Topic: PLOT TWISTS (Read 13262 times)

Matt H. · « **Reply #30 on:** September 28, 2004, 07:48:31 AM »

I have to also admit sheepishly that even though I figured out THE SIXTH SENSE almost immediately with the scene with Bruce Willis and Toni Collette in her home, I was completely taken by surprise by THE OTHERS with a very similar theme.

Shamalyan's UNBREAKABLE was much more surprising to me than THE SIXTH SENSE. Of course, it was his least popular film, and I liked it better than any of the others. Go figure!

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #31 on:** September 28, 2004, 08:41:43 AM »

Suddenly, a shot rang out!

Panni · « **Reply #32 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:02:50 AM »

I think I'll miss my morning walk. I was all set to go when the phone rang and my author friend called to ask for my reaction to his chapter (see earlier post) which I finished reading very early this morning. So we just spent an hour on the phone and now I don't feel like walking but DO feel like coffee. I may actually go and get a take-out cup from Peet's rather than making my own I love their coffee and even though it's their beans I grind and brew fresh every morning, the cup I make at home is not nearly as good as the one I get in their coffee shop down the street. Somebody please explain this mystery of life to me.

bk · « **Reply #33 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:04:51 AM »

Quote from: S. Woody White on September 28, 2004, 12:32:07 AM

Dear BK:

I did not mean to besmirch your research in any way. By all means, personal recollection has much more value than mere statistical work, such as I've been compiling.

You didn't besmirch my research. I appreciated your post. I loved living in NY that year, it was - well, you'll read. My memories of that year are pretty vivid - where I needed help was in the out-of-town portions in New Haven and Boston - two cities I didn't really know that much about. Plus certain details about where shows were rehearsed, what restaurants the teams convened in, etc. That's where all those people I listed were very helpful. Most helpful about the out-of-town stuff was conductor Don Pippin.

bk · « **Reply #34 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:11:14 AM »

I forgot about the novel of The Other by Tom Tryon. Great book and yes, the twist was a real shocker back then.

bk · « **Reply #35 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:12:27 AM »

Now wait just a darned minute - isn't today Ask BK Day? Man, I really must have been out of it when I wrote these here notes last night - out of it or... it's a really good PLOT TWIST.

Anyone who feels like asking a question of me or anyone else, please feel free to do so.

MBarnum · « **Reply #36 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:13:02 AM »

I am home sick today and my brain won't allow me to think of any plot twists at this time. Not terribly sick, just run down feeling and since I am babysitting my little grandneice Taylor tomorrow I didn't want to take any chances of getting sicker...so here I am in my bathrobe looking like something the cat dragged in.

When I am more awake I will try to think of plot twists.

Elan · « **Reply #37 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:13:37 AM »

I just read Kathrine Kressman Taylor's "Address Unknown" for the first time last night. While I wouldn't exactly call it a twist ending, it's certainly one which had much more of an effect on me that I would've expected.

With regards to "Sweeney": I seem to recall Sondheim mentioning somewhere that he wanted the twist to be solvable by people paying attention, but that the clues in the original staging were too subtle. Certainly, when the wife and I saw the concert version at Lincoln Center, it was much more apparent (I think I still have the bruise from when she figured out what was happening and grabbed my arm).

One of my favorite twists, simply because it was a great ending for a show, was the bit of stage magic at the end of Summer of '42, which played off-broadway a few years back.

DearReaderLaura · « **Reply #38 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:18:06 AM »

My question for Ask BK Day:

Isn't this Tuesday? Isn't Ask BK Day on Wednesday?

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #39 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:21:20 AM »

We were recently talking about Henry Sweet Henry. Its CD says, "Reissue Supervised by Bruce Kimmel."

My question for BK, from someone who knows little (nothing) about the process:

What was involved in supervising the reissue?

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #40 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:21:56 AM »

BK, You can answer on Wednesday.

bk · « **Reply #41 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:39:21 AM »

Oh, man, I really must have been out of it this morning to think that this was Wednesday instead of Tuesday - UNLESS, it's just another great PLOT TWIST!

Supervising a reissue (some people take actual producer credits, which I think is wrong, although I may have done that very thing early on at Bay Cities and even Varese) is simple: You get the master, you remaster it for CD, and you supervise the packaging. That's it. The not-so-simple part is the remastering - you can be maniacal about it like I am (trying to get the best possible sound out of what you're given) or you can just do a direct transfer of the master and put that out (which happens a lot more than you'd think). There is no excuse for the latter, but the former takes good ears. For example, I think the Bay Cities' Funny Thing/Forum sounds much better than the Angel reissue. I think our Chicago is yards better than the Arista.

JMK · « **Reply #42 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:54:51 AM »

I just lost a very long post due to "too many connections." That was an unexpected twist.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #43 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:57:50 AM »

elmore, last night I read a detailed plot summary of Vanity Fair in a reference text I have here and though the movie seems to follow the borad strokes of the plot, it seems the movie whitewashes Becky Sharp considerably. Even so, coming home I was making comparisons to Gone With The Wind.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #44 on:** September 28, 2004, 09:58:28 AM »

JMK, I did as well. Had to rewrite the one above.

