411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 9.03.10: Week 244

Posted by Ben Piper on 09.03.2010

Will The American be an excellent espionage thriller? Will Machete fail to make a dent at the box office? Do people want a sequel to Zoolander? 411's Chad Webb and Jason Chamberlain debate these topics and more in 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



Yowsah! Welcome back yet again to the column sure to cause civil unrest and emotionally charged protests outside of the 411 home office, Fact or Fiction! This time around, Chad Webb and Jason Chamberlain sit in. Let's see what's up with them.



1. Machete will be a fun movie in the Grindhouse tradition, but will fail to make a dent at the box office.

Chad Webb: Fiction. This is a tough one to answer because of the word is "dent" for the last half of the statement. If you had said box office hit instead, my answer might have changed, but "dent" to me says it won't even make the top 5, and I think that it definitely will. I will add that I do agree that it will be a fun movie though. You see, many people still believe that if a film fails to get #1 on its opening week, it is a disappointment in terms of box office success. This is not the case. It all depends on how much it costs to make, how long it stays in theaters, and so forth. Many directors continually make films that are rarely box office triumphs, yet they still make movies. Just ask Kevin Smith. His films are always very popular on DVD. Anyway, do I think Machete will be #1? No. To be honest, I think it will be battling The American for 2nd place. It will be close between all the new releases actually. Machete has a budget of approximately $20-$25 million. I do not think that will be difficult make back with as many interesting cast members as this has. I expect this to end its run with a solid showing. It should be #2 or #3 after the holiday totals are done. I hope it's a cool flick. Jeff Fahey is involved, so it has to be great.

Jason Chamberlain Fact. I agree with Chad on this one, to a point. I see this movie doing fair business. Nothing special, nothing record breaking, but certainly respectable.

But it depends on your definition of a 'dent', I suppose. To me, that word suggests more than just respectability and profitability, both of which I'm sure Machete will attain. To me, 'dent' suggests being at or near the top of the box office not just on the first weekend but for a prolonged period. I don't really see that happening.

But I do agree with Jeff Fahey bringing awesomeness wherever he goes.

Score: 0 for 1

2. John Cusack is a great choice to play Edgar Allen Poe in the planned thriller The Raven.

Chad Webb: Fiction. After reading about this project, which is described as "a fictionalized account of Poe's last days where the poet pursues a serial killer whose murders mirror those in his stories", I have to say it sounds odd. And combine that with the fact that James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) is directing (an extremely stylish filmmaker), and who knows what we'll get. McTeigue impressed everyone with his debut, and now he's picking weird scripts. I know many passionate Cusack fans, and almost all of them think he can do no wrong. This is where I disagree. He is a good actor, but he plays the "everyman" too frequently as has trouble when he does anything else. I just don't think he'll bring anything special to the table for this project. I wonder what Sylvester Stallone thinks about this. He's been trying to get a Poe biopic off the ground for years, first with himself as the star and now someone else. I'd rather see that, even if it's a bomb. Maybe this will prompt Sly to finish his film. A fictionalized thriller sounds like it will fall victim to too many conventions, and I can basically picture the innocuous way Cusack portrays Mr. Poe. On a side note, I do recommend the ridiculous 1963 Roger Corman horror comedy based on "The Raven" poem starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff. I just get the feeling they want to make this into a mystery adventure in the vein of Sherlock Holmes with Poe as the hero. No thanks.

Jason Chamberlain Fact. I'm one of those folks that Chad mentioned that thinks John Cusack is pretty awesome. I don't necessarily think he can do no wrong, but given the right material I think he's money in the bank. And I have to say, this concept intrigues me. Poe is definitely one of the most interesting figures in literature and his story is one I am looking forward to seeing up on the screen. And with all due respect to Sly, I think Cusack could pull it off better.

Taking it into the fictional realm obviously opens things up even more. Off the top of my head it seems like the kind of role that Johnny Depp would knock out of the park, but I'm willing to give Cusack a chance and see what he can do with it. I think/hope it will be interesting.

Score: 0 for 2

3. You're looking forward to the return of FX's Sons Of Anarchy.

Chad Webb: Fiction. I must say fiction to this one since I have never seen the show (Cue angry commenters who love saying the same thing every time this happens with a participant). I guess they'll have to deal with it. I have a total of 1 friend that watches and enjoys this show. It seems interesting enough, and perhaps someday I will watch an episode or two. I think the opinion of someone who has never seen an episode is worth something to the statement because even though I know it exists and even though it has been recommended to me, there are just too many other currently running shows I'd rather take a chance on. I am sure Sons of Anarchy has many fans, and if any of you can urge me to seek it out immediately, I am all for it. Until then, I stick with "fiction."

Jason Chamberlain Fiction. Just like Chad, I've got to answer fiction because I don't watch the show. I have a good excuse though since up here in Canada we don't get FX. At least, we don't in my little slice of Canada.

So instead of talking out of my ass about a show I don't know anything about, allow me to present a list of shows I do watch and which I am very much looking forward to. Let's see... Chuck, Smallville, Supernatural, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother... there's more but you get the idea. This is always an awesome time of year though, as most of our favorite network shows make it back to the airwaves.

