Cinenumerology

Scott Hardie | September 18, 2004
It bugs me when movie trivia is inaccurate (can people please stop saying that "Predator" was the only movie to star two future governors?), but it bugs me even more when that information could easily have been correct. The IMDb's trivia for Bruce Willis mentions the factoid that he has been in seven movies with numbers in the titles: The First Deadly Sin, Twelve Monkeys, Four Rooms, The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense, The Whole Nine Yards, and The Whole Ten Yards. But anyone getting to that page would have probably gone past Willis's filmography, which also lists Die Hard 2, Look Who's Talking Too, and Loaded Weapon 1, not to mention his upcoming films Ocean's Twelve and Die Hard 4.0. If you're going to be a number fanatic, at least learn how to count.

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Anthony Lewis | September 18, 2004
Another Die Hard??? Whoopie! As long as they don't go through with that ridiculous idea of Britney Spears playing John McClane's daughter Lucy...I'm all in!

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Scott Horowitz | September 18, 2004
When will they stop trying to make money on Sequels to movies long dead? I thought Crossroads was going to be porn, but my friend told me it wasn't. So, I refuse to see this future Die Hard even though I love the original trilogy.

Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
Well, the new movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow apparently uses a dead actor in a role...an actor who's been dead since the early 70s, in fact.

Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
Oh, and as to Scott's initial post -- I hate it when movies title sequels by simply appending numbers. I much prefer attempts at originality, be it the First Blood-Rambo transition, or even The Whole Ten Yards.

The title was in fact the only intelligent thing about the latter movie.

Anthony Lewis | September 18, 2004
Melissa...it's been WIDELY considered. Just Google "Britney Spears Lucy McClane" and see for yourself.

The horror...THE HORROR!

I love the Die Hard series however. I'm not sure the franchise is 100% dead. I'd love to see if John patched up his relationship with Holly. I think I can stand one more.

On the other hand, the Lethal Weapon series actually died at LW3, but they squeezed in one more. It was pretty good...better than #3, but a fitting ending.

Scott Hardie | September 18, 2004
Bruce Willis announced a few years ago that he was retiring from the role of action hero, and would no longer star in films that made entertainment out of violence. He believed very strongly in "Tears of the Sun" as an important film (not just entertainment), and in fact he believed in it so much that when the studio dragged their heels on it, he agreed to make "Die Hard 4" just to get the green light. But, I'll believe it when I see it: Once upon a time, "Titanic" was massively overbudget and the studios wanted to stop filming and edit together what they had, and James Cameron agreed to do "Terminator 3" if they gave him more money, yet still he managed to find a way to weasel out of the deal afterwards because he just plain didn't want to make that sequel.

IMDb reports that Jessica Simpson also unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Lucy, a scary sign indeed. But, on the bright side, John McTiernan is committed to direct; he was the man behind the first and third Die Hard films, not to mention several other well-liked genre films including "Predator" and "The Hunt for Red October."

Personally, I loved all three Die Hard movies. They were intelligent and well-coordinated films in a genre that usually isn't. The first one literally invented the single-setting action movie, which has inspired good films ("Executive Decision" and "Speed"), mediocre films ("The Rock" and "Passenger 57"), and plenty of lousy films (half of Steven Seagal's catalog).

Kris: I'm with you as long as the titles are appropriate and sensical, like "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." There's nothing apocalyptic in the new Resident Evil film, no revolutions in the third Matrix film, and never an end to the Highlanders' game, and to chronicle Riddick just sounds silly. The phrase "the whole ten yards" doesn't even make sense, not that the original film's title had any point either. :-) Literary adaptations have it best by presenting a fresh title with each installment, as in the James Bond, Jack Ryan, and Alex Cross films. I also like sequel titles that include both a number and a subtitle; they get the best of both worlds as a way to reference the film in shorthand and to demonstrate some class and ambition.

Scott Horowitz | September 18, 2004
What about with the James Bond films? They have never been subtitled or numbered. And then there is the Star Trek series. The first 6 films were numbered and the last 4 weren't. I think just using a simple number is fine. Who cares about a subtitle? If I liked a movie I'm going to see it's sequel. Spiderman 2 did awesome without a subtitle.

Scott Horowitz | September 18, 2004
Just on a sidenote as we're talking about movies. "Why is Boba Fett everyone's favorite character in the Star Wars movie?" He was in the trilogy for like 30 minutes total. It is one of thsoe things that has always boggled my mind.

Lori Lancaster | September 18, 2004
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Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
Well, "Whole Nine Yards" made a bit of sense, since the term allegedly derives from the 27-foot ammo belts used in fized-mount machine guns in World War II. Hence, the inplied phrase "giving them the whole nine yards" is at once a (failed) promise of over-the-top full-on comedy fun and a wink tot he amount of gunplay in the film.

Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
While we're at it, strictly speaking an "apocalypse" isn't the end of the world, but instead a prophetic revelation. There were plenty of non-eschatological 'apoclaypses" before the Council of NIcea decided which scriptures were actually Biblical way, way back in the 2nd centruy, most famous among the the "Apocalypse of St. Peter," a vision that isn't of the end of the world at all. But because the only apocalypse in the Bible is John's vision of the end times, most people now thinkt he word means just that.

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
I'm sure Paris will try to cut an album at some point.

On a side note, does anyone else find it funny that she has a boy's name?

Melissa Erin | September 19, 2004
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Erik Bates | September 19, 2004
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Scott Hardie | September 19, 2004
Ever since Arnold was elected governor, I have read a lot of people citing "Predator" as the only movie ever to star two future governors, since Jesse Ventura had a memorable supporting role in it. But only a few months later that same year, both men also starred in "The Running Man."

Anthony Lewis | September 20, 2004
Kris...I don't know if you were trying to be funny or sarcastic. If not, I think you'll be horrified to know that Paris Hilton has already cut an album, and it will be released soon. I think it's called "Paris Is Burning".

I don't know what's worse. Britney as Lucy McClane, or Paris warbling.

Kris Weberg | September 20, 2004
Oh bloody hell. Even satire can't keep up these days.

Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looks like the worst crap out this year.

Boba Fett wasn't my favorite either, although many little boys seemed to like him a lot for some reason. I don't know - the combo of being a bounty hunter and getting to wear a mask and cape?

Scott Hardie | September 20, 2004
I agree with your assessment, Anna; the last thing the cinema needs right now is yet another foray into 1930s-style adventure serials. But the film is earning rave reviews; Shallit was all but jumping up and down, and I'd be surprised if Ebert didn't crown it the best film of the year based on his comments so far. I plan to see it for myself this week and form my own opinion.

It is a little silly that Boba Fett has gained such popularity; certainly Jango Fett never would have existed if the fans hadn't developed such adoration for the original. I guess it's just the mystique factor: We knew very little about him, and so we could have imagined all kinds of interesting details; he could be whatever anybody wanted him to be.

Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
I think that Sky Captain bothers me so much not just because of the subject matter, but because of the excessive foray into CGI.

I am old-school. I admit it. I think the monsters are much scarier when they are made of rubber and make-up; I like my explosions huge and heated; I like my complicated effects complicated.

CGI ruins a lot of movies for me, or at least makes them less palatable. So the idea of a movie entirely in CGI just leaves me with a dry taste in my mouth - where's the substance? How can it be at all believeable when it's not grounded in the real?

John E Gunter | September 20, 2004
I think partly what makes Boba such a "likeable" character is the fact that he seemed to be so sure of himself. He was a character in control of his situation, even with Vader around.

The part where he talks back to Vader, a situation that would get most other people killed, and Vader does nothing about it is where, I think, a lot of fans grew to really like him. That plus he was just supposed to be a bad ass.

That's why I didn't like the way he met his fate. I mean come on, Han just happened to hit him accidentally and make his jetpack turn on, throwing Boba against the side of the ship and into the jaws of the Sarnak?(sp)

But, I didn't write the story so...

Also, while I like the character, just he's not a favorite for me either.

As far as CGI is concerned, at first I didn't care for it either, but every year they get better at it. To the point where I don't mind them doing CGI anymore. As long as it looks real, it's ok with me.

John

Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
But it never, ever looks real to me.

Scott Hardie | September 22, 2004
What I find funny is when people accuse something of being "terrible CGI" and it isn't. I don't mean that the CGI is much better than they give it credit for (see: "Hulk"), I mean when they accuse a live shot of being a fake because they're so eager to pat themselves on the back for not being fooled by what they think of as a trick being played on them. Rod Hilton's hilarious abridged script for "Matrix Reloaded" opens by accusing a shot of Carrie-Anne Moss jumping out of a window of being animated, but the DVD's making-of featurette went into detail about the shot and shows Moss in the rig filming it. If you're going to pick on a film's weaknesses, find the right ones first.

Anna Gregoline | September 22, 2004
I guess that's not true, what I said. Some things do get away with it - but I much prefer a real stunt or monster.

Scott Horowitz | September 22, 2004
In case anyone cares, I got my copy of the trilogy yesterday. (So far, only watched Empire damn good DVD transfer). I ordered it 4,5,6,1,2. I just couldn't bring myself to put 1 and 2 before ANH.