I have no particular interest or attachment to Hubbard or Battlefield Earth, but as a Conservative I feel that I should read Atlas Shrugged if only to evaluate it's merits and see if it lives up to its hype.
On Friday, May 10, 2013 9:48:43 AM UTC-4, cwpreston wrote: > The sequel to Shrugged was even worse according to some of the reviews > I've read. You can't make chicken salad from chicken guano; no good movie > could possibly come from it or Battlefield Earth without fundamentally > changing the story. > On May 10, 2013, at 8:23 AM, Luke Jaconetti <[email protected]<javascript:>> > wrote: > > To be fair to Paul Johansson and crew, the first Atlas Shrugged movie > was made in order to keep the rights from reverting, so at least there's an > excuse. Not a GOOD excuse, mind you, but an excuse none the less. > > So glad to see The Scarlet Letter on this list, such a terrible film on > pretty much all levels. Battlefield Earth, as well, one more film for the > pile of evidence that Hollywood vanity projects almost never turn out > good. > > Man, Atlas Shrugged and Battlefield Earth, two othe sci-fi classics I have > not read... > > On Thursday, May 9, 2013 10:19:59 PM UTC-4, cwpreston wrote: > >> Can a bad adaption really count if it came from a bad book? >> >> >> http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-books-20130508 >> >> Best and Worst Movies Based on Books >> Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club' >> 20th Century Fox Film Corp/courtesy Everett Collection >> >> May 8, 2013 4:30 PM ET >> >> Translating great literature to the silver screen is no easy feat. There >> are the all-important questions, like how much CGI can we afford, and is >> Demi Moore free? Some adaptations, like one out this >> weekend<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/peter-travers-picks-five-summer-movies-to-skip-20130507>, >> >> "choke on their own >> excess<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/summer-movie-preview-2013-20130507/the-great-gatsby-19691231>," >> >> losing nuance one glitter flake at a time, while others manifest lands of >> sloping mountains, bubbling rivers and pointy ears so vividly that even the >> closest readers could have never imagined their majesty. Below, we take a >> look at the best and worst of recent memory. >> >> *Fight Club* (*Good*) >> In David >> Fincher<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/2011-golden-globes-20110117/david-fincher-best-director-motion-picture-0372419>'s >> >> interpretation of Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel, the director takes >> audiences inside the body of story's narrator, Jack (Edward Norton) – both >> physically and emotionally. Pushed to the edge of sanity by a dull white >> collar job, the unhampered Tyler (Brad >> Pitt<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/brad-pitt-from-beefcake-to-a-lister-20121018>) >> >> encourages Jack to start a fight club. At the time of its release in 1999, >> Peter >> Travers >> wrote<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/fight-club-19991015>, >> "Fittingly, the striking first image of *Fight Club* puts us literally >> inside Jack's brain. Driven by turbocharged music from the Dust Brothers, >> the camera swoops and dives around a vast network of nerve cells." >> >> *Atlas Shrugged* (*Bad*) >> Trapped in development purgatory for decades, Ayn Rand's fourth (and >> longest) novel finally made it to the big screen in 2011, albeit hastily, >> from director Paul Johansson. Travers >> wrote<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/atlas-shrugged-part-i-20110415#ixzz2Shso2P00>, >> >> "Ayn Rand's monumental 1,168-page, 1957 novel gets the low-budget, >> no-talent treatment and sits there flapping on screen like a bludgeoned >> seal." Part II arrived quietly in 2012, and Part III is due next summer. >> >> *Clockwork Orange* (*Good*) >> Director Stanley >> Kubrick<http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-rolling-stone-interview-stanley-kubrick-in-1987-20110307>uses >> extreme wide angle lenses in this Academy Award-winning take on >> Anthony Burgess' 1962 novella, conveying a dream-like quality and allowing >> audiences to delve into the deluded mind of sociopath Alex (Malcolm >> McDowell). Burgess wrote in *Rolling Stone* in 1972 he was satisfied >> with the adaptation: "I can say at once that the story and the movie are >> very like each other. Indeed, I can think of only one other film which >> keeps as painfully close to the book it's based on – Polanski's *Rosemary's >> Baby*." >> >> *The Bonfire of the Vanities* (*Bad*) >> Starring Tom >> Hanks<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/a-league-of-his-own-tom-hanks-american-icon-20121210>and >> Melanie Griffith, this adaptation of Tom Wolfe's best-seller follows >> Sherman McCoy, about bond salesman whose master of the universe status >> can't help him beat a hit and run rap. At the time of its theatrical >> release in 1990, *Rolling Stone* >> wrote<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-bonfire-of-the-vanities-19901221>, >> >> "Tom