A Spirited Perfect Ten

[flynnibus]

I hope that doesn't happen anytime soon, because as it currently stands, I have no reason to rent a car or mess with a taxi again.

You really should include that whole 'I travel light' dimension to your stories though. Uber is fab if if its you and your wife... get your party of 4-5 together and the story can get a lot more twisted. Just a dimension I didn't see mentioned at all...

 

[NJBrandon]

Universal really dropped the ball by not green lighting a Jurassic Park expansion or new e-ticket for IOA. Instead Harry Potter enroached into JP territory on the right side and destroyed the theming and ate up an expansion pad and now King Kong (based on a flop from 2005 that everyone forgot about) is getting a video screen ride that eats up a huge chunk of Jurassic Parks left side. Talk about having 0 faith/confidence in a brand.

Except this Kong has nothing to do with that 2005 film. But hey, facts don't matter amongst friends!

And I know you can't seriously think Harry Potter was a bad idea, so I'm not even going to address that nonsense.

 

[invader]

Universal really dropped the ball by not green lighting a Jurassic Park expansion or new e-ticket for IOA. Instead Harry Potter enroached into JP territory on the right side and destroyed the theming and ate up an expansion pad and now King Kong (based on a flop from 2005 that everyone forgot about) is getting a video screen ride that eats up a huge chunk of Jurassic Parks left side. Talk about having 0 faith/confidence in a brand.

I really hope you don't actually think Uni dropped the ball with Wizard Boy-land phase 1. Kong has his roots into Uni's portfolio far deeper than the Jurassic brand and even farther than '05 movie you reference, which you falsely pinned the ride to be based on. Not a bad move like you're making it out to be.

 

[Mike S]

Universal really dropped the ball by not green lighting a Jurassic Park expansion or new e-ticket for IOA. Instead Harry Potter enroached into JP territory on the right side and destroyed the theming and ate up an expansion pad and now King Kong (based on a flop from 2005 that everyone forgot about) is getting a video screen ride that eats up a huge chunk of Jurassic Parks left side. Talk about having 0 faith/confidence in a brand.

$550 million on a $207 million budget. Yeah, big flop there.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=kingkong05.htm
It won't just be screens. King Kong himself will appear as an AA. Also it's only based on the 2005 movie's visuals.

 

[Bairstow]

Except this Kong has nothing to do with that 2005 film.

Except that Peter Jackson is overseeing the project, is using the same models for designed for the creature(s), WETA is doing the 3D rendering, and the building exterior is clearly modeled after the sets of the movie.

But other than the entire visual design, tone, title, and personnel, no, it has nothing to do with the movie it's clearly based on.

 

[NJBrandon]

Except that Peter Jackson is overseeing the project, is using the same models for designed for the creature(s), WETA is doing the 3D rendering, and the building exterior is clearly modeled after the sets of the movie.

But other than the entire visual design, tone, title, and personnel, no, it has nothing to do with the movie it's clearly based on.

I guess I'll just take the word of the executive producer of Universal Creative:

"Although Universal worked with director Peter Jackson early on the in the development of the attraction, it’s not based on his 2005 film “King Kong” starring Jack Black and Naomi Watts; nor is it based on the film coming in 2017, West said.

“It’s really its own story and its own environment that we’re creating,” he said."

 

[Bairstow]

I guess I'll just take the word of the executive producer of Universal Creative:

"Although Universal worked with director Peter Jackson early on the in the development of the attraction, it’s not based on his 2005 film “King Kong” starring Jack Black and Naomi Watts; nor is it based on the film coming in 2017, West said.

“It’s really its own story and its own environment that we’re creating,” he said."

You can take West's word if you want, but he's demonstrably incorrect.

 

[captainmoch]

Well, they are both adaptations of the same character/location/story. The ride is based off King Kong as a whole, not any specific film.

 

[NearTheEars]

You can take West's word if you want, but he's demonstrably incorrect.

Boom. Lol.

 

[TalkingHead]

Except that Peter Jackson is overseeing the project, is using the same models for designed for the creature(s), WETA is doing the 3D rendering, and the building exterior is clearly modeled after the sets of the movie.

But other than the entire visual design, tone, title, and personnel, no, it has nothing to do with the movie it's clearly based on.

Talk about an irrelevant point that doesn't matter in the big picture.

The attraction of Kong is Kong. No one cares where the inspiration for the temple façade came from.

All that anyone cares about is the giant ape behind the big doors.

 

[Bairstow]

Talk about an irrelevant point that doesn't matter in the big picture.

The attraction of Kong is Kong. No one cares where the inspiration for the temple façade came from.

All that anyone cares about is the giant ape behind the big doors.

That's not a very nice way to talk about Andy Serkis.

 

[Cesar R M]

Universal really dropped the ball by not green lighting a Jurassic Park expansion or new e-ticket for IOA. Instead Harry Potter enroached into JP territory on the right side and destroyed the theming and ate up an expansion pad and now King Kong (based on a flop from 2005 that everyone forgot about) is getting a video screen ride that eats up a huge chunk of Jurassic Parks left side. Talk about having 0 faith/confidence in a brand.

