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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

BYOB For A Quiet August Tuesday

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115 Responses to “BYOB For A Quiet August Tuesday”

  1. Crow T Robot says:

    Hancock 2?
    Really?
    Hancock 2?
    Do they really think we want to see this?
    I feel like fucking crying.

  2. martin says:

    Hancock 1 at $627 million worldwide = Hancock 2.

  3. LexG says:

    If it’s gonna have more CHARLIZE IN A CATSUIT then FUCK YES I want to see it; That reminds me that the AEON FLUX director rules and is a RARE example of a female director who isn’t a total loss; See also the Hooligans/PUNISHER 2 chick, YEP YEP.
    Hancock ruled, it was Smith’s best movie and best performance, I was BAWLING from the brilliance and beauty of the “twist” and it was a touching love story and a GREAT MOVIE by a GREAT DIRECTOR that everyone was too much of a DOUCHEBAG to appreciate.
    BRING IT ON. More HANCOCK please. I’ll be enjoying it in TOKYO with TWO JAPANESE PARTY GIRLS on either side of me.
    THERON POWER, proving that sometimes old chicks can be hot chicks. YEP. BOW.

  4. David Poland says:

    Actually, Hancock 2 has a real shot at being a big commercial leap from the first… origin story no longer needed.
    What you have is the biggest movie star in the world playing a flawed superhero. Doesn’t have to do the bum thing again – which turned a lot of people off – but can still be an edgy guy. Can place the story virtually anywhere in the world… actually do a villain this time… and figure out how this couple can be together and not.
    I think they have a challenge on this one that is both harder and easier. It was the 3rd act that seemed to rub some wrong. (as you know, I disagree) Reset!
    This can be a billion dollar movie, leading to a third… which should be the end.

  5. anghus says:

    lex needs a Depo-Provera prescription. i’m willing to chip in.

  6. LexG says:

    Fuck it, I’m throwing down the gauntlet since I’ve got nothing to lose:
    I’ve said elsewhere I AM LEAVING THE STATES FOREVER soon, but I’ll stay if someone in this city will MAN UP and offer me either
    a) A LEAD IN A MAJOR, SAG MOTION PICTURE, preferrably some SORORITY ROW-style MUFF-FEST with lots of hot cooze.
    b) A WRITING GIG for NO LESS than $100,000 PER YEAR plus A NEW CAR, preferrably the kind that makes shallow women (aka, WOMEN) want to have sex with a guy once then never again.
    c) AN IN-HOUSE FEMALE SLAVE WHO LOOKS LIKE A MODEL and preferrably understands ZERO ENGLISH. MUTES PREFERRED.
    Thank you. THE BIDDING STARTS NOW.

  7. LexG says:

    D) A PANCAKE BREAKFAST WITH ALEXIS BLEDEL.
    GOOD COMEBACK.

  8. Crow T Robot says:

    That’s right you, Philistines. Make it about money — money you have absolutely no stake in. You’re so smart.
    I like Will Smith — but he hasn’t been in a decent movie since the original Men in Black. He’s a very charismatic actor with one of the most boring careers in the business. He’s basically where Stallone was in 1987.
    Anyway, if I recall, they “fixed” the Hancock character at the end. What more is there to say?

  9. LexG says:

    “What more is there to say?”
    That you’re being a douche about this. And that HANCOCK rules.

  10. Crow T Robot says:

    “That you’re being a douche about this.”
    Yes I am!
    Or as my girlfriend’s little brother calls it, “A D-Bag.”

  11. LexG says:

    Is your girlfriend hot?
    SEND ME SOME PIX YEP YEP.

  12. LexG says:

    My 1:49 post was funny as hell.
    I just reread it and I’m still laughing.
    HOLY SHIT AM I TALENTED.

  13. I liked Hancock quite a bit, and there certainly is more story to be told with those three characters. It all just depends on whether they make a genuine continuation or just a half-assed remake.

  14. LYT says:

    Apparently Lex is done with sobriety for now. Good for entertainment purposes, bad for his health. Anyways…
    I posted this in the Fame thread already, but I’m curious what it means that Tyler Perry’s latest Madea movie actually is screening for press. I have found his Madea-less movies to be generally tolerable…but do we think the new one will actually be decent, or just that he realizes now that people are so used to his shtick that they’ll rate it on its own terms?

  15. MDOC says:

    Lex,
    Your 1:48 post was funnier, I have to admit I laughed out loud at the phrase “SORORITY ROW-style MUFF-FEST with lots of hot cooze”.
    Does that make me a bad person?

  16. christian says:

    Just an easy lay. Good for Lex!

  17. Rothchild says:

    Madea is in the new one.

