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SeanMiller OBSERVEs & REPORTs on Capone's Chicago Screening!
Hey folks, Harry here... Saw this film at SXSW and feel it is absolutely one of the most hilariously fucked up films I've seen in a very long time. It stumbles like a drunk driver walking an imaginary straight line between immoral disturbed material and flat out knee-slapping territory. Seriously - this one isn't like any of the other flicks out there. Here's the first attendee of Capone's AICN screening in Chicago of OBSERVE AND REPORT... listen to him...
Wow. This movie is out-of-control hilarious. I went to the Aintitcool screening in Chicago last night and was totally shocked by how much I liked this movie. The plot is clearly laid out in the previews, but I will recap for anyone who has not seen the trailer.
Seth Rogen plays Ronnie Barnhardt who is mall security guard full of delusions and grandeur in regards to his position and power in the world. Ronnie is most similar to Kenny Powers from HBO's Eastbound and Down (also written and directed by Jody Hill), but where Kenny actually achieved his dreams and success, Ronnie has never ventured past his position as head of mall security. Like Kenny though, Ronnie believes he is above everyone else. Anyways, a flasher shows up at the mall and begins terrorizing the female shoppers. At the same time there is an increase in the number of robberies in the mall. Ronnie sees this situation as his chance to prove to the world that he is the hero that he has always been in his own mind. Ronnie is also fueled to conquer the flasher b/c the girl that he fawns over (Anna Faris) was also a victim of the flashers attacks. At this point Ray Liotta, a local detective, is called in to crack the case. He and Ronnie obviously do not get a long as Ronnie does not want a real cop to still his thunder. The movie then kind of drops the whole flasher storyline when Ronnie realizes that his dream is to become a cop. Things do not go well on this front and soon all the different threads come together for one amazing and completely shocking finale. There are a lot of other side stories that I am not mentioning, b/c I believe this movie will play the best if you do not know too much about any given situation.
The Good: Seth Rogen is a whole different beast in this movie. Forget his performances in all the past Apatow movies and be prepared to see him actually play a character who is completely insane and a badass in his own way. He even gets 3 or 4 fight scenes where he utterly beats the crap out of his opponents (and also takes a wicked beating). The violence is very real in this though. It is the type of violence where you feel ever punch, kick, and snapped bone. One scene totally invoked the hallway fight scene from Oldboy, but in a much funnier less choreographed way.
Michael Pena plays Ronnie's right hand man and fellow security guard. At first he reminded me of Stevie from Eastbound and Down, but only much cooler and totally secure in his own life decisions. He is like Stevie with his lisp and devotion to his friend. He steals all of his scenes.
Danny McBride has a small but great cameo. I didn't actually recognize him until a few seconds into his scene. Pay close attention to the dialogue in his scene. Seth Rogen has a line taken right out of Miller's Crossing that I thought was genius.
The action was top notch. I was not expecting any type of action from this film, but the fight scenes delivered in a brutal comedic fashion.
The tone and humor in this movie is very dark, but hilarious. Many people may not like this type comedy, so it will be a tossup with how well it will do at the box office. This is my brand of humor, so I loved it, but other people may be disgusted or offended. If you enjoyed The Foot Fist Way or Eastbound and Down, then you will love this.
The Bad: Not enough Anna Faris. She is great in the few scenes she has, but could use some more screen time. Also, everything got wrapped up almost too nicely in the end. For being so dark and almost depressing through most of the movie, a really happy ending does not quite fit with the rest.
The Weird: The whole movie could be classified as weird, but in a good way. I haven't really seen a comedy like this in awhile, which makes it hard to compare to other films. If you are comfortable laughing at really mean, offensive, and vulgar situations then this movie will work for you. It probably won't for a lot of people who will claim that every character is just an ***hole. Lastly, I wanted to mention the music. I didn't recognize many of the songs that played during the movie, but they did work perfectly to capture the feel of each scene.
Call me SeanMiller
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The ads say nothing about it, the trailers don't really hit any solid notes or comedic material, don't say anything about the film at all except "this is Seth Rogen in another film". I guess it's good to hear something explaining the film, it rounds out the spotty trailers, but I still doubt I'm gonna drop $10 on a ticket.
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... looking forward to it. However, the worst thing about this movie, according to the reviewer, was that there wasn't enough Anna Faris? Must say "hmmm..." to this.
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Far superior to the sappy and played-out Apato crap. Gimmie a comedy with some balls that's not afraid to go to strange places and piss people off; a comedy where the writers and filmmakers are obsessed with ensuring the characters are "sympathetic" (pathetic is more like it). This sounds like a flick in the vein of the now classic "Bad Santa" and that, my friends, is a very, very good thing.
