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Author Topic: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 08-07-2002 03:36 AM                     This is the first bad movie that Robert Rodriguez has made. It was not nearly as fun or humorous as the first film. It didn't acknowledge its silliness, and this made it stupid. The action sequences were also not done nearly as well. Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Steve Buscemi, Bill Paxton, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub and Ricardo Montalban were all wasted. How do you do that? This is the biggest disappointment in a very long time.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 08-07-2002 05:04 PM                     I didn't see the first one and realized right away this one originated on video. I was hoping that's why I thought it was horrible. Guess not. It will take months for me to recover from this one.  |  IP: Logged Adam Fraser Master Film Handler Posts: 499 From: Houghton Lake, MI, USA Registered: Dec 2001 posted 08-07-2002 11:00 PM                        The lack of sharpness gave me a headache and could not watch more than 5 minutes at a time. So kinda hard to do a complete review. ------------------ Adam Fraser www.pinestheatre.com  |  IP: Logged Dave Williams Wet nipple scene Posts: 1836 From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 08-08-2002 10:18 AM                        Lets hope that only bad movies get made on video. Dave  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-08-2002 05:54 PM                     I just wish such things would go straight-to-video. After all, they're being shot that way.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 08-08-2002 08:18 PM                     I'm not endorsing the use of digital photography in any way, but I highly doubt that the look of this film would bother most people. I also doubt that most people, ourselves included, would be able to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was shot digitally if we weren't looking for it. I'm sure you'll all say that I'm wrong, but I've talked to co-workers who can tell whether something was shot in anamorphic or Super 35 just by looking at the quality of the image. These guys watched the trailer for this movie and were shocked when, immediately afterwards, they were told it was shot digitally. These are guys who have worked in the booth for a couple years, and watch 2 or 3 movies a week on film. If it doesn't bother them, I don't think it'll bother most people. And there certainly are benefits to shooting a movie like this digitally.  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 08-08-2002 10:03 PM                     I saw the previews as well, an wouldn't have known that it was shot digitally until I read it later. I think some people may have pre-conceived notions that something is bad before they see something, and are looking for, unconsciously or not, anything to validate their opinions about a technology. What we really need are some blind tests.  |  IP: Logged Dave Williams Wet nipple scene Posts: 1836 From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 08-09-2002 12:58 AM                        Mike Schindler said "And there certainly are benefits to shooting a movie like this digitally." Yeah, so pieces like this one don't waste quality film that is needed for real movies. Dave  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 08-09-2002 03:27 AM                        To be quite honest I have never seen the trailer for this in the theaters, but tonight for the first time I saw an ad for it on TV. My VERY first thought was "This looks like video... BAD video!" I had no idea it was shot on video, but I guessed that it was after seeing the TV commercial. All I knew was that the first one was exhibited in DLP. Seeing the posts here confirms that it was shot on video. Telling if a movie was shot anamorphically or with Super 35 is quite easy, especially if there are any lens flares. So that is not really a talent to brag about.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 08-09-2002 03:59 AM                     I know that it's easy to tell the difference between anamorphic and Super 35, especially if there are lens flares. But by quality of the image, I meant how grainy it looked. Also, I wasn't trying to say that this was something to brag about. It's just that it's not something which the average moviegoer can do. It's not something which bothers the average moviegoer, either. It does bother these guys, and they weren't tremendously bothered by the SPY KIDS 2 trailer. Personally, I was shocked by how good it actually looked. The biggest problem that I had with the look of SPY KIDS 2 was how poorly the effects were integrated with the rest of the film. Every effect stood out because of two reasons. For one thing, they were not very photo-realistic. Secondly, they did not match the live-action footage. I wonder if this has something to do with why people think it looks so bad. Another problem which I had with the look of the film was that it was just poorly shot. But that's what happens when you don't use a DP. It would have looked just as bad on film.  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 08-09-2002 09:36 PM                     Bobby Henderson wrote: quote: I just wish such things would go straight-to-video. After all, they're being shot that way. But that's what's so great about current distrubution patterns. You can elect for yourself whether to see it at the theatre or see itwhen the video comes out. Most people, especially the families that this film is clearly aimed at, cannot tell the difference anyway. They'll just get into the story.  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 08-14-2002 12:48 AM                     Well, I saw SPY KIDS 2 tonight, and it wasn't as bad as I had expected. It was mostly eye candy, but colorful. I honestly found the image quality to be excellent. The 35mm print I saw had far less grain than I normally see in the average release print, and I honestly couldn't tell that it had originated on digital video. I think perhaps a few are straining their eyes to find any fault with the image capturing system used. The audience enjoyed themselves regardless. I've certainly seen a lot worse 35mm images lately.  |  IP: Logged

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