Score: 1 for 3

Switch!!!



4. The American will be an excellent espionage thriller.

Jason Chamberlain: Fact. You know, it's probably fair to say that. Not that I myself will go out of my way to see it, not being a big Clooney fan. But the dude has a solid pedigree and routinely turns out movies that are critically and commercially successful, so this should be no exception.

Looking at the plot, it actually sounds pretty interesting, with Clooney playing a spy hiding out from his old way of life but drawn back into it regardless. Maybe not the most original convention but done right, it still makes for an entertaining movie.

Chad Webb: Fact. Since "maybe" is not an acceptable answer, I'll go with fact. To be honest, I'm not completely sold on this yet. The trailers make me think that George Clooney assembles and disassembles his gun for 1 hour and 45 minutes. There are many movies about assassins and the ambiguous lives they lead. It always makes for interesting storylines. This one feels a bit too familiar (it is similar to about a dozen other titles), but at the same time, George Clooney is a fabulous actor, and Anton Corbijn showed a lot of potential as a filmmaker with Control, so you never know. For those who want to be disturbed, know that Father Benedetto in this film, portrayed by Paolo Bonacelli, is the same person who played The Duke in Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. From The Duke to a Priest. That is versatility I tell ya. Anyway, the word on the street is that this is not the action flick the trailers would have you believe, but something a bit more reserved. We'll see.

Score: 2 for 4

5. A sequel to Zoolander is an idea you can get behind.

Jason Chamberlain: Fiction. Wow, this really isn't my week for Fact or Fiction. I know Zoolander has become something of a beloved comedy for a lot of people but not so for me. Because frankly, I never saw it. Seen a lot of movies, but never got around to seeing that one. Ben Stiller can be awesome, and he can be not awesome. A lot of people say he was awesome in this one. If he was, I'm sure they're hoping a sequel will get off the ground.

Then again, sometimes it's the biggest fans of a movie that don't want to see a sequel for it. Some sequels do tend to ruin the story or memory of the original film by virtue of not being able to live up to it. Examples of that are wide ranging. Lots of people didn't like the Matrix sequels, or the newest Star Wars movies. Spider-Man 3, which everyone hated, was a sequel to Spider-Man 2, which everyone loved. I'm sure if there's magic in the bottle, fans will be stoked to welcome a new movie. But I'm guessing they'd rather not see it unless there's a great idea for it.

Chad Webb: Fiction. I have seen Zoolander, and it was kind of funny, but I find others like it a bit more than I do. Some of the comedy just struck me as dumb, but to each his own. As for a sequel, I think it's a bad idea. We've also heard about sequels to Anchorman and Old School regularly over the years. They would be bad ideas too. Some comedies are better left alone, but I realize that doesn't make sense in Hollywood. History has proven that you can wait many years and still pump out a successful sequel to something, but I still feel like the time to "strike while the iron is hot" has passed here. We know that Ben Stiller is not above sequels, but is there really a demand for more of Derek Zoolander? If Stiller wants to resurrect one of his characters, how about White Goodman from Dodgeball, or Hal the nursing home orderly from Happy Gilmore? I've seen Zoolander once, and moved on. I won't lose any sleep if we don't hear from that character again.

Score: 3 for 5

6. The likeable cast isn't enough to make you want to see Going The Distance.

Jason Chamberlain Fact. Let's see who we have here... Drew Barrymore, who has never done much for me in her movies. We've got Justin Long, who can be enjoyable, and I've liked some of his movies including Dodgeball, Accepted, Live Free or Die Hard, etc. But he's not the kind of actor I'll go out of my way to see in a movie that doesn't interest me. Looking through the cast list the only other names that jump out at me are Christina Applegate, who like Barrymore is nothing special for me... Rob Riggle, who was pretty damn funny in The Hangover... and Ron Livingston, who starred in one of the best movies of all time, Office Space. He was cool in Swingers too. But all in all, the cast isn't enough to make me buy a ticket.

Chad Webb: Fiction. Generally, I probably would have been indifferent to a romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, but the plot does intrigue me. Since I am an example of a successful long distance relationship, and since that is the focus of the premise, I am curious to see how they play this because a lot of what I saw in the trailer rings true. I think that Barrymore is one of the more tolerable performers for this genre because she's attractive, sweet, and funny. Justin Long is ok as well. The supporting cast has some solid folks involved, none of whom I'm crazy about, but they can all be entertaining when they want to be (Christina Applegate, Ron Livingstone, Jason Sudeikis, Jim Gaffigan). The cast has me mildly interested, but the fact that this is Nanette Burstein's transition from documentaries to feature films has me more interested. Chances are this will mediocre, but I am curious.

Final Score 3 for 6

__________________________________________________

That's it. Chad and Jason split the difference. Many thanks to them both for taking part.

Oh, I so can see the complaints in the comments section already, just for the Sons Of Anarchy question alone. But I must say that I have Jason's back on Zoolander, as I've never seen the whole thing either. I couldn't get through it all, and I actually like Ben Stiller, just not in this movie. I'm sure you'll let us hear all about it.

See you next week.
-BP

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