Reply With QuotePlanning on seeing the re-release of The Thing at the cinema some time this week.
Re: Scrubs. Its great fun for a while but there are some real low points. Picks up again iirc.
Going through all episodes of Scrubs, one by one. Damn that show is good.
Planning on seeing the re-release of The Thing at the cinema some time this week.
Re: Scrubs. Its great fun for a while but there are some real low points. Picks up again iirc.
The difference between Viagra and Extendz.
Scrubs is the cancer that is killing funny.
Saw the original in its first showings. The only movie that ever scared the hell out of me. I must have jumped as high as the balcony level when "THE THING" whipped its arm out of the doorway.Originally Posted by Subjective Effect
For a mediocre film, the build up of tension and suspense was a master stroke.
That's the point of this adaptation. The older version (both are based on a book) was just about the creature and the humans team up to defeat it.
This later one is a master class in paranoia since no-one knows who is "it" and so they end up turning on themselves. The effects are pretty gory but the real horror for me was when they are all tied up by Mac on the bench and each one knows that the guy next to him could do the alien freakout at any time. The fact it absorbs you memories and personality means its almost (almost) undetectable.
The music, just that heavy bass, is perfectly ominous too. And the ending is suitable bleak. Should never be remade again.
Sounds like you are talking about the new version with Kurt Russell. If so, it's not bad, but compared to the original version, ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121 ) it is not nearly as suspenseful, and has been modified almost out of recognition.
There have been three additional versions, 1982-2002-2010. None were as good as the first.
Last edited by theBlackman; 15th Sep 2009 at 04:14.
I am. I've not seen the old version.
The Russel one isn't "modified" - they are both different adaptations of the book. Watch it again. It has heaps of suspense because of the paranoia.
Actually it has. In the original the military outpost finds a spaceship, thaws it from the icepack with disasterous results, finds a frozen alien, and accidentally thaws that.
In the latter (including the Russell version) the story has been edited even more and moved more into the "Possession by evil aliens with the ability to inhabit other bodies".
Nowhere near the original concept. I.E. Alien spacecraft accidentally crashes, corpse of one of the crew is taken to remote unarmed camp, revives and trys to propagate itself. In a way kind of a space vampire movie as blood is the food it needs and uses.
I've seen them all and the original is still the scariest. I hope the new one (2010) is better.
Last edited by theBlackman; 15th Sep 2009 at 04:26.
But in the original John W. Campbell story the Thing wasn't a plant based space vampire. Carpenter's version is actually the closest to the original, with the addition of an amazingly bleak ending.
And are you seriously referring to the game that came out in 2002 as a 'version' of the story?
Women who don't have much besides their looks, can pick and choose and want some security. He's rarely displaying much money or power in these situations. He's one of a crowd of faintly personable schlubs in leather jackets. He's got just the right amount of money and power to get all the hookers and strippers. Not people who've already made successful lives for themselves. If he was even putting in some effort that would be an improvement (actually, the way the show plays it it's like Dave is suggesting women of Italian descent have some sort of mental illness in this regard. No matter how successful they get they still want a fat old Mafioso. Which might be interesting if in every case they were a bit more than disposable nuts for Tony to work out his emotional demons against. )
That was a hilarious episode. Them freezing half to death like idiots; whatsisname showing up in his hunting gear was hysterical. I loved the gradual reveal of who the Russian guy was. I want him to come back, dammit. But I caught the IMDB credits by mistake and that's the only episode he's in. Frustrating.
I don't think you're reading my posts properly tBM.
Carpenters version is no more a modification of the Nyby 1951 version than Batman Begins is a modification of the Tim Burton Batman from the 1989.
Both are based on a book by John W. Campbell (as Fafhrd says), and the Carpenter version is pretty close to the source material in that the creature "becomes" people and no one knows who has been taken over. Therefore the Carpenter version is closer to the original. I haven't seen the 1951 version, but reviews state that the '82 version is far better because of its closeness to the source material.
And this new prequel sounds like ass.
Muz, the one thing that was great about the Sicilian excursion (and a lot of the later seasons, actually) is Paulie. His commendatore scenes stick with me to this day, and although he becomes somewhat cartoonish fodder later on, his character slowly becoming unglued from being a tough guy to a grumpy old man was something I enjoyed.
Also the original 50s version of The Thing fucking sucked. I'm sorry, but there are 50s sci-fi movies that are good (in spite of 50s science) and there are ones that are reason enough for MST3K to never have been cancelled.
As a fan of the book and the Carpenter movie, the game was an awesome expansion on the story. The gameplay was a bit meh, but the story was mostly well written. The b/w version is a bit cheesy nowadays, and takes a helluva lot of liberty with the source material.
Just watched this animated short: The Cat Piano. Pretty cool, with lovely narration by Nick Cave. (Warning: don't watch if antropomorphic cats make you foam at the mouth and scream things about "Dem goddamn furries!")
If I can get the game for the PS3 or PC at a reasonable price now then its on the list.
all these things stopping me playing Stalker.
Oh, wow, they're just broadcasting a rerun of The Sopranos over here and Pine Barrens was actually yesterday's episode. I never watched the show before, too.
And as for Carpenter's The Thing! One thing I never understood about it is, if it just wants to freeze until it's rediscovered, why doesn't it send... little thingies away from the outpost to be frozen? If it only had some common sense, humanity would be fucked.
Last edited by suliman; 15th Sep 2009 at 06:33.
Just as well you didn't tbh since the episode's real strength is the culmination of a few seasons worth of character development. Without that it'd still be an amusing, violent and somewhat random slice of gangster life though so no great loss...
I mean, I didn't watch the show when it first aired. I did follow the rerun, though
Sometimes I think myself lucky that I missed a show the first time because I can get all the opinions from you wonderful people and pick only the good stuff. 6 Feet Under was one of the recs from here that I'm thoroughly enjoying. Its incredibly weird in that, well I don't quite get why I like it and when people ask me if its any good I can't explain why I think it is. Sopranos. On the list.
I have a copy of Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht sitting here, taunting me. I've been playing so many Thief FMs recently that I'm in the mood.
what a coincidence, I finally saw that one last night. Though I think Fitzcarraldo is better (those two are the only ones I've seen from Herzog) it's still pretty impressive.
That I agree with. Nearly all "versions" are "tweaked" to fit the era and audience.
Few stick close to the original novel.
In this case you are correct the 82 version is the closest. But not the scariest or most intense. But then, as always, that's one man's (mine) opinion.
SubJeff if you're thinking about buying the Thing game, stop right now. It's really, really mediocre. And scripted to hell.
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