Wednesday, April 20, 2016

F This Movie! - Spider-Man 3

Patrick and Adam Riske do whatever a spider can. And a Sandman. And a Venom. And a Green Goblin. And a Mr. Freeze. Probably a Ninja Turtle, too.



Download this episode here. (114.2 MB)

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Also discussed this episode: The Jungle Book (2016), Holidays (2016), The Crimson Ghost (1946), Blow Out (1981) Hello My Name is Doris (2016), Lumberjack Man (2015), The Cannonball Run (1981), Sharky's Machine (1981), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

60 comments:

  1. Speaking of Blow Out, I just caught wind of a Doc coming out in June (?) called "DePalma" where Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow basically interview him for a few days. Looking forward to it.

    Lumberjack Man was great! I thought it was ridiculous. You said it perfectly - killer pancake guy - the dude kills people with massive pancakes, what's not to like?! I just went with it and loved it.

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  2. Maybe it's because I never read the comics, but I couldn't stand this movie. I walked out right after the butler scene I think (that was perhaps a little rash tho, I was mad for not walking out on the Reaping a few weeks before).

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  3. Do you think the horribleness of the newscast scene is what made that actress kill herself shortly after the movie's release?

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    2. Yikes. I don't think the punishment matches the crime here...

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    3. I was answering a stupid question with an even more stupid answer thus showing it's dumbness. My apologies.

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    4. I asked that "stupid question" because when I heard about her suicide in 2009 that's where my thoughts drifted. This unknown actress finally gets her big break appearing in a pivotal scene of a huge movie that will be seen by millions and then all I remember was everyone mocking her and talking about how horrible she was. As a result, she really never landed another major role then killed herself. I was wondering if anyone else suspected the same thing and if its ok to still make fun of that scene and talk about how horrible it is. Sorry if my "dumbness" offended you.

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    5. If I'm being honest, that part of the podcast made me slightly uncomfortable. I don't think it was intentional, so I thought I'd address the issue with a little levity and no assumptions or finger-pointing.

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    6. I was not aware that a) the scene had been mocked when the movie came out or that b) the actress killed herself. There's no way Adam or myself would have knowingly made fun of that.

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    7. That's what I was hoping was the case. Like, I said, I didn't think was intentional. You guys are never THAT cynical.

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    8. I'm sorry too if I offended anyone by my complaints about the scene on the podcast. It's a bad scene but it's all due to the screenwriting and the fact that it's an exposition dump and has nothing to do with the performance(s) of the newscasters.

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    9. You offended me by walking out of so many movies, Riske! Who do you think you are, Rex Reed?! :)

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    10. That's why all movies should be on VOD - so I can start and stop them whenever I want.

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    11. The only time Riske and I fight is when he walks out of movies. <3

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  4. Great podcast, Spider-dudes!

    Re: your Raiders of the Lost Ark discussion. Hollywood keeps attempting original-screenplay blockbusters, but they’ve gone nowhere. Pacific Rim was merely OK, Jupiter Ascending was a real clunker, and don’t get me started on After Earth. If James Cameron were here, he’d tell you that Avatar is just as big as Raiders in the public consciousness, but… I dunno.

    We all know the superhero bubble will burst eventually. Perhaps once it does, the next generation of filmmakers will return to new stories and original properties. Here’s hoping.

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  5. I haven't finished the podcast yet, but wanted to toss in a comment about the gap between Spider Man 2 and 3. I almost got angry with Spider Man 2, because it seemed to me the whole point was Peter learning to give up Mary Jane because he could not have a relationship with her AND be Spider-Man. So giving her up was the sacrifice that made him a genuine hero. So Mary Jane ditching her perfectly nice fiancé at the alter to go be with him struck me almost as a betrayal. However, the movie saves everything with the last shot, which acknowledges it's not going to be smooth sailing for these two. My biggest complaint about Spider-Man 3 is it does not follow through with this. Nearly every obstacle faced by Peter and Mary Jane is imposed by a creaky screenplay, rather than growing organically from their characters.

