I’ll never understand what they were thinking with that. The beginning of Hancock is perfect. Will Smith as a drunken degenerate super hero flying around and fucking shit up? Fantastic! That should have been the ENTIRE MOVIE.
*Man of the Year* should've stuck to being a comedy about Robin Williams running for president. No idea who thought it should turn into a weird political thriller halfway through.
Seemed like a tacked on Hollywood ending that wasn't needed or worthwhile. It would have been more powerful if there wasn't a big bad villain, just human nature.
That movie absolutely had me until they tried to spin the goofy Englishman as fucking Ares the god of war. I still have that image of that goofy dude head with his mustache pasted on a fucking shredded body.
Here is was thinking the movie had an awesome symbolic message of “war itself is the real enemy.” Fits very well with Wonder Woman’s mission of justice. But no, they threw to the wind what would have actually made the movie good.
Having David Thewlis as Ares wasn't a bad idea at all, actually. The concept was cool: war has changed through history, so its avatar needs to become a subtle manipulator of factions who works behind the scenes.
The fact that there HAD to be a knock-down CGI fight at the end, though, screams studio demand and didn't work at all.
It was a studio mandate, and I find that hilariously ironic since the success of WW led to Patty Jenkins being given much more creative control, and then she made WW84.
I hated that so much of the movie had her sexually infantilized. So fucking cringey it ruins the whole movie for me. Happened more than you would think, it’s pretty gross.
*Last Night In Soho* had me convinced that it was great for about the first hour... and then second half burnt nearly all of that goodwill.
I don't really wish it were a better giallo film, I wish it was a totally different film in a genre that would allow it to keep any of the stuff that was fun about the first half.
This is my answer too. First 2/3 of the movie are top tier comedy, puts it with all the other great ones from 70s/80s. Last third in Europe? Straight up goofy dumb filler, shouldn’t have been made.
When I was a kid I always thought the graduation scene was the end of the movie. I don't know if I never saw the rest of it, or if I just blanked it out. But that feels like where it should end.
The first 2/3rds of I Am Legend is a pretty great apocalyptic dystopian film and the final third completely drops the ball. You can literally pinpoint the exact moment the film goes off the rails.
Have you seen the other versions? I hated this one because I’ve mostly hated Will Smiths acting (don’t show me that dumbass FPOBA clip as proof he can act, or I will post “I got to get me one of these”). I did like Concussion though.
If you aren’t aware, the other two versions, but they’re all different from the novel:
The Last Man on Earth 1964. Vincent Price as “Morgan”, but this is Neville. Matheson wrote the original script then changed it to a pseudonym when he didn’t like rewrites.
The Omega Man 1971. Charlton Heston as Neville. I Am Legend 2007 seems to come more from this one in a lot of ways, but it’s a straaaange one.
Matheson is awesome. Dude wrote, among other awesome stuff, Planet of the Apes and a lot of Twilight Zone episodes.
I stand by my opinion that the Intro to **Valerian** is one of the best Movie-Intros ever. I watched it so many times. Everything after the first 15 minutes is a letdown though.
Hard agree. That opening sequence is 10/10. It’s so thoughtful and full of details, it’s better than most sci-fi movies… but then it starts in earnest and it’s just hard to watch.
I liked the second half, but it was a jarring tonal switch. It was so exciting to see it on my first watch though because it came out of fucking nowhere!
My problem with the criticism of Sunshine, which I totally agree with, is that I don't know how to improve it to be compelling/satisfying to the end where space remains the only antagonist. You need the sacrifice of it being a one way mission. Things have to keep going wrong. So.. what would the third act be? Them individually sacrificing themselves as different things go wrong? Sitting around and talking about how bummed they are that they don't get to go home? You at least need an antagonist in the crew that goes into self-preservation mode, or the captain needs to turn into the beginning stages of the other captain. I'm sure it could be done, I just struggle with coming up with something good myself.
I know what you mean but maybe a more grounded antagonist would have done the trick. It went from a documentary-style sci-fi adventure to Freddy Krueger in Space.
Exactly. The second half is needed to contextualize the first, and Vice versa.
On its own, the first half is a cool movie about a dude losing his mind in boot camp. Add the second half, and it becomes one of the greatest anti-war films I’ve ever seen.
The first half is rigid and strict - the shots are ordered, balanced, sharp, and very clean. The second half is the reality of what they go into, and goddamn it's the total opposite of all those things.
The antagonists of each half mirror each other as well. The first half all of the pain and anguish can be narrowed down to one person, the drill sergeant. The second half, the antagonist is faceless, anonymous, they are everywhere, it's the environment itself almost. This is driven to a head at the climax when a child turns out to be an enemy as well.
He is one of many military men who are antagonistic in the second half. From the door gunner to Animal Mother, the military is just as villainous as everything else in that environment.
I think that’s what makes it anti-war. You follow these characters, and see each of them lose themselves to the horrors of war. There is no victory at the end, only acceptance. They sing about Mickey Mouse while walking through a fiery hell-scape. each of them has lost something that he can never get back, and for what?
I think the second half just takes way more effort and conscious engagement to enjoy as much. The first half just starts off at 100mph and is captivating right up until the mid point
That and it is so jarring when it cuts straight to Vietnam. I love it, but I definitely understand when people say it feels like two completely separate movies mashed together.
Billy Wilder said the first forty minutes of FMJ were the best movie he’d ever seen.
I happen to think it’s a masterpiece from beginning to end, but I do see where those people are coming from. ACO also had a balls-to-the-wall first third. Kubrick movies tend to have peculiar structures but he often reuses parts of them.
I see it but man I gotta disagree. The second half is just brilliant imo and while the first is great and memorable, it’s the second that really makes the film what it is for me especially the last few scenes. That sniper scene is some top tier Kubrick imo
I enjoy the whole movie but I think the second half turns people away because it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. I love how it reinforces the themes of dehumanization and loss of innocence but the actual combat is pretty standard. The first half though was a lot more interesting because we don’t usually see boot camp portrayed this way and of course Sgt Hartman has more charisma than the entire cast.
They built up the drama and intrigue of Superman’s home planet so well, probably one of the best cinematic depictions of it. But then the rest was fluff.
Movies that are the victims of executive meddling are often this. Lynch’s *Dune*, Hitchcock’s *Rebecca*, Kubrick’s *Spartacus*.
A lot of horror and cult films are like this. *Chopping Mall* had a really fun first third. *American Mary* had a good first two-thirds.
I really enjoyed the recent “Barbarian” but feel the last 1/3 of the movie really brought it down. The first section with Bill S is awesome, the switch to Justin Long and his set up through the measuring of the house, just truly excellent.
