Anyone remember the Golden Child?

[teniworks]

What happened to the days of handcrafted special effects in movies? I miss them. It's 2 in the morning and I'm watching The Golden Child laughing at Eddie Murphy and remembering the days when CG was in it's infancy, 80's music made you feel all warm and squishy, and it was cool to wear corduroy overalls. I love 80's and early 90's movies. Does anyone else think that movies now are way too pumped up with computer effects? It seems whenever I see a movie now, I'm so distracted by all of the effects that I can't pay attention to the film. Why in the heck do I feel the urge to watch Army of Darkness? Just can't get enough of that Bruce Campbell.

[Red Kittie Kat]

I try to just let my mind go when I watch movies ... if I get too critical then it takes all the fun out of the movie.

The only movie that really just went over the top for me was The Day After Tomorrow. They had me right up until the frost chased them down the hallway and then stopped at the shut door :p

[Takayuki]

But I hope not too much people will think the same as teniworks, because I'm one of those who actually use CG in my work.;)

[vtwin_gary]

i, i, i want the knifeeeeee!

[Jriddim]

oh my god i remember that was prolly the first real movie i have ever seen, (or the only one i can remember seeing as a young child) The pepsi can dancing? come on that was amazing!!!!!!!! my absolute fav part (at least when i was little)

[teniworks]

Well Takayuki, I don't hate CG...I just don't like it when it consumes the movie.

Oh, and vtwin_gary...

PLLLEEEEEEEEAASSSE?

[Riefnu]

What? no STAR WARS yet?

What better examples of old school graphics then NEW school graphics in one 6 movie monster.

[Seapony]

a sarcastic, overconfident Eddie to bad guy Sardo Numspa (poised to knife 'im): My Dear Brother Numsie!!

Sardo Numspa changes into a cheesy bat-demon monster as the room breaks up and burns away in hell flame

Eddie: Uh, I can see you're busy, I can come back...:D

I (still) love that movie...didn't get it's due, says I. I still have it in some decades old HBO VHS along with Labyrinth, another "classic" CGI/Jim Henson puppet flick.

The CGI flicks of today don't have the same caliber of character development of yesteryear. That's part of the reason why I feel that the 70's SW trilogy out classed the Vader trilogy—to a degree the characters carried the film more then, and the CGI tends to carry a film more now. The film that accomplishes both is usually a winnah.

:)

[tuliptree]

i, i, i want the knifeeeeee!

LOL, that's exactly what I intended to come into this thread saying, you stole my line :D

[Kool]

That movie was great.

What the heck happened to Eddie? Where's the smart ass 48 hours, Beverly Hills Cop actor? That last movie he made where he played all the parts was unwatchable. :(

[urstwile]

I think Will Smith stole his thunder, perhaps.

[TheBluePanda]

The Golden Child was awesome! It had some priceless moments. I seem to remember a scary demon thing at the end which most likely gave me some nightmares.

[Broacher]

A couple of weeks back I picked up a cheap DVD of 'Mysterious Island' a 1960's early SFX classic, of the Ray Harryhausen vintage. My kids laughed at the fx scenes but they really enjoyed the Harryhausen bio documentary also on the DVD. When you see the artwork and skill and dedication put into these early efforts, you really have to admire them. I mean, I doubt if any FX shop today could duplicate those creative efforts with the same era tools and limited staff at their disposal. (Ever notice the length of DG and FX credits at the end of any major film these days?)

I don't know, maybe it's because of those limitations that I admire the efforts of these early pioneer 'movie magicians'. And I guess I still remember my thrills when they first came out. Back when a viewer's imagination was less critical, but in some ways, more flexible.

[TheBluePanda]

I'm glad to have witnessed the tail end of the 'real stuff' era. As a kid, I used to love the effects and creatures from movies like Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Flight of the Navigator, Neverending Story, Short Circuit, etc.

[Bladez]

I'm glad to have witnessed the tail end of the 'real stuff' era. As a kid, I used to love the effects and creatures from movies like Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Flight of the Navigator, Neverending Story, Short Circuit, etc.

Agreed!! The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth are still 2 of my favourite movies.

I also loved the ones that used the stop motion clay-mation, such as Jason and the Argonaughts, and The Golden Fleece. How classic were those creatures hahahaha

[Broacher]

^ Harryhausen work. (And what about the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad? Awesome.)

The problem with synthesizing reality TOO well is that it's too easy to lose style.

[Riefnu]

Bladez!

What about Clash of the Titans?

And we are forgetting the LEGACY of real life special effects.

