The Terminator is amazing, fire everything else
― flappy bird, Monday, 6 November 2017 17:32 (six years ago) link
i think Michael Biehn as an action hero is supremely underrated, his back-to-back roles in Terminator and Aliens are two sides of the same coin and really interestingly vulnerable at the time they were released, in how these are a pair of strong, wary, brave, smart men who at various points defer to and depend on the female hero.
― omar little, Monday, 6 November 2017 18:44 (six years ago) link
yeah, it’s a real shame biehn didn’t go on to a more high-profile career, partic since everyman action heroes were about to be a big thing after die hard
― What's the range of an Iranian frogman dipshit? (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 6 November 2017 18:53 (six years ago) link
i think even the everyman action heroes of the post-die hard era were pretty cocky dudes, Biehn i think was too believably low-key and measured compared to Bruce Willis and some other actors. i like this bit of Alien 3 trivia:
Walter Hill and David Giler penned the final script, which had Hicks killed off in the opening scene. Biehn, upon learning of his character's demise, demanded and received almost as much money for the use of his likeness in one scene as he had been paid for his role in Aliens.
damn right, get that money
― omar little, Monday, 6 November 2017 19:06 (six years ago) link
God what a great collection of patchwork claptrap
― Gary Synaesthesia (darraghmac), Friday, 10 November 2017 23:24 (six years ago) link
james cameron still GOAT. pic.twitter.com/dFAnVfr8Dh— Peter LabuzAAAHH! (@labuzamovies) October 16, 2019
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, 18 October 2019 20:31 (four years ago) link
the propeller dude in titanic rules bc james cameron was like “this is going to be a respectful and purposeful recreation of a tragedy, except for one guy.”— 🩸Miss Gender🩸 (@girldrawsghosts) September 20, 2022
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 21:59 (one year ago) link
Maybe that happened to a Titanic guy and he would’ve appreciated someone telling his story.
― circa1916, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 23:13 (one year ago) link
i hadn't seen it in 25 years and remembered v little about it besides it ending with ed harris chilling with aliens on the ocean floor but the abyss totally rocked my shit
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 9 January 2023 03:58 (one year ago) link
avatar 2 inspired me to do a cameron marathon obv. i skipped pirahna 2 bc there's seemingly legit uncertainty over how much of it he directed (even though i know from a terminator doc i just watched that he was involved in post-production? unclear. the credits sequence rocks though). i think i prefer the aliens extended cut these days, it's such a richly-constructed environment why not live in it for fifteen more minutes
michael biehn is so fucking good
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 9 January 2023 04:13 (one year ago) link
how did you watch the abyss? i'd like to see it but my understanding is that isn't super easy to do.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 9 January 2023 04:16 (one year ago) link
yeah i had to use methods
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 9 January 2023 04:16 (one year ago) link
i also like your comment about aliens, i think that's the best thing about that movie and why it's my favorite cameron of the ones i've seen
― call all destroyer, Monday, 9 January 2023 04:17 (one year ago) link
have read at least one report that an abyss blu-ray will finally come out next year, but i've heard that one before
there is a really nice looking copy ~out there~ that i believe briefly appeared on streaming? def blu quality
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 9 January 2023 04:20 (one year ago) link
The making-of doc about The Abyss (called Under Pressure, I believe) is pretty interesting if you can find it.
Did not look like a fun thing to make! Also the fact that they shot the majority of the underwater stuff in a giant, unfinished nuclear power plant containment tank is fucking wild.
― circa1916, Monday, 9 January 2023 14:55 (one year ago) link
i watched it last night! what a stupidly hard movie to make
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 9 January 2023 15:20 (one year ago) link
there's a bit on the ILM documentary about how they did the effects for the water creature in the abyss, fun stuff
― 龜, Monday, 9 January 2023 15:28 (one year ago) link
think the last time i heard about a filmmaker filming something in an abandoned nuclear power site it was tarkovsky/stalker and he died of cancer afterwards
― 龜, Monday, 9 January 2023 15:29 (one year ago) link
key for Cameron and co was the choice to shoot in an unfinished nuclear power plant and not an abandoned one
There was a western film which was shot near a nuclear test site and similarly lots of cast and crew died of cancer (John Wayne being one of them iirc)
― omar little, Monday, 9 January 2023 16:06 (one year ago) link
that was his Genghis Kahn movie, The Conqueror. everything about that thing sounded like a disaster.
also yeah, xxp that multi-part Industrial Light & Magic doc on Disney+ is excellent, especially the earlier episodes covering its more Wild West days.
― circa1916, Monday, 9 January 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link
i didnt realize the Abyss was so hard to see these days. i'm still carting around my special edition dvd from back in the day. i guess that explains why it seems massively underrated in the Cameron canon, an incredibly fun movie
― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Monday, 9 January 2023 16:12 (one year ago) link
Cameron claims a deluxe Blu-Ray treatment is coming out this year, but he's been saying that for years now. Presume it'll be available streaming in some capacity whenever that sees the light of day.
― circa1916, Monday, 9 January 2023 16:18 (one year ago) link
! 🌊
https://x.com/jimcameron/status/1724111169840124360?s=46&t=bJOqpCuQneT7ju08y55VSA
― piscesx, Monday, 13 November 2023 17:13 (six months ago) link
nice, been meaning to see this
― k3vin k., Monday, 13 November 2023 17:23 (six months ago) link
it's such a great movie
― ivy., Monday, 13 November 2023 17:27 (six months ago) link
Possibly the only Cameron movie where the acting is the best part.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:09 (six months ago) link
My favorite Cameron film! This is great it's finally remastered
― octobeard, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:18 (six months ago) link
Hope it's not the Director's Cut. OG ending was perfect. Hope they kept that
it’s the special edition
(i prefer the special edition ending in just about every way even tho the frozen tidal wave cgi is a little ehhh)
― ivy., Monday, 13 November 2023 18:21 (six months ago) link
Kind of funny how many Cameron movies feature someone fighting in a mech suit, if you include the submersible battle here. Both Avatars, Aliens, this, even his short amateur film Xenogenesis.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:24 (six months ago) link
is it any wonder he eventually adapted an anime
― ivy., Monday, 13 November 2023 18:37 (six months ago) link
Seriously. Why has Jim wasted so much time exploring the ocean when his heart is clearly set on building a giant mech suit?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:41 (six months ago) link
I don't think much of either ending but I primarily thinking of The Abyss as a suspense movie - one of the greatest suspense movies ever IMO - so I kind of prefer the shorter run time.
It's been so long since I've seen it, I can't remember the details, but there's a scene where Ed Harris (maybe?) creeps up on Michael Biehn (I think) with a hammer (possibly?) but it's probably the most edge-of-my-seat cinema experience I can rememeber. Once Ed Harris gets to the bottom and survives, all the tension goes out of it.
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:44 (six months ago) link
Iirc it's a wrench. But same idea. Biehn has got the space madness, and he's kind of messing with some chains, and there's that great shot where Ed is being all sneaky-creepy and the camera cuts to Biehn's eyes, and he is being literally *creepy*.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 November 2023 18:46 (six months ago) link
I've never seen Abyss. I should probably remedy that. My favorite of the ones I've seen is the original Terminator, which I rewatched recently. It's great to see how resourceful he could be without a mega-bucks budget.
― o. nate, Monday, 13 November 2023 19:21 (six months ago) link
Saw The Abyss in theaters and loved it. Have never seen it all the way through since but would absolutely buy a Blu-Ray.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Monday, 13 November 2023 19:39 (six months ago) link
I read the Orson Scott Card adaptation! iirc there were maps!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 November 2023 19:44 (six months ago) link
Terminator > Terminator 2
I couldn't remember whether I had seen The Abyss till I read a synopsis, and . . . I'm pretty sure I've seen it.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 13 November 2023 20:40 (six months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k1y6TGW24I
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 14 November 2023 13:50 (five months ago) link
I haven't seen The Abyss since it first hit video stores. The only thing I can remember is the liquid breathing apparatus.
None of my usual theaters have any screenings listed yet. Looks like tickets go on sale next Monday, so hopefully one of them will announce it between now and then.
― peace, man, Tuesday, 14 November 2023 14:17 (five months ago) link