Wednesday, August 11, 2021

FTM 594: THE SUICIDE SQUAD

The Patrick and The Adam Riske talk about James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.



Download this episode here. (44.8 MB)

Listen to F This Movie! on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 (1974), Slackers (2002), Halloween (2018), Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), The Green Knight (2021), Signs (2002)

18 comments:

  1. 100…110% with you Adam on Halloween 2018. Bratty is the correct word for sure.

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  2. I don't have any issues with sidequels because I don't see them much different than remakes or when movies like Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives actively ignore previously established canon to make their movie.

    But I totally agree that Halloween 2018 is a major disappointment and feels more like going through the beats of what is expected in a horror movie rather than being a full-on and interesting horror movie. Also the Laurie Strode character makes little sense and I was only with her because Jamie Lee Curtis is awesome. Also the whole doctor twist drove me nuts and no one has been able to explain to me why it is in there.

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    3. Halloween Rambling:

      I too was underwhelmed by Halloween 2018. I kinda liked the cold open with the podcasters and Michael M in the psych ward but after that the movie grew boring and leaned too hard into, as referenced on the podcast, T2 Sara Connor territory for Strode.

      Honestly i think the crux of the issue is that the original Halloween is a perfect movie..one of my top 10 horror for sure. Yes yes there were slashers before it but it really did open the doors wide and create an entire genre of horror movie. That being said, the character of Michael Meyers has zero depth that would warrant any further movies than the original. Oh sure ive watched em all and enjoyed em for mindless slashers but thats the most you could expect. It comes down to the fact that Michael is a landshark...hear me out....

      Im thinking i heard the comparison first on Gourley/Rust podcasts but Michael is Jaws. He's a silent, slow moving, dead eyed ("got those doll eyes") creature that does one thing and one thing only: hunt and kill. His entire character was defined by the time he was like 7 (with maybe some abuse/psychological torture growing up in a psyc ward all those years). Thats it. So we know he's a shark and we know there's really no room for even a mediocre ret-conned original story. There's no where else to go. Nothing else to develop. The only thing you can get creative with is how you beat and kill him..which the franchise established from the beginning, it will never do. So..staying with the Jaws analogy..you cant really go anywhere...you can get a decent initial sequel which looses the great tension and slow character reveals of the perfect original but ups the carnage (re: Halloween 2 and Jaws 2. Arguably both pretty solid sequels). After the sequel, things are going to go downhill super quick*. You can try and reimagine or reboot however you are doing it to movies that were PERFECT and already nailed reveals/tone/pacing/introduction so you're bound to fail or come up with something really substandard (zombie Halloween, Halloween 2018, Meg, Sharknado, etc etc).

      I dont mean to come across TOO negative on the concept of franchises and lots of sequels. I also know my critiques would apply to most long running franchises. I love the fact that we have a gaggle of Michael, Jason, Freddie, Jigsaw, Jaws (well....not pt4..even I cant give that a pass), Final Destination, etc films. BUT..bringing it back to Halloween 2018..i think its more or less impossible to expect that someone will crack the code in providing a truly original/scary/fun take on the character. You cant beat the best and you cant keep a one dimensional indestructible character that interesting. Its a hill to far to climb.


      *Excluding Halloween III. Im stating the obvious here but as many halloween fans know, Halloween III is frigging brilliant. It is NOT however part of Michaels story. Also i'd put it up there as one of the top 10 greatest endings ever. TURN IT OFF!! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!

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    4. (editors note: i did think of one possible exception to my critique...and one way a new Halloween movie could be incredible. What if Blumhouse fooled us all and Halloween Kills isnt the 2nd of 3 films, but actually the final movie. And what if they kill off michael as follows..)

      Laurie stands over the near dead Michael Meyers..both his legs in carbon fiber bear traps..his hands bound to high voltage power lines with reinforced razor wire..several huge wounds from repeated direct bazooka hits....he coughs and whispers almost inaudibly "its a far..far better thing i do than i have ever done". Laurie, shocked at his first ever spoken words, slowly removes his mask to reveal.....

      .....

      ...William Shatner!!!!.............

      "cough cough..its true..its me...William Shatner...you may remember me from Star Trek, SNL, and the cowboy guy who lost an entire town to spiders...cough.....the original Michael Meyers died years ago after accidentally eating a vending machine zagnut bar. It turns out you can be indestructible to ALMOST everything but a bad peanut allergy can be a real b@tch. cough cough. I..after suffering years of anger and indignation that my likeness was used in all his killings...decided to take his place. Its not like i didnt have ample amounts of extra masks. I always insist on several cases of any product bearing my image. Check out my ebay channel when you get a chance...cough cough. So i donned my own mask..both metaphorically..and physically...and took his place. You managed to stop me before i pulled off my greatest accomplishment...pretending to be a cosplayer and taking out everyone at a comic-con.....

      {shatner shakes and screams to the sky}

      comic CONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!"


