Bad Teacher/Cars 2
I’m a little surprised how much negativity there is around Bad Teacher so far. This is not like The Hangover: Part II, where I felt the film was much more slick and professional than Bridesmaids, while still making me laugh often, and therefore “better.” I had a really good, really unexpected time at Bad Teacher. I was turned off by the ad campaign over the last months… but then, really liked the supporting cast… thought Diaz was absolutely solid and surprising… and ultimately, felt it had some of that edge that The Hangover really had the first time that Bridesmaids was selling, but not delivering. Bridesmaids was a lot of fun, but something else.
It’s always possible that I was particularly open to those jokes at that moment… though the audience was with me for most of my laughs. Don’t know. Want to go back now. I don’t think I would flip on the film, but degree of pleasure might have been exaggerated or muted.
Then again, when I hear someone talking about Diaz’ character being too nasty, I wonder whether they saw the entire film or get what the subject was… or maybe they just don’t want women to be as vain and self-involved as men.
As for Cars 2… it was fine.
I didn’t expect much. I didn’t get much. It looks great. The voice performances are strong. But there is none of the Pixar kink that we have come to know and love. It’s a functioning, quality cartoon. It’s not a special event for adults.
But it will make a boatload of dough. And that’s what maters, uh, matters… no?
Thing is, I think it means a lot more than that to John Lasseter. As much as the other films mean to their directors. So… for those who love it, love it. I’ll throw Persepolis in the Blu-ray player and be perfectly happy.
Cars is the only Pixar film to date that doesn’t do anything for me.
Cars 2 looks to be a shrewd but cynical attempt to make a ton of money by selling tickets and more Cars toys. I can’t blame them for wanting to make a ton of money (and maybe someone at Pixar really does love this story) but it does lessen the Pixar brand in my eyes.
Isn’t Lassiter a huge car freak? And maybe it will allow them to make more stuff like Up and Ratatouille.
Bridesmaids was sold as the female The Hangover, but it’s really The 40 Year Old Virgin
Lassiter is a huge cars freak. And now it sounds like Cars 2 will replace Cars 1 as Conventional Wisdom’s Weakest Pixar Movie.
In the behind-the-scenes videos, Lasseter admits his wife told him to cool it on the automotive in-jokes, most of which he reluctantly cut before Cars was even animated.
And yes, Disney is hoping for two Pixar movies per year. If one is for money and one is for art, hopefully we won’t notice a difference.
Right.
I am surprised about the negative reviews for bad teacher as well. It’s not Bad Santa, didn’t go as dark but it is pretty dark for a summer comedy. But I did laugh. So is there really a double standard for women trying to be lewd while men can get away with it?
Poland likes another movie most critics don’t. I am shocked I tell you, shocked!
Bad Teacher is getting some positive reviews. Is it really accurate to say that most critics don’t like it?
For whatever it’s worth, a quick glance at the quotes from the 57 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes right now would make you think that most critics so far either don’t like it or just give it a pass even if they’re deemed positive on the site.
I’ve read some reviews and looked at the RT quotes, and it seems like the positive reviews state it isn’t a perfect comedy but there are more hits than misses in the jokes and there’s a solid laugh quotient. I think that’s true for a lot of comedies and doesn’t necessarily mean it’s being given a pass.
As is well established, I don’t watch ANY Pixar movies, because I’m an adult. But I DO find it funny how LITERALLY EVERY MOVIE GEEK AND CRITIC and member of the commentariat is going to these GREAT PAINS to turn up their nose at *CARS 2*, like this one’s a belching fart-fest compared to the Antonioni-level symbolism and artistry of ALL the others. Really, what is at the root of the condescension about this one particular Pixar brand? If ANYTHING, at least it has CARS, which I can understand geeks of all ages actually liking, and Owen Wilson, who’s awesome. If I was tied to a chair and HAD to watch a Pixar movie, it would sure as shit be THAT one.
And from everyone in real life I know who has kids, CARS is BY FAR their favorite… for those very reasons. So why can’t movie critics and geeks get on board with that? Is it some juvenile need for the geeks to feign some “cool kid” indifference like that one’s “too mainstream” for them? THEY’RE ALL CARTOONS.
Every REAL person I know in the world like CARS better than that stupid Patton Oswalt mouse one or the fat kid with the balloons or ANY of them.
Get real. CARS 2 is probably the only remotely watchable movie ever made by that idiotic studio.
As for BAD TEACHER: I’ll see this weekend, but is she really THAT bad? I can imagine it’s pretty tame. If I did a movie about a BAD TEACHER, it would be about some sleazy dude ogling all his female students and trying to hook up them and telling them the easiest way to get an A, then selling them drugs and trying to shame them into committing suicides and stuff. That would be a BAD TEACHER, not Diaz being vaguely grumpy.
