Movies Rated "F" Based Only on Previews
While I'm not sure that all of my reviews reflect it, I take a great deal of pride in the quality of my work. While I obviously make no pretense about injecting my opinions into my reviews, political or otherwise, I clearly understand that many of you can only get to a movie on occasion. As a result, I strive to give you some basis to make an informed judgment on whether a particular movie is worth your money and effort.
Furthermore, reviewing a wide range of movies for me comes easily, as I would be going to see them whether I was writing about them or not. However, even I have limits.
More particularly, there are some films that are so identifiably venial and insipid from a glimpse of their previews that even I won't waste my time. I clearly love going to the theater, but not at the expense of being forced to see every film released, no matter how regrettable.
Accordingly, let me name a few films that I can confidently condemn on the basis of the previews alone. Let's start with "Step Brothers," which had to be as simple minded as the characters played by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. What could remotely be funny about two adult males acting more immature than 12-year-old boys?
Or how about "Babylon A.D." and "Bangkok Dangerous"? "Bangkok" looks as horrible as Nicholas Cage's most recent face-lift. At what point does an actor like Cage lose all creditability after taking the money to star in trash like this?
Vin Diesel in "Babylon A.D." I can forgive. After all, he is Vin Diesel. On the other hand, anyone who saw him in the Sidney Lumet's extraordinary "Find Me Guilty" (2006) (I believe that only five or six people did), understands that Diesel can act under the appropriate direction. Unfortunately, he appears to not care.
And then there are the traditional late summer embarrassments like "Disaster Movie" and "College," which genuinely appear to be Hollywood's attempt to lure the extraordinarily gullible into forking over a few bucks to watch an hour and a half of mindless drivel. And I haven't even mentioned Ice Cube's most recent lame attempt at trying to disguise trash in the clothing of a "family film," this time called "The Longshots." Hasn't he already demonstrated that he is all but unwatchable in his attempts to pander to the family friendly audience?
Quite frankly, if our Government wants to torture suspected terrorists, then stop waterboarding and have them watch the "Cube man" in "Are We There Yet" (2005) and "Are We Done Yet" (2007). I did, and I confessed to being a member of Al Qaeda on the spot!
“Step Brothers, ” “Babylon A.D., ” “Bangkok Dangerous, ” “Disaster Movie, ” “Find Me Guilty, ” “Are We There Yet, ” Are We Done Yet, ” “The Longshots, ” Ice Cube, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Vin Diesel, Nicholas Cage
Hammervision : RE: Movies Rated "F" Based Only on Previews More..
You're a little tough on Step Brothers there. Not a great movie, or even a good one, but certainly a passable comedy with a few laughs. And what kind of movie reviewer skips out on a Judd Apatow production?
As for Babylon AD and Bangkok Dangerous. Okay, you got me there. Give 'em an F. And I guess we should add Righteous Kill to that list. Oh, and Mamma Mia. :)
this is now a Step Brothers thread: something so many people missed about this movie is how the parents talk to the children - yes both characters are socially retarded and may very well be developmentally delayed. but, the parents talk to them from time to time like adults, dropping f bombs and making the kind of chit chat one wouldnt make with even a teenager. the movie is absurd and silly and not for everyone, but its a solid B as a comedy.
after reading that the director of Babylon AD didnt even like the movie i decided to wait for a re-cut version.
hey, crappy movies have their place in society. i, for one, am going to watch all of Uwe Bowle's Postal, you know, just to say i did.
Robert Hammerle : RE: Movies Rated "F" Based Only on Previews More..
Even though it was produced by Judd Apatow, I skipped "Step Brothers" because it looked even more insipid than Will Ferrell's horrid "Semi Pro." While I clearly know that you can be horribly misleading in either direction, this one looked to be cringe inducing unwatchable.
And quit trying to get even with me over "Mamma Mia!" Your mother liked it, and you should always trust your mother!
joe.shearer : RE: Movies Rated "F" Based Only on Previews More..
To me, "Step Brothers" was a disaster just because most of the movie wasn't funny.
Contrast it to some of Ferrell's other entries like "Anchorman" or "Talladega Nights." Both are what we'd call intentionally bad, but the humor was spot-on, and both films actually said something (Anchorman was about gender issues in the 70s, and Talladega Nights was about blind patriotism and the idiocy of a particular group--the stereotypical NASCAR fan).
Even "Semi Pro," which was a lesser Ferrell effort as well, had a few really funny moments (the "Jive Turkey" scene), and it if nothing else was a parody of the 70s.
But "Step Brothers" was just Ferrell and John C. Reilly (playing virtually the same character) running around being stupid. The "walking in their sleep" scenes (yes, they did it more than once) were embarrassingly unfunny. It was done at a generic time, and neither of the main characters had any traits that 100 Adam Sandler, Apatow or any host of other films hasn't.
The only scene even worth a real laugh was the "teabagging the drums" scene, which was admittedly very funny, if only scatalogically.
I also refused to pay money to see "Step Brothers" on principle and obvious intelligent thought. I have liked Will Ferrell in some things, but it seems he is aging backward. And as his movies get more and more juvenile, I try not to even watch the previews when they come on TV.
so neither of you that have seen the movie have a response to my comment of the use of language, age, and social retardation. no, its not a "good" movie, but it is indeed funny in ways most comedies are not - it really plays with family aspects we take for granted.
look beyond the trailer folks!
Robert Hammerle : RE: Movies Rated "F" Based Only on Previews More..
Joe Shearer & Bridgetid
I basically agree with both of you. But while I really enjoyed both "Talladega Nights" and "Blades of Glory," "Semi Pro" was a ridiculous, insulting film despite its occasional, and I do mean occasional, semi-funny moments.
More fundamentally, the previews for "Step Brothers" were so blatantly wretched that there was no way I was going to be lured into this obvious mess in the hope that it would somehow be slightly better than portrayed.
Movies about pathetic, emotionally adolescent men can certainly be funny (i.e. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Superbad," "Pineapple Express" etc.), but I draw the line at transparently stupid films where humor is supposed to be found with adult males acting like a mindless 14 year old. There is no subtlety to be found in these type of movies, and their repetitive boorish behavior becomes excruciatingly dull.
It is almost as if the producers are making fun of the audience. I'll throw my money around in a lot of mindless ways, but at the clear risk of missing an occasional misperceived film I am not going to give these guys a dime of my money on insulting nonsense like this.
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