  18. LYT says:

    That’s what I said, Rothchild.
    “Tyler Perry’s latest Madea movie actually is screening for press”
    So why do you think that is?

  19. LexG says:

    Fuck Madea, I NEED VAG.
    Someone on this GODDAMN BLOG MAN THE FUCK UP AND BUY ME A GODDAMN HOOKER *TONIGHT*.
    DO IT. HOLY SHIT AM I HORNY. If I had WAHLBERGPOWER I’d order 25,726 MODELS, HOOKERS AND PORN SKANKS and FUCK THEM all tonight in one room, same night, blowing like 10 MILLION LOADS and I still would have a repressed sack the size of fucking NEBRASKA.
    I CANNOT FUCKING WAIT to crack open this NEW BOTTLE OF JACK and this 24 PACK OF BEER, FUCK SOBRIETY, AND FUCK THE WORLD.

  20. LexG says:

    TYLER PERRY PRESENTS MADEA BUYS LEX A GODDAMN FUCKING WHORE.
    GOOD MOVIE.

  21. LexG says:

    THIS TUESDAY AIN’T QUIET NO MORE, MOTHERFUCKERS.
    THIS IS FUCKING LEXDAY, and I got ALL MOTHERFUCKING NIGHT to type any FUCKING thing I want.
    I DON’T GIVE A FUCK.

  22. anghus says:

    im really confused. harry throws up the headline
    “New Nolan third installment of his Batman Saga rumor…”
    take a second and savor that sentence. inside is a “rumor” that states:
    “The THIRD chapter of Christopher Nolan’s Caped Crusader’s saga could very well be FULLY shot in IMAX, not IMAX Digital – but the beautiful, stunning IMAX that we saw pieces of THE DARK KNIGHT in. ”
    Has he ever heard an IMAX camera in action? Is that even a possibille with the audio issues?

  23. sky_capitan says:

    I *almost* bought Nolan’s Memento blu-ray today.
    bought Adventureland instead
    If this lex fellow really is an unemployed actor/writer, hard not to see why

  24. martin says:

    Lex aren’t you the least bit concerned about the health implications of drunkenly banging a hooker? There’s all the usual shit not much protected by condoms like hpv and herpes, then there’s cold sores and real diseases like aids or hepatitis. I’m not saying that applies to all hookers but it’s something to think about. You’re only 36 dude, there’s more to life than getting paid-for ass.

  25. Joe Leydon says:

    LexG: Lexi Alexander, the director of Hooligans and Punisher, is a ex-champion kickboxer. I hope, for your sake, she never hears one of your comments about female directors. We might need dental records to identify you.

  26. IOIOIOI says:

    Lex needs to join up with a bunch of your shrubby looking dudes, and go tomcating. Seriously Lex, you need a crew in that town to get cooze, and I am sure there are a lot of guys out there who look like you. Who would not mind teaming up with you. Work that up, or move to Canada. Where all the women come close to looking like Erica Strange.
    That aside, who does not want a Hancock 2? Come on! WORK IT OUT! WORK IT OUT!

  27. Cadavra says:

    “Tyler Perry’s latest Madea movie actually is screening for press–So why do you think that is?”
    Educated guess: it was one of his plays, might have gotten good reviews, so Lionsgate is taking a chance that lightning will strike twice.

  28. William Goss says:

    Taraji P. Henson = critical cred the other films lacked?

  29. LexG says:

    SO FAR not ONE of you LIMP DICKS is sending any VAGINE over to my apartment.
    GET ON IT MOTHERFUCKERS.
    Hey how come none of you “PRODUCER” motherfuckers like Jeff B’s Doc or Cadavra ever write me about putting me in an actual MOVIE?
    Seriously. A little fucking offended over here.

  30. LexG says:

    Seriously — And Poland PLEASE don’t erase THIS one–
    I am HORNY AS HELL and LONELY AS FUCK.
    PLEASE if ANYONE knows any strippers, porn stars, hookers, or mentally unstable women who just want to BANG for a night then NEVER see the dude again, you would be DOING A GOOD DEED ON PAR with the MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION.
    REALLY, PLEASE, someone has to have an IN with some hot chick who isn’t too bright that you can convince I’m famous or something.
    PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE.

  31. LexG says:

    MAKE A WISH. MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE.
    BUY LEX SOME L.A. 9 OR ABOVE LEVEL GASH.

  32. David Poland says:

    enough.

