Escape to the Movies: Red Tails

[PunkRex]

I liked the Underworld movies... mostly, the second one had a few drawn out parts and the third kind of buged me. We knew exactly what was going to happen and yet they kept trying to make it tense. The big Werewolf vs Vampire mashup at the end was banging though.

 

[CaptainOctopus]

What so you're saying half of this movie isn't about robots we don't care about, fighting clones we also don't care about? And the other half isn't about two dull characters exchanging poorly written dialog between each other while standing still, sitting on a couch or walking slowly behind a blue screen all filmed in basic shot reverse shot like a frikken 90's soap opera? Well then Red Tails might be something for me after all, at least it looks mostly like it could be "real" .

And for the folks who still feel the need to defend the prequels by trying to justify many of their big or small flaws I think you people are missing the big picture. The movies where not only bad because of some flaws, plot holes or because they had a single very annoying character, films can often have multiple flaws in them but still be considered great movies. No the main reason the prequels often are considered to be mediocre at best are because of the basic movie making mistakes in them, mistakes that any good filmmaker could and should have avoided.

Everybody got that?

Good now seriously just go and watch the Redlettermedia [http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/] videos about them. Because when you get past the cheesy jokes you will see that those videos are quite informative and actually provide a very good analys on film in general. They go through various multiple important subjects like characterization, story writing, cinematography, editing, character arch, toning, casting, plots & subplots, the role of a producer, actor, director etc.

It made me appreciate all the efforts that goes into making a good movie a lot more than before and of course gave me a better understanding of why I never really can connect to some films like I can with some others. Why I can easily overlook flaws and plot holes in some movies but not in movies like the Revenge of the Sith.

Stay cool

 

[RTR]

Wow, it's only January and we already have two movies worth talking about

 

[StriderShinryu]

Haywire was disappointing. I loved Carano and thought she played the role extremely well, but the rest of the movie just didn't hold up. The pacing was all over the place and the fight scenes, while nicely staged and choreographed, felt really slow and fairly sloppy. The one fight with the no name thug near the beginning after the foot chase was easily the best in the movie mainly because, I'm guessing, it involved a trained fighter in Carano and an actual stunt man as opposed to Carano and an actor. The worst offender of the movie, however, was the sound design. The music was way too loud and intrusive, and the sound effects, particularly during the fight scenes, were awful. In short, see it for Carano and hope she goes on to do more things (even if she ends up as a female Jason Statham) but don't expect much else.

Underworld was the definition of bad ass. There was so much good in the movie that I'll just say the one bad thing. The CGI, particularly as far as the Lycans are concerned, still isn't 100% there in terms of integration with the live action stuff so they stand out a bit. That's it. Everything else was damn near perfect. Oh, well I guess the ending wasn't that great but it just leaves you wanting the next one in the series.

The marketing for this film seemed rather shallow, glad it doesn't suck.

I have to agree with this. Granted, I only saw one trailer for it, but the one I did see showed pretty much nothing of what Bob speaks about. Still not sure if I'll go see it or not, but I'm very glad to hear it's way more than the garbage the trailer seemed to sell it as.

 

[Nerdstar]

thank you bob for finally saying what iv been feeling for forever! enough with the Lucas bashing!!! we get he made some changes to his movies and made a couple of less then stellar prequels. I'm just so sick of being able to predict with godlike accuracy that when eve hes brought up someones going to ***** about him and make jokes about him playing with his "junk" and making bad movies that stopped being funny(if they ever were) years ago! are we so jaded and angry that we cant remember the good things he gave us? seriously?!?!!?

The Lucas bashing comes from the fact that the man was revolutionary, then became mediocre. For some back in the day, Star Wars was the shit. Now in days, it got so CGI'd and lost its magic because he kept releasing it and changing things, such as adding the words 'mediclorian' to the end of many sentences for little to no purpose.