William F. Orr · « **Reply #45 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:06:27 AM »

Yes, BK, it's Twosday, not Whensday--and this must be Belgium.

I must admit that I am usually taken aback by plot twists, if they are not horribly telegraphed. Joe and I watch a lot of B sf and horror movies these days, and sometimes the twists are as simple to guess as "he must be the real villain, why else would John DeLancy take that part", or "they keep showing a close-up of that girl for no reason".

But the major ones like The Sixth Sense and The Others--I hadn't a clew.

Since we don't see movies till they come to cable, I knew about the twist in The Crying Game, but I kept it from Joe, and he was bowled over.

By the way (btw in Internet Lingo) I was very impressed by how the twist in that film was used to do more than just shock the audience. In the first part of the film, we see Stephen Rea being forced to see the British soldier as a human being rather than as The Enemy or The Other (as his cohorts do), and we all empathize with him. The same process occurs in the second part of the film--he and the audience fall for Davidson (except you smarty-pants who figured it out in advance), and when the twist comes you can't simply dismiss her as "one of them", because an emotional attachment has developed.

I saw Sweeney Todd in previews, and the Beggar Woman twist was a total shock. Hey, "if you get it... good, you got it!" was a shock to me and most of the audience that night.

I've always wondered what it must have been like for the first readers of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when they came to the "twist" that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person. Oops! Sorry for the spoilers. Hope that doesn't ruin it for anyone.

JMK · « **Reply #46 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:08:49 AM »

WFO, your J&H comments remind me of the anecdote of some young people standing in line for Cameron's Titanic, who overhear an older couple discussing the iceberg and sinking. "Great," the young folk whine, "now you've ruined the ending for us."

William F. Orr · « **Reply #47 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:17:15 AM »

Computer Question:

Yesterday, I got some spyware or obnoxious-advertisement-ware or whatever onto my home computer. First my desktop got filled with a pile of shortcuts to Internet sites and even a couple of .exe programs, which I dutifully trashed. Then I got a Your Daily Horoscope onto my Quick Launch which I erased and threw away.

But now there is an extra toolbar at the top of my Internet Explorer which links to all these sites and, worse, seems to launch that damn horoscope thing everytime I log on. I can find no information in Microsoft's help screens about getting rid of a toolbar that attaches to Explorer. It also brings on a Pop-Up window everytime I log on to Earthlink--right before Earthlink's Popup Blocker kicks in.

Any ideas how to trash that toolbar?

Panni · « **Reply #48 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:18:54 AM »

I STILL haven't had coffee. I'm still in my bathrobe. (I HAVE showered) - the world is in a conspiracy to keep me from doing what I need to do today. Which i guess is Tuesday.
I have a question for bk: What day of the week is it? I know I'm not in Belgium. That much is clear.

Matthew · « **Reply #49 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:29:06 AM »

I just finished the last of Season Three of "Alias" and without giving anything away... hmmm... I guess I won't. But it left me wanting MORE MORE MORE (that's three MORE'S) have to wait until January. It's a lovely day today (ah a Call Me Madam reference) here in the SF Bay Area, very overcast, a lovely Fall day!

Jennifer · « **Reply #50 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:33:55 AM »

For those who have lost their posts here one too many times, copy your post before you send it. Especially if you type out something long.

Jennifer · « **Reply #51 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:37:34 AM »

Quote from: Matthew on September 28, 2004, 10:29:06 AM

I just finished the last of Season Three of "Alias" and without giving anything away... hmmm... I guess I won't. But it left me wanting MORE MORE MORE (that's three MORE'S) have to wait until January.

Maybe when BK finishes the disk in a few days we can discuss the ending. We can include warnings in case anyone is still planning to watch the dvd who hasn't seen the show already.

I am curious to know what you guys think. They love to end it and have us talking!

Jennifer · « **Reply #52 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:39:23 AM »

I am curious what the relationship between Syd and Vaughn will be like, now that the couple has split in real life.

Ben · « **Reply #53 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:49:19 AM »

WFO, you don't mention if you have run one of two programs, Spybot Search and Destroy or Ad-Aware. If you have one of these programs I would recommend running it. Both programs are good and better than that, they are free for personal use. If you don't have either one, you can download either or both at

Spybot S&D

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Ad-Aware (by Lavasoft)

http://www.lavasoft.de/

Once you've downloaded and installed the program (it's pretty self-explanatory, just follow the prompts) run it to get rid of any lingering spyware. If you're lucky, this will get rid of the toolbar as well. Both programs check the registry for spyware and try to remove the offending code. If this doesn't get rid of the toolbar, you may need some professional help. Microsoft makes it nigh on to impossible to remove and re-install Explorer so someone may need to do a "reg clean" or a "reg edit" for you to get rid of the crap. But we operate on the assumption that Ad-Aware or Spybot will do the job first.

