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Movies that I'd like to see...
Movies that I'd like to see...
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The Day The Earth Stood Still remake script review
(Thu 04/10/2008 07:48am)
I read this on AICN the other days and was just livid. The original is a classic, and for me the movie is perfect. I never tire of watching it and enjoy it as much now as I did when I first saw it as a kid. I'm not opposed to remakes, even remakes of beloved movies, but after reading this posting below I don't think I'm going to want to see this one. I actually thought Keanu was a good choice for Mr. Carpenter because he can be aloof (even though I don't think it's always intentional), and I love Jennifer Connolly's acting chops. Read on, if you dare... The story starts out with a promising beginning. Astronauts aboard the space shuttle discover a glassy sphere, which they recover through their bay doors. No sooner as they do, the sphere (as if it has a will of its own) lets itself out, joining thousands of other spheres that head towards the surface of the Earth. That's only the first two pages. Now it gets worse. Scientist Dr. Helen Benson (portrayed by Jennifer Connolly) has a whiny son, Jacob. He's not as interesting as Bobby Benson in the original, and I'm real tired of the dysfunctional family theme. Jacob plays too many "violent" video games, Helen scolds him for it. She might as well put a dress on this kid and get it over with. Yet, they live in a violent world - we discover that Jacob's father was killed in Iraq. An enormous energy sphere shows up in New York, and good ol' Klaatu makes his appearance. The entire army and air force are ready to stomp his ass if he gets out of line. Of course he gets shot, and we do get a robot to come out of the ship. But its nothing like "Gort" - nor is it as fierce as "Gort." Its called the "Totem". It walks around on all fours, does its destructo-ray stuff, and stands upright like a totem pole when its finished. Oooooh, I'm soooooo scared. Cut to the chase. Klaatu enters the hospital. He escapes in a military uniform. There is no allusion to the "Major Carpenter" or "Carpenter" name, which is the subtext in the original film (Klaatu was a metaphor for Christ). Klaatu befriends Helen and Jacob, enlisting their aid to meet with a "Mr. Wu" who is from Klaatu's home planet. Wu who has been monitoring Earth's behavior for eighty years - at a McDonald's of all places. Okay, logic problem here. If Klaatu is sent from his planet to destroy the Earth, why do we need Mr. Wu to tell us that it needs obliterating if he's already here? What? He couldn't do the job himself? How did he get here in the first place? Where's his space ship? Why wait eighty years? Why would Klaatu have to travel a hundred million light years for Mr. Wu to tell him that - when Klaatu is already doing the job he's sent on (coming from his home planet to destroy our world)? Turns out that...because of Global Warming (and the destruction of our own planet with industrial waste and pollution)....the other galaxies deemed that we are not fit to survive. The glass spheres they sent down were to collect land and sea animal specimens to take back to their planet for study. Visions ran through my head when I was reading this script: episodes of the sixties versions of "Ultraman" or "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot." Maybe "Prince of Space: Part II" with Klaatu as "Krang-Kor." "Ha...ha...ha..." And no, the immortal words, "Klaatu Barada Nicto" are never uttered. Ever. Needless-to-say, Earth goes through a violent energy field released through Klaatu's ship (wait a minute - wasn't Gort supposed to be the ultimate bad ass in this story?). But Earth survives, with Klaatu giving we humans a second chance as he dies - telling us that we must change our ways in order to survive, in a delivery that would rival Steven Segal's speech at the end of "On Deadly Ground." Maybe the title song from "Godzilla Vs. the Smog Monster" would be more appropriate. And you can bet they'll be no Theramin music either. Maybe a few tunes by Dogstar, though. Gone are the interaction between Bobby and Klaatu at the Lincoln Memorial, the Arlington Cemetery, and the visit to the space ship. Gone is the scene with Bobby discovering Gort taking out the two guards - and finding out that Carpenter is an alien. Gone is the Hugh Marlowe character. Professor Barnhardt is in it, but his role his limited. Plus, he gets killed. Why? He was the voice of reason. This makes no sense. Yes, there is a scene where everything in the world stops for an hour and chaos erupts, but it was done in the original much better...and with style. There are so many books out there just begging to be made into films, why does Fox have to remake a classic? Why not film Joe Haldeman's,"Forever Wars"? Or "Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination"? Or Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous With Rama"? Or "Childhood's End"? Or the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson? Or quit stalling Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" as a movie? I have no hopes for this as a film. It can't hold a candle to the timeless original. Call it something else, but don't call it "Day the Earth Stood Still." ...Ok. No Gort? Gort was awesome, and would still be awesome today. Mr. Wu? Stupid. Why couldn't they just update the original script a little (even though I would have made the movie with a real 50's feel to it)? This movie is going to suck harder than a vacuum tube at the bank drive thru. It's probably my fault, because I'm the guy who doesn't mind remakes. What do you think?
