That's going to become a mantra around here!Ben wrote:We have a thread, don't we?
Thanks Dan!
Merging...
Underdog
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OK, so I saw Ben's somewhat positive review (though oddly nearly devoid of screencaps of Underdog himself--- what's up with that? 
), and so when it came to satisfying my daughter's urge to see Underdog, I felt good about picking it up. I even bought it --- the Blu-ray no less--- since that would put me over the top for getting the big Zorro set from Disney Movie Rewards. And...
I kinda liked it. It really felt like one of those silly 1960s/1970s Disney movies that were "comedy adventures for the whole family." Except for some thankfully (relatively) sparse potty humor, this felt like a film made "like they used to." I really had reservations about this one, but I would say keep an open mind and let yourself like it. I think too many critics out there try to be overly hip and trash movies like this unnecessarily.
), and so when it came to satisfying my daughter's urge to see Underdog, I felt good about picking it up. I even bought it --- the Blu-ray no less--- since that would put me over the top for getting the big Zorro set from Disney Movie Rewards. And...I kinda liked it. It really felt like one of those silly 1960s/1970s Disney movies that were "comedy adventures for the whole family." Except for some thankfully (relatively) sparse potty humor, this felt like a film made "like they used to." I really had reservations about this one, but I would say keep an open mind and let yourself like it. I think too many critics out there try to be overly hip and trash movies like this unnecessarily.
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After being "forced" to watch it for lack of any other available Blu titles on my Netflix queue...Randall wrote:OK, so I saw Ben's somewhat positive review (though oddly nearly devoid of screencaps of Underdog himself--- what's up with that?
(Okay, so I wanted to see the Sleeping Beauty trailer, and Ratatouille was still too fresh in the memory to rent.)
I'll confess to being pleasantly astonished they left in the bit about U-Dog talking in rhyme (even if he only does it deliberately on the job, to market his image)...And of course, they had to show images of the cartoon in the opening credits, with Classic Media's marketing agents looking over their shoulder.
Still A), you can tell a scriptwriter's got his head irretrievably stuck in 80's cookie-cutter-concept timewarp when we get the "Jay Leno monologue" scene in the middle of a headline montage, and B), what is the CONTEMPT that annual obligatory studio talking-pet movies have for dogs, that practically every other joke involves dogs talking about the glories of sniffing crotches and drinking out of toilets?
(And yes, when U-Dog and Polly go on their doggy-date, three guesses what studio-planted Disney self-referential joke we get, stretched almost to the breaking point...Anyone for Italian?
)Still, as Disney "Grab the franchise and run" quickies of Classic Media movie deals go (nods to the Leslie Nielsen "Mr. Magoo"), at least it wasn't the neurotic bouncing-off-the-walls Ritalin-fest that "Inspector Gadget" was...Dear gods, where had that one come from?
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Glad to see my words swaying the crowd and proving the film to be a throwback kinda gem to the old days.
Yep, I think I mentioned that this wasn't as obnoxious or tiring as Magoo, Gadget (or George Of The Jungle for that matter), though I found the inclusion of several movie references - the Disney ones among them - to be natural inclusions and well pulled off.
Given a couple of instances contemporary fiddling that I couldn't overlook, I couldn't go all out and praise the film, but I did very much enjoy it. I'm hoping it'll be one of those movies that gets good word of mouth on DVD and turns it into the more modest hit it deserves to be - Underdog is not a bad film.
As for the screencaps, well, like the first Superman movie I liked the way they built up the character (for an intended franchise?) and didn't reveal him until quite a way into the movie. So many of the screen caps came from those earlier scenes and others were to illustrate certain points. It's a shame he wasn't wearing the costume during the first flying sequence because I loved that and it would have made that first shot perfect. There were other moments to pick from, of course, but I also didn't want to give too much of the look away, and most of the flying stills I tried to grab just didn't look too good when they weren't moving (something I also noticed they didn't push in the publicity and why the front cover looks so odd). Since I didn't want to give the impression that the effects were cheesy, I kept away from Underdog stills and just went for the one final shot, ironically their final shot and a still itself!
Long answer, but them's my reasons!
Yep, I think I mentioned that this wasn't as obnoxious or tiring as Magoo, Gadget (or George Of The Jungle for that matter), though I found the inclusion of several movie references - the Disney ones among them - to be natural inclusions and well pulled off.
Given a couple of instances contemporary fiddling that I couldn't overlook, I couldn't go all out and praise the film, but I did very much enjoy it. I'm hoping it'll be one of those movies that gets good word of mouth on DVD and turns it into the more modest hit it deserves to be - Underdog is not a bad film.
As for the screencaps, well, like the first Superman movie I liked the way they built up the character (for an intended franchise?) and didn't reveal him until quite a way into the movie. So many of the screen caps came from those earlier scenes and others were to illustrate certain points. It's a shame he wasn't wearing the costume during the first flying sequence because I loved that and it would have made that first shot perfect. There were other moments to pick from, of course, but I also didn't want to give too much of the look away, and most of the flying stills I tried to grab just didn't look too good when they weren't moving (something I also noticed they didn't push in the publicity and why the front cover looks so odd). Since I didn't want to give the impression that the effects were cheesy, I kept away from Underdog stills and just went for the one final shot, ironically their final shot and a still itself!
Long answer, but them's my reasons!
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Ben wrote:Yep, I think I mentioned that this wasn't as obnoxious or tiring as Magoo, Gadget (or George Of The Jungle for that matter), though I found the inclusion of several movie references - the Disney ones among them - to be natural inclusions and well pulled off.
I first watched the "meatball" joke (not counting the Styx-song refs) thinking, "Charlie Sheen did it better in 'Hot Shots, Part Deux', and you didn't see it coming."
And then it kept going ON, and on...