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Doc Poison checks out OUTLANDER & so should you!
Hey folks, Harry here... This internet is a strange thing and AICN is even more weird. Doc Poison below is someone that I've never not known. He used to be a kid that would mow our yard and bag comic books for trade with my dad. He was always a big brother - and he moved off into the world far away from Austin. Then I am clicking through a million emails and lo and behold... there he is. Not only that, but he's seen a really badass movie that I saw that fell through the cracks... OUTLANDER. This is the best indie film that I've seen this year. And Doc's assertion that this guy should be considered for CONAN is dead on. Howard McCain is the real deal, and this movie is like some crazed Ron Howard dabbling with Science Fiction gone perfect. But screw that, here's Doc to tell you all about it!
I got a chance to see Outlander last night in Seattle at the Science Fiction Museum, which is on the Space Needle campus. The show was hosted by Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report, a local movie site. Warren was funny and personable though I find his site kind of stuffy. Director Howard McCain was very entertaining, telling all kinds of stories about making the film, which was 16 years from first draft to the big screen. More on this later.
About the movie: it was fantastic! He took potentially humorous material and treated it with great respect. Vikings, aliens, and monsters? C'mon, that sounds like a National Lampoon or Monty Python set up. But he was able to make a straightforward, dramatic film. The movie itself has been reviewed on your site already so I will not get into a lengthy plot description here. Yes, it is definitely a retelling of the Beowulf story, and according to McCain that was his intention all along; "What if the Grendel was really an alien from outer space?"
It has a big budget studio feel to it, not at all like an independent film. The eighth century Norse setting is very convincing, in the same way you really believed you were in a different time while watching Braveheart. No, it's not as big a film as that, but it sure shares some traits. I would call it Braveheart meets Predator.
The acting was top notch, but Sophia Myles as Freya really stands out. And she holds her own in this film, she is no fair maiden needing to be rescued. Jim Caviezal as Kainen was solid, though a little stiff. And of course you can't go wrong with John Hurt or Ron Perlman. If anything, Perlman needed more screen time, he only had a dozen or so lines.
The monster effects were outstanding. Again, it looks like a big budget studio movie, though I wish the monster had more screen time. The flashbacks telling Kainen's back story were very well done, the alien worlds totally convincing.
There were a couple of things that broke the spell of believability, but they were very small. There was an underwater scene where Kainen seemed to hold his breath for 10 minutes or more. Another scene was one of those "one person holding a huge amount of weight by one arm" kind of things, like Ripley in Aliens as she's holding onto the ladder while the queen aliens hangs suspended from her leg. And in another scene we see a sword being made in what appears to be a couple of hours. Swords take weeks or months to make. But most of these hiccups were due to the forced running time limit insisted upon by that dick weasel, Harvey Weinstein.
The post-movie interview was very interesting. Seems that it took 16 years to make this film, meaning it was written in advance of 13th Warrrior or that 3-D Beowulf, so the "criticism" that it is just "copying" these movies is totally off base. But it has bio luminescent monsters, so at least it got that on screen before Avatar does.
As mentioned before, Harvey Weinstein insisted on a certain arbitrary running time, and a lot of good stuff got cut to make it fit. (A few spoilers ahead) When the monster is finally killed, they were not allowed the 15 seconds to show that it was really, really dead, not "gonna come back in the next scene" semi-dead. Several gory deaths were cut, and an alien birth scene was also shortened. And, of all things, they were forced to scroll the credits at a faster rate than industry standard.
Seems that Weinstein decided he did not want to spend any money on marketing this film, and since he only had $2 million dollars in it (out of a total of $30 raised from other sources), he figured he could make more money by skipping all marketing and going direct to DVD. So basically he took McCain's life long dream and crushed it, just to make a few bucks. Typical Hollywood producer asshole, I know. Still it was sad to see how much love and attention was clearly put into this project only to hear that it is unlikely to be shown on the big screen for very long, if at all. As you have noticed, this film is in super limited release, and in most places it only showed for one week. That's because one week was all Weinstein was obligated to show it to comply with the terms of his contract, and with no marketing at all. Very sad. This is an entertaining, dramatic, period film that is well worth watching on the big screen. But get it on DVD if that's your only option.
