Episode 163 - The Running Man

[phil2k 13]

Opera singer here, and regarding Dynamo's intro...I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS

 

Dynamo is introduced singing the end of "Hai gia vinta la causa...Vedro mentr'io sospiro", Conte Almaviva's (The Count's) aria from Act 3 of Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart. He sings "quest'anima consola, e giubilar mi fa" which translates to "...consoles this soul and makes me rejoice". For context, the Count has just overheard his two servants plotting against him. He cannot believe the transgression, tries to figure out their plan, won't accept that servants will get the better of him, and ends with his own plans of revenge. Based on this, I cannot for the life of me figure out why they chose this piece. This is a famous aria within the opera world, and a sort of rite of passage for baritones, but to have this be your theme song on a Hungy Games-style future reality show? Mozart was experiencing a surge in popularity in the 80s following the success of 1984's Amadeus, so maybe that's why? But he could have sung any number of more famous Mozart arias, perhaps Non piu andrai, which would have had some context since Ben had military connections.

ALSO the movie transposed the music up a whole tone (Sacrilege!). NO IDEA WHY To make matters worse they keep the melody the same but change the chords underneath so the whole middle part sounds wrong. The actor Erland Van Lidth had operatic training and made appearances with the small scale Amato Opera in NYC. He is listed as a bass-baritone who transitioned to a heldenbaritone, which means that at zero times in his life would this aria have been right for him to sing based on his fach. It also means that transposing the song higher would have made it more difficult for the singer. None of this makes any goddamn sense.

Also, since we are introduced to Dynamo in the end of his singing, are we to assume that he performed the whole 5 1/2 minute aria, complete with recitative? The show looked like it needed a lot of padding to fill out those 3 hours, but would that bloodthirsty audience of predominantly old white people have sat and enjoyed that much opera?

 

[Smigg 1488]

I honestly never heard of Downfall, but now I want to watch every episode. Jericho never gets the love he rightfully he deserves as a mic worker in wrestling because he was in the middle of the pack of guys including The Rock, who really was great and making snappy catchphrases but was okay overall, and Steve Austin who could keep an audience on the edge of their seats whenever he spoke. The man really has the gift of gab and if they ever remake this movie I have fingers crossed that he is brought on as Killian.

 

I saw a couple, it's beautifully bad.

 

His recent return shows that he's on another level to almost every current perfomer, only Kevin Owens and The New Day can keep up with him.

 

Now, as for Jericho as Killian in a remake. How about this, Jericho Killian is a former stalker himself, Richards has killed all the other stalkers, so Jericho Killian removes his jacket and comes out of retirement to take out Richards himself.

[Smigg 1488]

In fact, come to think of it, I've built up a cast for A Running Man/Fighty, Killy, Fuck People Up Man remake

 

Ben Richards (Arnold)... John Cena

William Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) ... Terry Crews

Harold Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre)... Michael Cera

Damon Killian (Richard Dawson)... Chris Jericho

 

Just a few more roles to fill.

[Cameron H. 23786]

When Weiss and Amber are trying to get the codes to "disrupt the uplink," they're (obviously) not on camera. We know this because they yell-speak at each other about exactly what they're planning to do, they start messing with the uplink to the relay, and we never get a single shot from the control room of people getting concerned by what they're up to or a shot of the audience wondering what they're doing/talking about. I mean, you'd think if there were a piece of equipment crucial to keeping your evil game show airing in perpetuity you might at least stick a single camera on that area...and maybe a dog or two. But hey, what do I know?

 

Anyway, my point is, that this means that when Dynamo ambushes them and kills Weiss, none of that was even on camera! Now I don't know about you, but if I come home early from the picket lines to tune into my favorite murder show, I don't want any of this off-camera bullshit. I tuned in to watch corpulent, opera singing, murderers dressed in Christmas tree lights electrocute nerds and that's what I expect to see! Seriously, when you consider how many of my favorite Stalkers have already been killed, or will soon be killed, I'd say that this was probably the worst episode of The Running Man I've ever seen. Boo!

[dougmoe 5]

Just popping in here to provide a link to Jason's kind recommendation of my book Man Vs Child: One Dad's Guide to the Weirdness of Parenting: here on Amazon http://amzn.to/2qGgv5N or your local bookstore: http://manvchild.com/Man-Vs-Child-Book

 

**back to normally scheduled programming**

[tomspanks 9039]

LOL @ this Man Vs Child review

 

“A taught, erotic thriller. This is a smart, dark look at the human condition, our strengths and our weaknesses. Doug Moe has done it again. I did not read this book.”- Jason Mantzoukas, actor and comedian, The League

[Cameron H. 23786]

LOL @ this Man Vs Child review

 

I think that should be "taut."

