wdm0744
Boomstick Coordinator
"It's all in the reflexes."
Posts: 171
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Post by wdm0744 on Dec 31, 2008 12:24:34 GMT -5
Hey Drew,
Thanks for posting that blog about "The Rocketeer" graphic novel. That was very cool and informative.
I'm disappointed that the movie didn't do well and that we didn't get a franchise out of it, but as a one-shot film, it is nearly perfect.
I never had any Rocketeer toys (since I guess Disney never made any), but I did have a Rocketeer lunch box in third grade and I seem to remember playing an NES game based on the film.
Man, I love that movie.
In fact, I'm inspired to watch it again tomorrow and write a review. I own the dvd, but unfortunately, it's a bare-bones deal and isn't even "enhanced for widescreen tv's". Who do I need to kill to get a proper dvd or (please God) blu-ray set?
Oh, and thanks to you and Heather. My wife and I watched "Knocked Up" a couple of days ago and throughly enjoyed it.
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Post by agustinaldo on Jan 3, 2009 5:51:56 GMT -5
Let's see...
- "Because I Say So":
given that the director is Michael Lehman, I expected a disaster. Lehman's movies are not just bad, they are EVIL. Thankfully, this may very well be his only good movie.
-"The Crow: City of Angels" and "The Crow: Salvation":
once you get past the pint that the original movie had perfect closure and that making sequels would disrespect the memory of Brandon Lee, the sequels are pretty good.
-"Meet Dave":
having heard nothing but negatives comments, I expected this one to suck big. Thankfully, it didn't turn out to be that bad, and is actually pretty funny. It even had Jimmy from "Yes, Dear" more or less reprising his role.
-"Evan Almighty":
given the track record that sequels/prequels of Jim Carrey movies that don't feature Jim Carrey, I expected this to be terrible. Thankfully, it didn't turn out to be that bad.
-"Underdog":
when I first heard about the movie, my reaction was "A live action Underdog movie? WTF? Are Underdog and Sweet Polly gonna be CGI, like in the Rocky & Bullwinkle and Alvin & the Chipmunks movies?".
But then, they somehow found a way to make it work. Though Underdog's owner was derivative of Ssam Whitwicky, and the owner's girlfriend was derivative of Mary-Jane Watson.
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Post by Lonestarr on Jan 3, 2009 9:29:20 GMT -5
Let's see... - "Because I Say So" given that the director is Michael Lehman, I expected a disaster. Lehman's movies are not just bad, they are EVIL. Thankfully, this may very well be his only good movie. The only evil Michael Lehmann movie is 40 Days and 40 Nights. Never let anyone tell you different. Hudson Hawk is a potential classic and who doesn't like Heathers? I very seldom watch movies expecting them to suck, but what about movies where you don't expect anything and end up pleasantly surprised? Bolt definitely fits this category and you owe it to yourselves to see it if you haven't already. |
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Buttercup
Boomstick Coordinator
Don't you think we should dance while we can?
Posts: 172
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Post by Buttercup on Jan 6, 2009 17:10:55 GMT -5
The Crow: Wicked Prayer. I thought it'd blow mostly because so many people said it did (and because #3 did, in fact, blow). Same goes for Queen Of The Damned. Heh. Apparently I do not run with the herd. Me Lone Cow. In purple and black satin.
I also had some reservations about Jackson's King Kong. It's not as good as the original, but still is very appreciable.
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dex
Ghostbuster
So what colour is the sky in your world?
