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The Dude and Goldie take a gander at DEEP BLUE SEA
Well, from the sounds of things, it seems Renny Harlan has been doing a bit of tweaking here and there on DEEP BLUE SEA and might be helping it become a pretty enjoyable films. Hmmm... Can it match the glory of LAKE PLACID? Hmmmmm... I don't know, the writing was so sharp, the characters funny.... Hmmmm... We'll have to wait and see...
Long time reader, first time informer. Should you publish this, you can just
call me "Goldie Lox" or "Goldie" for short.
Anyway, let's cut the bullshit and get right down to it. Last night I
attended a special advance screening of "Deep Blue Sea" at the Beekman in
NYC. I've been to these things before. They're fun, but nothing special.
Sometimes you get lucky and see a cool movie, sometimes the movie sucks,
often it's not even something you wanna see, right?
But this was different. This was the first "special advance screening" I've
ever attended where Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J were sitting a few rows
behind me and Renny Harlin got up to introduce the film. "Do you want to see
a movie about sharks chasing people and eating them?" he asked the audience.
"YYYYEEEEAAAAHHH!!!" everyone screamed back. "Good, because that's what we
have for you." And so began the film.
It wasn't totally finished- Harlan told us that he'd just finished editing
two days earlier, that the print had just been flown in that morning, and
that the last scene was still being worked on- which showed when there was a
shot of a shark eating a character and it was still in one of those CGI
rough- composite shots where people look like manequins and the creature has
no real detail. Other then that, the movie seemed pretty much done.
So, how was it? Let's be honest. There was no real story. it was a rip off of
a lot of other movies- "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park" and "Poseidon Adventure"
are the most noticeable, but if you ask me, there are also strong hinst of-
of all things- "Alien Ressurection". the basic "plot" is that there's these
scientists- Saffrom Burrows (who, I'm sure, Harlan cast because she's a dead
ringer for his ex, Geena Davis), Michael Rappaport, Stellan Skarsgard, and
some chick whose name I don't know, but was holding HArlan's hand so she must
be his new squeeze- and they live in this cool underwater compound, using
sharks as lab rats while the try to cure alzheimer's. They are joined by a
shark- chaser- dude, played by Thomas Jane from "Boogie Nights", and a chef
named "Preacher", played by LL Cool J. On this particular weekend, their
ultra- rich backer, Sam Jackson, has come out to check their progress and
shut them down if they fuck up.
Needless to say, the sharks are now smarter as a result of the tests, and
everything goes wrong, and they start chasing people and eating them, and
everyone has to try and get to the surface of this underwater place or die.
So they set out to do that.
OK. So the story sucks. The special effects, well, they suck too. Remember
how shitty the effects in "Escape from LA" were? These are, like, a half a
step up. Everything looks fake.
Now, remember, a few years ago Harlan made a movie called "The Long Kiss
Goodnight", which was a rip- off of various other movies and had shitty
special effects. The movie bombed, but I loved it. Why? Because Harlan can
direct good action sequences, the dialouge was hysterical, and the cast was
cool.
These are the same strengths which save "Deep Blue Sea". The cast is cool- in
fact, it's AWESOME. Except for Skarsgard, who totally wasted as he has about
one line before he gets munched (he's the guy in the cming attractions who
teh sharks push up against teh glass to break it), everypen is good. Burrows
is hot.Jackson, more or less, plays the Gene Hackman type from "Poseidon",
the "Let's grow some balls and get out of here" character. LL Cool J steals
the whole movie- he's hysterical. And Thomas Jane, well, he pretty much plays
Bruce Willis. But he does a damn fine job.
The violence is very over the top in a very funny way. No one simply gets
eaten. They get gobbled in the worst ways imaginable. They get ripped in half,
swallowed whole, dragged around... and yes, there is one genuinly shocking
and horrifying scene. It would be a crime
to ruin it because- and I'm not messing around- it;s so sudden and shocking
that my heart started beating at about a million miles an hour and it didn't
slow down for another five minutes. I mean, it is a GREAT scene. I wish there
were more like it. But the others scenes, even if they're never as good, are
pretty cool, and were usually done with enough sick wit to make the audience
cheer with delight.
Which is worth mentioning- the audience LOVED it. I wouldn;t be surprised if
this were a much bigger hit then people are anticipating (then again, I
wouldn't be totally surprised if it bombed- like I said, "plot" isn't really
the word for what this movie has, but who gives a shit about plot anyhow,
right? I mean, we wanna see people get ripped to shreds!). I remember,
though, what you said, Harry, about "Godzilla"- teh Emmerich one- how you saw
it at the premier with a huge audience and all that, and I should say, having
Jackson and LL and Harlan in the crowd, getting to walk by them and pat the
em on teh back and tell them how cool the movie was, in addition to Warner
Bros. giving us free popcorn and soda, helped my movie going experince a lot.
And this is not, by any means, a classic- I'd still picks "Jaws" over this
any day. But, like "The Long Kiss Goodnight", this is a very, very
entertaining summer movie, and unless you have stick up your ass- and the
professional critics, I'm sure, all do- I can't see anyone leaving teh
theater and not saying "Gee, that was fun". I can't compare it "Lake Placid"
as I haven't seen it yet, but I think it makes a good late summer monster
movie.
