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When do you walk out on a movie/stop reading a book?->Adam Sandler movies we recommend
I have never walked out of a movie. I wanted to walk out of "Dumb and Dumber" in college, but my roommate wouldn't let me and we were probably drunk, anyway. Why else would we have been there?I have a giant pile of half-read books in my house. I WILL NOT get rid of them until I have read them all the way through.
There's 2 books I've never been able to finish: Never Let Me Go and Middlesex. These weren't bad books; I could just never get myself around them enough to finish reading them.
Barb wrote: "I've never walked out of a movie theatre, but I've turned off a movie at home ... or left my husband to watch it by himself. "
Oh, good point. I do that a lot. I either turn it off or read a book. Burn After Reading comes to mind. Such a great pedigree, and a ridiculously bad movie.
Last time I walked out of a theater was many years ago. Be honest, how many of you actually watched all of "Krull?"I've given up on a couple of others, too, but those were ones my wife got through Netflix so it's not the same as walking out of the theater.
One reason I rarely need to walk out is that I never go to movies starring Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler or Will Farrell.
Mod
I walk out of very few movies - the last one was a B&W picture with John Malcovitch, I think. i also walked out of RObin Hood: Prince of Tights.
I quit reading books the moment they lose my interest. It is a bad habit, actually.
I like all three of those actors in the right movie, when I'm in the right mood. I don't like Adam Sandler's comedies, but I think he's surprisingly good at the serious stuff: he was very good in Funny People and Punch Drunk Love.Ben Stiller has made some funny movies, especially the ones where he is more self-deprecating.
And I will now admit that I thought both Blades of Glory and Dodgeball were hilarious.
I can't go with ya on Dumb & Dumber though. To each her own :)
I have wanted to walk out on movies but I don't think I've done it. Mostly because I always go with someone and I don't want to walk out on them. I will definitely abandon a book if I'm not enjoying it. I'll give it 50-100 pages and then chuck it. Unless it's a book club book. Then I try to finish it no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT!!!
I don't think I've ever walked out on a movie (I just fall asleep), but I will quit a book if it doesn't hold my interest. I'd like to say I will make myself read at least the first 100 pages or whatever but sadly that's not true. Sometimes though I'll finish an really bad book just out of sheer incredulity that something so horrible could get published.
Ick , ick, ick, Adam Sandler really gets the cringe facter happening for me, big time. Ben Stiller, same. I am not sure (and don’t care to find out)who Will Farrell is but I won't be looking for his movies if you equate him with the other two. (No biggy, as I rarely watch movies anyway)
The think that stops me reading a book is if I can't develop sympathy for the characters. George Elliot’s 'Middlemarch' is a perfect example. I have tried to read it twice but the main character is just so damn irritating, I can’t progress.
The think that stops me reading a book is if I can't develop sympathy for the characters. George Elliot’s 'Middlemarch' is a perfect example. I have tried to read it twice but the main character is just so damn irritating, I can’t progress.
I loooved Adam Sandler in Spanglish. OMG, loved him... sweet, tender performance. He knocked it out of the park with that one.
Really? Sweet,tender...Adam Sandler? Are we talking about the same person? (I haven't seen Spanglish!) I haven't recovered from that stupid golf movie he was in. :)
YES. Sweet, tender. "John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is a devoted dad whose skills as a chef have afforded his family (Téa Leoni, Cloris Leachman) a very upscale life, including a summer home in Malibu and a breathtaking new housekeeper, Flor (Paz Vega), who has recently emigrated to L.A. from Mexico, and is trying to find a better life for her remarkable daughter, Cristina (Shelbie Bruce), who is rapidly embracing the American way of life. When Flor and Cristina move in with the Claskys for the summer, Flor has to fight for her daughter's soul as she discovers that life in a new country is perilous...especially when you're being embraced by an affluent, eccentric American family!"
If you haven't seen it yet, Gail, you need to rent it or borrow it... or buy it. Definitely.
Spanglish is amazing. I can't watch it without crying my eyes out.
I knooowww! RIGHT?!! In fact, I'm gonna borrow it from the library, stat. I can never get enough of it. It'll eventually need to become part of the permanent collection.
You have convinced me. I'll check it out this weekend and let you know. I might just rent it first before considing buying it. :)
Oh yeah! With a fried egg on it, yeah? I love when the daughter says "just give me some space, ok?" and the mom gets right up in her face and says, "NO! There is no space between you and me!" I cry and cry and cry when I watch that movie.