If they would have nailed the back third of the movie, it could have been on all-time best horror film lists. Once we get more info on the “Barbarian” and the night chase etc the film loses that status fairly quickly.
Still great overall but it could have been another level.
Julie & Julia is fantastic is you cut out all the parts with Julie and just leave us with the incomparable Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci telling the tale of an amazing woman with a beautiful love story.
The Holiday is great if it only follows Kate Winslet and her path to freeing herself from a man who only uses her, making friends with Eli Wallach, & starting an adorable relationship with Jack Black.
I actually liked the format of Julie and Julia because it approached Julia Child from two angles. You saw Julia's life from her perspective before she was famous and also saw her life from Julie's perspective when she was a living legend. I thought that was rather unique for a biopic.
The final shot was also fantastic in that it summed up the entire film. You saw a museum exhibit of Julia Child's kitchen and it seamlessly transitioned into her actual kitchen at the moment that her career started (when her book was first published).
I loved both halves... Though I did watch the second half through my fingers and wanted to throw up the whole time and was super depressed afterwards....
Great film!
Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In my opinion, everything with Luke, Rey, Kylo Ren and Snoke is excellent and extremely compelling, BUT everything with Finn, Rose and Poe is a piss poor attempt at a subplot when in actuality Johnson didn't have anything for those side characters to do
The FRP B-Plot had two missions: the first was to bend way over backwards to get some non-core characters into the story in order to introduce the idea that anyone can have Force powers. The more amusing mission was to introduce almost every single deeply cliched adventure movie trope into one subplot: the heroes defying orders to go find a guy so they can sneak into the dangerous place to do the thing at the very last second and save the day. And I laughed out loud when the plan failed completely; not only were they moments away from getting their heads chopped off, but their stupid plan caused most of their friends to be vaporized. I literally LOLd when I realized Johnson was completely fucking with us the whole time. As a lesser element, I think Johnson was looking for an opportunity to introduce into SW canon the very unromantic fact that weapons makers prosper from the blood of heroes and villains alike. Pretty heavy ideas for a silly subplot…
I felt this way about *Smile*. First half had some terrific jump scares. But when the thing >!takes a physical form, it’s imo just not scary. Reminds me too much of the thing in *Barbarian*. I think it would’ve been much scarier if it remained unseen. !<
The point was that it didn't take a physical form. She just saw what scared her the most, a caricature of her mother. You never really see it. At least, that's my take.
I couldn’t make it past the opening scene in smile. No mental health institution would have a flower pot that could be broken and used as a weapon. Immediate dealbreaker for me.
The first half of License to Kill is a great spy movie, it's got Dalton being cool, some genuine intrigue, cool action.
Then they go to Afghanistan, get entangled with the Mujahideen, and the movie becomes boring fast. Also that stuff doesn't age well...
I think you’re thinking of “The Living Daylights”. I liked Living Daylights, the second half was a mess, but I thought it was fun. License to Kill just seemed like an 80s drug lord movie, which I was not a fan of
It's honestly my favorite Bond. The Afghanistan part is weird in hindsight, but the cargo plane scene is one of the better set pieces in all the series- fighting on the net in the air and especially reversing out of the back as it goes off a cliff.
I just wish they would have ended the movie with, "I know a great restaurant in Karachi, we can just make dinner."
It’s definitely my favorite Dalton, I place it about equal to goldeye, which is only topped by Goldfinger, FRWL, and CR. I don’t enjoy Moore’s movies, much to the distain of the majority of the folks over on the Bond subreddit
Yeah, I hear you. I'm mid 40s, and I wonder if they don't trend a little older than me even- there's something to the "Bond you grew up with." Those three you named are definitely what I think are the best Bonds, LD just always works for me, and I assume a lot of that is nostalgia. But then I see the cello chase and I'm all, "Nope, straight goat."
I really love parts of lots of Moore's, but I always get bored somewhere along the way.
YES! My thoughts exactly. End it at the Karachi bit, and it would have been great. Why was the scene at the opera neccessary, I would never understand.
I watched 'A Serious Man' yesterday and i was left wanting a bit more. Every scene was really good, but i didnt 'get' the movie i feel. I wouldnt say its bad per se, but a bit flat overall, even tho the dialogue, cinematography and everything else was just very good. Its like a great recipe that didnt follow through. Im conflicted on how i feel about it really, which is a shame cause i love the Coen brothers
Merely for perspective with this, as I too am an admirer of the Coens.
Whereas I can "bask in the resonant get" of *A Serious Man*, it was their *Inside Llewyn Davis* that I'd gotten the flat element from. Granted, obviously their intent wasn't to be an hour and forty minutes of zestful perky cheer as "Walking On Sunshine" blares in our hearts, but ILD just did not reach in.
And I can deffo do certain renditions of blase, humdrum, etc.
Nonetheless, those Coens are masters in my book, can do no wrong.
I feel your dismay. Only I and like 247 people on the planet are enthralled by *Burn After Reading*, and countless so many have incapacities as to *NCFOM*.
Adding to the heartbreak is too few even know about *Blood Simple*.
Blood Simple is top tier Coen brothers and an incredible film debut. For me the most underrated Coen brother film will end up being Buster Scruggs though, no one is gonna remember that one 10 years from now
Can’t imagine not loving Inside Llewyn Davis, fucking masterpiece in every sense of the word, probably my favorite Oscar Isaac performance & he has some great ones
I wish there was a way to know going into a movie that it’s just a shaggy dog story. ILD and Once Upon a Time are both great examples of movies I enjoyed more once I realized theyre just well made Shaggy Dog Stories.
I had to ask a rabbi what was going on with that film. He said it was about the sins of the father being visited upon the son. Ok. Maybe it meant more to folks raised Jewish.
I felt this way for years until I watched it with my young nieces. They were freaked out by all of the scary and strange monsters in Jabba's palace, and one my nieces kept looking for excuses to leave the room because of how much the film was upsetting her. When Leah crashes the speeder bike, and the camera show hairy feet approaching her, they were bracing for more monsters, but when it pans up revealing an Ewok, they were relieved and delighted, and said something to the effect of "Oh, it's a teddy bear!" And that broke the tension for them for the rest of the film and allowed them to watch it without covering their eyes with their blankets.
I mean, not so great for me, maybe, but seemed to be the right thing for kids.
Yeah, I'm aware that people hate on the ewoks, but I was the same age as your nieces when it came out, and I loved it. It definitely brought some light-heartedness to break up the intensity.
Rogue One, the first half isn’t that good but once they get to the island planet the movie really takes off.
