[martok2112]

Originally Posted by Captain Tom Coughlin

I seem to remember you telling me about the Jack and Coke slushies once before, probably after I said something about wanting to be able to have a beer during a movie

I must confess, I find the idea of a Jack and Coke slushy to be intriguing, I must have one!

They're good. Not very strong, but pretty good. I always get a large...and I try to see if they'll make it a double...but I don't think they have any control over just how much Jack goes into it.

[samwiseb]

Originally Posted by martok2112

Completely agree with ya' on the jerkwads playing with their mobiles during the movie.

I personally refuse to let that stop me. I'd rather be disgusted in a theater than miss the theater-going experience altogether. Even if I am the only one there by myself.

Kick-@$$ was a movie that absolutely demanded to be seen during the first two weeks with a large audience (even if an obnoxious one at that).

[martok2112]

Originally Posted by samwiseb

I personally refuse to let that stop me. I'd rather be disgusted in a theater than miss the theater-going experience altogether. Even if I am the only one there by myself.

Kick-@$$ was a movie that absolutely demanded to be seen during the first two weeks with a large audience (even if an obnoxious one at that).

I agree with you, as well. I hate missing what should be big screen experiences, or even movies that should be enjoyed with crowds. I can certainly see that Kick *** was such a movie. I would've loved to have heard the raucous laughter at some of the comedy elements of the film, and certainly would've loved to have heard the abject SHOCK at some of the things HitGirl said in the movie.

[samwiseb]

Originally Posted by martok2112

I agree with you, as well. I hate missing what should be big screen experiences, or even movies that should be enjoyed with crowds. I can certainly see that Kick *** was such a movie. I would've loved to have heard the raucous laughter at some of the comedy elements of the film, and certainly would've loved to have heard the abject SHOCK at some of the things HitGirl said in the movie.

I don't recall shock at any of the earlier screenings I attended. Just laughter. It was f-king awesome. For all the people supposedly offended by that movie, I have yet to meet one such individual in person. Sometimes laughter is the most natural physical response to something completely inappropriate, like seeing a stabbed kid accidentally limp right in front of a racing car while clutching his wound. BOOM!! You just can't help it. No one likes to be reminded of their mortality.

Anyway, I went back three more times to be part of that communal experience. The last time it was already playing in a smaller auditorium, and audience reaction had died. It was time to call it a day and go see Iron Man 2 instead.

[martok2112]

Originally Posted by samwiseb

I don't recall shock at any of the earlier screenings I attended. Just laughter. It was f-king awesome. For all the people supposedly offended by that movie, I have yet to meet one such individual in person. Sometimes laughter is the most natural physical response to something completely inappropriate, like seeing a stabbed kid accidentally limp right in front of a racing car while clutching his wound. BOOM!! You just can't help it. No one likes to be reminded of their mortality.

Anyway, I went back three more times to be part of that communal experience. The last time it was already playing in a smaller auditorium, and audience reaction had died. It was time to call it a day and go see Iron Man 2 instead.

Good...that means you weren't watching the movie with a bunch of prudes then.

[kevin]

Originally Posted by samwiseb

It would be interesting to get a perspective on how 2001 was widely received at the time.

Well, as I had thought...................in watching some of the special features here on the Blu-ray it turns out that at the time of release many reviews of the film were extremely negative.

Based on some of the quotes revived in the material, that would be being polite about the reception!

[martok2112]

Yeah, I concur with Kevin.
At the time of its release, according to the blu-ray supplementals, 2001 was poorly received...but it became a classic over time.

[horatio]

Well, it's slow and contemplative art movie with little happening in it. Would have been strange if it had been an immediate hit.

[martok2112]

Originally Posted by horatio

Well, it's slow and contemplative art movie with little happening in it. Would have been strange if it had been an immediate hit.

Indeed.
It would seem that the "instant gratification" generation stems back further than we thought.

[kevin]

I don't think it was gratification as such, I think it was simply at that time it was something people just didn't know what to make of.

It doesn't really have a story, it jumps from place to place with a kind of narrative in the middle that looks like it's going somewhere and then throws in the doozy of an ender that acts as a completely intentional 'YOU make sense of it' finale.

But I think it was also (for the time) an expensive film. The visuals speak to that. Years of work and groundbreaking developments all went into it. I don't know what the studio thought they were getting but the impression the interviews give is that the studio gave Kubrick the money to go and make whatever he wanted out of the barebones story.

It's hard to suggest it was meant to be a commercial film looking back but it clearly isn't (or wasn't).