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Node-Z Slays ERAGON!!
Merrick again...
Earlier this week, ERAGON almost made an 11 year old cry from disappointment (read about it HERE).
Here's Node-Z with an another less-than-enthusiastic look at the film.
had an opportunity to screen Eragon last night at my local theatre, and since I haven’t seen much on it in this forum yet, I thought I’d offer my half a cent...
Honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention to this movie until I was offered tickets; I’m aware of the books, but have never cracked the cover of any of them, and frankly, after seeing the movie, am not sure whether I should chase some of my curiosities by doing so, or should write this off as a flick for the fans only?
Before I skewer the movie, I have to admit that I was upbeat leaving the theatre, and the overall verdict was that I enjoyed myself. It’s a good natured film, and it definitely draws you into the moment after you get past some major flaws.
Eragon came off to me as a low budget geek flick, which is either a book hacked up into a script, with major sacrifices made in adaptation to save money and time, or just a very poorly conceived movie.
First: in the era of LOTR, or even the bloodless/sterile Narnia, if your skylines are obviously painted on, the director will need to be getting out the red pen and booking a plane for somewhere scenic to avoid criticism…that didn’t happen here. Especially in the beginning of the movie, where the mood reminds you of a scene from the Disney film Heidi, the mountainous terrain is not realistic enough to immerse you into the world the characters live in.
John Malkovich was atrocious. He seems to be chewing jerky with every spoken word, and I can’t forgive the filmmakers for this at all, given that it’s the same style he’s had in every movie I’ve ever seen him in.
For a couple positive notes, Jeremy Irons makes the movie; he’s the perfect fit for the character, and doesn’t leave you feeling as if you’re watching a B-movie on late night cable; that’s more than I can say for some others in the film. Also, the Shade turns out very well once we get to see him out of the castle walls. At first, the makeup was lost on me, and with it, the sense of a menacing villain wasn’t there. He looked like a knock off of LOTR’s Wormtongue while in the dark of the castle. However, daylight on that skin revealed a terrifying character, and that lighting lent a lot to the credibility of each scene he showed up in.
The “sacrifices” I mentioned are what make me wonder if I should give the books a try, or wait till a sequel arrives before completely writing this off. I don’t want to give anything substantial away here, but let’s just say that there are quite a number of characters that neither fall into the “extras” category, nor appear as core characters. There were a number of scenes that felt out of place, as if 90% of the plot about them was left on the cutting room floor. I can understand how it is necessary to introduce characters at specific times in a movie in order to set up later plotlines in the sequels, and if these plotlines/characters develop into something more later on in the series, the taste in my mouth regarding this film may change. For now, it all seems rather shabby.
Node-Z
Honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention to this movie until I was offered tickets; I’m aware of the books, but have never cracked the cover of any of them, and frankly, after seeing the movie, am not sure whether I should chase some of my curiosities by doing so, or should write this off as a flick for the fans only?
Before I skewer the movie, I have to admit that I was upbeat leaving the theatre, and the overall verdict was that I enjoyed myself. It’s a good natured film, and it definitely draws you into the moment after you get past some major flaws.
Eragon came off to me as a low budget geek flick, which is either a book hacked up into a script, with major sacrifices made in adaptation to save money and time, or just a very poorly conceived movie.
First: in the era of LOTR, or even the bloodless/sterile Narnia, if your skylines are obviously painted on, the director will need to be getting out the red pen and booking a plane for somewhere scenic to avoid criticism…that didn’t happen here. Especially in the beginning of the movie, where the mood reminds you of a scene from the Disney film Heidi, the mountainous terrain is not realistic enough to immerse you into the world the characters live in.
John Malkovich was atrocious. He seems to be chewing jerky with every spoken word, and I can’t forgive the filmmakers for this at all, given that it’s the same style he’s had in every movie I’ve ever seen him in.