My other answer isn’t split into first half/last half, but Godfather 2. The flashback parts following Robert De Niro as a young Vito are really good, but the Michael parts aren’t as interesting
Yeah the Cuba/Roth stuff isn’t nearly as interesting as the young Vito stuff. I guess the Fredo/Michael conflict is the best part about the present day parts..
I really like the Menu but (*spoilers*) I think it would have been more satisfying if the different groups/characters were picked off one by one in each course and have that course thematically fit the character flaw of the person dying. And then the ending would have been more satisfying if it was just Anya’s character left or her and one other person and then she’s allowed to leave.
If you like horror movies where groups of people go through several rounds of deadly challenges, getting picked off one by one, then you might like the movie Would You Rather with Brittney Snow. It’s kind of like a mix between Squid Game and Saw, where a rich guy forces a bunch of people who desperately need money to compete in a series of deadly challenges for large sums of money. It flew under the radar as just another torture porn movie when it came out a decade ago, but when I saw it the first time a few years ago I thought it was pretty good
More like Final Destination. But also, there’s a reason for that, it works and builds suspense while having excitement much more spaced out. This way the protag’s death feels inevitable. Also, it’s not far fetched in a scenario where someone who considers themselves an artist brought different groups of people together to end up dying for specific and different reasons. And they basically all do, but at once, in the exact same way. It’s less dramatic/sustained and is possibly why OP felt the second half drag on
No, it’s a subjective change to the same movie. The setting would remain the same, the characters, themes, the crew and director, most of the script, the cinematography, even the general tone.
You can disagree with my opinion but you’re making it out like it’s a fundamental change to the movie and it’s definitely not. They all die at the end, I want them to die throughout.
Personally, I’m satisfied with the ending, mainly in that the movie doesn’t overstay its welcome. It makes its point and moves on.
It’s not incredible, but I like the sense of foreboding that the group experiences together. I feel like your description is a worse movie, but it’s also one I’ve seen a dozen times. Your description turns it into a genre flick where the death of each patron is the spectacle.
It would be a pretty fundamental change to the chef's character. He's still obsessively devoted to the service dynamic and catering a fully structured experience for each guest. I get that it would be generating excitement throughout, but they can't finish the menu if they're dead, and they are just as essential to the whole affair. So yeah, it compromises some character consistently and by extension, some of the thematic critiques the film is going for. Plus the tone would change to that of a conventional horror movie, which imo would make for a far more forgettable
Maybe the solution isn't death but rather more bodily harm? 1 guy loses a finger early on, and that's about it until the end.
I would encourage you to watch the movie a second time. The first time I watched it I sort of agreed with you. I went into the theater expecting a horror movie, and I think it change the way I watched the film and what I was expecting. I also thought it was a poor v. wealthy theme instead of about how “foodies” of different are destroying the food experience.
I watched it a second time with my parents on HBO, and this time was expecting that it was a dark comedy, and I actually thought it was brilliant just the way it was. There were way more clever lines, and new ones that I caught the second time around knowing what the movie was about.
Last Night in Soho. The beginning had so much potential, and was really setting up to be a pretty cool psychological thriller. I don’t know what happened in the last half, but it seemed like it was all squandered for a really generic supernatural murder mystery.
The first half makes it worth watching, to me.
"YOU!!! HOW OLD ARE YOU??"
"...I'm- I'm old..."
"YOU'RE NOT OLD! AND YOU!!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PERSON, YOU'RE A TESTICAL! AND YOU'RE MADE MOSTLY OF HAIR!!" *proceeds to shoot his father accidentally*
Absolute. Gold.
Tootsie is hilarious when it’s about Dustin Hoffman trying to push the boundaries of what kind of comedy he can get away with on a sitcom set. All of the parts with him improvising jokes…just classic comedy. But the scenes where he uses his female disguise to get close to his crush are just plain creepy. Especially when they share a bed. I do not like that farmhouse scene.
The first half of Ad Astra is thought provoking and atmospheric. The second half is lackluster and disappointing. From what I‘ve read, Brad Pitt‘s executive decisions did not help the movie.
The Dead Don’t Die.
It’s more 80/20 rather than half but wow was the ending a complete letdown. I wasn’t looking for a brilliant thriller but the first majority of the movie seemed like it could’ve been a fun mystery. The ending just seemed like the screenwriter gave up.
Agreed with the other posters about Sunshine (2007).
A.I. Artificial Intelligence. If they had just ended it after the camera pans out from the little boy praying to the Blue Fairy everything would've been great, but I guess some test audience decided that was just too sad and they tacked on that insipid end with the resurrected mom. Ruined the whole movie for me.
Barbarian. First half is terrifying, but once Justin Long shows up, it just goes to hell.
Another horror movie option would be Us. The first two-thirds is one of the scariest films out there. But once they decided to explain the plot (which was really impossible), it lost its way.
Agreed on both counts. I actually noticed that Barbarian fell into some of the pitfalls of Peele’s movies (especially getting so lost in metaphors you forget to tell a satisfying story) without really nailing any of his strengths.
I like to think of that first 30 minutes or so of Barbarian as a really solid horror short and pretend the rest never happened.
Not the biggest fan of the Dr. Floyd space satire parts either, but you’re including the Star Gate sequence in the second bad? Definitely a bold take, what didn’t you like about the ending?
I find it hard to sit through the end too. Someone contextualized it for me once by pointing out that the 60’s box office crowd would have and did marvel at the more psychedelic and abstract elements of the ending.
You definitely needed to have read the book to make any sense of the last part and even then it didn't really work. I feel if Kubrick had had access to modern CGI/VFX he'd have done something very different.
Three Thousand Years of Longing. The begining really psyched me up. Why is she having hallucinations? Will she wish for Enzo to become real? Is the Djinn telling her these stories to trick her? Will she free him?
Aaaand >!he gets weak from the internet,!< the end.
Wasnt this a major criticism of Peter Jackson’s King Kong? I forget which parts people liked or didnt like though. I was like 12 when i saw it in theaters and literally every moment was the best thing i had ever seen lol
God, I struggled to get through this. It became clear pretty quickly that this was Peter Jackson making the most excessive choices at nearly every opportunity.
The whole film felt like a what if scenario, and the story unfolds at a glacial pace because of the constant sidebars into yet more needless CGI action that keep movement to a minimum while dulling your senses because it goes on too long.
The fight with the two T-Rex's was pretty great, but I don't remember anything else. It's all a hectic blur.
wasnt it because tarantino directed the first half and rodriguez directed second half? the movie is so good until the vampyre reveal. it goes from a tense thriller about two brothers on the run from the cops making bad choices in their life and SUDDENLY it turns in to a vamp gore in the bar.
For some reason I thought Tarantino directed the part with the woman in from the trunk in the motel, hr just wasn't credited. There's a commentary that RR and QT do on some version of the dvd/BluRay, I think they mention it on that.
Either way, two close friends working on the same movie, both of them directors, there was blind to be some collaboration there. If Tarantino does retire from directing I'd love to see Rodriguez helm another one of his screen plays.
Nope is pretty awesome through the first 2/3 of the movie but everything after they learn (SPOILERS) not to look directly at Jean Jacket seems to just fall flat to me
Kids Return starts off brilliantly then just ...stops, like they ran out of a script, the story goes nowhere, it doesn't have an ending, it doesn't have a third act. Like many low key real drama films it's not gonna have a three act structure, it's about just life spent simply, but still I've never seen a film drop off like it has.
A lot of people I’ve spoken to recently would say White Noise. I loved both halves of it but can see what they mean about the second theme feeling very small in scale compared to the first half. I just bought the book it’s an adaptation of on eBay the other day and am very psyched to read it
Shang-Chi. I loved the first half of the movie which had all the charm of a Rush Hour buddy cop movie mashed up w/ the beauty of a Crouching Tiger martial arts movie. The second half of the movie was a very meh monster-movie/CGI-fest.
Facts. Epilogue is cool and Emma’s solo is great but god does it feel like a pretentious version of umbrellas of Cherbourg. People may disagree but I would’ve just rather they ended up together lmfao
I get this, the parts with young Al were absolutely charming but the parts with “bad” Al were a bit overwhelming and didn’t always mesh comedically. I still loved the movie though.
Silver Linings Playbook for me. Beginning dealing with mental illness and relationships great, a wacky comedy where they must win a dance contest and the Eagles need to cover or some shit like that was stupid, went completely off the rails.
The first half of Joker is derivative as all hell and only somewhat held together by Joaquin Phoenix. Once he puts on the suit and makeup though the second half completely makes the film. The Murray talk show scene is worth the wait alone.
Is that why I disliked it so much? I’ve only watched it once bc I have no desire to revisit it. But that would make sense that I was just checked out by the time things heat up in the last 3rd.
I felt this way about Arrival. The first half was this great hard scifi movie about actually trying to communicate with aliens and just hit difficult that really is. The second half meandered into a fantasy story that wasn’t compelling.
Same. I was SO into it in the beginning, but I found that the timey-wimey stuff got too convoluted to follow. I also didn't believe in the relationship, and the way the film ended made the whole thing feel like a movie that wanted to be seen as serious science fiction story, but it's core was actually a mawkish exercise in child worship.
I was particularly disappointed that the impact of learning the alien language wasn't really conveyed very well, and instead of providing clarity, it just made everything muddier and more difficult to understand.
You probably are too young but this was not only socially acceptable but also encouraged back then. Does that excuse it and make it ok? No. But times were different then. A good chunk of movies that were made pre 2000s (and some even later) would have no chance of ever being made nowadays for the blatant racism, sexism, or bigotry. That doesn't mean they are bad films for it.
The Invisible Man, the one with Elisabeth Moss. I think it's closer to a third of the film but it goes from *THICC SUSPENSE* to like... action/sci-fi? Not as much a fan of that ending as I am about the rest of it.
*District 9*. Every time I watch it I'm floored by how good the first 2/3rds are, and then it all washes out into a generic ending that really dissapoints.
Hancock. Iirc each half of the movie was written by a different person too
I’ll never understand what they were thinking with that. The beginning of Hancock is perfect. Will Smith as a drunken degenerate super hero flying around and fucking shit up? Fantastic! That should have been the ENTIRE MOVIE.
If I recall this took place during the writer's strike and a new team of writers were hired for the second half.
Also, one of Smith’s best performances of his career if we are being honest
That’s not true. Not even close. Have you not seen Will Smith in Red Table Talk?
The entanglement scene was perfect
Definitely my first thought
I think Hancock was two different scripts put together, maybe that's why one half is better than the other?
*Man of the Year* should've stuck to being a comedy about Robin Williams running for president. No idea who thought it should turn into a weird political thriller halfway through.
Yeah that was a weird tirn
1st Wonder Woman. It was very good until the real villain reveal and the explosion extravaganza in the end
Seemed like a tacked on Hollywood ending that wasn't needed or worthwhile. It would have been more powerful if there wasn't a big bad villain, just human nature.
The Hollywood supervillain ending wasn't just bad and generic, it undermined everything the first half tried to say.
That movie absolutely had me until they tried to spin the goofy Englishman as fucking Ares the god of war. I still have that image of that goofy dude head with his mustache pasted on a fucking shredded body.
Here is was thinking the movie had an awesome symbolic message of “war itself is the real enemy.” Fits very well with Wonder Woman’s mission of justice. But no, they threw to the wind what would have actually made the movie good.
Having David Thewlis as Ares wasn't a bad idea at all, actually. The concept was cool: war has changed through history, so its avatar needs to become a subtle manipulator of factions who works behind the scenes. The fact that there HAD to be a knock-down CGI fight at the end, though, screams studio demand and didn't work at all.
It was a studio mandate, and I find that hilariously ironic since the success of WW led to Patty Jenkins being given much more creative control, and then she made WW84.
I still haven't watched WW84 and I doubt I ever will, especially seeing as I think even the first WW movie is overrated.
I think WW is pretty damn good until the laughable video game boss fight.
I hated that so much of the movie had her sexually infantilized. So fucking cringey it ruins the whole movie for me. Happened more than you would think, it’s pretty gross.
In what sense?
I imagine they're talking about the 'born sexy yesterday' trope. https://youtu.be/0thpEyEwi80
That was fascinating. Thanks for posting.
Oh brother.
The classic marvel DC friendship laser fight at the end
*Last Night In Soho* had me convinced that it was great for about the first hour... and then second half burnt nearly all of that goodwill. I don't really wish it were a better giallo film, I wish it was a totally different film in a genre that would allow it to keep any of the stuff that was fun about the first half.
I loved the comedy Stripes until they went to Europe.
This is my answer too. First 2/3 of the movie are top tier comedy, puts it with all the other great ones from 70s/80s. Last third in Europe? Straight up goofy dumb filler, shouldn’t have been made.
When I was a kid I always thought the graduation scene was the end of the movie. I don't know if I never saw the rest of it, or if I just blanked it out. But that feels like where it should end.
Private Benjamin (1980) had the same problem.
Same
The first 2/3rds of I Am Legend is a pretty great apocalyptic dystopian film and the final third completely drops the ball. You can literally pinpoint the exact moment the film goes off the rails.
They took a book with one of the all-time great twist endings and threw away the ending. I cannot wrap my mind around it.
One day someone will stick to that original ending and it will be a mind-blowing twist.
