411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 08.07.09: Week 189

Posted by Ben Piper on 08.07.2009

Will G.I. Joe be much better than the previews let on? Will A Perfect Getaway be a terrific thriller? Are people looking forward to the return of Psych and Monk? Is Sam Raimi a good choice to direct a World Of Warcraft movie? 411's Al Norton and Shawn S. Lealos debate these and other topics in week 189 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



What up? Welcome back to the 411 column that challenges it's host to come up with interesting and clever one sentence introductions, Fact or Fiction. I am said host/moderator, Ben Piper. And yes, I know that intro was neither interesting or clever.

This week Two Tivo's TV madman Al Norton matches wits with a man so full with opinions that 411 had to give him another column, Shawn S. Lealos. Let's check out the debate.

1. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra will be a lot better than the previews have let on.

Al Norton: Fiction. If you had just said "better than the previews have let on" I would have gone with fact simply because logic dictates they would HAVE to be better than those awful excuse for movie ads. I mean, I had seen one movie in six months before sitting down at Harry Potter, totally primed for previews, and then I got the craptacular double bill of 2012 and GI Joe and I thought to myself, "clearly I haven't been missing much." I have no idea what the movie is about other than a group of military specialists whose job it is to protect the world, with the team including a hot one, a funny one, and Dennis Quaid. Who is the target audience for this? Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?

(Edit: The Moderator ducks and runs from the amount of negative comments surely coming Al's way...)

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact. The previews look freaking retarded. There is no Cobra Commander. There is weird green ooze that destroys things with no explanation. There is a shot of two Joe's running in the streets and doing stupid flippy flips to avoid missiles or something. Now, on the other hand I saw (and I don't include this as a preview, because I assume the question meant trailers) the special look during RAW this week and the Snake Eyes (Ray Park) fight with Storm Shadow was great! Anything is better than the trailers, though. Now, there is another reason why I think it will actually be a watchable movie. I have read a review over at Chud.com with Devin Faraci, a guy who doesn't mix words when something sucks. He loved it. He said there are things in this movie that every teenager imagined would look like a G.I. Joe underground layer. He said if he was 12-years old this would be the greatest movie he had ever seen. He hated Transformers and loved this, so take it on that level if you choose. Following that review - and I know it is only one reviewer's take - but I am now actually a little excited about the movie. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an amazing actor so it can't be all that bad.

Score: 0 for 1

2. You're looking forward to the return of both Psych and Monk.

Al Norton: Fact. Psych is just about the most underrated comedy on TV and co-stars James Roday and Dule Hill have chemistry that would make Madame Curie jealous. While the series continues to be laugh-out-loud funny it has added some emotional depth over the years and Rachel Leigh Cook joining the cast as Shawn's girlfriend will only make the show better.

While I acknowledge it's a well made, incredibly well acted show, Monk has never been my cup of tea. That being said, it's an Emmy & Golden Globe winning series entering its final season and the truth is USA would not be where it is - the top rated cable network right now - without it. I will probably be tuning in more than I usually do for this last batch of episodes so I can see how they wrap up the mystery of Monk's wife murder as well as for the inevitable return of the series' favorite guest stars.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact. I am excited about the final season of Monk. Adrian Monk has been tormented for years since the death of his wife and I have been following his adventures and watching his pain (Tony Shalhoub is amazing in his role, making it very believable). It is time to allow Monk to rest, find out who murdered his wife and finally move on in peace. This show, more than any other, deserves a fitting happy ever after ending, and I pray they give it to us. Also, Ted Levine is a God, so putting him on TV for one more season is awesome in my book. As for Psyche, I love the dynamics between the leads. I honestly believe USA is the best network on TV right now for original series.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Sam Raimi is a terrific choice to direct a World Of Warcraft movie.

Al Norton: Fact, for a number of reasons. First off, I doubt the script for this movie is going to be well written so you need a director who has the ability to make a movie better than the words on the page, which Raimi does. Plus you want someone who isn't going to be intimidated by such well known source material, and again Raimi's proved he's up to that sort of challenge. WoW will have a large built-in group of haters to go with it's built-in audience, so anything else the studio can do to make the film more appealing helps; Raimi bring his own passionate fan base to the table, and then means box office dollars to the studio footing the bill for what will surely be a very high budget project. Lastly, Raimi's trademark humor will guarantee the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Of course, none of that means I would ever step foot in a theater to see it, but he's still a terrific choice.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact. I say Fact for one main reason. Sam Raimi is the perfect director for any movie, period. Unlike Mr. Norton, I would pay money to see this movie even though I know nothing about WoW and don't care one way or the other about the game itself. Raimi made his little film (Drag Me to Hell) to rejuvenate himself after years of Spiderman and now he is getting another chance for a big budget spectacular. I wonder whom Bruce Campbell will cameo as in this movie?

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!

4. Julie & Julia is a chick flick you'd be interested in seeing eventually.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fiction. My wife wants to see this and got really excited when I got press passes in the mail for an advanced screening. I froze in terror but then breathed a sigh of relief when I had to break the news to her that it was in Tulsa (too far to drive for a movie, free or not). Thank God, I don't have to see that. Of course, I also had to rub in the fact that I got District 9 passes for this Friday and they don't allow guests. I'm kind of a dick sometimes. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, a movie about a writer trying to write a blog about a chef. Yeah, not my cup of tea. Not even on DVD.

