General Movies, Music, Web Show, and TV News Thread
- Thread starter BrawlMan
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Having a sentient/speaking/humanoid villain this time around seems like a bad idea. I always enjoyed how the monsters were just mindless, faceless horrors.
I can never get into this show. It just feels it goes way too much in the 80s nostalgia.
I was born in 89, so you're not exactly alone, but I get most of references because I watched a lot of TV and movies when I was a kid. But like I said before, a show needs more than nostalgia pandering or references, which is why I have a problem with the show. It wouldn't matter if Stranger Things was a show about 90s pandering, you're going to need more than that to for me to enjoy the show. It's one of those shows that gets so much hype that when you watch it you're either going to be disappointed in some regard, or not find a show all that compelling. It's why I avoid it shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. I go by what I'm interested, not what everybody else is interested in.
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watching the latest dominion trailer that cane out today I still get the sensation that the dinosaurs are too cgi driven. Its funny because the trailer cuts back and forth between the old Jurassic park film and the new one. Despite being animatronic the dinosaurs just feel more present in the original where as the world velociraptors all look like floaty CGI. IDK, its killing the immersion for me. Arguments about story aside I feel like thats the biggest problem with the "world" movies. Regardless of what animatronics they are using, its way too much green screen and cgi
I get what you mean. I honestly don't care at this point, because I'm just here for the old crew mostly. This is awesome my last ride with the franchise. I skipped out on the last movie, because I knew the reception wouldn't be all that great and learning of the twists did not help. That said, I like the price of all the dinosaurs running rampant and I'm glad the moves acknowledging today the consequences of what happened in the last film.
“We’re running out of ideas and need to end the show after this” is what this is code for.
I get that sentiment but OTOH these aren’t always mutually exclusive either. There are a lot of very popular games that are still actually very good and worth watching too. It’s the unfortunate side effect of hype in the social media age.
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Nothing lasts forever. It's why I admire and prefer shows that actually tell a complete story, instead of dragging things out for 10 plus seasons. Exactly why I don't bother with adaptions of most long-running manga. All involves padding expression for a little to no reason, other than we can't jump ahead of the manga, or just keep the artist and authors money rolling. I understand, a person got to eat and everything, but if all you got is the stuff that doesn't work and doesn't go anywhere, then it's a waste of my time, the viewer's/reader's time.
Special effects just don't feel special anymore. Maybe the fact that something truly exceptional and groundbreaking was happening in the original Jurassic Park still comes across after all these years.
But I'd say a lot has to do with blockbuster filmmaking no longer having the masterful hand of someone like Spielberg or James Cameron to make these movies look great outside of the CGI. Also, and I can't be sure about this, but since movies are digital now less effort seems to be made to make a shot look great in-camera, as whatever indiscrepancies and bad lighting can be fixed in post. I think this is why most blockbuster movies have such a flat, greyish look to them.
I consider James Cameron a franchise sin of this stuff. I'm not saying he invented CGI or anything, but with the release of Avatar, that can be changed things. What was once unique, became so mundane. Like I said before, I do not like that movie, even back in 2009. Which makes a special effects almost all the more pointless. Other than pretty visuals, the film was completely shallow. Why anyone would stick around for sequels is beyond me. As much as my family likes that feeling, even they don't care much for the sequels that was supposed to come out in the mid to late 2010s.
I've heard quite a bit lately about how studios are starting to break up directing into two different teams. You have the headliner director who directs all the talky scenes and then they just sort of Jazz hands and another team comes into direct and film all the action/CGI stuff. In a way the director and cinematographers are supposed to be like the on set test audience going over each scene as their filming, but the problem is as the budgets explode, you just cant do CGI and film at the same time, you have to hope the green screens work.
At the same time I've heard some directors wash their hands of it already together. I'd be willing to bet Ryan Coogler, Chloé Zhao, and Cate Shortland, just sat on the sidelines or werent even there at all for the CGI scenes of their Marvel projects. None of them are known for action.
I think the exception lately has been James Gunn and Sam Raimi who seem obsessive about the look and feel of their films. Though well have to see with Strange 2 which will likely be a giant CGI fest. The Octopus monster in the strange two trailers also looked pretty floaty. Its a real uncanny valley thing with me and CGI. Ive rather you just use puppets. Thats where Mando has really shined. I love the film background technique they came up with.
It's why I prefer straight to DVD martial arts movies so much. Most of the directors usually have control over their films. I'll happily take a reasonably lower budget, over a super constant, in your face, CGI fest. And say whatever you will about WB and DC, but after Batman v Superman and Justice League, they let the directors have full control over their movies and do whatever they want within reason. I do admit that the director of Wonder Woman 1984 went too far though. She should have been restrained in certain regards. Spent way too much on the flashback that did not need to be 20 minutes long.
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I'll throw Matt Reeves in there. I haven't seen The Batman, but visually it looks very engaging. I also rewatched the modern Planet of the Apes movies again recently, and with both Dawn and War I was kinda shocked at how well they're lit and how it makes the CGI look super crunchy.
Even when directos are able to add some animatronics in current movies though it's like they no longer know how to make it look good. I saw the scene in Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Zuul in the Wallmart, and the way they lit that animatronic made it stand out quite harshly.
I don't know, I don't think it's the amount of CGI, I think it depends on how much the director is involved. Avatar is a pretty mediocre movie, but visually it had it together. James Cameron was already very experienced with special effects beforehand and it really shows as Avatar never feels like an incoherent visual effects mess (like Spawn). It is ultimately just a bunch of special effects with table scraps worth of story and characters, but it doesn't feel like this was just rolled out of the blockbuster factory. You can tell Cameron was heavily involved with every frame of this movie.
Again I could be wrong on this, but I'm going to lay the blame at studio heads who see CGI and digital effects as a way to more easily cut corners and speed up the filming process. And only few directors probably have the willpower, the energy, and the sales pitch talent to say 'no, we're doing it my way'.
I think that's why some recent horror movies, like Don't Breath and Happy Death Day, have been a positive surprise for me. Seeing as horror as a genre is not something the studio is going to be too worried about in terms of mass market, family friendly appeal, and the budgets for the movies not being that high anyway, they seem to just let the directors kinda just do what they want to.
I'm not denying this, but my point was that nothing sticks out about it now other than creative thumbprint. That's the only advantage Avatar really has at this point.
Yes. That and always having these "second unit" teams, directors, and and other over controlling and unnecessary stuff.
Don't Breathe was a one time type of movie for me. I enjoyed it, but not enough to own it. I still haven't seen the sequel, nor have much interest to watch it. Happy Death Day I give credit for doing something different and accomplishing on a low budget, but I have not seen it nor the sequel either. Surprisingly, my dad loves the crap out of that movie. He's only seen it once, but has not seen the sequel yet. Keep in mind, he doesn't care much for horror.
You got to get credit to Blum House, they know how to do stuff on a low budget and make it work most of the time. It's why I enjoy The Purge movies after the first one so much. You're actually, legit, good action horror movies, that went way more in the action scale as a series goes. The fact that it actually has something to say and knows how to spread the message, makes them even more enjoyable. These movies were and are ahead of the curb. The sequels don't get enough credit from movie critics and certain audiences. That said, the films have been gaining more and more recognition even after their regular success.