| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| shineoftheever |
Posted - 04/02/2004 : 17:36:08
I really liked this movie. M. Night Shyamalan is a wonderful and multi-talented director/writer/producer guy! The ending caught me only a little surprised, because I was wondering why Bruce Willis's wife was being such a cold bitch and totally ignoring him, and then it turned out he was dead all along.
Tune in Monday, I'll ruin Scooby Doo 2!
"Do Re Mi, So Far So Good"
[MOVED] |
| 35 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shineoftheever |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 16:18:21
quote:
Originally posted by Homers_pet_monkey
American Physco is better in book form.
So is Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.
So is High Fidelity.
So is Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
And so on..........
Hansel and Gretel have formed a band, .....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Breadcrumbs!!!
I was kidding HPM, but you knew that right?......right?
"Do Re Mi, So Far So Good" |
| offerw |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 10:04:23
quote:
Originally posted by Adnan_le_Terrible
PS : Cronenberg is certainly the only guy capable of transcending a book and making a genuinely original film without betraying the book. His adaptation of the "Naked Lunch" (which at first appears as mission impossible) and "Crash" was tremenduous.
Hmmm, I was fairly disappointed with both Naked Lunch and Crash as films. Filming Naked Lunch is an impossible task yes, Cronenberg tried to recreate the atmosphere and failed I thought. As I read Naked Lunch the flowing prose created a chaotic but beautiful world. Cronenberg created a dark world with slimy monsters.
I've never read Ballard's novel, I saw Crash at the end of a difficult day at a difficult time in my life but I just could not connect at all with people being sexually aroused by car accidents. I probably missed the point right?
As for DeLillo I'd say Underworld is also a very good novel, too long maybe but just when you feel like giving up some incredible passage sweeps you along for another twenty pages. I'll have to get White Noise.
wilhelm |
| floop |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 07:13:02
adnan,
i think you'd enjoy WHITE NOISE. |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 04:34:06
I have not read Cosmopolis but have heard many dreadful things about it - the Sunday Times reviewed it last summer and I cut it out and kept it, it was mostly quoting passages directly from the book and they spoke for themselves really, so the reviewer managed to slaughter the book without having to write very much. That´s what I said earlier about me finding him indigestible sometimes - when he´s good, he´s very good indeed but the same extreme goes for when he´s bad too. His book about the CIA operative in Greece, The Names, I found torturous save for one amazing paragraph about tourism being the march of stupidity. White Noise I thought he was on top form, it´s lean and warm and he has an entire family life played out with rarely a clumsy note.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| Adnan_le_Terrible |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 02:29:27
PS : Cronenberg is certainly the only guy capable of transcending a book and making a genuinely original film without betraying the book. His adaptation of the "Naked Lunch" (which at first appears as mission impossible) and "Crash" was tremenduous.
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| Adnan_le_Terrible |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 02:26:18
I would say American Psycho, besides its stupid and commercial title, is his best book (I've read them all). Ellis is a true genius. His understanding of Flaubert is the same Kafka had one century ago, pushing the logic of the reality. Glamorama was quite good, but a bit long : too much stuff inside of it. And the idea of top model - terrorists, after investment banker - serial killer and Californian rich kids - vampires, just isn't so original any more.
I tried Delillo after discussing it on this forum, and I wasted 20 euros for Cosmopolis so I tried to read it until the end but it was simply impossible. I hated it. There was not a single little evidence of talent in that book. I don't know if White Noise is better, but I don't want to waste my time/money trying to figure out.
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| vilainde |
Posted - 04/06/2004 : 02:07:17
Less Than Zero and The Informers are in the same vein as Rules Of Attraction. I didn't really like The Informers actually. Less Than Zero is about young Californians taking drugs and having sex, and the Informers is... well, the exact same thing.
He wrote Glamourama right after the Informers and it was a good move. Glamourama has an actual story, about a male model (who already appeared in Rules Of Attraction) who travels to Europe and joins a gang of terrorist top-models. Very weird but great and even funnier than Am Psycho.