To make a better sense of this, you don't see other revolutionaries of his time releasing the same movie again but with HD 3D effects, or changing their past works. Lucas obviously learned how to milk a franchise, and as much as I hate to say it, the franchise lost lots of value because of the milking. Theres a limit to how long you should milk, and Lucas did it so much that he literally milked the cow until its bones dried up.

sigh...look i'm not denying that there are a shit ton of valid criticisms leveled against george ill be one of the first to admit that "mediclorian" is a dirty word(i just ignore that as cann and im good) and that there are alot of out of place CGI scenes and what have you in there in there, as for the milking part George has cashed in on the franchise quite alot but that still doesn't ruin it for me i still love the watch the original trilogy, i still love to read the expanded universe books, i still love to the the starwars tabletop RPG's and videogames (hell i even like to pop in episodes 2 & 3 occasionally never one thoe that we can all agree on)

im not against criticizing him for bad decisions its just the raw hate im against, when you call the man scum becuse he resles 1 terrible movie and 2 that didn't exactly measure up thats not cool, everyone forgets that without him we wouldn't have starwars in the first place. your opouin/critism is completly vaild and allright its the "haters" that im so tired of thats all..

 

[delroland]

"Red Tails" gives Tuskegee Airmen action movie which they never get back in the days...

What about The Tuskegee Airmen [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/]?
(and You call yourself a movie critic )

Sorry but TV MOVIES don't count.

I don't suppose Band of Brothers counts as an epic piece of WWII filmography either, just because it was made for TV?

How is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvYvQcppaU4

Any different than this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7djV1APDiB8&feature=fvst

Except that the first had a smaller budget and better acting?

 

[Primus1985]

Ok lets start the list: Havent seen much for Haywire, guess marketing dropped the ball. Its great to see a well made, high action movie that not only has a female lead but said lead is a natural badass fighter. Yea her as Diana I can see very well, now DC just needs to beg and plead Joss Whedon to write the script again because we damn sure know they cant write.

Im not going into the George Lucas thing, as Bob said worn out years ago. I was attracted to this movie from the trailers because of the dogfighting and aerial combat scenes. I could tell it was mostly CG but the texture seemed very life like and the very few movies, especially WW2 movies, pay attention to dogfighting or really show fights in depth. That and Terrance Howard I'll see almost anything he's in, even if he isnt the star I can't recall a movie he was in that wasnt good.


Really you liked ALL the Underworld movies? I almost gave up on after 2, which was kinda boring IMO and I stopped watching halfway. 3 was excellent, suberb, hell you can make the case that if you put 3, 1, and now 4 together you have a perfect chronological trilogy.

Looks like my weekend schedule will be full of high-caliber action movies, just the way I like it. Who knew, three great movies in one month? In January no less. Like I said earlier the Marketing at these studios must suck.

 

[Wriggle Wyrm]

I?m not going to see it. It?s not because of Lucas (though he does deserve his own special place in hell for what he did to SW fans) or even the quality of the film itself. It?s because as far as I?m concerned, it?s just next in a long litany of World War II films.

Between the endless movies, documentaries, video games, ham-handed analogies to the present and political schlock; I just got tired of it. WW2 has been so overdone that I can?t muster the enthusiasm for even the best movie about it.

 

[Indignator]

Spoiler

Actually Bob, if I may;

I'd say the Tuskegee Airmen got quite a good film made about them the the horrors they faced both from the enemy and from their own government in the 1995 film "The Tuskegee Airmen" staring Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr.(who is also in Red Tails), Allen Payne, Malcom Jamal-Warner and John Lithgow to name a few.

Spoiler

If I recall, The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) was quite good. I might take the time to see this one as well.

Spoiler

Red Tails

George Lucas chronicles the Tuskegee Airmen.

Watch Video

Pretty sure they've made a movie on this subject before Bob...give me a moment


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tuskegee_airmen/

Yup, here it is.

And oh look! It was aparently good.

So, I am not sure what you mean about this topic not being covered before...

OT: I thought this movie could have been good, but it was just so pathetically marketed for me to have any interest in it, that being said, I say we are all a little hard on Lucas now and again...although his interview on Jon Stewart made him seem impossibly ignorant.

Spoiler

"Red Tails" gives Tuskegee Airmen action movie which they never get back in the days...

What about The Tuskegee Airmen [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/]?
(and You call yourself a movie critic )

Spoiler

"Red Tails" gives Tuskegee Airmen action movie which they never get back in the days...