Lots of other stuff was discussed in the post-show chat session, but the most important was about the Conan film he is now writing. According to McCain, Brett Ratner is NOT confirmed as the director. Hurrah! Seems that Ratner is being pursued by two studios to direct two different films: Conan or Rush Hour 4. He can do one but not both, and has yet to commit to either one. Obviously, he would be better suited to Rush Hour 4. So there is still hope that Conan will get a real director who actually cares about the source material.
In fact, Howard McCain would be an excellent choice. One thing I noticed about Outlander is that it felt very much like a Robert E. Howard story. It had a gritty, warlike primitive culture, giant scary monster, brooding main character with a shady past who does not really fit into the group, great battle scenes and violent death. It could have used a few more scantily clad wenches and maybe a wizard, but other than that it is true to the flavor of the Conan stories. McCain would be an excellent choice to direct Conan- write Lionsgate and let 'em know!
I can tell you more about the post-show talk if you are interested. If you use this call me "Doc Poison".
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I'll catch this if there's a directors cut.
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2009
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deez nutz!!
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The concept is fine but it quickly turns into a laughable 15th century costume romp, wacky characters and awful special FX.
Straight to network TV -
ripsoff of Beowulf.
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extremely campy/
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This movie sounds like great fun, so does "Taken" yet both films get cut up only for their USA release. Hollywood just had a very bad WGA strike, lots of studios loss tons of money, yet they still insist on almost random edits to very strong films, thus hurting their box-office take. What is Harvey W's game by not getting "Outlander" on 500 screens? Did Sophie Myles reject him by the poolhouse at a generic Hollywood party 4 years ago? John Hurt? I'm just asking.------later-----m
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Because I want to know the likelihood of seeing a proper directors cut on DVD in the near future? I'm not going out of my way to see a neutered movie in an LA slum if I can see the original vision on my big screen at home.
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Sophia Myles needs to be in more movies, she's not only gorgeous but always outstanding in all her films. This film had one hell of a crazy premise but it delivered it with purpose and integrity. The Alien creature is one of the best designs in years and the fight scenes were way better than some films that cost twice as much to make! Everyone should check this out! More Sophia Myles PLEASE!!
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but not great. a fun time at the theatre but it was fairly generic in some ways. i am hoping a director's cut gets released on DVD, giving this movie a chance to be seen by more people.
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and i didn't get to see it. and it took forever to come here. and i didn't even see a commercial while it WAS out. somebody wanted this movie dead.
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And I'm happy to see this review because it's exactly how I feel. It's just great stuff.
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Throw him into the fire.
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I wrote you yesterday and asked you to post an announcement about the Seattle screening, but you didn't put up a word, and you didn't respond. If you care so much about getting this movie seen, why not? I ended up spamming a few talkbacks, and I'm sure people showed up anyway, but I don't get it. I guess I have the lowly email address and not the one you actually read and respond to?
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Predator is just the best. Great cast, solid effects, original designs, identifiable & effective score & theme, perfect pacing, classy conclusion, epic Arnold soundbytes, & the fucking Predator. It pains me that Predator hasn't been done justice since. Me too, mine's as big as a house!
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Why the fuck don't you little minded people actually research your fucking facts before you post incredibly boring and unentertaining *reviews* on AICN?‘Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A.D. 922’ (later republished as The 13th Warrior to correspond with the film adaption of the novel) is a 1976 novel by Michael Crichton. So yes, Outlander took 16 years from script to film, giving it a start date of what? 1992?...so who FUCKING CARES? 'Eaters of the Dead' came out in 1976. The comparisons are so obvious that Corky from 'Life Goes On' could figure it out. Stop ignoring the facts or lying about the movie just to pimp it.That being said: I saw it at a big Muvico a few weeks ago. It was the only theater in town playing it and I had nothing to do on that particular day. It was a good movie. Period. Nothing to write home about and certainly nothing to jerk-off all over your keyboard over. Come on man! Get a fucking grip!
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Only throwing in my two cents because this review would have added to my excitement (if I hadnt already seen this). Its not so hot. Very generic, maybe wikipedia-level viking research, and they basically abandon all sci-fi-ness (which could have been fun) other than the monsters. And Jesus is not an action star. Maybe if the monster had just tied him down and whipped him for two hours for your sins, it would have been better. But he seemed very stiff and uncoordinated physically. This is a 16 year labor of love? In all fairness, its not terrible, just not that good.
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1st of all. That retarded shield jumping scene was horribly corny. Very Bad.
2nd the guy grabs the lead vikings wiener! And they all just stand around. Gay.
