Standouts and letdowns
The H2G2 movie was a dismal disappointment. It did not come close to capturing the zany wit and satirical humor of the book, and the changes in the plot (shockingly, sanctioned by Douglas Adams himself before he kicked the bucket at the beginning of production) were baffling, even detestable. The only bright spot was the adorable Marvin (the Paranoid Android) voiced by the marvelously morose Alan Rickman.
H2G2 is the latest addition to my growing list of film flops for 2005... movies that didn’t necessarily suck outright, but fell short of the hype surrounding them. Other notable titles on my shit list are:
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith - watchable only because of the lead actors’ impossibly stunning looks
- Madagascar - Shrek it’s not
- Sideways - wine-tasting and golf = barrels of fun, ha-ha-ha, kill me now
- Closer – soulless art-film poseur ripping off Sex, Lies and Videotape (see my comparative review)
- The Aviator - a massive disaster that deserved to bomb miserably at the Oscars
- Oceans Twelve - again, palatable only because the cast was composed of cuties
- Meet the Fockers - sequels of DeNiro comedies just seem to generate less laughs than their predecessors (anyone remember Analyze That?)
But the year had its share of movies that exceeded my expectations as well, some of which I have already raved about in previous posts. The winners are:
- Batman Begins – holy franchise resurrection, Batman!
- Sin City – to borrow Jo’s line once more, “an ogler’s delight”
- Star Wars Episode III – all good things must come to an end
- Before Sunset – how a real love story should be told
Coming attractions that I am looking forward to with eager anticipation/wary skepticism:
- Bewitched, because I think Nicole Kidman is a wonderful actress and Will Ferrell is a hilarious comedian, but the movie has received bad ratings from critics in the US
- The Pink Panther, because the trailer still gives me the giggles after having seen it a dozen times, but I'm scared it might turn out to be one of those all-the-good-gags-are-already-in-the-trailer duds... and Beyonce "Bootylicious" Knowles is in it (after Goldmember, I'm still unconvinced of her acting prowess)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because the last time Johnny Depp was in a movie about chocolate, my seratonin levels went through the roof, but he-- and the candy-- don't look as delicious in this one
posted by Ailee Through the Looking Glass @ 1:06 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
From the perspective of this viewer who had not read H2G2 at the time of watching the movie, the opinion is very different. :) I guess that's no surprise. I didn't expect a lot (I had nothing to compare it with) so I really enjoyed the movie. I'm reading the book right now (despite Math 17's demand for attention) and I am enjoying it very much too. At least you can say that the H2G2 movie has inspired others to go back to where it all started (err, somewhat started -- nevermind the radio show). :)
(Though I have to defend one scene in the movie, the one where Arthur and Slartbartfast go through the planet building factory floor -- It's almost been a week since I watched the movie and I still can't get that scene out of my mind. The music escalates and zooms, and Arthur stands there mesmerized in all of it. I was left mesmerized too. It's amazing, IMHO. :D)
Alan Rickman and Marvin both rock! And I agree, Batman Begins was heck good (for all the reasons you mentioned). A great director, a great vision and a great cast. I almost lost all hope for Batman and nearly watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith instead. Thank God I didn't.
LOL, long comment. Sorry about that.
Slartibartfast, I mean. Sorry. ^^;
the 4th harry potter movie looks good too.. can't wait to see cedric, cho, krum, fleur, and hermione sa yule ball!!! =D i hated the 3rd movie tho.. sobrang inaccurate!!! grrrrr....!!
I love long comments, Laureen. I think you can guess as much from the length of my blog entries. :) The H2G2 movie wasn't horrible by itself, but as a film adaptation of a book (ok, a radio series) it was pretty bad. I guess I should have expected as much, given Adams' penchant for changing details of his own creation with every reincarnation it undergoes. I just wish his quirky philosophies had been communicated as well in the movie. I think you will enjoy the book immensely. "Mostly Harmless" is next on my reading list. :)
I was going to include HP4 on my list but it's still too far away (Christmas, I think). I'm psyched for it too, but every time I see Harry's and Ron's hair in the trailer I keep thinking that apparently there are no good barbers in Hogwarts. :p P.S. I actually thought the third movie was the best film adaptation of the three. It took some liberties with the original story, but at least it didn't attmept to squeeze in every last detail like the first two did.
Speaking of coming Christmas movies, I'm more excited for The Chronicles of Narnia. Now THAT looks promising. I just hope Disney doesn't screw around with the story too much to make it too kid-friendly. Ugh.
"P.S. I actually thought the third movie was the best film adaptation of the three. It took some liberties with the original story, but at least it didn't attempt to squeeze in every last detail like the first two did."
Yes, exactly! Yey, more people who agree! :D
Ok..now i'm really tempted to go watch a movie! Tsk tsk. I better borrow a pirated dvd somewhere cz movies here are dang expensive! Oh well. Enjoy your movie marathon. Mr Depp looks scary in charlie and the choco factory though. He's pretty freaky...Yikes!
I've only watched 1/4 of the movies (whole movie, not just parts) you've watched in your lists! Is that how far behind I am in watching movies? And to think that there was a time before when I'm usually one of the firsts to watch a movie and criticize it. Now I'm stuck to reading reviews. :)
I don't find Madagascar that bad and not as good as I expected. But knowing that all the movies I've watched this year have brought nothing but disappointment to me (ex. Star Wars Epsiode III, Kingdom of Heaven, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), I'm not surprised that I didn't have high expectations for Madagascar no matter how hilarious the trailer was.
Oh well, Hollywood can't seem to come up with movies that live up to my expectations. ;) How sad this life is. Hehe.
Post a Comment
<< Home