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Renegade Reverse Engineering - John Woo Style

MankyD writes "Just saw the trailer to a new John Woo film over at apple.com called PayCheck. Written by Phillip K Dick of Blade Runner and Minority Report, its a story about a top notch reverse engineer (Ben Affleck) who, after a quick memory wipe, finds trying to piece together the mystery of his past. It's also got Uma Thurman as the female lead. Unfortunately the website isn't up and running yet, and the premise of the movie seems a little far fetched, but this still ought to be a fun one."

9 of 397 comments (clear)

  1. Chasing Amy was top of his game? by jvarsoke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did anyone else see "Ben Afleck" and stop reading?

  2. So you're telling me... by useosx · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Ben Affleck is a master at reverse engineering??? I'm sorry I can't stop laughing. I can picture him "thinking really hard", "staring at the screen", "putting the pieces together", etc. God, this should be a good one, I can't wait.

    Can he reverse engineer JoLo's booty?

  3. memory wipe? by Lxy · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...a story about a top notch reverse engineer (Ben Affleck) who, after a quick memory wipe, finds trying to piece together the mystery of his past.

    After seeing Gigli, I wished for a quick memory wipe.

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    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
  4. Re:Looks like a good one by tealover · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've come to expect nothing but crap from Hollywood.

    In the spirit of the Open Source community, why don't you make your own movies ? Sounds like you have an itch to scratch (and i'm not talking about your crabs).

    :)

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    -- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
  5. Sounds Like ... by Honig+the+Apothecary · · Score: 5, Interesting
    after a quick memory wipe, finds trying to piece together the mystery of his past

    This sounds like Memento. Maybe instead of a polaroid and tattoos, they will use a pda or cell phone with acamera for him to remember what happened.Or not.

    Although the Uma aspect is tantalizing. :-)

    Honig
  6. a cursed writer by pgjpgj · · Score: 5, Interesting

    PKD has been dead 21 years, doomed in life to being treated like a hack and in death to having his work mutilated by hacks. Hollywood has a knack for picking up only the most superficial details and missing the creepy paranoid subtleties that make the fiction so memorable. Of the half-dozen efforts to date, only "Screamers" (relatively obscure low-budget effort) and parts of "Blade Runner" are even modest approximations of the works upon which they are based. I have low expectations for "Paycheck": one of his earliest short stories, too long and clumsily plotted compared his masterpieces of the 60's and 70's. I fantasize about what a first-rate director could do with "Martian Time Slip", "Man in the High Castle", or especially "A Scanner Darkly". As long as crap star vehicles with the likes of bozos like Affleck continue to get greenlighted, fantasy it will remain.

  7. Paycheck, the short story by friscolr · · Score: 5, Informative
    Paycheck, I have it in a 1977 Del Rey Compilation (the cover is a multi-sphered space structure, i think, it's rather worn). It's typical Dick, listed as (c)1953 Greenleaf Publications, Inc, for June 1953 Imagination, and the story reads like many other of his stories from that time period. It's witty, innovative, and, to today's audience, 100% cheesy.

    For reference to other movies, Minority Report was published in 1954, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (Total Recall) published 1965, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner) published 1968, Second Variety (Screamers) published 1953, Impostor published 1953.

    Personally i really enjoy the cheesy wit that most of his short stories are innundated with, and am looking forward to Paycheck, despite my apprehension with Ben Affleck (god, that jaw!).

    If you want to read PKD, i think his best stuff was from the late 60's early 70's. The short stories from the 50's and early 60's feel like quick thoughts that PKD was shooting out on the fly, stuff he was thinking through on his way to later full thoughts. His stories after the mid-70's (there aren't many) are too ethereal and "out there", almost to the point of being unreadable. And for a very different sort of work by PKD, read Confessions of a Crap Artist.

    Disclaimer: I've read a substantial amount of PKD, but as he was such a prolific writer, i've read nowhere near all or even most of his work.

    As for John Woo, I've enjoyed his style in Face/Off and Broken Arrow, and in both he had to overcome the Actor Wraith John Travolta (lately seems to act so bad that he sucks the acting ability out of others). Hell, Hard Target even had some style thanks to John Woo, and it's a Van Damme movie. Presumably he'll be able to work through Ben's jaw as well.

    It's too bad the rumours of John Woo doing a TMNT movie aren't true.

  8. Reversed Time Periods by Bugmaster · · Score: 5, Funny
    The voice-over in the trailer states that, "in the future", corporations will use reverse-engineering to learn each other's secrets. I think someone in Hollywood has their wires crossed -- because that's what corporations do now.

    A more realistic trailer would involve something like this:

    Voiceover: To learn how something works, you must first take it apart (*). But, in the past, reverse-engineering was outlawed by the megacorporations. Technological innovation has stopped. Now, 20 years in the future, one man strives to revive the old arts...
    Ben Affleck: Hmm. So to tighten the screw, you can only turn it clockwise ! Ingenious !
    Voiceover: But now, he must race against time as corporate forces are closing in...
    Jack-booted thug: Ben Affleck ! You are charged with the violation of DMCA in the first degree. By the powers invested in me by RIAA/MPAA, I pronounce your warranty void !
    Ben Affleck: Aiiieee ! The Fritz Chip ! In my head ! Erasing... memory... Must remember... which... way... screws... turn...
    Voiceover: Will this dangerous criminal be brought to justice ? It is your duty as a consumer to watch this movie NOW and find out. Remember: you belong to the MPAA.

    (*) actual trailer quote

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