Where we speak of bad movies.

[shoju]

I thought we had a thread about bad movies, that was "specifically" about bad movies, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, so I figure I will start one, instead of clogging up another thread with Off Topic.

Last night, I watched Mission To Mars. It had a pretty good cast, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Gary Sinise, and a few "hey I know that guy/girl" type actors in it.

It was Sci-Fi, all amount a manned trip to mars. The Science in the show seemed pretty good, but the acting... and the score... Well.. It was AWFUL!

It was as if the composer wasn't sure if he was scoring something epic with a full symphony, or something synthetic with a vintage synthesizer.

And the actors... At times it was like they were trying to capture that 50's / 60's dramatic "hold" in their lines, but it came off forced, and terrible, and like they were waiting for someone to feed them the line.

Did I miss why people think this movie is good? I mean, don't get me wrong, their ideas about the gravity rotations in the ships / stations, and other "sciencey" things were fantastic, but the acting, and the music just ruined it.

[kandrathe]

Well.. It was AWFUL!

I haven't seen it. When one actor is bad, I blame the actor (e.g. Kevin Costner in most anything). When they all bite, then I blame the director. I've heard this film described as De Palma's Abyss. I think sometimes when artists are successful they take their success for granted, and forget that it was artistic vision and hard work that propelled them to fame.

This is a movie (one of many from the Hollywood machine) where they assemble all the right money, people and processes and still make a mountain of crap -- you have to blame De Palma and whomever was overseeing his work.

---

The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo (US Version)
I hope the meager Box Office gross suggests that not every great foreign film needs to be redone in English. I prefer the original, same as with La Femme Nikkita. They were fairly authentic to the original story, but I found the original more suspenseful. I didn't find Patricia Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth as believably messed up as Noomi Rapace.

[Hammerskjold]

Did I miss why people think this movie is good?

I'm trying to remember anyone I know IRL that thought this movie was good, and I can't.

Lately I'm becoming more 'get off my lawn' about bad movies. Life is too short for it, and if I don't enjoy it I'll do something else.

It's different if someone watches a bad movie intentionally to enjoy it, or with a bunch of friends MST3000 style. (I would've never got through Cameron's 'Avatar' without me and my friends cracking jokes at it.)

I recently saw 'Prometheus', and while it wasn't a total stinker, the only reason why I didn't walk out halfway was because I was with a buddy. And it was too hot outside, so I figured I might as well enjoy the AC for another hour in the theatre.

[shoju]

I agree. This had such potential. It was interesting how thorough they were with the science, and talking with nasa to try and make as much as they could realistic, and then... It turned into a mountain of crap. I didn't even touch on the story, which itself had some glaring holes, especially towards the end.

The sad part, is what this movie could have been.

It had all the makings of being on par with Contact, or The Abyss. And then, somewhere, it fell down into a heaping pile of awful.

[LochnarITB]

I agree. This had such potential. It was interesting how thorough they were with the science, and talking with nasa to try and make as much as they could realistic, and then... It turned into a mountain of crap. I didn't even touch on the story, which itself had some glaring holes, especially towards the end.

It was like there were two movies. One I enjoyed, the mission and even the explanation for the face of Mars. The other movie was all the interpersonal crap. Everyone was so stiff, especially the married couple, which should have seemed like the least forced relationship. I might watch it if it is on, but catching up on the DVR or other shows can easily trump it. In fact, I also saw the listing last night and went the DVR catch up route instead.

[Occhidiangela]

Beaches.

Bad movies all wish they could be that horrible.

[DeeBye]

The worst movie that I ever watched that was not obviously a B movie, and took itself seriously, was without a doubt Catwoman. There is a special place in hell reserved for the people responsible for making this pile of trash.

It consisted mostly of Halle Berry strutting around in vaguely cat-inspired underwear, trying to take down a cosmetics company that made a bad batch of face cream or something.

A close second is The Happening. People are running away from THE WIND because THE WIND is bad. At the end (I'm gonna spoil the ending because it was such a stupid ending), people hole up in buildings to escape THE WIND, and it just goes away. No one does anything heroic. No one does anything at all. THE BAD WIND just goes away.

[NuurAbSaal]

THE BAD WIND just goes away.

Pepto-Bismol?

take care
Tarabulus

[shoju]

Yeah, The Happening was when I realized that shamalamadingdong had been reading his own press. And then he went out and made the Last Airbender.

I mean... How in the @%@#% you can make THAT steaming pile of trash out of a story rich 3 seasons, is absolutely stymieing.

[kandrathe]

THE BAD WIND just goes away.

Pepto-Bismol?

take care
Tarabulus

La Niña.

[kandrathe]

Yeah, The Happening was when I realized that shamalamadingdong had been reading his own press. And then he went out and made the Last Airbender.

