I finally saw 2001: A Space Odyssee

[ClubNinja]

The average blockbuster today has all the acting charisma of a Chuck Norris movie.

Now, now.  Let's not throw poor Chuck under the bus now!

[ChadTower]

Now, now.  Let's not throw poor Chuck under the bus now!

Hey I love Chuck Norris movies.  I just can't lie and say they are any good.   

I can say that having watched Missing In Action 1-3 and Delta Force 1-2 since Christmas.  Got a 5 movie Chuck Norris box set in my stocking. 

We thought it was hilarious that Missing In Action 3 is basically Miss Saigon with roundhouse kicks.   Same sequence of events in the same order.  The evacuation of Saigon scene is even staged and shot the same way. 

[shmokes]

I just can't lie and say they are any good.   

Why not?  You have no such scruples when it comes to 2001.   

[shardian]

I have also never seen this. Kubrick seems to do stunning visuals and can build tension real well. It's the other 75% of the movie he had trouble with. I can't stand The Shining because it is so damn boring for over half the film. Eyes Wide shut was a horrible film, but I only really rented it back then for the nudity. I used to have a thing for a young Nicole Kidman, but even that and the nice rack girl who gets killed couldn't save that movie from being just totally horrible. Sure the 'idea' behind the story is interesting, but an excellent idea + bad execution has been the basis for many, many sucktastic movies.

[protokatie]

What about Dr Strangelove?

[shmokes]

Adored it.  Could watch it over and over.

[protokatie]

Good, cause if you didn't, you would have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company.

That and Full Metal Jacket I think makes up the only really good movies Kubrick made. I like most of them, but these two stand out.

[Ginsu Victim]

That and Full Metal Jacket I think makes up the only really good movies Kubrick made. I like most of them, but these two stand out.

You need to see Paths of Glory (if you haven't). That and The Killing are two of my favorite Kubrick films (not my top films, though - that honor goes to Strangelove and FMJ) 

[shmokes]

Eyes Wide Shut was much, much better when Hugh Grant was in it and it was called Bitter Moon.

Interesting.  It's in my queue now, so eventually I may see it.

[shardian]

Eyes Wide Shut was much, much better when Hugh Grant was in it and it was called Bitter Moon.

I read the synopsis thing at IMDB. It does not seem to be all that similar.

[Grasshopper]

I read the synopsis thing at IMDB. It does not seem to be all that similar.

I've seen them both and I don't recall any similarity at all.

That being said, it's many many years since I saw Bitter Moon so perhaps my memory's playing tricks.

[shmokes]

BTW, simultaneously with starting this thread I posted a similar status on my Facebook page.  I got a kick out of this comment:

That's the last straw! We're kicking you out of the Avant-garde!

[HanoiBoi]

Dunno, I've only seen Barry Lyndon once and i really enjoyed it without having to see it again. But Clockwork Orange i couldn't get into at all 

I agree with you about Clockwork Orange. I can see why it was controversial at the time but it now looks horribly dated.

A Clockwork Orange is great, though the older I get, the less I enjoy it.

I've actually got to jump in here and mention that 'A Clockwork Orange' is my favorite movie.  I don't find it dated and I can pretty much enjoy it any time I watch it. 

As far as 2001 goes, I'm not on board.  I get it, but it's not worthy of another 2 hours of my life.  When this came out over 40 years ago, we didn't have personal home movie players.  People couldn't pause, rewind, etc.  When you went to a movie you immersed yourself in it.  That, I think, is what helped this movie.  Also, the space programs and science fiction were at the forefront of Americana.  I remember seeing Alien in the theater and being blown away!  And, by 'blown away', I mean scared sh*+less.

I'm not one to watch too many movies twice, but in the interest of sharing, here are a few of my favorites that have been watched much more than once by me:

A Clockwork Orange
Love And A .45
Leon The Professional
Romper Stomper
Buffalo 66
Man Bites Dog
Spanking The Monkey
Reservoir Dogs
Stand By Me
Across The Universe
Sin City
Lucky Number Slevin

[shmokes]

I didn't know anybody else in the world had seen Spanking the Monkey.

[HanoiBoi]

I didn't know anybody else in the world had seen Spanking the Monkey.

And I'm a big Morphine fan too

[danny_galaga]

I didn't know anybody else in the world had seen Spanking the Monkey.

And I'm a big Morphine fan too

What you do in your spare time is none of our business 

I'm impressed you've seen Romper Stomper. I had a bit of a thing for Jaqueline Mckenzie. What ever happened to her? That other actor seems to do all right nowadays though...

[danny_galaga]

Dunno, I've only seen Barry Lyndon once and i really enjoyed it without having to see it again. But Clockwork Orange i couldn't get into at all 

I agree with you about Clockwork Orange. I can see why it was controversial at the time but it now looks horribly dated.

A Clockwork Orange is great, though the older I get, the less I enjoy it.

So really, what you mean is 'A clockwork Orange WAS great. But now it's kinda lame'  

[HanoiBoi]

I didn't know anybody else in the world had seen Spanking the Monkey.

And I'm a big Morphine fan too

What you do in your spare time is none of our business 

I'm impressed you've seen Romper Stomper. I had a bit of a thing for Jaqueline Mckenzie. What ever happened to her? That other actor seems to do all right nowadays though...

