Looknsee Photography wrote:
>>>>>  Tangent Alert  >>>>>  But hey, I started this thread.

I hate how Hollywood changes "perfect" books or shows or movies and changes the ending. 

So, name one of these "perfect" films and propose how Hollywood would change it nowadays.

They did that  with Fight Club. The ending is nowhere near how Palahniuk wrote it. Way way bad ass in the book. Marla and the narrator holding hands...ppsshhhhh.

NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote:
You might be able to do 'Looker' but the technology is almost mundane now.

I was so happy when Looker came out on DVD a few years back.

Good Egg Productions wrote:
The stunt where the woman falls onto the roof of the car is still, in my opinion, the greatest stunt every captured on film.

Real stunts are amazing to watch.  I recently watched all of the James Bond movies, because I'd never seen them.  I was really impressed with the jetpack.  These days it would be cgi and blue screen.  Those days it could have been mirror, wires, and smoke.  But no, the James Bond people didn't resort to any kind of special effects trickery.  When they needed a man flying away in a jetpack, they filmed a man flying away in a jetpack.  I was so disappointed in a later movie when the flying car (a ford pinto perhaps) wasn't actually a flying car, but just a special effects trick.

Some movies are getting really good at CGI though.  When I watched The Last Circus, a movie from Spain, I was so impressed at how little CGI they had and their use of real stunts and real actors.  When I watched the makeing-of, I had to revise my position, and instead be impressed at just how good their CGI was.

Looker can't be that far off...

Schlake wrote:
Real stunts are amazing to watch.  I recently watched all of the James Bond movies, because I'd never seen them.  I was really impressed with the jetpack.  These days it would be cgi and blue screen.  Those days it could have been mirror, wires, and smoke.  But no, the James Bond people didn't resort to any kind of special effects trickery.  When they needed a man flying away in a jetpack, they filmed a man flying away in a jetpack.  I was so disappointed in a later movie when the flying car (a ford pinto perhaps) wasn't actually a flying car, but just a special effects trick.

Some movies are getting really good at CGI though.  When I watched The Last Circus, a movie from Spain, I was so impressed at how little CGI they had and their use of real stunts and real actors.  When I watched the makeing-of, I had to revise my position, and instead be impressed at just how good their CGI was.

Looker can't be that far off...

Maybe not in this movie but it was done for real


http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automoti … -airplane/


Isn't the "Looker gun" the same thing as they use in MIB to make people forget stuff?

Koryn wrote:
I wish Americans would stop remaking foreign films (and shows) that were awesome to begin with.

Take, for example, "Let the Right One In." It's a beautiful movie.

The American version, "Let Me In" was focused more on the horror element, lacked the intense emotional components that made the European one so amazing. I was like, "Meh."

If I'd never seen the European one, I could have watched the US version and been like, "Ok. Solid entertainment value," but after seeing the original, it was just disappointing.

Also, the British version of The Office was really funny. The American one bored me to tears, and I couldn't figure out why. It just wasn't as good.

Yeah, I agree with this too. The remake of La Femme Nikita was lame as was the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Koryn wrote:
I wish Americans would stop remaking foreign films (and shows) that were awesome to begin with.

Take, for example, "Let the Right One In." It's a beautiful movie.

The American version, "Let Me In" was focused more on the horror element, lacked the intense emotional components that made the European one so amazing. I was like, "Meh."

If I'd never seen the European one, I could have watched the US version and been like, "Ok. Solid entertainment value," but after seeing the original, it was just disappointing.

Also, the British version of The Office was really funny. The American one bored me to tears, and I couldn't figure out why. It just wasn't as good.

I never watched the American version. The Swedish movie was awesome. My boyfriend at the time was really into Swedish everything so he kind of made me watch it and I'm glad he did.

The American version of the Office is fucking hysterical. Totally totally disagree.

