Reign of Fire

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am just curious what everybody else thinks about this new movie. So far the reviews have been good 79% out of 14, its got an interesting premise combining fantasy with science fiction. But I am still not sure I am debating about seeing it this weekend.

[Jedieb]

I think it'll be a good fantasy/sci-fi flick, but I'm doubtful about its B.O. success. I think it could easily pull a Final Fantasy.

[CMJ]

I think it may open fairly big but drop like a frickin' rock.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That could happen especially if it surprises everybody and opens really big I think it would drop 50%+ in its second week if it opens above 30 million.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Well I'm going to see it, since I'm a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, Matthew McConahay and Christian Bale. ;)

[JMK]

Girls..so superficial....;)

I have a feeling that it may have a pretty disappointing box office too. But it does look cool. But I still want to see Minority Report and Road to Perdition before it. And AotC at least once more. :)

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

I think it looks good and I agree with LD :) :p @ you guys! It will start well enough but I doubt it will have staying power. I think only devout sci fi and fantasy fans will go back twice.

[ReaperFett]

women, all the same. Only after one thing in a film ;)



It wont make a profit in the cinema run IMO, but I can see it becoming a cult film on DVD.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hey...who're you calling superficial!

Yeah, I'll go back twice if Christian Bale takes his shirt off. Come to momma! ;)

:lol In all seriousness, it looks better than Dungeons and Dragons. Tons better. Of course, D&D sucked so hard that that isn't saying much. So, whatever D&D did, RoF is at LEAST going to do better than that.

I think, as long as the story shapes up the way I *think* its going to, that it'll do pretty well. Not a blockbuster, but not a flop.

*crosses fingers*

[ReaperFett]

I still need to see that :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ugh. Its like a train wreck.

[ReaperFett]

Yep, you cant help but sneek a peek :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yeah, but you have to watch, because you keep hoping that someone will stagger from the wreckage, and save the day. But...but...the credits roll and you realize that it just sucked.

[ReaperFett]

I hear Jeremy Irons performance is unmissable :)

[Jedieb]

Lilaena, don't you think McConahay looks like crap with his head shaved like that? Not that I was checking him out or anything....o_O

[ReaperFett]

You know who he looked like to me? A younger Jake "The Snake" Roberts :)

[JonathanLB]

That was funny, the comments on D&D. Good lord that movie did suck. I couldn't help but laugh hysterically throughout most of it. I went with 3 friends and we were all just trying to hold it back but couldn't. Much like Jason X.

Hey, it's not just the girls who are going for the actors, hehe. I personally was mainly interested in this film because Christian Bale is in it, not because it is sci-fi/fantasy. I love Christian Bale. He was great in American Psycho and both my best friend and I want to see this movie because of him.

[Admiral Lebron]

I remember when I rented D&D. We we're playing it at the same time. Although our version was cooler.

[CMJ]

Christian Bale will never out top his performance in "Empire of the Sun". That is seriously one of the best performances I've ever seen(child or adult). He was only like 12...quite remarkable.

[ReaperFett]

I think I've only seen him in Shaft :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Heh, this moive I'm looking forward to. Pity it dont come to Australia for a while

[JonathanLB]

I think his performance in American Psycho is one of the best I have ever seen. He is the man. That movie is in my top 30 I am sure. It's just a classic, hehe, I pity those people who are like, "Man that movie is SICK! How could you like it?" Ahh, it's such a great film. It's a study of materialism in the 1980's and one man's obsession with looking great and appearing great to everyone else, but his emptiness inside leads him to become... an American Psycho! :)

[ReaperFett]

I want to see it. Even if it is awful, I have faith in Dafoe giving a top performance :)

[CMJ]

Jonathan...he's outstanding in "Empire of the Sun" though.

I don't know if he's ever gonna top that at least for me. Seeing the kid go through all he does in that film, really, really, impressive. It's that standard I measure all child actors against.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I've never seen "Empire of the Sun" but now I shall have to. Dang but I love him!

