Episode 147 - Gamer: LIVE!

[The_Other_MikeD 68]

Two things about this:

 

Someone tells that dude, "It's just a click of a mouse to you." Then he pressed a button on his tablet to turn it off. No one is using fucking mice in this reality. Like, why isn't the line, "It's just a push of a button to you"?

 

ALSO, I kind of wanted him to walk over and pull a comically large plug out of the wall to shut it off. It would have redeemed any lacking parts of this movie for me.

 

To appeal to the general public at the time (2009) 'a click of the mouse' would have more sense even though we see them beep-boop their tablets. 'A push of the button' even now sounds antiquated. Is there a better term for what they did?

[The_Other_MikeD 68]

Omission: John Leguizamo's character was named Freek, a reference to his one-man show "Freak".

 

I thought the nut butter scene was Simon's failed attempt at getting Keith David to say 'nut butter'. "Could you guys do a sandwich? Like peanut butter, almond butter, walnut butter, pecan butter, pistachio butter... um, pretty much any kind of, you know, nut butter? With some grape jelly?" Then he thought Keith would say 'So, some kind of nut butter?' and then he could say some kind of jerking off joke or just snicker over his cleverness a la Wayne and Garth.

 

I also got the impression of the final driving scene, since they kept showing the little girl, that maybe she had been changed by Dexter while being held captive. Perhaps she was given a special nanobot which activated in the dark since the music ramped up just as they went into the tunnel then when to credits. Gamer 2 anyone?

[ElieB 238]

 

To appeal to the general public at the time (2009) 'a click of the mouse' would have more sense even though we see them beep-boop their tablets. 'A push of the button' even now sounds antiquated. Is there a better term for what they did?

 

'With a finger swipe'?

[RyanSz 3140]

 

I rewatched Dreamcatcher since it was on AMC and I needed a refresher... still just as horribly ridiculous as I remembered. And then I got in A Nightmare Before Elm Street marathon and watched the first 4 installments. Never seen them before and I'm blown away by how genuinely amazing that first movie is! The rest... not so much...

 

 

The Nightmare series has the same issue that all major horror series have after a few movies in that they start to lose steam and then add gimmicks to try and revitalize the franchise. I do love that all of the kills in the series are original and pretty good and Robert Englund was made for that role, and also happens to be one of the nicest people I've had the fortune to meet in my life.

 

Also if you have the time and are interested, watch Never Sleep Again which is a documentary covering the entire Nightmare series including the TV show and its overall impact on pop culture, though it is long at 6 hours.

 

 

Creep was another choice I considered but I've heard so many things about Hush that it pushed to the top of my list! I really enjoyed Oculus by that same director as well and I'm wondering if I should actually see the new Ouija that's out cause he did that as well.

 

 

Creep is an interesting movie in that it's only 75 minutes long but feels like its 2 hrs because of the sense of unease and dread it creates in the viewer. Mark Duplass is amazing in it and I'm interested to see where they take it in the sequel.

 

Other horror movies that I'd recommend after watching 123 in the last month, seriously:

 

Curse of Chucky

The Invitation

Ritual

Cub

He Never Died

Come Out and Play

[The_Other_MikeD 68]

'With a finger swipe'?

That's a good one!

[The_Other_MikeD 68]

Gamer 2 anyone?

 

Sorry to quote myself but I just thought of the best sequel: Gamer 2: Respawn. Leguizamo comes back only his system has been corrupted by the Clown Virus and he plays his character from Spawn. The Spawn and Kable team up to fight the daughter who is secretly controlling Clown/Leguizamo. Then things get crazy!

[taylor anne photo 11311]

The Invitation

I actually saw this one a while ago and it's legitimately my favorite of the year. Beautifully shot, brilliant story, just all around the best movie made this year.

 

As far as Nightmare goes - Freddy was the consistent thing that I enjoyed in every one of the films. Even when he started cracking jokes and almost became more of a joke himself, he was so brilliantly portrayed and it really worked for him. And I will definitely agree with you about the originality of the kills, but also add the effectiveness of the practical effects. It really made everything so grotesque and terrifying. Even if the stories lacked a bit of depth. I still need to watch 5 and New Nightmare, but only 5 is still on my DVR.

 

I finally got to finish Halloween tonight and yeah it's pretty damn amazing too. I'm trying to decide now if I want to marathon the Halloween movies or finish the Nightmare series...

[RyanSz 3140]

I actually saw this one a while ago and it's legitimately my favorite of the year. Beautifully shot, brilliant story, just all around the best movie made this year.