Why are Americans SO squeamish about KIDS? Fuck kids. They’re little assholes, I DESPISE THEM. What’s the sign of a TRULY awesome movie? When someone shoots a kid, like in Once Upon a Time in the West or Assault on Precinct 13. Why do people get squeamish about that, or “kids in peril”? If this movie was really awesome, Diaz would shoot up her schoolroom. THAT would be my kind of humor.
Yeah I was surprised to see that Cars has a 74% at RT. I thought everyone, critics included, disliked it. Cars 2 is really that much worse? Lex be wary of anecdotal evidence. People I know, including those with children, do not consider Cars to be the best Pixar movie, nor do their kids. They love the toys (as evidenced by merchandise sales), but that is not the same as loving the movie. I do get a kick out of your anti-Pixar/animation screeds.
I’m also surprised that Cars 2 is only expected to make around $55 million this weekend. That’s less than the first one despite higher prices, a wider release, and years of stellar toy sales.
Some of the Bad Teacher criticism laments that the humor doesn’t go far enough.
Hated HATED the first act of Cars, but I actually kinda enjoyed the last two-thirds of the picture, and the climax is genuinely moving. I will admit that I was caught up in the whole “This movie glorifies Red-State cliches about ‘real America!'” meme back in 2006, which was among the reasons I never saw it in theaters. But truth be told, my reason for giving up on DVD after the first 1/3 (and not returning to it until very recently) was that Lightning McQueen was such an obnoxious jackass that I just tuned out (ironically the same reason I hated Midnight In Paris, natch). That first act wasn’t just ‘a good cartoon that didn’t do anything for me’, but basically Pixar doing its own variation on A Shark Tale-style storytelling, and I just turned it off five years ago. I’m glad I bothered to actually watch more than just the first 1/3 and the last ten minutes, because it’s a solid, thoughtful, and undeniably personal film. Heck, one can argue that it is John Lassiter’s Elizabethtown or Funny People, where a highly talented artist tells a story so close to his heart that he can’t quite judge it objectively. It may be one of the lesser Pixar films, but it’s not trash and the latter half or so of the film is refreshingly leisurely. At 116 minutes, is Cars not the longest animated feature ever made in America (I’m seriously asking, can’t think of a longer one)?
Which makes it so unusual that Cars 2 seems to basically do a 180 on what fans apparently liked about Cars. It’s loud, fast, flashy, violent, globe-trotting, etc. That by itself doesn’t make it bad, and it’s I suppose reassuring that they didn’t just remake the first film. For what it’s worth, Roger Ebert’s 3.5 star review actually makes me want to see the film, as he seems to love it for the same reason I loved GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra (it was my action-figure play dramas literally come to life). If my daughter wants to see it this weekend, I’ll gladly take her to a 2D screening this weekend (she enjoyed Cars 2 and points out the Cars 2 posters and billboards). If it indeed is as bad as feared, it won’t be the end of the world. Pixar will be fine, I’m sure they are smart enough to, if I may quote my favorite cartoon of the last decade or so, ‘keep moving forward’. RANT OVER
Poppy Z. Brite was on an authors’ panel several years back and asked the rest if they would murder a child in one of their stories. When they hemmed and hawed she said “Wimps”.
And yet the three witches Disney gave us in “Hocus Pocus” who keep veering into comic relief started the movie by killing a little girl.
Edit: (I thought the quote was “Just keep swimming…” Maybe I’m thinking of another movie.)
Yeah, I think Scott is referring to Meet the Robinsons, the totally OK-not-great Disney cartoon he absolutely loves. š It is sort of an overlooked and interesting little movie… though nowhere near Up or Ratatouille or Wall-E. Or Tangled, for that matter.
I kinda thought Cars 2 might get better reviews than the original only because I figured a lot of grumpy critics would have low expectations for a sequel and if it turned out to be even as good as the first one, they’d be happily surprised at the abundance of Pixar magic… but I had forgotten that the original actually did get solid reviews that had been rounded down into “no one really likes it” in the years since (see: almost any big summer movie with a Tomatometer rating under 85%). Which makes it harder, I guess, for the new one to surprise anyone. In fact, I never dreamed this movie would be below 50% on the ol’ Tomatometer. I do get a slight sense of some people complaining that what they didn’t particularly like about the original not being present in the new one, a la Pirates 4: “I know we just complained about the labyrinthine plot machinations of the last two movies, and they changed that, BUT THIS IS WORSE ANYWAY UUUUGH” … one reason I’m more excited to see it is that it looks like a different movie from its predecessor, something that’s not true about, say, Kung Fu Panda 2.
I cannot stand Larry the Cable Guy, and the news that he has a much more prominent role in Cars 2 is enough to make me want to avoid it. Looks like many critics are singling his character out as one of the biggest if not the biggest flaws. Damn elite liberal East Coast lamestream media critics.
“Bad Teacher” just isn’t very good, in my opinion. It seems like it got watered down as was conceived as more outrageous than it ended up. Nowhere near as funny as “Bridesmaids.”
