thejediknighthusezni

        The stars of the show, the dinos.

        The IRex was a great concept, but I felt like it should feature even more.

        All of the dinos are Gmodified. Run with that concept.

        The IRex is the next wave, but all the predatory dinos have been enhanced for greater intelligence so that they can be trained and controlled. This has the unexpected result of them wanting to hunt to learn to be better predators, like a cat or sea otter playing with it's food, instead of for food.

       Also, the IRex would have little military value. Easy target. Lots of small, smart, and quick little dinos, 1 1/2/to 4 ft tall, running around like GREMLINS. They could even want tho train the raptors to hunt the smaller ones as clean-up after battles.

      All more expensive. This is the Jurassic franchise. Imax3D. 50 million more for great FX that greatly enhances the story will almost certainly earn back it's money. If ever they are going to swing for the fences....

      Bots, large crowds, multiple disasters, many different dinos....

      Wouldn't be cheap.

       I know next to nothing about Hollywood accounting. I often suspect that Hollywood accountants understand even less than I do.

       They claim that ULTRON production, with all that different stuff going on, was 150 million. They claim that TOMORROWLAND, with fog and lots of converstions in vehicles and in front of display screens, was even more expensive than ULTRON. 

        The breakout.

        The JW film breakout didn't work for me. The main protaganists should seem as smart or smarter than I am at all times. She lives on her cell, but physically goes back to control center? Dude enters the pen before confirmation to get an even better look at claw marks? For most of the crises it was just the one rex lumbering along. They did a good job of having it come out of nowhere, but it's still enormous.

       Everything is going along, routine, then bam, then rise of the Jurassic. Every kind of predatory dino crawls and jumps out of it's cage.

      How? there's the old standby, hubris of believing they have a perfect security system that malfunctions, there're earthquake, tsunami, volcano....

     How 'bout all of the above? A meteor strike, Yucatan style, off the coast of the island. Dormant volcano is triggered, fault line is shaken, tsunami comes in and floods everything with aquatic creatures getting everywhere, most systems fail....

      It's said that after a major crash, the airline's business will increase.

      Partly because of increased brand awareness from all the news reports, and partly from a subconcious desire to be associated with something big and dangerous.

     I don't know much about that, just tossing it out there. Corporate culture.

     I will amend and clarify my past assertion that screenwriters are the first and all-important members of a production.

     Skilled screenwriters are usually, but not always, skilled STORY CREATORS. Good story creators are not necessarily able to produce great screenplays.

     The best possible story is of first importance.

     To me, JW is an excellent example of where so many screenplays of different movies go wrong. It all stems from a failure to realize that there are a hundred ways to skin a cat and there are, at the least, BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of ways to structure any particular story.

     In the case of JW, what the movie should have been was quite obvious. It should have been about many different sorts of dinosaurs suddenly breaking out among the thousands of people throughout a themepark. There was a great problem with this in that the movie could not depict or even suggest that seven year-olds and their mothers were being torn apart and eaten. The thinking seems to have run "It should be about lots of dinos after thousands of screaming people, but we can't suggest children are diced, so we'll have to return to the two kids chased by a TRex, only this rex will be a little bigger." It should have gone "Needs to be many dinos and thousands of people. But we can't even suggest that a bunch of kids are crunched-up. We'll have to keep sifting through the billions and billions of possibilities and find a few that are what it needs to be. Then, we'll choose the best of those."

      The movie needed to protect kids and mothers while providing plenty of other, less sympathetic fodder.

      There also needed to be a more sensible cause for the dino break-out.

      It needed to up the ante in almost every way.

      I have a few thoughts. I will confess now that it would involve upping the production budget.

       SPOILERS SPOILERS

      What about a WestWorld sort of vibe with anthro robots adapted from military use? Not as robust as combat units. Given a young, kid friendly appearance. Only in this case they are the park staff operating the rides, shops and kiosks, maintainance, security, housekeeping.... The movie with it's floating displays and advanced genetic modification seems set at least 10years in the future. It could be vaguely hinted that they could go haywire against people. When the time comes they go into autonomous mode and follow their programming. They must protect human life beginning with the most valuable, the children, then the mothers, then the fathers if they can(one or two dads could buy it helping the bots protect their families), and anyone else if there aren't more valuable people around. There could be a moment where the bots go to diagnostic and maintainance center set above the rest of the park because they learn from observation. Without comment there could be bots looking down at humans in their containment areas who are looking down at dinos in their pens. A bot could "malfunction" and revert to military programming and go on the hunt with weapons forbidden to civil bots.

