411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 1.13.12: Week 313

Posted by Ben Piper on 01.13.2012

Will Contraband be an above-average thriller? Would Bridesmaids 2 without Kristen Wiig be a mistake? Do we like the idea of Robert Downey Jr. and Tim Burton working together? 411's Todd Vote and Mathew Sforcina debate these topics and more in this week's 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



…And we're back! Yup, looks like it's about that time for us all to get our Fact or Fiction action going. This week we've got Australian wrestler extraordinaire, Massive Q himself, Mathew Sforcina. Standing across from him is the ever reliable Todd Vote. Now that the players have been set, I declare "game on"!



1. Contraband will be a better than average action thriller.

Mathew Sforcina:Fiction. This movie seems to be another test run of the very old question "Can great actors make a bad plot watchable?" Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale and Ben Foster are all good actors, but the plot of this thing is so old that it's got two new hips. But it does produce average movies, so it at least has a crazy stripper wife. But the thing is, the acting will bring it up to average. Above average? I don't think so.

Todd Vote: Fiction. January seems to be a dumping ground for average action movies, and just average movies in general. That is not to say that some do not stand out, Rambo, Final Destination 2, Dusk to Dawn, and hell even Tremors were January releases. But generally speaking January is not a great month for films. Contraband features a great cast, especially Ben Foster, but still suffers from an old and tired plot mechanic.

Score: 1 for 1

2. A sequel to Bridesmaids without Kristen Wiig is a bad idea.

Mathew Sforcina: Fact. I can see the logic, really I can. Annie's life is looking up at the end of the first film. So you either ruin it again for the second movie or you move on and find someone else to take over as the main character. I get that, plus the whole "The movie was really successful and made lots of money" argument is sound. So of course people want to make a sequel, and moving onto another main character makes sense. But... I just don't think you'll get anything like the first movie again. Without Wiig, unless you find some unknown uber-comedy goddess, it's just not going to be as good, and might even tarnish the first. Not that it won't be successful, just that ideally, it wouldn't be made. But it will...

Todd Vote: Fact. I'm actually going to agree with Mathew here for a completely different reason. I think the sequel idea they are tossing around is just not a good idea. The plan, last I read, was to hire new writers, and to perhaps focus the story on Melissa McCarthy's Megan character. Though I will admit that Megan was one of the more entertaining aspects of the movie, the character will not carry an entire film. Her particular brand of humor is better as a secondary character. When you add in the fact that Wiig will not even return to pen the sequel, can we be sure a new writer can bring the character to the forefront without overdoing the jokes?


Score: 2 for 2

3. Carrie should not be remade.

Mathew Sforcina: Fiction. So, what, we're ignoring the 2002 TV Movie/Backdoor Pilot? Coz that actually not bad, sure it didn't get picked up due to low interest, but it didn't suck. And it proves that Carrie is not a golden calf that cannot ever be remade. No offense to it's fans, but it's hardly High Noon (a.k.a The movie I never want to see remade and yes I know about the remake in 2000 we don't talk about that!). Plus this is less remake and more focusing on the source material, so I don't see the problem here. Movies will always be remade. You have to pick your battles. Citizen Kane, fight it. Safety Last!, fight it. Carrie? Let that one slide.

Todd Vote: Fiction. Why should Carrie be off limits? This is one of those remakes that, unless it is done well, will only going to make people remember the original. At the same time, I think with a new cast and a solid creepy lead this could work. I don't think the original was perfect by any means. As a matter of fact, the more I think about it, Carrie could actually work in this day when bullying in school is a big deal. Not to say that it isn't always a big deal, but it seems to be at the forefront right now.

Score: 3 for 3

Switch!!!



4. You plan on tuning in to watch Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globe Awards.

Todd Vote: Fiction. Don't get me wrong, me not watching has nothing to do with Ricky Gervais. It has everything to do with me thinking the majority of award shows are just a bore to sit through. I watch the Video Game Awards. That is the extent of my award show viewing. I don't watch the Golden Globes, the Emmy's or The Academy Awards broadcast. I have no problem with Gervais back hosting, these things can use a bit of controversy, and he has certainly been adding that to the show over the past few years.

Mathew Sforcina:Fiction. Tuning in is the key words here. Unlike Todd here, I do watch awards shows. They can be amusing, you get occasional great moments, and I like the video recaps. But I have this wonderful device called a DVR. I will be recording the Globes, while I'm off doing other things, then watch the show later and skip the boring bits. Which, in an awards show, are plenty. Not even Ricky will change that.

Score: 4 for 4

5. You approve of Tim Burton teaming with Robert Downey Jr. to bring a live action Pinocchio to the big screen.

Todd Vote: Fact. Why not? I enjoyed Burton's take on Alice in Wonderland. It has been a while since we have seen Pinocchio on the big screen, and an acid trip live action movie similar to what he did with Alice, could be awesome. Plus, Burton gets bonus points for working with someone other than Johnny Depp on this movie.

Mathew Sforcina: Fiction. No, despite liking each part of that sentence. I like Tim Burton, Robert Downey Jr, Pinocchio, and movies. But this combination doesn't sit right with me. I think Pinocchio has a bad track record of being made, with one good one and mostly failures following it. But then again I'm a cynical lad who tends to view most movie ideas as bad. Saves time later on, and you get pleasantly surprised rather than unpleasantly.

Score: 4 for 5

6. An extreme sports themed movie based upon Disney's Matterhorn ride is a horrible idea.

Todd Vote: Fiction. I really went back and forth on this one. For every Pirates of the Caribbean movie, we may get a Haunted Mansion. Ultimately, I went with fiction because at worst, hell it's worth a shot, right? They try, and fail, it's a failed experiment. They try and succeed however, and they look like geniuses. If successful, Disney creates a new franchise, or at worst a successful one off movie. I see no harm in this.

Mathew Sforcina: Fact. Yes Todd, it's worth a shot... But the words extreme sports? Yeah, this isn't the mid 90's, ok? Surely we've moved beyond a point where stunts have replaced story and extremeness has replaced scripts and spectacle takes over for... Damn, this is going to be hugely popular, isn't it? Well... Dammit. Still a bad idea. Just a horribly horribly successful one.

Final Score: 4 for 6

And there you go, Mathew and Todd agree more often than not. Thanks to them both for taking part, and see you all again next week!
-BP

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