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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 8, 2012 3:54 PM
in response to: kriegerg69
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...what's so wrong with that, just because some don't like that ending?
Nothing wrong with it...
Perhaps, IF you dislike horror films. Otherwise, it's a cheat. I'm sure the majority of patrons
Well, I happen to LIKE horror films, so... 
so, you obviously like it for other reasons and ignore the cheat ending. Dosen't change the fact that the ending negates the horrific aspects of the film and ruins it as a bonified horror film. Because it is definitely NOT a horror film.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 8, 2012 3:18 PM
in response to: FredCDobbs
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Can you say "Guardian Angels"?
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Re: Good Films until the last 20 minutes..
Posted: Jun 8, 2012 11:12 AM
in response to: willbefree25
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Speaking of manipulated, though, I *do *remember the end of The Game with Michael Douglas, and was glad I wasn't in a movie theater when I saw it.
On this I respectfully disagree. I'm not one for schmaltzy endings but in this movie, I felt relief when it turned out that Conrad was behind it. Nicholas was so terrorized throughout the film, and you could really identify with his terror and helplessness - even though he wasn't a likeable guy, I didn't want him to come to an evil end. Also, the fact that Conrad did it to "teach him a life lesson", and that the game does end up changing him fundamentally, was kind of poignant, imo...
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Re: Good Films until the last 20 minutes..
Posted: Jun 8, 2012 10:51 AM
in response to: willbefree25
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Thanks for mentioning about the endings, willbe. Truth is, if we do not remember the ending that well, then it isn't a good movie. The great ones have great endings.
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Re: Good Films until the last 20 minutes..
Posted: Jun 8, 2012 7:03 AM
in response to: casablancalover
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PAY IT FORWARD was another one that left me feeling so manipulated.
I remember that movie being schmaltz, but luckily I don't remember the end.
Speaking of manipulated, though, I do remember the end of The Game with Michael Douglas, and was glad I wasn't in a movie theater when I saw it.
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Re: Good Films until the last 20 minutes..
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 11:07 PM
in response to: JefCostello
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Since I was not familiar with the Stephan King novel, I was so disappointed in the ending of IT. Although if I had read novel, I would have avoided the movie altogether.
PAY IT FORWARD was another one that left me feeling so manipulated. Since that was the ending of the book too, I felt doubly-used.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 10:58 PM
in response to: infinite1
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...what's so wrong with that, just because some don't like that ending?
Nothing wrong with it...
Perhaps, IF you dislike horror films. Otherwise, it's a cheat. I'm sure the majority of patrons
Well, I happen to LIKE horror films, so...
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 10:34 PM
in response to: FredCDobbs
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Bernhard Goetz notwithstanding.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 5:47 PM
in response to: phroso
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As long as we're discussing plot holes in acclaimed movies, what does everybody think about the denouement of TAXI DRIVER? To me, it seems very implausible that a gunman with a mohawk could be chased away from a political rally and be lauded as a hero for a bordello shootout IN THE SAME DAY.
I agree. Also, the city of New York doesn't allow private citizens to act like vigilantes. Citizens can't go around shooting up bordellos, crack houses, etc. This was just an odd movie with odd stuff in it.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 5:44 PM
in response to: infinite1
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Perhaps, IF you dislike horror films. Otherwise, it's a cheat. I'm sure the majority of patrons
I agree. I saw the film in a theater on a big screen in the 1970s, and I was disappointed with the ending. There was no need for that kind of ending.
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683
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 5:11 PM
in response to: kriegerg69
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Just because of the "hoax" ending makes it a bad ending? Why? I think it's a clever idea to have the "vampires" turn out to be actors setting things up to trap the real killer...what's so wrong with that, just because some don't like that ending?
Nothing wrong with it...
Perhaps, IF you dislike horror films. Otherwise, it's a cheat. I'm sure the majority of patrons
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 4:34 PM
in response to: JefCostello
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I've heard the "It's Travis's fantasy" theory before, but I've found it to be a cop-out. If it's a fantasy, we still need that moment in which the author tells us that we've been tricked into believing a fantasy. Like the scene in THE WIZARD OF OZ in which Dorothy wakes up. Or the scene in the last episode of "Newhart" in which Bob wakes up. Without that "gotcha" moment, it just seems like lazy writing. I still think Travis would have been arrested for pointing a gun at a presidential candidate, because, in 1976, he was probably the only mohawk-wearing man in Manhattan.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 1:35 PM
in response to: phroso
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I choose to interpret the film differently. I think Travis dies at the end, and what we see afterwards is his dying fantasy.
The other more popular conception may be plausible from an ironic standpoint, but I do agree it makes the ending look weaker. Just because he shot at pimps and gangsters, doesn't mean he'd be exempt from criminal prosecution. I mean, he did go in there blasting away.
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612
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 1:33 PM
in response to: misswonderly
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Excellent point!
I forgot to list Gilda in my original post.
The ending is not only inappropriate for a film noir, but as you said, very implausable. Johnny and Gilda had to end in some kind of tragedy. They spent the whole movie driving each other nuts. Yet in the end, her ex comes back as some kind of comic book villain, gets conveniently killed, and they walk off into the sunset.
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Re: Good Films Ruined by Weak Endings
Posted: Jun 7, 2012 11:58 AM
in response to: JefCostello
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Change of pace here...I always thought the last third of Gilda was much weaker than the rest of the film. It's almost as though it had a different screenwriter.
Once Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth's characters finally marry, it's all downhill. They really drag the "revenge" aspect of Ford's love/hate thing for Gilda on and on. And then, after all that, in the very last two minutes of the movie, they finally decide that they really do love each other and always have and will have a very normal and functional marriage from now on.
Yeah, right.
Good movie, very fine film noir, flawed by a messy and implausible ending.
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