oh Lordy... scared the beejeezus out of me.. I literally had to steal my son's beanie and hold it over my mouth.. because the first few scares had me freaking gasping (okay screaming) out loud (which is so embarrassing in a crowded theater! lol).

I thought it was a very good movie, yes, it's been done before, but no one can do it like Will Smith . . he is so awesome.

Overall, it was a little depressing and had a few unanswered questions .. but even still I give it two thumbs up. I would see it again.

I definitely enjoyed this movie. And yes, I jumped and yelled out loud a few more times than I'd like to admit...

The whole "don't play God" message is pretty prevalent. But it's true...and scary.

Just got back from seeing it. I liked it and so did my son. I read the book in preparation for the movie. I am funny like that. The book/novella was written in 1954 and somehow I missed reading it...I am a big sci fi fan. The story held up pretty well over the last 50 or so years. I will definately get the DVD when it is out.

Anyway, I was a little peeved by the audience. More specifically the family who brought their 4 or 5 year old son. He talked all the way thru and mom was no help. He should not have been there at all.


:sofa:

I had that couple behind me...I think it was a kid and a dad..."why is he doing that?" "what is that?" etc. etc...okay, kiddo, NO ONE HAS THE ANSWER.

I will definitely buy this one. And watch it over, and over.

omg.. were we in the same theater? I swear to you, I was ready to go to blows with this family! If looks could kill, they'd all be goners tonight.

I wanted more than anything to say to them as we were leaving, 'you don't get out much, do you?'

One seat away from my oldest son, sits this kid who was determind to crackle, squeeze, rustle and palpitate his candy wrapper, popcorn bag and his brother throughout the entire movie!

Not only did he wait until every quiet and suspenseful part to do so ( and there were tons of those) he decides to fight with his other three siblings the rest of the time and if that wasn't enough, starts tapping his feet - loudly! ugh.ugh.ugh. I was so pissed.

Why, in God's name, can't parents teach their children ( and themselves) how to be considerate in the movie theater?

My kids and myself discussed at length all the way home ways to invent and market concession/popcorn bags and wrappers that are not so irritatingly loud!

overall, i thought it was a great movie. the suspense was very well done. i loved the scenes of an empty nyc. it just 'worked', imo.

held off reading the book until after seeing the movie. it weighs in at a whopping 170 pages, so it went pretty quickly. personally, i thought the book was better in many ways (isn't it always?)... most of all in the reasoning behind the title, 'i am legend.' while the movie's explanation wasn't bad, per se, the book's version just did more for me. however, there were certain elements in the movie that i felt played across better than in the book. i totally agree that the book aged well... very little came across to me as dated.

will definitely be getting it on dvd. -M

YES!! I am so glad that ya'll are giving it such good reviews. the trailers looked good (but you know how they usually show most of the good parts with them), but I'll have to def. check it out over our break!!

I have not seen this movie but..... I thought I would chime in on the theater etiquette.

I do not know what is with people today. If you cannot abandon your cell phone, be quiet, or keep your kids quiet for more than ten minutes, please, please wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I paid to see the movie. I did not pay to see and hear the audience.

I do not why movie theaters did away with ushers? I would love to see them comeback. I would be willing to pay extra if it meant a movie without interruptions.

I did not watch a movie in a theater for almost two years. I broke my streak when I found out the best time to go is on a weeknight or in the early afternoon. You have the theater all to yourself and the only noise you hear is the movie. I love it.

I do not why movie theaters did away with ushers? I would love to see them comeback. I would be willing to pay extra if it meant a movie without interruptions.


Technically, the people who clean the theatre are ushers.

But to actually answer your question: its all about payroll. When theatres used to have fewer auditoriums, you could have just a few people run the box office, concession, and then patrol the auditorium (or even sit inside) to keep disturbances down and quality control up.

With multi- and megaplexes that have movies starting every 5 to 30 minutes or so, you would have to have someone (or several someones) dedicated to patrolling auditoriums. Not worth the payroll.

My advice to you is to just bunch up your courage and politely ask the offender to be quiet yourself. Some people just don't go to the theatres enough to remember they're not at home alone, you know? If they remain loud (or if you really don't want to talk to them yourself), take five minutes and tell the first employee you see. If they can't handle it themselves, they should get someone to take care of the situation.

I heard of an innovative idea... it's a call button on your seat. You press it anonymously and the usher /employee comes in to see what the problem is.

