comment #1

arch451 says ...

By saying it's your guilty pleasure, you are admitting that it's not a great film, right? And you have to forgive others for thinking it's a piece of crap.

comment #2

Geoff says ...

It really is a piece of crap. I'll take Con Air any day. But the sad part about Sena is that he made a film called Kalifornia, which is actually a great film.

comment #3

The Winchester says ...

I actually kinda even like Swordfish, too.

comment #4

Geoff says ...

If I HAD to, I'd actually take Swordfish over Sixty Seconds. It's even got the same lighting "texture" that Jeff is oddly won over by.

comment #5

JD says ...

Scott Rosenberg once admitted to writing Gone in Sixty Seconds in a few days after getting a bunch of gearheads drunk, recording their conversations, and transcribing them into screenplay form. That doesn't make it a bad film (I haven't seen it), but if it is bad, this might have something to do with it. And let's be honest, George Lucas is a great director. He's a shitty writer, but he's directed at least three classics: THX 1138, American Graffitti (which is far more artfully directed than its reputation suggests), and Star Wars. The hatred for Lucas is way out of proportion with his failures. I attribute this to his enormous wealth and unique ability to take shit from no one. People hate infinite wealth and freedom in the hands of anyone but themself.

comment #6

Arran says ...

It's a guilty pleasure of mine too. And Swordfish wasn't bad. Kalifornia was excellent and lauded by Roger Ebert. These are hardly qualifications for a "worst director ever".

comment #7

thevisceral says ...

Tony Scott. Followed by everyone who imitates Tony Scott.

comment #8

D.Z. says ...

Speaking of Lucas, the New Beverly's playing Howard the Duck on a double bill with Gremlins. As for Paul W.S. Anderson, Mortal Kombat was great, because it wasn't as awful as Street Fighter. Though I would have preferred Romero got to do the NC-17 RE with Bruce Campbell which he wanted...

comment #9

Arran says ...

I just noticed something. How the fuck is this news? It's not an "official" Amazon list, it's one of the millions of pointless user lists some ordinary jackass has come up with.

comment #10

Noah says ...

Aren't you essentially defending a summer tentpole film now (and its director) just a few posts after categorically saying that all summer tentpole movies suck?

comment #11

Silverscreenvideos says ...

This isn't Amazon's list. It's a list posted by someone who buys things off Amazon. So, people are getting worked up about what some kid thinks who is not even smart enough to figure out there's a lot better places to buy stuff online than Amazon.

And based upon his choices, he seems limited to watching big budget action films. Admittedly, he shows some discernment in compiling a list with some McG garbage, but I doubt that very many comedies or dramas are in his DVD collection... good or bad.

comment #12

lazarus says ...

As mentioned above, Lucas is a crappy writer, and may be guilty of cluttering many of his scenes with unnecessary CGI background action, but he has one of the greatest composition gifts in the business. I imagine that his penchant for being satisfied with poor line readings would lower his stature as an director of actors, but that's only one part of the job. His frames look great, and he knows how to tell a story through his visuals. He also knows how to put together great action scenes, obviously with the help of some great collaborators.

comment #13

Rod32303 says ...

First of all, it's AMAZON, who fuck up even trite abstracts of books and music. Who are THIER critics.

Second? Sena rocks - he directed all of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation videos, plus the first two from the Janet album, all hot as hell.

I'm serious.

comment #14

actionman says ...

tony scott is amazing

comment #15

Pinko Punko says ...

I think the Onion AV Club has the list we want:

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/inventory_10_directors_you

"10 Directors You Don't Know You Hate"

For this board, I'd say we know we hate them, but it's a good list anyway.

comment #16

Doug Pratt says ...

There are easily ten directors of lesser skills than Barry Sonnefeld. Get Shorty is a legitimate semi-classic, and the first Men In Black was a legitimate blockbuster romp, and even Big Trouble is a decent guilty pleasure if you give it half a chance.

comment #17

Gabriel says ...

Lucas, McTiernan, Schumacher, Sena, and Sonnenfeld have all made at least two good films apiece, despite careers that feature more atrocities than apexes. And Bay, whose output I find erratic but not entirely worthy of derision, at least has a signature filmmaking style that lends itself to entertaining cinema when used on the right material.

By contrast, Brett Ratner's two best movies are Chris Tucker performances. After that, it's a steady stream of pandering bores, remakes, and franchise entries. Any of his movies could have been shot with Lars von Trier's Automavision contraption, and without all the hubris about how it's not a hack because it's friends with an independent filmmaker like James Toback, or how it's just as good a filmmaker as Paul Thomas Anderson.

Just sayin'.

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

Gabriel: "Any of his movies could have been shot with Lars von Trier's Automavision contraption,"

Yeah, Psycho was so much better than Red Dragon...

comment #19

dre says ...

credibility...lost

comment #20

Dixon Steele says ...

Mr. Wells, anyone who sees any merit whatsoever in the GONE IN 60 SECONDS remake, the biggest piece of Hollywood shit to come down the pike in years, Bruckheimer at his absolute worst, has less credibility than Paris Hilton, if possible.

