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LesterGroans posted:You know, I've really liked a lot of Villeneuve movies and it has a pretty great cast, but the new Dune isn't grabbing my attention at all.
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Jul 19, 2021 18:25
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X-Ray Pecs posted:It’s really funny that Square dropped hundreds of millions of dollars to create a movie studio and the only thing they made was as dull as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. I was hoping there’d be something to cling to, but nah, the most you get is a couple cool images and two remotely interesting characters (please don’t ever again make a movie where I have to give credit to James Woods). Hey, there’s also the dogshit movie that they made to patch up the script holes in Final Fantasy XV! I think it’d be a great movie to show in a film class, because it really displays the urgent necessity of a competent director. The movie is gorgeous, full of cool looking imagery, and the plot they want to tell is a fairly simple one. But because the directing is so poor, you come away feeling like you didn’t understand a thing, and didn’t clearly see anything.
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Jul 19, 2021 18:28
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Anonymous Robot posted:Hey, there’s also the dogshit movie that they made to patch up the script holes in Final Fantasy XV! Kingsglaive and Advent Children (lol you forgot that one, apparently it’s also dogshit) we’re done by Square’s in-house cutscene makers, Square Pictures was a brand-new venture with a brand-new studio built in HAWAII. What a clusterfuck! But yeah, the biggest things that struck me were how flat the direction was, and how boring most of the characters are. I get it’s difficult to transition from writing characters for 30-40 hour games to a sub-2 hour movie, but no one’s given any life except Steve Buscemi’s wisecracking Pvt. Hudson rear end and the comically evil villain who just really wants to shoot his big space laser (goddammit James Woods). Like, gently caress, Zell’s introduction in FFVIII has more character work than all of The Spirits Within. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWrAZhemws4
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Jul 19, 2021 18:43
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X-Ray Pecs posted:Kingsglaive and Advent Children (lol you forgot that one, apparently it’s also dogshit) we’re done by Square’s in-house cutscene makers, Square Pictures was a brand-new venture with a brand-new studio built in HAWAII. What a clusterfuck! FWIW I haven’t seen Spirits Within, I was talking about Kingsglaive. I came away from that movie feeling like I couldn’t grasp the intricacies of its plot, but I wanted to play the game, so I sat down and thought it out. The good guys are muscled into signing a peace treaty by the bad guys, and everyone tells the good king it’s a trap. Turns out, it’s a trap. The sword wizards fight off the bad guys and their big monsters but the good guys still suffer significant losses. That’s it. There’s a subplot involving racial heritage and citizenship but it doesn’t add any wrinkles to the story. The movie is also filmed in the lavish visual style of a cologne ad, and it looks stunning, with breathtaking visual designs, but the shot composition and editing combine to make such a frantic, distracted style that you don’t ever get to appreciate it. This a movie that features kaiju battles and teleporting wizards fighting a giant squid inside an airship. The bad guys have an android army that they just unceremoniously drop out of airships like dead weight, who then unfold like weird accordion dolls and start blasting people with uzis. But none of it has any visual weight or impact in the movie. One is tempted to pause it or look at stills.
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Jul 19, 2021 18:56
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Anonymous Robot posted:FWIW I haven’t seen Spirits Within, I was talking about Kingsglaive. I came away from that movie feeling like I couldn’t grasp the intricacies of its plot, but I wanted to play the game, so I sat down and thought it out. Well seeing as how I didn’t realize that, it seems like Square didn’t learn how to make good movies in the 15 years between Spirits Within and Kingsglaive, and still has the exact same problems. The “villains” in The Spirit Within are these cool translucent orange creatures called Phantoms that rip your spirit out of your body, which translates into people getting a blue silhouette pulled from their physical being. Sounds cool! But it’s so flat and weightless that it doesn’t register as Cool or Weird.
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Jul 19, 2021 19:01
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I guess that’s all to be expected when your background is in doing big spectacle cutscenes for games. Final Fantasy VIII cutscenes are still super cool. Final Fantasy XV has a visionary and fun visual style. If they just made Robot Carnival/Mind’s Eye style compilation movies I’d be in the theater on day one.