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  6. I can't remember if F This Movie was involved in any way with my purchase of the Blow Out Criterion a few months back, but man, I love that movie. I bought Saturday Night Fever shortly thereafter (that was definitely because of Riske) and loved it as well - Travolta's great - however far he's fallen, we'll always have gems like these to go back to to see that.

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    1. I nearly cried tears of joy when Criterion released Blow Out on Blu Ray (their Dressed to Kill release is also pretty awesome). It's one of the best movies ever made. I do think it's Travolta's best performance, although he's great in Saturday Night Fever as well.

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    2. It is one of Patrick's favorites! :)

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  7. Kirsten Dunst was a great Mary Jane.

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  8. After Oz the Great and Powerful, I went back to watch Raimi's older movies. I couldn't get through them. I never really liked the Spiderman movies and now I REALLY don't like them. I don't get it. What is the appeal of Toby Maguire? He looks like he wanders on set and they tell him to go stand over there. He reads his lines then heads off to stare into a corner. I liked Drag Me to Hell the first time I watched it. This time, it did nothing. What happened to me?

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    1. Tobey Maguire is always going to be Spiderman to me. He was the best Peter Parker.

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  9. This movie is convoluted, but this podcast is well executed.

    Adam, is that an observation of Jahns or FlickPick? I feel like it could go either way.

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    1. I didn't want to call anyone out by name. You're on the right track though.

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  10. Spider-man is the character that got me into collecting comics as a kid. I fall mostly in line with how Patrick and Adam feel about the 5 Spider-man movies thus far, although I actually find the first movie a bit of a slog to get though as well. Not to say that it's a bad movie or that I don't love it, but I've always felt that it loses a bit of steam since the second half of the movie has at least three fights I think between Spider-man and Green Goblin. Also the speech Peter gives MJ ("The Great Thing about MJ...") is hard for me to get through without skipping it. They take what could be a sweet moment and drag it out just a little too long.

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  11. Okay, I just finished the podcast (which is awesome). I love the point about Raimi making movies about the 60s Spider-Man. That really works for movies, because comics in the 60s told much more self-contained stories. As Patrick says, Venom is 90s Spider-Man (for the record, I think the original Venom was very well done). By that time, comics had gotten much more into long-form serialized storytelling. The whole symbiote story arc was developed slowly over the course of years. Peter got the black suit during a crossover event called “Secret Wars.” It was only gradually that he realized the suit was in fact a living organism that was potentially dangerous. He then found a way to “separate” from the suit, which eventually found its way to Eddie Brock. So Raimi had to find a way to compress all that into an already overstuffed movie, which leads to ridiculous things like the meteor conveniently landing close to where Peter and Mary Jane are on a date.

    Oh, and I know it’s a bit late, Adam, but: Mazel tov!

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  12. Risks Rules
    So much fun this episode should carry a health warning

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    1. Riske Rules, god damn typos,

      I should of said "This podcast was Well Executed and not Convoluted"

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  13. RE: Heavy Water: it does sound silly, but its a real thing that's used in a certain type of nuclear reactor. The H in the H20 has many more neutrons than in regular water, so it has more mass, and is therefore, heavier than regular water. Hence the term, heavy water.

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  14. I remember being baffled when The Amazing Spider-Man came out and the biggest movie person in my life told me he really liked it, and thought it was better than "those cheesy Raimi ones." I think it's unfortunate that Spider-Man 3 tainted this trilogy, but I love Spider-Man 2 so much that it's still in my top 5 favorite superhero movies.

    I've never been able to revisit this movie, so I'm glad that this podcast exists and can help me pinpoint its problems. I also hadn't read the 60's comics when the movies came out, so I found that observation (fact?) that they came out of Raimi's love of the comics of that era (era) interesting.

