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Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

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Adams would have been proud.

Thought from those that have seen the move, and read the books.

TBR

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BBC version was better

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Just got back from seeing the new Hitchhikers movie.

The theater was nearly empty.

While it was not a “bad” movie, I much prefer the 7 part BBC TV production.

I liked Zaphod’s head popping up beside his primary head and the 2 of them arguing as compared to the Jeckle and Hyde aspect of the flip up head in the new movie.

All in all, it was worth seeing the new movie.

The big question is will this movie be successful enough so that the remaining books follow as sequels?

Chas

I like them all, but…

In reply to BBC version was better

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In every attempt to make a two-headed Zaphod, they have come off cheezy. This one was not a good idea either.

Theater I went to… About 1/2-3/4 full. Too bad. I expected a very full house too.

The head beside head was better than the new head over head…

In reply to BBC version was better

The head beside head was better than the new head over head, but other than that the new one was wonderful.

Very well done the movie was, I must say. I was skeptical that I would actually like it as much as I did, but: Bravo!

Although I appreciate the Dr Who like qualities of the BBC production and own a copy fondly, the new movie made it look more like the on stage version while the new one was definately better as a movie.

It’s all subjective, but I think the movie is a great addition to the legacy of the late Adams. 🙂

REally?

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

We just got back and I did not like it. I thought it was boring and they changed a LOT. What’s up with Trillian and Arthur being a couple at the end? And what was up with rescuing Trillian from the Vogons? Zaphod getting his second head held hostage? Lemon juice to make him focus? And the fly swatter things that kept whacking them on vogon, well, my sense of humor can be juvenile and I DID laugh at it, but still, it didn’t belong. Unless the book I read was missing some chapters, those things didn’t belong.. I did like Alan Rickman as Marvin, though.

No need for it to follow the book exactley.

In reply to REally?

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Never have I seen a book made into a movie that exactley follows the book, and I don’t expect it.

I thought it was reasonably well presented, good acting, good effects, funney and worthy of name. Additionaly, with a PG rating, violence free, this could turn some younger viewers onto the books.

The one thing you liked, I didnt. Marvin was a bit of a let down. Too small, too cute.

TBR

I understand

In reply to No need for it to follow the book exactley.

But it changed it SO much. The whole point of view gun and the vogons at arthurs house and the vice president and zaphod.. it wasn’t just a little different. You may be right about the younger audiences, my son and I have been reading the series (he’s 7) and he enjoyed the movie.

I expected to not enjoy it thoroughly…

In reply to I understand

I expected to not enjoy it thoroughly, but must admit I did. It did not follow the book entirely, but it was pretty good. I will own it someday.

A slightly Pythonesque hint to some of it, which is a bit juvenile, but funny and fitting with the dry British bits I thought.

Zaphod’s head was not very good, and Marvin was a little difficult as you pointed out due to the fact he LOOKED like he should be a happy rave robot or something. I kept thinking of Grr from Invader Zim when I saw him which is too bad as the acting and voice were good although the costume failed miserably.

Still, overall I did think it was worthwhile, and last night at the late showing it was showing at 2 theatres in the same complex simultaneously here and the one I was in only had maybe a half dozen seats open here and there.

It was a little like seeing the Holy Grail for the umpteenth time though, in that even though it was a new movie, the audience (including myself) was laughing frequently at what was GOING to be done or said. ~LoL~ I wondered how the people (if there were any) who had not read the books felt about this.

Anyway, lotsa fun, lotsa laughter, lotsa geeks out for the event… it was a good time here. 🙂

Retief or the Rat

In reply to No need for it to follow the book exactley.

They should do Retief series (Keith Laumer),
as he is both funny (prefers cigars over marihooch as it keeps meetings shorter) and behind the scenes james bondish super hero, saves the bumbling galactic bureacracy from itself and the sneaky five-eyestalked Groaci, who at times are kind of allegorical for the Russians during Cold War.

And some of the Stainless Steel Rat series were both funny and jam packed with hardcore story lines.

First I read the book, then there was a series of it in 1/2 hr segments….

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

on radio that the CBC brought in from the BBC, that was absolutely hilarious. It captured the essence of Adams and the book perfectly. It’s amazing what can be achieved with only your imagination and a few sound effects. That ran every Saturday morning, I think for over a year and I wish I’d thought of taping them at the time. Then the BBC had their TV series and while it was good, it just wasn’t quite as good as the radio series. Now the movie is out. Verdict: Good but not great. The theatre was only 1/3 full at a nine o’clock showing on a Saturday night and based on that I have the feeling it’s going to have a hard time recovering its costs and so I expect they’re going to put a big push on the DVD. Further more, I can’t say I noticed much in the way of TV promotion until this past week.

Walking out of the theatre afterwards I got the impression that a lot of the under 25s didn’t pick up on everything, to the point they were laughing in the wrong places at times. Don’t kids read anymore??? The girls were mainly the ones who didn’t quite get it but a lot of guys were missing it too.

I must admit it was better than I expected but not as good as it could have been. Too bad it wasn’t shot in England with an all British cast. The Hollywoodness of it shows through at times. I did enjoy myself but as I said; a good movie, just not a great movie. I hope the sequels don’t fall beneath this level but if past Hollywood products are anything of a yardstick, they will. Too bad really because it didn’t/doesn’t have to be this way.

Dawg 🙁

I have to ask..

In reply to First I read the book, then there was a series of it in 1/2 hr segments….

When I go see a movie, I can’t stand to listen to anyone else talk, move about etc, and focus on the screen. How in the world were you able to watch the movie and break down, by gender, who got it and who didn’t?

I usually sit in the back row and have excellent night vision…………..

In reply to I have to ask..

perhaps because of my work environment. You may not be aware of it but the human hearing system is perfectly designed for hearing in the direction in which it is pointed. In short you hear best in the direction you are facing. Sitting in the back row eliminates the annoying buzz of conversation from behind you and fortunately (or unfortunately) allows you to apply gender tags to the people talking in front of you. Also sitting on the aisle in the back row people have to pass you when exiting and like it or not you can’t help overhearing a lot of the conversations of the passersby. Plus at that point you can see them clearly and if you can’t identify a male from a female, I would think you must be having serious sensory deficiencies that might indicate a need to restrict your driving license and see to the provision of a seeing eye dog and a white cane as well as to say nothing of the need to consult an audiologist for the fitting of a hearing aid. Then of course there is another possibility; maybe I’m Zaphod Beeblebrox in disguise. You can learn a lot with an extra set of ears and eyes.
I do have one other added advantage, in that I’m more than passingly familiar with film and video editing and am used to the handling of various assortments of sensory stimuli at the same time.

Dawg ]:)

Well thanks people

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I’ll save my time and wait for it to become available on DVD and then I can watch it at some ungodly hour while I’m waiting for a computer to do something or maybe even drag my LT into work and watch it while I’m supervising the blade servers transmit data at the end of the days activity.

It’s boring work but someone has to be there just in case something goes wrong and I can always “Pause” it if I actually need to do some work. 😀

Col ]:)

On the fence

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I never read any of the books because growing up everyone read them, so I didnt want to be trendy. I also wasnt an advent reader when they were out. I knew the movie wouldnt hold a candle to the beloved series but I decided to see it and judge whether I was to read the books.

The theater at noon on a rainy Sunday wasnt empty but it wasnt fully packed, a nice crowd to see a movie with elbow room. Suprisingly enough not one cell phone went off and only one child was unrully, next to me of course but later behaved. The movie had it moments, but I absolutely loved the song, man I was rolling and singing along. I did like the slap in the face over the thoughts, improbability jumping, the mice in the brain machine (it actually looked somewhat evil and funny as hell at the same time) visually it was quite well. I was constantly waiting for the funny, and it was too far in between. After seeing the movie I started the realise the influence from his books that have proliferated movies and tv with homages to his wit, like dont forget your towel, the ship design like from Heavy Metal, just to name a few. I am quite sure their are far more than I could realize only seeing just the movie. I plan on reading the books to get a better understanding and appreciating. I hope they dont make another, because it is obvious to me that they are just making up their own version according to the other posts. Hollywood always thinks they can improve something that was great to begin with. Will it stimulate people like me to pick up these books? Possibly but not many, and that is a shame. I’ll give it 3 stars or an average rating, but not a must see.

#1 in weekend box office

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Interestingly, Hitch Hikers was the number 1 movie this past weekend.

However, at a box office of only $21 Million, it’s more of an indication of just how little competition there was.

Or, are the numbers low because it is finals week at a number of colleges?

Chas

One truly BAD film IMNSHO…

In reply to #1 in weekend box office

I am confused. This film is *dreadful* but it seems nobody’s willing to say so. It freely misses out or curtails (and therefore ruins) most of Adams’s best and funniest passages and inserts instead plenty of boring, predictable, invented “Hollywood moments” which can be found nowhere in Adams’s originals. Most of the characters are totally miscast, notably the Americans (nothing against American actors per se… I just think that those in this film aren’t the greatest, in terms of acting ability and/or suitability for their roles). Trillian is particularly talentless and Zaphod struggles with a disappointingly bad script, ending up seeming both dull and chaotic simultaneously. Ford is just plain awful – I know nothing of his music, but I’ve never seen him as an actor before and I hope I never do again. The story itself departs significantly from the original. Why, for example, are the Vogons featured so heavily, chasing Zaphod all over the galaxy? Whose idea was that? What’s with the corny (and awkwardly portrayed) Arthur/Trillian romance? What on EARTH is going on with “Humma Kavula”… apart from the obvious reason of providing an excuse to bring in a big name like John Malkovich, why insert such an unfunny, pointless and simply unpleasant character, with an incongruous storyline that doesn’t appear in the original HHG anywhere – and who ever came up with the bizarre idea of rendering him as a disturbingly eyeless half-person who would fit in far better in a horror film? Why are most of Marvin’s lines cut, reducing him to a comic-looking (why?) but dismally unfunny bit-part? This film would be bad by any standards, even were it a one-off, but in comparison with the books, radio series and/or BBC series, all of which were highly entertaining, it is fantastically poor. I can only think that the prestige attached to the Adams/HHG icon is preventing people from admitting how truly bad this adaptation is. And I, for one, am desperately disappointed, having waited so long for a film to be made, only to find it a piece of standard (or even sub-standard) Hollywood fare. What a sad waste of a great opportunity – and of Stephen Fry’s talents, amongst others.

I found HHGTTG delightful

In reply to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Unfortunately, to accomodate those in the audience who had not read the books, they did have to cut out quite a few bits that would have taken too much film time to setup, and add some bits that were not near as much fun… I still found it delightful… for a disneyesque film…

It was obvious from the previews that the film was aimed at the teenage crowd and not those who’d actually READ the books… I mean really, there was a preview for a new Herbie (the lovebug) movie in there… Why is it that just because it’s PG, it has to be for teens? Can’t we have a decent adult humor movie without sex and violence mucking things up? Not that I object to sex and violence (well, at the same time isn’t my bag) but why can’t we have PG without being cutesie?

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