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Improve a bad movie
I have been thinking of doing this for some time. Don't know how this will fare, but well...
The idea is to take a bad film, use its concept, and turn it into a decent film. Of course, the definition of "bad film" differs for everyone, but that does not matter. It's mainly about being creative.
I'll start with Battleship.
The concept: Adaptation of the board game.
Basically, I would turn it into something like Das Boot meets The Hunger Games.
In the near future, following a war between two superpowers, the victorious side creates a game to show their "mercy" on the defeated.
The POWs (most not seamen) are split into two teams and placed within a huge enclosed "arena" at sea. Each team has the same number of battleships, submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers and patrol ships. The winners will be freed.
To make things harder, the vessels do not have telecommunication abilities, or satellite images. So they are relatively blind and need to be careful to avoid friendly fire. Also, ammo, food and fuel are limited.
The story follows the crew of one battleship and we see things only from their point of view (like in Master and Commander). There is also the conflict of having to kill their own (after all they were on the same side during the war).
The idea is to take a bad film, use its concept, and turn it into a decent film. Of course, the definition of "bad film" differs for everyone, but that does not matter. It's mainly about being creative.
I'll start with Battleship.
The concept: Adaptation of the board game.
Basically, I would turn it into something like Das Boot meets The Hunger Games.
In the near future, following a war between two superpowers, the victorious side creates a game to show their "mercy" on the defeated.
The POWs (most not seamen) are split into two teams and placed within a huge enclosed "arena" at sea. Each team has the same number of battleships, submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers and patrol ships. The winners will be freed.
To make things harder, the vessels do not have telecommunication abilities, or satellite images. So they are relatively blind and need to be careful to avoid friendly fire. Also, ammo, food and fuel are limited.
The story follows the crew of one battleship and we see things only from their point of view (like in Master and Commander). There is also the conflict of having to kill their own (after all they were on the same side during the war).
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Comments
seeing as how none of the films have really gotten it right - and also, that I am a big Punisher fan, I would set out to finally give Frank his due credit on the big screen...
Tone and Feel
I would keep the film very gritty, realistic (to a degree, some suspension of disbelief may have to occur).. but I would try to avoid the whole 'hero' perception with the story, and stray as far away from making it kid friendly as possible.. It would be a graphic crime story.... the film would open with a normal color palette - but as the movie goes on, and as Frank starts slipping further into his own psychosis - the colors would start to become more desaturated, with harsher contrasts in the darks and lights (as Frank's own personal view of the world becomes almost black and white)..
i picture a very loose camera style... again, to mirror Castle's descent - maybe starting off more formal and traditional, and towards the end, it becomes a little more handheld... just a thought - i picture the camera work being very like a Saving Private Ryan meets Training Day sorta thing..
The Story
I would focus mainly on the Year One series in the Punisher comics... a couple creative liberties might be taken - but I would want to stick pretty close to the source material in terms of the basics of the story... It would see Frank, as a post war vet, trying to adjust to family life, while also suffering from PTSD... then one day in Central Park, as fate would have it, he and his family stumble across a mob execution. The mafiosos turn their attention to family Castle, and gun them all down - Frank being the lone survivor, waking up in the hospital after being resuscitated... After finding out that his wife and kids are dead, he starts a legal fight to prosecute and jail those who killed his family... after a farce of hearing (from a corrupt judge) - the goons who killed Castle's family (Costa family associates, one of them being Billy Russo - a mob hitman), are allowed to walk, due to lack of substantial evidence to convict them, and Castle's testimonies are thrown out due to his past medical history from psychological trauma sustained from war.....
With the justice system having failed him, and guilt over the death of his family consuming him - feeling that he should have died along with them... Frank soon realizes that the only thing he has left to live for, is to kill those who took his family and future from him....... but while on his quest for personal revenge - he uncovers a dangerous plan by the Costas, to acquire a large shipment of illegal russian firearms, in which they will turn around and sell to certain interested parties in around the New York and New Jersey areas... Frank must ultimately make a choice, is personal revenge worth the death of hundreds or possibly thousands of innocent civilians...
the full details of the plot i haven't figured out yet - but thats essentially the bare bones of it....
i even made a mock poster for it, lol..
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v323/djx187/?action=view¤t=punisherskull5.jpg"; target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/djx187/punisherskull5.jpg"; border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
National Treasure 2 (6.5/10). For National Treasure 3
Jumper (6/10). The movie feels as as set up for more, why it take so long before the sequel. Jumper 2 should have released in 2011. If not Doug Liman mabey there should have ask Bryan Singer for Jumper 2 and his writers of X-men 2. Ghost Writer 2 (same writers as Jumper) also take 4 years to make (First movie is from 2007) and in some country's in be almoost 5 years later. So if Fox wait on the writers who a couple of months back finish with the Batman franchise (Dark Knight Rises) i hope there concentrate on Jumper 2 for a 2013 or 2014 release.