  33. christian says:

    Here comes Dad to scrub up after the Lexperiment…

  34. LexG says:

    YES, SIR, MASTER SIR.
    Is it ENOUGH that I am NOT GETTING ANY PUSSY and am LONELY and DEPRESSED about it and I refuse to be a SHEEP in life and put on a smiley face like some underwhelming existence is somehow satisfying? Huh? You got an answer for that?
    Look, you’re obviously a standup guy and I’m sure the WATCH IT email is forthcoming if it’s not already in my Inbox, but all the soothing olive branches and friendly encouragements in the world are putting my cock into a HOT VAG, so I don’t know what to tell you. But I am going to fucking RAGE about it here and anywhere I goddamn see fit and the only way you’re going to stop it is to
    A) GET ME LAID.
    B) BAN MY ASS FOREVER.
    Those are your options at 11:43 on this Tuesday night.

  35. jeffmcm says:

    Hancock should have been two movies in the first place one ‘origins’ movie that just concentrated on the flying bum routine, and one ‘backstory’ movie that could have included everything with Charlize Theron. Mashing them into one story ruined both storylines.
    And why ban Lex now? He’s not doing anything he hasn’t been doing more-or-less weekly for what, a year now?

  36. Oddvark says:

    To “B)” or not to “B)”. That is the question.
    The rest of the soliloquy seems somewhat apt to Lex’s situation, too.

  37. jeffmcm says:

    Hey Lex, I’ll arrange for a hooker to travel to your apartment if, as part of the deal, you let me give you a few whacks with a whiffle bat.

  38. Bob Violence says:

    That’s right you, Philistines. Make it about money — money you have absolutely no stake in. You’re so smart.

    I take it that was the royal “we” in your original post, then

  39. LYT says:

    “Taraji P. Henson = critical cred the other films lacked?”
    Can’t be that alone…The Family That Preys starred Kathy Bates AND Alfre Woodard AND was half-decent…didn’t screen for press.

  40. Joe Leydon says:

    Actually, the first Tyler Perry flick, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, screened for press here in Houston. If I recall, I was the only honky at that screening.

  41. Josh Massey says:

    So it looks like the top four movies this weekend will all be rated R. When was the last time that happened?

  42. mysteryperfecta says:

    “So it looks like the top four movies this weekend will all be rated R. When was the last time that happened?”
    Good question. The last time was the weekend of Sept. 21-23, 2007, when rated-R movies occupied the top FIVE slots:
    Resident Evil: Extinction
    Good Luck Chuck
    The Brave One
    3:10 to Yuma
    Eastern Promises
    Before that was just two weeks prior:
    3:10 to Yuma
    Halloween
    Superbad
    Shoot ‘Em Up
    Before that, well, I stopped looking prior to 2005.

  43. Rob says:

    Is it okay that I totally respect the craft and imagination that went into District 9 but also found it kind of boring?

  44. David Poland says:

    Crow – Not sure what you think Hancock 2 is about… aside from money. Or how we can talk much more than the kind of speculation we’ve engaged regarding the artistic merits of something that hasn’t even been written yet.
    If you think Smith has sucked since Men in Black, that’s great for you. I think you’re dead wrong. But how can anyone else argue your opinion?
    And you miss my point… which is that “fixing” Hancock allows a lot wider range of story options the second time around than Superman or most other comic book movies, where the origin story leaves nothing but “bigger suit” as a sequel option. They birthed a new superhero and now that origin is out of the way, it’s still Will Smith, he can still have attitude, but he doesn’t have to go through 95% of the movie ignorant and enraged, which is what turned some off about the first film.
    Of course, they could screw that up…

  45. christian says:

    Movie Lesson Of The Week:
    NOBODY KNOWS NOTHIN’ — STILL.

  46. Joe Leydon says:

    Actually, the lead character’s rage was one of the more fascinating things about the first Hancock. You know, I’m still surprised by the level of hatred some folks directed at that movie. I sometimes think David, Roger Ebert and I were the only ones who really, really liked it. And yes, I’ll buy a ticket to see a sequel.

  47. Nicol D says:

    ” I’ll arrange for a hooker to travel to your apartment if, as part of the deal, you let me give you a few whacks with a whiffle bat.”
    Jeff,
    I had no idea you were so kinky.

  48. Joe Leydon says:

    Nicol: He’d also like to see your partner doing that to you.

  49. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:

    I’m with you, Joe….I really liked “Hancock.” It was kind of predictable, but aside from “Unbreakable” it’s one of the best created hero films in a loooonnnng time. Speaking of…what are some more films where a superhero is created solely for the movie.? Not adapted from a book, comic or otherwise. There must be bunches but I’m drawing a blank.

  50. A few that come to mind, Don: Darkman, The Incredible family, Robocop.
    I rather liked Hancock in theaters. I saw it again on Blu Ray and it actually got better, so it ended up on my ten-best list. The coda moved me immensely both times. In a different genre, Jason Bateman would have gotten an Oscar nomination for that one (Bateman’s quickly becoming one of the best supporting character actors in American movies – always making even the most stock character into a real human being).

