Fellowship of the Rings

Cornflake · Post by **Cornflake** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 1:39 am

You know me, Zubby. I'm looking forward to LOTR just fine but I won't mind waiting a couple of weeks 'till the theatres thin out some....
The trouble with fantasy movies is the same with sci-fi: You don't make a 'sci-fi' movie. 'Sci-fi' is your *setting*, your window dressing. What your characters do and the conflicts they're in decide what your movie's about. It's the same with fantasy...just giving people swords doesn't make for good cinema. We'll see about LOTR. Personally I thinks it'll be alright but I'm not expecting much. Tolkien's pretty dry.
And Willow was fun, but it was a crappy movie. Everyone had some reason to be there except the bad guy. Why the hell was Vanmorda bad??? Either than having a dungeon (standard castle feature) and a henchman with a pechant for skull-helmetry she didn't do one bad thing until our heroes show up! She's wearing black! Get her!
And don't feed me that 'she was going to kill a baby' crap. If my dark arts told *me* that some kid had it in for me I'd do her first too. Faster Cornflake - kill, kill.G.

[pippy] · Post by **[pippy]** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 2:13 am

Tolkein? DRY? what kinda serious fucked up crack are you smokin' cornflake, ole pal?im outraged.

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 4:14 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Cornflake:
The trouble with fantasy movies is the same with sci-fi: You don't make a 'sci-fi' movie. 'Sci-fi' is your *setting*, your window dressing. What your characters do and the conflicts they're in decide what your movie's about. It's the same with fantasy...just giving people swords doesn't make for good cinema.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I totally agree with you on this. Way too many people think their genre is their story. Characters should be the story... <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>

We'll see about LOTR. Personally I thinks it'll be alright but I'm not expecting much. Tolkien's pretty dry.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I haven't read a single negative review, and I've been looking. Fan of the book or not, it sounds like it's got the characters and the scope to grab audiences worldwide. It premiered in the UK over the weekend and several of the TV stations there were interviewing kids who were hardcore Harry Potter fans. Even they admitted that LOTR was a far better film. Now they may be dumb kids, but it still shows the potential to grab young and old alike. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>

And Willow was fun, but it was a crappy movie.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>No fun, just the crap... so bad, so bad. It doesn't even have the camp value of Labyrinth with poofy mulleted David Bowie and muppets.I actually saw a commercial advertising the Willow DVD. The tagline was "Before there was a hobbit...". What a bunch of crap! Are those marketing guys insane?! Willow got made because George Lucas couldn't secure the rights to the Lord of the Rings! That's just another reason why it's a shameless rip-off piece of dung.------------------
Jim Zubkavich
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The Makeshift Miracle
<A HREF="http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com</A>
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Spartacus · Post by **Spartacus** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 4:48 am

Willow=SuckThe Dark Crystal=Rules!LOTR=Masterpiece!!!*I hope* Peter Jackson is the Man! Dead Alive is the Best!------------------
First I was <A HREF="http://zapjones.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Zap Jones</A> , then I was <A HREF="http://highfalutin.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Highfalutin!</A> Spartacus. Soon, I will finally be what I should have been all along...VND!!! Coming March 2002, 7 days a week!

MightyMike · Post by **MightyMike** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 5:21 am

Come now Jim. We've had this debate before. Willow has midgets, and Labyrinth has muppets. Midgets = good, Muppets = bad. I have to say that despite my eager anticipation to see FOTR, I am highly dissapointed that our wee friends in the midget community were not given the opportunity to play hobbits. How are our true dwarfish friends supposed to make a living off of their freakish nature? Whatever happened to midget wrestling?Until society accepts my view on midgets as the new renewable energy source, I insist, nay, I DEMAND that we stop digitally compressing actors to play diminutive roles when the natural choice, our midgety friends, are out of work.David Bowie can sing 'Dance Magic Dance' all he wants, but if that dance doesn't include midgets, mark me a Willow fan.

Izanobu · Post by **Izanobu** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 5:33 am

LOTR will be amazing... and yes, Tolkein gets dry. Read the bloody Silmarillion or chissakes... an elvan geneology? you have to be a diehard fan to enjoy doing that more than once...but the books were epic...and the movie should be also... fingers crossed.willow=val kilmer. 'nough said.
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Izanobu of <A HREF="http://www.pastdark.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.pastdark.com</A>

Nocturnal · Post by **Nocturnal** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 5:36 am

I'm booked at the Colosseum (fellow Calgarian) at 8:00 wednesday evening <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">I'm in the midst of re-reading the fellowship as we speak...our heroes have just discovered Balin's tomb.This will be the fourth time I've read the series. Needless to say, I'm die-hard, and I'm insanely pumped for this film. Even if the acting sucks, and the portrayal is way off, I'd still enjoy seeing the movie because of how *awesome* the scenery and characters *look*. It will be really interesting to see how they match up with the images I've formed in my mind from reading it.But, from the cast, I don't think the acting will suck, and from what I've heard, nailing the portrayal was one of their highest priorities, so it should be wonderful.Six days, babee.And the Silmarillion and other "derivative" works were all the backstory he developed for LOTR. They weren't necessarily meant to be a book to be digested on their own, they are there for the Tolkien addicts to get their fill. The LOTR world has, without a doubt, the richest history of any fantasy or science fiction book I've ever read, and it's because of works like the Silmarillion.-Nocturnal[This message has been edited by Nocturnal (edited 12-13-2001).]

