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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-01-11, 00:48

The Unforgivable

Netflix; starring Sandra Bullock

Tells the story of a cop killer out on parole and trying to get her life back on track.

One of the best movies I've seen in 20 years at least. Very well directed and acted, with a fun, engaging plot that kept me wondering who I was rooting for. 5-stars, two thumbs up, Bullock should get an Oscar, as should the director. If you're on Netflix I highly recommend this gem.

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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-11, 04:21

Wow.

BTW, where did she go? I haven’t seen her in ages. I still think she’s awesome in Speed.
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Matsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2022-01-11, 09:09

Go Wildcats!
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-01-11, 12:36

She's been great in some stuff, not so great in others. A lot of her work has relied on her pretty face more than her acting skills (Miss Congeniality, I'm looking at you!). Speed was good, but a bit too far-fetched. If you look at her Filmography on Wikipedia, there's not a lot there that jumps out. The Blind Side was excellent, and don't get me started on Minions!

But, let me tell you, The Unforgivable is one of those once-in-a-lifetime acting performances that truly resonates (like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump) where the lead just becomes the role. Seriously, when I went to bed last night I was still thinking about the plot twist and how well it was pulled off and how well Sandra Bullock sold it*. I loved it!

* This is one of those times where I'm not even going to post a spoiler, because I don't think this movie can be enjoyed if one knows the outcome. I seriously found myself rooting for all the parties, because all of them had ground to stand on. And then it all went flippidy-do and I was

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- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2022-01-13, 23:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
PS - It just dawned on me that new Ghostsbusters movie (Afterlife?) opened last month. For all the folks here eagerly awaiting its arrival, I've yet to hear any talk here. Did nobody see it? Did it make any sort of impact?
Now that it's being distributed outside of theaters, I finally saw Ghostbusters Afterlife. It hit various streaming sites and Blu-ray retailers a week or two ago, and I managed to avoid any discourse or spoilers online from theater-goers until seeing it for myself at home.

Growing up a child of the '80s, I loved the Ghostbusters movies. I watched the "Real Ghostbusters" cartoons. I had lots of action figure toys and the Kenner proton pack and accessories (not my photo). In 2008, I built a proton pack with hand-wired lights and sounds and kitted out a tan flight suit (one size too big, apparently just like theirs in the movie!) for Halloween.

You know, I'm something of a fan myself. So, I have some opinions about this new movie.

*cracks knuckles*

Actually, I think it was fine. Not great. Not terrible. Just fine. Ghostbusters Afterlife was a fun, safe little romp. Decent "popcorn flick" material. That's why it was probably a "failure", though. The makers of this movie didn't imbue nearly enough of the witty dry comedic charm that the original crew had, and large parts of the story are a thinly-veiled retread of the original 1984 movie.

I suspect the complete shit-show of the "reimagined" Ghostbusters 2016 had a lot to do with Afterlife's performance. GB2016 was 50% "improv" "comedy", 50% shameless cash grab, and 0% respect for the original source material. The wide disappointment and fallout from that outing surely soured audiences, killing a ton of potential interest for this one, and I'm sure that the writing and direction for Afterlife was affected by GB2016. Much of Afterlife feels almost like a knee-jerk to the opposite direction, playing it too safe, and catering too hard to nostalgia and fan service whereas GB2016 preferred to just shit on the fans.

(Don't get me wrong, though. Ghostbusters Afterlife is light years ahead of Ghostbusters 2016 in every respect. Story. Writing. Direction. Cinematography. Wardrobe. Effects. Lore. Comedy. Drama. Nostalgia. I'd watch Afterlife a hundred times before watching GB2016 again. I'd still rather watch the '84 original, though.)

This movie was released a year and a half late, too. It was announced in January 2019 for "Summer 2020". Yes, movie schedules are always crazy and shifting, but the pandemic's affect on at least my sense of time made that feel like an eternity ago. By the time it finally hit theaters (not that I was going to theaters during pandemic anyway), my honest reaction was, "oh, it's finally out." I should have been pumped. American middle class guy who grew up in the '80s with all the media and toys? I must have been one of their core demographics.

