Sincerely,
Jason

Cody – at the risk of alienating my friends…I agree with you. I usually do. I don’t watch as many films as you do, so my tolerance for watching movies that “suck” is higher than yours, probably, but yes, TF movies are terrible. I checked my brain at the door, but it wanted a refund nonetheless.

Kids love dinosaurs, and I think the movie was made with kids in mind. Now there are timeless movies that can appeal to both young people and adults; but for me, the older I get, the more silly and less engaging Jurassic Park becomes. The last time I watched it, I remember wanting to skip chunks of the movie and just watch the dinosaur parts (similar to how I feel at an amusement park…I want to skip the boring long lines and get right onto the roller coaster). One of these days maybe I will snag it on Blu-Ray and give it another chance.

As for Jaws, I still think the shark looks good, though I am never fooled. I know they inserted some underwater footage of a real shark into the film and I can always tell the difference between the real shark footage and the robotic shark. My wife will watch Jaws with me and comment that the shark looks fake when it is chomping the air, biting at the ropes, or when it belly-flops on Quint’s boat. I silently agree that it doesn’t look perfect, but I ignore the special effects criticism because I love the film and the effects aren’t glaringly bad.

Thanks to both you and your wife for listening to the podcast, and thanks for leaving a comment. We love it. If I may, I’d like you to expand on a couple of points you made in your comment: 1. Could you explain why “Jurassic Park” is no longer as effective for you. We haven’t reviewed that trilogy yet, but we should. There is much to say. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on that one. 2. What flaws were you referring to in the final act of “Jaws”? Just curious. Thanks again.

It is interesting to watch films age and view them again as the years go by. It really speaks to their timelessness if you can keep coming back to films even after their special effects have lost credibility. For example, I really enjoy watching Jaws now and again, even with not-always-great robotic fish showing its flaws in the final act. The movie is just too good as a whole. Jurassic Park, however, doesn’t quite do it for me as I have gotten older. The CGI dinosaurs outshine the shark, but the film as a whole is, for me, much less captivating.

I kind of side with Steve, your past Star Wars host. Episode I just hasn’t held up like the others have. I don’t know if it deserves a lower score, but I know it definitely hurts its replay-ability. Everybody rags on the ‘new scenes’ and ‘improved effects,’ but I’ll take CGI X-Wing and Tie Fighter dogfights over the slower, yawn-inducing model originals any ole’ day of the week. Sorry Karl, I may just be a little too young to fully appreciate it.

I am surprised Batman Returns got so many kind words. I agree with Jason. The latter-end of that show was horrible. Batman vs. penguins? Ugh.

Also, lest anyone assume that I’m simply a Bay hater who bangs on anything the guy directs, I have witnessed and believe that he is capable of delivering solid entertainment. Exhibit A is as follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLSsswr6z9Y

I agree, incidentally, with your contention on the ‘cast that action scenes that aren’t driven by plot or character are almost always just taking up space. That’s often more on the screenwriter than it is on the director, though the fault is usually shared. Alas, there are zero action scenes in all three of the “Transformers” movies combined that are driven by plot or character. There may be express motivations for some of those scenes, but telling us that the stakes are high isn’t the same thing as making us believe it.

I am STUNNED that “Revenge of the Fallen” didn’t get the “dead horse” sounder, and DOUBLE-STUNNED that the whole franchise somehow escaped it. Seriously, though, you guys are probably the only commentators in America who collectively enjoyed “Revenge of the Fallen” more than “Dark of the Moon.” Even Michael Bay thinks “Revenge of the Fallen” is suckier than “Dark of the Moon.” HE SAID AS MUCH IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE LOS ANGELES TIMES. In fact, I insist that you re-record this podcast as soon as possible and give “Revenge of the Fallen” more of the savage mockery it so richly deserves. THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOU, “REVENGE OF THE FALLEN”:

http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/movies/article_cad7e6b0-61ac-11de-b33d-001cc4c03286.html

Ahhh. It feels so good to reread that. Every time. And for good measure, here’s “Dark of the Moon”:

http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/movies/article_ce908ea7-7e74-57d1-afab-57135e7db969.html

And Cody, I’m a little surprised at how hard you’re being on the first (and third) “Transformers” movies. I’d like you to let us all know your reasons for disliking the first one so much. It’s dumb, but there’s more stuff to love than stuff to hate.

Thanks for writing, Cody. Looking forward to having you back again for our Indy show.
JP

Also, it was a hugely chicken(crap) move on Karl’s part to duck this podcast. Don’t tell me this episode couldn’t have been recorded on a different weekend. Karl just didn’t want to sit through two hours of nonstop ridicule for having previously anointed “Transformers” the best movie of 2007.

Also, really pretty musical score. Great work from stunt people. The costume design was certainly adequate as I’m sure was the makeup. Grip and Electric departments I assume were second to none. Good location scouting. Let’s see, I bet the catering was superb. The end credits certainly seemed to be spell checked and they crawled very smoothly. Yeah, no question, some amazingly talented people did some incredible work on these movies.

I guess my only real problems are with the plot, dialogue, character development–let’s just say everything relative to the writing, acting, directing and editing.

The other genuine praise I will give these movies is they make a ton of money, which really does matter. Because of the them, other movies get made. So I’m actually not going to say flat out it was a terrible thing the Transformers movies were made. Just as long as I never have to sit through another one.

The Transformers movies suck.

First, maybe screen your listener calls better

Seriously though, you guys talked about how Harry didn’t really die and seemed kind of weak. I agree with that in a dramatic sense, but as far as why he didn’t die, I thought that was the whole point behind the elder wand. Wasn’t that kind of Snape’s and Dumbledor’s plan–that the wand wouldn’t work for Voldemort because he didn’t take it from Draco? I remember that being a bit more satisfying in the book so I’m guessing, though I don’t remember, that they probably explained that a bit better.

Another thing, in one of the books Rowling has a great line about guns. I don’t remember the exact quote but it’s in a wizard newspaper talking about how a muggle pointed a gun at someone. Then in parentheses it says “a gun is a kind of wand muggles use to kill each other.” I thought that was great and beyond being clever and also pretty telling of how outsiders would view our use of guns, it also sort of works as a way for Rowling to explain why the wizards don’t use guns–they don’t really pay attention to the muggle world and aren’t really even aware of them.

My final thought. I love the ending of the books and the movie–the 19 years later part. The kind of classic fairy tell is that the orphan who turns out to have special powers also turns out to be of royal blood and ends up the ruler. This is kind of the King Arthur myth (the early sword in the stone part). Harry is poised to do the same. He doesn’t have royal blood but he leads the revolt and kills the enemy. Also, he is in the end able to possess all three of the deathly hallows which theoretically would have made him immortal and invincible. The books talk about how when he was young Dumbledor was obsessed with gaining and possessing the three hallows. Anyway, what I love is that to Harry, none of that matters. What’s exciting to him is the idea of a happy family life, what he himself was denied. He tosses away the hallows, goes off, gets married and has kids. That’s great. You don’t defeat the evil ruler to become the ruler yourself, you defeat evil to insure a safe and happy continuance of ordinary life.