411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 03.19.10: Week 220
Posted by Ben Piper on 03.19.2010
Should NBC pick up 24 for a ninth season? Will Repo Men be a fun high-concept thrill ride? Will The Bounty Hunter not be very good? 411's Bryan Kristopowitz and Matthew Motiuk debate these and other topics in week 220 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!
Hey yo! Welcome back yet again to another weekly edition of Fact or Fiction. I'm not one that's big on introductions, so I'll just say… Here's Bryan Kristopowitz and Matthew Motiuk. Take it away, boys.
1. Repo Men will be a fun high-concept thrill ride.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact: Yeah, there's a good chance that this movie could bomb big time. "High concept" sci-fi tends to be like that. But this has an exceptional cast (Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker, Liev Schrieber), and the general "look" of the movie looks great, so I'm fairly confident that Repo Men won't stink. The world needs good sci-fi action movies.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact: Just because it's going to be a fun high-concept thrill ride doesn't mean it won't perform terribly; even I wasn't interested for a while before I watched the trailer. Of course, once I saw the amazing cast, the very cool concept behind it, and some of the scenes, it looks like it will actually be a great movie for people looking for a bit of a futuristic action movie.
Score: 1 for 1
2. You've been looking forward to the return of new episodes of South Park.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction: Don't get me wrong. I like South Park. It's a great, funny show, but I'm more of a casual fan than anything else. I just don't get excited by new South Park episodes. The Tiger Woods storyline that's expected for the season opener sounds quite good, though. I may end up watching that.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact: South Park is one of the few shows I have left that I actually like enough to look forward to, so its return is kind of a big deal. The strange return time is slightly dampened by the fact that V is also revived pretty soon, but new South Park is always something to be excited about. The season opener might be a pretty obvious one, but it should be hilarious.
Score: 1 for 2
3. You're hoping NBC will pick up 24 and bring it back for a ninth season.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact: I've never actually watched 24 (I've seen a few episodes but I've never followed it), but with a new network and, perhaps, new buzz because of the move, the show may become bigger than ever before. Maybe. I think the thing that's killed this show's momentum is its total lack of presence in the syndication market. Is it even on anymore? I know that the CI network has reruns of 24 but you have to have HD cable for that channel (and how many people have that?). I just don't get why this show hasn't become a fixture on FX and other networks, especially over the summer (for whatever reason Fox has never been all that interested in reruns after a season ends. How are you going to build a bigger presence if you're not on more? DVD sales can only get you so far).
Matthew Motiuk: Fiction: Just like Bryan, I've never watched the show, and I have no interest in watching it. Eight seasons is pretty long for any show, especially a show with as limited a premise as 24 - no matter how well it is done. And 24 has definitely fallen off the radar a bit if you're not a faithful fan. A move to NBC would probably reinvigorate the show . . . but what's the point? They're still talking about a movie. Let the show end and make a couple movies. Then see what happens.
Score: 1 for 3
Switch!!!
4. The Bounty Hunter will not be very good.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact: This is a difficult one for me. On one hand, I really like Gerard Butler. On the other hand, I don't like Jennifer Aniston. Tie in the fact that this is essentially a Mr. and Mrs. Smith rip-off (like that movie needed to be ripped off) and the humour seems unimpressive at best in the trailer, and this has 'bomb' written all over it. Could I be wrong? Sure. But I don't have very high hopes.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact: I think the biggest problem with this movie is its director, Andy Tennant. Tennant is a pretty decent romantic comedy director (he did Hitch, Sweet Home Alabama, and Fools Rush In) but does he have the eye or the skill to do a romantic action comedy? I have my doubts. Butler and Aniston should do fine together, though.
Score: 2 for 4
5. You'll tune in to watch Betty White host Saturday Night Live.
Matthew Motiuk: Fiction: This has more to do with the fact that I never watch Saturday Night Live than anything else. Bringing in a different host like Betty White is a very cool catch, and if I watched it, I might be inclined to tune in, but it's not enough to draw me in to watch the show.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact: I'm a fan of Saturday Night Live, so I watch it regardless of who the guest host is. The Betty White episode should be a hoot. I just hope that White is actually in most of the sketches and her appearance isn't overwhelmed by all of the other special guests that are expected to be there (Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, and Rachel Dratch). Betty White needs to be on "What's Up With That?"
Score: 2 for 5
6. You fail to see the need for a Pet Semetary remake.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact: Alright, so the original was a chilling Stephen King story that frightened a lot of people. The sequel was not. Even if this new remake (assuming it is a remake and not somehow another sequel, which has been known to happen) can capture the essence and scares of the first, and do a half-decent job, as usual I'd much rather have people checking out the original than a remake. They should concentrate their efforts on adapting a completely new Stephen King story and working their magic on that instead of treading old ground.
Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact: I agree with Mathew, people interested in making movies based on Stephen King stories should focus on stories that haven't been adapted yet. It just makes no sense to me to do a remake when there's so much other stuff to adapt.
While Repo Men looks interesting enough, I already saw it. It was called Repo! The Genetic Opera, a wildly over the top rock opera.
Posted By: dan (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 12:37 AM
I decided to give 24 a shot this season for the first time and I have to admit that it's a damn good show. I don't know how it matches up to the other seasons but it definitely hooked me for this one.
I think The Bounty Hunter will be decent, but I like Butler so I might be biased. However, from what I've seen of the trailers, it does not resemble Mr and Mrs Smith.
Posted By: Big Fat Fag (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 10:22 AM
I liked REPO MEN better the first time I saw it.....WHEN IT WAS CALLED REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA!
Posted By: #1Punker (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 11:04 AM
While Repo Men looks interesting enough, I already saw it. It was called Repo! The Genetic Opera, a wildly over the top rock opera.
Posted By: dan (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 12:37 AM
THANK YOU. I was wondering when someone was finally going to bring that up. Granted, this one is looking like it's going to tread more into the action movie genre, but still, the premise is almost word-for-word the same, and I haven't heard anyone make that connection at all. I'm surprised that neither of the FOF guys knew about it.
Posted By: Knutcase (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 11:35 AM
1) Fiction: Umm, wasn't there a B horror/sci-fi movie called Repo Man before? Yeah this will bomb.
2) Fact: South Park is an awesome political and social satire like the Simpsons, and always delivers
3) Fiction: Sorry, it is a Fox show and should be moved to FX if Fox doesn't want it. Besides NBC will just destroy it somehow, someway.
4) Fact: Can anyone tell me how this woman is still acting in Hollywood (I am guessing the "Casting Couch"). Her last good performance was in Office Space and you could have had any hot chick play that part. Movie will bomb!
5) Fiction: The only time SNL is funny is during election time. The rest of the time it sucks, will be no different this time.
6) Fact: PS one was bad, PS 2 was worse---remake....Epic Fail
Posted By: KT (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 01:17 PM
No way will the bounty hunter bomb. It will make a profit on name value alone. Butler was great in the Ugly Truth & every woman in the world loves Aniston.
This may not be a record breaker but it will make money for sure
Posted By: Malibou (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 04:03 PM
Watch Repo Man from 1984 if you want high concept sci-fi, emphasis on the high part. Flat out brilliant.
Posted By: Wii60 (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 07:05 PM
Repo Men looks HORRIBLE. Anyone that thinks it looks like a neat premise should be stabbed to death with a spork.
Posted By: Guest#4996 (Guest) on March 19, 2010 at 08:00 PM
keep kristopowitz on this. anything is better than his god awful movie reviews...
Posted By: krist (Guest) on March 20, 2010 at 01:44 PM
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