Validus
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Posts posted by Validus
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I didn't want George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead to be remade,because the film was so iconic,and so well acted (especially by Duane Jones).Not just a horror film,NOTLD dealt with racism,and lots of issues which were taboo in the 1960s.
But,I have to say that Tony Todd nailed his performance in the role made famous by Duane Jones.And I usually like anything Patricia Tallman is in,since she's an awesome actor as well.
I suppose I'd hate to see classic religious films like The Ten Commandments or King of Kings remade,UNLESS...they are remade by a Christian production company.Secular studios wouldn't do justice to these films,and would probably throw in a lot of things which would be offensive to Christians.
Disclaimer: Validus is not trying to turn this thread into a religious debate.
I can't say that I agree with that. Mel Gibson, an ardent Christian if ever there was one, botched the Jesus myth by taking great liberties with the Gospels. You can't blame a "secular studeo" for that. Cecil B. Demille, who made the 10 Commandments (twice actually) was a Jew, so any weakness in it cannot be blamed on the studio for the same reasons...he had carte blanche.
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I've got the first 4 seasons of Andromeda on DVD. Wanna buy them from me? They are for sale as of last week and they've only been seen once.
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I'm surprised. I was sure you'd pick Seventh Heaven, Joan of Arcadia, Highway to Heaven or Touched by an Angel.
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They pretty much already have, twice:
Blade Runner (1982) Dir. by Ridley Scott.
Equalibrium (2002) starring Christian Bale.
Both have themes and a visual sense that owes much to Metropolis and could almost be seen as remakes.
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I own more then 900 DVD's and was the film critic for Lucidmoon.com for about two years, so I think I know what I'm talking about. Here's my top fifteen films in no special order:
1. Metropolis (1925) German silent epic, the first great science fiction film.
2. City Lights (1931) Charlie Chaplin's best film.
3. The Lion in Winter. Based on a tony-award winning play with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn.
4. Hamlet (1997) This four-hour version with Kenneth Branagh is the best filmed version of Shakespears best play.
5. 8 1/2 (1961) Directed by Fellini. A film that explores the follow and hubris of being an artist, specifically a film maker.
6. Fight Club (1999) Probably the best social satire of the last ten years.
7. Throne of Blood. Akira Kurosawa's samarai epic that was inspired by Shakespear's Macbeth.
8. Persona. Dir. Ingmar Bergman: A powerful exploration in the nature of identity.
9. Mean Streets. Dir. Martin Scorsese: His first great film and a brutal exploration of crime in New York.
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Dir. Stanley Kubrik) Simply put: The best science fiction film ever made.
11. Kill Bill vol 1 and 2 (Dir. Quinten Tarantino) Essentially one film, and easily one of the best martial arts epics ever shot.
12. La Dolce Vita ["The Sweet Life"] Dir. Federico Fellini. His first great film, a savage attack on religious hypocracy, the price of fame, and duplicity.
13. Iron Monkey. Perhaps the best Hong Kong action film in recent memory, more enjoyable then Crouching Tiger and also very humerous.
14. JFK (Dir. Oliver Stone) A terse exploration of the events that surrounded the assassination of President Kennedy in 1962. Equally facinating is Stone's audio commentary.
15. The Empty Mirror (2002) A grim study of evil as we explore Adolf Hitler's psyche.
Five Honorable Mentions:
1. Blade Runner (1982) Dir. Ridley Scott. Second only to 2001 in greatness, and better since the making of the "director's cut" back in 1999.
2. Ran. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perhaps his best film, based on King Lear and shot with stunning visual flair.
3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Dir Terry Gillium. A study in the madness that was Nixon's America in 1971.
4. Goodfellas. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Based on the true story of former Mafioso Henry Hill, played here by Ray Liotta.
5. Apocalypse Now (1979) Dir. Fracis Ford Copella. Probably the best war film ever made. Based on "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad.
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1. Babylon-5
2. LEXX
3. Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
4. Mystery Science Theater 3000
5. The Prisoner
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Well...we only see the Terminator use energy based weapons in the one scene that takes place in the future, so its a short scene. In Predator they never clearly define what the sholder mounted weapon actually is...it might be an energy weapon but it seems to me more like some sort of high-tech miniture missle launcher. You'd have to admit that most of the time the Predators rely mostly on very lowtech weapons like spears and blades.
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I'm guessing that energy based weapons are a cliche that one finds in too much science fiction, and the writers are trying to avoid it. We've seen blasters and ray guns in everything from the original 1930's Buck Rogers through Star Trek, Star Wars, and so forth. Galactica has a low-tech feel on purpose. When I watch Voyager I never at any time feel that the crew is really in any danger. After all they have shields, phasers, photon torpedoes, a Borg-babe that can hack anything, a holographic Doctor that's virtually indestructable, and transporters. It's kinda hard to feel like there is any real danger given such an arsenal. By contrast the Galactica has only FTL (faster-then-light) jump engines and lots of guns & missles. The Cylons are far deadlier to the Galactica then the Borg ever were to Voyager.
