tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post1303798378082057091..comments2024-02-10T10:52:58.614-05:00Comments on THE DIG: WORLD WAR Z (2013)cinemarchaeologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-80286467393163161802014-04-02T06:58:42.997-04:002014-04-02T06:58:42.997-04:00John, I started a reply to your thoughtful comment...John, I started a reply to your thoughtful comment, it ran a bit long and I opted to turn it into a full-blown article. It's here:<br />http://cinemarchaeologist.blogspot.com/2014/04/cgi-its-discontents.htmlcinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-26576948188894939152014-03-26T12:39:28.797-04:002014-03-26T12:39:28.797-04:00Wheres your review for this weeks walking dead did...Wheres your review for this weeks walking dead did your leg get stuck under a rock. Or twist your knee. Or maybe its taking 3 days to travel to your computer you had to stop and drink some moonshine. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-56165596242371420042014-03-24T17:28:23.076-04:002014-03-24T17:28:23.076-04:00I definitely agree with you regarding the quality ...I definitely agree with you regarding the quality of earlier tentpole films. There's been an incredible, tragic fall from grace for the modern blockbuster, and while the reasons for this are multifaceted and well-documented by countless writers, if pressed I would have to say that the biggest factor that ruins the enjoyment for me would be the overabundant CGI.<br /><br />Over the past few months, I've been re-experiencing the 80's and early-to-mid 90's movies from my childhood--Ghostbusters, Die Hard, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Crow, and various others that range from impressive, to mediocre, to enjoyable purely from nostalgia--and I'm amazed at how much quotable dialogue and memorable set pieces exist per capita. The inherent constraints of a pre-CGI world forced filmmakers to not only use their spectacle more sparingly (and with more buildup), but to supplement those signature moments with inventive lines and performances.<br /><br />The Raiders Of The Lost Ark gave us the legendary scene where a henchmen draws his sword and issues a challenge to Indiana Jones via a complicated and menacing series of flourishes, only to have Harrison Ford promptly draw his gun, plant a bullet in him, and nonchalantly go about his day. Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, on the other hand, gives us an aggressively boring sword fight between two characters standing on opposing Jeeps traveling side-by-side through a painfully cartoonish forest. In the 80's, a situation where an exhausted actor didn't want to try a stunt for the twentieth time led to a creative solution that became one of the most iconic scenes in action movie history. In the 21st century, all it leads to is having stunt doubles mechanically engage one another in front of a green screen, with the actors' faces pasted on via CGI in post-production, like swapping doll heads. <br /><br />And for all of the impressive-at-the-time special effects of Ghostbusters, what sticks in my mind isn't the final showdown between the god Gozer, or the building-sized Stay Puft marshmallow man, but Bill Murray saying "back off man, I'm a scientist," with that cheerful, psychotic twinkle in his eye. I can't imagine what that movie would look like if it were made today, but I'm sure moments like that would be replaced by lengthy green screen sessions that are as expensive as they are exhausting.<br /><br />It'll be fascinating to see how our current era is viewed 50 or so years from now. Nothing ages faster than special effects, and blockbusters that are built exclusively around green screen indulgence may be nothing more than the synthpop of cinematic history. Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13774640376142677277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-23266259902012900832014-03-21T01:36:54.385-04:002014-03-21T01:36:54.385-04:00Since your on a movie review kick. Why not write a...Since your on a movie review kick. Why not write a thesis on 1985's 'DAY OF THE DEAD'.<br />A 90 minute movie better then two seasons worth of walking dead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com