Audio Edition – October 10th 2005

Welcome to a new week of The Audio Edition!

Today Doug and I are joined by the ledgendary Darren Conley. The engage in the topics of a review of Wallace and Gromit, the Luis Guzman fight with his director hoax, Uwe Boll and his Dungeon Siege “epic”, a look at a very surprising week at the box office, ask the question if Al Pacino has lost his pull with the movie going general public and a few things more.

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25 thoughts on “Audio Edition – October 10th 2005

  1. Point by point:

    I thought the point about the expressiveness of the plasticine models in the Wallace & Gromit film was well-made, but I’m puzzled as to why you thought it was too long. Seemed exactly the right length to me. One of my top films of the year. They apparently do write dialogue for Gromit in the scripts as a guide for the animators to work out facial expressions for him.

    Is the general public really that ticked off with Russell Crowe?

    As for promotion of the Al Pacino movie, I never even heard of it until reading this post. It’s obviously had no promotion here in Australia (can’t find a local release date for it).

    I suspect “Serenity” will live on through DVD much as the “Firefly” series seems to have done. It’ll be a big DVD.

    I’m surprised a movie about golf did as miserably well as it managed to do. I’m sure it’s a fine film, but… golf?

    Actors not the boss on set… hahahahahaha! You should tell Tom Cruise that…

    Why exactly do you assume that if something appears on a personal blog, it’s somehow more “real” than if it appears on the “official” site?

    As I’ve said before: it’s OO-veh Boll. OO-veh. Not Ooey. OO-veh.

    The thought of “Battlefield Earth” being in two parts doesn’t bear thinking about.

  2. Wow, it’s not that people don’t like Pacino, it’s that people just don’t CARE. What is Two for the Money? Innovative? No. Does it have a good script? No. A good director? It’s directed by D.J. Caruso, one of the worst directors in the biz.

    Al Pacino still has talent, The Merchant of Venice was a great movie, his performance was amazing. He just needs to pick better roles. Two for the Money was a half-assed cash in.

    And John, do some research on Halo. On its first day on shelves Halo 2 made around the jist of $125 million dollars. Its first day. It has gone on to gross around $500 million.

    Methinks that owns most films.

    If Halo fans are willing to spend $50 dollars they are willing to spend $9. Along with the legions of Halo fans, there are normal sci-fi fans who will go see it, teenagers who have nothing else to do (this is why Dukes of Hazzard made big), as well as people like us who go to films on a regular basis as a hobby or profession, not casually.

    And while I don’t even particularily like Halo (I’m a MGS fan myself) it will rake in money no matter how crappy it is.

    And as a finishing note; did you guys ever stop to think that these big name actors WANT to work with Uwe Boll because of how bad he is?

    Just to have the experience? If I made 20 million a movie I’m pretentious enough to work with Uwe Boll just for the fun of it, i’d do it for a dollar.

  3. I know I was not a huge fan of the wallace and grommit movie.

    It got two laughs out of me, but it was not terrible. I am amazed critics are loving it so much.

    As for movie with bad names, that is all i can think about when it comes to two for the money. I hate that name.

    As for serenity, I loved it, but I saw no advertising for it. And the posters i did see were not very good.

  4. am i the only one that hates the new saying of the date before the show starts? i love LOVE LOVE hearing you try to figure out the date and all that….o well peace

  5. Hey Brian, you sound like a Pacino fan, I missed his “Looking for Richard” film, I am trying to get it on DVD as I am starting to build my Pacino collection again.

  6. On the subject of the commercial failure of Serenity…

    A film with no stars based on a TV series that not many people have seen was never likely to set the box office on fire.

    Perhaps the film has been sold badly. I am pretty sure though that many people would really love the movie if they actually watched it. It is so much better than most of the big blockbusters that come out these days. I enjoyed it more than “Attack of the Clones”, “War of the Worlds” and “Batman Begins” all of which I liked.

    A friend of mine has not watched “Firefly” but he really loved the movie when we watched it last night. The sad thing though was we were watching it in an empty cinema.

  7. Ehr John, youre wrong I actually saw Mechant of Venice and Goon’s right, it was one of the films that he OWNED.

    It seems that youre not very impressed with Mr. Pacino EVER?

  8. I saw Merchant of Venice and Pacino was BLAZIN’. Everyone else was Masterpiece Theater level routine, but Alfredo was hot hot hot. (And the chick who played Portia was babe-o-licious in a Cate Blanchett kinda way.)

    I might see Two For The Money even though it sucks.

