I Just Watched (Films)

[Alan]

Yeah, Alien 3 is a good film, it's just not as good as the original. The CGI for the Xenomorph is dreadful, yes, but then I don't think they'd have been able to realistically show it running on all fours without it.

They had that solved and I love it so much.

[Raid]

I take it back, now I know they wouldn't have been able to show it running on all fours without CGI. ¬_¬

That's hilarious. I was not aware of this, but I found this test footage after a quick google.


Tappy tappy tap. Just give it a James Horner soundtrack, and I'm sure the effect will be complete.

I'm not really sure what they were expecting. Did they think shooting it for slow motion would work? It's a whippet, it doesn't exactly scream menace, does it.

[Sly Boots]

I'm not really sure what they were expecting. Did they think shooting it for slow motion would work? It's a whippet, it doesn't exactly scream menace, does it.

Should have tried a dachshund

[ManBearSquid]

I think in that sort of circumstance that it's better to go with clever camera shots, less full-body etc. Could've used someone in a suit for some slow, menacing movements or some stationary shots of it before it pounces.

In my mind, if the CGI sucks, just don't do it. Of course, I appreciate that it was 93, a lot less a thing than it is these days (often more's the pity) and I don't really know how much of an idea they had of the quality of the FX before shooting the scenes.

Anyway, I like Alien 3, and I prefer it when it comes from the bull. Not a whippet

[Raid]

I suppose studios had to justify the expense of developing that sort of technology, and I think at the time it was probably considered a marketing point. There wasn't really a way of creating creatures like that while getting the shots that the script needed using practical effects. Sure, you can use closeups, but they'd been implying monster designs in that way for decades, and at some point you need to push the craft.

Don't get me wrong, I've never been a fan of early CGI, but my opinions on it have mellowed a bit over the years. There are some truly awful looking examples from the nineties, but I can stomach something like Alien 3 because they largely stuck to practical effects.

[ManBearSquid]

Aye, you do make good points, and I can stomach it for the same reasons. Had it solely been CGI, not so much.

Sometimes it can have charm, like Babylon 5 has pretty poor CGI shots at times, even for its age, I think, but all of its characters are make-up and costumes. I'm definitely more forgiving of structures, vehicles, landscape etc. Sometimes.

[Animalmother]

I remember Alien 3 getting an Oscar nomination for the effects that year. Ton of puppet stuff mixed with blue screen.

[Raid]

Direction and understanding the limits of the technology are important. In 1997 we got The Fifth Element, a film that used gorgeous practical effects, and Starship Troopers, which I watched recently and was pleasantly surprised by how good the CGI was.

We also got Spawn.

[Animalmother]

I love how this has become an Alien 3 discussion
Best acting by a cast of baldy fuckers ever?

[ManBearSquid]

To shamelessly re-use Raid's earlier find, this is usually me heading off with my opinions on Alien 3 because I can't be arsed defending it:



I concur on Fifth Element and Starship Troopers, they hold up really well. Again, a good mix of practical and digital.

[Tank]

Jurassic World Dominion

I really REALLY enjoyed it but I can see why its getting mauled by the regular corners of the internet.

The Dinosaurs almost feel like background noise and when they do get there time to shine it feels rushed and a bit self serving.

But...as I said...if like me your a big fan of the smaller minutae of the Jurassic Series I feel the story told (and indeed ended) here is a solid way to wrap up to the original moral grey areas of Jurassic Park.

JW and JWFK where about the genie already being out of the bottle and about as a species we always had the capacity to make that worse; everytime.

But JWD is about living with those mistakes. Accepting a new status quo that drops us a couple of notches on the food chain (mainly depending on where you live and what warning signs you pay attention too).

Like I say...I can see why its getting mauled. It doesn't do anything especially new, it doesnt do a good job with introducing new characters or even nodding to older ones and it feels likes there were some action sequences that shouldn't have been dropped.

But as I said. For all its faults I loved it. A solid 3/5 thats heart was in the right place.

Also Alien 3 is my favourite Alien film in the entire franchise.

Take care y'all.

[Medicine Man]

Taaaaaaannnkk!

[ManBearSquid]

Alien, Alien 3, then Aliens for me. All good in their own way.

I love Jurassic Park. I even like The Lost World, regardless of it going a bit mad towards the end. The others, not so much.

[Raid]

Warcraft

There isn't a game world that I've spent more time in than the Warcraft universe, I imagine I had well over a thousand hours in World of Warcraft. So you'd think I'd be a bit of a shoe-in for this film.

Sadly I can't remember a film that has had a narrower intended audience. For a general audience, it moves so quickly to try and fit the lore in that I'd be surprised if someone outside of the playerbase had any idea what was going on. Then, it's set a good 20 years or so before the period that I've played, so I don't know the characters as well as I could have done. And then, it came out a good few years after World of Warcraft's peak, so a significant part of the audience will have been lost.

It's a really bizarre vanity project then, but it doesn't have half of the stuff they could easily have done that would have appealed to long-time fans. They do a fantastic job with most of the visual elements, but World of Warcraft's incredible soundtrack is absent until the end-credits, and they don't use any of the voice actors I recognise.

It's absolute rubbish, and that's a real shame, as I'd happily have watched a Lich King-themed sequel.

[Wrathbone]

The Batman

Thought this was superb - a quality production on all fronts, with a much stronger focus on Batman as a detective than previous films. And good grief, there's some actual character development with Batman! Admittedly it's limited to him evaluating why he beats the living snot out of people for a hobby, but it's progress nonetheless. The villains are what make the film, though, as they're believable and compelling without shying away from their comic book roots too much. Also, in fairness to the film, it earned its 3 hour runtime.

For me, this is the benchmark for DC films. Finally we have a DC film that understands a serious, adult tone does not have to mean misery and dreariness. There are moments of that, but they're tempered by the rising tension and quiet, brooding rage in Batman. It also earns its action scenes and never overplays them, unlike Nolan's trilogy which gets really bogged down in excess at times. It's a perfect balance here and it works so well.

10/10