I think you guys were a little harsh on the cgi. For the most part I think James Wan did a terrific job finishing the film and we have to cut it some slack considering how difficult a task that would have been. And the phone call scene wasnt actually cgi, they filmed that before his death. Jordana Brewsters end of the convo however was filmed after his death because alot of her scenes were filmed later due to her tv show. Anyways I would rather have some cgi and have that wonderfully beautiful ending than not have it at all. I would also recommend checking it out a second time, a lot of the problems you guys had I also had the first time i saw it but I was able to let those go and enjoy it more the second time without me having such high expectations. Thanks for the podcast.
Thanks, Travis! I don't think either of us complained about the quality of the CGI -- just that we couldn't react as emotionally as we wanted to/might have otherwise because we were noticing it. Not the movie's fault, and I think both Doug and I give them all the credit in the world for finishing it the way they did given what they were up against. Also, I don't think we said there was CGI in the phone call scene -- just, as you said, that it was clear the two actors were filming very different scenes (he wasn't reacting to what is said on her end). Right?
It's a fun movie and one that shouldn't even exist for a lot of reasons, so I commend the job they did. Some of my other problems might go away after another viewing.
My bad I might have misunderstood what you said about the phone call scene I thought one of you said it looked like Paul Walkers part was choppy because of the cgi but I probably heard it wrong. I just really liked that scene in the movie so that's why it stuck out to me. It's probably my favorite movie in the franchise for personal reasons although I can totally recognize there is some problems with it. The Statham plot doesn't mesh well with the main plot and as a side effect Statham gets side lined which is disappointing. I appreciate hearing your guys thoughts on the movie.
The furious 7s biggest problem for me were the trailers. At least 2 or 3 of the action scenes were in the trailer. By time I saw the movie i had already seen the mountain scene too many times to count. Jason statham was border line wasted which is sad cause he actually makes a pretty good villian. The movie peaked early for me with the fight scene between statham and the rock. Also would of thought they would have played up stathams driving skills and gave him a cool car like in a lot of his other movies.
Brilliant podcast as always, I say that as much as Patrick says " Have you seen anything good lately?" I know, but I mean it everytime. ;) Also thanks for the heads up on the Scientology documentary, I am very curious about these types of bonkers religions
I am part way through the podcast and looking forward to seeing the film. I love hearing the conversation on the Scientology documentary, very interesting. The UK audience clapping thing has got me wondering. Dennis what are your experiences with this? I have quite interesting tales of reactions to the films I see but these might just be where I am going and the audience I am with at the time. Also it might have something to do with the fact that my bestie and I play the credirs game. My experience is the clapping at the end is much more expected than clapping during. Unless it is a special screening or an older film.
Doug have you noticed a difference with an LA audience? Because maybe it depends where you are in the UK. Sorry for the rant.
I think the clapping thing especially with this movie in particular is very nice. The filmmakers were in a tricky situation and though I have not yet seen the film but from listening to the podcast it sounds like they did a good job in giving a young man who died far too young a great respectfull send off, this if done correctly deserves a round of applause
I have never seen a Fast and Furious film before so am obviously not a fan of the franchise. I am not consciously not a fan, but never got myself to a spot and watched one. I went and saw 7 solely for the curiosity of how Walker was handled.
Given that I don't have the context of the first six movies, my opinion is more irrelevant than usual, but (strictly from a movie perspective) I thought it was ridiculous and didn't understand how a franchise liked this could make it to 7. I thought Tyrese and Russell were pretty fun to watch (and the Rock), but I didn't feel anyone else's performance was competent, let alone something that could be taken remotely seriously...seemed very cheesy (and I didn't get the vibe that it was intentional, but as I said, I don't have the six movie context). The way they addressed Walker at the end was better than anything I could have expected or hoped for. I didn't follow Walker throughout the franchise, but that send off was still surprisingly emotional for me. Great podcast, dudes.
I watched "Atari: Game Over" (2014) last night and for the most part really enjoyed it. I am probably the target market for the film as I loved "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"" and "Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade".
Digging up the old E.T cartridges was kind of fun. I grew up knowing the "myth/urban legend"; so seeing that it was true was interesting. That said, I found all the history sections more interesting and would have preferred watching a feature length documentary of Atari.
