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A Fairly Gleeful Glimpse At THE HITCHHIKER
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Man, I read that now-infamous MJ Sampson review of HHGTTG when I got back from London, and I’m sorry... it smells to me like sour grapes from someone who wishes he had been in charge of the film. I know I didn’t see the final cut of the film, but what I saw, I liked enormously. I’ll see the finished picture next week, and I’ll have a better idea then what was done to it since that early test screening. I have trouble believing they ruined the film so completely considering how good it was at that point.
Besides... so far, Sampson’s decidedly in the minority. Most of the reviews we’ve gotten, or which have appeared elsewhere, have been very enthusiastic. Check this one out, for example:
Heh Harry,
First time etc etc,
Just back from a press screening of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
First and foremost let me start by saying that I have not read any of Douglas Adams books, I have never heard the old BBC radio show and have only ever seen one episode of the old television series.
To say I did not know what to expect going into this movie was an understatement. I was real worried that I wouldn't like the tone of it and was worried that there might be a bit too much style over content.
Boy was I wrong.
Ill give a quick plot summary before I get into specifics. Arthur Dent is rescued by his old friend Ford Prefect moments before the earth is demolished to make way for an intergalactic highway.They eventually end up aboard Zaphod Beeblebrox brand new ship on a mission to find the eternal question.
The opening musical credit sequence which kicks things off appropriately enough is spot on and so completely unexpected. Combined with the amazing voice over work of Stephen Fry I knew that I didn't have to worry about this being Garth Jennings directorial debut.
Martin Freemans introduction as Arthur Dent was surprising for me as it lead me to believe that infact I was watching Tim from the Office. That would be one of two complaints that I had about the movie. I felt that he could have done more with the role.
My second problem with the film was the romance between Athur and Trillian played by Zooey Deschanel. It felt a little forced and contrived and I really didn't feel that there was any chemistry between the two of them. This was something that I had read about before hand and I was hoping that it would be toned down but it is still pretty prevalent in the film
Now that I have the things that I didn't like about the film let me tell you what I did like
The V.O work in this film is the best I have heard in a long time.Stephen Fry is pitch perfect as the voice of the book. Alan Rickman's work on Marvin the depressed android is the best thing he has done in years. I want a life-sized Marvin and last but not least Simon Pegg's old boss Bill Bailey pops up for all of a minute of screen time as the voice of the whale but he did manage to raise quite a few laughs in that minute.
The art design in this movie took me by surprise and considering its budget it puts most Hollywood blockbusters to shame. It seems you get a lot more bang with your pound than with your buck.
Sam Rockwell is absolutely class in the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox. His entrance into the film is one of the best in along time. He has a swagger and a dim confidence that he has brought to his roles before but here just hits all the marks.
For those of you worried about Mos Def being cast in the role of Ford Prefect. I really don't think that you have much to be worried about. In my mind Mos is a very talented actor who is getting better with each role. He can raise a laugh by just using his eyes and was spot on with this childish innocence that Ford has when dealing with humans. "Need a hug" , "Don't Panic" and "Towel" are three of the most memorable quotes within the movie and trust me there are many and the reason that these three in particular stand out for me is because of the delivery that Mos delivers.
The one thing that really surprised me about the film was how much I found myself laughing out loud. Its a very funny movie. The great thing is that most of the humour is derived from character development rather than ridiculous situations etc as seems to be the case more and more these days.
So to sum up. Go and see this movie because I really want to go and see the restaurant on the other side of the universe!
If you use this call me Tim Bisley
I think fans are going to have a great time with this film as long as they don’t expect it to be a syllable-for-syllable translation of one particular permutation of HHGTTG. As with every different version before now, there are some major changes here to what’s come before, many of which were created by Adams himself. Regardless of the specific details, this film is true to the spirit of the work, and I think it’s a love letter to one of the most remarkable humorists of my lifetime. Can’t wait to see the finished print next week.
"Moriarty" out.
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All good hitchhikers have one you know!!
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Apr 15, 2005 4:49:07 AM CDT
I can't believe people are freaked over a nitpicker's review. S
by tall_boy
Seriously, obsessive compulsive fanboys suck ass.
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Is it worth pointing out the MJ's review doesn't "expect it to be a syllable-for-syllable translation of one particular permutation of HHGTTG"?
I'm surprised, not that people disagree with his review, but that no one's given a counter argument against any of the actual points he makes, other than "well, other people like it". -
Apr 15, 2005 5:53:37 AM CDT
Something tells me you have to watch this under a SPACEBALLS fra
by kampbell-kid
Which is all good with me. It looks like a crazy Takeshi Miike space epic comedy. So wouldn't that pretty much negate all nitpickiness... yea I'd think so. Nice review, thanks for playing... NEXT! ^.~
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....How many times does the guide appear in the film? From MJs viewpoint it only seems to appear ONCE....That would suck and I cant really beleive that one.
So how many times?
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Why are you so quick to try and shut down positive opinions of hitchhikers guide on this site? Are you excited by a possible failure on the movie's behalf? Just curious, as you seem more than a little passionate on supporting a negative review for a movie you obviously havn't seen yet...
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Look here
http://movies.channel.aol.com/franchise/firstlook.adp -
As far as I remember the guide defo appears more than once. You see very clever graphic animation takin from the book on screen on atleast four occasions. These short animations happened to be one of my favourite things about the film. They are very amusing such as the origin of the point of view gun. Where the guide demonstrates how it works. You see a farmer with his hand up a cows ass the cow is shot with the gun and the cow starts being surrounded by love hearts!!! I have to say one thing about Mr Simpspons review which I read after I had seen the film, I found it completly OTT and he focused on so many minute details that I think that he was almost never going to like the movie unless he was sitting in the directors chair. I do think it is a shame as he clearly has a love for the work of Douglas Adam's but I think that this is getting in the way of him just enjoying the cinematic experience.
