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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Set in a mythic version of the late 1930s, this movie is a stunning tribute to classic sci-fi serials, comics and pulp magazines of that era. Starting with a reporter investigating the disappearances of top scientists, the story quickly becomes a nearly constant barrage of giant robots, aeroships, submarine planes, ray guns and retro technology on a grand scale. The plot, which hurtles across maps of the world Indiana Jones style, definitely take a back seat to the effects. The character interactions are all predictable. But all of that is consistent with the genre, and for me it didn't get in the way of enjoying the hell out of this movie.
What sets this film apart from others is that every scene was shot against a blue screen. Except for some hand props and the actors themselves, the whole thing was computer generated. We've certainly seen plenty of CG, going all the way back to "The Last Starfighter" in the 80s, but I've never seen anything done so stylishly or so well. Perhaps the hazy, murky look is perfectly suited to both the 1930s atmosphere and the current state of the art of CG. It works.
The packed screening was followed by a Q&A with director Conran, who turned out to be an impressively low-key, likable guy. He started working on the film about 10 years ago with a blue screen in his living room, wondering whether he could create an entire movie in his Mac. The first 6 minutes took him 2 years. Initially he made an animated version, which actors later used as a guide as they mimed their way through the live version. When Paramount got involved they insisted on big-name actors, so the theatrical release is actually version 3. Hopefully all three will make it onto the eventual DVD. Conran mentioned that for his next project he wants to tackle Edgar Rice Burroughs' epic John Carter series.
The presenter, a filmmaking friend of Conran's, closed the screening with a joke about Pete Townshend meeting Eric Clapton in a London bar and commiserating about some new kid named Hendrix, "who's gonna kick our asses." He imagined that Spielberg and Lucas might soon be having a similar conversation somewhere in California. I have to agree that it seems like a distinct possibility.
Thanks to serutan for this review!
Pretty sure that Attack of the Clones was also shot entirely in front of a blue screen.
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
No, I just made sure my eyes were looking at the computer monitor.
Wow my pirate / brunette bombshell fetish is finally realized!
GetTheJob.com : Nothing but Real Jobs.
That's what Jar Jar Binks, "Face Dances", and "AI" have in common!
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
Couldn't you have put in a paragraph or two drawing parallels between this movie and Columbine? Or how it relates to globalism? Your plain vanilla movie review kinda feels naked without you attempting to link it in with current events or society.
GMD
watch this
Right. Because original science fiction movies that aren't sequels, remakes, or Star Trek always do well at the theater.
Every time I hear this advertised I picture the cryogenic technician in the first Futurama episode, saying "Welcome to the WOOORRLD of Tomorrow!"
It has a "league of extrordinary gentlemen" feel to it, and that was the vilest shitstain to hit celluloid in the history of film.
I kept waiting for Dorian Grey to sodomize some young boys but he never did. (Who the hell writes him into their story as some sort of superhero?)
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I guess the world of tomorrow doesn't support Mozilla/FireFox. I can't view the page.
What's wrong with Ewan McGregor? OK, so she needs a shave, but otherwise... ;)
OK, let's translate this...
...groundbreaking film...
...I was completely blown away.
What you said:
What you meant:
OK, OK, I know this film is just a cheesy knockoff of a pulp '30s-era sci-fi rag, but Angelina Jolie pops her tiddies out! TWICE!!!
Angelina Jolie. Sucktastic. Fat lips.
I'll be in my bunk.
www.kitchengeek.com -- Nosh for
for the action, special effects, or storyline. We all know that geeks since the early 90's have attended movies for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only:
1) Angelina Jolie (and her lips..god those lips)
2) Natalie Portman
Hence the reason the movie "Hackers" is a favorite among geeks, as well as the continued success of the new Star Wars Trilogy (and in some cases "The Professional")
...though I hadn't realized they had ported it over to the Macintosh yet.
I must have the abridged version of "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
-Peter
Jeez! I'm a little amazed. I've been reading Slashdot regularly every day and somehow, without really realizing when it happened, I'd almost completely forgotten about Jon Katz. How can this be? I still remember how he used to make my blood boil with his pompous, sophomoric rants. And yet at some point I sort of started to chalk that up to the nature of the beast -- listening to children in grown-up bodies blabbering on like they wielded the authority of a BBC field correspondent was all part of the fun of Slashdot. Then he disappeared and ... could it be ... my Slashdot experience seems to be none the worse for wear! How can this have happened? How can I have so quickly forgotten all about Jon Katz's seminal contribution to Slashdot history, when it had given me so much bitter, perverse joy?
Oh yeah... now I remember. That was about the time I started browsing at -1.
Breakfast served all day!
we need something that interests us, not just something that looks pretty.