(Thu 04/10/2008 07:48am)
I read this on AICN the other days and was just livid. The original is a classic, and for me the movie is perfect. I never tire of watching it and enjoy it as much now as I did when I first saw it as a kid. I'm not opposed to remakes, even remakes of beloved movies, but after reading this posting below I don't think I'm going to want to see this one. I actually thought Keanu was a good choice for Mr. Carpenter because he can be aloof (even though I don't think it's always intentional), and I love Jennifer Connolly's acting chops. Read on, if you dare... The story starts out with a promising beginning. Astronauts aboard the space shuttle discover a glassy sphere, which they recover through their bay doors. No sooner as they do, the sphere (as if it has a will of its own) lets itself out, joining thousands of other spheres that head towards the surface of the Earth. That's only the first two pages. Now it gets worse. Scientist Dr. Helen Benson (portrayed by Jennifer Connolly) has a whiny son, Jacob. He's not as interesting as Bobby Benson in the original, and I'm real tired of the dysfunctional family theme. Jacob plays too many "violent" video games, Helen scolds him for it. She might as well put a dress on this kid and get it over with. Yet, they live in a violent world - we discover that Jacob's father was killed in Iraq. An enormous energy sphere shows up in New York, and good ol' Klaatu makes his appearance. The entire army and air force are ready to stomp his ass if he gets out of line. Of course he gets shot, and we do get a robot to come out of the ship. But its nothing like "Gort" - nor is it as fierce as "Gort." Its called the "Totem". It walks around on all fours, does its destructo-ray stuff, and stands upright like a totem pole when its finished. Oooooh, I'm soooooo scared. Cut to the chase. Klaatu enters the hospital. He escapes in a military uniform. There is no allusion to the "Major Carpenter" or "Carpenter" name, which is the subtext in the original film (Klaatu was a metaphor for Christ). Klaatu befriends Helen and Jacob, enlisting their aid to meet with a "Mr. Wu" who is from Klaatu's home planet. Wu who has been monitoring Earth's behavior for eighty years - at a McDonald's of all places. Okay, logic problem here. If Klaatu is sent from his planet to destroy the Earth, why do we need Mr. Wu to tell us that it needs obliterating if he's already here? What? He couldn't do the job himself? How did he get here in the first place? Where's his space ship? Why wait eighty years? Why would Klaatu have to travel a hundred million light years for Mr. Wu to tell him that - when Klaatu is already doing the job he's sent on (coming from his home planet to destroy our world)? Turns out that...because of Global Warming (and the destruction of our own planet with industrial waste and pollution)....the other galaxies deemed that we are not fit to survive. The glass spheres they sent down were to collect land and sea animal specimens to take back to their planet for study. Visions ran through my head when I was reading this script: episodes of the sixties versions of "Ultraman" or "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot." Maybe "Prince of Space: Part II" with Klaatu as "Krang-Kor." "Ha...ha...ha..." And no, the immortal words, "Klaatu Barada Nicto" are never uttered. Ever. Needless-to-say, Earth goes through a violent energy field released through Klaatu's ship (wait a minute - wasn't Gort supposed to be the ultimate bad ass in this story?). But Earth survives, with Klaatu giving we humans a second chance as he dies - telling us that we must change our ways in order to survive, in a delivery that would rival Steven Segal's speech at the end of "On Deadly Ground." Maybe the title song from "Godzilla Vs. the Smog Monster" would be more appropriate. And you can bet they'll be no Theramin music