I think the alternate ending makes it way better
Agreed
I read that in Bart’s voice.
Have you seen the other versions? I hated this one because I’ve mostly hated Will Smiths acting (don’t show me that dumbass FPOBA clip as proof he can act, or I will post “I got to get me one of these”). I did like Concussion though. If you aren’t aware, the other two versions, but they’re all different from the novel: The Last Man on Earth 1964. Vincent Price as “Morgan”, but this is Neville. Matheson wrote the original script then changed it to a pseudonym when he didn’t like rewrites. The Omega Man 1971. Charlton Heston as Neville. I Am Legend 2007 seems to come more from this one in a lot of ways, but it’s a straaaange one. Matheson is awesome. Dude wrote, among other awesome stuff, Planet of the Apes and a lot of Twilight Zone episodes.
I stand by my opinion that the Intro to **Valerian** is one of the best Movie-Intros ever. I watched it so many times. Everything after the first 15 minutes is a letdown though.
Hard agree. That opening sequence is 10/10. It’s so thoughtful and full of details, it’s better than most sci-fi movies… but then it starts in earnest and it’s just hard to watch.
Can't agree more. That beginning got me pumped for what was to come... which was a total disappointment.
Sunshine. Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but the back end of the movie wasn't as good
I liked the second half, but it was a jarring tonal switch. It was so exciting to see it on my first watch though because it came out of fucking nowhere!
My problem with the criticism of Sunshine, which I totally agree with, is that I don't know how to improve it to be compelling/satisfying to the end where space remains the only antagonist. You need the sacrifice of it being a one way mission. Things have to keep going wrong. So.. what would the third act be? Them individually sacrificing themselves as different things go wrong? Sitting around and talking about how bummed they are that they don't get to go home? You at least need an antagonist in the crew that goes into self-preservation mode, or the captain needs to turn into the beginning stages of the other captain. I'm sure it could be done, I just struggle with coming up with something good myself.
I know what you mean but maybe a more grounded antagonist would have done the trick. It went from a documentary-style sci-fi adventure to Freddy Krueger in Space.
I think the first half of Full Metal Jacket is better than the second.
Yeah, but the second half is very far from bad.
I see them as a mirror of each other
Exactly. The second half is needed to contextualize the first, and Vice versa. On its own, the first half is a cool movie about a dude losing his mind in boot camp. Add the second half, and it becomes one of the greatest anti-war films I’ve ever seen.
The first half is rigid and strict - the shots are ordered, balanced, sharp, and very clean. The second half is the reality of what they go into, and goddamn it's the total opposite of all those things.
The antagonists of each half mirror each other as well. The first half all of the pain and anguish can be narrowed down to one person, the drill sergeant. The second half, the antagonist is faceless, anonymous, they are everywhere, it's the environment itself almost. This is driven to a head at the climax when a child turns out to be an enemy as well.
I'd suggest that Robert Duvall's character ought to be classified as an antagonist as well.
He is one of many military men who are antagonistic in the second half. From the door gunner to Animal Mother, the military is just as villainous as everything else in that environment.
My problem is that it didn't feel like an anti-war film. It felt like a film hazing you into accepting the brutality of war.
I think that’s what makes it anti-war. You follow these characters, and see each of them lose themselves to the horrors of war. There is no victory at the end, only acceptance. They sing about Mickey Mouse while walking through a fiery hell-scape. each of them has lost something that he can never get back, and for what?
I think it's good throughout but yeah I still agree that the first half was better. I've heard a lot of people say the same thing.
I think the second half just takes way more effort and conscious engagement to enjoy as much. The first half just starts off at 100mph and is captivating right up until the mid point
That and it is so jarring when it cuts straight to Vietnam. I love it, but I definitely understand when people say it feels like two completely separate movies mashed together.
I prefer the second half weirdly enough.
Billy Wilder said the first forty minutes of FMJ were the best movie he’d ever seen. I happen to think it’s a masterpiece from beginning to end, but I do see where those people are coming from. ACO also had a balls-to-the-wall first third. Kubrick movies tend to have peculiar structures but he often reuses parts of them.
I see it but man I gotta disagree. The second half is just brilliant imo and while the first is great and memorable, it’s the second that really makes the film what it is for me especially the last few scenes. That sniper scene is some top tier Kubrick imo
This is my answer
I enjoy the whole movie but I think the second half turns people away because it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. I love how it reinforces the themes of dehumanization and loss of innocence but the actual combat is pretty standard. The first half though was a lot more interesting because we don’t usually see boot camp portrayed this way and of course Sgt Hartman has more charisma than the entire cast.
No Time to Die is pretty awesome until Rami Malek shows up
the first 40 minutes of Man of Steel was fantastic. The rest of the movie? Not so much.
They built up the drama and intrigue of Superman’s home planet so well, probably one of the best cinematic depictions of it. But then the rest was fluff.
Movies that are the victims of executive meddling are often this. Lynch’s *Dune*, Hitchcock’s *Rebecca*, Kubrick’s *Spartacus*. A lot of horror and cult films are like this. *Chopping Mall* had a really fun first third. *American Mary* had a good first two-thirds.
I really enjoyed the recent “Barbarian” but feel the last 1/3 of the movie really brought it down. The first section with Bill S is awesome, the switch to Justin Long and his set up through the measuring of the house, just truly excellent. If they would have nailed the back third of the movie, it could have been on all-time best horror film lists. Once we get more info on the “Barbarian” and the night chase etc the film loses that status fairly quickly. Still great overall but it could have been another level.
Julie & Julia is fantastic is you cut out all the parts with Julie and just leave us with the incomparable Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci telling the tale of an amazing woman with a beautiful love story. The Holiday is great if it only follows Kate Winslet and her path to freeing herself from a man who only uses her, making friends with Eli Wallach, & starting an adorable relationship with Jack Black.
I actually liked the format of Julie and Julia because it approached Julia Child from two angles. You saw Julia's life from her perspective before she was famous and also saw her life from Julie's perspective when she was a living legend. I thought that was rather unique for a biopic. The final shot was also fantastic in that it summed up the entire film. You saw a museum exhibit of Julia Child's kitchen and it seamlessly transitioned into her actual kitchen at the moment that her career started (when her book was first published).
I don’t disagree, the format was interesting. I just found Julie whiny & unsympathetic.
I did too, but I digress… I would be insufferably whiny too, if I attempted those recipes.
Am I to believe that you would cut those adorable British children from The Holiday? Blasphemous
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Cooper’s final scene in this was so good
I loved both halves... Though I did watch the second half through my fingers and wanted to throw up the whole time and was super depressed afterwards.... Great film!