I've been trying to stay spoiler-free so far here, but I'll share a few more thoughts and reactions inside the block…

Major spoilers ahead. You've been warned. Seriously, if you plan to see it, skip this comment until later. Paul? This means you! Get outta here!

Spoiler (click to toggle):
The kids were all okay enough in their roles. I had my biggest doubts about how Phoebe would play out, but she grew a bit on me. Not great, but a fine mini-Spengler homage. Somehow I think I actually like Podcast the most of the kids.

I thought Paul Rudd would be a dumb addition, but I liked his Mr. Grooberson character. I suspect adult viewers will find his character the most relatable.

I liked the idea of the boys splitting up and Spengler "going bye-bye" on the farm. He literally bought the farm and then he figuratively bought the farm… on the farm. That's also a pretty good way to force the old boys out of the picture and introduce some mystery and conflict that need to be resolved.

When I saw the "Shandor Mining" signs I though it was just going to be a neat throwaway reference, not the centerpiece of the story.

I sighed when the hole in the ground said "Gozer".

At one point, when Finn Wolfhard (I've already forgotten his character's name) takes the Ecto-1 for a spin, the CG effects are so bad that it completely broke my suspension of disbelief, and I felt like I was watching a video game or fan film. It was when the Ecto-1 hits a hill, launches easily ten feet into the air, and comes crashing down nose-first onto the pavement… and just keeps on driving like it was nothing.

Actually, I just scrubbed back to that scene. The tires, suspension, axle, frame, and windshield of this car should be completely toast. Look at how the engine bay and hood buckle and bend up! I don't mean to nitpick special effects, but most of this movie has really good CG work, and this cartoonish landing was a big yikes for me.



Unoriginal metal-eating slimer redux? Unoriginal metal-eating slimer redux. Eh.

The gunner's seat was a cool addition, though. I could totally buy that as an addition the old boys made at some point.

That little remote control trap car should have been capped at 60 maybe 120 seconds, though. That thing must have its own miniature nuclear reactor to keep running for so long, and the kids (writers) were stupid not to slow the car down for just two seconds to scoop it up instead of having it following them at full speed for how many miles of road through town and far enough into the countryside that you can't see any of the town in the distance?

I think I could feel my eyes rolling back into my head when the little Stay Puft Marshmallow men showed up in the middle of the Wal-Mart product placement. Ugh. We get it already. Please stop force-feeding me nostalgia that's completely out of line compared to its presence in the original movie.

When the terror dogs showed up, I realized that the latter half of the movie was just going to be the first movie but not as good.

Gozer retread aside, seeing Ivo Shandor was a weird surprise, and I chuckled when he finally met Gozer in person.

The climax and denouement. Obviously designed to squeeze the nostalgia center of the brain even harder than anything else in the movie. It was bittersweet seeing the old boys in their costumes, and after all these years, they still have some chemistry together. After the credits rolled, my wife leaned over and said she could tell that Egon's appearance was supposed to strike an emotional chord, but it just fell flat for her. Well, it worked on me. I knew exactly what they were doing, but nevertheless I still felt a big old sad swell up in my chest and eyes when I saw the late Harold Ramis reincarnated on the screen. You got me, movie. You fucking got me. My emotional reaction was surely more about seeing Harold Ramis, though, not Egon Spengler. Ramis seemed like a good guy, and that touching scene reminded me of all of our mortality, and frankly, it probably reminded me of a few other recent real-world deaths too.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-14, 05:09

Good review. I remember those Halloween pics and you were the person I was waiting most to hear from about it, knowing your were likely AN’s biggest fan.

I stayed out of the spoiler section.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-14, 05:27

AMC played Clooney and Schumacher’s Batman and Robin yesterday.

