James
-
Posts
10,530 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by James
-
-
The Dark Knight is pretty much the only Batman film you'll ever have to see. Between the astoundingly high quality of this flick and the death of Heath Ledger - who totally owned the character of The Joker - I have no idea where they can take it from here.
Requisite Wilkinson complaint: Bale's Batman voice is still really shit.
-
Actually, from an "action/adventure point of view", I can just about see what you're getting at if I squint. From an "actually being a good fucking film" point of view, though, I'm afraid I can only conclude that you're back on the dog crack.
Well, I meant "a rollicking, blockbuster action/adventure view". If you go into it expecting (as I did, having not seen it for eight years) a Temple/Crusaders/Kingdom helter-skelter ride then you'll find that Raiders sags like a middle-aged housewife whenever Indy's not punching things, and that the action sequences as shot lack the polish of Spielberg's later stuff. Sure, it's a fine film on its own merits and obviously it's going to be different to the later films simply because the formula hadn't quite been worked out, but it's a much slower affair than the others.
-
Natives were racist? I dunno, it's no worse than the guys at the start of Raiders, or the Thuggees in Temple. It fits in with the whole Boy's Own adventure story vibe anyway.
Agree about the boring baddies. They should have retired the silent brick shithouse characters when Pat Roach bought the farm.
The Incan puzzle stuff was dumb. Unlikely Rube Goldberg traps are an Indy staple, but this one pushed them too far. Who put all the sand back in that well and restored those doorways after the skull was stolen the first time around? More to the point, if putting the alien's skull back on the skeleton restores it to life then, er, how did it get seperated and die in the first place? Presumably it had to be skeletonised before someone could nick the skull?
As much as I moaned about it, I didn't really hate the movie as much as you guys did. Though I did hate that it wasn't as good as an Indy movie should be.
I agree with a lot of your points, James, but somehow I didn't find most of the stuff as annoying as you did. Probably due to rewatching all three previous Indiana Jones flicks and coming to the conclusion that aside from Raiders, I don't think the other are all that incredible (I'd rate Last Crusade over Temple of Doom, and posibly Crystal Skull over Temple of Doom as well. not sure. the mine cart chase is still awesome).Oddly enough, I wateched all three original Indy movies last night with some mates and we came to the conclusion that Raiders is probably the weakest of the lot, from an action/adventure point of view. The pacing is extremely slow - especially during the first half - the moments of comedy relatively few and far between, and Spielberg's direction is surprisingly shaky and unpolished, especially during the bar fight sequence in Nepal, which is weirdly flat and muted. There's also an odd lack of invention in many of the action sequences, particularly the truck chase scene, in which Indy pretty much kills about six cars by just ramming them off the road, one after the next. Cue many cracks from the couch about him being a one-trick pony, etc.
After last night's screening - which didn't contain that much alcohol, actually - I'd have to rate them, in descending order, Crusade, Temple, Raiders and Kingdom. Raiders wins out over Kingdom because it has a more satisfying emotional arc, and a more proactive Indy, though Kingdom works better as a popcorn flick.
-
So that summary I mentioned. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie right up until the end of the car chase (even the bit mentioned just up there that tested Cambrian Times' disbelief), but then I slowly realised that although Ford still has the twinkle, although Spielberg is still one of the greatest modern directors, although the effects are largely incredible, and although Shia LeBeouf is still really likeable, the whole thing is ulimatrly knobbled by the script. Because the script, bowing beneath the weight of 30 years of love and expectation, read pretty much exactly like a bit of fanfic ripped off the net and run through Final Draft.
1- Mutt the Marty Stu - In fanfic, a Marty Stu (or Mary Sue for ver ladies) is a fanfic character whose entire purpose is to act as an author stand-in and allow them to live out their fantasies of hanging out with Luke Skywalker/Harry Potter/whoever. Importantly, they are presented as being pretty much perfect, being the mental and physical equal of the hero, almost instantly earning their respect and admiration, and usually saving their life a few dozen times.So here's Mutt: an expert swordsman, an ace bike rider, pretty handy in a fight and prepared to sacrifice his life for America without fear, who discovers that he's Indiana Jones's son and subsequently saves the nominal hero's life a good half-dozen times. More frequently, in fact, than Indy saves his life. I get that they're setting up Mutt to take over the whip and hat once Ford throws in the towel, but they's trying to sell it far, far too hard. And the result is, well... a Marty Stu.