either. Maybe a few tunes by Dogstar, though. Gone are the interaction between Bobby and Klaatu at the Lincoln Memorial, the Arlington Cemetery, and the visit to the space ship. Gone is the scene with Bobby discovering Gort taking out the two guards - and finding out that Carpenter is an alien. Gone is the Hugh Marlowe character. Professor Barnhardt is in it, but his role his limited. Plus, he gets killed. Why? He was the voice of reason. This makes no sense. Yes, there is a scene where everything in the world stops for an hour and chaos erupts, but it was done in the original much better...and with style. There are so many books out there just begging to be made into films, why does Fox have to remake a classic? Why not film Joe Haldeman's,"Forever Wars"? Or "Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination"? Or Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous With Rama"? Or "Childhood's End"? Or the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson? Or quit stalling Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" as a movie? I have no hopes for this as a film. It can't hold a candle to the timeless original. Call it something else, but don't call it "Day the Earth Stood Still." ...Ok. No Gort? Gort was awesome, and would still be awesome today. Mr. Wu? Stupid. Why couldn't they just update the original script a little (even though I would have made the movie with a real 50's feel to it)? This movie is going to suck harder than a vacuum tube at the bank drive thru. It's probably my fault, because I'm the guy who doesn't mind remakes. What do you think?
Justice League: The New Frontier
(Tue 02/26/2008 06:54pm)
Justice League The New Frontier isn't perfect. On the cover to the DVD, Superman's costume has a red and yellow shield instead of the red and black shield he wears in the movie. Other than that...two thumbs up...10 out of 10...five stars. Whatever. I'm a huge fan of Bruce Timm's work with the DC lineup of heroes. I own all of the Batman, Superman and Justice League collections. I enjoy watching them. When I can find them that is. My girlfriend's kids always have them and have grown to love the characters through watching the DVDs. When DC announced that Darwin Cooke's limited series was getting made into a 70 minute movie, I admit that I was skeptical. I didn't think 70 minutes was enough to do justice to Cooke's story, and I was so used to Timm's version of the Justice League that I didn't think I could like any other version. I was wrong. The animation on the movie is absolutely perfect for the story. And the voices...I was blown away. Who would have thought Klye Maclachlan's voice would be perfect for Superman? And Jeremy Sisto's Batman was dead on. Kevin Conroy's voice will always be associated with animated Batman, but Sisto made the part his own. Every voice was spot on and Andrea Romano deserves a huge pat on the back for her work in assembling the cast. Although the original story was cut to fit the time constraints of the movie, it wasn't cut with a butcher knife. It was trimmed with razor sharp surgical steel, because the story is intact in every way that matters. Berkowitz did a terrific job of adapting Cooke's masterpiece. I liked that Batman and Superman, while extremely important to the storyline, weren't the focus of the story. Either was Wonder Woman. This story belongs to Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and a to a lesser extent, Flash. I hope the writer and director of the live action Justice League movie take good notes, because this would have made a hell of a live action movie. DC should make this a prime time series and run it side by side with Heroes on Monday nights. They'd have a hit with a wide spectrum of audiences. This is an absolute must see and own. I'll probably have to buy another copy, because as soon as they watch it I'll never get it back from the kids!
