Don Verdean & The Ridiculous 6 - Two "Comedic" Atrocities

[the December King]

...

Is Hotel Transylvania considered a Sandler vehicle?

If so, it might be the only Sandler movie I loved (The style of animation and the overall aesthetic was pleasing to me).

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

...

Is Hotel Transylvania considered a Sandler vehicle?

If so, it might be the only Sandler movie I loved (The style of animation and the overall aesthetic was pleasing to me).

You might chalk that as being successful despite Sandler rather than because of him.

 

[Loonyyy]

Sorry I thought Nacho Libre was awesome and while its "cool" to hate Napoleon Dynamite in reality it was just fine.

If you're going to argue about some supposed mindless hate (Bearing in mind that one of these films is an Adam Sandler flick, and that like most critics, Marter is going to review new releases to keep readers informed about what's in their cinemas, and as it happens, a bunch of what's come out this year has in fact been crap), then would you mind not handwave dismissing things with even less consideration?

I don't hate Napolean Dynamite because it's "cool" to do so. In fact, it's a cult classic. It's uncool not to like it. And I know a lot of people who were fans of it, and so I went hey, I'll probably like this. I tried, and I found it just utterly insufferable. I wanted to like it, but everything fell flat, it all seemed like the joke was exactly how unfunny and awkward it was, and that grated. And then on top of that, the complete lack of charisma from the cast and the lack of life in the script, it doesn't do anything interesting with it. I wanted to like it, and in the end, I couldn't sit through it on any of the three occassions I've tried.

Plus, if you really do like it, you could do what this fine fellow did here and explain it.

Spoiler

Okay.

I've seen Napoleon Dynamite numerous times (most recently last year), and there is a kind of sincerity and confidence to the film that is not often seen. The characters and situations are atypical to the extreme, and the film rolls with it all without the hyperbole and "wink-wink" attitude and tone you find in most comedies. The film doesn't really have any jokes and hardly any straight "comedy scenes". Instead, the humor of ND and the Hesses in general are of a similar vain to Wes Anderson, where the humor comes from the deadpan mannerisms of the characters and the way the scene is framed and how characters and objects move within it.
Also, in my opinion, the film's representation of awkward high-school adolescents are among the most believable incarnations from recent memory. On top of that, the film is very well shot, the Idaho setting is used wonderfully, the (often deadpan) performances were great, the musical score is charming, and the opening titles are immensely fun and clever. In the end though, ND is predominantly a character driven film, and if some people can't empathize or find interest in these characters, then I can understand why they in turn wouldn't enjoy the film very much.

I'm among those few people who love Nacho Libre. Yeah some of the humor falls flat, the farting was unnecessary, some of the fight scenes aren't well choreographed, and there are numerous continuity errors, yet I'm able to overlook all of that and call it a great film. At first though, I didn't like the film at all, then after a second viewing, the film began to gel on me. Libre may be a more conventional film than Dynamite, but it was still endearingly bizarre in its own way. Like Dynamite, Libre kind of does its own thing. The story is a simple underdog story told in a very offbeat way, involving gypsies, lucky machetes, mystic eagle powers, and stretchy pants. The world of the film is grimy and gritty and at the same fantastic and whimsical, filled with settings, architecture, and characters all of equal color and personality. Also similar to Dynamite, Libre has really good cinematography, a fun sound track and original score (from Danny Elfman no less), terrific use of the natural setting and buildings, and great performances.

I did not like Gentlemen Broncos though. It just didn't work for mep

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Sorry I thought Nacho Libre was awesome and while its "cool" to hate Napoleon Dynamite in reality it was just fine. Look I realize I'm probably getting another suspension for this, but I'm being honest here man, I'm not attacking you, its just that, if you're going to crap on 90% of movies that come out can you maybe review some lesser known stuff you actually like? As a consistent reader it just seems like you don't like anything. Its getting to the point that I'm skipping a lot of your reviews.

I agree with you. It seems like CineMarter really dislikes most movies. Even movies he seems to like he only gives middling reviews. Perhaps he should review more films that he actually does like, but it seems like he just really dislikes most modern movies.

As for these films, I never heard of Don Verdean, so I can't really say if it's good or not (Kind of a mean move to criticize people who like different movies, though). As for The Rediculous 6, when one of the jokes is how they all come from the same mother, you can tell that it's not going to be a good movie...

 

[lacktheknack]

Mark Twain

There are some things in life that keep me up at night. I have a new one.

 

[Callate]

Oh. So that's what that thing that keeps making noise when I open Netflix is.

(Seriously: when you open Netflix, at least on the Wii-U, in a few seconds an obnoxiously loud ad for The Ridiculous 6 starts playing unless you leap forward to stop it. It's a rare movie that manages to be so annoying without a viewer actually deigning to see it...)

A contract for four movies. With Adam Sandler. *sigh* Oh, Netflix. And you were doing so well.

snip

The Real Sandman did a very good job explaining what works in Napoleon Dynamite, saving me the effort. I wasn't expecting to like it, and was surprised when I did.

Conversely, I don't feel any huge need to defend Nacho Libre; I appreciate that the attempt was sincere, but perhaps the combination of Jack Black and "sincerity" in a comedy just doesn't work for me, somehow. I didn't hate it, I just kind of finished it thinking, "Well, that certainly was a movie. That someone made."

 

[Kross]

*gives Ridiculous 6 four stars on Netflix because it actually made me laugh multiple times*

It's not a "good" movie as far as overall execution/"Acting", but it made me and several other people who rarely audibly laugh at things actually laugh. Like you said, it's a series of skits, and has its moments from that perspective.

The Donkey's dumb, but Vanilla Ice as Mark Twain's great.

 

[Lightknight]

The stars on Netflix videos are what people who review movies and shows similarly to you have ranked that particular item on average. So if you were to log into an account that gives all of Adam Sandler's films zero stars then you either wouldn't see the film recommended at all or it should also be very low depending on what other films might be considered similar to this one (for example, if you rated Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 very highly, then this film will be boosted by that and you deserve whatever happens to you... joke).

A quick glance on Netflix shows me that The Ridiculous 6 currently has four our of five stars overall.

Not sure what kind of pull Netfilx ratings have, if any but still....goddammit.

The films are usually worth a few laughs here and there.

Movie snobs aren't going to like it so they'll almost always get low reviewers scores as compared to higher user reviews and market turnout.

The fact of the matter is that these films are enjoyed by the general public and as such Netflix made a smart move. Very cheap movies with a shockingly high rate of return. Unless Netflix is padding the numbers or giving it a higher preference in the trending category, then it appears to be doing splendidly on Netflix. So no, I don't think Netflix will be considering this a mistake depending on what their goal here was.

 

[blackrave]

I feel sorry for Adam Sandler.
Am I a horrible human being?
Because I feel I should be considered such.