Great podcast guys - for some reason P&D's FF shows are some of my absolute favourites.
I think you nailed it with Furious 7 often being self-parody versus the self-awareness of the last couple. I was frequently laughing AT it rather than WITH it (I laughed more than Doug I think). I also fell in the trap of trying to figure out what had been changed as a result of Paul Walker's death, which is an unfortunate distraction but I think it will pass with subsequent viewings.
I found the building-hopping set piece a little disappointing - once they hit the third building I started thinking they were going to turn around and jump back through the other buildings and repeat until they got to the bottom. Now that's a set piece!
I was also really glad they handled Paul's departure the way they did (though it was a weird scene) but I'm not sure if "knowing Brian is still out there" is enough to bring me back to the series - maybe your podcast about it will!
Bromley, if you liked 'Danger 5', check out 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'. Richard Ayoade directed the series and is one of the stars. It's a mock-retrospect about a British sci-fi horror series from the 80s. It originally aired on BBC4 and I caught it a few years later on Adult Swim. It's hilarious and totally worth checking out but I'm not sure how you'll be able to legally obtain it. There's never been a Region 1 release and it's not on any streaming service I know of.
I'm a fan of the series and was disapointed by this film. The biggest problem is that the we are made to think at the start of the movie that central plot is supposed to be about the group protecting themselves (and avenging Han) from Statham's charactacter, Shaw. Somehow the plot gets completely sidetracked by making the group have to help Kurt Russel retreive the God's Eye to what.... use the God's eye and help track down Statham? Well, it seems Shaw always shows up anyways to try and kill them. In which case, shouldn't the group's motivation and primiary goal be to forget the damned Gods Eye and kill Shaw?
I think you guys were a little harsh on the cgi. For the most part I think James Wan did a terrific job finishing the film and we have to cut it some slack considering how difficult a task that would have been. And the phone call scene wasnt actually cgi, they filmed that before his death. Jordana Brewsters end of the convo however was filmed after his death because alot of her scenes were filmed later due to her tv show. Anyways I would rather have some cgi and have that wonderfully beautiful ending than not have it at all. I would also recommend checking it out a second time, a lot of the problems you guys had I also had the first time i saw it but I was able to let those go and enjoy it more the second time without me having such high expectations. Thanks for the podcast.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Travis! I don't think either of us complained about the quality of the CGI -- just that we couldn't react as emotionally as we wanted to/might have otherwise because we were noticing it. Not the movie's fault, and I think both Doug and I give them all the credit in the world for finishing it the way they did given what they were up against. Also, I don't think we said there was CGI in the phone call scene -- just, as you said, that it was clear the two actors were filming very different scenes (he wasn't reacting to what is said on her end). Right?
DeleteIt's a fun movie and one that shouldn't even exist for a lot of reasons, so I commend the job they did. Some of my other problems might go away after another viewing.
My bad I might have misunderstood what you said about the phone call scene I thought one of you said it looked like Paul Walkers part was choppy because of the cgi but I probably heard it wrong. I just really liked that scene in the movie so that's why it stuck out to me. It's probably my favorite movie in the franchise for personal reasons although I can totally recognize there is some problems with it. The Statham plot doesn't mesh well with the main plot and as a side effect Statham gets side lined which is disappointing. I appreciate hearing your guys thoughts on the movie.
DeleteThe furious 7s biggest problem for me were the trailers. At least 2 or 3 of the action scenes were in the trailer. By time I saw the movie i had already seen the mountain scene too many times to count. Jason statham was border line wasted which is sad cause he actually makes a pretty good villian. The movie peaked early for me with the fight scene between statham and the rock. Also would of thought they would have played up stathams driving skills and gave him a cool car like in a lot of his other movies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, im fucking gorgeous :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you guys talked about Jason Beghe without mentioning Monkey Shines. Chicago Fire?!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant podcast as always, I say that as much as Patrick says " Have you seen anything good lately?"