  9. Ahh thank you for your Battlefield Earth moment. The EXACT same thing happened to me in the theatre i went to in NY to see that travesty of human life. That was without a doubt the worst movie that ive ever paid to see. (the worst movie award for films i saw at a friends house or on tv goes to Christopher Walken’s “The Eternal” without a doubt the single worst film of all time)

    As far as your discussion goes about why people arent going to the movies anymore, Id have to say the reason is simply: trailers. Back even a few years ago, the quality of movie trailers was no where near what it is today. Its gotten to the point that a skilled editor can take footage from ANY truly TERRIBLE movie and make it seem interesting. Take that “Shining” trailer for example, a skilled editor took a horror flick and turned out a trailer for a romantic comedy! Anyone can make anything they want out of those small bits of footage. I personally think this has jaded us all as moviegoers, when EVERY movie blasts at you with an amazing trailer. This is why Flightplan has been so successful. It presented its trailer with what seemed like a unique concept, and i believe that people wanted a resolution to the mystery presented in the trailer. It was truly effective at doing its job and was one of the few movie trailers that stood out from the rest. This i think, is the major reason for the film having the success it has had, despite it completely sucking as a film.

    Similarly , the trailer for a movie like Serenity, played it like your typical scifi action flick of which we get 4 or 5 every summer now. It had nothing in it whatsoever to draw in an audience. Thank god however that word of mouth is still a force somewhat to be reckoned with in this industry and that Wallace and Grommit , despite a fairly weak ad campaign is at the top of the box office simply because it IS the best new film out this week.

    I believe the viewing public is simply looking for something new, were pretty much sick of the summer action blockbusters , and the films that are shot solely for the purpose of trying to collect a best picture nod. I think the viewing public is looking for smaller, different stories and hollywood has had a difficult time changing its ways, and keeps on greenlighting the same crap movies over and over again. And any time the viewing public gets a hold of a trailer for a movie that MIGHT JUST BE DIFFERENT from the same crap weve been getting, we hop right on it like white on rice!

    The oversaturation of the movie industry is certainly not helping anyone either, ive had many weekends where my friends and i want to go see a movie, but none of us can come to a descision about the 4 or 5 new movies that come out EACH week, that we just tend to go bowling or to play pool instead. There are just simply TOO many new movies coming out each week. And with all of them competing at the same time for the consumer’s buying dollar, along with the increase in ticket prices, the increase in refreshment prices, and the declining quality of the movie theatres themselves, It gives the consumer more and more reasons to just NOT go. I know many people who just say “Screw it, ill wait for the DVD” when faced with having to spend nearly $50 for two people to go to a movie with two sodas and a popcorn! And with so many movies each week to choose from , it makes the whole idea of simply not bothering until the dvd comes out just that much more feasible.

    I personally love the experience of the movies, but i believe it reached its peak in the early to mid nineties, when there were many new theatres being built, and big movies were huge productions, and movie prices were fairly reasonable at around 6.50 a ticket. If the movie industry really wants our dollars back, tt will give the greenlight money to truly talented directors, with truly great scripts, and not just the big budget summer blockbusters. Then they need to improve the condition of the declining quality of the theatres, lower ticket prices, and lower the cost of the refreshments. Also tone down the ultra-flashy trailers. They arent fooling anyone anymore. Because to be honest, if im going to go spend $50-$60 dollars to go to a MOVIE, i might as well spring a few extra bucks and go see a broadway show! Chances are lately, itd be far more worth it.

    –Justin Flood

  10. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Cinderella Man, Two For The Money and The Greatest Game all failed at the box office AND are all about sports.

    Any film that features boxing or golf prodominently in the trailer is going to alienate the average movie-goer, making them think only fans of those sports will like those movies. Obviously not every sports film fails, so maybe they just focused TOO much on the sports elements rather then the charcters.

    Exactly the same reason Serenity failed, targeting people who will see the film either way while alienating everyone else in the process. Would you have liked the movie as much without having seen Firefly? Would you have cared about the characters, wondering what adventures they’re getting themselves into? Well for those of who haven’t seen the show (which is pretty EVERYONE if you look at the big picture), this movie is too vague and confused to connect with the uninnitiated; and this is especially true with the trailer. The first time I saw the trailer, I had no idea it was based on a tv show, and the lack of star power and done-to-death eastern influences had me putting the movie on par with other b-sci fi adventures like Wing Commander, Jason X, and even Alien Ressurection (which Whedon also wrote, and plays ALOT like Serenity).

    And John, you’re reasons for not wanting to see Halo and why you think it will fail are the exact same reasons Serenity did. And that didn’t even have Peter Jackson attatched!

    And Doug, Serenity is a lame title. It should’ve been called ‘Ballz Deep’.

  11. C’mon guys. No one can go to the movies right now because it costs them ten bucks in gas just to get there. Seriously, these gas prices are limiting a lot of people’s budget.

