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So what were the things in the movie could I say "This was really cool, go see this" to people?

I know what you mean: the set pieces are, I guess, the mini-guns, and to some extent the incendiary round. The mini-guns made my space maths feel wobbly (despite the fact that it's probably all highly realistic) and even though the incendiary was horribly effective, it was a bit ... sick. Maybe the entire movie is the set piece - it's what the word rollicking was made for.  Almost non-stop action from start to finish.  The bit I couldn't stop telling people about was the bullet going through the guys cheek.  I've never seen that before.  (Like you said, though - not everyone's cup of tea to watch slow-mo exit wounds in 3D.)

Even the spot on characterisation of Dredd and Anderson means a lot less to a civilian viewer than it does to us.

Simple solution: start 'em on Prog #1 and get them caught up.

for them to have been

"for there to have been"

The aforementioned shot of Anderson heading out on patrol, carrying her helmet, is enough resolution for me.

That's a very necessary shot - because there we do get our resolution.  I just would have preferred Dredd (title character and all) to have been more directly involved.  I know we can come up with motivations and so on for why the characters behave the way they do and resolve it in our minds that way - I just felt that there was a large gap there (in the script) where I would have preferred Dredd to say something - for them to have been more explicit communication between the two main characters, rather than teleporting in the Chief Judge to do some Basil Exposition.

It's not that I need to be spoon fed plot points (the voice over in Blade Runner was not necessary) - just that I didn't think the strong, silent approach from Dredd in some scenes did us any favors. It's not like we can use his eyes for guidance on what he's thinking.

It's like when you have to explain the joke to someone. It might still be funny, technically, but...

I just saw Dredd in 3D at the movies last night - and I REALLY enjoyed it - I hope it does well enough over time for a sequel, but even if it doesn't, at least we got a proper Dredd movie after the Stallone abortion. (It's not even fair to blame Stallone, as he only plays Rob Schneider's sidekick.)

Karl Urban was Dredd - fantastic grimace, amazing chin work. I thought the general plot a very smart choice, and the sprawling urban dystopia very well realized.

You've probably all already discussed the pros and cons of a Fifth Element style MC-1 vs. what was presented in this movie - but I really liked the realism of it.  It felt like a future you could be living in. The Hall of Justice as a heavily fortified bastion seemed so fitting, and I liked a depiction of MC-1 that would make your average citizen want to hide in a block for safety.

Things I thought didn't work so well:

• The hot-shot. It seemed overcooked (ha!) as a scene. Why not just shoot him with a normal bullet? (Also - nerd alert - the hot shot is a homing bullet - not a head-melting bullet. I know the makers read the comic so why insert a glaring apple cart knocker like this?)  It wasn't double-whammy shit, but it was following it around in a dark overcoat.
• Mini-guns being able to shoot through all those apartments in a block that size. I don't like to have my willing suspension of disbelief stretched too thin, which this did, and then my psyche was busy trampolining on it because the build-up to that scene took way too long.
• Stunning the juves. (Won't somebody think of the children?) Either don't have juves with guns, or if you do have them, shoot them along with everyone else. This was the only bit of the movie where you could have inserted Stallone and it wouldn't have made any difference.
• Dredd feeding Ma-Ma slo-mo. Motive-wise, it would've worked better if she'd taken the slo-mo herself, perhaps during the fall. She was a crazy bastich - kind of thing you could imagine her doing. Dredd doing it felt like torture. Illegal use of narcotics - off to Titan with him!
• Some awkward silent moments in the script. Like when Dredd is dressing Anderson's wound - she looks up at him like she's in love (which is weird).  What are they thinking? She might be psychic, but the audience aren't. Well, not me. Also, when she gives Dredd her badge and then walks off in a huff - why doesn't he call her back?  He looks like he's just been dumped. Given that the entire plot revolved around Anderson's test for Judge-status, we should have seen her being given it - how would she react?
• "Wait? Why should I wait?" went on far too long. Dredd should have stabbed him with his boot knife. "One chance - boot knife!"

