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Darren New wrote:
> Another problem is that they weren't really as surprising. The first
> movie explored a fascinating idea with lots of possibilities. The other
> two simply continued on. IMO.
>
> Sort of like how Episodes 1-3 had to have a certain outcome, so it
> really wasn't possible to make it surprising that Anikan turned, or that
> the jedi got slaughtered, or whatever.
>
> IME, when a first movie is good, the second movie sucks because they put
> in all the parts they thought made the first movie unique instead of all
> the parts that made it *good*, and by the third movie they've figured
> out why the second bombed. With a few notable exceptions, of course.
I like how they managed to make Shrek II *better* than Shrek I. As in,
geniunely better. Actually, there have been a few films like that. All
too often, a film comes out, it's a success, they make a sequel - even
if that doesn't make any sense. But sometimes, they manage to make a
really good sequel.
Another example would be Back To The Future. Every single episode was cool.
On the other hand, Shrek the third. Oh dear. I mean, it's OK, but it's
not that great.
Similarly, Pirates of the Caribean. First one was great. Second one was
great. Third one was... hmm. It all kinda went a bit wrong, eh?
Only vaguely similar: The Mummy. Shallow, pointless, but entertaining.
The Mummy Returns. Also shallow. Also pointless. And also very
enjoyable, managing to include a few nice twists (although some of them
were perhaps a little OTT). Tomb of the Dragon Emporer. Uh... no, I'm
sorry, it sucks. Sure, lots of big-name actors. But... wuh? No, this is
lame.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> Ah, I don't think it's that bad. It doesn't always look completely real, but I
>> still think it looks good. And there's always the retcon that it's not *meant*
>> to be real, since it's in the Matrix... ;-)
>
> Badly drawn my ass. You just simply can't tell apart actors from CG doubles
> from the rendering itself.
Um... have you *seen* the fight scene? Some of the stuff in HalfLife 2
is better rendered than that! :-P
> It's the animation, when they start moving, that
> makes you clearly see that no human being would ever be able to move that way,
Actually, I thought the movement was pretty much spot on. It's the odd
lighting and the flat texturing that tears it.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:16:50 -0700, Chambers wrote:
> http://xkcd.com/566/
>
> Ten years already... heck, I still can't believe that Jurassic Park was
> made 15 years ago! I know people who are younger than that!
I'm still laughing about the xkcd comic. :-)
Jim
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On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:03:38 -0400, Bill Pragnell wrote:
>> Reloaded was also confusing (much more than the first, to the point
>> where I still can't figure some of it out)
>
> I lost a lot of respect for Reloaded when they very obviously offloaded
> a huge sub-plot to another production (the video game, I believe).
The thing that we felt the 2nd and 3rd movies didn't do was fulfill the
promise of the ending in the first. When Neo says "I'm going to hang up
the phone and show these people what you don't want them to see", it
never really seemed to materialize. In retrospect, I suppose it did to
an extent, but the story wasn't as focused after the first film.
Jim
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On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:05:38 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> The actual fight scenes are even more impressive than the original -
> it's just that there didn't seem to be any *point* to them.
Anything Wu does is impressive.
My wife and I were talking about the Matrix films after seeing the xkcd
comic, and the only fight scene that bothered us really was the one in
Reloaded with all the smiths in the courtyard. It started out good
enough, but there was a point at which it became ridiculous.
That point is marked by when Neo sets the metal pole down and starts
running around in a circle off the multiple Smiths. They probably
should've stopped the fight sequence right before that.
Jim
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> I like how they managed to make Shrek II *better* than Shrek I.
Hmmm. I'd say different, but yes, clearly, not bad in the way I describe. Of
course it's not a universal attribute. Maybe I should say that *when* the
second movie sucks, and the third is good, this is why, IME.
Toy Story I think was the same sort of thing - bad second one. (Unless I'm
misremembering.)
> Another example would be Back To The Future. Every single episode was cool.
I didn't like the second one as much there, but I'll grant it didn't follow
the pattern I described.
> Similarly, Pirates of the Caribean. First one was great. Second one was
> great. Third one was... hmm. It all kinda went a bit wrong, eh?
Oh, I thought all three were excellent.
> sorry, it sucks. Sure, lots of big-name actors. But... wuh? No, this is
> lame.
Yeah. That was rather dumb. :-)
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!
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On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:56:07 -0700, Darren New wrote:
> I *did* like the animated clip about the haunted house in the matrix,
> tho.
That was good. They could've also done a lot more with the idea of
wraiths, vampyres, and other such creatures in the films than they did.
The wraith brothers were cool, made for really interesting fight
sequences.
Jim
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On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:51:43 -0400, clipka wrote:
> The second movie cluttered the matrix universe with a host of freaks,
> twists and subplots. No real message in sight. No clear source it cited
> from - except the very cliches generated in popular culture by first
> movie. In short: It sucked.
One thing that came out in the second film that I thought was good was
that Morpheus was really just another guy. In the first film, there was
an almost godlike quality in the character and his followers.
Jim
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Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
> > Badly drawn my ass. You just simply can't tell apart actors from CG doubles
> > from the rendering itself.
>
> Um... have you *seen* the fight scene? Some of the stuff in HalfLife 2
> is better rendered than that! :-P
That's exactly what I'm talking about, though you jest.
> > It's the animation, when they start moving, that
> > makes you clearly see that no human being would ever be able to move that way,
>
> Actually, I thought the movement was pretty much spot on. It's the odd
> lighting and the flat texturing that tears it.
I see no odd lighting other than the intended stylized green and blueish
photography. I see no flat texturing, I mean: you can spot the digital
double's bumpy details on skin or cloth!
But then again, you think the movement of walking above lots of Smiths or
rolling to your back while swinging a pole is spot on...
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Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> Bill Pragnell wrote:
> > Also, people often seem to decide beforehand whether they're going to like a
> > movie or not, which is a bewildering feat of doublethink to me.
>
> I usually try to expect the movies to suck. That way, when they're merely
> average, it was fun to watch them. :-)
Yup, that'll work too... although if I expect a movie to suck too much, I won't
want to go see it ;-)
> Another problem is that they weren't really as surprising. The first movie
> explored a fascinating idea with lots of possibilities. The other two simply
> continued on. IMO.
Agreed.
> IME, when a first movie is good, the second movie sucks because they put in
> all the parts they thought made the first movie unique instead of all the
> parts that made it *good*, and by the third movie they've figured out why
> the second bombed. With a few notable exceptions, of course.
Empire Strikes Back being a very notable exception!
Oh yeah, and I'm with you on the Pirates films. The first (as always) remains
the best standalone movie, but I loved the others too. Oh, I know Will and Liz
were poorly-written simpering characters, but I really liked the way everyone
was genuinely out for themselves, and watching their goals and actions move
around whenever something changed was great. I could watch more Pirates sequels
with great enjoyment!
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