Wednesday, December 30, 2015

F This Movie!: The Underrated, the Overrated and the Ugly (2015)

Patrick and JB do their annual rundown of the year's movies that not enough people saw, the movies too many people saw and the movies no one should see.



Download this episode here. (88.7 MB)

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43 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for mentioning Predestination. I really love that movie and it's one of my favorite time travel movies ever. It makes me sad that it came out and got forgotten because it deserves so much better than that. It has great performances and once you get to the end it blows you away at how clever and well constructed it was. It will for sure be in my top ten this year, I think it's fantastic.

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  2. pre listen too comment

    I don't get offended easily, but I really did not like the meaning behind The DUFF, it still makes me grind my teeth, I think one of the characters had a Shockwaves poster on the wall which gets bonus points from me, but I still never watched the film because of the title, sometimes a bad title puts me off and I never get over it?

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  3. Even though it's not a 2015 movie, thanks for your comments about "The Theory of Everything." Stephen Hawking is a truly remarkable individual, but the entire time I watched it, I kept thinking the takeaway from the film was meant to be a quote from an old Onion article: "I wish I had the courage to be all crippled like that."

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  4. Never has a title reviewed itself better -Patrick Bromley for Muck

    Also: Muck 2 says fuck you! (Gunshot)

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  5. Muck was seriously one of the shittiest movies ever with an ending that defies any explanation. I was freakin' baffled. Yet, It almost forces me to have to watch the sequel, unfortunately.

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  6. I'll be over here in the corner enjoying Jurassic World :-( Great podcast you guys. I look forward to this one every year.

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    1. I don't know if it was because I saw it super late with dashed expectations due to all the critic hate or because I was doing the boring task of laundry while watching it, but I thoroughly enjoyed Jurassic World as well. So many movies to catch up on. Super excited to watch Everly, love Selma Hayek! Thanks you guys!

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    2. Jurrassic World is starting to grow on me, which I have no explanation for - I might have to hide in the corner as well

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    3. And I'm in another corner enjoying Spectre a great deal...

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  7. I'm curious what JB's criteria were for underrated movies. Several of his picks were >90% on rotten tomatoes!

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    1. I don't generally follow Rotten Tomatoes. Most of my picks didn't play in theaters for extended periods of time (or at all), we're not part of many people's conversations, and did not receive extended critical attention. Of course, I may be wrong and these films are not underrated at all. Perhaps I'm underrated. Maybe the whole world is underrated. Perhaps not. But maybe so.

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    2. Nice JB! I can't stand Rotten Tomatoes as a source for deciding how good or bad a film is.

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    3. "You're underrated! You're underrated! This whole podcast is underrated! They're underrated! ..." - Al Pacino, channeling future Al Pacino.

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    4. You're definitely underrated, JB! You should be on display somewhere and charge people money to take photos with you. (But, like the Jurassic World bubble thingy, people wouldn't be allowed inside you.)

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  8. JB, I completely agree about Bridge of Spies. The Senator Theater a short walk from my apartment here in Baltimore was renovated a few years back so that in addition to the ancient Art Deco main room, there are now three tiny rooms off to the side that seat maybe 40-50 people each and project onto proportionally shrunken screens. I saw Bridge on Nov. 18th in one of the side rooms and there was one other person in the room with me. The small setting of the room didn't matter because the movie was so captivating. I think I would describe it as a film made by professionals for adults. It made $30 Million in profit over the production budget, but it seems like it's just fallen through the cracks a bit in the discussion about film for the year compared to how solidly good it was. A Spielberg movie written by the Coens and starring Tom Hanks feels like it should be more relevant!

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  9. Man from UNCLE was one of my favorite movies of the year and I'm mad and offended that you didn't like it! Just kidding. I mean, just kidding that I'm mad. UNCLE actually was one of my favorite movies of the year (and to answer your question, no, it wasn't also the only one I saw). I just care very little about plot, so when I left that movie I came away thinking about just how much fun it was and how much I enjoyed the characters and would without hesitation pay money to see them all come together again.

    But much more importantly than my dumb opinion, I loved this podcast episode! Thanks for putting it out, and I can't wait for next week!

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    1. Wes, shhhhh...I like Man from UNCLE more than MI:5. I was shocked that I did but that's what happened. I too had so much fun with MFU, granted it's probably because I have absolutely no frame of reference to the original show. I still had fun with MI:5 but I was ultimately underwhelmed which really bummed me out as I am a HUGE fan of MI:4, MI:3 and MI:1 in that order by small margins. I love all of those.

