I have seen the future of movies.

[sigp220.45]

I just watched The Meg - a pretty typical big-budget giant shark movie.

The plot is simple - deep sea researchers discover the floor of the Marianas Trench isn't really the floor. Its a fluid layer, below which there are wondrous things, including a giant shark - the titular Megaladon. Mayhem ensues.

Here's the thing: China.

A third of the cast is Chinese. Hot Chinese Mom, cute Chinese kid, stoic Chinese Dad, fat but brave Chinese friend.

That Longmire guy is in it, too. Never watched that show.

Probably 1/4th of the movie's dialog is in Chinese, with subtitles. I can't blame them - this thing is going to play in a million movie theaters in China, and in those Jason Statham will be subtitled, but the Chinese folks won't be. Pretty smart.

When the giant shark decides to chow some humans, he goes to a convenient Chinese beach resort.

The product placement was pretty blatant, too. Particularly the watches. (I know nothing about expensive watches. Haven't worn a watch in a decade. I have a phone.) No one ever had their sleeve covering their giant dive watch. Even a character who was afraid of the water and couldn't swim had a big honking dive watch.

There were some nice Jaws references, some only a real Jaws fan would get....... Pippin! Pippin!

Still, it was a fun time.

Standard movie thread caveats apply:

You haven't been to a movie in a theater since Butch met Sundance.
自从布奇遇到圣丹斯以来，你没有去过电影院。

Hollywood is full of pinkos who will never get your money.
好莱坞充满了粉红色，永远不会得到你的钱。

You watched it and you want 2 hours of your life back.
你看了它，你想要回来2小时。

 

[Chuck24]

The real future of movies is when cgi is developed to the point where movie makers no longer have to deal with pain in the posterior actors.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Let me get these straight -
You watched this but you didn't watch Longmire?
Interesting!

 

[sigp220.45]

Let me get these straight -
You watched this but you didn't watch Longmire?
Interesting!

Well, I did watch the first episode. The giant shark movie was more realistic.

 

[ExcitableBoy]

I'm waiting for a new John Wayne CGI movie, preferably the John Ford era Duke.

 

[Clarke Hammer]

Let me get these straight -
You watched this but you didn't watch Longmire?
Interesting!

Well, I did watch the first episode. The giant shark movie was more realistic.

Both of these posts make a strong point.

 

[eb07]

Well, I did watch the first episode. The giant shark movie was more realistic.

Absaroka county. Highest murder rate per capita in the USA. Lol

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I thought it was about something else. I was waiting for "The Stewie" as a sequel

 

[vigil617]

So the shark likes Chinese, huh?

 

[Roadtrash]

How does the shark hold those little sticks?

 

[Watchdog]

I'm waiting for a new John Wayne CGI movie, preferably the John Ford era Duke.

John Wayne was about as close to being a CGI creation of John Ford as a human can be. He was almost entirely Ford's creation, Ford's creature through and through.

 

[Bill Raby]

This movie has been in the works for about 10 years. Movie rights have been bought and sold a few times. It got into the early stages of production a couple times, then was cancelled. It all comes down to one thing. Money. Movies are expensive to make. Action movies that are heavy on the CGI are enormously expensive to make. It is impossible to make a shark movie that will not be compared to Jaws, which is a very high standard to live up to. Most shark movies have been flops. So a movie like MEG costs a lot to make and there is a high risk of it losing money. So who is going to pay for it?

The reason China is so prominent in this movie is because China provided $150 million to make the movie. You think that might come with a few strings attached?

Chinese people like movies as much as Americans do. They like pro China movies as much as Americans like pro America movies. And there is a whole lot of Chinese people in China. Some of these movies are getting so expensive that the American market is just not big enough to ensure a profit. Look at how many names are in the credits at the end of these big movies and realize that each one of those people got a pretty nice paycheck. If these movies do not appeal to a foreign market, and get access to it, they just will never be made in the first place.

 

[chief38]

With all the Cable channels, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu we have, 8 out of 10 times we find ourselves watching old B&W movies from the 1930's and 40's. I'll take a Bogie, Gable, Stewart, or Cagney movie almost always over the new releases. While I can quote lines, scenes and parts from the old movies, I rapidly forget who or what most of the new movies were even about! On rare occasion there is a new one worth watching, but they are few and far between these days.

 

[BigBoy99]

With all the Cable channels, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu we have, 8 out of 10 times we find ourselves watching old B&W movies from the 1930's and 40's. I'll take a Bogie, Gable, Stewart, or Cagney movie almost always over the new releases. While I can quote lines, scenes and parts from the old movies, I rapidly forget who or what most of the new movies were even about! On rare occasion there is a new one worth watching, but they are few and far between these days.

I agree completely. The last movie I went to see in a theater was the original Star Wars back in the late 1970's. The old B&W movies from the 1930's and 40's movies are the best. It seems to me, the current movies have about 10% of their budget to buy fake blood to throw around in the movie! With all of the realism shown on the screen is there any wonder why there is so much violence in the streets today?