[Macros]

i didnt know anything about card when I read it, I just didnt like the book remotely

[Abyss]

Card's idiocy aside, ages ago I read the original version of ENDER'S, which was only the Ender story without all the added pseudo-political crap with his siblings, and i liked it. I read the 'full' version years later and could have lived without the siblings, but still enjoyed the Ender story. While i can see how it put some readers off, i liked the 'big twist' at the end

SPOILER MAJOR BOOK SPOILER

Spoiler

that Ender's last few battles were him controling the human fleet, sent decades before and finally attacking the insect homeworld, while Ender thought he was fighting his coach.

.

It was perhaps predictable, but i thought Card executed it well for when he wrote it, ie: computer games have advanced way way beyond what he depicts in the story while gym class has not.

It looks like, to the extent that one can trust a trailer, the movie ejects that twist entirely in favor of a video game ending. Harrison Ford's voiceover in the trailer pretty much confirms it tho'. I am unimpressed.

[worry]

QuickTidal, on 15 May 2013 - 10:31 AM, said:

The funniest thing about that trailer, other than the bad acting, horrible script, and video game effects...is the fact that the Atlantic coastline has never been called anything remotely close to "rim"....that's a moniker specific to the Pacific.

Also, that Canadian actor (I can never recall his name) should be ashamed. LOL!

Haha, if you mean Graham Greene then yah...he must have one of the most eccentric IMDB pages of all time.

[Defiance]

I've been meaning to do this for years, but I've finally sat down and begun watching the special features for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Amazing doesn't even do it all justice. I've only gotten through the first of six discs - and this doesn't even count all of the extra material that isn't included in the "play all" function - and I can't wait to get started on the rest. The most amazing thing so far was watching the process of WETA workshop constructing prosthetics, swords, armor, and all other sorts of props. The amount of detail put into everything is incredible, and it plays just as large of a role in the success of the films as the writing and the acting, if not even more so. It's not that difficult to get props for a movie that is set in modern day, but when every single one of your props has to be hand crafted in order to make your fantasy world as believable as possible you have to go all the way with things otherwise the audience won't buy into the fiction you've created.

On the other hand, still haven't seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I'm tempted to rent it, although I've heard there's going to be an extended cut edition out near the end of the year. I might just wait for that.

[worry]

Yah, the special features are really as good as I've ever seen for any release. I still haven't listened to the commentaries, but everything else I've watched, some things multiple times. Particularly the three-part doc on Tolkien himself...it's a bit hagiographic, but that's to be expected, and otherwise it's just wonderful information. I'm actually not sure if that's part of the Play All option, so if it's not, I'd urge you to include it in your watch.

[QuickTidal]

sorrysort, on 16 May 2013 - 04:33 AM, said:

Yah, the special features are really as good as I've ever seen for any release. I still haven't listened to the commentaries, but everything else I've watched, some things multiple times. Particularly the three-part doc on Tolkien himself...it's a bit hagiographic, but that's to be expected, and otherwise it's just wonderful information. I'm actually not sure if that's part of the Play All option, so if it's not, I'd urge you to include it in your watch.

Indeed. The only other BluRay set that even comes CLOSE to being as comprehensive and entertaining as the LOTR: EE set is the STAR WARS SAGA set....and in a close third place is the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY...but yeah, there really isn't much out there in terms of special features I'll re-watch...but the stuff on the LOTR: EE is easily re-watchable.

And Defiance: Yes, the EE for THE HOBBIT: AUJ is going to apparently be out close to the release of the second film...and the EE cut of the film is apparently 25 minutes longer according to PJ. More of what I like? Yes!

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 16 May 2013 - 12:55 PM

[Defiance]

Saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the first time today. I'd heard quite a bit about the movie before viewing it, and it ended up being pretty much what I expected. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. My complaints:

1) Too much action. The action scenes just seemed to lead one to another with no real build up to them, which made it pretty much impossible for me to be invested in what was going on. The worst was the absolute trashing of realism. Falling down hundreds of feet on scaffolding and trees playing dominoes, only for one to hang out over a cliff with the weight of fourteen people on it? Riiiight. Sure, it's fantasy, and yes The Lord of the Rings did have its flourishes (Legolas using a shield as a skateboard, taking down an Olephant), but they didn't ruin my immersion like this did.
2) Too much CGI. Azog didn't feel menacing in the least, especially when you compare him to Lurtz (the Uruk-hai who kills Boromir). Why the hell did they stop using prosthetics for goblins/orcs? Perhaps Peter Jackson wanted a different look, but seriously the goblins didn't look anywhere near as good as the ones in The Lord of the Rings. They were frightening, they weren't evil, they were just CGI eyesores. What was really awful was the complete lack of blood and cuts. I know it's PG-13 and they want to keep the rating down, but the fact that their swords were always clean was really silly.
3) Poor humor. There were some good moments, such as when Bilbo is trying to save the dwarves and he suggests that they be skinned, but other things just made me roll my eyes and were sometimes cringe-worthy. Sure, Radagast is supposed to come off as an odd fellow, but I felt like they were trying to cater to kids. And the Goblin King's last line? Ridiculous. So much of it felt forced.
4) This is a disadvantage natural to the large cast, especially when all but two are the same race, but unlike The Lord of the Rings it's hard to get yourself invested in the characters. Balin, Gandalf, and Bilbo are the only real characters of the party, everyone else just feels like an accessory.

