Films that made you go "HUH?!"

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 9:51 am

Originally posted by Gruntboy

2001 - the ending. Exactly.

Remember the beginning, the monolite comes to the hominoids and they develop more complex language and tools. The end is a paraphase on the beginning - a new, more advanced life form has developed and will settle down somewhere in the universe.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 9:55 am

Originally posted by Mr Sleep

It was all real, what it is saying is that there are no individuals and modern society is the cause. This one is fairly open ended.

I agree with Sleep about American Psycho, I think it becomes even more clear that it's real if you read the book, and the movie follows the book quite close.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 10:28 am

I loved Apocalypse Now immensly - it is imo a very good view of a messed up world, and Kubrik is (was

) a master of his trade imo.

Eyes Wide Shut is a movie that can make me go *Huh* - Kubrik has used many of the tricks of both Apocalypse Now and Clockwork Orange, but the story itself - is confusing

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 10:43 am

Eyes Wide Shut has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Had Kubrick not died during its production, perhaps he could have turned a sow's ear into a silk purse...seems doubtful though. Nicole Kidman is pretty, but has zero sexual edginess and Tom Cruise is, well, Tom Cruise.

I also nominate Titanic for a HUH? Why did everyone love this film? I thought it was a phenomenally huge piece of crap. Even the Poseidon Adventure was better (at least it was campy).

EMINEM · Post by **EMINEM** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:02 pm

Not to mention that Titanic won... what, a dozen Oscars including Best Picture? I shudder to admit that I actually went back to see it again; looking back, the screenplay and acting were atrocious. I think it appealed particularly to teeny-bopper girls who became infatuated with DiCrapio, thus generating repeat business. "The horror, the horror!"

The one redeeming aspect of Titanic, however, was seeing Mr. Jon Irenicus in the flesh. Too bad he didn't speak too much, otherwise I'd splice out his dialogue, re-edit the movie, and have him say to the audience at the start of the movie, "If you watch this flick, you will suffer! You will all SUFFER!"

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:08 pm

Titanic had its' moments, usually effects. some were very good. as far as the cast, billy zane stole the show. I don't think his effort should go unmentioned.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:20 pm

Originally posted by VoodooDali
I also nominate Titanic for a HUH? Why did everyone love this film? I thought it was a phenomenally huge piece of crap. Even the Poseidon Adventure was better (at least it was campy).

I have to agree (again

) i jsut don't see where all the money went either, it looked like all the other crappy TV movies made around the saga of the Titanic.

On that note can anyone else think of a decent water based film?

Leonardo · Post by **Leonardo** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:34 pm

Mr Sleep:
On that note can anyone else think of a decent water based film?

Swashbuckling/pirate Erroll Flyn (spelling) movies?
There was one that was not that bad, the title in portuguese translated like "secret of the abyss", I don´t know the title in english, had Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ed Harris...
[edit] and Jaws. It´s really terrifying when you live in a coastal city, is 10 yrs old, and are used to go to the beach every single morning...

Robnark · Post by **Robnark** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:39 pm

the perfect storm was a reasonable watery filum. the trouble with the phrase 'water based' is that it conjures up images of waterworld and the like in which water was the gimmick - like those dreadful pirhana movies in which the sheer number of excuses for people cavorting in a single river full of mutant pirhanas has to be seen to be believed

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:43 pm

Originally posted by Leonardo

Swashbuckling/pirate Erroll Flyn (spelling) movies?
There was one that was not that bad, the title in portuguese translated like "secret of the abyss", I don´t know the title in english, had Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ed Harris...
[edit] and Jaws. It´s really terrifying when you live in a coastal city, is 10 yrs old, and are used to go to the beach every single morning...

Sinbad?

That would probably be Abyss, aluded to earlier in this thread, not a great film by my standards, it is okay, but not exactly a masterpiece

Jaws, well again, a decent film, but not exactly as good a pedigree as some of the other films mentioned in this thread

@Perfect Storm, i found it a little boring myself and the end was a little ponderous.

Yshania · Post by **Yshania** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:46 pm

Lake Placid!

frogus · Post by **frogus** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:47 pm

alright..I know it's MEANT to be ambiguous and intruiging etc...but

THE BIRDS

my problem is, it's not even like Hitchc0ck (cheers T'Lain

) left us to answer the questions he'd asked...he didn't ask any questions either! I would dearly love some explanations of any aspect of this movie. I just don't understand what the moral/story/symbolism or whatever is about. I don't get it.

great thread idea BTW MM.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:48 pm

Originally posted by Leonardo

Swashbuckling/pirate Erroll Flyn (spelling) movies?