For a couple positive notes, Jeremy Irons makes the movie; he’s the perfect fit for the character, and doesn’t leave you feeling as if you’re watching a B-movie on late night cable; that’s more than I can say for some others in the film. Also, the Shade turns out very well once we get to see him out of the castle walls. At first, the makeup was lost on me, and with it, the sense of a menacing villain wasn’t there. He looked like a knock off of LOTR’s Wormtongue while in the dark of the castle. However, daylight on that skin revealed a terrifying character, and that lighting lent a lot to the credibility of each scene he showed up in.
The “sacrifices” I mentioned are what make me wonder if I should give the books a try, or wait till a sequel arrives before completely writing this off. I don’t want to give anything substantial away here, but let’s just say that there are quite a number of characters that neither fall into the “extras” category, nor appear as core characters. There were a number of scenes that felt out of place, as if 90% of the plot about them was left on the cutting room floor. I can understand how it is necessary to introduce characters at specific times in a movie in order to set up later plotlines in the sequels, and if these plotlines/characters develop into something more later on in the series, the taste in my mouth regarding this film may change. For now, it all seems rather shabby.
Node-Z
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No famous director. No famous effect company. No famous composer. Who made this movie? Nobody. Go see Eragon!
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Aside from Pete's Dragon? They should make DRAGON PARK, where a rich guy finds a way to breed them and it goes haywire and attacks the people there to test it.
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The book sucks and is unoriginal garbage that was only published because the 15 year-old author's parents worked in the industry and then peddled it across the country grass roots style. It wasn't worth reading, and everything I've seen about the movies leads me to believe that it won't be worth watching.
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Especially when he discovers his sidekick is a girl...god, I'm dating myself as a pathetic old geek.
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He was 16 when he started it, and 19 when it was published.
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...as the earlier one, Merrick. Key line: "I have to admit that I was upbeat leaving the theatre, and the overall verdict was that I enjoyed myself. It’s a good natured film, and it definitely draws you into the moment after you get past some major flaws."
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His book still sucks. I want my money back from it.
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hope he's good in inland empire
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yeah it is. Granted, with that concept it should've been one of the coolest fantasy movies ever, but hey. I dug it. And its always a great Cable film.
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With all the disappointing dragon movies, one has to wonder if the people writing these movies even know how to write fantasy screenplays. I could think of 10 or 20 things I would like to see in a fantasy movie, especially given the chance to have some kick ass dragons in it. But if you haven't checked out Dragonslayer, you're missing out, seriously.
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A truly rare case of Talkbackers agreeing on something. That includes me - those two are by far the best. Also, they represent the pinnacles of their respective special effects techniques; the dragon(s) in both movies are real and awesome and done justice to. Reign of Fire could've had a dragon sequence or two more, though.
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There is actually a Talkbacker called "PatchAdamsSUX". THAT is a niche market and it makes me chuckle.
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so the movie was confusing but goodhearted, is that what I'm reading here
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I didn't catch that users name, thanks for pointing it out...makes me laugh too...funny I just made a comment about Patch Adams on another talkback today
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...Pretty much, yup. At least, he takes roles in projects like this one to finance his *other* hobbies, which primarily include buying and renovating European castles/chateaus, etc. Still, I'm hugely interested in seeing his INLAND EMPIRE performance.
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i also agree: dragonslayer ruled all, dragon effects-wise, until reign of fire came out. and it still holds its own. and reign of fire was totally great.
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Despite Bale. This Eragon is not sounding like a very good venture. Especially with no official reviews out yet ...
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Dragonslayer still holds up indeed. I recently watched it again. It's scary how it builds up to showing the dragon. That dragon just scares the crap outta me and before Ian Mckellen's badass, lets hear it for old fart wizards, Gandalf on the big screen. There was Ulrich the magician. That guy took on a Dragon. Dragonslayer also does justice to medieval times. So despite some shotty effects. It's a great movie and by far features the creepiest scariest dragon in a movie.
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But the movie itself is so so. It starts out with some promise and builds nicely, but leads to a shit finale. That leads you asking. That's it? Let's not forget Matthew mcconaughey's goofy death scene. This guy was a badass and that's how he meets his demise? If this movie had any balls it would have had a bonus ending where mcconaughey hooks the dragon and the dragon takes him for a sky ride. But the effects company chickened out.
