*** Official THE CORE Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

Can't you go by yourself?

However, if you didn't like Armageddon, I don't think you'll like "The Core".

/Mike

 

[Steve Christou]

What if I enjoyed Armageddon, hated Virus, liked Deep Impact, sniffed at Volcano, spat at Dante's Peak, gawped at Godzilla, gurgled during Showgirls and awed at The Two Towers? Would I like The Core?

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Definitely maybe.

All depends on what you thought of Tron.

 

[Glenn_Jn]

Jeez what's wrong with you people. Armageddon is a popcorn movie nothing more nothing less. The rules of "real life" don't apply in these kind of movies. If you expect the rules of science to be adhered to then stick to watching the Discovery channel documentaries. These films are made for people who, like me, sometimes like to just sit back and go for a fun ride. I don't expect anything intellectual to come from it. It's like a cinematic equivalent of a rollercoaster ride. You just hold on and enjoy it. Unless your one of these people who are so uptight you can't enjoy anything unless you can bitch about it.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Glenn,

Your exact points (and those diamterically opposed) have been discussed and debated ad nauseum. I think I can recap:

A. Some people admire Armageddon for its colorful bombast, eclectic cast of character actors, and overall slick presentation.

B. Others may be able to acknowledge the above opinions, yet still firmly believe the movie is a PIECE of CRAP.

It's not a question of one turning off one's brain; I'd wager that every single HTF Movie Forum regular can enjoy 'brainless eye candy' but that still doesn't mean they'll appreciate Bay's flying rock flick.

And for the record, I'm in group A. I adore the flick and proudly own the Criterion edition!

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

It's all about the animal crackers, baby! Schuh-WING!!

-Dennis

 

[RobertR]

The rules of "real life" don't apply in these kind of movies

That statement completely agrees with my characterization of them as Hollywood fantasies. They have nothing to do with real science. Therefore, your own logic says I'm not "wrong".

 

[Andres Munoz]

You guys are cracking me up with this non-sense.

We're all entitled to our own opinion and I respect that. I'm not even going to try to get into the "is Armaggedon's science believable or not".

Both Armaggedon and The Core are mindless sci-fi action flicks and I had a great time watching both.

But The Core did surprise the hell out of me. At least I was interested in watching Armaggedon after watching the trailer. It looked pretty cool.
But after watching the trailer of The Core and seeing what the premise of the movie was, I was saying to myself "God, this is going to be so bad, it's so corny". But after watching it yesterday (had no plans and my brother in law was going to see it so I went with him), I have to admit, I was entertained.

Even if you leave your brain at the door, movies can still go horribly wrong and bore you to death. This was not the case with The Core.

Pretty good. Good enough for me to want to buy the DVD when it comes out. Now THAT is saying something.

 

[Steve Christou]

Problem is I usually take my brain with me when I go to the cinema, I usually keep it in a jar next to Anne Uumellmahaye's, (cue puzzled looks by non-Steve Martin fans).

I missed The Core at the pictures, couldn't convince anyone that it might be a blast, so I'll wait for the dvd, when I described what it was about to she-who-must-be-obeyed she had this glazed look on her face and so I decided not to mention it to her ever again.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I think that was a good call Steve. Luckily I was able to sneak out with a buddy while the master was away on business. Actually, it was more like drug away since I was in no hurry to see it (turns out, I was right not to be). Per usual the master was unable to understand my desire (or willingness in this case) to see such a film. I did not question the master in regards to her choice to drag me to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I'm dumb enough to go see The Core, but I'm not stupid.



I disagree just a bit on the Armageddon comparison/discussion. First off, Bruckheimer goes to the manipulation well far more often, using scenes that don't fit even within the film narrative just because they look and/or sound cool.

Core has a few of those - cooking the peach was stupid for example, simply because anyone including the audience already understood the explanation and it's doubtful that Eckhart's character would have bothered with the trouble to do that demonstration for that purpose, even within the film.

But The Core spends more time celebrating the idea of the science fantasy, while Armageddon spends it's time celebrating the idea of being cool. In short, I found Armageddon far less respectful of science in terms of why and how it was being used. That is how The Core relates more to Fantastic Voyage. The Core takes plenty of leaps of faith and makes no effort to be science FICTION (as pointed out in earlier posts), but it truly loves the stuff it's imagined.

Armageddon is trying to be science FICTION IMO, but only as a basis for some cool action adventure film. It's not in any way interested in the actual science, in terms of dreaming of impossible journeys and the wonder of science (except in the faintest of moments).

This is what I meant by slight disagreeing, mainly with Robert and Jack I guess. I agree on science fantasy as a genre, but I disagree that each film was trying to equally fit into that category, as I just described above.