The reviews certainly aren’t stellar chris, and it’s not that I think it looks like a comedic masterpiece. Does seem like some people like it though. Humor, subjective, yada yada yada.
Doesn’t help that a large chunk of the Cars 2 commercials are devoted to “those wacky Japanese potties” and falling into a tank of waste.
This might not apply to the Tomatometer, but I swear I just read an article where someone bitched that every game review falls between 70 and 90% these days–you can’t go lower or you’ll piss off a company that will no longer give you ads or exclusives, but you can’t go higher because some of the best games of all time barely rated in the low 90s when they first came out.
Probably doesn’t apply to movies, though–the kiddie kritics love to devise new synonyms for “suck”.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is fucking brilliance. Seriously, it’s Dreamworks Toy Story 2. Absolutely brilliant film.
Stella, what lunatics are living under the delusion that Cars 2 will only make 55 million this weekend? Point them out so they can get the skewers!
Finally Lex, you need a hug.
That would be the LA Times IO, though Boxofficeguru predicts $65 million, which still seems low to me.
Like Scott, I remember the meme that CARS was a hand job for Red Staters, as though the nostalgia represented by neon signs and classic cars extended to whites-only lunch counters or book-burning. All I saw was an inoffensive, if old hat, fish-out-of-water plot with a brilliant delivery system. Pixar’s CGI geniuses nailed both the flash and speed of Nascar racing and the rustic charms of Route 66.
One can’t help but think that if Mater were voiced by an unknown the reviews would be a few points more positive.
JS Partisan is dead-on about Kung Fu Panda 2. It’s a near-perfect example of how to make a sequel, working as a stand-alone adventure while tying into the original and setting clear building blocks for the later installments (it’s actually similar to X2: X-Men United in a lot of ways). The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s my favorite film of 2011 so far. I think part of the reason it isn’t doing quite as well as expected domestically is that it’s a truly adult drama with truly adult subject matter at its core and some scary and violent action in the first and third acts. It’s a great film, but it’s not really a great kids movie.
As of last week, I was half-convinced that Cars 2 would approach $100 million this weekend (I can’t imagine any parent with kids 4 and older not going). That may be pie-in-the-sky, but I’d be SHOCKED by anything less than the original’s $60 million. Honestly not sure how to call it this weekend. And I’d never pretend that Meet the Robinsons is a ‘better’ movie than Up or Ratatouille or the like, but I certainly think it’s a more emotionally compelling entertainment than Tangled, which I enjoyed quite a bit as a successful updating of the fairy tale myths. As it is, yes the former is one of those movies that I arguably love more than anyone else (others – Mask of Zorro, Babe, Frailty, Shanghai Knights, Akeelah and the Bee, Dick Tracy, etc).
One thing I want to mention about Bad Teacher, is it just me or is Cameron Diaz is starting to look like Ellen Barkin in the 80s?
I always saw CARS as an aging-hippie movie. “Hey, man, slow down, smell the flowers, dig the sights, enjoy nature. It’s life, man, and it’s groovy.” (Remember George Carlin as the flower-bedecked VW van?) The only “red-state” part was Mater, who, not surprisingly, was the one annoying character (and natch has a much bigger role in #2). But–pun intended–YMMV.
Peter, if she were, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, Barkin is still preferable to me, but I admit to possibly being in the minority on this one.
Yeah, anyone who thinks Cars has anything to do with RED STATES. Obviously thinks John Lassiter is a republican and a conservative, and not a car fan who loves the old days of Route 66. Seriously, Cars is about how the country used to be with CARS in general, and that seemingly goes right over critics and haters’ heads.
Stella Boy, yeah, those people are idiots. If Cars 2 does anything less than 80. I would be shocked. Sure that seems high but it’s Cars. A Cars sequel can do better than a 65 million opening.
Just seen Bridesmaids, and anyone that thinks Hangover II is a better film is absolutely completely delusional. I know everyone says comedy is subjective but with these two films you have to be borderline insane to not see how Bridesmaids is a million times funnier. It’s got more originality in any single 30 second slot chosen at random from the entire running time (including credits) than in the entirity of the Hangover II. The acting is in a different league. The writing is clever and witty. That said, there are no Asian guys putting on stupid voices and there’s a distinct lack of ex-boxers singing so I guess it loses out on those fronts.
Is BAD TEACHER supposed to be a comedy?
“Just seen Bridesmaids”
I can’t take seriously the opinion of anyone with that grammar. Honestly, people who say “I seen” should be summarily executed.
I doubt you love “Frailty” more than me, Scott Mendelson! (It was my either my favorite or second-favorite movie that year.) But I’m glad I’m not alone on it.
This really opens the door for 2011 to be the first year in which neither a Pixar or Dreamworks animation film is nominated for the best animation Oscar, and just the third time in 11 years that they haven’t won it (Happy Feet and Spirited Away being the only movies so far).
