On Aug 1, 2:14 pm, Ben <ben@bensales_DOT_ME.uk> wrote:
> On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 05:48:38 -0700 (PDT), zymu...@technologist.com
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >On Jul 27, 11:36 pm, Richard Wood <rich...@ukrm.co.uk> wrote:
> >> In article <b5h9849ho0rphebvf6fbf6c7vbb55tj...@4ax.com>,
> >> n...@champ.org.uk says...
>
> >> > On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:12:35 +0100, Wicked Uncle Nigel
> >> > <w...@wicked-uncle-nigel.me.uk> wrote:
>
> >> > >Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, "Brownz @ Work"
> >> > ><someone....@microsoft.com> typed
> >> > >>Champ wrote:
> >> > >>> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:45:48 +0100, "Brownz @ Work"
> >> > >>> <someone....@microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> >> > >>>> Who are you ? And what have you done with the real Champ ?
>
> >> > >>> Textual analysis of my usenet posting history should demonstrate that
> >> > >>> this is the real me. In what way do you think it's out of character?
>
> >> > >>Heh heh, yeah, I know it's you.... it's just the whole idea of a rufty tufty
> >> > >>middle aged biker/racer giving film reviews on childrens movies that makes
> >> > >>me chuckle.
>
> >> > >Champ is not a rufty tufty.
>
> >> > Quite so.
>
> >> > Also, it's not a children's movie either, as far as I can tell.
>
> >> Considering in the first half an hour the dialog consists purely of
> >> "EEEEVAAAA" and "WAALLLEEEEEEEE", I though they'd found a way of making
> >> a movie that could be shown worldwide without any translation.
>
> >> It really only had a fraction of Pixars normal kidult humour though,
> >> poor show.
>
> >Thanks, i'll avoid until it goes to DVD.
>
> >I was however forced to watch ponce caspian.
>
> >But Batman last night made up for it. Definitely the most violent B/
> >man film to date ..
>
> I'd love to know how it got a 12A cert. During my showing at least
> three families left because the ickle-darlings were scared.

Heh, we were at quite a late showing, but I was thinking "Feck,
12A ???!!!"

P.

On Jul 21, 3:55*pm, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:

<SNIP, Wall-E>

> Anyway - the film is technically superb. *About a 1/3 of the way thru
> I was growing tired of its holier-than-thou environmental message, but
> then it picked up the pace and plotting nicely, and kept me absorbed,
> with some great gags. *For an animated feature it has some real
> emotional depth, and I can see why critics in the US are saying it
> will get an oscar nomination for Best Film (as opposed to Best
> Animated Feature).

Finally got to see this yesterday and ... well, what a crock of shite,
really. Apart from a mildly amusing, but hardly original, 2001 parody
towards the end there was nothing in this film that showed any
imagination or depth. The graphics were superb, but not enough to
hang a whole film off and several minute seem to have been added
purely to show what they could do with CGI.

I saw Batman last week as well and, whatever else, there's no denying
that not that long ago that would have got an 18 rating. It was also
complete dross for all of the bits that Ledger wasn't speaking and
could *easily* have had 30 minutes trimmed out of it without losing
anything.

That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" now has a
March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
spectacular flop? Prace bets now.

On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:08:13 -0700 (PDT), AndrewR
<andrew@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" now has a
>March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
>spectacular flop? Prace bets now.

I do wish they'd stop messing with graphic novels/comics I love.

However from the trailer it looks better than I expected.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/

I'll go and see it even if just to mutter as I did with V.

I'm just glad Sandman is basically unfilmable.
--
Lady Nina
AFOFG

AndrewR wrote:

<snip>
> That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" now has a
> March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
> spectacular flop? Prace bets now.


Hmm, just checked trailer. I'm thinking flop.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

On Aug 5, 11:54*pm, Lady Nina <spamtr...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:08:13 -0700 (PDT), AndrewR
>
> <and...@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> >That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" *now has a
> >March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
> >spectacular flop? *Prace bets now.
>
> I do wish they'd stop messing with graphic novels/comics I love.
>
> However from the trailer it looks better than I expected.
>
> http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/

Indeed - a lot of scenes are recognisable in that and while they seem
to have updated some of the characters' appearances that's probably
not a bad thing. I did notice from its IMDB page that John & Jackie
Kennedy are credited as characters, where IIRC John Kennedy only gets
a mention in passing in the novel.

> I'll go and see it even if just to mutter as I did with V.

Oh I rather liked 'V for Vendetta' - ok, it's not the graphic novel,
but even Moore admits that some of the underpinnings were wrong in the
graphic novel and, of course, there's that scene where, if you didn't
know better, you could swear that Natalie Portman is trying to act.

