411 Fact Or Fiction Movies: Week 71

Posted by Ben Piper on 04.06.2007

Owain J. Brimfield and JT debate the Sopranos, Transformers, Watchmen & how much Rosie O' Donnell needs to go away. All this and more in week 71 of Fact or Fiction Movies!

Welcome back once again my friends to another edition of Fact or Fiction. This week we have 411 newcomer Owain J. Brimfield, who reviews DVDs for the Movies zone and plans on having his own column in the Games section hopefully soon. Standing opposed is longtime 411 staff member JT, who tells me his current job description is to "squash newbies". Hm. I suppose we shall see...

1. You are anxiously looking forward towards the return of The Sopranos.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction. I'm sorry to admit, but I'm not a great fan of Tony Soprano and company. Kudos to the show for being one of the most critically acclaimed dramas of recent years, but it's not for me.

JT: Fact.…now here is usually the part where I yell about you being new and going on a rant about how only an idiot wouldn't like this show. That being said, there are two things working in your favor. For one, you are in the U.K., and despite its popularity over there, it never hit near the heights that it did over here, probably because you guys (to my understanding) don't have to wait two years every time to get the newest seven shows. Secondly, despite several attempts, my parents simply cannot get into the show, so that tells me (especially based on the stuff they usually like) that for some reason, it just not is certain people's cup of tea, and that is fine. However, having covered that, of course I am looking forward to this. Sopranos has consistently been the best piece of mafia work – be it movies or television – to hit since the Godfather trilogy. Yes, better than Goodfellas, better than Casino, better than Donnie Brasco, better than a Bronx Tale (although that only partially qualifies as a mafia flick), better than all of them. It has been one of the most well written, casted, and directed shows on television ever. As they always do, the last season left us all on the edge of our seat with tons of cliffhangers we hate to wait for but have grown to love. Eight episodes left, and you're damn right I am anxious.

Score: 0 for 1

2. Will Ferrell has surpassed Adam Sandler as the best current movie star to come out of Saturday Night Live.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction. But only just. If the question read "best current comedian", it'd be Fact for sure. As it is, Sandler has his Punch Drunk Love performance in the bank, which keeps him narrowly ahead. Another Stranger Than Fiction from Ferrell, and the tables will turn, regardless of the reviews for Reign Over Me.

JT: Fiction. I'm with OB here, sort of. Definitely best current comedian as Sandler has pursued other things as of late, but no way best current movie star. Even if we are strictly speaking "comedian", Ferrell only wins in the current category. He has had some really good films, but he has a long way to go before catching up to Sandler's resume of hilarious flicks such as Happy Gilmore, Little Nicky, The Waterboy, and others. Overall movie star, again, Ferrell has a long way to go. When he can show me some range like Sandler has done in films like Spanglish, Click, and now supposedly Reign Over Me, then we will talk again.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Michael Bay shall ruin the live action/CGI update of Transformers with his MTV style over substance approach.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact. This really depends on where you stand as an audience member. For me, a child of the 80s, there's no way this will ever be better than the animated Transformers movie. Hell, with Nimoy, Welles and Idle on board that one even had the stronger cast. However, I'm sure for newcomers to the franchise this may prove to be an enjoyable if brainless sci-fi/action flick, if Bay can nail the balance that made Armageddon such a guilty pleasure.

JT: Fiction. While I won't take anything away from the animated movie, even 90% of the most die hard audience that grew up with them (such as myself) is willing to give this thing a shot. We have already seen that this movie will be awesome on the eyes, early reports indicate that at the very least they're sticking with the "protect vs. destroy" theme from the original, and at this point there is no reason to believe he has not been true to the story. Am I saying this will be every Transformer fans dream flick? No, I am certainly not; but I am much more willing to give it a fair shake rather than predicting it's demise weeks before any of us have even seen it.

Score: 1 for 3

Switch

4. You were surprised by Halle Berry's recent confession that she attempted suicide a decade ago.

JT: Fact. Sort of. I mean, it's always surprisingly when you hear of people in circumstances such as this attempting suicide. She is one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, has a great career, financial stability blah blah blah. At the same time, we can just never know what is going on in someone's mind. Sure she seems to be one of the Hollywood's happiest people, but you have to remember that a year or two ago, she was dealing with her complete dumbass of a husband who couldn't keep his dick in his pants (seriously, who cheats on Halle F'N Berry)? That obviously took an emotional toll, and when you couple that with the monstrocity that was Catwoman and the fact she was just coming off of pretty bad reviews for Their Eyes Were Watching God, and perhaps she just was not in a place she liked in her life. So while it isn't the biggest shocker in the world, she is one of the last people I'd have thought to resort to that so I will say fact.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fiction. Isn't it a given that any artiste must have a troubled past in order to gain credibility? It's the same thing as teenagers who believe they're really hard done by and have an awful life, until one day they realise that their life is no worse than anyone else's. I really have no idea why this information is something she feels is worthy of sharing with the world.

Score: 1 for 4

5. After the successes of both 300 and the Dawn of the Dead remake, you're confident that Zach Snyder is the right man for the job to bring Alan Moore's classic graphic novel Watchmen to the big screen.

JT: Fact. Assuming that he handles the superhero genre with the same care he did the horror and mythology genres. Anytime you deal with heroes, there will always be a very large audience that will require you to walk on eggshells when it comes to certain parts of the story. As long as he doesn't stray too far (something he did in neither of the other films), he should be fine.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact. Although admittedly I have yet to see 300. However I do think he needs to acquire a few more notches in his belt first, one of which should be the rumoured Army of the Dead. Confident as I am he'll eventually do Watchmen justice, it's going to require a little more filmmaking nous, which can hopefully be gained through experience.

Score: 2 for 5

6. At this point, Rosie O' Donnell needs to shut the hell up and just go away.

JT: Fact. Although, you could make the argument she needed the shut the hell up six months ago. I mean, this is getting utterly ridiculous. The outlandish comments she has made on just about every imaginable topic since joining the View had completely destroyed any relevance I might have given her. She knows she is on the brink of being tossed off the show, and she is doing this as nothing more than an attempt to hopefully attract someone idiotic enough to give her yet another solo show of her own. The sad part is that there are enough people willing to tune in just to hear what she will say, and unfortunately in today's society that equals ratings, which means she probably won't shut the hell up or go anywhere any time soon.

Owain J. Brimfield: Fact. This doesn't just apply to O'Donnell, but to any celebrity who feels the need to abuse their position in the public eye to further their own agendas, which for the most part are ill-informed anyway. Leave the intelligent debate to those capable of conducting it.

Final Score: 3 for 6

Thanks for playing, guys. Check back next week for more exciting, thrilling, heart-pounding, visceral goodness that is Fact or Fiction Movies.