Of course, it's probably cost prohibitive.

My favorite time to go is on the weekends before noon at Quail Springs.. it's $5 a person... *used to be $4, but still compared to the $9 it's relatively cheap.

One tub and one drink with a refill is good for our family - so it's pretty fair to be able to see the first released movies on the big screen.

My next house is going to have a true theater room with the seats, a huge screen, surround sound and be really dark!

I'll have to wait a few months to see new movies but at least I'll really enjoy them!

I couldn't stop thinking about this movie all day.

I'll wait until a few more people have seen it and then ask some questions for discussion.

Technically, the people who clean the theatre are ushers.

But to actually answer your question: its all about payroll. When theatres used to have fewer auditoriums, you could have just a few people run the box office, concession, and then patrol the auditorium (or even sit inside) to keep disturbances down and quality control up.

With multi- and megaplexes that have movies starting every 5 to 30 minutes or so, you would have to have someone (or several someones) dedicated to patrolling auditoriums. Not worth the payroll.

My advice to you is to just bunch up your courage and politely ask the offender to be quiet yourself. Some people just don't go to the theatres enough to remember they're not at home alone, you know? If they remain loud (or if you really don't want to talk to them yourself), take five minutes and tell the first employee you see. If they can't handle it themselves, they should get someone to take care of the situation.


I have had many conversations with my fellow theater goers. I have asked nicely, I have asked people sternly. In once case I decided to leave because I would have kicked the crap out of the little 18 year old's smart ass had I stayed any longer.

I heard of an innovative idea... it's a call button on your seat. You press it anonymously and the usher /employee comes in to see what the problem is.

Of course, it's probably cost prohibitive.

My favorite time to go is on the weekends before noon at Quail Springs.. it's $5 a person... *used to be $4, but still compared to the $9 it's relatively cheap.

One tub and one drink with a refill is good for our family - so it's pretty fair to be able to see the first released movies on the big screen.

My next house is going to have a true theater room with the seats, a huge screen, surround sound and be really dark!

I'll have to wait a few months to see new movies but at least I'll really enjoy them!

I couldn't stop thinking about this movie all day.

I'll wait until a few more people have seen it and then ask some questions for discussion.

Good idea in theory, however you know how many annoying teenagers would push these constantly for pranks?

In Austin they have the Alamo Drafthouse, it's 18 and up and they serve beer and dinner. Hooray Alamo Drafthouse. I almost never see kids anywhere I go, I live in a kid free world and it's so awesome.

For comparison, add "OMEGA MAN" to your DVD rental queue. Same story, but starring Charlton Heston. Of course the special effects are no where near as cool.

The Omega Man (1971) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/)

I unfortunately got there late and miss the opening, came in when he was chasing dear in a Mustang.

I have had many conversations with my fellow theater goers. I have asked nicely, I have asked people sternly. In once case I decided to leave because I would have kicked the crap out of the little 18 year old's smart ass had I stayed any longer.


Where were you at? And did you let an employee know? People who cause disturbances will usually respond to someone with "authority," and, if not, they'll get kicked out.

Of course, its not as good as if there was no disturbance in the first place, but...

Where were you at? And did you let an employee know? People who cause disturbances will usually respond to someone with "authority," and, if not, they'll get kicked out.

Of course, its not as good as if there was no disturbance in the first place, but...

They'll respond to my climbing over the seat and grabbing them by the throat too.

Not really :)


I WILL climb over the seat and sit right next to them and start yammering about how my grandmother used to make us cheese sandwiches and set us in the corner in a little taped off area to eat them and how much I hated the way she cut them up in triangles instead of squares and how I love run-on sentences and then she'd give us the "trolly" that was full of stupid toy ships and make us stay there and she wouldn't allow us to speak without raising our hand and how that didn't work because she wouldn't look at us...

You get the point. I'll drive that little sh*t batchit crazy in 3 minutes flat. I'm a big enough guy that nobody that's much smaller than a defensive lineman is going to toe-up to me over it either. I've pulled this a couple of times, with mixed results. One kid went and got the manager. How is that for irony?

Noisy people in theaters make me want to act like I'm 16 and full of piss-n-vinegar myself. *POW* right in the snotbox.

I sure hope that the new Warren Theater in Moore has the promised private balcony as an option. I'd pay $20 each for that.

I just saw this last night and thought it was well done. The Batman preview was a bonus!