  51. Crow T Robot says:

    Berg directed that film with all the wit and passion of a Budweiser commercial. And he pitted two tones against each other (outrageous fun vs family melodrama), which takes more skill to pull off than he has. And the Charlize Theron plot development… come on, guys… that’s as heavy-handed as it gets.
    Anyway, I see Smith entering dangerous waters right now in his career. He’ll either catch his second wind by abandoning these studio-pushed vanity projects and get behind some real filmmaking talent, the way Cruise did… or continue on until he becomes a self-referencing bore like Stallone.

  52. Hopscotch says:

    With all due respect, Hancock was not a well-liked movie by, I’d say MOST people, it’s box-office power rested on Will Smith’s shoulders and it being a action/super hero movie released on July 4th weekend. This is the exact kind of “that gets a sequel?” example that upsets most of us film fans when so many other stories could be told.
    Smith is in a weird place in his career. No real projects on the horizon. His last dramatic effort bombed. I’d be interested to see if he does the Harvey-remake with Spielberg (as is currently the rumor). Or a sequel. Or another action movie. Or hell, another rom-com.

  53. mysteryperfecta says:

    “Berg directed that film with all the wit and passion of a Budweiser commercial.”
    My biggest gripe with Hancock had to do with Berg, also. The style he employed was a distraction. Otherwise, I liked the film.
    “or continue on until he becomes a self-referencing bore like Stallone.”
    I admire Stallone for pulling his career off the garbage heap. I’m really curious about The Expendables. 🙂

  54. ployp says:

    Never mind Smith in Hancock 2 for the moment. Him in oldboy remake? And Spielberg directing? I don’t know how well-known the original is in the US, so maybe the big twist may work. But really, why are they remaking this? Not that the original ‘The Eye’ is a great film, but the Hollywood’s version is beyond bad. And ‘Shutter’ too. The original one is way, way better. If you guys have not seen it (and has, unfortunately, endured the remake) I highly recommend it. It is truly a scary movie.
    With the new oldboy, I just feel that, even with Spielberg at the helm, this oldboy remake will genuinely suck because so many know the twist already. I can’t see how writers could possibly come up with another ending and still keep the shock.

  55. Joe Leydon says:

    Actually, Ployp, I’ve never seen Oldboy — and I see a lot of movies. And I don’t know anything about its “twist.” So I don’t think knowledge beforehand will be a very big factor. Not trying to be snarky. But it’s like David often reminds us: The people who post here are a sliver of a sliver of a sliver of the moviegoing audience.

  56. John Wildman says:

    One word will apply to a Spielberg/Smith teaming on an OLDBOY remake: tame.
    The twist at the end is simply a culmination of all the crazy-ass Korean balls-out filmmaking that U.S. mainstream doesn’t have nearly the stomach for.
    And, I’m not simply talking gore – it’s much more personal than that. These are films (and OLDBOY is just one example) where a protagonist will cut HIS OWN tongue out just to make a point to his tormentor. Do you think Spielberg or Smith have it in them to go there? I think they like the “idea” of it, but when it comes right down to doing it, well….

  57. ployp says:

    Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you did not see it, Joe? And are you interested in seeing it?
    How ‘big’ was the film in the US? I understand that it didn’t have a wide release in there?

  58. ployp says:

    Er, John Wildman, a little SPOILER WARNING would have been nice concerning oldboy. Joe Leydon has not seen it (and there could be others too).
    I totally agree with you, by the way, the the remake would be tame.
    SPOILER AHEAD
    How would the makers deal with incest? Without this twist, the whole movie will simply not make sense. And the hynotizing? the brutal imprisonment? Eating a live squid (though this could be cut out without hurting the plot)?

  59. martin says:

    I heard of Oldboy through reviews on AICN, I don’t think it was released theatrically here though and I never got around to watching it on DVD. Are you sure Spielberg is still pursuing that as a remake? I heard the remake news a couple years ago but it seems like he’s moved on to the Lincoln movie and Harvey. It may well be made, but by another director. I agree that if they’re going to do it right, they shouldn’t tone it down. Most of what I read about the film was about how extreme it was in certain ways.

  60. berg says:

    “If I recall, I was the only honky at that screening.”
    Heck no, I was sitting right next to you. At one point I leaned over and asked What do they mean by po-po? And you said it means police. Then like Beatty says to Hoffman in Ishtar I said Man you know all the lingo …

  61. LYT says:

    “Diary”‘s overwhelmingly negative reviews were the reason none of his subsequent movies screened (though it was also the only one not directed by Perry himself, and arguably not as much his vision).
    Just interesting that he and/or LG have finally gotten over that. I hope LG similarly get over their fear of showing action/horror stuff to press.

