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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (2009)
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Richard P. May
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 243
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 06-14-2009 06:47 PM
Fooey! Director Tony Scott seems to have the thought that "if there is some image trickery, use it, regardless of how it fits the movie".
No hand held, but lots of camera pivoting around the subject, thus having the background constantly swooping by.
Very nervous editing, skip-frames to make the vehicles jerk along, extreme closeups all served to detract from the story line.
The lead villian (Travolta) did what he was supposed to, but the character was written as such a crazy he, again, became unbelievable.
It loses suspense, and becomes just another noisy chase picture. Another example of where remaking a good movie is not an improvement.
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 06-16-2009 02:09 AM
CINEMA: Regal Colorado Mills 16
AUDITORIUM: 10
PRESENTATION: 35mm film with Dolby Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Hiss from front screen speakers during preshow, but it went away. Nobody cares about the preshow, though. The film presentation itself started out of frame. Frame moved slightly upwards but it was still out of frame since you could see a black bar at the top of the screen and the bottom of the previous frame on top of that on the masking. Had to go out and look for a manager. Finally found one in the Customer Service area which is about as far away as you can get from the auditoriums. Manager did not look up and acknowledge my presence until I started speaking. Got back into the auditorium and the problem was finally corrected. Huge keystoning issues in this auditorium. In fact, the keystoning was absurd. I don't know why so many in the industry find this acceptable but I always hear old tech people in the industry talk about how they love these ancient theaters with the projector pointing down at a huge angle. Those theaters are unacceptable and should be demolished. Anyway, back to the Colorado Mills 16, auditorium #10... the sound in this auditorium has to be some of the worst anywhere in the Denver metro area. Much too shrill. Auditorium #9 sounds much better. I have complained about this auditorium before, but nothing has changed. Also, the left and right speakers seem out of balance. You could really tell any time some music (non-scored) played as it was generally only piped between the left and right channels. Auditorium is advertised as a giant screen for some reason, but it's about the same size as any random multiplex's large auditorium. Maybe the stadium seating just makes everything look smaller. Lights went down before the trailers were over and never came up during the credits. Also, although this wasn't a problem with the movie presentation, the exit doors in the lobby could not be opened until I slammed into them with my body's full force. They weren't locked, they just do not open. This is a huge fire hazard. Maybe OSHA should be notified?
The movie:
Wow, what a turd! The camera could not stay still for even a single second. It was always wooshing and swooping around everyone else who was just sitting around talking. There was no reason for this. Lots of shots had a reduced framerate as well and this really pissed me off. Looked tacky and unprofessional. In all I'd say a bunch of wannabe film students made this. Very unprofessionally shot in just about every respect. The premise of the movie could have been good if lots of things like this were better. John Travolta's character was way too over the top for me. The editing was horrible and by the time the last 15 minutes or so of the movie came around I had no idea what was going on or how certain things came to be. Stupid.
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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.
Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 06-21-2009 07:37 PM
CINEMA: Rave Westroads 14, Omaha, NE
AUDITORIUM: 13
PRESENTATION: Christie DLP Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: LF and C channels were swapped...all the dialogue came from the left front channel, and the center channel played the left front channel music and effects
RATING: Three stars (out of four)
So I'm entering Regency Circle heading to Whole Foods when I spy the Westroads Mall entry sign, which includes the "RAVE Motion Pictures" logo.
WHAT? When did they build a Rave here?
(November 2008, apparently.)
Enter the glass tower and find a big snake line for the ticket window with nobody in it. Still, there's some navigation required. Left...walk...right...walk straight through a bunch of rows to the front...left...left...straight...right...Disco.
The auditorium walk is a similar jumbo. Straight...right...down a long hallway to the satellite snack bar where the hallway splits to the right and left depending on which auditorium you're going to. I'm going right...then to the left again down a small side corridor. This is more convoluted than the Ogden Tinseltown. And oddly enough, has almost the same decor.
THE PLOT: A subway car is hijacked, and they don't want five dollar footlongs. Wackiness ensues.
In the interest of science, I watched the original last week...the existing non-anamorphic widescreen mono DVD release. Thanks for the effort, MGM. Anyway, it was an unusually nice effort for a non-action action movie with a weak ending that essentially made the whole thing a running joke about a cough. WHY would that idiot go home?
The new version largely keeps the base story of the original, but presents it in an entirely different style. There are differences in the main players' backgrounds and their ultimate goals, and the new one has a far better ending.
Overall, I liked both movies equally for different reasons.
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