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JustinL

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Posts posted by JustinL


  1. It's a testament to how dull and non-engaging this film is that I saw it in the theater when it was released and remembered NONE of it. So much so, I couldn't remember the ending, and I assumed it was going to be revealed that DEX WAS THE VILLAIN.

     

    It would explain why he has such technical knowledge of not just machines, but seemingly of Totenkopf's base and his plan. And that would explain why he was kidnapped for seemingly no reason and not killed, and why he was able to escape so easily (seriously, they just show up and he's FINE!). Maybe he was Totenkopf's son working as a spy, always misdirecting Sky Captain as to the source of the robots.

     

    And that's another thing: The robots attacked the city and flew away, then Sky Captain says they have no idea where these robots are coming from. HE'S IN A PLANE. Why doesn't Sky Captain just FOLLOW THE ROBOTS?

    • Like 5

  2. I enjoyed Stranger Things well enough while I was watching it, but I wish I had liked it more. I had too many problems with the acting of many of the main characters and frankly the writing, which I felt was full of plot contrivances and was way more concerned with invoking other sci-fi properties than making any of those elements cohesive or internally consistent or logical. That said, I want to own the score soundtrack as well.

    • Like 1

  3. Not the biggest problem with the movie, but regarding the pool on the roof prank?

     

    He opens the door to reveal like twelve kids standing by the edge of the roof. They run over to him saying "Hold the door!" as it closes behind him. Here's an idea: stand by the door. Not fifty feet away. That way the next time an oblivious lunkhead bursts through at full bore you won't be caught by surprise.

    • Like 6

  4. I'm not going through 11 pages of thread (much of which appears to be a Joker discussion), so forgive me if anything I say is redundant.

     

    It just absolutely kills me that this movie sets itself up with Ramsay, a cop whose specialty is to track down malfunctioning robots and deactivate them. Suddenly it comes to his attention that there's a man creating chips that alter robot programming to make them lethal weapons. So obviously, the plot of the movie from there on out is about this cop chasing a human who shoots heat-seeking bullets. Wait...what?!

     

    Even the title suggests this should be about him fighting robots, which it rarely is. "Runaway" is what they call malfunctioning robots, so why isn't the film about a malfunctioning robot? The movie even sets up that this could be the case. In the scene where Selleck is putting his son to bed, the son asks him if Lois could ever go crazy and hurt them. Selleck says no, but then has a moment where he eyes Lois suspiciously. I thought FOR SURE this was foreshadowing. Nope. I thought when Gene Simmons figured out where Selleck lived, he would FOR SURE put a killer chip inside Lois. Nope. No runaways here.

     

    And that's my next issue with the title. If the movie isn't about a robot that's malfunctioning, perhaps the title doesn't refer to a robot. Maybe "Runaway" refers to Ramsay. While he may not be a Runaway in the literal sense of being a malfunctioning robot, he is, in fact, malfunctioning and unable to perform his duties because of his fear of heights. At the end of the film, rather than fixing a broken machine, he has to fix his own broken psyche. RAMSAY is the Runaway.

    • Like 1

  5. The whole bullet thing in the opening scene with Stallone is strange, but I think the bigger question is: WHY DIDN'T THE GUYS IN THE TRUCK JUST RUN HIM OVER?

     

    They're barreling down on him while driving a big-rig tanker truck and he's just standing in the middle of the road. Run him over! Or maybe go around him? Instead, they slam on their brakes, which is stupid enough, but then the force of their stopping sends them BOTH through the windshield! If the driver is thrown from the cabin, wouldn't the truck keep moving since he's not there to apply the brake anymore? Do truck brakes work differently or something?

    • Like 3

  6. They use the song "I've Got You Under My Skin" several times in the film. Is this a clever little reference to pregnancy? That's so upsetting. I have a baby under my skin?

     

    I think this goes towards explaining where exactly Devito implanted the baby. From what I understood of the movie, the egg was inserted into Arnold's abdomen just under the skin. I thought the idea was that thanks to the drug, this would be a supportive environment for the embryo just long enough for the effects to be observed. Kind of like how scientists in the real world have genetically engineered human ears by growing them on lab mice. What this doesn't explain however is how the fetus didn't rupture his skin as soon as it was as big as, say, a golf ball let alone an infant.

