‘Gone Girl’ will make you think twice about trust issues

/ October 6, 2014
(From syracusenewtimes.com)

(From syracusenewtimes.com)

“Gone Girl” is a great mystery. Thank you, Gillian Flynn.

From her novel of 2012, Flynn also was the screenwriter for this 149-minute thriller of twists and turns of trust that chronicled what went so horribly wrong in the fictional life of Ben and Amy Dunne.

I am not going to spoil it for those of you who haven’t read the book and want to see the movie. I hadn’t read it and practically jumped out of my seat as the layers of the onion were pulled back one by one. My dear wife Karen, on the other hand, had read it, and she loved it just as much as I did.

That’s how good Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are as Ben and Amy. Neil Patrick Harris as a creepy suitor and Tyler Perry as a big-time attorney are great supporters in the spell-binding jaw-dropper, too.

Words that came to my mind as I watched what these folks were up to and capable of: Holy. Crap. Oh. My. God.

If you’d like to read my weeekly Film Blog review of “Gone Girl” on the fine Syracuse New Times site, click the link below.

http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/affleck-pike-push-pull-gone-girl/

The Regal Premium Experience. Big screen, big sound, big stadium seating, add five bucks to the regular ticket price.

The Regal Premium Experience. Big screen, big sound, big stadium seating, add five bucks to the regular ticket price.

By the way, the regular theater was sold out for the early Saturday evening show at Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA, so we went to the showing at the RPX Theater. That’s what the chain Regal calls its Regal Premium Experience. The screen was way bigger. The sound came through what was obviously a big momma of a system. The stadium seating was, oh, three times bigger than the ordinary theater, enough for 12,000. Wait, 1,200. Maybe 600. It was a big theater. And the tickets were $16.50 each. The regular theater would have cost $11.50.

It was a pretty cool experience, and very comfortable. I did find myself looking left, looking right, looking center during some scenes. I did not get seasick, so that was a plus, because I am prone to motion illness at the IMAX dome downtown. I am unsure if the extra five beans was worth it.

Have you read “Gone Girl” or any of Gillian Flynn’s novels, and would that entice you or stop you from going to see this movie? Would a movie make you uneasy about entering real life relationships if you were single and in the dating pool? Have you seen a movie in one of these “premium” theater settings, and did you think it was worth the extra money? Please explain.

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55 thoughts on “‘Gone Girl’ will make you think twice about trust issues”

  1. Mark – I read the book, though for me it was a little slow after the first few chapters, until I hit about Chapter 5 or 6 – then I was hooked, but good!!! Definitely going to see the movie, but will wait until it hits the Redbox! Great post – going to read your review for the paper now! Have a great Sunday!!

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  3. you have struck a chord with this post, Mark–lots of action! I am a wussy wusserton and will neither see the movie nor read the book because it will scare me and probably make me sad, too. I try to stick with happy and fun, which I suppose limits what I’m exposed to, but real life is complicated enough and I can only take simple in my entertainment.

    I had my fave movie experience ever of all time last summer when I treated myself to the American premier of the new Dr Who series. Held at a fancy pants cinema like the one of which you speak. The seats were recliners, so I had my feet up and even better I ordered a gin something or other at the bar. Feet up, adult beverage in hand, big screen. What could be better? Though it was more a tv show than a movie, it was still thrilling and fun. And I was my own date which made it even better. Seriously–one of the highlights of this past year for me. Is that sad? 😉 (thinking I may have already told this story here. If so, never mind…)

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    • OK, let’s start with the fact that bowing out from a tense and violent movie like this does not make you a wuss, Liz. This sort of behavior, from man and woman, married or otherwise, certainly is not for everyone.

      And, no, you have not shared your Dr. Who glorious night out with a gin-something drink and a big screen here before. That is not sad. It sounds like a needed comfort-night-away-from-the-hubbub to me, my friend. 🙂

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  4. I greatly enjoyed this movie – in baseball parlance, at least a triple play – and maybe a home run. Affleck walked out of the pages of the book and onto the screen (I’d read the book over a year ago). Pike, the actress who plays Amy, was suitably creepy. Trust issues? You betcha! 😀 One of the best movies I’ve seen this year. (I also liked the swipe at the phony media circus.)

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  5. I like the physical comfort and visual excellence of premium theaters. I don’t mind paying a little extra for it. My problem is that they are, without exception, TOO GODDAMN LOUD. It rattles my bones.

    Christ, I just reread that. I sound like a creaky old man. Well…if the shoe fits…

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    • It was too loud. I agree, Mark. Too bad if it makes us sound old. Hell, I was born in freaking 1957, and I’m pretty sure you’re a child of the ’60s, so … The shoe is fitting, Pass the Pepto Bismol, why don’t you.

