411 Fact or Fiction Movies 05.02.08: Week 124

Posted by Ben Piper on 05.02.2008

Will Iron Man rock? Is Jimmy Fallon a poor choice to replace Conan O'Brien? Will a superhero movie wind up being the summer box office champ? 411's Tony Farinella and Shawn S. Lealos debate these and other topics in week 124 of Fact or Fiction: Movies!



Hello everyone! Welcome back yet again to the one 411 column sure to cause endless debate, Fact or Fiction. This time around we've got 411 newcomer Shawn S. Lealos, whose new "Alternate Takes" column can be seen on Saturdays. Standing opposed is 411's resident interviewing madman, Tony Farinella. Let's see what they both have to say…

1. Based upon everything you've seen thus far, you think Iron Man is going to rock.

Tony Farinella: Fact - Even though I'm not a fan of superhero films, I must admit that Iron Man looks pretty badass. Plus, I really believe that this is the film that's going to put Robert Downey Jr. back in the spotlight. Don't get me wrong, he's been very consistent in his last couple of films, but this is going to be the film where people step back and say, "Wow, I forgot how good Robert Downey Jr. is." And, of course, it's always nice to see Gwyneth Paltrow on the big screen. But, honestly, I just feel like Robert Downey Jr. has paid his dues on the indie scene, and I'm glad to see he's finally getting a chance to carry a major movie once again.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact - The original hire of Jon Favreau made me excited for this movie. The casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark made me even more excited for the movie. When they cast Terrence Howard as Rhodie and Jeff Bridges (TRON!!!) as the bad guy, my excitement level went through the roof. As I witness each trailer, I get more and more excited where the only thing I have to fear is a letdown when I hit the theater and it doesn't live up to my expectations. With everyone involved, that won't happen. I'll be watching this over the weekend and might be more excited to see this than the new Indiana Jones movie, and that is saying a lot.

Score: 1 for 1

2. You've been looking forward to the return of new episodes of House.

Tony Farinella: Fiction - Wow, it is not my week for Fact or Fiction, because I'm also not a fan of House. For the life of me, I don't understand why so many people like this show. Whenever I watch American Idol, I always see a quick commercial for House, and it looks like the same show every week. This week on House: Some guy comes in with a crazy disease that no one can cure. Will House fix him in time? Will he find time to crack wise? It just looks very predictable and formulaic

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact - If for no other reason than it makes my wife extremely happy. While the show does seem formulaic, the writing team has done a good job of making the fourth season fresh by eliminating the entire team, sans House, from the main cast and plugging in fresh blood. The plot still remains the same, a person comes in with an unknown disease and the team must save them (or not). It's no more formulaic than Law and Order or C.S.I., but what makes the show great are the characters as we watch them go about their daily business. Watching Street Kings, I was reminded of how great an actor Hugh Laurie is and it will be good to see him back on TV as the best jerk in prime time. Now, the wait is on for new episodes of Burn Notice.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Jimmy Fallon is a bad choice to replace Conan O'Brien.

Tony Farinella: Fact - Jimmy Fallon is likable and charming, but I'm not sure that I want to see him every night on my television. How about Joel McHale? I know he's busy with E!, but I think he'd do a great job replacing Conan O'Brien. It's not that I'm against Jimmy Fallon or anything, but I just think he's better in small doses. His act gets old in a hurry, and I think he would wear out his welcome after a while.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact - I have to agree with Tony that Jimmy Fallon is only good in small doses. Even when he is the star of a decent movie, such as Fever Pitch, he is only part of the project. To have to listen to him for an hour every night would just be grating on the nerves. People who developed a hatred of him in his time on SNL will absolutely want to kill him after his first week replacing the spectacular Conan O'Brien. I also hope moving to the Tonight Show will not neuter O'Brien, as that would make the move even worse.

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!

4. The David Mamet written Redbelt will be a step up from the usual offerings in the mixed martial arts vein.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fact - The fact that David Mamet is involved will make this a huge step up from your typical MMA films. I love many of the MMA movies out there, and the best ones seem to be the ones imported from other countries involving Tony Jaa or Donnie Yen. When you look at MMA movies produced in the U.S., most are of the B-movie level with someone like Jean Claude Van Damme involved. Asking if Redbelt will be a step up from those movies is like asking if Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler will be a step up from Ready to Rumble. Here are a couple of reasons why it will be great. David Mamet is a writing wunderkind. This guy can out-write 99.9% of the hacks in Hollywood working today. Secondly, Chiwetel Ejiofor is one of the best things going today, and his casting will help raise the acting to a respectable level, miles above anything Steven Seagal could ever deliver. Finally, Mamet describes the movie as a type of samurai picture, similar to those of Kurosawa. He has solicited assistance from such fighters as Randy Couture and Enson Inoue to insure that the fighting level will match up to the writing. Those areas combined should make Redbelt a great movie.