I’d guess the betting money has shifted heavily toward “Tintin,” as the favorite this year, with “Rango” looking increasingly likely as a nominee. I’d also guess the third slot will be taken by a late arriving indie movie, like “Persepolis,” “Secret of Kells,” and “The Illusionist” the last few years. Interesting that Paramount, which has only a single previous nomination in the category (for Jimmy Neutron a decade ago), seems to be the favorite for the Oscar.
Outside of that, “Winnie the Pooh” and “Happy Feet 2” are probably angling for a slot….but the latter seems like a longshot. I can see Disney pushing hard for “Pooh.” The studio has five non-Pixar nominations in the category, and a win would make non-Pixar Disney seem a little less second-rate.
And yet there’s already kvetching that Tintin isn’t actually an “animated” movie, since mo-cap doesn’t really count. But if Happy Feet already has an Oscar then I suppose the matter’s been settled.
Ethan, there’s no way Panda doesn’t get a slot. There’s absolutely no way.
I think it’s a stretch. Domestically it’s a box office disappointment, with reviews somewhat lower than the previous film, and it’s a sequel….only two sequels have been nominated for the Oscar, Shrek 2 (441 million domestic box office, 75 at metacritic) and Toy Story 3(415 million domestic box office, 92 at metacritic)….but Panda (155 million domestic, 67 at metacritic) has a shot if Tintin and everything else flops.
Ethan, it’s an international success, and the Oscars are an international show. Also, critics mean about as much as fleas on an iceberg with a film like this. It’s the kids, Ethan. THE KIDS and THE SCREENERS and THE KIDS! It plays, Ethan. The film plays. It’s the Brody of films. It plays.
Why are internet movie guys so much more comfortable with cartoons than with urban action where black guys are glowering while holding chrome pistols and hip-hop music plays and white chicks are stripping and everyone’s dealing coke? BE A MAN.
I feel that if handled properly, Rango is still the animated movie to beat this year.
The status of the Spielberg and Scorsese movies will matter a lot. Happy Feet 2 and Arthur Christmas are the two real unknowns.
But Rango is a movie about movies… Paramount can appeal to the older Academy audience in much the way that Sony Classics did with Triplets of Belleville.
“BE A MAN.”
if that stuff makes you ‘a man’, how come you’re still such a whiny little bitch-ass punk?
(oh and adamL clearly left off ‘I’VE’ at the start of his comment above – the exact same way many here leave out ‘I’ as the subject of their sentences to start off their comments – so executions all around! scott mendelson does it in this very thread starting his sentense with ‘hated the first act of cars’ instead of ‘i hated’, so get ready to die, mendelson)
i took my little god-daughter to ‘kung fu panda 2’, it’s pretty terrific.
Real Men Watch THE BACHELORETTE.
From the “Hipster” Wiki:
“[there] ‘…have been a slew of angry retorts to the rise of hipster rap,’ which…can be summed up as ‘white kids want the funky otherness of hip-hop…without all the scary black people.'”
LexG: Do they still make urban action movies like that? I don’t think so. That’s why I recently broke down and bought DVDs of The Mack, Superfly and the greatest single blaxploitation movie of all time…. Trouble Man. Funnily enough, I remember seeing all three of these (and more) during their first runs in theatrical release. Those were the days.
Lex isn’t dead yet… because Leah started that one… overtly.
I can’t believe I am cleaning up anyone’s messes in here. Exactly what I don’t want to be doing. But this “pass” for Lex is on Leah.
Please breathe and reboot.
And now… Leah’s had her first lost comment. Of course, her calling Lex a “punk ass bitch” and having him respond with his first really nasty post since he’s been back is my fault.
Can we please just act like adults… or just even take it with a grain of salt, as Joe’s lighthearted retorts have suggested.
i see lex’s comments have been deleted so the above now makes little sense
In other words…never mind.
wait, you’re blaming me for lex’s BE A MAN comment after clear earlier baiting and subsequent foul homophobia and general jackassery?
classic
Back in the kichen, woman.
preach it lex. anything goes. you’re MINT
He said, “Be a man,” Leah. It was in a very broad context.
You said to him directly, “how come youāre still such a whiny little bitch-ass punk?”
You don’t see the difference?
(ADD: Just saw your comment edit. Yeah… as far as I am concerned, he came back to the blog clean. He has the threat of being permanently banned over his head. You do not. Get over it and move along. I am sick to death of all the childish crap. I don’t care if you all think I am a moron… just make a case about what you care about, aside from boring personal shite, or shut the fuck up. It’s really that simple.
And btw, your comment on whether grammar should be an issue in here… that is a real argument, even if it was aimed at lex. “Punk ass bitch” is not.)
I’m sick of arguing with you about whether you are above reproach. You are not. Lex isn’t either. If you don’t like the room service, get off the boat.
It’s like things finally got relatively peaceful around here and you felt the need to fill the crazy void. You’re not crazy. But you can be very snotty and utterly fail to understand (or claim not to understand) what you are doing.