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Reign of Fire is passable but nothing I ever need to watch again. Dragonslayer is rather good. BUT WHERE ARE MY DRAGONLANCE MOVIES? If done right, they could blow away all the dragon movies ever made combined and even rival y'all's precious LOTR.
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I do like Dragonslayer, but I have *always* been annoyed with movies where a female character puts on a pair of trousers and everyone automatically thinks she's a guy! Crouching Tiger is probably one of the worst of these movies.
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BURNIN' UP THE NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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well the story has been done alot, "ooo you kid your something no one hase seen before" it gets old. i not ganna judge the movie becuse i havent seen it but it wont be a big blow to me i it sucks.
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What the hell is that supposed to mean? Babelfish is no help.
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will probably never happen because directors don't understand how to go about using them...they just throw 'em in front of a castle or have 'em soaring through clouds...there's never any substance to them...well, except for Draco in Dragonheart...yeesh!
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fucking geeks
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in Reign of Fire still makes me laugh my ass off to this day, but I'm not sure if that was the intended effect. Still, I do love that movie.
Oh, and this looks like shite . . . Fox can blow millions on adapting a shit book and no one bothers to give us a Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell movie? Booooo, I say! -
None to my recollection. “Pete’s Dragon” tops my list with the rabbit from “Monty Python’s Holy Grail” bringing up a close second.
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Yeah, I expected this. LOTR knock-off, anyone? Or worst, it's a Narnia imitation.
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yeah I was expeting that too considering the books (the 2 of which I've read so far) are basically a Narnia/LOTR ripoff...why can't they give Lloyd Alexander's Prydrian Chronicles (or whatever it was called) another shot, sure Disney screwed up the Black Caludron but that was a while ago, give us another shot
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Creative license or no, this was doomed to fail. The books were complete and utter shit.
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http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html
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http://homestarrunner.com/disk4of12.html
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BUT I LOVED DRAGONHEART and still regard it as not only the best dragon movie since DRAGONSLAYER, REIGN OF FIRE totally blew it as far as I'm concerned, but also one of the best fantasy films ever made period!! As for ERAGON, if Node-Z is talking about the people I'm thinking about from the book, then the answer to his question is yes these are characters that are further developed in the next book TEMPEST. Incidently everyone I've talked to says that's the better book by far. As for the movie, I'll give it a shot this weekend. It can't be worse than DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, if it is I'll let you know.
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if anyone trys those links and gets '404ed' just close the gap between the m and the ail in the first...and the disk and the 4of12 in the second. Dunno why that happened...
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You're all over the map. Is this the new style of reviewing in here?? When did all this wishy-washy bullshit start?
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I don't remember especially well, but I think he was standing on a mountain peek with the kid and the kid had an amulet, and the old dude pisses off the dragon, shoots lightning at it or some shit and it picks him up, then the kid remote control detonates the old guy by destroying the amulet, and he blows up and kills the dragon. That is fucking tight. Not in many of the cinemas have I seen someone die in a more badass method than magical suicide bombing a dragon. Also the chick in that movie is extremely attractive somehow.
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And Aragorn, er, Aragon, er, I mean: "Eragon" blows? Gee, who could have expected it, with the "book" being so (ha, ha) great...
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It could have been if it wasn't a video game. Yeah the hot chick as you put it in Dragonslayer was Valerian played by the late Caitlin Clarke. Yeah she passed away in 2004. So sad. She was a classy lady and a beautiful woman. Not to mention good actress.
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More props here buckos. Before LotR came along I always felt that Dragonslayer rivalled Conan as the best fantasy movie that had been committed to celluloid. Vermithrax was *the* dragon as far as I was concerned and all the cutesy talking dragon shite never did it for me. The one talking dragon that will be allowed shall be Smaug and he'd better be a prick to boot.
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Of course.
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hope he dont shoot fire out of his ass
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5.The Horntail Dragon-HP:GOBLET OF FIRE
4.Fafnir-SIEGFIRED
3.Falcor-THE NEVERENDING STORY
2.Vermithrax Pejorative-DRAGONSLAYER
1.Draco-DRAGONHEART -
I know the special effects were a little lacking in pete's, but u gotta admit that boat scene rocked. And come on, Sean Connery.
