Eephus
Footballguy
If you followed my Dylan/Bosley thread, you know I'm a train fan. Big trains, model trains, train cab videos, songs about trains, you name it. Some of my favorite movies are set on trains: The General, The Palm Beach Story, Some Like It Hot, From Russia with Love, The Sting, North by Northwest to name a few. There are also a bunch of memorable films where the train is like a main character: The Train, Runaway Train, Emperor of the North, etc. I was hoping Snowpiercer would at least fall into that second category but it was a big letdown.
Trains offer a unique setting for a film--a claustrophobic space hurtling toward a destination on an unalterable path. Snowpiercer gave some of that away to begin with because the train was going nowhere and the frozen environment outside gave no opportunities for passengers to get on or off. There was no chase along the top of the train or characters swinging through windows. Trains are noot suitable for large pitched battles (or deep water aquariums) but that's what we got. The story only really used one dimension of the train, the limited width and height rarely came into play which left us only with the length of the train. But the narrative treated that in a very linear manner that reminded me more of video game levels than anything resembling what we know as trains. Don't get me started on the logistics of maintaining the tracks and rolling stock of a train operating in perpetuity.
I probably would have enjoyed Snowpiercer a little more if it used the train as a train instead of a metaphor. I would have liked it a lot more if the polar bear devoured the two survivors at the end to eliminate any chance for a sequel.
Trains offer a unique setting for a film--a claustrophobic space hurtling toward a destination on an unalterable path. Snowpiercer gave some of that away to begin with because the train was going nowhere and the frozen environment outside gave no opportunities for passengers to get on or off. There was no chase along the top of the train or characters swinging through windows. Trains are noot suitable for large pitched battles (or deep water aquariums) but that's what we got. The story only really used one dimension of the train, the limited width and height rarely came into play which left us only with the length of the train. But the narrative treated that in a very linear manner that reminded me more of video game levels than anything resembling what we know as trains. Don't get me started on the logistics of maintaining the tracks and rolling stock of a train operating in perpetuity.
I probably would have enjoyed Snowpiercer a little more if it used the train as a train instead of a metaphor. I would have liked it a lot more if the polar bear devoured the two survivors at the end to eliminate any chance for a sequel.