Special effects that weren't so special

[mulletpelini 5211]

Sometimes even good movies miss on something.   I was always fascinated how a well done "Casino" movie had such a bad special effect.  You telling me in 1995, after Jurassic Park had come out, that this was the best you could do?  At least they spent a little money and got the Johnny Carson mannequin.

edit:  If you've ever wondered what my ex-wife would be like based on things I've written about her, just watch Sharon Stone in this movie.  Spot on.

Edited January 10, 2020 by mulletpelini
that's right, she's a whore

[52-80 19162]

Star Wars' screen transitions riffed from Microsoft Power Point 95

[atomheartbevo 89698]

Those of you interested in this stuff, there's a digital effects studio that puts out YouTube videos on why certain effects are good or bad.  Even though they are younger guys, they have a reverence for the old-school in-camera stuff, as well as things like Jackson's Lord of the Rings (which has a lot more practical sets than I thought).

Yeah, it's mostly a reaction channel, but they actually will go in and do new effects to show how it could have been done, and because they are effects artists themselves, they get really in-depth on behind-the-scenes stuff.   They also do deep fakes, and they have stuntmen come in and discuss their stunts and how they are actually done.

Warning:  Poorly-done CGI lips are like one of their biggest pet peeves.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpFnDQr88xCZ80N-X7t0nQ

They have a massive amount of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/samandniko/videos

 

[atomheartbevo 89698]

Maybe for another thread, but they have stuntmen come in and explain good and bad stunts and effects, and it's surprising how much is practical.  Like the Black Panther chase scene in Captain America: Civil War

 

[mdmost 43004]

The stuntman they had for Arnold in the opening of True Lies is hard to not notice in subsequent rewatches after you see him for the first time. Especially the scene where he's running away from the exploding snow mobile. 

[XYZ 2154]

Carl Weathers’ arm in Predator

[Underdog 28709]

Pretty much the whole movie's SE. 

[Incredulity 11675]

1 hour ago, Underdog said:

Pretty much the whole movie's SE. 

Counterpoint: My pre-teen boner for Lea Thompson.

[Wiler77 1566]

Air Force One plane crash at the end.  Holy hell.

[Parliament 14260]

Every movie Gerard Butlwr has been in since 2011.

[atomheartbevo 89698]

21 minutes ago, Wiler77 said:

Air Force One plane crash at the end.  Holy hell.

They have you covered.

 

[Underdog 28709]

2 hours ago, Incredulity said:

Counterpoint: My pre-teen boner for Lea Thompson.

Another special effect not so special. 

[Incredulity 11675]

6 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Another special effect not so special. 

[NWBuck 8571]

I thought the 3D technology used here was/is tremendous:

 

[BradInATX 9208]

The rubber weapons in the last scene of Braveheart. Once I noticed it, it completely ruined that scene permanently for me.

 

 

 

[Paper_jam 831]

In Star Trek V, The Really Bad One, there's a scene where Kirk falls off the cliff face of El Capitan and Spock swoops in with rocket boots to save him. The bluescreen shot of Kirk falling looks like something out of Batman 1966.

 

 

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

still loved it but...

[miguelito 11266]

I'm not sure that Howard was a real duck.

[Knoxtnhorn 6047]

I honestly didn't even know this was a movie.  Came across it watching Honest Trailers.  

 

[Butch Had Not 2980]

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

[Pato del Muerto 52509]

Since 80s effects apparently count, the snake man scenes in dreamscape were all pretty bad

 

[TexasHooch 5122]

 

[Underdog 28709]

4 hours ago, Butch Had Not said:

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

Which Flash?  Buster or Sam? 

[Redneck Mutha 7992]

9 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Which Flash?  Buster or Sam? 

 

[lemonandaturd 4285]

Flesh Gordon for the win.  

[WhatTheBuck 28786]

10 hours ago, Butch Had Not said:

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

That was intentional and they weren't that bad. Compared to the old tv show they were really good. In the tv show they had spaceship models clearly on wires with pyrotechnic rocket engines. Sparks would fall downward while smoke would rise upward. The campy look is part of the brand. I loved the multicolor cloud shots in the movie. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by WhatTheBuck

[WhatTheBuck 28786]

6 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Since 80s effects apparently count, the snake man scenes in dreamscape were all pretty bad

 

That's a movie that could really use a remake. Cast Dennis Quaid as the president. 

[Tom 2959]

Another Arnold entry, courtesy of 1980's animatronics. 

 

 

[Parliament 14260]

An animatronic head depicting the head of an android. Add to that, Cameron hadta make that movie on a shoestring budget.