 

(I'm so sorry! I'm the absolute worst. And, to be fair, I made the same typo on a recent Letterboxd review. It happens. Oh, fuck! I feel like I'm going down a shame spiral...)

[tomspanks 9039]

I didn't even catch that. Changes the meaning a little bit, lol.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I didn't even catch that. Changes the meaning a little bit, lol.

 

You're right, though. Maybe the book teaches you how to be an erotic thriller. Correction withdrawn

 

(But seriously, I really hate being "that guy." Lord knows my writing is littered with typos. I wouldn't have even said anything if it wasn't being used for promotional purposes. I cannot apologize enough.)

[FisterRoboto 7499]

You're right, though. Maybe the book teaches you how to be an erotic thriller. Correction withdrawn

 

(But seriously, I really hate being "that guy." Lord knows my writing is littered with typos. I wouldn't have even said anything if it wasn't being used for promotional purposes. I cannot apologize enough.)

I've stopped even calling you Cameron. I just refer to you as "That Fucking Guy" now.

[Smigg 1488]

Okay, I've just thought of another guy for the remake, the part of Sven, Killian's bodyguard. I'm thinking Hafthor Bjornsson, aka 'The Mountain', from Game of Thrones

 

[dougmoe 5]

I've stopped even calling you Cameron. I just refer to you as "That Fucking Guy" now.

 

Oh crap. I'm usually "that guy." I'll fix it - thanks for pointing it out.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I've stopped even calling you Cameron. I just refer to you as "That Fucking Guy" now.

 

You're right. I can no longer claim to be "Ted Neeley Handsome." I will now forever be known as "That Fucking Guy." Now to rejoin my brethren in damnation- Judas, Cassius, and Brutus - in the frozen depths of the 9th Circle. Never shall I sully this divine place with my maleficent presence ever again.

 

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

don't want to open up an old thread so i'll just say it here and leave it:

 

XXX3 came out on dvd/vod here so i watched it last night. it was nuts but i just wanted to say that the episode is my favourite in a long time. it was hilarious from start to finish. june's journey with her feelings for vin diesel was so funny. and adam's sleeping habits .. a great ep

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

Don't think that anyone has pointed out the physics of the drop pods making a sharp turn at very fast speed. That combination would produce a massive amount of centrifugal force that, if not enough to squash the passenger so that they would only be seen again in a rerun, would produce severe injury or at least disorientation. And the turn is there for no apparent reason!

[Blast Hardcheese 636]

When this movie was announced, I remember feeling kind of, like, "really...?" about it. Running Man, as it has been noted on this thread already, isn't Arnie's best movie, but it's far from his worst. It's big, dumb, dystopian sci-fi fun.

 

This was a great episode to listen to however, and I like June noting Arnold's sexy-ass beard (homina, homina, homina!) But in doing Running Man, it now seems like the gang is just dancing around more deserving films like Buckaroo Banzai, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Showgirls.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

This was a great episode to listen to however, and I like June noting Arnold's sexy-ass beard (homina, homina, homina!) But in doing Running Man, it now seems like the gang is just dancing around more deserving films like Buckaroo Banzai, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Showgirls.

Maybe. But Buckaroo Banzai >>>>>> The Running Man

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

don't want to open up an old thread so i'll just say it here and leave it:

 

XXX3 came out on dvd/vod here so i watched it last night. it was nuts but i just wanted to say that the episode is my favourite in a long time. it was hilarious from start to finish. june's journey with her feelings for vin diesel was so funny. and adam's sleeping habits .. a great ep

 

Me too... I missed it on theaters

 

So... I also wish to quickly add a little something about the return of Xander Cage that I still have bouncing inside my head...

 

Where does Serenas (Deepika Padukone) granade went (is she a magician) after she trows her knife to the russian S.W.A.T. and he drops Xanders (Vins) granade????

 

BONUS: I think the reason the british hacker girl had an Ankle Bracelet GPS was to reference D.J. Caruso's "Disturbia" film and if the xXx recruitment is almost exclusively staged, does that mean the asian armed criminal that was robbing the restaurant at the opening scene was and actor??? (and also the cooks and cashier)

 

 

*we now return to "The Running Man"*

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

Opera singer here, and regarding Dynamo's intro...I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS

If this comment doesn't win the COs, I'm going to have to reconsider my membership to the Paul Scheer fan club.

