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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

BYOB – Crow Having Trouble With Comprehension…

I’m not sure the point your trying to make here Dave (and I read it twice) but I think it hints at a summer movie round up.
So, on that note, I think it’s time for my annual poll.
Give me your choices for…
1) Favorite movie of the summer
2) Least favorite movie of the summer
3) Biggest surprise
4) Most unfortunate success
5) Breakout star
6) Favorite special effect
7) Favorite scene or moment
8) Most overrated anything
9) Most underrated anything
10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on
Posted by: Crow T Robot [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 9, 2009 07:17 PM

We seem to be having a failure to be able to process ideas today… well, a couple of us… so here is Crow’s BYOB… feel free to answer him/her or write whatever you want… you know, like I give you space to do in here 3 or 4 times a week.

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33 Responses to “BYOB – Crow Having Trouble With Comprehension…”

  1. LYT says:

    There’s been so much over the summer that I’m sure I’ll be leaving something out, but here goes:
    1) Favorite movie of the summer – Up or In The Loop
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – My Life in Ruins
    3) Biggest surprise – that Funny People was consistently funny and didn’t suck
    4) Most unfortunate success – Ice Age 3
    5) Breakout star – (tie) Jeremy Renner in Hurt Locker, and the German villain in Inglorious Basterds
    6) Favorite special effect – Devastator and his giant robot scrotum
    7) Favorite scene or moment – Chris Pine finally doing a Shatner-esque “SPOOOCK! It’ll work!”
    8) Most overrated anything – Away We Go (script was good, directing less so)
    9) Most underrated anything – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and I Love You Beth Cooper
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on: G.I. Joe

  2. Goulet says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer TRANSFORMERS 2
    3) Biggest surprise
    4) Most unfortunate success TRANSFORMERS 2
    5) Breakout star Jeremy Renner in THE HURT LOCKER
    6) Favorite special effect Zooey Deschanel’s face in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
    7) Favorite scene or moment First 10-15 minutes of UP
    8) Most overrated anything STAR TREK – it’s okay, but one of the best reviewed movies of the year, really?
    9) Most underrated anything FUNNY PEOPLE – too long, sure, but still the funniest movie of the summer
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on Nikki FInke is an idiot

  3. jeffmcm says:

    This thread sounds like an official reprimand for failing to Stay On Task.
    Anyway:
    1 (Favorite): Drag Me to Hell
    2 (Least favorite): Wolverine
    3 (Surprise): How forced so much of Bruno was
    4 (Unfortunate success): Transformers 2
    5 (Breakout): Sam Worthington
    6 (FX): killer skeletons in Harry Potter
    7 (Moment) Anvil on head in Drag Me to Hell
    8 (Overrated): Moon (it was okay, but people are talking about it like it was the third coming of Solaris)
    9 (Underrated): Tetro
    10 (Agree with Poland): That Star Trek wasn’t that great.

  4. Monco says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer: Public Enemies
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Terminator Salvation
    3) Biggest surprise: Not hating Wolverine
    4) Most unfortunate success: Star Trek
    5) Breakout star: Emma Watson. I don’t know if she is a star yet but she is the one I hope becomes a star.
    6) Favorite special effect: Shanghai opening scene of Transformers 2
    7) Favorite scene or moment: Purvis hunting down Pretty Boy Floyd in Public Enemies. Perfect scene.
    8) Most overrated anything: Megan Fox’s hotness
    9) Most underrated anything: Funny People. Sorry…I really liked it.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on: That Comic Con doesn’t really add anything to a movie’s gross.

  5. anghus says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer: Hurt Locker/Star Trek
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Terminator Salvation
    3) Biggest surprise: Proposal. Because it’s the first romantic comedy in ages that didn’t make me angry while viewing.
    4) Most unfortunate success: Transformers ROTFL. We should not be encouraging this.
    5) Breakout star – Renner/Pine
    6) Favorite special effect – Slow motion penis in Bruno.
    7) Favorite scene or moment – Renner staring down the driver of the car with his gun.
    8) Most overrated anything – Judd Apatow
    9) Most underrated anything – Bruno. Funnier than Borat.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – Chanwook Park is the bomb.

