bucknbn

More thoughts, after the 100th viewing... I watched this thing so many times and tried to figure out what it was I liked so much about it. It was something that had to do with the classic show -- something carried over -- and I couldn't lay my finger on it. Well I finally did. Its the rockin' CAMERA ANGLES. I love the super-close-ups of the side of the car, taken from way down at ground level, where all you can see are the wheels spinning and a little bit of the scenery up in front. I love the super-low camera angles at the bottom of the ramp when they hit it and white smoke billows out from under the car. I love the classic one, where the camera is actually ON the ground and the car passes over it, spewing leaves. I love the one in the first jump where it's on the landing bank of the river and the car is flying toward and slightly to the side of us (that one's especially good, because of the way the car is leaning... that's classic, too.) There's one incredible shot (very short, you have to pause the video) where the General is being chased by the cop cars. It really shows off the great suspension and handling of the General. The back wheels are off the ground and the front wheels are not just turned to the right, but ANGLED in under the car. It just makes the General look like it is... a POWERHOUSE of a machine, that isn't happy unless it's going full throttle and on the edge of out-of-control. I love the shot of the General and the cop car side-by-side after they show the cop the keys. I love the shot of Bo through the windshield as he's turning the General in a tight circle. I love the shot that's taken very high up, where the General is jumping near the white buildings. It crosses across the screen, very high, and on the same level as the camera. Of course, as I said before, I love the shot from the floor at Daisy, where you can see the ceiling of the boar's nest. For that matter, I love the shot of the Duke boys on the ground during the bar fight. Enough about camera angles. You get the drift. -- Random thoughts II ... The girl on the bed at the sorority house looks like Laura Dern, one of my favorite actresses. I miss the old Hazzard jail. There was something really cool about the cell right there in the office, with the key on the hook on the wall. I hope the fat guy with the punk glasses who gets blown backward by the dynamite isn't Cooter. I love the visual motif of the engine parts firing, the license plate and the front grille while the title comes on. I hope they do the entire opening credits that way. There DEFINITELY needs to be a Balladeer. I hope the farm the Dukes are on when they're surrounded by cop cars is not the Duke Farm. It's too big and nice-looking. -- Things I hope to see in the movie: I hope there's a moonshine element, or at least a reference to Jesse and JD running 'shine together in old days in the movie. I wouldn't mind it if J.D. Hogg's twin brother, A.L. Hogg made an appearance, although that could probably be saved for a sequel. (For those that don't know, J.D. stands for Jefferson Davis, the first president of the confederacy and A.L. stands for Abraham Lincoln. He lived up north, wore all black and was a goody two-shoes) That was one of my favorite storylines in the show. NO COY AND VANCE!!!!!!

I've got no problem with the movie being set in today's society. I had just hoped the General would stay classic, and not updated. For the most part it wasn't updated - just that modern stereo head unit.

My first impressions of the teaser trailer... Bo - not bad, but what's up with the beard? He should be more of a heartthrob, ladykiller. And the Led Zeppelin T-shirt is too much. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The Dukes are supposed to be country boys through and through... and I even LOVE Led Zeppelin. Luke - Hard to match up to the original, but I like Knoxville, and he could turn out okay. At least he wears a checked shirt (although admittedly not blue.) Hate the Top Gun sunglasses, though. The two of them together - they seem to have a good chemistry. But my issue is with their characterization. They're supposed to be "good 'ol boys, never meanin' no harm." As somone else on here said, they seem to be looking for trouble. Daisy - Will never, ever live up to the glorious Catherine Bach. However, I must say when I heard about this casting I was appalled. "Daisy is NOT a ditz!" I must have said a hundred times since the announcement. Well, thank goodness, she doesn't seem to be one in this movie. I really enjoyed the bar scene, where she lays the smack down on that inconsiderate hick. A Duke protects her honor. I am very impressed with her southern accent. Just over-the-top enough. I hate the blonde hair, but as I said before, no one will ever top the incomparable Catherine Bach. I can understand Jessica Simson wanting to keep her traidmark coif. She's pretty hot, but I wish her legs were longer. Boss Hogg - Terrible. Nothing against Burt (he should have played Roscoe) but he's too tall, too thin and too sinister. The original Boss was mean and selfish, but he was more of a comedic antihero... a bumbling n'er-do-well. Not really a vengeful man. I know the movie doesn't have to follow the tv show exactly, but this was a crucial hire and portrayal that was messed up. Uncle Jesse - Perfect hire, but I'm hoping the portrayal is a little more cranky and virtuous than the trailer showed. He seemed a little sheepish in the muffin scene and I can't see the original Uncle Jesse throwing a Molotov coctail at another man, even a cop. I can see him leading a cop into a crumbling barn, but not the outright violence of an explosive. Roscoe - Not in the trailer, but judging by other roles that the actor has played, I'm anticipating the same problems as the Boss Hogg role. Enos - Hard to mess this one up too bad. He seems pretty good to me. Does anyone know who plays him? Music - great. Hazzard - great. Boars Nest - Beyond great. Awesome. I love the shot where you're looking up at Daisy and see the dollar bills on the ceiling. Classic. Dynamite - Glad they kept this crucial trademark, but the scene where the dukes and their big friend get blown backwards looks cheesy and too computer-animation for me. And again, the Dukes don't seem the type to shoot a bomb into a car's radiator. Jokes - All the jokes associated with Daisy were great... The Double-D, the Special, the Wait Till I Leave and the Undercarriage jokes were spot-on. I also liked Luke's "No, but do you have an application," and "I never get tired of hearing him say that." Everything else sucked. ESPECIALLY the japanese stuff, the shrimp-on-the-barbie stuff, and the stupid "White after Labor Day" joke. And Last but not least... THE GENERAL LEE Holy Cow. YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Awesome. Incredible. The stunts look AMAZING! I'm SO glad they went with real stunts. The first jump is so LONG! The last jump is so HIGH! Holy cow. I got chills! Thank the gods of hollywood that they made the right decisions here... not the least of which were the confederate flag on the roof and the "Dixie" horn. I was really, really, really, really worried those would be axed in the P.C. world we live in. I loved all the classic shots of spinning tires, eroded-creek jumps, road block busts, smashed cop cars and especially Bo sliding across the hood. (Did you notice that scene is reversed? Look at the "10" on the door and the "EEL LARENEG" over the window) My only problem was, in one interior scene you can see a modern stereo head unit. That sucks. But at least there's a CB underneath it. And, if it's true, I'm glad the moviemakers are going to tell the backstory, where Cooter soups up the car, repaints it and welds the doors. Random thoughts... The token black cop. Linda Carter looks great. Love the shot of the guy flying into the rack of bottles at the Boar's Nest. Whoever plays that fat cop could have played Boss Hogg. This movie looks like a lot of FUN, although nothing will match the original show. Just my two cents, er, dollars I guess.