*** Official 'GHOSTS OF MARS' Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Matt Butler]

Anyone see this yet?
I plan to see it Friday as Im a HUGE Carpenter fan.
Just wanted to hear early opinions.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I can't help but laugh when I see a commercial for this movie. Why? I saw a trailer where Natasha Henstridge says "they were found hung and decapitated" which is hilarious in itself. My friends and I were laughing about that for days.

 

[Justin_S]

Carpenter is my absolute favorite of all time, so of course I will be seeing this on opening night! This film looks like yet another great Carpenter film to me. I can't wait until Friday!!!

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

I think the only John Carpenter films I'd seen prior to this were Vampires and whichever Escape From... film was the most recent. Didn't care for either of them. Really didn't like Ghosts of Mars. The characters are so unbelievably dumb, but I guess they needed to get another twenty minutes out of the film (you'll know what I mean when you see it). Then again, fans of this director may have a totally different take...
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[Chris Rein]

Morgan, I hate to be a stickler here, but that line about "the bodies were hung and decapitated" was actually said by Pam Grier. The line would have worked if she said, "...murding 6 rail workers. They were either hung or decapitated." That "either" makes a HUGE difference. Either way, what she said is just dumb. LOL!
Chris

 

[Wes Ray]

Phooey on you Carpenter nay-sayers. This movie is going to be great, and I can't wait to see it. I know those of you who watch films like Magnolia and Wonder Boys and afterward think you have a PhD in Life, but John Carpenter is a film fan's filmmaker. He truly loves making movies. These other fly-by-night fad directors of the moment like P.T. Anderson, Curtis Hanson, and Steven Soderberg...I dare them to stick around as long as Carpenter has. They've made a few decent films between them, but Carpenter is the most consistent in pleasing his fans and even critics. Take a look at the rave critical reviews that In the Mouth of Madness got. How about Starman?
Sure, Escape From L.A., Village of the Damned and Vampires weren't his best work, but they certainly were fun films and I mean sheesh...this is the guy who's given us classics like Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, Escape From New York, Assault on Precinct 13, and most recently, In the Mouth of Madness...what more does he have to prove?
Nothing. He just has to please his fans, and as long as Ghosts of Mars does just that, I'll be a happy camper. Besides, even his lesser efforts are more entertaining than most things put out by Hollywood today. I agree, the previews make it look like it's gonna suck, but a lot of great movies have had sucky previews, including:
Rocky...would you have seen this movie in theaters today if you had seen THAT trailer on TV? I doubt it, and I'm the biggest Rocky fan around.
Starship Troopers...This preview was just bad, all around. Great, fun sci-fi action movie though. Too bad so many missed out on it due to the terrible preview.
Seven...the preview to this film garnered ZERO interest in me. Just seemed like a by-the-numbers Silence of the Lambs rip-off. When I finally broke down and saw it, I was completely blown away.
So, I think some of the anti-Carpenter nay-sayers need to lighten up and realize that not every film is or aims to be Oscar material. Bring on Ghosts of Mars!
[Edited last by Wes Ray on August 20, 2001 at 02:40 AM]

 

[Sam Hatch]

Someone was talking to me during Qbert & Pooper last night, but when I saw the recap and both thumbs straight up in the air -- well, I thought I was seeing things. Sure, Ebert has a soft spot for SciFi, but I really didn't expect either of them to like this one.
I love Carpenter (in a platonic way), so I have to check it out as soon as possible!
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"Negative. I am a meat popsicle."

 

[Julie K]

I'm really looking forward to this. Carpenter is one of my favorite directors and while I haven't liked some of his films, I have never hated any of them. Some, like The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness are amoung my favorites.
I haven't seen any previews for Ghosts of Mars. I've only heard radio ads and I'm rather excited since it's been ages since I've heard "gore" given as reason for an R rating.
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[Jack Briggs]

In this era of diminshed expectations, I'll simply be glad if the film is not as bad as those other two Mars-related flicks of recent vintage. Even so, I'm waiting for the DVD (as I do in nearly all cases these days). I look forward to reading everyone's comments, though.
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[Tino]

I also consider myself a HUGE John Carpenter fan, however that is not reason enough to like everything he directs. IMO, his earlier films like Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Starman are MUCH better than his later films, such as Village Of The Damned and Vampires. Ghost Of Mars in particular looks absolutely horrendous.
Hopefully the film is better than the trailer.
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[Jay E]

I was looking forward to this film, but after seeing the trailer, I have my doubts about it. I'm hoping that the movie turns out to be better than the trailer.