(Tue 02/26/2008 06:54pm)
Justice League The New Frontier isn't perfect. On the cover to the DVD, Superman's costume has a red and yellow shield instead of the red and black shield he wears in the movie. Other than that...two thumbs up...10 out of 10...five stars. Whatever. I'm a huge fan of Bruce Timm's work with the DC lineup of heroes. I own all of the Batman, Superman and Justice League collections. I enjoy watching them. When I can find them that is. My girlfriend's kids always have them and have grown to love the characters through watching the DVDs. When DC announced that Darwin Cooke's limited series was getting made into a 70 minute movie, I admit that I was skeptical. I didn't think 70 minutes was enough to do justice to Cooke's story, and I was so used to Timm's version of the Justice League that I didn't think I could like any other version. I was wrong. The animation on the movie is absolutely perfect for the story. And the voices...I was blown away. Who would have thought Klye Maclachlan's voice would be perfect for Superman? And Jeremy Sisto's Batman was dead on. Kevin Conroy's voice will always be associated with animated Batman, but Sisto made the part his own. Every voice was spot on and Andrea Romano deserves a huge pat on the back for her work in assembling the cast. Although the original story was cut to fit the time constraints of the movie, it wasn't cut with a butcher knife. It was trimmed with razor sharp surgical steel, because the story is intact in every way that matters. Berkowitz did a terrific job of adapting Cooke's masterpiece. I liked that Batman and Superman, while extremely important to the storyline, weren't the focus of the story. Either was Wonder Woman. This story belongs to Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and a to a lesser extent, Flash. I hope the writer and director of the live action Justice League movie take good notes, because this would have made a hell of a live action movie. DC should make this a prime time series and run it side by side with Heroes on Monday nights. They'd have a hit with a wide spectrum of audiences. This is an absolute must see and own. I'll probably have to buy another copy, because as soon as they watch it I'll never get it back from the kids!
Spider-Man 4
(Wed 10/17/2007 09:14am)
Here's what I'd like to see in Spider-Man 4...Dr. Conners, through experimentation to regrow his arm, becomes the Lizard and terrorizes the city. To boost newspaper sales and the Bugle's image, J.J. hires the world's most renowned hunter, Kraven, to track down and capture the beast. In the meantime, Peter finds out that Conners is the Lizard and begins a hunt of his own. Gwen Stacey, who has become something of a celebrity in the city, is now a local TV reporter and assigned the Kraven hunt story. Spider-Man and Kraven find the Lizard at the same time and a three-way battle ensues with Peter trying to stop the Lizard from doing any more damage, and Kraven from killing the Lizard. Gwen and her camera crew arrive on scene to cover the story. During the battle, Peter saves the Lizard, who changes back into Dr. Conners, and embarrasses the proud and egotistical Kraven on TV. Kraven becomes obsessed with Spider-Man and slowly goes off the deep end. Seeing dollar signs at the possibility Spiderman's unmasking, J.J. hires Kraven again, this time to capture Spider-Man. Kraven gets a battle suit from an unknown source to amp up his already formidable physical abilites, giving him the power to go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. During this time, Gwen and Peter run into each other a lot covering the same stories and get close, causing a rift between Peter and Mary Jane. There's also jealousy on MJ's part, because as her star seems to be setting, Gwen's is rising. Kraven eventually discovers Peter is Spider-Man and uses Gwen as bait to lure Peter into a trap. During the battle between the two, Gwen falls. Peter tries to save her and...snap...broken neck and Gwen dies. Peter brings down Kraven, almost killing him, when Mary Jane shows up to save Peter's soul and Kraven's life by talking Peter down. "Peter, remember Uncle Ben! With great power..." A tired and guilt-ridden Peter drops Kraven to the ground and walks over to Mary Jane's waiting arms "Comes great responsibility." The movie ends with a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness watching Peter and Mary Jane walk away. We hear a hauntingly familiar goblin laugh. roll credits. What do you think?