Funny thing about those Errol Flynn flicks: next time you watch one of the "naval" ones, pay attention to the scenes of battle-at-sea. There's one sequence (the crew running all over, the ship heaving, followed by a cannon shot entering below the prow, spray of water everywhere and confusion on the decks) which was reused several times in film to film. The Warners simply didn't want to spend the cash to redo something as esoteric and seldom-needed as those. You can find 'em in Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and one other--I forget which.

EMINEM · Post by **EMINEM** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:53 pm

Originally posted by Mr Sleep

On that note can anyone else think of a decent water based film?

Anaconda was quite the thrill (it's water-bvased, sort of), primarily 'cuz of the audience in the theatre who cheered on the snakes everytime they swallowed someone whole. It was a riot! Also nice to see Jennifer Lopez in a wet t-shirt.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:55 pm

Originally posted by frogus
THE BIRDS

my problem is, it's not even like Hitchc0ck (cheers T'Lain ) left us to answer the questions he'd asked...he didn't ask any questions either! I would dearly love some explanations of any aspect of this movie. I just don't understand what the moral/story/symbolism or whatever is about. I don't get it.

great thread idea BTW MM.

A really good one

The thing about "The Birds" that makes the least sense is that Hitch seems to make the effector the caged birds, yet they are let out and the aggressive birds continue their frenzy, so one can write the caged birds off as a reason for the other birds aggressive behaviour. I think that the idea was a conservation issue, but i haven't watched it for about 7 years so i can't remember any exact examples.

The only real messages i can see are the one's that strikes anyone who watches it, i don't think there are a great deal of subtle undertones.

@Ysh LMAO

@Eminem, what was i saying about quality?

Next thing we are going to be comparing Citizen Cain to Michael Winner films of the 60's

Leonardo · Post by **Leonardo** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 1:59 pm

Mr. Sleep:
That would probably be Abyss, aluded to earlier in this thread, not a great film by my standards, it is okay, but not exactly a masterpiece
and
Jaws, well again, a decent film, but not exactly as good a pedigree as some of the other films mentioned in this thread

You asked for decent water based movies, not masterpieces

Stigmata could almost be considered water based, with all that dripping... but it wasn´t that good either. What a waste of Gabriel Byrne´ss

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 2:45 pm

The Perfect Storm, directed by Wolfgang Peterson, had good computerized special effects. Peterson's best water work took place about 20 years ago. Find a copy of the original Das Boot in German. It's about three hours and is absolutely fantastic, one of my favorite movies. The closed spaces and never ending tension on the sub really give an intense claustrophobic effect throughout the movie.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 5:44 pm

Contact: the movie with Jodie Foster in it about Earth receiving messages from aliens, or something to that effect.

My response: WTF?!?!?!?! So what's the ending? What's the point of the movie? What are the consequences?

Oh, about 2001: Space Odyssesy, you really have to read the series to understand the story.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 6:00 pm

This is going to be long... Mind the spoilers!

Posted by Eminem:
Magnolia - has anyone seen this film? Tom Cruise was in it. Anyway, at the end of the film, it suddenly STARTS RAINING FROGS! That's right! It's a hail storm of the little suckers. I saw the movie in the theatre and rented again on video, but the meaning of this bizzare scene still manages eludes me. It may have something to do with the ten plagues of Egypt, but then again, Exodus never mention anything about frogs falling from the sky. I thought the film pretty good until then.

I don't really understand it either, but IIRC there are subtle references to a verse from Exodus scattered throughout the movie, so maybe? I'll have to check it with a friend of mine, he knows a lot more about the movie than I do (only seen it once). Also, apparently the whole movie makes sense if you can work out what on earth that kid at the beginning is rapping about... go figure...

Posted by Tamerlane:
EDIT- My problem with it is that why are people from other dimensions always more technologically advanced then us. Plus they also have a thing for black leather clothing.

If it was the people from other dimensions who got into ours (I haven't seen the film in question), then the fact they had the technology to do so would mean they were probably more technologically advanced. Same goes for aliens - if they managed to travel here, their technology is ahead of ours

Uh... I can't explain the black leather though.

Posted by Grunty:
Being John Malkovith - a big "WTF?!" all round basically.

