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OT: Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy starts today...


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I was disappointed to tell you the truth...I'm a huge fan of Hitchhikers Guide first off...The movie missed the mark.

 

The humor was more slapstick, unfunny and just NOT the Whitty funny stuff we are used to from Douglas Adams. It didn't work..I didnt' laugh once. Some of the visuals were very cool but the movie was so truncated and they were forced to leave out so much meat that it was really noticeable. Also, the move departs from the story...HEAVILY..Hardcore fans may not like it..Adams had a hand in the screanplay and apparently saw the story as evolving but in my opinion this could have been on the level of what Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings trilogy but sadly it isn't. It wasn't bad per se but it missed the mark. I would go see it in the movies but in a matinee...

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Sean is a pessimist...

 

I dunno... he's right in that the humor is kind of a "lite" version, having things narrated instead of reading it loses some effect, but you gotta understand that if they didn't do that, there might be some people (who haven't read the book) who wouldn't understand.

 

Something like this would probably be a extremely difficult to turn into a movie, no matter how you slice it.

 

Diversion from plot? Yes.

 

Certain important things reduced to "token references"? A few.

 

Quandry of minor discrepancies between the two? Of course.

 

Did it feel rushed? Yeah, but all movies made from books do, i think...

 

Special effects were good, acting was mostly good, casting was good.

 

It probably could have been better, but i expected it to be much worse. Was it better than the last? Yeah.

 

Was it worth the $25 to go see it with my gf? Sure, why not! There's plenty of really dumb movies in the theatre playing alongside it right now.

 

I was entertained. I've got no regrets. *shrug*

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I don't understand it... my 8 year old dug it however. I didn't read the book so I'm not one of the clan I suppose. It reminded me of Star Wars meets Monty Python.

 

I hated Lord of the Rings too though, so maybe it's my anti-fantasy-genre gene kicking in.

 

Should I read the book or will I hate that too?

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Originally posted by Lee Knight:

Should I read the book or will I hate that too?

Heck, Lee, if you HATED Lord of the Rings, I don't know what you would like! ;)

 

If the movie piqued your interest in the books, I'd say go for it- what's to lose? Sit down at a book store and read from the start through the whole Vogon poetry thing. If you're not impressed, sit it down and walk away- you won't like the rest.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing it, but I also expect to be somewhat let down. I figured a movie couldn't actually grasp the excellent narrative- Adams narrative style is what made the book for me.

 

In any case, Adams originally wrote HGtotheG week-by-week for a BBC radio show. The script went through heavy editing before it made it into a book. Perhaps Adams, who sadly died before the final cut, did in fact see going from the books to a movie as second metamorphosis of sorts.

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If you haven't read the book, forget it. I saw it twice, once with someone who didn't read the book, they were lost. I enjoyed it. It ended aburptly, just like the book, now I waiting for "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe". Kcbass

 "Let It Be!"

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OK. So it's one of those "You need to have read the book" movies. That makes sense because the movie didn't... at all.

 

This sounds like good advice, thanks.

 

Originally posted by Hanshananigan:

 

If the movie piqued your interest in the books, I'd say go for it- what's to lose? Sit down at a book store and read from the start through the whole Vogon poetry thing. If you're not impressed, sit it down and walk away- you won't like the rest.

 

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To be fair, LOTR isn't for everybody, especially the book(s)...

 

Any word on if they're going to do Restaurant At The End Of The Universe?

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Went to see it opening night at El Capitan in Hollywood. Many people in line with towels and bathrobes. Some of the Henson-made Vogons were on display in the lobby (very cool).

 

I didn't think that there was any more delta between this and the book than there was between the original radio series and the books and the BBC TV series and the remade radio series. Adams kept refining as he went along, and never seemed to be one of those who felt he was done with a story. My wife and I had a great time and enjoyed the movie. Then again, neither one of us has ever been particularly fan-boyish about HG2G.

 

The other film thing we did this weekend was go to the Ralph Bakshi retrospective that American Cinematheque and ASIFA were doing at the Egyptian Theatre. We went Saturday night, when they were showing "Wizards" and "Coonskin", as well as one of the episodes of "Mighty Mouse" that his studio did in the '90s (which John Kricfalusi of "Ren and Stimpy" fame worked on). I was reminded how many different cuts of "Coonskin" there are out there (I don't think I've ever seen the same version twice), something Bakshi alluded to in the Q&A between the two movies. One of the many things he touched on was what he saw as the connection between jazz and his work. Miles was one of his big inspirations and he felt that getting the emotional content of a scene to be what he wanted was more important than making sure that the animation was perfect.

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Ebert's review wasn't too great.

The impression I get is that if you're not *into* the books, you're not going to get the jokes and references.

That's the problem with films dealing with a cult following like this. You got to please the 'fans'.

I thought Lord of the Rings did a great job of making the films accessible to everybody. You don't have to read the books to enjoy the film, and if you have read the books, you still enjoy the film. Peter Jackson and his people were very clever in their approach.

 

I was looking forward to Hitchhiker's, but I'm kinda cheap. So, if the film doesn't look like it's gonna be good, I'll probably wait until it hits the cheap theaters.

 

Plus, Star Wars is about to come out, and I know I'll want to see that a couple of times, at least.

Super 8

 

Hear my stuff here

 

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I saw The Hitchiker's Gude this weekend, not by choice, but rather by default. The Interpreter was sold out, and The Guide was playing across the street at the same time. Maybe it was fate. Or maybe I was beamed to that exact location at that exact time by some random probability generator.

 

Background: I've never read the book and had no idea what the story was about. I just know that my nerdiest friends adore it.

 

:rolleyes:

 

In short, The Guide was a lot of fun. It's very silly and lighthearted. I liked that it was a British film. The humor was more intelligent and in many cases more dry than the typical American gross out Farley Brothers sixth-grade level fart joke based drivel that passes for comedy in the States these days. I like the way that British humor is underplayed, as when the annoying announcer says, "Congratulations, two nuclear missiles are headed your way. Have a nice day!"

 

Also, I really enjoy when the British use the "clueless American" character in a film (like Kevin Kline's part in A Fish Called Wanda). I realize that they're poking gentle fun at us, but I enjoy it, nonetheless, perhaps because clueless people annoy the heck out of me. Sam Rockwell played this part brillantly! It was an award worthy performance.

 

The story itself seemed to have a lot of random twists and turns. Sci Fi gives the author a lot of leeway. Every time he wants to steer the story in another direction something just happens to come along and lead it that way. This seems like lazy writing to me, but since the whole story is a farce to begin with, it's not a major criticism.

 

One great bit is when they come out of the random possibility generator thingie and before they reach "normality." The transformation back to human form takes some hilariously funny twists and turns.

 

I thought that all of the actors did a great job. Mos Def is very talented on screen. I enjoyed his acting in The Italian Job, and he's spot on here as well. John Malkovich is brilliant as always.

 

I'd recommend The Guide highly. Buy some popcorn, check your brain at the door, sit back and have some good laughs. And if you see some nerd with a towel sitting in the back badmouthing the film because it's not as good as the book, tell him to get a life, or at least a girlfriend.

 

Two thumbs up!

 

:thu::thu:

The Black Knight always triumphs!

 

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I liked it, it's better than a lot of stuff released this year. I have to disagree about mos def tho, he wasn't as bad as I feared, but they could have done a lot better!! I lived in Guildford until a month ago, Arthur would not have believed he was from there! Didn't wrap up very well, I know the book does the same, but the new sub-plot with John Malkovitch's character left it very open...

 

Zaphod was written as a parody of rock stars in the 70's with excessive life-styles, not of American's in general. You just have more examples of those kind of rock stars than we do :D Sam Rockwell was fantastic tho :thu:

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Zaphod was written as a parody of rock stars in the 70's with excessive life-styles, not of American's in general. You just have more examples of those kind of rock stars than we do Sam Rockwell was fantastic tho

 

See, in all actuality, right here Base is demonstrating the unique British ability to poke gentle fun at clueless Americans to their face....

 

(j/k)

 

I liked that it was a British film. The humor was more intelligent and in many cases more dry than the typical American gross out Farley Brothers sixth-grade level fart joke based drivel that passes for comedy in the States these days.

 

Amen. If i see another Dude Where's My Car?/Dumb and dumber type movie i'm going to move to the .uk

 

Every time he wants to steer the story in another direction something just happens to come along and lead it that way. This seems like lazy writing to me, but since the whole story is a farce to begin with, it's not a major criticism.

 

Check out the book. While this is true (far-fetched twists and turns), he kind of turned this into his trademark- nobody pulls off the twists and turns like Adams ;)

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Originally posted by Dan South:

Oh, yeah, there are no excessive British rock stars. Right!!!

 

:D

I just said you have more of them than us :D

 

Be interesting to know who exactly Adams had in mind when he wrote that tho...

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I saw it at the weekend. It doesn't follow the original radio play too closely, nor the book, but it has enough of the original so that it didn't piss me off. Overall, it was fun to watch. Actually, a couple of the plot changes they made tie the story together better than the original IMO.

 

I liked the many little visual jokes in it, like Robbie the Robot waiting in line at one of the Vogon's public offices and the nod to Douglas's (large) nose as a thing of worship. Also, at the very last moment in the film when they switch on the infinite improbability drive to go to the restaurant at the end of the universe, they flash a picture of Douglas Adams up as one of the many "probabilities" that the spaceship Heart of Gold goes through - nice touch.

 

I saw it on a large screen DLP projector setup. The film quality was excellent. I'd recommend seeing it in a good theatre rather than waiting for the DVD.

 

Who is the actor that played Slarty Bardfast? Nick ? Where have I seen him before? What was he in, recently?

 

:DTR

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Just to be pedantic, it wasn't Robbie the Robot, it was Marvin from the TV series. The original Arthur Dent (from radio and TV) was also in it as the hologram that greeted them at Magarathea(sp?). Think many of the others appeared but I didn't spot them...

 

Slartibartfast was played by Bill Nighy, he was the old rock star making the comeback in Love, Actually. Also played a rock star in Still Crazy (which flopped but I recommend to everyone here :cry: )

 

Yeah, I'm a geek, so???! :D

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