The da Vinci Code

[NAD]

Quality of writing is EVERYTHING to me in literature, but when you look at the shit I read, it makes sense. I mean take something like The Satanic Verses, it's hardly a coherent "these people did this, then they went here, things sucked, so they came home" story. Without his unique style, it would just be some dudes falling out of an airplane and some bint chasing butterflies for no good reason.

Then again, take The Lord of the Rings. When you get down to the nitty gritty, it's basically just some hero quest that had already been done time and time again. But Tolkien's style is what makes it amazing.

 

[KILL TULLY]

When you get down to the nitty gritty, it's basically just some hero quest that had already been done time and time again.

Fuck. That.

What he did had never been done before, in the way he did it. Not just writing style. He practicly invented high-fantasy.

 

[J.]

Im with NAD. It was just too damn simple reading. It read like a hollywood script almost. ANd at times it read like a lecture surrounded by fiction.

And now people taking this thing seriously is funny. so many non truths have already been found in this book

 

[cthulufhtagn]

@tully: no i think nad has a point, stuff like beowulf has been around a LONG time, but i totally agree tolkien had an immeasureable impact on what we know today as fantasy literature

@ellestin: gah, i remember seeing ads for brotherhood of the wolves and being like "damn i HAVE to see that!" and naturally i never saw it...is it worth a rent then?

 

[KILL TULLY]

@tully: no i think nad has a point, stuff like beowulf has been around a LONG time, but i totally agree tolkien had an immeasureable impact on what we know today as fantasy literature

Nobody had done what Tolkien did before he did it, ever. Yes beowulf, old fairy tales, nordic mythology, etc. has been around far longer, but tolkien created a world that immersed people so much that it feels like somthing that has been around for ever, ie : what people traditionaly call "Fantasy".

 

[cthulufhtagn]

like i said, i agree with you

nad's point was tolkein's style made the novels, and that style is responsible for that immersion you describe

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

when did Tolkien start writing?

 

[NAD]

nad's point was tolkein's style made the novels, and that style is responsible for that immersion you describe

Yar, me matey has it.

 

[Ellestin]

@ellestin: gah, i remember seeing ads for brotherhood of the wolves and being like "damn i HAVE to see that!" and naturally i never saw it...is it worth a rent then?

I'd answer yes. Like I said in a previous post the scenario is flawed in places and the actors behave more like they were in Matrix than in a late medieval epic, but still it's a stunning movie aesthetics-wise full of strong scenes that remain imprinted on the eye.

 

[Dick Sirloin]

Everyone automatically knows what I think of this book. Why? Because I'm a caricature

 

[lizard]

I liked the book okay because Brown may not technically be a great writer but the subjects are of interest to me, and he IS a good storyteller.

storytelling is not the same as good writing, necessarily.

I'm up at the front desk today and I just saw CNN report that fans are really supporting the movie, it always does my heart good to see pompous music and film critics bitch slapped. fuckers think they're the only arbiters of taste. I'd like to beat Roger Ebert with a crowbar, and then when he was half senseless I'd pull down his pants, bend him over a desk, and then "squeal like a pig, Roger! Soooooooooeeeeee!" and then ....whoa, how about dem Bears!

 

[Dev]

I'd answer yes. Like I said in a previous post the scenario is flawed in places and the actors behave more like they were in Matrix than in a late medieval epic, but still it's a stunning movie aesthetics-wise full of strong scenes that remain imprinted on the eye.

This is so the worst 'evolution' of a story, ever.

 

[Ellestin]

This is so the worst 'evolution' of a story, ever.

true, they probably did drugs to come up with some ending. IMO the whole momentum of the movie is lost as soon as this CGI abomination of a beast was shown.

 

[En Vind Av Sorg]

Okay I saw this movie last night. Everyone needs to shut the hell up because it really was decent. I dont think the negative press its recieved is warranted at all really, chalking it up to Christians infulencing everything as usual. The movie wasnt "omg it makes you like think with its deep meanings and stuff" it was just a well done flick with an interesting scenario (no I havent read the book).

 

[lizard]

holy shite...

Dan Brown’s stock sure has skyrocketed. Signed first editions of the writer’s “Da Vinci Code” are going for upward of $1,700. An illustrated edition of the book has a price tag of upwards of $100,000

 

[NAD]

I read about 200 pages yesterday. I mean at least the dude mentions The Last Temptation of Christ like saying "hey thanks for the idea" but still. Decent story, shit characters (except Teabing, who I keep reading as Teabag), bad writing. It has more product placement than a Superman movie, nobody gets into a car, but rather a "Java Black Pearl Range Rover with the following options: blah blah blah blah"

Oh well, I'm mildly entertained. Will finish tonight so I can get back to Bukowski, Solzhenitsyn, and Vonnegut.

 

[Demilich]

something about the name Teabing makes me

 

[JayKeeley]

I cannot wait to see this film, even though I can't stand Tom Spanks.

And guess what? 2nd largest weekend opening OF ALL TIME.

 

[lizard]

even though I can't stand Tom Spanks.

seconded.

 

[JayKeeley]

Remember when he did like 17 airport movies with Meg Ryan?