Books or films that you didn't finish reading/watching

[Deidre]

...because they were that terrible.

A book or movie needs to grab me early on, for me to want to see it through. I will give a book or film that's slow in the beginning a chance, if there are flickering signs of hope, but maybe it's more of a slow burn type of story-line. But, if the spark never ignites, I just don't care how it ends.

What ones make your list?

Here are mine:

Films:
Blair Witch Two
The Den
Life of Pi
The Fault in Our Stars

Books:
Fifty Shades (just really boring writing style)
Life of Pi (movie wasn't any better)
Gone Girl (liked the movie better)
Girl on a Train (same as Gone Girl)

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I picked up IT by Stephen King for the first time and I got to the second chapter where (spoiler) commits suicide.

That was where I got stuck. I understand why I should know what he’s reading and of his unusual early evening baths but the long 4 pages about his wife’s backstory was just an unnecessary bore. And the problem is that King is using way too much description that I can skim over most of it and still get the picture.

I haven't read any other King books so I'm not sure if this is just his style or if he had too much up his nose while writing this one. I might try again some day, there's a lot of good reviews about this book and I did enjoy the chapter about the kid who was thrown over the bridge and didn't mind that the story was told through interrogations. For now, though, I'll have to build up the patience.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Movies:

Box Trolls

Books:

Something about programming in Lua, since I prefer hands-on stuff

 

[Deidre]

I picked up IT by Stephen King for the first time and I got to the second chapter where (spoiler) commits suicide.

That was where I got stuck. I understand why I should know what he’s reading and of his unusual early evening baths but the long 4 pages about his wife’s backstory was just an unnecessary bore. And the problem is that King is using way too much description that I can skim over most of it and still get the picture.

I haven't read any other King books so I'm not sure if this is just his style or if he had too much up his nose while writing this one. I might try again some day, there's a lot of good reviews about this book and I did enjoy the chapter about the kid who was thrown over the bridge and didn't mind that the story was told through interrogations. For now, though, I'll have to build up the patience.

I liked IT, but...I see your point in how he slogs on with over-descriptions. King's writing style changes sometimes, depending on the plot. Misery was a GREAT book by King, so maybe give that one a try? I read that a few years ago, and couldn't sleep without waking up for about a week.

The movie IT that came out a couple of years ago, really really strange. I was tempted to turn it off, but I think I was texting and just kept it going in the background.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I liked IT, but...I see your point in how he slogs on with over-descriptions. King's writing style changes sometimes, depending on the plot. Misery was a GREAT book by King, so maybe give that one a try? I read that a few years ago, and couldn't sleep without waking up for about a week.

The movie IT that came out a couple of years ago, really really strange. I was tempted to turn it off, but I think I was texting and just kept it going in the background.

You didn't like the movie? I personally liked the first one not the sequel so much, but the old IT from 1990 movies were classic have you seen those ones?

 

[Wu Wei]

Dune, on all counts, book and movies

 

[Samael_Khan]

...because they were that terrible.

A book or movie needs to grab me early on, for me to want to see it through. I will give a book or film that's slow in the beginning a chance, if there are flickering signs of hope, but maybe it's more of a slow burn type of story-line. But, if the spark never ignites, I just don't care how it ends.

What ones make your list?

Here are mine:

Films:
Blair Witch Two
The Den
Life of Pi
The Fault in Our Stars

Books:
Fifty Shades (just really boring writing style)
Life of Pi (movie wasn't any better)
Gone Girl (liked the movie better)
Girl on a Train (same as Gone Girl)

Books:

Paradise Lost (Love the book but sometimes I get lost because I need Uber concentration)
Magicians of the Gods by Graham Hancock (I recently bought it. I used to like the conspiracy stuff but he makes so many assumptions and logical flaws that I couldn't tolerate the book anymore)
Dictionary of Egyptian Mythology (It acts as a dictionary so I read parts when i feel like it)
Lost Symbols: The Secrets of Washington DC (I have the same problem as with Paradise Lost. Info is too dense and glossing over one sentence means I don't understand the rest.)

