Judge Dread Redux
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- Alien Overlord
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Judge Dread Redux
Some assholes somewhere think its a good idea to reimagine Judge Dread. I do hope Rob Schneider will be in the new one!
Someone needs to tell the fools at 2000 A.D. that Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later blew ass.
Someone needs to tell the fools at 2000 A.D. that Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later blew ass.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
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Sunshine was at least an interesting failure and 28 Weeks Later was just a cash-in sequel we all knew was coming. Irony of it is, we probably would have been better off if Danny Boyle (director of the original 28 Days Later...) had dropped the lousy script that was Sunshine and made a zombie sequel instead. But no, every great new director just has to attempt their own "2001: A Space Odyssey". I still haven't subjected myself to Aronofsky's attempt (The Fountain) but I'm not hopeful.
Ahem, anyway, back on topic...
The only way to bring something like Judge Dredd to the screen with any credibility is to maintain the elements that make the comic what it is. Judge Dredd isn't Lord of the Rings and shouldn't be treated like it is; Judge Dredd is Sin City. It's a violently ridiculous sci-fi story with a badass character the eliminates criminals in a variety of supremely horrible ways. But no, every blow-dried movie executive just has to have their enormous summer blockbuster. So they homogenize Judge Dredd into some Sly Stallone action vehicle that's utter crap and try to sell it to a wide audience, most of whom don't want anything to do with Judge Dredd as it was originally created.
Judge Dredd is an rated R film with narrow appeal, so it should be treated as such. It should be made on a respectable budget (under $50 mil), written with a respectable story true to the damn character, shouldn't have any of the violence compromised and the result will appeal to a smaller portion of the audience but will be good enough to return about a $100 mil. Job done.
Ahem, anyway, back on topic...
The only way to bring something like Judge Dredd to the screen with any credibility is to maintain the elements that make the comic what it is. Judge Dredd isn't Lord of the Rings and shouldn't be treated like it is; Judge Dredd is Sin City. It's a violently ridiculous sci-fi story with a badass character the eliminates criminals in a variety of supremely horrible ways. But no, every blow-dried movie executive just has to have their enormous summer blockbuster. So they homogenize Judge Dredd into some Sly Stallone action vehicle that's utter crap and try to sell it to a wide audience, most of whom don't want anything to do with Judge Dredd as it was originally created.
Judge Dredd is an rated R film with narrow appeal, so it should be treated as such. It should be made on a respectable budget (under $50 mil), written with a respectable story true to the damn character, shouldn't have any of the violence compromised and the result will appeal to a smaller portion of the audience but will be good enough to return about a $100 mil. Job done.
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"
"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
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- Alien Overlord
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I found them pretty similar in that they both started out very well, then descended into crap. Its like the writers just lost it right before the third act started.GamePlayer wrote:Sunshine was at least an interesting failure and 28 Weeks Later was just a cash-in sequel we all knew was coming. Irony of it is, we probably would have been better off if Danny Boyle (director of the original 28 Days Later...) had dropped the lousy script that was Sunshine and made a zombie sequel instead. But no, every great new director just has to attempt their own "2001: A Space Odyssey". I still haven't subjected myself to Aronofsky's attempt (The Fountain) but I'm not hopeful.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
They've been talking about doing a proper Judge Dredd film for years - At one point they were getting all excited over a Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death movie. I reckon they could make a proper job of it... As long as he doesn't take his helmet off I'll be a bit happy
(The Fountain is decent. People disagree with me on that one though )
(The Fountain is decent. People disagree with me on that one though )
And that, children, is how the little bunny rabbit got his fluffy white tail.
As a minimum, we must demand from SF that it be wiser than the world it speaks to.
--Darko Suvin; On the Poetics of the Science Fiction Genre
As a minimum, we must demand from SF that it be wiser than the world it speaks to.
--Darko Suvin; On the Poetics of the Science Fiction Genre
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- Alien Overlord
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I liked The Fountain.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
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I do want to see it, because I appreciate some of Aronofsky's films. I just tend to think he's a bit overrated and like I said, I have a tendency to think of the The Fountain as another 2001 grab, like how most young filmmakers love to do film noir in their early productions. It's become somewhat of a cliche
Still, I've heard nothing but good things about The Fountain and I'm all for existential
Still, I've heard nothing but good things about The Fountain and I'm all for existential
"What are we to call him, this Player of Games?"
"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
"The books of Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert lie in a realm of uncertainty between self-conscious absurdity and genuine failure"
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That movie had a certain atmosphere to it that was interesting, but the plot made no sense at all to me. Combine that with the sloooooowwww, ploooooodddddiiiiinnnngggg pace, and it easily gets a thumbs down from me.GamePlayer wrote:I still haven't subjected myself to Aronofsky's attempt (The Fountain) but I'm not hopeful.
"I'm being ironic. Don't interrupt a man in the midst of being ironic, it's not polite." -- Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles
- SandChigger
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I re-watched the Fountain last night and it makes a lot more sense. It is very very good too and the visuals in the "future" scenes are something else
[edit: It's not the film I thought I was watching first time around - which was a bit unsatisfying. Now I grok what's going on more it's much more better.]
I'm a big fan of Tarkovsky's Solaris - I'm working up to Stalker
[edit: It's not the film I thought I was watching first time around - which was a bit unsatisfying. Now I grok what's going on more it's much more better.]
I'm a big fan of Tarkovsky's Solaris - I'm working up to Stalker
And that, children, is how the little bunny rabbit got his fluffy white tail.
As a minimum, we must demand from SF that it be wiser than the world it speaks to.
--Darko Suvin; On the Poetics of the Science Fiction Genre
As a minimum, we must demand from SF that it be wiser than the world it speaks to.
--Darko Suvin; On the Poetics of the Science Fiction Genre
- SandChigger
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After posting about Staker yesterday I went and found the original story it's based on ("Roadside Picnic" by the Brothers Strugatsky) in a bilingual/side-by-side HTML version and downloaded it; still reading, but interesting.
I just checked out the IMDB and WP pages on The Fountain and realized I've seen it.
I guess that tells you how much of an impression it made on me, eh?
I just checked out the IMDB and WP pages on The Fountain and realized I've seen it.
I guess that tells you how much of an impression it made on me, eh?
"Chancho...sometimes when you are a man...you wear stretchy pants...in your room...alone."
"Politics is never simple, like the sand chigger of Arrakis, one is rarely truly free of its bite."
Arrakeen is an unawakened ghola.
"Politics is never simple, like the sand chigger of Arrakis, one is rarely truly free of its bite."
Arrakeen is an unawakened ghola.
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- Alien Overlord
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I love Roadside Picnic. I had forgotten that Stalker was based on that.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
-James C. Harwood, Science Fiction Writer, Straight (March 5, 1956 - May 25, 2010)
The Omphalos Umbrella Page
- SandChigger
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I guess it's actually classed as a novel rather than just a story as I wrote above.
(Having the Russian to look at is a lot of fun, too. A novichok (pl. novichki) is a greenhorn, for instance. A lot of the slang is probably old now, though. )
(Having the Russian to look at is a lot of fun, too. A novichok (pl. novichki) is a greenhorn, for instance. A lot of the slang is probably old now, though. )
"Chancho...sometimes when you are a man...you wear stretchy pants...in your room...alone."
"Politics is never simple, like the sand chigger of Arrakis, one is rarely truly free of its bite."
Arrakeen is an unawakened ghola.
"Politics is never simple, like the sand chigger of Arrakis, one is rarely truly free of its bite."
Arrakeen is an unawakened ghola.