All Things:Science Fiction/Fantasy

I bought Snowpiercer, the INSTANT I saw Amazon had it. Gonna watch that **** in line with Smytheking and Kingsqueen.

I'll start with the SPOILER ALERT conversation as far as Snowpiercer. LOVED it because of the tremendous 'world creating' and Carpentarian ending. What exactly brought it down? Acting was great, technically impressive with a hell of a sound design. Not sure I understand the almost 'meh' opinions.

And as far as Dawn...well I was reluctant, I wanted good movies with old school prosthetics. Burton was half right. But then Rise? came out. Good re-establishment of the mythology. Was worried about the sequel, original director bolts, locked in date with months already wasted, not a good recipe. But it's to the credit of everyone that this movie has a horse riding talking ape barebacking a horse(yeah. Awesome enough to mention twice) thru flames while firing twin machine guns...and it isn't nearly as ridiculous as it sounds. Well done and the franchise is in great hands. Good soundtrack too, btw, Academy...you getter get on the right side of the mo-cap performance argument.
 
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I didn't think Snowpiercer was 'meh.' I liked it a lot! Could even say I loved it. I include it in my favorites of the year, but just would not put it head and shoulders above my other favorites for the year so far. Some of them, in no particular order:

Snowpiercer
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (This was awesome. I might like Rise a little more. Maybe.)
Cap 2
Lego
Godzilla (Granted, I probably liked this more than most people did)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Cheap Thrills
The Wind Rises
Under the Skin
Spidey Reboot 2 (just kidding. Completely terrible movie)

and that's just what's been out so far. Guardians, Lucy and (hopefully) Queen of the Desert still to come.
 
jerseydevil said:
I bought Snowpiercer, the INSTANT I saw Amazon had it. Gonna watch that **** in line with Smytheking and Kingsqueen.

I'll start with the SPOILER ALERT conversation as far as Snowpiercer. LOVED it because of the tremendous 'world creating' and Carpentarian ending. What exactly brought it down? Acting was great, technically impressive with a hell of a sound design. Not sure I understand the almost 'meh' opinions.
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SPOILERS FOR SNOWPIERCER
My opinion wasn't meh, it just wasn't as great as I'd been expecting. Honestly, everything up to the end was a blast and I was completely in love with it, but for some reason the ending just didn't have the emotional impact it seemed to have for many others. Maybe because it made me think of the end of the goddamn Matrix series, even though it wasn't entirely the same.

That's really my only "complaint". I enjoyed the movie immensely.
 
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review - Dread Central

There?s an ongoing debate as to whether Andy Serkis, truly the Lon Chaney of the digital age, deserves Oscar consideration for his motion capture performances. Many argue that the extensive computer-generated enhancements in post-production are too much to qualify him for acting awards. To those people I say, "See this movie!" because Serkis isn?t the only one that deserves serious consideration. Absolutely Serkis breathes life into Caesar, making him such a commanding screen presence: thoughtful, merciful, frequently smoldering with primal fury, conveying more with the way he stands and the look in his eyes than any number of human actors could with dialogue.

Beneath the digital paint of Koba is actor Toby Kebbell. Credit to the effects artists for making Koba such a terrifying visual presence; however, there?s still only so much you can do with special effects. It takes a human touch to so exquisitely portray a spiritual downward spiral showcasing how even justifiable anger can completely corrupt the soul. The writers have tinged most of the characters, human and ape, with a moral gray area, making it easy to sympathize with their point of view even when you know they?re completely wrong. With Koba, we get that gray area?s breaking point, making for one of the best screen villains in a long time...

...Apes on horseback with machine guns, mixed monkey arts battles for dominance, Malcolm?s teenage son reading a graphic novel with kindly orangutan educator Maurice, Caesar?s newborn playfully climbing about Malcolm and his family with none of the fear or disdain so many of his kind have been taught to feel for humankind... so many moments great and small I could go on about but will just stop here and leave it for you to discover why this is one of the year?s best. With so many summer blockbusters reduced to sound and fury signifying nothing more than more sound and fury, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is often quiet, thoughtful, and heartfelt, making the moments when it turns frightful and furious all the more daunting.



Read more: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review - Dread Central
Follow us: dreadcentral on Facebook



Read more: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review - Dread Central
Follow us: dreadcentral on Facebook
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jerseydevil said:
I bought Snowpiercer, the INSTANT I saw Amazon had it. Gonna watch that **** in line with Smytheking and Kingsqueen.