To be fair there is a lot of science fiction that avoids ray guns that is exceptional:
Blade Runner
The Terminator films
Total Recall
The Alien films
Predator 1 and 2
The Fifth Element
Stargate SG-1
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When I think of my favourite actors I often think of the likes of John Mills, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins. But all of these men hail from England. So I recently began thinking about who is my favourite American actor.Several names came up such as John Wayne, Jack Nicholson and Orson Welles. I finally decided on James Stewart for sheer acting ability.
What do you think?
Tough call. I always liked Jack Lemon and Al Pacino. I think the current best actor we have is probably Johnny Depp. What other actor could convincingly portray Ed Wood, Willy Wonka, Hunter S. Thompson, an Englishman (From Hell), Buster Keaton (Benny & Joon), a pirate, and a lunatic (Don Juan DeMarco) while holding his own against Marlon Brando? After Depp I'd probably go with Sean Penn. His work in The Assassination of Richard Nixon and in Oliver Stone's U-Turn are both amazing performances. 21 Grams was also an exceptional film in my opinion.
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I think pretty much any film that is viewed as a masterpiece should be left alone. Gus Van Sant found that out when he decided to remake Psycho. It was a huge flop, and fans of Hitchcock rightly panned it as inferior. The mid-70's remake of King Kong was a terrible film, although I did like Jessica Lang. The new Planet of the Apes was unwatchable in my opinion. The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre was idiotic, while the oroginal was a horror masterpiece thanks to the genius of Tobe Hooper.
To my mind there are only really two examples of remakes that were just as good or better then the original:
The Thing (1982) Dir: John Carpenter.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Dir: Francis Ford Copella
In truth I'm really tired of how Hollywood seems to have utterly run out of ideas. Do we really need a film based on The Dukes of Hazzard? It really sends a bad message to Hollywood when a lousy film succeeds...I understand we might al have to suffer "Scooby Doo 3". As for Blade Runner, I have seen it convincingly argued that Ridley Scott's film, while cetainly a great film is essentially a remake of Fritz Lang's 1925 classic Metropolis. The similarities are uncanny...
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Season 7 was the best in a show that progressively got better as it went along, kinda like Babylon-5.
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I voted for Scotty. The story was the best, and we got to see the old bridge again...which was just amazing, especially with Picard standing on it.
The Dyson sphere was cool too.
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I've often felt that the Metrons were part of the "Q-continuum" along with Trelane and perhaps the Organians.
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I was never that impressed by the shuttle...it is after all a relic of the cold war and amounts to being nothing more then a glorified bus. Lockheed has had plans for the "Spaceplane" since the mid-80's. They should be using that.
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Ice Water.......the best think in the California heat!
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No problem Validus- After all it was *you* who couldn't let some arguments die( yes i did some in the past-But did kronos close..Uh no)And King and UH and every other person that floated around Kronos trying to prove they were right- Sure we all have our arguments but enough was enough
So there- pettiness leads to a humbling experience- The Black hole of nothingness
Which pisses me off because i had a couple of good threads lined up for Kronos
Well that's my point. -and for the record, I don't think trying to prove a point automatically means that you're being "petty". By that logic I guess Copernicus and Darwin must be the most petty people in History. That's just silly.
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Rand...? Naw. After seeing Uhura in "Mirror Mirror" showing her mid-rift, how can there be any doubt who was the sexiest? I also liked Nurse Chapel...is it any wonder that Gene Roddenberry married her in real life?
I also liked Elaan of Troyas, whom Kirk said needed a spanking. She was hot too!
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No advice needed. Just watch it and keep an open mind.
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Once again- don't forget that BSG is on tonight!!!!
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I would guess that they use the same methods as any ordinary computer hacker...just more sopisticated.
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Ya know what? Your absolutely right....Christians have never done anything to anyone that was harmful in 1,600 years of history. All those burned witches, 400 years of black slavery, the slaughter of the American Indians, the KKK, the Jim Crow Laws, the current mess in Iraq...
-all just an anti-Christian hoax. Thanks for setting me right on those points, Kor.
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Validus, get a life. he's giving us a break from petty infighting, name calling derision, and judgementalism, which you seem to have in spades. Get over it, and yourself and plaes become a better person. I condone AE's descision. So... off with ya.. or I'll bring my slipper out of hiuding and tan your stupid arse.*sigh*
I don't recall beig petty or calling anyone by a "name". Your condescention and your support of such a decision speaks ill of your character if you really think that was what was going on there.
I'm also not impressed by your threat, which is something that proves my point far more then it proves yours.
What do your families think?
in Ten Forward
Posted
I discovered Star Trek from watching the reruns with my parents when I was like five years old (1972). I continued to watch the reruns, along with other shows like Ultraman, Lost in Space, Space:1999 and the Six Million Dollar Man. My love for Star Trek only deepened when the first film came out in 1979, and I've been a fan ever since. My Father loves it, and my mother loved it while she lived (she passed away in 1990).