411 Fact or Fiction Movies: Week 90

Posted by Ben Piper on 08.25.2007

Is Katie Holmes a bad choice to play Wonder Woman? Was the success of High School Musical 2 a fluke? Will Resurrecting the Champ bomb at the box office? 411's Roger Fisk and James Thomlison debate these and other subjects in week 90 of Fact or Fiction: Movies.

Hello everyone. We have a lot to discuss and very little time. This week we have Roger Fisk and James "JT" Thomlison discussing matters at hand. Let's get to it!

1. You're interested in seeing Jet Li and Jason Statham square off in War.

Roger Fisk: Fact. I'll admit I'm a martial arts genre whore and I'll practically see anything with Jet Li. It should be a really sweet match up with these two given their past credentials. We all know what Jet Li can do and Statham has surprised a lot of people with his Transporter performances. But as much as I want to see these two get it on, I can't help but feel this is going to be handled badly and go the way of The One. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong.

JT: Fact. Not only am I with Roger in being a martial arts whore, I am DOUBLY SO a Jet Li whore. I've probably seen a good 80% of his entire catalog, and it is simply amazing what he is capable of doing. I will give Statham credit for his work in the Transporter flicks and I even enjoyed Crank, but they are going to need some EXCELLENT choreography work if they have any intentions of selling me on the believability of his chances against a guy like Li. Either way, I am definitely willing to give it a chance.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Katie Holmes would be a bad choice to play Wonder Woman.

Roger Fisk: Fact. I can't believe Katie Holmes is even considered to play Wonder Woman! Other than the fact she would look good in the outfit, what kind of credentials does she have to play the part? All her roles have been either the female in distress or in a rehash of her days on Dawson's Creek. Holmes would be the last choice on my list to play any superhero; especially one as iconic as Wonder Woman. Unless executives want to lose more money than The Hulk, they'll scratch her name off the list before someone begins to think it's a good idea.

JT: Fact. Dear GOD fact. Anyone who knows anything about comics can tell you that Wonder Woman is one of the most powerful characters – male or female – in the entire DC Universe; they want to hand it over to the emo chick from Dawson's Creek? I am aware that I am misusing the term emo, but I do so purposely because the only thing I can ever remember from the 7 second clips I'd see of her while channel surfing was that she seemed to be bitching and moaning about something with this dumbass emo look on her face. What has she done besides that? Show her tits in a movie. Credentials for a role like this that does not make. I would take ANYONE out there over her for this. The list of candidates I've read aren't much better (I suppose Sandra Bullock would be an okay choice), but please just don't cast Katie Holmes (or Mariah Carey… seriously?).

Score: 2 for 2

3. The last thing anyone really needs is another Mr. Bean movie.

Roger Fisk: Fact. I love Rowan Atkinson as an actor. But I don't understand nor have I ever found the character of Mr. Bean funny. Slapstick is all well and good when done properly but I don't we need two hours of idiotic nonsense (which is Bean.) Atkinson has always been best for me when he has played sarcastic, biting characters such as Black Adder. The writing and delivery in those shows are comedic genius that should be envied even today. Bean is mostly doing something stupid in a normal situation. While it does take some creativity to come up with those situations, it is usually unnecessarily over the top.

JT: FACT. I too enjoy Rowan Atkinson the actor. I also was a big fan of the English produced version of the show Mr. Bean that used to air years ago on HBO. That being said, this character had absolutely no business (and still has no business) anywhere near a full featured film, let alone two of them.

Score: 3 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You were surprised by the ratings success of Disney's High School Musical 2.

JT: Fiction. I mean, I guess…? People went bananas over the first one, and things like this that catch America's attention out of nowhere can usually milk that a few times before something starts to get old. That and Disney has a pretty loyal following by kids, a select group of teens, and the parents of them all.

Roger Fisk: Fiction. Even though most Disney sequels don't hold a candle to the predecessors, they still attract a huge audience. Their main audience is of course kids. Along with kids are the kids' parents who have to watch it with them. Those numbers always rack in big ratings. I didn't watch this one or the first one. And I have no intention to watch either one of them. But it can't be argued that Disney is smart enough to know who to cater to and how to get them.

Score: 4 for 4

5. Although it genuinely looks like it could be a good movie, you expect Resurrecting The Champ to bomb at the box office.

JT: Fact. As you said Ben, I do expect this to be a pretty decent flick, but the cast involved is misleading. Hartnett is talented but he doesn't draw. Samuel Jackson only draws when it's in specifically designed characters for him to unleash his awesomeness. Now, I will give you that Sam could pull off a great performance with just about any role you give him, but that doesn't mean people will automatically drag themselves to the theater to see said performance. That, and while it seems to be an interesting idea for a story, it's just not something that jumps off at you as "oh, man, I need to see that immediately!".

Roger Fisk: Fact But not from the lack of talent or story. Rather from lack of promotion. I didn't even hear about this movie until this column and then looked online for the trailer. I think Jackson and Hartnett are incredible actors and the story looks very interesting. But it will still get lost in the shuffle of the ending summer action films. Case in point: Don Cheadle's latest film, Talk To Me. You've all heard what a great performance it is but the box office shows no one knew nor cared enough about it. Champ is going to fall victim to the same fate.

Score: 5 for 5

6. You're ready for summer to be over and the fall TV season to start.

JT: Fact Now, I don't such care what the seasonal condition outside is, but I am most definitely ready for shows to be back. There were a lot of really good shows last year that had a lot of really good writing. It was a "good" TV year if you will. Now I won't begin to list of everything that I watch and all the shows I intend to check out and possibly add to my lineup this fall (we have Al Norton for that), but Dead Zone, 4400, Real World, and Hogan Knows Best is not going to get the job done!

Roger Fisk: Fact. The summer's movies have kept my attention but I'm ready to rid my Tivo of reruns. I'm anxious to know where my shows left off. Did Elliott and JD hook up on Scrubs? What will happen to Earl now that he's in jail? Questions that must be answered! And that's all I got to say about that.

Final Score: 6 for 6

Yes! Finally, a reverse no-hitter! Perfect score. Guess that means I have to get off my lazy butt and start constructing some harder arguments for my friends to debate. And debate they shall, when Fact or Fiction returns again next week. See you all then!