That is truly one awful movie, top to bottom. Even Uma Thurman, who I love in everything I’ve ever seen her in, was unbearable here.

Everyone in this movie needed a paycheck, apparently. There’s no way any of them signed on thinking they were making something legit or meaningful. There’s just no way.

It is so bad. I sat and watched parts of it with my mouth open and/or my eyes rolling out of my head.

You could tell Joel Schumacher was trying to do a modern day take on the 1966 TV show…the loud colors and cartoonish sets, Dutch angles, hammy acting, the goofy henchmen, etc. I still can’t believe he refrained from the on-screen “POW!”, “BAM!”, overlays during the fight scenes! I’m sure he tried but WB said “no, we’re making a serious movie here, Joel…we must draw the line here. Now get back to your homoerotic, neon-splashed nippled bat opus and do us proud!”



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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2022-01-16, 03:36

Oh let me tell you: Eternals deserved the panning it received. It simply didn't gel. First blame goes to the material. I never really identified with the (too huge) cast of good guys. Not every comic deserves to be turned into a big budget film series.

The public only has an appetite for a certain number of heroes, chiefly the "name brand" characters that have been around in media for decades.

The further we stray down the road of lesser known heroes, the trickier it will become for general audiences to buy in.


...
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2022-01-19, 08:32

Watched Gorky Park last night.

Pretty corking thriller, set in Russia.

William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy.

...
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2022-01-19, 09:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by drewprops View Post
Oh let me tell you: Eternals deserved the panning it received. It simply didn't gel. First blame goes to the material. I never really identified with the (too huge) cast of good guys. Not every comic deserves to be turned into a big budget film series.

The public only has an appetite for a certain number of heroes, chiefly the "name brand" characters that have been around in media for decades.

The further we stray down the road of lesser known heroes, the trickier it will become for general audiences to buy in.


...
I saw Eternals a few days ago too, and in hindsight, what a bore.

I agree with a comment I saw elsewhere on the internet: the Eternals maybe could have been salvaged if they used the 8-hour-ish Disney+ miniseries/TV show format so they could have more breathing room to flesh out the characters and maybe, I dunno, give us a reason to care about any of them. Most of them were just so dang broody and completely unlikable and too invincible for me to have any emotional attachment. When it was finally over, I couldn't care less about seeing any of them ever again (except maybe the Bollywood star and his valet with all the cameras; their comedic relief was the one glimmer of hope in the movie), and I actually chuckled when I saw the "ETERNALS will return…" text at the very end of the post-credits tease. Yeah, right. I'm sure they will.

I also just saw Spider-Man 3 last night (the last of the Tobey Maguire ones) because I never saw it before and am trying to catch up on all that Spider-backstory before No Way Home arrives on streaming. Yes, I'm a decade and a half late to this party. I know Spider-Man 3 is the internet's punching bag. People love to hate on it. Some people consider it "so bad it's good". There's a fantastic "Bully Maguire" meme where people make absurd video mash-ups of Spider-Man being an asshole, and those videos always include a good number of clips from Spider-Man 3.

It's not a great movie and, yes, it's a bit campy at times and the characters sometimes do some stupid things and sometimes the pacing is awkward, but, honestly it's not completely terrible and, damn it, I actually enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I enjoyed Eternals.

The "Amazing" movies with Andrew Garfield are next on my list. I remember renting the first one's DVD from Netflix about ten years ago, back before streaming took off, and we didn't even finish watching it. I remember the tone and character portrayals were such a massive shift from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire ones that we got distracted at some point, were going to "finish it tomorrow", and never did. I wonder if I'll also enjoy them more today after having experienced such a wide breadth of superhero movies over the last decade.

If nothing else, the string of DC bombs and duds like Eternals give me a new sort of respect for the earlier trail-blazers.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-19, 10:38

That’s very true. 10-15 years ago It all seemed so fresh and exciting - those Raimi Spidey movies, the first two Nolan Batflicks and 2008’s Iron Man.