GODZILLIAAAAAA -keys keep getting pushed after typing is done-

[Bladez]

^ Ahahaha!!! Classics! Love 'em all! All thye old B&W cheesy horrors too. with the giant spiders, spacemen in silver suits, giant monkeys climbing empire state buildings....I miss those days, and I wasn't even around for 'em *LOL* Me and my friends have already established that I was born in the wrong generation tho.

[garricks]

Let's see how deep this love of movies goes. Read the review for Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20202024,00.html) and tell me if you'd go see it, rent it on DVD, or pass.

[Broacher]

^ > check out this trailer from another 'sit-through challenge' (I confess I loved it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe9Fs10IIk0

[Bladez]

Garricks, that looks like a great laugh...something I'd prolly rent, tho I may need a special cigarette to help me get through the whole thing *LOL*

How's this one for ya:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gEDUDmZkyc

[garricks]

OMG Ed Wood LIVES! ROFL

bladez, are those zombie sheep or weresheep? Either way, I'd rent it in a minute! *runs off to NetFlix*

Yep. They're both available, and now they're both in my queue!

[Bladez]

I'm not to sure...they're genetically altered sheep. A friend of mine owns it but everytime she's in town she either forgets to bring it, or I don't get to see her. It's fan-bloody-tastic apparently :D

[Broacher]

If you find the Skeleton flick, be sure to watch the interviews. This flick really was more of a labour of love, and some of the out-takes are just incredible.

Lost Skeleton quotes:

Skeleton: You must find the atmosphereum.
Animala: Amish Terrarium. Must find Amish terrarium.

Dr. Paul Armstrong: I don't understand. Why does she need an Amish terrarium?

Betty Armstrong: Don't the Amish live in open air, like us?

Dr. Paul Armstrong: Of course, Betty, it's absurd. Putting the Amish in glass cases would be inhumane.




Another classic:

Ranger Brad: Well again I didn't mean to throw a damper. Believe me that's the last thing I'd like to throw. I don't want to throw anything at all really. But when folks are horribly mutilated, I feel it's my job to tell others. We take our horrible mutilations seriously up in these parts.

Betty Armstrong: I'm sure you do. Honey, the Ranger's just doing his job.

Dr. Paul Armstrong: Of course he is. I'm sorry Ranger Brad. I guess all this talk of horrible mutilation has me on edge.

Ranger Brad: That's all right Dr. Armstrong. This horrible mutilation has a whole lot of people on a whole lot of edges.

[garricks]

LMAO @ Ranger Brad... How Manly!

I went to IMDB to see who's playing Ranger Brad, and guess what? They're doing post work on The Lost Skeleton Returns Again! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1199494/)

[Broacher]

And Animala: the hottie/catwomanish 'being' accidentally created from a chipmunk. Brilliantly acted, I might add, by the director's wife. Oh baby, yeah.

(Here's a peanut, c'mon.... here it is!)

[seamas]

To me it doesn't matter if the effects are computer-enhanced, computer generated or hand made. I just don't care for a whole mess of it, or when the effects are made as too big a focal point.

To me 2001: A Space Odessey did an amazing job, but with incredibly simple means -and the use of music helped get one's mind off of how things might've looked fake. Also instead of habving everything zipping around, they had movement of space objects flow gracefully. Even the prehistoric scene was fairly convincing.

[Bladez]

And it gave us some of the best pop culture references. Between the Oblesk, the transitional shot with the bone, and HAL. Where would we be without those things today?

Tho, that was one of the hardest movies to sit through ever! It took me 4 attempts before I finally made it all the way through without falling asleep. I'd hate to see the 7hr version of it!

[garricks]

ROFL. I'm watching "Black Sheep" right now.

"Little baaaa-stard!" giggle. Lots of guts. Lots. And pretty New Zealand countryside. I really must visit. But not a sheep farm.

[Bladez]

Awesome garricks!!! So are you recommending I just go out and buy it, rather than renting it time and time again?

[garricks]

Ooh, that's a judgement call, bladez! I'm trying to simplify and declutter, so I'm making a real effort to NOT buy new DVDs (other than LOST seasons, that is :D ) But if you're paying a rental fee — instead of say a NetFlix flat fee — maybe it would be worth it. BTW, I'm still laughing over the ending, too!

[Bladez]

that sold it for me. Gonna go find it this weekend :)

[garricks]

I have the Skeleton flick to watch tonight after work! Yay me!

[Broacher]

^ Another line from Ranger Brad (conjecturing on the cause of recent 'horrible mutilations'):

"In my time, I've seen bears do things that even a bear couldn't do."

Rented this again last weekend. It's still a lot of fun. An acquired taste though, I must warn you.

[garricks]

It's still a lot of fun. An acquired taste though, I must warn you.I think I'll like it. I've been told that I'm an acquired taste... :rolleyes: