tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post7702648416390904714..comments2024-03-29T11:29:58.276+09:00Comments on BigHominid's Hairy Chasms: "X-Men: Days of Future Past": reviewKevin Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-30685444926049747442014-06-01T12:43:19.384+09:002014-06-01T12:43:19.384+09:00I can see some of where Cameron used bits and pie...I can see some of where Cameron used bits and pieces of Burroughs' previous work in "The Terminator," but once you watch Ellison's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GTYUHjFwKE" rel="nofollow">"Soldier,"</a> you'll really see more than bits and pieces that were borrowed. Just watch the first three minutes and see if you see any major similarities from this TV episode from 1964.<br /><br />What did you think about Burroughs' "Princess of Mars" Disney film, "John Carter?"<br /><br />Well, here I am busy as hell and now I am watching "Soldier" again, and seeing actor Tim O'Connor in the episode makes me want to watch certain episodes of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (where he was Dr. Elias Huer) and "Wonder Woman" (where he played the space alien, Andros) as they were favorites of mine growing up.<br /> John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-63054422668740153442014-05-31T21:56:44.678+09:002014-05-31T21:56:44.678+09:00On a side note speaking of "ripping off"...On a side note speaking of "ripping off" of sci-fi greats...<br /><br />Both James Cameron and George Lucas have openly said that much of their work is derived from Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" books. The first of which ("Princess of Mars") was first published in 1912. <br /><br />Avatar is very clearly derived from the John Carter novels. The Star Wars films are less clearly derivative, but Lucas has been open about his being inspired by ERB. I seem to recall reading somewhere recently that Lucas in his first pitch of Star Wars to studio execs back in 1975 started with words to the effect of "It is like the John Carter novels but set in deep space."<br /><br />Anyway... There you go. The Maximum Leaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16049183891152402775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-24618300244712624732014-05-31T16:47:53.874+09:002014-05-31T16:47:53.874+09:00You are right that most Americans won’t have read ...You are right that most Americans won’t have read those classic X-Men comics that the films are based on, and most won’t realize that “The Terminator” was based on James Cameron’s rip-offs of sci-fi master author, Harlan Ellison. <br />I certainly know that one of my literary heroes, Harlan Ellison, influenced many storytellers across numerous platforms that have come after him and his seminal work that he did in 1960’s television and print. He did a lot of time travel work on numerous "The Outer Limits" episodes and the near-perfect "Star Trek: TOS" episode, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_on_the_Edge_of_Forever" rel="nofollow">The City on the Edge of Forever.</a> Eventually, the truth caught up with Cameron and he had to give the "Terminator" films a credit that he borrowed heavily from <a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_19443_7-classic-movies-you-didnt-know-were-rip-offs_p2.html" rel="nofollow">Mr. Ellison's previous works.</a> It seems that “The Terminator” director has a habit of ripping off other sources like his TV series, "Dark Angel," being a virtual clone of the comic book, and TV series, "Cybersix." To this day, he's fighting off several claims against him regarding just how he came up with “Avatar.” <a href="http://io9.com/5426120/did-prog-rocks-greatest-artist-inspire-avatar-all-signs-point-to-yes/" rel="nofollow">Take a look at these Roger Dean paintings</a> and tell me that Cameron didn't do some heavy borrowing once again.<br />If you have the time, Ellison’s “The Outer Limits” television episodes, “Demon With a Glass Hand” and “Soldier” are as good today as they were back in the day. “Soldier” is especially worth watching as it is the basis for “The Terminator,” and it happens to star the ex-husband of Barbara Eden of “I Dream of Jeanie” and “Star Trek: TOS” Klingon, Michael Ansara. His Hugo Award winning short story, “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” also influenced several movies and directors and is a very quick read.<br /><br />One last lingering question about the movie though, just how did anyone in the non mutant, human population capture Magneto and imprison him for ten years? Talk about your major plot holes.John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-57862419878794041562014-05-31T14:19:55.818+09:002014-05-31T14:19:55.818+09:00The typical American viewer will have seen the Ter...The typical American viewer will have seen the Terminator films first, so no, I won't be editing anything out. I will, however, add a footnote crediting you with a deeper cause/effect intertextual analysis, even though that won't change the realty that millions of viewers will be in my boat regarding which came first. I'm not saying you're wrong; you obviously know the history better than I do. But your argument opens up a Pandora's Box because, to undermine it, all I need to do is find some writer who dealt with history-altering time travel even before Claremont and Byrne. That shouldn't be too hard. <br /><br />Glad we at least agree on the anachronisms. Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-77484752598662036122014-05-31T13:34:16.670+09:002014-05-31T13:34:16.670+09:00You might want to edit out your "Terminator&q...You might want to edit out your "Terminator" references, as the man truly/solely responsible for the subject matter in these X-Men films, thanks to his "The Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past" classic stories, is prolific comics scribe, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Claremont" rel="nofollow">Chris Claremont.</a> These masterpieces of his (which invigorated the franchise) predated "The Termintor" by several years.<br /><br />It's a real shame that the studio/producers didn't acknowledge the debt they owe to both Chris Claremont, and his fellow British countryman, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Byrne_(comics)" rel="nofollow">John Byrne, </a> for their vast storytelling richness, and illustrations, that they filled countless issues of classic American comics with that are now being used as source material to fill the coffers of Disney and FOX. <br /><br />Luckily, for those who want to read these great comic books in their original form, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Phoenix_Saga" rel="nofollow">The Dark Phoenix Saga</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Future_Past" rel="nofollow">Days of Future Past</a> are available as both graphic novels and collection volumes.<br /><br />Personally, I can't wait until 2016 as the X-Men movies are moving out of 70's and early 80's source material and into the early 90's when I started my collection of X-Men comics. If you think the time traveling in this movie was a bit far-fectched, you ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait until Scott's (Cyclops)and the clone of Jean Grey's (Dark Phoenix) son (Cable) arrives on the present, future, and past scenes coupled with the arrival of the uber-super villain, Apocalypse (who is the star of the next X-Men flick in 2016). The time traveling gets really fun then.<br /><br />As for this latest movie, it wasn't too, too bad for this fan (unlike that mess that is new new Godzilla), except for all the unbelievable technology used that did not exist in 1973. The U.S. didn't even have a working space shuttle yet, but somehow these Sentinels are flying around and able to track down and kill mutants. Anyone with half a brain would know that in 1973 this would be impossible considering the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative" rel="nofollow">Star Wars fiasco</a> that happened later on in the 80's.John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.com