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#8,461
gln1955 said:
Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein. A visually impressive take on the Mary Shelly story that had to be rewritten to satisfy Del Toro's ego. In all, it was OK but overly long.
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Saw it on the big screen last week along with a Q&A with the cinematographer. Yes, very much a departure from the original. Seemed a companion piece to Shape of Water to me though on the paternal relationship rather than romantic. Jacob Elordi really carried it IMO. Interesting that there was surprisingly little CGI/VFX as it sort of has that look (the wolves very obviously are). Mainly large built sets - including the ship being 1:1 - and a lot of miniatures, such as the tower, etc. in composite shots. Worth the watch though I don't know that I would do a repeat.

I think I'd be more charitable on Del Toro's motives. I expect he was just looking for how to bring something different to such well trod material. He and Tom Hanks seem to have the reputations for nicest guys in Hollywood.
 
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#8,463
Dynacord said:
Saw it on the big screen last week along with a Q&A with the cinematographer. Yes, very much a departure from the original. Seemed a companion piece to Shape of Water to me though on the paternal relationship rather than romantic. Jacob Elordi really carried it IMO. Interesting that there was surprisingly little CGI/VFX as it sort of has that look (the wolves very obviously are). Mainly large built sets - including the ship being 1:1 - and a lot of miniatures, such as the tower, etc. in composite shots. Worth the watch though I don't know that I would do a repeat.

I think I'd be more charitable on Del Toro's motives. I expect he was just looking for how to bring something different to such well trod material. He and Tom Hanks seem to have the reputations for nicest guys in Hollywood.
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The monster's superhuman strength was a bit much and really unnecessary. His immortality is left a bit ambiguous in the novel but here we have to see him shrug off a stick of dynamite exploding in his hand. Dramatic, but it gets you into the realm of superhero stuff which the story would be fine without.
 
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#8,464
gln1955 said:
The monster's superhuman strength was a bit much and really unnecessary. His immortality is left a bit ambiguous in the novel but here we have to see him shrug off a stick of dynamite exploding in his hand. Dramatic, but it gets you into the realm of superhero stuff which the story would be fine without.
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Agree. That does require more suspension of disbelief than I would like. And Elordi gave the character depth and played it quite differently than previous interpretations. It would have been a very different movie with someone else in that role.

Still, I think the best male performances I've seen this year are Crowe in Nuremberg and Sean Penn in One Battle After Another. Jeremy Allen White is really good in Deliver Me From Nowhere as well.
 
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#8,473
Right now, I'm watching The Glimmer Man, starring Steven Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans. KIW's too good for this movie... as is Brian Cox. I started listening to The Action Boyz podcast episode of this movie and I turned it off after 15 minutes because I had to watch this thing before they talked about it.
 
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#8,476
Watched the local broadcast of "Run to Feed the Hungry" this morning. It's the biggest Thanksgiving run in America. A lot of fun and whimsy, and for a great cause. Then turned to the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. I can do without the pop stars, but I like the balloons, the floats, and the marching bands. Then, NFL football.
 
#8,477
WarGames.jpg
 
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#8,478
whodom said:
And far better than the reboot King’s son oversaw a few years ago.
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Oh really?

That's disappointing - I was a huge fan of the book, and felt utterly let down by the series, so had high hopes for the new version (gave up on it when the theatrical release was scrapped, and it was only available on a pay per view service within another layer of Amazon pay per view service).

I meant to re-read the book during the pandemic, but it felt a little close to the bone, and actually a few aspects of it have not dated well, now that I think of it - which is in part why I had pinned my hopes on the new version.

Anyway, you've inspired me to dig out my old DVD of the original mini-series, and give it another go.
 
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#8,479
stubborne said:
Got it. I'll probably still give it a try but I'll re-read it first. Yah, Arnold basically made a cartoon version of the story, no where close honestly.
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The original movie was directed by Starsky, of Starsky & Hutch.

I never much cared for it, beyond the novelty value of bizarre cameos from Mick Fleetwood, and Dweezil Zappa - and it clearly being the inspiration for the tv show American Gladiators (two scoops!!!).

Anyway, about 9 or 10 years ago, I went to an all-night Arnie movie marathon, in London (Commando, The Running Man, Predator, The Terminator, Terminator 2), and it was the first time I'd seen The Running Man on the big screen, and in its original aspect ratio - and it completely changed my opinion of the movie. It was an entirely different experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Still haven't seen the new one, but the trailer looked bloody awful - which is a shame, because I've always been a fan of Edgar Wright's movies, until Last Night In Soho, which was a total misfire.

I'm also not a fan of that lead actor; although I did think he was perfectly cast as that smug prick in Top Gun: Maverick, and played up to the role in a satisfying way.
 
#8,480
MonetBass said:
Based on the trailers, the new "Running Man" doesn't seem to have the same grittiness and darkness as the original. It looks like they're trying to make it into a straight-up action flick, which is disappointing.
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It looks like a remake / ripoff of the John Cena movie "Jackpot!"

It's almost as if somebody thought the Total Recall remake was good idea.
 
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