War Of The Worlds: The movie made for me to rip on *SPOILERS

[Sheep]

Hello, as the title says, this is my critique of the movie War Of The Worlds.


Pros:
-DTS.
-Lots of Bass.

Cons:
-Everything Else.


Here it is, Spielberg's master piece movie. Staring none other then Captin Scientology. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by acting, I was on the other hand, expecting a good story.

I'm going to say this now. I am talking about stuff in the movie. So if you havent seen it, and for some reason, want to for another reason other then one of my Pro's, click the X and move on.


What attacks earth


The aliens are present in the first 20 mintues. I like this. No stupid devolpment of characters, just straight into killing and monsters. Although, Ray (Tom) drives really fast, and power slides around a corner, so we get the jist of his character. There is a series of lightning storms around the world and they strike the same spot several times. Whats happening is the alien is traveling down the bolt, into his killing machine walker, thats buried below the earths crust. These walkers look like some of the bad guys in Half Life 2, the three legged things. They shoot these lasers at people and blow them up into dust(in the movie, not the game). Before these walkers start killing people, they let loose this trombone like note. It's how they communicate in the movie. Hot dang, I know how we can screw them up, get a marching band full of trombones to tell them we come in piece. That or use trombones to shoot missiles at them.

This is where the first issue is. Near the end of the movie, the walkers take the humans captive in these cages under their butts. The walker uses the blood as fuel. So why were they killing people at first?


How we beat them


Not guns, not missiles, not nukes(never showed one, but nothing else worked). What kills these walkers is earth itself. One walker was being attacked by a bunch of crows.... apparently aliens are tasty, along with garabage. Yes thats right, our air, water, and earth killed them. We're safe. Everyone just hide and let our waste save us. Screw saving the earth, we would have been goners if we did.


The middle


This is the middle of the movie, as in the part between the walker frying people, and are collective-turds killing the walkers. This whole part is full of Ray having fits with his 2 kids. He is their father, while their mother is in boston. Ray is divorced from the mother, who's name I can't remember. The son is always lashing out at Ray for only looking out for himself, even though he's trying his damndest to get his stupid ungrateful A$$ to safety. The daughter, also can't remember name, I think its Rachel, is going to be called claptrap. Why? Simple. She doesn't shut her claptrap for the whole movie. Theres alien's and were hiding? BETTER SCREAM. This is so typical, and I for one am sick of this stereo-typical person in movies. They don't exist in real life, like a 3 legged walking killing machine.

I'm not going to go on any further, as I think I have gotten my point across.

It's a great test movie for surround and bass, but the plot is worse then Half-Life, and they had 3 legged walking killing machines...


SheepStar
Edit: Do you think I wrote this review to impress anyone? Take a walk you sissy.(for the person giving me a "negative" comment)

[j_garcia]

Do a search, we discussed this a while back when it came out in the theater. It has a LOT of problems, but it was still entertaining.

You may want to mention that there are some spoilers in there...

[Sheep]

I did.

"I'm going to say this now. I am talking about stuff in the movie. So if you havent seen it, and for some reason, want to for another reason other then one of my Pro's, click the X and move on."

Before I gave away anything.

This movie came out along time ago. This is about the DVD first. What features it has, and THEN the story.


SheepStar
EDIT: Besides, look at my title "The movie made for me to rip on" How can you rip on something without talking about it? It goes against the ripping Code!

[j_garcia]

(sorry, I missed that, I jumped right to the ripping :D )

I thought it was OK. Fun, but there were so many things that just seemed like they weren't thought out. Problems that weren't in the original.... If you want to analyze it that is, but as a popcorn movie, it was OK. I think I said it in the former thread, if one has not seen the original, the end is a pretty big let down.

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Unless the movie (pick whichever one you like) has ......





BOOK SPOILER AHEAD







The main character killing a priest with a hatchet after he go's insane, the movie isn't very good.

[HookedOnSound]

If it's really that bad then I'm really going to make an effort to see it now :)

It's a remake, it's not like you could really spoil it ...kind of like the Titanic movie...did you think the boat would stay afloat? ;)

Have a great day!

[j_garcia]

If it's really that bad then I'm really going to make an effort to see it now :)

It's a remake, it's not like you could really spoil it ...kind of like the Titanic movie...did you think the bloat would stay afloat? ;)

My brother and his girlfriend, who we saw it with, had no idea it was a remake. Same thing with many people I talked to about it; this was the first they knew of it...:rolleyes:

[Buckeyefan 1]

The DTS DVD just released is one of, if not the best DVD for HT bass I've ever heard. It's $13.99 at Walmart. If you need an "impress the family/friends" DVD, this is the one.

