| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 03/31/2008 : 18:42:15
Okay -- don't rent The Mist.
Usually, I love Stephen King. But this movie had the worst ending I have seen in a movie for a long time.
I wanted to strangle SK when I was done watching it.
I was all ready for some great sci-fi and gore.
It was very dark at the end.
I do not recommend it.
EM :) |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 12/27/2010 : 04:29:22
Here is an older thread about this film. |
| randall |
Posted - 06/11/2008 : 18:55:37
Just caught it on DVD. I too was less than thrilled with the CGI critters. I didn't buy any of them. But don't blame Stephen King for the ending: it's not his. The novella was one of the scariest things I'd ever read, back when it was published some 25 years ago, and it does not end this way.
I was more impressed with the humans, the real monsters in this piece. It was like an updated "Monsters Are Due On Maple Street," only with actual monsters...
EDIT: Here's a pre-release piece that gets right to the core of the two different endings, a piece which I didn't read at the time, since I didn't want anything spoiled. Turns out King approves! |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/10/2008 : 16:51:56
quote:
Originally posted by damalc
quote:
Originally posted by Yukon
SPOLIERS
Said it before in another thread and I'll say it again. The ending was amazing. Completely shocking. Kudos to the film makers for having the guts to go with a completely non-Hollywood ending.
I'm so tired of predictable endings that I love anything with a twist and this movie floored me. I just kept thinking "I can't believe they chose to end the movie that way!"
I think I would have hated the movie if the army came in and saved everybody. Too predictable.
i'm with Yuke on this one. the ending was unpleasant, but as i've said in other forums, show me something different, and on top of that make me feel SOMETHING, whether it's revulsion (Funny Games), humor (Half Baked), fear (Psycho), sympathy (Sling Blade [some folks call it a kaiser blade]), wonder (Spider-Man 2), or anger (Training Day).
for me, one of the worst things a film, or music, or a tv show, can be is forgettable. memorable is not inherently good, but the biggest waste is when i don't even mention to anyone that i saw a movie.
"The Mist" was memorable and it made me feel something.
the monsters were kind of hokey looking sometimes. as good as movie special effects have gotten, it's still hard to make a believable looking monster or superhero.
clarification: i don't think the ending was amazing, but the ending doesn't make "The Mist" a bad movie.
and wtf's a SPOLIER? 
No, you're right. It's not just the ending that makes The Mist a bad movie. It's pretty much most of what leads up to it as well.
I was hoping for a cool movie. It wasn't. And it had a really wrong ending. Which was the final straw, really, for me.
It kinda reminded me of when TV gets ahold of a King book. They just can't do it right. Whether it be a lack of budget for the effects, or just overall bad acting. Or just unskilled hands at work. It falls short. This fell short. And on top of it had that ending that was just insulting to the viewer. Shock for shock's sake. Not good at all.
EM :) |
| damalc |
Posted - 04/08/2008 : 19:18:16
quote:
Originally posted by Yukon
SPOLIERS
Said it before in another thread and I'll say it again. The ending was amazing. Completely shocking. Kudos to the film makers for having the guts to go with a completely non-Hollywood ending.
I'm so tired of predictable endings that I love anything with a twist and this movie floored me. I just kept thinking "I can't believe they chose to end the movie that way!"
I think I would have hated the movie if the army came in and saved everybody. Too predictable.
i'm with Yuke on this one. the ending was unpleasant, but as i've said in other forums, show me something different, and on top of that make me feel SOMETHING, whether it's revulsion (Funny Games), humor (Half Baked), fear (Psycho), sympathy (Sling Blade [some folks call it a kaiser blade]), wonder (Spider-Man 2), or anger (Training Day).
for me, one of the worst things a film, or music, or a tv show, can be is forgettable. memorable is not inherently good, but the biggest waste is when i don't even mention to anyone that i saw a movie.
"The Mist" was memorable and it made me feel something.
the monsters were kind of hokey looking sometimes. as good as movie special effects have gotten, it's still hard to make a believable looking monster or superhero.
clarification: i don't think the ending was amazing, but the ending doesn't make "The Mist" a bad movie.
and wtf's a SPOLIER? |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/08/2008 : 18:11:56
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
Promising the monsters won't get him and then offing him himself - not really in the spirit of the promise.
"Don't worry son. I'll shoot you through the head myself with this gun before the monsters get you. Now, stop crying. You have nothing to worry about. See, Daddy will fix everything."
EM :) |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/08/2008 : 18:10:45
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
Promising the monsters won't get him and then offing him himself - not really in the spirit of the promise.
EM :) |
| turrell |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 21:23:36
Promising the monsters won't get him and then offing him himself - not really in the spirit of the promise. |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 20:59:34
quote:
Originally posted by Yukon
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
I agree with Yukon that twist endings are welcome, but not when they come out of left field - thats just lazy writing - why not have a giant snake swallow Indiana Jones at the end of any of the movies? Why not have the Ewoks eat Princess Leia alive? You wouldn't have seen that coming - it doesn't necessarily make it good. End of Rocky a nuclear bomb hits. End of Schindler's list a gay disco scene - sure - completely unpredicatble.
I don't think this came out of left field. Remember, he promised his son he wouldn't let the creatures get him. He kept his word. Instead of letting his son suffer and get torn apart and eaten by the creatures, he ended it quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Yep. I remember that scene. Still didn't work for me.
EM :) |
| Yukon |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 20:32:46
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
I agree with Yukon that twist endings are welcome, but not when they come out of left field - thats just lazy writing - why not have a giant snake swallow Indiana Jones at the end of any of the movies? Why not have the Ewoks eat Princess Leia alive? You wouldn't have seen that coming - it doesn't necessarily make it good. End of Rocky a nuclear bomb hits. End of Schindler's list a gay disco scene - sure - completely unpredicatble.