SPOILERS


The first 2/3rds or so featured some great apocalyptic scenes, a fine-tuned performance from Smith, and a perfectly executed emotional breaking point.

But it falls apart in the third act, even more than I first realized. The Shrek and Bob Marley shout outs were ridiculous and out of place. Anna's behavior is illogical, and the climatic scenes are riddled with holes. How did the lone vamp upstairs get in, and why was there a bloody shard of glass if it hadn't gotten to Anna or the boy yet? Also, the science in the film was bogus. A virus that kills cancer? Why were certain people immune? Why did sunlight hurt them? So the cure to it all was ice?

The ending felt very rushed, and the attempt to make the title sensical was very forced.

7/10 or B

For those of us who would like to see more general "yes, go see this," or "don't bother," comments since we haven't seen the film yet, is it too much to ask that you add a SPOILER WARNING to your posts if you plan to give out specific details? That way, we can skip those posts if possible.

Thanks! :tiphat:

SPOILER ALERT !!!!!

STOP READING NOW...

Last Chance!

Jbrown, I also felt that there were so many unanswered questions. Like, why didn't they explore the evolution of the 'infected' It was apparent, they started having feelings ( like when the girl was taken and the man ventured out in the sunlight?) And then he was starting to use logic ( setting the trap?) .. they were getting more sophisticated but it wasn't addressed.. I mean for years, they hadn't figured out how to move the mannequins to set a trap and then out of the blue, they did? Why? What was happening to them that was making them advance?

The other thing... it wasn't the ice, it was his blood I thought...

I do admit to being distracted from the kids in our row so I might have missed some things..

I agree, the first part was awesome and the last part was a little rushed.. but still freakishly enjoyable and entertaining.. and I will see it again.. to hopefully figure out a few things.

Yeah, the end was a little rushed. I agree

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

"The cure is in the blood"

SPOILER ALERT !!!!!

Jbrown, I also felt that there were so many unanswered questions. Like, why didn't they explore the evolution of the 'infected' It was apparent, they started having feelings ( like when the girl was taken and the man ventured out in the sunlight?) And then he was starting to use logic ( setting the trap?) .. they were getting more sophisticated but it wasn't addressed.. I mean for years, they hadn't figured out how to move the mannequins to set a trap and then out of the blue, they did? Why? What was happening to them that was making them advance?

Yeah I forgot about that part. When he was doing his video diary, he made not of that behavior as if that was going to be important later, but it never really came into play. The only think I can think of is if they were coming there to save the girl he took, not so much to kill him. They did ultimately wind up in the same room as the girl on the table.

For those of us who would like to see more general "yes, go see this," or "don't bother," comments since we haven't seen the film yet, is it too much to ask that you add a SPOILER WARNING to your posts if you plan to give out specific details? That way, we can skip those posts if possible.

Thanks! :tiphat:

Sorry about that.

spoilers below, abandon all hope ye who enter.


you've been warned.



anywho, let me address my take on some of the questions posed.


how did the lone vamp upstairs get in, and why was there a bloody shard of glass if it hadn't gotten to anna or the boy yet?
it's the blood of one of the vampires that broke through the glass to get in.


also, the science in the film was bogus. a virus that kills cancer?
sure, it's far-fetched... it's fiction. but... by nature, viruses work by infiltrating cells and inserting some of its own genetic coding into the cell's nucleus. this allows the virus to "reprogram" the cell to do its bidding. some have suggested manufacturing a virus to target cancer cells so that they become "programmed" to destroy themselves. the technology just isn't here yet.


why were certain people immune? why are certain people immune to real-life viruses? in the book, it's bacteria that creates a natural pandemic. the hero, neville, is infected by a weak form of the sickness when he is bitten by a bat while stationed in panama. his immune system fights off the virus and he therefore has built up an immunity.


why did sunlight hurt them? the movie doesn't establish this, but in the book sunlight kills the bacteria that causes the sickness. the bacteria "takes over" the host to such an extent that killing the bacteria kills the person. it's really cool (but not always convincing) how the book goes through great lengths to provide a scientific explanation for all of the vampire-like symptoms.


why didn't they explore the evolution of the 'infected' i don't think that the infected were evolving, per se. i think they were always intelligent but neville didn't always see it or recognize it.


so the cure to it all was ice? nope. as it's been said, the cure is in the blood. in the movie, the body temperature of the infected was high. (106 if i remember right) the ice lowered the body temperature thus making the recipient more receptive to the cure. not sure how realistic that is, but that's how the movie tried to explain it.

