Episode 140.5 - Minisode 140.5

[tomspanks 9039]

I just found out that one of my favorite martial arts actor, Donnie Yen, is in Rogue One. The movie looks great. It doesn't have the cartoon-y look of 90% of sci-fi and superhero movies. I might actually find the movie's life-and-death stakes convincing.

 

I'm so pumped. Ip Man in Space! Hope he's also doing the fight choreography.

[RyanSz 3140]

The best movie for me this year, so far, has to be either Deadpool or The Nice Guys.

 

If you haven't seen The Nice Guys, you're REALLY missing out on something great.

Nice Guys further proves that Shane Black can make the best "non-Christmas but set around Christmas" movies ever. The amount of detail that they put into recreating 70s era LA was incredible, which he actually talked about on a recent episode of Doug Loves Movies. He came off as a bit pretentious at times but it only added to the idea that he really loves making quality movies.

[Smigg 1488]

Nice Guys further proves that Shane Black can make the best "non-Christmas but set around Christmas" movies ever. The amount of detail that they put into recreating 70s era LA was incredible, which he actually talked about on a recent episode of Doug Loves Movies. He came off as a bit pretentious at times but it only added to the idea that he really loves making quality movies.

 

Not only that, it was a comedy that was genuinely laugh out loud funny, and there were parts of the movie I missed because I was laughing at something else.

 

Gosling was absolutely perfect for that movie.

[Auden 1809]

Hope he's also doing the fight choreography.

I checked imdb, he's not, sadly.

 

I should also note that the other Chinese actor in Rogue One is Jiang Wen. He's a Big Deal actor in China. No doubt the casting of a Chinese actor and a Hong Kong actor is to broaden the movie's appeal in Chinese-speaking markets (Shanghai Disney Resort had recently opened and there's a Disneyland in Hong Kong), but it's still a score for diversity that Chinese actors are appearing for the first time in a Star Wars movie.

[RyanSz 3140]

I checked imdb, he's not, sadly.

 

I should also note that the other Chinese actor in Rogue One is Jiang Wen. He's a Big Deal actor in China. No doubt the casting of a Chinese actor and a Hong Kong actor is to broaden the movie's appeal in Chinese-speaking markets (Shanghai Disney Resort had recently opened and there's a Disneyland in Hong Kong), but it's still a score for diversity that Chinese actors are appearing for the first time in a Star Wars movie.

Aren't studios doing that as well to get tax write offs in various Asian markets? I remember there being something about Iron Man 3 shooting exclusive scenes featuring an Asian actress that were only going to be shown in the Chinese version of the movie.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Glad to hear Ghostbusters is good! I am looking forward to seeing it, but of course, that won't be until I can get it on Amazon. I truly wish I could have seen that instead of the movie I did see this weekend--Crimson Peak--which I felt was absolute garbage (and not in a fun HDTGM way either).

 

However, my big question is: what's everyone's take on The Shadow? I only made it (maybe) halfway yesterday, and when I had the opportunity to pick up where I left off this morning, I really couldn't conjure up the desire to do so...I really wanted to like it, and I felt like it started interestingly enough, but after awhile, I just felt it had gotten tedious.

 

I don't know, maybe it's just me. What I can say, is every time I try to talk about it, I keep wanting to call it The Spirit instead of The Shadow. I can't help but wonder if The Spirit (which I have not seen) might have been a more interesting pick...

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Glad to hear Ghostbusters is good! I am looking forward to seeing it, but of course, that won't be until I can get it on Amazon. I truly wish I could have seen that instead of the movie I did see this weekend--Crimson Peak--which I felt was absolute garbage (and not in a fun HDTGM way either).

Oh man I really really enjoyed Crimson Peak! I thought it was ridiculous in all the right ways and Jessica Chastain's acting was legit superb!

 

My best friend and I went to see it in theaters and that moment where she flips the book to reveal that drawn sex scene made us laugh out loud for a long while. We had to legitimately control ourselves so that we wouldn't burst out laughing throughout the movie because of that.

[RyanSz 3140]

Glad to hear Ghostbusters is good! I am looking forward to seeing it, but of course, that won't be until I can get it on Amazon. I truly wish I could have seen that instead of the movie I did see this weekend--Crimson Peak--which I felt was absolute garbage (and not in a fun HDTGM way either).

 

However, my big question is: what's everyone's take on The Shadow? I only made it (maybe) halfway yesterday, and when I had the opportunity to pick up where I left off this morning, I really couldn't conjure up the desire to do so...I really wanted to like it, and I felt like it started interestingly enough, but after awhile, I just felt it had gotten tedious.

 

I don't know, maybe it's just me. What I can say, is every time I try to talk about it, I keep wanting to call it The Spirit instead of The Shadow. I can't help but wonder if The Spirit (which I have not seen) might have been a more interesting pick...