Gretchen wrote: "Oh yeah! With a fried egg on it, yeah? I love when the daughter says "just give me some space, ok?" and the mom gets right up in her face and says, "NO! There is no space between you and me!" I cr..."OHHH GOD! That part gets to me too, Gretchen!!! I lose it when that happens! Just nonstop tears at that point - and not because I'm sad so much as it's just her integrity is jaw droppingly amazing! And Tea Leoni as the neurotic, passive-aggressive wife/mother/daughter is hilarious. She and Adam Sandler together are great. I never would've guessed that of them, but it's true. And Cloris Leachman as the alcoholic, blunt mother is hilarious, too. Great performances from everyone - this is what excellent script writing and superb directing will do for a movie.
And yeah, that sandwich looks friggin amazing... and I don't even EAT egg yolks!
Barb wrote: "Never before have I hated (yes, hated) a movie wife as much I did Tea Leoni in this movie! She was absolutely HORRIBLE on so many levels ... and I was incredibly frustrated at the end! I don't want to say too much & spoil it for anyone. "She was supposed to be horrible. You do know that, I hope... I thought it was a brilliant performance for her, as well. James Brooks was in top performance with that script... a keen observer of the human condition and subtle humor, as well as the overt.
Barb wrote: "Yes Heidi, I realize she was supposed to be that way, and it was not a flaw in how the character was played ... she was actually played to perfection.I didn't use her name to suggest she was horr..."
Got it... I thought you probably did. Her name in the movie is Deborah Clasky. Adam Sandler said while filming the sex scene with her, he could hardly keep a straight face because when she'd get to that point when she was all about pleasing herself. Tea committed to it, and they had to do take after take after take... He said it was written into the script like that, but she just took it and ran with it and brought that scene to a whole other level of comedy.
Even her gestures... couldn't help but laugh.
I kinda liked him in 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore, also. :)
I did forget about Spanglish, and I agree with you all that it was a good movie.
Mod
Yeah, I did like that 50 First Dates too! Mostly because it was set in Hawaii, but also because he wasn't so goofy.
Here's the kind of thing I don't like him in: Little Nicky.
Mod
My kids love Adam Sandler. "Happy Gilmore" and "Mr. Deeds" are alright, but here's his magnum opus, more for the music and the Billy Idol cameo than anything:
OK, "magnum opus" may be pushing it...
OK, "magnum opus" may be pushing it...
Mod
Sally wrote: "And up there in 26-30, you guys are talking about Funny People, right? Should I see that one or not?"I liked Funny People. It was a little long, but I enjoyed it.
Sally wrote: "Get out of my _____ T-shirt before you curse the band and they break up."
Van Halen
Van Halen
I HAVE A MICROPHONE AND YOU'RE GOING TO LISTEN TO EVERY DAMN WORD I HAVE TO SAY!
YES! YES YES YES!!! OMG, I can't believe I left out The Wedding Singer.
::GLOMPS self for finally knowing what glomp means::
The Wedding Singer is one of my all time favorite movies. The only Adam Sandler movies that I didn't like were Punch Drunk Love and Little Nicky. I did like 50 first dates but for me it doesn't even compare to The Wedding Singer.And as far as normally comedic actors in serious roles, Stranger Than Fiction was a great movie. One of the only Will Ferrell movies that he can pull of by himself (maybe because it wasn't supposed to be a funny movie???) I feel like all his other movies he needs that came crew that he usually has w/ him. Thats just my opinion anyway though.
Mod
Clark wrote: "My kids love Adam Sandler. "Happy Gilmore" and "Mr. Deeds" are alright, but here's his magnum opus, more for the music and the Billy Idol cameo than anything:
Thanks Clark I couldn't remember the name of that stupid golf movie. I wasn't prepared to waste my time looking it up. I really hated that movie.
Gross. Cringe. Yuck.
Thanks Clark I couldn't remember the name of that stupid golf movie. I wasn't prepared to waste my time looking it up. I really hated that movie.
Gross. Cringe. Yuck.
Mod
I love the scene in the...uh...one where he's a rich guy and has to go back to elementary school...and he throws water on his pants to cover for the kid who pees in his pants, and he tells all the kids that peeing in your pants is cool, and an old lady says "If peeing in your pants is cool, then I'm Miles Davis."
Sally wrote: "I love Stranger than Fiction, Jaimie!"Great movie!! I watched that in the hospital after I had my daughter. I want Harold's wristwatch.