Posts: 343
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Post by dex on Jan 13, 2009 13:55:31 GMT -5
Okay, nobody seems to care about this, but anyhoo. Concerning the “Me so pulpy”-attack, Huckle. Wow, you must hate Quentin Tarantino with a fiery passion.  How can you do pulp today without calling attention to it? Is it pulp if you tone it down? Or should you avoid pulp these days – it's been done? If it's pulp for pulp's sake only and nothing but pulp, indeed we can do without it. (The same with any style.) In this regard, Tarantino is a good example where I find it difficult to see past the in-your-face stylism. But not so with Sky Captain. In my Reader Review I tried to show it has something to offer beyond that. Where you are offended, I see a gleeful childishness that seems quite compatible with wdm's (Or is it WD40? I really don't get this.) “spirit of genuine and unironic optimism”. Addressing your other qualms: A better hero. How, “better”? Some people might have expected a superhero, but I doubt you did. Stronger? A character twice as strong – or extroverted – is not twice as interesting. A better love interest. That presupposes a love story belongs in the script. I find it refreshing the way Sky Captain replaces it with a not terribly unenlightened mode of cooperation between the sexes. I am not sure how representative that is of this era; movies in the following decades certainly suffered from a lack of it. A better story. You got me there. I mean, you got Sky Captain there! A great story can never hurt, if you manage to tell it. But there are enough movies where the story don't matter none. A more believable setting. Okay, you lost me. Believable? There is a Dilbert cartoon where the publisher tells the would-be author: “I like your manuscript, but can you eliminate the crime and make the protagonist a purple dinosaur?” Well. The book is a detective story. Judge a movie by it's own intentions, I say. |
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Post by BlackCatWhiteCat on Jan 13, 2009 15:32:47 GMT -5
with wdm's (Or is it WD40? I really don't get this.) I started calling him WD40 a while back because I am lazy and didn't like trying to remember and type out wdm0744. In the same fashion that others hacked off my goofy username into cool nicknames I took his radio station call number (his own words or something like it) and turned him into a mechanical lube. All in good fun, all in good fun. Too bad Huckle and I couldn't get hellioseclipsed to let us call him "Lips". |
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wdm0744
Boomstick Coordinator
"It's all in the reflexes."
Posts: 171
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Post by wdm0744 on Jan 13, 2009 16:09:24 GMT -5
I'll answer to anything, dex.
In retrospect, I would have chosen a different screen name since this one is so ungainly, but, oh well. I'm not very original when it comes to stuff like that and when I try to be, it pretty much blows up in my face.
For instance, when I signed up to play online on my PS3, I made my gamertag:
cturedshirt
That is supposed to read, "CTU Redshirt". As in, CTU ("24"'s Counter Terrorism Unit), and red shirt (the color shirts worn by the security guards at CTU who are always the first to die on the show, much as guys in red shirts on "Star Trek" face the same fate).
I thought this would be clever and self depricating, but, I've gotten the following reactions:
1. What school do you play for? (As in "redshirt freshman")
2. Why is your user name "cultured sh**"?
Anyway, concerning "Sky Captain", you given it such an impassioned defense here and in your review, that I feel compelled to give it another shot.
I saw it in the theater, and, while I didn't hate it, I wasn't really impressed. But, you've convinced me to give it another try.
Though, I do see where Kaleb is coming from when he says that "The Rocketeer" has a better setting, is better written, and has a better love interest.
I had trouble relating to the story in Sky Captain because of its largely fictional world. When watching "The Rocketeer", you feel rooted in the nostalgia of an exaggerated past. It feels much more real, even if it is dealing with a guy in a jet pack.
The dialogue, while pulpy, is better written overall than that in "Sky Captain" (as best as I can recall), and the story in Sky Captain was boring and perfunctory (to me, at least). The whole narrative seemed like an excuse to show lots of pretty pictures and 'spolsions.
As for the love interest - if you've read my review of "The Rocketeer", then you know how I feel about Jennifer Connelly in that movie.
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dex
Ghostbuster
So what colour is the sky in your world?
Posts: 343
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Post by dex on Jan 13, 2009 17:50:52 GMT -5
I started calling him WD40 a while back because I am lazy and didn't like trying to remember and type out wdm0744. In the same fashion that others hacked off my goofy username into cool nicknames I took his radio station call number (his own words or something like it) Ah! That's what it is. Ha, I thought of the same thing. It was too funny the way he squirmed. Btw., anybody ever tried calling Kaleb “Bub”? (I wouldn't dare.) I'm glad I chose a spoof-free name. Unless somebody finds a backronym... |
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dex
Ghostbuster
So what colour is the sky in your world?