We truly had no idea just how lame and shitty all those could become (or lead to), just a short decade or so later.

We were so innocent and trusting.

I’m over/had it with superhero comic movies, Marvel and DC. The former said all it needed and gave the world all the top tier ones people genuinely care about. Now they’re scraping the barrel and trying to make movies about anyone who ever appeared in an issue of a comic. No thanks.

And the latter? Those guys never even got off the ground…their wheels never left the runway, starting with Man of Steel. They’ve botched it all. They’re already reboooting/resetting characters, delaying certain sequels, canceling others, etc.

If I never see another caped three-point-landing again, I’ll be just fine. I can’t keep going back to that tired-ass well. They’re not even well-written, once you set aside your overall excitement and look at them objectively the way you would any other movie not centered around costumed superheroes. I need more than fan-service, quips and “set pieces”…and that’s all most of these things are, to varying degrees.

I’m out. THWIPPP! KA-RAANNG! KER-SPLATTT!!!

PS - “Eternals will return…” my ass. No they won’t. That’s some Marvel exec on drugs.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-19, 12:48

Speaking of Marvel, I saw a new trailer for Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac. (I know it's actually a TV show - it certainly looks like a movie -shall I copy/paste the below in that other thread too?)

I remember when I saw this in 1989, and he was called Batman.

"Make the outfit white, nobody will notice!"

Reading the character's Wikipedia entry, the character is the Chicago-born son of a rabbi.

Not sure why Isaac has a Dick van Dyle-level British accent and the trailer is full of double-decker buses and other London stuff.

I guess they're trying something new/different?

In any case, it just looks like a hoaky, derivative movie, like something I've seen about 8-12 times already. You just know there's a brooding, slo-mo three-point-landing somewhere in the third act. Awesome, I've only seen that about 83 times since 2005...

They're trying so hard to make Isaac a genre superstar/figurehead. I just don't think that's his path, or future. Seems it would've happened by now. He's a solid actor, good-looking guy, doesn't seem to have any weird baggage/idiocy weighing him down, etc. He just always seems more believable/enjoyable in smaller, quirkier roles than big, loud superhero/sci-fi fare. He started out so strong in The Force Awakens ("Hey, here's our new, cocky space-jockey/shoot-first-ask-questions-later character..."), but by the time the next two rolled around, he was just (bad) comic relief and an annoying quip machine.

Having said all that, this is the sort of thing that will probably fare better in episodic TV form than a one-shot two-hour movie. As with The Mandalorian, there's more time to expand/explain stuff, and there's less risk and a better-bang-for-the-production-buck, this TV stuff. Although I've read that the character will indeed appear on the big screen in future MCU outings, so this is his life-action introduction before he shows up in Eternals II: More Eternalier (or perhaps the Captain Marvel sequel nobody on the planet is asking/waiting for).

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-01-19 at 13:08.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-21, 21:36

...and in sequels-nobody-is-asking-for-or-needs news:

‘A Christmas Story’ Sequel Set With Original Star Peter Billingsley

I adore the original 1983 one. Saw it with my "old man" in the theater, on a whim, way back in 1983. We laughed then and I still enjoy it today.

But knock it off with all these point-missing, silly-ass, unnecessary, money-grab/fan-service, shitball, waste-of-time, decades-after-the-fact sequels that will never match or replicate the charm or thrill of the originals. Don't make me name names. We all know the 8-10 franchises I'm talking about (three of them star Harrison Ford).

Quote:
Titled A Christmas Story Christmas, the feature intended for HBO Max will be directed by Clay Kaytis, who already tackled the snowy holiday season with The Christmas Chronicles for Netflix and has a script by Nick Schenk, the writer behind recent Clint Eastwood movies such as Gran Torino and The Mule.

...