I dont think anyone anticipated JW to be such a hit.
They probably expected another Kong level "flop".

 

[Cesar R M]

That's not a very nice way to talk about Andy Serkis.

but..but.. MY PRECIOUS...!

speaking of Serkis.

He is for motion Capture, what Doug Jones is for prosthesis/make up.
Masters of their field.

 

[FigmentJedi]

now King Kong (based on a flop from 2005 that everyone forgot about) .

550m is hardly a flop. Plus you know, it's King Kong. Still the most iconic American movie monster, no matter the incarnation

 

[MonkeyHead]

Hey, good to know that even though the expansion pad is being used there is no other way they could possibly expand in the land.

Ya know, cause they never tear things down to rebuild.

Oh gosh, we're talking about Universal in a thread where the creator of said thread does so regularly.

Someone call PhotoDave to police this.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hey, good to know that even though the expansion pad is being used there is no other way they could possibly expand in the land.

Ya know, cause they never tear things down to rebuild.

Oh gosh, we're talking about Universal in a thread where the creator of said thread does so regularly.

Someone call PhotoDave to police this.

Nah. They're good.

You on the other hand, you can go home and get your shine box.

 

[MonkeyHead]

Just making an observation. I won't be getting into an argument.

 

[BrerJon]

Masters of their field.

It's more he's a master of self-promotion. The myth around mo-cap is that everything the actor does is perfectly translated to the computer models. The reality is 90% of what we see is the work of talented animators who take the basic performance and tweak and push it so that it 'feels' the same and has that human connection - without them, you're deep into uncanny valley territory and the performance would seem weak and tepid.

Serkis probably *thinks* it's a 1:1 with no work between him and the computer, he calls it 'digital makeup', which is beyond insulting, but it's the animators who should get most of the credit really.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/motion-c...mators-do-nothing-says-andy-serkis-98868.html

 

[cdd89]

Uber is such an excellent alternative to the Mearsopoly at Walt Disney World that I fear soon Mears will lobby Disney hard enough to shut Uber out

I guess if they wanted to shut Uber out, they would have to get an injunction banning them from the whole property (since it's not clear otherwise how they'd enforce who guests could make arrangements with to collect them from hotels). And of course, by doing that, they might discourage people who otherwise would have made the trip over from Uni, etc.

Indulging the Mears monopoly might have made sense when WDW was *the* destination and didn't need (or want to encourage) traffic to other Orlando destinations, but the truth is they need Universal's customers as much as Universal needs Disney's. Uber is a worldwide phenomenon, understood and expected by WDW's global visitors - they cut that off at their own peril.

(While I'm here: although I don't agree with monopolies, I do have some sympathy for Mears' drivers simply because they have built their livelihoods around an industry that is getting turned upside down. I can't imagine making a living as a taxi driver is that easy in Orlando, and I'm sure Mears high fares don't all end up in the drivers pocket).

 

[RSoxNo1]

Thanks to the Denny's commercials (why am I craving one of their $2.99 sundaes, the best value in American desserts, right now?) I was reminded that Ant-Man in no way ends the onslaught of comic films this summer, not even Marvel comics based films. Nope, we're just around the corner from the opening of the latest rebooting of The Fantastic Four. Now, are the Marvel fanbois going to show up for that one? Or are they not counting since they are not controlled by DIS so they likely won't have a scene with some dude named Thanos wearing a necklace (no, not a pearl one!) made of Infinity Stones as Captain America and Captain Marvel (no, not the Shazam dude, he's a DC property and controlled by WB) do battle while 67-year-old Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man suit, now powered by Cialis, can't get him up (in the air!)?

The Disney owned Marvel movies have become like the Disney owned Pixar movies. Both studios are cranking out products that kill at the box office. The same can't be said about any other movie studio right now.

You're absolutely right that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought Disney Fanbois into the fold, I will readily admit that. However, if the original Avengers wasn't under the Disney umbrella I still would have bought it. What the Disney umbrella has done for me is allowed me to buy the other interconnected movies on Blu Ray using their Movie Club.

These movies are well done popcorn movies, and while you whine about not wanting to have to deal with seeing the previous 10 movies, you still wind up watching them. My recollection is that you also really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, which to me are among the strongest because they work as both a stand alone film and as part of a bigger story arch. For me, the only movie that really felt like it was part of the larger story arch was Age of Ultron, and that really only had 20 minutes of additional backstory thrown in. It was put in Age of Ultron because there wasn't enough for a separate movie.

Does anyone care about Pixels? Didn't think so.

Part of me is curious, but then again the reviews are beyond awful. I know Sandler gets much deserved criticism, but this didn't feel like a typical Sandler movie based on the previews. I'm sure it'll be on TV in 6 months and I'll see it then.