     There also needs to be a good supply of unsympathetic munchies. How bout a big pitch to thousands of investors from around the world for billions to fund next wave genetic modification. The island is a great haven for tax cheating and questionable military experiments so these investors and their ladyfriends are questionable. They could demand that the bots guard them and use children as their shields.

     tsall fer now

      JURASSIC WORLD was first-rate in nearly every way except for story structure.

      This thread is for the examination of ideas for improving the movie.

      SPY

      Surprised by how much fun it was.

      JURRASIC WORLD

      FX, cast, directing, design all first rate. Worth seeing for those elements.

     Another film to fall short of what it might have been due to story structure. They had a problem in that they couldn't show seven year-olds or their mothers being torn apart in a park. They didn't overcome that problem.

     Not bad, just not what it could have been.

       This dovetails with my conviction that the principals of prepro should examine new projects with the eye of a fan-editor. They should ask themselves "When this is through, what might the skilled fan-editors wish to change?" Pre-emptive fan-editing.

      The summer big budget films I've seen: MAD MAX, AVENGERS ULTRON, TOMORROWLAND, and SAN ANDREAS.

      I'd leave MAD MAX and ULTRON as-is

      SAN ANDREAS had good bones, but a little too over-the-top for my tastes in DisasterPorn. But everything could be fixed with some clever edits and a little FX.

      SPOILERS SPOILERS

     I can't see myself green-lighting the hard opening into the over-the-top action sequence  with the blonde in the car. I'd cut it in favor of a DIE HARD type of putting the chess pieces in place before the game starts. Uneventful interview on the helicopter to quake scientists to helicopter base to dam test to home alone and then the dam quake for the first big action sequence. The LA quake sequence could be altered to an accelerated save the wife to phone call from daughter to "I'll kill you" boyfriend to gearbox malfunction to crash near an LA mall to drive the truck to skydive school with a voice-over that the plane belongs to a friend. Eliminating a few other hokey lines and questionable decisions would produce what I know and like in catastrophe movies.

      MORE SPOILERS

      I am ENDLESSLY FASCINATED by TOMORROWLAND! It's an ASTOUNDING achievement! It presents the ENTIRE program in a thoroughly Disneyfied form and with the ALL-TIME GREATEST acts of projection and blame-shifting.

      A younger George-"Frank" in 1965, festooned in an Italian flag, aproached by a "programmed" child-slave-"robot"-recruiter (but they want you to know that it's okay because they are just "souless" creations sent from the future), taken to the 'Land of Tomorrow' that is only opened with a "golden ticket" to the hyper-elite with critical advanced skills(no screentime available for the platinum and then diamond tickets), these elites are assured their own "souless" "programmed" child-"robot"-slaves, it's suggested but don't suggest that it is Frank who is the super-genius that has the tower and all-seeing eye built (but you should know that he had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with it being put to evil purposes.) 

      No, you see, it is the Northwest European Protestanty characters who believe in and promote all the destructive horrors of the tower and eye. Frank and his sort have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with it. But don't fret, the WASPY traitors will get theirs.

     But a handful of that evil ilk will be allowed to pass into the land of tomorrow. The "special" ones who happen to be nubile young blondes who will maintain a positive mental attitude under any circumstances to encourage the other hyper-elites with their knowledge of "how things work" as evidenced by their willingness to enjoy wild rides with old elites in bathtubs and on top of rockets as well as being adept at working large bulbous red knobs with their fingers(actually, I think each of these things in particular were meant as off-color jokes snuck in)

     The ULTIMATE EVIL AND STUPIDITY, the ones most responsible for the ills of the world in transition, are the nattering-nabobs-of-negativism WHO WOULD DARE to suggest that the only place these enlightened elites could take us is to an AGONIZING ORWELLIAN HELL.

    Anyway, the director is one of the very best at 'talk-move-chew gum at the same time' presentation that I have seen. He was doubtless hemmed-in by the agenda he had to display. There were, however, at least for me, a couple of startling unforced errors:  

      Show, don't tell. I can't see myself green-lighting the opening retrospective voice-over narration. Why tell the audience that everything turned out dandy, right out of the gate??? Was it really necessary to club the moviegoers over their heads with the main theme and moral of the tale when it is dealt with very well throughout the story? Why not let the mystery unfold? Just young Frank to video of little Casey with the time stamp to teen Casey on the cycle. I thought the Athena death sequence was obviously overlong. Maybe most or all the the flash backs could have been moved to the truck sequence "He's special too" or cut all together. This and any other trims to move things along. A couple more quick shots of exterior Tomorrowland showing that all was restored to former glory might be a slight improvement.