  62. ployp says:

    martin, I sincerely hope there won’t be a remake because I don’t see how it could work commercially in the US. If they stick to the original, it would be rated NC-17. Although oldboy is seen as a violent film, I wouldn’t say the violence is gratuitous, so to me the film is not torture porn. And surprisingly, there are not many deaths, less than 10 if I recall correctly, in the film!
    And speaking of extreme films, it seems like we will indeed be getting another Saw film. How depressing.

  63. Joe Leydon says:

    Wildman: That’s the twist? I mean, he doesn’t turn out to be a woman in drag, or his son’s brother, or something like that? Geez, that sounds like the scene near the end of The Yakuza where… er, never mind.
    Polyp: It’s just another one of those films that I missed at various festivals, and didn’t rush quickly enough to see when it fleetingly appeared in theaters. As for catching it on video, well, it’s like when people ask me why I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter or Twilight books. I tell them I haven’t made it through War and Peace yet.
    Berg: You’re way too hip for me to ever think of you as a honky.

  64. chris says:

    “Oldboy” was released in the US, although barely (I’m thinking Tartan was going under at the time?). And if you care about movies, you should see it.

  65. ployp says:

    Since you asked about the twist, Leydon, here it is.
    MAJOR SPOILER WARNING for oldboy
    The protagonist Dae Su was imprisoned by his old school mate Woo Jin for 15 years because the latter blames him for revealing his relationship with his sister and making her commit suicide. Through hynosis, Woo Jin made Dae Su fall in love with his daughter Mido, thus commiting incest like he did. Dae Su begs Woo Jin not to tell Mido and cuts off his tongue to show his silence. Woo Jin kills himself. Dae Su asks the hypnotist to make him forget that Mido is his daughter. He and Mido embrace at the end and we don’t know whether he still remembers that she’s his daughter.

  66. jeffmcm says:

    Nicol and Joe: EWWWWWWW. On both counts.

  67. Joe Leydon says:

    Well, that’s one more off my must-see list…

  68. Nicol D says:

    Oldboy is a well crafted film that I will never watch again. Once you know what the twist is, I could never enjoy anything that comes before it again. It is not torture porn, but probably leaves a much sleezier residue.
    I may watch one of the Hostel movies again some day. I will never watch Oldboy again.
    When it came out, it was compared to a Charles Bronson revenge epic. I was sold. I love Bronson. Then I saw the film and realized the fanboys didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. Charles Bronson would never have sex with his daughter and would be far too smart to allow himself to be hypnotized. End of story.

  69. leahnz says:

    ployp: the original thai ‘shutter’ is AWESOME

  70. leahnz says:

    and ‘hancock’ was seriously bizarre, i liked it

  71. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:

    “Oldboy” is “free” on-demand this month if anyone has that option.
    To be honest, I never really got the love for the movie. I liked the premise but the twist was kind of lame. Then again, I was reading scripts in L.A. and it seemed like every 4th screenplay had that same twist so I was sick of it.
    That being said, a remake will be really lame and as Wildman pointed out, very tame. I also can’t see Spielberg directing it-producing, yes- because there’s nothing there that fits his auteurism.

  72. The Big Perm says:

    From what I read they were not remaking the movie, but the funnybook, which did not have the incest angle. That was added for the movie, I guess. So it may very well fit in Spielberg’s darker wheeelhouse, but not be TOO much for him.

  73. Martin S says:

    Oldboy is f’ing great, but Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance had me mesmerized. You can see the commercial elements in both but Oldboy’s ending is too meta and Mr. Vengeance is just seriously dark.
    Fincher could remake Mr. Venegance and get away with it from a Hollywood marketing angle. Paul Anderson of Session 9/Mechanic could also, but not with as big of stars.
    As for a Spielberg/Smith Oldboy – Smith’s ego just wants to recreate the big fight scene. There’s no new ground for him to break as an actor because he will tailor the lead for himself and not vice versa. And Spielby trumps all, so more humor and a transparent ending.
    I despise the remake machine at work. If a studio head started a “no remakes from us” campaign, I’d be more inclined to theatrically support whatever they put out just out of hopes of re-calibrating the overall output.

  74. Stella's Boy says:

    I think you mean Brad Anderson. Agreed. He’s great.

  75. jeffmcm says:

    I thought Mr. Vengeance was okay, Oldboy was entertaining, but it was Lady Vengeance that I really loved, in a dazzlingly perverse way.
    Can someone explain Brad Anderson to me? Because every movie of his that I’ve seen, I’ve had a major ‘so what’ reaction towards.