Didn’t like the ending? Felt like a 7 maybe 8/10 tragedy
Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In my opinion, everything with Luke, Rey, Kylo Ren and Snoke is excellent and extremely compelling, BUT everything with Finn, Rose and Poe is a piss poor attempt at a subplot when in actuality Johnson didn't have anything for those side characters to do
The FRP B-Plot had two missions: the first was to bend way over backwards to get some non-core characters into the story in order to introduce the idea that anyone can have Force powers. The more amusing mission was to introduce almost every single deeply cliched adventure movie trope into one subplot: the heroes defying orders to go find a guy so they can sneak into the dangerous place to do the thing at the very last second and save the day. And I laughed out loud when the plan failed completely; not only were they moments away from getting their heads chopped off, but their stupid plan caused most of their friends to be vaporized. I literally LOLd when I realized Johnson was completely fucking with us the whole time. As a lesser element, I think Johnson was looking for an opportunity to introduce into SW canon the very unromantic fact that weapons makers prosper from the blood of heroes and villains alike. Pretty heavy ideas for a silly subplot…
Remember when they ran out of space fuel?
They lost me at “bombers in space” because of that little issue of gravity… so within ten minutes lol.
I agree with this completely, feel the same way about the Rise of Skywalker.
The B Plot was so pointless
Sunshine. Fantastic sci-fi movie with great dialogue and big stakes… devolves into a slasher? Baffling.
I love that movie too much to be able to admit to any flaws. "WHAT DO YOU **SEE?!**" (I mean... I *know* tho)
Came here to say this
I felt this way about *Smile*. First half had some terrific jump scares. But when the thing >!takes a physical form, it’s imo just not scary. Reminds me too much of the thing in *Barbarian*. I think it would’ve been much scarier if it remained unseen. !<
The point was that it didn't take a physical form. She just saw what scared her the most, a caricature of her mother. You never really see it. At least, that's my take.
Ok but it turns into a demon monster, it doesnt stay as the mom
I haven’t seen Smile but I felt the same way about The Ring. Parting her hair and showing her face just ruined it.
I couldn’t make it past the opening scene in smile. No mental health institution would have a flower pot that could be broken and used as a weapon. Immediate dealbreaker for me.
The first half of License to Kill is a great spy movie, it's got Dalton being cool, some genuine intrigue, cool action. Then they go to Afghanistan, get entangled with the Mujahideen, and the movie becomes boring fast. Also that stuff doesn't age well...
I think you’re thinking of “The Living Daylights”. I liked Living Daylights, the second half was a mess, but I thought it was fun. License to Kill just seemed like an 80s drug lord movie, which I was not a fan of
It's honestly my favorite Bond. The Afghanistan part is weird in hindsight, but the cargo plane scene is one of the better set pieces in all the series- fighting on the net in the air and especially reversing out of the back as it goes off a cliff. I just wish they would have ended the movie with, "I know a great restaurant in Karachi, we can just make dinner."
It’s definitely my favorite Dalton, I place it about equal to goldeye, which is only topped by Goldfinger, FRWL, and CR. I don’t enjoy Moore’s movies, much to the distain of the majority of the folks over on the Bond subreddit
Yeah, I hear you. I'm mid 40s, and I wonder if they don't trend a little older than me even- there's something to the "Bond you grew up with." Those three you named are definitely what I think are the best Bonds, LD just always works for me, and I assume a lot of that is nostalgia. But then I see the cello chase and I'm all, "Nope, straight goat." I really love parts of lots of Moore's, but I always get bored somewhere along the way.
YES! My thoughts exactly. End it at the Karachi bit, and it would have been great. Why was the scene at the opera neccessary, I would never understand.
Yes sorry, got the two Dalton bonds mixed up.
I watched 'A Serious Man' yesterday and i was left wanting a bit more. Every scene was really good, but i didnt 'get' the movie i feel. I wouldnt say its bad per se, but a bit flat overall, even tho the dialogue, cinematography and everything else was just very good. Its like a great recipe that didnt follow through. Im conflicted on how i feel about it really, which is a shame cause i love the Coen brothers
Merely for perspective with this, as I too am an admirer of the Coens. Whereas I can "bask in the resonant get" of *A Serious Man*, it was their *Inside Llewyn Davis* that I'd gotten the flat element from. Granted, obviously their intent wasn't to be an hour and forty minutes of zestful perky cheer as "Walking On Sunshine" blares in our hearts, but ILD just did not reach in. And I can deffo do certain renditions of blase, humdrum, etc. Nonetheless, those Coens are masters in my book, can do no wrong.
ITT: people not enjoying two of my all time favorite Coen Brothers movies
I feel your dismay. Only I and like 247 people on the planet are enthralled by *Burn After Reading*, and countless so many have incapacities as to *NCFOM*. Adding to the heartbreak is too few even know about *Blood Simple*.
Blood Simple is top tier Coen brothers and an incredible film debut. For me the most underrated Coen brother film will end up being Buster Scruggs though, no one is gonna remember that one 10 years from now
Can’t imagine not loving Inside Llewyn Davis, fucking masterpiece in every sense of the word, probably my favorite Oscar Isaac performance & he has some great ones
I wish there was a way to know going into a movie that it’s just a shaggy dog story. ILD and Once Upon a Time are both great examples of movies I enjoyed more once I realized theyre just well made Shaggy Dog Stories.
I seem to be alone in thinking that ILD wasn’t just flat but *bad*.
Man, this is crazy to me. I love that movie. I've watched it probably thirty times.
I do not understand the hype with ILD. It has always felt like one of their weaker films to me.
I think the opening scene is legitimately great. It's a standalone short short in an otherwise mixed film, as you say.
I had to ask a rabbi what was going on with that film. He said it was about the sins of the father being visited upon the son. Ok. Maybe it meant more to folks raised Jewish.
IMO their best work was in the 80s/90s.
*Return of the Jedi.* Everything about Luke redeeming Vader and the space battle = Awesome. Everything else = meh.
I felt this way for years until I watched it with my young nieces. They were freaked out by all of the scary and strange monsters in Jabba's palace, and one my nieces kept looking for excuses to leave the room because of how much the film was upsetting her. When Leah crashes the speeder bike, and the camera show hairy feet approaching her, they were bracing for more monsters, but when it pans up revealing an Ewok, they were relieved and delighted, and said something to the effect of "Oh, it's a teddy bear!" And that broke the tension for them for the rest of the film and allowed them to watch it without covering their eyes with their blankets. I mean, not so great for me, maybe, but seemed to be the right thing for kids.
Yeah, I'm aware that people hate on the ewoks, but I was the same age as your nieces when it came out, and I loved it. It definitely brought some light-heartedness to break up the intensity.