Now as far as the content/acting - go buy Madagascar. ;)

[j_garcia]

I could tell when I saw it in the theater, this was going to make a great bass demo DVD :)

[Matt34]

this was going to make a great bass demo DVD :)

They are hooting and hollaring about it on the AVS fourms.:D

[brian32672]

You guys may have not liked the movie (and someone said there is little bass content, thats when I said WHAT??? You may need a new sub:p )

Anyhow, here are the waterfall charts for WotW
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6583737&&#post6583737

And here is what a lot of other people are saying about it.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=606962

EDIT:: Also make sure you see my wholly cr*p post on that first link

[zilla]

I'm still in awe of the bass during the movie... I bought it simply for the effects, having seen the movie in theaters. During one point when the tripod is coming up from underneath the street, the ground starts to shake... one of the characters asks "can you feel that?" to which is compadre replies in the affirmative. And my father looked at me immediately and says... "I can feel it too" and laughs like hell lol it was classic, b/c the bass was just tremendous at that point and that's exactly the sort of response that you want as a home theater enthusiast.

And Sheep, the crows weren't attacking the tripod, just sitting on it. Exploring if you will. Viruses and bacteria were what killed the aliens.

[Sheep]

I'm still in awe of the bass during the movie... I bought it simply for the effects, having seen the movie in theaters. During one point when the tripod is coming up from underneath the street, the ground starts to shake... one of the characters asks "can you feel that?" to which is compadre replies in the affirmative. And my father looked at me immediately and says... "I can feel it too" and laughs like hell lol it was classic, b/c the bass was just tremendous at that point and that's exactly the sort of response that you want as a home theater enthusiast.

And Sheep, the crows weren't attacking the tripod, just sitting on it. Exploring if you will. Viruses and bacteria were what killed the aliens.

When have you seen a crow on something and NOT attacking it? Their crows!
:)

I know, but I just hated this story so much, I though I'd interpret it in a way, well, only I could think of.

I agree on the rumbling. I said the exact same thing to my dog. I put my Athena behind my chair and it would not stop vibrating. Placing the sub this close basically makes it a bass shaker. Obviously you don't need bass shakers...;)

SheepStar

[mike c]

the movie would have been great had there actually been a "war"

there was this ONE scene where choppers and tanks attacked something offscreen (enemy not visible)

why not call this "invasion of earth" or "attack of the aliens"

war of the worlds? please.

[HookedOnSound]

Hey Sheep,

I got around to see it and I have to agree the movie was very poor, I don't care how good the audio is, I can't overlook the bad story and acting.

If added this to my collection I'd have to say to my guests: "Don't mind the bad movie just listen to the audio!" :rolleyes:

I can't even believe Steven Spielberg's name is attached to this! How do you go from Saving Private Ryan to this? I'm extremely confused :confused:

[mpompey]

I will say this, WOTW made me take a closer look at my low frequency response in my screening room. I was one of the ones that didn't get the ground shaking feel that everyone else did.

In the 2 weeks since the movie's been out. I'm researched everything about sub placement, built custom spreadsheets to track SPL responses across my theatre, aggravated the wife by constantly talking about axial, tangetial, oblique room modes, ordered my BFD, and come to the realization that bass is not bass, and that I need a new sub along with a new receiver.

Whew! Can't wait to see what happens when King Kong (2005) comes out on DVD.

[edwelly]

I will say this, WOTW made me take a closer look at my low frequency response in my screening room. I was one of the ones that didn't get the ground shaking feel that everyone else did.

In the 2 weeks since the movie's been out. I'm researched everything about sub placement, built custom spreadsheets to track SPL responses across my theatre, aggravated the wife by constantly talking about axial, tangetial, oblique room modes, ordered my BFD, and come to the realization that bass is not bass, and that I need a new sub along with a new receiver.

Whew! Can't wait to see what happens when King Kong (2005) comes out on DVD.
WOW, I can't believe you didn't get any rumble... I wathced it last night and I could not get over the "feeling" of the bass in my room. My wife looked over at me and said, "see, aren't you glad I got that sub for you...?"

[mpompey]

WOW, I can't believe you didn't get any rumble... I wathced it last night and I could not get over the "feeling" of the bass in my room. My wife looked over at me and said, "see, aren't you glad I got that sub for you...?"

Seeing how you have the SV sub that I'm looking to get later this month, I must assume that your wife is a wonderful woman! Tell her that I said she is truly a Queen among peasants!:D

How is the sub working for you? I've read lots of online reviews praising it.

All joking aside, I remember seeing WOTW in the theatre and being blown away by it. It wasn't until I watched it in my theatre (DD track) was I disappointed. Some of that was because of the DD mix, the other part was that I had just lost one of my dual subs the week before. That lead to the loss of response for the low freq sounds in that movie. But upon further inspection/ research, I found that my subs were never positioned in a good spot, and the listening room hadn't been equalized, just calibrated for sound level.

I can say that now after 2 weeks of testing, calibrating, and re-positioning the sub, that WOTW definitely has some good thump to it. My el-cheapo sub is only rated down to 30 Hz. But hey you live and learn. The PB-10 should take care of that. I can't wait to re-evaluate WOTW once I get the new sub.