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Apr 15, 2005 7:49:44 AM CDT
Thanks Duffer. Hey RichJohnston, i'd call that a balanced count
by big_bubbaloola
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Sounds great and given that there are four sequels, this could be the trilogy to end all quintets!
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I'm upto 'Life,Universe,Everything' at the mo. I've used the new cast to visualise the story in me head. God I hope i'm not gonna be disappointed.
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You may not be aware of this, but Rich Johnston had a small bit part as a zombie in Dawn of the Dead. He's also got an uncredited roll in HHGTTG as well according to IMDB.
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Apr 15, 2005 8:50:25 AM CDT
Watch that second trailer and you will realise that this IS GUNN
by darth_billy
I first head HHGTTG in 1987 on Radio 4. I then went on the read the book, and listen again, and again, and again to the radio series. The books are great... if you want a literal translation... read the books. We're not talking about Lord of the Rings here, the books are really modest in size, and much of the humour is derived by the play on words. It's a type of humour, and that second trailer has got it spot on. After watching that, I stopped worrying. I'm not looking for anything like a complete translation to film.. All I hope for, is that they have got Douglas Adams' humour on the screen.
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Blind_Llama, I'm not shutting down positive reviews of HHGTTG *anywhere*. This was in response to comments Moriarty made, that I don't think hold up.
BTW, listen out for me in Humma's hymn. -
Apr 15, 2005 9:36:51 AM CDT
So Rich, were you a zombie??? If you were, your a git!!! Of cou
by big_bubbaloola
Ya sod!!!! Hate you!!! hate you, hate you hate you!!!!!!!!..............aw shucks.....don't really....come on, give Big Bubba a hug!!!
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Reading updates and thinking, "yeah, yeah, whatever" But it just hit me. A MOVIE of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!!!!!!!!!! And it sounds like they just might have gotten it right! I am ridiculously pumped about this. More so than ROTS (I read the script for ROTS online and if that really was the script then ROTS is going to suck just as much as the other two prequels. SPOILER AHEAD: More than half the movie takes place on Corscucant (or whetevrert the fuck that planet with all the buildings is called). All the dialgue is just as clunky and retarded as ATOC. The relationship between Amidala and Anakin is lame AND, AND, AND the way Anakin turns to the dark side is brutal, stupid, undramatic, fake, silly, weak, boring, and totally UN-TRAGIC. I predict, ROTS will be the worst of the series. (Action scenes were awesome on the page, though...)
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Apr 15, 2005 11:03:56 AM CDT
whew!! I was getting nervous with the lack of tv ads and all...
by lost skeleton
I really want this to work because I love the books...I am a big fan of the Mighty Mos and I need a good laugh. Fingers still crossed for 4/29/05 !
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Apr 15, 2005 11:22:31 AM CDT
Come on though! They completely left out the Guide's entry on Ea
by iamjacksuserid
Hell, Adams even named a book after the line, didn't he?
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Apr 15, 2005 11:42:08 AM CDT
Thats the problem....you can nitpick over shitloads of little bi
by big_bubbaloola
But thats the problem with film adaptations of books and to a certain extent, comics. A film will never truly nail every nuance a book will produce. This doesn't apply to comics as much though, as Sin City has proved. BTW, how Sin City do at the US box office??
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Apr 15, 2005 12:43:23 PM CDT
What if MJ Simpson took off the blinders and tried watching agai
by damitol
All I could think of while reading MJ Simpson's review the other day was "No Tom Bombadil?!?!? Arwen is more than a footnote?!?!?!? They didn't include [insert random sentence from any LOTR book]?!?!?!? These movies will both suck and fail!". When I saw his list of "things left out", I'll freely admit that even though I've read and enjoyed all the books, I didn't recall a couple of them. My point is, I think when you are as close to the source material as Simpson is (he has a great web site and obviously knows his stuff inside and out), it is virtually impossible to remain objective or accept changes to your personal "holy grail". Everything else I have seen and read about this project (including the full "fly swatter" scene on moviefone.com in which Sam Rockwell made me laugh out loud twice) tells me this film is in good hands and will warrent more than one trip to the theater and a day/date DVD purchase. I can't wait to have NECA's cool 10" Marvin with light up eyes sitting on my desk at work.
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http://tinyurl.com/dkaab
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After reading MJ's review, my worst fears are confirmed, it seems like it is indeed dumbed down. I know its just one man's opinion so there's still a chance it could be good, right? Well then I watched that clip online of Arthur and co. getting hit in the face repeatedly by fly swatters. Not good. Lowest common denominator physical comedy like that is exactly what HHG is NOT about. I find it hard to believe the movie adheres to "the spirit of Douglas Adams" with crap like that in it. Maybe that's just one scene though. Hmm no wait, in the trailer there's a scene of Arthur...bumping his head as he walks downstairs! Priceless stuff! Hurting your head sure is funny and the epitome of wit, innit?
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"obsessive compulsive fanboys suck @$$"... isn't that the type of person this site is made for?
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So why are the tv ads making it out to be a sci-fi action film?...with not even any dialogue!! If they're scared of the British humor then why make the film in the first place and not properly promote it?
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PLANT!!!
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Apr 18, 2005 5:05:08 PM CDT
There has been what, one bad review so far? What are people wor
by minderbinder
Why assume that ONE guy is right while everyone else is wrong? I'm just going to see it for myself, all signs point to it being very cool.
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