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Jul 19, 2021 19:15
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It's wild how ahead of the game Square were in a lot of ways. The hypothesis behind their Hawaii studio, that CGI was about to become a huge part of modern films, was dead on the money. Even the CGI lead actors bit isn't that outrageous.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:02
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That’s part of the reason it’s so funny, it was ambitious and forward-thinking in so many ways, but the end product is just so goddamn boring.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:04
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feedmyleg posted:So far in the marketing there's been no real hook for me, and I should be in the all-in camp. I like my sci-fi to be somewhat austere, but Dune looks like it's so austere there's barely any life left in it. Just kinda looks dry and bland. Hopefully it is not. The ads make it look kinda like an off brand Star Wars and Dune's not really a property the kids are all talking about so between that and many other things I'd be genuinely shocked if the movie isn't massive bomb even if it is any good. Right out of the gate even the logo was so lovely they ended up changing it because people wouldn't stop making fun of it. And Timothee Chalamet is so loving bland I can't believe anyone chose him to be the lead in what they're hoping will be a blockbuster.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:04
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Kingsglaive was more interesting than the game
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Jul 19, 2021 21:04
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I feel like the most interesting parts of DUNC aren't really film-able. The characters and situations are pretty stock. E: Someone somewhere pointed out that Dune has a lot of similarities to YA fiction, which I thought was a pretty interesting take.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:15
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To its credit, modern YA fiction doesn't spend as much time on world building as what teens used to read like Dune and Lord of the Rings.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:20
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Schwarzwald posted:It's wild how ahead of the game Square were in a lot of ways. The hypothesis behind their Hawaii studio, that CGI was about to become a huge part of modern films, was dead on the money. Even the CGI lead actors bit isn't that outrageous. CGI main characters and big-budget all-CGI features are obviously here. A CGI model treated as a performer who moves between projects distinct from a particular character remains as silly as the day it was proposed.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:21
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Skwirl posted:To its credit, modern YA fiction doesn't spend as much time on world building as what teens used to read like Dune and Lord of the Rings. Someone I know who has read all of the Dune books (which he outright recommended I never do) was giving me a very brief description of the world of that series and I can't imagine how they could make that into any coherent movie. I also heard that when Lynch's Dune came out they gave people fact sheets with background information about Dune's lore before the movie so it would make more sense. The whole thing is just so weird and bloated that two very skilled and respected film makers have failed to make a film adaptation so trying again seems like a bad idea on its own.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:25
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Azhais posted:Kingsglaive was more interesting than the game The setting dressing off XV was actually pretty cool, the first bit being set in a sort of fantasy mojave where all of the traditional jRPG setting trappings were replaced with a sort of retro-americana vibes, where there’s sprawling lonely highways and 50s-style diners but you still have fuckin’ goblins and behemoths and a mesa that’s actually a giant pissed-off tortoise was pretty unique and fresh. Its just that the moment the game abandons the “summertime roadtrip with the boys, but fantasy” conceit it all falls the gently caress apart basically instantly.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:25
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porfiria posted:I feel like the most interesting parts of DUNC aren't really film-able. The characters and situations are pretty stock. A lot of what elevates Dune over its contemporaries is it's veneer. This really becomes apparent if you reading some of Herbert's earlier work. His Godmaker short stories cover most of the same beats as Dune, but it's written in the style of an Asimov scifi mystery, and feels profoundly less imaginative because of that.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:31
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porfiria posted:I feel like the most interesting parts of DUNC aren't really film-able. The characters and situations are pretty stock. Granted I’ve only read the first book, but this has always felt like a dumb excuse. Yes, Dune has some psychedelic elements and would be somewhat challenging to film, but I’m sure a director with creativity could visually represent Muad’Dib seeing all possible future timelines at once. There’s also a ton of stuff in the glossary that doesn’t need an explanation, like a film doesn’t need to go into the life cycle of the sandworms or explain what an oil lens is.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:31
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The Spice Girls really dropped the ball on never making a Dune themed concept album.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:43
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Sir Kodiak posted:CGI main characters and big-budget all-CGI features are obviously here. A CGI model treated as a performer who moves between projects distinct from a particular character remains as silly as the day it was proposed. It actually makes total sense to have reusable assets that work this way, at least on a financial level. The trouble is that there was never any actual demand for "generic woman". With hindsight, we know that Square should have gone with a photorealistic gorilla/chimpanzee, or a duplicate of a particular existing celebrity (e.g. Jeff Bridges).