3rd. (Spoiler) The whole premise that they wiped out that entire race of aliens. Set up shop...and then overnight...ONE surviving alien kills the whole colony of humans? Doesnt make sense at all.
silly movie. -
trapping the monster in the oil pit, didn't see that coming. Also the FX went from not bad to downright terrible as the movie went on.
John Hurt was playing himself playing a robin hood men in tights king dude? WTF..its a joke.
I wish they made movies as good as trailers.. -
that's a fact...it starts ok but never develops any genuine suspense..the alien conveniently being 'dragon-like' kinda makes this feel all a bit boring.
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Crazed Ron Howard? Like when Richie challenged the Fonz to a fistfight?
I’m guessing you meant Robert E. Howard.
Or maybe you didn’t, who knows what goes through that giant ginger skull?
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you mean like WILLOW?
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it's not awesome. It's a fun film sure but Perlman doesn't have enough screentime and Kaanan's (or however it's spelt) space suit reminds me of a cross between the Jaffa suits from the Stargate series and the Sontaran suits from Doctor Who.
It's an Ok film. It's fun. But it's strictly DTV material. This won't get a wide release and if it does it won't last long. It's the type of film that's best viewed with friends and some beers. -
Feb 18, 2009 3:42:27 PM CST
Great visual style, direction, and acting, but the PLOT was SO S
by noncents
I really liked this movie on many levels, but it really didn't do anything story-wise that made it a great sci-fi epic. Loved the look. Solid performances. Directed well. Decent pace. Good SFX.
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Kept changing sizes. The scene where they are running through the caves underground its about the length of the actors chest then when they use it, its about 6 foot long.
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Feb 18, 2009 3:50:13 PM CST
It beats 10 times the Keanu Reeves "Earth stood still shit fest"
by lostbat
I loved it, and its much better as recent Top 10 Box Office movies. I wondered why there was no love for this movie. It beats 10 times the Keanu Reeves "Earth stood still shit fest". If you love action and scifi and you want 2 hours of entertainment, go for this one!!!!
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I e-mailed Harry and a couple of others about my experience with the film and how it was actually showing near me, but only at 12 and 2:55 and its rater R. While Hotel For Dogs, Mall Cop, Coraline and the Unaborted (which it is sharing screens with) have 10pm showings. Also it was showing in probably the worst theater around. I was urging people to really look and see if the movie was playing around them because it was damn worth seeing. Won't be the same on the small screen.
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but the first half was kinda lame, with all the cliches thrown in (Outlander befriends kid, falls in love with the chief´s daughter, gains the respect of the vikings and so on...). But once we´ve been trough that stuff and the first fight with the monster comes up, it´s a hell of a ride. There are just two flaws: Badass Ron Perlman should have had more screentime and some of the first fights are too quickly cut.
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Good lord, why is this site all over Outlander's dick? Seriously?! I watched this barely passable piece of cow dung because of Mori's "Open letter" to the Weinsteins oh so many months ago and I fully regret it. Boring characters, horrible dialog, plot holes you could drive a fucking bus through and FX that would be better suited to a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie. Ugh.
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... it is tremendously dull.
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Pretty awsome in fact and I really wanted to like it but seriously the acting was daytime soap BAD. I will give the makers this its EXACTLY like one of those 80's action movie you stumble across and sorta enjoy even with the cheesiness, but in 09 it just isnt good enough. To those harping on about them shelving this , please get real this was never going to make massive box office.
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Seriously Harry, you're fucking worthless!
I didnt post in a while because my new job doesnt give me much free time anymore, but I just had to react to this. I saw Outlander too, it is a badass movie. We been talking about it a lot in the Twitch talkbacks. But apparently, almost nobody else is aware of it.
And you sure as hell aint helping the movie getting that awareness. You say Outlander is "a really badass movie that I saw that fell through the cracks"... well if you saw it and it's so fucking badass, then how about YOU FUCKING WRITE AN ARTICLE OR REVIEW ABOUT IT YOU GODDAMN IMBECILE!!! Maybe then it would not have "fell through the cracks"! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ENTIRE WEBSITE to talk about movies you goddamn fat fuck! Ever thought maybe you could do something about those cracks? But no, why take time out of your precious schedule (full of not writing your weekly DVD column and sucking on your buddy Tarantino's cock and endlessly praise his Bastards movie that's not coming out for another 6 months, even if the trailer was total garbage) to try and spread the word about a good movie that's getting the Studio Shaft? Why cant you for once do something like that for a movie that's not paying your useless ass with advertisements for gushing reviews? No, that would just be senseless. You goddamn sellout. Outlander has been out for a few weeks now, but you never posted any article about it to let people know in your usual crass infantile manner how awesome it is, you just ignored it until someone to email you a review instead and decided to post that, after the movie has pretty much finished its pathetic limited release, since that doesnt require you to make an actual effort.