  76. Joe Leydon says:

    Once again, a “no press screening” policy means nothing to an international publication… LOL.
    http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940902.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

  77. frankbooth says:

    “The THIRD chapter of Christopher Nolan’s Caped Crusader’s saga could very well be FULLY shot in IMAX…”
    Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But if it does, don’t forget where you first heard the idea.
    http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/08/in_the_mood.php
    Comment #12.
    I hate it when I’m right and I don’t get anything out of it.

  78. ployp says:

    I also like Lady Vengence better than Oldboy. I think it’s because it’s a straight-forward revenge story, Jeffmcm. I have to see Mr. Vengence one day.
    And like Nicol D, I don’t think I’ll ever see Oldboy again. Knowing the twist kills the whole thing.
    Leah, I’m glad you saw the original ‘Shutter’. If I may, I would recommend ‘Bangkok Haunted’ if you like Shutter. The movie is actually three shorts directed by three directors. The last segment, directed by the Pang Brothers, is the only one worth seeing.

  79. Lex, since none of the things you listed in your 1:48 entry are ever going to happen, please take this advice: Please don’t ever fuckin’ come to my country. We have just as many hot chicks willing you ignore you and snub you in the street as America does.

  80. Martin S says:

    Stella – thanks. WTF was I originally thinking?
    Jeff – Anderson has an old-school sensibility. He’s certainly standing on the shoulders of John McNaughton who is the textbook definition for ‘victim of his own success’. It took so long for Henry:POASK to get released his career as an independent filmmaker never really recovered. Anderson was able to tap the same kind of subtle, dark drama characters McNaughton created but for more accessible genres.
    Session 9 is still, IMO, one of the best horror films of the past decade because I love how he was able to take the expansive depth of The Shining and grounded it in reality. For The Mechanic he crossed a character that could have fallen out of a 90’s Cronenberg film with a Stephen King story and made it not feel like a DePalma rift, which every ‘creepy noir’ film goes for. Even his TV work is great, especially the 6th-season ender he did for The Shield.

  81. Stella's Boy says:

    I love Session 9 and The Machinist. They’re well-acted, creepy and dripping with atmosphere. Session 9’s location is expertly used. Both are great flicks. I have not seen Transsiberian.

  82. hcat says:

    Transsiberian is worth a look. Good old fashioned thriller about regular people in over their head. All the leads are quite good, including Harrelson which I thought was a suprise.
    I think of Smith the same way I think of Cruise. Neither of them are great actors, but I for some reason I never seem to miss any of their films. As far as Smith being boring, I thought Seven Pounds was a decent movie and certainly not the safest career choice ( I am sure there were a lot more people scratching their heads over Pounds than Hancock). And wasn’t there an announcement of a Legends Prequal, perhaps I Will Be Legend?

  83. anghus says:

    i read the oldboy manga after loving the movie. it is a completely different story. the basic staples are there, but it is much, much more subtle. If someone adapted the manga into a movie it would feel like a completely different story.

  84. jeffmcm says:

    Yeah, I’ve seen Session 9, The Machinist, and Transsiberian, and each time my reaction was that I was watching a horror/thriller made by somebody who really had no idea what they were doing. Just a gripe, I don’t want to take away from everyone else’s enjoyment, I just don’t get it.

  85. ployp says:

    Anghus, would you please tell me how the manga is different from the movie? Many thanks in advance!

  86. Stella's Boy says:

    That’s OK jeff. I had a similar reaction after seeing stuff like the TCM remake and Saw. Different strokes.

  87. leahnz says:

    ployp, cool, i’ve not seen ‘bangkok haunted’ so i’ll go a-hunting for it and hopefully check it out.
    re: the original ‘shutter’, which really is one of the best horror movies of the ‘naughts’ imho (i can’t believe i think i actually left it off my list of ‘the best horror of the naughts’ we did here awhile back, because it’s simply terrific; i like the way everything is explained and ties-up in the story for once while still providing nerve-wracking tension, creeps, scares, twists, good perfs and what is one of the best endings of any horror flick, every fan of the genre should give it a go)
    anyhoo, i saw it first with some friends on DVD and in the bit where tun is in the darkroom and the phone rings, the guy next to me – who was holding a HUGE bowl of popcorn – got such a fright he jumped and the popcorn went flying everywhere, all over me and everything else within a one metre radius. i can honestly say i’ve never seen that happen before in real life and it was extremely amusing!
    (‘session 9’ is another absolutely sublime piece horror, i’ve only watched it twice because the thing of it just screws with my head, it’s so grim and tragic i almost feel mentally sullied afterwards – very effective but certainly not a good feeling. after ‘the machinist’ and the sheer brilliance of ‘S9’ i had hopes that anderson might become one of the new leading lights of horror but after ‘transsiberian’, which i really liked, it looks like he’s dabbling in a wider paintbox but i hope he returns to horror soon because he’s definitely down with the sickness)