Totally agree! Big time Punisher fan over here too! I trust you've read the recent Max series? Now that's the kind of movie I want to see!
They absolutely need to have Frank be a Vietnam Veteran. Vietnam is as big a part in his becoming The Punisher as the death of his family. All the movies so far have made him a cop (Lundgren), an FBI Agent (Jane) and there's been talk of a TV show where he'll be a damn cop again. As wacky and zany as War-Zone was with Ray Stevenson, at least they made him a Marine.
If they're so afraid of having an 'older' hero, then give us a Year One story that takes place in the seventies!
Really like the style! I would watch it.
Wildly inappropriate anti-Semitism.
You have certainty filled your "prick" quota for today. Way to generalize film in general, and probably something your knowledge is light on. I'd give you a hand, but you like yourself enough for all of us it seems.
The internet is just as sleazy as some TV and film. Porn was born on the internet, and it is filled with disgusting filth that should never see the light of day. Don't even start generalizing film, because there is quality film and TV out there, though you may be too wrapped up in your botched vision of the world to notice. Christ you are getting on my nerves.
Oh, really? That's what you think? Well i suppose you can do something better than that, then. And if you can, then you may talk anything. For me, Hollywood films are great for it's filling of story, drama, and some of them, mainly, the ability of making the public stay on the screen and seeing it.
Point is -
Ever wonder why you see and hear the same 20
artists on the rotation on radio & television? No, it's not because people are calling the radio
stations requesting the songs incessantly. The
answer: media-consolidation. 90% of the media
is controlled by only 6 companies: GE,
Newscorp, Disney, Viacom & Time Warner.
Compare that to 1983 when media was owned by 50 companies.
so thank god the internet is around with people to share their creative creations, or we'd be completely stuck with corporate ran mainstream kiddy thrash .
You once again negated yourself.
You were speaking about music; why would you wrap up what you were saying by talking about something more broad, or different? Don't make a point, and then conclude with something else entirely different. You negated it, not me.
And no, I, personally, had no idea what you meant, nor do I believe anyone else does. If you didn't spew out that anti-Semitic remark, we wouldn't be here right now. I apologize to @DArtagnan - although I wasn't the one to derail the topic - but I just couldn't contain myself from replying to such a hateful, tasteless comment.
You can throw flak at what you hate and praise what you love, but the need for you to state it is Jewish run is completely unnecessary.
statements like this one, and the one you made earlier are very derogatory, offensive, and can be taken as antisemitic... regardless of what your intentions are.... some things, are better off just kept to yourself..
personally though, i think you have some deep rooted Mel Gibson-like issues...
Cheers guys.
I do hope so. Now, back on topic...
'Righteous Kill' (2008)
Man, did this film have some potential. It has Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in it; what more could you possibly want? First, I would go ahead and change the title - too B-grade, direct-to-DVD sounding to me. Maybe it's just the fact that I don't like the word 'righteous', I don't know.
Then, I would rid the film of 50 Cent - if he's a supporting character in a film of yours, it's bound to turn out bad for you. I just think he should stick to music, even though I don't like his music, either.
Next, change around the plot. Make it less predictable, cut out the whole 'found footage' bit that repeats throughout the movie, and give both De Niro and Pacino more memorable lines and scenes. I don't recall much from the movie - just the ending, and something about a skateboard at some point throughout the film.
It's just funny how, with a cast that includes De Niro, Pacino, and others like Melissa Leo, you can't possibly go wrong. Even the rest of them, I'm a fan of: I enjoyed Leguizamo and Wahlberg together in the mini series 'Kill Point', and I enjoy Carla Gugino - she's very attractive, what can I say.
Before the years wither away and they all become too old, I want to see Scorsese, De Niro, and Pacino together, in the film Scorsese has spoken of doing for years now, with Pesci in the cast, as well.
On topic...
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull I like this film but it doesn't live up to the othe 3, and it needs some impovements. So bye bye Shia. And throw money at Sean Connery until he agrees to cameo at the end for the wedding (his character would be alive, I'm not saying to make him a ghost or something).
Die Hard 4 Again, I like this, it's not really bad at all, but it needs more Die Hard elements (throw in somemore classic Mcclane dialougue, this means swearing, more violent action sequences, and don't muffle out the yipee kai yay motherf***** at the end).
Speed 2 Bring back Reeves, set it somewhere fast, or just don't make it at all.
Every Leprachaun film except the first Change everything.
Die Another Day Take out the Invisible car and tone down the gadgets, re-write some dialouge and recast Jinx, take out some of the more obvious references to past films, don't use so much CGI, change the diamond powered laser satellite to something less OTT.
