| Author |
 Topic  |
|
jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
 Posted - 08/24/2006 : 8:06:21 PM
|
I had watched the Skeleton Key again. It's not a bad flick, but it falls shy of greatness and not just because Kate Hudson doesn't show her boobs, although that would have been nice and all. I've been pondering this and I think I have it figured out.
***The following will contain spoilers and stuff.***
See, what went wrong is that the movie did not go far enough. At the end, it's a big reveal that the whole purpose of the plot was they wanted her body for the soul switch or whatever. Problem is, this is not an "oh, whoa whatta mind blower" reveal but a "whoa, no, wait, duh" reveal as it is what I felt I should have seen coming. Worse the movie still plods along for about ten minutes or so after this has been made clear.
What needed to happen is she needed a chance to thwart their plan. It didn't need to work. She just needed a chance before she either succeeded and kept her own body or failed and got hauled off to the hospitol to die in an old woman's body. They tried to do that with the protection charm she throws together at the end, but it turned out to be part of their plan, so it really wasn't a good chance for saving herself.
My idea, which is just one idea that is a possible way to end better, would be to have everything happen as it did right up to the end of the movie, but have additional scenes. He wakes up and hears voices. He starts groggily searching for her and calling her name and he finally finds her in the voodoo room he steps up to her and she notes that he just stepped into that protection spell than holds a person in place and the old man is there and the body switch record starts playing and the lawyer is put back in his body. It turns out the girl's mind did not switch and she'd been acting all this time. Justify is obviously upset and puzzle at how the the switch had failed. Kate hudson drops her pants to reveal her glorious behind as well as the tattoo she has. She says it's an ancient symbol of protection. She'd never thought much about it before. She'd gotten it because she thought it looked cool, but since she was believing the voodoo stuff, why not believe in this symbol? And it protected her from the mind switch.
Now, maybe that's probably not the best idea, but it does bring things further than the actual ending. And the actual ending was a little unsatisfying for this very reason.
The weird thing is, i seem to come up with ideas like this for lots of movies like the Santa Clause and Down Periscope. Some little thing or plot element that if they had just used it in the movie, it would have been that much better. |
|
|
RVHorror
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
532 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 12:02:46 AM
|
I *always* hate it when my ideas are better than what I watch on screen. I recall seeing a bunch of movies in the last couple of decades, and thinking, "Now, what would make this movie great would be, if, right here--" and the film-makers fumbled, and went into Total Inept Predictable Overdrive. It's as if "creativity" terrified them and made their tails all fluff up while they growled.
The worst thing is, these hacks get thousands of dollars for these retread ideas. Me, I have to part with my grandmother's paisley shawl to keep the beer running through the waving fields of alfalfa. |
 |
|
|
New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 01:11:29 AM
|
SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T SEEN DANCES WITH WOLVES OR READ LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S JO'S BOYS
Re: Better endings-Don't you think it would have been a much better ending to DANCES WITH WOLVES if, immediately after Dances With Wolves is adopted by the tribe, the U.S. cavalry attack and Dances With Wolves dies defending his adopted people? Does anybody out there remember Louisa May Alcott's Jo's Boys? Her hero, Dan, is a White man in sympathy with the Indians, who goes to live with them. He dies defending them and I kept thinking of Dan, and thinking that Alcott handled the material better, when I watched DANCES WITH WOLVES. |
Edited by - New Hinda on 08/25/2006 01:14:55 AM |
|
|
|
Cannon Fodder
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Australia
176 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 01:56:21 AM
|
| Not entirely, it at least gives me a temporary feeling of intellectual and creative superiority. Okay, it's a bit like feeling superior for having beaten Stephen Hawking in a wrestling match but I use what I can get. |
|
|
|
BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 03:46:51 AM
|
Whenever I'm watching a movie and start playing writer or director, the movie's in trouble. When I realize I have better ideas than the real writer or director, the movie moves into my official Avoid List (or Jabootu list).
Which is worse? Seeing a movie where you think "This COULD have been really good" or thinking, "Why did they even bother to pick up a camera to film this crap?" Opinions, anyone? |
|
|
|
New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 04:53:04 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by BradH812
Which is worse? Seeing a movie where you think "This COULD have been really good" or thinking, "Why did they even bother to pick up a camera to film this crap?" Opinions, anyone?
A movie where you think "This could have been really good." |
|
|
|
Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 06:57:44 AM
|
I also go with the "This could have been really good." At least with a film like that, you know there was a possibility you could have gotten your money's worth.
I think Hollywood would do well to bring in some film buffs to look at scripts and offer suggestions. While most people can't write a full story, they can usually find parts that just don't work and offer good changes.
Also, you couldn't keep bringing in the same people as you would end up with the same issue of people getting stuck in a rut.
