"Gone Girl" - Movie

[Wonky3]

Poor Little “Gone Girl”
by Anthony Lane
David Fincher’s adaptation lacks clout where it needs it most: at its core.

Review in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/1...MzA4MzUyS0

I thought the book was a good read. Not "War in Peace" that will be remembered for the ages, but the author was clever and able to weave a page turning book into a lot of fun.

The movie (Now playing locally)...not so much according to this review.

Shame. Just follow the story folks and stop messing with the plot.

Still, I might see it.

If you see it before any of the rest of us, please leave a comment.

[Tiamat]

I plan to, but not sure when. My son told me something interesting and I'm guessing it's true. He read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so few decent movies nowadays, and that they are so shallow and filled with nearly nothing but sex and explosions is that there is the profits from showing films overseas is tremendous. Therefore, the plotlines have to be super simple and easy for any culture to understand and watch.

Not that that may be the reason for this movie being not so...great? I read the book. Finally. Nice potato chip novel. Light and easy. BTW. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.....MUCH better story, if not as well written.

[Wonky3]

I plan to, but not sure when. My son told me something interesting and I'm guessing it's true. He read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so few decent movies nowadays, and that they are so shallow and filled with nearly nothing but sex and explosions is that there is the profits from showing films overseas is tremendous. Therefore, the plotlines have to be super simple and easy for any culture to understand and watch.

Not that that may be the reason for this movie being not so...great? I read the book. Finally. Nice potato chip novel. Light and easy. BTW. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.....MUCH better story, if not as well written.

I too have heard the "overseas" argument. Indeed, the world "is flat". And getting smaller.

As to "Gone Girl" and "Dragon Tattoo"...kind of apples and oranges don't you think?
(Full disclosure---I have not read "Tattoo" but have read the reviews and my wife told me A LOT MORE about it than I really wanted to know).

And 2014 has been a bust! The only movie I remember enjoying was "Million Dollar Arm" and maybe only because I'm a baseball fan.

Let's hope for better movies as we approach the end of the year.

[tvguy]

I plan to, but not sure when. My son told me something interesting and I'm guessing it's true. He read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so few decent movies nowadays, and that they are so shallow and filled with nearly nothing but sex and explosions is that there is the profits from showing films overseas is tremendous. Therefore, the plotlines have to be super simple and easy for any culture to understand and watch.

Not that that may be the reason for this movie being not so...great? I read the book. Finally. Nice potato chip novel. Light and easy. BTW. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.....MUCH better story, if not as well written.

I have my own theory about why "we get so few decent movies nowadays"

First of all I don't know that is even true. But I truly believe that music and movies are targeted for the young.
I think most movies are made for younger people. The ones who grew up with toys of every size color and shape. Or video games.

It's not good enough any more to dodge a bullet with quick reflexes. Or to jump off a 10 ft building in a chase scene.
Now people dodge a bullet by bending over backward all the way to the ground with their feet still planted.
They jump off a 20 foot building doing flips like Mitzi Gaynor and shooting their gun sideways killing the bad guys the whole time.

What I'm saying is reality is not good enough for the young crowd. It HAS to be super fantastic crazy ass amazing shit beyond belief to get young peoples attention.

When I see it I say BULLSHIT.

Basically I'm saying that most movies are not targeted at US

My friend said the other day that he watched "Sons of Anarchy" and a grenade was tossed in to a room full of people and after they all dusted themselves off they were OK

My response was.. "Maybe it was a Harbor freight grenade"

While I typed this I thought I should Google and check my age of movie goers theory.. Don't tell Rowan

[Wonky3]

Both Tia and TVg have valid points I think.

But it makes me wonder about the "world wide distribution" thing and that they target the young. Could be. But...

I watch a lot of foreign films now that I have Netflix. (My hearing is getting lousy in certain registers and so I like subtitles). And, I think a lot of foreign films refutes the argument that we make films simple so they can be "understood" by other cultures.

And too, maybe we just have to watch for the "good ones". If we think about it, there have been some really good movies: They just seem to come in bunches and often there are stretches when nothing seems worthwhile. (Summers for sure!)

And then, there is always the thing about what is "good". Tastes vary so much. For instance I saw "Prisoners" (2013) and I thought it was intense and well done. Other folks I know thought it was unnecessaryly gory and not all that great. So there ya go.