Sir I kindly disagree with your posit.

[RPM 26322]

No one particular film, but rather a recurring theme. Cars in a high speed chase going 30 mph and shifting 100 times. While Bullitt is the greatest car chase on film, the soundtrack is wack. Mustangs didn't have a 15 speed transmission.

[Parliament 14260]

Or infinite hubcaps

[Pato del Muerto 52509]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

No one particular film, but rather a recurring theme. Cars in a high speed chase going 30 mph and shifting 100 times. While Bullitt is the greatest car chase on film, the soundtrack is wack. Mustangs didn't have a 15 speed transmission.

Tangential- streets are always wet so cars can do neat slides and drifts, but no matter the surface tires will screech and squeal. Wet, even dirt or gravel. 

[satyanash 14526]

The big rubber mannequin dangling from a thread at the end of Alien was never super convincing.

 

[aggie08 21504]

The first time that Daenerys rode a dragon in Game of Thrones struck me as hilariously awful on a show with a mostly unlimited budget. The Neverending Story thought it looked pretty cheap.

[Mr Bean 26]

The dust storm in Lonesome Dove.  Oof.

[RPM 26322]

Just saw another one that's a pet peeve in driving scenes. They're driving down the road and the gear shift is clearly in Park.

[Sbbruin 21858]

The background in this scene seemed just a little off.

 

[seven 1367]

When the death star blows up alldaran(?), it's the cheesiest crap ever. I don't know how they could have made it better in the 70's, but it's troma level bad. 

[Armybrat 40850]

On 1/11/2020 at 9:14 AM, Butch Had Not said:

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

We thought those sparklers shooting out & down behind Flash’s space sled were pretty cool when I first watched it at the Saturday matinee in 1948.

[Underdog 28709]

Growing up, a local station used to run those old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon episodes.  They were cheesy as shit but loved them, was a little disappointed with how the newer version went but it's grown on me over the years.  

[atomheartbevo 89698]

2 hours ago, seven said:

When the death star blows up alldaran(?), it's the cheesiest crap ever. I don't know how they could have made it better in the 70's, but it's troma level bad. 

They really couldn't, due to gravity and how things blow up on earth, etc..   Those wireframe graphics you saw in the gunner sights were cutting edge back then.

[greenman 64]

[CurlyDumps 4476]

On 1/10/2020 at 6:31 AM, atomheartbevo said:

Those of you interested in this stuff, there's a digital effects studio that puts out YouTube videos on why certain effects are good or bad.  Even though they are younger guys, they have a reverence for the old-school in-camera stuff, as well as things like Jackson's Lord of the Rings (which has a lot more practical sets than I thought).

Yeah, it's mostly a reaction channel, but they actually will go in and do new effects to show how it could have been done, and because they are effects artists themselves, they get really in-depth on behind-the-scenes stuff.   They also do deep fakes, and they have stuntmen come in and discuss their stunts and how they are actually done.

Warning:  Poorly-done CGI lips are like one of their biggest pet peeves.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpFnDQr88xCZ80N-X7t0nQ

They have a massive amount of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/samandniko/videos

 

Scorpion King was the first movie that came to mind when I saw the thread title. I distinctly remember those effects being laughable.

On 1/10/2020 at 1:08 PM, BradInATX said:

The rubber weapons in the last scene of Braveheart. Once I noticed it, it completely ruined that scene permanently for me.

 

 

 

Not effects related, but I spotted another Braveheart flub years ago (probably when it came out on DVD).  During a battle, you can see an extra in the background giving minimal effort, lazily swinging his sword in what is supposed to be a fight. He's like "fuck this, I've been out here 15 hours and I'm tired."  I should go back  and try to find it.

[mulletpelini 5211]

That's one thing I look for during a rewatch.  Fighters in the background taking a play off.  Always cracks me up.

[Fuck Tim Beck 3834]

The Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage. The jump in Eleanor at the end. 

Looks like the AV club at San Dimas middle school did it.

[XYZ 2154]

In Tango & Cash, there’s this truck driver with a caricature of a face, and he’s driving his big rig down the road and has to slam on the brakes, and the truck takes a while to come to a complete stop, and when it does, the driver goes flying out the windshield. I guess this is not a bad special effect, it’s just a bad scene.

[RPM 26322]

 

[Pato del Muerto 52509]

Worst Where’s Waldomir ever

[Braff Zacklin 13616]

Pretty much all of the special effects in David Lynch's Dune adaptation ...

[Eskimohorn 5635]

Any scene with a helicopter stunt