411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 08.21.09: Week 191

Posted by Ben Piper on 08.21.2009

Will Inglorious Basterds be the best movie of the summer? Were people looking forward to Mad Men's return to the airwaves? Are people bummed that Reno 911! was canceled? Will Battlestar Galactica and Bryan Singer be a match made in heaven? 411's Ron Martin and Len Archibald debate these and other topics in week 191 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



And we're back. Yup, we're here doing the Fact or Fiction thing yet again. What can I say? We're gluttons for punishment. As always, I am your humble host/moderator, Ben Piper.

This week A Fool's Utopia's Ron Martin matches wits and opinions with Around The World In 24 Frames' Len Archibald. Let's see what they have to say…



1. Inglourious Basterds will be the best movie of the summer.

Ron Martin: Fact. The only competition on the same level as Inglourious has been Star Trek, Harry Potter and UP. For me this really is no contest as I'm much more into historical stuff/Tarantino films than Star Trek; don't like anything Harry Potter and while I am sure that Up is a fine movie, it probably isn't going to wind up on any favorite lists of mine. Inglorious has a lot going for it. It looks intense. We know Tarantino can do intense like no other. There are a lot of names attached to it. Let me rephrase that. There are a lot of respectable names attached to it. It looks to be in vintage Tarantino style and really what more can we ask for? Will it be the best received film of the summer? Probably not. I figure people will be more into not having to think about movies like Harry Potter and Transformers. I'm afraid this movie may be a little too smart, but then again Joe Q Public has surprised me before. For me, this is going to be the best movie of the summer.

Len Archibald: Fact. Cannes pretty much solidified this fact for me. Despite not winning the Palme d'Or (Grand Prize) at the most important film festival in the world, it had a momentous showing and great audience reception. It has become an event whenever Quentin Tarantino releases a film – comparable to when Jean-Luc Godard would release his films in the 1960's. When your competition in the MONTH is Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock), Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo) and a HELL of a great sci-fi flick (District 9), you know you're hot shit. This will wind up on MANY "Best Of" lists and have everyone talking about arguably America's best "young" filmmaker (arguably – I know The Coens and P.T. Anderson are still alive.)

Score: 1 for 1

2. You've been looking forward to the return of AMC's Mad Men.

Ron Martin : Fact. Let me revise the statement a bit. I am looking forward to the return of AMC's Mad Men on ON DEMAND. Though I was skeptical at first, Mad Men has won me over. My only fear is that success and critical acclaim may have run it towards a ramp with shark waiting on the far side. Whenever something gets as big as quickly as Mad Men, it seems to shorten the shelf life of the show. With the so-called networks disappointing at every turn and fixated on "reality" it will be up to cable to save TV. I hope Mad Men becomes a template on which actual creative people can show off their talents as the void between cable and network becomes smaller and smaller. Good TV is always welcome in my living room.

Len Archibald Fiction. Here we go, "why do you have someone that doesn't watch television..." - I have not had the time to watch this critically praised show. I want to, but my schedule just hasn't allowed it as of yet. Trust me, I will be watching it as soon as I can on DVD.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Rob Marshall is a terrible choice to direct Pirates Of The Caribbean 4.

Ron Martin: Fiction. I hate to say it because it started so well, but does it really matter who directs Pirates 4? With all due respect to Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, who are brilliant in their roles, the films have gotten increasingly worse and only dilute the achievement of the first one with each installment. It doesn't matter who directs. If the Disney money grab has to happen, it's probably better to get a fresh face in the directors chair that can maybe help us regain interest in a story that has gotten way too far off its initial path. I loves me some Jerry Bruckheimer as much as the next guy, but with his name still attached to the movie, the pirates are still going to get more "ruggedly handsome" than dirty and less bloody with each movie. Anyone else notice how Jack Sparrow went from dirty nasty pirate to ruggedly dressed handsome man with a bit of mystery attached to him over the course of three movies? Oy. The movie matters not, it's how much Pirates merchandise and promoting of the new pirate parties at Disneyworld and Disneyland that matters. That first movie was pretty damn good though, wasn't it?

Len Archibald: Fact. I wholeheartedly agree with Ron on every one of his points...It does not disqualify, though Rob Marshall as a TERRIBLE choice to direct Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not discounting his talent, but here's the thing: he is a MUSICAL director. He is a multiple time Tony-nominee for choreography and direction – and deservedly so cause the man is talented at what he's good at – but that's the caveat. Unless we're seeing Captain Jack Sparrow tap dancing and twirling along the mast of The Black Pearl *shudders* this may wind up being a disappointing low to the franchise. But Johnny Depp is money and the film will rake in a billion dollars worldwide, so why does my opinion matter?

Score: 1 for 3

Switch!!!



