12 Monkeys (1995 film) *spoilers*

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 10:07 AM

I just saw this last night on TV, and I can't believe I never heard of this movie before. (Starring Bruce Willis who goes back in time to stop a devastating plague.)

I really enjoyed that movie. I'm a little confused by the ending though. It's not clear to me if they were successful in stopping the plague. I really liked the final touch where they showed Bruce Willis as toddler, viewing himself as a grown man dying.

mrpope · 02-08-2006, 10:37 AM

They weren't trying to stop the plague. There was no way to do so. What they were trying to do, was get a sample of it in order to help them out in the future. meh

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrpope

They weren't trying to stop the plague. There was no way to do so. What they were trying to do, was get a sample of it in order to help them out in the future. meh

That's right... of course you're right. What I should have asked is: did they succeed in getting the sample?

Supfreak26 · 02-08-2006, 11:16 AM

One of my favorite movies. Or guilty pleasure really. Just a fun movie to watch.

Also the movie that began my man-crush on Brad Pitt. I loved his performance in this movie.

jschuman · 02-08-2006, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timckelley

That's right... of course you're right. What I should have asked is: did they succeed in getting the sample?

I guess I'll spoilerize this just in case:

Spoiler:

Does that help, tim?

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 11:25 AM

They showed the movie on a nonpremium channel, with commericials, but my TiVo made quick work of the commercials.

I've seen a lot of Bruce Willis movies, so this surprised me that I hadn't heard of or seen this movie before.

Another movie I recently saw that I didn't know existed, was Rocky V. (I had already seen I through IV.)

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschuman

I guess I'll spoilerize this just in case:

Spoiler:

Does that help, tim?

Thank you for that. Somehow I didn't recognize that lady sitting next him, and didn't make that connection. By the way, no spoilering is needed because I put spoiler warnings in the thread title.

I like that ending.

jschuman · 02-08-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timckelley

Thank you for that. Somehow I didn't recognize that lady sitting next him, and didn't make that connection. By the way, no spoilering is needed because I put spoiler warnings in the thread title.

I like that ending.

Yes, I liked that ending too. Somewhat subtle, and rewards the viewer for 'paying attention' (even if it is after a few viewings

). The whole movie is kind of that way. A nice little gem of a movie that (surprisingly) not many people have seen.

LlamaLarry · 02-08-2006, 11:33 AM

She did try to help jog your memory as to who she was because she said that she was "in insurance".

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LlamaLarry

She did try to help jog your memory as to who she was because she said that she was "in insurance".

For some reason, I'm bad at picking up on things I should pick up on. Compared to my wife and my siblings, I'm just not observant.

It's a fault of mine that I regret. I really concentrate on the movie when I watch, and use the instant replay a lot when I miss dialogue, but my brain is just deficient in this area.

SparkleMotion · 02-08-2006, 12:48 PM

The guy who played Arthur Dent on radio and TV (Simon Jones) was one of the wacky future doctors.

Tsiehta · 02-08-2006, 12:52 PM

the woman who played the lead wacky future scientist worked for me for a couple of years.

Church AV Guy · 02-08-2006, 01:05 PM

There were SO many things in this movie it is astounding: When Cole and Kathryn get off a bus, there is, on the side of the bus, an ad for the zoo. When Cols is running through the asylum, he sees a person being put in a cat scan machine (or is it an MRI?) and it looks very similar to the time machine. The air vent in the underground habitat is similar to the one in the isolation cell. And it goes on, and on. The department store where Kathryn buys the cloths for Cole is the exact same store that Cole enters at the very beginning of the movie (in the future) right down to the Christmas decorations.

Cole is immune to the ORIGINAL plague, as well as all the other people in the underground. It has mutated out of control though, which is why they are living in a sterile environment underground. They need a sample of the original strain of the plague so they can come up with a universal antidote.

When the female scientist from the future shakes the hand of Goines' assistant, she gets the sample she needs for the future of the humans. I played that last part back dozens of times, and I could swear that she says "I am AN insurance" and not "I am IN insurance" like the text and closed captioning say. Like she was there as AN insurance that they would get the sample. I know, I'm wrong, but I like to think...

JDHutt25 · 02-08-2006, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timckelley

Another movie I recently saw that I didn't know existed, was Rocky V. (I had already seen I through IV.)

Wrong. Rocky V does NOT exist. Trust me.

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDHutt25

Wrong. Rocky V does NOT exist. Trust me.

I recently heard somebody else say that recently, but I don't understand. I just saw the movie, and it does exist.

ClutchBrake · 02-08-2006, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timckelley

I recently heard somebody else say that recently, but I don't understand. I just saw the movie, and it does exist.

Let me give you a hint...

There is no such thing as Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III. Nor are there any such things as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

There is only Star Wars (: A New Hope), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and The Matrix.

This also means there will likely "never be" a Rocky VI or Rambo IV.

JPinAZ · 02-08-2006, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClutchBrake

Let me give you a hint...

