Wednesday, March 19, 2014

F This Movie! - Darkman

Patrick and JB are everyone and no one...everywhere and nowhere.



Download this episode here. (56.9 MB)

Subscribe to F This Movie! in iTunes.

Also discussed this episode: Non-Stop (2014), Blue is the Warmest Color (2013), The Counselor (2013), Knightriders (1981)

22 comments:

  1. I love the punchline to that Ruben Blades scene in The Counselor. It's a deep life or death discussion for Fassbender but Blades is like "I gotta go...I have to make other calls". It was hilarious, even thought I'm not sure it was supposed to be.

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    1. Man that diamond scene at the beginning... how long was it? Because it felt like about 45 minutes. The director's cut is an endurance test. Was it just me or for a movie that crazy it had a weird low energy to it. Still trying to reconcile this one. I think I didn't hate it?

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    2. Right? It's fascinating. It's a movie in which characters have conversations about what did happen or what is going to happen, but we don't usually get to see things happen (with a few major exceptions). This all backs up the anti-movie point we raised on the podcast. I know I didn't hate it, but I definitely need to watch it again.

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    3. I've only seen the theatrical cut but the diamond scene didn't feel especially long...I wonder if the theatrical cut is "better" than the extended?

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  2. I'm kinda fascinated by (spoiler for Darkman) Bruce Campbell popping up at the end considering that Raimi wanted him for the role originally. Was this a middle finger to the studio or a compromise for not giving him the lead? Also, I'm curious if Neeson knew going into it that if it was a hit he wouldn't be in the sequels but the guy the director really wanted for his role would be.

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    1. It's a lot easier to get your actor for a cameo than as someone to build a studio marketing campaign around.

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    2. Agreed, but I think it's more than a cameo had the movie been a giant hit. It would have set him up as the star of the next one. Then again that doesn't always work out, as the Billy Dee Williams/Two Face situation proves.

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  3. Thanks for the shout out, J.B.!

    Were you able to get a good print off that Lennon picture I sent you?

    Also, Seduced and Abandoned is a great documentary. I believe it's still available on HBOgo.com if anyone on here want to check it out. Definitely worth a watch.

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    1. I haven't turned to print it yet-- I just call it up on my IPad about every other day and sigh with appreciation.

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  4. On the Scream Factory Blu Ray of Phantasm 2, it is stated that Universal Pictures was being run by a man who loved horror so they produced A LOT of horror/fantasy films from 1987-1993. I'm assuming that's how Darkman got made.

    Sam Raimi was a legend after Evil Dead 2. But like the recasting for Phantasm 2, Bruce unfortunately couldn't get the part. Luckily he was ok'd by Universal for Army of Darkness (aka The Medieval Dead).

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  5. This is movie #280 on my "List of Movies Not Seen By A So Called Movie Fan".

    While it certainly sounds ambitious and interesting, I have a question that I hope doesnt come across as too dick-ish. How much of the ongoing affection for this movie do you think is attributable to it being made by The Once and Future Great Raimi? i.e. affection for the maker versus affection for the movie.
    The reason I ask is that a lot of the praise seemed to come from the moments of Raimi shining through. If it wasnt Raimi and was just Director-For-Hire-B, would it come across as much more of an overall mess and therefore the movie ends up being dismissed, instead of recognising and appreciating the segments that work (Raimi movie) over the parts that dont?

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    1. Hmmm. I'm not sure how to answer that questions. If it was directed by anyone else, it wouldn't be the same move. Would I still like it if it wasn't this movie? I don't know.

      We were both pretty up front about the fact that what we like about the movie is all the stuff Raimi did. He's the show. If it had none of his touches and was just this same material directed straight, it probably wouldn't be as good because the script is weak. I think we said that, too. But I don't think it's an example of just like something because of who directed it (which I don't think you're accusing us of), as it's way more about the 'how' than the 'who.'

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    2. Raimi's stuff in this film is pretty sweet although I will agree the individual parts are better then what this movie is as a whole. I personally believe Raimi's worst movie is For Love of the Game mainly because it seems to have absolutely none of his directorial spark, it's not a terrible film but it is swimming in mediocrity.

      As to Brad's original point I would love to throw out a new glossary term for consideration that I will call "The Ratner Flatline"-a movie that aims for no highs but falls to no lows just like Brett Ratner's filmography. Thats exactly what Darkman would have been directed by Brett.

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    3. @Patrick. Ok, first up in re-reading my post I really need to stop posting comments in between meetings at work. It really wasnt clear. sorry.

      I was kinda getting at the last point you make, but not accusing anyone of anything, more referring to the publics affection for this movie in general. If the movie was exactly the same but it wasnt made by Raimi would the "raimi moments" still be seen as moments of beauty or would they emphasise the disjointed mess that the whole sounds like it is.
      I think it was a weekend weigh in, or a comment discussion sometime ago, where we were talking about affection for an artist influencing the evaluation of their work. Im just getting at that same idea. Its not a criticism at all, as I'm on the side of it being impossible to desperate the two and we are all inherently influenced by one when looking at the other.

      @Tom. The injection of a creative spark into an uninspired idea, is a far better thing than an unimaginative driver at the wheel of great potential.

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    4. It's an interesting question to raise. I end up loving those touches because I know who is responsible for them and I like the same kinds of touches in his other movies. Had someone else done the exact same thing, would I have ever come around on them being anything but, as 13-year old me though, "weird?"

      When I see a Scorsese Moment in a Scorsese movie, I love it because it's his thing. When I see another director faking a Scorsese moment (American Hustle), it generally doesn't have the same impact. It feels somehow hollow.

      And maybe that's the answer. Even if another director had made Darkman the exact same way, it still wouldn't be the same movie because Raimi's DNA is so much a part of the movie that it gives it its soul. Anyone else doing it would ring like a false approximation.

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    5. Nicely said. I think we're on the same page (not that a different page would be wrong mind you).

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  6. It would be interesting to hear JB's 5 favorite movies of the last 25 years...

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  7. Favorite movies of the last 25 years, chronologically: Goodfellas, Groundhog Day, Pulp Fiction, Ed Wood, Fargo, LA Confidential, The Royal Tannenbaums, The Incredibles, Synecdoche New York, and The World's End.

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    1. great list (except I still haven't seen Ed Wood or Synecdoche New York yet...)!

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    2. You also forgot to put The Horse Thief on there! Gotta listen to Scorsese's advice on that one.

      Great list though, Goodfellas and LA Confidential would make my list as well.

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  8. Great to hear you guys mentioning and liking A Simple Plan. I love that movie and don't hear many people mentioning it. Bill Paxton is superb. Bridget fonda is always good for me. But Billy Bob Thornton is on fire. He is acting his ass off. I'm gonna go watch it now again

    "You work for the American dream. You don't steal it. Then this is even better"

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