MBarnum · « **Reply #54 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:51:55 AM »

Quote from: William F. Orr on September 28, 2004, 10:17:15 AM

Computer Question:

Yesterday, I got some spyware or obnoxious-advertisement-ware or whatever onto my home computer. First my desktop got filled with a pile of shortcuts to Internet sites and even a couple of .exe programs, which I dutifully trashed. Then I got a Your Daily Horoscope onto my Quick Launch which I erased and threw away.

But now there is an extra toolbar at the top of my Internet Explorer which links to all these sites and, worse, seems to launch that damn horoscope thing everytime I log on. I can find no information in Microsoft's help screens about getting rid of a toolbar that attaches to Explorer. It also brings on a Pop-Up window everytime I log on to Earthlink--right before Earthlink's Popup Blocker kicks in.

Any ideas how to trash that toolbar?

I have been having the same problem of late! I have run adware removal software but some of these things are quite stubborn and refuse to go...Daily Horoscope included! There should be a law, I say!

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #55 on:** September 28, 2004, 10:55:13 AM »

Quote from: William F. Orr on September 28, 2004, 10:17:15 AM

Computer Question:

Yesterday, I got some spyware or obnoxious-advertisement-ware or whatever onto my home computer. First my desktop got filled with a pile of shortcuts to Internet sites and even a couple of .exe programs, which I dutifully trashed. Then I got a Your Daily Horoscope onto my Quick Launch which I erased and threw away.

But now there is an extra toolbar at the top of my Internet Explorer which links to all these sites and, worse, seems to launch that damn horoscope thing everytime I log on. I can find no information in Microsoft's help screens about getting rid of a toolbar that attaches to Explorer. It also brings on a Pop-Up window everytime I log on to Earthlink--right before Earthlink's Popup Blocker kicks in.

Any ideas how to trash that toolbar?

DR WFO, you need to install and run Spybot Search & Destroy. But even after you do that, you need to go into the Spybot's Tools tab and click on the BHOs button. There you will find a list of all the "Browser Helper Objects" that are attached to your Internet Explorer. You'll have to go through the list and look for likely suspects and turn them off via the toggle button at the top. Give it a try--it couldn't hurt.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #56 on:** September 28, 2004, 11:04:25 AM »

Good Morning! Well... Good Afternoon!

It was soooo nice to sleep in my own bed again last night. I truly had a very restful night's sleep. So restful, in fact, that I stayed in bed for about two hours just listening to NPR after my radio went off at 7:30.

I've been having a very nice, easy and slow day. Just easing back into things back here. I'll probably unpack my luggage tomorrow, although, since I have to pack it all back up in two weeks. I went through the rest of my mail and junk mail - isn't that exciting? Then I headed out for a walk.

It's been a very strange day so far weather-wise here in Richmond. It's not raining... Then a downpour... Then a dry spell... Then another downpour... etc. I took a walk earlier - it was hot, humid and windy all at once. Then the downpour. Thankfully, I had my umbrella with me. It was nice walking through Carytown and seeing how some of the storefronts spruced themselves up since I've been gone. There was also one notable closing - well, the store is just moving locations - and a new high-end design furniture store just opened too. Drool...

Right now, most of central Virginia is under a severe storm and/or tornado and/or flash food watch. The amount of warnings going across the bottom of the TV screen started looking like a rainbow with all the colors for the various watches. Currently, it's quiet in the Fan, but, apparently, in the West End it's been raining quite hard for the past hour.

In any case, I'm planning on staying in the rest of day. I may even do some baking - I even bought some fresh butter and eggs last night at the grocery store. We shall see...

Stuart · « **Reply #57 on:** September 28, 2004, 11:17:48 AM »

Quote from: JoseSPiano on September 28, 2004, 11:04:25 AM

Currently, it's quiet in the Fan....

I love that movie. (I don't know why I never think of it when we talk about guilty pleasures. I'd pay a quarter right about now to see Miss Perske croaking "Hearts, Not Diamonds," while wearing Liza's castoffs from THE ACT! And Michael Biehn was so preppily cute then....and now he's a big action hero......hmmmmmmmmm....)

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #58 on:** September 28, 2004, 11:19:05 AM »

As for Plot Twists:

The one in Sweeney Todd did catch me off guard when I first saw/heard it. It wasn't a total surprise, but that whole final sequence where he almosts kills Johanna, and then ends up killling the Beggar Woman is just so well constructed.

The movie "The Usual Suspects" blew me away. And, then seeing "Seven" the next day just creeped me out even more.

Books-wise, I know I've gasped out loud a few times when I've gotten to key passages, but nothing specific comes to mind right now. However, the final pages of "Catcher in the Rye", I guess, could be sort of a plot twist in a sense.

Jane · « **Reply #59 on:** September 28, 2004, 11:20:27 AM »

Big news! Danise just called me.

She is going through withdrawal not being able to post.

She said this was the worse of the three storms. She is fine, only lost the top of one tree and it didn’t cause any damage when it fell.

What she doesn’t have is phone service or cable, which means she can’t use her computer. Her cell phone just connected today so she gave me a call. Let’s hope her cable connection is back by the time she returns home this evening.

News:

Author Topic: PLOT TWISTS (Read 13262 times)

MBarnum

Ben

MBarnum