Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Action movie plug-in module

Quiz question. Identify the action movie these subtitles are quoted from.

Door opens, music plays.
Watch out, watch out.
Thud.
Grunt.
Gasp.
Sirens.
Let’s get out of here.
Engine roaring.
Tires squealing.


Show me a clip and maybe I could tell you.

See, change the location, change the actors but keep the sequence. That’s how Hollywood does movies now. A Photoshop plug-in to create a generic watercolor effect. A Hollywood plug-in to create a generic action sequence.

I often have this sense when I see another action movie I feel I’ve seen it before.

And in some they don’t even change the actors. Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum, Bourne Again?

James Bond = J.B. = Jason Bourne. So Part Twos and Threes are often just remakes.

I’m not saying Matt Damon’s trilogy is unexciting or even uninventive, each part has incremental innovations, but some movie episodes are like a bunch of clips salvaged from the cutting room floor.
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Friday, March 9, 2007

Landing


"In a few minutes we will be arriving at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.Please ensure your seat back is upright and your tray table and personal video are folded away. The flight attendants will now collect the headsets."

"Darn it. I don't get to see how the movie ends."
"What were you watching?"
"'Breaking and Entering.' Jude Law being an architect. Juliette Binoche as a Bosnian immigrant in London."
"I've seen it. Want to know how it ends or shall I not spoil it?"
"Give us the drift. Predictable? Or a twist in the tail?"
"Predictable... and bittersweet."
"OK, I can guess.Maybe I'll pick up the DVD here."
"Well, watch out for camera-in-theatre versions."
"I know."
"Tell me do you read reviews before or after you watch a movie?"
"Usually before. But if I catch a movie on a flight and I like it, I might go to a review by Joe Morgenstern or Roger Ebert."
"OOOF. Pretty windy today."
"This could be bumpy. You don't think he's coming in rather steep?"
"Hello, full power on? Looks like we're going to do the approach again."
"Reckon the're playing it safe after Garuda overshooting yeterday?"

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