Tony Farinella: Fact - I'm with Shawn 110 percent on this one. When you see David Mamet's name in the credits, you know it's going to be anything but ordinary. Plus, it can't be any worse than Never Back Down. Like Shawn said, this film just has a professional feel to it. I also think it's perfect timing because mixed marital arts is insanely popular right now. It also features a very unique cast. Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the same film? I'm there! Also, Randy Couture is in the film, so I'm sure he'll bring a level of authenticity to it.

Score: 3 for 4

5. A superhero movie will be the summer's box-office champion.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fiction - I see three superhero movies that could possibly be the champ - Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Hancock. Of those three, I think The Dark Knight and Hancock will be the two battling for the superhero box office crown with a worldwide take of over $500 million apiece. However, the summer box office champion will be an adventure story starring a 65-year old man. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should break the $700 million mark worldwide and destroy all competition in a very exciting summer season.

Tony Farinella: Fact - Again with the superhero movies? I can't catch a break this week! Even though I'm totally against superhero movies, it's hard to ignore their impact on the box office. They already have a fanbase from the comic book, so it's easy for them to make money right away. Even if hardcore fans of the comic book or comic series are totally against the film being made, they'll still pay money to see it. Plus, after Heath Ledger passed away, you know that The Dark Knight is going to make an insane amount of money at the box office.

Score: 3 for 5

6. You're happy and relieved that Guillermo del Toro will direct the Hobbit prequels and that Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan will be reprising their roles from the LOTR trilogy.

Shawn S. Lealos: Fiction - First, I am extremely happy that a director as talented as del Toro is making the Hobbit prequels. The return of McKellan and Serkis is also great news. However, as a huge del Toro fan, I am disappointed that we are losing one of the most creative and brilliant filmmakers for an extended time to these movies. Sam Raimi was one of the most exciting filmmakers out there when he took on the Spider-Man franchise. He even pumped out his own great superhero in Darkman before taking on the web slinger. Then all we saw from Raimi for the next five years was Spider-Man films. Another example is Peter Jackson. The guy was a carbon copy of Sam Raimi early in his career (see Dead Alive). He then gave us three of the most fantastic movies to ever play on the big screen with Lord of the Rings. Now look at what happened to Raimi and Jackson since those films. They were cutting edge filmmakers who made some of the most original films you would see, but Raimi has not made a movie other than Spider-Man since 2000 and Jackson went from the amazing Lord of the Rings to the over-the-top King King. Dare I say, the blockbusters may have neutered these once revolutionary filmmakers. Now Guillermo del Toro, who has hinted at a third movie to follow the style and form of his two masterpieces, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, will be taken out of commission for at least four years to make The Hobbit. As a del Toro fan, I think he will make amazing movies, but I really prefer his smaller, more personal stuff. I am far from relieved when fearing what effect this opportunity will have on del Toro. I only hope that after making them, he will still have the passion and desire to make his movies once again.

Tony Farinella: Fact - I think this is the best that we're going to get, and you could find someone a lot worse than Guillermo del Toro to direct the Hobbit prequels. So, all things considered, this is pretty good. It's sort of like wanting to go out with Ashley Tisdale but instead you end up with Vanessa Hudgens. I mean, even though you would prefer to go out with Ashley Tisdale, you're not going to cry about going out with Vanessa Hudgens. I think he'll do a fantastic job directing the Hobbit prequels, and he'll bring an amazing visual style to it.

Final Score: 3 for 6

Tony and Shawn split the difference. Thanks to them both for their participation.

Useless Trivia Question of the Week
Chris from Round Rock, TX. Was last week's winner when he correctly identified Jean Claude Van Damme as the action star originally cast as the Predator. Congrats to him, and sincerest apologies as well, seeing as I haven't sent him his letter yet. My bad. I'll have it sent out by the weekend, Chris, sit tight.

With that said, there will be no useless question this week. It isn't because I'm running out of questions, trust me. No, it's more to do with the fact that I'm growing frustrated with individuals who spoil the contest by posting the correct answer in the comment section. So, I'm going to take the time to politely request that these individuals quell their need to spoil the contest every week. If they should continue to persist, then no more trivia questions.

Alright, we'll try again next week. See you then.
-BP