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Segue Zagnut unwraps THE MUMMY
Here's the first of many spies that have come in to file their stories on THE MUMMY tonight. There should be 3 more by the time I'm finished with my reporting tonight. Moriarty is working on his, as are the other henchmen. But, Segue was the fastest and nimblest with the digits and wasn't caught fidgeting about. There are some spoilers contained in the review, not like the resolution type of thing, but... well... you know, mentioning some of the cool stuff. Ahhhh... taint to bad... Go on... It's mainly safe...
Head Geek
This is Segue Zagnut. I saw The Mummy and I'm ready to speak. This is the first movie for summer. This movie will herald
the beginning of an incredible movie season. And as a beginning it is perfect. It's not good enough to stand up to the finish, but
it rings in a start that's very strong.
The Mummy stars Branden Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo. It starts almost four thousand years ago
(that's BC), in Egypt. Vosloo (he plays the Mummy) is buried alive as punishment for loving the Pharaoh's sacred girlfriend... oh
and killing the Pharaoh. Next, it jumps to 1925 (that's AD), where Fraser is fighting for his life in front of Egyptian ruins. These
ruins are suppose to be hiding the huge stash of the Pharaoh's financial empire. We know it also holds the Mummy, waiting to
be brought back to rule the world through fear. The first third of the film is spent trying to find the gold and accidentally
unleashing the mummy. The rest is spent trying to send him back.
This is not a brilliant film. The story is simple. The dialogue is simple. For the most part the performances are simple. But it
plays well. It is fun. This is the kind of film that as a kid I went to the theater for... heroes and goblins, action and scares. The
movie never takes itself completely seriously, which gives it a relaxed charm. It allows you to not have your intelligence be
insulted even with many jumps in story logic. The look, the pacing, the humor and especially the action are confident.
Fraser sells it and I have never been a Fraser fan. Anyone who has the level of success he has had and still chooses to do a
movie like 'Blast from the Past', is not someone who's choices I trust. Yet, he was very good in 'George of the Jungle' believe it
or not and I understand also in 'Gods and Monsters'. In this, he makes the macho hero lines that could have been tired clichés
work, much like Keanu Reeves did in 'The Matrix'. Many of the ending fight scenes are just Fraser and digital stunt men in
combat to the death. These scenes are exciting and the Mummy henchmen officially make 'Jason and the Argonauts' look like
the dark ages of special effects.
Everyone else is fine and no one holds back the film by trying too hard to make it real. Or for that matter not trying hard
enough either. The film lands some where between 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'Goonies', which means that I think
opinions will be varied. Some will love it because it is fun, light and exciting. Others will hate it because it isn't dark, edgy or
new. I can image a version of this directed by Sam Raimi, that could've had everything right, but without that, this will do. The
Mummy is the perfect start to an overwhelming summer.
I think I've said too much. I've haven't said enough. Consider This...
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Looking good, want to see this one. Anyone know when it'll hit the rocky shores of Ireland?
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i cant wait to see the mummy. looks like fun. i am also a brendan fraser fan (dodges rotten fruit). my curse i guess.
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i love macho hero lines. "Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggards?" "No. Just me baby, Just me."
never will talk that. or "Give me some sugar baby." -
Isn't this the guy who made "Deep Rising?" If so, I am so there at a dollar theater, drunk with 20 of my friends. "Deep Rising" is the best schlock movie since "Carnosaur 2" and here's hoping "The Mummy" is just as bad. I'll be there first week in the second run.
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MUMMIES? what in tarnations is mummiies??
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During these talk back dialogues, especially the ones written by people who bother to read the existing thread first, the majority of people have said the CGI for mummie is terrific but the CGI for TPM is poorly done. Can anyone enlighten me?
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"The Mummy henchmen officially make 'Jason and the Argonauts' look like the dark ages of special effects."
So what? That movie was made over 30 years ago. Is the 1999 Mummy a better FILM (story, directing, acting etc.) than any other classic film? -
I would have to agree with Elan Vitale about what's up with people saying TPM looks fake and the Mummy looks real. What's up with that? George Lucas most likely supervised The Mummy a bit too since ILM did the effects and I'm sure if one of his animators came up with some new software for the Mummy he would have used it for TPM. He is no dummy. He's a smart guy who wants the best that can be given to the audience. He wants his "art" perfected...I personally think the Mummy's effects are good and all but TPM still looks a million times better in my opinion. But compared to ID4, The Mummy looks like the Cistine Chapel compared with my grade 2 artwork...
