Oblivion

[thestray 361]

I wouldn't call it a good movie, but I thought the action sequences and effects and designs were all pretty nice, and I like M83 so I enjoyed hearing them while flying robot orbs vaporized people. I can't recall anything hilarious about any of the performances.

 

Granted, I believe that Paul, June and Jason being who they are could make a fun podcast out of virtually any movie, personally I prefer when they go after more Sleepaway Camp/Howard the Duck/Nothing But Trouble/Catwoman style craziness than just dissect every mediocre derivative predictable movie that comes out.

[Shannon 2953]

This movie reared it's stupid head back into my life this weekend and depressed me.

 

I wrote on Facebook about how great Elysium was and how much I enjoyed it and my friends stupid husband commented, "was it better than Oblivion?" And I was like, "Are you joking? Of course. Oblivion was terrible." and then I got like 10 more comments from people like, "Awww! I really liked Oblivion! "

 

And then I was bummed out all day that I knew so many people with terrible taste.

 

 

Shannon, please invent the Oblivion drinking game.

 

Oh I will. I think I'll have to make myself watch it again first to really capture the spirit.

 

Start here: finish your drink anytime something the movie has told you previously becomes untrue. it's what I did in the theatre and the reason I was giggling maniacally through that stupid ending.

[inactiveuser501 168]

Start here: finish your drink anytime something the movie has told you previously becomes untrue. it's what I did in the theatre and the reason I was giggling maniacally through that stupid ending.

 

Hell, I was sober and still laughed it up at the ending.

[inactiveuser501 168]

I wouldn't call it a good movie, but I thought the action sequences and effects and designs were all pretty nice, and I like M83 so I enjoyed hearing them while flying robot orbs vaporized people. I can't recall anything hilarious about any of the performances.

 

Morgan Freeman was DEFINITELY going for campy, decked out in hid Dr. Strangelove glasses. And maybe it's because I've never seen Melissa Leo in anything, but the Southern Belle Accent was just odd.

 

This movie was gorgeous, it was well-scored, it still made no sense. I haven't seen Moon, and I still think this is silly fun.

[thestray 361]

Are Dr. Strangelove glasses campy or hilarious? I guess. I just feel like this movie is flawed in ways that are not that amusing. So far all that anybody can say about it is how predictable it is, but so are like the majority of movies. HDTGM is most enjoyable to me when they're doing movies that are scene-by-scene flagrantly bonkers. This movie doesn't have a single moment in it that compares to anything like the insanity in Road House or Cobra or Batman & Robin or The Wicker Man, etc etc. I can't imagine a moment in this movie where Jason would lose his shit trying to break down a moment. I think we're kinda lowering the bar on what's crazy with movies like this.

[wyldride 285]

OK, so what is the point of having the clones think they are working on behalf of an Earth colony on Titan in the first place? What does that get the alien invaders, other than potentially disloyal clones when they find out the truth? Keep in mind, they apparently sent down a whole bunch of them originally to attack the Earth. So it's not like tricking them is the only way to make them work. The state of the world at the beginning of the movie makes no sense.

[inactiveuser501 168]

I listened to the After Earth podcast again, and I'm just throwing this out there

 

 

Can we at least do this so that we don't deprive the world of Jason freaking out?

[rcavanah 21]

I liked this movie unironically. It's pretty beautiful, and I don't think it tried to be much more, which would mean it's no fun to make fun of (regardless of whether you liked it or not).

 

And I'm sorry, but saying Oblivion is the stupidest movie you've ever seen while you're right in the middle of discussing After Earth is some next-level hyperbole that makes words lose all meaning and the human brain cave in on itself because it can no longer grasp basic concepts of relativity.

[inactiveuser501 168]

This forum's acceptance of Oblivion is bumming me out. I'll end by saying that if Jason and 2 of the moderators think it's stupid, then it's at least WORTH an episode, for the comedic potential if anything. I mean, Manzoukas is the man. If he has Oblivion material, I want it.

[seanotron 2307]

I will say it is nowhere near as bad as After Earth. After Earth was made of garbage (well, toilet paper).

