Apocalypto
 

Have yall seen the trailer? Saw it for the first time the other day and think this looks superb! I am really interested to see his perspective on the fall of the mayan civilization. what are your thoughts?

i saw the trailer but i'm one of those people that won't watch his movies anymore. otherwise it looked pretty interesting.

I think it looks awesome and while I'm not a Gibson fan I'll mentally justify this by the fact that he's a) not acting in it and b) made it before he showed the world what a jackass he is (though I'm admittedly more pissed about the drunk driving than the comments, he's an ass either way but only one could kill someone)

personally, what he does in his personal life does not change the fact that I am goign to see this film and that is going to awesome. He is an extremely talented actor and has done some amazing work, Braveheart being one of my favorites. I expect good things about this, plus I am interested to learn about a civilization I know little about.

Sorry to bump but just read that Gibson gets Latino vision award for "Apocalypto" -- congrats to him. Glad to see that he is getting some recognization in the Latin community.

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/en...252549300.html

Looking forward to seeing it - it's not a problem for me to seperate the man from the film (or film making)... I've done it before with Polanski.

Anyways I'm looking forward to seeing it simply because it covers a historical subject and period that has seen much film - and an intersting subject and period no less...

yeah, i saw trailers, and i'm not going to see it...here is my prediction: their socitey fell b/c they have more than one god/not the right god.

I don't get how you can seperate the film from the person who's responsible for it.

Seperation - easy.

As for the plot... nope the actual historical plot provides enough of a religious bent to not need a new twist: prophecy about bearded gods who will return from over the great sea in a certain age - and low and behold some bearded folks sporting strange equipment and knowledge do show up from across the great sea during the time the prophecy mentioned...

i wanna go see it!! I didn't know it was about the mayan civilization, but just today I saw the trailer for it! It looks SUPER interesting.

I'm not a huge Mel Gibson fan, but I do think that a lot of his movies were great, especially the Passion of the Christ.

The trailer made me think of another similar'ish movie:
"At Play in the Fields of the Lord".

Yeah, I am really interested in learning more about the Mayan civilization and really interested to see Gibson's view on the subject. Have been doing a little research on the film and came across some great pictures -- check them out:

http://www.latinoreview.com/filmpreview.php?id=208

Pretty amazing pictures -- they are so realistic. Makes you feel like you are there, you know?

I'm interested in things Mayan, and since my bf considers himself somewhat of a scholar of Maya civilization, chances are we'll see it together.

Wish I was a scholar of Maya civilization but I am excited about learning more on the subject matter...

And I came across a great review on the film that I thought yall would enjoy.

‘Apocalypto’: Masterpiece or misguided?
Will Hollywood fall victim to the Apocalypto Syndrome?

Small screenings of the still-uncompleted film are quietly taking place. The movie is rough around the edges -- temp score and sound, scenes still to be honed.

But the word has seeped out: From Mel Gibson's dark, troubled mind has emerged yet another brilliant exercise in filmmaking, extremely violent, yet compelling. The inner demons that play havoc with his personal life continue to energize his creative vision.

But how will his work be judged? The film is being released not just as "Apocalypto," but as Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto." Will the very community that understandably has been offended by Gibson's inebriated diatribes be willing to pass fair judgment on his artistic contributions?

The film itself represents a defiantly maverick voice. Subtitles run throughout. The cast is totally non-professional. The action is virtually nonstop and the confrontations brutal.

A fiercely original work like this normally would be screened and promoted for Oscar nominations and critics plaudits. This will not be the case with Gibson's film.

Hence, the looming Apocalypto Syndrome: Mel Gibson is not exactly a poster boy for tolerance. And that's the paradox: Acceptance of his work demands exactly that.




http://www.oscarwatch.com/2006/11/pe...pocalypto.html

he used non-professional actors? that sucks

In many cases non-professional actors are alot better - they can actually give a more honest performance.

uh....okay, and I can build my house with non-professional carpenters, because they have more of a passion for the nails.

But I didn't mean experienced vs. little experience or even none, a good director can bring it out of anyone, what I meant was....he should pay them.

I think it is great that he is using actors that are not famous -- will make the film more realistic and moviegoers will not get distracted by the fame and will concentrate on the subject matter at hand...

Sorry to bump but I read an interview that Gibson did with Entertainment Weekly discussing why he hired the non professionals actors and I thought yall would enjoy. He says, "It's much easier to believe a character who doesn't have any baggage." Check out the whole interview -- really good. I am really excited to see Rudy Youngblood...

Here it is:

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1...612|1_,00.html

Oh and check out the pictures! They are amazing!

AXiD670, overall the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive...it is 82% positive on Rotten Tomatoes which is awesome. And here is a positive review on The Variety -- enjoy:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...goryid=31&cs=1

so did anyone see it? I am goign to see it tomorrow. It got number one in the box office -- way to go Mel

I'm a little late to this discussion, but whatever. I saw this movie today with a friend, and I must say that It was "ok."

I had REALLY REALLY wanted to see this, so I kinda had high expectations for this movie, and it really didn't live up to all my expectations.

Historical wise--its pretty accurate. Mel Gibson is really good about trying to keep things as accurate as he can with dress, language, makeup, etc.

Personally, IMO, I would have liked him to be a little bit more accurate with the Mayan "physique." I mean I would have liked them to have a little bit more of a flattened/sloped head which was very distinctive of the Mayans.


Plot wise--there really was none. (Without giving too much) there really isn't a lot of background. I really was riveted to see what would happen to the characters, but at the end of the movie I was left a little clueless. I felt like there was something missing, something that needed to tie the whole movie together....hence me saying there was no plot.

If I was to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, i'd would really give it around a 6. Its not bad, but I would have liked it have more of a substantial plot than what it had.

Since there was always a question as to how the Mayan civilization really did "vanish" and fall, I think this movie would have been better if Gibson had tried to answer that question. Setting the time period after the Spaniards had already arrived....i think that would have given it enough of a plot to make it go to a 10 or 11 on my scale! lol.

Mel Gibson, like Tom Cruise, is batshit crazy. Why do people pay money to keep assholes like this in business? No, really. I want to understand.

Because, Gibson can still make a great movie.
Tom Cruise can't.

I pay only for the good ones and Apocalypto is one of them. If anything happens to Mel it'll happen at the studio level, not the consumer.

I really enjoyed this movie.

The plot was kind of weak, but the character development really made up for it.

Yeah, it wasn't a "plot" movie. It was about the people and the action.

I think I would have liked it a little more if the actual drawing and stuff where correct. I noticed a lot of stuff that he mixed up with the Aztec and/or Inca (more Aztec). (I really like to learn about Aztec/Maya/Incas)

So, actually, I think we all now know that is not the central theme of this movie.
But, like you, I do believe that all forms of media are reflective of the person responsible for the movie, TV show, article, column, etc.
Which is why I don't patronize films or shows or music groups who use their fame to tell me what their politics are and why I should believe them.