Armageddon fails because it's Bruck at his most manipulative and corny (and not just in the narrative, its also a great example of his visual cliches). The Core fails because it's script breaks down toward the end, and the film is too front-loaded with narrative and runs out of space to fit the last scenes in properly, so it makes a mad dash to the finish rather than naturally ending.

Unobtanium was quite funny to me, just the kind of joke you might expect a scientist to make. I mean the whole point was that he didn't really know what he wanted to call it so he made up a funny name.



And as long as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars exist, the "check your brain at the door" defense will remain utterly meaningless. Many fun action/adventure films deliver in a big way without requiring the temporary lobotomy.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I was so glad to see that The Core didn't include one of my most hated movie cliches (and one that Armageddon is famous for): The crew walking in slow motion! That one annoys the hell out of me.

Oh, here goes another one. When the countdown reaches 0 and the ship "takes off" (more like submerges) I was so expecting one of the crew to yell "YEEEEHAWWW!". Another cliche that I hate. Thank God it wasn't used either.

The ones that did make it into the movie (and it's a whole bunch of them) didn't bother me.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Unobtanium was quite funny to me, just the kind of joke you might expect a scientist to make. I mean the whole point was that he didn't really know what he wanted to call it so he made up a funny name.

Kinda like a little element called Einsteinium.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I liked it only because they followed it with Fictner saying, "Talk about the wrong stuff".

Good points Seth, and I agree with your distinction in how the two films approached the science.

 

[Bill J]

By the way, did anyone else other than myself nearly die laughing at the very first death scene in this film involving the glass table? I guess I have an odd sense of humor, but that had me rolling!

I found that to be extremely humorous as well. :b

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I finally saw this yesterday and I have to say I like it more than Armaggedon because it didnt try and be a laugh a minute movie and love story and....

Sure, it was contrived at times but it took itself seriously and it was a good ride.
And you cant lose with Aaron Echart taking his shirt off.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

Did anyone else think the worst scene in the film was at the end when that scrawny Hacker is running on the deck of the carrier yelling "HEY! I know where they are!!" like a nancy boy...
I was stunned by how bad that scene came off (like a bad "tug at the heart strings" scene ripped from Armageddon). Disaster sure did strike at the END of the film...for the audience, unfortunately.

-Dennis

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yeah Dennis, my buddy and I both considered that perhaps the worst moment in the film. My buddy was hoping the aircraft launch system "block thing" would zip across and tear his legs off.

I was just so let down with the sloppiness of the last 20 minutes. There wasn't time for a proper "excape" story, so just have them quickly resolve it instead. For example, why not have the lasers go ahead and work with the heat power.

Or use my idea and have them find their way out of an active volcano (like on the Big Island of Hawaii) and sail down to the water, perhaps floating/tumbing/something over to a beach area. Corny, but appropriate for the romantic ending and fun in the James Bond ending way.

Any time a film has something like "It will probably be impossible for us to make it" followed by a title that says "6 Hours Later", or even worse "18 Hours Later", it's a fuck up. This film had 2 of those in the last 20 minutes.

Reminds me of the old standard math/engineer cartoon gag. A proof is written on a chalkboard and at the critical point before the result there is written "And then a miracle occurs". Movies have no more business taking this approach than math proofs do.

 

[WillKTaylor]

First of all .. I am 31 years of age ..... and now feel as if I am ... let's just say about 12 years old after seeing this movie ... no, not film, movie. This is not only the dumbest movie ever made ... but the most retarded. Seriously .... don't mean to spoil it. But hey ... after my recommendation ..... you are doing yourself a service by not seeing this. Eye candy ... popcorn movies ... what the hell ever ... see I4 10 more times and you'll feel better. For crying out loud ... if you feel the need for anything more challenging or exciting ... or fun, I can run my receiver at half the speed on Fifth Element's DTS track than it takes to at least feel the soundtrack of this brown, stinky, obtuse gel .. I'm sorry .. nor am I intelligent enough to forsake a movie such as Search and Destroy more than this drivel .... but really, this movie is not even worthy enough to consider a joke. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! .... no wonder why Hollywood has the majority fooled.. Lol ...

.... no wonder why my DVD collection has been entrusted to foreign cinema's offerings. This is a "I couldn't pay enough" type movie ... similar to Lost In Space. But, in LOS's favor .. at least, this direction could have resulted in a variety of endings. The Core .... hahhhhhhh!!! LMAO.. I'm sorry all ... this is embarassing. Then again .. so is the Jon Amiel and whoever the heck financed this nonsense .. utterly and true. Then again, see it for yourself and be the judge. However, I have not seen a movie so bad in so long ..... Frankly, there was not one single thing about this movie or DVD that I could advise seeing .. not even if it included a director's explicit cut of his last sex scene. F it ..... I'm sure it was as horribly horrible as this 2 hour piece of ..........................

... OK, I'm done.

 

[Josh Simpson]

Hey Will, tell us how you really feel...