Films that had potential but fell short

[chveik]

Jupiter Ascending
Split

[Avril Lavigne]

To be fair, he's not wrong with his assessment of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which goes someway to proving the old adage of even a broken clock being right twice a day, I suppose.

I'm still of the mindset that Ferris Bueller is practically a prequel to Fight Club, but even without being viewed from that angle it deserves to be rated higher than Little Man or my friend's other 4.5 star classic, Garfield The Movie.

[St_Eddie]

I'm still of the mindset that Ferris Bueller is practically a prequel to Fight Club...

It certainly makes it infinitely more watchable, if viewed through that lens but I'm under no pretensions that it was John Hughes' intent (not that I'm suggesting that you think that it was).

...it deserves to be rated higher than Little Man or my friend's other 4.5 star classic, Garfield The Movie.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what the Coen Brothers were thinking with that one.

[Avril Lavigne]

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what the Coen Brothers were thinking with that one.

You sly dog. ;)

[Bazooka]

I always thought The Purge was a solid premise with a weak execution. Saying that, I understand the recent installments have fulfilled more of it's potential as a thriller and a satire.

I agree, had  say John Carpenter had this idea back in the idea, I feel he could of executed it very well especially with a throbbing soundtrack. Basically Assault on Precinct 13 but the purge plot.

[goinggoinggone]

Scary Movie 4/5
Scream 1/5

I find this particularly baffling.  Surely, one's appreciation of Scary Movie hinges on liking (or at least being very familiar) with Scream.  I remember my older sister telling that she saw Scary Movie and thought it was complete crap and I came out with "But you haven't even seen Scream or those "I Know What You Did, Bummer!" films".  To be honest, I thought the original Scary Movie was hysterical at the time, as it was an 18 and I was underage... I was 17.

[purlieu]

As a musician I've probably been more affected by the fact that she also actively dislikes music, as a whole, and seems quite proud of the fact that she doesn't like any bands or singers at all

Wha

[Johnny Textface]

Kill List. Had heard good things and enjoyed the first 3/4 of it. The last 20 minutes was a woefully directed and underwritten mess. A terrible waste of a tight and intruiging story. 2.5 out of 5 (marks deducted for teasing me with greatness).

[Glebe]

^ Paul and World's End for me. World's End is more memorable but I feel like it needed some fat trimmed cause it drags in places . I'm the exact same with Paul. I watched it once, thought it was alright, forgot about it the next day. Even forgot who was in it. I don't even remember Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Bateman being in it and I like them both

I found The World's End to a be pretty grim experience, of course it's supposed to be a bit dark and that, but I just found it rather a dull, depressive squib overall, especially after the joyous fun of Hot Fuzz, which goes on a bit too long but is very entertaining nonetheless. And I still haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, SHOCK!!!

Paul is borderline awful.

[Clownbaby]

The remake of Stepford wives had a very stupidly unsatisfying ending. Her shit of a husband strongly considers turning her into a stepford wife for most of the movie, but she forgives him because he luckily decides to have a change of heart and doesn't go through with it. He still considered it though, the bastard. That is enough. He flat out tells her he is sick of her doing well and not depending on him, and it was literally a spur of the moment decision that he decided to not go through with the transformation.

[nero]

Most recently A Ghost Story and Mother!

Both just smashed open the audiences heads and threw their ideas in there, subtly be damned.

[Chollis]

Idiocracy

[Large Noise]

Drive- Went to see it in the cinema when it came out. My impression in the first half of the film was that it looked and sounded really cool, and Gosling's enigmatic smouldering was actually quite enjoyable. But the second half was just a bunch of set-piece fights, which bored the arse off me.*

*Haven't rewatched it since so there's a fair to moderate chance that I'm wrong about this.

[Clownbaby]

Idiocracy

Yep. Underdeveloped. I watched it the first time drunk, thought it was proper good, watched it the second time and it was deeply unsatisfying.

[Shit Good Nose]

Drive- Went to see it in the cinema when it came out. My impression in the first half of the film was that it looked and sounded really cool, and Gosling's enigmatic smouldering was actually quite enjoyable. But the second half was just a bunch of set-piece fights, which bored the arse off me.*

*Haven't rewatched it since so there's a fair to moderate chance that I'm wrong about this.