It doesn't help the LaBeouf, much as I like him, can't really sell himself as a hard man. I thought at first that they were going to show him to be a nebbish putting on a hardman act, but apparently not. The fact that he's been to prep schools and got at least half a proper education doesn't mean much on that score, thanks to the aforementioned heroics.
2- Recycled Indy tropes - Villain gets what they want, only for it to destroy them? Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Turncoat's greed gets him killed in an ancient temple? Last Crusade. Historical enemies of America used as shothand for villains? Lost Ark and Last Crusade. I know there are only so many stories to be told, but you'd think they would pick some of the ones that hadn't been used in an Indy film before. This kind of reuse should be restricted to unimaginative fanfic.
And the 'Indy goes to foreign place, solves a puzzle, gets in a scrap, goes to another foreign place and does it again' formula that this film slavishly adheres to - with none of the emotional business like winning back Marion (Raiders), wooing Willie (Temple) or the relationship between Indy and his dad (Crusade) - is almost a parody of how an Indiana Jones film should be written.
3- A paucity of original ideas - Specifically, the 'Mayans were inspired by aliens' bullshit, which was everywhere post X-Files. Why not use something that hasn't been done to death in the previous decade? The bit where Indy holds up the crystal skull to the wall drawing is shot like this is some kind of incredible revelation, but surely 90% of Indy's audience will have picked this up elsewhere? At least it's not The Spear Of Longinus again, I suppose.
Also disappointed by the lack of anything truly original in the temples. Once upon a time, Indiana Jones made tropes. Rolling boulders? Mine cart chases? Modern-era museums hiding ancient secrets? Nothing like that here. Ooh, a walkway that slowly draws in for no reason whatsoever! That one's been done in countless videogames.
4- Overreliance on Indy continuity - Not so much the Ark glimpse (which kind of spoils the mystery of the end of Raiders), but mostly the inclusion of Marion, whose actress was apparently stoned all the way through shooting, and who seems to exist purely because they don't want to create a new love interest for Indy. The problem is that she's only introduced right at the end of the movie, and unless you've already seen the first movie (and can remember who Marion Ravenwood was) there is nothing here to sell you on their relationship whatsoever. Mostly the fault of:
5- Castbloat - Fanfic writers love creating new characters, but can never seem to put them away again once they've served their purpose. Which is the kind of thinking that leads to Ray Winstone's character not being plugged in the first action sequence, forcing him to appear in a series of increasingly small and pointless roles towards the end of the film. The only way he actually affects the plot once that first scene is over is by dropping trackers for the Soviets, but since they could easily have just tagged a tracker on Indy (or used Sovietwoman's psychic powers, or just had them appear like magic, as in every other Indy villain ever) there was no reason to keep him around.
Same with John Hurt, who just becomes a walking plot device and a facilitator for action sequences. They should've given him a noble death in the Soviet camp and just had Indy, Marion and Mutt for the rest of the movie. The worst thing is that because John Hurt leads the party by the hand for the last third of the film, Indy becomes a passenger in his own film. Why isn't he the one working out how to enter the temple? Why does he just stumble over the waterfalls by sheer coincidence instead of working it out? Indy's intelligence and fighting skill are the core of the character, and with John Hurt taking up the brains and Mutt putting up his fists, Indy has fuck all to do towards the end. It's why the film feels so lazy and directionless for its last half (another fanfic problem).
The other problem with castbloat is that it takes valuable screentime away from the Indy/Marion and Indy/Mutt relationships. These should have formed the emotional core of the film, to help mirror and remove Indy's sadness about losing the family that his father and Marcus comprised. But instead we get some (amusing) dialogue and quips, and the whole thing is swept under the rug. Marion should've been introduced earlier on and her relationship with Indy should have been rockier, so that he actually has to work to win back their respect. Having them kidnapped and held hostage by the Soviets and having Indy save them might be a little cliche, but it would have worked in context. And the lack of such tension (not helped by Mutt's immediate elevation to 'equal to Indy' status) is the primary reason why it feels so throwaway.