While the original movie followed Ralphie, a 9-year-old boy who desperately wanted a Red Ryder BB rifle and was set in 1940, the new story will take place in the 1970s and sees an adult Ralphie return to his house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up.

The studio is hoping to re-create the same real-life tone of the first movie to show the now-father reconnect with childhood friends, reconcile the passing of his Old Man, and callbacks to the initial film.
This will probably be like that recent Vacation reboot/sequel where the kids are grown up and trying to do what we saw their parents do in the original movie.

Anyone remember/enjoy that one?

Yeah, I didn't think so...
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2022-01-23, 01:35

Ugh.

I just finished watching Netflix's Don't Look Up.

In hindsight, this was a terrible decision to make just before when I was supposed to be going to bed. I thought maybe I'd nod off while it was on in the background. Nope. Nope nope nope.

This is a well written and crafted movie, and the performances are all great, and for that I really like it and can strongly recommend it. I initially wrote it off when I saw it being advertised back in December because I thought its star-studded cast meant it would be a sure-fire dud. You know how those are. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchette, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande… Tyler Perry? Nah, that can't work, can it? I only had the vaguest idea about its premise; somehow Leo and JLaw discover an ELE and have to warn the world.

But oh my gods.

This thing was a cortisol-spiking anxiety-inducing nightmare. I could literally feel it in my chest and in my head. I'm still waiting for my body to come down off that high. I hate it. I hate it so much for being too real. I could really use a bottle of Xanax or something right about now.

You should totally see it. Seriously. This falls squarely in that "oh you've gotta see it once category."

It probably won't win any awards. It'll probably be completely forgotten in another six months time. It probably won't leave any meaningful mark on the cultural zeitgeist. But it's quite the experience.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-28, 10:57

The Batman receives a new ominous poster

Of course it does (imagine that in Sean Connery's voice...funnier that way)

I forgot this thing opens March 4, which isn't that far away, just over a month. Nice...for all those who couldn't get infected by going to see the latest Spider-Man back in December, rejoice...here's your second chance!

"Bless your heart, young man. Did you catch this working in the emergency room? Or delivering food and medicine to a sick neighbor?"

"No, ma'am...I was at the multiplex, amongst God-knows-who, watching a Batman movie."

Calling it now: prepare for another round of surge/spike news come mid-March, and probably throughout April, due, in part, to this movie. "But...but...how can this be?!", CNN's best and brightest will dutifully wail.

Irony = superheroes are the reason more people are catching this than otherwise would. That's two major characters/releases - doesn't get much bigger than Spider-Man and Batman - in less than three months, theaters only, smack-dab in the middle of allegedly the most contagious, easily-spread variant of COVID yet (note the bottom of the Batposter below...ONLY IN CINEMAS).

Thanks, WB...we owe you one.

We know these studios have the means to pump this stuff directly into our homes...they're choosing not to. That makes them atomic-level cunts, stage 4 oblivitards and officially Part of the Problem™. What are they thinking?! Do they think people won't go, in droves? This will likely break the record just set in December by Spider-Man. And probably some other ones too, not related to the movie/box office.

Anyway...here's the overwrought, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink poster

Good grief. I remember my first beer, and my first time with Photoshop. They weren't at the same time, however.

Fire? Check
Rain? Check
Fire while raining? Check
Bats? Check
Car? Check
Skyline? Check
Grim cast? Check
Cryptic symbols written in blood? Check

I've looked all around but I can't see a bat signal in the sky/clouds. I figured that would've been a no-brainer, and super easier to do. But I guess they didn't want to detract from the other 54 things going on.

Been quite a while (a decade, at least) since I've seen a movie trying this hard to be grim/edgy/dark.

A couple of things:

- Between Batman and Riddler's (the gimp!) headgear and Catwoman's BDSM suit (including whip), this is looking like some sort of kinky threesome porno, and I suppose Penguin is the Harvey Weinsteinesque figure at the center of it all, jerking off over by the nightstand and filming it all with his iPhone? Or am I reading too much into it?