ReplyDeleteI know, but I mean it everytime. ;)
Also thanks for the heads up on the Scientology documentary, I am very curious about these types of bonkers religions
Fast and furious 8 Fureate ;)
I am part way through the podcast and looking forward to seeing the film. I love hearing the conversation on the Scientology documentary, very interesting. The UK audience clapping thing has got me wondering. Dennis what are your experiences with this? I have quite interesting tales of reactions to the films I see but these might just be where I am going and the audience I am with at the time. Also it might have something to do with the fact that my bestie and I play the credirs game. My experience is the clapping at the end is much more expected than clapping during. Unless it is a special screening or an older film.
DeleteDoug have you noticed a difference with an LA audience? Because maybe it depends where you are in the UK. Sorry for the rant.
I think the clapping thing especially with this movie in particular is very nice. The filmmakers were in a tricky situation and though I have not yet seen the film but from listening to the podcast it sounds like they did a good job in giving a young man who died far too young a great respectfull send off, this if done correctly deserves a round of applause
DeleteI am looking forward to seeing the film
I have never seen a Fast and Furious film before so am obviously not a fan of the franchise. I am not consciously not a fan, but never got myself to a spot and watched one. I went and saw 7 solely for the curiosity of how Walker was handled.
ReplyDeleteGiven that I don't have the context of the first six movies, my opinion is more irrelevant than usual, but (strictly from a movie perspective) I thought it was ridiculous and didn't understand how a franchise liked this could make it to 7. I thought Tyrese and Russell were pretty fun to watch (and the Rock), but I didn't feel anyone else's performance was competent, let alone something that could be taken remotely seriously...seemed very cheesy (and I didn't get the vibe that it was intentional, but as I said, I don't have the six movie context).
The way they addressed Walker at the end was better than anything I could have expected or hoped for. I didn't follow Walker throughout the franchise, but that send off was still surprisingly emotional for me.
Great podcast, dudes.
I watched "Atari: Game Over" (2014) last night and for the most part really enjoyed it. I am probably the target market for the film as I loved "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"" and "Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade".
ReplyDeleteDigging up the old E.T cartridges was kind of fun. I grew up knowing the "myth/urban legend"; so seeing that it was true was interesting. That said, I found all the history sections more interesting and would have preferred watching a feature length documentary of Atari.
Great podcast guys - for some reason P&D's FF shows are some of my absolute favourites.
ReplyDeleteI think you nailed it with Furious 7 often being self-parody versus the self-awareness of the last couple. I was frequently laughing AT it rather than WITH it (I laughed more than Doug I think). I also fell in the trap of trying to figure out what had been changed as a result of Paul Walker's death, which is an unfortunate distraction but I think it will pass with subsequent viewings.
I found the building-hopping set piece a little disappointing - once they hit the third building I started thinking they were going to turn around and jump back through the other buildings and repeat until they got to the bottom. Now that's a set piece!
I was also really glad they handled Paul's departure the way they did (though it was a weird scene) but I'm not sure if "knowing Brian is still out there" is enough to bring me back to the series - maybe your podcast about it will!
Bromley, if you liked 'Danger 5', check out 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'. Richard Ayoade directed the series and is one of the stars. It's a mock-retrospect about a British sci-fi horror series from the 80s. It originally aired on BBC4 and I caught it a few years later on Adult Swim. It's hilarious and totally worth checking out but I'm not sure how you'll be able to legally obtain it. There's never been a Region 1 release and it's not on any streaming service I know of.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397150/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Awesome. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll track it down for sure.
DeleteAaron - I love "Darkplace"!!! Patrick - I believe all 6 episodes are on YouTube.
DeleteJust in case you were wondering, the ending is just as sad the second time even when you know exactly what's coming
ReplyDeleteI guarantee the team has to work with Statham's character in Furi8.
ReplyDeleteHey Adam, what are next week's lottery numbers?
DeleteI'm a fan of the series and was disapointed by this film. The biggest problem is that the we are made to think at the start of the movie that central plot is supposed to be about the group protecting themselves (and avenging Han) from Statham's charactacter, Shaw. Somehow the plot gets completely sidetracked by making the group have to help Kurt Russel retreive the God's Eye to what.... use the God's eye and help track down Statham? Well, it seems Shaw always shows up anyways to try and kill them. In which case, shouldn't the group's motivation and primiary goal be to forget the damned Gods Eye and kill Shaw?
ReplyDelete