What I'd like to see in the next two movies:

1) Less CGI, more actors in prosthetics. It makes things much more believable.
2) Focus more on plot and build up the action more. I'm not going to give two shits about the retaking of Erebor if I've been watching action scene after action scene before that.
3) More Galadriel, more Sarumon, more Elrond.


Anyway, New Zealand is beautiful as always, the sets look great, and the acting was solid. Martin Freeman did a wonderful job as Bilbo. I'm not entirely sold on 48fps, though. It just looks unnatural. It might be something that takes some time to get acclimated to, so I'm willing to give it a chance.

Oddly enough, I thought the parts of the movie that weren't in the book (with the exception of Radagast) were the best. While the Necromancer was mentioned, The Hobbit book didn't focus on him, but right now I'm finding it to be the most interesting plot in the trilogy. I'm wondering if they'll resolve the dwarves retaking Erebor in the next and focus on the Necromancer in the third, or mix the two.

To be clear, I didn't hate the movie. It just had some flaws that I found to be very irritating. Some things can be smoothed out over the course of the next two movies, and I'm hoping that this will fit better when the next two are out.

EDIT: I'm sure one could make the argument that the goblins look less real, there's action sequence after action sequence, and a lot of the humor is pretty "meh" because The Hobbit is a children's book and this is a movie with children as a target audience. But that feels like bullshit to me. It plays down the intelligence of kids and adults both. First, this movie is PG-13. Not to say ratings stop children from seeing these movies, but if it was truly meant for kids they could have followed Star Wars and gone for a PG rating. Also, the Necromancer looks like he'll play a larger part in these movies - once again, extra plot (and much darker plot at that) that isn't quite children oriented. Things don't need to be dumbed down in order for children to enjoy them.

This post has been edited by Defiance: 20 May 2013 - 04:35 AM

[MTS]

The problem with those suggestions is that filming the movies the way Jackson has (i.e. shooting all three at once) is that there is little scope for changing things like CGI vs. prosthetics unless those problems were encountered during production.

[Defiance]

Yeah, I know. I did hear that they were still having people flown out to New Zealand to do some more shooting around the release of the first movie, although I'm sure this was largely just recording dialogue again and some more minor scenes overall.

It's just disappointing after listening to the special features of The Lord of the Rings trilogy where they talk about how Peter likes to do things with as much realism as possible and leaving CGI to just fill in the gaps of what wouldn't be possible with prosthetics.

[QuickTidal]

Saw THE GREAT GATSBY last night.

It was Baz Luhrman-arific. It's also his most restrained piece to date, more in line with AUSTRALIA than with MOULIN ROUGE.

The attention to the literary nature of Fiztgerald's story is nearly impeccably handled. The 3D is a revelation (no seriously, if you see this movie, do so in 3D). The acting is splendid throughout....Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire absolutely steal the show. They are both just wonderfully realized.

And the modern soundtrack REALLY works. We are talking about a music at the time (Jazz) that was so new and fresh it was scary to a lot of people...adding in modern day music (and in some cases 20's-ish style covers of modern music) was a stroke of absolute genius.

Great, great film from a really classic book.

[MTS]

Defiance, on 20 May 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

Yeah, I know. I did hear that they were still having people flown out to New Zealand to do some more shooting around the release of the first movie, although I'm sure this was largely just recording dialogue again and some more minor scenes overall.

It's just disappointing after listening to the special features of The Lord of the Rings trilogy where they talk about how Peter likes to do things with as much realism as possible and leaving CGI to just fill in the gaps of what wouldn't be possible with prosthetics.

Well I'm pretty sure New Line are virtually broke at this point and are putting all their hopes in the Hobbit trilogy to stave off bankruptcy. The extension of the movie to two then three was likely behind that decision, so I think the CGI issue may be New Line trying to limit the budget of the series, or maybe give it more mass market appeal (much easier to use CGI in 3D I imagine).

[QuickTidal]

MTS, on 20 May 2013 - 01:17 PM, said:

Defiance, on 20 May 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

Yeah, I know. I did hear that they were still having people flown out to New Zealand to do some more shooting around the release of the first movie, although I'm sure this was largely just recording dialogue again and some more minor scenes overall.

It's just disappointing after listening to the special features of The Lord of the Rings trilogy where they talk about how Peter likes to do things with as much realism as possible and leaving CGI to just fill in the gaps of what wouldn't be possible with prosthetics.