       SAN ANDREAS

       Well, the CGI guys have done their usual spectacular work of demolishing cyberbuildings. It could have used a little more build-up before the storms, but otherwise the directing seemed passable. The acting was appropriate to the script. All 'round, the production values were quite impressive for a conventional Disaster genre film.

       But 'Conventional Disaster Genre' is where this movie runs into some trouble, imo. Rather, the contrast between 'Conventional Disaster' and 'Typical The Rock' genres. The combination of the two created some problems with tone and mood.

       I've always had fun watching TR do his tongue-in-cheek, cornball thing; but here I think it caused the screenwriters to play it a little too fast and furious. The schmalz is ladled on heavy and thick, we aren't shown character motivations so much as thrashed over our heads with them, and it seemed a bit loose here and there with character actions.

       MILD SPOILER

      At one point our protaganist, who is sworn to protect the people of LA, is shown sailing his rescue helicopter gracefully over the heads of MILLIONS of screaming and desperate citizens of that city as he heads for San Francisco. This would be highly questionable under any circumstances, but he seems to decide upon this course even BEFORE he knows that his daughter is in grave and immediate peril and without any hand-wringing about what he is doing.

     END SPOILER

     I suppose that I expect conventional 'man-versus-forces of nature' movies to be a little more realistic.

     I would think that the die-hard F&F fans and big fans of CG catastrophe would be satisfied.

        TOMORROWLAND

        SPOILER ALERT

        Fascinating. This is an apocalyptic time-jumping cyber-gnosticy hullabalooo.

        The film is at once grand and sweeping, while cozy and near. The combination worked very well for me, though I can see how it would be taken as a little mixed by others.

        It did have some of the basic structure of T2, but without the relentless pursuit of the single unstoppable force and the clear early perception of the threat to all humanity, it felt in some ways like the smaller and better first TERMINATOR.

       The cast was excellent. I enjoyed relationships and interactions between the cranky recluse, the plucky and irrepressible teen girl, and Athena. Laurie was terrific as the devil with all the best lines.

       The cosmic, titanic struggle between light and darkness is here represented by Dr Doug Ross(Frank. Don't call me Francis!) and Dr Gregory House(the evil Yahweh's King David Nix[on].)

       It would seem that, all along, it was Dr Greg who created the tower and all seeing eye. It's to test humanity with prophecies of doom; and he exults in the power to destroy the world if it fails the exam (Oh, that silly House of David.) 

      Of course, 'Don't Call Him Francis' is PRISTINELY INNOCENT of all this. George- I mean Francis- I mean Frank's only failings are having esoteric foreknowedge that discourages him, and loving a child slav- I mean "robot" too much. Fortunately, both can be cast away to consume each other in flames (out with the old, in with the new set of child slav...um...robots.)

       All we need is a plucky Christess Sophia to enlighten the path.

       I thought T3 would be three Terminators. 2 baddies and 1 helper. I thought the baddies might be super hot chicks with living tissue over a liquid metal core. Back to true cyborgs.

TV's Frink said:

I was just pointing out the really dumb formatting in the post above mine.

        I'm trying to keep up with the kids and their TextSpeak.

        I go for concision and saliency over conventional constructs because I'm not a goose stepping grammarian conformist.

        I could plead for understanding, in consideration of my U.S. public education...

        ...but, essentialy, the English language IS MY WHIPPING POST!!!! BUAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! >8-D

        IIIIIIIIII am the POTTTTTERRRRRR!!!!!!  The language is MMMMYYYYYYY CLLLLAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!  MMMUUUUUUAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! >8-D

ray_afraid said:

thejediknighthusezni said:

I'm a fan of RW and MM:BTD, but this easily takes first place.

     

 So, do you not like the original?
I'm amazed at the amount of people who never mention Mad Max when talking about the series... It's all about RW and BTD for most it seems.

        I can remember beginning to watch MM on at least 2 different occasions, but not getting very far in for one reason or t'other.

      MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

      I went in with some concern, highway chase scenes having been done to death.

      Wow! I was fully engaged, enveloped, from start to finish.

      It's almost entirely pedal-to-the-metal, yet it surpasses the earlier installments for developing It's fantasy epic saga. I'm a fan of RW and MM:BTD, but this easily takes first place.

