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Want another FOG opinion? Sure you do!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another look at the upcoming FOG remake. I'm hoping this one comes out really fun and any excuse to have Maggie Grace walk around in skin tight underwear is alright by me. I doubt this movie will even come close to the creepiness of the Carpenter original, but if I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the remake of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 then I'll be really happy. I don't think there's a press screening for this film here in Austin (if there is I have no invitation to it), so I'll be seeing it weekend of release. I'm just curious. Here's the review, a very mixed, but still positive leaning review. Enjoy!
Hey Harry - love the site man. Please use my talkback name "VH" if you use this short review. Thanks brother. Great news about John Carter btw. I read the Protosevich draft a ways back. Favreau is a great choice.
Caught a screening of THE FOG last night. I'm a big Carpenter fan (esp PRINCE OF DARKNESS and, while I’m at it, Roddy Piper and Keith David’s fist fight in THEY LIVE) but always thought the original FOG was kinda weak compared to the rest of his stuff. I must say I was not let down with the screening last night. That said, I was not blown away either. I imagine it will do decent business with the teen/ pre-teen set who are not likely to question the numerous holes and inconsistencies of the plot. Everyone else can catch it on video. Taken as is (namely as a vfx effect -laden remake of an incomplete horror movie populated with TV actors and Canadian unknowns) it's rather fun and I think - an improvement on the original. The other reviewer "Ben" was right about the "look" of the movie. It was shot by up and coming cinematographer Nathan Hope (he's credited on both CSI and the TV show FASTLANE both of which are known for their cool, colorful, and slick look) - who shoots the film like a more color-friendly Bojan Bazelli . The colors are vivid and pop while the actors and landscape look great.
The acting is okay. Resoundingly O ‘ K. I wouldn't blame such mediocrity on the actors as much as I would the limited amount of substance handed them to work with. Blair is much too big for this movie (such that she feels grossly under-utilized), Welling gets to drive an old pick-up and shout phrases like "Hurry up" and "C'mon hurry up!" a lot. I can’t help but like Welling even though SMALLVILLE has me trapped in a vicious cycle of expectation and disappointment. Sigh. It would be interesting to see him in a roll that forces him outside of the ‘handsome guy to the rescue’ mold though. Grace just concerns herself with looking good and/or puzzled.. Oh and expressionless. Plus her wardrobe choices are rather masculine and strange.
The so-so story has plenty of fun ‘don’t go in there’ moments. And to its credit, never takes itself too seriously. Not sure if this is done on purpose or not. Nor does it do much to hide the fact that it’s a straight-forward ghost revenge horror story. Right. I must admit to being particularly impressed with the sound design of the film. It’s big, and heavy, without sacrificing the little nuances. Along with the color of the film, the sound really breathes life into the various scenes, expertly heightening tension and scares. In fact it’s safe to say that the scares come more from the sound than anything else. Obviously THE FOG relies heavily on vfx (like so many movies these days) though it’s somewhat easy to forgive in a film like this. But coupled with the sound this new digital fog really is enjoyable to watch, sounding like an asthmatic breathing slo-mo through a paper towel tube as it twists and turns through tight spaces or comes bearing wall-like down on a victim. Very cool.
All in all a choppy somewhat sporadic showcase for creative vfx with truly great sound and sporting a nice crisp look. An improvement on the original look and feel wise, while lacking in the sense of class and smarts of a true Carpenter flick. It also feels under-directed in comparison to Carpenter, but hey, it’s Carpenter we’re talking about here. Check it out for an hour and a half of modest fun and if you want to have your girl friend grab tightly onto your arm here and there. Otherwise
PRINCE OF DARKNESS anyone? ‘I’ve got something to tell you and you’re not going to like it!’
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I have a spectacularly bad headache.
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...but I 3 tic tacs left. Would that help?
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...poor John Carpenter's spinning in his grave...huh? He's still alive? Damn, he looks like he's been dead for years. Well, somebody stop his spinning around, OK?
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Oct 13, 2005 2:28:16 AM CDT
"a vfx effect -laden remake of an incomplete horror movie popula
by docpazuzu
Almost word-for-word what the director of the remake stated in an interview on another movie site a couple of months ago - right before lauding the new version's "hip young cast." Make of that what you will.
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Not that I'm against remakes entirely. But I'm with the majority that feels like every other movie is a remake (or a rehash of an old TV show). It just puzzles me that there would be so many horror remakes. The horror genre is one that allows movie-makers to do anything they want. Come to think of it, it seems as if all horror movies are remakes these days. Because if not a remake of a 70'sish horror movie, it's a remake of a 90'sish japanese horror movie. Hopefully this remaking craze will end. Though I'd be completely lying if I didn't say I was remotely interested in a Hitcher remake. Hooray for finger food!!!
