Thoughts
well, i have a LJ, it's about time to post something :)
i've been thinking alot about things from my (no so distant dammit) youth that are being updated for today. namely Transformers & GI Joe.
both are significant parts of my childhood, and have influenced my life in many ways. and both have become (or are becoming) modern movie franchises.
Transformers has made the transition to live action very well, in the hands of writers that understand the materiel and the limitations of the medium and a director that is enthusiastic and has a talent for big budget action.
This doesn't mean it doesn't have it's share of problems, i don't have complete blinders :) but most of the criticisms and "why if this does this happen" comments actually have answers provided in the context of the films.
for me the biggest downside to both movies has to do with how the designs move and interact. because they went with a more realistic" approach to the design of the transformers, with pieces seperating, moving and shifting...tons of pieces, that creates bodies of many many little parts. which is a very busy look and unfortunatly creates a mess when you have them moving fast and interacting together. which makes it hard at times to keep track of who's who.
the second issue, is more with the new movie, Revenge of the Fallen, and frankly the problem is a direct result of them listening to complaints about the first movie. the biggest gripe i heard was that there were not enough robots.....unfortunatly for the medium of film, more is not necessarily a good thing. sure the new movie had more bots..alot more but almost all of them have 3-5 seconds of screen time, and no personality or purpose other than to eat plasma blasts.
on the subect of Revenge, my capsule review, if you liked the first movie, you will probably like this one. if you didn't like the first one don't bother with this one.
there was a post somewhere, i had the link sent to me, of some guy's Q&A regarding transformers 2, and while at times it was funny, i couldn't help wondering if he was actually watching the same movie i was, cause well over 3/4 of his questions are answered in the movie....and half of the rest only take a moment of thought to realize the answer (and some make no damn sense at all, i'll give him that). but oh well, i know that i think about this stuff to much sometimes (3 ladies threatening to smack me around at Admiralorko's wedding when the discussion turned to transformers being a good example :) ) so i may be biased....well no maybe about it, i am biased :)
the other property, GI Joe, is more problematic to me. GI Joe is what got me into toys and comics as a life-long hobby (some may say obsession) and i really want to see them do it right. but judging by the new trailer, the GI Joe movie they're making, isn't the one i wanted to see :( . after some research (aka reading the novelization of the movie, no i dont care about spoilers, heck for me, the more i know going in, the more i can enjoy the film) i understand what they're doing, and it looks like a good story, with classic GI Joe elements and plot design, aka introduction of threat, base gets attacked, chase the bad guy while they do something dastardly, big showdown at badguy base.
heck the "power armor" suits are even pulled from old toys....which i have....in storage....
i'm really hoping this movie turns out better than i fear. but sadly i doubt it will. i like the directors previous work, but frankly i'm thinking he forgot how to make a fun movie after the mummy 2. This is one franchise that may have been better served to be put into other hands...like Michael Bay, who understands and "gets" the military aspects of this type of organization.
to me, translating both of these properties to live action gave the opportunity to create an film that gives you the feeling of what it would be like if this was real. transformers does that, imo, but i doubt GI Joe will, as they seem to have gone the other directon.
well, those are just some rambling thoughts on things that i enjoy and that mean something to me.
in closing...Bumbleebee rocks!!
i've been thinking alot about things from my (no so distant dammit) youth that are being updated for today. namely Transformers & GI Joe.
both are significant parts of my childhood, and have influenced my life in many ways. and both have become (or are becoming) modern movie franchises.
Transformers has made the transition to live action very well, in the hands of writers that understand the materiel and the limitations of the medium and a director that is enthusiastic and has a talent for big budget action.
This doesn't mean it doesn't have it's share of problems, i don't have complete blinders :) but most of the criticisms and "why if this does this happen" comments actually have answers provided in the context of the films.
for me the biggest downside to both movies has to do with how the designs move and interact. because they went with a more realistic" approach to the design of the transformers, with pieces seperating, moving and shifting...tons of pieces, that creates bodies of many many little parts. which is a very busy look and unfortunatly creates a mess when you have them moving fast and interacting together. which makes it hard at times to keep track of who's who.
the second issue, is more with the new movie, Revenge of the Fallen, and frankly the problem is a direct result of them listening to complaints about the first movie. the biggest gripe i heard was that there were not enough robots.....unfortunatly for the medium of film, more is not necessarily a good thing. sure the new movie had more bots..alot more but almost all of them have 3-5 seconds of screen time, and no personality or purpose other than to eat plasma blasts.
on the subect of Revenge, my capsule review, if you liked the first movie, you will probably like this one. if you didn't like the first one don't bother with this one.
there was a post somewhere, i had the link sent to me, of some guy's Q&A regarding transformers 2, and while at times it was funny, i couldn't help wondering if he was actually watching the same movie i was, cause well over 3/4 of his questions are answered in the movie....and half of the rest only take a moment of thought to realize the answer (and some make no damn sense at all, i'll give him that). but oh well, i know that i think about this stuff to much sometimes (3 ladies threatening to smack me around at Admiralorko's wedding when the discussion turned to transformers being a good example :) ) so i may be biased....well no maybe about it, i am biased :)
the other property, GI Joe, is more problematic to me. GI Joe is what got me into toys and comics as a life-long hobby (some may say obsession) and i really want to see them do it right. but judging by the new trailer, the GI Joe movie they're making, isn't the one i wanted to see :( . after some research (aka reading the novelization of the movie, no i dont care about spoilers, heck for me, the more i know going in, the more i can enjoy the film) i understand what they're doing, and it looks like a good story, with classic GI Joe elements and plot design, aka introduction of threat, base gets attacked, chase the bad guy while they do something dastardly, big showdown at badguy base.
heck the "power armor" suits are even pulled from old toys....which i have....in storage....
i'm really hoping this movie turns out better than i fear. but sadly i doubt it will. i like the directors previous work, but frankly i'm thinking he forgot how to make a fun movie after the mummy 2. This is one franchise that may have been better served to be put into other hands...like Michael Bay, who understands and "gets" the military aspects of this type of organization.
to me, translating both of these properties to live action gave the opportunity to create an film that gives you the feeling of what it would be like if this was real. transformers does that, imo, but i doubt GI Joe will, as they seem to have gone the other directon.
well, those are just some rambling thoughts on things that i enjoy and that mean something to me.
in closing...Bumbleebee rocks!!