Just came from a screening of it. Very cool movie, at times quite spectacular, great sense of humor, beautiful airships that we haven't seen before, good acting all the way through, a "dog" that all dog lovers will love, solid use of 3D in that it's used for depth and scope more than anything else. Far better than the trailer (yes, I actually watched the trailer) suggested.

Glad to hear it Ed.  I was worried.  I grew up on Burroughs and loved Princess of Mars.  I have been waiting for a good adaptation of a non-Tarzan Burroughs work. 

This could be a "hurry-up-and-see-it-before-its-too-late" kind of movie.


Quote:

Is John Carter 'doomed' at the box office? This weekend's big new release boasts an astounding $250 million price tag — and a startling lack of audience interest...John Carter is reminiscent of Kevin Costner's Waterworld...If John Carter flops, blame Mars..."When it comes to the box office, there's very little life on" the Red Planet. The animated Mars Needs Moms was one of last year's biggest flops, earning just $25 million on its $200 million production and promotional budget. The past 10 years also saw Mission to Mars, Red Planet, Ghost of Mars, and Doom all tank spectacularly; Mars Attacks! is Tim Burton's lowest-grossing movie of the past 15 years. "The amount of Mars-related flops could fill a crater," and John Carter looks to be next.

:-?

http://news.yahoo.com/john-carter-doomed-box-office-124500634.html

I'm holding out for the possibility that it achieves redemption through cult status. Blade Runner and Gattaca did not hit with general audiences the first time around. Those who did see them loved them.

I dunno, CARTER is scoring only at 49% (and a whopping 20% positive as of this writing with Top Critics) on Rotten Tomatoes....

:-/



ed symkus wrote on Mar 1^st, 2012 at 12:32am:

Just came from a screening of it. Very cool movie, at times quite spectacular, great sense of humor, beautiful airships that we haven't seen before, good acting all the way through, a "dog" that all dog lovers will love, solid use of 3D in that it's used for depth and scope more than anything else. Far better than the trailer (yes, I actually watched the trailer) suggested.

LA:

Quote:

I dunno, CARTER is scoring only at 49% (and a whopping 20% positive as of this writing with Top Critics) on Rotten Tomatoes....

After some scathing reviews, better ones; including very positive ones by Ed Symkus and Ty Burr, have lifted John Carter from flop-of-the-year status. It's now up to a respectable 7.0 on the IMDB after earlier reviews put it below 5. Strange goings-on indeed. Has anyone else seen it?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401729/

If it is unlikely to be booked at the next 'thon, (as Disney films tend to be) then maybe it IS worth a ticket after all. It seems to be the sort of film that only works on the big 3-D screen.

Mrs. F is reluctant to see a TV beefcake actor sword fighting with creatures who look disturbingly like Jar-Jar Binks. I'm leaning toward the glass is half-full with director Andrew Stanton (Wall-E), Samantha Morton, Willem DeFoe, Ciaran Hinds and Thomas Hayden-Church in the cast.

What do the board members think?

It's a pretty good movie.  Some of the acting is a little rough, but you get used to it by the end and it works for period pulp.  It's got the sort of world-building that only George Lucas, James Cameron, and Peter Jackson pull off better, and the Pixar-supervised effects are pretty great.  I saw it in IMAX 3D but think it will work perfectly well in 2D; it's a good post-conversion, but not an integral one.

My only real complaint is the bookends with Edgar Rice Burroughs as a character; maybe that's from the original books, but they could be easily cut and not be missed at all.

Caught it tonight.  Both Fran and I liked it quite a bit.  Walt Disney handled the material very well.  I grew up on Burroughs and so I have a soft spot for the material.  I have been waiting for a non-Tarzan Burroughs vehicle to be done right and this one qualifies.  If you enjoy sword and sandal stories with a science fiction setting you will not be disappointed.  It is too bad that the selling of the movie was so mismanaged although selling an Burroughs story, even Tarzan, would be difficult today. 
Anyway, if you have not seen it it is worth a look. 

Finally getting around to posting some reviews.

http://www.freetime.com/onscreen-john-carter/

http://www.theargylesweater.com/

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/tas/2012/tas120426.gif

FWIW:  The Brattle will be playing this in 2D and (I think) 35mm this coming Wednesday and Thursday.  Pretty much the only chance we've got to see it without the post-conversion and on film in the Boston area, and it deserves a shot on the big screen.