Paycheck - One of the worst movies ever!

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Hm. I kinda like Affleck. What's the beef against him?

I think he's pretty good in Kevin Smith's movies. When he has a good director he's capable of some decent performances (ie Good Will Hunting). The problem is, he keeps getting these, well, paycheck big budget actionfests where the direction and script can't cover for him, and he doesn't have the charisma to make you forget that his talent alone is mediocre..

 

[Hand of Evil]

Hm. I kinda like Affleck. What's the beef against him?

Have you ever seen him act, he drags his lines and is wooden? Pauly Shore has more ability. He is an over priced hack and gets roles based on looks.

 

[frankthedm]

Bah! This is Hollywood we're talking about. The story's original author has no bearing on the quality of the final product. There are simply too many people between you and that original story. Might as well say that it was shot on a nice ocation, and so should be a good movie - the original story is pretty much only the background.

Hollywood ruin a good story? that never happens *cough*Starship troopers *cough*.

 

[Villano]

Well, I haven't enjoyed anything that John Woo has done since he left HK, but some folks have. Broken Arrow, Face/Off, MI:2 and Windtalkers were all successful films, which is the only way that Hollywood measures.

Was Windtalkers successful? I might be mistaken, but I thought it bombed at the box office.

 

[pezagent]

Ah, sounds like a great story idea--it's too bad the movie is a stinker. I'll have to go find the story now, I really want to read it.

In regards to John Woo-- I agree that his movies were better when he was in HK. They were raw, over-the-top action movies with the kind of stories I like to read in Manga. He really had potential until he worked in Hollywood. But I think his movies were always a bit cheesy--but the cheese doesn't show as much in a foreign film--I think it gives it that "spaghetti western" appeal.

/johnny

 

[pezagent]

Hollywood ruin a good story? that never happens *cough*Starship troopers *cough*.

Did you read the book? Did you like it? After seeing the movie I was more interested in reading the book...

/johnny

 

[WizarDru]

Was Windtalkers successful? I might be mistaken, but I thought it bombed at the box office.

Now that you mention it, according to IMDB, it wasn't. Budget was $115 Mil, and total box office was about $74 mil, totalling US and non-US. Add in DVD sales, and it didn't flop, but it wasn't a success by any measure. Especially against MI:2, which had a $125 mil budget, and made $565 mil worldwide.

 

[takyris]

I liked "Starship Troopers", but I read it before seeing the movie. The movie might set up unrealistic expectations for the level of action in the book. The book is, like most things Heinleinian, very interested in the political and social end of things, and the action is minimal (by today's standards).

"Paycheck" is in the Complete Short Fiction of Philip K. Dick, among other works. Got it for Christmas last year and really enjoyed it. It has some ideas that aren't revolutionary now but show how influential PKD was -- a lot of twist endings that you see coming these days (but then realize that he invented, which is pretty cool). Some of his stories do tend to meander into drug-hallucination stuff. You'll be in the middle of an interesting story, and then a random drug hallucination will pop in, and then you'll go back to the story.

But both are good reads, for a sense of the field if nothing else. And I believe that there's more than nothing else.

 

[Kesh]

Well, thanks for the opinions about Affleck. Personally, I don't think he's anything special as an actor... but I don't think he's bad.

Now, Keanu Reeves... he should stick to Bill & Ted. He did great in those films. Just a bit too monotone and stiff for the Matrix flicks. He was okay in Johnny Mnemonic, because it suited the character... seems Reeves really only stands out when he's allowed to be over-the-top, like the junkyard scene in JM ("I want a $10,000 a night hooker!").

 

[Shadowdancer]

Now, Keanu Reeves... he should stick to Bill & Ted. He did great in those films. Just a bit too monotone and stiff for the Matrix flicks. He was okay in Johnny Mnemonic, because it suited the character... seems Reeves really only stands out when he's allowed to be over-the-top, like the junkyard scene in JM ("I want a $10,000 a night hooker!").

I guess you've never seen "A Walk in the Clouds" or "My Own Private Idaho." Or "Speed," for that matter.