I like the film a lot (admittedly because of its particular kinship with The Driver and To Live and Die In LA), but that's a fair assessment.  I doubt you'd think any different now.


There are some fantastic moments and ideas in Idiocracy, but yeah it is inconsistent.  Having said that, I do think that it's one of those films which will be greatly re-appraised in years to come.  I can't explain why, it's just a feeling I've got about it (I have the same feeling about Ridley Scott's The Counselor).

[Gregory Torso]

I've long said that somewhere in Nightbreed there's a brilliant film trying to get out.  Fuck knows where and how though - even the alternative cuts that have been released since are still wanting.

I would love to see a remake of Nightbreed. I've seen I think 3 different cuts of the film and even the Director's Cut with the restored bits and original ending is a mess. It's a perfect example of a great idea with huge potential hanstrung by the budgetary and technological restraints (and studio interference of course) of the time.
I'm surprised it hasn't been put out there for rebooting, it could easily become a franchise. I had a book of all of the creatures in Nighbreed (Nightbreed Chronicles I think it was called) and the designs are amazing.

[Gregory Torso]

Mother!

I was really enjoying Mother! as what I took to be an allegory for a writer neglecting his wife for success and acclaim, and her world subsequently collapsing into a surreal nightmare, until I realised that it was all about MAN destroying MOTHER EARTH, and then I just groaned thanks mate.

[Shit Good Nose]

I do wonder if Mother! (mother! ?) would have been better had it gone more down the black comedy route.  It really wouldn't take too many tweaks, and it would have probably come across as less ridiculous as a result.  Instead we've got a retread of Anchorman's "boy, that escalated fast!" sequence but in a more serious setting and it just doesn't work.

Am I right in thinking its marketing in the States strongly hinted at it being a comedy?

[DukeDeMondo]

I'm surprised it hasn't been put out there for rebooting, it could easily become a franchise.

It's being rebooted for telly, by the chat. Granted they've been talking about doing that for years and nothing has ever come of it, but it looks like it actually is happening this time. That's probably killed any chance there might have been of Nightbreed: Again hitting the pictures any time this side of 2028, but you never know.

I think the Director's Cut is pretty decent, as it happens, but it's still far from the masterpiece we were led to believe it was going to be. I saw whatever iteration of the Cabal Cut it was that played at Frightfest whenever it was, too, but it wasn't especially easy to judge how "good" that was or wasn't. It was just a bunch of stuff stuck together, some of it familiar and some of it not and most of it bordering on unintelligible for one reason or another. Enough to suggest that it would probably be worth someone's time pulling a proper Director's Cut together if the footage ever turned up, but that was about it.

[greenman]

I agree, had  say John Carpenter had this idea back in the idea, I feel he could of executed it very well especially with a throbbing soundtrack. Basically Assault on Precinct 13 but the purge plot.

Would have liked to see vintage John Carpenter directing Daywalkers as well, I mean not sure I'd call the existing film a failure as it did get a lot right but never really feels like it has enough drive to it for me.

Ironically I spose you could sat that Carpenters own Vampires was probably a bit of an example of this as well and maybe the first sign he was clearly on the wane? the opening and early setup actually has a lot of potential to it but the latter stages don't live up to IMHO, I spose you could argue party due to budget.

[Howj Begg]

I was really enjoying Mother! as what I took to be an allegory for a writer neglecting his wife for success and acclaim, and her world subsequently collapsing into a surreal nightmare, until I realised that it was all about MAN destroying MOTHER EARTH, and then I just groaned thanks mate.

I think it's about a lot more than that, which is why the allegory is not tediously simple: it's also just as plausibly about patriarchal society's misogyny, and Christianity/religion (the Biblical parallels are not there for nuthin').

I know I'm on a hiding to nothing here though because I think Mother! is great as it is, and I bet everyone here hates it.