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This is the second review that states that they (the reviewer) never read the book and yet they KNOW the movie made serious sacrifices from the book. what the hell is is that? I'm not saying the movie will be great but aicn can get better reviewers than this. damnit I'm gonna go spank it and cal it a night.
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Real dragons are intelligent and talk.
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"Burninatin' the countryside!" _______Yeah, and Dragonslayer rules. Great film top to bottom.
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Peter Jackson
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How can anyone actually call this the best dragon movie so far? Reign of fire was crap. How can you have a film about dragons destroying humanity - and then NOT show any of it? How the hell can you just cut to end of humanity with a few stragglers left behind to save the day? Reign of fire pisses me off so much. What a waste of opportunity. What a ridiculous and impossible way for the dragons to breed in the first place. It's utter nonsense and probably the worst dragon movie, with the best special effects, ever made.
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a) Dragons
b> Jeremy Irons wearing bracers
...sucks old man balls. So I'm forced to presume that any movie combining the two will be an all out Lemonparty. -
Worst dragon ever! He was a fuckin ham and he was the worst effect ever! Awful awful awful! What made you choose him? You're joiking right?
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not "Tempest"? I mean, I AM reading it right now, but is there some crazy Philosopher's Stone title change overseas or something?
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Yep, my man Mickey Rooney - 'I saw a Dragon' - http://tinyurl.com/ygor2z
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Donkey Dragon love bitches
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Dragon Tales
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get it? drag on or dragged on. dragon! haha! ok sorry
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Damn you Michael Bay
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Let's face it, Dragons have never been given proper cinema treatment. "Dragonslayer" had a cool dragon and an interesting plot, but the movie around them was average at best. Same with "Dragonheart"--cool dragon FX, but an average movie. "Reign of Fire" was more Mad Max than it was medieval fantasy. Pete's Dragon is a cartoon. And, um, that's about it, isn't it? You'd think Hollywood would have drowned us with dragons by now, so WTF is wrong? I agree with Orionsangel, that Don Bluth's "Dragons Lair", though a video game of 10 minutes in length, was our best Dragon Movie thus far. I know Mr. Bluth has been attempting to make a big screen feature of that game for years, so this brings us back to Eragon: Why did they waste $100 million (or more) for this crap when they could have given it to countless other, far better fantasy stories, whether they involved dragons or otherwise? Oh, and for those who want "DragonLANCE", there is an animated feature on the way next year, with Keifer Sutherland and Lucy Lawless providing some of the voices.
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Yeah I have to agree, there haven't really been any great ones( let's be honest there's only been a handful of "decent" fantasy movies period).Having said that, Dragonslayer had a lot of charm, and if they'd done a few things different it would have been a minor classic.
But I still hold out hope that some day someone worth a shit will make a movies based on a good book/books written by a good author.I'd love to see Anne Mcaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern make it to the big screen some day.
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Main problem with it was "the first Jurassic Park syndrome". There was 5 minutes of actual dragon footage, like 5 minutes of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 1. They had no budget for enough cgi dragons and that sucked, but everything else was perfect. It was a survival story with a big show-down/boss battle at the end. Perfect. The dragons themselves are the best flying creatures put on film, even better than the fell beasts in LOTR. The way their wings interacted with wind, cloud effects and the fire effects were almost perfect considering how little budget they had.
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Don't forget that Peter Jackson is adapting Temeraire. There's hope for dragon movies yet.
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By the sound of things the film is as bad or worse.
Unusually most of the complaints against it can be equally levelled at the book. Eragon's sudden inexplicable magic words and unexpected prowess all happen SUDDENLY BECAUSE HE IS ACE..... etc etc. MAry-sueism at its worst. -
... That said, and it's a FACT, folks, "Reign of Fire" is watchable in a "there's nothing else on cable, what the f%#k kinda way". The best part is the cave-dwelling refugees adapting Star Wars as a fireside tall tale for the kiddies. Leave it to the Brits to provide that satisfying sick sense of humor to an otherwise lackluster production.
