I Am Legend was really intense. It was bordering on me not wanting to watch it any more. >.<
[spoil]The zombies freaked me out as well. Like Aggie, I thought the first half was better than the second. I don’t think we had enough time to attach to the woman and her son, and I wanted Will Smith to live and not them, as mean as that sounds. And the doggie dying… So sad. I’m not a dog person but that part got me teary-eyed.[/spoil]
Oh, and yes, Will Smith needs to be nominated for an Oscar for this!
FONY - I was actually wondering how they filmed those parts of New York, since they couldn’t actually evacuate the city to film it. All I could think of was “This must have cost a lot of money to do on the computer.”
FONY - Really? I thought it (The Wild) was horrible. (snigger)
rachel - Man, I’m still getting over that film. It wasn’t so much the horror element of the thing, but rather the fact that people probably really are stupid enough to invent something with such side effects as that. And yeah…
[spoil]…the moment with the dog was heart-breaking. There seemed like next to no hope after that part. Heh…[/spoil]
Ditto concerning Will Smith, though. He should be nominated for sure.
rachelcakes: I’m not too sure about that- I think I read it in Animation Magazine that they recreated part of Times Square or something, since I know it would be hard to keep people out of there (though it is quite empty in the early morning.) I know they must’ve filmed directly on the dock and that video store I’ve been to, and the apartment may be in the city as well. But the overall picture … well, you’d be surprised- they could easily block off a block or two and film there and it would appear there wasn’t a soul in sight. I saw it in another film, still boggles my mind.
[spoil]Oh I know! I had to bite back my tears because I felt I’d look like an idiot, what with my brother and dad there, but it was so sad!! I love German Shepards- wish I had one. Alls I got is smelly farty bulldogs, lol! The mother and kid- well, the mother annoyed me because she was one of those psycho-religious peoples but I suppose considering the situation they were in it couldn’t hurt to believe in anything as long as it increased your will to live. I wanted Will Smith’s character to live though- that’s what killed me. [/spoil]
Mitch: I never paid much attention to Madagascar as it is; I just liked The Wild because the characters looked cute and fuzzy and I wanted to hug them. That, and I would’ve love it as a child simply for the giraffe- I had a strange obsession with them when I was young. xD
Oh, yeah, I forgot to say this but The Wild was b-o-r-i-n-g. It was a direct rip-off of The Lion King.
FONY - Oh, ok. I didn’t think they would have been able to film on location. They could probably only film bits at a time in New York. Have you really been to that video store? Did you speak to Kevin? Heheh.
[spoil]The part where Will Smith was like “Please say ‘hello’ to the mannequin.” Heart wrenching.
Heheh. All I wanted to do at that point was hug my sister’s border collie.[/spoil]
Mitch - [spoil]My understanding was that they were trying to make a cure for cancer, or something, then the virus mutated became airborne. Come to think of it, I didn’t really understand whose fault it was. shrugs
It didn’t seem like there was much hope after the dog died, which is why it was a bit of a jolt when he suddenly did come into contact with two other people. [/spoil]
rachelcakes: Oh yah, definitely. With all teh wildebeasts and stuff- direct rip-off. But they did look cuddly- that’s my only reason for liking it. xD
Yeah, my guess is they filmed some bits and added CGI later, or they could’ve just made Times Square from scratch and added the buildings in the background. I’ll have to re-read that article and I’ll let you know.
[spoil]Lol! I don’t remember there being any mannequins there- my guess is Will’s character got them from a nearby boutique.
Awww. :3 It was so sad! I wish she didn’t die. I wondered why the lions didn’t get infected but I suppose it only infected certain species.[/spoil]
[spoil]Well, to be honest, I Am Legend is the American version of a British film called 28 Days Later- I don’t think it was done on purpose, but the plots of both films are basically the same. There’s the whole infection thing that’s wiped out a lot of people, there’s a lone survivor that ends up finding others (though instead of finding a mother and son, they find a father and daughter) and being bitten by someone who’s infected ends up in you being infected.
Uh, what other similarities? Well, they both end up going to a safebase, though the main difference is that the lead character of 28 Days Later doesn’t die, nor does he actually find the cure to infection- there’s actually a much more common sense resolution to the whole thing, that all of the infected end up dying of starvation.
Part of me was really annoyed to see basically a copy of 28 Days Later, especially since it’s probably one of my favourite films of all time, but I Am Legend is still a very good film. I found 28 Days Later to be much, much scarier- it’s filmed using normal digital video cameras, so it generally looks a lot more real, and there’s no silly ‘infected can’t go out in daylight’ twist. They just run after you, and keep running 'til they get you. Also, I found it difficult to like the mother and son at all; I just didn’t care about them.[/spoil]
So, if you liked I Am Legend, I really do recommend watching 28 Days Later.