Quantum Of Solace Make it more like Casino Royale.
Little Fockers Make it more like the first two.
Avatar For the record, I don't think Cameron has made any good films since the Terminator films and Aliens. No, I do not like Titanic. Anyway, make it shorter, rewrite parts of the dialouge, don't put it in 3d (thereby saving us from almost every other film being released in 3d).
I totally agree with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Shia was unnecessary. I'm just not a fan of his, but he does seem to be attached to some pretty good looking upcoming films.
I would have lost Marion though, and the wedding. It felt like bringing Honey Rider back in Thunderball. And, while she was great in Raiders, I never felt she was THE woman for Indy.
I have created a few small edits to Die Another Day's story, which in my opinion of course, improves rather well on the original.
I try to avoid recasting with an actor that hasnt already been involved with the series, and I wont be going scene for scene.
The key for these posts( and if anyone else would like to contibute, or do there own version please feel free) is to stick to the basic notion of the plot.
So then, on to the film proper.
The big change I will make character wise, is I am writing out Jinx. I found her to be a poor character, and the dialogue between her and Bond was truly risible and insipid at times.
In her place comes....Wai Lin! The reason for her taking Jinx's place is three fold. Number one, she is a better character than Jinx. Number two, played by Michelle Yeoh, she will be far more credible in any action she is required to be involved in. Number three, and this is the biggest one, the issue and the themes dealt with in the film feel like a more 'far eastern' problem, and it makes much more sense for China to be more involved than the United States. An added plus is it ties in nicely with the Chinese being after Zao and being willing to assist Bond in his capture or execution.
So of we go with roughly the same opening sequence as we got in the film proper. We lose Zao getting the diamonds embedded in his face. The hovercraft chase is the same, sans the terrible 'saved by the bell' line and Bond is captured.
So we get the same imprisonment/torture stuff as before and the prisoner exchange with Zao.
Bond is imprisoned by his own people, exactly the same, but as with Zao and the diamonds, lose the fake heart attack stuff and just have him fake a fit instead.
Again on to Hong Kong, and all is the same. However in the hotel room. Wai Lin is behind the glass instead of Chang. They argue at first, but then reminisce. Bond confides that he is after Zao, and he was responsible for the death of Colonel Moon. Wai Lin explains that Zao is also wanted for terrorism against China, and suggests that they team up, and head to Cuba to track intelligence on Zao.
So off to Cuba as in the regular film. As the Chinese dont have an office in Cuba, Bond goes to Raoul to get the info on Zao being at the Los Organos clinic. He meets Wai Lin on the beach to scope out Los Organos, roughly the same as with Jinx(although without the awful dialogue and Dr.No reference) and they have sex.
All the guff with the rude South African is gone and Bond and Wai Lin sneak onto the island together then seperate. There is no 'Gene therapy' going on at the clinic this time, just extensive plastic surgery and scientific experiments.
This is where I would write out Vlad and have Dr.Alvarez's role be bigger and take over Vlad's too. So Wai Lin finds Alvarez, cold cocks his bodyguard, imprisons him and holds him hostage. But he refuses to talk.
Bond locates Zao, who is being prepped for plastic surgery(note that Zao doesnt have diamonds in his face, and hasnt changed his look since first being seen). Bond and Zao have a vicious hand to hand fight, with Zao using a surgical instrument as a weapon.
Eventually Bond gets the better of Zao, and brutally executes him with a single shot to the head. Zao is dead and written out of the story.
As Bond is making his way to Alvarez's office to meet Wai Lin, the bodyguard wakes up and fights Wai Lin. Alvarez makes his escape through a window and towards his Helicopter. Bond comes in as Alvarez is escaping and gives chase but is pinned down by more guards with automatic weapons. Alvarez escapes in the chopper.
Bond and Wai Lin interrogate the bodyguard, and he reveals that the Clinic is owned by something called the Graves Corporation.
Bond and Wai Lin decide to seperate and contact there respective governments. Bond talks to Raoul to found out more about the Graves corp.
Using Raoul as an intermediary, Bond has re-established links with M and decides to return to London. Once on the plane the film stays the same throughout the intoduction of Graves and the excellent fencing fight.(Sans god-awful Madonna cameo).
Only minor changes to Graves, He looks the same, except has a slightly more of a botched facelift look. Since the gene therapy has gone from the story, his transformation has been done by Alvarez using skin pigmentation, plastic surgery and hair die. I actually really like him as a character, like a dark Bruce Wayne type socialite. And Toby Stephens had a glorious s**t eating grin.
So Bond has his meeting with M, and Q in the London underground, the same as the film proper. He gets the Aston Martin full of Gadgets, but no invisibility this time!