Denis
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| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 11:23:51
I can't believe you prefered the film version of American Psycho, Newo!!! You are the first person I can remember saying that.
Oh well, each to their own.
I am about to start reading Rules Of Attraction. I haven't seen the film but I hear it's good.
What are 'Less Than Zero', 'The Informers' and 'Glamorama' about?
Hansel and Gretel have formed a band, .....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Breadcrumbs!!! |
| offerw |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 11:11:18
Aphoristic! Now there is a new word I'll have to go look up.
I got into Ellis through the film Less Than Zero. Now that wasn't a very good film but the novel was excellent. After that I read American Psycho and could not imagine it translated into a film so I gave the movie a wide berth when it was released. I also think the same of De Lillo, I've only read Underworld and the most incredible aspect of that novel is the language. He just writes these unbelievable passages which just cannot be translated into film.
I've rarely enjoyed the films of books which I loved. The Virgin Suicides and Remains Of The Day are two which I've enjoyed.
The films of World According To Garp, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, Miss Smillas Feeling For Snow and The Shipping News were some of the greatest let downs. Did anyone else find Nicholas Cage as Captain Corelli a very sick joke?
wilhelm |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 07:36:58
I looked up on that, hmm Disney doing deLillo. Then again, Disney doing anything. One thing I'll say I spoze his aphoristic style might click with audiences familiar with Fight Club.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| floop |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 07:11:13
GLAMOURAMA is the first Ellis i read, and loved. since then i've only read THE INFORMERS, which i didn't care for. and i read bits and pieces of THE RULES OF ATTRACTION which didn't grab me either.
i remember Ellis being interviewed on NPR when GLAMOURAMA was released, and mentioning Delillo (and being compared to Delillo), so i picked up a copy.. it sounded interesting.
it's such an impressive book. i was on a plane while i was reading the whole plane crash sequence.. that was kind of disburbing.
speaking of Delillo, i heard that Barry Sonnenfeld (of all people) optioned WHITE NOISE. not sure if he'll direct it himself or just produce. i don't know how well WHITE NOISE would translate to a film, but it seems like it's only a matter of time before it becomes one. |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 02:56:57
I haven't seen it. I loved the book when I first read it but something about his first few novels doesn't really touch my nerve-endings anymore, I guess I just find it hard to identify with a bunch of people who don't want anything. I suppose that's the point, they've got so much they don't know what they want but still, other writers have created characters from the shallow end of the pool with a small voice inside them shouting out for a more spiritually nourishing life and made me feel for them too, Martin Amis for one. Or maybe this was present in Ellis' books and I missed it. I do think he's on the right track with Glamorama, it was wonderful to see one of his characters straining out at something better.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| vilainde |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 01:58:37
Glamorama was fucking awesome. I haven't seen Rules Of Attraction, how is it? American Psycho was so disappointing (I mean, the movie) that I didn't want to see Rules of Attraction.
Denis
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| Newo |
Posted - 04/05/2004 : 01:24:29
I think the root tween Ellis and Palahniuk is Don deLillo, both seem to think very highly of him, as do I, though sometimes he's a little indigestible. Ellis said he was reading White Noise a lot when writing Glamorama, and there's a lot in Running Dog that Fight Club seems to have taken inspiration from - all I can remember at the mo is there's lye in it too and talk of biorhythms.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| floop |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 20:06:09
all the directors i mentioned are around his age, but if he likes working with Avery good on him.