I don’t blame you for “Be A Man” at all. I blame you for attacking someone personally for saying something you found stupid. As I have said 4 million times in here… attack the idea, not the person. That is The Golden Rule of The Hot Blog.
Apologies to Leahnz and to David.
I don’t know what came over me. I’m stressed out in life and overreacted and was a dick. All my posts today here have been ill-tempered, across the board.
All the best!
“As I have said 4 million times in hereā¦ attack the idea, not the person. That is The Golden Rule of The Hot Blog.”
You’re in total denial, David.
Joe, I wrote and directed an urban action film inspired by my live for the mack, superfly, the human tornado, and a dozen other action classics.
The end result was…. Interesting…. I should send you a copy. You might appreciate the homage.
Anghus: Are any of the women in it as hot as Rosalind Cash or Vonetta McGee?
I’m a pretty big fan of all things Pixar, worship their screenwriting, and I have to say I haven’t even seen the original CARS yet. For some reason I never caught that one (possibly because of my inherent aversion to all things Larry the Cable Guy), although the international spy vibe of the new one looks very fun.
In terms of the urban action movies Lex is describing, I’m thinking:
BELLY, EMPIRE, NEVER DIE ALONE, TRAINING DAY, BROOKLYN’S FINEST, although the two Fuquas are more Lumet-esq 70s crime…I can’t really think of that many recent (last ten years, give or take) ones.
Oh, and 50 Cent’s GUN.
āJust seen Bridesmaidsā
I canāt take seriously the opinion of anyone with that grammar. Honestly, people who say āI seenā should be summarily executed.”
i’m sorry, DP, did you miss the part where lexG just dismissed someone’s comment (EXTREMELY ‘snottily’ i might add) and further said adamL should be executed for a supposed infraction in his grammar? that wasn’t a personal attack on adamL? how’s your eye patch
and i’ll break it down for you, DP, as snot-free as possible:
lex insults the manhood of all men who watch ‘cartoons’
i question lex’s manhood to illustrate how he – of all people – impugning other’s masculinity is patently absurd
but this is hilarious:
“Iām sick of arguing with you about whether you are above reproach. You are not. Lex isnāt either. If you donāt like the room service, get off the boat.”
funny, i must have somehow missed your lecture to lex in this thread about what a bitch-ass punk he was being, rather you just deleted his nastiness and NOT A WORD to him about it. hypocrite.
What do you mean about the status of the Scorsese, DP? If you’re talking about “Hugo Cabret,” it’s live-action, isn’t it?
“I canāt really think of that many recent (last ten years, give or take) ones.”
Considering that studios are now focusing almost exclusively on movies that will attract an international audience, I suspect the days of black action films are pretty much over.
Street Kings, Harsh Times, Illegal Tender.
Or not.
I dunno… I kinda think Training Day and Brooklyn’s Finest had too many honkies to qualify as true urban action flicks. Not like, say, Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off, where Ed McMahon was in the mix only so he could get smoked at the end.
“i question lexās manhood to illustrate how he ā of all people ā impugning otherās masculinity is patently absurd”
That’s a distinction that is inherently obvious as the subtext of everything I ever write here. Everyone here knows I’m a big, all-talk blowhard and total neutered, beaten-down douchebag who’s about as macho and threatening as Eddie Deezen. EVERYONE gets this. Everyone. My BRILLIANCE is too META for you, maybe.
Enough of this…
JKill, those are EXACTLY the kind of movies I mean. NEVER DIE ALONE and BELLY and stuff like that. How is THAT not more exciting than comic book guys in tights?
I was watching Bones the other night. Great movie.
Attack the idea, not the person. You just did the exact fucking opposite, Christian.
Just wondering… would you ever have the balls to talk to me in person the way you talk about me in here?
Not because I would beat you up or anything. But because you probably aren’t that much of an asshole in real life. You are, I imagine, a decent and fairly pleasant human being. And you might disagree with me and maybe we would have a discussion about it or maybe we wouldn’t.
I happen to know that Lex, in real life, is a sad, but decent and generally pleasant human being.
I am pretty sure that Leah is too… probably a great person to have a few beers with and talk shit about people for sport.
I don’t really give a shit who you are or what you really do or what you are really like. I care about how you behave in my space. Be raucous. Be arrogant. Be intransigent. But be all those things about ideas, not the individuals in the space. Because that leads NOWHERE. It is boring. Profoundly boring.
This does not mean that attacks on ideas will not be taken personally. They will. That’s a whole different conversation.
If you think I hate on Nikki Finke in here because I hate Nikki Finke, you’re not really reading what I am writing. You can argue that I am wrong about what her work means to the industry and to journalism. But it’s not about her personally. If she were in trouble and asked me for help, I’d be there for her like I would for anyone else I had an acquaintance with. And I would hope to survive her sting as we crossed the river. That’s who I am. Writing about issues with passion is not personal hatred. I always make my arguments, doubly so when I am angry.
