Anyone see Angels and Demons yet?

[Sugarcoated]

What's the word on the street? The reviews are saying it's better than the first one, but apparently that's not saying much. (I didn't see it).

[applegrove]

1. I hated his first book. But the movie was okay. I think I'll skip angels and demons.

[Sugarcoated]

2. I tried to read both

and couldn't get through them. They weren't terrible, so I don't know why I lost interest. I usually like that kind of story in books, and movies, but IMO much harder to translate into a good movie. I like Ron Howard's movies usually, and Tom Hanks is great, and I really want to give it a shot. The first one, even in the previews, just looked bad so I didn't pay to see it and haven't caught it yet on the TV. It just came out today, so it'll be later on this evening people will be posting opinions I'm thinking. Just trying to plan my night. :)

[applegrove]

4. I read the book the Davinci Code was suppossedly based on (stolen from). The coincidences were

so contrived it was ridiculous. It was like a cartoon of a theory. I forget the name of that book. But don't bother reading it.

[Sugarcoated]

5. LOL, I think I may have it.

I believe he based it on the book The Alabaster Jar by Elaine Pagels. Is that the one?

[applegrove]

7. No. I'm really bad with names.

[FloridaJudy]

23. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail"?

It was godsawful. Elaine Pagels is a real theologian. Though I don't share her Christianity, her books are well written, well researched and inspiring. There was also a feminist novel featuring Mary Magdalen many years back that was decent. I'll have to dig through my books to find it.

The DaVinci code was a dreadful book, and a even worse movie. Angels and Demons was better - at least Brown didn't try to pass himself off as a scholar back then.

[applegrove]

26. Yup I think it was Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I thought it was written by a man though I could be wrong

[FloridaJudy]

28. Holy Blood, Holy Grail was written by two guys

Whose names escape me. Basically, they bought into a fake "legend" about Mary Magdalen and the Grail written by a notorious con-man and anti-Semite. Only the French would have enough hubris to claim they were Jesus' descendants! I suspect the book had a huge effect on The Matrix, as well as The DaVinci Code, so maybe it wasn't a total waste.

Elaine Pagels writes scholarly, but very readable, books about Gnostic Christianity. She did not write Holy Blood, Holy Grail, though I can see why my reply was confusing.

[applegrove]

30. kay

[Rhythm]

3. I'm anxious to see how they pull this one off

without being allowed on any RCC property in Rome.

Rather disappointed that it only ended up as a PG-13, though.
This tells me that the most intense parts of the book are either left out or are glossed over.

Did like the poster i saw, though:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. I want to see it...am not expecting anything oscar worthy. Just looking

for a fun couple of hours.

[jobycom]

8. I don't know, but the negative critics make me want to see it now.

They are complaining that it's too "talky," that it has too much information. I've learned that that's code for "I'm really an idiot but I got a job as a critic so I can bash people smarter than me." So now I'm intrigued by the film.

[Zavulon]

25. In this rare case, the critics are right. I walked out on it.

So that the A&D viewer doesn't get lost, the characters often explain things to each other that both would abviously know without the explanations. It would be the equivalent of you and I standing on the street, explaining to a third party what DU is by giving each other step-by-step posting instructions and detailed descriptions of each forum. It's the sort of shit that makes CSI Miami unwatchable (well, that and David Caruso).

The movie is maddening. I turned to my girlfriend and said I was walking out, and that she could find me at the bookstore. To my surprise, instead of getting mad at me, she said "Thank God" (an unintentional pun given the nature of the film, but a funny one) and walked out with me.

She liked the book, too. The movie blows goat.

(Edited to add that the part I saw blows goat, anyway.)

[mvd]

9. I'm reading The Da Vinci Code right now

So I plan on checking the movie out. I find my agreement with movie critics isn't much better than my agreement with music critics. For all I know, I'd love this movie and not like Star Trek.

[Sugarcoated]

10. What do you think of it?

I read it about a third of the way through, and then just drifted away from it. It wasn't terrible . . . but I wasn't that impressed.

[Rhythm]

13. I had that problem with "Da Vinci" as well... not with A&D

I think it has more to do with the 'countdown' element of the plot...
it keeps things moving more quickly than Da Vinci Code did.

