i really liked the expendables on the same way you would like a sy fy monster movie it was funny as hell because of its sheer impossibility. Im sorry that my seeing so bad its good movies offends your tastes but i think that it captured these guys careers perfectly. Crap that is extremely fun to watch.
Escape to the Movies: The Expendables
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I don't really agree with moviebob on this one. I had fun watching Scott pilgram and I had fun watching the expendables. I was more excited about the expendables than Scott pilgram, which made Scott pilgram a pleasant surprise and the expendables what I was expecting. In the expendable I think Terry crews should have gotten more lines but overall I liked it. I felt like Scott pilgram was pandering to the same people who read questionable content every weekday (me).
Even if I'm now a worthless piece of shit in bob's eyes, I really enjoyed the movie. Also I did not enjoy Scott Pilgram that much.
I've saw both Scott Pilgrim and The Expendables this week (Pilgrim first on Monday, Expendables yesterday). For all his ranting, Moviebob was spot-on with The Expendables. And while I don't have the same hostility for the movie he did, I found it to be "meh" and not worth remembering.
And as much as I also find Bob's elitism to be as annoying as anyone else here, for once I have to agree with him. Having watched The Expendables, it only further perplexed me how this movie did infinitely well over Scott Pilgrim. And I could only come to the same conclusion Bob did in his review. Or as I like to put it, "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large numbers."
Now before everyone jumps all over me too, thinking that just because anyone here liked The Expendables automatically makes them stupid or reflects badly on their taste in movies or, even worse, reflects badly on them as a person, I'm not saying that. Nor did I really think Bob meant to either. For the record, I strongly disagreed with him both in his assessments of Star Trek and the Transformers movies as I liked them very much (Well, the first one anyway. I find it harder to defend ROTF with each passing day.) But for once, he hit it on the head and we were both on the same page, as we were both frustrated and perplexed on why a movie with little to no substance trumped the more original and substantiative one.
Bob I think was just frustrated at the general populace; the same general populace that made The Jersey Shore and American Idol such big hits. Bob's view of humanity I think comes from the same one I do, which is derived from Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K in Men in Black: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." So if you liked the Expendables, fine. I wouldn't think less of you if you did. Everyone's got different tastes and we'll politely agree to disagree on this.
However, what I and Bob didn't understand was how so many people just failed to check out Scott Pilgrim. You can't tell me it's a niche movie, especially not when there's a whole generation of people out there who grew up on Nintendo. Even if some of that generation never played them, they at least know about Mario and Zelda (and possibly River City Ransom) and it's very likely that they've seen footage from enough 8 and 16-bit games to know what they look and sound like, thus it was very likely they'd "get" the references. I'm pushing 40 myself, and both I and my girlfriend got a lot of the jokes and references, so I'm not buying the theory that people over 30 wouldn't have understood it either.
I also don't buy the "hipster" theory either. Personally, I'm not sure what makes someone a hipster. I have several friends who are kind of like Scott and his friends, but I'd hardly consider them hipsters. We all just consider ourselves nerds or geeks who are just a little more clued-in, though not better than anyone else. So I never considered myself a hipster, if that's what one is.
The only theory that's plausible is the hate-on for Michael Cera, as I also find him annoying. And when I saw he was the lead for Scott Pilgrim, I had to overcome my animosity of him because the rest of the film looked so good. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found him to be actually good in this movie and not the dweeby milquetoast I've usually seen him play.
Anyway, when all was said and done, Scott Pilgrim was indeed the better and more satisfying film. Exactly why it failed I think will be a question for the ages (and Bob, maybe you might want to devote your next Intermission column to that).
Just one last thing about The Expendables which I'm surprised nobody touched on was that Charisma Carpenter of Buffy and Angel fame was in this movie, but she was only in it for two scenes and was given nothing to do. Having seen how good she was on those shows, I thought it was a waste, though her presence in the scenes with Jason Statham gave him what little characterization he had.
And as much as I also find Bob's elitism to be as annoying as anyone else here, for once I have to agree with him. Having watched The Expendables, it only further perplexed me how this movie did infinitely well over Scott Pilgrim. And I could only come to the same conclusion Bob did in his review. Or as I like to put it, "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large numbers."
Now before everyone jumps all over me too, thinking that just because anyone here liked The Expendables automatically makes them stupid or reflects badly on their taste in movies or, even worse, reflects badly on them as a person, I'm not saying that. Nor did I really think Bob meant to either. For the record, I strongly disagreed with him both in his assessments of Star Trek and the Transformers movies as I liked them very much (Well, the first one anyway. I find it harder to defend ROTF with each passing day.) But for once, he hit it on the head and we were both on the same page, as we were both frustrated and perplexed on why a movie with little to no substance trumped the more original and substantiative one.
Bob I think was just frustrated at the general populace; the same general populace that made The Jersey Shore and American Idol such big hits. Bob's view of humanity I think comes from the same one I do, which is derived from Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K in Men in Black: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." So if you liked the Expendables, fine. I wouldn't think less of you if you did. Everyone's got different tastes and we'll politely agree to disagree on this.
However, what I and Bob didn't understand was how so many people just failed to check out Scott Pilgrim. You can't tell me it's a niche movie, especially not when there's a whole generation of people out there who grew up on Nintendo. Even if some of that generation never played them, they at least know about Mario and Zelda (and possibly River City Ransom) and it's very likely that they've seen footage from enough 8 and 16-bit games to know what they look and sound like, thus it was very likely they'd "get" the references. I'm pushing 40 myself, and both I and my girlfriend got a lot of the jokes and references, so I'm not buying the theory that people over 30 wouldn't have understood it either.