     

    But yes, I believe that was the significance of "Under My Skin" and yes it is gross and nonsensical.

    • Like 1

  7. I also had several problems with the chicken scene.

     

    First of all, the dorky kid must have been thinking "Boy, the inside of that vagina is very well lit!"

     

    Second, the online chat doesn't really have a name, it just says you can chat anonymously. So why have a camera feed? Maybe you don't know the person's name and address, but I'd hardly call a basically face to face interaction "anonymous" except in the most literal sense. Is there some honor system on this website that you only film your chest and genitals? You're identity's protected so long as you don't tilt the camera up or sit back an inch or two?

     

    Third, speaking of names, the nerdy kid's screenname is "Don't Worry Boy" because his shirt says Don't Worry Be Happy. Assuming this isn't the first time he's been on the site, that means he has designated this shirt as his go-to online masturbation uniform. And now the blonde girl knows he wears it to school.

     

    Fourth, I don't understand what the girl was doing on the webcam. At first I thought they were introducing some dark subplot where she was getting money on the side doing webcam porn. Nope. Just tricking anonymous guys into thinking she was masturbating. Not even actually masturbating. WHY?

     

    Lastly, why would she be so horrified and humiliated when she discovered the guy on the web was nerdy kid? She didn't really masturbate to him or show him any actual part of her naked body. Is it because she now definitively knows he jerked off to her? I thought that was the point(?).

    • Like 3

  8. Maybe this is more about what good people they are than about them trying to deflect possible negative reactions to the film, but the Hollywood premiere of Rhinestone doubled as a benefit for autism research. Also, Stallone is a comedian.

     

     

    "She is cheap. If she had a box of cough drops, she'd stand outside till she got a cold."

    • Like 4

  9. Wow. Thanks for that little shout-out at the end there, Paul. Was NOT expecting that. I know I don't post much these days, but I've been with you guys since the beginning and still listen immediately upon download every week. Keep up the amazing work!

     

    Added bit of trivia: I was the guy in the clip who won the "Amy Thinks You're Ugly" sticker for guessing From Justin to Kelly(!).

    • Like 1

  10. They lightly touched on this, but when the kid was coughing to cover up the sounds of Gooby upstairs, did it make anyone furious that the sounds were not only banging and thumping but also a CAVALRY TRUMPET? At one point there's even a "Honk Honk" and Willy says "Yes Yes!" to cover it up. And the parents are like, "Oh! I thought I was hearing a trumpet above my head, but clearly it was my son coughing two feet in front of me."

     

    And to expand on the molestation aspect: Where is Gooby always hiding? In the basement. In the attic. IN THE SHED. This is where the Gooby happens.

     

    And the ending has a SUPER-creepy undertone if you view Gooby as a manifestation of sexual abuse. After Gooby shows the dad his childhood secret room, he's reminded of the pain he felt when the Gooby happened to him. That's why Gooby stops for Willy after that. Remember how uncomfortable (but grudgingly accepting) the mother was when Gooby was revealed to her and how he was apparently just going to become part of their lives from now on? It was as if the husband confessed to something and now she had to just deal with it. But just when you think the cycle of terror is over, Willy sees a little girl alone at Home Depot, corners her and asks her if she wants a special friend. Now she's got the Gooby.

    • Like 1

  11. Terrific episode. Too bad they ran out of time. By the way, the episode is longer than the runtime of the movie (93 min.) and yet, they still ran out of time. This could have been a two-parter if they didn't have another show after.

     

    Yeah. I forgot just how crazy this movie was until they started discussing it. They barely scratched the surface. Case in point:

     

    Zeus' training room is covered with posters of Rip, yet he also have a training room with a projection of himself in the mirror. Just to make it clear, he trains against an image of himself, but with posters of his rival on the walls. Shouldn't it be the opposite?

     

    I forgot about that weird projection of Zeus. And it's a minor point, but after Rip smashes that mirror, the image projected on him is Zeus in a completely different pose. It's not even the same picture.

    • Like 1
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