So there you go: Indy the fanfic. The first half is a lot of fun - everything up to the end of the bike chase is gold - but after that it just wavers and wanders, and shoves Indy to the background, which in an Indiana Jones movie, should be illegal.
-
Saw Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull last night and was fairly disappointed, largely because of the script. Everything else (except the dodgy acting of the woman playing Marion and some slightly wonky green screen) was spot-on, though. Ford still had the Indy twinkle, the cinematography was incredible, the first couple of action scenes were perfect and Speilberg's direction was as assured as ever. Detailed moaning to follow later in the week, if anyone cares.
-
-
The idea of the angel Gabriel chatting in a gentlemen's club with a member of the BNP is a brilliant contrast of the supernatural and the mundane, and the kind of thing that Hellblazer needs to do more. These days (by which I mean Azzarello onwards, really), the 'mundane' elements are themselves outlandish in a way that reduces the contrast between the two.
-
2) Since Merlin was used later in the series, was the discrepancy between the Merlin of the Kon-Sten-Tyn story and the other version ever dealt with?
In the DCU, 'Merlin' is a title, passed from wizard to wizard. As I recall, Tim Hunter from Books of Magic is (or was) The Merlin too.
-
Just read the 'Bloodlines' tpb. Some good stuff in there! I really do like Will Simpson's art and am frankly surprised that they released the stuff in 'Tainted Love' before they did this stuff...although, as I type, I realise it's probably because of Steve Dillon. Duh!
Yep, that's exactly it. Preacher was a huge seller so they thought they'd have a go...
Can anyone tell me when Lucifer quit hell in the Sandman in relation to what issue Hellblazer was up to?Thirty-something? Sandman #3 coincides with Hellblazer 16(ish).
As I recall, it was never mentioned in Hellblazer until afterwards, but Swamp Thing tied in with it by having Anton Arcane's soul released from Hell.
-
Genocide is a modern problem?
Taking an aspect of modern life and putting a sci-fi skew on it is a fairly standard MO for nu-Who. See the eternal traffic jam in 'Gridlock', animal testing in 'New Earth', the political jibes in 'Aliens Of London', etc.
-
Well he had a granddaughter in the original series, so presumably he had a daughter (or son...) at some point.
-
When do we expect to get the first report on Ironman from one of the group?.
Hello!
I saw Iron Man today and it was AWESOME. The cast were all pitch-perfect, especially the thoroughly charismatic Robert Downey Jr and a believably evil Jeff Bridges. The effects scenes were convincing, the dialogue genuinely witty and the whole thing wonderfully pacy in a way that Spider-Man and (especially) Superman Returns weren't. It also hangs together amazingly well as a film. Usually in these things you have the character progression bolted on to the story as an afterthought, but here it felt like an integral, organic part of the story they were telling. In fact, the character scenes were as interesting - possibly moreso - than the action, which is good because there's so many of them.
And the people who made Jumper should fucking well watch this until their eyes bleed; while that film effectively acted as an hour-and-a-half trailer for a sequel that will probably never arrive, this movie did a damned good job of telling a done-in-one story while dropping in little nods to Iron Man continuity (Stark's heavy - for Hollywood, at least - drinking! Brief War Machine reference/foreshadowing) and well-realised supporting characters (blonde reporter chick, SHIELD agent guy) that could easily be picked up for a sequel but still work as part of this initial movie.
Just a few complaints - firstly, no Samuel L Jackson as far as I could see, unless he appeared in the three minutes during which I went for a wee. Secondly, the climactic action sequence was too short. Thirdly, there were some odd continuity glitches, especially the makeup in the paralysis sequence. Watch the blue veins on someone's face vanish between shots, and the blood dripping from someone's ears disappear in the next scene. Oh, and the 'realism' - or, perhaps, plausibility - of the movie's fictional universe meant that when it made concessions to Hollywood tropes (like Pepper not kicking off those fucking stupid heels while running away from the baddies) then it stands out like a sore thumb.
Oh - and that last line... not a fan of that, if only because it kind of drains a lot of dramatic tension from the sequels. Unless they reverse it between movies.
Apologies if this is just a rambling load of nonsense - it's 11:30 over here and I haven't had a proper night's sleep in over a week.
