Winter's Tale

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 12:42am

Remember it's not a true story, its a love story!

Demons, Flying magical horses, Some one who I always thought as the devil, and the worst hair cut ever to appear on screen. Campy trashy fun!

Spoiler
Will Smith is Satan, always thought that....

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 2:00am

I read the book as a very young teen. I remember really liking it, but nothing else (though apparently the book's rabid fans--which apparently it has--are not pleased with the movie.)

[wexy]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 3:02am

I remember loving the book as well. I saw them filming parts of the movie at a church near BAM. But I hear to movie is dreadful from all points of view. won't be seeing it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 7:03am

I saw the film this past weekend and it was indeed pretty bad. I wasn't familiar with the book, and the trailer completely obscures the magical elements of the piece, so I was quite surprised (and moved to chuckles) when that horse sprouted wings and started flying all over the city.

I enjoyed the modern stuff with Jennifer Connelly much more than the older plotline, but by that point the film was a lost cause.

The only bright spot was Eva Marie Saint who deserved way better than this.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 7:14am

But Lady Sybil from "Downton Abbey" died to be in this movie!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 8:41am

I enjoyed it, but mostly for Colin Farrell's performance.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 8:42am

The trailer for this made it look like one of the most hilariously inept movies ever.

My favorite part was when Russell Crowe shouting something in a silly accent (as he is wont to do).

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 8:44am

At least he didn't SING something in a silly accent, so it's a step up.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 8:59am

The movie was inept, and there were some unintentionally funny line deliveries, but mostly it was just dull. The middle section, where most the romance took place, was a snooze.

I have never been a fan of Crowe, and if you're in the same boat as me this performance won't do anything to change your mind. His scenes with Will Smith (as Lucifer!) were embarrassing.

I thought even Colin Farrell was sleepwalking through it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 9:13am

But ... but ... Lady Sybil!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 9:20am

Ha, well she didn't embarrass herself, but her part was no great shakes. She was dying of consumption, but played Brahms like a manic ALL THE TIME! She also had the most well-conditioned hair of any woman on death's door I can imagine.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 9:38am

Well, that's important to remember when you're terminal.

EDIT: I must say, BEWARE of big movies with big stars in the month of February. If they missed the Oscar bus by a month or six weeks, there is usually a good reason.

Case in point:

Winter's Tale
Pompeii
The Monuments Men

Exception to the rule: The Silence of the Lambs, released on Valentine's Day (!), Feb. 14, 1991.

Updated On: 2/19/14 at 09:38 AM

[NOB88]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 9:40am

I really liked the white horse. He was a good actor.

There were people in my audience that giggled throughout.

But I really did think there was a lot of visual beauty.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 7:08pm

I will be seeing it this week, but only because one of my favorite podcasts "How did this get Made?" is covering it this week!

http://www.earwolf.com/show/how-did-this-get-made/

[wonkit]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 11:06pm

They do call February "Take out the trash month" for a reason.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/19/14 at 11:47pm

That actually might be an interesting podcast. The director/writer isn't without talent (not that I've really been a fan of A Beautiful Mind or the Dan Brown adaptations but he obviously seems to usually know what works.) The novel was apparently massive back in the early 80s--I wonder if it went through turnaround Hell for a long time. That said, I still have no desire to see it.

And of course Feb is also when they dump not just bad movies, but ones they can advertise as romances. It only made 7mill (coming in 7th) on a budget of 60, so I guess it wasn't a hit. Even the Endless Love remake did better (speaking of a BRILLIANT novel that now seems to have two crappy movie versions.)

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 8:08am

I'm relatively new to HDTGM (it's wonderful). Do they often cover movies still out in cinemas?

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 8:22am

That rambling podcast had to be worse than the movie itself. Jesus.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 8:32am

.........I quite enjoyed Monuments Men.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 2:00pm

Growl they did the Twilight movies when they were first released, and I highly recommend the Mortal Kombat episode.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 3:15pm

I've downloaded everything and am favoring the movies I've seen first. (Though I did listen to the "Breaking Dawn" episode, not having seen it; some are just too hard to resist.) One of my best friends turned me on to it, and he recommended a handful of episodes to start with. So I'm jumping around a lot. But I'll add "Mortal Kombat" underneath his recs and hit that one soon

[strummergirl]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 7:41pm

".........I quite enjoyed Monuments Men."

Then you'd really like the book, the documentary on the book, and the superior film on similar subject matter, John Frankenheimer's The Train.

On Winter's Tale. Hearing the hosannas on the source material makes me want to investigate that first so thanks Akiva 'I wrote Batman & Robin but still won an Oscar' Goldsman for making a cinematic abomination that wants me to read an 800 page fantasy novel.

I find HDTGM deplorable as a podcast and as a place for any fruitful film discussion. Just a bunch of comedians/character actors who have all taken paychecks to be in this kind of dreck which they think gives them some special vantage point in leading discussions on bad films. Almost no research and if there isn't a famous guest who is attached to the film, getting any behind the scenes info is near hopeless. I get the podcast's appeal but I think I put my foot down when they started covering new releases. Flop House and We Hate Movies are much more interesting and much more into deep cut bad films that actually make me want to discover such poor film.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 9:45pm

I'm almost angry about one aspect of this movie.

Let's say that Willa was 5 or 6 when it was 1916. That would put her being around 103 in 2014. How is she still a full-time in-office editor of a humongous newspaper while looking like Eva Marie Saint?

The book was written in 1983, which would put Willa in her 70's - a lot more sensible.

I know this is unnecessary frustration, but did no one catch that 1916 and 2014 are almost a century apart?

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 9:47pm

^ I read that very point in several reviews.

She would be around 104 at the end of the movie, still a full-time editor. They should have made it the early '80s.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 9:51pm

Or removed the number "1916".

That way, Colin Farrell wouldn't have to play a 21 year old