      The entire cast was perfect, FX and stunts were fantastic, camera-work was beautiful.

      This film is a bit like the terribly underappreciated DREDD, in that it is more the story arc of the female lead. Max has an arc and plenty of screentime as well, but he also provides our POV to the larger story.

      I do hope this does well enough to carry on the saga.

      Well...okay, I'll take the test....since it's from Oxford... ;P

TV's Frink said:

thejediknighthusezni said:

Warbler said:

Neglify said:

I nominate Warbler as the new Off-Topic mod.

 thanks but no thanks.

If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.   The last time I had any sort of power in a forum, it turned into a disaster.  I never want to be a moderator ever again.  Even if I did, there is not a chance in hell Jay would approve it.

     Yeah, yeah, we all know where this is going.

     Fine, I'll do it.

      Sorry but YOU are BANNED because you refuse to open your MIND to the actuality that the GOVERNMENT is posting SECRET mind control POSTS on this FORUM. 

       Just tryin' to lighten the load.

       The govmint mind conTROLLERS must be feeling exhausted from all the SuperBowl halftime shows, "Franny is a glorious Christian", "Barak Hussein" is more real than a unicorn,...................................................

        I've searched the web and YouTube for good discussions of KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. About all I could find were official trailers, conventional reviews, and a little obvious shillery.

        I've already given my review in my lastest post in the thread.

        I'm just curious to read what others thought of it.

        Anybody?

Warbler said:

Neglify said:

I nominate Warbler as the new Off-Topic mod.

 thanks but no thanks.

If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.   The last time I had any sort of power in a forum, it turned into a disaster.  I never want to be a moderator ever again.  Even if I did, there is not a chance in hell Jay would approve it.

     Yeah, yeah, we all know where this is going.

     Fine, I'll do it.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Possessed said:

thejediknighthusezni said:

Post Praetorian said:

 

  ...While pot smoking might merely dull the mind and rob the spirit of motivation...

      I'm not sure the word "merely" quite works in that sentence.

      The destruction of human lives and human potential from this "victimless" neuro-active chemical has been nothing less than CATASTROPHIC.

     It isn't only the DEVASTATING dullness of mind and loss of motivation, it truly is a POWERFUL introduction and gateway to EVEN WORSE substances and behaviors.

     OTOH, It's a good thing the lords of media and popular culture are enthusiaticaly dedicated to helping create a society of sober, decent, and empowered individuals capable of recognizing intensely depraved, psycho control-freaks wanting to reduce the children zombified slaves. 8-l

 This post contains so much bullshit I don't even know where to begin.

At least the internalized homophobe didn't mention Luciferians this time around.

         Uh...yeah...not a word about any of that...

      Point taken...

     ...and my point still stands.

     It's been alleged that I have kissed Mary Jane more than once. Scurrilous rumor-mongers would tell you that I am not as ignorant of the effects as my always prudent posts would suggest.

     Not all people who rob quality liquor stores once or twice go on to hold-up elite banking institutions.

     Apparently, in the ignorance of my shining innocence, I have failed to notice that all smokers of quality sh@# have gone on to be hyper-motivated geniuses. ;)

        ^^ Sheeesh. You'd think I can't recognize red meat on the fish hook. ;/

       ^Every regular pot smoker says "Hi!" 8-)

Post Praetorian said:

 

  ...While pot smoking might merely dull the mind and rob the spirit of motivation...

      I'm not sure the word "merely" quite works in that sentence.

      The destruction of human lives and human potential from this "victimless" neuro-active chemical has been nothing less than CATASTROPHIC.

     It isn't only the DEVASTATING dullness of mind and loss of motivation, it truly is a POWERFUL introduction and gateway to EVEN WORSE substances and behaviors.

     OTOH, It's a good thing the lords of media and popular culture are enthusiaticaly dedicated to helping create a society of sober, decent, and empowered individuals capable of recognizing intensely depraved, psycho control-freaks wanting to reduce the children zombified slaves. 8-l

     I am unsurprised by mistaken conspiracy theories. The Powers That Be go to great lengths to ensure that confusion reigns.

     The first step is to bear in mind that control-freaky psychos have the advantage over everyone else for their determination and lack of scruples in seeking the top positions of power. The more functional among them are willing to cooperate(conspire) with each other to carry out necessarry deceptions. If the masses understood, the elite would be torn to pieces within a minute.

     I salute Bingo for taking the first step or two.

     Come on back and lay some more on us! :)