Since A&D was written first, maybe Da Vinci simply suffered something of a sophomore slump for Brown?!

[mvd]

14. I like it so far

I'm only a little over half-way through, though. I think it's slanted against the Church (doesn't even give them credit for their reverence of Mary, Mother of Jesus so far) but I like the way it's suspenseful and exposes Opus Dei. It also shows how open-mindedness is better in a religion. You don't have to agree with the account given, but it's another reason not to believe the Fundie interpretation of the Bible.

[scheming daemons]

11. I'll patronize any film that makes the church look bad

...

[Wapsie B]

12. I'm going to add to Tom Hanks' box office totals tonight.

Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.

[CTyankee]

15. The review in today's NY Times was a fun read

http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/movies/15ange.html

I want to see it just to see the shots of Rome. I tried reading the book but grew tired of it and stopped. I liked "The Da Vinci Code" book but the film was garbage.

I'm hoping for better with "Angels and Demons."

[trof]

16. Yeah, I see them all the time. It's really weirding me out.

:rofl:

[Sugarcoated]

17. Anyone see it tonight?

[Wapsie B]

20. I saw it and I loved it!

What makes a movie good to me is if it can keep me immersed in the whole thing, that is can draw me in and hold my attention the whole time. This one certainly did from beginning to end.

[riderinthestorm]

18. My daughter went to see it tonight. She suggests you rent it from Red Box.

She says the scenes from Rome are great. And Tom Hanks is great.

She also said that if you've ever read a Charles Dicken's novel and there's waaaayyyy too much detail that you've just simply skimmed - it's the same in the Angels and Demons book. The movie goes into every.last.detail.relentlessly.

[rcrush]

19. Its a rent.

Its pretty lame. I got a call about 30 min before the end and had to leave and I dont really feel like going back to find out the ending.

[WolverineDG]

21. I'll probably go check it out

I didn't read the book, but I did read the Da Vinci Code & it really really annoyed me. The killer would be right behind the "hero," about to strike, when Brown would decide THAT was the time to go off on a 20+ page exposition :banghead: ....ironically, I thought the movie was an improvement over the book.

dg

[petronius]

22. I saw it last night, and it was better than my extremely low expectations

The heroes are brilliant and beautiful and competent in a 1950s science fiction kind of way. The action moves easily through a congested city with nary a check (except when the plot requires it). The villains are evil geniuses (except when they inexplicably turn stupid). Small architectural details are easily found among the infinite mass of small architectural details. Moral and philosophical questions are raised in tiny, sugar-coated bites. General rules of time and physics apply only when necessary. The plot holes are not quite large enough to swallow the entire film.

However, the scenery is cool, the soundtrack is loud, the cannon-fodder gets mowed down satisfactorily, and the gruesomeness-level is not too low. I'd say it's worth paying matinee prices on a day when you really want to go to a brain-candy movie and nothing better is around. Not worth full-price, and not really worth renting (if you're gonna rent, get something good)...

[Orrex]

24. FWIW, I posted a snarky review of The Da Vinci Code a few years back

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=5882912

Anyway, shouldn't it be The Leonardo Code instead?

I'd call the movie pretty close to unwatchably bad. The best thing about it is the idea itself, but the story that goes along with it doesn't have the power to last more than 15 or 20 minutes. 2+ hours is too much.

I have no desire to read or see Angels and Demons.

[FloridaJudy]

29. Angels and Demons is a much better book

For what it is, which is a lightweight but engaging thriller. More tightly constructed, and with much more believable characters. I'll probably rent the movie when it goes to DVD, but then I don't see movies in theaters all that often.

[Moondog]

27. Read A&D after DaVinci Code

Then I saw DaVinci Code. A&D hasn't shown up where I am yet. I thought Hanks was miscast in DaVinci Code, although the French actress (can't remember her name offhand) was pretty good. A&D was a better book, hopefully it will be a better movie too.

[krispos42]

31. I did

I read the book last weekend in preparation.

It came out pretty well. The adaptation holds together for the most part, although once or twice there were rapid-fire logical leaps that, if I hadn't read the book recently, probably would have left we wondering where it was coming from.

Not bad. It didn't dilute the point of the story, unlike "Da Vinci Code".