don't you think that FIGHT CLUB has a vague GLAMOURAMA feel to it? i think David Fincher would be the perfect choice for GLAMOURAMA. runner ups: Darren Aronofsky, Todd Haynes, Stephen Soderburg, David Cronenburg (despite his Canadianness).. i just think that that book, in particular, deserves better than Roger Avery. |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 18:20:14
Ellis said in an interview he hated to be agist or anything but the other directors haven't been his coeval so twas nice to click with Avery. Not that writers have much of a say once money's changed hands.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| floop |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 17:49:20
you do have a point (re: Julie Delpy shirtless), but i think his stuff is, overall, non-noteworthy. i'd love to see someone like David Fincher take a crack at GLAMOURAMA.. or someone similar. i think someone like Spike Jonze (if he ever does a non-Charlie Kaufman script) would be perfect.. or even Micahel Gondry (who's now proven himself with SPOTLESS MIND).. Roger Avery?? why should Roger Avery get to do all the Ellis books? |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 17:40:15
Possibly they'll yank it from Avery's hands seeing as there's call for a planecrash in it and perhaps beyond the scope of of the small scuzzy crap he makes, tho I do warm to anyone who gives Julie Delpy screentime shirtless.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| floop |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 16:59:52
i loved GLAMOURAMA. i hear Roger Avery has optioned it, which is kind of a shame.. i'd like to see someone of a higher calibre handle this book. plus, he already did THE RULES OF ATTRACTION and i think he's trying to option one of his other books too. it's like, stop hogging all the Brett Easton Ellis books. |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 15:37:43
I met Bret Easton Ellis at a reading in Dublin in 98 or 99. He was welltailored and polite. Later that evening I heard he was going for a joint interview with Irvine Welsh in the Left Bank, and a few weeks after that I saw the pictures of Welsh showing up hours late and quite cabbaged, one with him with a putupon-looking Ellis in a headlock, I felt for the guy.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| GHutt |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 15:11:07
American Psycho is easily the most fucked-up thing I ever read... I had to skip the part with the rat. |
| Cheeseman1000 |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 14:48:28
quote:
Originally posted by shineoftheever
Gotta go guys, taking my daughter to Scooby Doo 2!
"Do Re Mi, So Far So Good"
My turn then: it was the janitor in a mask. And he would've gotten away with it if it hadn't've been for those pesky kids...
 "Join The Cult Of Wormy Cheese Man/In Ten Words Or Less" |
| Newo |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 14:44:35
Doctor Strangelove is yards better than the book, Red Alert by Peter George - George even novelised the screenplay later. The Shining I think is a lot better than the book, tho there's a Kubrick thread below. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest I like both in different ways. I did prefer the film of American Psycho, I felt the book was badly structured. Fight Club I'd read before so no surprise there, but some friends of mine who didn't know it felt the film got insanely stupid after the twist, but I did like the whole crumpling the financial system thing. I've read a few of that Palahniuk feller's and on the strength of his first I thought he would've turned out to be more than just a good genre writer.
But listen to me, I'm rambling.
--
"You one of those right-wing nut outfits?" inquired the diplomatic Metzger.
Fallopian twinkled. "They accuse us of being paranoids."
"They?" inquired Metzger, twinkling also.
"Us?" asked Oedipa.
|
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 12:37:49
American Physco is better in book form.
So is Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.
So is High Fidelity.
So is Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
And so on..........
Hansel and Gretel have formed a band, .....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Breadcrumbs!!! |
| shineoftheever |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 12:17:32
I was eventually going to ruin Fight Club too. I figured it out when he ran into Meatloaf on the street and they were talking about Tyler Derdyn and I realized I didn't know Ed Norton's name. I thought he was going to end up in nut-hut though, didn't see the gun thing coming. Chuck Palahniuk is a great author, I will eventually read the book, but are books ever better than the movie? Gotta go guys, taking my daughter to Scooby Doo 2!
"Do Re Mi, So Far So Good" |
| TheCroutonFuton |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 01:03:17
Keyser Söze....