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  6. Intriguing review Mark. I’ll get it from the library. I doubt I’ll get a chance to see the movie. It sounds excellent. I don’t see many movies, perhaps one every few years. I can’t resist submarine movies but beyond that I see perhaps one every 5 years. I doubt that I’d pay the extra for the premium movie experience unless it was date.

    Now books are another topic all together – those I read as many as I can find time for.

    Thanks for the great review Mark.

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    • I’m a library guy, too, Paul, so that’s where I would wait until it turns up on shelf, too. Of course, now with my freelance review gig, I see one theater movie per week and others on cable. Oh, yeah, I bring my dear wife Karen to make it a date, of course!

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  7. 1. I have not read the book yet, but want to. Also want to see the movie.
    2. YES, seeing movies and TV have ABSOLUTELY made me take a step back from the dating pool. I’m definitely scared of what kind of freaky man I’d likely end up with.
    3. I DID think of you this weekend when I saw “If I Stay” at the drive-in Friday night and “No Good Deed” at the theater Saturday morning… Both were AMAZING! It’s not often lately that I’ve seen even one movie that didn’t make me feel like I just wasted two hours of my life that I’ll never get back. Worse are the ones that have such great potential, then the last ten minutes peters off and makes the whole thing suck with a bad ending. But those two were GREAT. And “Gone Girl” is next on my viewing list. 🙂

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    • I’ll catch those two on the rebound because you loved them so and I trust your judgment, Rachel. I DVR the “premiere” at 8 every Saturday night on HBO to catch up a half-year later that way, and have Netflix, and Karen is big on “let’s get” from the on-demand list. And I watch more HBO. And I have NetFlix. So we have a chance to catch up when the movie is not the one I pick on the week it opens.

      That makes me sad about poisoning your dating well. It’s hard enough to find a suitable significant without that cloud of suspicion or, worse, fear, too. I think single people have to be introduced nowadays by common friends that know the prospective’s background enough to give the green light.

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  8. It was a good read, well-written and suspenseful. Looking forward to the movie. Don’t think I’d spring for the big screen, Mark. Not familiar with the female lead, but I think Affleck is perfect for that role.

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  10. I wrote a negative review, despite the fact it is so popular. Going against the stream, I guess. My youngest daughter and I had not read the books, were not expecting to dislike the main characters so much and are so afraid of their future baby! We literally ‘hated’ the movie, Mark! Felicia said if we had not paid the money we could have left. We like ones where at least one of the main characters is nice, I liked the police woman and the sister, that is it!

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    • You are correct in your description of them, Robin. And if anybody is looking to like the main folks in the way describe, they will not like the movie, not a bit. I’m surprised you stayed, frankly. Ouch. And it was a long movie, too.

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      • I guess it was mainly because we were unprepared to dislike Ben Affleck, we knew the woman was ‘evil.’ When I went to see the Hannibal Lector movies, I knew I would be fascinated by Anthony Hopkins, but would not like his character. I enjoyed Rooney Mara in the Dragon Tattoo movie, along with watching all 3 of the books I had read, in Swedish film versions, with having to read subtitles… Not sure why this one ‘got’ to me, jangled my nerves enough to dislike it so much? Anyway, glad you and Karen enjoyed it, that it good to know!

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  14. Creepy will give me nightmares, but you have peaked my interest. We’ve been to local drafthouse theatres where we eat pizza and drink tea or beer, but not at the ones that have the nice seating. I might pony up $5 to make sure no one kicks my chair, but then again, I’m motion sickness prone as well.

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    • You have to be careful with the really big screens and the motion, Kerbey. The stadium seating, though, they have that even in the regular-priced, regular-sized-screen theaters at the Regal chain here, and it is the best thing ever.

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  17. I read it knowing it was supposed to be good but not knowing anything beyond that, which was a great way to go. It’s not the type of book I normally read, so it was a true guilty pleasure. People are the worst! I’ll watch the movie.

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  18. I was told how the story goes, so I am not sure if I want to see it or not.

    If I based relationships on movies, i would have Prince Charming and bluebirds following me 🙂 Nah, never really thought about that kind of thing.

    I haven’t been to a premium theater, but my friends report back the advantage is wine. Since that doesn’t matter to me, I’ll pass and stick with matinee pricing.

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    • I normally go for my review viewing at matinee time, too, Jeanette because although I get reimbursed for my ticket, I do not for my dear wife Karen’s and the matinee is two bucks less expensive than regular admission. So, yeah, this premium thing was once because of the sold out regular theater.

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  19. I am one of those book snobs with my nose stuck in mid-century English novels fancying myself above the Costco book bin fare. Somehow “Gone Girl” crossed my path. Wow, oh, wow, what a great read!! It was the absolute definition of a spell-binder. I’ve heard that Rosamund is unbelievably good in this role. You agree?

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