View Full Version : Movies That Start Out Great, but then.....WTF?!
Doc Safari
04-14-17, 11:37
Ever have that experience where a movie starts out with a lot of promise, then just turns into a shit sandwich?
My list:
1. From Dusk 'Til Dawn
Starts out as a great kidnap thriller. Then about halfway through it turns into a ridiculous vampire movie. I have cussed this film so many times it's not funny. Why....why....couldn't the film-makers see they had TWO decent movie concepts here? I would have even enjoyed the ridiculous vampire movie if I'd known I was getting a ridiculous vampire movie. The people who made this ruined everything by combining two great stories into one schizophrenic movie.
2. Bone Tomahawk
What starts out as a decent Kurt Russell western turns into a stomach-churning cannibal movie complete with a guy being hacked in half lengthwise through his groin. If I had the money, I'd sent Kurt Russell a million dollars with a note saying, "Please don't ever appear in a movie this bad again."
3. Out of Africa
I know I'm trashing a classic, here. The movie starts out with some great potential about a lady moving from Europe to Africa. The promise of adventure, great cinematography, exotic locations, an the potential for a great epic turn into....complete boredom.
4. Damnation Alley
In a way, you get the idea that the movie was made primarily to show off the fancy land rovers they film-makers built for it. The Landmaster had an articulated hull and a fancy tri-wheel suspension, and a missile launcher to boot. Would have been fantastic if they'd built a great movie around it. The film starts out promising enough: a nuclear war knocks the earth off its axis; several survivors decide to make a trek across country in their survival vehicle to another human settlement. They encounter all sorts of hazards along the way: man-eating beetles, crazed & diseased survivors, etc. The problem is: the writers ran out of ideas. The movie's "climax" is a decidedly un-climactic storm. When the Landmaster comes through and you realize the movie is going to end with the good guys hearing a radio broadcast, you go, "Is that IT?" I would love to see this movie properly remade with a bigger budget and a better ending. I think Damnation Alley is one of the great "wasted efforts" in cinema history. It could have been so much more.
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
The special effects and realistic future projections are fantastic. If you have to take most sci-fi movies with a grain of salt due to making you swallow the impossible, this one grabs you and suggests a future that could actually happen, and many people believe it will. The black obelisk creates a suspense in some ways like no other movie: just what are the film-makers going to reveal about our origins or our place in the cosmos with THIS? Just what are they going to do with this plot about the origins of life on earth? In a word: NOTHING. Earth sends a deep space probe to find yet another black obelisk around Jupiter. What results is a space flight with lots of pretty colors, the suggestion that man will evolve into a "star child", and utterly no explanation for any damn bit of it. In retrospect, I think the creators painted themselves into a corner. It's the kind of movie where the plot leads you to have to either prove or disprove God...and they did neither. In a way, you can dismiss some of the concepts as being a result of the self-exploration inherent to life in the 1960's, but to my mind after seeing the film years after it came out my ultimate reaction is: suggesting man will evolve into a star child requires as much faith as suggesting God created man. Net result: utterly pointless ending.
Well there was this one where the girls never showed up......
1_click_off
04-14-17, 12:37
Don't have any movies that come to mind, but your title instantly made me think of every single Boston song I have ever heard.
Firefly,
I had to laugh out loud at that.
99% of all sci fi, supernatural and future setting films where somebody has a great idea but they fail to present it in a plausible way and have no idea how to end it.
That was arrival for me. Started out so well then about an hour in went total WTF.
sevenhelmet
04-14-17, 20:46
Kingsmen. Nobody told me it was supposed to be a comedy, and it pretends to take itself seriously at first, so I didn't pick up on it until an hour in. Crap movie, dumb plot, but I like spy movies, so I figured what the hell? But seriously, just make a freaking comedy, or don't. About an hour in, I couldn't suppress disbelief anymore, so when it got really funny, it seemed wasted on me. I feel like a complete sucker for watching it all the way through. Still want my two hours back, years later. I strongly suspect it was made for the teenage stoner crowd. Just a stupid movie.
