Post by robkral on Jun 24, 2005 18:54:53 GMT
Hi everyone!
Please note the following was first posted at Eveofthewar.com, which includes pictures of the event.
I'm duplicating it here because I do want the word out that this is a great film, and Dave Latt, the director, has been superb with us fans.
******Spoilers are reserved for the second to last paragraph.******
Pics of the following descriptions are at www.eveofthewar.com/articles/8979/Report_From_LA_Screening_and_After_Party_of_Asylums_War_of_the_Worlds%21
The screening was held at the Crest Theater in Westwood. Westwood is a village full of movie theaters, very much a destination spot in Los Angeles and a great place for screenings like this. The Crest really is a wonderful theater. Many private Hollywood screenings events choose this location. I didn't count but I estimate 300 very happy people attended.
Inside this theater there's a really nice mood set by the dazzling screen curtain, and the complete interior is painted as if you are sitting outside in the middle of the village. Its very unique: the walls are painted with night time panoramas of this "Hollywood" village, and stars twinkle overhead above you. Its as if you're sitting watching an outdoor, night screening.
Out in the Lobby as people poured in I found David Latt and C. Thomas Howell and we posed for some pictures. Actually I found David, then HE went and found C. Thomas....I really appreciate this, and the time he spent talking with me when he was surrounded by his cast and crew: it is very generous of him.
There were lots of cheers and congrats in the foyer after the movie screened. It seemed everyone was genuinely happy with the results. I overheard some folks on cell phones outside the theater telling their friends: "It was fantastic!!" Maps were handed out so you could find your way to the bar where the party was held. My friend and I got lost a couple times...parking is tricky in Westwood!!! The Asylum had reserved a section of the place above a courtyard with a balcony, and a seperate open bar and their own room, food etc. Dave Latt again spent time talking with me and my buddy. I also, much later in the night, got to meet Rhett Giles who plaid the Parson very very well in the story. It was a very cool treat to discover he is from my home town in Australia: Adelaide. Two Adelaide boys now in the film Biz in LA, we've got lots to talk about!
And now, for whatever it might be worth, here's what I thought of the movie!!.......
(SPOILERS ARE IN THE BIG, SECOND-TO-LAST PARAGRAPH).
It feels a little odd to give a review seeing as I was invited to the screening as a fan, not a film critic. A fan I definitely am, and I guess we're all critics when we walk out of a theater with our minds buzzing with what we've experienced. Sometimes I wonder if written reviews are more about the reviewer trying to illustrate how clever they are at observing errors: which raises the question: why review?!
Well, for the sake of all the anticipation, fans who thrive on gobbling up early goodies before experiencing it for themselves, and there is a reason to review: Folks wanna know wether to see something or not and often like a little guidance. I very much want to make it clear that YOU SHOULD SEE THIS FILM, so here's a report........
When I walked out of the theater after the film, I really felt "great!! IT was great!!". I'm very impressed because a company that delivers "low budget" movies at the rate The Asylum does, this War of the Worlds is filled with passion, emotion, superb performances and meaningful storyline and themes throughout. (THAT is what I was left with, and not "they had six legs").
When credits begin at the opening over a Rover type shot of the Martian landscape, the mood is set and obviously you don't know what you're about to experience. In my case, each credit was met with thunderous applause from about 300 people, so the mood was something of a good time. But underneath this you could feel the seriousness of the picture.
And that seriousness is what ran through the entire picture. This is a journey of EMOTION, and C. Thomas Howell delivers it flawlessly. I don't say that lightly! This is an emotionally charged journey to be sure, and its delivered by the actors with realism.
Its this emotion that IS this film, it's what it is "ON about" along with the excellent dialog and expression of themes explored. The fx are good. Some are REALLY fantastic. Where there were flaws, I really didn't care because the story and realism in the acting from all key players was there so I really felt wrapped up into it.
Another great and pleasant surprise was how close it stayed to the book. I think WOTW fans will love this. Whilst it's totally updated and is set in the USA, it really feels close to the book because the essential themes are there and MOST of the key chapters really are there. There are of course obvious ommissions, but MANY more inclusions than I expected.
Spoiler alert (Likes and Dislikes)......please skip to last paragraph if you're not interested......
