411 Fact or Fiction Movies 11.23.07: Week 102
Posted by Ben Piper on 11.23.2007
Will The Mist be awesome due to Frank Darabont's involvement? Will Hitman be a video game adaption that doesn't suck? Does the world really need a Knight Rider TV relaunch? 411's Matthew Motiuk and Al Norton discuss these and other topics in week 102 of Fact or Fiction: Movies!
Hello my friends! Yes, it is that time of the week yet again, time for Fact or Fiction: Movies! This time around we have Matthew Motiuk and Al Norton debating a great number of subjects. So enough with my yapping, let's find out what's on these gentlemen's minds, shall we?
1. You expect Stephen King's The Mist to be awesome due to the fact that it's directed by Frank Darabont. (Shawshank Redemption)
Matthew Motiuk: Fiction. I'm not going to lie, The Mist looks like it's going to be a solid Stephen King adaptation, and it's undeniable that Frank Darabont has handled his previous Stephen King works extremely well. But I'm not sure its awesomeness rides so much on Darabont as it does the written adaptation of King's work and the caliber of acting. The other problem here is that both of the previous King adaptations directed by Darabont have been, quite frankly, not really Stephen King movies. We have yet to see how Darabont can handle the truly twisted mind of Stephen King at his best.
Al Norton: Fact. Even though Darabont is not exactly a household name, his movies are in many a DVD collection. Add in truly cool trailer and some serious buzz about the ending and I am expecting this to be that rare horror combination of a hit AND a good movie. Now I am somewhat biased because Andre Braugher, my # 1 man crush, is in The Mist, so my views may need to be taken with a grain of salt (and apparently a few doses of testosterone by me) but I think the mainstream film audience is ready for a movie that is old school scary, not two hours of people being forced to cut off limbs and climb through pits of hypodermic needles.
Score: 0 for 1
2. While Pushing Daisies has a unique and interesting premise, you just don't see how the show can last long term without becoming stale.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact. I'm going to be honest, I don't keep up with the show, but from what I've seen, it may be a funky, different concept now, and the show is definitely well-done, but that changes very, very quickly. Then again, take a look at Prison Break. They've managed to stretch that concept further than I ever thought, so maybe this has a shot. But my gut says no.
Al Norton: Fiction. I am extremely disappointed that Ben did phrase the question in a way that would allow me to make a "The Facts were these" joke. Pushing Daisies is the best new show of the fall and the second best new show of all of 2007 behind Mad Men, with as much artistic whimsy as has been seen on TV in decades. The pilot got raves but critics wondered how it could last past one episode. Now here we are two months into the season and not only is the show winning it's time slot but the ratings have gone up the last two weeks, so clearly America is jumping on the bandwagon. I think all the critical raves may have kept some people away at the outset but the longer the show stays on, the more they will find their way into this odd and wonderful universe.
Score: 0 for 2
3. August Rush looks to you like so much feel-good sticky-sweet tripe.
Matthew Motiuk:Fact. Throw sickly-sweet in there instead of sticky-sweet and that is the perfect sentence summing this movie up. This is a feel-good, warming of the soul movie, and the formula cannot possibly be that much different than previous incarnations. Music and Robin Williams may be holding this one together, but it doesn't hide the fact that this has been done before, will be done again, and will be sickeningly sugary while it does it.
Al Norton: Fact. I am not against feel-good, sticky-sweet as a form of entertainment, but it's got to be done right. Yes, this movie has a GREAT cast, including Williams, Terrance Howard, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russel, but the truth is because of my opening statement, I am the target audience for a movie like this and if I am not excited for it, it doesn't bode well.
Score: 1 for 3
Switch!!!
4. The world doesn't need a Knight Rider TV relaunch.
Al Norton:Fact. Although truthfully I didn't think the world needed a Battlestar Galactica relaunch and now it's the best show on television. Essentially they are using the Knight Rider name to launch a new action series that will feature lots of special effects. The problem they will have is getting people to take it seriously, so chances are they will go for "light" action, although with less comedy than something like Chuck. While people fondly remember Kitt, the old Knight Rider series was not very good at all, just a standard private eye type of show that stood out because of the car and the casting of a hot young soap opera star. No reason to think this one can't be exactly the same thing.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact. I always think that relaunching old TV shows is a bad idea, especially really old ones, and this is no exception. The original audience will be offended by remaking their pride and joy, and attracting new audiences is going to be hard because it's an old idea. It's also not like you hear people saying "Man, I wish Knight Rider was still on, that was such a great show." The world is no less special just because Knight Rider is not in it anymore, and we don't need to change that.
Score: 2 for 4
5. You're thinking Hitman will buck the video game adaption trend and not outright suck.
Al Norton: Fact. Based solely on Timothy Olyphant. I must admit to not being even slightly plugged into the video game world (or "scene") so when I saw the trailer I didn't know it was an adaptation. What I did know was that Olyphant, who made a fantastic impression in The Girl Next Door and followed it up with a stellar performance on Deadwood, had found a strong vehicle for himself. This looks pretty cool to me and I am not one who would usually go to see one of these movies in the theater.
Matthew Motiuk: Fact. I say this is true, but not on the same basis of Al. I don't have any particular fondness for Olyphant. I wasn't impressed with his acting in Live Free or Die Hard, but then again, I don't have a lot to compare it with, and maybe that was how the character was written. I think Hitman will be awesome because the game has the story and the action to become a good movie, and it is being handled responsibly. Resident Evil did it, kind of. I expect Hitman to do the same.
Score: 3 for 5
6. McG would be a horrible choice to helm the next Terminator movie.
Al Norton:Fiction. The question implies that the Terminator franchise is some sort of Godfather like franchise that needs to be protected and cared for at all costs. Are people worried that the film series that gave us one of the cheesiest moments in action film history (Arnold's thumbs up at the end of the second installment) may go too mainstream? I thought We Are Marshall was one of the more underrated movies of last year and showed McG can get quality performances from his actors. I am not saying he is a great choice but there is no reason to assume the worst.
Matthew Motiuk: Fiction. It's Terminator. How can you screw it up? You have shooting, robots, explosions, and a barely-plausible story held together by some mediocre acting. Unless he absolutely butchers it (unlikely, since he hasn't butchered every movie before this; he's not Uwe Boll) I can't see why McG would be a worse choice than anybody else.
Final Score: 4 for 6
So there you have it for this installment. Thanks to Al and Matthew for taking part, and thanks to you for clicking the link!
Wait, what's that? I'm forgetting something? What could it be? Oh, yes of course. You're referring to…
The Useless Trivia Question Of The Week
I have to say while the response I received last week for the first installment of this mini-segment wasn't exactly overwhelming, I did eventually receive a lot more emails than I thought I would. Even more surprising, everyone that wrote in was correct in their answer! (Though I'm guessing at least a few cheated by doing some online research.)
Of course the answer to last week's useless trivia question of who is Nicholette Sheridan's Godfather is Telly Savalas of Kojak fame. Congratulations to Jamie of Cincinnati for being last week's winner.
Since this was such a big hit last time around we're going to keep it going. As before, the first person to respond with the correct answer and their home address within the continental US will receive a hand-written letter from yours truly congratulating them for being a font of useless trivia.
Question: What does Darth Vader translate to in Latin?