And you probably like women for their personality too. Wierdo.
paintball
The presenter, a filmmaking friend of Conran's, closed the screening with a joke about Pete Townshend meeting Eric Clapton in a London bar and commiserating about some new kid named Hendrix, "who's gonna kick our asses." He imagined that Spielberg and Lucas might soon be having a similar conversation somewhere in California.
So in a couple of years Conran's going to die in a hotel room after a night of drinking?
Well, the candle that burns twice as bright, burns out twice as fast...it's better to burn out, than to fade away...
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
No.
the clock on the wall says 4 til 7
After that preview my wife hit me with the ultimate in trick questions. She said, "I'd like to look more like her, would you mind implants if I got my breasts to look like hers?" I thought it was best just to pretend I didn't hear her.
They definitely had no memorable explosions, that's for sure.
"Little guy with big ideas, can't bring them to fruition, needs to sell out to big media corps (TEH DEVIL!) to bring his dream to frution and expose it to the masses."
Now, if he had self-published, set up a website and sold his own DVDs, now that would be worth trumpeting.
This guy should be publicly flogged as a traitor, a collaborator with the evil corps! First against the wall when the revolution comes!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I have one name for you - Dirichlet
You're right! I'm going to run out and see Battlefield Earth as soon as I can!
-Rob
Marriage doesn't have to suck!
My first entirely blue screen experience was Windows 3.1.
So there.
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
all the way back to "The Last Starfighter"
all the way back to 1984?
Never heard of Tron? 1982? CG all over the place?
You whippersnappers with your fancy Angelina Jolie-la-di-da and Jude Law-la-di-doo! Back in my day, all we had was Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner in neon jumpsuits. And we liked it!
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Yeah, all Jackson got for his effort was shitloads of money, shitloads of great reviews, and shitloads of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Director. Okay, sure, he didn't win an Unobtanium Zrigny Award from the Unaligned Worlds Council for the Electromagnetic-Spectrum-Based Arts, but there was a lot of tough competition last cycle. Anyway, he wouldn't have been able to keep the award anyway -- possession of unobtainium by private individuals isn't allowed on backward worlds like Terra.
Like a candle in the wind?
When you get to hell -- tell 'em Itchy sent ya!
The trailers for this reminded me of another "guilty pleasure" film, "The Rocketeer." I suspect "Sky Captain" will join "Rocketeer" in my movie collection as something that is aimless, harmless exciting fun.
Hmmm....
Sky Captain, Angelina Jolie
The Rocketeer, Jennifer Connolly
Yeah, I guess I can see how both those movies would qualify as aimless & exciting fun but harmless? Just as long as you don't "enjoy" those films too often (you know if you do that too much you'll go blind)
Come and see the violence inherent in the system!
Here question is a field of landmines. Your only hope of a right answer is, "Honey you are the most gorgeous woman on the planet, I wouldn't change a thing". Any other answer and you are pretty much doomed. Of course by ignoring her you made her think you were fantasizing about Jolie.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
They are waiting for the cameras and projectors that can handle the fourth primary color.
Try this one.:
"Honey, *I* think you're perfect. But it's YOUR body, and if YOU think you'd want to change something, I'll still support you and think that you're perfect--just like I do when you cut your hair."
(An optional "but, yeah, that'd be hot!" is only allowed for those of us with loving wives who have grown used to sarcastic comments.)
I just say, "Yeah honey, I've always thought your tits were too small and saggy. I say you get a second job and fix them up nice. Get me a beer."
See, it's like a lottery. The coolness of the remote possibility of success is worth the probability of losing, and having to sleep on the couch for a week.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Come on the main theme is stolen from stargate, how can a film be good if they steal music from other things!
I also have to think that anyone who has dated a batshit crazy woman (ah, the good old days... when I could look beyond a woman's crumbling psyche and see the great rack inside)
:) Now, I got me a logical woman *gasp, can it be true?*.
Brought back some memories here as well
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
That's because they live in "Frence", somewhere between "Spein" and "Germeny" (and they go skiing in the Elps)
Look, boys and girls! It's geek cool to 'dis' popular music and listen to shitty garage bands, all the while claiming that in some mysterious fashion this raises your intellect to godlike proportions over the masses of sheep you egotistically look down on.
And now we have something new! It's now cool to do the same thing to Angelina Jolie! Those same geeks who watched "Hackers" 67 times and jacked off wildly to every scene with Angelina in it now turn around and try to score points with their uber-arrogant crowd by claiming that Angelina Jolie, like "suxx0rs, d00d".
You know, if it were legal to sterilize you little twits I'd be out there with a pair of nail clippers in a heartbeat, doing my part to clean up the gene pool.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
I picked option 3 a few years ago and have been posting to /. from webcafes ever since.
I recommend it to everyone.
May contain traces of nut.
Made from the freshest electrons.