Okay - I’ve got my evil three for this winter. Based on their trailers alone, I am going to skip the following:
Polar Express - Ever since I saw the trailer the first time, I have been creeped out by the whole thing. I knew that in the Pixar movies, the humans were always the hardest to make look real - and PE just has too much of that going on - they just look freaky to me. And yes, I know, wonderful new technology, blah, blah, blah - they’re just creepy.
Christmas with the Kranks - I’m sorry - I’ve seen the trailer way too many times, and it was never funny to start with.
National Treasure - Just wrong, on too many levels.
Yup, those were the three I was going to mention as well. Also, Aviator (the Howard Hughes bio). Seems Scorcese is on a downward slide (based purely on initiall reaction to the idea - I’ve been wrong before).
Son of The Mask. Hey, what if we made “The Mask”, but without Jim Carrey, who was the only reason anybody went to see the freaking thing in the first place? And…and…instead of Jim Carrey, we’ll have…oh you’re gonna love this…we’ll have a BABY and a DOG! And the baby’s mom can be confused! A lot! It’s funny!
Cars. The next Pixar movie. I’m sorry, but the subject matter simply is not that interesting. Also, I do not hold high hopes for any movie whose signature line is “DAGGUM!” screamed in a horrendous faux-southern accent by a badly animated buck-toothed pickup truck. No. Just…no.
Robots. I saw the trailer for this before something, and I can’t believe someone actually cast Robin Williams as another freaking animated sidekick. I’m just so sick of him.
National Treasure might be good, in a The Rock or Con Air sense. As in, not great, but fun.
I love watching all the trailers at the movies, but more often than not, they are a crash course in what NOT to see. As a comic book fan, I’m still eagerly awaiting the first trailers for Sin City, Batman Begins, and Constantine, all of which I probably WILL see. (And I’m sure the first two will be good and the latter will be horrible.)
Polar Express got stellar reviews in both local papers. I’m not familiar with the story and I also thought the animation looks a little odd. That said, I’ve got a couple of kids so it’s good odds we’ll see this at some point. I hope it doesn’t suck too bad.
I also get a movie night out with the guys about once a month or two, to have dinner and watch testosterone-driven fare (which ironically I don’t much care for but Mrs. Shibb does). So what’s the least worst action/guy flick out this/next month?
From what I can tell it’s about a group of people whose plane crashes in the Middle East. They decide that walking for help would probably get them killed (being in the middle of the desert and all), so they start to rebuild the plane. Stars Dennis Quaid and some British guy who ends up being the pompus, arrogant guy of the group.
Oh yeah. This whole thing pisses me off, especially the attitude that “You’re going to skip Christmas???” is the worst thing in the world. As if all the Jews in the world, not to mention the Hindus, Moslems, etc., and people just too darn poor to afford Christmas don’t find some way to have a good time anyway. And I celebrate Christmas, even though I’m atheist (well - the secular side of it) and I still say this.
A glimpse into the arrogant side of middle-class suburbia, I think.
Close. It’s a remake of a Jimmy Stewart movie from the mid-sixties. In the original, an oil company plane with a mixed bag of characters aboard crash-lands in the Middle Eastern desert. They’re hundreds of miles from any other people, and walking across the desert simply isn’t an option, so they attempt to build a working plane out of what’s left of the crashed plane. In the new version, apparently they crash in the Gobi desert – according to one article I read, they changed it because the Gobi is one of the few places left on earth where there are portions that are pretty much completely uncharted, where it is possible to get well and truly lost with no hope of being found. Apparently, the Arabian desert is a bit too heavily traveled these days.
I just saw the original again a few months ago on cable; it’s actually held up OK. It’s interesting to see Jimmy Stewart as a tightly-wound pilot with almost one of the geniality one usually associates with his roles, Richard Attenborough is, well, Attenborough, and Ernest Borgnine and George Kennedy are what you’d expect.
I love the Jimmy Stewart version. I’m not sure about this remake.
The scene where Stewart is trying to start the engine, (by firing a gun, it’s a bit complicated) is one of the most intense scenes I know.
As for me I’m not sure about Fat Albert, The Aviator or Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
I just don’t see how Marty could choose to use Leo again after Gangs of NY.
As soon as I saw the first synopsis the “remake” bell rang in my head. I am familiar with the original, just the theme of this thread threw me off. As to the originally, I don’t recall if being stuck in the desert is what makes Jimmy Stewart start talking to imaginary rabbits…
There’s some guy named Sticky Fingaz in the remake. As a general rule movies with second tier rap artists in supporting roles are not very good. His body of work, with the odd exception, would bear that theory out.
I’m on a very limited budget but I love movies, so many of the new ones get weeded out.
The people in “Polar Express” look too darn creepy; the old good Disney hand drawn animation - as in “Pinocchio” days - looked better.
“Aviator” is on my must miss list. Just doesn’t stir up any interest, and with limited bucks that means no-go. (Of course my pennies are already saved for the new Johnny Depp flick).
“Alexander” looks awful to me. I’m probably being unfair, but nobody in it looks attractive or interesting. Will be interesting to read the reports as they come in.
I loved the original of “Flight of the Phoenix”; since you all reminded me of it I’ll probably go borrow it from the library.
