Wednesday, September 24, 2014

F This Movie! - The Mummy (1999)

Patrick and JB hate mummies.



Download this episode here. (67.1 MB)

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Also discussed this episode: Tusk (2014), The Drop (2014), 3 Days to Kill (2014), Afflicted (2013), Honeymoon (2014), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

24 comments:

  1. "The Mummy is a 1999 American dark fantasy adventure film." - Wikipedia

    But I suppose if The Wizard of Oz can be a horror movie, then so can this. I'm still bitter about that one.

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  2. Hooray, what a treat!!! Thanks, guys! :)

    ... Unless, of course, either of you say anything bad about the movie, because it is a perfect film. (I kid, I kid!) (I think. This is, after all, one of my EHMs - Exploding Heart Movies, of course.) I don't say "perfect" as in "one of the greatest ever", but there is remarkably little fat, no unnecessary scenes, and I'm not sure I can think of a single missed opportunity for a payoff. Looking forward to a listen! :)

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  3. I suppose I finally need to see The Mummy all the way through now, because you've convinced me that I actually missed out on something. Well done, you two!

    (Also, I've never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I know, I shall now be shamed.)

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    1. Its not great. Its kinda mean spirited like they mention in the podcast. But it has a creeping atmosphere and some scenes play out for a long time. It's kinda tough viewing but its a must see film. Probably not worth bothering with the 4k version though

      Damn I just realized thats its now 40yrs old......

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  4. I remember the first time I saw this, me and a couple friends rented it (ON VHS!) and when we got to the scene where the guy runs full speed into the wall and dies....my one friend, let's call him Vinny (because that's his name), bursts out in hysteric laughing. Then, because it was his house, immediately rewound it and watched it again. And again. And again. And about 100 times, dying from laughter every single time. I'm pretty sure it took us around 3 hours just to watch the whole movie. To this day, I can't think of this movie without remembering it. I'm not sure if this makes me like the movie more or less...

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  5. Sorry about 3 Days to Kill, PBroms. I'd say that movie knows it's being silly though.

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    1. No apologies necessary. We can agree to disagree on the movie's tone/level of self-awareness, but I'm happy to have seen it. #KCost4Life

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  6. This used to be one of my favorite movies when I was around 11 years old and I became fascinated with ancient Egypt after I saw it. I'm glad to hear you guys say it holds up. Picked it up from the library today because I haven't seen it in so long and it's due for a revisit. Thanks for the podcast.

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  7. I have always really enjoyed and appreciated the pulp elements of this movie and its sequel because there are very few 30's-and 40's-style modern adventure movies outside of the Indiana Jones series. Having said that, I'm really glad that my affection for this movie predates my falling in love with the Universal Monsters, because I doubt I would have given it the time of day otherwise. Good luck, Dracula Untold.

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  8. Super fun podcast, guys, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much again/still! I highly recommend Sommers' commentary track; he and his long-time editor have a terrific rapport and first-rate banter, cheerfully discussing how they covered up stuff they weren't thrilled with and such. JB, as to your point about always taking the mummy seriously, they actually toyed with having him stumble clumsily around for a few scenes after he assimilated the myopic guy's eyes, but decided it marred the tone. Also, when Evy first sees the totally reborn Imhotep after the car chase, she was scripted to say "he's gorgeous" - a great line and very funny moment, but again, it was snipped for tone. And yeah, pretty sure Ardeth Bay/George Harrison/me was originally planned to buy the farm, but they backtracked at the last minute.

    Another fun detail: Jonathan is the keeper of the key-gadget. Apart from the time Rick steals it from him offscreen, he's always the one to retrieve it, sometimes risking his life to do so.

    No, Beni is not in Returns. Heath, I agree with you the production design and costumes and general look (and Silvestri's score) of that movie are super-wonderful; they are all as great as the movie itself is bad.

    Again, what a fun podcast! I'll be revisiting this one for sure. :)

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  9. Great podcast as always. I've not seen the film for years but I will be revisiting now asap. The joke with the two actress's being the same but with two different names actually made me spill hot Tea on my Evil dead t shirt. I'll send you the bill ;)

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  10. Great to have JB back! Great podcast guys. This movie is such treat. I love Rachel Weisz in it as well. Now I want to see it again!

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  11. Just wanted to make a quick note to JB about the Mummy ride, they are starting to loosen up the seats at the attractions in Universal Studios so you should have some better luck in the future. The same problem was had at the Harry Potter ride they built earlier this year and they adjusted the restraints.

    As to the movie, I think its OK- it has some fun stuff but the bad cgi and one too many joke lines keep me from totally embracing it. That being said its a masterpiece compared to The Mummy Returns which is one of only 3 films I have ever walked out on (The other 2 are Michael Bays The Island and The Generals Daughter)

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  12. Regarding Tusk: WWE wrestler Chris Jericho had Kevin Smith on his podcast this week. The interview had a different dynamic because Smith wasn't the one in charge. There were a couple of interesting things that I took away from it. When Jericho asked Smith about the presence of comedic elements in more serious movies like Chasing Amy and Dogma, Smith essentially responded that he isn't comfortable embracing a story that gets too serious and that he loses interest in when things get too real or don't have any comedy in them, so that may explain the weird tone you guys found in Tusk. The second interesting thing I took from the interview was that Kevin Smith considers himself to be a very proficient filmmaker and says that he's gotten really good at the process of making movies after doing it so long. Take from that what you will, but I think that says volumes. I'm reserving ultimate judgement for when I actually get to see Tusk, which I'm still waiting to open here.

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    1. And, he apparently smokes pot nonstop now, so you probably need to take everything he says or does with a grain of salt

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  13. Proficient. Mmmm. Strange word to use. The film could be good or bad. But it was filmed very proficiently at least

    Im guessing were reserving judgement on this for now. But either way I'm in. I know its polarising but at some point im gonna take the Tusk ride

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  14. I agree that the majority of the 4K Restoration of Texas Chainsaw looks only sightly improved, but where the clarity really comes into its own is the opening shot of the corpse on the fence. I have never noticed that much goop dripping out of its mouth before.

    Love the part at the end where you talked about Bram Stoker's Dracula, etc. I saw all of those in the theaters.

    J.B. I had the Criterion LD and remember that function. Also, when Ebay first came out and it wasn't as supervised, I was able to purchase Coppola's original workprint of the film which does have several differences.

    Andy Garcia once said that editing with Coppola is like a newspaper and a new cut comes out each day.

    Definitely Stephen Frears for Mary Reilly. Neil Jordan did Interview with the Vampire.

    Yay for mentioning River's Edge. One of the greatest films to come out in the late 80s.

    Thanks for this wonderful talk about The Mummy, a film that has relegated to the five dollar bin at Walmart for quite some time.

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  15. Does that guy EVER pronounce an actor's name correctly? I mean - he does it so much that I'm thinking it's a joke. I'm talking even normal names - he almost NEVER pronounces them correctly. It's so bizarre - and why is he on a film podcast if he says things like - "I've never heard of Tom Hardy"; isn't this supposed to be a podcast of at least SOMEWHAT knowledgeable people?

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  17. I can kinda see where the slight confusion comes from. I just re listened to the podcast as I was totally confused by that comment. But trust me, Willingly unfamiliar is not the same as not heard of. Sometimes more is being said by saying less. JB is Crazy crazy knowledgeable about movies. You have no idea. Just listen to more podcasts

    Merry Christmas To Annoymous.

    The conversation happens at 9 mins 50 secs onwards if anyone's wondering about the comment

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