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    2. I am a huge fan of the original MFU show and I was completely turned off to the movie by the first trailer. I didn't see any of the themes or aspects of the show that I liked, and the action side of it didn't look interesting. I may one day watch it but not if I have to force myself to.

      And don't worry Chaybee, I won't tell anyone. i'm also a big fan of the Mission Impossible TV series and I really like some of the movies, but something about Rogue Nation rubbed me the wrong way. I really enjoyed it, but I too think it was over-hyped and a tad underwhelming. Still can't top the Ghost Protes in my book.

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    3. From what I've read, that is the biggest criticism of the film and I would guess, rightfully so. If a studio remade "Small Wonder" and V.i.c.i was Benedict Cumberbatch raised by wolves in the Emerald City, I'd be pretty pissed too.

      Ghost is so strong, right?! MI:3 get's no love cause it's the darkest, but I love what Abrams did with it and Hoffman (RIP) is a slept on villain.

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    4. I kinda like MI:3 but parts of it don't jive well with me. I think my love for the show prevents me from liking it as much as I want to. I would probably like it better as a movie that wasn't tied to the mission impossible name.

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    5. I didn't like it as much as MI:5. But I thought Man From UNCLE was really solid. Not only that, but Henry Cavill gave one of my favorite performances of the year.

      And I think I know the problem with MI:5. All the characters act like they haven't just been in 4 other huge action movies. Having a hard time proving the Syndacite is real Ethan? Just wear a tiny little camera and record them, like you always do. Also, stop getting disavowed. Spies don't need to constantly go rogue to create tension.

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    6. It really has become a trope of the spy genera that the characters have to 'go rogue' in order to win. Unfortunately it's getting harder to do something new as far as story goes in these movies.

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    7. What really had me shaking my head was when Hunt gets trapped and gassed in the record booth near the beginning. It's freakin' Ethan Hunt! You're trying to tell me he couldn't get out of that or see it coming? I know that's nitpicky, but the guy just got done escaping from a Russian prison a couple of years ago.

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  10. Crimson Peak rules, loved it. As I said here when it came out, it'll be the most dismissed movie of the year. Did need more sex though, eroticism if you will.

    Far From The Madding Crowd is superb JB. It's the most romantic film of the year.

    Also I'm here shilling again for The Connection, which I think has to be the most underrated great film of the year

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  11. Crimson Peak is a stellar, beautiful film, and it is exactly the masterful work that Del Toro intended it to be, I feel...

    You are not alone, fellas!

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  12. Gotta say - "Anomalisa" is the best film of the year.

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    1. Anomalisa might be the movie I'm most excited about right now, and I have to wait until March before it's out in my country. Glad to hear it's good.

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  13. Love these episodes. Great fun and JB is always good on the podcast, He's the teacher I always wanted but never got!
    By small coincidence this morning i watched Fantastic 4, I put if off long enough, Patrick was right, its "Barely a movie", the Fantastic naming of the team at the end really made me grind my teeth hard, I think I drew blood!
    Good job I'm a Dental technician and I can fix my own teeth

    Finally I did have the Chappie meltdown as a ringtone for about 4 weeks only, but I had to change it, not because it became unfunny, it didn't, but because I kept having to explain to people what the hell it was!

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  14. Great show, Patrick and JB have great chemistry together, loved the running joke of the DVD box quotes, I laughed out loud several times. When I saw this show posted, I would have bet good money that JB was going to mention Me and Earl and the Dying Girl on his list. He must have mentioned his disgust for that movie at least 2 or 3 times this year.

    I just watched the Big Short (2015) last night and I too was a bit disappointed by it. I too found Steve Carell to be a big problem with the film. I liked a lot of the movie and I'm not saying that it's bad, but it is getting more attention than it deserves. The editing is a problem, it tries to be too flashy to the point of distraction. I think that Adam McKay's obsession with the subject matter caused him to miss some of the key elements of the story. I always remember the end credits of THE OTHER GUYS due to the fact that McKay peppered them with facts, numbers, charts, and information from the 2008 crash, which at the time was more about Bernie Madoff. It's certainly an interesting movie and what happened is important in our history. I wonder what this film would have been if it was directed by or involved Jay Roach in some way. Not a bad movie, but it's getting too much hype, which made me get my hopes up too much. Whereas Spotlight (2015) deserves all the hype and lives up to it.

