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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 10/03/2005 : 10:55:09 PM
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The Blob remake (1988). They had a chance to take a silly '50s B flick, fix the flaws, pump it up with (then) cutting edge special FX, and really knock our socks off. Instead... well, they pumped up the special FX, but they ruined just about everything that worked in the Steve McQueen original and almost all the "new" story elements were either completely wrongheaded or else were generated by the dreaded Hollywood Script-O-Matic (an evil U.S. government conspiracy, the crazed/evil clergyman, etc.).
Shocking to realize that Frank Darabont was one of the writers on this flick, though it's a safe guess that very little of his writing actually made it to the screen.
Let's the hope the current Blob remake finally gets it right. |
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deleted
339 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2005 : 11:36:07 AM
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Originally posted by John Nowak
And just to add insult to injury, all the clever visuals from Bram Stoker's Dracula were swiped from White Zombie.
Not all of them-- at least one was stolen from Vampyr. |
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John Nowak
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1017 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2005 : 08:09:11 AM
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Originally posted by Brandi
Not all of them-- at least one was stolen from Vampyr.
Nits -- I missed that, and I'm sure I've seen Vampyr -- which one was it? The detaching shadow?
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We've always been united in stupidity. That's why there is no hope. But, then again, when has that ever stopped us?
-- hbrennan |
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R. Dittmar
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
420 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2005 : 9:04:56 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by zombiewhacker
The Blob remake (1988). They had a chance to take a silly '50s B flick, fix the flaws, pump it up with (then) cutting edge special FX, and really knock our socks off. Instead... well, they pumped up the special FX, but they ruined just about everything that worked in the Steve McQueen original and almost all the "new" story elements were either completely wrongheaded or else were generated by the dreaded Hollywood Script-O-Matic (an evil U.S. government conspiracy, the crazed/evil clergyman, etc.).
ZW,
I must concur on this film as well. I think it has some good points and is worth watching, but they badly mangled the original story. You’ve already mentioned the annoying stereotypical evil government and clergyman subplots. The cynicism runs even further however. How about the heartless medical staff in the remake compared with the ill fated but kindly doctor and nurse in the original? How about the crusty law officers of the original willing to listen to trouble-making teens vs. the psychopathic deputy trying to pin a crime on the Matt Dillon character despite the complete impossibility of his involvement? Even the semi-admirable sheriff ends up biting it so early that his role seems pathetic. And why in the world would they turn the squeaky clean Steve McQueen role into a character hideously killed in the first half-hour and replace him by some pot-smoking deadbeat? And have I mentioned the horrific death of a child? Even the FX are not stellar consisting as they do of some bad blue screens and rigid models that don’t even come close to capturing the disturbing fluidity of the original blob. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2005 : 01:12:51 AM
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Originally posted by R. Dittmar
Even the semi-admirable sheriff ends up biting it so early that his role seems pathetic.
Agreed, though I must concede that the sheriff's demise came as a big surprise, since naturally you'd expect a character like that to survive at least until the last reel (think Tom Skerritt in Alien). Also, that telephone booth scene in question was, in my book, the best scene in the whole movie.
Keep that scene, then rewrite the rest of the movie from scratch. |
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Desslar
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2005 : 12:34:20 AM
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War of the worlds (2005)
Its pretty crappy when a movie about an alien invasion takes a back seat to a dysfunctional family and thier problems.
Nah, I liked the personal touch.
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I have a feeling Minority Report may end up going down as a botched job. Everything about it was well done, but it left me cold. I didn't buy its "pre-crime" scenario, it lost its nerve at the end, the unveiling of the real villain was something we'd all seen before.... Overall, [b]A.I.[/b[ was much better; at least it had the courage to follow through to its logical conclusion (which was pretty dark when you think about it).
But is that really how the movie ends? The plot hints that the last 20 minutes or so may be a dream sequence, and thus it is a dark ending.
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MARS ATTACKS! -- If you went into this without knowing anything about the source (a series of Topps cards), it might have been fun, I guess, but if you were a fan of the cards, this movie was a colossal disappointment!
Er, did the trading cards have some detailed mythology that went unexplored?
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In this, Verhoeven shows himself to be yet another dolt in the tiresome parade of Euro-whiners who mock the very things that make their lives, choices and "art" possible.
Alert! Possible conservative on the premises.
As for Troy, I enjoyed it well enough. Paris was a bit disappointing and the ending a little rushed, but otherwise no real complaints. Wait, the score could have been better.
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