 

As far as Nightmare goes - Freddy was the consistent thing that I enjoyed in every one of the films. Even when he started cracking jokes and almost became more of a joke himself, he was so brilliantly portrayed and it really worked for him. And I will definitely agree with you about the originality of the kills, but also add the effectiveness of the practical effects. It really made everything so grotesque and terrifying. Even if the stories lacked a bit of depth. I still need to watch 5 and New Nightmare, but only 5 is still on my DVR.

 

I finally got to finish Halloween tonight and yeah it's pretty damn amazing too. I'm trying to decide now if I want to marathon the Halloween movies or finish the Nightmare series...

Stick with Nightmare because after Halloween 3 when Michael Myers returns, it gets really ridiculous. While Nightmare gets pretty out there near the end of the series, New Nightmare is a fantastic meta movie and the franchise is one of the few in horror that never went with a message movie, or one that was set in space or da hood. And if you ever get a chance to meet Roberty Englund at a convention or signing, do it, I can't recommend meeting him enough because he legitimately enjoys meeting his fans unlike other celebrities *cough* Malcolm McDowell *cough*.

 

I was really surprised by The Invitation with how well it kept me wondering which way the story was going to play out up until the last 20 minutes. The way that it could have been either a character seeing things that really weren't there or they were true was incredible, and that final scene was fantastic.

 

Another great semi-horror movie to see is The Perfect Host starring David Hyde Pierce who plays a sinister homeowner who turns the tables on a home invader and then has the guy attend the "party" he is holding that night at his home. It was great seeing Pierce play something so different than what he did all of the years prior.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I was really surprised by The Invitation with how well it kept me wondering which way the story was going to play out up until the last 20 minutes. The way that it could have been either a character seeing things that really weren't there or they were true was incredible, and that final scene was fantastic.

Yes exactly! I want everyone in the world to see this movie cause it's so gd good! And directed by Karyn Kusama who did Girlfight, Aeon Flux, and Jennifer's Body. Now I haven't seen Aeon Flux but I haven't heard great things about it, and Jennifer's Body wasn't the best movie ever but I thought it was extremely visually stunning.

 

But I think it's better if no one knows anything else about the story going in because it's so much better that way!

 

I'll totally look up the other film you suggested! It sounds interesting!

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I actually saw this one a while ago and it's legitimately my favorite of the year. Beautifully shot, brilliant story, just all around the best movie made this year.

Unpopular opinion: I didn't think The Invitation was all that great. I think it's because it was marketed as kind of a shocking movie, when I thought it was incredibly straightforward. The cinematography is definitely beautiful, but everything is pretty much telegraphed 30 minutes before it happens. It was kind of a bummer because I really like Kusama.

 

ETA: That ending shot was pretty legit, though.

[Cannonball 4]

A couple of different things:

 

1) If the whole premise of Slayers is that death row inmates are controlled by gamers, why do they get set free? The exposition video before the Closer interviews Dexter says that the gamer has "full control" of a human being (convict). At least that's how it's supposed to work. But if that's the case, the convict is just a passive participant. So why does he get set free? It's not like he actually earned his way out. He's just an avatar for somebody else who did all the work. Best I can tell, it's more a reward for donating his body for 30 sessions. Now, Kable later comments how it's him that pulls the trigger, as if he's able to have some sort of control in the lag between Simon and himself. But that's not the way it's supposed to work. Castle even says that he thinks the lag is what makes Kable vulnerable. So it still makes the question valid. If the game is working as intended, that the player is in complete control of a passive Slayer, why does the Slayer get set free?

 

 

2) For those wondering about the timing of the battles, the exposition interview at the top says that Slayers debuted 9 months ago. 27 battles, that's 3 per month. It's also kind of weird that the Closer asks if anyone has survived long enough to be set free. First, if somebody had, it would be big news and everybody would've know about it. Second, they've only had 27 sessions. So no, nobody has survived 30 sessions because they haven't even had that many yet.

 

 

3) I also question why Kable needed to get drunk? Was that always his plan? Before his last session starts, he finds the vodka in his tactical vest. This is seen by a security camera which necessitates him to drink it all so he can smuggle the alcohol into the game. But what if the camera hadn't seen it? He could've just brought the bottle with him and poured it into the gas tank without having to drink it at all and barfing/pissing it out later. So shouldn't his initial plan have been to simply ask for alcohol instead of getting drunk? And then getting drunk would've been Plan B.

 

 

4) Whenever they flash the "Slayers" logo up on the screen early in the movie, it's obviously Keith David's voice saying "slayers". I felt like I was watching a Ken Burns documentary for a second. I thought, "Holy shit, is Keith David in this movie?" Of course, he shows up an hour later as an FBI agent. But it begs the question, did Castle get some random FBI agent to do voice over work for his TV show?