      {Credits}

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    5. I thought Halloween (2018) was fine even though I never really need to watch it again. I was kinda bummed though when the sequels were announced and again when the trailer came out. It's like, this family has been through enough. Maybe move on and leave them alone. It's just exhausting thinking about them having to go through the same shit again for another movie.

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  3. GREAT podcast dudes. Im officially on board with your podcast..you both have a great, natural, respectful, educated, and overall friendly flow to your discussions!

    As for the flick, ive already posted my thoughts in the weekend thread. Very much liked but hoped to love. Found more to dig/appreciate in 2nd viewing. Overall im very much aligned with both of your general comments, likes and critiques.

    A few quick thoughts based on your podcast:

    Trailers and The Theatrical Experience: The overall current theatrical experience is a doosy of a topic and a tough one to really dissect in the current landscape of covid. Ill stay uncharacteristically brief and just say i realllllllly hope Theaters find a way to survive. I certainly understand and appreciate what streamers are doing for movies like this but its longer lasting effects on the theaters will be hard to persevere. Now, trailers on the other hand, well ive adopted a policy that is tough to adhere to but basically i try to avoid trailers for movies i know im gonna see. They just give wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much away these days. And, as Patrick pointed out, when you goto theatrical releases now, there are a TON of trailers and adds. The trailers before TSS that gave away the ENTIRE movie include but arent limited to: Sing sequel and Free Guy. (another good previous example..F9 trailers spoiled the return of a major character!? come on hollywood..trust your IP enough to hold back something?)

    Peacemaker TV: Yup, Gunn filmed the HBO peacemaker show back-to-back with the flick. The three characters featured in the post credits teaser are the only ones i know for sure that will be in the TV show (which include Gunns real life good buddy and girlfriend).

    Weasel Thoughts: Not sure on this one, but another reason for the reveal on Weasels survival, other than a silly joke, could be that he's played by Gunn's brother and he wanted to leave the door open for him to come back in some fashion?

    Final thoughts: i have been thinking about the flick alot since watching. I think its a quirky flick that, while not perfect, does have a lot of fun with itself and its rag tag band of misfits. Additionally the bizarre set of events that led to its creation are absolutely a 'the star(fishe)s aligned for this one" situation. Im glad we got it and do look forward to revisiting more in the future..which for me is a huge testimony to a good movie.

    Oh, and i call 'dibs' on playing Polka Dot Mans brother in the sequel....."Yes, Im Polka Dot Man's brother...call me...TWISTER MAN!" {spins dial that is growing out of my chest} "Right hand to YOUR FACE!" {huge fight ensues!!}

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    1. The trailers thing I think is at least a little offset by most theaters going with reserved seating these days. If you aren't into the trailers you can comfortably get to the theater like 15, maybe 20 minutes past the advertised start time and still be ok, assuming I guess that you buy your tickets in advance and not at the box office.

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    2. Great point Ross...and one ive adopted now and again. You can literally leave your house at showtime and still be seated before the flick starts.

      I really do like the idea of trailers before a film, its part of the experience and part of generating excitement or awareness of upcoming flicks. I just wish they'd hold back a LOT more on the reveals, plot details, and certainly 3rd act moments....its a tricky balancing act between Marketing and Editing. And honestly the need for b@tts in seats far outweighs the critiques of a movie loving built-in fan like myself so i imagine this style of trailer will be around for some time.

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  4. The White Sox are making my Twins look like a bunch of doofuses. What d'you think of their chances? I'm rooting for them. Division loyalty and what not. Maybe they can pull Mark Buehrle out or retirement? He probably throws just as fast.

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    1. I'm pretty confident in the Sox chances as long as they stay healthy going into the playoffs. They've been unbelievably resilient this year. I'm proud of my guys.

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    2. Keeping Abreu was key, I think, even though he's entering his latter day Pujols years. A real 'Warhorse'!...to bring it back to film. Also, never saw 'Warhorse'.

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    3. Enjoy Kimbrel....i assure you he hasnt been brainwashed in a Manchurian Candidate fashion to pitch poorly when triggered.

      Also i assure you that i ALWAYS wear my Queen of Diamonds costume when going to Sox home games.

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    4. Yo Adam....best of luck to your team tonite!!! As someone who grew up rooting for both cubs and sox (yea, i know, im not allowed to do that), Im pulling for them.

      As for tonites game....I heard that Ty Cobb wanted to attend..but shoeless joe hated him when he was alive so he told him to stick it. heh heh heh.

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  5. A discussion of the filmography of Mark A.Z. Dippe, and no mention of the pure cinematic brilliance that is 2004's Pixel Perfect? For shame.

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  6. Just let Polka Dot man be a superhero

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  7. Finally had the chance to check out Horror Noire, and every time Kelly Jo Minter was on screen, all I could hear was Adam's impression of her; now Stephen Lang's about the get the same treatment.

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