You suck Harry. People say it all the time in the talkbacks, about how you sold out and how this entire site is turning into a goddamn joke. I'm sure you're just gonna delete my post and probably ban me, because you're a spineless turd. How about you grow some goddamn balls and reply to me and try to justify yourself, and tell me why you never gave enough of a shit to write something about Outlander, and tell us when you actually saw the damn movie!
Fucking moron. -
If this was "The best indie film" you've seen in the past year, then why haven't you been championing it or doing your part to get it into the spotlight? One more failure to add to the long, sad, ever-growing list.
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Its called the 'Seattle Center' and it was the home of the Worlds Fair...just ask Elvis. Howd you pull Space Needle Campus out of your ass????
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...Moriarty quit, didn't he? Why are you still pimping this low grade turd. I hope to fuck you don't bust a nut trying to promote the Mutant Chronicles after you get done desperately trying to covince geeks to go see this flick on the premise alone.
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Feb 18, 2009 4:41:45 PM CST
weinstein tried to bury the movie because JIM CAV worked with me
by ironic_name
we all know it.
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Seattle is inside the Experience Music Project.
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Feb 18, 2009 5:01:20 PM CST
Anyone saying that this movie is only SCI FI movie of the week
by series7
Obviously has never seen a Sci Fi movie of the week. This is an actual movie. Anyone who liked Pitch Black should check this out.
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I'm DYING to see it. Take my $12.50! I think Harvey made a BIG mistake not marketing and promoting this it. And I like the recommendation of McCain for Conan. Bring it!
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The effects sucked, casting sucked, dialogue sucked...it was an interesting concept, but nothing original. Glad I didn't pay money to see it. It was almost boring enough to put me to sleep. But I didn't, and that commands and "o.k." rating. I guess some people are easily entertained.
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It's obvious it didn't have a huge budget. but with what they had they made the most of. if it had more of a budget, it would have been a huge sci-fi movie. as it is, for me its in the vein of pitch black. nice little sci fi movie. don't go in expecting a summer balls to the wall blockbuster and you'll be fine with it. Wienstein you suck hairy old donkey balls
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This site should get his act together!! And Tarentino is overrated!!
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I have this moive on disc because I live in China and they sell bootlegs of every movie ever made. This movie had a cool idea but it turned out to be the same old shit with some midevil guys with swords chasing a monster. BORING!!!
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Man this is old! I thought this was already on DVD 3 months ago...
Great, yet odd flick, but fairly enjoyable. Wish they would have done a little twist with the gun at the end, but whatever... -
Can't believe Harry and even Moriarty liked this limp film. The worst thing about it is that it could have been great. But the director clearly has no clue, he makes even good actors like Caviezel and Hurt look bad. The only actor who shines here is Perleman and he's hardly there, what a waste of a fantastic character. Conan would be in much better hands even with Ratner.
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Got a shitty viking script that's collecting dust in a drawer? And you make it even easier to dismiss your bullshit critique by revealing you're a Ratner fan. Talk about not having a clue, asshat.
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This film is a fucking blast. If you can't enjoy this film, you've officially turned into such a bitter wannabe motherfucker you can't enjoy any movie. I'm dead fucking serious. You're like The Grinch, but instead of your heart it's your penis that's three times too small. LOL. I crack myself up.
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if you found Outlander such a fine piece of art, that hack Ratner must be the Rembrandt of moviemaking for you. You probably one of those people that have kept Uwe Boll in business until now...
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kind of sucked. I appreciate the idea but the execution was all wrong.
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...of five people. And it DOES have a Sci-Fi channel vibe. If not for the three "name" actors this movie would've been direct to DVD. It's not bad, but it's just okay for when you have nothing else to do.
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My theater was full to the brim with 7 people. I think I was the only one there under 40???? Which I thought was weird because I thought old people didn't follow movies?
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Either that or you're an easily amused 'tard
My money's on that option -
it's far from awful, but did i just read someone say it was 'badass'.That's just fucking bizzare, the movie is extremely flat..you must be fucking desperate to see dragons and swordplay at any price..