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

vin diesel, sam jackson, skiing in a forest, ridiculous tech talk, downhill skate boarding, martial arts, explosions, moto cross, brazilian footballers, plane crashing into a falling satellite ... if there's any parkour in this it could be the quintessential HDTGM movie

 

[JenniferSohns 3]

The filming location for Gamer was even more dystopian than you can imagine. It was filmed in Downtown Albuquerque, where I was living at the time. The sets blocking off streets was so annoying that I was thrilled to finally drive on one after about a week. Turns out that they had just forgotten to close it, because within a couple of blocks I was driving over and through rubber rubble. A little fake building debris is all that was needed to make downtown look like society/hell future. You may also recognize the plaza in society from The Man Who Fell to Earth and some scenes in late Breaking Bad. Take a look at this "blopper" reel and I am sure you will recognize more from Breaking Bad and Saul.

 

https://youtu.be/HNc_YBoQZE0

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Unpopular opinion: I didn't think The Invitation was all that great. I think it's because it was marketed as kind of a shocking movie, when I thought it was incredibly straightforward. The cinematography is definitely beautiful, but everything is pretty much telegraphed 30 minutes before it happens. It was kind of a bummer because I really like Kusama.

 

ETA: That ending shot was pretty legit, though.

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

I actually saw this one a while ago and it's legitimately my favorite of the year. Beautifully shot, brilliant story, just all around the best movie made this year.

 

As far as Nightmare goes - Freddy was the consistent thing that I enjoyed in every one of the films. Even when he started cracking jokes and almost became more of a joke himself, he was so brilliantly portrayed and it really worked for him. And I will definitely agree with you about the originality of the kills, but also add the effectiveness of the practical effects. It really made everything so grotesque and terrifying. Even if the stories lacked a bit of depth. I still need to watch 5 and New Nightmare, but only 5 is still on my DVR.

 

I'm trying to decide now if I want to marathon the Halloween movies or finish the Nightmare series...

 

Taylor Anne...

 

There is also a 6th film (after "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" but before "Wes Craven's New Nightmare") called "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" Do you plan on watching that one too???

 

Personally I like parts 1, 3, 4, 6 and New Nightmare. Parts 2 and 5 are "meh" for me. Also I strongly believe nobody should watch the remake (which I saw in theathers) A true waste of Jackie Earle Haley and Rooney Mara. ("I don't fuck with that remake" -Paul Scheer talking about the "Point Break" remake on an episode of HDTGM)

 

Unpopular opinion: I didn't think The Invitation was all that great. I think it's because it was marketed as kind of a shocking movie, when I thought it was incredibly straightforward. The cinematography is definitely beautiful, but everything is pretty much telegraphed 30 minutes before it happens. It was kind of a bummer because I really like Kusama.

 

ETA: That ending shot was pretty legit, though.

 

I completely understand you Fister Roboto

For me "The Invitation" didn't live up to the hype, and its not a bad movie by any means, I was just bored until the final scenes happened and that gave me a little jolt but it ends shortly after that and wasn't enough for me to win me over. I filed it (and other movies which a lot of them, not all, contain twists) under a category of "one watch movies" those are the ones that I consider to have little to no rewatch value because I got all I wanted from it and I feel another watch won't add anything to my original viewing experience... Do you know what I mean? ( Although I sometimes ignore that due to me loving movies and cinema so much ) but I may sit through "The Invitation" one more time if friends and/or family are interested to watch so I can see their reaction and discuss the movie afterwards.

 

I did liked "The Gift" though, everybody should check that one out... (Shameless "The Gift" plug)

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Taylor Anne...

 

There is also a 6th film (after "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" but before "Wes Craven's New Nightmare") called "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" Do you plan on watching that one too???

 

Personally I like parts 1, 3, 4, 6 and New Nightmare. Parts 2 and 5 are "meh" for me. Also I strongly believe nobody should watch the remake (wich I saw in theathers) A true waste of Jackie Earle Haley an Rooney Mara. ("I don't fuck with that remake" -Paul Scheer talking about the "Point Break" remake on an episode of HDTGM)

Oh god dammit. AMC only aired the first 5 and then I saw on IMDB that Heather returned for New Nightmare so I just made an assumption... I don't even have New Nightmare available to watch so it'll be no problem to seek both 6 and that out separately at some point. I did see the remake years ago before I ever watched the originals and I bet that's part of why it still took me so long to get to them. That movie was soooo not good. So not good at all.

 

My thing with 2-4 so far is that the concepts are interesting but the execution gets muddy. I liked that this kid moved into the same house in 2 and Freddy wants to use his body to kill, but the way they did it was boring with only that one scene of him transforming into Freddy being the interesting and grotesque part. 3 also had the good concept of kids being sent to a hospital and Nancy coming back but I didn't really care for the ending (nor the fact that they had switched Nancy's grey hair from her left side to her right... I just watched the first movie you dicks I am going to notice that.) And then 4 lost me immediately when they tried to convince me that girl was supposed to be Patricia Arquette. Some parts saved it because Freddy was amazing and the kills were super awesome.

