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Digital
Media FX News Archives
Wednesday
- July 18, 2001
- Jurassic Park 3 Opens to
Mixed Reviews
- Ted Berman Passes
Away
- Team Atlantis Sinks From
TV Schedule
- News Link of the Day
- Hollywood's Bummer Summer
Jurassic
Park 3 Opens to Mixed Reviews
 (by
digitalmediafx.com) Jurassic Park 3 opened today in over
3,200 theaters domestically. The movie, acknowledged to have major
production problems, is receiving highly mixed reviews from mainstream
critics. Most critics are praising the film for the dinosaur visual
effects and lambasting the movie for a poor story and very weak
ending.
Regardless
of reviews, Jurassic Park 3 is expected to have a huge opening.
And even with a poor story and weak ending the movie plays much
better than most "big" movies released this year like
Tomb Raider and A.I.
Here are select
quotes from critics about Jurassic Park 3:
Cody Clark
of ABC's Mr. Showbiz - "...the dinosaurs are as fantastic
as we've come to expect from the dream team of George Lucas' ILM
and F/X maestro Stan Winston. But even at a trim 92 minutes, Johnston
can't sustain the movie's momentum — there's a surprising
amount of downtime between dino attacks — through to its
super-silly deus ex machina ending. The ending is so absurd, in
fact, that it feels like it was improvised by a committee of 6-year-olds.
If the raptors truly were intelligent, they'd have eaten the final
reel."
Kenneth
Turan of the Los Angeles Times - "The dinosaurs are getting
smarter. The people are getting stupider. A lot stupider. But
really, what did you expect?...Some of the film's creatures, such
as the flying pteranodons, are noticeably chilling, while the
raptors, fierce as they can be, have a tendency to occasionally
look like demented chickens on steroids. But it matters not. Humans
may be stupid and fragile, but dinosaurs, dinosaurs are forever."
Philip
Wuntch of the Dallas Morning News - "the lack of empathetic
characters seems more a filmmaking deficiency than some grand
cinematic plan. The viewer definitely leaves the movie feeling
unsatisfied. As a result, Jurassic Park III directly shows us
how much audiences have gained in the name of special effects.
And indirectly it shows how much has been lost."
Paul Clinton
of CNN - "Wisely held down to a breathtaking 92 minutes,
Jurassic Park III is actually just what it's supposed to
be -- a popcorn-chomping thrill ride that's perfect as a summertime
distraction. And yes, the ending leaves things wide open for Jurassic
Park IV. Was there ever any doubt? Don't think so."
From Monday's
Digital Media
FX Newsletter Review of JP3 - "...Jurassic
Park 3 has a weak story, weak character development, a weak
ending, and a script written on the fly like the hastily written
(and poorly produced) score for Tomb Raider. So how does
Jurassic Park 3 manage to be better than Jurassic Park
2? The answer is in the casting (particularly Sam Neill) and
the introduction of new dinosaurs like the flying Pterandons.
The Pterandons are quite possibly the best dinosaur villains yet
because of their strategic ability to attack from the air. This
new element of 'dino-fright' plays well in Jurassic Park 3.
So does a short (and I mean short) battle between a T-Rex and
Spinosaurus."
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Ted Berman
Passes Away
(by digitalmediafx.com) A memorial service is being held today
for former Disney animator Ted Berman, who passed away on Sunday
at his home in Los Angeles, CA. He was 81 years old.
Berman shared
directing duties with Richard Rich on two Disney animate features
- The
Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron.
In addition he worked on several other animated Disney movies
like The Rescuers. He worked 45 years for Disney, starting
in 1940.
Ted Berman`s
accomplishments as an animator at Disney include designing the
characters of Michael and John for Peter Pan and the puppies
in 101 Dalmatians. His story credits include Jiminy Cricket`s,
animated sequences for the original Mickey Mouse Club and
Ludwig Von Drake shows for The Wonderful World of Disney,
plus the story and script for Disney`s Academy Award-winning featurette,
It`s Tough to be a Bird.
According
to the Los Angeles Times, "Berman took special pride in working
on four films up for Academy Awards -- 'Paul Bunyan,' which was
nominated in 1958; 'Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too,' nominated
in 1974; 'It's Tough to Be a Bird,' named the Best Short Film
in 1969; and 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks,' which won for Best Visual
Effects in 1972."
Berman was
also a talented writer.
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Team Atlantis
Sinks From TV Schedule
(by digitalmediafx.com) Prior to the release of Atlantis:
The Lost Empire, Disney had been hard at work on a new animated
TV series based on the movie. The series (which Digital Media
FX announced on June 13) was called Team Atlantis and would follow
the adventures of the Atlantis team beyond the movie. Changes
at Disney along with a poor box office showing for Atlantis:
The Lost Empire has resulted in Disney quietly canceling the
planned series even though pre-production had been underway for
several months.
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News Link
of the Day - Hollywood’s Bummer Summer
According
to MSNBC:
"So an
ape, a dinosaur and Chris Tucker walk into a bar ... That’s
the unfunny setup for the suddenly stressful back end of summer
2001, whose fortunes rest heavily on Planet of the Apes, Jurassic
Park III and Rush Hour 2. The punchline: Thanks to
spiraling ticket prices and stagnating admissions, Hollywood’s
key moviegoing season could wind up well below initial sky-high
predictions..."
Click
here for the full story.
Unsolicited
dFX Tip to Hollywood - "Make Better Movies and They Will
Come"
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