And no, Jedieb, I don't think Matthew looks like crap with his head shaved. I'd like to rub his head for luck. ;) Take that whatever way you'd like. (And you know you were checking him out! ;))

[ReaperFett]

And what are your oopinions of Jake the Snake? :)

[CMJ]

Well LD IMHO "Empire" is one of Spielberg's most underrated works. It has sections of brilliance.

The movie moves at a leisurely clip and meanders a bit near the end. Nonetheless I can't recommend the film enough. The cinematography is stunning, the sets wonderful, and the acting all around is great(Malkovich especially noteworthy in the supporting characters) and Bale is magnificent.

[ReaperFett]

Woo, Izabella Scorupco is in it too :)

[Jedieb]

NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ReaperFett]

What? She was good in Goldeneye :)

[Jedieb]

She's fine, I was talking to LD. Let me reiterate; NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[ReaperFett]

Ahhhhhhhhh :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

TMI!!! LD, too much info!!! :x

[Lilaena De'Ville]

LMAO!!

Sorry Jedieb, I guess I was mistaken. :p And Marcus, there is NEVER such a thing as TMI. ;)

[Darth Vader]

American Psycho rules. He's my role model in that :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

LD, yes there is. There is definantly such a thing as TMI, especially when your talking about rubbing bald heads.

:x

[Lilaena De'Ville]

whaaaaat!? His head is shaved! I was merely stating that I....Oh, never mind. :)

[ReaperFett]

Sure :)

[JMK]

Geeeeeeez! I go out for dinner and a normal thread about a movie's potential turns into a lewd discussion about rubbing heads??????? :x

[Marcus Telcontar]

Welcome to SWFans :)

[JMK]

Thank you.

Um, where's the door??? :p

[Marcus Telcontar]

Youn check out any time you like but you can never leave

:p

[Tianje Xhu]

ahhhhhhhhh........the eagles!! great band!! "hotel california" but "one of these nights" is still my favorite!

[JMK]

*singing in perfect Don Henley pitch*

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now.....

[Marcus Telcontar]

And now the Jamacian version!

"Welcome to de Hotel Califoria YO YO YO"

[CMJ]

You know a good percentage of that band went to my Alma Mater the University of North Texas(including Henley). Our mascot is the Eagles, I wonder where they got the name of their band from. :p

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:lol sorry I didn't mean to sidetrack the discussion!! It was an INNOCENT comment! Honest! :angel

[ReaperFett]

Nothing you say's innocent on the inside :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Suuuurrrrreee it was :p

I'm no real fan of the Eagles, But I dont mind a few few of their more uptempo stuff. I also preferred the Steve Miller Band.

[JMK]

See through you, we can.
Be mindful of your posts...

:p

[Jedieb]

So I called up the Captain,

'Please bring me my wine'

He said,'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'

And still those voices are calling from far away,

Wake you up in the middle of the night

Just to hear them say...

[JonathanLB]

"Nothing you say's innocent on the inside"

I agree with that! :D

[Gabran Darkysa]

Back to the subject at hand before it was jacked. Reign of Fire is eyecatching, this movie however conceptually is rather unoriginal and it appears to be a no-brainer. When was it, two years ago we had the huge budgeted Godzilla movie? Same thing applies here but takes place in an post-apocalyptic setting. From my understanding the dragons are responsible for huge irradication of humankind. Really hope they (writer and producer) give this movie some real substance and not transform this into your typical giant monster menace movie. Heck, Eight-Legged Freaks is due soon too and looks to have enough campiness that you know the director and his crew had some real fun making this movie. A movie that does not take itself seriously. A very blatant tongue-in-cheek cheesy look to it. I love fantasy movies and this remains the most underprivaleged genre in film-making. Looking forward to watching both films.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Eight-Legged Freaks is a fantasy movie? o_O

[Jedi Master Carr]

Eight Legged Freaks looks terrible IMO, there is nobody in the cast except Arquette and the effects look horrible, it is really trying to rip off Tremors which was a great low budget horror film.

[Jedieb]

I thought ELF was a National Geographic documentary?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I once thought David Arquette was funny. t turns out I was mistaken.