“You’re in total denial” isn’t even a complete idea, much less an argument.
So… as I wrote earlier… shut the fuck up about it unless you have something to add.
LexG: What about the terrific Four Brothers?
http://www.movingpictureshow.com/archives/mpsFourBrothers.htm
yes, lex, your brilliance is far too meta for me. that fact that you think i don’t ‘get’ what your going for is probably the funniest thing of all, that you think because your ‘act’ is obvious that i can’t RETORT to it. is this too meta for you to understand?
as for the above (not joe), holy shit
I yanked his comments, Leah. I know that doesn’t count with you, but it’s a big deal to me.
And as for “lex insults the manhood of all men who watch ācartoonsā”
Come on. That’s the big offense? Be a man, Leah!
And thanks to the rest of you for moving past the car wreck. I’ll be doing the same now. I suggest that you do the same, Leah.
Chris – pretty sure you’re right. Somehow 3D lodged in my brain as animation…
“How is THAT not more exciting than comic book guys in tights?”
Perhaps it’s a bit too real. Watching someone fighting aliens and brown poop clouds is much more comforting than watching someone get smoked in the ‘hood.
In a related vein, I saw the last two minutes of “Mike’s Murder” about twenty years ago and I still can’t scrub the image from my mind of a guy dying horribly with a plastic bag over his head, and yet the same thing happened in “Darkman” around the same time and it didn’t bother me so much. Why the difference? How about gritty realism versus superhero unreality.
Lex, I agree with you on that. I sometimes get bummed out that action is almost now entirely focused on fantasy because of the advent of CGI. Give me a smaller scale crime drama any day of the week.
NEVER DIE ALONE is a truly underrated, viciously dark little movie. It’s ugly and grim and mean and seriously strong stuff. I don’t always agree with Ebert, but I have to give him credit for his 3 and a half star review of that because I think he was pretty much by himself in his praise.
BONES is a very enjoyable NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET riff. SNOOP DOGG’S HOOD OF HORROR, however, is not that great, although it gets points for trying.
So is this a bad time to ask if Diaz is at least going to give me a boner in Bad Teacher?
Because the poster is point to a resounding YES. DIAZ POWER.
David: These days, do you ever find yourself pausing when you write “3D animation” (in reference to something like, say, Hoodwinked!) because you’re afraid someone will think you mean, well, 3D with glasses?
JKill: Tales from the Hood was a nasty little guilty pleasure. Never thought I’d see David Alan Grier cast (effectively) as such a scary badass.
Of course I would say that to your face, David. It’s hardly a crude assault. And I don’t think you would trash talk the way you just did (in a way I never do) to my face. You giggled like a schoolgirl when Todd Philips insulted you and your site (and maybe you thought you had it coming). But on the blog, you whip out the “shut the fuck ups” with regularity. Find me one post where I’ve told somebody here in three years to fuck off. There will be probably one from about 2008. To Lex. Who earned it.
Lex insults me/others personally on a regular basis – of course, he knows nothing about me/others except his fantasies and he is indeed a sad, sacless coward unable to face those he attacks – but you defend him as some kind of victim to this day. Leah never attacked him until he whipped out his ugly misogyny that you (and others) consistently write off. That’s the denial I’m talking about. And if we meet in person, I’ll even buy you a drink.
Oh, and here’s some META – the thing about stand-up comics, failed or successful, is that they’re ALWAYS ON. There’s no more obnoxious group of showbiz folk to be with than a pack of comedians – they never listen, only step on each other to get to their joke. And if you don’t laugh or respond, they just REPEAT the joke. Over and over. In case anybody was wondering.
Joe… I don’t write “3D animation” unless it’s a glasses movie. I have probably written it as “digital” or “computer” animation for a very long time.
But I do remember when the pitch was that it was 3 dimensional and “traditional animation” was flat.
I don’t mind 3D, but I really don’t like to see these films and find out that the 3D is a non-event. Too many of those these days, back-converted or made in 3D (another distinction that is treated like the holy grail for no good reason.) I thought Green Lantern (at least for an act) did great with the fake-o 3D. And there isn’t a second of Pirates 4 in which 3d mattered to me a whit.
No one wants to keep score, Lex. Stop.
As I have posted elsewhere: My wife and I kinda-sorta enjoyed The Green Hornet — but we felt we’d been hosed because we paid extra for totally useless IMAX and 3D.
Joe, the David Alan Grier performance that I was really blown away by was in Altman’s STREAMERS. I had no idea he had that in him. Breath taking stuff.
If we’re talking relatively recent urban horror, I will admit that I remember enjoying Craven’s VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN way more than most….
JKill: Damn. Forgot about that one. Actually, that’s one of the movies I was thinking of a while back when I noted that, just as some people tend to under-rate many Woody Allen movies, many (most?) critics would have you believe everything Robert Altman did between Nashville and The Player sucked eggs.