4. You were bummed out to learn that Reno 911! was canceled.

Len Archibald: Fact. Yes, that sucks. This was one of the funniest shows on T.V., and showed everyone that The Rock...er...Dwayne Johnson was more than just a meathead. Sucks for Danny DeVito, sucks for all of us.

Ron Martin: Fact. I almost put Fiction on this one only because I am more than bummed. I can easily say that I don't know of a comedy that was as consistently funny from first episode to last during the time Reno 911 was on the air. What's even more impressive is the retroscripting technique. Give talented people a chance and they will shine through. I hope that this does not harm retroscripting as some of the funniest shows have used this technique. I am frustrated to see such a good show go off the air, but I am happy it had such a strong run. The people involved are obviously well liked in the comedy community and shouldn't have problems putting the funny back on my TV in same way. Let's hope we can get at least one more movie out of this deal.

Score: 2 for 4

5. Replacing Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewitz on At The Movies with A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips was a smart move.

Len Archibald Fiction. Here's how I feel about this: Scott and Phillips are credible critics, are knowledgeable about films and are a HELL of an improvement over Lyons and Mankiewitz – but they are trying to take the show back to "something like Siskel & Ebert" and that is a recipe for DISASTER if they do so. I'm not one of those guys who think critical minds like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are the start-all-end-all of films (even though Ebert may be, with Scorsese – the smartest man on the planet when it comes to movies) but using Scott and Phillips to go BACK to the old way of film-criticism is not the way to go. We are in 2009 and we need a more "modern" perspective with regards to film-critics.

Ron Martin: Fact? I put the question mark on there only because does it really matter who they put into that slot? I say FACT because if the current guys aren't getting the job done and you are set on having the show regardless, then some other guys need to go in there to give it a shot. Len did have something going with this last line. This isn't the 80s anymore (too bad because the 80s rocked!), is there a market for this? Are baby-boomers calling for this? With the internet full of reviews, sites dedicated just to reviews, I don't know of anyone looking towards their TV for film critics. Might as well let the show turn over their stars. If these two don't get the job done, but two more in until you're cancelled.

Score: 2 for 5

6. You like the idea of Bryan Singer directing a big screen version of Battlestar Galactica.

Len Archibald Fiction. Oy. This is HARD for me to say, cause Singer is behind one of my all time favorite films (the one where Spacey plays a gimp-pretending-to-be-a-badass-crime-lord.) I "liked" Superman Returns (here come the flames), but something has happened to the guy I thought was gonna bring a '90's renaissance back to films along with Quentin Tarantino. I think he suffers from what I call "The Shayamalan Syndrome" - where he busted his nut on his first film. He has never reached the heights of The Usual Suspects and I don't think tackling another big-budget special-effects driven "franchise" is the way to go. Singer needs to go back to shooting films in his backyard and find that innovation that made him famous in the first place.

Ron Martin: Fact. Here's the deal. It's 50/50 whether or not Singer is going to bring it with Battlestar Galactica. Not only is there a 50% chance he'll bring the goods, but he's a big enough name to garner interest by placing him in headlines. I disagree with the Shayamalan Syndrome argument, Len, mostly because I enjoyed the first two X-Men thought the third one was crap -- the one he had nothing to do with. That being said, he did manage to somehow take "Apt Pupil" which is actually the best story in Stephen King's Different Seasons and screw it up, watching it fall well short of bookmates The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. So it's not out of the realm of possibility that he royally screws this up. The brilliant thing is the people who are going to see it, are going to see it regardless of who directs. If you think Singer's name can get you a few more buys -- go for it.

Final Score: 2 for 6

Bonus Non Fact or Fiction Question: What TV show do you hate that everyone else loves?

Len Archibald: I'm going by Nielsen Ratings and not exactly "critical success" because I don't watch a lot of television to begin with – but I never got the whole hype behind CSI. I watched the episode that Tarantino directed, and that was really about it. Never got into it and I think it's a little too contrived for my tastes. That doesn't really scream "hate". But the shows I HATE, pretty much everyone I know hates as well.

Ron Martin: There are a ton of really obvious ones. I don't like any network reality TV, that includes American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother. I am also not fond of cop/courtroom dramas. That already greatly sets my tastes apart. However, even though it's not as popular as it once was, I'm going to go with Two and a Half Men. I don't mind the actors (I find the kid annoying) I just don't like the show. It's not funny. There are a ton of better comedies on the air, but this seems to be the one everyone I know watches. Good thing for me the show has peaked and is on its way down.

___________________________________________

And there you have it. While Len and Ron do find some common ground, they disagree in principle for the most part. Many thanks to them both for participating.

Check next week for more enticing Fact or Fiction goodness!
-BP

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