On another note, I think it's worth mentioning that Harlan, Jackson, and LL
all looked totally miserable after the show, even though everyone was telling
them how much they liked it, and everyone cheered and screamed through the
film. Personally, I patted Renny on the back- literally- and said "Good job,
Mr. Harlan", to which he politly responded "Thank you", but he and LL and Sam
just looked really... serious. Almost displeased. I couldn't understand it. I
mean, I know Renny is having career troubles, and he just got divorced, but
why Sam and LL? Maybe they smell a bomb...
Anyway, I hope this is of some use, Harry. Keep up the good work. Later.
-Goldie Lox
And here is The Dude's look, much more positive...
I just saw a preview screening for this movie in New York. Renny Harlin was
there to introduce the movie ("who would like to see a movie about sharks
chasing people and eating them?"), and LL Cool J and Thomas Jane were also
watching. The movie went over quite well, in contrast to the reviews from
the screening in Glendale earlier this month. People were cheering often,
especially for LL Cool J. The script was still weak, and the set-up a
little phony, but one major plot point has been altered, making the film
more satisfying.
The theatre was packed, and the reaction was excellent, especially to LL
Cool J's character, the station's chef who gets most of the best lines.
Thomas Jane (as the facility's shark wrangler) and Saffron Burrows (the
brilliant researcher - a terribly written character) are the other main
roles - Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel Jackson are relegated to weak
supporting roles, and Sam phoned it in. While some of the dialogue,
especially during the set-up, was pretty stilted, and the situation reeked
of "Jurassic Park" (and a million other movies), the film delivers quite a
few scares and some great action. The CG and animatronic sharks are very
realistic and move like nothing seen before.
One of the film's climactic shots was not quite finished, and looked like
animation, but on the whole the effects were strong.
Of all the actors, Thomas Jane comes out as someone to watch.
"The Dude"
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+ Expand All
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Can't wait to put my teeth in this one- Gottas love that fellow. Bye the way- good revievs!!!!
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Personally, to get my "Jaws" fix I'm just going to watch "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel, starting August 9. The CGI shark I saw in the ad looked about as real as Woody Woodpecker.
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AWESOME! I really want to see it.
The over-the-top antics of Cutthroat Island would've been better had they'd been scarier and more entertaining. THAT'S what I think Deep Blue Sea is going to permeate: a scary, entertaining thriller.
I'm anxious to see it. -
I have been a fan of Samuel L. Jackson in the past, but his recent decisions have been weird. Did anyone else think that in Star Wars he looked stoned? He looked like all these Jedi leaders do in that penthouse was smoke dope and stare at that Yoda puppet. I truly hope that his role is better than described in this review.
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Lake Placid's gator would chomp the shark. LOOK AT THOSE SNAPPERS!!!
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Big T here. I must say this film looks like a true popcorn movie and thats not a bad thing. I liked Sam a lot from Long Kiss Goodnight just because he talked so much about being one bad motherfucker and so on. In this one it looks like the sharks are taking over. If all of you want to truly enjoy this film go in only knowing the basics, sharks attack people and people die. Dont find out more this is a cheap thrill film. Oh and Harry only 2 good things come out of Lake Placid a cool croc and Betty the "if i had a dick right now i would tell you to suck it" White. Big T out.
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You can tell from the tepid response to this Talkback that DBS is DOA.
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Am I the only one who thoroughly enjoyed The Long Kiss Goodnight? Sure, it took a perfectly good premise and ran to the shithouse with it...but there's no mistaking what kind of movie it wanted to be and was...pure popcorn. Sam was hilarious, it had some good action and it didn't stop for anything. Okay, so some of the action set pieces were trying too hard to be cool...I thought it was still cool.
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This movie looks like it could be fun, in a "guilty-pleasure" sort of way. But there's an even better reason to see the movie: like the song says, "I'm just mad about Saffron..."
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I hope they cut the whole 'romantic link' between Thomas Jane and Saffron Burrows. That would make the movie a little better (at least it would have a better feel of continuity.) So far, it seems like this NYC screening makes 3 since I first chimed in. Keep going Renny, maybe you can salvage it. You got just under 2 weeks to go.
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I'm glad this movie is rated R. I can't wait to see the ultra violence. Renny Harlin is going to give us a thrill ride we will not soon forget. DBS is his baby. He even directed the COOL music video with LL Cool J. I can't wait until July 30th. This movie is going to ROCK!!!
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My girlfriend and I were at the screening, and loved it! I can't wait to see it again. I liked "Long Kiss Goodnight" alot, but I really think is a much better movie. It is so unbelievably suspensful, and exciting. This movie will do very well, and even the most jaded and cynical viewer will be sucked in. It is a great ride. As a final note, I will say the most exciting part was meeting Thomas Jane, who was so good in "Boogie Nights", and a movie called "Thursday". He was extremely nice, and deserves the inevitable success that will come with doing this film. This will be Warners saving grace for all the people who hated "Eyes Wide Shut". I loved both movies, and am thrilled with the summer movie offering. Don't miss "Deep Blue Sea". It is a big screen movie.
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