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

I honestly don't understand this board sometimes. I mean, no, it's not the most original movie, but neither are 90% of all studio releases. This one was photographed far more beautifully than 99% of studio releases, had great music, and had well-done action sequences. To compare this to HDTGM dreck like Bridemic, or even other studio releases like After Earth, I think it plain off-base. I can understand just not liking a movie; having it rub you the wrong way. I usually HATE the use of clones in science fiction since it usually just feels like a big ol' copout... but I don't feel that for this movie, but I do have illogical hate for other clone/copies in genre stuff. It's not that illogical hate I don't understand, since I clearly share that for some things, but to equate Oblivion with the shitty excuses for narratives like, say, a Transformers film is unfair to even Scientologists and the miscast Morgan Freeman.

[rcavanah 21]

It's easy to go overboard with this culture of amateur criticism, and I think having the proper approach is an important aspect of HDTGM. I mean, it's built into the theme song: "Not just being a hater..."

 

But with a film where so many technical things are done well, I think there's a line where it could just become hipstery bullying. Personally, it's strange, because I love the podcast, but I can't listen to it if I'm in the middle of any sort of creative project. I worry that whatever I'm working on will get the same treatment by someone somewhere. Sure, that may just be a self-esteem issue, but I also know that I can't be the only person who feels that way... so the premise of the show is already a bit shaky as to what value it really has in terms of basic worthwhile human interaction, and there's a certain need to choose movies responsibly.

[inactiveuser501 168]

Hipstery Bullying? Okay, now it's personal.

 

No one is saying that this is some Birdemic/After Earth level shit going down up in here, but at the same time, those shouldn't be the only movies kinds of movies that should be done. If that were the case, then Fast Five and Crank 2 (Or hell, 66% on RT The Devil's Advocate) would have never been done because people unironically love these movies.

 

I, as well as the others who support this film being done, do legitimately wonder "How did THIS Get Made?" In my mind, Oblivion should have been a home run, but the end result was just so...interesting, to say the least. I couldn't tell what was going on with the flashbacks and the cabin in the woods and Melissa Leo's motivation for anything, and I will agree, the film is BEAUTIFUL and the Scoring is very well done, but it just has so many noteworthy elements that just make me come onto this forum and defend it. Is it the WORST movie ever? No, by no scale. But it is very discussion worthy, and saying it shouldn't be done because it looked nice (Not like that's the only reason, but it is the most commonly brought up) sorta ignores the stuff that is in the movie that we brought up, as if we aren't legitimate listeners. We aren't saying "DO THIS FILM IT'S GARBAGE" and then leaving the forum never to be seen again. We have reasons.

 

I'm just gonna end this rant by quoting Paul from the very first episode

And we're not saying that we're better than anyone involved in these movies. We're just saying that this shit needs to be discussed

 

 

(Also I felt that they thought After Earth was more a Boring Movie that a flat out stupid one, Just my opinion, now I'm done)

[Blueman29X 72]

Hipstery Bullying? Okay, now it's personal.

 

No one is saying that this is some Birdemic/After Earth level shit going down up in here, but at the same time, those shouldn't be the only movies kinds of movies that should be done. If that were the case, then Fast Five and Crank 2 (Or hell, 66% on RT The Devil's Advocate) would have never been done because people unironically love these movies.

 

I, as well as the others who support this film being done, do legitimately wonder "How did THIS Get Made?" In my mind, Oblivion should have been a home run, but the end result was just so...interesting, to say the least. I couldn't tell what was going on with the flashbacks and the cabin in the woods and Melissa Leo's motivation for anything, and I will agree, the film is BEAUTIFUL and the Scoring is very well done, but it just has so many noteworthy elements that just make me come onto this forum and defend it. Is it the WORST movie ever? No, by no scale. But it is very discussion worthy, and saying it shouldn't be done because it looked nice (Not like that's the only reason, but it is the most commonly brought up) sorta ignores the stuff that is in the movie that we brought up, as if we aren't legitimate listeners. We aren't saying "DO THIS FILM IT'S GARBAGE" and then leaving the forum never to be seen again. We have reasons.

 

I'm just gonna end this rant by quoting Paul from the very first episode

 

 

And we're not saying that we're better than anyone involved in these movies. We're just saying that this shit needs to be discussed

 

 

(Also I felt that they thought After Earth was more a Boring Movie that a flat out stupid one, Just my opinion, now I'm done)

 

[seanotron 2307]

I enjoyed this but would be totally fine with the gang discussing it. Also, I don't think Morgan Freeman was going for campy so much as he was going for 'phoned in'. As in, 'OK, I'll show up but I'm not going to try or anything.'

