Wednesday, March 23, 2016

F This Movie! - Face/Off

Patrick and Doug switch faces.


Download this episode here. (106.4 MB)

Subscribe to F This Movie! in iTunes.

Listen to F This Movie! on Stitcher.

Also discussed this episode: A Bug's Life (1998), Groundhog Day (1993), Blow-up (1966), Digging for Fire (2015), Man Up (2015), I Love You Beth Cooper (2009), Pee-Wee's Big Holiday (2016)

15 comments:

  1. Only got to listen to the first half so far. Thanks for the Digging for Fire rec. I usually share a lot of your movie opinions, and you had me at "it's short." And lately I've been thinking about getting older myself. There's a This American Life podcast coming out this week on the subject by the way- should be good. I understand and believe things now that I didn't even want to come to understand as a kid, because I thought I knew...at least way more than I did.

    I think I'd be a prudish parent, too. I grew up on library movies (though not Blow Up- WAS that a good movie?) and watching Raffi. Wall-E was AMAZING and I cried my eyes out but never wanted to rewatch it because the THOUGHT of a robot floating around with no dialogue just does not sound appealing- even though when I experienced it I knew it was great. I havent revisited Cast Away for the same reason. So...I'm with your daughter.

    Groundhog Day, as I've mentioned before, is my fav movie of all time. I watch it regularly, hoping its message rubs off on me and I become a better person. And I have plans to never get married, but I always think if I met Phil Connors I would make an exception. I would lock that down.

    It was an annoying feat to imagine Lake Bell as unable to get dates in Man Up. I was forced to think she must have a terrible personality. So...? Why, Simon Pegg?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't really defend why I enjoyed Man Up in the cinema other than where it takes place. It is set in Southbank, which is one of my favourite places on Earth. I might be biased due to my being a Londoner, but every person I've met loves Southbank too. This is the only reason I was able to enjoy it. I probably was quite wrong haha. It didn't even really display how amazing that place is. Last chance Harvey does that better and is all round a delightful film, I feel.

      Delete
  2. Face/Off works similarly to another movie I love: Rocky IV. Everything about it is so wrong in EXACTLY the right way that it adds up to an amazing time. The more obvious Face/Off comparison is Con Air because they came out one right after the other and star Nic Cage. I'd argue that while Con Air was more successful and (probably?) held in higher regard today, Face/Off works while Con Air doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may be alone here, but I really really don't like Face Off. I like clips, like the silly parts where John Travolta gets an OR haircut. But I can't imagine watching it all in one sitting. This whole era (era) of action movies: this, Con Air, The Rock, Armageddon, Independence Day, Bad Boys; were just awful for me. The whole quick-cutting, brightly lit, music video directed style action movie is just unbearable.

      In short, I just don't get it guys.

      Delete
  3. great show, gang but WHOA WHOA WHOA patrick.

    if you can't appreciate the theatricality of travolta's take on bob shapiro then i don't know what to tell you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That performance is revolutionary. Like Brando in Streetcar. #Krypten

      Delete
    2. I'm a Travolta apologist. I think he's fine in the OJ show. Hell I even liked him in Michael.

      Delete
  4. More often than not, the subjects of your podcasts move to the top of my watchlist. Last weekend I rented Superman ('78) and, while I enjoyed (moreso the first half of) it, it left me marvelling at how certain films are just meant to be iconic capsules of their original time. I was a little sad that I was seeing it so out of context. This is my fear for Face/Off, as I have not seen it. More than not seen it. I've had a F/O shield up my whole life. Honestly I'm amazed at how little I knew about the film before listening to this. Like I didn't even realize it literally means "the face comes off." Growing up, the iconic poster gave me the feeling that this was a super solid and classic action film starring two legends, period. I'm a little disturbed to hear about how bonkers this movie is and I'm going to need a lot of time before I dip a toe in.

    On that note, the real reason I'm writing is to share this little anecdote: I remember during a middle school trip to King's Island, we waited hours to ride the Face/Off themed rollercoaster. The name wasn't just similar. There was a building-sized poster of Cage/Travolta and it was totally movie-themed. I didn't understand the beauty of this at the time. But now, thinking of all the gangly schoolchildren being hurdled through the air in the "theme" of Nic Cage grabbing ass and screaming in mirrors and characters having weird imposter sex brings a smile to my face. How fucking weird.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great podcast Patrick and Doug, ah I remember the search for boobs and the previous channel scare of getting caught, those were the days. As for Face/Off its the most "junk foody" of John Woo's American output (and honestly I don't think Paycheck is THAT bad, its bad just not THAT bad.) Clearly this is the movie John Woo cashed in the chips he earned from his straightforward work on Broken Arrow (Its fine) and made a crazy sci fi flick. As to the face thing I love what the guys at How Did this Get Made podcast where they coined the term "Face Waterfall" for the hand thing and I've done that on my wife a few times. She doesn't like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't we all still "searching for boobs"? It's an ongoing exploration, my friend. And I'm face waterfalling myself as we speak. The guy who killed my dad won't do it to me:(

      Delete
  6. All the best fthismovie podcasts compel me to immediately watch (or rewatch) the movie in question and this show is squarely in that group.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So after listening what the alternate ending was suppose to be I don't think they ever swithced faces back and caster Troy is still alive. If you think about it like inception than the face wipe is travota's totem. He never did that when he got home. Wow mind is blown.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great show. You guys highlighted every thing that's so good and so wrong with this movie. In know way did you guys shit on this movie. You guys definitely did the movie justice. Making fun of the classic lines like high pitched Travolta's wee what a predicament and that random kissing cousins scene after the shoot out. I would love to hear you guys do Conair. I imagine a Conair podcast would be just as fun.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just watched Face/Off last night and it was glorious. Like you guys talked about here, it's just singularly crazy. The hair cut during the operation is the best. And I just think Travolta and Cage are the perfect pair here, I don't even have as many problems with Travolta's performance as you guys. I think the scene that best demonstrates what Patrick was saying about Cage's calculated acting is when he first wakes up as Travolta (that sounds so confusing) and he attacks the doctors and breaks a mirror and so on. That in particular felt like very affected craziness.

    Also, what is the 'fecking [insert 'thing' here] man' that Patrick always says with that accent? It makes me laugh every time but I have totally missed wherever it came from, or it's never been explained. Is it even a reference? Maybe it's just a funny. I'm okay with that ahaha

    ReplyDelete
  10. I watched this movie before the poscast abd found it crazy pants and really enjoyed the show.
    I have a strange theory. After Michael gets shot, Travolta has a nervous breakdown. Everything with the face switching, weird dove church and crazy island prizon is part of an intense psychosis. PTSD psychosis a real thing you guys.

    ReplyDelete