The Da Vinci Code

HarryGoldfarb
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Post by HarryGoldfarb »

I don't care if the film is a bad one, it's great that, even with the bad reviews the film is getting, McKellen is being recognized as the relief of it, so that might mean that his work is a great work (as usual), and not even Howard/Goldsman can take away his talent. I can't wait to see him.
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Post by Hustler »

What have you been expecting? Don´t forget, It´s a Ron Howard´s movie.
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Post by Penelope »

Tonight was the first time I've ever seen protesters in front of a movie theater. It is to laugh.

And it's such a bland, thoroughly unremarkable film.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

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Damien
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Post by Damien »

Ian McKellen, who plays Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, tried to make light of the controversy:

"I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married," he said. "I know the Catholic Church has problems with gay people and I thought this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay."
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
anonymous1980
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Post by anonymous1980 »

I have no interest in reading The Da Vinci Code either. I thought it would be interesting to feel what it's like to be an outsider in a much talked about movie version of a best-selling book for once. I mean, I'm already a Harry Potter-head, there's only room for one or two pop-literature in my life.

Look at how the movie is being received in my country:

City of Manila bans ‘Da Vinci Code’

First posted 02:20am (Mla time) May 19, 2006
By Tina G. Santos
Inquirer


MOVIEGOERS in Manila may have to go to neighboring cities to watch “The Da Vinci Code” after the city council yesterday passed a resolution prohibiting the showing of the controversial movie.

The resolution said the movie, which was based on US author Dan Brown’s explosive novel, “is undoubtedly offensive and contrary to established religious beliefs which cannot take precedence over the right of the persons involved in the film to freedom of expression.”

The resolution, which was passed just hours before cinemas in Manila and other parts of the metropolis began showing the movie, cited a provision in the Revised Penal Code that made it “a crime to exhibit films which offend a religion.”

Councilor Rolando Valeriano, one of the authors of the resolution, said the ban would take effect today after theater owners in Manila shall have been furnished copies of the measure.

The film’s premise that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and fathered children whose descendants have survived to the present day has sparked accusations of blasphemy not only from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) but also from other Christian groups across the globe.

Earlier this week, however, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) allowed the film to be shown but gave it an R-18 rating, meaning it is restricted to adults.

According to Valeriano, cinema owners in Manila who defy the ban face a one-year jail term and a P5,000 fine. Those caught selling pirated DVDs or VCDs of the movie could be jailed for up to six months and fined P3,000, he added.

City’s sentiment

“This is the sentiment of the city of Manila,” said Councilor Benjamin Asilo, a co-author of the resolution.

“The film made erroneous and unsubstantiated claims against the fundamental doctrines of Christianity,” Asilo said, adding that the people behind the movie “should not be allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of desecrating our religious institutions and impairing our relationship with our God.”

Councilor Maria Asuncion Fugoso (District 3), one of those who approved the resolution, said she was withholding judgment on the film.

“It’s not for me to judge, I know it’s just fiction, but why use the name of Christ?” Fugoso said.

Councilor Cita Astals opposed the resolution, saying that she was for freedom of expression. She described Brown’s book as “excellent” so that “once you start reading it, you’ll not put it down.”

“If your faith is strong, any movie that depicts Jesus as Satan will not affect you. But if your faith is weak, any movie will not save you,” Astals added.

Councilor Lourdes Isip-Garcia, who also opposed the ban, said the movie “is fiction, just for entertainment.”

Not a sin

Fr. James Reuter, director of the Catholic Church’s National Office of the Mass Media, said it wasn’t a sin to see the movie.

“Rome, in general, has condemned it ... (But) the Holy Father has not made it a sin if you watch it,” Reuter told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

In France, director Ron Howard had a suggestion for people riled by the way Christian history was depicted in the movie: If you think the movie will upset you, don’t go see it.

“There’s no question that the film is likely to be upsetting to some people,” Howard told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. “My advice, since virtually no one has really seen the movie yet, is to not go see the movie if you think you’re going to be upset. Wait. Talk to somebody who has seen it. Discuss it. And then arrive at an opinion about the movie itself.”

“Again: This is supposed to be entertainment, it’s not theology,” he said.