MP

[edwelly]

Seeing how you have the SV sub that I'm looking to get later this month, I must assume that your wife is a wonderful woman! Tell her that I said she is truly a Queen among peasants!:D

How is the sub working for you? I've read lots of online reviews praising it.

All joking aside, I remember seeing WOTW in the theatre and being blown away by it. It wasn't until I watched it in my theatre (DD track) was I disappointed. Some of that was because of the DD mix, the other part was that I had just lost one of my dual subs the week before. That lead to the loss of response for the low freq sounds in that movie. But upon further inspection/ research, I found that my subs were never positioned in a good spot, and the listening room hadn't been equalized, just calibrated for sound level.

I can say that now after 2 weeks of testing, calibrating, and re-positioning the sub, that WOTW definitely has some good thump to it. My el-cheapo sub is only rated down to 30 Hz. But hey you live and learn. The PB-10 should take care of that. I can't wait to re-evaluate WOTW once I get the new sub.

MP
I love the sub. It is great for HT as well as music. My plan next year though is to get a second one though. I figure for another $429, I will have bass that is worth so much more than $858...
When I watched the movie, I used the DTS track - I always use DTS if possible as I think it sounds better, not just louder.
So when should your new sub arrive?

[mpompey]

I'm not sure if I should wait until after Xmas for a price break, or just go ahead and get one for $430. Too bad there isn't a local reseller, I hate to pay all that shipping.

[j_garcia]

There are NO resellers for their products, they sell direct. You will not find any price breaks...but you can check their website or contact them directly to see if they have any b-stocks available or coming up (which I'm sure will be hard to come by).

[edwelly]

shipping wasn't too bad - I am thinking $30 maybe. A lot cheaper than I thought it would be. BTW, it is really packaged well...

[Buckle-meister]

I don't care how good the audio is, I can't overlook the bad story and acting.

That, and Tom Cruise's singing. Yuck! :mad:

Regards

[brian32672]

I can't overlook the bad story and acting.
Hmm, I thought the acting was adequate.
I see statements like this all the time.
Dakota Fanning for her age is a superb actress. (and IMO, did very well in this movie)
Tom Cruise is the one in this particular movie that his acting was adequate.
The story/script was quite lacking to me as well. But I have seen MUCH, MUCH worse.

The funny thing is I see statements like this - and then the movie will end up with quite a few awards.
(possibly acting)

I guess in this movie, Tom did not feel that he had to prove his acting skills.
Stardom has reached its point.
Granted, he has done some excellent acting in other movies.....

[j_garcia]

How much acting skill do you need to look surprised and run? :D

[brian32672]

How much acting skill do you need to look surprised and run? :D
Hmm, not much I guess.
But surely you know there was more than that.
The best part he did, was when he came home from just after seeing the (aliens machines come up) and the psyched look he had, and that the children could not get through to him.
However, that was about the worst acting in the movie from the children.
The boy I think did a pitiful job (throughout the entire movie).
He could have been easily done by anyone.

[j_garcia]

Yeah, when he looked in the mirror and saw the "dust" on him, that was a well done moment.

[mpompey]

I'll email them about B-stock and see if they've got anything. I tend to wait always waiting for a better deal to come along. At some threshold I'm just going to have to pull the trigger and order it.

MP

[j_garcia]

At the price point, there really aren't many subs that are comparable. It's already a good price for what you get, I guess is what I'm getting at. I know what you mean though, because I always try to put off buying unless it's on sale :) The best deal you are going to get is used, but that may be harder to come by.

[Khellandros66]

They are hooting and hollaring about it on the AVS fourms.:D


Yes until their overly hyped SVS/HSU subs gave out and broke down on them, then they all wept...LMAO

~Bob

[j_garcia]

Overly hyped would lead me to believe you haven't heard one :D I've heard your JBL...

[briggek8717]

During the scene where they come up from the ground in the city, my cats started freaking out and looking all around the room for what was making it shake like that. It was quite entertaining.

I have to agree that the movie wasn't that great, but if you watch it in DTS, it is worth watching just for the sounds alone.

Keep in mind that I only have the 10" SVS sub. I can't imagine what the bigger ones would have done.

[Tomorrow]

The original movie, which I sadly admit to seeing in my youth as a first run, was superb. It won an Academy Award for Special Effects, which were ground-breaking at the time. It was soooo much better than any sci-fi movie up to that time, I was stunned. Obviously it looks dated now...but man, 52 years ago, when it came out....it smoked!

This current remake (aren't there any new ideas in Hollywood anymore), IMHO, was nothing more than a long trailer of special effects. No story. No plot or character development. No acting, except for the wonderful Dakota Fanning. The aliens didn't even have any aerial attack...just the walkers.

As the Hulk would say, "Movie dumb!"

And as an aside...a couple of months before the remake came out, I was going to buy the 1999 release DVD of the original on eBay. It was selling for $50!!! Holy Smokes! So I thought I'd wait a couple of months. ACK. It went to $125!!!! Now that was just plain ridiculous. Guess what. Now that the Cruise movie is over and done (poorly done!), they're selling again for $7. Heh heh.