Escape to the Movies: Gangster Squad

[TheSchaef]

This is a silly question, but in all the trailers all the faces look a bit CGI'd to me. Is there a reason for this or am I so involved with videogames I've lost my ability to recognise the real world?

Can't tell but it might have been "enhanced" a la 300 or Sin City, but to a lesser extent than those blatant examples. A lot of times a significant amount of work goes into cinematography and lighting, and then is polished even more in post-production to create a subtle level of sur-reality, but it often goes unnoticed unless it's heavy-handed like the aforementioned. See also: Scott Pilgrim

So, a gang of badass LA cops who go off the grid and straight-up murder the bad guys in pursuit of the greater good. I liked that idea better the last time, when it was The Shield.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Well, he does have a point. Most moviegoers are sheep - sheep who would rather watch bland, completely uncreative garbage over genuinely good, inventive films. As for the "meathead" thing, he was basically only saying that people who think the brainless, idiotic action movies of old - which The Expendables is supposed to be a throwback to - are better than the much more intelligent, well-written and well-acted action films of today (y'know, like Scott Pilgrim) are meatheads. And he wasn't wrong about that, either ...

A-fucking-men. And seriously anyone who still has a chip on their shoulder about that after TWO YEARS: seek help, you need it.

Anyway, kinda sucks how this turned out to be mediocre. I'm always up for a good gangster flick. Also, January is the dead zone for games as well. Literally nothing besides Anarchy Reigns looks remotely interesting.

 

[UNHchabo]

You still don't get it Bob, you didn't get flak for hating the Expendables, you got it for pretty much insulting the audience by calling them meatheads and calling those who went to see it instead of Scott Pilgrim "sheep". And you got it once again after your review of Expendables 2 by failing to acknowlegde your mistake of insulting the audience and simply believed you got hate just for hating the 1st film

Well, he does have a point. Most moviegoers are sheep - sheep who would rather watch bland, completely uncreative garbage over genuinely good, inventive films. As for the "meathead" thing, he was basically only saying that people who think the brainless, idiotic action movies of old - which The Expendables is supposed to be a throwback to - are better than the much more intelligent, well-written and well-acted action films of today (y'know, like Scott Pilgrim) are meatheads. And he wasn't wrong about that, either ...

This is nonsense. I like intelligent, well-written, well-acted movies, but Scott Pilgrim just didn't appeal to me. I saw The Expendables and enjoyed it, and then Bob insulted me for having the gall to hold an opinion contrary to his own.

He also later talked about "At the Mountains of Madness", and personally put blame for its cancellation on anyone involved in geek culture who didn't put money into Scott Pilgrim. Even if there's a cause-and-effect there, I still don't want to put money into a movie I don't enjoy.

 

[teebeeohh]

bob, when did this turn into a trailer show? there was a lot more trailer footage without your lovely voice talking over it than usual, was the movie really that uninteresting?
also yes, if you didn't go watch Scott Pilgrim because you wanted to watch the expendables you are directly responsible that we will not be getting "at the mountain of madness". and i am pretty sure ten years from now nobody will remember the expendables but Scott Pilgrim will be one of those movies that tanked but is largely beloved by the people who have actually seen it.

 

[vxicepickxv]

So, we have 2 months of Movie Bob being able to review basically whatever the hell he wants. Might as well go with B movies, I'm sure it would be more entertaining. I want to hear Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter reviewed by a critic.

 

[Aureliano]

For a movie that talks so much about betrayal, the screenwriter didn't seem to understand how it works. Here's how you get a major character to feel betrayed: have somebody the major character trusts implicitly do something the major character doesn't want them to. This literally never happens in Gangster Squad.

The girl who's deathly afraid of the main gangster and keeps sleeping with him even though she's also banging one of the good guys? Unshakably noble. The unknown Latino guy who joins up just because he overheard the good guys' plans? A rock. The informant Gosling literally has a warrant for who's seen hanging out with the main bad guy and only stands to gain from selling him out? Suicidally dedicated to his friends in the face of a man who literally ripped a guy in half.

