with lazy producers/writers etc who show gratuitous gore because they aren't clever enough to keep your attention any other way.

Well yes that's bad for a different reason magowen.

For the record I've got no problem with gore either, although Mrs Grips does.

It all comes down to empathy, doesn't it?

I was mainly describing me, apart from the new father bit...
I'm maybe a bit less upset by that sort of thing because, well, I've seen it close up, and dealt with the immediate fallout, the families, the mums and dads, the children in real life. That doesn't make me special, nor does it lessen the tragedy, but I view it as fiction.

Fat Face Chinos are worth the second pair...

In your case it appears to be about temporarily heightened "empathy"/self focus. Just like the guy on that paed thread.

i'll add kill list into the mix. oh....and 'a serbian film'. now that is f*cked up

I also view it as fiction but I know this kind of thing and worse happens in real life.

So we know they are nasty. Why would I want to watch a load of nasty men being nasty?

In your case it appears to be about temporarily heightened "empathy"/self focus

What do you mean?

now that I've climbed down off my high horse about you wanting to sensor art cos it doesn't sit well with you then yes Mol.. that sounds shocking and sad and I feel your pain..

it's quite a surprise at some of the things you can find bringing a lump to your throat once the male menopause sets in..

I've always cried at movies though.. 😳

do you still wet the bed?

Yunki I've always been like this. The first film scene that really got me going was the bit in Robocop when he gets shot loads of times by the bad men but doesn't die. I was about 15 then.. probably would be too naff to affect me now.

New father syndrome.

I'm not saying I'll be immune if I ever get there...

I've only ever cried at the nice bits..

do you still wet the bed?

only for money these days

New father syndrome

No, it's not.

you've just a sensitive soul Mol.. a warrior poet

(caveat - I'm a Media teacher)

It's all just the language of film and grist to the narrative mill.

Haven't seen TTSS, but the scene in question sounds entirely reasonable in context. A film maker can't be expected to take every possible individual response into account, they just have to tell the story in the best way they can come up with.

Would it still be so upsetting to read it in a book?

Now, lazy acting, hyperactive editing or weak direction in films - those things REALLY upset me.

slainte ➡ rob

The scene would have served its purpose exactly without the baby. The shooter isn't trying to kill a bystander, he misses (afaik). So the characters are shooting without any regard for the lives of the proles. Fine, got that. Why does the victim have to be a feeding mother to get this point across? And why did they have to show closeups of it? Just shock tactics. Well I don't need shocking like that, thanks.

Colournoise - yes, it would be just as upsetting to read it in a book but perhaps less shocking.

The scene would have served its purpose exactly without the baby

would it though..?

the fact that the woman is a mother is the salient point.. that a child is orphaned..

it's not enough in these days of voyeurism and casual inhumanity that a fellow human being loses their life..
the child portrays the innocence and loss and the deeper implications.. makes it more than just 'that bird waiting for a bus'

it forces the watcher to consider life and death more deeply..

I have a major problem with violence in films.
Watching violence for pleasure? Real or acted. It's a bit sick.

Beethoven - the dog film.
Johnny 5 - the robot film.

That's the limit for me.

SB

Yunki I've always been like this. The first film scene that really got me going was the bit in Robocop when he gets shot loads of times by the bad men but doesn't die. I was about 15 then.. probably would be too naff to affect me now.

a warrior poet

6th form poetry?
weekend warrior?

I [url= http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WarriorPoet ]dunno[/url] Mr Smith.. I think I intended it as a metaphor of some kind..

I only write any of this stuff because I have an incredibly small penis and I'm a chronic under-achiever.. I just write whatever silly thing comes into my head because it seems to momentarily help to lift my feelings of inadequacy.. it's all part of my vain attempt at being a cultured badass.. 😳

Instead of a Ditzy Bookworm.. 8)

I love films, all sorts of films, but on the subject of violent ones, one and [u]one only[/u] sticks out. It makes Old Boy look like a pantomime.

'The Killer Inside Me'

There is a scene in that film, which if you have any ounce of humanity inside you, will make you either 1. throw up, 2. winch/want to throw up.

Hell even Stanley Kubrick called the book from which it is derived, the most depraved and deeply disconcerting thing he had ever read.

Definitely not a film any lady should ever see, the scene I describe is truly and utterly repugnant, the way the camera lingers, and the scene lasts far long than it feels it should.

What they *should* do, is show that as a scene to those 18 in college about how violence against women is a vile, disgusting act beyond imagination, that should never EVER happen. Casey Affleck makes Chris Brown look like an amateur. Truly disturbing.

