Movies You Are Really Looking Forward To
#2061
Posted 20 August 2011 - 07:36 PM
#2062
Posted 20 August 2011 - 08:41 PM
"Here's to brother Painbrush, we drink to his Shade..."
"All Art Is Martial"- RZA
"Our basic purist premise:
ROBERT E. HOWARD, ENTIRELY ALONE, WITHOUT ASSISTANCE FROM ANY OTHER PERSON, CREATED THE CHARACTER CONAN OF CIMMERIA. NO OTHER PERSON OR PERSONS SHOULD BE INTRUDING THEIR WORK INTO THE VOLUMES OF HOWARD'S CONAN STORIES.
In essence, we believe that the work of any creative artist -- writer, painter, illustrator, musician, what-have-you -- is a unique expression of an artistic point of view. It should not be appropriated or altered by others without the artist's consent. No other writer has Robert E. Howard's unique point of view, and no other writer knows what Howard would have done with his character had he lived. Upon his death, his canon, the expression of his artistic vision, became fixed. Tampering with it now is desecration."
#2063
Posted 21 August 2011 - 04:22 AM
Blair Witch on the Moon.whats this apollo 18 movie that was previewed before conan 2011?
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
#2064
Posted 21 August 2011 - 10:07 PM
I saw the 2D version just before 1pm yesterday afternoon. I went in very open-minded and unbiased, since I've only read three Conan tales (four if you count the poem "Cimmeria"), "The Phoenix on the Sword" being probably the best, so far.
My impression of the work as a whole?: "Meh..."
- A little over the top in some ways, but, this is Conan.
- The film had some nice visual moments, but wasn't visually as powerful as the 1982 adaptation.
- The 3D aspect/gimmick was SO not necessary or relevant to the story. Really, we need to put a premium on what warrants 3D presentation. For my money, Star Wars Episode I & Ridley Scott's Prometheus in 2012 are the only ones on my list.
- My God! The score had none of the prowess and "epic-ness" of Basil's immortal work.
- Jason Mamoa got the physical/mental aspects correct, though, I prefer Conan as King rather than Barbarian, since he's more philosophical in his middle years. There wasn't much philosophy here, though the line about how civilized, gilded societies still enslave man, whereas barbarians have a better moral code gave me direct Howard flashes of especially his poetry.
- The story wasn't very engaging. It was very much an origin thing. It also kept jumping from locale to locale w/out much exposition. I kept thinking how much more interesting the stories that follow this film would be. It's too bad they didn't focus (from the little bit that I know of Conan's universe) on actual storylines from Howard's oeuvre. Hey, I never thought of this till just now, but they could've been really original and made a film chronicling a handful of his exploits over different periods of his life -- from King to robber to warrior to barbarian, and then back to King again. That would've been sweet!
- The villain of this movie wasn't half as Gothic or terrifying -- or cool -- as James Earl Jones' portrayal of Thulsa Doom in the 1982 adaptation; though that character was an amalgam of two different Howard characters.
-The heroine of this film is good, but not as memorable as Valeria, though, again, an amalgam.
- It didn't have much of an artistic effect on me, and it seems very forgettable to me. You could never mix this film up w/ the likes of LOTR.
I honestly think now that translating Howard's vision is very difficult, for most of the films are missing the most essential aspect at the heart of Howard's world...poeticism.
I think other works of his are much more easy to adaptation, like Solomon Kane, his Gothic tales, his Westerns, and maybe even some of his other fantasy/historical works.
How did everybody else feel about the film? Honestly, it just made me want to go to Howard for the real thing. Some of the best literature can't be rendered successfully in film when the medium it was first framed in was so intrinsic to its creation.
Honestly, the 1982 film (though still an admixture, and impure as a direct Howard adaptation) is still a watershed in its genre, and a classic, and still has an effect on me. I couldn't even compare the two in terms of movie prowess. In many ways, this experience was like my experience watching the remake of Clash of the Titans. And that ain't good.
Apollo 18 is next for me.
Hey, am I the only one who was more excited to see John Carter than Conan, when the film was over? That seems WAY more interesting and engaging, yet it gives me the idea that it's something Howard could make up in his beautiful imagination.
Lastly --
Not to sound pompous, but kids born in the 1970s (GenXers) have kind of a "Been there, done that...seen that before" mentality when it comes to the arts. We were raised on blockbusters and artistic innovation, so we are good judges of things that come out today. That also makes us difficult to please, since we've been raised on quality works since little kids. It takes a lot to impress us born before 1980.
#2065
Posted 21 August 2011 - 11:33 PM
#2066
Posted 23 August 2011 - 05:37 PM
Blair Witch on the Moon.
whats this apollo 18 movie that was previewed before conan 2011?
yikes.
okaaaaaaaay....i mean i kinda liked blair witch, it sure as hell was pretty creative.
wouldn't it have been interesting if CPI et al had done some real crazy marketing behind this movie, like faked an archeological find of the "nemedian" chronicles. could easily have been done too I think, rather cheaply, sort of similar to how Blair Witch faked the disappearance and "finding" the evidence and film reels.
"Here's to brother Painbrush, we drink to his Shade..."
"All Art Is Martial"- RZA
"Our basic purist premise:
ROBERT E. HOWARD, ENTIRELY ALONE, WITHOUT ASSISTANCE FROM ANY OTHER PERSON, CREATED THE CHARACTER CONAN OF CIMMERIA. NO OTHER PERSON OR PERSONS SHOULD BE INTRUDING THEIR WORK INTO THE VOLUMES OF HOWARD'S CONAN STORIES.
