Archive for October 19th, 2005
2 items.
How does The Rock get his eyebrow to do that high-arch thing? Simple. Through an exhaustive and dedicated work out regimen. He whipped that eyebrow into shape in no time!
Normally it isn’t within my sphere of influence to criticism movies based on video games. I usually leave that to the big guns. They’re the ones with the fram of reference. But with virtually no buzz surrounding Doom when it hits theaters this Friday, I had to kick a sick dog.
Can anyone tell me of any movie based on a video game that was successful? Tomb Raider, maybe. But I think that was because horny gamers wanted to see Angelina Jolie in a tank top for two hours.
I would consider Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within an artistic success, but financially it was a dud and it’s plot was as contrived and obtuse as the games it was inspired by. I suppose in that way, it’s the most faithful adaptation of a video game to silver screen so far!
Naturally anything with Uwe Boll’s name on it is considered box office poison. Alone in the Dark? House of the Dead? ∗RETCH!∗ Take a look at his track record and I assure you that Bloodrayne will follow suit next January? Can someone explain how they tricked Ben Kingsley into doing this movie? My best guess is that it involved a lot of zeros.
Same goes for The Rock and the big-screen adaptation of Doom. Did Doom even have a plot? I guess Hell breaks loose on Mars, right? I mean, literally. And there’s a chainsaw and a big gun or something. Wow. Sounds like a wise investment of your entertainment dollar.
Maybe I would be interested in soaking up some Grade-Z schlock if all the monsters these days weren’t computer generated gobbledy-gook. At least have the good sense to give us some really intricate puppets for them to blast holes into.
Remember the head-exploding scene in Scanners? They did that stuff by filling a latex head with dog food and rabbit livers, and shooting it from behind with a 12-gauge shotgun. Like, for real. It would never happen today, but that’s Cronenberg for you.
Not much else to say at the moment. Have to get up early tomorrow morning for a photo shoot I’m conducting. Ta, ta!
[ No Comments ]
I’m getting a lot of feedback from people about my Doom commentary today. They’re forwarding me on to behind the scenes reports that indicate that many of the monsters we’ll see on screen are, in fact, NOT CGI and are actually complicated costumes, puppetry and animatronics.
As taken from GameSpy.com…
One of the ironies of the DOOM movie is that, for a film based on a video game, there’s a concerted effort to use real sets and live characters, rather than relying too heavily on green screens and CGI. On our visit, we had a chance to visit several different sets: a reception area, your standard-issue corridors and hallways, a science lab, an excavation dig and a large portal chamber…
Almost as surreal is getting to see one of the creatures in action – in this case, we’re seeing a sequence with the Hellknight (bring referred to here as the Baron). Once again, this isn’t being done with CGI — it’s a real guy in a real costume. It’s not a cheesy rubber outfit, either; it’s an elaborate setup with all sorts of motors in the face to control the creature’s expressions.
Color me surprised! I wouldn’t have figured the producers of the film to be in synch with my concerns with the blow-em-up fare, but considering the marketing I’ve seen for the movie, I think my original assessment was valid.
Literally every trailer, commercial or photo I’ve seen for Doom seems to feature some kind of CGI gimmickry. That footage in conjunction with the fantastic, impossible creatures in the Doom monster gallery would lead one to believe the creature shop would choose CGI over practical effects. Getting that initial taste and not feeling particularly attracted to the project, I didn’t take the time to dig deeper and learn that it is Stan Winston’s studio who is behind the monster creation.
For those of you who don’t know Stan Winston, you can see his trademark for character design all over films like The Terminator, Predator, Aliens, Edward Scissorhands and Jurrasic Park. The guy has serious pedigree.
Does this mean that I’m more likely to see Doom this weekend? Probably not. But in light of these facts, I think it’s earned a little more respect.
[ No Comments ]