Don't know what happened to her.  Yeah, that other guy will go places, I'll bet.  Actually, I was lucky enough to pick this up before he became 'known'.  Otherwise, the movie might not have been as good to me...you know, with a recognizable face.  It's seemed almost real when watching it.

I think I heard that the other guy, 'Davey', died not too soon after the movie was out.  Easy to look up, I'm sure.

And....Morphine, the band, of course for those who might actually be confused!  I'm strictly a beer guy.   

[Ginsu Victim]

Dunno, I've only seen Barry Lyndon once and i really enjoyed it without having to see it again. But Clockwork Orange i couldn't get into at all 

I agree with you about Clockwork Orange. I can see why it was controversial at the time but it now looks horribly dated.

A Clockwork Orange is great, though the older I get, the less I enjoy it.

So really, what you mean is 'A clockwork Orange WAS great. But now it's kinda lame' 

Not at all. It's a great movie, I just can't watch it as often as I used to when I was a teenager. It had a different appeal to me back then.

[Ed_McCarron]

You must not be sophisticated enough for his genius.

Well, you are the guy that left his kid at some hick daycare...

Breathe shmokes, just teasing you.

Take it or leave it.  I liked the book, and IMO the movie was 'meh' in comparison.  Kind of like Andromeda strain.  Never judge a book by its movie.

I'm still waiting for Rendezvous with Rama - The film.  That'll be slow.

[ChadTower]

Never judge a book by its movie.

I'm reading through Contact now.  Haven't seen the movie but haven't heard great things about it.

[ChadTower]

In my experience a lot of athiests are also feminists so there is potentially a pretty big reason.

[ark_ader]

Love 2010 especially the line at the end of the movie......"Dave... my yoke is shipping?"

[bishmasterb]

Contact, both the book and the movie, are phenomenal. One of the best sci-fi movies of the 90s.

Regarding its promotion of atheism/agnosticism, I thought it was fairly light-handed but honest, as was Sagan.

[shmokes]

I was pretty young when I saw Contact.  Like high school or something, iirc.  I remember liking it pretty well, but thinking that the part where she travels through space and talks to her dad/alien was over the top and sappy.  But I haven't seen it recently enough, or when I was old enough, to really know whether I like it.

Spoiler tag added by saint...

[danny_galaga]

I'm pretty shallow. If Contact is the one with Jodie Foster in it, i remember being pretty bummed by the ending. I was thinking it was just getting started!

[ChadTower]

I was pretty young when I saw Contact.  Like high school or something, iirc.  I remember liking it pretty well, but thinking that the part where she travels through space and talks to her dad/alien was over the top and sappy.  But I haven't seen it recently enough, or when I was old enough, to really know whether I like it.

Spoiler tag added by saint

Didn't I just say I was in the process of reading that?   

[HanoiBoi]

   I was actually thinking...isn't that some sort of spoiler?  I've not seen the film due to early reviews, but this thread was peaking my interest...

Now, I don't know. 

[ark_ader]

Wasn't the alien in Contact her Father dressed up as an alien looking like her father?

[shmokes]

Yeah, sorry Chad.  If I'd thought about your comment I'd have spoiler-alerted it.  But in general I no more think to spoiler alert stuff from Contact than stuff from 2001: A Space Odyssey.  It's a pretty old movie.  At any rate, I was just responding to the person above me.  By the time I posted I forgot what you had said about Contact or I'd have spoiler alerted it. 

[shardian]

Schmokes, that was totally disingenuous of you...

[ChadTower]

Schmokes, that was totally disingenuous of you...

You owe shmokes a dollar now.  Pay up.


No big deal.  It was only a spoiler because someone had just said they were in the middle of reading it.  Otherwise it wouldn't really have been.

[ChadTower]

I suppose I should defer to jim's trolling expertise here.

[HanoiBoi]

....in general I no more think to spoiler alert stuff from Contact than stuff from 2001: A Space Odyssey.  It's a pretty old movie.  

I find this somewhat amusing as you were the one who started this thread as "I finally saw 2001:.."  Being an old movie really shouldn't be a reason to not consider a relevant comment as a spoiler. 

"2001: A Space Odyssey" has been around for 41 years, but "Contact" has been around just 12.  Please give us a chance (say 29 years?) to check out Contact on our own.   

On a side note, I may have been the last person (in the early 80's) to see E.T..  It just never peaked my interest and I finally saw it as a motel/rental a couple years after release.  I must say that I had kinda heard about it before seeing it.

Personally, I'm not offended by spoilers.   

[Ginsu Victim]

ET took like four or five years to come out on VHS. It was insane. It was the start of the sell-through model for home video. Before that, if you wanted to own a movie, it would cost like $79-$99!

[shmokes]

  

I find this somewhat amusing as you were the one who started this thread as "I finally saw 2001:.."  Being an old movie really shouldn't be a reason to not consider a relevant comment as a spoiler. 

It's just not the way normal conversations work.  It's not like you have to go on an expedition through antique shops to track down a copy of Contact (or 2001).  If you want to see a movie, get off your ass and see it.  You can't wait a decade (or 4) to see a perfectly accessible movie and expect everyone else to tiptoe around in their conversations just in case someone like you is in earshot.  Even Chad will agree that had he not specifically said he was in the middle of reading the book for the first time he wouldn't have thought twice about someone spoiling it.