There is no such thing as Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III. Nor are there any such things as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

There is only Star Wars (: A New Hope), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and The Matrix.

This also means there will likely "never be" a Rocky VI or Rambo IV.

Don't forget about the mythical Highlander 2.

Back OT, the French short 12 Monkeys is based on, La Jetee, is interesting as well. It tells the story through a series of still pictures (there's only one short clip of motion) and a voiceover (subtitles if you don't understand French.)

Unfortunately way to find it on DVD (AFAIK) is to find a copy of Short Cinema Journal 2.

dagap · 02-08-2006, 03:02 PM

Yeah, I loved that movie. Pitt's offbeat performance was memorable.

"Come on in, we've got dead chicken, dead cow, and dead pig."

(somesuch)

ckelly5 · 02-08-2006, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClutchBrake

This also means there will likely "never be" a Rocky VI or Rambo IV.

except for the fact that both are in production

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000230/

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClutchBrake

Let me give you a hint...

There is no such thing as Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III. Nor are there any such things as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

There is only Star Wars (: A New Hope), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and The Matrix.

This also means there will likely "never be" a Rocky VI or Rambo IV.

I still seem unable to understand these statements. All the sequels you listed, I thought, do exist.

Sparty99 · 02-08-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschuman

I guess I'll spoilerize this just in case:

Spoiler:

Does that help, tim?

I swear to God I never picked up on that. Thanks for the analysis.

Sparty99 · 02-08-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timckelley

I still seem unable to understand these statements. All the sequels you listed, I thought, do exist.

It's a sarcastic notion. People who suggest this are suggesting that the movies are so bad in comparison to the original movies that they never happened. I.e., these movies are not to be compared to the original(s).

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serumgard

It's a sarcastic notion. People who suggest this are suggesting that the movies are so bad in comparison to the original movies that they never happened. I.e., these movies are not to be compared to the original(s).

Okay then, I may be in the minority when I say that I liked Rocky V. Maybe it's not oscar material, but for watching at home on TV, I enjoyed it.

Idearat · 02-08-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPinAZ

Back OT, the French short 12 Monkeys is based on, La Jetee, is interesting as well. It tells the story through a series of still pictures (there's only one short clip of motion) and a voiceover (subtitles if you don't understand French.)

Unfortunately way to find it on DVD (AFAIK) is to find a copy of Short Cinema Journal 2.

Funny, as I read your post I rembered watching Le Jetee. I'd thought it was on the 12 Monkeys DVD, which just happened to be the first DVD I ever bought. But I also bought a few of the Short Cinema Journals back then , so that must be where I have it. There were some cool things on those DVDs, and an interesting way to package them up. As bandwidth went up with Cable and DSL those interesting "arty" shorts ended up on the web rather than on DVD.

I saw 12 Monkeys in the theater, a great movie, not your typical Sci-Fi. If you liked Brazil you'll like 12 Monkeys, and vice-versa

Lee L · 02-08-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPinAZ

Don't forget about the mythical Highlander 2.

Back OT, the French short 12 Monkeys is based on, La Jetee, is interesting as well. It tells the story through a series of still pictures (there's only one short clip of motion) and a voiceover (subtitles if you don't understand French.)

Unfortunately way to find it on DVD (AFAIK) is to find a copy of Short Cinema Journal 2.

I will second that. I saw that in a Film class in college and it is interesting.

timckelley · 02-08-2006, 03:21 PM

Oh, btw, the whole time Bruce Willis kept saying he remembered the airport, and as the doctor's appearance changed (e.g. new wig), she was becoming more familiar to him via dreams or distant memories, I never fully understood the meaning of all this. It wasn't until the very end where you see the toddler gazing/staring at Bruce dieing on the floor, that everything suddenly registered in my mind - i.e. that that boy *was* Bruce Willis, and he was remembering his own youth - he was remembering things he saw when he was that boy. When all this registered all at once for me, it gave me a greater sense of enjoyment of the movie.

Bierboy · 02-08-2006, 03:27 PM

This is one great movie. It was one of the first DVDs I picked up when I got a DVD player. There's tons of speculation about hidden meanings, hidden clues, etc. on the Internet. Now I'm gonna have to watch it again!!

smak · 02-08-2006, 03:41 PM

To me this is the one where Terry Gilliam put it all together.

Some of his earlier films were good, but a little out there. Ok, a lot out there.

To me, it was hard to get into Baron Munchausen or Brazil, but 12 Monkeys was great.

-smak-

pdhenry · 02-08-2006, 04:18 PM

Once on a flight from BWI to LAX I sat next to Mark Egerton, who was the Associate Producer & 1st Assistant Director for this movie. Based on the timing and discussions we had during the flight I know that he was working on this picture at the time.

vman41 · 02-08-2006, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supfreak26

Also the movie that began my man-crush on Brad Pitt. I loved his performance in this movie.

I thought he should have got the oscar for best supporting actor for that role.