Agree with the others posted here. Bone Tomahawk SUCKED. Dusk Till Dawn, yeah, I hate vampire movies in general. Haven't found one yet that I liked. Ending of Arrival was super-annoying. Plot in general was too predictable. Oh, and grunts gonna grunt with explosives, because Hollywood. Aliens to the rescue of academics from the big bad military! Yawn.
Here's another one: Super Troopers. Seriously. I love (and regularly quote) the first 25 minutes of this movie, but then it's just dumb after that. Like I'm-just-jacking-it-because-I'm-bored-and-couldn't-think-of-anything-else-to-do dumb.
2 girls 1 cup?
did not disappoint... hours of entertainment.
There was a sequel(or pre-quel, not sure which), but not sure its available anymore.... 1 priest, 1 nun...
ETA: DEFINITELY still available LOL....
sevenhelmet
04-14-17, 21:29
did not disappoint... hours of entertainment.
There was a sequel(or pre-quel, not sure which), but not sure its available anymore.... 1 priest, 1 nun...
ETA: DEFINITELY still available LOL....
I super-hate you. Not googling that.
I super-hate you. Not googling that.
yea you are...yea you are.
2 girls 1 cup?
Never has anything started out so right and quickly gone so terribly wrong. I remember actually thinking "OMG....stop.....seriously stop..."
FromMyColdDeadHand
04-14-17, 22:05
My wife never forgave me for "From Dusk till Dawn".
Ever have that experience where a movie starts out with a lot of promise, then just turns into a shit sandwich?
My list:
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
The special effects and realistic future projections are fantastic. If you have to take most sci-fi movies with a grain of salt due to making you swallow the impossible, this one grabs you and suggests a future that could actually happen, and many people believe it will. The black obelisk creates a suspense in some ways like no other movie: just what are the film-makers going to reveal about our origins or our place in the cosmos with THIS? Just what are they going to do with this plot about the origins of life on earth? In a word: NOTHING. Earth sends a deep space probe to find yet another black obelisk around Jupiter. What results is a space flight with lots of pretty colors, the suggestion that man will evolve into a "star child", and utterly no explanation for any damn bit of it. In retrospect, I think the creators painted themselves into a corner. It's the kind of movie where the plot leads you to have to either prove or disprove God...and they did neither. In a way, you can dismiss some of the concepts as being a result of the self-exploration inherent to life in the 1960's, but to my mind after seeing the film years after it came out my ultimate reaction is: suggesting man will evolve into a star child requires as much faith as suggesting God created man. Net result: utterly pointless ending.
If you are interested here is the book: https://www.amazon.com/2001-Odyssey-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/0451457994
2001: A Space Odyssey earned me a trip to the Principal's Office. Our English class went to the movie as an assignment. It was one of the few that I took seriously. I went with the class and then went again on my own. Worked hard on the paper. Didn't get the grade I expected. Said something to the teacher about 'I thought I was supposed to develop the paper based on what 'I' thought the movie meant, not try to guess what you thought it meant.' Boom, me and the Vice-Principal, BFF. I'm still pissed about it. Only good thing about it was the smartest girl in school, who had alabaster skin and straight, long, coal black hair, told me that she admired the way I stood up for myself. Which parlayed into a semester of adolescent love. :o
Incidentally I recently got to taint another innocents subconscious with this vid. And a jehovahs witness to boot! ....and He thought he knew shit
*meant to be in response to styers post above referencing 2 girls 1 cup
Foxcatcher
Had a decent premise and acting but the ending sucked.
Moose-Knuckle
04-15-17, 03:54
Ever have that experience where a movie starts out with a lot of promise, then just turns into a shit sandwich?
My list:
1. From Dusk 'Til Dawn
2. Bone Tomahawk
3. Out of Africa
4. Damnation Alley
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
As with Wills worst movie thread, the bad ones are a mere blur for me after awhile as I watch a LOT of movies. From your list I own #1, #2, #4, and #5, what can I say I have weird tastes . . . :dirol:
2 girls 1 cup?
Speaking of weird tastes . . .
The actual name of the film is Hungry Bitches, "2 girls 1 cup" is just an unofficial name of the trailer that went viral.
1. From Dusk 'Til Dawn
Two words- Salma Hayek
Her scene is enough for me to suffer through that movie anytime.
