Eve Of The War
http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/

Asylum WOTW Mini-Review
http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=550
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Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Asylum WOTW Mini-Review

The movie is basically a modern day retelling of the H.G. Wells classic science fiction novel. Howell plays the main part of George Herbert (I liked that!) and we see him and his wife go separate ways at the start of the movie, then George fighting his way back to see her and his child after the Martians have landed.

The film is well made with a good cast. We get to see the machines stomping over cities and the destruction they leave behind. You can recognise many scenes from the book and they have been transferred over very well. Howell plays his part very well and I must admit I did like Jake Busey, I won't say any more about his attitude in the movie!

I really enjoyed watching the movie and so did my parents who have a good idea about War Of The Worlds having seen the George Pal movie, many years ago! If I have to be picky and I'm no film critic, I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the machines doing their destruction (maybe a similar montage like the 1953 PAL film) and characters seem to suddenly pop up sometimes, I haven't been to the USA, but I know it's a big place, yet everyone finds each other easily!

If I were to give marks out of 10, this would get 8 and a big thumbs up to the Director and cast. The DVD has a nice range of extra's on there with deleted scenes, out-takes, trailers, visual effects documentary and more, so well worth buying (in my opinion!). To buy the DVD click here.

Screenshots to be added to the main website soon

Author:  Loz [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:45 pm ]
Post subject: 

Do the Martians feed on humans Lee?

Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:51 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Do the Martians feed on humans Lee?


Nope. They do some good zapping though and good burn effects...

Author:  Loz [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:53 pm ]
Post subject: 

Do they die the same way as in the book? [-o<

Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:02 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Do they die the same way as in the book? [-o<


When people get zapped, you see them turn an orangy colour, you see the skelton briefly, then they disappear...

I'm not telling anyone how the machines die though, too much of a spoiler [-(

Author:  Loz [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:05 pm ]
Post subject: 

eveofthewar wrote:
Loz wrote:
Do they die the same way as in the book? [-o<


When people get zapped, you see them turn an orangy colour, you see the skelton briefly, then they disappear...

I'm not telling anyone how the machines die though, too much of a spoiler [-(


Fair does. :a019:

Any black smoke?

Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:07 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
eveofthewar wrote:
Loz wrote:
Do they die the same way as in the book? [-o<


When people get zapped, you see them turn an orangy colour, you see the skelton briefly, then they disappear...

I'm not telling anyone how the machines die though, too much of a spoiler [-(


Fair does. :a019:

Any black smoke?


Seems to be some spooky green smoke effect...

Author:  Loz [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:10 pm ]
Post subject: 

Do we get to see the actual aliens?

Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:17 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Do we get to see the actual aliens?


You'll have to wait and see, no more spoilers [-X

:a019:

Author:  Loz [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:22 pm ]
Post subject: 

Look now you've vmade my baby cry! :a010:

:a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019:

Author:  eveofthewar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:45 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Look now you've vmade my baby cry! :a010:

:a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :a019: :


:--- Wasn't me :---

Author:  Thunder Child [ Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:09 pm ]
Post subject: 

Reaction so far seems fairly positive. It sounds a lot closer to the book than I had anticipated. i'm still a bit creeped out seeing "Pony Boy" Howell looking so old though!

Author:  Alland [ Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:59 pm ]
Post subject: 

Your description of the Heat-Ray's effect on people sounds a lot like that in the 1953 George Pal movie for the disintegrating ray, particularly where Marine Colonel Heffin gets it.

Author:  oever532 [ Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:36 am ]
Post subject: 

Yeah, they fade also out that way, but the Heat-Ray itself had a similar effect, a good example was when the Heat Ray hit both the Police Car and the Rocket Launcher.

Author:  crc32 [ Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:26 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Do the Martians feed on humans Lee?


Spoiler warning.

Its kind of odd actually. In some scenes we see the aliens use acid vomit on some people and see them melt. But we don't see a follow up of them licking or sucking up the remains. In another scene in the curate and the main character are watching a martion eating a father and son. The creature has plastered them in some kind of goo then one martion shoots tinticles into the father then watch the fathers head get all shakey. The attack only last about a 2 seconds of screen time. The son confused (he must be 14) cries out "Where are you daddy" then poof he gets teniticle stabed and he's apparently dead in 2 seconds as well. We see fluid rushing through the tenticles for a few frams but not enough to confirm its blood. Pretty cruel actually.

So we see the creatures definetly feeding on the father and son via tenticles, but we can't be certain what the acid spitting is for. Is it also apart of feeding or is it just a simple weapon the creatures use.

Speaking of which the monsters seem to dismount from there hexpods early in the film and actually start fighting on foot, when human troops are still clearly alive and functioning. It was funny. The very first alien attack involves a martion tripping a lady (about 4 frames but you can see its ugly feet trippering hers) as she runs pased a courner on a side street then barf she's melting.

The martions them selves look like flat mushrooms with crab legs. They have no visible eyes or mouth or nose. The only thing that comes close to a mouth is the a tenticle that retracts from what we don't know. At the end of the tenticle is a beak like the ones we saw on that sand worms in dune or worse tremor. The shots of the beaks are really close up too so its obvious the beak prop was only a beak with about 4 to 5 inches of neck on the tenticle.

Author:  crc32 [ Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:29 pm ]
Post subject: 

Alland wrote:
Your description of the Heat-Ray's effect on people sounds a lot like that in the 1953 George Pal movie for the disintegrating ray, particularly where Marine Colonel Heffin gets it.


Yea. The heat ray is a lot faster too. It hits people when their running and nocks them down. And by the time they actually hit the floor they are already disintigrated into red fried skeleton.

Speilbergs ray was also as fast as it instaly turns people into puffs of ash.
I can imagine it would have looked even more horiffic if started projecting a wider beam that would just as instantly kill people. Imagine an entire street cleared out in 4 seconds. That would look pretty hopeless.

Author:  Loz [ Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:50 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks guys. How does this version compare to Parramounts?

Author:  crc32 [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 9:41 pm ]
Post subject: 

Loz wrote:
Thanks guys. How does this version compare to Parramounts?


Well I'm more of a production value guy my self. I liked Paramounts version as it griped my attention a little more. The Asylum film was worth my purchase but it dragged on a little bit at some points. There are parts where the dialog slows down way to much. My assumption has always been people don't get so touchy feely when their on the run from Giant crabs with lazers, but we get a lot of slow dialog. The special effects of course are cheesy and some of the acting cheesy as well but it was a fun camp movie.

Its leaps and bounds better then the Pendragon movie. That movie was so bad it actually pissed me off as to why Hines left the cameras rolling on such boring scenes. If hines had cut his movie down to 90 minutes it would have been tolerable.


Come to think of it. It seems like all 3 films mentioned (Speilber included) have come pretty short on Alien Camera time.

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