I also don't buy the "hipster" theory either. Personally, I'm not sure what makes someone a hipster. I have several friends who are kind of like Scott and his friends, but I'd hardly consider them hipsters. We all just consider ourselves nerds or geeks who are just a little more clued-in, though not better than anyone else. So I never considered myself a hipster, if that's what one is.
The only theory that's plausible is the hate-on for Michael Cera, as I also find him annoying. And when I saw he was the lead for Scott Pilgrim, I had to overcome my animosity of him because the rest of the film looked so good. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found him to be actually good in this movie and not the dweeby milquetoast I've usually seen him play.
Anyway, when all was said and done, Scott Pilgrim was indeed the better and more satisfying film. Exactly why it failed I think will be a question for the ages (and Bob, maybe you might want to devote your next Intermission column to that).
Just one last thing about The Expendables which I'm surprised nobody touched on was that Charisma Carpenter of Buffy and Angel fame was in this movie, but she was only in it for two scenes and was given nothing to do. Having seen how good she was on those shows, I thought it was a waste, though her presence in the scenes with Jason Statham gave him what little characterization he had.
someone needs a Mydol, honestly bob i think your dead wrong on this one and may have very well missed the point of expendables, as well to call people like my self names because we liked it is just plain childish, yes your favorite movie of the summer is not doing well but guess what people like different things.
your a critic which means you have every right to call he movie names, but you do not have the right to call the viewers names.
your a critic which means you have every right to call he movie names, but you do not have the right to call the viewers names.
I think Scott Pilgrim just had the misfortune of coming out the same week end as a made-to-order action flick. Most people will prefer dumb Stallone action over guy-gets-girl romance, no matter how many video game references you throw in. Plain in simple.Ian S said:
Scott Pilgrim, from the perspective of a guy who has yet to see it and has only seen responses and box office numbers, will become a cult film. Not like "Rocky Horror" or "Plan 9" but like "Shawshank" and "Fight Club". They didn't do too hot at release, but once they hit DVD we realize the folly of our ways and start respecting them. Expendables gets the cash, Pilgrim gets the legacy.
EDIT: MovieBob knows this too. [http://moviebob.blogspot.com/2010/08/numbers.html]
Christ, this whole reaction must be for MovieBob what Smash Brothers/Final Fantasy was for Yahtzee. I'm expecting him to come back next week with a video of sarcastic responses.
I think its funny how everybody is really mad at Bob for this review, but deep down no one is going to remeber this movie in a couple of years. My proof of this is simple. When the first Transformer movie came out I thought it was the greatest action movie ever. That was three years ago and everytime I look back at Transformers I realize that all it was was mindless fun for a couple of hours. I personally believe alot of people who see Expendables are going to say the same thing in a couple of years.
So I think in the end we should get off of Bob's back about this one guys, because in the long run it really doesn't matter.
So I think in the end we should get off of Bob's back about this one guys, because in the long run it really doesn't matter.
You can usually learn more information about a person through their reading of a work's subtext then it would tell you about the work itself. The same principle applies across all derivative media and Movie Bob's review is no exception. He has shown himself time after time to be profoundly uncomfortable with traditionally defined male masculinity to the point of downright allergic to it. So I fail so see why it would take anyone would be taken by surprise that he gave a negative review to a movie that openly markets itself as a sort of heterosexual man-meat sandwich swimming in testosterone gravy.
The fact that Movie Bob's visions of a candy-coated utopian dreamland, where quirky comic book conventions could actually translate into box office success were as ruthlessly crushed as Scott Pilgrim was crushed by the weekend box office, probably has a lot more to do with him loathing the Expendables then the movie ever achieved by it's own merit or lack thereof. Judging by this epic temper tantrum I expect that fully half of Movie Bob's eventual review of the next Batman flick will be devoted to whining about how Robin wasn't included.
This isn't to say that I want Movie Bob to change, as I like even prefer the product as it is. Much of the fun that can be had in watching and reading reviews is in examining the reviewer through the material he publishes.
Do go and see Scott Pilgrim. I wouldn't say that it's a great film but it's definitely a unique film, which in my book is close enough to great for the difference not to be too discernible until someone does it again but better.
The fact that Movie Bob's visions of a candy-coated utopian dreamland, where quirky comic book conventions could actually translate into box office success were as ruthlessly crushed as Scott Pilgrim was crushed by the weekend box office, probably has a lot more to do with him loathing the Expendables then the movie ever achieved by it's own merit or lack thereof. Judging by this epic temper tantrum I expect that fully half of Movie Bob's eventual review of the next Batman flick will be devoted to whining about how Robin wasn't included.
This isn't to say that I want Movie Bob to change, as I like even prefer the product as it is. Much of the fun that can be had in watching and reading reviews is in examining the reviewer through the material he publishes.
Do go and see Scott Pilgrim. I wouldn't say that it's a great film but it's definitely a unique film, which in my book is close enough to great for the difference not to be too discernible until someone does it again but better.
The thing I find with Bobs movie advise is, that when he says something is good, it's pretty guaranteed that it is actually good, but when he says something is shit, it isn't necessarily so.
I haven't seen any of these movies, but I plan on seeing both. Sorry Bob, no offense intended.
I haven't seen any of these movies, but I plan on seeing both. Sorry Bob, no offense intended.
???????? How the hell were the crappy macho action movies of the 80s "traditional male masculinity?" People like Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas, and Lee Van Cleef are WAAAAAY better representations of masculine ideals than, say, Rambo ever was.Paradoxrifts said:
WOW! Look at all these comments. You could say that Expendables is the Final Fantasy XIII of the movies.
But Mangue Surfer, sure Expendables is boring the first several times you watch it but it gets better at around the 13th-14th viewingMangue Surfer said:
