Hey Deidre, sorry to hear you're still not quite tip top. I've had 3 ear infections in two months and it's getting annoying....
I agree with you that Kong is the best digital performance we've seen so far. Naomi and Kong frankly nail their relationship.
I'm probably going to have to see it again to check the harsh mattes for the boats (although I was watching Twister on TV recently, and noticed how....fuzzy, the tornadoes and tops of corn fields were). I would die for a resource to train my eye for tweeking matte lines.
One review I've read mentioned that Jack Black shouldn't have had the last line, and I agree. Brody should have.
A visual effects tour-de-force, and I hope Peter makes his money back.
(note: just saw Narnia, and was pleasently surprised. Liked it more than Harry Potter.)
Mathew Schirado
www.wmaeug.org
Hey, Matthew... Re: Twister (and all VFX films in general)... it's amazing how much we get away with for most people on 1st viewing. Most shots go by so quickly that they aren't around long enough for scrutiny. I think they leave a general impression and get us from Shot A to Shot C... Sometimes it's a matter of what we can get away with. Right?
As far as Jack Black having the last line. That's in homage to the original. It's a tough line to sell. No one talks that way and I don't even think they did back in 1933. But that was the last line of the original and you know-- Peter Jackson had to put it in. I wasn't thrilled with Black's delivery. But then... like I said, it's a frickin impossible line to deliver. I'm not sure I could have done any better.
Narnia's on the list. Maybe tomorrow if I have time. Have to hop on a plane day after tomorrow and then it's back to work the next day. :|
VFX Lapses:
The movie The Butterfly Effect has the worst effect lapse, because it's in the trailer, which I watched frame by frame in my edit bay. There's an exterior of a house, and an explosion out of the house's right side, with pieces of wood flying at the camera....except just before the wood pieces hit you in the eye, you can see the house behind the flying debris...perfectly intact. No explosion hole.
(sound of Matt shaking his head)
If you haven't heard yet, Scott Squires has a podcast/blog on doing VFX (http://effectscorner.blogspot.com, something to link to at least.
Wishing you life without antibiotics....
Mathew Schirado
www.wmaeug.net
I think King Kong is a staggering piece of work, and not just because its scope. Naomi Watts' performance is typically excellent but couple this with Andy Serkis' rendering of the big lug and it's magic. I think you've really hit the nail on the head here, I agree about the CGI- I was just too aware of it at times.
"King Kong" was great, but far too long. As great as it was to see the fight with the T-Rexes over the canyon, the brontosaurus chase, the in-depth characterization on the boat to the island, none of it would've hurt the movie if they had been cut. That was a two-hour movie that felt like it was padded out to a three-hour movie. Peter Jackson should've cut an hour and saved it for the DVD. I enjoyed every minute, but couldn't help thinking "Okay, what's the point of this?"
I wish they had cut the ravine sequence personally. All those creepy-crawlies were too much for me. And the part where the guy was eaten alive by worms overshadowed every other image in the movie...I couldn't stand it. My worst nightmare brought to life.
I thought the relationship between Kong and Ann was great. I always felt uncomfortable with the underlying sexual tension between Kong and Fay in the other movies...borders on bestiality. In this movie, Ann Darrow was more like Kong's favorite toy than his girlfriend.
King Kong was brilliant. Totally realistic in movement and design, powerful yet regal. No complaints there.
I don't understand 90-percent of what you said about the effects...
I'm glad Fantastic Four wasn't nominated. The Thing was great, but Mr. Fantastic looked awful in some shots with the actors head seeming to float over the neck of a CG body.
Hey, Sam... Thanks for stopping by! You have some really articulate reviews on your blog. Coolio! I think I might just check in, from time to time... when I have time.
MM! You make some good points. I think a lot could have been cut without hurting the plot. That's hard for a director to do when he's remaking his favorite film as an homage.
The ravine sequence seemed unnecessary when I was watching it, but after reading about it being cut from the original, I can understand why he wanted to keep it in. Still... if he was making it for us instead of as a tribute, he might have considered the pacing and necessity of the scene. I find it funny that you were so squeamish. We all have images we don't like to watch. Personally, I can't watch slasher, gory movies... but sci-fi fantastic CG creatures cause me no quease.
I LOVE the observation you made about Kong's relationship with Ann. A wonderfully astute description. Fabulous. Wish I'd written it myself!
Please tell me what you didn't understand, though, about anything I said. I want my blogs to be readable to non-VFX folk... so if you're boggled at all, ask! (And I just may be full of crap and have no idea what I'm talking about, too.)
Didn't see Fantastic 4. Wasn't even on the list, it looked so bad... Oh - so many movies to see... so little time!!
Oh, basically everything...I don't know what a matte is, I don't know what lens flare is...but you did explain compositing
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