War of the Worlds/movie fx old and new etc.

[Crow Haven]

Get a BIG bag of popcorn, Bruce, and have fun with WOTW! I'd even see it a second time!

I rarely get to see "chick flicks"...the last one I saw was "White Chicks," and I about died laughing (ok, so my taste in films really is questionable!) ...the special fx, though, were more along the line of cosmetics, but just too hilarious...

[a4hire]

Hey I saw white Chicks with the Girls too. That was a very funny movie. Lots of fun!

[RAMWolff44]

A friend of mine saw War of the Worlds and told me to save my money. I will anyway. Cruise is rude and over the top with his biased opinion about whether someone needs meds to help control the chemical imbalances causing a mess of brain disorders. What an ass!! That puts me off from seeing a movie when I don't care for the actor! I also was told, while the special FX were really cool and it was non stop action throughout there was really very little story line. I said "Oh, sounds like Van Helsing" and she said "No, Van Helsing had a story line and a plot, somewhat" this movie was worth it to her but she wouldn't consider buying it when it hit the shelves!! She owns a copy of Van Helsing though!! As do I!! Two of the BEST CG werewolves I've ever seen. I love monster movies but this was THE one that had it all!! Edge of your seat, non stop action, gorgeous CG effects and Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale were really great to watch as well as the rest of the cast. The extras DVD was really fun too!

Bewitched got some pretty sad reviews but I would still see it!! Shirley MacLaine as Endora? Oh yea, I'm there!!

All the best

[Crow Haven]

Hey Richard! I'm just always intrigued by what is being done in film fx and cg fx so I go check 'em out. When Van Helsing was first advertised I really wasn't enthused much by the trailers, then the reviews were mixed and a lot of people said it wasn't good...and I didn't go see it at the theater (but I wish now that I had!)...but I got a copy when it came out on dvd and found it really enjoyable, fun and the details of the sets and unique cgfx has made it become one of the flicks I come back to play again and again! Some may not like some things about it, some awkwardness here and there, but that doesn't ruin it for me. The cg fx are quite impressive. I really got a kick out of the friar's character too -- he had some of the funniest parts, imo.

I haven't seen the new Batman yet -- I'm interested though. I really loved the first Batman with Michael Keaton (part of that was an "atmosphere")...but then I'm a big time fan of Tim Burton's films (Sleepy Hollow and Big Fish and Nightmare Before Christmas being ones I especially just can't get enough of...I also seem to find I like a lot of the acting parts Johnny Depp does -- he takes chances and new directions others don't -- Edward Scissorhands being a standout and fav of mine too.

The special fx in films, whether cg or other type can be so magical, but nothing makes up for lack of a great story. The story comes first IMO. WOTW's story is so familiar to me, though, I found this new film kept to the ideas considering it was based on what came from a short story then a radio broadcast, and the story line is simply a martian invasion and earth's struggle with that, the panic, etc., the idea in the end that there's wisdom in nature and that saves us. Instead of embelishing the original story with lots of new material and new storyline, this movie just keeps more to the original story outline, so it's not a complicated one at all.

For "something else Mars" along a comedy line, try "Mars Attacks!" (Tim Burton too), people either hate it or love it. I'm one of those who loves a lot of the offbeat stuff and at times I find I'm in the mood for watching Mars Attacks! I also get a kick out of Buckaroo Banzai and Joe's Apartment (I can't get over how well those roaches act, sing and dance, great fx there, and they are smarter than all the humans too! ) -- what can I say, I have strange tastes I guess!

[gidgit]

I don't think you have strange tastes at all Maya....We too very much enjoy the acting of J Depp, and the parts he chooses to take, which always seem to allow him to expand his abilities with each new role... a true artist that boy

Shirley MacLaine as Endora? Oh yea, I'm there!!

Oh Richard... I totaly agree

[Crow Haven]

Well, thanks gidge -- I don't feel too awfully peculiar now.

As for Shirley MacLaine -- she's done some fine roles...but one of my all time favorites of hers was her first role (if I'm not mistaken) in Hitchcock's film, "The Trouble With Harry."
Yeah, it's an oldie, but it just sends me into fits of laughter with it's twists and satire...intermixed with my shocked total amazement by the stunning New England autumn landscapes -- delicious scenery! Wow!

[Gare]

So these two guys meet in a bar, and one tells the other, "My wife is a real witch!"

Stop me if you've heard this one.

Maya-Shirley MacLaine=Sweet Charity, imo.

-g-

[Crow Haven]

Oh yeah, I know...but inspite of her connections, etc., I still liked her in "The Trouble With Harry." Okay, I am peculiar! hehe

[Klaus Nordby]

Maya, I'm with you regarding "The Trouble With Harry"! A very odd, charming movie, one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. Ah, those were the days -- when Real Movies were still made, not just Popcorn-selling vehicles.

[Crow Haven]

Yay!!! Hi Klaus -- great to see you over here! Good to see another fan of this Hitchcock oldie too...I haven't run into many people who have seen it. It is charming, that's a good description, as well as full of quirky funny stuff. I just love it. I had to wait a long time to find a dvd of it...before that, I rarely got a chance to catch it on TV. It's such a favorite of mine. I love the scenery as well. I am a Hitchcock fan -- many of his films are interesting to me. "The Birds" of course, and the way the fx were done then...but also because with that one in part I grew up in the SF area and those regions northward of it, so Bodega Bay is very familiar to me. I understand the atmosphere of that little place. I could go on and on. Another favorite of mine is North By Northwest -- there were some interesting fx used in it too for the time (and I'm a Cary Grant fan -- another old favorite of mine he was in is "Arsenic and Old Lace" -- again charning, but a bit twisted and often very funny), and I just love the storylines.