quote:Uncle Orson Reviews The Hobbit You know you're in the hands of incompetents when a movie resorts to that ubiquitous line of dialogue in an action sequence: "Go go go!"
quote:Earth Afire, page 369 The instant he was in, another man slammed the door shut and yelled to the driver. "Go go go!"
quote:Earth Afire, page 392 "All right," said Wit. "You're set. Go go go."
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Digging through tvtropes, you may come across numerous entries about things that are wrong or grossly overused yet writers and directors keep doing them not because they are incompetent but because they have become so standard that anything else would be considered wrong, even if it was much more accurate.
Not saying that's the case here, but it seemed somehow appropriate.
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quote:Originally posted by Wingracer: Digging through tvtropes, you may come across numerous entries about things that are wrong or grossly overused yet writers and directors keep doing them not because they are incompetent but because they have become so standard that anything else would be considered wrong, even if it was much more accurate.
I'd say the first one(s) to break the convention would get extra attention paid to their work, at least briefly. Publicity, even of that type, can be a good thing.
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Sure, because dialogue that's hackneyed and lazy in movies becomes brilliant once it's written down. I guess that explains why the novelization of Transformers 3 is the greatest work of prose in the English language. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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The mediums of books and film are so different that dialogue absolutely changes when it's used in either one.
You can argue that "Go! Go! Go!" is stupid in books, but you can't say that because the author used it in a novel that his criticisms of it in movies is hypocritical.
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quote:Originally posted by Wingracer: Digging through tvtropes, you may come across numerous entries about things that are wrong or grossly overused yet writers and directors keep doing them not because they are incompetent but because they have become so standard that anything else would be considered wrong, even if it was much more accurate.
I'd say the first one(s) to break the convention would get extra attention paid to their work, at least briefly. Publicity, even of that type, can be a good thing.
Sometimes yes. Often they just get blasted for making a terrible movie because Reality is Unrealistic:
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I just want to say that bits like the quote in the OP is largely why I have stopped reading OSC's reviews.
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This is one point I've never understood. Does OSC seriously thinkit's something people don't say in combat? Because I've used it when clearing houses, jumping out of a helicopter, and even during a pickup football game. It's pretty instinctive - short and easily understood, it's the fastest way to get someone movimg short of actually pushing them. (compare to "execute" oreven "begin") How is it an indication of incompetence?
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quote:Originally posted by Speed: Sure, because dialogue that's hackneyed and lazy in movies becomes brilliant once it's written down. I guess that explains why the novelization of Transformers 3 is the greatest work of prose in the English language.
it's not that i agree with what he's saying, i'm saying he has an out on this one.
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I can see it being suitable in a modern context and not in a Hobbit context, and suspect that's why it jarred for OSC in the movie and made him forget he has also used it.
In a modern context, people can use the "go go go!" trope by referencing it.
In the Hobbit, this can't happen.
Disclaimer: I've not seen the Hobbit.
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quote:Originally posted by Teshi: I can see it being suitable in a modern context and not in a Hobbit context, and suspect that's why it jarred for OSC in the movie and made him forget he has also used it.
In a modern context, people can use the "go go go!" trope by referencing it.
In the Hobbit, this can't happen.
Disclaimer: I've not seen the Hobbit.
This is a fair point. "Go go go" is much more jarring in a Tolkien fantasy epic than in a modern or sci-fi military thriller – which is how it appears in Earth Afire.
That said, the sections I quoted were almost certainly written by Aaron Johnston, the co-author of the book (who probably wrote most of the narrative). Though Johnston's and Card's voices blend rather well in these books, Johnston has a much more, shall we say, cinematic approach to action scenes.
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I don't really consider The Hobbit a formal, straight-faced epic, in the same way I do Lord of the Ring. The movie is constantly playing on goofy simplicity of Dwarves. It's a cartoon. "Go go go" isn't a big issue.
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quote:Originally posted by umberhulk: I don't really consider The Hobbit a formal, straight-faced epic, in the same way I do Lord of the Ring.
Someone needs to tell that to Peter Jackson. The movie tried way too hard to be epic, from adding an unnecessary revenge plot to turning the one-sentence offhand mention of the rock giants into a blindingly over-the-top video game platforming sequence to making every encounter with danger take five minutes longer than they had to.
But I digress. I don't even remember where or when someone in the movie said "Go go go," and between all the other flaws and unnecessary additions I don't know why Card picked out that line in particular to criticize.
Anyway, it was far more jarring to me when I saw the very line Card had lambasted appear twice in a novel purportedly written in part by him, than when I heard the line in The Hobbit.
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OSC cowrote that book, which means he probably only actually wrote about a third of it (or less). His name sells the book, not the other guy's.
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quote:Originally posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer: This is a fair point. "Go go go" is much more jarring in a Tolkien fantasy epic than in a modern or sci-fi military thriller – which is how it appears in Earth Afire.
Aragorn paused and took partial cover a click behind the engagement area. "all hands, walking point sitrep," said Aragorn, as he sighted Andúril downrange. "I got two made, AFI."
Frodo crouched, checked six, and spat into the dirt. "Check your angles," he hissed. "This is a real AO now."
Aragorn nodded, his Elven MultiCam blending into the earth. "Stow that barrage, whiskey tango foxtrot. This is a real sector seven here and we're going in hot."
"What .. what on earth are you people talking about?" Said Samwise.
"No concern of yours, civvie. Said Frodo. "Pull chocks and let the ben-boys deal with this AFB."
"You're just stringing together random military slang. I . .do .. do you seriously think actual servicemen sound like this?" Samwise protested.
"Shut this pud knocker and get your eyes on the one click, SFD. HOO RAH. GO GO GO."
Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, and Gunny Sergeant Gimli charged towards the pack of Orcs, looking down their sword-sights. Samwise shrugged and cracked open an MRE.
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Sam: there's a big difference between a deluge of near incomprehensible psuedo-jargon and something as simple and instinctive as "go go go!"
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Sam: there's a big difference between a deluge of near incomprehensible psuedo-jargon and something as simple and instinctive as "go go go!"
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Sam: there's a big difference between a deluge of near incomprehensible psuedo-jargon and something as simple and instinctive as "go go go!"
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