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
|
|
|
RVHorror
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
532 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 3:06:49 PM
|
| My vote is also for "Could have been good." Obviously, the disappointment level is higher, but at least the film-makers were trying. |
|
|
|
jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 3:18:56 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by BradH812
Which is worse? Seeing a movie where you think "This COULD have been really good" or thinking, "Why did they even bother to pick up a camera to film this crap?" Opinions, anyone?
OK, the responses have me confused. Aren't we supposed to be voting which is worse?
I'm going to vote for "could have been really good" because if I'm thinking that, then it isn't really good and there were a couple places that they could have just done something to push it into really good. Only it didn't. If the movie was a waste of time filming in the first place, then it would be perfect fodder for a site like this as it's at the low end of the bell curve. The "could have been good" movies are not really bad but they're not really good either. It's like that line in The Incredibles: "they come up with new ways to celebrate mediocrity." Mediocrity should not be celebrated nor encouraged. |
|
|
|
New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 06:09:24 AM
|
SPOILERS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEITHER SEEN NOR READ MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS had an unforgivably bad-and inaccurate-ending. In the film, Billy Hayes kills a guard and escapes from prison in the guard's uniform. First of all, prison regulations were designed to prevent that-the guards arrived at and left the prison in their street clothes. Second of all, Billy Hayes' REAL escape was about as cinematographic as you can get; he got himself transferred to a minimum security prison, on an island. On stormy nights, fishermen would sometimes anchor their boats in a cove on the island. One stormy night, he stole a dinghy and rowed to shore, through miles of stormy, open water. They left out some other things from the book, but THAT change was unforgiveable. |
|
|
|
Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 10:56:10 AM
|
I vote for "It could have been good" because I hate getting caught up in a good story just to have it take a turn into the moronic. When the film makers drop the ball, I suddenly loose intrest in it and feel kind of cheated for being so loyal to the movie up to that point.
Another that COULD have been done better is one I can't remember the title to. It was done in the early Ninties or late Eighties and was set in an underwater facility. There was a monster, the station was isolated and the crew armed themselves with (Get this) GAS-POWERED chainsaws and HEDGECLIPPERS, and FLAMETHROWERS. Just think how foul the air got when they powered those things up!
What they SHOULD have had were kinives from the galley, spear guns and (Maybe) some reproduction navy weapons like a blunderbus, volley pistol, cultass and harpoon. Those would have been just as cool-looking and would have made more sence. Why would they have powder for the guns? Well "somebody" on the crew thought they should have a few ounces "just in case".
The ending was dumb, after getting to the surface, the hero blew the monster up with a HANDGRENADE (and you thought black powder in an underwater lab was dumb) and after getting rescued, punches out the EEEEEEVIL business woman/boss.
Better ending: They HAD shown her talking to her employees over the radio and after signing off, she looks thoughtfull and conflicted. At one point (I think) she calls HER bosses and askes if they should rescue the crew, but is denied. In my ending, the Coast Guard helecopter flys to their position and the monster attacks (As per the origonal) and as all seems lost, there is rifle fire from the chopper. The survivors get on board to find the business woman with a rifle. She says that she believes in employer/employee loyalty, or something.
That would have been a better "twist ending" than what we've seen in many other movies.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
|
|
|
jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 11:45:24 AM
|
| Well, that is likely to be Leviathan (movie), Deepstar Six, The Evil Below, or The Rift (Endless Descent). Any of them jog your memory? Only one on the list I had seen was Deepstar Six. I don't recall gas-powered hedgeclippers or handgrenades in that one. |
|
|
|
RVHorror
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
532 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 1:27:39 PM
|
| I saw The Rift (Endless Descent), and that plot description doesn't sound like what I remember. (I saw the film many, many years ago, so I could be completely wrong.) |
|
|
|
Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 4:26:42 PM
|
It's either Leviathan or Deepstar Six. Did it have Peter Weller and Amanda Pays?
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
|
|
|
Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 8:19:54 PM
|
| I think it was Leviathan. Watched it a few years ago and never went back. |
|
|
|
BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2006 : 12:09:19 AM
|
It was Leviathan. I saw it in the theater. (I'm so ashamed.)
Would've been so much better at the end if Meg Foster had just looked at Peter Weller with her tail tucked between her legs and said, "Go ahead, duke me," and Weller replied, "I won't be that merciful," then just walked by... leaving her to ponder the legal trouble she was about to get into.
Yep, the movie was a dud; it took me ten seconds to come up with that bit. Funny thing. In The Line Of Fire got it right. Eastwood looked at his former boss, made like he was about to hit him, then just gave him a smile that said, "You're not worth the trouble." |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Forum Locked
Topic Locked