> I'm just glad Sandman is basically unfilmable.

It's hard to even imagine which one(s) they'd film - a combination of
"Preludes & Nocturnes" and "Season of Mists" would probably work best.

Maybe they'll film some of the "Preacher" graphic novels - it's not
like they can make them any worse than they already are.

On 6 Aug, 09:43, AndrewR <and...@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> On Aug 5, 11:54*pm, Lady Nina <spamtr...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:08:13 -0700 (PDT), AndrewR
>
> > <and...@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> > >That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" *now has a
> > >March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
> > >spectacular flop? *Prace bets now.
>
> > I do wish they'd stop messing with graphic novels/comics I love.
>
> > However from the trailer it looks better than I expected.
>
> >http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/
>
> Indeed - a lot of scenes are recognisable in that and while they seem
> to have updated some of the characters' appearances *that's probably
> not a bad thing. *I did notice from its IMDB page that John & Jackie
> Kennedy are credited as characters, where IIRC John Kennedy only gets
> a mention in passing in the novel.
>
> > I'll go and see it even if just to mutter as I did with V.
>
> Oh I rather liked 'V for Vendetta' - ok, it's not the graphic novel,
> but even Moore admits that some of the underpinnings were wrong in the
> graphic novel and, of course, there's that scene where, if you didn't
> know better, you could swear that Natalie Portman is trying to act.
>
> > I'm just glad Sandman is basically unfilmable.
>
> It's hard to even imagine which one(s) they'd film - a combination of
> "Preludes & Nocturnes" and "Season of Mists" would probably work best.
>
> Maybe they'll film some of the "Preacher" graphic novels - it's not
> like they can make them any worse than they already are.

I liked 'V for Vendetta' too - but I can remember thinking
"I bet if I knew anything about the GN this is based on, I'd be
sitting here fuming".

Ignorance is bliss... ;o)

AndrewR wrote:
>
> That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" *now has a
> March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
> spectacular flop? *Prace bets now.

It'll lose a lot in the transition from 400-page epic into
a 120 minute film. I reckon they'll cut quite a lot of the
sub-plots out, possibly the Black Freighter as well.

Although they've done a "Sin City" and filmed it so it looks
pretty much like the comic book, that doesn't guarantee a
decent film.

I'll still go so it though!

--
Antony

"antonye" <antonye@ukrm.net> wrote in message
news:30547ed5-60fa-472f-a706-8e8fd7e3a28f@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>AndrewR wrote:
>>
>> That said, I see from Empire this month that "Watchmen" now has a
>> March 2009 release date ... so, greatest super-hero film ever or
>> spectacular flop? Prace bets now.

> It'll lose a lot in the transition from 400-page epic into
> a 120 minute film. I reckon they'll cut quite a lot of the
> sub-plots out, possibly the Black Freighter as well.

I read somewhere that they originally planned to produce the Black Freighter
as an accompanying short, but that it was going to add $20M to the budget so
they decided not to bother.

I think the main film will stand without it, but it will be interesting to
see if they've got the courage to go with the proper ending.

AndrewR wrote:
>
> I read somewhere that they originally planned to produce the
> Black Freighter as an accompanying short, but that it was going
> to add $20M to the budget so they decided not to bother.

I've not bothered reading too much about it, even though
I really want to see the film. I'm quite open to seeing
a different version of the book (ie, "re-imagined" or cut-down)
as a film; just as with something like Spiderman. While that
was not true to the comic (re: Spiderman 3, the black costume)
it was still a good action film in it's own right that had all
the right characters and feel to it.

> I think the main film will stand without it, but it will be
> interesting to see if they've got the courage to go with
> the proper ending.

Hopefully they will otherwise there's not much point to the
story.

It does make me wonder which comic book they'll rip off next.
Browsing my bookshelf they've done Spidey (but not Secret Wars),
V for Vendetta, Sin City, Watchmen and Punisher (to name but a few)
so we're down to the likes of Usagi Yojimbo...

--
Antony

"antonye" <antonye@ukrm.net> wrote in message
news:7d5485eb-f9f6-47b0-be7a-40e936d1580c@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

> It does make me wonder which comic book they'll rip off next.
> Browsing my bookshelf they've done Spidey (but not Secret Wars),
> V for Vendetta, Sin City, Watchmen and Punisher (to name but a few)
> so we're down to the likes of Usagi Yojimbo...

You've missed out a load of comic book stuff from recent years - Iron Man,
Hulk, Judge Dredd, et al.