 

[Jedster]

@Deidre

The Satanic Verses (Rushdie)

I had a copy before all the fuss.
I read maybe 20 or 30pages and just could not get into his writing style. I found it far too cerebral.

ETA , I just remembered I walked out of watching "Oklahoma" because it was so noisy.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Too many books have bookmarks in them, and lying in a forlorn heap - good job many come with bookmarks these days - and mostly they are non-fiction that require a bit more time to digest. The Moonstone I gave up after reading most of it (many years back) - just lost the interest. A bit surprised about The Life of Pi film, although probably not a lot lost there. I usually fall asleep now so miss out on quite a few endings (or middles) - the problem with watching TV in bed.

 

[SomeRandom]

I DNFd The modern Prometheus or Frankenstein by Shelly. Though I’d be interested to see if I could make it through now. I was not very versed in Victorian lit at the time.
I have yet to finish the Divergent series. It was meh.

 

[Rival]

Couldn't finish Jane Eyre.

Couldn't watch Balto.

 

[ChristineM]

Books
The book thief - Markus Zusak
Inferno - Dan Brown
Swans Way - Marcel Proust
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
There are many more that are shelved and unfinished but that will do fir now.

Films
I am not that into films so don't watch so many but here are a couple of memorable yawners
The Postman
Australia

 

[Rival]

The book thief - Markus Zusak

This one bored me as well.

 

[ChristineM]

This one bored me as well.

I was going to add game of thrones but it would be unfair, i ploughed through the first two and a half books in the hope something would happen but the set eventually beat me.

I understand the tv series was a slight improvement.

 

[Revoltingest]

I was going to add game of thrones but it would be unfair, i ploughed through the first two and a half books in the hope something would happen but the set eventually beat me.

I understand the tv series was a slight improvement.

The TV show was stellar.

Unfinished book:
Gravity's Rainbow

Unfinished TV show:
Altered Carbon

 

[Deidre]

You didn't like the movie? I personally liked the first one not the sequel so much, but the old IT from 1990 movies were classic have you seen those ones?

I saw the recent version, from a few years ago but not the classic one. Maybe I'll have to find it and give it a try. The recent adaptation was far fetched in ways I don't even remember coming across like that in the book. Far fetched is fine, like Game of Thrones (dragons don't really exist) but the author of those books made you believe, or want to believe that dragons could be real. The recent IT movie seemed forced and the clown wasn't all that scary, he was more ridiculous than anything.

 

[Deidre]

Books
The book thief - Markus Zusak
Inferno - Dan Brown
Swans Way - Marcel Proust
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
There are many more that are shelved and unfinished but that will do fir now.

Films
I am not that into films so don't watch so many but here are a couple of memorable yawners
The Postman
Australia

if you had to narrow it down to one thing, what causes you to not want to finish a book? Boring writing style? The author never got to the point? I agree with you about Inferno, really anything Dan Brown wrote falls into the ''unfinished'' category for me. lol

 

[Deidre]

Couldn't finish Jane Eyre.

Oh, interesting. What caused you to give up on it?

 

[Deidre]

I DNFd The modern Prometheus or Frankenstein by Shelly. Though I’d be interested to see if I could make it through now. I was not very versed in Victorian lit at the time.
I have yet to finish the Divergent series. It was meh.

This reminds me. The recent adaptation of the Portrait of Dorian Gray. Utterly horrible. I can't even believe they could get through filming it with a straight face. So disappointing, because the book is gold.

 

[SomeRandom]

This reminds me. The recent adaptation of the Portrait of Dorian Gray. Utterly horrible. I can't even believe they could get through filming it with a straight face. So disappointing, because the book is gold.

Omg really? Oscar Wilde is my bae and I can’t think of anything that could be worse than the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen adaption. (Dorian is a character in the film.) But I largely give it a pass because I used to watch it with my dad so nostalgia.
I’m curious now.