barsoomcore
Unattainable Ideal
So I got into a sneak preview of The Core, opening tomorrow all over the place.
Cool thing is that The Core is written by none other than our very own jonrog1! Take a bow, jonrog1! Of course we all know him as the author of two of the best Story Hours around, Pulp Spycraft and Dark Matter d20, but he also writes movies when he's not too busy running these games.
Anyway, I'm a sucker for big silly disaster movies, and let's face it, either you think "Let's set off a nuclear bomb in the earth's core to make it start spinning again and thus avoid a global catastrophe" is a stupid idea or you're willing to entertain it for at least two hours. If you are, you're in for a treat.
The movie was two and a half hours long, which surprised us all after we checked our watches. It feels like a 100-minute film, it goes by so fast. The pace is brisk and the dialog is snappy and things get going with a good deal of verve and energy.
The science is remarkably well-presented (given the inherent silliness of the concept) and really, the only hurdles are: they have a laser that digs holes in the ground, and they have a material that strengthens under pressure indefinitely. Oh, and it turns heat into electricity, which is handy. But if you can give them that much, the rest of the science all follows quite straightforwardly, and the sequences of diving through the depths of the earth are actually quite phenomenal.
Computers are of course a problem (The Hollywood Law of Computer Silliness states that each occurence of a computer in a movie increases its Silliness by a factor of 24), and frankly, I'm not really sure why the computer geek is in the film. He doesn't accomplish much of anything. However, he's inoffensive, and the film does feature the best use of Pong in a movie I've ever seen.
The actors all did a great job, and obviously had a lot of fun making this film. Stanley Tucci does a delicious turn as the egotistical pop-culture science guy, and both Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank pull some great moments that in lesser hands would have come off cheesy.
Jon Amiel does a workmanlike job. He's not a stylist like some directors, but he does a good job of pulling the elements together, keeping the cast on course and making things move quick. Just the sort of guy you want doing a film like this -- a director who stays out of the way and lets the material tell the story.
And of course the script. Those familiar with jonrog1's work on Story Hours don't need to be told that the man has a gift for snappy dialog and wild action scenes. There are some very funny moments in this movie, and the trailer moments that you've already seen in commercials get respun with new material that surprises and delights. The credit card line was a favourite (you'll know it when you hear it). At the same time, the movie also surprises with its emotional moments, which are allowed to be raw and real in a way they usually aren't in films like this. Very welcome, that.
The audience was rowdy as most preview audiences are, but after the first two sequences, both surprising and effective, they were solidly locked in for the ride, laughing at the funny bits and quiet during the tense moments. Even the pencil-necked film student scoffers behind me were engrossed. No cheering at the end, except for my quiet applause, but I'm a known applauder.
Final verdict: a definite see-it film. Should be seen on the big screen. Requires a bit of suspension of disbelief but it doesn't treat its audience like they're stupid. Good loud popcorn fun.
And you can tell people you know the writer! How cool is that?
Cool thing is that The Core is written by none other than our very own jonrog1! Take a bow, jonrog1! Of course we all know him as the author of two of the best Story Hours around, Pulp Spycraft and Dark Matter d20, but he also writes movies when he's not too busy running these games.
Anyway, I'm a sucker for big silly disaster movies, and let's face it, either you think "Let's set off a nuclear bomb in the earth's core to make it start spinning again and thus avoid a global catastrophe" is a stupid idea or you're willing to entertain it for at least two hours. If you are, you're in for a treat.
The movie was two and a half hours long, which surprised us all after we checked our watches. It feels like a 100-minute film, it goes by so fast. The pace is brisk and the dialog is snappy and things get going with a good deal of verve and energy.
The science is remarkably well-presented (given the inherent silliness of the concept) and really, the only hurdles are: they have a laser that digs holes in the ground, and they have a material that strengthens under pressure indefinitely. Oh, and it turns heat into electricity, which is handy. But if you can give them that much, the rest of the science all follows quite straightforwardly, and the sequences of diving through the depths of the earth are actually quite phenomenal.
Computers are of course a problem (The Hollywood Law of Computer Silliness states that each occurence of a computer in a movie increases its Silliness by a factor of 24), and frankly, I'm not really sure why the computer geek is in the film. He doesn't accomplish much of anything. However, he's inoffensive, and the film does feature the best use of Pong in a movie I've ever seen.
The actors all did a great job, and obviously had a lot of fun making this film. Stanley Tucci does a delicious turn as the egotistical pop-culture science guy, and both Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank pull some great moments that in lesser hands would have come off cheesy.
Jon Amiel does a workmanlike job. He's not a stylist like some directors, but he does a good job of pulling the elements together, keeping the cast on course and making things move quick. Just the sort of guy you want doing a film like this -- a director who stays out of the way and lets the material tell the story.
And of course the script. Those familiar with jonrog1's work on Story Hours don't need to be told that the man has a gift for snappy dialog and wild action scenes. There are some very funny moments in this movie, and the trailer moments that you've already seen in commercials get respun with new material that surprises and delights. The credit card line was a favourite (you'll know it when you hear it). At the same time, the movie also surprises with its emotional moments, which are allowed to be raw and real in a way they usually aren't in films like this. Very welcome, that.
The audience was rowdy as most preview audiences are, but after the first two sequences, both surprising and effective, they were solidly locked in for the ride, laughing at the funny bits and quiet during the tense moments. Even the pencil-necked film student scoffers behind me were engrossed. No cheering at the end, except for my quiet applause, but I'm a known applauder.
Final verdict: a definite see-it film. Should be seen on the big screen. Requires a bit of suspension of disbelief but it doesn't treat its audience like they're stupid. Good loud popcorn fun.
And you can tell people you know the writer! How cool is that?
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