  88. leahnz says:

    alright lex luthor, animation king! 😉
    (i think i would ‘get it’ better if i knew who jeff wells is beyond the one ‘cowboy-hat-left-on-the-bed’ thing i read linked here, i don’t get the morlocks but i think i get the thread count)

  89. ployp says:

    Leah, I’ll have to check Session 9 out. I wonder if my local DVD rental store carries it…

  90. LYT says:

    Session 9 is fantastic. Sadly, it opened here on the same day as The Others, and got owned.
    Not as big a fan of Machinist, as it relied too heavily on familiar motifs. But Happy Accidents and Transsiberian are both strong. I am always consistently excited for a new Brad Anderson flick.

  91. anghus says:

    ployp, here’s the general difference.
    1. Not nearly as violent or stark
    2. Hypnotist is a major character in the story and a teacher.
    3. The reason for revenge is not inspired by incest.
    4. No hammer in the hallway scene. No cutting out the tounge.
    Basically, what was taken from the comic into the movie:
    The fact that the hero and the villain were schoolmates. He is imprisoned. Hypnosis plays a major part.
    That’s it. The movie feels ‘loosely inspired’ by the comic. The manga is a psychological mystery. Not extremely violent. A slow burn.
    After reading the manga, i have no issue with the Americanized film. If they derive the story from the source material and don’t ape anything fom the film, it could be good.

  92. frankbooth says:

    If I were a producer with a good horror script, Anderson is the first person I’d take it to. Jeff, I hardly know ye.
    Also, I’ve seen Oldboy more than once, and it holds up fine. Like many films with twists, it’s an entirely different experience once you know what’s going on.
    Leah: Any particular reason you don’t read Wells? (I can think of several, but you kind of have to be familiar with him to get them.)

  93. anghus says:

    i can tell you why i don’t read Wells.
    He’s an epic fucking douche. Asking Directors for naked screencaps of actresses (even jokingly, it’s still classless). Exiting festivals because there’s no wifi signal. A giant, spoiled, baby with nothing to offer but his ‘irreverent’ take on the film industry. The worst kind of starfucker.

  94. jeffmcm says:

    Stella’s Boy, I hate the Saw movies and the Texas Chainsaw remake as well, so our strokes aren’t very different at all.
    Frank, sorry to disappoint you. I guess my reaction to the Anderson movies that I’ve seen are that he’s an indie-drama director who wants to be a horror director and knows the words but not the music; because nothing he’s done has struck me as anything more than being in the realm of ‘interesting try’. Again, Not trying to rain on anybody’s parade.

  95. frankbooth says:

    All good reasons, anghus. but you wouldn’t know them if you had never read him in the first place. I actually found him first, and his references to DP led me here. (Things were a bit more friendly between the two of them back then, obviously.) So anyone here who doesn’t like me can blame Jeff Wells, ha ha.
    My parade is waterproof, Jeff. I’m just baffled. We’re just not seeing the same things in these movies. Maybe we’re not even looking for the same things. As I recall, you liked Cabin Fever, which I found flat-out incompetent.
    My only serious complain about S9 is that no one ever seems to be working despite the tight deadline. Not exactly a deal breaker in a genre film for me.
    That hospital is an apartment building now. That strikes me as funny, somehow.

  96. christian says:

    And now Wells channels the Movie Gods themselves.

  97. leahnz says:

    “That hospital is an apartment building now. That strikes me as funny, somehow.”
    ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD LIVE THERE??!!??!! i’d constantly be checking both of all the tenant’s eyeballs
    now that i got that out of the way: frankb, i have no idea why i don’t read ‘wells’, i don’t know who he is or what his dealio is (and all i remember from his site is that he looks like a bizarro young robert goulet in his little pic)
    (LYT, you at least have to give bale some kudos for his highly disturbing emaciated turn in ‘the machinist’, don’t you?…maybe just a ‘ku’?)

  98. frankbooth says:

    Believe it or not:
    http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/blog/tag/Avalon-Danvers
    Maybe he looked like Robert Goulet in 1985. Here’s a more current photo. Brace yourself.
    http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/30/wells.jpg
    You know, I wonder if Bale and the whole weight-loss gimmick actually hurt The Machinist. It was all anyone talked about. I’m not knocking his performance, or saying it was a bad choice; it just seemed to overwhelm every other aspect of the film in terms of pre-release publicity: “Hey, Christian Bale lost a lot of weight for this movie! See how skinny he is? Also, he lost a lot of weight!”
    I love the stylization, the mood, the Herrmannesque score (which bugged me until I got into the spirit of it) and the way it all fit together in the end. And even if you didn’t like the film, come on — you gotta acknowledge that playfully twisted carnival-ride sequence. Hilarious.

