Current box office recommendations.

[cosineme]

3.5 hours? that's ridiculous...

[Klep]

It's actually 3 hours and 7 minutes.

[Machinus]

3.5 hours? that's ridiculous...

Titantic was like 3 weeks long, and people still loved that.

[jpmeyer]

I was timing from when everything started until when I left, so that included things like trailers, commercials, and credits.

[Godder]

So, I went to see King Kong today, and I have to say, blind patriotism aside, it was great. The 3 hours seemed to fly by, as the pacing was good - not too fast, and not too slow. Definite recommendation to see.

[nataz]

I finally saw serenity, and I really liked it. It wasn't a "good" movie persay, but it had some hilarious one liners. Was the TV series similar to the movie?

[Dr. Sylvan]

I finally saw serenity, and I really liked it. It wasn't a "good" movie persay, but it had some hilarious one liners. Was the TV series similar to the movie?

Seeing the movie first is a little like seeing a series finale before any of the episodes, but for the most part, yes. The movie had to spend a lot of time following the plot's development, though; I think that was originally intended to be much more spread out. Firefly the series spends more time on character development (and thus the dialogue you liked).

[PipOC]

The Producers - Good, though if you enjoy musicals, I'm sure it's fantastic.  My only gripe is that Matthew Broderick isnt playing a role, he's playing Gene Wilder playing a role.

Syriana - The best action movie I've seen last year, difficult to follow sometimes because of 6 main characters, and about 9 minor charactersm but a wonderful and thoughtful watch if you can keep up with all of it.  Don't go to the bathroom during this one.

Good Night and Good Luck - Extremely slow at times, but thought provoking and extremely well acted.

Narnia - nothing I can say particularly bad about it, though it didn't quite have the enthralling magic that the book evokes.

The Ringer - Nothing short of hilarious, though it's been advertised as sick humor in the vein of something like blazing saddles, it is very reverent and respectful of it's subject, and I daresay a good viewing time for everybody if you give it enough of a chance to sit and watch the whole thing.

[Cross]

I saw Kong, and after reviewing the 1933, and the 1970's version I think it stands as being the second best Kong to the 1933 version; which, is easily one of the best movies of all time. If you want to see amazing special effects and an unprecedented action movie for its time rent the original because it is insanely good. With that said, the new one is definitely a homage to the original, and it is entertaining. Beyond that, it's alright, not life changing.

Has anyone seen Fun with Dick and Jane? I hear it's awful, but I would hate to see an "awful" Jim Carrey movie.

[Whatever Works]

King Kong - Amazing. Simply Amazing. Filled with impactful symbolism, and well built characters. Jackson did an amazing job of creating a relationship with the women and the ape instead of the kinda sick like obsession the ape had in the 1933 version.

Fun With Dick and Jane - A decent Carrey Comedy. I would give it a B. Nothing especially amazing, but I felt it was worth the price of admission.

Kyle

[Harkius]

Now, granted, I haven't actually seen the movie (nor do I really ever intend to), but that one line

Jackson did an amazing job of creating a relationship with the women and the ape instead of the kinda sick like obsession the ape had in the 1933 version.

seems a little bit disturbing to me. I think that the 1933 was a little more accurate; this relationship is probably not going to be a two-way street. In fact, I think that very aspect of the plot would make me irritated and/or violently ill. Not that I have anything inherently against zoophilia (as far as paraphilias go, that one is relatively benign), but this idea of the woman loving the ape in return? Shouldn't the idea be that the ape was obsessed? A unilateral, unrequited love on the part of a miniature/giant ape for a beautiful woman? Wasn't that kind of the point? That was why it was a tragedy!

No. No freakin way. I refuse to accept that. That is just too strange and entirely too tree-hugging hippie for me. I'll pass.

Harkius

[Godder]

Love is a bit strong (unless you're talking platonic love) - admire and like, perhaps, but there's no suggestion that she wants to bed Kong.

[Whatever Works]

Love is a bit strong (unless you're talking platonic love) - admire and like, perhaps, but there's no suggestion that she wants to bed Kong.

exactly. She generated a friendship with the ape because the ape protected or in the wild, and then tried to protect her from the very society that she was part of in NYC.

[Harkius]

Hrmmm...

So we are expected to believe that a woman developed respect for a large, beast-like creature who attempted to protect her from dangers (largely self-inflicted by her choice of social class) and who is obviously attracted to her?

Escapism. That is the only word for that. I am assuming that the majority of people on these fora are MtG players, and have thus had their share of experience with what happens when you attempt to protect a woman from harm, right?

Or, am I the only man that this has spectacularly failed for? Again, escapism. I will pass. I will go back to reading my web comics.

Harkius

[Whatever Works]

You havent seen the movie so its hard to explain, but most people generally felt the connection between the characters, or the whole movie would have failed and fallan apart at its seems.

[Godder]

So we are expected to believe that a woman developed respect for a large, beast-like creature who attempted to protect her from dangers (largely self-inflicted by her choice of social class) and who is obviously attracted to her?

Escapism. That is the only word for that. I am assuming that the majority of people on these fora are MtG players, and have thus had their share of experience with what happens when you attempt to protect a woman from harm, right?

Or, am I the only man that this has spectacularly failed for? Again, escapism. I will pass. I will go back to reading my web comics.

See, the difference between King Kong and real life^TM is that American women in real life^TM don't usually have to worry about large carnivores, like, say, an Allosaurus or 3 chasing after them. Also, after the fun and games provided by the natives on the island, Kong was a major step up in life, since he was gentle with her, treated her well and protected her from the aforementioned dinosaurs. The contrast between the natives and Kong makes it easily believable that she would like, respect and admire Kong.

[Harkius]

Dude, have you ever dealt with women beneath the age of thirty? I haven't seen any of them enjoy being treated kindly...