Oh, and has anyone else watched A Scanner Darkly? It’s such a strange, strange film, but the animation is so unique, it’s just captivating.
Ooh, I really want to see Juno. A lot of people are comparing it to Little Miss Sunshine for reasons I am currently unaware of (other than the fact that Juno is an indie comedy film receiving awards-season buzz, much like Little Miss Sunshine did.) I thought Little Miss Sunshine was brilliant, so I hope people are making parallels between the two movies because of this.
By the way, when did it get released in theatres? Not that I would watch it in theatres (I am way too busy with school), but I am at least trying to approximate when it’ll get released on DVD.
It was really good… it had the quirky and smart humor that I really enjoy. I don’t see any parallels with Little Miss Sunshine other than the ones you’ve mentioned, CountSolo. I thought both were extremely good and both give you a kind of happy feeling despite the sad events which happen in the middle- mostly because of the way these situations are handled by the characters. On second thought, the style of Juno is kind of similar to LMS… as in the fashion of the characters.
rachelcakes: My magazine kept going on and on about the other things in the movie and just showed a picture of the city. My guess is they either had Will Smith on a blue screen because if they filmed it there- there’s all those TVs in Times Square that they’d have to edit out because they didn’t work anymore.
Count Solo: It released on the 25th of December. And yeah, what JamieLew said- the characters seemed a bit like Little Miss Sunshine, but in my opinion they were all just funny exaggerations of certain people in every day life, and I didn’t find one that was just like a character in LMS. I saw no parallels- the humor was original and different with Juno’s smart mouth.
It’s great to hear that! I just got even more excited about the movie.
Another movie that I am very excited to watch is No Country for Old Men. Its premise sounds interesting, and a lot of people are also saying it’s great. The film’s also directed by the Coen brothers, whom many people respect. (Unfortunately, I haven’t seen a single movie by the directing duo - not even Fargo.)
The other night I saw Stardust for the first time since I saw it in theatres- such a great movie. And Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- short as it was, the battle between [spoil]Dumbledore and Voldemort [/spoil]was awesome. That was something I didn’t realize much in theatres.
I also got the Pixar Shorts on DVD that I was watching while I set up a stereo system but I only made it through two before the thing was up, and I had some recording to do. Ah well, maybe I’ll watch more tonight.
TSS - Oh yeah, I especially enjoyed the scene in [spoil]the Department of Ministries[/spoil] at the end of the film was spetacular, especially when [spoil] the prophecies kept crashing down around them[/spoil] . The animation in the battle between [spoil]Voldemort and Dumbledore[/spoil] was fantastic.
TSS: I know! I didn’t like the movie so much but that scene was worth it.
Anyways, lately I’ve been watching loads of newly bought movies. I watched the live-action version of Pinocchio for the first time since I was 7 or 8, and I still love it. I watched Happy Endings which is not a children’s film but interesting nonetheless. I also caught much of Fun With Dick and Jane since my brother was watching it, and I saw all the Pixar shorts in one sitting thanks to the DVD.
FONY- Yay! Hot Fuzz! What an awesome film! Though some bits are surprisingly gory…
I did manage to catch No Country For Old Men, and it was probably one of the best films that I’ve seen in years. It really is the Coen bothers at their best, in every way possible- cinematography, selection of actors, the script, just everything. I really, really want to watch it again, and I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD.
And a few hours ago I finally caught Interview, starring Steve Buscemi! It was a very good film, and although it was slow at parts, the relationship between the two main characters managed to pull the film along. Another DVD must-have.
Hot Fuzz was great! I loved seeing David Bradley, Steve Coogan, Bill Nighy, and Jim Broadbent. xD The storyline sort of confused me half-way but I caught on quickly. And it was surprisingly gory.
Lizardgirl, have you by any chance seen Coffee and Cigarettes? I haven’t gotten to watch all the shorts but there’s one small bit with Steve Buscemi and it was rather funny.
FONY- Unfortunately I haven’t, but I’m desperate to! It’s been a life-long aim of mine to watch every Steve Buscemi film, even if he only has a small part, and I haven’t been able to tick Coffee and Cigarettes off just yet.
I love how Steve, nine times out of ten, will appear on screen for a very short amount of time yet will always have one of the most memorable scenes, or will say one of the most memorable lines, of the entire film.
[/spoil]
That, and I would’ve love it as a child simply for the giraffe- I had a strange obsession with them when I was young. xD