I mean... How in the @%@#% you can make THAT steaming pile of trash out of a story rich 3 seasons, is absolutely stymieing.

The problem is that film making is an art. Hollywood is trying to turn art into a manufacturing process. The crappy results we see are due to corporate executives trying to wring profits from artists, when the artists don't have the juice, the time, or the money to produce it. Also, any weak link in the collaboration of artists can ruin the entire film.

[shoju]

Also, any weak link in the collaboration of artists can ruin the entire film.

I think you hit the nail in the head on this one. Viacom chose M.N.S. to direct A:TLA, and gave him all the creative control. The creators of the show were not on board with that decision, which in turn hurt a lot of things, and meant that M.N.S. was in turn re-envisioning something that wasn't old enough for us to forget the finite details of.

[kandrathe]

I think you hit the nail in the head on this one. Viacom chose M.N.S. to direct A:TLA, and gave him all the creative control. The creators of the show were not on board with that decision, which in turn hurt a lot of things, and meant that M.N.S. was in turn re-envisioning something that wasn't old enough for us to forget the finite details of.

Yes. A positive example would be Firefly, and Joss Whedon. It was good they ended it, rather than to continue it badly. But, I'm a fan of the series, and I wish it would have continued. There is something to be said for creating a predefined story arc, rather than push a series until it stinks and gets canceled. Then, in terms of process, you can compare the success of LOTR 3 films, against Starwars failure to achieve the planned 9 films. Also, there is something to be said for staying true to the genre, comparing the Toby Mcguire Spiderman romance novels, against *real* superhero action films. I have to also point to the mixed up genre mess that are the Superman films as well. Hellboy strikes about the right balance. In a super hero movie, in order to keep a level of suspense, you should always be able to kill off anyone of the non-heroes.

[shoju]

I would argue that even planned deaths of heroes is great. Maybe not.... "batman" (though I HOPE he gets beaten and left for dead at some point by bane) But I agree with you.

Speaking of Spider-man. I hate the new actor. Tobey was just about the perfect Peter Parker, even if the story gets murdered throughout those movies.

[kandrathe]

Tobey was just about the perfect Peter Parker, even if the story gets murdered throughout those movies.

I'd have to disagree about Tobey. He is lacking physically compared to the physique of Spiderman. Having seem "The Avengers", it would have been ridiculous to have Tobey in that line up.

I picture Peter Parker as pretty average in looks, but would come across as very intelligent and a bit hyperactive. Tobey doesn't come across as quick witted -- rather the opposite to me, he seems rather slow both in movement and thought. Andrew Garfield is probably too good looking, but Tobey McGuire presents himself like more of a doofus to me.

[DeeBye]

Andrew Garfield is a much better Peter Parker than Tobey was.

[Kevin]

A positive example would be Firefly, and Joss Whedon. It was good they ended it, rather than to continue it badly. But, I'm a fan of the series, and I wish it would have continued.

I swear Fox just wanted Firefly dead from the start. They aired the episodes out of order, they felt the actual first episode was "too slow" so the first on they aired was the 2nd episode that had things in it that assumed you knew things about the characters. I think they also changed the time slot 3 times on a show that only had 14 episodes. So then they got to claim low viewership and kill it. Joss got so pissed because it was the show he had always wanted to make, getting him to do the movie to wrap the story up for the fans was a trial for him, and he changed his planned arc a bit and also killed Wash in part to try and make sure the show stayed dead because it was too painful for him to do again.

As a fan I would still love to see it brought back in some form but I also understand why Joss would never want to be involved with it again and without Joss you don't have Firefly.

[shoju]

Maybe it's just me, or maybe its' the writing, but the new spidey comes off as a snarky little douche bag. I never got that impression reading the comics.

[Jester]

A positive example would be Firefly, and Joss Whedon. It was good they ended it, rather than to continue it badly. But, I'm a fan of the series, and I wish it would have continued.

I hadn't heard there was any such story for Firefly. Weren't they just flat out cancelled, with Joss, Tim Minear, and the cast all happy to keep making it?

-Jester

[Lissa]

A positive example would be Firefly, and Joss Whedon. It was good they ended it, rather than to continue it badly. But, I'm a fan of the series, and I wish it would have continued.

I hadn't heard there was any such story for Firefly. Weren't they just flat out cancelled, with Joss, Tim Minear, and the cast all happy to keep making it?

-Jester

Jester is basically right. Joss had the original series setup in a specific manner to be shown, but Fox showed the series out of this order. This turned the series from something akin to Babylon 5 (where there was a definitive story arc) into Star Trek/Next Generation (where it was episodic and one episode didn't really tie into the prior or next outside of the cast). Because Firefly was shown out of order, its ratings were much lower and the overall story was out of sequence. So, instead of trying to fix it, Joss, rightfully, killed off the concept completely with the movie so the story couldn't be reused (and abused).