Looking on IMDB I see that Dr. Strange is in production (with Neil Gaiman as
the writer, apparently), that could go either way.

Looking at my proper graphic novel collection there's not much that seems
likely - Preacher is dreadful, Sandman and Lucifer are too complex ... maybe
Books of Magic, though.

AndrewR wrote:
> antonye wrote:
>
> > It does make me wonder which comic book they'll rip off next.
> > Browsing my bookshelf they've done Spidey (but not Secret Wars),
> > V for Vendetta, Sin City, Watchmen and Punisher (to name but a few)
> > so we're down to the likes of Usagi Yojimbo...
>
> You've missed out a load of comic book stuff from recent years *-
> Iron Man, Hulk, Judge Dredd, et al.

I meant on *my* bookshelf. That was just a quick sample of the
stuff that I've read which has been filmalised.

> Looking at my proper graphic novel collection there's not much
> that seems likely - Preacher is dreadful, Sandman and Lucifer
> are too complex ... maybe Books of Magic, though.

Is Preacher the one drawn by John McCrea, as I know his brother.

--
Antony

antonye wrote:

> AndrewR wrote:

<snip>

> It does make me wonder which comic book they'll rip off next.

Well, I think so far you might be looking at:

The Spirit:

http://www.mycityscreams.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831887/

Ronin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronin_(comic_book_series)
(no site for the film yet, afaik)

Ant-Man:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/
(directed by Edgar "Shaun of the Dead" Wright)

Wonder Woman:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451279/
(although Joss "Buffy" Whedon isn't involved any more)

The Green Hornet:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegreenhornet/

Then there has also been talk of a JLA movie, and Avengers one (hence
the little scene at the end of Iron Man), not to mention the Wolverine
spin-off ... oh, and the live-action remake of Akira.

I'm sure there are a few more I've forgotten about, too.
--
djb
ukrm at rodentia dot org dot uk :: web dot rodentia dot org dot uk

"antonye" <antonye@ukrm.net> wrote in message
news:cd8c2b5c-4f45-42ec-a010-89070b7392cb@f63g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
AndrewR wrote:

>> Looking at my proper graphic novel collection there's not much
>> that seems likely - Preacher is dreadful, Sandman and Lucifer
>> are too complex ... maybe Books of Magic, though.

> Is Preacher the one drawn by John McCrea, as I know his brother.

No, Preacher's drawn by Steve Dillon.

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 01:43:39 -0700 (PDT), AndrewR
<andrew@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>Maybe they'll film some of the "Preacher" graphic novels - it's not
>like they can make them any worse than they already are.

I have a soft spot for Cassidy, so can forgive the theological
tangles.
--
Lady Nina
AFOFG

"djb" <very_obvious_spam_trap_@_real_email_in_.sig> wrote in message
news:g7c55a$538$1@registered.motzarella.org...

> The Spirit:
>
> http://www.mycityscreams.com/
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831887/

My brother's a big fan of The Spirit, and Eisner's work generally, but I
never really got in to it. I did like some of Eisner's other stuff - his
tenement stories and A Contract with God.

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 11:32:28 +0100, "AndrewR"
<andrew@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

> maybe
>Books of Magic, though.

Now that could work. Just the first one, not the non Gaiman follow ups
though.
--
Lady Nina
AFOFG

AndrewR wrote:

> "djb" <very_obvious_spam_trap_@_real_email_in_.sig> wrote in message
> news:g7c55a$538$1@registered.motzarella.org...
>
>> The Spirit:
>>
>> http://www.mycityscreams.com/
>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831887/
>
> My brother's a big fan of The Spirit, and Eisner's work generally, but I
> never really got in to it. I did like some of Eisner's other stuff - his
> tenement stories and A Contract with God.

I should warn him to avoid the movie, then, as from the trailer it looks
like it's been made with all FM's usual subtlety and restraint /

--
two #2 (I think)
ukrm at rodentia dot org dot uk :: web dot rodentia dot org dot uk

"Lady Nina" <spamtrap2@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:707j94d66aq0l846kdu5n5u57eo7nbernh@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 01:43:39 -0700 (PDT), AndrewR
> <andrew@rockface.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>Maybe they'll film some of the "Preacher" graphic novels - it's not
>>like they can make them any worse than they already are.
>
> I have a soft spot for Cassidy, so can forgive the theological
> tangles.

Cassidy's the best character by far, but I got sick of the boys-own-fantasy
story line. For the first couple of novels in the series I wondered if it
was meant ironically, but after 3 or 4 books of Jessie being able to win any
fist fight, bed any (big breasted) woman, etc. I really didn't care any
more. Theological tangles are the least of its worries.