A guide to making a Hollywood disaster flick

(Cross posting from my other blog, which I am no longer maintaining)

Friday, July 11, 2008

After having losing count of the disaster flicks and the mini cable movie series, as if there isnt enough of the Hollywood movies,
I am more than tempted to write my own disaster flick.

For starters, you need a disaster.
(My cooking which most of the time is a disaster by itself, doesnt yet qualify for a mega disaster.
We are all alive :-))
Aliens,earthquakes,meteorites,gigantic abberations,insects,animals are all out. These are ancient disasters.We need something new.

How about the magma in the center of earth stopping the rotation?Already done.Do not miss the wonderful movie The Core.
Even bare minimum knowledge of high school Physics is enough for you to appreciate this spoof of HiTech movies.
(I am writing up a commentary about this movie and will post it soon.)

How about unexplainable alien life forms, mutated creatures,alien-human combos, humanoids, machines?Done in too many movies.

Looks like the latest trend is the climatic changes that holds key..
So,
How about tectonic plates reversing...Am just seeing this usa network flick called 10.5 and its sequel 10.5 The Apocalypse. Well, to be truthful, this flick just flipped me and I lost it. How do you stop faults, create another..this is just too much.

So we are out of that one too....What more disasters can you predict?
Are we running out of disasters of global proportions?Nope..we just need more imagination.
So heres a few.....
How about the moon crashing onto earth?
Or, The sun dwarfing?
Or, Earth running out of oxygen?
Or, Big Sink - dats opposite of Big Bang?
I think I will choose one of the above.
If you have any interesting disasters, please let me know.

So now that I have a disaster, whats next?

HiTech gizmos, unbelievable gadgets, unlikely heroes, unconventional methods, untried rescue operations, sad background score, an attitude ridden male lead(s), a skinny-dont-care-about-dressing-up-yet-looking-top lady lead, some history and friction between the heroes, a scorned hero, and a last minute unpredictable(is it) goof-up in the machinery, and finally the HERO-number-UNO who sacrifices his life to save mankind.
Well if he doesnt, since technically he is also a part of mankind, he would have also perished.
So in a Die-or-Die situation, our HERO-number-UNO dies and becomes a DOUBLE HERO.
And other survivors are chosen in a lottery.

As always the core of the story line, Any disaster should first strike, the United States.

At least one thing thats a benefit is , we have scores of people re researching the geography and the history to excavate untread disasters, that there is a chance that something useful might come out.

P.S.
A guide to making a Tamil disaster movie.
Just do a remake of any hollywood disaster movie.
Half the people will not understand and rest would have already seen the original.
And you have a tamil disaster movie.

Avengers - Assembled in Hurry

Avengers - Assembled in Hurry
May 2nd, 2012 

I loved the movie, but cummon, it could have been done better. As a now-diehard-super-heros-fan, thanks to my 4 year old, guess I expected much more.

If there ever was a band of misfits, crazy guys with crazy powers, it ought to be the Avengers.

A guy with a super attitude,
A guy with anger issues,
A DemiGod with literally lighting up the path he walks,
A super spy,
America's Super soldier and
A Super Agent

A need to bring them all together, a cause and an Enemy worthy enough to stand against all of them? And iron out the petty fight?? Hmm, Looks like, the kids never grew up, from the ever squabbling Super Hero Squad.

Even my 4 year old can tell you this, To battle the total power of the 6 Super Heroes, you need an enemy with "awesome" powers, you need a force beyond imagination.

Will A force from out of the world, do?At least this was right, the villains were all from well beyond our atmosphere. But then again, a lean and lanky Loki,with the second best syndrome, as THE ENEMY??? And armed with a bunch of weirdos that look like morphed Predators hurriedly stuffed in armor, flying something that looks like a jet, that even after the movie ended, I couldn't make out, if the army was of Godly origin, or just another race in the Universe.

Cummon, Imotep's army were far more creative and scary, and that was like 10 years ago.

And a portal to another Universe, guess the director missed seeing Transformers 3.

A cube with an energy source, like nothing we have seen so far, we have already had the entire Transformer series based on this.

To top it all, the snake like creature, that is supposed to wreak more havoc, an absolute no brainer. The robot snake from, Thalaivar's Enthiran and Shockwave from T3 were far more impressive.

What else I didnt like, there is this just too much talking, and may be to do justice to the Awesomeness(?) of each of the Super heroes, the story drags here and there.
In fact, in one of long session of dialogues, I could hear someone, snoring.

What else I like? Jokes are aplenty and helps to boost the dull moments.

For a guy, who spent more than half a century sleeping, and still trying to get a handle on the current references, Captain America, has really come up to speed, by his "Hulk, SMASH"
And Bruce, he goes to Calcutta, to not lose his temper & stay calm!! Boy, I have never been to Calcutta, but now, if the auto rickshaws drivers & rides, didn't cause the Other Guy to come, I am amazed. Calcutta it is. :-)

In the end, I feel Thor didn't quite get the screen time he needed, no idea what Hawkeye and Black Widow were doing, Captain America is his usual self, and it was Iron Man and Hulk all the way.

But, yes I am off to see the movie again, tomorrow, this time with my little one.
He gets to see all of his Avengers, and I get to sit through the jokes, and watch him enjoy the movie.

Worth your money, but it could have been DEFINITELY done better.