The movie suggests that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered a child. One reporter asked the cast if they believed Christ was married.

Star Tom Hanks quipped, “Well, I wasn’t around.”


First off, even if this is a Ron Howard product, I oppose censorship at all costs. I'm not going to just sit here and have a bunch of sanctomonious tightwads decide what I can or cannot watch. I should be able to have a choice whether or not I want to watch this movie.

Secondly, they should've just shut their mouths about it. This is added publicity for the film. It's only in Manila City which they banned this film but it's still showing in other munincipalities including mine, which is Makati. What's stopping others from going to these other cities to see it because they are curious that those idiots are making a fuss over it?
The Original BJ
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Post by The Original BJ »

Damien wrote:"If you're not willing to take some chances, particularly at this stage of my career, then what are you doing? I know I've been commercially successful, but I'm not really a guy looking for safe, middle-of-the-road success."
LMAO.
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Post by Damien »

DA VINCI CODE REVIEWS "FRUSTRATING" SAYS DIRECTOR

By Mike Collett-White

CANNES, France (May 18, 2006 Reuters) - "Frustrating" was how director Ron Howard described the overwhelmingly negative reviews of his eagerly awaited movie "The Da Vinci Code," but he believed the news was not all bad.

Critics and movie goers often disagreed, Howard said in an interview on Thursday, and some people at preview screenings had found the film starring Tom Hanks more rewarding on the second viewing than on the first.

"I don't really read them (reviews) at the time that we're coming out, because it's too touchy a subject for me," Howard, 52, told Reuters at exclusive hotel on the Mediterranean coast outside Cannes.

"I like to know what's going on, so I get a sentence or two of description."

Months after a film's release, Howard said he collected reviews to see what the consensus among critics was.

The reaction immediately after the first press screening at the Cannes film festival on Tuesday was mainly negative, with trade publication Variety setting the tone by calling the $125 million picture "stodgy" and "grim."

Many people in the audience at the screening laughed at the pivotal moment, and the ending was greeted with stony silence.

The New York Post was in the minority with a glowing appraisal, calling the film "crackling" and "irresistible."

The Da Vinci Code has attracted unusual attention thanks to the religious controversy surrounding the Dan Brown bestseller on which it is based.

One of the characters suggests Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had a child by her and that the Church resorted to murder to try to cover up the truth, prompting objections from Christian groups and officials at the Vatican.

The film's performance at the box office is also important this year after the summer's first two blockbusters -- "Mission: Impossible III" and "Poseidon" -- failed to meet expectations.

CRITICS, AUDIENCES CAN DISAGREE

Howard said the critical reaction did not necessarily reflect what the public would think.

"There's a disconnect between the audience response and the critics. The critics are running a bit more to the negative and with audiences we've been running much more to the positive."

That has been supported by forecasts from experts in the key United States market for a strong opening weekend from Friday. They say the film could earn $50 to $80 million in its first three days.

Howard even had a suggestion on how to boost that number.

"This sounds a little 'hucksterish', but people really respond to the movie better the second time than they do the first time."

But Howard added: "Of course it's frustrating that some of the critics have been harsh with it and that's disappointing, because I'm the type of person that likes to please everyone.


"I think with this project, that's an impossibility and I've kind of known that all along."

The director of critically acclaimed movies including "Apollo 13" and "A Beautiful Mind" realized he was taking a risk by agreeing to make The Da Vinci Code.

"If you're not willing to take some chances, particularly at this stage of my career, then what are you doing? I know I've been commercially successful, but I'm not really a guy looking for safe, middle-of-the-road success."
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Post by Penelope »

The Original BJ wrote:And after those reviews, I've decided I will not be giving one more dollar to the Ron Howard/Akiva Goldsman axis of evil. If A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man got good reviews, I shudder to think of what Da Vinci Code is like.
You know, this is rather telling. Was it somebody here who opined that the bulk of negative reviews may be a reflection of animosity against the book rather than whatever genuine qualities the movie may have? I mean, Howard/Goldsman have, with both middle-brow and even some high-brow critics, an excellent track record; I wonder if we divorced the film from the book would it still receive such brickbats? Well, I'll find out this weekend, since many of my friends are wanting to see it.

And, I'm sorry, Franz, but I'd rather watch a Howard/Goldsman film before anything Greencrap does any day. Hell, I'd rather endure a marathon of Michael Bay films.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Damien
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Post by Damien »

Add me to the list of people who never opened the Da Vinci Code (life is too short and there are too many great works of literature I still haven't read). My beloved started reading it, and after two hours said, "This is a great read. I can't put it down." The next day he said, "Why am I wasting my time reading this crap?" and put it down without finishing it.

We may go to the movie, though, just because we love films shot on location in our beloved Paris.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Post by Franz Ferdinand »

Mister Tee wrote:2) even if it could be done, Howard and Goldsman are the least people on the planet to pull it off;
Too true Tee. I've smelled it since it was announced, and I knew nothing good could come of it. Granted, the book is hardly spectacular (a cliffhanger every chapter, but nothing above pulp fiction), but it could have been made into a solid action movie. To me, it read like The Bourne Supremacy looked - so instead of someone like Paul Greengrass, they get Ron Howard and Akiva *$^#@! Goldman to bring it to the screen. I had reserved some hope beyond the "Howard/Goldman axis of evil" and Tom Hanks' scary haircut (namely in the supporting cast of McKellen, Reno, and Bettany), but with the indications of a terrible adaptation, I don't have any desire to see it anymore. Shame, my exodus from the theatres continues...
The Original BJ
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Post by The Original BJ »

I have never read a page of it.

And after those reviews, I've decided I will not be giving one more dollar to the Ron Howard/Akiva Goldsman axis of evil. If A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man got good reviews, I shudder to think of what Da Vinci Code is like.
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Post by Reza »

Penelope wrote:
Sonic Youth wrote:for the four people on the planet who haven't read the book, including me. (I lasted 85 pages.)

Have never even looked at a page of it.
I admit going through about two pages but that's about it!

Sonic, Penelope amd I make three. I wonder if the fourth person is also on this Board?
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Post by Mister Tee »

I read Da Vinci in its first week or two -- before it became de rigeur to slime it -- and found it enjoyable enough trash: zippy international thriller with enough amusing historical mumbo-jumbo to make it a bit different. I'm not surprised it's getting hacked to pieces by critics, since 1) all the history was unlikely to translate well to film; 2) even if it could be done, Howard and Goldsman are the least people on the planet to pull it off; and 3) the book's outlandish success makes it a fat target. Add in "we're making you wait for very late screenings" and you virtually gurantee a critical slaughter.

The question now will be, does this affect attendance at all, or are people just determined to see the film and screw what any critic says? There are two schools of thought: first, that the preternatural success of the book ensures huge grosses; second, that the days of publishing phenomena, however large, replicating themselves on screen are an artifact of an earlier age (like the 70s, when almost all true film blockbusters -- Love Story, Godfather, Exorcist, Jaws -- had conquered the best-seller list first); that reading itself is now a niche phenomenon having no appeal to those teens who make or break Hollywood uber-product.

I'm inclined to think this film might defy recent trends and back up the first hypothesis. This book is different from Joy Luck Club or Bridges of Madsion County, which sold extremely well, but still short of Da Vinci by a factor of, I believe, about 10. What I'm reminded of most is The Exorcist, which also famously withheld critics' screenings -- opening in NY/LA the day after Christmas '73 with not a single pubished review. (In those days, I went to things opening day, and it was the first movie I'd seen with no advance knowledge in years) The reviews were, overall, unkind -- Canby and Kael especially negative (though you wouldn't know that to read reactions during the recent re-release: the movie'd somehow turned into a revered classic). But audiences had decided they wanted to see it, and nothing kept them away.

If Da Vinci is truly excriuciatingly boring, then attendance may dwindle. But, since many of the folks saying that felt the same about the book, I don't presume their opinions are necessarily reflective of what the great unwashed audience will think.
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Post by Nik »

Sonic Youth wrote:Er... bad day, Nik?
LOL. Nah, just back to my good old self - sporadically bitchy :D
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Post by Penelope »

Sonic Youth wrote:for the four people on the planet who haven't read the book, including me. (I lasted 85 pages.)
Have never even looked at a page of it.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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