  6. 1) Favorite movie of the summer: Up
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Transformer 2
    3) Biggest surprise: That I didn’t like Star Trek AND that David Yates botched the biggest shocker of the whole HP series (way too telegraphed compared to the book).
    4) Most unfortunate success: Transformers 2
    5) Breakout star – Jeremy Renner
    6) Favorite special effect – Prime fights Decepticons in the forest (in IMAX).
    7) Favorite scene or moment – The prologue of Up.
    8) Most overrated anything – Star Trek
    9) Most underrated anything – GI Joe (it’s great dumb fun that delivers on the basics in style).
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – Star Trek.

  7. a_loco says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – Hurt Locker/Moon/Drag Me To Hell
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – Transformers 2
    3) Biggest surprise – Orphan
    4) Most unfortunate success – Ugly Truth
    5) Breakout star – whoever that dude in District 9 was
    6) Favorite special effect – I don’t particularly give a fuck.
    7) Favorite scene or moment – either the anvil scene in DMTH or the hammer usage in Orphan
    8) Most overrated anything – Iono, Star Trek wasn’t THAT good
    9) Most underrated anything – Iono, Wolverine wasn’t THAT bad.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – I’d have to go back and look…

  8. EthanG says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer-Up/HP6/District 9 (saw last Thursday)
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Tranny2
    3) Biggest surprise: Orphan because it exceeded expectations the most
    4) Most unfortunate success: Tranny2
    5) Breakout star: Jimmy Bennett (Star Trek/Orphan/Shorts) and Eric Bana (Star Trek/Funny People/Time Traveler’s Wife)
    6) Favorite special effect: HP6 ride through London
    7) Favorite scene or moment: Near end of Hurt Locker
    8) Most overrated anything: The Hangover
    9) Most underrated anything: Summer Horror>Winter box office hit horror (Drag Me to Hell, Thirst, Grace, A Perfect Getaway, Orphan)
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on…most of his film opinions.

  9. RP says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer: In the Loop and The Hurt Locker
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Bruno
    3) Biggest surprise: That Public Enemies was not an unqualified masterpiece. (Film probably had no chance of living up to my sky-high expectations.)
    4) Most unfortunate success: Transformers 2
    5) Breakout star: Ken Jeong
    6) Favorite special effect: Meryl Streep’s accent in Julie & Julia
    7) Favorite scene or moment: “I didn’t know they gave out rings at the Holocaust.”
    8) Most overrated anything:
    9) Most underrated anything:
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on: Among other things, the love of Amy Ryan

  10. IOIOIOI says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer:
    The Brothers Bloom/500 Days of Summer.
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer:
    Transformers 2. You do not shit on Ratchet and Iron Hide Michael, and expect to get away with it. Peter Cullen can only do so much.
    3) Biggest surprise:
    Star Trek/Moon
    4) Most unfortunate success:
    Even shit can lead to something cool.
    5) Breakout star:
    Case in point… Hal Jordan himself… RYAN REYNOLDS!
    6) Favorite special effect:
    I love that lens flare.
    7) Favorite scene or moment:
    Tom Meets Autumn, Stephen takes the hit for Bloom, Captain Kirk walks on to the bridge of the Enterprise, and Ron is cool with Harry dating Ginny.
    8) Most overrated anything:
    Drag Me To Hell. Only Sam Raimi can be vain enough to undo the work Joss Whedon did for the last decade.
    9) Most underrated anything:
    The directing talents of Rian Johnson and Damon Jones.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on:
    his amazing chest hair.

  11. jeffmcm says:

    “Only Sam Raimi can be vain enough to undo the work Joss Whedon did for the last decade.”
    What on earth does that mean? Keep in mind I never watched Firefly or Dollhouse.

  12. Nicol D says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer: Public Enemies; Mann is the man.
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: Pelham 1, 2, 3….with that talent, mediocrity should not be acceptable
    3) Biggest surprise: Star Trek…had no business being that good
    4) Most unfortunate success: Harry Potter…good but the same ole, same ole. McFilmmaking indeed.
    5) Breakout star: Bradley Cooper…great work as the straight man
    6) Favorite special effect: Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool…ok, its makeup but it genuinely worked and was creepy.
    7) Favorite scene or moment: Final shot in Drag Me to Hell; you get what you pay for.
    8) Most overrated anything: The Hurt Locker; good to be sure…but definitely overrated. This is no Full Metal Jacket or Platoon
    9) Most underrated anything: Megan Fox in Transformers…she has been bashed so much in the past few weeks that I now have to put her in the underrated category. I mean do you realllllly think she’s not hot?
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on: Bruno is a disappointment but not at all a disaster in financial terms. No one will lose their shirt. I would actually rate it better than Borat now that the dust has settled.