(Which is not to say that I am either a misogynist or inexperienced. Nor is it to claim that women don't enjoy being treated kindly. Rather, I know damned few that seem to enjoy it the way that this 21st century Fay Wray appears to.)

My two cents.
Harkius

[Godder]

Of course I have - I'm engaged. However, the thing that makes it work in the context of the movie isn't just that Kong is gentle, it's that his timing is impeccable. The natives put her through hell on earth, and when one adds the large carnivores Kong saves her from, one can understand why she comes to like Kong as she does. Plus, it's not like he's all nice and fluffy - he's big and scary, and generally badass, but with a more sensitive side. Perfect for under-30 females, come to think of it...

[The Atog Lord]

Girlfriend dragged me to see Memoirs of a Geisha. She didn't even like it.

King Kong, however -- now, there's a really good movie. I really liked it, and despite the huge time (3:19 I think it was) it kept me gripped just about the whole time. I really enjoyed it.

[Whatever Works]

Girlfriend dragged me to see Memoirs of a Geisha. She didn't even like it.

Thats what you get for dating goths rich.

Kyle

[Zherbus]

We're going to see the Chronic -WHAT- cles of Narnia this afternoon.

[Moxlotus]

The Producers is pretty good.  Probably not worth paying $8+ each unless you really like musicals.  It is what I consider the perfect renting/dollar theatre movie.

[Komatteru]

Girlfriend dragged me to see Memoirs of a Geisha. She didn't even like it.

I kinda wanted to see that...

[The Atog Lord]

JD, you might enjoy that movie, but overall it wasn't that great. It wasn't awful or anything, but at times it dragged on and at other times it was just unpleasant to watch. 

Saw Chronicles tonight. Not bad, not not mindblowing or anything. The movie with the large Gorilla Shaman was still much better.

Thats what you get for dating goths rich.

My girlfriend is not, by any means whatsoever, goth.

[Whatever Works]

Thats what you get for dating goths rich.

My girlfriend is not, by any means whatsoever, goth.

Im am glad you have seen the light (bad pun), and have learned your lesson. Havent seen Narnia yet, but cannot wait to see "The Da Vinci Code", and think "Grandma's Boy" (I think the title is right) could be good, or at least watchable because the character reminds me of a lot friends who are obsessed with video games.

Kyle

[Harkius]

I am a little nervous about this one...

They basically have two choices. Run a really good 2.5+ hour movie, or run something that is ~1.75 hours that utterly sucks. There is no way that they will be able to get all of the essential elements into the story in the amount of time that an average Hollywood movie lasts. Fortunately, many movies have been stretching longer these days (The Matrix trilogy, the new Star Wars Trilogy, Troy and Alexander, and even the above mentioned Kong), so perhaps we will get lucky and get a movie that is almost three hours long that does the book a fair amount of justice.

I think that there may be riots if the material is not covered well.

As a lark, what do you think was the single worst adaptation ever? I mean ones that are clear. I am not accepting Ten Things I Hate About You as The Taming of the Shrew. Personally, my vote is The Ninth Gate, which was an atrocious adaptation of Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas. Anyone have something that can top that?

Harkius

[SpencerForHire]

King Kong, in addition to being probably the best remake that I can remember seeing, was also the fastest 3.5 hour movie that I've ever seen.  Also, Jack Black was born to utter the phrase "Will there be boobies?"

I agree with everything JP just said, but want to add that this movie was Peter Jackson's baby, and it really shows.  Every second of film is crammed full of his love for the subject.

This is an example of a movie that is actually better if you watch the original first.  I grew up watching the original and this movie did not let me down.

[jpmeyer]

As a lark, what do you think was the single worst adaptation ever? I mean ones that are clear. I am not accepting Ten Things I Hate About You as The Taming of the Shrew. Personally, my vote is The Ninth Gate, which was an atrocious adaptation of Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas. Anyone have something that can top that?

Harkius

Doesn't it have to be House of the Dead?

[cssamerican]

As a lark, what do you think was the single worst adaptation ever? I mean ones that are clear. I am not accepting Ten Things I Hate About You as The Taming of the Shrew. Personally, my vote is The Ninth Gate, which was an atrocious adaptation of Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas. Anyone have something that can top that?

I never read any of L. Ron Hubbard's books, but it doesn't really matter because Battlefield Earth was the worst movie I have ever seen; therefore, it wins every worst movie contest that it can qualify for.

[Harkius]

I never read any of L. Ron Hubbard's books, but it doesn't really matter because Battlefield Earth was the worst movie I have ever seen; therefore, it wins every worst movie contest that it can qualify for.

It wasn't that bad...I have seen worse movies. The Core, 28 Days, and The Box were all pretty bad. While Battlefield Earth was quite bad, I could sit through it. Barely. perhaps, but these other movies were just supremely bad. I think that both Battlefield Earth and Gigli were, for some inexplicable reason, expected to be good. When they weren't, expectations fell further than they would if they had been neutral.

I, for one, will go on record as saying that I thought that The Return of the King was not only not the best movie ever, but it was the most hyped movie ever. As a result of a combination of that and the mediocrity of the movie, I dub it Most Tepid Movie ever. It isn't bad, per se, but it was so overhyped that it made an otherwise reasonably worthwhile movie underwhelming to the degree that made it painful to watch.

Same phenomenon. Travolta's movie wasn't inherently bad, it was just not very good. The others I mentioned, those were bad. The actual worst movie ever, I believe, belongs to a movie that was mocked by MST3K, but I cannot honestly remember the title. It was about a red car, a family on a farm, and some stranger. I watched it for approximately an hour, and nothing happened.

All things considered, I disagree. Respectfully, but I disagree. Other votes?