Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, takes place at 7:00 PM at Barnes and Noble, 555 12th St., NW in Washington, DC (near the Metro Center Metro stop). The group meets informally on the second floor in the open dining area, seated at round dining tables. You do not need to be a member of the Washington DC Film Society to attend.

Cinema Lounge is moderated by Daniel R. Vovak.

What the Hell Did I Just Watch? aka Bad Hooks

On December 8, 2008, we discussed "What the hell did I just watch; aka Bad Hooks." We determined that there are five classifications for why bad hooks occur.

(1) Misleading marketing tricks,
(2) "Jumping the shark." For instance, like when Rocky IV singlehandedly ended the Cold War,
(3) It's over before it begins,
(4) Rating system inconsistency. Live Free or Die Hard (2007) had the mistake of not going for an "R" rating,
(5) When movies forget why the audience is there in the first place.

Tank Girl (1995) was lost after Ice-T played a kangaroo. In Gladiator (2000), it seemed as if they did not know how to properly end the movie. Pleasantville (1998) was lost when racism interfered with an otherwise nice concept of gradually adding color to a black-and-white film. Breaking and Entering (2006) lost the plot in the court room scene. Short Cuts (1993) was lost on the early reference to phone/porn sex and with the earthquake at the end. The Pirate Movie (1982) seemed to be written with drug-induced help. Why was The Dark Crystal (1982) a scary movie about Muppets? Gone with the Wind (1939) was lost when the war ended. The movie could have ended right there. Minority Report (2002) should have ended earlier. Gods and Generals (2003) "was so long that I thought the movie was over, and it was just intermission," said someone in the group. The Ice Harvest (2005) had a disingenuous trailer hook. Solaris (2002) was slow science fiction. No Country For Old Men (2007) had a trailer like a thriller movie, though instead it was a film with bad storytelling. Art School Confidential (2006) got darker and darker. "It's like someone said, 'No one will need to see it if we see it honestly, so let's spruce it up'."

Other movies that fell apart were The Meteor Man (1993), Blankman (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Magnolia (1999), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Nowhere in Africa (2001), Artificial Intelligence (2001), Miami Vice (2006), Poseidon (2006).