 "Join the Cult of Gunn / And Then You'll Be Destined to be a Rock and Roll Star of Epical Proportions!" |
| offerw |
Posted - 04/04/2004 : 01:00:03
quote:
Originally posted by TarTar
I saw the last bit of Fight Club first, long before I saw the movie in it's entirity, so I always knew the twist, which kinda sucks, but I still liked the film a lot. Actually, I think the first hour or so of the film is the best part of the movie, so it doesn't really matter to me that much. Lots of good commentary found in that first hour.
"(insert clever quote here)"
Yep, the first hour of Fight Club was alright but when the "twist" kicked in the movie turned into one of the crapest films I've ever seen. Hearing the Pixies at the end was a great surprise and made up for the money I've wasted on the movie.
The twist at the end of 6th Sense completely surprised me, I love it when a film does that to me. The Usual Suspects was briliant also, still one of my all time favourites.
Anyone seen Niel Jordan's Crying Game. Very good film also ending with a big, big surprise.
wilhelm |
| paintmeister |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 19:12:55
quote:
Originally posted by bumblebeeboy2
but i saw fight club with a load of mates and then where is my mind came on! whoo-hoo! i wasn't expecting that at all! i think i knew it was in the film but didn't expect it to be the closing song! awsome. but then my annoying mate turned it off as it was 'just the titles' - dumbass.
The exact thing happened to me, too. I couldn't believe this guy turned it off. He even knows that I'm the kind of person that will sit through the credits at the movie house because I always like to check the music credits.
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| TarTar |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 16:05:58
I saw the last bit of Fight Club first, long before I saw the movie in it's entirity, so I always knew the twist, which kinda sucks, but I still liked the film a lot. Actually, I think the first hour or so of the film is the best part of the movie, so it doesn't really matter to me that much. Lots of good commentary found in that first hour.
"(insert clever quote here)" |
| Cheeseman1000 |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 13:33:35
I read a review of 6th Sense in Empire and they all but gave it away. Same with Usual Suspects, there was a 100 greatest films show on Channel 4, and they pretty much gave it away, damn them.
"Join The Cult Of Wormy Cheese Man/In Ten Words Or Less" |
| guy_nolan |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 13:29:33
When I heard there was a twist to the 6th sense I managed to guess it before I saw the film. With the insular nature of the stroy and only two main central characters there wasn't really much else it could have been. Fight club totally took me surprise though.
For ten thousand years he slept, his mind feeding on the nightmares of the weak. Now he has awakened. As the night turned crimson, the fire-blade shattered and his power died. Then, the slaughter began... |
| bumblebeeboy2 |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 09:06:43
quote:
Originally posted by ProverbialCereal
Even if a person doesn't tell me exactly WHAT the surprise ending or twist of a movie is, I really had when someone says "This movie has a surprise ending!"
It's like, shut the hell up, jerk.
 Join the Devil's Workshop / Looking for idle hands to work second shift
the worst is when you've been told it's a really great twist, so you start imagining possible great twists, and then when it comes about it's like, oh yeah, erm, that's great... not quite what i hoped for though...
The Shrine of the Sea Monkey!
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| ProverbialCereal |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 07:51:59
Even if a person doesn't tell me exactly WHAT the surprise ending or twist of a movie is, I really had when someone says "This movie has a surprise ending!"
It's like, shut the hell up, jerk.
Join the Devil's Workshop / Looking for idle hands to work second shift |
| pixie punk |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 06:42:32
Well to try and top shineofthe ever: DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER!!!!!HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hello to all from la Isla Del Encanto!!!!!!!!! |
| bumblebeeboy2 |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 02:46:50
ah the ending was ruined for me, my mate told me what the twist was before i saw it! damn him! but i saw fight club with a load of mates, one of them knew the twist and he told us there was a twist, so we were all trying to guess what it could be, seems obvious now, but none of us got it and the twist surprised us a lot. and then where is my mind came on! whoo-hoo! i wasn't expecting that at all! i think i knew it was in the film but didn't expect it to be the closing song! awsome. but then my annoying mate turned it off as it was 'just the titles' - dumbass.
The Shrine of the Sea Monkey!
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