Two words- Salma Hayek
Her scene is enough for me to suffer through that movie anytime.
Bingo!!
Tank 432. It just got weird and left every possible loose end possible. Also, don't give me that crap that I have to watch it about 20 times to fully understand because it was terribad.
Digital_Damage
04-15-17, 10:49
Signs
Followed by
Arrival
Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Can't say it "started off great", but it was an interesting premise for a sci-fi comedy.
So mind-numbingly WTF, I have watched it three times and still do not get it. Even adorable Zoey Deschanel couldn't help it.
Apocalypse Now
Yeah, I said it....
Gets a good rep from the "napalm victory in the morning" line, but that's about it.
Elysium
Well, ok, we can argue the "started out great" requirement, but the trailer looked badass.
Then it was dumb.
Ignore, i crossed up my movie threads
Tank 432. It just got weird and left every possible loose end possible. Also, don't give me that crap that I have to watch it about 20 times to fully understand because it was terribad.
I tried watching it today. I made it in 37 seconds before I said FDB. It made me want punch the chlorophyll out of grass. Seriously.
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Sunshine.
Turned from a great sci-fi movie into a slasher movie.
You have got to be kidding...... From Dusk till Dawn is a great movie. It is about the only thing that Clooney has done that is worth watching.
Two words- Salma Hayek
Her scene is enough for me to suffer through that movie anytime.
Pretty much.
Apocalypse Now
Yeah, I said it....
Gets a good rep from the "napalm victory in the morning" line, but that's about it.
Nonsense, it had Colleen Camp in it, bonus footage for the Redux cut.
Also had guys in Tiger Stripe camo run into an actual Tiger in the jungle. Did everyone just miss that one? Never get out of the boat man.
Sure it was weird, that is because they crammed a Vietnam movie into the confines of a shitty story called "Heart of Darkness." But when you enter Col. Kurtz camp you are looking at actual dead bodies on display. At the time the Marcos government of the Philippines especially catered to the needs of Hollywood and any film production. Need some actual dead people...? No problem I'll get it done.
Also Fishburne as a kid on the 60, tearing up a boat load of locals because they were hiring a puppy. That was hardcore, first sign of distress and he just went to work. Maybe it's cause I grew up knowing a couple SOG guys and when everyone else talked about how bad Vietnam was and how they were abused these two had a different perspective...it was like Disneyland with an all day pass. That was some out there stuff to tell a 12 year old kid. And whenever I asked them about this movie or that like the Deer Hunter, they scoffed and said Apocalypse was the only thing that even came close to how bizarre everything actually was.
Disclosure, I was not allowed to watch Apocalypse Now. I had to.wait until I was almost an adult.
Ironically Platoon was okay, but AN was just off the table.
I thought it was kinda unfair.
Then I saw End of Watch and that movie made me very, very angry. Then I understood.
Colors is a cartoon and kind of amusing.
Most cop shows are eye rollers. But EOW got too much right down to the mouth dykes and the shiftless deadbeats. But the traffic stop got me hard. It was just something that might entertain curious people but I will never watch it again.
My take on Apocalypse Now is that I think the scenery and atmosphere was unsettling but the overall story was not fully representive of men who went there and added negatively to the whole hippie mouthy baby killer bunch.
I was told, however, that Hamburger Hill while not exactly high art captured the mentality of hardasses exactly. Not dope smokers, not conscripts, not people too stupid for college. But hardcore, professional soldiers who kept going and going. Average age of 20 and not giving up shit. I was also told the most glaring error was that 101st wore the full color patch so they would know it was the Chicken Men greasing your ass.
AN was forbidden fruit but I am over it.
Moose-Knuckle
04-16-17, 04:51
Two words- Salma Hayek
Yeah I'd drink tequila off her leg and foot any day of the week.
You have got to be kidding...... From Dusk till Dawn is a great movie. It is about the only thing that Clooney has done that is worth watching.
I don't like a lot of Clooney films, my favorite to date is The American.
If you like films like Ronin and Spartan you'll enjoy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ywmoXZwkA0
RetroRevolver77
04-16-17, 12:16
District 9.
District 9.
That movie was entirely a shit sandwich...