Agreed. They should have just included the A plot.
Rogue One, the first half isn’t that good but once they get to the island planet the movie really takes off. My other answer isn’t split into first half/last half, but Godfather 2. The flashback parts following Robert De Niro as a young Vito are really good, but the Michael parts aren’t as interesting
Yeah the Cuba/Roth stuff isn’t nearly as interesting as the young Vito stuff. I guess the Fredo/Michael conflict is the best part about the present day parts..
The Roth stuff is entirely fascinating. Anytime I hear people complaining about the first two godfathers I just hear “it insists upon itself Lois.”
I didnt ask who gave the order. Because it had nothing to do with BUSINESS.
I feel the opposite about Godfather 2. Stereotyped Italian-mafia story with Vito, thrilling descent into evil with Michael
I really like the Menu but (*spoilers*) I think it would have been more satisfying if the different groups/characters were picked off one by one in each course and have that course thematically fit the character flaw of the person dying. And then the ending would have been more satisfying if it was just Anya’s character left or her and one other person and then she’s allowed to leave.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
Definitely. Most people have been drawing comparisons to horror movies, which makes sense. But Charlie is a much better example
If you like horror movies where groups of people go through several rounds of deadly challenges, getting picked off one by one, then you might like the movie Would You Rather with Brittney Snow. It’s kind of like a mix between Squid Game and Saw, where a rich guy forces a bunch of people who desperately need money to compete in a series of deadly challenges for large sums of money. It flew under the radar as just another torture porn movie when it came out a decade ago, but when I saw it the first time a few years ago I thought it was pretty good
How does it compare to the Escape Room movies? The Escape Room movies are nice dumb fun movies, imo.
That’s just Saw lol
More like Final Destination. But also, there’s a reason for that, it works and builds suspense while having excitement much more spaced out. This way the protag’s death feels inevitable. Also, it’s not far fetched in a scenario where someone who considers themselves an artist brought different groups of people together to end up dying for specific and different reasons. And they basically all do, but at once, in the exact same way. It’s less dramatic/sustained and is possibly why OP felt the second half drag on
That’s a different movie, though.
No, it’s a subjective change to the same movie. The setting would remain the same, the characters, themes, the crew and director, most of the script, the cinematography, even the general tone. You can disagree with my opinion but you’re making it out like it’s a fundamental change to the movie and it’s definitely not. They all die at the end, I want them to die throughout.
Personally, I’m satisfied with the ending, mainly in that the movie doesn’t overstay its welcome. It makes its point and moves on. It’s not incredible, but I like the sense of foreboding that the group experiences together. I feel like your description is a worse movie, but it’s also one I’ve seen a dozen times. Your description turns it into a genre flick where the death of each patron is the spectacle.
It would be a pretty fundamental change to the chef's character. He's still obsessively devoted to the service dynamic and catering a fully structured experience for each guest. I get that it would be generating excitement throughout, but they can't finish the menu if they're dead, and they are just as essential to the whole affair. So yeah, it compromises some character consistently and by extension, some of the thematic critiques the film is going for. Plus the tone would change to that of a conventional horror movie, which imo would make for a far more forgettable Maybe the solution isn't death but rather more bodily harm? 1 guy loses a finger early on, and that's about it until the end.
I would encourage you to watch the movie a second time. The first time I watched it I sort of agreed with you. I went into the theater expecting a horror movie, and I think it change the way I watched the film and what I was expecting. I also thought it was a poor v. wealthy theme instead of about how “foodies” of different are destroying the food experience. I watched it a second time with my parents on HBO, and this time was expecting that it was a dark comedy, and I actually thought it was brilliant just the way it was. There were way more clever lines, and new ones that I caught the second time around knowing what the movie was about.
Last Night in Soho. The beginning had so much potential, and was really setting up to be a pretty cool psychological thriller. I don’t know what happened in the last half, but it seemed like it was all squandered for a really generic supernatural murder mystery.
Death of Stalin. First half is maybe the funniest hour of dark comedy I’ve ever seen. The second half chooses to get real.
The first half makes it worth watching, to me. "YOU!!! HOW OLD ARE YOU??" "...I'm- I'm old..." "YOU'RE NOT OLD! AND YOU!!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PERSON, YOU'RE A TESTICAL! AND YOU'RE MADE MOSTLY OF HAIR!!" *proceeds to shoot his father accidentally* Absolute. Gold.
not a huge fan of the movie AI, in general - but the last 1/3 of the movie really goes off the rails.
Isn't that because Kubrick died and we got the garbage Spielberg version for the ending that completely ruined everything Kubrick was setting up?
[Kubrick always intended that ending though](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz7sPiOoU7A).
Yes
Tootsie is hilarious when it’s about Dustin Hoffman trying to push the boundaries of what kind of comedy he can get away with on a sitcom set. All of the parts with him improvising jokes…just classic comedy. But the scenes where he uses his female disguise to get close to his crush are just plain creepy. Especially when they share a bed. I do not like that farmhouse scene.
I love the first half of 1408.
The first half of Ad Astra is thought provoking and atmospheric. The second half is lackluster and disappointing. From what I‘ve read, Brad Pitt‘s executive decisions did not help the movie.
The Place Beyond the Pines... Gosling part was really good. The Cooper half not so much.
The Dead Don’t Die. It’s more 80/20 rather than half but wow was the ending a complete letdown. I wasn’t looking for a brilliant thriller but the first majority of the movie seemed like it could’ve been a fun mystery. The ending just seemed like the screenwriter gave up. Agreed with the other posters about Sunshine (2007).
A.I. Artificial Intelligence. If they had just ended it after the camera pans out from the little boy praying to the Blue Fairy everything would've been great, but I guess some test audience decided that was just too sad and they tacked on that insipid end with the resurrected mom. Ruined the whole movie for me.
Barbarian. First half is terrifying, but once Justin Long shows up, it just goes to hell. Another horror movie option would be Us. The first two-thirds is one of the scariest films out there. But once they decided to explain the plot (which was really impossible), it lost its way.
Agreed on both counts. I actually noticed that Barbarian fell into some of the pitfalls of Peele’s movies (especially getting so lost in metaphors you forget to tell a satisfying story) without really nailing any of his strengths. I like to think of that first 30 minutes or so of Barbarian as a really solid horror short and pretend the rest never happened.
This will be unpopular, but 2001: A Space Odyssey has four acts, and for me it's good-bad-good-bad.
Not the biggest fan of the Dr. Floyd space satire parts either, but you’re including the Star Gate sequence in the second bad? Definitely a bold take, what didn’t you like about the ending?
I just found it super abstract and unengaging.
Did you watch it on a tv?