The following is spoilery: I'll deliberately condense this into one paragraph to enable you to easily skip it without catching stuff if you don't wish to.....Likes and Dislikes: The acting is top notch, C. Thomas Howell is perfect, and all the main characters deliver. I loved the effects, it was very high quality mostly. The effects really do help to tell the story, and where budget must have constrained the visual display big time, the appropriate devices are used to continue the story. I even admired one of the deviations from the original which is the Artilleryman is split into two seperate characters. You might find this hard to believe but it really worked, and even added some big laughs in the cinema. This wasn't done for kicks though, it actually serves a PURPOSE that it's two characters, which you will see. I loved the dialog, especially between the "Parson" (Rhett Giles) and the Astronomer. Which is another thing: the choice of making the "writer" a scientist instead is actually a good one: it brings up some great themes and discussion when he's stranded in close quarters with the Priest. The ruined house chapter is genuinely interesting in the dialog, and the scene becomes genuinely terrifying!! There is some real horror here which is awesome. Again, the main overall thing I love here is that the themes are all there, and that is the point of science fiction stories. What I didn't like were several of the transitions between scenes: they could have been a few moments longer to settle the end of a scene better. The brief but completely gratuitous nudity in the very beginning (a hilight for some I am sure) felt out of place to me....I wonder if it was a requirement of production in some way?!. When the Astronomer meets his dying brother, the brother's dialog was difficult to hear. Yet, the emotion and realism of its delivery almost makes it not matter! No Thunderchild. A little more "walkers" action later in the film would help the fan part of me, but isn't actually essential to see it in this story, so Kudos to minimising it and doing it well, rather than spreading disaster scenes out all over and doing it badly. I liked the suprise reveal of smaller aliens exiting the walking machines, but I didn't like their design when it came to seeing one up close near the end. The very ending unfortunately is too abrupt. Still sticking to budget, I think a small slow motion montage (of key moments of the experience) with a short voice over could have helped with the experience at the end.
THIS IS GOOD SCIENCE FICTION.....it reveals observations about our everyday lives and attitudes that when faced with extroadinary circumstances beyond our control, everything we believe and take for granted comes into question. You don't need lots of special effects for that: Just a special movie.
Robert Kral.
Please note the following was first posted at Eveofthewar.com, which includes pictures of the event.
I'm duplicating it here because I do want the word out that this is a great film, and Dave Latt, the director, has been superb with us fans.
******Spoilers are reserved for the second to last paragraph.******
Pics of the following descriptions are at www.eveofthewar.com/articles/8979/Report_From_LA_Screening_and_After_Party_of_Asylums_War_of_the_Worlds%21
The screening was held at the Crest Theater in Westwood. Westwood is a village full of movie theaters, very much a destination spot in Los Angeles and a great place for screenings like this. The Crest really is a wonderful theater. Many private Hollywood screenings events choose this location. I didn't count but I estimate 300 very happy people attended.
Inside this theater there's a really nice mood set by the dazzling screen curtain, and the complete interior is painted as if you are sitting outside in the middle of the village. Its very unique: the walls are painted with night time panoramas of this "Hollywood" village, and stars twinkle overhead above you. Its as if you're sitting watching an outdoor, night screening.
Out in the Lobby as people poured in I found David Latt and C. Thomas Howell and we posed for some pictures. Actually I found David, then HE went and found C. Thomas....I really appreciate this, and the time he spent talking with me when he was surrounded by his cast and crew: it is very generous of him.
There were lots of cheers and congrats in the foyer after the movie screened. It seemed everyone was genuinely happy with the results. I overheard some folks on cell phones outside the theater telling their friends: "It was fantastic!!" Maps were handed out so you could find your way to the bar where the party was held. My friend and I got lost a couple times...parking is tricky in Westwood!!! The Asylum had reserved a section of the place above a courtyard with a balcony, and a seperate open bar and their own room, food etc. Dave Latt again spent time talking with me and my buddy. I also, much later in the night, got to meet Rhett Giles who plaid the Parson very very well in the story. It was a very cool treat to discover he is from my home town in Australia: Adelaide. Two Adelaide boys now in the film Biz in LA, we've got lots to talk about!
And now, for whatever it might be worth, here's what I thought of the movie!!.......
(SPOILERS ARE IN THE BIG, SECOND-TO-LAST PARAGRAPH).