I don't think this came out of left field. Remember, he promised his son he wouldn't let the creatures get him. He kept his word. Instead of letting his son suffer and get torn apart and eaten by the creatures, he ended it quickly and as painlessly as possible. |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 18:37:22
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
I quite liked the second Hostel movie. Way better than the first.
I liked them both. Like I said, I thought the twist in the first movie made sense and wasn't just the usual government testing causing killer, inbred mutants. Pleasantly surprised. The second movie, I thought, how is this going to work? I liked the twist there, too.
EM :) |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 15:36:38
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
It wasn't at all about pain threshold it was just a schlocky ending - one I'd equate to Basic Instinct - let's throw in a twist essentially for shock value - I love a good twist that is supported by the plot, but this ending simply didn't. The film didn't take seriously the spiralling into despair of the main character - take the ending off and that's not really what this film is about (of course it was about 5 unrealted topics so who knopws what it was about).
If one character took that upon themself I can see that being an interesting contrast, but they entered into the final pact too easily and when you have a child involved that is utterly unbelievable (and not in the way that goofy aliens come down to eat earthlings unbelievable - but in a way that defies the human condition).
That's a valid argument. Like I said, I go back and forth on this. I don't think it's as unjustified as either of you guys make it out to be, but it's certainly not set up as well as it could have been. Basically, I understand where you guys are coming from, and I kinda/kinda don't agree.
I quite liked the second Hostel movie. Way better than the first. |
| Montgomery |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 15:17:18
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
It wasn't at all about pain threshold it was just a schlocky ending - one I'd equate to Basic Instinct - let's throw in a twist essentially for shock value - I love a good twist that is supported by the plot, but this ending simply didn't. The film didn't take seriously the spiralling into despair of the main character - take the ending off and that's not really what this film is about (of course it was about 5 unrealted topics so who knopws what it was about).
If one character took that upon themself I can see that being an interesting contrast, but they entered into the final pact too easily and when you have a child involved that is utterly unbelievable (and not in the way that goofy aliens come down to eat earthlings unbelievable - but in a way that defies the human condition).
I agree with Yukon that twist endings are welcome, but not when they come out of left field - thats just lazy writing - why not have a giant snake swallow Indiana Jones at the end of any of the movies? Why not have the Ewoks eat Princess Leia alive? You wouldn't have seen that coming - it doesn't necessarily make it good. End of Rocky a nuclear bomb hits. End of Schindler's list a gay disco scene - sure - completely unpredicatble.
SPOILERS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you. Exactly my feelings. I didn't like knowing that the man had killed his own son, but if the movie had felt that way throughout, perhaps I would have felt it fit. It didn't.
SPOILER FOR ANOTHER FILM --
In "The Vanishing" -- the original, there is a twist ending where the guy wakes up buried alive. I thought that was brilliant. Not a cheery end to a movie either. But the whole movie leads up to that. That question -- what happened to his fiance? And the answer comes -- buried alive. And the only way the guy could find out was to allow the killer to do the same to him. Brilliant. I agree with Turrell. The Mist's movie ending was lazy. They thought, "Well, we've got nothing to lose." And they really didn't, because it wasn't that good of a movie leading up. But, honestly. It didn't save the movie. It made it worse. Way worse.
And, I don't think I really have that low of a pain threshold. I saw both Hostels. And, actually, I liked them. I like the twists in both of those. Because, actually, I like horror movies and am kinda tired of the answer as to why people are being killed being that there is a clan on inbred cannibalistic half-humans living out in the woods.
I agree with Bad, too, though. Dupree was painful to watch.
EM :)
|
| turrell |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 06:25:12
It wasn't at all about pain threshold it was just a schlocky ending - one I'd equate to Basic Instinct - let's throw in a twist essentially for shock value - I love a good twist that is supported by the plot, but this ending simply didn't. The film didn't take seriously the spiralling into despair of the main character - take the ending off and that's not really what this film is about (of course it was about 5 unrealted topics so who knopws what it was about).
If one character took that upon themself I can see that being an interesting contrast, but they entered into the final pact too easily and when you have a child involved that is utterly unbelievable (and not in the way that goofy aliens come down to eat earthlings unbelievable - but in a way that defies the human condition).
I agree with Yukon that twist endings are welcome, but not when they come out of left field - thats just lazy writing - why not have a giant snake swallow Indiana Jones at the end of any of the movies? Why not have the Ewoks eat Princess Leia alive? You wouldn't have seen that coming - it doesn't necessarily make it good. End of Rocky a nuclear bomb hits. End of Schindler's list a gay disco scene - sure - completely unpredicatble. |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 05:09:54
I think the fact is that the film crossed Montgomery's pain threshhold.
I try not to have limits on my pain threshhold. I love horror movies of all kinds, including a bunch derided as "torture porn." I think "Hostel" is a bad bad movie, but not because it's sadistic -- more because it's depressing and then finally boring. "The Mist" is not boring, it is excruciatingly painful, but I applaud that. It got the reaction it wanted. It's called a horror movie for a reason.
I dislike pain when pain is not what the director intends for me to feel. "You, Me and Dupree," a film about emotional torture more than anything, was maybe the most painful film I've ever seen, but it was meant to be light and funny. I was in agony. |
| Yukon |
Posted - 04/07/2008 : 02:44:43
SPOLIERS
Said it before in another thread and I'll say it again. The ending was amazing. Completely shocking. Kudos to the film makers for having the guts to go with a completely non-Hollywood ending.
I'm so tired of predictable endings that I love anything with a twist and this movie floored me. I just kept thinking "I can't believe they chose to end the movie that way!"
I think I would have hated the movie if the army came in and saved everybody. Too predictable. |
|
|