Again, Christian, “giggled like a school girl.” You don’t know the context of that conversation. What came before it or after it. But you assume to know what you do not… because it suits your perspective.
I have allowed all the speculation about that interview to happen because I do know the context and I thought Todd was genuinely being funny. Mostly full of shit, but so what? You want to think I walked away with a bloody nose? Great. Glad you were entertained. I was too.
People wanted to see that as a bitch slapping did. People who thought I was brave to run it (ha!) said that. People who thought he was being an asshole saw it that way.
So now it’s minor-key legend and only 3 or 4 of us know what actually happened. Rock on.
I got what I am after in these interviews… the subject’s raw personality. It wasn’t about me.
And Christian, I promise you, I would happily talk to you exactly as I write about you… which would only occur if you offered up your I-know-what-you-think claim that I am in denial. If you think you could do it without man-ing up, you would be sadly mistaken.
And as usual, you misquote me for effect… I use “shut the fuck up” but only when connected to “if you have nothing constructive to add.” That’s the point. But you want to brand it as something else altogether.
You add some good stuff to the blog. You are one of the David Haters, but zzzzzz already. You like to use cheap, lazy short-hand to attack. Lame.
If you think Leah should be free to attack Lex personally every time he says anything she thinks is hateful, we will have to agree to disagree.
In this case, which is the one I walked into, Lex said something beyond minor, framed comedically, and got called a name for it. How do they put it… “2 wrongs don’t make a right.”
Lex is not a victim of anyone but himself.
He’s also the only person who has had anything close this many comments removed or been banned for as many weeks as he has. Is there anything short of a permanent ban that would allow you to think of me as something other than an enabler?
But are you applying for victim status? Is Leah?
That’s a rhetorical question. Please don’t bother answering.
Oh, and JKill — this one is just for you.
http://youtu.be/RDe4PtqKEvk
“You are one of the David Haters”
Victim Projection 101.
I actually love you DP.
Might just have been wishful thinking about “Hugo Cabret,” DP. The gorgeous illustrations in that book would look good animated.
(By the way, if folks who love movies have not read the book, which is called “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” they really should. It’s a book that is, in a way — because half of it is a very cinematic graphic novel — a movie, too. And it’s also about movies. And it’s amazing.)
Awesome, Joe!
It’s incredibly cool that you made Eddie do that amazing laugh of his. Man, it would’ve been something if he would’ve returned to stand up, like he said he was considering in your interview.
NEVER DIE ALONE is one of the most underrated and unjustly maligned movies of the last decade. It goes to really dark places and has the courage of its convictions. Arquette was miscast, but everyone else in it, particularly DMX and Michael Ealy, was stellar. Also, it had amazing cinematography by Matthew Libatique. And JKill: Ebert wasn’t its only defender; Variety, Scott Foundas, Stoller-Zeitz and Elvis Mitchell were on board, too. Too bad Fox Searchlight dumped it.
why do you keep bringing me up, DP? are you william wallace-ing it? come to peck a fight?
so DP, i see you again conveniently ignored lex’s personal, completely unsolicited attack on AdamL at 4:18 pm regarding adamL’s comment at 4:08 pm. lex did not attack the idea – that ‘bridesmaids’ is a better film than ‘hangover 2’ – he attacked THE PERSON for a grammar infraction and said the commenter should be executed.
how exactly does this fit into your absurd ‘lex never attacks people’ meme? a first-time – and likely last time – commenter. and that’s what i found annoying, compounded by lex’s ENDLESS baiting dressed up as an ‘act’.
double-standards. one standard for lex, another for us. and the truth comes out: you’ve met lex in person and he’s sad and pathetic, so therefore he gets away with saying anything he likes here. how sweet. (and his nastiness gets ‘disappeared’, while the rest of us just have to be content with sucking it up and being responsible for what we say)
Haven’t given a single thought to seeing Never Die Alone, but I may have to check it out. Of course, if it stinks, in on your heads! Yes, I did notice afterwards that I left out “I”. It was a case of a would-be random comment turning into a rambling paragraph or two (as my comments seem to do all-too often). But since me make good points to dot always my “t”s and cross always my “i”s, I figured I would got by with probation?
In the spirit of “attack the idea, not the person,” I have a problem with the general IDEA of repetitive righteous indignation. It’s exhausting to read.
to scott: i hope you’re talking to lex, as he’s the one who said adaml should be executed for leaving ‘i’ve’ off the start of his comment; i just used you as an example of how leaving ‘i’ as the subject of the sentence off the start of a comment is common practice here.
to nikki: you commenting about other’s righteous indignation is irony. oh wait, when it’s someone ELSE’S righteous indignation it’s a bore, but when it’s yours, MINT
What’s with this MINT shit? I liked Super 8, but I am really hoping that “mint” thing doesn’t catch on.