[PlanktonSideburns]

I do wonder if Mother! (mother! ?) would have been better had it gone more down the black comedy route.  It really wouldn't take too many tweaks, and it would have probably come across as less ridiculous as a result.  Instead we've got a retread of Anchorman's "boy, that escalated fast!" sequence but in a more serious setting and it just doesn't work.

Am I right in thinking its marketing in the States strongly hinted at it being a comedy?

Loved mother, but I definatley can't watch darrenofski without thinking of them as mad comedies, played straight as he'll like leslie neilson. Something so full of its self that it explodes like a firework. His attempts to manipulate the audience are like a small dog chasing a big ball on you've been framed, but the result of this aiming at the moon lands explosive rounds in hillariois places. Don't change a thing Darren,  you silly mad bastard you. You 'local character' at an open mic night. You novelty gabba cover of a Steve Reich song.

[Gregory Torso]

I think it's about a lot more than that, which is why the allegory is not tediously simple: it's also just as plausibly about patriarchal society's misogyny, and Christianity/religion (the Biblical parallels are not there for nuthin').

You're right of course, I was just being a flippant dick. I think the reason I didn't like it was more to do with how it was marketed and my own expectations,  rather than the film itself. See I was under the impression it was a horror film and was watching it in that frame of mind, taking it fairly literally, and it was really only the Kane and Abel bit that made me go "oh OK, this isn't a film about a house invasion of a writer and his wife" and I felt a bit annoyed but started focussing on the religious apsects. When I did that, though, I just started noticing all of the SYMBOLISM constantly poking my eyeballs, and went back to watching it as a fever-dream hallucinatory horror, which I enjoyed more that way.

[nero]

You're right of course, I was just being a flippant dick. I think the reason I didn't like it was more to do with how it was marketed and my own expectations,  rather than the film itself. See I was under the impression it was a horror film and was watching it in that frame of mind, taking it fairly literally, and it was really only the Kane and Abel bit that made me go "oh OK, this isn't a film about a house invasion of a writer and his wife" and I felt a bit annoyed but started focussing on the religious apsects. When I did that, though, I just started noticing all of the SYMBOLISM constantly poking my eyeballs, and went back to watching it as a fever-dream hallucinatory horror, which I enjoyed more that way.

I actually enjoyed it in that context as well.

I just think it could've been...more? I dunno. I wish I hadn't read anything about it before I went in, would've enjoyed it in. a different way, I think.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Idiocracy

Came in to post this. Good idea but not well formed. It's cartoonishness and undeveloped characters let it down, but aren't surprising given it's Mike Judge.

Office Space has a similar problem but it actually works well because it enhances the soulless drudge Peter is feeling.

[St_Eddie]

Came in to post this. Good idea but not well formed...

Agreed.  The concept is great (and unfortunately, all too relatable) and there are some brilliant moments but there's also many moments that simply don't work, resulting in a film that, as a whole, is not cohesive.

[JesusAndYourBush]

One of the recent Planet Of The Apes films, the one that was on Channel 4 a few weeks ago.

It had potential because the apes looked more realistic compared to the originals and that one with Helena Bonham Carter in it.  However what annoyed  me greatly was the way the apes spoke.  Each word seemingly requiring an intense effort to squeeze out, like having a very stubborn shit.  I mean, if they've evolved that far surely speaking wouldn't require such an intense effort.  Apart from that it was probably a good film but I had to give up on it after a short time.

[greenman]

I like the film a lot (admittedly because of its particular kinship with The Driver and To Live and Die In LA), but that's a fair assessment.  I doubt you'd think any different now.

I felt this was actually the most successful of Refn's recent films because it did actually know what to do with its setup, the Driver character as caught between his empathic and violent sides with scenes like the lift worked very nicely for me.

The Neon Demon feels more along the lines of this thread to me, felt the first 2/3rds of that was set up quite nicely but ended up rather shlock in the end.

[Bence Fekete]

Tarantino's last five films.

[SteveDave]

Kill List. Had heard good things and enjoyed the first 3/4 of it. The last 20 minutes was a woefully directed and underwritten mess. A terrible waste of a tight and intruiging story. 2.5 out of 5 (marks deducted for teasing me with greatness).

Ben Wheatley can't do endings. Apart from Sightseers. Which he didn't write.