I watch a LOT of eclectic movies that make people uncomfortable because I appreciate the director's work and it is usually about something that is a good idea to put yourself in someone else's shoes. The movie Funny Games is by an Austrian director Michael Heneke. I adore all of his work. All of it. They are all subtitled because they are Austrian actors in Austria. Naomi Watts saw it and wanted him to make an American version. I didn't see the Austrian version but basically it is frame by frame the original movie just with American actors in English. It's a brilliant film that will scar you.

John Photography wrote:
Isn't the "Looker gun" the same thing as they use in MIB to make people forget stuff?

The "flashy thing" in MIB was held like a ball point pen.  The looker gun was shaped like a timing light.  THEY ARE CLEARLY DIFFERENT DEVICES.

Matt Blais Photography wrote:
I would like to see someone try to capture the Carlos Castenada book "The Teachings of Don Juan"
Maybe Peter Jackson could do it justice as well as the two follow up books

Thats a very interesting idea

Koryn wrote:
I wish Americans would stop remaking foreign films (and shows) that were awesome to begin with.

Cecel B. Demented has a section dedicated to this idea.  The scene in which studio executives are told they must continue to shuck and eat oysters or they will be shot and killed.  A truly great move I should have remembered earlier.

Schlake wrote:
The "flashy thing" in MIB was held like a ball point pen.  The looker gun was shaped like a timing light.  THEY ARE CLEARLY DIFFERENT DEVICES.

>>>>>  Tangent Alert  >>>>>
For a long time, I've had in my head a TV sitcom where there was a show within a show -- the main characters play one character in the show and another in "real life", and the characters would be radically different.  Like the stereotypical "dumb blonde" playing the super-scientist in the show within the show.

Meanwhile, the executive producer of the show within the show was under pressure from the network -- the network wants to cancel the show, but the show is too popular to cancel, so the network slashes the show's budget.  Meanwhile, the executive producer secretly has a nervous breakdown. 

The show within the show is a sci-fi Star Trek-like show, and rather than fire people, the producer slashes the budget for props & sets.  So, for example, the tri-corder is a stapler, the ray gun is a label maker, the alien's helmet is a stainless steel bowl, and so forth. 

If I was a better writer, it would be hilarious.
>>>>>  End Tangent  >>>>>

Looknsee Photography wrote:
The show within the show is a sci-fi Star Trek-like show, and rather than fire people, the producer slashes the budget for props & sets.  So, for example, the tri-corder is a stapler, the ray gun is a label maker, the alien's helmet is a stainless steel bowl, and so forth. 

If I was a better writer, it would be hilarious.
>>>>>  End Tangent  >>>>>

Part of the reason British television, sci fi in particular, works so well despite it's low budget is the never-say-die full-steam-ahead attitude.

For example, the Daleks.  For decades they were the most feared TV monster in the entire universe (though recently the weeping angels have edged them out).  For decades the most feared TV monster in the entire universe was an upside down garbage can equipped with a bathroom plunger and covered in ping pong balls.  And they are still pretty scary.

The Prisoner spent a lot of money trying to make the high tech police robot for the island.  It didn't work.  So they used a weather balloon instead.  That weather balloon is still scary, and still very iconic.  I believe it was even on The Simpson's once, wasn't it?

Shot By Adam wrote:

Yeah, I agree with this too. The remake of La Femme Nikita was lame as was the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Oh you mean that movie with Bridget Fonda........ Yeah not so hot that .

Shot By Adam wrote:
Yeah, I agree with this too. The remake of La Femme Nikita was lame as was the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

John Photography wrote:
Oh you mean that movie with Bridget Fonda........ Yeah not so hot that .

the tv show was even worse...but the chick was the hottest nikita of them all. the besson flick was great.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Name a movie, book, or TV show and suggest whether it needs to be remade, it needs to have a sequel, or it is perfect as is.