  99. jeffmcm says:

    Jeff Wells’ current appearance is a ruin of something or other.
    And FrankB., you reminded me of that plot gimmick in The Machinist and how, when it was finally revealed, my eyes were rolling in the back of my head about how obvious, worn-out, and dopey it was. The score was okay though.

  100. jeffmcm says:

    This seems like an appropriate enough thread for:
    I finally saw Thirst tonight, but for some reason the Sunset 5 didn’t play any trailers in front of it, so I missed the first 5-10 minutes. Would anyone be so kind as to tell me what I missed? The first scene I saw was the priest deciding to become a guinea pig.

  101. leahnz says:

    LOL re: that wells photo, HE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE MY CHILDHOOD BESTY’S FATHER!!! right down to the glasses, that is too freaky
    (my mate’s dad definitely isn’t jeff wells, mr. dowd is currently a devout, bald buddhist)
    fb, i think you might be right about mr. bale’s circus freak show appearance having overshadowed the actual movie…but on the other hand, if it weren’t’ for that publicity, a grand total of 12 people might have seen it otherwise. double-edged swords and all that

  102. LYT says:

    Jeff, you didn’t miss a whole lot of Thirst. Lots of slowness with the priest doing not much. You came in right as the plot started, basically.
    Leah, yep, total props to Bale’s performance. But from the gimmicky character name (Trevor Reznick? Come ON, I expect that from a goth girl, maybe) to the Rob Zombie-styled carnival ride and the worn-out twist, it didn’t ultimately work.
    It looks like I’m the only guy so far to appreciate Zombie’s Halloween II. A lot more going on in it than I think people will give it credit for.

  103. Stella's Boy says:

    First Halloween and now The Blob for Rob “I Don’t Do Remakes” Zombie.

  104. LYT says:

    Chuck Russell’s Blob remake was awesome.

  105. Stella's Boy says:

    Indeed it is awesome. Zombie ain’t no Chuck Russell though. He’s got the “freedom to do whatever he wants,” which means more white trash and a long origin story of how the blob came to be.

  106. I read something funny on Twitter about how pissed Karen Allen is gonna be when she realises she’s been cast as the actual blob itself. Aw.

  107. christian says:

    I didn’t like Chuck Russel’s THE BLOB much at all. For one base thing, the Blob didn’t look cool. Nothing can touch the look of that first perfect blue sphere fresh in its cracked meteor…

  108. frankbooth says:

    I agree that the name of Bale’s character was dumb. That was one reason I took so long to finally see it. It turned me off.
    Is suffering from repressed guilt that hokey? There are only so many “twists” you can employ without becoming completely silly, and I was just relieved that he wasn’t dead and in the afterlife or locked up in an asylum and imagining the whole thing. But that’s enough of that debate.
    (I think about 20 people saw it, Leah. Check Box Office Mojo. Then look up Session 9 while you’re there, and then check the final tallies for the Saw films. Lock up all the knives, razors and pills in your house first.)
    I didn’t like the Blob remake much, either, C. I remember it being loud and frantic. The blob looked like a big glob of fat, and the way it lunged and thrashed around just wasn’t scary. Slow oozing and creeping is more frightening to me.
    Kind of the same way I feel about running zombies. Sure, they can catch you, but the sprinting dead are just dumb as an idea. What makes zombies scary is that there are always MORE of them, no matter how many you plug in the head — and, sooner or later, they’re gonna back you into a corner…and you’re gonna have plenty of time to think about it as they close in on you…

  109. jeffmcm says:

    I’m also a fan of Chuck Russell’s The Blob. It takes me back to when horror remakes (The Blob, The Fly, The Thing) were better than their originals.

  110. frankbooth says:

    …not that the effects in the original were all that great. They were pretty silly. Maybe the third time’s the charm — but I can already imagine what the digital blob is gonna look like.
    Looks like we can write off another potentially promising horror director.

  111. Stella's Boy says:

    Great cinema it is not but I think The Blob 88 is goofy fun.

  112. Apparently Zombie wants to remake The Blob without actually including the blob itself? What a dumbarse.

  113. Stella's Boy says:

    Zombie’s blob will be a hulking hillbilly who gets infected by a secret, poisonous government experiment which turns him into a shapeless killing machine.

  114. frankbooth says:

    …who looks like a member of Lynrd Skynrd and says “fuck” a lot.

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