Didn't have time to read through the whole thread, so someone may have mentioned it already...
The ninth gate
Started out strong, pretty cool/creepy, dark and mysterious, was intriguing for most of the movie- and then just took a giant dump all over itself.
sevenhelmet
04-16-17, 16:39
District 9.
That movie was entirely a shit sandwich...
Agreed. After watching it and Elysium, I gave up on Neill Blomkamp. His brand of "sci-fi" sure ain't mine.
Arlington Road. The ending was a bog 'ol mind-**** for me. Could not sleep for two days.
Doc Safari
04-17-17, 09:17
I got roped into watching Tank 432 this weekend. Total incoherent incomprehensible stinkerino. One guy in the movie puked so much I started making the joke, "Uh oh, this scene is going to make that guy puke again." Luckily I saw it on Netflix. I couldn't wait to check the tab that says "Don't Show Me Any More Movies Like This."
skywalkrNCSU
04-17-17, 09:24
I just saw Bone Tomahawk this weekend and really liked it, that gruesome killing near the end was one of, if not the, craziest death scenes I've ever seen in a movie
BoringGuy45
04-17-17, 10:14
I watched The Lazarus Project one sleety winter day on Netflix a few years ago. It was setting up to be a very interesting thriller/mystery. For those who haven't seen it, the late Paul Walker is involved in a robbery that goes horribly wrong. He's sentenced to death, supposedly executed, but then suddenly finds himself walking alongside a road outside a mental hospital where, someone tells him, he's the new groundskeeper. He then goes about trying to figure out just what went on...and almost no questions are answered by the end of the movie. To this day, I still scratch my head.
I told you all Tank 432 was about limeys in a tank on acid and not in a fun way.
Do you think I do bizarre film reviews for my health?
Doc Safari
04-17-17, 10:28
I told you all Tank 432 was about limeys in a tank on acid and not in a fun way.
Do you think I do bizarre film reviews for my health?
The GF wanted to see it so I was stuck. stuck. stuck.
The GF wanted to see it so I was stuck. stuck. stuck.
She doesnt read enough M4C. This place is a monument to hard won experience and busted knuckles and broken hearted pyrrhic victories. You're never stuck with women.
I would say "Well if youre watching that lame movie, I'm going to my side chick's house"
Probably in the minority here, but Inglorious Bastards. I thought the opening scene where the German general went into that dude’s house and blackmailed him into giving up the refugees was really intense and well done.
After that, though, I just couldn’t get into the movie. Watched a bit over half and just gave up.
The GF wanted to see it so I was stuck. stuck. stuck.
I'm half impressed but also half scarred that your GF *wanted* to see a movie with tank in the title.
Too many questions unless she's a "tank girl" Lori Petty type
Probably in the minority here, but Inglorious Bastards. I thought the opening scene where the German general went into that dude’s house and blackmailed him into giving up the refugees was really intense and well done.
After that, though, I just couldn’t get into the movie. Watched a bit over half and just gave up.
I liked a couple of the characters, but that was about it. Didn't really care for the movie either.
Doc Safari
04-17-17, 11:08
I'm half impressed but also half scarred that your GF *wanted* to see a movie with tank in the title.
Too many questions unless she's a "tank girl" Lori Petty type
She loves war movies. We thought Hacksaw Ridge was great.
A real Tank Girl chick would've opted to see The Beast
Doc Safari
04-17-17, 11:10
A real Tank Girl chick would've opted to see The Beast
Seems like I saw that years ago. This weekend we only had time for a quick movie and Tank 432 was like the first thing that popped up. I'm going to have to look into "The Beast" and see if it's the movie I remember.
Dist. Expert 26
04-17-17, 12:15
Suicide Squad.
The premise is cool, the setup was pretty awesome, but the plot sucked and just didn't make much sense. I was very disappointed by the end.
Suicide Squad.
The premise is cool, the setup was pretty awesome, but the plot sucked and just didn't make much sense. I was very disappointed by the end.
I totally agree! I was amazed of how poorly written it was. If it wasn't for the character actors, I would have stopped watching it.
Arlington Road. The ending was a bog 'ol mind-**** for me. Could not sleep for two days.
Same thing, I was huhhh?
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