What about The Tuskegee Airmen [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/]?
(and You call yourself a movie critic )

I still have no idea how MovieBob could do the entire review without ONCE mentioning the movie about the exact same characters, with the same basic plotline, and starring the same lead actor.

He could just have been trolling all of us, of course.

I'm taking bets that on the next Big Picture or Escape to the Movies Bob will lash back at everyone that pointed this out (I include myself in this - for the length of the entire review I was thinking, "What about the one with Laurence Fishourne?"). You know, something like, "Ooh, you know of an obscure made-for-TV movie made almost twenty years ago, and you had to make a post boasting about it? Aren't you a walking encyclopedia of cinematic history."

 

[HassEsser]

The trailer for this movie blasted its way into my eardrums a few hundred times, showing explosions and playing obnoxiously horrible dubstep, so I was compelled to despise this movie from the get-go.

Glad it was just their marketing department mucking it up, I plan on seeing this movie now.

 

[duchaked]

LOL MovieBob tells it to them haters

but I definitely want to watch this movie...yea that's all lol
haven't been going to theaters much lately, but it's one that has caught my attention

 

[Muspelheim]

This seems like a movie I'd like to watch! I've been waiting for a good and honest WW2 dogfight-flick for a good while. I suppose warfilms is my guilty pleasure... I blame my dad.

I mean, back when Battle of Britain was filmed, they had to rely on RC models and whatever functioning wartime planes they could borrow. Now, we've got CGI to fill in those gaps, just like CGI should be used for. I've always wondered why there's been so few efforts at films of that kind.

EDIT: And just because it needs to be said: It's just Star Wars. Even if the prequels are rather bad films, they're not on par with George Lucas personally assassinating your family on Christmas Eve. Why not give him the benefit of a doubt? He might have gotten over whatever bad habits he were on when he did the prequels.

 

[Fappy]

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

You liked the Underworld movies?!

My head is hurting just trying to absorb that notion.

Kate Beckinsale is fucking hot ok? Leave the man alone!

Bob doesn't seem to be able to differentiate between a movie that has a hot woman in it and a genuinely good movie.

And sometimes he goes in the other direction and can only talk about the hot women in a genuinely good movie. Remember when he licked his lips over the lesbian scene in Black Swan for several minutes rather than talk about anything else about that film?

I believe I may have the same weakness

 

[YodaUnleashed]

George Lucas has my undying respect no matter how many Special Editions he attempts to shove onto shelves. The man is a visionary whose work changed the movie industry for the better. Is he a good director? The jury is out on that one, but he is a brilliant filmmaker. How many other directors out there have actually gone out of their way to create the technology required for their dream project, solely for the purpose of creating said project? The only others that I can think of are James Cameron and possibly Peter Jackson.

I don't think the jury is out on George Lucas' skill as a director, after all, he did direct the original Star Wars, was still heavily involved with the direction of both it's sequels and I don't think theres anything wrong per se with the direction of the prequels. Rather, it is his writing skills which undermine his creative vision and I've said it time and time again: the main reason the prequels are lacking in comparison to the originals (and just in general) is because George Lucas wrote the scripts and the number of re-drafts all on his own.

With the originals he had other writers like Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett and even his then wife Marcia Lucas (along with big input from Irvin Kershner on Empire), amongst a few others, who helped refine and polish his original scripts into what we see on the screen. With the prequels, it was a different matter entirely and Lucas, solely and singularly wrote the scripts and the re-drafts all on his lonesome with few if any major creative changes in the realms of story or plot or character dialogue and development. In contrast, the current Clone Wars series has had a writing team with different directors for each show giving those besides George Lucas greater creative control when it comes to the most fundamental elements like the story and the characters. That's why the Clone Wars as a whole, in many ways, is better than the films on which it is based and it sounds like, (if reports are to be believed) that the live action series will follow in a similar working veign when it eventually gets made. George is at his best when he is serving as the grand architect whose overall vision ends up on the screen whilst other equally creative individuals work on the more nitty-gritty detailed side of the job to which George (in respect to writing and on his own admission) is not the most proficient in.