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First, just to clairfy, about 40% of the mummy character is "guy in rubber suit" (it's in the new Cinefex). Second, while Lucas does indeed own ILM, he has little to do with it's day to day operations on films that are not his. While I'm sure he'd like to be involved in everything that his company does, practially he cannot (ILM is usually working on several features at any given moment) and that would be like Cammeron walking into Speilburg's editing booth and giving him "advice". Unless the director asks Lucas to check up on the effects work, it really isn't proper for one filmmaker to start directing another's movie. As far as the effects between TPM and the Mummy, I don't think we've seen any fully finished shots from TPM yet. Yes, the effects in the trailer are finished shots (BUT- will they make the final edit of the film?), but that's .5-1 second snippets. Sure, if you take those apart frame-by-frame in Quicktime, the flaws are going to show, but the same can be said with physical prop effects, too. Untill the whole thing has been projected in full aspect on the big screen, just how well the effects do or do not work is a matter of speculation. Now, about the Mummy. I'm really looking forward to this film. After the very pleasant suprise of "The Matrix" (which I only saw because I felt a duty to see at least one movie at the Chinese Theater while I was in LA, and Matrix just happend to be opening the night I had some free time), I think that the Mummy just might be a nice diversion. No, I'm not expecting a great story or a tale that will supplant Jason or any of the other Harryhousland classics. I am expecting a fun "leave your brain in the trunk of the car" adventure movie.
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It's great and all that the mummy is a decent film, but who cares? Who wants to see an imitation when we could be getting the real thing. So, where's the real thing? Where is Indiana Jones 4? What about some info on that Harry? Can't you dig something up?
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Wnat to see a truly great mummy flick? Don't want to be distracted by CGI? Try the original 1932 version starring the immortal Boris Karloff, and directed by Karl Freund. (available everywhere on Universal Home Video) I'm sure the new one will be more exciting, but the original has a creepy-coolness this one could never achieve. Oh yeah, remember when horror flicks were actually scary, as opposed to just startling or disgusting. Rarely do modern films spend the time and effort to build a mood of suspense and foreboding.
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Oh gee, another big FX movie that "doesnt take itself too seriously." How original. (yawn), well, maybe ill see a matinee (sp?) if im really bored and need to pump some interest in my dreary life with empty vicarious spectacle.
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As I've mentioned before, I'm really looking forward to seeing this one, although I have no idea what the U.K. release date is (can anybody help ?)
The Mummy has always been a favorite monster of mine, the '60s Aurora figure is watching me even as I type this. My son has yet to make it through the 1942 Tom Tyler classic, The Mummy's Hand !
All this despite the central antagonist being a slow moving, cumbling wreck who shouldn't be able to catch up to his victims.
Those who like mummy movies, who want something.......with a different take, should rent Anthony Hickox's "Waxwork" which has a classic Mummy sequence, which impressed the hell out of me when I first saw it, and for a novel approach on how to destroy a mummy.....look no further than Fred Dekker's "The Monster Squad".
If this movie, with all the resources available today can cap those to......we're in for a hell of a ride !!!
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You make the assumption that George is a perfectionist when he and most of the people around him have always said the opposite. Read any of the recent interviews with Rick McCallum. Lucas shoots until a shot is "good enough". If he went for perfection, TPM would still be shooting and the budget would be over $500 mil. He knows there will be flaws and he accepts that. Unfortunately most fans don't, so personally, I'm expecting backlash against this film to reach epic proportions. To shield myself, I'm leaving the country until May 21st, when I expect the hysteria to have calmed down a little. As for the Mummy's fx, most of what I've seen looks great, but since I haven't seen it or TPM yet, -I- won't make uninformed comparisons based on 2 minute trailers. I will however refer to your ID4 comparison, saying that your 2nd grade artwork was much MORE entertaining to stare at for 100 minutes than that finely polished ball of feces flung upon the screen called Independence Day.
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Hey. I was half asleep when I wrote what I wrote this morning...Eight hours of school doesn't help so I am still in La La Land but we won't go there.
Anyways when I said George Lucas wants his art perfected I talk about him changing Anakin's eyes or Qui-Gon's eyebrows. I saw the 60 mins interview and he was constantly changing stuff. I don't think he is a perfectionist but if something bugs him he changes it. I love Star Wars and I don't think George will let me down. If it sucks I will be disappointed. But I am not thinking it will be the greatest movie ever either (that's On the Waterfront). Perhaps it was early morning stupidity for me to judge the Mummy's effects and that I should wait till both movies are out to judge better so I will take back my comment on TPM fx being better till I see the movies. And I am looking forward to both of them very much... -
I have to agree with JMB on this we all know that when we see this film what we really want is Indiana Jones to be up there. I for one hope that I am not the only one who still knows that if adventure had a name it has to be Indiana Jones. Harry give us some info on this film please, is it dead or just beginning???
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this but in the Empire Strikes Back early in the movie whem all the Star Destroyers well gathered together and we get tracking shots from multiple angles and John William's score is giving me goosebumps. What if the new cgi just doesn't hold a candle to those lovingly detailed model shots?
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As soon as I saw "Jurassic Park," I prayed that someone would soon use that technology to make a mummy movie. I value the Karloff classic - I have no doubt that it's far better than the new one - and the remains of Ramesses III were apparently used as the model for Karloff's makeup. But living actors (with the possible exception of Callista Flockhart) are too darn, uh, full-figured to make convincing mummies. If the CGI is competent, I'm in line.
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