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was the best dragon ever....
"we better not risk another frontal assault"....." that rabbits DYNAMITE" -
Paolini´s books are no big deal, but this horrible adaptation makes that kid looks like George R.R. Martin
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HBO, make me happy.
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You don't consider Patrick Doyle (GOBLET OF FIRE, DEAD AGAIN, CARLITO'S WAY) a famous composer? Not everyone who writes music is a John Williams-style household name.
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because somewhere between 1981 and now I realized that Peter MacNicol is the most annoying fuck on the face of the earth.
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I think it was that Harvard recently did a study to determine what factor was most correlated to making a successful movie. The answer they came up with was spending money on good writers so that you start with a good script. Considering how bad the starting material was for Eragon it is no surprise that the movie stinks. I tried to ready the book and it was so poorly written I put it down about half way through. That is something that I almost never do. It is amazing what good marketing will do for sales. They sure tricked me into buying the book…
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But the ending sucked!
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. . . when it was the "Kid Cried" talk back from yesterday. Any new ideas or weird tangents we can take it on? Let's see, how bout Gremlins is hands down the best movie with Gremlins in it. Oh wait what about Twilight Zone . . .
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I love that movie, it's great fun and while it could definitely have benefited from a bit more cash, they did well with what they had. It has a lovely grimy, Olde English feel - out on the freezing moors in the biting wind, with all manner of beasties lurking - which I find really tangible (probably because I'm an Olde English gal) and I, for one, am eternally grateful for the sight of Christian Bale's sweaty abs by firelight. But not for his mockney accent. 'Gor blimey guvna, get up them apples n pears!'
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Yes you are right I got the title wrong the second book is called ELDEST.
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If you think the ending of DRAGONHEART sucked then you clearly have no soul.
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With whoever mentioned Lloyd Alexander's books as having never been done justice on the big screen. That "Black Cauldron" cartoon was not even a shadow of the since of menace,complexity, and personal sacrifice portrayed by the original novel. That entire series is more than worthy of its own film series. Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series would also be a great candidate. Anything but this mess.
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Personally I'd rather not see a movie or tv adaptation of the Song of Ice and Fire. It'd never work. The balless studios would want to change too much, or simply wouldn't do justice to much of it. It'd need to be the length of I Claudius for just the first book.
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I'd LIKE to see a live action ASOIF, but I just don't trust anyone to do it justice. HBO has the balls to keep it content-complete, but the way they've been axing their best shows lately, they'll never let it finish (especially with the series being unfinished). Half a story is not worth adapting. As for the big screen, whatever studio greenlights the film (or trilogy, or whatever) would NOT have the balls to keep it content complete. It'd be raped into a PG-13 shitstorm. If there's one thing ASOIF needs, it's its incredibly mature content (sex, graphic violence, language, gore).
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If you want a good movie trilogy, ala LOTR, get PJ to film the 1st three Anne McCaffery novels about the Dragonriders of Pern. While the latest books done with her son Todd are kind of weak, the original "trilogy" was quite well done. Pretty good sci-fi, especially when it's revealed the dragons are not creatures of fantasy, but the result of desperate gene engineering to allow a colony from Earth to survive Thread on Pern. Make those movies and I will be a happy camper.
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Actually i agree with you, but i needed to talk about those great books in this topic hehehe
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...can't we get some respect for the one in _The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad_? Sure, it's not the centerpiece of the film, but it's done by freakin' Ray Harryhausen and fights a cyclops at the climax, to boot. That's got to put it above _Pete's Dragon_ or _Dungeons & Dragons_, right? And the film as a whole is one of the greatest fantasy films ever. But if you're insisting on dragon-centered films, put me down for _Dragonslayer_, too. Sir Ralph Richardson as the wizard, the draft
lottery analogy, Christianity vs. paganism--lots of nice things there. And Vermithrax Pejorative is truly a name fit for a dragon.
(Sad to hear Caitlin's dead, though.)
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