- Since this is earlier on (year two?) in Batman's existence/career, I'm betting that case Bruce is toting contains the costume? Why else show him carrying such a thing so prominently? He's not a doctor, and he's not known for constantly going on vacation. So he probably just carries this with him everywhere, at least for part of this movie (until the improved, sleeker mark 2 suit is revealed in the closing scenes)?

Man, I can't wait to not see this hunk of shit.
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Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2022-01-28, 11:40

Now, that's a poster designed by commitee.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-28, 12:44

I think so. The ol' "10 pounds of shit into a five-pound bag" approach.

"Put in everything, and make it all bigger!"



The car is kinda interesting. The first live-action Batman car that looks like some tinkerer put it together in his garage. A muscle car with some mods/add-ons, vs. a tank (Bale), tactical dune buggy (Affleck) or overly-designed/borderline silly Kilmer/Clooney-mobile. I always liked the Keaton car, but it's definitely not practical and belongs strictly in a Tim Burton movie.

This one, to its credit, looks like something a person might actually own/drive, especially in their early years of being a crimefighting vigilante. I'm sure, like the suit, it gets upgraded/replaced at some point (this movie or the next).

And I still can't believe there's no bat signal anywhere. It has to be in those clouds somewhere and I'm just not seeing it? If anybody sees it, point it out so I can sleep tonight.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-28, 13:24

BTW, I stumbled across some buddy cop/comedy movie a couple of nights ago starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell. Not a particular fan of either guy, but I laughed out loud quite a few times throughout. Michael Keaton was in it, along with Eva Mendes, Rob Riggle, Steve Coogan and others. I missed the first 20 minutes or so, so I probably didn't get the full plot. But the dialogue and general silliness was kinda up my alley.

I've seen Ferrell play that type of role/character plenty before, but seeing Wahlberg doing a funnier, more clueless take on his Shooter and Four Brothers persona was a hoot...oblivious hard-case.

I looked it up and it's called The Other Guys. Apparently Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are in it, but I never saw them.

Anyway, I don't think it set the world on fire, but it hit me just right a few nights ago. Wahlberg crushing on Ferrell's wife (Eva Mendes) and totally unable to process how Ferrell ended up with such a pretty woman was funny. "No, seriously...who is this?" He never could believe it was Ferrell's wife.

Ah, that part is on YouTube.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-01-28, 14:03

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
"Put in everything, and make it all bigger!"
Including Mz. Kravitz' tits, apparently.

Those have got to be extra carrying pouches for CatGear™ because Zoë doesn't even come close to that irl.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-28, 14:15

Really? Off to confirm...back in 20.

Ah, it seems you're right. Yeah, pretty blatant on that. Do actors have control/say-so over things like that, or do they hand over "marketing" type decisions when they sign on for a movie? Could she protest and say "don't present me in such an inaccurate way?", or does she just realize that's how the game is played, and that WB wouldn't do it anyway? Movie posters, like print ads, retouch stuff all the time, but yeah...I figure some people may not be a fan of having it done to them so blatantly. I guess that's one of the things covered in the contract you sign when you come aboard a project..."your likeness may be altered for marketing/promotional purposes" or however they'd phrase it, and if she had a problem with it she's made aware up front, and can pass on the role if she chooses?

I don't know how all that works in showbiz, but I have to believe somewhere in the contract you sign this sort of stuff is discussed?

Drew probably knows...he works around this stuff.

Good grief, she's pretty. But look at her parents...how could she not be? The genetic lottery, as they say.

On the other end of the scale, I gotta say...that makeup job on Colin Farrell is pretty impressive. You could've given me six months and 800 guess as to who that actor was, and I don't think I ever would've come up with it if I didn't already know. It looks nothing like him! Did he do such a good audition that WB/DC were like "it's this guy or nobody, even if he has to undergo seven hours of makeup"?