Al Norton: Fact. Two words for you: Meryl Streep. Three more words for you: Best. Actress. Ever. She's so good I will basically see anything she does because I know she will find a way to make it come alive in ways I never saw coming. Would I rather have a straight bio-pic of Julia Child instead of the "Julie" portion of the movie? Sure, but they didn't invite me in on the story pitch meetings. I suppose I could use the rest of this answer to say that a well made, well acted movie is just that, regardless of its subject matter, and I am always open to seeing well made, well acted films. Wait, I think I just did. Not saying J & J falls into that category, just that Ms. Streep's presence certainly makes it more likely than not.

Score: 2 for 4

5. Steven Spielberg remaking the classic movie Harvey is a horrible idea.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact. I touched on this in my 3 R's this week (cheap plug). Harvey was a success because of one thing - Jimmy Stewart. I assume Spielberg will try to get Tom Hanks for the role because he is the Jimmy Stewart of his generation. Or maybe he will go younger and grab Shia LaBeouf and rework it since, you know, LaBeouf is the Tom Hanks of his generation. Or something. Spielberg needs to do his Lincoln biopic with Liam Neeson. Spielberg needs to make original movies. His best movies were all either original creations or historical pieces. There is no reason a director as great as Spielberg should remake other people's movies.

Al Norton: Fiction. I wouldn't say horrible, just unnecessary. At this point in his career I'd prefer Spielberg use his influence to discover new writers with new stories to tell and create an even larger legacy in Hollywood with a generation of talent who got their start thanks to him. Instead we get The Terminal and Harvey. I mean, the man does lend his name as a producer to some pretty cool projects (Taken, Into The West, United States of Tara), and he's earned the right to do just about whatever he wants, but I guess I don't see the huge appeal in remaking Harvey. I'm not against remakes in general but is there going to be some sort of fresh take on a guy who sees a giant, talking rabbit? If it were a movie about an imaginary road trip taken by Harvey's Korman and Kietel, now that I would be in to.

Score: 2 for 5

6. A Perfect Getaway will be a terrific thriller.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact. Wow, two plugs in a row. Check out my Alternate Takes this weekend for my look at the career of director David Twohy. I don't want to say too much here or I'll spoil this weekend's read (you do read my columns don't you?). Here is what I will say. Twohy was speaking about what makes a good horror movie. He believes that if you remove the aliens and monsters and ghosts and only leave the characters, there is still a strong movie in all good horror. Pitch Black is a great movie, and Twohy agrees (of course). If you remove the monsters, would it still be great? I think it would. Below is a terrific haunted submarine movie, also with great characters and moments that do not involve ghosts. Well, I believe A Perfect Getaway is Twohy's chance to prove his point, making a thriller with no monsters - although there is a killer in there. I think, based on his last three movies (and I liked Chronicles of Riddick) this will be a great movie based on tension alone. His possible next film will be aces as well, but you have to read my Alternate Takes to know what that is about.

Al Norton: Fiction. First off, I haven't seen plugs that cheap since Shatner in Star Trek 5. Secondly, movies about crazy people killing strangers don't really do it for me. I suppose if they found a way to make it in any way realistic but then again I feel like there have been so many of them over the last 10 years that I am just numb to the genre. Does this have the chance to be entertaining? Yes, if for no other reason than it's got a pretty solid cast, including Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, and Kiele Sanchez. I am sure there will be a big twist ending (at this point a big twist ending would be one without a supposed twist) and I bet it makes some money as there is nothing else out like this right now, but I just can't get excited for a movie like this.

Final Score: 2 for 6

Bonus Non Fact or Fiction Question: Who is your least favorite female movie star?

Shawn S. Lealos: Katherine Heigl - Let me tell you a little story about ME. I was shooting a movie a few years back and had hired who I believed was the best actors that we screened for the job. We got into shooting and one of the actresses started to create drama with another actress. I ignored it and we continued shooting the movie. On the last day of shooting, I had to work as the DP for various reasons and this actress invited her boyfriend to the set. He was a television commercial director (and a pretty shitty one at that) and he proceeded to sit on the sidelines and talk shit about my work the entire shoot. Finally, my producer had him removed from the actual shooting area. Then came post production. We needed voice over work done and she came in to say her lines. She complained about the lines and explained that is not the way she would speak. I calmly explained this was not her that was speaking but her character. She refused to deliver the lines the way I asked and that part of the movie still bothers me to this day. Then when it was time to release the movie, she began to shit talk the entire production, the company and the film itself. She left messages on message boards blasting the company and the movie. Every other actor did interviews and promoted the movie but she was a bitch. Katherine Heigl seems to be the exact type of person. She did it to Roswell. She did it to Grey's Anatomy. She did it to Judd Apatow and Knocked Up. She seems to be poison to everyone she has ever worked with or for. Soon she will burn all her bridges. She is not that talented and I just wish she would go away.

Al Norton: I don't think Anne Hathaway is really my least favorite movie star but I am still shocked by how ga-ga people went over her performance in Rachel Getting Married. She wasn't bad but she wasn't all that great either - certainly not Oscar nomination quality -and her scenes with Debra Winger were so overwrought they were hard to watch (and not in the way they were going for). Rosemarie DeWitt was by far the best thing about the movie and acted circles around Hathaway. I don't have the fire in my belly that Shawn does about Heigl, but I think that may have something to do with his unresolved feelings for her circa My Father The Hero. Now I have to run along and netflix Havoc.

_____________________________________________

Shawn and Al don't find much common ground. Many thanks to them both for taking part. Check back next week for more astounding Fact or Fiction action!
-BP

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