  13. Xu says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer STAR TREK & HURT LOCKER
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer TRANSFORMERS 2
    3) Biggest surprise HURT LOCKER
    4) Most unfortunate success TRANSFORMERS 2
    5) Breakout star Chris Pine & Jeremy Renner
    6) Favorite special effect STAR TREK
    7) Favorite scene or moment every action scene in Hurt Locker
    8) Most overrated anything none
    9) Most underrated anything none
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on TRANSFORMERS 2 & GI JOE trend would kill cinema

  14. movielocke says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – UP
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – Transformers
    3) Biggest surprise – Julie and Julia is fantastic
    4) Most unfortunate success – Transformers (and I like the first one a great deal)
    5) Breakout star – Jeremy Renner
    6) Favorite special effect –
    7) Favorite scene or moment – the opening of Up, Dug in up, The kid in up, Carl in up, flying dogs in Up, looking at the book in Up, Ice cream in Up, Kevin in Up, “Squirrel!” in Up and so on.
    8) Most overrated anything – Cinematography in Harry Potter
    9) Most underrated anything – The editing and tight coen-esque writing of The Hangover
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – Julie and Julia will get an oscar best picture nom if it can manage a really leggy run. (and I agree with his future (he hasn’t yet made it) but probably inaccurate prediction that Alec Baldwin will get a Supporting actor nom for it’s complicated ;))

  15. movielocke says:

    forgot to add special effect
    probably the sound design in transformers. I know we usually think of special effects as visual, but I’d include sound as well–and it’s really brilliant in that movie.

  16. Geoff says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – The Hurt Locker
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – Land of the Lost
    3) Biggest surprise – 500 Days of Summer, even though I really don’t like Zooey Deshanel
    4) Most unfortunate success – G Force
    5) Breakout star – Ryan Reynolds
    6) Favorite special effect – The new Enterprise
    7) Favorite scene or moment – Climactic shootout of Public Enemies
    8) Most overrated anything – Sacha Baron Cohen
    9) Most underrated anything – The Brothers Bloom
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – The Proposal was fun

  17. IOIOIOI says:

    Jeff, if you do not know, then I am not going to tell you… figuratively.

  18. EthanG says:

    Im not starting an argument in a poll board…but will someone please explain to me how Half Blood Prince shouldn’t be considered the 1st or 2nd best Potter films with Cuaron’s Azkaban? It destroys Columbus’s films and Yates’s previous Order of Phoenix…I think it edges Goblet of Fire…so why the hate? It’s CLEARLY a superior film to the last one…according to pretty much everyone…but the hate for it is greater….why?!?!

  19. IOIOIOI says:

    One more time… Ethan G should post more, and I have no idea why anyone would hate on HBP. This is the internet, and people seem to hate on anything. So, yeah, go figure?

  20. Ethan, I think at least some of it has to be because the film is less of a stand alone than the others. That’s why I didn’t like it as much as the last last.
    I haven’t seen enough of the good movies from your summer to really answer this poll. So I won’t.

  21. 1) “The Cove”
    2) “Terminator Salvation”
    3) “Star Trek”
    4) “Ice Age” beating “Finding Nemo” for the animated international gross crown
    5) Sienna Miller’s cleavage
    6) Opening credits of “Wolverine”
    7) Johnny Depp watching his friend die as he’s dragged from the prison escape in “Public Enemies”
    8) Pixar, as usual
    9) Duncan Jones’s “Moon”
    10) “Julie & Julia”

  22. Rob says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer: The Hurt Locker
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer: 500 Days of Summer
    3) Biggest surprise: Orphan
    4) Most unfortunate success: I hate to pick on movies I haven

  23. Rob says:

    Oops, I meant “superb performances by just about everyone in Funny People.”

  24. Josh Massey says:

    Happy 25th birthday, PG-13 rating!
    (And Red Dawn!)