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 8:02 am

I'm exploding with anticipation for this movie. It's eating my brain. Damn damn damn... I wish it was the 19th already.The fantasy genre's always gotten the shaft at the movies. When the best the genre has to offer is crap like Willow, The Beastmaster and Legend, it's obvious that fantasy movies need a kick in the ass.I hope Fellowship of the Rings is that kick.It would be nice to see fantasy come back into focus. Larger than life heroes and some medieval fantasy good versus evil.Is anyone else here anticipating Fellowship? Anyone else going opening day? What's the consensus?Any fantasy buffs in general here?------------------
Jim Zubkavich
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The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
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DarkWolf_777 · Post by **DarkWolf_777** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 10:29 am

Looking forwared to LoTR... most certainly.But I was also looking forward to the D&D movie <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/frown.gif"> Hoping LoTR does infinitely better.But... nah! Don't be dissing Willow, and Legend... Beastmaster sucked... but Willow and Legend... those are just... those are just classic fantasy movies. No suckage with them. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">------------------
DarkWolf
[ <A HREF="http://www.lethaldeath.com" TARGET=_blank>Lethal Death</A> | <A HREF="http://www.wiccajesus.com" TARGET=_blank>The Talamasca 2</A> ]

[pippy] · Post by **[pippy]** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 10:42 am

FotR is gonna be the screamin phateee shiznat!! werrrrrd! are you disin on willow? dude, so not cool. that was a great movie. it was supposed to be corndog. damn. punk. I like fantasy, im gonna be doin a fantasy story on keenspace wit a friend. wicky wicky wild. woof!

JamieCOTC · Post by **JamieCOTC** » Thu Dec 13, 2001 11:01 am

Since we

Izanobu · Post by **Izanobu** » Fri Dec 14, 2001 1:16 am

i play dnd. and frankly, while the movie was really awful... almost everything they did in it had me rolling in laughter...i mean... you can just pick out the player characters.. "hey, let's go rob the mage school"... if you play dnd, you know that sometime your character is going to do something stupid like that, and manage to drag the whole group along. (like anchient red dragon hunting with level three chars "think of the experience if we win!")willow. val kilmer. i say again. val kilmer. don't tell me i am the only chick on this board? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/frown.gif"> meep i say.legend. unicorns and danny elfman. must be a girl thing i guess... ------------------
Izanobu of <A HREF="http://www.pastdark.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.pastdark.com</A>

MightyMike · Post by **MightyMike** » Fri Dec 14, 2001 2:15 am

Am I the only person here that thinks that Jim is discriminating both the diminutive and the elderly? Pretty soon, I will qualify for both!! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">But in all seriousness, what qualifies as a 'good' movie, is whether or not you enjoy watching it. If the movie is riddled with idiotic cinematic blunders, yet they add to the movie's charm, then where's the problem? If Willow had been produced as an anime flick, then Jim would have been all over it. Let's face it, 'Record of Lodoss War' isn't really all that great, but Jim and I both like it, or else he wouldn't have gone out of his way to chain me up in his basement and force me to watch it (as he did with all anime).Come on, I can't be the only Willow fan out there. Don't let Zubby browbeat you guys. By the way Jim, the final battle wasn't really about two old crones duking it out, it was about a simple midgety fellow who tricks a powerful opponent with his wit and resourcefulness. (By the way, I might sound like I'm really upset about this, but I like teasing Jim more than anything else.)
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'Would you boys like some frozen eclairs?'
- Jim's Mom

Cornflake · Post by **Cornflake** » Fri Dec 14, 2001 3:48 am

I think Mike has a point there Jim: If Willow was an anime I think you'd have liked it just fine. The fact of the matter is Willow didn't have any hat wearing, stair climbing, purple haired bitches who rode motorcycles and kicked the shit out of gangs all the time. If you can sit through episodic hours of crap like Lodoss War (*shudder*) and Orange Road (*double shudder*), then I can't see a relatively painless experience like Willow being that bad.
And for Izanobu: Yes, Val Kilmer's a hunky addition to the pint-sized cast of Willow. Perhaps we should find some of that 'Dust of Broken Hearts' (+ 4 to charm person) stuff for you an' Val huh? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">
So to sum up:
Willow ain't no Ben Hur but it ain't no Ishtar either. It certainly isn't a bad twenty-four hour episodic nightmare of anime either....
Midgets could be used as a power source but not until we've harvested their wee organs first. Priorities Mike.
The LOTR movie promises to be a good time and I'm looking forward to it.G.