(Wed 10/17/2007 09:14am)
Here's what I'd like to see in Spider-Man 4...Dr. Conners, through experimentation to regrow his arm, becomes the Lizard and terrorizes the city. To boost newspaper sales and the Bugle's image, J.J. hires the world's most renowned hunter, Kraven, to track down and capture the beast. In the meantime, Peter finds out that Conners is the Lizard and begins a hunt of his own. Gwen Stacey, who has become something of a celebrity in the city, is now a local TV reporter and assigned the Kraven hunt story. Spider-Man and Kraven find the Lizard at the same time and a three-way battle ensues with Peter trying to stop the Lizard from doing any more damage, and Kraven from killing the Lizard. Gwen and her camera crew arrive on scene to cover the story. During the battle, Peter saves the Lizard, who changes back into Dr. Conners, and embarrasses the proud and egotistical Kraven on TV. Kraven becomes obsessed with Spider-Man and slowly goes off the deep end. Seeing dollar signs at the possibility Spiderman's unmasking, J.J. hires Kraven again, this time to capture Spider-Man. Kraven gets a battle suit from an unknown source to amp up his already formidable physical abilites, giving him the power to go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. During this time, Gwen and Peter run into each other a lot covering the same stories and get close, causing a rift between Peter and Mary Jane. There's also jealousy on MJ's part, because as her star seems to be setting, Gwen's is rising. Kraven eventually discovers Peter is Spider-Man and uses Gwen as bait to lure Peter into a trap. During the battle between the two, Gwen falls. Peter tries to save her and...snap...broken neck and Gwen dies. Peter brings down Kraven, almost killing him, when Mary Jane shows up to save Peter's soul and Kraven's life by talking Peter down. "Peter, remember Uncle Ben! With great power..." A tired and guilt-ridden Peter drops Kraven to the ground and walks over to Mary Jane's waiting arms "Comes great responsibility." The movie ends with a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness watching Peter and Mary Jane walk away. We hear a hauntingly familiar goblin laugh. roll credits. What do you think?
Marvel's movies
(Thu 06/21/2007 10:51am)
I just read that Sam Jackson is filming scenes as Nick Fury for the Iron Man movie. I love this news, because Jackson was the template for Fury in Marvel's Ultimate line of books. Yes, I know that Nick Fury in Marvel's original continuity was a middle aged guy who served in WWII. I don't care about that. I love that Marvel's financing their own movies now and can use their incredible cast of characters as they see fit (outside of the characters already licensed out to other studios...Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc...). Fury will be in Iron Man, so it's a no brainer that we'll also see him in a Captain America movie and probably a Thor movie, too. Marvel's creating a movie universe, which comic fans are going to love. Does this mean we could have an Iron Man cameo in Captain America, or see Cap in a Thor or Doctor Strange movie? Nick Fury should also have a cameo in the new Hulk movie, too. He doesn't have to have a big role, but just big enough to continue to establish the confines of the new Marvel movie universe. Hopefully, when actors' contracts are written, there's some verbage addressing cameos. I think it's very cool that Jackson's doing this; that's why he's one of my favorite actors. He has fun and likes to please his fans. Iron Man will be a hit, and hopefully Captain America will also get a great cast and director and be a smash. If that's the case, imagine how great an Avengers movie would be with Iron man, Captain America, Thor and other members introduced in the movie going after the Hulk. Don't just think of the movies, but think of the marketing aspects...comic tie-ins, toys and other promotional opportunites will mean marvel can cash in big and then makes more movies with bigger budgets and effects, etc...Maybe they can even buy back the rights to Spider-Man or the FF. Can you imagine seeing Spidey cameo in an FF movies, talking to the Human Torch, or how about seeing Daredevil in a Spider-Man movie. The mind reels at the possibilites, or mine does anyway! One thing i always loved about comics was seeing heroes show up in other heroes' books. The movies could be just like that. Maybe Marvel will give me a job! ha ha!
