TV/Movies Megathread

[CountDeMoney]

I think both are equally unpredictable, in that Shaun treads between zombie, romantic comedy and goofy buddy hangout and stomps on each of those conventions at various points.

Meh, doesn't stomp on them;  reinforces them.

Similarly Hot Fuzz wanders between straight laced police procedural, 80's action silliness and goofy buddy hangout.

And exploits them much better.

[Barrister]

Hot Fuzz has a lot slower buildup, but the end result is spectacular.  Anyone who doesn't think both are brilliant movies is probably suffering some sort of brain malady.

Shaun is still the better movie though.

Bah.  I think I like the earlier parts of Hot Fuzz even more than the (spectacular) ending.

[Syt]

I see Shaun and Fuzz as equal in merit in their respective genres. Shaun is probably one of the more realistic movies in showing how the zombie outbreak turns out.

And Simon Pegg is awesome in almost everything he does. His Scottie is one of the few highlights of the new Star Trek movies. Spaced is an awesome show. His guest role on Black Books was fantastic. Etc. etc.

[frunk]

I think both are equally unpredictable, in that Shaun treads between zombie, romantic comedy and goofy buddy hangout and stomps on each of those conventions at various points.

Meh, doesn't stomp on them;  reinforces them.

How many RomComs are there where 3/4 of the cast dies?  How many zombie movies have silly interludes with one of the main characters making faces?

[Viking]

Personally, I can't imagine that Affleck is worse than Val Kilmer as Bats.

Val Kilmer was an excellent Batman, perhaps one of the best.  The problem is he was a terrible Bruce Wayne.

I actually thought Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne. Though, only Kevin Conroy was a Good Batman.

[lustindarkness]

I need to watch Hot Fuzz sober to properly comment.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Kevin Conroy is Batman.

I hated Spaced though. It was stupid and obnoxious.

[Josquius]

Shaun of the Dead is one of the best things ever.
Hot Fuzz is merely decent.

[Ideologue]

You're Next (2013).

"I think that's an unfair criticism" is the single best line in You're Next, and it's also a wholly appropriate caution when approaching the movie for review.  Surely, Adam Wingard's home invader is not at all what I expected.  I almost feel like it's a spoiler to say that this movie has more in common with Evil Dead 2, Dead Alive or even Shaun of the Dead than its most obvious antecedents, because it's been marketed solely as propaganda for the home security industry.

Just listen to that Lou Reed song in the trailer.  What dreadful irony?  Nothing like that is present in this movie.

Some effective but incredibly cheap loud-noise-sudden-movement jump scares aside, it is not really much of a horror movie.  You're Next is high gore comedy, two parts farce and one part satire.

Full write-up: Anyone in the mood for daquiris?

B+

Also Blackfish (2013).  Review Neil hated here: You revengeful son of a bitch  B+

Miscellany:

As you can tell, I watched Orca: The Killer Whale (1977) too.  Richard Harris tries his hand at catching orcas for aquatic zoos, accidentally kills one's lifemate (I don't think orcas work like that, so let's assume it was a mother's grown-up calf), and the orca who has been wronged swears revenge, terrorizing Harris' fishing village until he is forced by public opinion, the whale's need to confront its victimizer, and his own need for closure to return to sea and fight it.

Richard Harris becomes increasingly mournful as the movie goes on and the body count stacks up, and his actions take on a cast of drawn-out suicide. There's a suggestion at the end, even, that the orca plans to die too, as it swims beneath a ice cap with no end.

Pretty damned good actually.  It's a lot less well-made than Jaws, to which it is unfairly compared.  It is completely different from Jaws.  It is not completely different from Jaws 4, but it is not nearly as stupid.  A unique revenge movie and recommended. B

Lord of War (2006).  Andrew Niccol's last good movie, it seems, was a highly entertaining cartoon parable about arms dealers.  Some of Nick Cage's best work as the sympathetic villain protagonist Yuri Orlov.  Ethan Hawke featured.  B+

White Fang (1991).  Some guy befriends a dog, but it's pretty good. B

The Wolfman (2010).  Unfairly maligned, The Wolfman is the 21st biggest box office bomb of all time (at least, in unadjusted dollars).  But it's not bad.  Anthony Hopkins' weird, snarky performance is actually very entertaining and while the gore is goofy, especially when people's heads just pop off for no adequately depicted reason, it's kinda cool.  I mean, it's no Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein, but it's okay. B

Reality Bites (1994).  Had to go, thus I only watched the first twenty minutes or so, but ugh. I

[CountDeMoney]

Surely, Adam Wingard's home invader is not at all what I expected.

Surely?  I mean, are you sure?  Really sure?

[Eddie Teach]

Reality Bites (1994).  Had to go, thus I only watched the first twenty minutes or so, but ugh. I

The President of the Ethan Hawke fan club and you don't like Reality Bites? 

[Ideologue]

Like I said, I didn't turn it off because I hated it, but because I had to go do something, but man, it's a little obnoxious.  GOD MY DAD IS SUCH A PRICK FOR GIVING ME A BMW GOD LOOK AT THAT TOTAL FASCIST TALK ON A PHONE  It's a good thing Winona Ryder's hot.

And no, I've never seen it.  A little before my time.  It's a movie for olds, I think.

[CountDeMoney]

Well, it was an unfair indictment of Generation X.

[CountDeMoney]

Lake Placid is on.  Evil invasive species from Asia strikes terror into the ecosystem, as usual.

That poor bear. 

[Neil]

Personally, I can't imagine that Affleck is worse than Val Kilmer as Bats.

Val Kilmer was an excellent Batman, perhaps one of the best.  The problem is he was a terrible Bruce Wayne.

I actually thought Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne. Though, only Kevin Conroy was a Good Batman.

He was too cold.