[Tiamat]

I plan to, but not sure when. My son told me something interesting and I'm guessing it's true. He read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so few decent movies nowadays, and that they are so shallow and filled with nearly nothing but sex and explosions is that there is the profits from showing films overseas is tremendous. Therefore, the plotlines have to be super simple and easy for any culture to understand and watch.

Not that that may be the reason for this movie being not so...great? I read the book. Finally. Nice potato chip novel. Light and easy. BTW. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.....MUCH better story, if not as well written.

I too have heard the "overseas" argument. Indeed, the world "is flat". And getting smaller.

As to "Gone Girl" and "Dragon Tattoo"...kind of apples and oranges don't you think?
(Full disclosure---I have not read "Tattoo" but have read the reviews and my wife told me A LOT MORE about it than I really wanted to know).

And 2014 has been a bust! The only movie I remember enjoying was "Million Dollar Arm" and maybe only because I'm a baseball fan.

Let's hope for better movies as we approach the end of the year.

Why would you think that? A potato chip style mystery is a potato chip style mystery. (I say "potato chip" because you usually can't just eat one potato chip. You want to eat another. To me, a potato chip read is one where it's not necessarily too deep, and you want to keep turning the pages and see what happens next, and it's very enjoyable.) Gone Girl is a Mystery. GWTDT is a Mystery with a bit more character development. Seem the same to me.

[Wonky3]

I plan to, but not sure when. My son told me something interesting and I'm guessing it's true. He read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so few decent movies nowadays, and that they are so shallow and filled with nearly nothing but sex and explosions is that there is the profits from showing films overseas is tremendous. Therefore, the plotlines have to be super simple and easy for any culture to understand and watch.

Not that that may be the reason for this movie being not so...great? I read the book. Finally. Nice potato chip novel. Light and easy. BTW. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.....MUCH better story, if not as well written.

I too have heard the "overseas" argument. Indeed, the world "is flat". And getting smaller.

As to "Gone Girl" and "Dragon Tattoo"...kind of apples and oranges don't you think?
(Full disclosure---I have not read "Tattoo" but have read the reviews and my wife told me A LOT MORE about it than I really wanted to know).

And 2014 has been a bust! The only movie I remember enjoying was "Million Dollar Arm" and maybe only because I'm a baseball fan.

Let's hope for better movies as we approach the end of the year.

Why would you think that? A potato chip style mystery is a potato chip style mystery. (I say "potato chip" because you usually can't just eat one potato chip. You want to eat another. To me, a potato chip read is one where it's not necessarily too deep, and you want to keep turning the pages and see what happens next, and it's very enjoyable.) Gone Girl is a Mystery. GWTDT is a Mystery with a bit more character development. Seem the same to me.

Okay.
Just my humble opinion.
Nothing I feel like debating.

[Tiamat]

So, I actually went and saw this. I would not say it was terrible. It's hard for me to say, because I didn't think the book was that amazing. It followed the book fairly closely, and the actors I think, did a good job with their roles. The cinematography was dark, (literally, not figuratively) and the sound was muddy, so dialogue was hard to hear. So...it was ok. I think they captured the idea well enough. I'd give it two and half out of four stars if I had to rate it.

[Tiamat]

Poor Little “Gone Girl”
by Anthony Lane
David Fincher’s adaptation lacks clout where it needs it most: at its core.

Review in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/1...MzA4MzUyS0

I thought the book was a good read. Not "War in Peace" that will be remembered for the ages, but the author was clever and able to weave a page turning book into a lot of fun.

The movie (Now playing locally)...not so much according to this review.

Shame. Just follow the story folks and stop messing with the plot.

Still, I might see it.

If you see it before any of the rest of us, please leave a comment.

Going back to this original review....this is incorrect. Gillian Flynn wrote "gone girl". I have no idea who Anthony Lane is. And the plot was nearly exactly like the book. There was a major change in action that didn't change the plot at all, and a slight motivational change but it was subtle, so I gotta wonder at this?

[Wonky3]

Poor Little “Gone Girl”
by Anthony Lane
David Fincher’s adaptation lacks clout where it needs it most: at its core.

Review in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/1...MzA4MzUyS0

I thought the book was a good read. Not "War in Peace" that will be remembered for the ages, but the author was clever and able to weave a page turning book into a lot of fun.

The movie (Now playing locally)...not so much according to this review.

Shame. Just follow the story folks and stop messing with the plot.