[Lando 2019]

This movie was certainly no 2001, but it also is by no means Battlefield Earth either. The worst thing you could say about this movie is that it was dull and predictable and I don't see much coming from discussing either of these issues.

[inactiveuser501 168]

This movie was certainly no 2001, but it also is by no means Battlefield Earth either. The worst thing you could say about this movie is that it was dull and predictable and I don't see much coming from discussing either of these issues.

 

Disagree. I could say a lot of things about this movie that are worse than dull and predictable, especially when it comes to the future tech, the cabin in the woods, the ending, and Melissa Leo and Morgan Freeman.

 

(And again I really don't think that we should say things like "Well, it isn't as bad as Battlefield Earth so it gets a pass" for my reasons in last post)

[Shannon 2953]

THE VILLAN IN THIS MOVIE IS SENTIENT GEOMETRY

[seanotron 2307]

At least the villain wasn't a giant Hellraiser baby face?

 

[robinsbruce 4985]

At least the villain wasn't a giant Hellraiser baby face?

 

 

"Come. To. Daddy."

 

You have a special place in my heart Sean.

[inactiveuser501 168]

THE VILLAN IN THIS MOVIE IS SENTIENT GEOMETRY

 

In this week's edition of "Lines read in the voice of Jason Manzoukas"...

[Lando 2019]

 

Disagree. I could say a lot of things about this movie that are worse than dull and predictable, especially when it comes to the future tech, the cabin in the woods, the ending, and Melissa Leo and Morgan Freeman.

 

(And again I really don't think that we should say things like "Well, it isn't as bad as Battlefield Earth so it gets a pass" for my reasons in last post)

 

Ok, it isn't even Judge Dredd. IMO it's not the worst or craziest Tom Cruise movie of the past decade, it's not even the worst or craziest recent Tom Cruise movie where he plays a character named Jack.

 

I wonder if some of the divide isn't that some of us were able to come up with internal explanations of some things that made it more coherent for us. I am a little confused as to what you found confusing about Melilssa Leo, is it her as an actress of her character? Also What was it about the cabin that you found puzzling?

[Lando 2019]

THE VILLAN IN THIS MOVIE IS SENTIENT GEOMETRY

 

I was glad that it wasn't little green men, the greys or some other humanoid form of life. Of course I could have done without the HAL 9000 eye.

[rcavanah 21]

Well, my main argument is: there's a hell of a lot of other movies that should be covered before dipping into the pool of films that are just derivative or mediocre or flawed with some redeeming qualities... or I guess more accurately, films that lack the insanity that other HDTGM movies exhibit. And if we're talking about the value of covering a film in terms of general audience satisfaction, then the fact that there's such a dispute about this one kinda closes the book on it, IMO. There's lots of badly-ADR'd fish in the sea, as it were. I mean, I'd like an episode about Kick-Ass 2, but I can accept that there are lots of graphic novel loyalists or people who aren't as put off by the tasteless stuff that I might not get that episode.

 

And Isaiah, on the idea that it simply needs to be discussed... don't get me wrong, I got no problems with the fact that you feel that way, but for me, taking on that ideal elevates the value of criticism a bit too high for my personal tastes. I don't see a major correlation between creative visionaries and their critics; I think most critics feel that it's a symbiotic relationship, but the creatives seem to see it as a parasitic relationship (albeit one that they tolerate, because they're the ones who get to do what they wanna do and make movies). Anyway, I digress... point was, I know we can agree that the main thrust of the show is for humor, and though the issues you have with the film are definitely topics for critical discussion, I don't see them as such a viable goldmine for jokes.

 

Having done standup for a bit and spent some time with comics, I guess this is just personal preference. I don't like having actual conversations about movies with 99% of comics. We just don't see eye to eye in critical terms, because I'm an extreme sincerist, and most comics are extreme cynics. I stopped listening to Doug Loves Movies for that reason. So, when an episode of HDTGM becomes more about legit criticism than jokes, I'm out. I might just seem like an outlier or somebody who shouldn't be listening, but personally, I see a pretty solid line between criticism and jokes, and I'm here for the jokes.

[Worldfamous 12]

I enjoyed this movie. I wouldn't even put it in my top 500 movies I'd like to see on HDTGM. Way too good, IMO.