Future releases [2]

Of course Bendydick is growling on all fours again.

I remember hearing about Serkis directing The Jungle Book some years ago, and was bemused when the 2016 Disney version came out. I don't think I'll watch this trailer, but I am happy in my imaginings that film will deliver the "themes" of Kipling's writing. By which I mean the darker aspects of the story.

Does that make sense? Maybe this movie is actually unnecessary. I don't know.

I'm afraid it will be overly obvious stroking of the "man threatens nature" modern motif, which is completely alien to Kipling.

You're picking that up from the trailer?

"the Jungle is changing, man is taking more of it.  The boy may be our only hope of survival."
"We're afraid of what man may do to us."

The hints are there.  In Kipling man is simply accepted as another hunter, though not one that can be talked to.  There's no fear of encroaching humanity.  Such thoughts were not part of Kipling's world: to him as well as Joseph Conrad the Jungle was a constant, a place of darkness and mystery; not something to worry about protecting because it was a force unto itself. A thing to be conquered by the individual rather than eaten up by the swarm.

Not a big movie goer, but this looks a must.

big eyes are appealing.

That's a childrens' book series, isn't it?

Oh, and big eyes can also be creepy. As Mr. Beaver said, "If something looks human but isn't quite, keep your eyes open and your hand on your hatchet!"
(roughly paraphrased)

Wandering Earth looks good.

Yo, Petty. I saw this trailer and thought, "Hey, this looks familiar! I know who would be interested." Reminiscent of Wicker Man, in a good way I think!

{{I'll keep an eye for that Forest, it does indeed have a whiff of Wicker Man about it. }}

that will smith genie is horrifying

{{ The Disney live actions remakes are pointless full stop. They are all worse than their animated counterparts, often seem to miss the point of them too, and when they dont they simply recreate the same thing, only minus the charm and magic that comes with animation. }}

I think the regular remakes is a Disney policy to keep their IPs in the forefront of peoples mind.

I can understand why they do live action remakes if they are hell bent on doing remakes. People all remember the Lion King animated movie and there will be instant and direct comparisons if it were to be animated in that way again. Same with Aladdin, Dumbo etc. At the very least this gives a different dynamic that lends itself to a different type of critical response and leaves the originals where they were rather than trying to replace/upgrade them.

Genie is quite horrible though.

Will Smith just played as …...Will Smith. Wise cracking & in love with his own ego. I would have liked to have seen a more thrilling version, like the old movies of yesteryear. ( Douglas Fairbanks et al ) This version brings nothing new.

{{{ Yup just seems like Will Smith to me, painted blue.

Lance- I may be tainted by the fact that the only 3 I have seen, in order of viewing were Jungle Book (where they ruined the books ending and the entire point of the whole thing utterly by changing the ending to be the opposite of what it should be and the original animated film), Beauty and the Beast in which Emma Watson was the least animated thing on screen and her chemistry with the Beast  about the same as the amount of buckie I'm willing to shed in a tear, which is none. And they kept shoe-horning feminists messages into it which just made Bell seem less independent in the end and considerably more irritating. And Eru! The singing!
Then I saw, thanks to my nieces, Cinderella, which had its feminist message worn proudly and was so badly handled, so fumbled it leaves the opposite impression- she has NO reason to stay in this film except some idiotic rubbish about it being her family house. And then she sods of without a bat of the eye as soon as the rich guy with the castle comes along anyway. What? Why is she staying to be abused daily when she has other options the entire time? Are we supposed to think she has Stockholm Syndrome or something? What kind of message is that to young girls, that's worse than anything in the original- stay in an abusive family relationship of your own free will and hope a rich guy whisks you away one day, dont even try to get out, even if the chance and opportunity to do so is there! Aaaargghh!!  
Maybe there is a good one somewhere they dont screw the original over in some way, but I have yet to see it. }}

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{ The Disney live actions remakes are pointless full stop. They are all worse than their animated counterparts, often seem to miss the point of them too, and when they dont they simply recreate the same thing, only minus the charm and magic that comes with animation. }}

agreed. it also takes me out of the moment because I am too busy thinking how Will Smith looks as a cartoon character.

There's been several trailers on tv lately showing the new "Tolkien" film, looks to me like they are trying to tie in some aspects of Peejers 'LOTRs' films ? I bloody hope not !! In the trailer tonight it gives the idea that flame throwing tanks in the war were the inspiration for Smaug ?. Maybe they were, I don't know but one shot should Tolkien with a blackened face that was similar to the "white hand of Saruman" which made me twitchy

azriel wrote:There's been several trailers on tv lately showing the new "Tolkien" film, looks to me like they are trying to tie in some aspects of Peejers 'LOTRs' films ? I bloody hope not !! In the trailer tonight it gives the idea that flame throwing tanks in the war were the inspiration for Smaug ?. Maybe they were, I don't know but one shot should Tolkien with a blackened face that was similar to the "white hand of Saruman" which made me twitchy  

There's certainly something to that tanks and dragons idea. I'm in the middle of John Garth's Tolkien and the Great War, and there's an interesting bit in there about how the early version of The Fall of Gondolin (which at the time was called something like "Tuor and the Refugees of something"), described the dragons in terms that mark them out as machine-like. Morgoth ("Melko" at the time of the writing) employed different kinds of "dragons" in the attack, and they did things like crush the city walls beneath their great weight, burn before them with fire, withstand any attacks made against them, and carry orcs inside them into battle.

I can't quite remember when Tolkien first wrote The Fall of Gondolin, but I think it was while on sick-leave in 1916 (or '17?): certainly after he had seen and heard of tanks being used at the front.

I'm curious about this White Hand of Saruman reference though, was this a different trailer than the one posted here?

This full page pic was in yesterdays "Telegraph" magazine.

{{ My local shed, sorry cinema, has a poster up for it with 'coming soon' so hoping that means they are actually getting it on release, in which case I should see it next week and will of course post a review if so }}

I like sci-fi films, I like the idea that anything is possible. Its a great medium to be as creative as you can push your brain to think up. This looks a good film, a bit of a mind twister & it would be great if I had not already seen films similar. Im getting grumpy in my old age I guess