411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 08.14.09: Week 190

Posted by Ben Piper on 08.14.2009

Will District 9 fail to live up to the hype? Will The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard be any good? Did John Hughes leave behind a great legacy of cultural touchstones? 411's Tony Farinella and Owain J. Brimfield debate these and other topics in week 190 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



How you doin'? Welcome back yet again to the 411 column sure to cause mass panic and uproar, Fact or Fiction. As always, I am your humble host/moderator, Ben Piper.

This week Ten Deep mastermind Owain J. Brimfield joins us. Standing opposed is resident mad interviewer extraordinaire, Tony Farinella. Let's see what they have up their sleeves, shall we?

1. District 9's TV ads and strong word of mouth have you looking forward to see the movie, but you're worried that all the hype will ultimately have you feeling disappointed as you leave the theater.

Tony Farinella: Fiction. I think they should call this film Slumdog Aliens. All kidding aside, this film sounds like a lot of fun, and I think it's going to live up to the hype. Plus, Peter Jackson is a producer on this film and his films usually don't disappoint. I'm really excited for this film because this summer has been pretty disappointing for mainstream movies. I'm looking at you, Harry Potter and Transformers 2. Hopefully this film will end the summer with a bang. If nothing else, it will be original.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction. For a number of reasons... Partly because I have the fortune of not watching much TV that isn't either a DVD boxset or a Sky+ recording (think the cheap n' cheerful version of TiVo), and thus haven't caught any adverts for the film, partly because I rarely buy into media hype any more (or at least not since the release of The Phantom Menace, which will surely remain for all time the most over-hyped film ever to be released), and partly because I won't be catching this at the cinema as there's no way in hell it will see theatre release where I live. I am looking forward to District 9 though, which seems to have a similar buzz to Cloverfield and I enjoyed the hell out of that movie. It's somewhat rare for a first-time director to generate this sort of word-of-mouth, although I suppose it can't hurt that Peter Jackson, Lord of the Geeks, is involved. I doubt I'll find myself disappointed at any rate, because I don't tend to have high expectations and also because I'm quietly confident that this will be to 2009 what Moon was to... er, 2009 - a quality slice of intelligent and original science fiction.

Score: 1 for 1

2. John Hughes leaves behind a legacy of great cultural touchstones that will remain relevant and influential for generations to come.

Tony Farinella: Fact. This is an easy one. Even though he hasn't directed a film in quite some time, people still talk about his films and the impact that they had on their teenage years. I don't think that's ever going to change because laughter never fades away and neither does a smile. Also, thanks to the power of DVD, youngsters for years to come will discover his films. The issues that he dealt with in the eighties are still relevant to teenagers today. The only difference is now we have Facebook, Twitter, and cell phones.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction, due to the scope of the question. I won't deny that Hughes' back catalogue has some top-notch films that were indeed key elements of 80s/90s pop culture, and I'll happily admit that a lot of his films can be found in my DVD collection. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, and allow me to bring the Hughes appreciation down to a more respectable level by reminding the world that the man wrote Baby's Day Out. For as beloved as Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club and all the rest are to 411's main demographic, I can guarantee you that my teenage nephew watches Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story and sits stonefaced through the Bueller references. Culturual touchstones, yes - relevant and influential for generations is the part I can't agree with. Times and tastes change, and while my generation has a high fondness for the 80s, it won't be so for the kids who are finishing high school this year, let alone in thirty years.

Score: 1 for 2

3. The intriguing premise of The Time Traveler's Wife has you interested in checking it out.

Tony Farinella: Fiction. I've seen the trailer for this film a few times, and it looks like predictable crap. Everything is given away in the trailer! Look, Rachel McAdams has moved on since The Notebook, and there's no reason to put her in another sappy melodrama. As far as Eric Bana, he has great comedic timing, and I'd like to see him in more comedies. He was one of the best parts about the disappointing Funny People. This is just a waste of time. The trailer made me physically sick: the sappy music, the dramatic pregnancy, the kiss at the end. Why don't they just hand out tissues when you enter the theater?

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact, at the risk of drawing the commenters' ire by employing a "Fact-ion". I'm interested in the film - or at least, ten times more interested than I have been for every other romantic drama of the past decade - but not directly due to the premise. It's more due to the fact that I thought it could have been done better than Audrey Niffenegger managed in the original novel. Science fiction elements are always a guaranteed way to get me interested in even the most mundane film, and I'm quite a fan of Eric Bana too, although he does seem to be at the risk of cultivating a bland reputation. Plus, Tony's claim that the trailer looks "predictable" hardly rings true - sentimental and horribly melodramatic yes, but the premise is original enough that "predictable" is a bit of a straw-man criticism. I doubt I'll even end up checking this out, but I'm interested enough to give this one a "Fact".