It's like De Niro in The Untouchables...the extra weight, the hairline change, etc. He's a completely different person. I bet the movie will win some sort of award for hair/makeup. Certainly nominated, because that's pretty good work.



I mean...damn.

Woud've been neat to see what James Gandolfini might've done in the role, but he might've passed on playing another crime figure/boss.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-01-28 at 14:37.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-01-28, 15:07

She looks like a kid has been chasing her around bopping her with a rubber stamp.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-01-30, 20:39

Flipping around the channels and what do I see on TNT? The Rise of Skywalker.

Barely two years old and already showing up on basic cable.

I watched about 5-10 minutes (Palpatine and Rey) and finally muttered “enough” and moved on. As hard as it is to believe, it comes across even worse on a smaller TV screen. Something about going from 30-feet to 30-inches magnifies/boosts the stupidity and incoherency factor by about 700%.
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BlueRabbit
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
 
2022-01-30, 23:14

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
I looked it up and it's called The Other Guys. Apparently Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are in it, but I never saw them.
That movie is underrated! Sam Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson play the two "superstar" cops who die for some absurd reason in the first fifteen minutes, then Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg get to come in and solve whatever case it was that they were working on.

Another Will Ferrell movie with a similar vibe is Blades of Glory, in which he and the guy from Napoleon Dynamite form a pairs figure skating team. It's dumb, but a good kind of dumb.
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2022-01-30, 23:19

I watched Vacation Friends on Hulu on Saturday. It was partially shot in Atlanta and it was kind of funny in a date night movie kind of way. Probably best for couples, since couples kind of "date" each other. John Cena is growing on me because of his role as Peacemaker on HBO.

...
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-02-03, 17:20

I just watched Mad Max: Fury Road. Is this the movie everyone was raving and carrying on about a few years back?

Aside from some more elaborate stuntwork/vehicular mayhem, how is this not a retread of the movie I saw three-plus decades ago starring Mel Gibson? I thought I was in for something special and unique. Halfway in I'm like "I've seen this before. Several times, in fact."

Tom Hardy is a good actor...why does he keep signing on to be in silly shit?

Somehow this noisy, derivative hunk-of-shit got greenlit; and then opened/played to near-universal acclaim. I remember all the enthusiastic reviews and people wigging out on YouTube. When a thoroughly mediocre movie like this elicits a world-wide circle-tug party, my BS detectors peg the red and I think a lot of critics/YouTube Professional Nerds received an envelope of cash from the studio/director. I'm reading its Wiki entry, and the roundup of the glowing reviews...there's no way these people watched the movie I just saw.

I think folks are just hard-up/desperate for entertainment. Unfortunately, being a 2015 release, I can't chalk it up to COVID as I sometimes do these past 12-18 months to explain weird, mind-boggling shit.

"Well, COVID™..." can take you pretty far/cover a lot.

It seems a sequel/offshoot is in the works for a 2024 release. I wonder if there will be an endless car chase in the desert? Going out on a limb and guessing "yes".


PS - And before anyone starts up with their usual shit, I'm hardly a "film snob"; I'll stop everything I'm doing and watch Die Hard or Lethal Weapon (not so much the sequels, mind you) any time they come on. I've watched all of those silly Expendables movies too, and my fair share of Steven Seagal arm-snapping nonsense. I love mindless action and popcorn movies as much as anyone. This is just a so-so movie that somehow managed to get tagged with the "Citizen Kane of post-apocalyptic desert wasteland chase movies" badge, and everyone seemed to buy into it, en masse.

It's movies like this why I don't listen to/go by critics and the reviews/coverage of others. They're out of their minds. Or easily bought off?
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2022-02-04, 10:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
I just watched Mad Max: Fury Road. Is this the movie everyone was raving and carrying on about a few years back?

Aside from some more elaborate stuntwork/vehicular mayhem, how is this not a retread of the movie I saw three-plus decades ago starring Mel Gibson? I thought I was in for something special and unique.

