On this review episode Richard and Kyle take a look at some recent horror films beginning with the Daniel Radcliffe vehicle THE WOMAN IN BLACK followed by THE INNKEEPERS a slow-burn ghost story. Listen close, just don’t turn the light off!
FROM ANDREW in response to our Midnight with Robert Shaw (Oscar Nominations) Episode:
Dear Listeners,
While I wish I could clarify any errors made during the podcast myself I will instead send you to an LA Times article which does a nice job articulating the issue.
MIDNIGHT WITH ROBERT SHAW
Why do people flock to Hollywood by the bus loads in search of fame and fortune? Why are they vapid, stupid, worthless and egotistical to boot? Their ambition is that of Shakespearean stuff, but they do not stride like a colossus they get a tan and work out, drinking Robeks juice and eating powerbars. They’re head so fat from their own sense of entitlement seeking fortune because they have 4 percent body fat and nice teeth and performed in a school play, once. Reality television has created these monsters of instant fame whores seeking the blood of twitter followers (follow us on Drunkrobertshaw) and Facebook Likes (Midnight With Robert Shaw on Facebook! Fucking Like it!)
Hollywood is an amazing hub of crazy. You can’t walk down the street without some one holding a headshot, which is a big scam by the way. Most casting directors for commercials won’t even look at those headshots you spent $700 bucks on. They take your pictures with a digital camera and send it to a database. So, fuck your agents when they force you to take new ones, cause they always tell you to take new ones. If one wants to be an actor in the land of La-La, expect to spend money. You need to pay for classes, you need to pay for reels, you need to pay for headshots, you need to pay for membership on casting websites that never give you a good job and you need to pay for all those crunches you do at the gym because no one has discipline to do them at home. But people will pay through the ass for this shit because it brings them closer to being a STAR!
Fame is the plague of the 21st century. Every one wants instant fame now and can get it. Every one in the world can be a star for 30 seconds on you tube. Every one can get a movie deal if you make a viral video that has over ten million hits. Every one can be on television be you fat, thin, eat weird shit, fuck any thing that moves, have big tits, have a small dick, have two vaginas, get plastic surgery to make yourself look like a cat, from New Jersey, or are a total douche. What happened to hard work and love for craft? It exists, I know, but it is growing rarer by the year now. Soon it will be gone and all we will have are cat videos.
I understand fame can be great. Amazing even. Better than any drug on earth because it allows you the ability to get and taste everything and everyone. Chicks, dudes, chick-dudes, but after awhile they leave you broken and blue balled. Just look at Demi Moore, that old bitch still thinks she’s 19, literally. She thinks All My Children is still on the air, Jimmy Carter is in the White House and has no idea what the internet is. Allegedly. She had to be rushed to the hospital for doing whip its and smoking herbs. Kids do that shit, grow up Demi! But it’s okay, she is famous and not under the laws of normal people. She will get scores of positive tweets in response to her ailment for acting a dip shit.
The reason this blog was inspired was the sudden and tragic death of Leslie Carter, I know, I didn’t know who she was either. But she died of an apparent overdose of prescription drugs. This happens a lot with famous people too. Her problem was she wasn’t famous enough. The stress of not being as famous as her brothers Aaron and Nick, pushed her to an early death. First of, who even remembers those two Aryan clones? If you can’t get out of the shadows cast by the Carter brothers what chance do you have in real life? It is a pitiful excuse for an early death but it happens a lot. People need to get over themselves and wise the fuck up.
Fame is a monster, to paraphrase that ugly fuck Lady GaGa. (But she does have a great ass and is famous!) No one is ever happy with it yet every one wants it so bad they cut all ties with family and career to lasso the moon. So many people have this urge to be a performer, because it is in their heart and they know they were born to do it! Well, you’re not. You were born to do menial tasks for menial wages and live a simple life. Put your attention and passion to loving others you fucks! It’s not like we live in straw huts and fear Highway Men with swords. We fear normal life now. Normal life is boring. Every one wants to rage. Very poetic, but in this day and age people live longer. And no one wants to see a 90 pound 50 year old with tattoos and pierced nipples dance all night to house music. Unless you’re into that sort of thing… Weirdo.
Poster: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | IMP
Liked the script but I”m not feeling the poster….
(Source: grownwomanchild)
Kyle and Richard discuss Collaborations.
The Superbowl was boring, the commercials lackluster but there were a few movie teasers. How did they score? Find out below.
