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Tommyknockers & The Langoliers
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I own Tommyknockers on DVD and think Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger are terrific in it. I really like the little magician storyline in the movie.The Langoliers is also excellent and I've seen it a few times. The captain is perfectly cast, as is Nick and Toomy, IMO. I didn't like the girl that played Bethany, and I just couldn't buy that guy from Quantum Leap as the writer, but the series, overall, was great.
I didn't see it last night, but I've seen The Tommyknockers before a few times (and actually think I own it), and yeah, they did take some liberties with the story. I've never cared much for the movie version of the aliens. They are scary, yeah, but only because of their big teeth, not because they could change US into THEM, like in the book.
Other than that though, it's a pretty good adaptation.
I've only seen parts of The Langoliers, so I can't really comment on that one. I should pick it up one of these days. :)
I've seen both and liked then quite a lot. Although The Tommyknockers just isn't able to cover all of the plot as well as I'd like. Tons of Gard and Bobbi's relationship are left out really and yes the aliens aren't as stark as the book. I also missed the bit where she takes out her evil sister. My favorite miniseries were The Stand and The Shining. they didn't cover everything but they did a pretty awesome job overall.
I've only seen The Langoliers and was really distracted by that when I tried to read the story. The special effects are bad.
I have seen The Tommyknockers quite sometime ago when I was young and didn't really understand what was going on. The Langoliers has always been one of my favorite shows and only recently figured out that it was a King story. Bronson Pinchot was totally creepfest as Mr. Toomey.
That's what I said Amanda, WTH where is her sister at, shouldn't she be floating in green slime! And at the end when David is returned, it's not with Bobbi, he just shows up at the hospital in bed with his brother.The effects were of a 1995 quality, so they didn't really bug me. The only thing that came close to bugging me was as Kandice said, the girl that played Bethany. For some reason I can't express I didn't much care for her.
Lori wrote: "That's what I said Amanda, WTH where is her sister at, shouldn't she be floating in green slime! And at the end when David is returned, it's not with Bobbi, he just shows up at the hospital in bed ..."Actually yeah me either and I liked the girl in the book. Maybe she was a bit too strident?
No matter how I phrase this, it will sound bad, so, here goes: The girl that played Bethany was too pale, skinny, straggly, fragile physically, to look like the girl down on her luck, but with inner strength, that I imagined as I read.
Kandice wrote: "No matter how I phrase this, it will sound bad, so, here goes: The girl that played Bethany was too pale, skinny, straggly, fragile physically, to look like the girl down on her luck, but with inne..."exactly!
Mary wrote: "I just didn't buy Jimmy Smitts as Gard."I can't remember if he bothered me or not. I liked Marg Helgenberger as Bobbi.
I love Langoliers and I thought the movie did a good job. I am sure that the strange constant humming noise I hear around our house sometimes is not air traffic, it is really giant puffballs eating up the past.....
Dana wrote: "I love Langoliers and I thought the movie did a good job. I am sure that the strange constant humming noise I hear around our house sometimes is not air traffic, it is really giant puffballs eatin..."Maybe the refridgerator? LOL
OMG, I swear sometimes it sounds like the smoke monster from LOST is heading down our street...
Smoke Monster? Wow I really need to start watching Lost.
I love Lost, but refuse to watch it on t.v. I just wait for the season to come on DVD so I can watch as fast as I want. I hate when they take "breaks" during the season.
Kandice wrote: "I love Lost, but refuse to watch it on t.v. I just wait for the season to come on DVD so I can watch as fast as I want. I hate when they take "breaks" during the season."You and me both. I don't have tv and get all my series from the library or buy them. I'm still catching up on Buffy, Millenium, Queer as Folk and a bunch of others.
I enjoy both movies and own them both on DVD. I haven't read the book version of either yet.
I liked the movie version of Tommyknockers alright, but I was looking forward to seeing the big ditch and the huge ship and instead it was diminished to little cubes sticking out of the ground... Very disappointing.
Yeah that and her sister. I would have liked to have seen her mean ass sister get put in the tube like she did her dog. I haven't read Tommyknockers in a while, but i remember the dog and her sister in the green goo in the tubes, was the grandfather in there as well? Seems to me he was and at the end it was only the 2 boys in the hospital room. But the movie had pops there too. Which is right? It gets mixed up in my head the older i get.
Lori wrote: "Yeah that and her sister. I would have liked to have seen her mean ass sister get put in the tube like she did her dog. I haven't read Tommyknockers in a while, but i remember the dog and her siste..."I missed seeing her sister get her due too. I think you're right there was another person but I'm not sure if it was the Grandpa though.
The grandpa was in there in the book along with the mean sister and the dog... I believe that was it...
Thanks guys, i believe we are right. The movie had him in the hospital, but the book had him in the tube. Because when Gard got in the shed, pops told him to save his grandson.
Lori wrote: "Thanks guys, i believe we are right. The movie had him in the hospital, but the book had him in the tube. Because when Gard got in the shed, pops told him to save his grandson."yep I remember that now!
I watched The Langoliers for the first time a few years ago, and since then, I've bought it, and watched it several times. I loved both the story and the movie.How was The Tommyknockers? I got about 200 pages into the book, and had to put it down for a class assignment that I really needed to concentrate on. I haven't seen the movie yet...:(
Hiddenheart wrote: "I watched The Langoliers for the first time a few years ago, and since then, I've bought it, and watched it several times. I loved both the story and the movie.How was The Tommyknockers? I got ..."
I have read and heard a lot of people criticize this book but I thought it was really good. The movie, not so much.
Hiddenheart wrote: "I watched The Langoliers for the first time a few years ago, and since then, I've bought it, and watched it several times. I loved both the story and the movie.How was The Tommyknockers? I got ..."
I enjoyed both The Langoliers and The Tommyknockers movies.
I am in the minority that loves the book and series of The Tommyknockers. The ending of each left something to be desired, but that's King's thing. Bad endings. Otherwise, I found both phenomenal.I like The Langoliers novella, and I enjoyed the mini-series, especially the cast, but again, King's supernatural stuff comes off cheezy on-screen, even when they get it right.
Kandice wrote: King's supernatural stuff comes off cheezy on-screen. The reviews that I have read seem to agree with this assessment for the Tommyknockers, Langoliers and the Mist.
I really loved Tommyknockers when I first read as a teenager but it's one of those that didn't stand up well when reread years later. Langoliers I only read for the first time last year and thought was fantastic.As for the screen versions, they're just not for me. Really wanted Langoliers to be good, but was disappointed and found it embarrassing in places.
Did anyone see these on SyFy yesterday & lastnight. I got to see one and a half hours of Tommyknockers, and most of The Langoliers.
They took a few liberties with Tommyknockers, but over all not to bad of a movie. IMO
The Langoliers, IMO is one of the best made movies from his books. Especially since it was made for tv. It stayed pretty true to the book. Bronson Pinchot was Craig Toomey, that was the best i've ever seen him in anything before or after.