-M

I do not know what is with people today. If you cannot abandon your cell phone, be quiet, or keep your kids quiet for more than ten minutes, please, please wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I paid to see the movie. I did not pay to see and hear the audience.



we live in a narcissistic society. theres your answer.
anywho, cant wait to see the flick

Do not pass go, do not collect $200.. in other words..

Stop.. another Spoiler Alert!



The only think I can think of is if they were coming there to save the girl he took, not so much to kill him. They did ultimately wind up in the same room as the girl on the table.


I think you are right.. but they set the trap and were planning on killing him (not knowing where the girl was). The only reason they found the girl is because they followed the car home ( the one driven by the lady and son who rescued Will Smith) Had they killed him on the spot, they never would have found the girl.. maybe they hadn't become that evolved to figure that part out! lol

I just wish the ending didn't end the way it did... that's all I'm saying about in case someone didn't heed our warnings and reading this as we speak.

I need to go see it again.

mmm, you are pretty darn smart my friend.

For comparison, add "OMEGA MAN" to your DVD rental queue. Same story, but starring Charlton Heston. Of course the special effects are no where near as cool.

The Omega Man (1971) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/)

I unfortunately got there late and miss the opening, came in when he was chasing dear in a Mustang.

Who has done more "end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it" movies than Charlton Heston?

Planet of the Apes "Damn monkeys. Where's my gun?"
Omega Man: "Damn mutants. Where's my gun?"
Soylent Green: "Soylent Green is people. Where's my gun?"

"Omega Man" is played for laughs, at least early in the film. The scenes
where he dines by himself are really funny.

SPOILERS


The first 2/3rds or so featured some great apocalyptic scenes, a fine-tuned performance from Smith, and a perfectly executed emotional breaking point.

But it falls apart in the third act, even more than I first realized. The Shrek and Bob Marley shout outs were ridiculous and out of place. Anna's behavior is illogical, and the climatic scenes are riddled with holes. How did the lone vamp upstairs get in, and why was there a bloody shard of glass if it hadn't gotten to Anna or the boy yet? Also, the science in the film was bogus. A virus that kills cancer? Why were certain people immune? Why did sunlight hurt them? So the cure to it all was ice?

The ending felt very rushed, and the attempt to make the title sensical was very forced.

7/10 or B
I just got around to watching this one and I have to agree with your assessment. The first 2/3 was very good, but the rest seemed rushed and left me disappointed. Hopefully a nice director's cut release (which I hear is over 2hrs long) will make it a better flick.

Movies are to expand the imagination.....just use yours. Quit trying to push reality into movies like this!!! Who cares if the science is bogus, it makes for a good movie.

there is an alternate ending on the DVD. I am more pleased with the movie outcome now.

Cool, I bought the DVD, I'll have to watch the alternative ending.

I watch a bit of the movie last night but it was late and I fell asleep.. but even still, a few more of my questions were answered.

I saw the alternate ending online, and I liked it even less. It had an interesting aspect to it that was hinted at in the movie, but overall it was much more of a "hollywood ending" and didn't give the title much weight.

there were some things about thie alternate ending that i liked and some that i liked better about the original.

what i like with the alternate ending is that the 'vampires' are shown to be intelligent beings with feelings and emotions. the original ending never really showed the viewer this aspect of them. to me, this plays much better with what was in the book, where the 'vampires' are shown to be making their own culture out of the ashes of mankind.

i like the original ending in that it attempts to explain the title, 'i am legend' since the protagonist's blood is the cure, he becomes the legend since it is he who saves humanity.

however, it is the book's ending that is by far still the best. the basic plot, like the movie, is that robert neville is one man in a world full of vampires. by night he holes up in his fortified home and fends off attacks. by day he hunts the vampires and kills them while they sleep. at the end of the novel, this group of vampires captures neville, imprisons him and sentences him to execution. in the book's final scene, neville looks out the jail's windows at the mob of vampires around the jail... upon seeing him in the window, neville can see that the vampires revile and are scared of him... so... the roles are reversed. the monstrous vampires are normal and the 'normal' guy is the monster that kills them while they sleep... just like vampires are to us, neville is legend to those vampires... really cool stuff, imo.

-M