Still, I might see it.

If you see it before any of the rest of us, please leave a comment.

Going back to this original review....this is incorrect. Gillian Flynn wrote "gone girl". I have no idea who Anthony Lane is. And the plot was nearly exactly like the book. There was a major change in action that didn't change the plot at all, and a slight motivational change but it was subtle, so I gotta wonder at this?

Thanks for giving us your take on it. Based on what you say, I don't think I'll go out in the rain to see it.
I have no idea why the reviewer thought the plot was changed....sometimes these guys take themselves too seriously.
Yeah; Don't know who Anthony Lane is. Flynn was the screenwriter. That was from the review, so who knows?
Lots of movies shot in the dark these days. And the sound quality may be not as good as it should be. I thought it was just my "old ears" but a few younger folks I know have made comments about "too many actors who don't speak clearly".

[Tiamat]

Poor Little “Gone Girl”
by Anthony Lane
David Fincher’s adaptation lacks clout where it needs it most: at its core.

Review in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/1...MzA4MzUyS0

I thought the book was a good read. Not "War in Peace" that will be remembered for the ages, but the author was clever and able to weave a page turning book into a lot of fun.

The movie (Now playing locally)...not so much according to this review.

Shame. Just follow the story folks and stop messing with the plot.

Still, I might see it.

If you see it before any of the rest of us, please leave a comment.

Going back to this original review....this is incorrect. Gillian Flynn wrote "gone girl". I have no idea who Anthony Lane is. And the plot was nearly exactly like the book. There was a major change in action that didn't change the plot at all, and a slight motivational change but it was subtle, so I gotta wonder at this?

Thanks for giving us your take on it. Based on what you say, I don't think I'll go out in the rain to see it.
I have no idea why the reviewer thought the plot was changed....sometimes these guys take themselves too seriously.
Yeah; Don't know who Anthony Lane is. Flynn was the screenwriter. That was from the review, so who knows?
Lots of movies shot in the dark these days. And the sound quality may be not as good as it should be. I thought it was just my "old ears" but a few younger folks I know have made comments about "too many actors who don't speak clearly".

Looking at it now, I think Anthony Lane was the author of the review.. There are a lot of movies that shot super dark these days in terms of lighting. This wasn't like that so much, as just kind of monotone and not very visually capturing or imaginative. There was a moment or two when the director came close to building the terror and then would back off. I think it's from following the vanilla like flavor of the book too closely. That is why it is often best not to make a movie "Just like the book" but rather as the inspiration for another way of telling the story.

[Wonky3]

Poor Little “Gone Girl”
by Anthony Lane
David Fincher’s adaptation lacks clout where it needs it most: at its core.

Review in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/1...MzA4MzUyS0

I thought the book was a good read. Not "War in Peace" that will be remembered for the ages, but the author was clever and able to weave a page turning book into a lot of fun.

The movie (Now playing locally)...not so much according to this review.

Shame. Just follow the story folks and stop messing with the plot.

Still, I might see it.

If you see it before any of the rest of us, please leave a comment.

Going back to this original review....this is incorrect. Gillian Flynn wrote "gone girl". I have no idea who Anthony Lane is. And the plot was nearly exactly like the book. There was a major change in action that didn't change the plot at all, and a slight motivational change but it was subtle, so I gotta wonder at this?

Thanks for giving us your take on it. Based on what you say, I don't think I'll go out in the rain to see it.
I have no idea why the reviewer thought the plot was changed....sometimes these guys take themselves too seriously.
Yeah; Don't know who Anthony Lane is. Flynn was the screenwriter. That was from the review, so who knows?
Lots of movies shot in the dark these days. And the sound quality may be not as good as it should be. I thought it was just my "old ears" but a few younger folks I know have made comments about "too many actors who don't speak clearly".

Looking at it now, I think Anthony Lane was the author of the review.. There are a lot of movies that shot super dark these days in terms of lighting. This wasn't like that so much, as just kind of monotone and not very visually capturing or imaginative. There was a moment or two when the director came close to building the terror and then would back off. I think it's from following the vanilla like flavor of the book too closely. That is why it is often best not to make a movie "Just like the book" but rather as the inspiration for another way of telling the story.

I'd guess you are right about that. A book is a book is a book, and unless we want an actor on the screen reading the book to us, we should expect a different experience.

I am going to see the movie, just not rushing out to do it.