:) He *can* be funny, but only in small doses. :)

[Nupraptor]

Reign of Fire was very good. It's a very solid action flick with a prety unique twist. The plot has a few holes, granted... but I enjoyed it quite a bit.


Heck, Eight-Legged Freaks is due soon too and looks to have enough campiness that you know the director and his crew had some real fun making this movie. A movie that does not take itself seriously. A very blatant tongue-in-cheek cheesy look to it. Exactly! Have you been to the website? There's some real classic cheese there. :lol I think I'll definitely rent it when it comes out on video for a few laughs, in that MST3K sort of way.

[Gabran Darkysa]

Thanks for the input, Nup! Now I am looking forward to seeing RoF more, likely early next week. My work nailed me with hours over the weekend. Darn! :(

[Jedi Master Carr]

I just got back from seeing it and I overall liked the movie, it was very good, SFX wise especially, the plot had a few holes but the pace was very quick. I really like the post apocalyptic feel to the movie as well. As far as acting Matthew Mcconney did the best job, his character reminded me of Captain Ahab and he did a really job in the role. Also there was a great SW reference in the movie towards the beginning the main character Quinn and his friend are telling stories to the kids and they use the famous TESB Luke and Vader duel as the story, I really liked how the showed the kids shocked when Vader told Luke I am your father. Overall I enjoyed the movie and I thought it was a very good popcorn film also it is probably the best dragon film made so far.

[ReaperFett]

Someone just told me that it was dire, and that my dislike of films needlessly bashing the British will make me hate it too. Now Im more intrested :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think it would bash the Americans more than the British, mostly because of Mcconney's character though the other American charactetrs aren't like him. Actually I didn't see any British Bashing really heck the story centers on them and they do make the british survivors look honorable (like Bale's character saving a boy's life). Heck the hero of the story is british.

[ReaperFett]

That being Bale, yeah?

[Jedi Master Carr]

Without giving anything away yeah, he is the main character too as the movie seems to be told more from his point of view.

[ReaperFett]

Okay.



Little fact for you. You know the English bad guy in Cliffhanger? He was originally to play Bales character IIRC, but was double booked.

[Nupraptor]

One thing I liked about the movie: They hardly ever gave you a full-on view of the dragons. Instead, they were almost always cloaked in darkness, covered in flames, etc. It had a sort of "Alien" feel to it, in that regard (with the exception that everyone already knows what dragons look like :p).

[Marcus Telcontar]

Oooh, if it's an Alien style movie, then I';m soooooo going when it's eventually released in Australia

[Nupraptor]

Not really. It just sort of reminded me of Alien in that regard. It's definitely worth a watch, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea (did I just say that? o_O).

[Marcus Telcontar]

You mean it's more atmosphere that sets up the Dragons, rather than have them in your face?

[Nupraptor]

Well, you get to see enough of them (they do claim that there are millions of them). But given the number of them flying around in the movie, you hardly ever get a clear view of what one looks like.

It was just an off-hand comment, anyway. Leave me alone! :p ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

No! I want to know more!

[Jedi Master Carr]

I'd say its like in Jurassic Park or Jaws where you don't see them right away until the very end is when you really only get the only clear view of one, the rest of time you really don't see them close up and they are flying around so you can't get a real good look at them.

Also Reaper I have seen Cliffhanger but can't think of the name of the british bad guy, its been a while since I have seen it, so I can't remember who it was. Still, I thought Bale did a pretty good job.

[ReaperFett]

Its the one who is left back to kill the other rock climber, and goes to kick him over the edge.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I know who you are talking about, but I can't think of his name though, I think I have seen him in a lot of different movies too.

[ReaperFett]

Craig Fairbrass. If you're British, Dan from Eastenders :)

[Admiral Lebron]

HOLY MOLY! ROF kicks ass!!!! Sure, the brit wins but meh. The Americans killed more. :) The CGI looked great except for that last shot before Van Derd? The American, goes anal on the male. You could tell he wasn't on the tower. I also thought it was a good twist, with his death. So not expecting it. From a more realistic stand point, the dragon idea is very well made. Then can be real and out their lurking.