It feels a little odd to give a review seeing as I was invited to the screening as a fan, not a film critic. A fan I definitely am, and I guess we're all critics when we walk out of a theater with our minds buzzing with what we've experienced. Sometimes I wonder if written reviews are more about the reviewer trying to illustrate how clever they are at observing errors: which raises the question: why review?!
Well, for the sake of all the anticipation, fans who thrive on gobbling up early goodies before experiencing it for themselves, and there is a reason to review: Folks wanna know wether to see something or not and often like a little guidance. I very much want to make it clear that YOU SHOULD SEE THIS FILM, so here's a report........
When I walked out of the theater after the film, I really felt "great!! IT was great!!". I'm very impressed because a company that delivers "low budget" movies at the rate The Asylum does, this War of the Worlds is filled with passion, emotion, superb performances and meaningful storyline and themes throughout. (THAT is what I was left with, and not "they had six legs").
When credits begin at the opening over a Rover type shot of the Martian landscape, the mood is set and obviously you don't know what you're about to experience. In my case, each credit was met with thunderous applause from about 300 people, so the mood was something of a good time. But underneath this you could feel the seriousness of the picture.
And that seriousness is what ran through the entire picture. This is a journey of EMOTION, and C. Thomas Howell delivers it flawlessly. I don't say that lightly! This is an emotionally charged journey to be sure, and its delivered by the actors with realism.
Its this emotion that IS this film, it's what it is "ON about" along with the excellent dialog and expression of themes explored. The fx are good. Some are REALLY fantastic. Where there were flaws, I really didn't care because the story and realism in the acting from all key players was there so I really felt wrapped up into it.
Another great and pleasant surprise was how close it stayed to the book. I think WOTW fans will love this. Whilst it's totally updated and is set in the USA, it really feels close to the book because the essential themes are there and MOST of the key chapters really are there. There are of course obvious ommissions, but MANY more inclusions than I expected.
Spoiler alert (Likes and Dislikes)......please skip to last paragraph if you're not interested......
The following is spoilery: I'll deliberately condense this into one paragraph to enable you to easily skip it without catching stuff if you don't wish to.....Likes and Dislikes: The acting is top notch, C. Thomas Howell is perfect, and all the main characters deliver. I loved the effects, it was very high quality mostly. The effects really do help to tell the story, and where budget must have constrained the visual display big time, the appropriate devices are used to continue the story. I even admired one of the deviations from the original which is the Artilleryman is split into two seperate characters. You might find this hard to believe but it really worked, and even added some big laughs in the cinema. This wasn't done for kicks though, it actually serves a PURPOSE that it's two characters, which you will see. I loved the dialog, especially between the "Parson" (Rhett Giles) and the Astronomer. Which is another thing: the choice of making the "writer" a scientist instead is actually a good one: it brings up some great themes and discussion when he's stranded in close quarters with the Priest. The ruined house chapter is genuinely interesting in the dialog, and the scene becomes genuinely terrifying!! There is some real horror here which is awesome. Again, the main overall thing I love here is that the themes are all there, and that is the point of science fiction stories. What I didn't like were several of the transitions between scenes: they could have been a few moments longer to settle the end of a scene better. The brief but completely gratuitous nudity in the very beginning (a hilight for some I am sure) felt out of place to me....I wonder if it was a requirement of production in some way?!. When the Astronomer meets his dying brother, the brother's dialog was difficult to hear. Yet, the emotion and realism of its delivery almost makes it not matter! No Thunderchild. A little more "walkers" action later in the film would help the fan part of me, but isn't actually essential to see it in this story, so Kudos to minimising it and doing it well, rather than spreading disaster scenes out all over and doing it badly. I liked the suprise reveal of smaller aliens exiting the walking machines, but I didn't like their design when it came to seeing one up close near the end. The very ending unfortunately is too abrupt. Still sticking to budget, I think a small slow motion montage (of key moments of the experience) with a short voice over could have helped with the experience at the end.
THIS IS GOOD SCIENCE FICTION.....it reveals observations about our everyday lives and attitudes that when faced with extroadinary circumstances beyond our control, everything we believe and take for granted comes into question. You don't need lots of special effects for that: Just a special movie.
Robert Kral.