Score: 1 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You're relived and stoked that Ridley Scott is returning to the Alien franchise to direct the proposed prequel.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact. Ben, you're killing me with the wording of these questions. I'm not interested in seeing another Alien movie, let alone a prequel - sadly my interest in the franchise was a casualty of the AvP debacles of recent years. There's been time enough to expand upon the mythos and the storyworld, but everything since the third film has felt like filler. However, I am pleased about a couple of things related to the question, hence the "Fact". Firstly, I like that the task of prequelling one of the most important movie franchises there is has gone to someone with a proven track record of doing things right, which at least shows that there is some degree of pride in the creative process left in Hollywood. Secondly, I'm happy to see Scott return to the SF genre, which is where the man has done has greatest work, and if I'm stoked about anything it's the (admittedly idealistic) potential of another classic in the same league as Alien and Blade Runner.

Tony Farinella: Fact. Give Ben a break, Owain. He's had a rough week. That being said, I'm dreading this idea with a passion. Like Owain, the AvP films have all but ruined any interest I had in this "franchise." I think I'm going to stick with District 9, thank you very much. Doesn't Ridley Scott have anything better to do? I wonder if he'll find a way to include Russell Crowe in this film. If you have Russell Crowe fighting aliens, I might check it out. According to IMDB.com, this film is not going to come out until 2011, so there's still some time to work on it. At the moment, though, I'm not at all excited about this idea.

Score: 2 for 4

5. You're not optimistic that The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard will be any good.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact. I don't "get" Jeremy Piven or Entourage, and that pretty much excludes me 100% from the movie's target market. There are some interesting names in the cast, but this is predominantly a vehicle to allow Piven to try his schtick on the big screen and see whether the audiences lap it up as much as they do Ari Gold. While his appearance on WWE Raw was an intriguing ploy to help drum it some publicity and the man did himself a favour with his performance, I don't think it's enough to help this one to a decent box office take. Still, kudos for trying, I guess. I'll be sitting at home with my DVDs of House wondering why on earth Hugh Laurie's highest profile cinematic role to date came in Stuart Little.

Tony Farinella Fiction. I'm going to disagree with Owain here. While it doesn't look like a classic, I think it's going to be a good chuckle-fest. To be honest with you, that's all I'm really looking for in a film like this. The supporting cast looks interesting as well, so it's not all about Jeremy Piven. I think it might be a sleeper hit and surprise some people.

Score: 2 for 5

6. You're interested in checking out the Michael Jackson concert movie This Is It.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction. Listen, I'm a fan of Jackson's music, and although everyone will tell you this since his death, I wasn't party to the mass media's attempt to hound the man to his grave. But of course, everyone loves a martyr, so I'm sure I can't convince anyone of that. Anyway, I'm not really interested in concert films full stop unless they feature particularly heavy or progressive rock bands, and even then I'd probably rather listen to the CD. Minus points, too, for the numbingly generic title, which reminds me of people who write their autobiography and title it "My Story". I'll give this one a pass, but I can appreciate there's likely a lot of interest in it.

Tony Farinella: Fiction. I'm with Owain on this. I respect Michael Jackson's music, but I'm beyond tired of the media coverage surrounding his death. I just don't care anymore. I'm ready to let the man rest and move on with my life, but it seems like everyone else is just trying to milk this story for as long as they can. I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan, so this is not for me. If you're a Michael Jackson fan, I'm sure this will be a great experience, especially on the big screen. I respect his contributions to the music industry, but enough is enough already.

Final Score: 3 for 6

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

Owain J. Brimfield: It has to be Angelina Jolie - only due to the question though; had it been "least favorite actress" I would have made another choice. Unfortunately, despite Jolie's acting talents, "movie star" carries with it the pathetic baggage of the media circus surrounding her ridiculous family life and the fact that every man on the planet bizarrely regards her as the hottest woman ever to exist, which drags Jolie's case far, far down to the land of gossipy tripe my girlfriend inexplicably reads about in glossy magazines.

Tony Farinella: My vote goes to Julia Roberts. She seems like an obnoxious sweetheart. What I mean by that is she seems like a sweet person, but she doesn't know when to shut up or tone it down. I also think she's more of a movie star than an actress. Outside of Erin Brockovich and Steel Magnolias, she hasn't really impressed me. Most of her films are extremely sappy, predictable and cheesy. I just don't get the appeal behind Julie Roberts. Am I alone here?

____________________________________

And there you go. Owain and Tony split the difference this time around. Many thanks to them both for their participation. Check back next week for more splendid Fact or Fiction action!
-BP

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