Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

This is topic Race to Witch Mountain (2009) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-15-2009, 08:11 PM:

CINEMA: Kerasotes Star Cinema 16 and IMAX, Council Bluffs, IA
AUDITORIUM: 1
PRESENTATION: 35mm/Mystery Meat Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Out of focus picture (no, I didn't get up to complain. Nobody else did either. Why do I always have to be the one to complain? Stupid lazy movie goers.)
RATING: Two stars (out of four)

WARNING: "Don't go into the pimped out Spoiler, Jack."

Seriously...WHITE ceiling tiles?

THE PLOT: Teenage drivers crash their rad flying saucer. Wackiness ensues.

Disney has made some fairly clever camp kids/teen flicks in recent years. I caught "Sky High" on the Disney channel last weekend and watched it for the first time since its theatrical run. I'd forgotten how much fun it was. "Enchanted" comes to mind as well.

This one doesn't rank with those. Not even close.

It's just a pedestrian walk-through-the-motions pointless uncreative piece of dribble that the kids will probably like just fine.

Which, I suppose, is all it really needs to be.

You know what this movie made me want to do? Watch "The Gauntlet". So I'm doing that next.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-15-2009, 09:08 PM:

Surprisingly, it kicked Watchmen's butt in their week #2. I expected Watchmen to stay at #1 again but it dropped to $18 million. [Eek!]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-16-2009, 06:19 PM:

Watchmen deserved to fall bad as it did- limited attraction being the "R" and a tired hashed out story. "Matrix" wannabe it wasn't.

After seeing 'Race" it was enjoyable - better than the 1978 "Return" sequel whereas the 1975 "Escape" original was the best.

(wait until you see white GLOSSY ceiling tiles .. that one is definitely the 'go-figure' situation..)

But agree: a walk-in movie that'll soon be forgotten.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 03-17-2009, 09:28 AM:

This was not really too good. The special effects were cheesy (maybe on purpose) and there were some really bad "goofs" like having I-95 in Nevada for some reason and some really bad editing mistakes. There was no feeling of attachment to any of the characters and no chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and the Kids (as opposed to Gameplan where he had chemistry with his "daughter"). Well at least the girl didn't die like she did in "Bridge to Terabithia".

I guess kids will be mildly entertained but it didn't have any crossover appeal. I guess I should have watched "Slumdog Millionaire" instead even though a lot of people on here say it is boring.

2 out of 5 stars

Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 04-06-2009, 08:49 PM:

I thought this was entertaining enough, especially for a family film. Best described as slightly above average, Dwayne Johnson and Annasophia Robb making the difference. They 'got' how their parts should play better than the other leads who were sometimes too serious. A few scenes were of a poorer standard to the rest of the film which was reasonably well-shot. I think the slightly odd CGI in certain scenes was intentional.

Watchmen never had more than a week in it, hence the heavy day-and-date marketing push and the disguising as a standard superhero film. I really enjoyed the film but can see why it isn't everyones cup of tea, although can't see any similarities or attempts to be the Matrix (which was conceived years after Watchmen anyway).

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-06-2009, 10:58 PM:

quote: Lyle Romer
The special effects were cheesy (maybe on purpose) and there were some really bad "goofs" like having I-95 in Nevada for some reason and some really bad editing mistakes.

US Highway 95 runs through Nevada, but perhaps the production designer or director just loved the way cool shape of the Interstate highway shield and its patriotic red, white & blue colors. Maybe the filmmakers are just stupid, or just think we're stupid.

Movie geographical goofs are a pet peeve of mine -especially since many are incorporated into movies deliberately. The production is gambling on the audience being too stupid to notice.

Highway route marker errors are common, such as a California state highway shield showing up in a movie that doesn't take place in California. Sometimes they'll start a car chase in Maryland, but then they're on a stretch of I-105 in Los Angeles. Wow. I don't see anything in the 2003 MUTCD for road signs labeling highway worm holes.

Another thing that takes me out of the movie: we see the same freaking location recycled over and over and over again, regardless of the city or country where the movie is supposed to be set. The lower level of Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles is a good example of this. It has been used in countless numbers of movies and TV shows set in Los Angeles, as well as movies not taking place in L.A. We've seen that same subterranean street hundreds of times and know it is in downtown L.A. They might as well shoot a scene in front of the Eiffel Tower and pass it off as Boise, Idaho.
[Roll Eyes]

It's always fun to see the San Gabriel mountain range north of Los Angeles showing up as background scenery in a movie taking place nowhere near L.A., such as Washington, D.C. The last Die Hard movie offered us that one, along with D.C. having a harbor that looked a lot like Long Beach -and a laughable spiral approach to a CGI bridge. Oh, and they passed off the lower level of L.A.'s Grand Ave. as a toll tunnel in downtown D.C. Good job guys.

This sort of thing could be tolerated with major movies made a couple decades ago. And I might still be willing to put up with it to a limited extent when watching a low budget movie. Modern, big budget movies have more than enough technology at their disposal to get the geography looking correct.

Sorry to hijack the thread with this topic. It just makes me glad I didn't see Race to Witch Mountain (as if I would have watched the movie in the first place).

Damn. Just saw a commercial for The Soloist on TV. Lots of footage of the lower level of Grand Ave. At least the movie is set in L.A. and the street runs in front of the Walt Disney Concert Hall where the real life character on which this movie is based spends time watching concert rehearsals and playing music with virtuoso musicians.

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 01-19-2010, 01:09 PM:

Ok, yeah, that was posted by Joe in the random picture thread, but I thought it would be good here too, you know, for posterity.