GI JOE 2
I liked this trailer. It starts off fast and doesn’t let up. The Rock quoting Jay-Z lets you know what kind of tone this movie is trying to set. Fun, fast and slick. The action also appears to be a lot more in camera as opposed to the CGI spectacle that was the first film. From there you get a few new scenes namely a building descent and a motorcycle turning into a bomb. In thirty seconds this spot does a lot to sell what matters The Rock, the tone and action.
GRADE: B
BATTLESHIP
Wow, this movie keeps getting worse, but I’ll still see it. I can’t lie. This trailer throws as much at the screen as possible but I’m still don’t think it’s really sticking. It’s looks too dumb to work and feels like a Transformers retread. While I understand that’s almost part of the marketing ploy people may feel burnt out on that property and pass on this FX extravaganza. Also, if the aliens only weapon are those giant balls the movie could really old really fast. And those outfits belong in a video game like Metroid.
GRADE: C-
JOHN CARTER
There are two trailers here. The one America saw and the one that’s online line (embedded here). The actual Superbowl spot was just the John Carter logo featuring a number of scenes playing out. This was a disaster. No focus, no direction, just a bunch of random crap thrown at you in a vague attempt to grab your interest. That trailer suggests that they just don’t know how to market this movie. They can’t decide what to show or what will pull an audience in. They also have yet to reference that John Carter is a Civil War veteran. Are they afraid? It makes you wonder. The extended version plays out much the same way but includes a few old shots you’ve seen from previous trailers to fill out the whole minute. Nothing really new just more of the same.
GRADE: D+
AVENGERS
This trailer featured the same issue as John Carter. One for the Superbowl, one for online (featured here). The TV version was fine, featured some old shots and a few new bits including a very cool 360 shot of the Avengers. Nothing particularly groundbreaking but it worked well enough. It does beg the question though, who is the central character of this movie? We still don’t know. I’ll admit Whedon has mentioned Captain America as the central figure but no trailer establishes that. There’s also no clear threat aside from Loki and no real story to speak of. I’m guessing Earth is attacked and the Avengers have to defend it but what makes that thread unique? Why should I go? Simply because it’s the Avengers? I guess so, that seems to be the only thing Disney and Marvel feel they need to sell. Now the longer trailer did have quite a bit that I liked. Tony’s line to Loki was fun and right from the comics if I remember correctly. Hulk’s ariel fight was short but a sweet taste of more to come. Iron Man also had a great sky battle that looked pretty intense. Also, it seems pretty clear at this point that the army Loki leads are the Frost Giants. Disappointed but I’m not surprised. Marvel is cheap and they’ve already got a lot made for them thanks to Thor so why not use them again?
GRADE: C+
After seeing this I can say that for a film that came out of the blue that it does grab you from the first few moments. The filmmakers don’t dwell on the build up to the main character Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) climbing onto the ledge. What I particularly liked about every scene with Nick on the ledge was that every scene doesn’t have any cheap looking green screen composite. Everything looks as if Sam is actually on the ledge delivering his lines, it is also refreshing to see Sam in a role that isn’t too action hero heavy. Any action that does take place with his character is all within the parameters of his former cop character and knowing police tactics before they happen.
Also, something should be said that it feels as if you are watching two different movies at the same time which can sometimes draw away from the suspense but here only enhances it. The other plot is a decent diamond heist that Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez really make their own and are able to carry all by themselves and their chemistry really shows in their scenes together. Things could be said by the rest of the supporting characters such as Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Ed Burns, and Ed Harris. Elizabeth Banks character seems very flushed out with her background established and acknowledged in several scenes between her and Sam and it doesn’t seem patched together and she holds her own as a strong female character.
Ed Harris, in his first seconds on screen we see how evil his character can be and how he doesn’t play a typical villain for a heist film and yet he brings that vintage quality to the villain you would see in a diamond heist film. The one character that seems to suffer from a lack of a fleshed out character is Ed Burns, we don’t know his motivation is in the film and he just seems sort of placed there. I would have like to see more action for his character and more screen time. Then there is Anthony Mackie who plays the best friend and former partner to Sam’s Nick Cassidy, which could have easily been a throw away role but Anthony brings so many layers to his character as there is so much going on behind his eyes but the payoff is a little dull in my opinion.
The overall scope of the film feels very large and there is only two major sets in the film, but it does take a rather dramatic turn in the last half hour and yet it still works with the overall feel that it started with. There is one stunt that does kind of take away from established feel in the beginning of the film but its not the center piece of the finale which was a great surprise. Overall, a very enjoyable film.
- Matthew Jury
Not a pretty sight, but if this happens in THE AVENGERS then that movie will make a billion dollars.
On this episode Kyle and Richard review THE GREY, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and HAYWIRE. What did they love and what did they hate? Tune in and find out.