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anybody know when it hits dvd? Fuck it, I'll just put it on my Netflix queue under save.
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opps different outlander.....fucking ass.
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opps different outlander.....fucking ass.
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Seen the cover and thought to myself "Self...this looks like a bad ass 80's Band with Vikings and Space Dudes fuckin shit up" but then I decided to watch the movie. I was honestly shocked that it was so much better than I anticipated. Blood & guts, semi decent back story, and contrary to popular belief the CGI was better than any shit I've seen on the Sci-Fi channel. Good movie to kill time with...just don't set the bar too high and you might find yourself surprised.
As for you fucking "OMG it's so lame, plot hole shield jumping" bitches...get a grip. It's about a fucking space man helping Vikings...once you acknowledge that any sense of taking the movie seriously should've been out the window. Fuckin lamers... -
I went to see Brokeback Mountain and along with a gay couple...the only other people there were 15 seniors.....I thought that was STRANGE because sure they have a lot of time....but to see a gay movie?
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It's happened.
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I enjoyed the hell out of it, so much so that I viewed it a second time. Its not perfect, but what is? What do you want from a Sci-fi/viking flick anyway... realism? This was alot of fun. I was pleasantly surprised.
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I'm 64 now, soooo I guess I can speakout as a senior. I'm also straight, totally so, and have lead a very active and adventurious sex life, especially since I came of age along with "The Pill" and lived the height of my sex life pre-Aids. My 2 brothers-in-law were gay... one a "leatherboy" and the younger one what was commonly called a"fluff." They both died of Aids. Charlene (Charlie) was a cross dresser who on occasion I had to bailout of the Austin prostitute holding tank. He was a slight embarishment, especially when he would showup at our parties as the best looking babe there. Anyway enough of that , I attend "gay" flicks, saw Brokeback 3 times ... a great flick with great performances. Saw MILK twice, an outstanding motion picture... I must admit I get uneasy seeing guys kiss, but I don't get a panic attack over it. A good movie is A GOOD movie no matter the subject matter, or genre, annnnd I love great film. Oh yeah, I love a great lesbian scene, even at 64 years old..
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Qualifies under the heading of "too much information".
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i appreciated your perspective. and actual personal experience is often in short supply here. thanks
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need wide releases - are these so bad that they cant be seen? - look at all the unwatchable crap that gets month long homes in every cineplex
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Completely unnecessary scenes:
every scene with the kid,
the fucking shield game - which is just a way to aid a stunt sequence that last about three seconds, and most of the flashbacks - so it's not Harvey's fault - it's because an overzealous director. -
Damn you DO have a lot of free time on your hands. Gay movie or not that thing was just fucking boring and long.
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That you had time to watch Outlander twice? Were they back to back showings? That movie was only within 100 miles of me for less then seven days.
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kanin's 'FUCK' line got the one and only laugh from the audience.
Inhabited Island is fucking great tho. go watch that now. screw this outlander.
ron perlman steals this movie, and hes only in it for like 10 minutes. invisible alien dragon monster my ass. -
before the movie there was an extended ad for the national guard, and in it the guard guy puts a little brown kid on a truck and waves to him.
then in the movie , this exact cliche happens. man i was laughing hard.
movie feels like its been rewritten 40 times. goes off in too many directions. -
the agression towards harry over the past little while is unwarranted. He has a life now, and a wife and i respect him for getting married and trying to get his priorities right, and family should take place over film.
However i agree that he has been slack-assing and is definatly not much more than a "character" or a "name" to be associated with this site, kind of like the colonel
became for Kentucky fried chicken. I think if he does not have the time to promote films that deserve it then he should stay just that a "name" ..instead of using this site to blow smoke up his buddies bums.
If you dont have the time to be the advocate of good film ..."and you are in the position to do just that" then step aside and let someone else take control of the site and what it stands for.
I to have lost respect for the site and how it now feels like a dry episode of gossip girl...or the Hills, as much of a hot head moriarty was at times, i still respected and appreciated his vigor and firm stance towards film...it seems all the eloquence and intelligence left when he did.
Now were stuck with "heres a review from some dude i knew for a kick-ass movie i saw, that fell through the cracks"
Yay!! -
I dont watch gossip girl or the hills.
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I'm guessing the "omgosh it's a remake" posters didn't actually read the article. Emphasis on the part where the movie has been in the making for 16 fuckin years...
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