See I loved Crimson Peak as a gothic romance, which sadly was not how it was portrayed in US trailers, but rather a horror movie, though I admit that I can barely get through Tom Hiddleston's eye scene. I am going to watch The Shadow today, and at most have only seen maybe three minutes of it on TV so that isn't the best barometer, but I'm sure it's leaps and bounds better than The Spirit which is basically Frank Miller going "what if The Spirit was in Sin City?" I can't even sit through it all the way and I've tried on a few occasions. Hell read the wikipedia for the movie and you'll feel like your brain is melting, which means it would be perfect for the show. The only positive from that movie is that it led Gabriel Macht into doing more serious roles like Suits, which is a fantastic show.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Oh man I really really enjoyed Crimson Peak! I thought it was ridiculous in all the right ways and Jessica Chastain's acting was legit superb!

 

My best friend and I went to see it in theaters and that moment where she flips the book to reveal that drawn sex scene made us laugh out loud for a long while. We had to legitimately control ourselves so that we wouldn't burst out laughing throughout the movie because of that.

See I loved Crimson Peak as a gothic romance, which sadly was not how it was portrayed in US trailers, but rather a horror movie, though I admit that I can barely get through Tom Hiddleston's eye scene. I am going to watch The Shadow today, and at most have only seen maybe three minutes of it on TV so that isn't the best barometer, but I'm sure it's leaps and bounds better than The Spirit which is basically Frank Miller going "what if The Spirit was in Sin City?" I can't even sit through it all the way and I've tried on a few occasions. Hell read the wikipedia for the movie and you'll feel like your brain is melting, which means it would be perfect for the show. The only positive from that movie is that it led Gabriel Macht into doing more serious roles like Suits, which is a fantastic show.

 

Yeah, I don't know what I can say about Crimson Peak except that I respectfully disagree...

 

I thought it was fairly well-acted. I'm not much for "Horror" movies, and I kind of knew already that it wasn't that, which is I gave it a chance in the first place. It's just, to me, it felt long and meandering when it really didn't need to be. It also felt like it was trying so hard to be incredibly clever, but it was never really ahead of me in order to earn that, I don't know what to call it...smugness? This isn't to say, "Look at me. I'm so smart" it's just, personally, I was never all that surprised by it. And when it would pull back the curtain, I was like, "Yeah, I know." It felt like it was all style, no substance.

 

When my wife and I were talking about it later, I was telling her I would have preferred that the whole movie just occurred in the main character's head. Like, her own insecurities were manifesting this decrepit old house and this strange incestuous relationship, when in reality, it was a normal suburban house with a perfectly healthy brother/sister relationship, and that the "horror" (so to speak), was primarily a product of her own imagination and perceptions. Not saying that that is incredibly original, but it would have been something. In the end, I found it to be entirely forgettable. The only things I really took away from it were these two things. Firstly, no matter what you were in life, your ghost will be a gruesome Hell Spawn. And secondly, if after I've passed I ever need to warn my loved ones of some evil may come there way, I'm going to go with a lighter touch. Why? Because they're my loved ones and I don't really want to terrify them. That's just not cool.

[Auden 1809]

Aren't studios doing that as well to get tax write offs in various Asian markets?

Don't know.

 

Oh man I really really enjoyed Crimson Peak! I thought it was ridiculous in all the right ways and Jessica Chastain's acting was legit superb!

 

My best friend and I went to see it in theaters and that moment where she flips the book to reveal that drawn sex scene made us laugh out loud for a long while. We had to legitimately control ourselves so that we wouldn't burst out laughing throughout the movie because of that.

Chastain was awesome in that movie. Crimson Peak had 2 things going for me, Jessica Chastain and the art design. The movie looks gorgeous. The dialogue is not great, and Mia Wasikowska's faux-Austen dialogue made me angry.

 

I don't know whether someone really misheard the following or that person was pranking imdb.

 

Lucille Sharpe: You will stay here, with us... won't you? Wait for the storm to pass.

Dr. Alan McMichael: If you incest.

I actually double-checked the movie to make sure that Dr. McMichael said insist and not incest.

[RyanSz 3140]

I don't know whether someone really misheard the following or that person was pranking imdb.

 

 

I actually double-checked the movie to make sure that Dr. McMichael said insist and not incest.

So did he say incest?

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Yeah, I don't know what I can say about Crimson Peak except that I respectfully disagree...

 

I thought it was fairly well-acted. I'm not much for "Horror" movies, and I kind of knew already that it wasn't that, which is I gave it a chance in the first place. It's just, to me, it felt long and meandering when it really didn't need to be. It also felt like it was trying so hard to be incredibly clever, but it was never really ahead of me in order to earn that, I don't know what to call it...smugness? This isn't to say, "Look at me. I'm so smart" it's just, personally, I was never all that surprised by it. And when it would pull back the curtain, I was like, "Yeah, I know." It felt like it was all style, no substance.

This is a critique that I can definitely understand. As Auden points out, the dialogue is pretty not great and I could not really get behind Mia Wasikowska in that character. She brought up the naivete to 11 while simultaneously being smarter than everyone around her and that was a bit confusing. However, I think I really dug the story of the siblings themselves and everyone else's acting so much that it didn't really bother me.

