When I heard that Rick Baker was to be involved in the Wolfman remake. I was excited. I was more excited when I heard that original director Mark Romanek was intending to do the film with 100% practical effects and really utilising Baker's genius. Well, a year or so later, Romanek quit the project, Joe Johnston (Rocketeer, Jurassic Park 3) took over and decided to go with CG instead of all the practical transformations Romenek and Baker had worked out. Such a shame.
It really could have been something special. Whilst I haven't actually seen the film yet and should probably do so before I judge it, the clips I have seen don't really excite me, as soon as I see a man turn into a shiny CGI thing that doesn't quite look right I tend to tune out.
When you go back and look at An American Werewolf In London or The Howling, it's a physical thing, you can see that it is an actual object and your disbelief is suspended. Ok, so you can see how it's done, but I enjoy that. When you see Van Helsing for instance or An American Werewolf in Paris, you see a CGI object that just doesn't blend in with the rest of the screen and just looks crap. I am sure that the CGI in this film is much better than my previous examples, but from the trailer, it still doesn't look very real to me.
I am still holding out for the Hollywood remake of the CITV series "Woof".
What is wrong with modern film making? Why is CGI used for absolutely everything now? It is just lazy. In Superman Returns, there are a few establishing shots of a boat out at sea. It would appear that the budget would not stretch to renting a boat and putting it on water, as every time you see the boat, it is clearly a CGI boat on CGI water.
I wish I could say that was the only problem with this disaster of a film, but it isn't.
Seth McFarlane has brought out a new show. Yay! That's right, the most powerful man in American animation not called Walt, has a new show.
The Cleveland Show is a spin off from Family Guy in which Cleveland, well, gets his own show. Is it funny? No, not really. Is it full of more jokes that start with "That was as bad as the time you..." Yes it is. Does it have more needless Anthropomorphic characters? Yes. But this time, one of Cleveland's neighbours is a talking bear. Yes, a talking bear, wearing a suit, smoking and drinking in the same bar as Cleveland et al. Whilst that is clearly hilarious, it feels forced and really quite needless.
Ok Seth. We get it, you like talking animals, but please, stop. Brian the dog in Family Guy is pushing it, never mind that God awful alien in American Dad. But at least they both are part of the main cast. This bear is just utterly pointless. May as well be a talking cock and balls. In fact, I wish it was.
The film maker Kevin Smith was ejected from a South West airline flight for being a safety risk due to his size. To be honest, I would have kicked him off because of Clerks 2 and just the trailer for Cop Out. To be fair though, my heart goes out to the humiliation he must have gone through. I would strongly recommend listening to his Smodcast (#106) discussing the whole event. Very entertaining.
I watched Apocalypto last night. Say what you like about Mel Gibson, but what a good film. I really enjoyed it. It really appealed to the blood thirsty moron in me. It was a perfect evening in that sense. Valentines Day. So, with my wife safely distracted by her PS3, I watched A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 and Apocalypto. Lots of blood and heads rolling. Happy Loveday all.
Follow Ted (MrJohnRain) on Twitter
|