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How about Tom Welling as John Carter? He'd look swell in a loin-chainmail and pirate boots.
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I've just created them. All you have to do is write a review that pretty much ignores everything that proves you've actually seen the film and not just gone onto the net.
If you want to write a review, stop skirting around the fucking topic and actually relate what you're saying to some kind of fucking content. -
I like Maggie Grace's legs and butt and, to a certain extent, her acting ability. She seems like she has potential. But my main complaint, even before "The Fog" comes out, is that this film was orginally rated R. I saw many ads with that little R in a box below the production credits, but now the film is PG-13. I hate PG-13 films that were originally conceived of and directed as R-rated films. The namby-pambiness of such a dumbing down makes me sick, and I won't ever see a film that I know should be R-rated, but isn't. I'm sure "The Fog" will do all right at the box office, which is fine, but I won't go see it, now or ever.
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Oct 13, 2005 10:37:06 AM CDT
I was wondering, can Harry claim movie tickets as a tax deductio
by shan
Since isn't a major source of his income and a major part of his time (changing because of movie producing, I know) running a site which reviews movies and provides movie news? Wouldn't that make it a business expense?
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For 3 years I had nightmares about that movie. I don't know why. I don't even remember what it's about, but I watched it on tv. I just remember the image of some person/creature with a hook for a hand climbing a ladder to the top of a tower or something. This remake, on the trailer alone, looks like...well...CGI Fog. CGI Fog? Not scary. Dead people in cars under water opening their eyes? Looks like "What Lies Beneath." I hate to say that something that scared me for 3 years is going to wind up a fizzled fart of a remake -- but hey! That's John Carpenter for you. You win some...and then the rest of your career is losing some.
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NOT A WORD ABOUT BLAKE AND HIS DEAD PIRATE CREW!!!!!!!!!!They ARE the Fog! Can SOMEONE please give me a hint about whether the pirates are wicked cool in this film? It's truly the only reason I would like the movie. I could give a shit less if the cast of Lost, Alias, Barney Miller and Saved By The Bell is in the movie! I want to know about the PIRATES!
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Shan.. I was a revenue agent for the IRS up until a few months ago (the beuracracy killed me) and I audited a so-called up and coming movie maker. He tried to claim movie tickets / cable / internet / video rentals / etc. on schd A, and I disallowed all. Harry Balls would have to prove they were reasonable and necessary to what he is doing. I'm sure if he showed enough of a profit they wouldn't care and he would never be audited. But if losses kept piling up, they'd audit his ass and make sure he ended up with tax due. Rock Rock On.
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I'm a big Carpenter fan, but the Fog just underwhelms me. It has a great storyline, and that's it. I felt it could have been so much more. Because of the strong set-up, I don't mind a remake of this particular film.
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"...if you want to have your girl friend grab tightly onto your arm..."
There's actually little chance of that happening when you consider that this is an audience of AICN talkbackers. -
I hate you already.
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The original THE FOG was 100 times better than PRINCE OF DARKNESS. Although, don't get me wrong... I probably enjoyed DARKNESS more than your average Carpenter fan. That said (no pun intended), it really doesn't hold water compared to the original FOG. If you want to shoot for the highest standards in Carpenter-fare... How about HALLOWEEN, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK? Compared to those films, it never quite got there. But PRINCE OF DARKNESS? THEY LIVE? THE FOG is right up there on my mark. Not quite with the best, but up above some of his more entertaining so-so's.
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Worked there for a year... Good benefits... ok pay, good training... what can I say? Plus, if you're paying your taxes, no need to be worried. But.. everyone hated me. Now I get people money back instead of taking it.
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It was the only John Carpenter movie I hadn't seen yet. It was OK in some spots. Whats with this obsession with this movie. Now I can understand people having an obsession with say "Escape from New York" or "Big Trouble in Little China"...but "The Fog" !?!?!? It really wasn't all that original of an idea. It wasn't scary at all. The movie just seemed to be warm-up practice for John.
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Oct 13, 2005 6:51:47 PM CDT
"The Fog" remake can easily be retitled "I still know what you d
by thirteen 13
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When a group of Father Christmas impersonators are murdered by teenagers robbing a store, they return three christmas' later for revenge! Watch in terror as your favourites from teen tv fall over on sudden ice patches, freeze to death and confront walking snowmen! Shudder at the cameo by John Carpenter as he is killed during a snowstorm while he struggles to desperately hold onto the rights of his movies! Wicked stuff.
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Oct 14, 2005 3:41:01 PM CDT
I'm still waiting for "Thelma and Louise, back from the grav
by cookylamoo
Man, look at those two broads who just walked in the bar...they look really...dead. Here they come, you take the one with her nose falling off, wait...No No NO.....AUGHGHH. Good Lord (Choke)!
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