http://boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2004-09-17&p=.htm
Posted on 09/18/2004 6:02:46 PM PDT by BenLurkin
“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” is full of visions of the dark, soaring New York cityscape, dogfights in the sky and the majestic Himalayan mountains. But what was the movie set like for the actors? A whole lotta blue. That’s because “Sky Captain,” despite its grandiose appearance, was filmed entirely against a blue screen with digital effects filled in. Though real actors star in it, almost everything else is fake. Think “Roger Rabbit” in reverse. While computer generated imagery has for years been a large presence in movies, “Sky Captain” is the first major motion picture made entirely digitally with living, breathing actors. Only what they touch is tangible. The movie, opening nationwide Friday, is set in a late 1930s New York beset by hundred-foot tall robots. Soon reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) along with ex-beau Sky Captain (Jude Law) set off on a journey to stop a mad scientist’s plot to destroy the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
At the moment the future of television is becoming quite bleak as the younger generation turns to action video games that enable them to control the plot.
Hollywood is doomed!
I love the late 30s (it was filmed to be in 1939- they to go Radio City and Wizard of Oz is playing) so I really liked the film for its style. After just returning from the RNC, it was fun to see pieces of New York again and I actually knew what they were talking about in some places.
Where will the Democrats get their money from then?
I don't know...I thought it was kinda fun...I loved the little references to the sci-fi of that era and the CGI was quite well done. The plot was pretty thin, but what movie from that era wasn't? You could see the influence the Superman cartoons of the early 40's had on this.
Overseas- the foreigners are generous.
WHAT STUNK?
A)Gwenyth Paltrow's performance and appearance were dreadful. This actress is capable of great things but in "Sky Captain" she somehow took a role which had coquettish promise and rendered it entirely devoid of charm or appeal.
Her voice was flat and grating. Most of the cast spoke with an English accent but she seemed to be trying to ape an American - and in doing so came across sounding tone deaf and unpleasant. Paltrow would have done well to review some Hollywood classics from the thirties to hear what Americans really sounded like. Myrna Loy in the role of Nora Charles comes to mind. Loy's kind of performance might have saved this disastrous popcorn muncher.
This may in part be the fault of an incompetent director: At first stylish in the production, it wasn't long before Paltrow's head shots marred the screen by appearing bucktoothed and gawkies.
B) The Loony Gadgetry Look, we all enjoy a 'comic book' now and then but this film was so over the top in being far-fetched as to evoke first laughter and then disdain. If you think you know anything about a P-40, then brother you are in for a bizarre surprise.
"Sky Captain" is NOT worth your five bucks.
Please ping to the Unblinking Eye.
I liked the robots, especially the ones with the tentacle arms and lazer beam eyes.
Also liked the "blaster". It was pretty cool! I
About a month ago I bought a VHS of Republic's Fighting Devil Dogs, 1937. So I have a thing for those serials, even though I saw them on WOR TV in NYC on Saturday Mornings. 20 years after they debuted in the Loews 86th Street. or the Academy of Music. Sky aptain brought them back. I look forward to the sequel.
Man, I want to see that movie.
It has to be the first movie that has a multi-story sword wielding statue inside of a rocket. And those giant space heaters defending the undersea entrance were certainly a surprise. :>)
When they make the sequel, maybe they'll drop Gynneth Paltrow and replace her with a more charming female lead.
Man, I want to see that movie too, alternate history is one of my favorite things and I love the art deco, Gernsbackian (sort of what Hugo Gernsback predicted the future would be like, he was a noted science fiction author) look. The planes are cool, a sort of a mix between a P-40 and P-51. Of course you've got to have Zeppelins, lots of Zeppelins. I also like stories of a "Steampunk" nature, sort of like where the Victorian Era never died and steam is used to power everything like cars, Zeppelins, mechanical computers (Babbage Engines), steam powered robots, and so on. Still, I like things like Flash Gordon and Commando Cody and so on, with sort of that Art Deco flavor so I think I'd like to see "Sky Captain..."
Not so much alternate history as alternate reality. But that can have an appeal as well.
As for the P-40, you may enjoy seeing it turn into a submarine.
http://boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2004-09-17&p=.htm
Do you read Harry Turtledove??
With those tastes, you'd *LOVE* Sky Captain, and should really go see it in the theaters. I just saw it today, by luck on the IMAX screen at the local googleplex, and it really shines on a BIG screen, since so much of the "tech" in the movie (and the battle scenes) are on an enormous scale. It won't be quite the same on DVD.
My wife and I both loved the film, and she's not normally a fan of "science fiction" flavored films. Don't pay attention to the naysayers. This film has a character all its own, and is very original. And it definitely has that magic aura of the "golden age" science fiction, and early fantasy comics. Through almost every scene, I was sitting there with a big grin on my face, thinking, "this is *so* cool..." It'll bring out the "Flash Gordon" kid in you -- if you still have one. :-)
It's also very family friendly. It has no swear words, no real graphic violence (lots of thrilling action, but no gore), no sex (but one quick subtitled "nipple" reference), and the good guys win in the end. It's an old fashioned movie, in multiple senses of the phrase. And in this case that's a good thing.
No it wasn't. The audience I was with all enjoyed it greatly. If it wasn't your cup of tea, fine, but don't presume to mistake your personal preferences for some sort of objective rating of the overall quality of the film itself.
A)Gwenyth Paltrow's performance and appearance were dreadful. [...] it wasn't long before Paltrow's head shots marred the screen by appearing bucktoothed and gawkies.
Oh, for pete's sake. I'm not usually a fan of hers, but in this film I was won over by how great she looked and how well she fit the role. I've found her to be somewhat unattractive in some other films, but in this one she was practically luminious -- although I suppose the overall soft-focus of the film and the 1940's style of makeup went a long way towards helping her out there. And her acting was, in my opinion, spot on. Furthermore, much of the "dialog" of her character was communicated in nothing but facial expressions and body language, and she was nearly *perfect* in that regard. To gripe that she didn't *sound* like Myrna Loy seems like nitpicking to me, especially when her overall performance and character's cheekiness brought Nora Charles to my mind as I was watching the film today.
B) The Loony Gadgetry Look,
Excuse me, but if you saw the trailer at all, you *knew* what to expect in the nature of "loony gadgetry". If that bothers you and you went to see the film anyway, you have only yourself to blame. The entire premise of the film *is* the "loony gadgetry".
"Sky Captain" is NOT worth your five bucks.
Not worth *yours* obviously, since you couldn't enjoy it, but it was well worth *mine*, and it'll be worth the "five bucks" several times over I plan to pay to see it again along with the friends I'm going to take to it who I know will really love a film like this.
They had another Oz homage as well -- there was definitely a "great and powerful Oz" moment when the electrical "zappers" formed a giant image of the bad guy's head and it started talking to them. I half expected a "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" followup.
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