Love it, though. Proper Dredd. On film. In 3D.  Thanks!

(Corrupt Judges were a great touch.)

no memorable action sequences.  No "Lobby from The Matrix", no "Building Site chase from Casino Royale", no "Lightsabre fight from Phantom Menace"

Ah, but The Matrix (touted on release as the best sci-fi movie of all time) has faded a bit over time.  If the best thing about your movie is a new special effect (bullet time), then that doesn't speak well of the movie.  Casino Royale's building site chase is ridiculously contrived: "we want to insert free running - shoulder it in here".  And The Phantom Menace isn't even a proper Star Wars film.

I'd rather a movie be good overall, than have a single stand-out memorable scene.

When I eat jam with pips in it, sometimes a pip will fit neatly into a pip-shaped tooth cavity I've developed. It's difficult to extricate said pip, when this occurs. Feels weird. Can't focus. One chance ... tooth-pick!

Troutski is totally, like, rad. The Trout abides. Whilst established, he is not the establishment. He posted on Thread Zero, the very mention of which sends shivers of nostalgi-fear reverberating through the hive mind, and yet lives to tell the tale.

On another note - I just found out there's going to be a new Dredd film in which Doctor McCoy and Juno's pal raid Cersei's palace.

Oh - and Day of Chaos!

I'm v. out of touch.

My boss has some amazing power-saving notions:

---

Boss: "To save power, the lights switch off automatically 30 minutes after you leave".
Me: "So we could save 30 minutes of power by switching the lights off when we leave."
Boss: "No! They're automatic!"

---

Boss: "To save power, don't print any posters - project the information onto the wall".
[a few minutes later]
Boss: "Switch off the projectors when not in use - the bulbs are expensive."

*de-cloaking*

*necro-threading*

Let's see:

• Emigrated
• Married
• Less forum time
• Employed
• Unemployed
• Ceased reading 2000AD at prog 1683 for financial reasons
• Mourned
• Employed
• Daughter born!
• Lack of sleep...

*re-cloaking*

Thanks, guys.  I asked for a Wacom Bamboo Fun, and if the boss says no, then I'll ask for a cheaper one.

I have an Interwrite pad, but the sensitivity's pretty sucky, and I want one for the students to use.

(Resisted the urge to look under your spoiler blanks, Rad ... is he on Mars? Stookie? Holiday? Don't tell me.)

Ah - I expect not, Button - my overseas sub expired at the same time as my then employment, and so I stopped buying 2000AD for the first time since about prog 170 or so.  I was going to get the online version but ... haven't.  Spared you the details, there.

Erm ... is Dredd still in the Cursed Earth?  (Don't answer that - I might still go on an online back prog splurge.) 

Hello!

I'm looking to buy a graphics tablet, but am completely ignorant on the subject (like it might not even be called a graphics tablet - that level of ignorant). It's for high school students to use in the creation of computer art work - can any of you talented artist types give a recommendation?

When the impossible is eliminated, what remains, however improbable, must be true.

I'm so poorly read I thought Spock had coined that.

It sounds like good news, and I hate to be a grump - but it worries me that in order to have a dialogue about the usability of the Clickwheel service, one has to post on the 2000AD message board and wait several days for any information.

I still have sent Clickwheel two emails outlining the problems I'm having using their services, and still have received no reply from them.  I'm just one customer, but I may be indicative of a wider problem.

If I had a fiend, I've have it apporch something as well - just to show solidarity.

Someone further up the thread said something about 2000AD's being available from the 2000AD online shop, or something along those lines.  Did that mean pdf versions of 2000AD?  The subs people have never had any problem accepting money from my bank account - unlike clickwheel.

I need to make a decision soon whether I wait for a new service or re-subscribe - clickwheel's proven itself an unreliable option, given what everyone else here is saying, my experience being unable to penetrate their pay system, and their policy of ignoring customer emails.

It's a huge disappointment because I'd save a ton of money (and trees) by going digital.