(Thu 06/21/2007 10:51am)
I just read that Sam Jackson is filming scenes as Nick Fury for the Iron Man movie. I love this news, because Jackson was the template for Fury in Marvel's Ultimate line of books. Yes, I know that Nick Fury in Marvel's original continuity was a middle aged guy who served in WWII. I don't care about that. I love that Marvel's financing their own movies now and can use their incredible cast of characters as they see fit (outside of the characters already licensed out to other studios...Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc...). Fury will be in Iron Man, so it's a no brainer that we'll also see him in a Captain America movie and probably a Thor movie, too. Marvel's creating a movie universe, which comic fans are going to love. Does this mean we could have an Iron Man cameo in Captain America, or see Cap in a Thor or Doctor Strange movie? Nick Fury should also have a cameo in the new Hulk movie, too. He doesn't have to have a big role, but just big enough to continue to establish the confines of the new Marvel movie universe. Hopefully, when actors' contracts are written, there's some verbage addressing cameos. I think it's very cool that Jackson's doing this; that's why he's one of my favorite actors. He has fun and likes to please his fans. Iron Man will be a hit, and hopefully Captain America will also get a great cast and director and be a smash. If that's the case, imagine how great an Avengers movie would be with Iron man, Captain America, Thor and other members introduced in the movie going after the Hulk. Don't just think of the movies, but think of the marketing aspects...comic tie-ins, toys and other promotional opportunites will mean marvel can cash in big and then makes more movies with bigger budgets and effects, etc...Maybe they can even buy back the rights to Spider-Man or the FF. Can you imagine seeing Spidey cameo in an FF movies, talking to the Human Torch, or how about seeing Daredevil in a Spider-Man movie. The mind reels at the possibilites, or mine does anyway! One thing i always loved about comics was seeing heroes show up in other heroes' books. The movies could be just like that. Maybe Marvel will give me a job! ha ha!
Pixar's Star Trek
(Mon 04/30/2007 11:04am)
I'm a Star Trek fan, and I've made my feelings well known on this site about my ideas for a new Trek film. I thought about this the other night when some friends were talking about Pixar's movies... I think the problem with Star Trek is that everyone wants to see Kirk, Spock and McCoy. The Undiscovered Country, the last movie for the "big three" made $175 million worldwide 16 years ago. Inflate those numbers to today's ticket prices and you've got a huge hit on your hands. The Next Generation movies went downhill quickly, because although they were Star Trek movies with a cast we all came to accept, they didn't have Kirk, Spock and McCoy together. DeForest Kelley is no longer with us, and William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are just too old to play the roles anymore and make them believable for more than just cameos, but their voices are just fine. Kelley's voice could be sampled or digitized and recreated. So, get Diane Duane (my favorite Trek novelist) to write a great Star Trek adventure and have it scripted into a movie for Pixar. Pixar could recreate the Star Trek universe in an animated format. Just imagine what they could do! Star Trek fans, Pixar Fans and movie fans in general would just flock to the theaters to see a Pixar Star Trek film. Digitize, sample, or get good voice actors for the characters no longer with us and have the entire original cast involved. It would be an all CG movie, so there could be amazing planets, out of this world (no pun intended) aliens and fantastic space battles. And, you can't tell me that Pixar's animation gurus wouldn't love to get their hands on a project like this! I think you'd be guaranteed Pixar's biggest hit yet!
(Mon 04/30/2007 11:04am)
I'm a Star Trek fan, and I've made my feelings well known on this site about my ideas for a new Trek film. I thought about this the other night when some friends were talking about Pixar's movies... I think the problem with Star Trek is that everyone wants to see Kirk, Spock and McCoy. The Undiscovered Country, the last movie for the "big three" made $175 million worldwide 16 years ago. Inflate those numbers to today's ticket prices and you've got a huge hit on your hands. The Next Generation movies went downhill quickly, because although they were Star Trek movies with a cast we all came to accept, they didn't have Kirk, Spock and McCoy together. DeForest Kelley is no longer with us, and William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are just too old to play the roles anymore and make them believable for more than just cameos, but their voices are just fine. Kelley's voice could be sampled or digitized and recreated. So, get Diane Duane (my favorite Trek novelist) to write a great Star Trek adventure and have it scripted into a movie for Pixar. Pixar could recreate the Star Trek universe in an animated format. Just imagine what they could do! Star Trek fans, Pixar Fans and movie fans in general would just flock to the theaters to see a Pixar Star Trek film. Digitize, sample, or get good voice actors for the characters no longer with us and have the entire original cast involved. It would be an all CG movie, so there could be amazing planets, out of this world (no pun intended) aliens and fantastic space battles. And, you can't tell me that Pixar's animation gurus wouldn't love to get their hands on a project like this! I think you'd be guaranteed Pixar's biggest hit yet!
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