• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

the holiday blockbuster thread!

Brad Barker

Brad Barker

Apr 13, 2001
7,141
13
41
berkeley, ca
#1
there are at least two big blockbusters this holiday season, and i figured it would make sense to consolidate them into one thread.


1) the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

2) king kong

[change of plans--see the king kong thread for king kong-related excitement. :hmm: ]



i saw (1) last night. i was a big fan of the books when i read them when i was in 3rd grade, so this movie had several years' worth of expectations attached to it from me. it did not disappoint. well acted by all. lucy, in particular, was adorable! i want a lucy of my own! :D

i don't recall every detail from the book, so i can't comment on what was done differently. i can say with confidence, however, that there was no big epic battle in the book. :p

the battle in the movie was very cool, though. it was lord of the rings caliber, imo, and framed in a better story.

however, i don't know what was sacrificed from the original story for this battle scene. in its own right, the film is excellent.

an added bonus is that you get to see what i looked like in elementary school--edmund is ME, man! very, very strange!

once i'm back in psl (in tampa at the moment) and have some pictures of myself as a kid, i'll have to post some comparisons. :D



i will be seeing (2) in the near future.
 
#2
I saw both of them on Tuesday. CONarnia was good- I wasn't very impressed with the intergration of the CG and the actors, but I'm nitpicky about that. Pretty accurate to the book, IIRC.

King Kong though.....TOTALLY kicked ass. It's long...like three hours long...but it was incredible. Best CG action sequences I've seen since Return of the King, and some were better (although on a smaller scale, of course).
 
#7
Brad Barker said:
there are at least two big blockbusters this holiday season, and i figured it would make sense to consolidate them into one thread.


1) the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

2) king kong



i saw (1) last night. i was a big fan of the books when i read them when i was in 3rd grade, so this movie had several years' worth of expectations attached to it from me. it did not disappoint. well acted by all. lucy, in particular, was adorable! i want a lucy of my own! :D

i don't recall every detail from the book, so i can't comment on what was done differently. i can say with confidence, however, that there was no big epic battle in the book. :p

the battle in the movie was very cool, though. it was lord of the rings caliber, imo, and framed in a better story.

however, i don't know what was sacrificed from the original story for this battle scene. in its own right, the film is excellent.

an added bonus is that you get to see what i looked like in elementary school--edmund is ME, man! very, very strange!

once i'm back in psl (in tampa at the moment) and have some pictures of myself as a kid, i'll have to post some comparisons. :D



i will be seeing (2) in the near future.
Click to expand...

Probably need to put the new Harry Potter movie in there. That film's made some serious coin since November..

I really want to see Narnia!!


King Kong... Meh....
 
#9
I saw The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I've read the series many times since the first in 4th grade and I recently taught it with my class so I read each chapter three times. I noticed every single difference from the book but as far as adaptations go this is about as true as it gets to the book.

Brad Barker said:
don't recall every detail from the book, so i can't comment on what was done differently. i can say with confidence, however, that there was no big epic battle in the book.
Click to expand...

You betta check yoself! That battle is indeed in the book except Lewis mostly left the details to the imagination. However, we do see a recount of Edmund smacking the White Witch's wand in the book and we also see Aslan pouncing on her. In the book, just like in the movie, the battle is progressing as Aslan is bringing the stone creatures back to life. However, Lewis doesn't take us there until Aslan and the other creatures arrive at the battle. The movie shows us the battle before Aslan gets there, which is pretty much a necessity of the movie version IMO.

Two major sequences that come to mind that weren't in the book are:

The confrontation with the wolves on the ice (the lead wolf, captain of the witch's secret police, was named Fenris Ulf in the book. His name is inexplicably changed in the movie).

The Beavers' and Pevensies' escape from the beaver house was different in the movie...obviously the purpose was to make it more exciting.

There were a bunch more but those are two big ones.

Anyway...

Bryan R. Tyler said:
I wasn't very impressed with the intergration of the CG and the actors, but I'm nitpicky about that.
Click to expand...

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the movie I must agree. There were some times that were way too green-screeny and at the beginning there were some awkward moments with Mr. Tumnus's legs. I expected better from Weta. Some of the makeup wasn't that great either. The problem is these are all things that I compare to Lord of the Rings, which was near-flawless in that regard.

Aslan was superb though. Really good CG there IMO.

brad cook
 
#12
We saw 1 last weekend. Excellent movie! Some of the CG was less than perfect, but it wasn't overly noticeable.

I think it is the best movie I have seen this year, and maybe the best I have seen since ROTK.

That battle sequence was amazing. Second best I have seen, a bit behind the big one in ROTK.

We will go and see 2 in a couple of weeks, after my 2 weeks of on call is over.
 
#13
SMASH said:
1. I don't even know who or what a Narnia is.

2. Tried watching LoTR and liked the first film well enough but got really bored in the 2nd and turned it off partway through. Never tried the 3rd. I do like King Kong, but wouldn't go sit in a 1st-run theatre for it as I'd be inspired to kong (verb) the people behind me inevitably chewing something crispy with their mouths open in-between discussing their friends' dating woes. Maybe on video, but at 3 hours maybe not.
Click to expand...
Ditto on both points...how articulate! There hasn't been a movie in recent years that you'd be able to pay me to rent, let alone waste at least twice as much bread on in a theater.
 
#14
canopener said:
Ditto on both points...how articulate! There hasn't been a movie in recent years that you'd be able to pay me to rent, let alone waste at least twice as much bread on in a theater.
Click to expand...

You should become a professional movie critic.

Seriously though, those are some high standards. It seems that whenever someone says that new movies, games, books etc are no good, they forget that the old ones weren't any better.
 
#15
Davidoc said:
You should become a professional movie critic.

Seriously though, those are some high standards. It seems that whenever someone says that new movies, games, books etc are no good, they forget that the old ones weren't any better.
Click to expand...
Entirely true...there were definitely more than a handful of "classic" flicks that I could barely choke my way through. I don't think I have high standards when it comes to movies, I just don't like to waste my time.
 
#17
Jumping_Bomb_Angel said:
Narnia was a great film - and not just because I am IN IT!

Yeah I was an extra - 4 18 hour days in Ogre makeup was not a lot of fun, but a great experience.

Tilda Swinton is nice in person, no Diva ego, but sufficiently menacing as Jadis, the White Witch.
Click to expand...


oh, man! i haven't seen you around in a long while! :eek:

which ogre were you? :p


and i guess that trumps my "being" edmund. :( :p
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back