Unstoppable -- new train movie

[steinjr]

Catching a train which is a missle the size of the Chrysler Building and gunning it in the opposite direction...

Believe it or not, in the real runaway scenario that this movie is based on, this is how they slowed the train. Well actually, they didn't "gun it in the opposite direction".

Here is a link to the final report on the CSX8888 incident: http://kohlin.com/CSX8888/z-final-report.htm.

And here is a page with lots of observations and comments by various people - some of which were following the incident as it happened: http://kohlin.com/CSX8888/x-play-by-play.htm

Good thing nobody got hurt during the runaway.

Smile,
Stein

[railohio]

Two articles about movie:

Hollywood widens truth gauge in runaway train flick

Off-the-rail plot derails Unstoppable

[tetters]

— and make you at least care enough about Frank and Will that you're rooting for them and not for the train.

I liked that quote from the second article.

[rrinker]

The first one shows at least a little understanding of trains, although he does get a little wierd there talking about "mechanical brakes" vs "engine brakes". The other review makes this sound like the railroad version of the China Syndrome - entertaining for the masses but totally bogus and likely to make peopel hate railroads even more. NOT what we need.

--Randy

[railroader9731]

Saw the movie it was very good, id see it again....... come on dvd

[RobertInOntario]

Saw the movie it was very good, id see it again....... come on dvd

If my wife & I can get a sitter, we might go see it tonight!
Rob

[nachoman]

I remember that made-for-tv movie "atomic train" from about 10 years ago. Horrible. This one looks better - but I still won't see it. All those newer computer generated graphics and rapidly-moving cameras make me dizzy.

[doctorwayne]

Well, it looks like the movie makers know their audience pretty well, but I'm certainly not among it. Ridiculous explosions, gratuitous gunplay, or plasticised actors interest me not at all. Seeing just the trailer once was enough of a turn-off.

As for suspending disbelief, I reserve that for reading the paper or watching the news.

Wayne

[BR60103]

Slight change of topic:
I keep passing a book in the store that has a picture of an explosion on a train (author Clive Cussler, book is about people blowing up trains) but the explosion looks to be taking place at the upper front of the tender and the loco is already off the rails. This worries me a bit, but I'm not going to ask Mythbusters to replicate it.

[rrinker]

It's part of a new series Cussler is doing. The first one is called The Chase, the one with with exploding loco is The Wrecker. They follow the adventures of a detective around the turn of the 20th century. In The Chase, he's after a bank robber who kills any possible witness and then seems to vanish. Lots of twists and turns and it takes place in 1906, including in and around San Francisco so you can guess what that means. Also it opens in 1957 - to tell any more would ruin the story. It's not bad, a little fanciful but not way out there with the railroad stuff. The Wrecker is the second one, the protagonist is dealing with attempts to sabotage development of the SP Cascade line. I liked them, can't wait for the next one to come out.

--Randy

[RobertInOntario]

Quick question for anyone who has seen Unstoppable. Do you think it would be suitable for kids to watch?

Here in Canada, it's rated PG with a warning for offensive language. Our boys have certainly seen PG movies before (Indiana Jones, James Bond, etc.) but I don't want to over-do or unnecessarily expose them to bad language. FYI, they are 7 and 10.

Thanks for any feedback!

Rob

[RobertInOntario]

Quick question for anyone who has seen Unstoppable. Do you think it would be suitable for kids to watch?
Here in Canada, it's rated PG with a warning for offensive language. Our boys have certainly seen PG movies before (Indiana Jones, James Bond, etc.) but I don't want to over-do or unnecessarily expose them to bad language. FYI, they are 7 and 10.
Thanks for any feedback!
Rob

Well, I now know the answer to my question. I did some checking online and practically every scene is laced with some form of profanity. I guess they're trying to create a gritty, real-life railroad situation but it pretty well rules out any family audience.

So, my wife & I will have to book a sitter for this one !

Rob

[P5se Camelback]

It is a very sad commentary, indeed, when to portray "gritty real-life situations," the entertainment geniuses of Hollywood feel compelled to lace a script with profanity! I suppose it speaks to the caliber of low rent, under-educated individuals they socialize with! How sad!

Yes, in this predominately blue collar town that I live in there are many who are of the "how many times can I use the "F"-word in a sentence" mentality. In speaking with them on the odd occasion when I would stop in for a cold one at the pub owned by my letter carrier and his wife, I would estimate that few have actually graduated from high school. (I say "actually" as my guess is that a large percentage were "shuffled along" and given a diploma despite not doing any work or going to class with any regularity. Their grammar usage gives them away.)

For the most part, the individuals that I socialize with (at the American Legion, Model Railroad Club and local Methodist church) never use any profanity in their speech and are able to communicate quite well despite their self-imposed handicap! And many of them have held/do hold "Blue Collar" jobs!

I'm often asked why I haven't been to see a movie in a theater in probably ... um ... well, my daughter took me to see the remake of the "Italian Job" when it came out in theaters ... how long ago was that ... and does it really matter? Gratuitous profanity, violence and sex on the big screen turn me right off. I will not pay $12 for a ticket to sit in a theater seat and be repulsed by what I see and hear in a film ... I can go to any of the local watering holes at 10 or 11 at night and see and hear much of the same for the price of a draft beer. And I don't do that very often any more, either.

Gone are the days of John Wayne, Jimmy Stuart, Audry Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Alfred hitchcock, et. al. when filmmakers made you use your imagination to "fill in the blanks" and didn't slap you in the face with foul language, blood and guts, giant fireball explosions, bouncing breasts and super close-ups of deep french kissing in the name of "realism!" No thank you!

I'll stay at home, listen to some good jazz and read a book or build a model ... Thank you!

So I guess I'll pass on "Unstoppable."

[MountainMan]

Slight change of topic:
I keep passing a book in the store that has a picture of an explosion on a train (author Clive Cussler, book is about people blowing up trains) but the explosion looks to be taking place at the upper front of the tender and the loco is already off the rails. This worries me a bit, but I'm not going to ask Mythbusters to replicate it.

If you REALLY want to suspend reality, read Cussler. His new "series" is the worst stuff ever, mostly ghostwritten using his name to boost sales.

[rrinker]

I just got back from seeing Unstoppable - I enjoyed it a lot. It was nearly as out there as the trailer made it seem. In fact I was more annoyed at the plot device involving the executive than at any errors in the train stuff.
There's not much use of the F-bomb, if there wa, it would have gotten an R rating. It's not clean, but if your kids are in public school they've ALREADY heard all those words contrary to your best efforts to protect them. There's a huge difference between hearing the words and using them. I'll never forget, whe I had just started kindergarten, one night at the dinner table I just had to find out what this word I heard some older kids using meant. So compeltely innocently, I said "Dad, what does F... mean?" As anyone who is a parent knows - those times when your kid does somethign you don;t want them to do but it's just too funny NOT to laugh? This was one of those times. I forget exaclty what happened after that, but I didn;t get in trouble, because I was only asking an innocent question. As for using those kind of words, I didn't, at least not in front of my parents, until I wa smuch older. I was rather upset at things that were happening in my life and dropped a few F bombs to my mom - and immediately stopped ranting and apologized. I won;t say I don;t talk like that - at times I certainly do. But to speak endless streams of profanity? No, and believe me, I've heard them all. WHen I was a teenager I worked with my neighbor, a truck driver - and I learned things like forms of measurement that aren't English OR Metric.
In short, it's not a movie for a 4 year old, but 8+, I would take my 8 year old to see this, if it was out 7 years ago when he was 8.

--Randy