I do agree with the reviewer though: more Ana Faris is ALWAYS a good thing. She is flat-out funny. -
Apr 02, 2009 2:51:54 PM CDT
Yeah, and Pineapple Express was a "great" action film.
by stuntcock mike
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Don't do it!!!
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And so it made a pile of money. This? I'll be surprised if it makes more than Zach and Miri.
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I cant tell anymore
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That's Jody Hill's schtick. It's putting the viewer through an intensely negative experience for the sole purpose of getting a visceral reaction out of them. It's just that he's looking for a laugh instead of a dry heave or a scream. His protagonists are irredeemable assholes with little or no self-awareness. Fiester is right: Hill's not obsessed with making the characters sympathetic. He's obsessed with making the characters entirely UNsympathetic. Way to buck the system! Whatever. Like what you like, I don't care. Just consider my position. How are Hill's movies/TV shows different from torture porn?
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The first Saw and Hostel were both good, but like any good thing Hollywood overdid it and we got crap like Vacancy, Hostel Pt. 2 and Captivity.
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Based on your definition both 'Seinfeld' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' would be consider "comedy torture porn," but instead they are two of the funniest shows ever made. Ditto for "The Office" (UK), "Extras", "Peep Show", most of the shows on Adult Swim, etc. Basically any and all the comedies worth watching. But stick with your heartwarming reruns of "Full House" if that's what gets you chuckling.
You asked: "How are Hill's movies/TV shows different from torture porn?"
The answer: They're funny. Funny as fucking hell.
It's just that simple, bub.
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I was at the screening, and I was interested in seeing it because it looked like it has a dark sense of humor...like Taxi Driver with jokes. I liked it. I get why the website is pushing this movie. Watching it in a crowded theater is an experience. It reminded me of seeing Borat in a crowded theater on opening weekend. Something weird like the naked chase scene....when it started, I remember the scene causing an audible reaction from the audience, and then it had some people laughing hysterically while others sat in silence. This movie does that very often, but it also has enough clever humor in even the smallest scenes to be consistently funny without all the shock value material. Still, this movie thrives on surprising the audience with moments that are funny, shocking, or badass. Also, this movie made me realize how many times I've seen a comedy in the theater and there are only a few particular scenes that get ALL of the audience laughing loudly. Everyone talks about the same few scenes being the best/funniest moments. People will come out of this one with different favorite lines/moments.
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If you want to see it, you will be SO glad that you didn't have anything spoiled. I think even this review reveals too much. The screening was great.
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That's 3 things in a row where the main character is an idiotic asshole.
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I cant wait to see this the first time i saw the red band trailer i was laughing so hard i couldnt breathe.This is my type of flick
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Kinda surprised me. Spoiler warning for pete's sake.
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No Kirk v Spock fight muzak?
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I'd rather eat my own shit than see another Seth Rogen movie. Damn, take a fucking break already. I can't believe he's this month's Playboy interview.
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In both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, the negative qualities of the characters are REDEEMED by their positive qualities. AND they are fully aware of the fact that they aren't the nicest people on the planet. They make an effort to create audience sympathy for their characters. That doesn't happen with Hill's characters. They are horrible people who don't seem aware of how horrible they are AND there's nothing to like about them. At all. And that's a great salient point you make about the difference between Hill's comedies and torture porn. "Duh, they're funny!" Yeah, that'd be in the definition of the genre, asshat.
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There is a dread and desperation building on the web and about L.A. concerning how this film is going to do at the box office. You can almost smell their oily sweat, worried to a frenzy that "O&R" is going to tank and fuck their careers (in a recession when you don't want to do that). They even pulled the Kid Id review off of AICN here. Hill's work has not produced any break-out hit and his HBO series just went down the toilet. All he can get is recognition for serving up twisted shit (which is okay for people that like twisted shit...but it's hardly the stuff that box office dreams or TV ratings are made of). This is the film that could make or break Hill's career. With FAST AND FURIOUS rolling so hot at theaters and MONSTERS VS. ALIENS still bringing in the kid/parents trade along with "O&R" being released against the new MONTANA film everyone involved with marketing/releasing this is obviously crapping their pants over having such a dark, disturbing and confusing film to sell in the midst of a recession. The thinking in town is that no one wants this kind of film right now. It will probably open to a certain degree because of Rogen but drop like a North Korean missile in the ocean (and alienate a lot of Rogen's fans in the process). Mainstream reviews will be mixed. Word of mouth will be terrible among the movie-going audience at large but this film was never meant for them anyway...to the horror of the studio people that have finally realized what they got in bed with. DVD sales are flat so they can't even hope to make a reliable profit for its moderate budget on the back end. Lots of people throwing up in the bathroom stalls all over town over this one.
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