 

I completely understand Fister Roboto

For me "The Invitation" didn't live up to the hype, and its not a bad movie by any means, I was just bored until the final scenes happened and that gave me a little jolt but it ends shortly after that and wasn't enough for me to win me over. I filed it (and other movies which a lot of them, not all, contain twists) under a category of "one watch movies" those are the ones that I consider to have little to no rewatch value because I got all I wanted from it and I feel another watch won't add anything to my original viewing experience... Do you know what I mean? ( Although I sometimes ignore that due to me loving movies and cinema so much ) but I may sit through "The Invitation" one more time if friends and/or family are interested to watch so I can see their reaction and discuss the movie afterwards.

 

I did liked "The Gift" though, everybody should check that one out... (Shameless "The Gift" plug)

 

I'm gonna keep posting this gif until you all acknowledge how wrong this is

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

 

 

I'm gonna keep posting this gif until you all acknowledge how wrong this is

 

I was just about to give you a heads up not to clear your Ctrl+C clipboard history with that .gif link

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

I finally got to finish Halloween tonight and yeah it's pretty damn amazing too. I'm trying to decide now if I want to marathon the Halloween movies or finish the Nightmare series...

Halloween 1 and 2 are the only ones really worth watching, although critics at the time were pretty sour on the second one. The first was so groundbreaking that it was a tough act to follow. Still a good watch. Part 3 is nuts and might have been ok as a standalone film, but not having Michael Myers really hamstrings the film's potential favorability. After that, don't bother.

 

You inspired me to finish Hush after I started watching a few minutes once before, and oh my damn. One of the better films of any genre that I've seen in a while. I looked at the time elapsed around 20 minutes into the film when the intensity started picking up, and said, "what the hell are they going to do for the next hour?" They definitely keep it interesting! For sure a film I recommend.

[EverettRobert 7]

I'm a Halloween junkie. It's muddled, makes no sense, has a bad mythology (starting with part 4) and yet...I love Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. I honestly think the Friday the 13th series takes a worse turn after the 3rd movie while trying to play with clever ideas. Like the ideas in the F13 sequels are clever (moving away from Camp Crystal Lake, the possession by cannibalism aspect, the FBI and monster bounty hunters, even the cloning in space) but the execution just doesn't work for me.

 

In terms of the horror movie franchises, I usually rate them

1. Evil Dead
   
2. Halloween
   
3. Child's Play
   
4. Nightmare
   
5. Friday the 13th
   
6. Texas Chainsaw
   

[RikkiHo 84]

I also thought the "nut butter" dialogue was a set-up for some retort a la "Deez Nuts".

 

Did anyone make mention of jokingly asking his sister "wanna make out?"? Gross.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

All I hear is, "I've missed you so much, Fister Roboto!"

[taylor anne photo 11311]

All I hear is, "I've missed you so much, Fister Roboto!"

You know I missed you

 

...or did I?

 

[RyanSz 3140]

vin diesel, sam jackson, skiing in a forest, ridiculous tech talk, downhill skate boarding, martial arts, explosions, moto cross, brazilian footballers, plane crashing into a falling satellite ... if there's any parkour in this it could be the quintessential HDTGM movie

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HoAgoR4SHw

I put a thread up in the Bad Movie Recommendation about this when I saw the teaser and heard the line about saving the world and looking as dope as possible while doing. This movie looks like ass.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I put a thread up in the Bad Movie Recommendation about this when I saw the teaser and heard the line about saving the world and looking as dope as possible while doing. This movie looks like ass.

 

Totally.

 

But I'm still gonna be there opening night.

[sycasey 110]

Took me a while to finish the podcast, but getting back to the movie at hand . . .

 

There are a lot of theories being passed around here, trying to make sense of the world that Gamer presents to us. Most of these attempts at making sense have failed. You all are right: this movie doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that Michael C. Hall's character would spend so much time and energy to choreograph a dance sequence that accomplishes nothing. It doesn't make sense that Gerard Butler and other people are seemingly able to walk into and out of the gaming area without being presented with any obstacles. None of the setup of this "video game with live humans" seems to track at all with the real world as we know it. Even scenes supposedly taking place outside of the "Society" and "Slayers" games seem nearly indistinguishable from those taking place inside of them.

 

Lazy or incompetent filmmaking? Maybe. But what if there is another answer? I posit to you: maybe we never left the game. Everything in the movie is still part of the game. Who is controlling it? We'll never know. We never took the red pill. We're still in the Matrix. The audience will never know what is real. And so Neveldine & Taylor have delivered a commentary on modern society, implicating all of us in this deadly game.

 

Boom. Mind blown.