Most movies have been disapointing

Tony Burns · #1 09-22-2014, 03:29 PM

For some reason the last few movies ( which are based on books ) have been very disapointing -an example is " The giver "
I just think the books are typically always better .
Now ive seen a few , like" The Book thief " which i though was wonderful .
and Yes seems older movies are more though threw , better developed and they take longer to make -more like a Craft

Thoughts ?

dorable · #2 09-22-2014, 04:21 PM

Oh, did "The Giver" get released already? That's one I was expecting to be disappointing in terms of faithfulness to the source, since they decided to give Jonas a pretty substantial age-lift. And the only reason I can see them doing that is to try and squeeze a romance subplot into the story. Which, blech, I am so sick of romantic subplots being pushed into any and all stories.

Dirk Hofman · #3 09-22-2014, 04:27 PM

If you haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook, it's wonderful. The book thief was very good as well.

fazool · #4 09-22-2014, 04:28 PM

Begin Again was (IMO) a wonderful movie. Better than Once, I feel, but by the same writer/director.

Wasper · #5 09-22-2014, 05:03 PM

I agree that a lot of the movies today are not very good (and I'm not some old guy remembering the glory days here.. I'm in my mid thirties). Most are just an excuse to spend most of the budget on CGI/special effects with dialog being the afterthought. I also agree that most movies based off of books are not very well done.

It is very hard to translate a whole book and condense it into a movie format... you lose a lot of what makes a book good (avid reader and can chew through books in one sitting). The biggest book-to-movie failure in recent memory had to be Enders Game. While the book was not the best thing out there, it was still a decent book. The movie, though... was absolutely horrible.

When I think of what makes a movie good.. it is the dialog. Take "12 Angry Men" for example. A room, 12 guys and nothing but dialog. Great movie that needed no special effects, car chases, invading aliens or overload robots. Just straight up good writing and good acting.

SongwriterFan · #6 09-22-2014, 09:26 PM

Don't read the book . . . then you won't be so disappointed.

callouses · #7 09-23-2014, 01:30 AM

I watched a movie called all is lost with robert redford. No dialoge. It's about a guy at sea in asmall sailboat that....well he has a lot of stuff to deal with. Many people would find it very boring, but having been in th navy, and survived 4 hurricanes at sea I could identify with a lot of his experiences in the movie..I thought it was quite good.

Scootch · #8 09-23-2014, 01:45 AM

Lots of great movies being made, the big studios just don't distribute them. They are Indies. About the same with music.

Big studios aren't interested in making great movies, they are only interested in making a killing at the box office. Their movies have no message, no story, only thrills.

Fatstrat · #9 09-23-2014, 07:30 AM

I'm not familiar with the movies/books stated. But in my experience movies seldom do a great book justice.
"Lonesome Dove" and "Catch-22" come to mind.

MikeBmusic · #10 09-23-2014, 07:57 AM

I didn't read either book, but my wife did - The Giver and Mazerunner. I thought that both movies were poor, but Mazerunner was a little better. Parts skipped form the books could have helped (per my wife), but you can't escape poor screenplay writing.

Sage97 · #11 09-23-2014, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callouses

I watched a movie called all is lost with robert redford. No dialoge. It's about a guy at sea in asmall sailboat that....well he has a lot of stuff to deal with. Many people would find it very boring, but having been in th navy, and survived 4 hurricanes at sea I could identify with a lot of his experiences in the movie..I thought it was quite good.

Man I couldn't stand that movie but then lots of folks can't stand the ones I do like.

It's obviously all subjective but movies have been disappointing to me also. TV shows however, have been quite entertaining especially the mini-series dramas like Breaking Bad, etc.

callouses · #12 09-23-2014, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sage97

Man I couldn't stand that movie but then lots of folks can't stand the ones I do like.

It's obviously all subjective but movies have been disappointing to me also. TV shows however, have been quite entertaining especially the mini-series dramas like Breaking Bad, etc.

Yeah, Sage, I get it... one man's junk is another man's treasure..my wife and I talk about this tv phenomenon sometimes..we have a theory that since box office receipts have dropped off, the major stars are beginning to shift more and more to tv...and shows like BB are making big stars on their own...we've had the golden age of movies, now we are going into the golden age of tv itseems...

dirkronk · #13 09-23-2014, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatstrat

I'm not familiar with the movies/books stated. But in my experience movies seldom do a great book justice.
"Lonesome Dove" and "Catch-22" come to mind.

Have to agree with your evaluation of these. "Catch-22" was pretty much a total bust as a movie...leave it as a book experience is my advice.

The other is a bit more complicated. It's not that I didn't enjoy "Lonesome Dove" on screen...the actors were good and the producers gave the plot factors enough time to develop and play out...but the book has so much more depth and added character development, not to mention subplots. I may be prejudiced. Growing up in Texas and knowing a lot of old-timers as a kid in the 1950s, I thought Larry McMurtry caught just the right attitude, the right blend of craziness and formality of behavior that endowed each character with his or her position in that time and place. Not every one was especially endearing or even nice, just so darn real. I knew folks like that. It was so believable that I immersed myself in the book...didn't want it to end. That's a hard thing for any movie to even approach, much less capture. Even McMurtry couldn't quite recapture the magic of it, for all the follow-up and "prequel" attempts he did after the understandable success of the original book. The man was truly in a "zone" while writing that first story. Both movie (TV series, actually, of course) and book are worth experiencing...but here's a situation where I'd recommend reading the book even if you've already seen the film. It really is that good.

Dirk

oldmanonthebike · #14 09-23-2014, 09:58 AM

The only movie that I've seen that does a book justice was Of Mice and Men staring Gary Sinise. Being a pretty short book I think it was easier to fit in the majority of the book. Most all movies made of books that I have read fall way short on any expectation that I might of had. I agree that Lonesome Dove was a big disappointment.

I tend to like movies made in the 40s and 50s that were based on a novel. The dramatic flair that was part of acting back in those days may seem over the top and corny to some but I love it. Example; National Velvet.

Sage97 · #15 09-23-2014, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callouses

Yeah, Sage, I get it... one man's junk is another man's treasure..my wife and I talk about this tv phenomenon sometimes..we have a theory that since box office receipts have dropped off, the major stars are beginning to shift more and more to tv...and shows like BB are making big stars on their own...we've had the golden age of movies, now we are going into the golden age of tv itseems...

I just had the same discussion with a couple of friends. Big stars are getting into TV.