Thank you.

I had a similar reaction when I saw it about a year after release, and I felt weirdly alone like I was completely missing something. I actually had to start it twice because I got rather bored the first time for an apparent lack of plot. Just a bunch of really angry people driving around and yelling. I checked it off my mental list of "must see movies", and I probably haven't thought about it once since then, save for undoubtedly running across old memes, until you brought it up just now.

It sure was a feast of beige mayhem, though!

I have to imagine lots of folks getting swept up in the cultural experience with everybody around them talking about it and that expectation of greatness and the loudness of everything suggesting that, boy, this sure is meaningful and substantive! I suspect experiencing a movie like this in the cinemas with that giant screen and booming sound system helped its original theatrical run immensely.

I feel like a lot of that could also be said about the dizzying array of Marvel movies, but the Marvel franchise is also full of quirky, somewhat complex or relatable and memorable characters who usually experience some cycle of loss and growth. The Fury Road characters are memorable for… the way they look? There's the one-armed shaved hair girl, the manic guy who spray paints his mouth, weird ugly fat dictator guy, uhh… and Tom Hardy!

What reason were we given to care about any of them? Yes, wealth inequality sucks. Sure, the abuse against women is something objectively bad we should root against, but why do I care about these specific women? Is Tom Hardy a bad guy? A good guy? Just a guy? I can't even remember now.

Without interesting plot and characters, Fury Road was probably just one giant adrenaline rush, which can be praise-worthy at times, but I feel like that adrenaline rush could only really be achieved in theaters while the masses of fans were buzzing about.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-02-04, 13:31

Yeah, that's a point. It might hit different on a huge screen, booming sound and a crowd of others watching. I don't know. There were some neat stunts and driving work (which I mentioned right off the bat in my previous post; those guys on poles and then some of the under-vehicle/upside-down stuff was nail-biting at times).

But, overall, it was just a bunch of noise for a really long time, and not much in the way of anyone to really root for. Just a bunch of grungy sub-literates driving really fast.

Yes, I remember when it was called The Dukes of Hazzard.
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2022-02-04, 14:19

It was glorious in the theater.

Also: I have friends who attend apocalyptic cosplay events like Wasteland Weekend, so I'm exposed to some real energy from them. Things are often more interesting when you have skin in the game, if even only tangentially.


...
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-02-04, 14:29

I understand that. But as a normal schmo who doesn’t cosplay or have $9,000 worth of Walking Dead, Marvel and Star Wars Funko shit in the background of my NerdNewz YouTube channel, none of that stuff has ever been a factor.

I’ve loved, and hated, gazillions of movies without any skin in the game. That’s extra trimming, and fun, but it’s never been a reason why I like, or don’t like, something.

I like those first two Gibson movies just fine. Didn’t care for the Tuna Turner one, and sure as shit didn’t see much point in this one. Much like the Alien and Jurassic Park franchises, you really get about all you need - and all that needs saying - from the first 1-2. Not much else left to do or say…driving across the desert at 90mph while a bunch of weirdos chase you is no more exciting/satisfying in the third or forth go-around than watching idiot, so-called adults putting themselves in a position - again - to get eaten by dinosaurs and xenomorphs for two hours.

“All of you are too stupid to live…everyone with a brain knows to not go to that planet or island, and you KEEP DOING IT.”
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-02-08, 10:24

I keep seeing promos on TV for Little Caesars pizza and their tie-in to The Batman. Such an odd mismatch, since their commercials are usually so silly/trade on humor, and this movie looks like everything but.

The Batman Calzony

Just seems like a better pairing would've been with the Clooney Batman (but that was Taco Bell, I remember).

When I think of Little Caesars, I typically think of a stupid Kevin Hart (or Kevin James) type of movie.

The Wacky Fat Mall Cop and His Inexplicably Loud and Objectively Unfunny Sidekick: Part IV - The Food Court Chronicles and such.
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