Hats off to whoever made that trailer though. Those things are an under-appreciated art form all their own.

 

[uneek]

I'm sorry, but did you say 30 Minutes or Less wasn't good?
Or that Zombieland was better than it?
This, combined with your claim that Family Guy got better after its corpse was zombified, leaves me with no other option.
I'm revoking your opinion license.

You can do that? Wouldn't we have live in some fucked up, orwellian government with no respect for people's individuality for you do that?

 

[Cpt. Slow]

Well, at least Jon Polito is in it.

 

[DugMachine]

Well that's a shame. I was really looking forward to this movie as I haven't seen a good gangster movie in a long time. I'll probably still watch it myself but I usually trust your opinion on these things.

 

[Devin Barker]

Loved the tag at the end, Bugsy Malone is great. Just made my GF sit threw it a few weeks ago... she felt differently.

 

[chiggerwood]

BOB! Bob, Bob listen to me, are you listening? Because you need to be listening. The reason why people get on you for the expendables review is because YOU ARE HYPERBOLIC IN YOUR REVIEWS, of the expendables franchise at least. With the first movie you were almost decrying its popularity as the end of fucking civilization, the second movie, aside from being hyperbolic, you just called all the characters different names as it related to them from other movies, which isn't funny, that kind of thing has never been funny, it is a shallow attempt at humor, it is less of a low hanging fruit, and more of a piece of fruit that's been lying on the ground for several weeks and is now infested with worms. Please get this through your head, it wasn't because you gave them a bad review, it's your hyperbole, no one likes straight faced accidental hyperbole.

 

[Milanezi]

They cut the entire movie theater scene? I thought they were just putting off the release until everything calmed down. Ugh, I wanted this to be good because I love this genre and I'm really disappointed it's a dud.

Basically it's one of those "wait for the Blu-Ray UNCUT edition" movies I guess... But by then we all might have our attention elsewhere...

 

[Aptspire]

I can hear Boston bleeding through. It's awesome. OT I guess I'll wait for "Uncut" releases...

 

[Stu35]

It is funny that the people who shit all over The Expendables start sounding more like douchbages then those who defends it. Scott Pilgrim is just a bland movie that was aimed at a generation that has not grown up by now.

To be fair, Expendables and Expendables 2 were bland movies aimed at a generation that has not grown up by now.


I've watched all of them (Expendables and Scott Pilgrim). I am part of that generation, and I love all three of those films, for pretty much the same reason - It gives me warm feelings of childhood nostalgia.

The main difference, I think, is that the Expendables at least had the decency to be a hilarious parody of itself (It's blatantly winking at how ridiculous those old Arnie/Stalone/Van Damme/etc. action films really are), wheras Scott Pilgrim takes itself too seriously as a "Hey, look how geeky we are! We're so geeky! All geeks should watch and enjoy this movie!" Sort of way...

Ahem, but that's off topic. I just went to see Gangster Squad, it was a way of killing a couple of hours I suppose, not sure what the movie theatre scene would have really added, but then without seeing it or knowing when in the film it was supposed to be, I suppose I wouldn't know.

Spoiler: Very, very minor spoiler

Overall, not a great film, but I did get a warm fuzzy feeling watching Sean Penn getting beaten up - I really, really, really hate Sean Penn.

 

[maninahat]

Loved the tag at the end, Bugsy Malone is great. Just made my GF sit threw it a few weeks ago... she felt differently.

It does feel a bit awkward, seeing all the underaged "dancers" and knowing that this was the movie that got Jodie Foster the part as the pre-teen prostitute in Taxi-Driver.

Still enjoyable though. And what kid doesn't want a gun that shoots marshmallows?

 

[Spaec]

For those who had high hopes for this movie or just like the time period; L.A. Confidential (from '98) is absolutely great. Look it up!