I'm watching the SNME where Savage turns on Hogan and FUCK was that a great angle so fun to relive.
Has anyone noted how much face Hercules resembled Eugene? All he needs is the jacket.
So just to totally no-sell this question and talk about what I want instead, I thought Hercules was pretty great for a mindless summer popcorn movie. It was a little draggy in the middle with the sword-and-sandal troop-training stuff, but by the time he was punching wolves IN THE FACE and being awesome it really picked up and nailed the landing. But then I'm of course slightly biased towards the Rock. I'd call it a worthwhile evening at the cinema.
Unfortunately it looks like Hercules will finish behind Lucy at the box office this weekend. And at around $20 million that will almost certainly be disappointing for an opening weekend.
ReplyDeleteI hope that no animals were actually harmed during the filming of that movie.
ReplyDeleteBah. The only reason to see this movie ain't Dwayne. It's Ian McShane, who demonstrated more acting chops in this film's trailer than Rock had in his whole acting career.
ReplyDeleteBtw, speaking of Rock, anyone watch the reality game show thing he hosted?
ReplyDeleteHe punched wolves IN THE FACE!!!
ReplyDeleteNo one ever accused the movie-going audience of using 100% of THEIR brains.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they're well paid for their services, but it must be slightly humiliating for both McShane and John Hurt to play second fiddle to the Rock in what looks to be another bloated waste of two hours.
ReplyDeleteStart working at home with Google! It's by-far the<- best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
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They've long been character actors, I'm sure this stuff is routine by now.
ReplyDeleteThe Rock: http://www.qiibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hercules-clip-the-rock-dl.jpg
ReplyDeleteLuna Lovegood: http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3twtj9S7y1qkbjzoo1_500.jpg
Eat a pallet of dicks
ReplyDeleteI don't know what they were projecting with this movie but I would have suspected 20 million opening weekend seems like a bust. I have not seen too many vehicles the rock has made succesful on his own. He seems to do better in freshening up other franchises than making money in his own.
ReplyDeleteI guess you shouldn't have sucked at being a man your entire life!
ReplyDelete98 minutes. At least it looks like solid popcorn fare instead of self important nonsense.
ReplyDeleteLucy looks like Under The Skin edited for the mentally retarded.
ReplyDeleteYou've obviously never seen eg Hot Rod or V For a Vendetta then. I love both films, but this is nothing new for either guy to play that kind of rule.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's definitely looks like he's an actor audiences wants to see added to the mix rather than someone completely front and center.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, a solid B+ player.
It's already handicapped by the fact UTS has naked full-frontal Scarlett and Lucy does not.
ReplyDeleteStill, Luc Besson + asskicking female + my unholy reverence for SJ = I'll probably see it.
Be that as it may, it's hardly a worthwhile use of either mans talent.
ReplyDeleteV for Vendetta (which I have seen) was a reasonably serious, albeit a bit ham-fisted, attempt to make a relevant political thriller. With that in mind, I'd say Hurt's role was not at all the same as whatever he does in Hercules.
ReplyDeleteBeing a b+ in hollywood is worth 1000 times as much salary as being an A+ Wrestler though.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess good for Rocky
I wouldn't see the movie for the subtleties of the acting.
ReplyDeleteV For Vendetta had Hurt playing a despot, in a knowingly ironic nod to one of his best known roles, that of Winston Smith in 1984. Stunt casting, basically. In a film disowned by the writer of the original graphic novel. And promoted partly on it being OMG BY THE WACHOWSKIS WHO DONE MATRIX! Not exactly a serious heavyweight role or a serious heavyweight film.
ReplyDeleteIn Hercules, he plays a King, as a way by the filmmakers to bring some gravitas to their romp. Just a bit of filmic fluff, is Hercules, from the reviews I've read. But at least it's honest about that.
With that in mind, I'd say Hurt's role is the same in both films. Old English Guy With Gravitas. It's the same as how Morgan Freeman plays the same role in the films Se7en, Shawshank Redemption and damn near everything. They're character actors. Nothing wrong with that, but it's what they are.
How much of their past work have you actually seen?
ReplyDeleteIan McShane played the titular character in Lovejoy, for years a mainstay on British TV. He was a rogueish adventurous antiques dealer. He later had a come back with Deadwood, allowing him to make the hilarious and stupid comedy Hot Rod, in which he is clearly having a blast. He's quite happy to act in whatever, so long as it's fun for him.
Notable Ian Hurt roles of the past 10 years or so:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A serious heavyweight film. Let's put that to one side and continue on.
V For Vendetta
Hellboy 1 & 2
Doctor Who
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows 1 & 2
Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull
Remembering that Ian Hurt is the guy most famous for Alien, a role he then parodied in Spaceballs. He's quite happy to just act, to just work, to just do his job.
And let's flip that over and look at a few other John Hurt roles:
ReplyDeleteMidnight Express
The Elephant Man
1984
Scandal
Love & Death On Long Island
Owning Mahowny
The Proposition
True, he's done plenty of fluff as well, personally I prefer to watch him (and Ian McShane) in roles that actually allow them to act.