    Second, Serenity is not THAT good. I liked it, I gave it a positive review, but most people did not. The acting is mediocre (AT BEST) and not to mention there are no actors anyone knows. Your average movie-goer could not name anyone in that film. I can name one off the top of my head. It could’ve been so much wittier. I chuckled a couple times. Get over that no one is paying to see it.

    Also, Flightplan wasn’t that bad. It was a good “guy murdered in a sealed room wearing scuba gear, how did he die: type of film. You can’t tell me you knew exactly what was going on through the course of that film. We had to figure it out. I liked that. Is she crazy? Or did her daughter get taken? And if she was taken, how come no one remembers her, there’s no ticket for her and she’s reported as dead for weeks. Or simply, where the hell is she?

    I’ve written too much. Bad audio edition today, but I’lll be back!

    Drewbaca

    -www.moviepatron.com

    P.S.

    BILL PAXTON!

    BILL PAXTON!

    BILL PAXTON!

    BILL PAXTON!

    BILL PAXTON!

    BILL PAXTON! (his best film was Weird Science!)

  12. THE REASON WHY SERENITY FAILED:

    first, you have a failed tv show that (i loved watching and hated to see go away ) only lasted 5 or 6 episodes.

    you make it into a movie 2 years later, when everyone who was watching the tv show (17-25 yr old males) are now raising kids and living life. They have forgotten the show.

    Then, you have the movie, but you change the title to something that you would only get if you would have caught EVERY episode.

    the message i got from the promotion was “if you havent seen every episode of this show, we dont want you, so we’ve changed the title so you’d think it was about a love story or something.”

    seriously. Joss is a Genious… but geniouses need people to keep them from blowing themselves up with their creations sometimes.

  13. Maybe ‘Greastest Game” should have had a limited screen run, and expand out- but y’know something? As much as as I like ’em, I must confess:

    Enough of the Based On A True Story Sports Movies from Disney.

    Enough.

    Enough.

    Enough.

    Enough.

    Yes, I liked the formula picture of “Remember The Titans”, but that also had Denzel Washigton in it and was directly directed by Boaz Yakin.

    Yes, I sort of liked “Miracle” but that also had Kurt Russell in it and it was…alright..

    In a couple of months, it’s Josh Lucas in a basketball film.

    But you want to know something else? Basketball is exiting. Football is exiting. Freakin’ kick ass hockey is exiting.

    How’s your golf game?

  14. Serenity…what went wrong?

    I thought this movie should have been marketed better. The only commercials I have seen, were on the Space Channel here in Canada. They should at least had the actors or even Joss go on the talk show circuit. Since the movie only had a $35 million budget, it might still make money or break even, especially when it comes out on DVD. The box set of the series alone sold over 500,000 copies.

    BTW Bill Paxton also directed a film called Frailty.

  15. Two For The Money was “ok.” The beginning and middle somewhat dragged at a lot of parts, but the end was totally awsome. Al Pacino acting was dead on in this movie, so was Rene Russo. But McConaughey acting was not as well.

    I am a huge Halo fan but I am not really anticipating the movie version. I’ll see it because Peter Jackson is behind it, not because it is an adaptaion of one of my favorite video game.

    The name your thinking of for The GReatest Game Ever Played is Bill Paxton. This movie was excellent. I recommend everyone to go see it. It differs itself from the rest of the sports films that have been released in the past few years.

    Uwe Boll must suffer for that announcement. It is already bad that he destroyed Alone In The Dark. Now he is gonna destroy Far Cry and Fear Effect in the coming future….

    Topics I would like to hear about:

    – You guy’s most anticipated movie of October.

    – Your opinion on video games being turned into movies.

    Great show today!

  16. oh you fools, you fools.

    1) Wallace and Gromit is a full 10 for me. A fuckin 10. this movie left me smiling hours after I left the theater. It had a Muppet Show esque joyfulness about it, it was charming, and its not laugh out loud funny, but its damn funny. its well timed puns and dry humor.

    ONLY 16.5 million. Guess what, Chicken Run debuted with 17m and went on to gross over 100 million. This one could too, and its a better, bigger, more action packed film so word of mouth should be better to help that along. Theres not a lot of movies that debut in the fall or winter that debut big. I remember once when Beavis and Butthead debuted at around 23 mil and it was considered a December record. It wasnt until Harry Potter and LOTR did this ever change, and its still few and far between like that.

    2) Two for the Money: WHY THE HELL do you keep talking about this movie? I know why it failed at the box office. it has nothing to do with who is in it: The trailer is crap. I dont know why you were looking forward to it, its a cheesy cookie cutter action movie with a stupid pun title.

    On top of that, have you been to Rotten Tomatoes at all lately? It has around 17% rating, compared to 35% for Flightplan. At least Flightplan has a few people who really liked it, including Ebert which counts for something at least. Also, Flightplan makes it clear in its trailer theres going to be a twist, and that draws money.

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