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  15. Great show guys - agree all around - I'm not a Spider-Man 3 hater - for me it was definitely more a DISAPPOINTING movie than a BAD one.

    Help me out Spider-Man geeks - what's a really good Spider-Man book to pick up? I tried to get "Spider-Man Blue" on Mike or Adam's recommendation awhile back but have had trouble getting it at a reasonable price - any other good ones?

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  16. "Anyone who complains about that needs to never stop fucking off." HAHAHA.

    GREAT podcast--I've been looking forward to a discussion of the Raimi Spider-Man movies, especially since I know this site is a fan of Spider-Man 2. The only thing was that I was a bit sad to hear you guys won't be talking about Spider-Man 2, since it's one of my favorites and a great film--admittedly not without its flaws--and you guys always have such great discussions.

    Also, Patrick (at least, I think it was Patrick--totally, totally sorry if I'm wrong) you make a great point about the difference between reaction and actual criticism; definitely something I'll try to remember in the future.

    I was just wondering what your thoughts on 2006's Superman Returns are, though? I ask because I think it's in a somewhat similar vein to Spider-Man 2. It might just be nostalgia, since I saw it when I was a child, but I've always loved it, although I know it's definitely a fan un-favorite.

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    1. Thanks! I need to revisit Superman Returns at some point. I didn't love it when I saw it, but maybe the years have been good to it. There's probably a show there...

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    2. Oh, wow, thanks for the reply! It would actually be great to hear a critical discussion of the film so I could better appreciate some of the complaints. I remember one of the better negative reviews on iMDb referring to it as "an arthouse film"...

      Also, I forgot to mention it, but great comment by Adam about Spider-Man 2 and depression. Never thought about it that way, but it's a good perspective. Alright, now I want to re-watch Spider-Man 2.

      Okay, I'll stop blowing up your comment section.

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    3. We love it! That's what it's for, so your comments are always welcome.

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    4. Superman Returns is rough...if you loved it as a kid just leave it as a great memory.

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    5. You saw Superman Returns as a child? Well now I feel old.

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    6. @Mikko Don't worry, me too; it's scary how short a period of time a decade really is.

      @Brent I mean, I have seen it since then. Another re-watch! I never noticed that he never throws a punch, though.

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    7. I don't think the years have necessarily been good to Superman Returns (I watched it last shortly before Man of Steel came out and found it pretty rough) but in light of the horrible characterization of Superman lately, it might be looking a lot better by comparison! Never bought Routh in the role but at least his Superman isn't a dick.

      I think it could make a pretty good podcast...

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    8. I want to love Superman Returns but it won't let me.

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    9. Michael GiammarinoApril 24, 2016 at 1:48 AM

      Superman Returns isn't the worst. I like it for what it is, warts and all. As a sequel to Superman II, it needles me. At the end of Superman II, Superman puts the dislodged flag back on the roof of the White House and tells the President, "Sorry I've been away so long; I'll never let you down again," and then weeks later, leaves for Krypton's solar system to investigate the ruins, and doesn't come back to Earth for five years. Superman is a dick to U.S. presidents.

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    10. Yes! Thank you for pointing that out. You can make a movie about Superman trying to find his way in a world that has moved on without him, but you CANNOT make that absence his choice. Open the film with a kick-ass fight scene where Supes battles some alien monster. He wins, but gets sucked into a wormhole that spits him out the other side of the Galaxy. Then credits, depicting his long journey back to Earth. You get all the benefits of that kind of story without turning him into a selfish jackass.

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  17. So what's this Enemy video Patrick mentioned? I'm intrigued.

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  18. Just curious, but when you were talking about another film that reminded you of a villain being "ret-conned" into a hero's origin story were you thinking of the Joker in Burton's Batman?

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    1. I believe he said a movie from recent years.

      A certain movie from last year which Patrick lambasted on a podcast about six months ago came to mind.

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