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Jul 19, 2021 21:47
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CPL593H posted:Someone I know who has read all of the Dune books (which he outright recommended I never do) was giving me a very brief description of the world of that series and I can't imagine how they could make that into any coherent movie. I also heard that when Lynch's Dune came out they gave people fact sheets with background information about Dune's lore before the movie so it would make more sense. The whole thing is just so weird and bloated that two very skilled and respected film makers have failed to make a film adaptation so trying again seems like a bad idea on its own. I also think that's bullshit. The book just explains a lot of poo poo it doesn't need to explain to move the story forward. It's basically space Game of Thrones, but much, much shorter (I'm only referring to the first book). It's too much story for one movie, but the Villenevue is supposed to be only the first half, so that seems possible. The Sci-Fi mini of Dune was pretty good for it's low budget and didn't have any huge lore dumps for minutes on end that I could remember. The Lynch Dune has a lot of flaws, but some really excellent scenes straight from the books, to the point where when I reread the novel after seeing it I picture the scene in the movie. Edit: I also wonder what your friend meant by "all of the Dune Books" because there's a bunch written after Frank Herbert died.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:48
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CPL593H posted:Speaking of NC-17, has anyone seen Ken Russell's Whore? I'm wondering if it's any good. I've read mixed things. It was years ago (I think it was on youtube?) and it was... ok? Not really worth looking for it imo.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:57
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Yeah I have to say this is probably the friendliest environment in which to make something like Dune, we've had Game of Thrones, we're a little more used to genre fiction with intricate settings and "worldbuilding" in mainstream culture as opposed to it just being something for dedicated sci-fi/fantasy fans. Which doesn't necessarily mean Dune will be successful but it at least has a chance.
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Jul 19, 2021 21:58
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SuperMechagodzilla posted:It actually makes total sense to have reusable assets that work this way, at least on a financial level. There's plenty of reused assets with CGI. What we do not see is studios spending money to promote to the general public the fact that they're reusing assets.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:02
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Sir Kodiak posted:There's plenty of reused assets with CGI. What we do not see is studios spending money to promote to the general public the fact that they're reusing assets. It's not reusing an asset it's creating a movie star who might act in different roles that is literally owned by the studio. They would theoretically play completely different characters, same way we like other (human) actors playing different characters. It was a conceptual precursor to Hatsune Miku. (Of course they were ripping of William Gibson from the early 90s in turn).
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Jul 19, 2021 22:08
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I liked Final Fantasy: Spooky Ghosts Movie The story was interesting enough and having nothing to do with any of the games was a huge plus since I don't give a poo poo about any of them. Ros from Frasier deserved a better career but what are you gonna do.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:21
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Skwirl posted:(Of course they were ripping of William Gibson from the early 90s in turn). Wouldn't the precursor to that be Osamu Tezuka's "Star cast" (in his comics, Tezuka would use the same design for different characters. Like the scientist who created Astro Boy was used in Black Jack as another dude, etc.)? Fictional characters who were familiar to its audience, but used differently in each story.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:24
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Vincent posted:Wouldn't the precursor to that be Osamu Tezuka's "Star cast" (in his comics, Tezuka would use the same design for different characters. Like the scientist who created Astro Boy was used in Black Jack as another dude, etc.)? Fictional characters who were familiar to its audience, but used differently in each story. I meant the digital popstar predicted in the Bridge trilogy.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:28
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SuperMechagodzilla posted:The trouble is that there was never any actual demand for "generic woman". That's the big thing. Hollywood is definitely interested in CGI performers, so long as they're Peter Cushing or Carrie Fisher.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:41
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Skwirl posted:It's not reusing an asset it's creating a movie star who might act in different roles that is literally owned by the studio. They would theoretically play completely different characters, same way we like other (human) actors playing different characters. I get that. I was responding to the idea that a studio might create a virtual movie star, with all that entails, in order to save some money by reusing assets. I don't think that actually adds up from a financial perspective. I also think the idea of a virtual movie star, while perfectly appropriate to a cyberpunk story, is probably not really how things will go.