[Nupraptor]

I agree. The last shot, with him standing on the tower, looked very fake. I don't know what the heck happened there... the CG staff must have been asleep at the board.

[JonathanLB]

I still have to see this, believe it or not. I saw all 3 other new releases on Fri. or Sat., but saved this to see with my best friend, and now I have no idea when that'll happen. Hopefully Tuesday...

I cannot wait. I've waited a while for this, grr...

I love Christian Bale. He's the man. :)

[CMJ]

While everyone was out at"Signs" or AP3 yesterday, I snuck into this. It was a pretty stupid, but entertaining, flick. A "check your brain at the door" film if there ever was one.

Lots of plot holes...some campy acting....along with some other problems, Yet, I'd marginally recommend it, because it's a "fun" movie. I was quite entertained IN the theatre, but afterwards I felt cheated as I looked back on all my issues with the film.

A 2.5 score for me.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yes, but Matthew is covered with delicious tattoos, earning a 4.0 rating from me. >D

[JonathanLB]

I do not think so, CMJ. It was a very good film. Obviously it isn't a high concept movie, but it's a 3.5 star, B+ "B movie," hehe. It's very good I think, I really enjoyed it.

It has cool written all over it.

[CMJ]

The way high concept was always explained to me in screenwriting class, is a story that can be explained(or at least the jist of it) in a sentence or two. So IMHO...it's about as high concept as you can get. "Dragons take over present day world" is your concept. Can't get much more high concept than that.

Now if you're meaning by high concept the film wasn't the most intelligent, well then you're right. It wasn't meant to be...and I'm aware of that. The dude I saw it with and I both had alot of issues with it though.

Sorry about the high concept definition...that was just something I remember learning in school. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I enjoyed it, I actually enjoyed it more than MIB2 if that says anything. I do think it was the best Dragon movie ever, unfortuntely there had been only 3 before this one and none of them were really that good.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Dungeons and Dragons = the puke

:x

[JonathanLB]

Dungeons and Dragons ALMOST reached to the point where it was so bad that it was good. Almost. Unfortunately, it fell just short, and it sucked really, really badly. The acting was absolutely laughable, even though it had a few good actors and actresses, they were TERRIBLE in it, especially Thora Birch, and the effects were some of the worst I have ever seen, including television! LOL, jesus that movie was a disgrace to humanity. I wonder how many D&D fans jumped off buildings after seeing that.

If Episode III turned out like that, I probably would kill myself. Or Lucas. One of the two. :)

Reign of Fire is probably one of the best dragon movies. I can only think of D&D and Dragonheart, which was pretty good, but nothing special.

CMJ, your film class can define it any way they want, but in the real world, i.e. where we live, high concept just means a movie that is quite intelligent and creative, ground-breaking, ambitious, or some combination of those. ANY movie can be explained in ONE sentence, ANY movie, guaranteed, so that definition is horrible. Whoever said that should be fired, lol. That is not what high concept means whatsoever.

Star Wars has one of the most elaborate stories ever, but I could still define all six movies with something like: "The Star Wars Saga tells the story of the rise of Anakin Skywalker, his fall to the Dark Side, and his subsequent redemption through his son, Luke." Now granted that is simplified and leaves out the Empire, the Republic, the Rebel Alliance, Han, Leia, Yoda, Obi-Wan, etc. etc, but it does give you the basic overview and that is of SIX movies, not one.

There is no such thing, ever, as a movie that cannot be explained in one sentence. There is such a thing as a writer who is too unskilled to condense his thoughts into a sentence, though. They always say it is more difficult to write short than to write long; I couldn't agree more.

Although my posts are practically always quite long, when I'm writing reviews or my books, I make my point, back it up, and move on.

[CMJ]

Most Hollywood films can be summarized into one or two sentences Jonathan, because that's how they are pitched to studio exec's usually....but alot of independents are nearly impossible to explain that easily. Hollywood movies TRY to be explained in a logline ...indies(and many foreign films) do not.

I would be hard pressed to explain the last film I worked on into a single sentence. :p

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Try explaining Memento in one sentance. :p

[ReaperFett]

Man with a bad memory and tatoos himself does some stuff :)