I saw Sound of Thunder today after work. I actually liked it. I know the reviews haven't been too good, but I've seen a lot of science fiction movies, so I look at those kind of movies a lot differently than most reviews.

The special effects were good and bad, obviously this production didn't have as much money behind it as Lucasfilms, but it didn't bother me too much. The way they did the time waves was really good. Like I said, some of it was good and some of it was sort of antiquated, but we've seen good low budget sci-fi before.

The movie was good as long as it followed Ray's story, but it got kind of corny in the middle for a bit, classic horror movie chestnuts and bad dialog. Seemed like the writers had to freestyle for a while before they picked up the story again. They did a decent job of bringing Ray's part of the story to life. I dunno, I enjoyed it, there was a lot to like in it, if you're not too much of a stickler and a sci fi movie fan, you will probably find it enjoyable.

does anyony know when this short story was written

nosaer--I checked my copy of the story, which is in "R Is For Rocket," among other collections, and it says, "Copyright 1952 by The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company."

I'm curious to what others thought as well. I don't know that I'll have the opportunity to see this, whether it will play in this area, but I'm rather dismayed at the extremely negative reviews it has received. (For a sampling, check out Rottentomatoes.com Gosh, I can't think of the last time I heard such poor reviews!

** Warning **
There is a possible spoiler ahead, so anyone who hasn’t read “A Sound of Thunder” or seen the movie, please retreat now to another thread or jump ahead to the next posting if there is one.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
“IS IT SAFE?”

HERE GOES.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..

I’m not going to critique the film other than, as a fan, now that I’ve seen it, point out what I would have preferred regarding it’s structure and content. I think it should have framed Ray’s story rather than use it as a springboard. The beginning and end could have been exactly the story as we know it. They go back, we see hints that something will go awry, tension builds, but then the viewer is flashed forward to the alternate history story created by “the incident”. Remember, it’s an alternate. The change doesn’t start as of the start of the time trip but millennia ago as of the time of “the incident”. The alternate by the way should be the study of a horribly skewed society and not an action adventure. The film then presents that alternate history to us slowly and horrifyingly (omitting any reference to the written word as that is part of the fun of the denouement). Then, flash back to the safari. We see the incident occur. They come back to present. We already know the changes but they go through quick discovery. Then…A SOUND OF THUNDER.

Director? M. Night Shyamalan
Writers? Ray Bradbury and M. Night Shyamalan

I said I wouldn’t critique it other than the above but I will say this. I’m a long time movie fan. I know a lot about them. I’m very critical and hard to please. “A Sound of Thunder”? I may just plunk down another fifty-two bits (the matinee price) and go see it again.

I probably would, too, Chapter 31. I read a review of the movie on CNN which was scathing, of course, but I came to this part and I had to laugh:

"In fact, Bradbury should be given James Bond's license to kill and mow down the three screenwriters -- Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Gregory Poirier -- who wrote this piece of junk."

Maybe Ray should write a story about a future in which an elderly writer in a wheelchair is given a license to kill screenwriters that butchered his work. Do you think he would decide to let them live at the last moment?

I enjoyed Sound of Thunder. I have been a Ray Bradbury fan for over 20 years now and find it interesting how consistent I am as it relates to Bradbury. I have not gone to the movie theatre in quite some time, at least a year now, but when I looked through the current film titles and read reviews, I decided to see Sound of Thunder. When credits ran at the end, I saw that this was an adaptation of one of Ray's short stories...it doesn't surprise me that I subconsciously selected this film of all the films released this summer! Can someone please confirm which short story this film was based on? Is it R is for Rocket?

Thanks!
d

fanboy,
Yes. I think Ray Bradbury would—and will. Now Harlan Ellison on the other hand… But you’d have to ask Mr. Ellison I guess.

DeeDee,
"A Sound Of Thunder" is also the name of the short story. It's in "Dinasaur Tales", "Golden Apples Of The Sun" and "R Is For Rocket".

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chapter 31,

Thanks for the educated response Chapter 31.

BTW, one of my favourite characters is Tomas in The Martian Chronicles collection of short stories..."August 2002 Night Meeting." Also one of my favourite short stories. Have you read this one? Any recommendations for another Bradbury read?

No contest. Anything signed Ray Bradbury. But if I had to pick something off the top of my head, it would be “The Lake” in “The October Country”. Good reading.

DeeDee,
Sorry. I neglected to answer your question about “Night Meeting”. Yes, I’ve read that story and know of the night bird and the new town and the festival and Muhe Ca. Tomas is a good character to like--although I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite character of my own--and the tale is nice in that there is an actual encounter with a Martian.

Ch31,
Right. Thank you. I do have this collection, I'll revisit "The Lake." I agree, I have enjoyed all the stories I've read so far signed Ray.

I hope to see him at an appearance soon. I remember one signing in particular in Pasadena, or was it LA?...I had nearly 10 books for him to sign and after my visit, his PR agent requested on an ongoing basis that we only carry 3 books total. ha! I bet that was a first for him...he signed all of them anyway with a smile of course.

Thanks again.

I really enjoyed the movie!! I am not like you, Chapter 31, in terms of being really critical and hard to please with movies (Your words, not mine; I enjoyed your thoughtful comments). At the risk of sounding really blonde, and by the by, I'm a redhead, as long as the movie entertains me for a couple of hours I am happy. It's rare for me to dislike a movie, and the ones that are really cheesy I tend to embrace. Anyway, I know this movie was a bit cliche, but I still thought it was a good ride. From what the critics said, I was expecting the special effects to be horrendous. However, I found most of the special effects to be quite good, especially the time travel scenes, the elevated pathway, the time "waves," and those creepy creatures that seemed part dinosaur, part mandrill and part bat. The volcano eruption wasn't that well-done, and the glaringly bad special effects I felt were the scenes of city traffic with the characters walking in the background. But even those didn't bother me that much. Also, Ben Kingsley's hair really distracted me at first--that big white pompadour kind of style, but after I got to know his character a bit, the outrageous style seemed perfect for him. And I loved that line of his, and I won't get it exactly right here, when he said, "They're bureaucrats; if they jumped off a roof it would take them a week to hit the ground!" As someone said on another post, the scenes incorporating Ray's story were always the best, but I enjoyed the rest as well. To me it was just good fun. I very well may go see it again, and I'll definitely buy the DVD. I hope whoever makes the DVD is smart enough to put an interview with Ray on there!

Imskipper,
Enjoyed your comments too, especially the idea of Ray giving an interview for the DVD. Regarding my own comments, in my own clumsy way, I was trying to say that it’s worth a squint. What stands out in my mind most about the film are the scenes with the butterfly. Hard to keep a dry eye when seeing the last scene it’s in. Time to go back I think, buy a nice cool fizzy soda at the concession stand and see the film again.

Yeah, I agree, the butterfly moment at the end gave me the warm fuzzies, although the type of butterfly displayed seemd to be the same one pictured on my Exuma album (voodoo rock).