  25. SJRubinstein says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – “The Hurt Locker”
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – “Transformers 2”
    3) Biggest surprise – the amount of “Terminator 3” ‘homages’ in “Terminator: Salvation”
    4) Most unfortunate success – “Transformers 2”
    5) Breakout star – Renner in “Hurt Locker,” Ed Helms in “The Hangover”
    6) Favorite special effect – Double Sam Rockwells (least favorite – bullet exiting Depp’s face in “PE”)
    7) Favorite scene or moment – opening five minutes of “Up” and final shot of house
    8) Most overrated anything – “Star Trek”
    9) Most underrated anything – “Public Enemies”
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – that, yes, “Terribly Happy” is a hoot and “The Cove” is worth watching, but a real tough one to sit through.

  26. Filmsnob says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer? Star Trek
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer? Night at the Museum 2
    3) Biggest surprise? Orphan
    4) Most unfortunate success Transformers 2
    5) Breakout star? Cooper/Pine/Galifianakis
    6) Favorite special effect? Lens Flares, lol
    7) Favorite scene or moment? Hangover Wolfpack Speech
    8) Most overrated anything? Drag Me to Hell
    9) Most underrated anything? Away We Go
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on?

  27. a_loco says:

    Shit, I totally forgot about Galifianakis as the breakout star. Whether or not he’ll be a joke in 5 years is irrelevant, his career got the biggest boost from this summer, hands down.

  28. Hopscotch says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – Up
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – Terminator Salvation (didn’t see Trans/Lost/NightMuseum/Wolverine)
    3) Biggest surprise – The Hangover’s staying power.
    4) Most unfortunate success – Wolverine (great more Marvel moies…oh joy)
    5) Breakout star – Dug (I slept under your porch because I love you)
    6) Favorite special effect- The slo-mo explosion in the opening scene of Hurt Locker.
    7) Favorite scene or moment – The dance scene in (500) Days of Summer.
    8) Most overrated anything – Moon (I got very bored) and Adam Sandler.
    9) Most underrated anything – Stephen Lang in Public Enemies. He’s the most memorable character in the movie.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – The Universal beat-up is not entirely deserved, or factual.

  29. TMJ says:

    I’ll bite. Here are mine:
    1) Favorite movie of the summer – 500 DAYS OF SUMMER.
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – YEAR ONE
    3) Biggest surprise – TRANSFORMERS 2
    4) Most unfortunate success – HANGOVER
    5) Breakout star – Sharlto Copley
    6) Favorite special effect – The DISTRICT 9 “prawns”
    7) Favorite scene or moment – The UP montage.
    8) Most overrated anything – (tie) Comic-Con and 3D animation.
    9) Most underrated anything – AWAY WE GO.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on – I tend to disagree with David more often than not, but I think that’s why I keep coming back to read the Button.

  30. BrandonS says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – Hurt Locker
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer – Wolverine
    3) Biggest surprise – the flameout of Night at the Museum 2. Not that it was undeserved (lazy, lazy filmmaking there), but I feel badly for the Smithsonian, which was clearly banking on another tourism-boosting hit.
    4) Most unfortunate success – Transformers 2
    5) Breakout stars – the guys from Anvil. Yeah, I know the movie came out in the spring, but it was just a couple of weeks ago they opened for AC/DC at Foxboro and Giants Stadium.
    6) Favorite special effect – honestly, nothing. And I do love special effects. I just can’t remember a single FX money shot/scene from this summer.
    7) Favorite scene or moment – either the first 15 minutes of Up, or the sniper battle in The Hurt Locker.
    8) Most overrated anything – no real letdowns this summer. The things that sucked didn’t surprise me with their suckiness.
    9) Most underrated anything – Ice Age 3. Not a great movie, but I loved the ballsy weirdness of the acorn breakup scene.
    10) Thing you actually agree with David Poland on: 3-D isn’t the future of moviemaking. I ain’t paying 4 extra bucks a ticket for a slapped-on gimmick. Isolated titles where there’s a genuine, thought-out and essential 3-D element, maybe (Avatar for sure, and the Zemeckis Christmas Carol trailer was pretty stunning in 3-D), but the glut of “3-D because we can” product right now is ridiculous.

  31. Triple Option says:

    1) Favorite movie of the summer – Thirst
    2) Least favorite movie of the summer

  32. Triple Option says:

    That should read “more hype” for Thirst.

  33. jeffmcm says:

    IOI, if you won’t tell me ‘figuratively’ what you mean, will you tell me literally?

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon