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Pulling A Siegel
Hello Filmspotter,
From Chicago, this is The Dope Sheet. I'm Adam Kempenaar...
Doug Robbins from Philadelphia, PA sent in a note about the
recent clash between filmmaker Kevin Smith and critic Joel Siegel.
Apparently, Siegel walked out of a "Clerks II" screening following a
scene where some characters were describing bestiality.
Read Smith's account here.
Smith asks: "Can you believe [Siegel] somehow not only made us laugh,
but also think, when he challenged our perception with 'X-Men' Fails
to X-cite'?" Good stuff.
The Smith-Siegel battle prompted this from Doug: "Anyway, made me
wonder if there has ever been a movie you guys have walked/stormed
out of in the theatre. I image this is a rare occurrence and probably
does not warrant a top 5 list."
You're probably right, Doug... I'm not sure I could get a top 5
out of it, but it's a fun topic to get into so I thought I'd do that
here. I worked at a movie theatre in high school, which means I saw
movies for free, and yet I couldn't force myself to sit through all
of Penny Marshall's 'uplifting' "Renaissance Man." Poor Danny Devito.
Poor Mark Wahlberg. Poor James Remar... I mean, this guy was Ganz in
"48 Hours" for crying out loud.
I don't remember the exact moment, but I know it was about
halfway through and must have been scene #448 that featured one of
the characters discussing their troubled childhood or overcoming some
kind of personal trauma. Let's revisit this gem from poor Kadeem
Hardison. Yes, you heard me right... poor Kadeem Hardison as Pvt.
Jamaal Mongomerey: "In my crib, there ain't never been a time where
we eat, sleep, or nothin'. Y'know, everybody just run around crazy.
Half the time, I don't even know who were are. I must be the only
person in the world who joined the army so he'd know what time he'd
eat." Heavy stuff.
Also in high school... I walked out of "Weekend at Bernie's 2."
Hey, I lived in a pretty small town. There was nothing better to do,
and the first one was actually kind of funny. (What can I say, I
always liked Andrew McCarthy going back to "St. Elmo's Fire" ... Did
I just write that? For people to read?) Of course, part deux was just
so bad it was bad, enough so that I left about 30 minutes in.
Filmspotting Era Movies I Wish I Had Walked Out Of: The
Interpreter, The Brothers Grimm, Four Brothers, American Dreamz,
Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
What movie(s) prompted you to pull a Siegel?
Email feedback@filmspotting.net
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Overlooked DVD Pick: Teorema
 I mentioned during this week's show that any number of Pier Paolo
Pasolini films could have been considered for a Top 5 Mindbenders
list. Why should you check out 1968's "Teorema"?
1. It stars the brilliant Terrence Stamp ("The Limey"), who I
think is the only non-Italian in the cast.
2. Stamp's unnamed visitor -- Christ? The Devil? -- ends up
seducing -- or is seduced by -- an entire bourgeoisie household,
including the maid, son, daughter, father and mother. His arrival and
departure sparks a bizarre existential crisis in each character.
3. It was banned by the Catholic Church upon its release.
Why it's confusing: Well, in addition to everything listed above,
there are only something like 900 words in the entire movie. You have
to fill in a lot of the blanks for yourself.
"Teorema" was finally released on DVD last October, but is not
currently available on Peerflix.
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Trailer Trash or Treasure: Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa -
Watch it here
Release: Dec. 22, 2006
That's right, folks, the much-anticipated (by Sly's accountants)
Rocky VI is finally here. Of course, it should really be Rocky V
since that movie technically never happened. Mark in Atlanta left us
a voicemail this week suggesting that the movie could be the biggest
travesty ever or the biggest guilty pleasure of all-time. He might be
right, but I have to say, this trailer really caught me off guard. I
was expecting a non-stop barrage of unintentional comedy. Sure, a few
of those moments are there -- such as when Sly suggests he doesn't
want to "get mangled or embarrassed" in that classic brain-dead way
-- and the training sequences are just a hodge-podge of the previous
four movies. But tell me, what else is really funny? Beyond the
premise, of course.
Listen, there's little chance this movie will work: Stallone
wrote and directed it, and while I credit him for writing the
original "Rocky," he also wrote "Rhinestone" and "Driven." Who can
forget the brilliance of lines such as: "Faith is like a good disease
- it's contagious." Plus, he directed "Staying Alive."
It is worth adding though that the producers made a good choice
in getting Antonio Tarver to play Rocky's opponent. I don't know much
about boxing since, well, the sport really is no longer relevant. But
if Tarver was a heavyweight instead of a light heavyweight, it just
might be worth paying attention to. He's a good fighter with a ton of
natural charisma; he has a certain "star" quality.
Grade: Trash. The movie actually looks like it was
competently made, and I refuse to accept this.
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Email of the Week
From Justin Shaffer, Seattle, WA:
"Hi Adam and Sam,
Just wanted to let you know that I had the privelege of finally
seeing Gymkata tonite. I picked it up at a small video store in
Seattle, but in order to rent it, I had to pay a ONE HUNDRED AND
FIFTY DOLLAR deposit!!!! They said that the tape is very rare and
they don't want anyone to mess with it. And I can see why after
watching this fantastic movie. I mean it is sooooooo bad, its
amazingly good, not only does it have a Chuck Norris look-alike,
awesome medieval ninjas, lots of bows and arrows and spears, and
mullets, but I agree, it does have one of the most intense close-ups
of a man's crotch in cinema history. The dude is wearing some severe
nut-huggers though; you can practically see his balls. And about your
top five scores from last week, you definitely should have included
Gymkata in your list! The music was amazing! I got so pumped up
everytime Kurt Thomas was kicking some serious terrorist ass while
spinning around on a pommel horse. Thank you guys so much for letting
me know about this movie...you have truly made a boy's wish come
true."
That's what we're here for, Justin. And just think, pretty soon
you'll be able to buy "Gymkata" on DVD without having to pony up
$150(!!) to see it.
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