5/1     So, did anyone catch Hitchhiker's Guide? Was it any good? I love
        the books.
        \_ It was bad.  Bad, bad, bad, horribly unfunny, do not ever even
           rent it bad.  I got a headache, someone else I was with actually
           fell asleep, another one almost did and the last one just didn't
           want to talk about it.  Did I remember to tell you how ungodly
           bad it was?
           \_ For calibration: Which scifi movies based on books do you like?
              \_ I'm not a fussy movie goer.  I loved the books, I loved the
                 tv show, I read and enjoyed the radio scripts.  The movie was
                 not funny.  I'm sorry if saying the movie sucked is geek
                 blasphemy, but the truth is out there.  Yes, the factory
                 floor was great.  That was one of the few good parts and it
                 was a visual treat.  It was not funny.  Character
                 development?  It was standard Hollywood drivel where 1
                 character goes from a heavy handed coward to a heavy handed
                 pseudo-hero.  The script has characters telling us how they
                 feel with a heavy handed and highly contrived plot device.
                 We saw a very tiny number of guide entries which is where a
                 lot of the best Adams humor is in the books, etc.  I saw the
                 previews and hour+ long chat about 6 weeks ago with the
                 makers and I was really looking forward to it.  Sheer
                 unadulterated disappointment.  Not funny.  You may shoot the
                 messenger now.
                 \_ Sounds reasonable.   But... as per the question: which
                    scifi movies based on books do you like?
              \_ I'm not pp, but I'm having some real trouble thinking of
                 a Scifi movie based on a book I've seen.  Could you name
                 a few you like to get me started?
                 \_ You're right. There aren't many are there? I liked the
                    SciFi channel version of Dune but I think what happened
                    here is typical (viz Blade Runner vs DADoES?) Movies
                    based on SciFi novels often become something completely
                    different. I hear Larry Niven is still out there trying
                    to get a Ringworld movie made.
                    here is typical. There have been a number of Philip K
                    Dick stories made into movies but what happened with the
                    HH movie happened to those, too. The movie was a
                    significant departure from the written version.
        \_ It was great. Really f&%king great. Loved the factory floor. Alan
           Rickman was a great choice for Marvin. I also appreciated the movie
           introducing things to the mix like (gasp!) character development.
           And for calibration, I read all the books back when they came out
           and love them dearly. I can still quote sections from memory (not
           to say that's healthy). Anyway, I saw it at the Grand Lake. The
           audience ate it up all the way through, starting with a lively
           response to the Star Wars trailer. -- ulysses
        \_ Just to be different from the above two opinions, I thought it was
           all right. Some LOL moments, but it could've been a lot funnier.
           \_ British humor just can not be americanized. Even if you
        have the original author inputting to the script. (I am still
        amazed that the fact that Ford and Zapphod were relatives was
        glossed over) . I know that  most of the original HHG UK cast
        are still around. I wonder why they just did not use them.
        Having Simon Jones  replace that wuss Martin Freeman  would
        have been a major improvement.
        \_ Except that Simon Jones is pretty old now.  You did notice him
           in the movie, yes? -geordan
              \_ Have not seen the movie yet beyond the standard
              clips. The BBC doesn' think his age is an issue in the
              new series of HHG radio shows.
                http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers
        \_ It was neither as bad as I'd feared nor as good as I'd hoped.
           Ebert pegged it pretty well: if you're not already a fan, you're
           likely to be torn between wanting to read more and not wanting to
           bother making the effort. As a fan, I felt a lot of the gags fell
           flat, but I thought most of the performances were well-done. Even
           Mos Def did all right. It just... didn't shine. Ah, well.