Star Trek, returning to its roots, about space exploration.
Jurassic Park, without the Park thing, somethink like a widespread of dino and the upheaval in everyday life with a realistic scenario.
However, for what it's worth, I think that most of the ideas on the movies, in the next series, often are watered down, for lack of immagination or simply for easy business.

Note:
I speak about series, don't a single movie that no matter how good is made, remain too shoort for a proper development of the story.

Eugenya Donald Images wrote:
"Casablanca".  Every time I read that some movie producer or actor wants to remake that (perfect) movie, it really pisses me off.  I think they're a bunch of egotistical idiots to think that they could improve "Casablanca".  Sean Penn is guilty of this, among others.

I agree, that said tho:

Harrison Ford as Rick
Marion Cotillard as Ilsa
Jean Dujardin as Lazlo
Kevin Spacy as Renault
Christoph Waltz as Strasser
Steve Buscemi as Ugarte
Morgan Freeman as Sam
/

That might be worth doing with a cast like that

cinema photography wrote:
I agree, that said tho:

Harrison Ford as Rick
Marion Cotillard as Ilsa
Jean Dujardin as Lazlo
Kevin Spacy as Renault
Christoph Waltz as Strasser
Steve Buscemi as Ugarte
Morgan Freeman as Sam
/

That might be worth doing with a cast like that

Some good choices there, but Harrison Ford is too old now.  Perhaps when he was younger...

Morgan Freeman is too famous for that role, in my opinion. 

I have a crush on Cristoph Waltz, so maybe I would even watch it if he was in it!

Shot By Adam wrote:
Yeah, I agree with this too. The remake of La Femme Nikita was lame as was the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

John Photography wrote:
Oh you mean that movie with Bridget Fonda........ Yeah not so hot that .

I think the Bridget Fonda movie was "Kiss of the Dragon".  It was a "meh" movie.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was with Rooney Mara & Daniel Craig in its American version.  I thought it was pretty good, but they made some radical changes from the book (mostly, I guess, to shorten the run time to something manageable).  I liked the book version a lot better.

There was a Swedish version of all three books in the trilogy -- it was pretty good, but on a par with the American version.  I thought the American version definitely had better photography.

But I much prefer the book to any of the film versions.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Shot By Adam wrote:
Yeah, I agree with this too. The remake of La Femme Nikita was lame as was the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I think the Bridget Fonda movie was "Kiss of the Dragon".  It was a "meh" movie.

No I thought he meant the Bridget Fonda version of La Femme Nikita.

I liked the TV series with Peta Wilson....

I liked the WB series with Maggie Q  even more.

John Photography wrote:
No I thought he meant the Bridget Fonda version of La Femme Nikita.

"Point of No Return" is the Bridget Fonda version of Besson's "Nikita."

Amadea T wrote:
A Streetcar Named Desire.
Don't fix it if it ain't broken.

STELLAaaaaAAaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

I mean who would you even put in the cast?
Anyone relevant is either ancient or dead.

The Brando character (I forget the name) actually got away with the rape in the theater version. Hollywood forced Williams to change it for the movie version because the (then) audience wouldn't "buy it". Or more accurately, there had to be consequences.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
It's been a long while since we had a version of Star Trek on TV.  I'm ready.

Reboot "Enterprise".  The voyages of the first starship Enterprise were fun.   Only this time, leave out the Temporal Cold War plotline which ran the series into the ground.  Time travel stories can be fun, but with lazy television writers involved it usually results in a big steaming mess:  Heroes.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Well, then, perfect as is:  The 12 Monkeys --
     Oh -- Nevermind.

"12 Monkeys" was a remake of "Le Jetee," which was pretty damned cool in its own right.

Orca Bay Images wrote:
"12 Monkeys" was a remake of "Le Jetee," which was pretty damned cool in its own right.

So true. To anyone who hasn't seen La Jetée, do yourself a favor and treat your peepers to this awesome film.

It will also be a treat (or maybe a threat) to your earholes (warning: this linked video essay on the soundtrack of La Jetée contains major spoilers).