Darklight Adept

Over the years I have been burned badly by Michael Crichton's Wonderful works turned to pure shit on the screen. I get to marvel as I read thru these exciting tales that flex the mind and endear the heart, Just to watch some two-bit hack create a screenplay that is utter crap.

I still must hold the Andromeda Strain is the only crichton book that has been perfectly translated to film. To translate Jurassic Park, you would have to meld chunks of all three films together. Sphere was close but still so so wrong. Congo? No words from me there. I missed Rising Sun, but Mainly because I'd never read it.

And here I sit...still shocked at the travesty that was "timeline" I weep for my $7.50 that was better spent purchasing a paperback and reading than a ticket to the theater.

I urge you, if you haven't seen this movie, go purchase the book. It is soo much better in the theater of the mind than on the silver screen. Hell, the first 5 minutes of the movie cover roughly the first 100 or so pages. That should tell you something about how rushed this movie was!

/end rant

HugAPug

Darklight Adept
You should have done what I did. I sat down, watched for ten minutes, cheered when Billy Connolly came on the screen, and left to get a refund. I should have known that the film wasn't going to turn out well, but I was a fool. That was the most pain I've ever felt watching a movie, well, since Ed Norton's character in The Italian Job. But that's a different story for a different day. I'm sorry to hear of your experience.

Darklight Adept

Heh, my real problem was that, instead of seeing the crappy movie, then reading the book again, I did it the wrong way around. I ready the book during a flight to and from Houston, then watched the movie again. One of these days I'll learn =D

Lasereth

http://www.suntimes.com/ebert

Check out Roger Ebert's movie reviews. He's a damn good critic to base your movie watching on. Hell, even if you disagree with some of his reviews, you gotta at least give him credit for backing up his reviews unlike most critics.

-Lasereth

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"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

djtestudo

I'm not worried...I made it through half of Congo on video, so I think Timeline will be alright

But c'mon...you cannot diss Jurassic Park the movie. It isn't exactly like the book, but is done in a way that it can stand on it's own and be entertaining.

You want pain, read the novelization of the movie. Makes the book look like a timeless classic in comparison.

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"Final thought: I just rented Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. Frankly, it was the worst sports movie I've ever seen."
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Cynthetiq

i watched Timeline as a preview... I didn't read the book, but I can say that it was at least an entertaining movie. I don't know how they may have reditied it from when I saw it over the summer, bu still. I did enjoy the movie enough.

If I had paid $10.50, well, I'd have been upset. I don't go to the theater all that often anymore since the wife and I make $21 which is just about the DVD price. Then I at least can own it, and they show it to my friend and give them my review when they come to my house looking for movies to watch.

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Darklight Adept

Heh, don't get me wrong, I loved JP the movie. My problem is that crichton usually hits all his characters spot on, you can't help but get this perfect mental vision of thse people based on his descriptions. Then the guys that come in to do the screenplays just tear down these characters with their rich back stories and cut them into nothingness.

Hell in timeline they took one of the main characters, and turned him into a freaking valley boy/daddy's boy kinda deal.

But I digress. If you think the movie, go read the book, then you'll feel ripped off at how good the story really was

Cynthetiq

but I know that books almost never make a good movie... heck look at most Stephen King books. His best have always been short stories....

novellas, short stories do, because they give enough skeleton to flesh out and room for other people like screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, etc, to breath life into the production.

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Cycler

I think I will wait for video. I enjoyed the book but I'm not going to pay to go see it in the theater.

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"I assure you we're open."

Hrothgar

I lost faith in Hollywood a long time ago. My DirectTV is glued to IFC and Sundance channel.

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The fortunes of war favored Hrothgar.

Kaos

I know how you feel...they have ruined probably 80% of the books Stephen King has written when they make a movie based on his Novels.