Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 22, 2022 6:51:02 GMT -8
Clash of the Titans (2010) A skinheaded and decidedly uncharismatic Sam Worthington plays Perseus, son of Zeus, in a remake of the 1981 film which featured Harry Hamlin as Perseus. Don't get me wrong. This is eminently watchable as a bit of fluff entertainment. But Ralph Fiennes as Hades is awful. Sam Worthington as Perseus is barely above the horizon line. And the entire crew of Argo-soldiers features little more than a bunch of grumbling complainers. I thought this was a noble venture? Still, the basic story (reshuffled) is there. And compared to the original, it's the same sort of camp. As one reviewer wrote, "endless CGI beasts and effects in one serviceable action sequence after another." The CGI is, of course, superior in the 2010 film over the 1981 version. But the CGI in this new one suffers from all the affectations and cliches that most CGI-centric films suffer from. Watch the scorpion sequence and I can guarantee you that you will not be on the edge of your seat as they try in CGI vain to swipe the claws at you in sudden and exaggerated movements. The campy way they do the movements is so unrealistic and juvenile that it more than offsets any technical improvements in the CGI since 1981. And for all the CGI, I think the Medusa sequence in the original was far superior just in regards to suspense and storytelling. Is Liam Neeson (2010) better than Laurence Olivier (1981) as Zeus? Well, I thought that Olivier was over-qualified for the original film. But neither part is crucial to the film. But without a doubt, the Olympian characters in the 1981 film were far superior. It's harmless fluff that goes by fast enough. But with all the improvements in CGI, it lacks any kind of charm that the 1981 film had, mechanical owl included.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 23, 2022 6:50:41 GMT -8
I'm halfway into Pacific Rim, a goofball, Godzilla-like movie. Monsters known as Kaiju begin coming through a rift in the ocean floor. Apparently they are coming from a different universe. They appear every so often and mankind has marshaled its resources and created the defense weapons known as Jaegers. Why "Jaegers"? Beats the hell out of me. Well, the monsters keep getting bigger and smarter and are soon kicking the Jaegers' asses. Something must be done. Why not explode a Russian-built mega-megaton nuclear bomb and seal off the rift? What could go wrong? I generally like Godzilla movies. They are dumb, campy, and don't pretend to be anything but that. What makes Pacific Rim amusing is that it appears they're trying to do a "serious" quality sci-fi film. But clearly you're dealing with the storytelling sophistication of nine-year-olds. It's just funny that anyone would write such goofball characters and story without their tongue being firmly planted in their cheek. I'll continue watching this if only to see if all the obviously telegraphed plot lines reach their obvious conclusions. I'm sure some 3-year-olds will be surprised by some of the outcomes but I doubt that I will be. One reviewer rates this movies as "A mindless must-see." I'm with the mindless part. We'll see about the must-see part. But I can see watching this with a group of friends just to mock it. This one reviewer sees the light: --- I did finish Pacific Rim. And if you don't take it too seriously (and I can't imagine how that is possible), it's a laughable good romp of CGI-tainment. But you know it's goofy and written by the emotional equivalent of 13-year-olds when you begin rooting for the monsters. The device of the "Jaegers" robots is that it takes a matched and psychologically compatible team of pilots to run them. They are synced in with the "neural" framework of the robot. It's too much for just one mind to handle (or else you get a nose bleed, for instance). So...imagine the Power Loader being used by Ripley in Aliens, but run by two people. Sounds good, but it makes for some of the best (unintentional) comic moments of the movie when they are sort of fighting-by-proxy. Very silly stuff. So...yeah...meshing two human brains (in a process that can do wrong, and does go wrong) is somehow easier to accomplish than just building a more automated machine. It's a device simply to have teams in this movie. And it's so goofball it's funny and entertaining at the same time.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 24, 2022 16:20:32 GMT -8
Speaking of Pacific Rim, I watched Godzilla vs. Kong the other day on HBO. You have to understand first that these types of movies are graded on a curve. And Godzilla movies have a very specific curve. Dumb? Events that seem improbable even by that universe's standards? Check and check. But, surprisingly, the acting wasn't all that bad. Alexander Skarsgård (Eric, from True Blood) plays the benevolent corporate connection. He's wooden in his role but harmless. Eiza González plays the beautiful, bitch-faced daughter of the lead bad guy (head of Apex Corporation), played credibly (if predictably) by Demián Bichir. In a nod to previous Godzilla movies, there is a child who can talk to one of the monsters (in this case, Kong). In fact, most of the major points of a good Godzilla movie are checked off. This is not meant to be a serious film. This is a Godzilla movie. And it makes no pretense of trying to dress it up as something more, as a couple of the previous big-budget movies have done. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the corn. And, actually, the personality/actions they give to Kong flesh him out pretty well for a monster movie. Now, if anyone can figure out why their battles always take place downtown in some major city rather than out in a field, you'll be a master of this genre.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 24, 2022 17:02:10 GMT -8
Yes. Godzilla has been known to draw power from the power lines.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 24, 2022 19:36:12 GMT -8
Yep. That's gotta be it.
They do a good job of the CGI on Godzilla and Kong. You don't see any folds or bends in the rubber suit which was typical (and cinematically charming) in many of the old ones.
The setup of the movie is actually pretty good (and from there, well, you just have to go with the plot and not think too much about it...in fact, don't think at all about it). Kong is in a glorified cage on Skull island. He is in isolation. The world is not big enough for two alpha Titans.
Right now, Godzilla is not causing any problems and hasn't for years. And the suggestion is that he has become a friend of humanity, although I don't know if this is backstory from a previous movie or just backstory. But if they were to let Kong out, Godzilla would (ironically) go ape-shit.
Someone convinces whoever is in charge of Kong that they can use him to find the power source which is in the underground domain of earth...from which these Titans spring. If they find this power, they can use it for the benefit of mankind and even have protection against Godzilla and other monsters if need be.
Of course, the evil head of Apex Corporation wants that power source for his own nefarious purposes. And this cluster of competing interests is set into motion.
I'm not sure if I've seen the 2016 film, Kong: Skull Island or the 2019 film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. I guess I'd better catch up.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 25, 2022 10:14:07 GMT -8
Part of the fun is the bad production values. And I do like that one with Perry Mason. I watched the 2014 Godzilla movie with Bryan Cranston last night (with ample fast-forward past the 'human interest' scenes). It's really a pretty awful movie. This is one of the better examples of the human actors being at their worst. I don't think anyone in the audience cared about Cranston's son or daughter in this. They were a constant annoyance. You just wanted to get back to the action. Please please, Godzilla. Kill them off. That sort of things. This one had way too much talking in it. A certain amount of amateur-hour is part and parcel of Godzilla movies. But the 2014 version had too much of the wrong kind. Even as kitsch we couldn't get anything out of that stupid family, especially the soldier-son. And they had so many ridiculous military "hut hut hut" scenes that it became comical. But...if you watch this with a fellow Godzilla enthusiast, it would make for good Mystery Science Theatre 3000 material.
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