-
Fear Her? The Girl In The Fireplace?
Hasn't his (and his sidekicks') ability to speak to whoever they meet been attributed to some sort of telepathy thing since the '60s?
That's created by the TARDIS, though, not inherent in The Doctor.
-
The Doctor is suddenly telepathic. I understand that the Timelords may be telepathic and all that (I watched The Sensorites) but should have been told earlier on.
Fear Her? The Girl In The Fireplace?
-
The time off the air also allowed a rose-tinted aura (not Rose-tinted) to grow around the series.
Think about it - if it had carried on, most folk would have grown out of watching it as young folk grew into watching it (I stopped just towards the end of Peter Davison's tenure). The time off our TVs has allowed it, on its return, to grab the folk who fondly remember it from our youth along with a younger generation who are watching something which to them is entirely new.
I also doubt it would be getting the budget that it has at the moment if it had been running continuously since then.
-
I'm probably thinking too much about it but what's the difference between the Doctor saving those folks from Pompei and Rose saving her father back in the first season ?
General rule of thumb is that the Doctor can't interfere with history he (ie. the audience) already knows about. So he can't stop the town from being destroyed, or save Rose's dad, but he can prevent a space station he's never heard of from being sucked into a black hole, or rescue a few individual citizens whose names are, presumably, lost to history.
The problem with Rose's dad was that there were two versions of The Doctor and Rose in close proximity, which caused a massive fuck-up when they overwrote their own immediate history. The Doctor was planning to get them out of it and save Rose's dad until he got eaten.
-
I'm disappointed by the lack of content at fuckwarrenellis.com
To be honest, you should probably have filled it up with a fair bit of original content yourself before handing the reins over to everyone else. Creating a whole Warren Ellis article from the ground up isn't much fun, which is why nobody actually wants to do it (yourself included).
-
Any word on who's taking over Punisher MAX when Garth leaves at the end of the current arc?
Rumours suggest Mike Benson; Jason Aaron and Brian Azzarello have been named on several wish lists.
Axel Alonso sez "the first two arcs are already underway" — and so they should be — but won't say more.
I thought it had already been confirmed as the guy who wrote that Punisher Christmas special a while back?
-
DemonJohn got his neck broken, but that doesn't mean he's dead by a long shot. You know what demons are like.
John lost the demonic taint creating DemonJohn in an early Philip Jenkins arc, then got it back from Ellie later on in Jenkins's run. It was used as a plot device in Carey's first arc, and as mentioned by Christian Diggle has mentioned it in his run, too.
-
I've just watched the third series of Arrested Development. I think it's the funniest yet.
Since it was the last season before the series was cancelled, that should simply be "It's the funniest."
-
I've just bought some Swamp Thing trades, and they have the stuff where Swampy uses John t impregnate Abby.
That was a crossover from HB right? Are those issues traded anywhere?
The Swamp Thing issues are collected in Swamp Thing: Infernal Triangles; the Hellblazer issues are collected in Hellblazer: The Devil You Know.
-
Hurm. Is there anywhere other than the BBC iPlayer and BitTorrent that I can go to in order to watch Doctor Who?
-
Nothing but rumours at the moment.
-
Site blocked in the UAE, apparently. Arse.
WHO ops Apocalypse!
in Bring the Noise
Posted
That's more the how than the why.
For one night only,
DOCTOR 'KU
"Hartnell is leaving."
"Shit, then we need a new guy."
"Can't drop The Doctor."
"Hmm, okay. But how?"
"Well, he's an alien, right?
"Why not change his face?"
"That'a a great idea!"
"I know! But how to explain...?"
"Hey, I think I know...
"Regeneration!"
"So what's that when it's at home?"
"It's a Time Lord trick:
"Death brings them new life."
"And a new actor! That's great!
"But where's the tension?"
"Ah, see, here's the thing:
"Time Lords only get thirteen.
"So he'll make them last."
"I like it a lot.
"But won't the actors get bored?
"Playing the same guy?
"Okay then, how's this?
"Each Doctor acts different.
"New face, new person.
"Same memories, though.
"And same sense of right and wrong.
"But with a new mind."
"Top hole! We're done!
"Now have a pint on me."
"Don't mind if I do."