It’s also odd how it’s used five times all within two minutes, then never again anywhere else in the rest of the movie, like JJ remembered he wanted to include it as he was writing on a tear one night midway, then forgot to do it for the rest of the script.
FANNING POWER. CUTE! CUTE!!!!!
The Hot Blog. Where humour dies daily.
In a blatant attempt to derail the conversation…
Leah, I’ll be catching up with Cousin Vincent in a week or so. What’s the story with Cliff Curtis and River Queen that I should heckle him about?
Just wanted to throw in my support for Tales from the Hood and Vampire in Brooklyn. Thinking of those brings back memories for me. They were favorites amongst my friends.
Urban cinema? How about a mugging that inspired “Attack the Block”, which takes the muggers’ POV: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13345076
But then my opinion of the inner city matches the Griswolds’ in “Vacation”.
I’m working on a couple of projects that will likely have me immersed in 70s blaxploitation movies. Looking forward to some of the ‘classics’ I’ve somehow never seen (THE MACK, SUPERFLY).
Joe, I’m with you on TROUBLE MAN, even if it is a kinder, gentler blaxploitation flick (no sex or graphic violence — if not for the cursing, it could almost pass for a hub of NBC’s Mystery Movie from the same era). Incredibly, it made the 50 Worst Movies list in that book by the Medveds. The Marvin Gaye score alone should have kept it off the list.
One of many reasons I loved Four Brothers — as soon as Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man” kicked in during the opening credits, i knew I was in good hands. And when it was used even more artfully during the closing credits — to evoke, of all things, a tone of wistful melancholy — I was beyond impressed.
Of course, what’s really fun about watching Trouble Man now is seeing Robert Hooks blowing away Pa Walton at the end. Cowabunga.
So… what’s happening š ?
No, JS, “What’s Happening” was a TV series, not a blaxploitation film. š
Joe: Per your mention of Rosalind Cash and Vonetta McGee above, two words: Brenda Sykes. Grrroooowwwllll…
SUPERFLY is the Cassavettes blaxploitation film of the 70’s. Incredible.
i had no one that not in my attempt at urban action, but i tried.
the one female lead we did have showed up to set on the first day of filming and declared “i know i said i’d do nudity, but i won’t”, which turned out to be a metaphor for her performance which turned out to be pretty much half assed and ended up on the cutting room floor.
Hey, don’t forget the utterly hot Gloria Hendry! (And she still is…)
And once again, I miss all the fun stuff. Darn, darn, darn…
Back to “Cars”: “Pixar Falls for Intelligent Design”
( http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=28328 )
I always assumed it was a post-apocalyptic world where humans were wiped out but robotic factories keep turning out robotic vehicles.
And I assumed agriculture still exists to produce ethanol. (Why else? Even now it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than it eventually gives off.)
Doesn’t explain the tire tracks in the sky, though, unless that’s what robotic planes leave as exhaust.
And all three of these simple explanations support Berta’s argument without trying hard.
I must be the only one here who absolutly loathes Never Die Alone. One of the most soulless and ugly films I have ever seen. I know it is supposed to have legitimate street credentials but the plotting and dialogue sounds like it was sprung from the imagination of some 13 year old suburban kid who listened to too much Ice-T.
Worst movie Searchlight has ever released. And I have seen Gentleman Broncos.
Almost certainly too late to reply, but Lex said he couldn’t take me seriously for saying “I seen…”, when I hadn’t. What I said was “Just seen…*”
Is this incorrect?
I’d like to think my grammar is pretty good so would love to be educated as to what the issue is here (if there is one.)
*I think it’s okay to leave off “I” or “I’ve” at the start of sentences these days, so don’t care about that – I’m just wondering about the ‘just seen’ line.
“Just SAW” would have been the correct choice. You can leave the “I” off, but leaving an “I’ve” off is a different matter: “seen” is a past participle, requiring the “have” before it. So you would say, “I have (or had) just SEEN,” or, if you’re into abbreviation, “Have just seen.” Otherwise, it seems like you’re saying “I just seen.” It would be like the difference betwen saying “I just driven to the store” instead of “I just drove to the store.” Hope that cleared things up.
To echo something I mentioned in the comments under Polly Esther’s review, why no mention that “Bad Teacher” is coming out at a very bad time for real teachers? They are getting slimed day and night by the Republicans and now here’s something you can show to the flock to prove teachers don’t deserve any respect or benefits or those outrageous $30k paychecks because they’re all a bunch of lazy degenerates.
Havrilesky said it’s an “unrealistic farce” like “Talladega Nights”, but too many NASCAR fans that I know regard that movie in much the same way musicians look at “This Is Spinal Tap”–they don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
(After mentioning Havrilesky’s old nom-de-plume I decided to check out an old “Filler” article from Suck and was surprised that only 2 out of the 9 links she supplied 15 years ago still worked and neither led to the articles she mentioned. So what will people think 15 years from now when all the links we’re posting go nowhere?)
Ta Nikki. Will only leave off “I” from now on!
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