I will get a load of shit, but the ONLY movie I have every walked out on from a movie theater . . . Ugh, Rodney Dangerfield "Back to School" !!! and I do like Adam Sandler :) (not love just really, really like and can quote a lot of his movies :) )I will quit a movie at home after the first 15 minutes if it sucks and a book after the first 2 chapters if the writing can't grab me. I never throw a book in the trash, always gets donated.
Mod
Spanglish was on TBS this morning. Based on the rave reviews from some here, I tried to watch it. Fuck, that was painful. Sandler was grating, as usual, and the woman seemed to have the emotional range of a potato. And I'm talking boring old russet here, not one of those emotive red potatoes.
Cambridge wrote: "I will get a load of shit, but the ONLY movie I have every walked out on from a movie theater . . . Ugh, Rodney Dangerfield "Back to School" !!! and I do like Adam Sandler :) (not love just reall..."No shit from me... but I DO love Back to School. My fave part is when Rodney's character hired Danny Elfman's band for his party and they sang, "Dead Man's Party." I knew Elfman was cool back in the day, and that makes me proud.
Heidi wrote:"Danny Elfman's band"
Heidi, let's give credit where credit is due. They were known as Oingo Boingo, not simply Danny Elfman's band, and creators of the twisted "Little Girls."
And how about some love for Rodney belting out one of the all-time greats "Twist and Shout"?
Heidi, let's give credit where credit is due. They were known as Oingo Boingo, not simply Danny Elfman's band, and creators of the twisted "Little Girls."
And how about some love for Rodney belting out one of the all-time greats "Twist and Shout"?
I saw Oingo Boingo live a couple times, right around Dead Man's Party. Great live band. "Just Another Day" is another great song...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utD0Ow...
I hired the movie Spanglish on the weekend and watched it with my daughter. I had to cover her eyes during one scene, but the rest was suitable.
The verdict, I really tried hard to overcome the cringe factor that Adam Sandler inspires in me. I almost made it. There were only a couple of scenes that made me cringe. The DVD was found in the comedy section of Blockbusters, I had mistakenly started looking under drama. It was okay, I did enjoy it(being polite here) but I won’t be buying the DVD. Adam Sandler just doesn’t do it for me! Now Colin Firth on the other hand in Pride & Prejudice......
The verdict, I really tried hard to overcome the cringe factor that Adam Sandler inspires in me. I almost made it. There were only a couple of scenes that made me cringe. The DVD was found in the comedy section of Blockbusters, I had mistakenly started looking under drama. It was okay, I did enjoy it(being polite here) but I won’t be buying the DVD. Adam Sandler just doesn’t do it for me! Now Colin Firth on the other hand in Pride & Prejudice......
Phil wrote: "Spanglish was on TBS this morning. Based on the rave reviews from some here, I tried to watch it. Fuck, that was painful. Sandler was grating, as usual, and the woman seemed to have the emotiona..."
So Phil, I have tried Spanglish, what can you recommend for my weekend viewing?
So Phil, I have tried Spanglish, what can you recommend for my weekend viewing?
I posted my top 5 on the Permanent Collection thread. You could also try "Casino Royale" for action, "Julie and Julia" for light entertainment or "Billy Elliot" for drama. I truly enjoyed all three.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
"How do you decide when to walk away from a movie?"
This is one of Cowen's favorite rules, as it relates to consumption of information. "People should be more willing to walk out of movies," he tells anyone who will listen. "Most movies -- they grab you or they don't, and if they don't, just leave. Just go. You have already lost money. Why lose the time?"
If a movie doesn't hook Cowen, he reads a book outside while his wife remains in her seat. Most recent movie they both left: "Greenberg," starring Ben Stiller.
With books, Cowen is even more brutal. If a book is bad, he often throws it away, so it doesn't waste anyone's time. "What if the next book they were going to read is 'Moby-Dick'?" But if a book is good, he might give it away -- to libraries, friends or, if he's on a plane, total strangers (he leaves them in the seat-back pocket for the next passenger to discover). "He drives the flight attendants crazy," his wife says.
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I rarely walk out on a movie - last one I can think of was Gremlins, and I was a kid and had freaked out when the doctor got a needle shoved in his leg. (Hmm...the root of my fear of doctors? Possibly...)
I've never thrown a book in the garbage. Bad books get donated, good books get kept and occasionally loaned out. I see his logic, but I can't do it.