Posts: 343
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Post by dex on Jan 13, 2009 18:34:45 GMT -5
In retrospect, I would have chosen a different screen name since this one is so ungainly, but, oh well. I'm not very original when it comes to stuff like that and when I try to be, it pretty much blows up in my face. A radio call sign is pretty cool, Whiskey Delta Mike. No argument here. Without having seen The Rocketeer yet, I believe you and Kaleb when you say it is superior in some aspects. In other aspects, Sky Captain seems to be merely different; partly it was supposed to be different. Therefore, if your goal is to have fun with the movie, a point-by-point comparison is the wrong approach. While watching Sky Captain, forget The Rocketeer. If you then feel, meh, it didn't have enough going for it, that's ok. It's a matter of taste (and circumstance). But I hope you have fun. Yes, sounds great; you probably haven't seen my answer to your review yet. In this department – as I wrote above – I feel Sky Captain took an interesting, though certainly less spectacular, road. |
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Post by BlackCatWhiteCat on Jan 13, 2009 19:42:21 GMT -5
Ha, I thought of the same thing. It was too funny the way he squirmed. Btw., anybody ever tried calling Kaleb “Bub”? (I wouldn't dare.) He did totally squirm, didn't he? That was indeed funny. Haven't seen him around lately...hmm. I've never thought about calling Kaleb "Bub", as I've always been fond of "Huckle". I'm notoriously bad at coming up with usernames. If you don't think it gets much more lame than BlackCatWhiteCat, then consider this: my first forum name on here was "rorithecultfiend". Yes I am THAT lazy and uncreative with usernames. I can be accepted on the MRFH writing staff but I can't even create a decent username. For a while people were calling me BC/WC, so at one point OoogieBoogieMan started calling me Bacca Wacca (a vague AC/DC reference). That just had the sweet scent of awesome all over it, so I decided to keep my terrible name. Now that I have the MRFH bio to worry about I can't really change my username again, even if I wanted to. Oh yeah?  |
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dex
Ghostbuster
So what colour is the sky in your world?
Posts: 343
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Post by dex on Jan 13, 2009 20:12:33 GMT -5
I'm notoriously bad at coming up with usernames. If you don't think it gets much more lame than BlackCatWhiteCat, Yeah, well, funny you should mention this right now... Anyway, I won't throw the first stone. Rori. Rori... wasn't that the name of the award for the most unnecessary use of the word f**k in a serious screenplay? You know, in the Hitchhiker? If so, awesome reference to movies! Hmm, close, but no cigar. However, a google image search for dexatrim yields (also mind the cool domain name!): www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/images/Christie.Brinkley.Supermode.jpgCould be worse, Hepcat. |
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Post by BlackCatWhiteCat on Jan 13, 2009 20:36:50 GMT -5
I'm notoriously bad at coming up with usernames. If you don't think it gets much more lame than BlackCatWhiteCat, Yeah, well, funny you should mention this right now... Anyway, I won't throw the first stone. Okay, I'll bite. Why is it funny that I mention it "right now"? It's sassy, it's brassy, it's a real humdinger! I'm not entirely sure how to feel about that picture. I mean, what is that thing by her butt? And it looks like her top was just sort of pasted on with glue. There's nothing in there! |
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dex
Ghostbuster
So what colour is the sky in your world?
Posts: 343
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Post by dex on Jan 13, 2009 20:59:57 GMT -5
Okay, I'll bite. Why is it funny that I mention it "right now"? Oh, never mind, it has nothing to do with you. Pffft, civilians always believe a flying saucer has to look like, you know, a saucer. Not So! No? I thought she kept some tissue paper in there. To soak up the excess testosterone. Okay, this stops now. I officially claim temporary insanity caused by toxic oven cleaner fumes.Actually, flying saucy-- Open the windows!!! |
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Post by penguinslovedw on Jan 20, 2009 1:07:36 GMT -5
There's a really lovely BBC mini-series called "North and South" with Daniela Danby-Ashe and Richard Armitage (You might recognize Ricahrd Armitage if you've seen the new adaptation of Robin Hood on TV. He's the deliciously evil Sheriff of Nottingham). When I first read the basic description of it somewhere, it sounded like a rip-off of Pride and Prejudice. I couldn't have been more wrong. It's insanely good, well-written, well-acted, and one can only call the music "enchanting". Granted the plot is basically the same as P&P. Two people meet, seperated by economic circumstances. There are annoying relatives on one side, (his this time). They meet and there is passion and angst. Tempers flare and they argue while feeling angsty. He asks her to marry him, she rejects him and he is full of angst. She realizes she does loves him and she is filled with angst. They both think the other person hates them, and this causes them much angst. Over time, they learn to understand each other and develop a deep and abiding respect. The second time around instead of him asking her, they both agree to the marriage as equals because they love each other and are probably sick of angst. I'm sorry I cannot deliver pulp and fleshy women and spaceships the look like people's butts (I might've read that part of the post wrong). I regret I have but depressed British persons to give to this website. |
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Post by StarOpal on Jan 20, 2009 10:58:09 GMT -5
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"If I'm going to be desensitized into a mindless stock animal, I may as well do it with a cushy ergonomic seat and magnificent THX-certified sound. -Kevin Murphy