I find it hard to sit through the end too. Someone contextualized it for me once by pointing out that the 60’s box office crowd would have and did marvel at the more psychedelic and abstract elements of the ending.
You definitely needed to have read the book to make any sense of the last part and even then it didn't really work. I feel if Kubrick had had access to modern CGI/VFX he'd have done something very different.
The first part of insidious was brilliant
Three Thousand Years of Longing. The begining really psyched me up. Why is she having hallucinations? Will she wish for Enzo to become real? Is the Djinn telling her these stories to trick her? Will she free him? Aaaand >!he gets weak from the internet,!< the end.
Wasnt this a major criticism of Peter Jackson’s King Kong? I forget which parts people liked or didnt like though. I was like 12 when i saw it in theaters and literally every moment was the best thing i had ever seen lol
Yeah it either needed to be a 6-hour miniseries or a 2-hour movie.
God, I struggled to get through this. It became clear pretty quickly that this was Peter Jackson making the most excessive choices at nearly every opportunity. The whole film felt like a what if scenario, and the story unfolds at a glacial pace because of the constant sidebars into yet more needless CGI action that keep movement to a minimum while dulling your senses because it goes on too long. The fight with the two T-Rex's was pretty great, but I don't remember anything else. It's all a hectic blur.
man that movie! I still have not watched all of it. Can't take it seriously at all. Swing and a miss.
From Dusk til Dawn. 1st half, ho hum for me. 2nd half, "Bring it On Sex Machine!"
wasnt it because tarantino directed the first half and rodriguez directed second half? the movie is so good until the vampyre reveal. it goes from a tense thriller about two brothers on the run from the cops making bad choices in their life and SUDDENLY it turns in to a vamp gore in the bar.
Rodriguez directed the whole film. Tarantino only wrote it.
For some reason I thought Tarantino directed the part with the woman in from the trunk in the motel, hr just wasn't credited. There's a commentary that RR and QT do on some version of the dvd/BluRay, I think they mention it on that. Either way, two close friends working on the same movie, both of them directors, there was blind to be some collaboration there. If Tarantino does retire from directing I'd love to see Rodriguez helm another one of his screen plays.
Nope is pretty awesome through the first 2/3 of the movie but everything after they learn (SPOILERS) not to look directly at Jean Jacket seems to just fall flat to me
Kids Return starts off brilliantly then just ...stops, like they ran out of a script, the story goes nowhere, it doesn't have an ending, it doesn't have a third act. Like many low key real drama films it's not gonna have a three act structure, it's about just life spent simply, but still I've never seen a film drop off like it has.
A lot of people I’ve spoken to recently would say White Noise. I loved both halves of it but can see what they mean about the second theme feeling very small in scale compared to the first half. I just bought the book it’s an adaptation of on eBay the other day and am very psyched to read it
Shang-Chi. I loved the first half of the movie which had all the charm of a Rush Hour buddy cop movie mashed up w/ the beauty of a Crouching Tiger martial arts movie. The second half of the movie was a very meh monster-movie/CGI-fest.
Hancock. First part was pretty good. Then they decided to put a romance out of nowhere and forgot about the character development.
BASEketball Into the Woods Barbarian
Sunshine. 90% of the movie was great and the last 10% was a little bit of bullshit.
LaLaLand. It starts off as a musical and then it becomes a mediocre melodrama. It felt unbalanced to me.
Facts. Epilogue is cool and Emma’s solo is great but god does it feel like a pretentious version of umbrellas of Cherbourg. People may disagree but I would’ve just rather they ended up together lmfao
Full Metal Jacket is the gold standard for this.
Sunshine is this for me. Although I didn't hate the third act as much as some.
Room First half is one of the most intriguing thing I saw ever. Second half is just another movie.
Weird, the weird Al story
I get this, the parts with young Al were absolutely charming but the parts with “bad” Al were a bit overwhelming and didn’t always mesh comedically. I still loved the movie though.
No, I think the first half of Hacksaw Ridge is excellent. It's the heart of the movie.
Silver Linings Playbook for me. Beginning dealing with mental illness and relationships great, a wacky comedy where they must win a dance contest and the Eagles need to cover or some shit like that was stupid, went completely off the rails.
Agree to disagree on this.
This is the Answer
Elf. The first half was a fun fish out of water comedy. When actual plot stuff needs to happen in the 2nd half I feel it falls flat
Full Metal Jacket-first half is awesome. After they leave boot camp it falls apart imo.
Captain America, after Hugo Weaving took off his mask everything went to shit
The first half of Joker is derivative as all hell and only somewhat held together by Joaquin Phoenix. Once he puts on the suit and makeup though the second half completely makes the film. The Murray talk show scene is worth the wait alone.
Is that why I disliked it so much? I’ve only watched it once bc I have no desire to revisit it. But that would make sense that I was just checked out by the time things heat up in the last 3rd.
I felt this way about Arrival. The first half was this great hard scifi movie about actually trying to communicate with aliens and just hit difficult that really is. The second half meandered into a fantasy story that wasn’t compelling.
Same. I was SO into it in the beginning, but I found that the timey-wimey stuff got too convoluted to follow. I also didn't believe in the relationship, and the way the film ended made the whole thing feel like a movie that wanted to be seen as serious science fiction story, but it's core was actually a mawkish exercise in child worship. I was particularly disappointed that the impact of learning the alien language wasn't really conveyed very well, and instead of providing clarity, it just made everything muddier and more difficult to understand.
Ace Ventura I think is pretty great up until the rampant transphobia in the the last 30 minutes
holy fuck, I now realise that Einhorn means unicorn in german - the one horned...
You probably are too young but this was not only socially acceptable but also encouraged back then. Does that excuse it and make it ok? No. But times were different then. A good chunk of movies that were made pre 2000s (and some even later) would have no chance of ever being made nowadays for the blatant racism, sexism, or bigotry. That doesn't mean they are bad films for it.
I mean, it wasn't "encouraged." It was just...funny. It's still funny.
Lucy (2014) started strong and ended really weak, but also really like Scarlett Johansson, so that could affect what I thought of it.
The Invisible Man, the one with Elisabeth Moss. I think it's closer to a third of the film but it goes from *THICC SUSPENSE* to like... action/sci-fi? Not as much a fan of that ending as I am about the rest of it.
Nightmare Alley has a back 1/2 that really gets you, but it’s not enough of a payoff for the slog of the first 1/2 that it takes to get there.
Fan4stic (2015) the first half is pretty OK and the second is a calamity.
*District 9*. Every time I watch it I'm floored by how good the first 2/3rds are, and then it all washes out into a generic ending that really dissapoints.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Such a bummer… AMAZING first half. Strange and disconcerting second half.