Well I'm pretty sure New Line are virtually broke at this point and are putting all their hopes in the Hobbit trilogy to stave off bankruptcy. The extension of the movie to two then three was likely behind that decision, so I think the CGI issue may be New Line trying to limit the budget of the series, or maybe give it more mass market appeal (much easier to use CGI in 3D I imagine).

Actually, no. New Line was acquired by Warner Brothers in 2008...it is now simply an imprint of WB. So they aren't concerned about anything like that.

And the WB are throwing oodles of money at this project.

It's actually the other way around. Prosthetic's and practical effects tend to have a lower cost point in comparison with paying an effects house for CGI work...for the LOTR trilogy, they were letting a relatively untested (at big budget stuff anyways) director play in a box blockbuster sandbox, and so they didn't give them all that much money for CGI.

In reverse, the WB have given PJ and Co. a much larger budget this time (from the outset) to do both practical effects and now CGI character effects for background characters like Orcs ect.

So rather the opposite.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 20 May 2013 - 03:26 PM

[Una]

QuickTidal, on 20 May 2013 - 12:31 PM, said:

Saw THE GREAT GATSBY last night.

It was Baz Luhrman-arific. It's also his most restrained piece to date, more in line with AUSTRALIA than with MOULIN ROUGE.

The attention to the literary nature of Fiztgerald's story is nearly impeccably handled. The 3D is a revelation (no seriously, if you see this movie, do so in 3D). The acting is splendid throughout....Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire absolutely steal the show. They are both just wonderfully realized.

And the modern soundtrack REALLY works. We are talking about a music at the time (Jazz) that was so new and fresh it was scary to a lot of people...adding in modern day music (and in some cases 20's-ish style covers of modern music) was a stroke of absolute genius.

Great, great film from a really classic book.

Agreed. I have a lot of friends who are hardcore jazz fans/dancers that are having conniptions over the musical choices and how hip hop does not belong in a Jazz Age movie. To be fair, if handled badly and without thought, it could have been very ugly, but the concept of using modern music gives a better sense of the atmosphere of the era, if not precisely the sound. Both jazz and hip hop have both had their day as "the devil's music", so the interchange is actually rather apt. I thought they blended the 2 styles very nicely. It's not like they didn't use period music either. I distinctly recall them using "Ain't Misbehavin" during the scene where Tom was clearly misbehaving and I think I heard snatches of "East St. Louis Toodle-Loo". Very classic, appropriate period jazz songs. "Rhapsody in Blue" was used to great effect in one of the party scenes. What more do you want? Most of the modern songs were rearranged in style just enough so that it wasn't jarring when they got mixed in. I thought they did a great job.

I could have done without them putting Tobey Maguire in the mental institution just so he could narrate the story. I thought that was cheesy, clumsy, and unnecessary, but you could gloss over those parts and not miss much, so it didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment. Leo and Carey Mulligan nailed their roles.

[worry]

Man, I cannot wait to see this:

[QuickTidal]

FAST & FURIOUS 6 was 100% adrenaline fueled heist movie excellence! Solid, solid stuff.

If you liked the 4th and 5th movies, you are Sure to like this one.

Oh and the cliffhanger epilogue...fuck me, it has an awesome reveal!

Oh, and ...

Spoiler

We finally know where TOKYO DRIFT fits into the overall story (it was always in the "future" from events in 1 & 2)...it turns out that it takes place between FAST & FURIOUS 6 and 7...as the epilogue scene in 6 takes place mid-TOKYO DRIFT...that Justin Lin was able to tie his first movie in the franchise (#3) into the epilogue of the 6th film and have it not only make sense,...but really WORK as a script point. Wow. Consider me fucking impressed! Oh and since you're reading this spoiler JASON STATHAM?!@?!?! WTF! Awesome, can't wait for 7

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 27 May 2013 - 03:05 AM

[Coco with marshmallows]

hangover 3 - if you've seen the trailers, you've seen the best bits.

raised a few smiles, but no laughs.

Epic - quite enjoyed this, saw it 2D, would be interested to know how the 3D was.

Fast & Furious 6 - unashamedly enjoyed it, really looking forward to the next one.

EDIT - Would marry Gina Carano in a heartbeat. I've said that for years now, but it still holds true.

This post has been edited by Cocoreturns: 27 May 2013 - 10:38 PM

[worry]

Maybe it's just my viewing habits, but Epic seems like it's getting a really soft advertising push despite a pretty deep cast of household names.

[McLovin]

For the hell of it, Netflix'd CABIN IN THE WOODS.

Really liked it. Wish I had seen it in the theaters when it came out.

[McLovin]

Took the family to see EPIC.

For all its earth- and family-friendly story, it seemed weirdly soulless. The characters were neither well written, well animated, nor well acted.

[Una]

So...conclusion: Go back and watch Ferngully: the Last Rainforest instead?