Wolfe's 1987 novel about the Greed Decade was penetrating, prophetic >> and incisively satirical. Director Brian De Palma's $45 million film >> version of the book is superficial, shopworn and cartoonish." >> >> *Trainspotting* (*Good*) >> Based on Irving Welsh's titular cult novel, director Danny >> Boyle<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/danny-boyle-s-greatest-hits-20130404>paints >> the graphic pains (and pleasures) of a smack habit in 90s Edinburgh >> with the help of stars Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner and Jonny Lee Miller. >> Back in 1996, Peter Travers called >> it<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/trainspotting-19960223>, >> "90 minutes of raw power that Boyle and a bang-on cast inject right into >> the vein." A sequel starring the original cast is the works, timed for the >> film's 20th anniversary. >> >> To read the new issue of *Rolling Stone* online, plus the entire RS >> archive: Click Here <http://archive.rollingstone.com/> >> **** >> >> *Battlefield Earth* (*Bad*) >> Based on L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel, fellow >> scientologist<http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/inside-scientology-20110208>(and >> sci-fi fan) John Travolta was determined to film this story of >> humanity revolting against enslavement and extermination by an alien race >> in the year 3000. In 2000, Peter Travers >> wrote<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-ten-worst-movies-of-2000-20001218#ixzz2Shr0SogK>, >> >> "Star John Travolta, buried in alien makeup and an incomprehensible script, >> offers up a film tribute to the sci-fi novel by Scientology founder L. Ron >> Hubbard and makes life hell on earth for audiences." >> >> *No Country for Old Men* (*Good*) >> Tone >> faithful<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/10-best-movies-of-the-decade-19691231/no-country-for-old-men-19691231>to >> Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel, the Coen brothers imbue Anton Chigurh >> (Javier Bardem), a.k.a. the cold-blooded assassin with the world's worst >> haircut, with true creepiness. At the time of its 2007 release, *Rolling >> Stone* >> said<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/no-country-for-old-men-20071101>, >> >> "Not since Robert Altman merged with the short stories of Raymond Carver in >> *Short Cuts* have filmmakers and author fused with such devastating >> impact as the Coens and McCarthy." >> >> *The Scarlet Letter* (*Bad*) >> Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 story of adultery in mid-17th century Boston >> has long been a favorite of English classes and Hollywood studios. But >> Rolland Jaffe's 1995 interpretation is a favorite of few. Caveated in the >> opening credits as "freely adapted," it's a campy bodice-ripper starring >> Demi >> Moore<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/getting-naked-on-the-cover-of-rolling-stone-20100815/demi-moore-0919140>, >> >> Gary >> Oldman<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/gary-oldman-dials-it-down-20120223>, >> >> and Robert Duvall – too insubstantial, even for a substitute teacher day. >> >> *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (*Good*) >> Director Peter Jackson makes his first of six cinematic forays into >> Middle Earth with this epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 novel of >> the same name. Starring Elijah >> Wood<http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/elijah-wood-lends-a-hand-to-flying-lotus-in-tiny-tortures-20121129>, >> >> Ian McKellen and Orlando >> Bloom<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/leading-men-on-the-cover-of-rolling-stone-20100721/orlando-bloom-45342597>, >> >> you not only feel Jackson's enthusiasm for >> hobbits<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/q-a-peter-jackson-master-of-middle-earth-20130219>, >> >> but also *see* the furry feet, pointy ears, and twinkling gossamer. >> >> *The Lorax* (*Bad*) >> Dr. Seuss' environmental morality >> tale<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/the-worst-movies-of-2012-20121226/the-lorax-19691231>tells >> of a city kid searching for a real live tree. In the process, he >> encounters the Lorax, a grumpy creature fighting to defend his existence. >> Last year, Peter Travers >> wrote<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/dr-seuss-the-lorax-20120302>, >> >> "This 3D, animated, idiotically musicalized version of 'The Lorax' >> thoroughly debases the genius of the good doctor's book, adding characters, >> twisting plot points, and replacing Seuss subtlety with Hollywood frenzy." >> >> To read the new issue of *Rolling Stone* online, plus the entire RS >> archive: Click Here <http://archive.rollingstone.com/> >> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] <javascript:>. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]<javascript:> > . > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. 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