Now of course, just because there are other writers doesn't guarentee success but its clear when looking objectively at how the star wars films were made that that is the key factor for the difference of quality of the two trilogies. As for Red Tails, well I guess I've gotta go watch it myself.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

The actual character concept could be quite interesting. It's just never been handled well, at all.

First off, she's an Amazonian warrior that just happens to dress like she's entering a miss America pageant. I mean seriously, that armour is ludicrous. It's not even the rule of skimp that bothers me. It's the fact that she's from a Greek myth but wares what is essentially a star spangled banner onesy, complete with tiara. She's also got an invisible plane and a lasso that makes people tell the truth. Also bullet deflecting bracelets.

She is just a poorly conceived character and has no relevance today. They would need to give her a complete reboot for her to even make sense.

You might be interested in the idea "Dresden Codak" creator Aaron Diaz came up with for her [http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/30/superhero-costumes-redesigns-aaron-diaz/]. Both the design and the revised characterization.

The made of stone shtick can get fucked, but otherwise that's a solid gold awesome design. Shit loads better than the load of ass the 'creative' team on her for New52 ended up giving her.

I'd also say keep the Lasso of Truth, but that's cos I'm a traditionalist and a big part of her character (apart from the S&M) is 'truth'. Also, ditching the invisible jet has been standard in comics for God knows how long. Last time I remember seeing it played straight was Batman: Brave and the Bold on TV, and I'd remind you this is also the series in which Black Canary, Catwoman and Huntress all sang an (awesome) song about how awesome Batman would be in bed.

I think he's confused Mary Marvel [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Mary_Marvel] and Ms.Marvel [http://marvel.wikia.com/Ms._Marvel]. Captain Marvel has never worn a helmet and a fin on his head that I know of, but Captain Mar-Vel has.

That Starfire redesign is WONDERFUL. I have refused purchase of Red Hood and the Outlaws because of how they treated her. His redesign is that classy sort of sexy. Although I'd make her look older with better defined muscles, cos like Wonder Woman, she's a warrior princess. Possibly throw the royal crest of Tameran on her chest, whatever that might be.

 

[The Bandit]

I wish Bob would just stick to reviewing the movie, instead of reviewing the audience. Once again, he insults our intelligence by panning the general public. he paints them in broad strokes, depicting a vaguely defined group of people (that may or may not include you) as a bunch of whining cry babies/jocks/elitists/brainless mob who are not doing things the way Bob would prefer. There are places for soap-boxing, and that place shouldn't be within a five minute review. At least, not when it is totally irrelevant to the film, yet takes up more space in the review than the film itself.

Bob, I don't care if you noticed that some people dismiss George Lucas out of hand. You do not get any medals for talking about them, you don't win points for admonishing them, and you won't convince anyone by jeering at them like a smart arse.

He's not panning the 'general public' he's panning people who dismiss the movie purely because it has George Lucas involved and they don't like the stuff he'd done recently. Either you weren't paying attention or you are one of those people and are hurt that someone has dared to point out the folly of your actions

But there's nothing wrong with choosing to not see a movie because of the people involved in it. Do you think he would get pissy at the audience if they chose to not see a Michael Bay movie? If a creator makes crap, it's perfectly logical to stop buying the crap at a certain point.

I haven't seen the film (and won't), but it currently has a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. This very much seems like Bob is taking the unpopular opinion just to generate some type of controversy to get viewers. Or because he's a dirty fucking hipster, something which I see creep up from time to time.

 

[The Bandit]

I haven't seen the film (and won't), but it currently has a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. This very much seems like Bob is taking the unpopular opinion just to generate some type of controversy to get viewers. Or because he's a dirty fucking hipster, something which I see creep up from time to time.

I don't watch Bob from week to week, so I guess so. I find it hard to take his opinion seriously when he says shit like "KRYPTO THE SUPER DOG MUST BE IN THE NEXT SUPERMAN MOVIE!"

 

[Trombone_Hero]

Went to see Red Tails with some friends, and I enjoyed it. Definitely a good movie, I think it could have been great, but it tripped up a couple times, so it is what it is.

What I don't like, is the unneeded bashing of the Plinkett Reviews, I love those things!

 

[Trombone_Hero]

EDIT: Double Post.... :\