films that make such large dives from gripping interest

[markie]

Saving Private Ryan (1998) might be the best choice for the thread title so far.

[Relaxer]

I found the first hour of Independence Day to be excellent - a pretty realistic portrayal of how it would be if aliens all of a sudden just showed up. However, I found the second hour of it to be so stupid and cheese-filled (basically everything with Will Smith in it) as to negate the impact of the first hour.

[lionforce5]

Waking Life (although so much of it was just banal philosophical musings about nothing, my argument for that is that it would have made a good short film without the pseudo intellectual bs)
 Natural Born Killers
 Everything M. Night Shyamalan did after Unbreakable
 Jesus de Montreal
 Almost everything by David Cronenberg

[K8teebug]

AI
 Being John Malchovich (yes, I don't know how to spell it and I think I'm the only person who hated this film)
 Wonder Boys

[calecp01]

Originally posted by palahniukkubrick:
  AI. Seriously, Spielberg could have ended the movie with the kid in the ocean and it would have been fine. But somehow aliens come and grant him his wish to see his mom one last time. The same mom who left him in the woods. wtf. Not to mention that the film was an homage to stanley kubrick, who never has "happy" endings in his movies.

While I agree with you, and plan to show my two friends the movie soon and simply stop the DVD after that scene, I did read somewhere that the extended ending was not added by Spielberg and in fact was Kubricks idea.
 
 -cale

Originally posted by j_lee:
    <img src="http://www.schnittberichte.com/SBs/1179/13.jpg" alt=" - " />
 
 Almost everything by David Cronenberg

So which Cronen film did you like, like?

[lionforce5]

Originally posted by Taipei Personality:
   

Originally posted by j_lee:
 
 Almost everything by David Cronenberg

So which DC film did you like, like? [/b]

The Dead Zone.  
 
 He's also scheduled to do a film version of one of my favorite books, which could be good or bad...my problem with him is that he's more interested in scenery than in dialogue, so while he has these really interesting set-ups the characters always deliver choppy dialogue.

Originally posted by j_lee:
  The Dead Zone.  
 
 He's also scheduled to do a film version of one of my favorite books, which could be good or bad...my problem with him is that he's more interested in scenery than in dialogue, so while he has these really interesting set-ups the characters always deliver choppy dialogue.

Have you seen SHIVERS, or THE BROOD?

[Bags]

Originally posted by bellenseb:
  Adaptation.

It is the last quarter of that movie that brings the whole thing together, as the film devolves into the standard Hollywood schlock that Charlie Kaufman specifically abhors early on when meeting with studio execs.  But then his brother gets a hold of the script and works his "Hollywood blockbuster magic."  
 
 I thought it was brilliant and HYSTERICAL.  I think a some people didn't get that the end was coming full circle to the whole premise of the movie.

[markie]

Originally posted by j_lee:
 
 Jesus de Montreal
 Almost everything by David Cronenberg

I loved Jesus of Montreal. How did it degenerate? I thought it was a great tiny budget movie.
 
 As for Cronenberg, I would say that Dead ringers, the fly and scanners were absolutely fantastic movies.

[markie]

Originally posted by K8teebug:
 
 Being John Malchovich (yes, I don't know how to spell it and I think I'm the only person who hated this film)
 

I too think the movie should have just ended earlier. The last 10 or so minutes were completely unnecessary.

[lionforce5]

Originally posted by Taipei Personality:
   

Originally posted by j_lee:
  The Dead Zone.  
 
 He's also scheduled to do a film version of one of my favorite books, which could be good or bad...my problem with him is that he's more interested in scenery than in dialogue, so while he has these really interesting set-ups the characters always deliver choppy dialogue.

Have you seen SHIVERS, or THE BROOD? [/b]

I've seen Shivers.  Not The Brood though.  I haven't seen M. Butterfly or Spider either, though I heard that the latter wasn't really that good.  I thought ExistenZ was just terrible overall, I liked Naked Lunch to a point...and Scanners is one of those untouchable cult classics.  Videodrome was a bit much for me.

[lionforce5]

Originally posted by lil' Markie:
   

Originally posted by j_lee:
 
 Jesus de Montreal
 Almost everything by David Cronenberg

I loved Jesus of Montreal. How did it degenerate? I thought it was a great tiny budget movie. [/b]

It went from being an interesting story to a hit-you-over-the-head obvious metaphor.  It doesn't age well either...very period piece.

I've not yet seen Shivers/Brood.  But Videodrome was grrrrrrrrrrrreat!
   <img src="http://www.dvddrive-in.com/images/i-m/incredibletwohead6.jpg" alt=" - " />

[markie]

Originally posted by j_lee:
  It went from being an interesting story to a hit-you-over-the-head obvious metaphor.  It doesn't age well either...very period piece.

I have not seen it for a while. I will add it to the netflix list. I tend to like passion plays despite being an atheist. But I thought it was an obvious movie from the title. It is  Just so lovingly portrayed. The scenes in the subway are strangely and  especially memorable to me.