ALL SCI-FI

[Randy]

While conducting international naval war games, an enormous fleet of war ships come across an alien armada, which has been hidden under the sea, and have surfaced a device which creates a huge impenetrable dome over a large portion of the ocean.

Only 3 naval destroyers have been trapped inside the force field with the aliens and must do battle against superior alien machines now surfacing.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp3646Zf8rg


I liked this movie

[orzel-w]

I liked it, too, and have the DVD.

I liked it for the visuals. The plot was senseless.
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WayneO
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[Pye-Rate]

I have participated in those war games. For me this was a reminder of good times.

[Bud Brewster]

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I downloaded this one and watched it. Wasn't sure I liked it until it was about 2/3 finished, but then it won me over, so I bought the DVD. What the heck, it was only $5.00. What a deal, eh?

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___________ Battleship (2012) Official HD Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[MetroPolly]

I've seen it. I always wondered how they got Liam Neeson to do this. I think it's cool that they used the Missouri at the end, Nice bit of historical context.

I have to say though that turning a board game into a movie, especially one as silly as this, makes little sense to me. What's next, Mousetrap?

[Bud Brewster]

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Ow, interesting idea! What popular board games and earlier video games could be made into big budget movies the way they did with this one?

How 'bout:

Trivial Pursuit: The Adventure Begins!

Indiana Jones must race around the globe to find the answers to hundreds of trivia questions that will break an ancient curse which will destroy the world.



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Pac Manster: The Man-Eating Monster!

Atomic radiation creates a gigantic mutant gif that goes on a rampage along America's highways, eating cars and their occupants! As it grows in size, it begins to eat towns and then cities! How can we stop this two-dimensional monster?



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Zombie Mall Madness

A pair of Valley Girls are determined to take advantage of a mall-wide one-day sale, and they brave the flesh-eating zombies who have overrun the mall in their insane attempt to "shop 'til they drop"!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

Two plot elements of Battleship that I felt were carried over much too literally from the board game were both based on the grid aspect. One was having the alien ships literally jump from one location to the next. The other was the targeting of the alien positions, wherein those positions were based strictly on discrete grid squares.

I did feel, however, that the alien weapons were well imagined.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

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Actually, I admired the movie for keeping such a straight face while converting aspects of the board gamein to various plot elements in the movie, right down to those "mortar shells" they lobed over, which were made to look like the pegs in the game.

And each time these things landed, they punched into the deck of the ship and just sat there for a few seconds while the audience smiled and thought. "Oh . . . I get it."







I should mention a small correction in Randy's initial post, concerning what he said below.

[orzel-w]

[Pye-Rate]

[Bud Brewster]

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My goodness, that certainly sounds familiar, Pye-rate.?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

I watched it again last night, and guess who I saw...

Tarzan and Mr. Robot!
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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Happy Memorial Day, folks!

In many ways, this movie is the prefect tribute to the brave soldiers who died in past wars. If gives us battleships from Pearl Harbor, vintage ships from WWII, and veterans who crewed one of those aging ships in the climatic battle!

This is MY kind of movie!

Obviously the film didn't do well because too many WWII veterans have died off — along with their sons (like me) — and the young snot-nosed punks who go to movies these days think stories like this one just made up all the history used in the plot!

My father served in the Navy during WWII. Even though he was never a fan of science fiction (being more into Western movies and TV series), I'm sure he might have liked this movie!




~ Click on the image to see the original portrait I painted of my father in the earlier 1970s, before I altered it more recently to create the above version by adding the cowboy hat with Paint.net.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 40 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ The veterans of the U.S.S. Missouri that Stone Hopper mentions are real life vets of the U.S.S. Missouri. Some served in World War II.

Note from me: I really love whole plot element concerning elderly WWII veterans rising to the task of using the old battleship to combat aliens.

~ Hopper's calling upon the retired veterans to help crew the Missouri is inspired by actual historical events. When the Iowa class battleships were reactivated in the 1980's, the Navy had to recall veterans who had served on the ships during World War II and Korea, so they could teach the new crews how to operate the guns, fire control systems and other 1940's era technology.

Note from me: This item is gratify, because it legitimizes the idea that the veterans possessed "lost knowledge" which needed to be resurrected and put to good use.

~ Hopper's order to drop the port anchor in order to rapidly swing the ship around to the opposite direction is a real-life maneuver known as clubhauling. It's very risky, but it allows a ship to re-tack in combat or an emergency. Clubhauling was used almost exclusively on sailing ships which were much lighter and easier to steer. A clubhaul on an Iowa class battleship would likely cause severe damage and injury.

Note from me: I'm glad this is not just a fabricated maneuver. It's presented very realistically in the movie, and the concept is quite logical. I also remember the maneuver being used in one the sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean.

~ The first of three big-budget, high-profile 2012 blockbusters, all starring Taylor Kitsch in the lead. The other two were John Carter (2012) and Oliver Stone's Savages (2012). All three were box-office disappointments, or failures. The fates of all three effectively stalled Kitsch's hopes of being the next big star.

Note from me: My opinion of Taylor Kitsch's acting is that he is intense, professional, and very talented. I like him in both Battleship and John Carter. It's a shame the public didn't appreciate the quality of those two exciting, highly imaginative movies.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)