Not What We Expected

[Bono]

Forces of Nature. Romantic Comedy where the lead guy does not end up with the quirky girl he met on the way to his wedding and ends up marrying the girl he was supposed to marry. It always goes the other way. So it was interesting to see and has stuck with me for 20 years since I've seen it.

Funny enough the writer of that Ive enjoyed all his movies. So I guess I like his voice. I didn't even realize I liked the same guy until years later. i love when that happens.

[RogerOThornhill]

Pleasantly above my expectations:

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil arrangement and editing and scripting made it work
Leaving Las Vegas A watchable story without a happily ever after ending
Saving Mr. Banks. The dual storyline kinda makes it work
Easy A Talking directly to the viewer doesn't usually work, but it does here.
Bhowani Junction Thought it would be a fluff adventure pic, but Ava Gardner turns in a superb performance


Below my expectations:

Dusk til Dawn starts out as one type, ends up another genre.
Cloud Atlas Still confused about what this pic was trying to do.
Eyes Wide Shut Kidman, Cruise, Kubrick...what could possibly go wrong? 2 1/2 minutes of story crammed into 2 1/2 hours.

[finalact4]

My Best Friend's Wedding.

Is Jules (Julia Roberts) the protagonist or antagonist???? I think it could be argued either direction.

She is the protagonist, the hero in her own story-- we've all heard that phrase before. The story is told from her point of view.

In every story the hero is the villain's antagonist, because as much as the villain is the hero's antagonist, standing in the hero's way of achieving their goal, the same is true of the villain-- the hero is the villain's antagonist because the hero is the one (antagonist force) who stands in the way of the villain achieving their goal.

They both want something. They both believe they are right for wanting it. They both struggle against each other to get it.

And there can only be one victor.

It isn't always the protagonist.

[finalact4]

Films all have structure. There are films that have subverted my expectations. Movies that come to mind:

Gone Girl
Memento
Titanic
Vantage Point
Crash
Syriana
Babel
Inception

[Clint Hill]

8MM (1999), starring Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix. The premise scares the bejesus out of me.

[finalact4]

weird goings on... duplicate again.

[finalact4]

Duplicate in error.

[Cyfress]

Memento

[RogerOThornhill]

My Best Friend's Wedding.

Is Jules (Julia Roberts) the protagonist or antagonist???? I think it could be argued either direction.

[Bono]

It was an action / mystery for sure, but Spock didn't figure much out -- he cheated with his Vulcan mind trick. I think Scotty founds the boots and Kirk and Spock both pretended set a trap for Kim Cattrall...

Man I love the first group so much!

[RogerOThornhill]

I'm thinking Bones was in prison with Kirk, but yes, one of the crew played Watson allowing Spock to make observations out loud and explain everything.

[Madbandit]

Star Trek VI... the last one with the original cast.

After a while I'm thinking "this is actually a murder-mystery with Spock as Sherlock Holmes!"

Leonard "Bones" McCoy is basically Dr. Watson then.

[Bono]

Star Trek VI... the last one with the original cast.

After a while I'm thinking "this is actually a murder-mystery with Spock as Sherlock Holmes!"

I'm sorry you're breaking up.

Break her apart then!

- Sulu for the win!!!

[Clint Hill]

The Red Violin (1998), (except for Jackson’s intermittent yelling/acting style). The multi-layered execution of exploring the premise of the history and life of a famed, centuries-old violin is a rich tapestry to behold and deftly delivered in only two hours and ten minutes. A gem not to be missed.

Amélie (2001) This is a cute love story told in a novel way. The rollicking pace as the film cuts between its several examples of love stories leaves no room for one to be bored. Well done.

Each of the previously mentioned films gives the viewer several stories supporting each main story.

The 12th Man (2017). Whoa. A gripping tale based on a true story. The suspense of the wounded main character evading capture by Nazis is all that’s needed to hold a viewer in its grip. The use of several dream sequences in succession was surprising and surprisingly effective. This is done in more than one scene, Each time it was always realistic, and it was always a surprise to recognize that the director fooled one into believing it was happening in the story.

[JoeBanks]

What are some films that surprised you in terms of structure or genre or arrangement or casting or whatever that were not what you were expecting?

Parasite, and not in a good way