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[Movie] Stephen King's The Dark Tower (1/13/17)

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Xerobull, Aug 7, 2015.

  1. Yung-T

    Yung-T Member

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    The books take place in different times& places, NYC is a part of that.
    The trailer gives of a totally different feeling than the books though, which largely were situated in a fantasy/old-western setting.

    Really recommend reading the books, this trailer is nothing like them and seems like a generic modern action flick.
     
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  2. RudyTBag

    RudyTBag Contributing Member
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    I'm in...
     
  3. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    Yeah, trailer doesn't feel like the books. Of course, the books didn't really feel like one another either. Probably will give it a chance though, which is saying a lot considering how few movies I watch nowadays.
     
  4. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    Looks cold, uninspired and hollow. But it's just a trailer.
     
  5. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    Whoever made that trailer hopefully screwed up the feel of the movie.
     
  6. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

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    This. The books all felt totally different. The original gunslinger novel was completely different than the proceeding two.

    I thought the trailer looked good.
     
  7. Entropy

    Entropy Member

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    Nah, looks pretty action thrillerly. I like Roland's quick-loading scene, at least they got that right.
     
  8. Buck Turgidson

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    Please be good, please be good, please be good....
     
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  9. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    I've read the first 4 of the series. I guess I should finish them. Looks like the movie is splicing books. Is this supposed to be a series? Because there must be 5,000 pages of material to work from.

    Of the books I read though, the first one was notable because King actually does a great job of setting a mood. I think that's what has me concerned about how they do it in the movie because it looks like they aren't really capturing that Gunslinger vibe. But then books 2 and 3 were pretty forgettable if not outright crappy. It'd be hard for the movie to not be an improvement on those. Book 4 was great. King actually became a pretty good writer by then after, what, 30 years of practice. I don't know if they'll have any of that in the movie though. I suppose I need to finish the series now.
     
  10. Yung-T

    Yung-T Member

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    There will be multiple movies and maybe a TV series. The first movie is a sequel of the books and doesn't really follow their story (makes sense when you know the ending of the final book), guess the other movies will follow in that regard.
     
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  11. Phillyrocket

    Phillyrocket Member

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    Yep agreed. There is waaaaaay too much to this story to do it in one or several movies. Only a GOT or Walking Dead series could possibly do it justice. HBO should have done this as a follow up to GOT. You could get 10 years worth of episodes from the books at least. And no Susannah or Eddie WTF!?
     
  12. percicles

    percicles Contributing Member

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    Hot mess confirmed.


     
  13. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

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    damn. loved the series (well not the last 3 books) though Wind Through the Keyhole was awesome and am a huge IE and MM fan. Like most King books, guess this is another that just doesn't translate well on screen. Fingers crossed on Part 1 of IT
     
  14. PhiSlammaJamma

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    Given that the movie is likely to suck, and the trailer sucked, and the plot seems cliche, I would ask the readers what they liked so much about the book given that the depths of the Stand, Shawshank, Green Mile, Shining, Stand By me, and Pet Cemetary had interesting and thought provoking themes, how is this one better?

    I only ever read one book, the Pet Cemetary. Rest were movies for me. So I'm curious why the Dark Tower series resonates with the readers, and apparently King himself?
     
  15. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

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    I think it resonates with King because it was supposed to be his epic fantasy series a la Lord of the Rings. The series was written over a 30 year (ish) period. Due to that, however, the books are different somewhat in tone. The first book is a lot different than the other books as it is somewhat of a grim, simple story of a man in a world that has deteriorated to almost nothing (wild west esque) chasing someone named The Man in Black and chronicling his journey and the ****ed up places he goes. The next few books then introduce lots of other characters and have a pretty different tone than the first book but I thought they were really good reads that were very intense at times and full of great action and I liked the characters.

    However, when King was hit by a car while walking and almost killed, he realized that he still had 3 more books to write and just started cranking them out (the first 4 books were very spread out WRT release date and when he wrote them) and to me, they were only mediocre but worth reading. They felt rushed and didn't hold up to the first 4.

    It resonated with lots of King fans because the premise is very gripping to some...an earth-like world that has turned mostly to dust...towns full of mutants and scum...gunslinger(s) who are a mixture of mideivel knights/old west cowboys, an antagonist who appears in books such as The Stand and others who is a fantastic bad guy and lots of gripping action throughout.

    Some of the movies you point out are also great because of the screenwriters...Stand By Me and Shawshank were based on short stories and the screenwriters added quite a bit of great dialogue that King didn't write and quite frankly they were better than the stories on which they were based, which is rare.
     
  16. Buck Turgidson

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    This...

    'McConaughey is like RuPaul playing Clint Eastwood'

    I don't like the sound of this.
     
  17. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    I dunno. These reviews make me want to see it at the Alamo for a laugh-along.
     
  18. boomboom

    boomboom I GOT '99 PROBLEMS
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    Never read any of the books. Thought this movie was not so bad. Didn't care much for UT cheerleader. Elba was quite good. I liked the universe created and probably would've been in for a couple more installations.
     
  19. jiggyfly

    jiggyfly Member

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    I forgot MM was even in that movie, which tells you what I thought of the movie.
     
  20. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable either.

    All promise, no substance.
     
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