 

[Chauncey_G]

So, I'm sitting in the theater and the Ghosts of Mars preview comes on. I'm watching it, then lean over to my wife and comment, "This looks horrible!". Then it says "John Carpenter" and my wife just gives a little laugh as my head sinks to my chest...
...now I HAVE to see it.

 

[Gavin K]

Why does everyone think the trailer sucks?
It looks like it has a nice stylized, ominous atmosphere, plenty of tough, in your face, macho attitude, even for the female characters, a cool score, and plenty of gore. All of the things that Carpenter does better than anyone.
Sure, the story might not be all that original, but Carpenter is a genius at applying a unique style to his films that make them unlike anything we've seen before.
And also, a lot of people have been disappointed with Carpenter as of late. I urge you to rewatch his recent efforts. His films don't make as strong a first impression as they used to, and so it's easy to dismiss them as unmet expectations. But re-watch Village. The birthing sequence, and that amazing telekinetic standoff are fantastic. And Vampires gets better with each viewing as well.
I've been anticipating Ghosts of Mars for a long time, and I don't think I'll be disappointed.

 

[Wes Ray]

I saw Village of the Damned twice in theaters. I've always liked it. It's not as strong of a film as In the Mouth of Madness but it's a fun, intriguing remake of a film that (while a decent 60's classic) definitely could've been improved upon. Carpenter did well with it.
Now I'll admit...I was a major Snake Plissken fan from seeing Escape From New York a long time ago on TBS and I hated Escape From L.A.. After not watching it in a long time, and bashing it as harshly as most people tend to do, I decided to give it another try. What a fun movie it was! It was just designed to show how cool Snake really is. He plays BASKETBALL to get out of a sticky, life-or death situation. He knows people with cool names, like "Fresno" Bob and "Carjack" Mallone. For those who haven't seen it, I'll apply a spoiler tag, but he also...
Spoiler:Sets the world back to the Stone Age, pretty much!
Yeah, it gets a tad goofy (the surfing part) but it is intended to be a comic book type action movie. You're not supposed to go in expecting real science fiction. I also used to criticize the horrible computer effects in it, but after hearing the whole tragic story about how Paramount gave the film very little time to be complete (as they wanted a late summer film) the effects had to be rushed and it wasn't Carpenter's fault at all. Looking back, I think he did well with what he had to work with.
And Vampires...I'm sorry guys, but this film just rules. I wish the team had been around longer, but Jack Crow and Montoya make a great team and I wish we all could've seen what their "one f*** of a good fight would've been." Thomas Ian Griffith is a much more frightening villain than that wimpy Deacon Frost was in Blade. Frost is the type of wimpy vampire that, according to Jack Crow, you only see in movies. hehe. What a fun movie.
[Edited last by Wes Ray on August 20, 2001 at 05:17 PM]

 

[Chris Dugger]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Ghosts Of Mars". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.
All HTF member film reviews of "Ghosts Of Mars" should be posted to this thread.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Dugger
[Edited last by Chris Dugger on August 20, 2001 at 05:28 PM]

 

[Justin_S]

The ONLY thing that looks bad about Ghosts of Mars is the horrible Eminem song that plays on the TV spots. I hate that guy, and I think his music is awful too! After all the brilliant films that Carpenter has made though, I can easily forgive him for this minor bad choice.

 

[Wes Ray]

Well, Carpenter has no say in what music is placed over the preview. That's all Sony.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

I was cracking up at the radio ad I heard this morning: "From the master of terror.... Ice Cube"! It goes on to list other actors and finally John Carpenter, but the delivery of that line just busted me up!
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-Jeff Cooper
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[Abdul Jalib]

I saw the "Making of..." on HBO-HD, and it looked to me like it will be one of the worst films ever made, considerably worse than Mission to Mars.
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[Norm]

As a former big fan, I now hate John Carpenters last five movies. As soon as I saw The Poster with Ice Cube on it I got worried, now after the trailer, I may skip it!
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