[Even_Pete 6]

Opera singer here, and regarding Dynamo's intro...I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS

 

Dynamo is introduced singing the end of "Hai gia vinta la causa...Vedro mentr'io sospiro", Conte Almaviva's (The Count's) aria from Act 3 of Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart. He sings "quest'anima consola, e giubilar mi fa" which translates to "...consoles this soul and makes me rejoice". For context, the Count has just overheard his two servants plotting against him. He cannot believe the transgression, tries to figure out their plan, won't accept that servants will get the better of him, and ends with his own plans of revenge. Based on this, I cannot for the life of me figure out why they chose this piece. This is a famous aria within the opera world, and a sort of rite of passage for baritones, but to have this be your theme song on a Hungy Games-style future reality show? Mozart was experiencing a surge in popularity in the 80s following the success of 1984's Amadeus, so maybe that's why? But he could have sung any number of more famous Mozart arias, perhaps Non piu andrai, which would have had some context since Ben had military connections.

ALSO the movie transposed the music up a whole tone (Sacrilege!). NO IDEA WHY To make matters worse they keep the melody the same but change the chords underneath so the whole middle part sounds wrong. The actor Erland Van Lidth had operatic training and made appearances with the small scale Amato Opera in NYC. He is listed as a bass-baritone who transitioned to a heldenbaritone, which means that at zero times in his life would this aria have been right for him to sing based on his fach. It also means that transposing the song higher would have made it more difficult for the singer. None of this makes any goddamn sense.

Also, since we are introduced to Dynamo in the end of his singing, are we to assume that he performed the whole 5 1/2 minute aria, complete with recitative? The show looked like it needed a lot of padding to fill out those 3 hours, but would that bloodthirsty audience of predominantly old white people have sat and enjoyed that much opera?

 

This is what you had an issue with? Granted, being an opera singer probably makes those scenes stand out. Being a veteran Marine, I too find myself scrutinizing military aspects of movies and tv shows (looking at you Homeland!) I have to continually remind myself that they are movies and can't get every possible detail correct. Apparently the guy who played Dynamo (Erland Van Lidth) was an opera singer at Amato Opera in New York. Wouldn't he have mentioned any of this to the writers? Did he choose his own song? So many questions. The sad part is he passed away 2 months before the movie was even released at the age of 34. I see where you're coming from from, however it's a movie from the 80's about a a game show that kills people. Not sure they cared about the subtle details.

[Smigg 1488]

Now, I've been thinking of it, I need some stalkers. I'm probably going to change this up, because I'm not gonna find a 350lbs Opera Singing Wreslter any time soon, so I'll probably switch up the gimmicks, because this could be played as either a sequel, or an outright remake. But, some of the people I'd pick:

 

Dave Bautista, he's a first round draft pick right now:

 

Oleg Taktarov:

 

Bob Sapp:

[Smigg 1488]

Nathan Jones:

 

I want a lady in there, for Amber to fight, so Gina Carano:

 

I also like the idea of a Martial Arts guy, so I'm leaning towards Michael Jai White, perhaps as Jericho Killian's co-host:

This is either gonna be the best or worst remake ever made, well, not the worst, there's always RoboCop and Total Recall.

 

Also, I need to put Don Frye in this, because Don Frye is fucking awesome:

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Maybe. But Buckaroo Banzai >>>>>> The Running Man

FULL TITLE

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

I'm surprised no one else mentioned this continuity error that the gang skirted around but didn't quite address: when Fireball is pursuing Richards and Amber down that utility hallway, Richards throws some plastic drums at him to slow down the pursuit. With the help of some comically cheesy editing, we see that this slows Fireball some marginal amount while disrupting his aim with the flame thrower. Richards then kicks over a barrel of gasoline which Fireball ignites, for cool dramatic effect but essentially nothing else.

 

All of this works to create a minor distraction, allowing Amber to escape. Since Fireball cannot possibly be more than 20 feet away from Richards, this sets up an obvious hand-to-hand face off between the two. What happens instead is that Richards steps out from behind his hiding place, looks around for a few seconds, picks up a flare, and chases after Amber in the wrong direction.

 

Cut to the scene where Fireball traps Amber in the dead guys' locker room. Richards ambushes Fireball, issues the one-liner, and kills hm. The gang mentioned the impossibility of someone built like Arnold Schwarzenegger hiding up in the rafters, a salient observation. But how did he get there in the first place? He ran off in the wrong direction. And Fireball was only a few feet behind him! He would have at least needed a fair amount of time to hide himself up there, something that his distraction wouldn't have bought him. Setting that aside, why didn't Fireball kill Richards when he stepped into the open directly in front of him? It's not like Richards even made an attempt to hide or protect himself.

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

When the credits to the show-in-the-movie roll, they are worth a closer look...

 

Nobody's mentioned a blatant issue with the "RED G. BLEU AND PRIMARY COLORS" credit: red and blue are primary colors, so they wouldn't be a separate group with the primary colors! Unless this is like "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Indiana Jones is one of the group that raided the lost ark but is named twice because reasons.