In essence, we believe that the work of any creative artist -- writer, painter, illustrator, musician, what-have-you -- is a unique expression of an artistic point of view. It should not be appropriated or altered by others without the artist's consent. No other writer has Robert E. Howard's unique point of view, and no other writer knows what Howard would have done with his character had he lived. Upon his death, his canon, the expression of his artistic vision, became fixed. Tampering with it now is desecration."
#2067
Posted 23 August 2011 - 10:22 PM
#2068
Posted 24 August 2011 - 08:11 AM
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - looks interesting, darker than the first movie.
A movie with robot boxers, can't remember the title,"Steel something-or-other". I could swear I read this story (short story) when I was a teenager. I'd be happy if they adapted an actual SF story.
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
#2069
Posted 24 August 2011 - 11:04 AM
Kind of looking forward to John Carter but I'm not sure. I think he changed too much for my taste. I heard he thinks the characters are too vanilla and need improvement....Mmmm ok. That is why those books have inspired like everything from Flash Gordon to Star Wars and beyond. I think they will probably be a big let down.
At this point I am only looking forward to Fire & Ice.
#2070
Posted 25 August 2011 - 02:38 AM
The Thing - looks like good sci-fi horror. Maybe it'll be true to the original story.
Actually, Ironhand, the creators of this film have made painstaking efforts to make sure that this prequel links up directly to the events of the 1982 Carpenter one (down to the look, feel, clothing, technology, FX). In fact, this film's action takes place 48 hours prior to the events in the '82 one. We will see the discovery of the spaceship, the creature in its original form, and the exact events that led to the malamute dog being chased by the Norwegian helicopter. Funny, I just looked at the first 25 minutes of the 1982 film online, and never realized that the movie began as it did; nor that Kurt Russell's team was the second team to encounter the alien.
How cool this will be if it meets right up to the time-frame (1982 w/ all its '80s trappings...like a follow-up to Tron: Legacy) of the 1982 film. This film is like a seemingly-good precursor to 2012's Prometheus (the relative to the 1979 film Alien) w/ a similar premise.
Oh, and Apollo 18 is about an "unacknowledged" 1974 mission to the Moon which led to the discovery of various detrimental life forms that, like in The Thing, already destroyed a previous mission by Russian cosmonauts. Again, similar link ups.
Hopefully, all good stuff.
#2071
Posted 27 September 2011 - 04:51 PM
Edited by Fierro, 27 September 2011 - 04:51 PM.
#2072
Posted 27 September 2011 - 06:41 PM
Real Steel - I'm kind of looking forward to it. I love boxing movies. I love fight movies. I love robot movies. And I "love" Hugh Jackman (in that manly way). Sure, he's had a few stinkers, but, like Dolph Lundgren, even if the movie itself sucked, he was great in it (I'm looking at you, Wolverine).A movie with robot boxers, can't remember the title,"Steel something-or-other". I could swear I read this story (short story) when I was a teenager. I'd be happy if they adapted an actual SF story.
Speaking of Dolph, I'm really looking forward to The Expendables 2. That probably speaks volumes about my movie tastes.
#2073
Posted 28 September 2011 - 12:16 AM
Turlogh shook his head. "Not so long as the race lasts."
--- The Dark Man, by Robert E. Howard
#2074
Posted 28 September 2011 - 08:24 PM
#2075
Posted 29 September 2011 - 06:39 AM
I've never read the Honor Harrington stories, but just the thought of an honest space opera has me salivating. Does the HH series have aliens, or is it all humans?Well, author David Weber has announced he has a movie deal for Honor Harrington. So we'll be getting Hornblower-in-space. Well, besides that other Hornblower-in-space (Star something?) The risks are great, but it can't be worse than Starship Troopers and Wing Commander. Right? Right?
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Edited by Ironhand, 29 September 2011 - 06:40 AM.
"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?"
"I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard
Read my Conan screenplays at The Scrolls of Ironhand (in particular my transcription of THE FROST GIANT'S DAUGHTER in Act II of "The Snow Devil") at
http://www.scrollsof...d.us/index.html or at
http://www.delicious...ic=ConanProject
#2076
Posted 29 September 2011 - 08:32 PM
I've never read the Honor Harrington stories, but just the thought of an honest space opera has me salivating. Does the HH series have aliens, or is it all humans?
Well, author David Weber has announced he has a movie deal for Honor Harrington. So we'll be getting Hornblower-in-space. Well, besides that other Hornblower-in-space (Star something?) The risks are great, but it can't be worse than Starship Troopers and Wing Commander. Right? Right?![]()
Mostly human. There are some primitive aliens, like the tripedal Medusans (who would appear in the first movie, if they follow the books). Also, there's the treecats, who are sapient but non-technological. Honor was adopted by a treecat named Nimitiz, which means she has a telepathic six-legged friend who can tear a full-grown man to shreds. Which is very helpful, sometimes.
Turlogh shook his head. "Not so long as the race lasts."
--- The Dark Man, by Robert E. Howard
#2077
Posted 01 October 2011 - 03:59 AM
Turlogh shook his head. "Not so long as the race lasts."
--- The Dark Man, by Robert E. Howard
#2078
Posted 17 October 2011 - 03:00 PM
#2079
Posted 18 October 2011 - 05:43 PM
Hope it's as cool as it looks.
Turlogh shook his head. "Not so long as the race lasts."
--- The Dark Man, by Robert E. Howard
#2080
Posted 18 October 2011 - 06:55 PM