How was John Morrison's performance? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXza2zmk4GU
ReplyDeleteI meant more the quality of the film than the nature of his role, but I take your point.
ReplyDeleteWait.. is that for real?? Damned Asylum movies!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd how many of those are in the last tab years? How many of those roles have occurred recently, during his twilight years?
ReplyDeleteYou take the work you can get.
This argument is like arguing who had better work rate, Hogan or sone ROH guy. If the actor himself is happy playing any role than as a fan of his you should be happy to see him in any role. If you consider yourself only a fan of his 'serous' work, then you are insulting him by ignoring swathes of his career because YOU seem it to be beneath HIM. So is he also an idiot?
I'm sure you don't think that. But I hope my hyperbole has made my point.
I've seen all of the blockbuster examples you mentioned, they were all good enough and Hurt was fine in all of them.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm not ignoring any part of his career, nor do I begrudge him taking said roles. I simply think that, as he is one of the finest actors of the last couple of decades, those films where he demonstrates the extent of his talent are more worthwhile; both for me as a viewer and him as an actor. That isn't insulting him.
It is in that you entitle yourself to pick what are his best roles and his finest performances, not based on merit but on the 'worthiness' of the role.
ReplyDeleteIf we consider Ian McShane for example, many would instantly point to his role in Deadwood as his 'best' performance. For me, it's his performance in Hot Rod. Playing against type he delivers an atypically full-on comedic performance that allows him to do something different and in that way, stretch out his acting muscles. He co-stars with Sissy Spacek who is in a similarly atypical role And yet many others would decry this as being a small and stupid role that is beneath either of them.
I think it is well-meaning but rather patronising to say that you feel a subset of an actor's roles, in films you have picked which I note are all within a somewhat narrow band of the acting spectrum (all serious, worthy roles and films) allow him to demonstrate the extent of his talent.
Returning us to wrestling, this is why many wrestlers will variously accuse the like of Ric Flair and Bret Hart of being massively overrated as wrestlers. If you are only having the same match every night with the same five moves of doom, are you *really* as good as the guys who have to be prepared to bring anything to any role. By having someone in a role that they and/or the audience are not wholly anticipating nor even comfortable with, you challenge. In this way, you allow the players to demonstrate the extent of their talent.
By your argument, he is actually doing the opposite of this by taking on such a variety of roles, and by refreshing and flexing his acting muscles. I just cannot agree with that, and rather I feel that it is by taking such brave choices as to be in for example, Hercules, that he demonstrates his acting chops.
I haven't seen Hot Rod, but assuming McShane is as good in it as you say it's actually the same point I was making as regards Hurts performance in , say, 1984.
ReplyDeleteMcShane is giving a comic performance and the film may not be a "worthy" venture. But the key word is performance, he's stretching himself, playing an actual character who means something real in the context of the film.
So again, it is a more worthwhile role than simply being one of the "proper" actors hired to add a touch of class to a run-of-the-mill Hollywood spectacle.
Anyway, it's after midnight in my corner of the world so on that note I'll say goodnight.
You can't no sell it and then say your no selling. I
ReplyDeleteNot interested at all, but it's mostly a "me" thing. I've grown tired and bored with the movie-of-the-week summer blockbuster/action film stuff. When it comes to movies I need a little more more substance now. I think I finally cracked after the third Transformers film a few years back. After I left the theater I just sort of stopped in the isle and thought to myself, "Why do I even go to these things anymore?"
ReplyDeleteLuna Lovegood was totally my crush.
ReplyDeleteWith mustard. Lot of mustard.
ReplyDeleteEh, ill watch both. Lucy seems pretty stupid but its probably fun garbage. Kinda seems like that could have ccast Jolie and pitched it as a Wanted prequel though.
ReplyDelete...oh my god. OH MY GOD. That looks so fantastically terrible.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've been reading and hearing, Lucy's actually a pretty decent movie. Not GREAT by any means, but at least better than Hercules.
ReplyDeleteAlan Moore didn't disown V For Vendetta because he had a problem with the film, he disowned it (well before it was even finished) because he's Alan Moore, he dislikes Hollywood and is a crazy, batshit old man.
ReplyDeleteWrites a helluva comic, though, so maybe that makes his eccentricity OK.
It's not like V was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was an abhorrent abomination, bastardizing one of Moore's best works into a popcorn action flick.
Eh I'll save my money until Guardians is out.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the Hercules/DiBiase match on Main Event was a huge wasted opportunity. WWF gets an hour of prime time TV and chooses that feud to blow off? And I mean, DiBiase wins, and with the Mega-Powers break up and Savage heel turn, that kind of makes the whole show a downer.
ReplyDeleteHow about having Warrior beat Greg Valentine to retain the IC Title instead? Still be a good match, but Warrior was clearly approaching the main event status and a high profile Main Event match on Main Event could have helped that goal.
Al Swearengen is one of the best TV characters ever(along with Don Draper, Walter White, Raylan Givens, Stringer Bell, and Tony Soprano.)
ReplyDeleteReal Talk.