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Fri Dec 14, 2001 5:02 am

Switching gears a bit:Any role-playing game (D&D especially) can be cheesy if you want to play I that way. I've always thought that the neatest thing about role-playing games was that they could be as serious or silly as you want to make them.Anyways... back to the movie bit:Legend is okay in comparison to a lot of the other fantasy stuff currently out there. It is funny watching the unicorn run in slow motion and see that rubber horn glued to its forhead bounce back and forth <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Willow just doesn't do it. When your big end fight is two old crones screaming and beating on each other, it's beyond anti-climatic, it's just dumb.
Conan the Barbarian's okay too, but I always die laughing at several parts:- Conan throws the witch into the fire. The greasy 70's porno-like bit before this is so funny I can't help but laugh.- Conan versus the heavy metal mullet haired minions of Thulsa-Doom. No comment needed.- Conan punches out the camel in the marketplace. Kills me everytime.------------------
Jim Zubkavich
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The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
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Arioch · Post by **Arioch** » Sat Dec 15, 2001 11:15 am

I've been trying not to get too excited about LOTR, because I really don't want my expectations to ruin the experience if the movie is only mediocre. But, it's very difficult not to get excited, especially after having seen several of the preview shows on Sci-Fi and MTV, where they show quite a lot. There's no question that the look of the film is EXACTLY what it should be, and the casting seems outstanding. The people making the film know the subject backwards and forwards, and that's the most important thing.Whether the film is outstanding or merely good will depend on the skill of the director. There were a few snippets (notably of the Black Riders) I saw that seemed more silly than scary, but then again the short clip (from the SciFi preview) of Isildur and Elrond when they first found the Ring sent shivers up my spine.Indeed, hard not get excited.

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Sun Dec 16, 2001 9:44 am

I know you guys may not believe this, but I have slowed down on my "pro-anime" mad crazy preaching over the last couple of years. Even looking through my collection, not as many of the titles grab me as they used to. I've become a lot more critical of the films and shows I watch. In fact, I'm lucky if I turn on an hour of TV a week! I can't find any good shows on TV anymore and don't really miss it either.Anime's like anything else.... some good, many bad. Lodoss War has cool designs, but admittedly the story is a bit stale. Cool art alone cannot make it great.Orange Road on the other hand, is an evil series because I know how much horrifying 80's cheese it is, but I still have damn nostalgia for it. It was the first animation I saw that seemed to have more story than just cyberpunk-whatever or kiddie fare stuff. That's where my disturbing appreciation for Orange Road comes from.Willow's crap, plain and simple. Pure crap.JimPS: Check the image I've got on my desktop currently: <A HREF="http://www.lordoftherings.net/media/des ... 6_1024.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.lordoftherings.net/media/des ... 024.jpg</A> ------------------
Jim Zubkavich
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The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
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Kevin Wolf · Post by **Kevin Wolf** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 2:27 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Zubkavich:
Willow's crap, plain and simple. Pure crap.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Here, here!Speaking of crap, does anybody else think that those Burger King tie-in commercials are seriously damaging this movie's credibility? They're selling the film as a prestige, David Lean-esque adventure epic, and then these horrible Burger King commercials pop up featuring what appear to be SCA re-enactors squabbling around in the mud...I mean, I'm dying to see FOTR, and I know that I'm going to enjoy it. Unfortunately, if we want to see more epic fantasy done right on the big screen, this film needs to make a TON of money. It sucks, but it's true. So now, the ad men at Burger King give us a series of promos that seems to be almost deliberately undercutting the effect of the official campaign.Eh, well...Maybe I worry too much about this stuff.To reiterate, Willow is crap.How do you folks feel about Ladyhawk, crappy soundtrack aside?------------------
Kevin Wolf
Mythocorp, International
http://mythocorp.keenspace.com

Arioch · Post by **Arioch** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 5:06 am

I liked Ladyhawke a lot. It was a little bit light in the pants as regards historical authenticity, but otherwise I thought the story and characters were very good.Dragonheart, on the other hand, was lightweight in all departments, but no worse than Willow, certainly.Does 13th Warrior count as fantasy? Almost. I actually liked that movie.[This message has been edited by Arioch (edited 12-17-2001).]

MightyMike · Post by **MightyMike** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 9:46 am

Damn. I guess I'm the only one willing to defend Willow around here. Well that's okay. I'm well entrenched and wearing my skull-helmet, and have an army of spear-chucking midgets at my back.Seriously. I realize that FOTR is going to blow all these movies out of the water, but since we're on this subject...Labyrinth is an acid-laced Jim Henson monstrosity whose only redeeming value is a large furry guy whose best line is "smells bad", which it does.LadyHawke, would be an okay movie, if it weren't for the screaming electric guitars in the background. Hell you may as well be watching a Knight's Tale (and don't get me started on that one.)Dragonheart? Ughh. Just like Higlander2, even the legendary Sean Connery could not save this thing. Seriously, how much does it really cost to hire somebody to write a story?Now, I don't know if the 13th warrior counts as fantasy, seeing as it's set on 'earth', but I don't know... I'd prefer to watch Val Kilmer duke it out with Skull-helmet guys than Antonio Banderas against shaggy cave men with mysterious cave-dwelling horses. It's more realistic.But all this is for naught anyway... because everyone knows that the best 'Fantasy' movie is ... Erik the Viking.Okay, bring it on. My midget army is ready. You're pigs!! (oink) You're all Pigs!! hahahahahaha!!!