I mean, talk about whoring-as-filmmaking.

Come on, Jeff!

And what's your problem exactly with Roger Kumble? Sure, THE SWEETEST THING was rank, but at least he didn't write it. And as far as Guilty Pleasures go, CRUEL INTENTIONS and JUST FRIENDS are right up there.

Did he screw your girlfriend or something?

comment #21

DarthCorleone says ...

Gone In 60 Seconds gets a pass? Really? Ugh. It's awful.

Still, I gotta admit this admission gives me a newfound kinship with Jeffrey. Perhaps he'll forgive me for any of ten guilty pleasures I could rattle off at any given time that surely can't be any less competent than Gone In 60 Seconds.

comment #22

Gabriel says ...

After thinking about it for more time than it deserves, I can only imagine that D.Z. thinks I meant Gus Van Sant, rather than Lars von Trier. In which case he not only mistook the subject of my reference, but also the point.

I wasn't comparing Ratner to Van Sant or von Trier; the latter two are two of the best current filmmakers in the world. I was comparing Ratner's skills to that of the Automavision, a machine that von Trier used to satirize the unimaginative visual strategies of shitty mainstream Hollywood movies.

Here, D.Z.: Tarantino >>>>> Ratner. Fetch, boy!

comment #23

D.Z. says ...

Gabriel: "After thinking about it for more time than it deserves, I can only imagine that D.Z. thinks I meant Gus Van Sant, rather than Lars von Trier."

Yeah, it's tough to tell two Nordic hacks apart. Thanks for the correction. Most people will still prefer Red Dragon to Dogville, though.

"I was comparing Ratner's skills to that of the Automavision, a machine that von Trier used to satirize the unimaginative visual strategies of shitty mainstream Hollywood movies."

Hey, we can't all make bland social commentaries which rely on shock value more than things like a script and characterization.

comment #24

Breedlove says ...

That is funny that Jeff posted one of the umpteen random lists posted on Amazon by anonymous whoevers.

And actionman - I often agree with you, and your rant got me more psyched for 'Transformers,' but I gotta draw the line at Tony Scott, dude. Awful. 'Deja Vu' was the single worst film I saw in a theater last year, and it wasn't close.

comment #25

Gabriel says ...

"Hey, we can't all make bland social commentaries which rely on shock value more than things like a script and characterization."

Do you just defend any non-Tarantino director to have filmed a movie in Asia, or what?

Hey, we can't all make the same infantile comments on a movie message board over and over again, which rely more on polarizing idiocy than things like a coherent argument, reading the posts you respond to, or getting your facts straight.

comment #26

Movie fan09 says ...

I don't understand the hate for George Lucas.

if you have any hatred for the plot of the original trilogy(politics and economy) then you really don't know the original source material very well.

if you get a chance, watch Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed.
it pretty much states that this isn't a bunch of kids having adventures around the galaxy, these are the movies that set up everything so that they find themselves and take us along on an adventure.

comment #27

Ju-osh says ...

Tony Scott made True Romance. That movie has to be worth some small bit of respect, no?

comment #28

Geoff says ...

In my book Tony Scott gets major props for making True Romance.

comment #29

erikwithak says ...

i mean Gone In 60 Seconds is really bad Jeff. I know you know, and we all have these movies that suck but we love them... but this ones really bad Jeff.

comment #30

BurmaShave says ...

Yeah DZ, a lot of us gave RED DRAGON a pass, until we remembered how good MANHUNTER was, and then we started to tear our hair out.

comment #31

BurmaShave says ...

Also I'm with Jeff all the way on this. GONE IN 60 SECONDS is more than acceptable. I probably do watch it about once a year on TNT. Then of course I throw on some Janus Films box set from Criterion to "cleanse" myself or whatevever.

comment #32

Geoff says ...

It's really fucking hard for me to comprehend this love for Gone in Sixty Seconds. Giovoanni Ribisi is just annoying, the main villain is just lame and Nicolas Cage is just boring in this role. And Angelina Jolie contributed what exactly, other than her good looks? I mean, the movie is just plain dumb. I can usually roll with alot of shit (again Con Air fucking ownz this film). Is Jeff some big muscle car guy or something? I just get bored to tears with this film and cringe at some of the "heartfelt" brotherly love conversations with Cage and Ribisi. Duvall just did it for the paycheck. The car chase isn't even that great, although I do like when Cage smiles at that little girls in the middle of the pursuit.

Oh, and I also give props to Tony Scott for making Crimson Tide. It's actually a solid character drama.

comment #33

Dan Revill says ...

I'm surprised that Jeff hasn't said, "Why isn't Steven Spielberg on this list?!!! That Munich film was crap!"

Anyhow, the person who wrote the list seems to have a knowledge of film that dates back into the 90s...and that's about it. Really somebody I'd think who knows their stuff.

comment #34

Aunt Sassy says ...

GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS is such a marvelously descriptive phrase; it describes one of Jeff's favorite guilty pleasures, as well as the lifespan of his credibility after posting this confession.

For someone who likes to pontificate about what makes a good action film, this is an unforgivable choice. It contains an indifferent cast on autopilot, a forgettable villain (He has people steal cars, but he actually hates cars!! He's evil, I tells ya!!), a distracting and unmotivated visual style, a plot without a single shred of realism (therefore, without tension) and worst of all, one of the most boring and pedestrian car chases ever committed to celluloid.

If Jeff had chosen SWORDFISH, I could have defended it on the basis of the opening sequence alone (scores of hostages and cops shredded in bullet time by suicide bombs packed with ball bearings). But SIXTY SECONDS has absolutely nothing in its entire running time with that kind of energy or excitement. About the only thing in it worth recommending is the Cult song heard over the end credits. Oh well, at least Sena has KALIFORNIA to fall back on.

As for Tony Scott, all you need to know to defend him is that he directed THE HUNGER, TOP GUN, TRUE ROMANCE, CRIMSON TIDE and ENEMY OF THE STATE to name a few.

comment #35

moorish says ...

Gone In 60 Seconds is one of the biggest pieces of shit ever to be inflicted on the movie-going public. The dialogue is awful, the plotting is clunky, the acting (Vinnie Jones!) is appalling, and Cage's hair is - a sign of things to come - ridiculous.

It doesn't even work as a passable entertainment, nevermind a decent thriller/action flick. The fact that it builds and builds to one big stunt and then pussies out on that stunt with laughable CG and terrible cutaways just encapsualtes what a steaming pile it is. You just went down in my estimation, Jeff.

comment #36

christian says ...

the script for GI60S is even worse. and a perfect example of how hollywood doesn't even get basic exploitation anymore.

but i think jeff just likes his visual fumes...cough...hack...

comment #37

BurmaShave says ...

We can all agree that CON AIR does indeed own this film. And that Tony Scott is one of the better genre directors working today. Even DEJA VU was a lot better than I thought it possibly could be. Shame about DOMINO though. But still:

THE HUNGER, TOP GUN, TRUE ROMANCE, CRIMSON TIDE, ENEMY OF THE STATE, SPY GAME, MAN ON FIRE, DEJA VU. I challenge Bret Ratner in a thousand years to equal that.

comment #38

BurmaShave says ...

Fuck, how could I forget THE LAST BOY SCOUT.

comment #39

christian says ...

is that list supposed to represent good films?
they all look like films intended to scare me off -- and TRUE ROMANCE's quality stems from tarantino's script, not scott's smokey blue close-ups. in fact the best directorial decision scott ever made was to let hopper and walken talk in simple close-ups.

comment #40

Gabriel says ...

"Fuck, how could I forget THE LAST BOY SCOUT."

I was going to say - that's the best Tony Scott film, just ahead of "True Romance".

"THE HUNGER, TOP GUN, TRUE ROMANCE, CRIMSON TIDE, ENEMY OF THE STATE, SPY GAME, MAN ON FIRE, DEJA VU. I challenge Bret Ratner in a thousand years to equal that."

Of course. But rest assured, D.Z. will come back with some shit like "Yeah, because 'Legend' was so much better than 'The Family Man'" or something of that nature.

comment #41

Edward Havens says ...

Can we at least agree that Halicki's original GI60S is one of the best movies of its kind, and the only movie with this title that is worth discussing?

comment #42

christian says ...

agreed. and all the more shameful that a 70 million dollar update of a ten dollar film is so rank and devoid of what made the original last in genre time.

comment #43

DavidF says ...

Late to the thread so I'm sure some of this is said above but:

-it seems bizarrely hypocritical to praise Sena's lighting (surely a DP's work) and then dis George Lucas' direction. If nothing else the man still has an eye. You can bash him all you want, make fun of Jar Jar all you want: Nothing will take away from the huge influence he has had (good and bad) on filmmaking.

The same cannot be said for Rob Cohen, McG or the other Uber-Hacks on that list.

-Sonnefeld has made some real shit lately but Get Shorty, Men in Black and the bizarrely-pleasurable second Addams Family movie show that he has the stuff. I don't know where it is, however.

-Joel Schumacher, on the other hand, I don't know what the hell to make of. He's made a couple of genuinely good movies (The Lost Boys comes to mind) along with some empty stylish shit...and, of course, he ran Batman into the ground. Not a hack but there's something wrong there.

comment #44

BurmaShave says ...

THE LOST BOYS, FALLING DOWN, THE CLIENT, TIGERLAND, PHONE BOOTH. Schumacher is pretty solid when he wants to be, but boy can he suck.
I'm still not sure how I feel about THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

comment #45

BurmaShave says ...

Also, good call on ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES.

comment #46

BurmaShave says ...

Also, good call on ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. And let's not forget his DP work for the Coen Brothers.

comment #47

BurmaShave says ...

Sorry for the double, Jeff's fucking abuse filter fooled me.