    I saw Joy (2015) last night and I thought it was great, is it just me or is no one talking about this film? David O. Russell teaming up with Jennifer Lawrence again and it seems to be getting overlooked by a lot of people, I find that surprising, especially since it's really good. It's certainly better than American Hustle and is up there with Silver Linings Playbook (one of my personal favorites). You would think that with the star power and the director of this film there would be a little more recognition.

    Man from U.N.C.L.E was garbage, that movie missed on so many levels, highly disappointing.

    Completely agree with your guys take on Love & Mercy, I've actively tried to get more people to watch it, I'm very mixed on Paul Dano as well, but he's terrific as young Brian Wilson and the whole film is very well done.

    I know everyone loves Mad Max: Fury Road and I thought it was great as well, but I can't help but think it's getting too much praise. This probably isn't a popular opinion, but it may be a bit overrated. The action is spectacular, there is no doubt that using practical effects made a difference, and the film is directed to perfection, but there's no story here and maybe I'm looking for story in the wrong place. The more films I watch this year, the farther Mad Max falls down my list, it's out of the Top 10 now, so what does that say?

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    1. Kersey, people are definitely talking about Joy - http://www.fthismovie.net/2015/12/review-joy.html

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    2. Chaybee...come clean already...you made Joy, didn't you?

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    3. Haha! No, but the vitriol towards it makes me want to have an O. Russell moment@ 1:08!

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  15. I watched a lot more new movies this year and that has positives and negatives. I'll wait for the top ten best but here are the 5 worst. I hate to be negative but, no wait, fuck these movies:
    1. Poltergeist - pointless remake, I hated everything about it.
    2. The Gallows - a great trailer but a horrible movie
    3. Blackhat - God bless people for liking this movie, I don't like Michael Mann movies but this takes the boring cake.
    4. Jupiter Ascending - insane and weird in a bad way
    5. Tomorrowland - Brad Bird had a stroke then made this movie

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    1. Nice, Brent. I'll join in so I don't have to post my "worst of" on the top thread. Here it is:
      Worst of 2015
      #1. Unfriended - not only the worst Horror film of the year but up there with the worst of all time.
      #2. Human centipede 3 - the most annoying excruciatingly painful film to watch.
      #3. Sinister 2 - Pointless and shouldn't exist.
      #4. Burying the Ex - I really couldn't stand this movie and it's got a lot to do with Dante's prestige attached to it.
      #5. Taken 3 - the most ineptly edited film of all time.
      #6. Interstellar - The most nothing happens, boringly awful 3 hours of my life.
      #7. Dark places
      #8. Focus
      #9. Terminator Genisys
      #10. Jupiter ascending

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  16. Twenty minutes into the podcast and I am already offended... Some beers and a movie makes you "that guy"?! :)

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  17. I'm glad somebody finally agrees about The Big Short. I thought it was so visually unappealing -- from the frenetic editing to the ugly cinematography -- that it was hard for me to sit through. I also found the story didactic. And "mopey" is the perfect word for Carell's acting, especially in this movie.

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  18. Guys... I hate to harp on this Me and Earl and the Dying Girl business, but the ONLY negative criticisms I'm hearing is that you don't like the movie parodies that the characters made. That's such a small part of the movie. It's not a movie about making movies, it's a coming of age story about unlikely friendships.

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    1. I promise that's not the only reason the movie didn't work for me. That's just the thing we talked about. And while I don't necessarily agree that it can be divorced from the rest of the movie (it's too big a part of the characters and what transpires), I agree that it's not the whole point.

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    2. Ok, I feel you. I was hoping to hear a little more about the things you disliked so I can get a clearer picture. I was glad to see that the seen where Olivia Cooke watches her movie was on your Favorite Movie Moments of 2015 list :)

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    3. I like that scene! I'm not a monster.

      The review I wrote back in the summer hopefully touches on more of the things I struggled with. We didn't want to dwell on the movie too long on the podcast because it would come off as picking on it, which I don't think either of us wanted to do.

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    4. Keeping in line with the theme of DVD/Blu-ray box quotes from this episode, I must say THAT would make one hell of a quote:

      "I liked one scene. I'm not a monster" -Patrick Bromley

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