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Jul 19, 2021 23:03
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Why is it that every American tourist I hear (sometimes from an extremely long distance because you people are extremely loud) sounds so nasally and whiny but very few of the Americans I see/hear on TV and in films and podcasts and what not sound like that?
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Jul 20, 2021 00:06
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FreudianSlippers posted:Why is it that every American tourist I hear (sometimes from an extremely long distance because you people are extremely loud) sounds so nasally and whiny but very few of the Americans I see/hear on TV and in films and podcasts and what not sound like that? because all people sound like assholes in real life regardless of culture or language or nationality
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Jul 20, 2021 00:13
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FreudianSlippers posted:Why is it that every American tourist I hear (sometimes from an extremely long distance because you people are extremely loud) sounds so nasally and whiny but very few of the Americans I see/hear on TV and in films and podcasts and what not sound like that? They're all mocking you.
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Jul 20, 2021 00:17
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Schwarzwald posted:A lot of what elevates Dune over its contemporaries is it's veneer. That's for sure, because the main story of Paul in the first novel just always seems 'is he the chosen one? turns out he is.' also one trick to make it not a white savior narrative...the natives are white! Cafe Barbarian fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jul 20, 2021 |
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Jul 20, 2021 00:20
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The fremen are actually middle eastern, because they're a really simple drop-in for the mujahideen.
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Jul 20, 2021 00:42
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Baron von Eevl posted:The fremen are actually middle eastern, because they're a really simple drop-in for the mujahideen. And Paul Atreides is Rambo.
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Jul 20, 2021 00:56
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Ok, I'm looking for a really groovy intermission title card for a zoom reading. Anybody have any leads on a movie from the 60s/70s I could steal one from?
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Jul 20, 2021 01:22
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FreudianSlippers posted:Why is it that every American tourist I hear (sometimes from an extremely long distance because you people are extremely loud) sounds so nasally and whiny but very few of the Americans I see/hear on TV and in films and podcasts and what not sound like that? People in films and television often have vocal coaches to soften their regional accents, usually losing them completely, to have what's basically a neutral accent. The US has a lot of regional accents many of which are very thick and make it fairly easy for people to figure out where you're from. Hypothetically if I met someone from this forum and started talking to them for a few minutes they'd certainly place me right away.
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Jul 20, 2021 01:58
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FreudianSlippers posted:Why is it that every American tourist I hear (sometimes from an extremely long distance because you people are extremely loud) sounds so nasally and whiny but very few of the Americans I see/hear on TV and in films and podcasts and what not sound like that? We aren't sending our best and our brightest.
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Jul 20, 2021 02:06
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CPL593H posted:People in films and television often have vocal coaches to soften their regional accents, usually losing them completely, to have what's basically a neutral accent. The US has a lot of regional accents many of which are very thick and make it fairly easy for people to figure out where you're from. Hypothetically if I met someone from this forum and started talking to them for a few minutes they'd certainly place me right away. It gets harder the farther West someone was born and raised, but I'm pretty sure you've already admitted to being from Massachusetts so in my head you sound like Matt Damon in The Departed.
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Jul 20, 2021 02:11
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Cafe Barbarian posted:That's for sure, because the main story of Paul in the first novel just always seems 'is he the chosen one? turns out he is.' (light mad men spoilers)
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Jul 20, 2021 02:23
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