Anyone who has seen this film will know exactly what and what scene I am talking about. It stays with you, like Requiem for a Dream.

I do like violent films, but since becoming a father I am affected by scenes that would not have bothered me before. I've not seen the film in question, but from the scene described I would immediately be thinking - is the father still around? Who will look after the child?
A recent scene in a well known soap had me near tears thinking about what would happen to a murdered womans child, but I suppose my admission of watching said soap reveals my lack of balls! I'll get my coat. 😳

I've heard Harry Hill is getting custody

You find tinker tailor disturbing? Don't EVER watch "Funny Games". I won't spoil it by telling you what happens but from the start it winds the tension up as high as it can and keeps turning the key. If art is supposed to evoke the feelings the artist wants to convey then it's utterly brilliant for achieving that but otherwise completely without redemption.
We had to stop it halfway through and make a cup of tea just to get out of the room that the television was in and I think my wife is still disturbed by it 18 months later.
It's a film that I'm glad I have seen but never, ever want to see again.
We saw the american version. I can only imagine the Austrian version would be worse.

'The Killer Inside Me'

It's just been given an 18 cert by the BBFC after being banned for quite a while, right? The scene in question sounds pretty horrific. I've Irreversible, which has 2 scenes which would make any normal person feel ill. Its a strange, and not very 'enjoyable' film, but one I'm glad I watched, but not one I'll be watching again any time soon.

Checking back over this thread - some people appear to be suggesting that "Drive" is worth watching. It's not. It's crap. Utter utter "try hard" crap of the worst kind. Watch an old Tarantino instead.

Back to nastiness - I thought a lot of Eden Lake was very nasty - in a "could happen" kind of way...

City of God.

The scene that I found disturbing was when the kids make the kid shoot the kid.

If you have seen it you will know what I mean.

You have better taste in music than you do films, Dez 8)

Pah. Some people don't know crap when they see it 😉

Irreversible ftw 8)

I concur that fatherhood can turn you into a over emotional blubbering fool when it comes to films and TV programmes that depict or hint at the harm and abuse of children an the people around them, although for me the most gut wrenching images are of the real children suffering not the fictional so much but the real suffering, for example Marie Colvin's last report before she was killed covered the death of a 2 year old girl (I have a 2 year old daughter) that had been hit by shrapnel , it had the video of the poor girl taking her last breaths as the doctor exclaimed there was nothing he could do.

As they say what has been seen can't be unseen, it still haunts me now.

It all comes down to empathy, doesn't it?

to a degree, i think the more hardened you are to the shit that actually happens in the world the easier it is to deal with.. on film and in real life. the more you're exposed to this kinda thing the easier it is to process how violent the world and humans really are, i'm guessing that if a loved one came to you in tears saying they'd been violently raped you'd be upset? that's natural, but the thing i've learnt is that empathy is more effective when you stick to trying to understand how somebody might feel in that situation as opposed to taking on those feelings yourself. taking on those feelings yourself only makes it harder to help (in real life) in my experience.

i LOVE films, the more emotionally challenging the better 🙂 the only times i cry during films is when super happy/kind stuff happens, never when its violent. the exception to the happy rule is the scene at the end of 'finding neverland' where the kid says 'why did she have to die'... cuts me up just thinking about the scene!

killer inside me is a brilliant film, got it on blu-ray and i keep forgetting to make mrsconsequence watch it. i'm rambling, i'm tired so apologies if none of that makes sense

Mol[s]grips[/s]lycoddled 😉

Personally I think more films should be challenging to the viewer. Why is it acceptable for a bystander to be shot (as often happens in generic action films) but not to actually make the viewer consider the impact of it?

Personally I think more films should be challenging to the viewer. Why is it acceptable for a bystander to be shot (as often happens in generic action films) but not to actually make the viewer consider the impact of it?

good point, every bystander or henchman is someone's son/daughter/parent/friend.

good point, every bystander or henchman is someone's son/daughter/parent/friend.

Classic and relevant scene 🙂

I can relate to this 'brain-stain' some of you mention as well as the feeling of horribleness that the OP writes of; I once caught the first 10 minutes of Mamma Mia by accident...

I once caught the first 10 minutes of Mamma Mia by accident...

Now I think about it, I would rather watch several infants get shot, than sit through Sex In The City 2.

ok.. this thread was meant to be a bit of entertainment.. but those last two posts are going too far.. we all know that horrific disturbing stuff goes on in life but we don't need ABBA shoved down our throats..

this has just gone too far now.. appalling

need ABBA shoved down our throats

i'm reporting this thread to the mods, its gone too far.