I totally agree with you on all of that. (even american idol) I wonder if a lot of that stuff is getting cut by the marketing team. The example I keep going back to is Kingdom of Heaven where they took a historical ensemble and turned it into a vehicle centered around Orlando Bloom's character in the editing room.
When I read that they took away Optimus' face plate "so we could see his mouth" I knew that we were in trouble, I wonder if the Japanese version is the same? On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 7:38 PM, Keith Johnson <[email protected]>wrote: > > > Oh sure, give them some eye candy, explosions, FX, and Meagan Fox, and it's > a winner. I think the writers--Orci and Kurtzman--are uniquely skilled at > giving action that's heart pumping, then putting a thin layer of script on > top of it. They write more intelligent action than most, and they're stuff > is fun. But I always find myself coming away feeling a bit dissatisfied, as > if something's missing, or some key plot points don't quite make sense. I > got this feeling with aspects of MI-3. Lots of good action, good > characters,but felt a bit spare in overall writing. Of course, I have huge > issues with the rewrite of the Star Trek universe in the move. Good stuff in > many ways, but some elements added here and there that felt a bit too light > in tone and touch. They're not exactly hacks,and they're certainly sincere, > and better writers than a Michael Bay, but there's something I feel they're > missing. It's hard to define, but it's like comparing "American Idol" > singers to really talented singers like Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Whitney Houston > in her prime. The "Idol" folks are okay, but other give you a much more > fulfilling experience. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mr. Worf" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 8:28:17 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] LaBeouf Says Third "Transformers" Movie Will Be > Better > > > > I think its because they wanted a "feel good" movie all the way through. I > dunno. In thinking back on the series, there is something that just doesn't > work on a lot of levels for me. There seems to be a general lack of caring > about the writing of movies like this. You can almost hear the voice of that > stereotyped movie exec chomping on a cigar while he takes a brilliant idea > and turns it into garbage. > > On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Keith Johnson > <[email protected]>wrote: > >> >> >> Yeah, the age old problem in America: intelligent writing has no place in >> "blockbusters" that kids might see. I don't see why it couldn't have more >> complex emotional writing? >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Mr. Worf" <[email protected]> >> To: [email protected] >> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 7:48:29 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >> Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] LaBeouf Says Third "Transformers" Movie Will Be >> Better >> >> >> >> I think movies like Transformers was a difficult situation to resolve. >> Mainly because they knew that the movie would attract the under 13 set so >> they couldn't make it too violent or have complex emotional situations. >> (although Japanese anime hasn't had a problem with that, but they also do >> not have crazy lawsuits either.) >> >> On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 4:37 PM, Keith Johnson <[email protected] >> > wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> The first one is good only for the phenomenal CGI of the robots. It's >>> truly amazing. Other than that, the movie is too focused on the humans. >>> LeBeouf's character is ultimately the hero, in a way that makes no sense. >>> They create some thing called the "Lifespark" that can turn any machine >>> (such as a radio or Coke dispenser) into a sentient Transformer. There's no >>> mention of the Matrix of Leadership. All the cars are GMs because the studio >>> struck a deal, which rankled me. Ebay is referenced a bazillion times >>> (another financial deal). >>> The Autobots are curiously relegated to support characters, making the >>> humans too central. At the end of the movie, Optimus says "you humans are >>> truly more than meets the eye", singing *humanity's* praises even though >>> that catch phrase should apply to *his* people. >>> It was weakly written, changed canon unnecessarily, and had a juvenile >>> tone overall. It is only redeemed by the CGI and some of the fight scenes. >>> Oh--and the "black" robot (the one that was a "ghetto blaster" in canon) is >>> punked like you wouldn't believe. >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Martin Baxter" <[email protected]> >>> To: [email protected] >>> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 6:50:35 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >>> Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] LaBeouf Says Third "Transformers" Movie Will Be >>> Better >>> >>> >>> >>> Keith, I haven't seen the first one. This isn't much in the way of >>> inspiration to invest. LaBoeuf is a good actor. He's gotta be getting better >>> offers than this. I HOPE. >>> >>> On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 1:04 AM, Keith Johnson < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Interesting. I still haven't seen the second one. The bloated action >>>> trailers, the long snippets I've seen on TVs at electronic stores, those >>>> stereotyped ghetto robots--all kept me away from the sequel. Didn't help I >>>> wasn't too impressed with the first flick past the FX. The way the >>>> Transformers were minimized in favor of the stupid humans didn't appeal to >>>> me, nor did the change to lore (the "Lifespark"? Megatron the source for >>>> most of our tech? Blah!) If LeBeouf himself is saying the second one was >>>> worse? I may never see it... >>>> >>>> ********************* >>>> LaBeouf promises better 'Transformers' next time >>>> By DAVID GERMAIN >>>> >>>> The Associated Press >>>> >>>> >>>> CANNES, France — Shia LaBeouf says the second "Transformers" movie got >>>> too big for its own good — but the third one brings the heart back to the >>>> franchise. >>>> LaBeouf, who starts work on the next "Transformers" sequel Tuesday, said >>>> the third installment will be the best one yet. The new script restores a >>>> human element that got lost in the second movie, LaBeouf said. >>>> >>>> >>>> "When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did," >>>> LaBeouf said in an interview Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival, where >>>> his >>>> finance drama "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is premiering. "There were >>>> some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone." >>>> >>>> >>>> "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was a runaway commercial success >>>> but was drubbed by critics. >>>> >>>> Michael Bay returns for the third time as director of the >>>> science-fiction franchise, which centers on dueling races of giant robots >>>> that bring their war to Earth. The next movie will have what the last one >>>> lacked — a sense of human consequences, LaBeouf said. >>>> >>>> >>>> On the second movie, "we got lost. We tried to get bigger. It's what >>>> happens to sequels. It's like, how do you top the first one? You've got to >>>> go bigger," LaBeouf said. "Mike went so big that it became too big, and I >>>> think you lost the anchor of the movie. ... You lost a bit of the >>>> relationships. Unless you have those relationships, then the movie doesn't >>>> matter. Then it's just a bunch of robots fighting each other." >>>> >>>> With "Transformers 3," the toll of the robot war will be grave for our >>>> planet, LaBeouf said. >>>> >>>> >>>> "There's going to be a lot of death, human death. This time, they're >>>> targeting humans," LaBeouf said. "It's going to be the craziest action >>>> movie >>>> ever made, or we failed." >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >>> hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant >>> >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >> Mahogany at: >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >> >> >> >> > > > -- > Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > S > > > > -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