LOL. I love that movie, but it is rather... surreal. @Sleepy it's not his child, it's John Malkovich's (well kind of, with Cameron Diaz in his head

)

American Beauty - so the Marine Colonel is gay?

Yep... I thought that one was obvious.

American Psycho - he dreamed it all or was some of it real?

Posted by Sleepy:
It was all real, what it is saying is that there are no individuals and modern society is the cause. This one is fairly open ended.

Posted by CE:
I agree with Sleep about American Psycho, I think it becomes even more clear that it's real if you read the book, and the movie follows the book quite close.

I'm still confused about this one. I read the book (not recommended unless you have a strong stomach...) just to see if it was any clearer, and I was no less confused at the end of it. I think it's deliberately open-ended.

Posted by Sleepy:
Take my word for it (and Georgi will confirm it) this film does anything but make you feel happy. It is very scary and it's themes make one feel more than a little uncomfortable. It is well made and it very satirical, but i would avoid if possible

Ummm, yeah, the title is somewhat ironic. I do think it is a very, very good film... but I don't think it's possible to watch it without cringing a lot, and it's not the kind of film you want to see multiple times. But see it if you like blacker-than-black humour.

Posted by Ned:
My Huh?!?! movie would be pitch black. I still have nightmares that I paid for two full price tickets for this utter piece of crap. Horribly acted, lame story, cool critters. I just didn't get it.

LOL, why is that a huh? That's just a bad movie

But I didn't pay to see it, so I don't care...

Posted by Leonardo:
The Usual Suspects

I just love the end of this. Fantastic movie.

Posted by Xandax:
Eyes Wide Shut is a movie that can make me go *Huh* - Kubrik has used many of the tricks of both Apocalypse Now and Clockwork Orange, but the story itself - is confusing

Posted by VoodooDali:
Eyes Wide Shut has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Had Kubrick not died during its production, perhaps he could have turned a sow's ear into a silk purse...seems doubtful though. Nicole Kidman is pretty, but has zero sexual edginess and Tom Cruise is, well, Tom Cruise.

I didn't find EWS confusing so much as just bad (glad to see someone agrees... Kubrick's masterpiece indeed!). It's beautifully made, but the storyline, the "acting", and parts of the script (the last line springs to mind) weren't that good. @VDali, I thought Kubrick had just completed the final cut of EWS when he died...?

I also nominate Titanic for a HUH? Why did everyone love this film? I thought it was a phenomenally huge piece of crap. Even the Poseidon Adventure was better (at least it was campy).

I thought Titanic was okay when I saw it, but I don't understand the people who went to see it over and over... Or the Oscars for that matter. Just goes to show that there's more considered than the actual merits of the movie - can't you just see all the Academy voters thinking "Well, they spent a lot of money on it, and it's made a phenomenal amount, so we should give it industry recognition..." LA Confidential should have had that Best Picture Oscar.

Posted by CE:
On that note can anyone else think of a decent water based film?

A Night To Remember is the original Titanic movie, and far superior. You'll probably notice all the little details that were ripped off in Titanic. Das Boot is good, but I got a bit bored with it.

Posted by Robnark:
the perfect storm was a reasonable watery filum.

Are you kidding? "She's a great ship!" "With a great crew!" "And a great captain!" Or some dialogue equally hurl-worthy...

Though it does get bonus points for the fact that you think they're all going to be ok, and then they all die. Hoorah! Had you noticed how it's usually only the true story movies that can get away with killing off the whole cast? (It did have great CGI water as well.)

Posted by humanflyz:
Contact: ,snip> WTF?!?!?!?! So what's the ending? What's the point of the movie? What are the consequences?

Well, Jodie Foster goes to some distant planet and finds... her father. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. The thing I didn't get about Contact was the trailer... Most of the movie is the will she/won't she get to go into space thing, and if you saw the trailer you know she does. Kind of ruins it.

A couple of "Huh?!?" endings (both movies I love):

Thomas Crown Affair - so that's how he puts back the Monet... but how did he get that other painting?!

Memento - what actually happened? Is there a John G? Or did he kill his own wife? Does he actually have short-term amnesia? I had to see it twice before I could decide.

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 6:15 pm

Originally posted by Mr Sleep

On that note can anyone else think of a decent water based film?

Decent....maybe ...The Sphere....even with Dustin Hoffman in it....

( Only decent film he and Mr. Cruise ever starred in.... Rainman)