I'll start with the SPOILER ALERT conversation as far as Snowpiercer. LOVED it because of the tremendous 'world creating' and Carpentarian ending. What exactly brought it down? Acting was great, technically impressive with a hell of a sound design. Not sure I understand the almost 'meh' opinions.
Click to expand...
Just saw it yesterday, and while it was better than "meh" I did not think it was all that. First, I don't think Captain America is much of an actor, so there's that. I think his acting range consists of about two expressions. Maybe three. Second, immediately apparent plot holes that you can drive a train through bug me: [SPOILERS] Where is the train getting an endless supply of fuel, especially given the fact that it apparently hauling ass for 18 years straight? A nuclear engine? That would create its own problems. What happens with mechanical failures on the outside of the train if it is sealed? Given the conditions, including the train bursting through ice on a regular basis and the fact that the train has been running at high speed continuously for 18 years, there would be significant mechanical failures to the axles, wheels, etc. What happens? They acknowledged mechanical failures of the engine and attempted to explain them away with replacing mechanical engine parts with small children (!!), so presumably the train is not indestructible. To a lesser extent, how the hell does everyone survive eating nothing but pure protein? And how are there fat people in the back if all they're eating is just a ration of protein??

EDIT: I was looking up how much fuel a nuclear sub carries for the purposes of this discussion, so if you're reading this, wave at your friendly neighborhood NSA analyst.
 
santiclaws said:
Just saw it yesterday, and while it was better than "meh" I did not think it was all that. First, I don't think Captain America is much of an actor, so there's that. I think his acting range consists of about two expressions. Maybe three. Second, immediately apparent plot holes that you can drive a train through bug me: [SPOILERS] Where is the train getting an endless supply of fuel, especially given the fact that it apparently hauling ass for 18 years straight? A nuclear engine? That would create its own problems. What happens with mechanical failures on the outside of the train if it is sealed? Given the conditions, including the train bursting through ice on a regular basis and the fact that the train has been running at high speed continuously for 18 years, there would be significant mechanical failures to the axles, wheels, etc. What happens? They acknowledged mechanical failures of the engine and attempted to explain them away with replacing mechanical engine parts with small children (!!), so presumably the train is not indestructible. To a lesser extent, how the hell does everyone survive eating nothing but pure protein? And how are there fat people in the back if all they're eating is just a ration of protein??

EDIT: I was looking up how much fuel a nuclear sub carries for the purposes of this discussion, so if you're reading this, wave at your friendly neighborhood NSA analyst.
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I thought it was some sort of perpetual motion engine, hence the need to replace 'parts'. Honestly I suspended disbelief and wasn't looking to deconstruct the movie. If you want to get nitpicky you forgot or missed the MOST GLARING inconsistency...if the train had, what appeared to be a state of the art dentistry car, why in the hell did Tilda Swinton have a pair of choppers straight from the G. Washington line?
 
jerseydevil said:
I thought it was some sort of perpetual motion engine, hence the need to replace 'parts'. Honestly I suspended disbelief and wasn't looking to deconstruct the movie. If you want to get nitpicky you forgot or missed the MOST GLARING inconsistency...if the train had, what appeared to be a state of the art dentistry car, why in the hell did Tilda Swinton have a pair of choppers straight from the G. Washington line?
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Yeah, I know they mentioned a "perpetual motion" engine. I gave the movie the benefit of the doubt to take it to mean that it is perpetually in motion, not that it was built in complete defiance of the laws of physics. I generally don't have a problem suspending disbelief, but sometimes these things jump out at me... As for the choppers, that I don't have a problem with. They may have had the equivalent of a modern dental office but not the capability to do things a modern dentist would send to a lab to be done, like bridgework which requires the manufacture of a custom bridge and such.
 
santiclaws said:
Yeah, I know they mentioned a "perpetual motion" engine. I gave the movie the benefit of the doubt to take it to mean that it is perpetually in motion, not that it was built in complete defiance of the laws of physics. I generally don't have a problem suspending disbelief, but sometimes these things jump out at me... As for the choppers, that I don't have a problem with. They may have had the equivalent of a modern dental office but not the capability to do things a modern dentist would send to a lab to be done, like bridgework which requires the manufacture of a custom bridge and such.
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Wow, you are really kinda overthinking it aren't you? I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition...

 
SNOWPIERCER SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


For me, the biggest leap in faith was: babies tasting best. Really? Aren't they mostly just fat? C'mon.

:)
 
SPOILERS continued...


One thing you never want to have to confess...'I know what people taste like'. But seriously, I thought that was a very OLDBOY-esque moment, followed by Ed Freaking Harris in a kimono just continuing to pull the rug out from under our 'hero'. That, above all else, really sold the movie for me and allowed me to not dig so deep into unraveling the piece. Was it shaky? Sure...most sci-fi is. But I just kinda believe in the 'anything can happen' unwritten rule of the genre. Zardoz, Rollerball*...hell name a sci fi movie you cannot dismiss by applying real world rules to.

*yes, I understand these are not mainstream choices...sue me.
 
Yeah, but... you want it to flavor something, right? You don't just eat that **** straight. Unless you're making cracklins or something. Was he making cracklins?
 
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