On to Iceland, and again everything is basically the same except for Alvarez taking Vlad's role and Wai Lin in Jinx's. (Also Graves treats Alvarez with a lot more respect than Vlad).
The daft dream machine is also gone, and Bond begins to realise who Graves really is when he sees the Korean generals at the Icarus demonstration. Afterwards, Wai Lin is recognised by Alvarez and is captured by Graves Bodyguard, Kil. So all the stuff with Frost also happens in basically the same way.
Bond looks for Wai Lin, and finds her being held captive by Kil in the Diamond factory. They have a brutal fist fight, until Wai Lin escapes, and assists Bond, who throws Kil down the fake Diamond mine to his death.
He tells Wai Lin to go and find Miranda, who is unfortunately waiting with armed guards and Wai Lin is captured.
Bond and Graves have the 'so you live to Die Another Day...Colonel' confrontation minus Zao.
Bond escapes using the glass breaking ring as he does in the film. And jumps into Graves dragster. Graves shows off Icarus, again exactly as he does in the film. This time, however, the dragster teeters on the edge of the Iceberg instead of going over. With the Icarus beam approaching, Bond breaks the glass windscreen using his ring, and cuts the parachute off of the dragster, and jumps off of the iceberg.
Icarus cuts the Iceberg and causes the massive wave, but no surfing here! Bond is ahead of it due to the parachute and land safely on a smaller Iceberg without touching water.
He sneaks back to the Ice Palace to get Wai Lin, but is spotted by guards and is forced to jump into the nearest one of Graves supercar collection. For arguments sake we will say a Lamborghini.
Here is the twist on the existing car chase. Graves jumps into Bond's Aston Martin (Miranda had taken the keys earlier along with Bonds watch, when she says "Hand over the toys"). And the car chase is on, but for the first time, all of Q's gadgets are being used against Bond!
After dodging some bullets and a thrilling chase across the frozen lake, Bond veers round an ice formation, and jumps from the car, just before Graves destroys the Lamborghini with a rocket. Believing Bond to be dead he drives back to the Ice Palace.
So again Bond is forced to sneak back to the Ice Palace, just as Graves, Alvarez and Miranda are boarding the huge carrier plane.
Icarus is fired at the Ice Palace and Bond manages to rescue Wai Lin, just before she drowns.
So we get the scenes in the South Korean bunker with M, except Falco is replaced by a Chinese equivalent. They decide to send Bond and Wai Lin in to stop Graves destroying the demilitarized zone. Bond tells the Chinese official to attempt to contact General Moon, believing that he will find a way to stop the North Korean move towards the South.
So Bond and Wai Lin manage to get onto the plane, and from here it remains the same as the film.
The North Korean generals are bought before Graves, and he and General Moon have there moment. (There is no electrical suit this time, Alvarez has implanted a chip into Graves, that is connected to his heart. This means if his heart stops beating, Icarus is useless. He does this to make him invaluable to the North Korean high command)
Graves knocks his father to the floor with a punch, and one of the guards handcuffs General Moon to a railing.
At this point Bond bursts in and the window gets blown out. Alvarez and the Korean generals, except Moon are sucked out of the plane, the guard with the keys to Moon's cuffs is hanging on to Moon, and Moon, unseen by Graves, manages to pull the keys free before the guard is sucked out of the plane.
Meanwhile Wai Lin has managed to subdue the pilots and steady the plane.
This is interspersed with the demilitarized zone being destroyed and the Icarus beam is now moving towards Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Miranda attacks Wai Lin, and they fight, pretty much the same as the film, and Wai Lin kills Miranda(minus the "Bitch!" line).
Meanwhile Bond and Graves are fighting on the observation deck, Graves gets the better of Bond, grabs the Icarus control panel and puts on his parachute. "Its time to face destiny!"
At this point, General Moon has unlocked his cuffs and grabbed a gun from the floor, just as Bond attacks Graves again. They both see Moon, pointing the firearm at them. Moon agonizes over who to shoot, but finally shoots Graves through the shoulder. Bond pulls the cord of Graves Parachute, "Its time to face Gravity!". Graves hangs on, but Bond punches him off and into the plane engine. Icarus goes silent just as it has started to destroy Seoul.
Moon comes with Bond to Wai Lin, distraught over the actions of his son, he agrees to land the plane, or try, so Bond and Wai Lin can escape. As the plane is flying low over the ground, Bond reverses one of Graves supercars out of the cargo door(ala Living Daylights) Unfortunately the plane crashes just after and Moon is killed.
Cut to the final scene of Bond and Wai Lin making out in a hotel room in South Korea, while a news story plays in the background of General Moon being a hero across all the Koreas for sacrificing himself to prevent an international incident....
The End!
Hope you all enjoyed the read.