[RyanSz 3140]

The only thing Crimson Peak was missing was the Ron Perlman Factor. Really needed him to do a non-accent in Victorian England.

[tomspanks 9039]

Crimson Peak nailed what I thought a Guillermo del Toro gothic thriller would look like, so at least there's that.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

Crimson Peak was okay, it almost reminds me of The Haunting, in that the set design and overall aesthetic was very well done, but the story and dialogue werent able to equally measure to those high standards.

 

My main disappointment is that there are several other movies Del Toro has on his backburner that I would have been far more excited had they gotten made before this. Hellboy 3 and his adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness being chief among those.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Crimson Peak was okay, it almost reminds me of The Haunting, in that the set design and overall aesthetic was very well done, but the story and dialogue werent able to equally measure to those high standards.

 

My main disappointment is that there are several other movies Del Toro has on his backburner that I would have been far more excited had they gotten made before this. Hellboy 3 and his adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness being chief among those.

I think that's one of the issues I have with Guillermo (even saying that makes my heart ache because I love this man with all my heart) but he puts so much on his own plate that a lot of amazing projects get left behind. I'm still salty about the Silent Hill shit and the fact that he isn't attached to Pacific Rim 2.

[RyanSz 3140]

But the Silent Hill thing wasn't his fault, that was all about Konami being dickholes, though Del Toro did try his hand at a video game a few years ago and it really never got off the ground outside of a great teaser trailer. To me, he is today what Robert Rodriguez did after the first Sin City came out. It got rave reviews and did well at the box office, even nominated for the Palm d'Or, so everyone was clamoring for a sequel, which shouldn't have been hard since he was literally using the comic books as the screenplay. Yet he started lining up movies like an unnecessary Spy Kids sequel, numerous attempts at a Red Sonja and Barbarella remake for his then girlfriend Rose McGowan, the Machete movies, and that horrible Shorts movie. By the time he got around to making the sequel that people actually wanted, a couple of the main actors were unable to make it due to schedule conflicts (Clive Owen), pregnancy (Devon Aoki), or had died (Brittany Murphy and Michael Clark Duncan).

 

He front loaded himself with all of these vanity dream projects that either never got off the ground or were failures, only Machete made a profit and was well received while Planet Terror was enjoyed by critics, that the follow up was basically an after thought. Del Toro isn't at that level yet because he's not like Rodriguez in that he announces dozens of jobs at once and can't handle the expectations of delivering on those jobs.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

But the Silent Hill thing wasn't his fault, that was all about Konami being dickholes, though Del Toro did try his hand at a video game a few years ago and it really never got off the ground outside of a great teaser trailer.

I wasn't saying it was. It's just another project he was attached to that ended up falling through and I'm still sad about it.

[RyanSz 3140]

Sorry didn't mean to make it seem like that, was just saying he was an unwitting victim of that whole debacle. At least there is a little big of shining hope with Death Stranding, though Del Toro didn't attach himself to that game while Kojima and Norman Reedus decided to partner up again. It just goes to show the stupidity of Konami for cancelling that game, as it was easily the most anticipated horror game of last year, after the success PT was. Now you have Capcom going a similar route with their teaser for Resident Evil 7, which is scary as shit, and games like SOMA that rely on psychological horror and the fear of what hides in the dark to terrify the player, to much success.

 

My only fear for Death Stranding is that Kojima is allowed to go full Kojima, and the game will just be batshit crazy rather than good. The Silent Hill games were his most grounded titles, which is really saying something, but if he gets weird like how he does in the Metal Gear Solid games, the game might be a slog to get through.

[RyanSz 3140]

Holy shit The Shadow is great two minutes in as it reveals Alec Baldwin looking like what I assume Cris Angel will look like when he lets himself go, as a Tibetan opium kingpin. Then rather showing a training montage of his getting clean and learning to cloud minds, it is given to the viewer in text. The fact that the location of his drug den was labeled "Opium Field, Tibet," makes me all the more hopeful this movie gets crazier.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

earwolf live on periscope?!?! ,, who charted feat PFT ... https://www.periscope.tv/earwolf/1ynJOzbjRPEGR

 

AH man .. what if HDTGM did the an on periscope? .. maybe when they come back after the break .. be amazing

[Auden 1809]

"Silent Hills" fans, "Stranger Things" also referenced that game.

 

Also, everyone saw this Silent Hills P.T. In real life vid right? It captured the SH vibe very nicely.

 

So did he say incest?

Haha, I wish! That would've been hilarious. No, the actor said insist.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Moments in life when you know you're killing it as a parent:

 

When you're watching Dr. Who and the four-year-old in your lap suddenly says, "EXTERMINATE!"

 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

[RyanSz 3140]

Holy shit, when Ian McKellan is about to give his fusion bomb or whatever it is to the bad guy's henchman and Baldwin distracts him with his ominous laughter, I could have sworn the henchman said "Gandalf?" while looking at McKellan. That would have made this movie truly psychic. And I'm pretty sure Penelope Ann Miller gave an O-face when she realized Baldwin was the Shadow.