Escape to the Movies: The Raid

[Sonic Doctor]

Bob when almost every comment by your fans and viewers is totally unrelated to the actual movie you are reviewing, it may be time to re-evaluate how you do your job. Sorry high school was rough.

OT: The Raid looks dope, I think I'll see it tonight.

I find it hard to believe that such things that some people are saying, are things said by fans. I really think it is them that should re-evaluate what they are watching if they are going to complain as much as they have.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

you skipped your high school reunion too, Bob?

Yeah, so did I. I had ZERO desire to see my former tormentors again.

Plus, my friends had a meetup planned for that day, and that sounded a hundred times more fun.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I'm kind of on the fence about The Raid. On one hand, I'm glad I not only saw it but was able to see it in the theatre. Fact is, you just don't see movies like this on the big screen. The last ones I can really think of were Tony Jaa's Ong Bak and The Protector. On the other hand, I just didn't find the movie all that compelling. The fights were nicely staged and shot, but I didn't find myself caring about them or, more importantly, the characters involved. Ong Bak, for example, had a core set of characters that you were hard pressed not to like. You wanted them to win and the fights were empowered by that. Also, the style may be well represented (or maybe not, I have no idea) but it's not really that memorable. There just weren't that many "wow, that was f'in cool" moments and even the few that there there were more about the damage inflicted than the mind blowing moves that were just done.

In short, if you have the chance to go see it, do so. Support movie distributors in bringing this kind of content to the screen, and support your movie theatre for showing it. Don't, however, expect a mindblowingly amazing martial arts/action masterpiece.

 

[mrm5561]

Bob, just a small point but please, if you're not going to review a film, just don't review it. And seriously don't spend a a quarter of the review another better film bitching about it.

But he has to remind us how much his high school years sucked, same as every other time he hates a movie that panders to the crowd he hates.

Precisely. What's the point of him being mad about it if he can't get on a soapbox to make sure everyone knows that he's upset about it. I respect his knowledge and insight into the nuances of movies and movie making that I could never otherwise know, but Bob has been so preachy and lacking in objectivity lately that it makes me dread watching his reviews. When he reviewed movies I never planned on seeing, I would still watch the reviews just for the perspective that he provides. He seems more and more bitter, as well as full of himself lately.

And as a professional critic, isn't it his responsibility to put his personal feelings aside and review any and all films regardless of how he personally feels about it? Can we take him seriously when his attitude is "I refuse to review that one because I really hate the franchise and everything it stands for,"? I thought being a critic meant putting those feelings aside and giving each movie and unbiased review.

This reminds me of his rant when Scream 4 was released. Particularly the part where his claim to fame was being the "know it all movie guy," and then the original scream was released and people allegedly began comparing him with "that guy from the scream movie that like...is really into movies and stuff!" So Bob got his feelings hurt because he was no longer a unique and beautiful snowflake, but written off as a caricature from a Wes Craven movie. I truly believe that Bob is a movie/comic book villain waiting to happen. He isn't Professor X. He isn't Clark Kent, and he sure as hell isn't Bruce Wayne. He's the (in his mind) bullied, outcast kid that we all know should know better, and should be able to rise above hate, but instead of using his talents to try making the world a better place, he would lash out at all those that he felt has wronged him, and all those that didn't appreciate his "genius." He says as much in his chronicle review.

I pray to the powers of the universe that Bob never receives superpowers.

Have to agree. I actually almost didn't watch this review today because I was thinking "Ugh it's bob again." I loved his reviews back in the day and relied on him as a good source for movies to see...

But every time he disses on the 90's (my generation thank you very much. I know a lot of things in it sucked and it wasn't everyone's precious little decade the 80's but still) I get so pissed.

That and ever since Sucker Punch... I am EXTREMELY Wary of whether to trust his opinions now... and have to rely on other reviewers.

That and the week when he accused all people who actually enjoyed highschool only liking it because they bullied someone.

1.bob with super powers= end of the movie chronicle
2.the 90's were an amazing time to grow up
3. high school is only as hard as you make it. if youu talk to people and join a lot of clubs its a fun period of your life. if you keep to yourself, dont try and be nice to everyone and let people walk over you then it sucks.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

snip

Because some of us actually appreciate some of his views and perspectives on things, and it annoys us when he complete squanders the opportunity to share them when he spends any of his short video time bogging down the rest of the review with yet another tangent about his personal problems?

Is it seriously wrong of us to critique his videos which he has elected to put out to the public at the risk of such critique? This is the way of the internet video makers. Can't handle our critique your constant reference to your personal problems? Don't constantly reference your personal problems.

Bob puts these videos out. Bob opens the door to his personal problems for his regular viewing audience. Bob has to accept the critiques we give him as is our right to critique anything released to the public.

This is very simple. We like a lot of what he has to say. We don't like constantly hearing about his shitty high school years. Therefore, stop using your job as a critic like a live journal. He doesn't have to stop, but then we also don't have to stop pointing it out. It's a vicious cycle, and only one person can stop it if he has the will. Unless he actually wants everyone to stop watching his videos as you suggested, though I can't imagine losing his job here on the Escapist is on his list.

Yes, he can put out anything he likes, and yes, we don't have to watch it. Which is exactly why it's important for him to at least lend one of his ears to the people who watch him regularly. I don't have to watch this video. If the one minute and twenty-five seconds he wasted on bitching was replaced with one minute and twenty-five seconds of a still picture of a middle finger, would anyone have stayed to watch the whole video and not complained in anyway? Would you still be defending this behavior saying he has the right to put anything in his video without consequences? No one is being forced to watch these videos, and that makes it Bob's job to make them appealing as possible. It pisses me off when he diminishes his potential as a reviewer and writer by spending most of his short weekly video time bitching about high school.

I'm not saying he needs to pander to us, but people don't like this shit. And I think we have just as much right to not like it as he does to put it in in the first place.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

I find it hard to believe that such things that some people are saying, are things said by fans. I really think it is them that should re-evaluate what they are watching if they are going to complain as much as they have.

Trust me, only someone who watches Bob's stuff regularly would be this put off by his constant bitching about high school.

 

[OZITOMAI]

i agree with you moviebob, i actually quite hated american pie, its just crap to me and i am quite interested in the raid, thanks for a good review

 

[feeqmatic]

Saw this in Atlanta over the weekend. Sheer undiluted awesomeness.

 

[frostgiant]

This is the greatest Movie Bob comment section of all time. Scott Pilgram sucks.
How long till I get reported for not having an opinion that falls in with the MB code of Alpha hate?

 

[tdylan]

i agree with you moviebob, i actually quite hated american pie, its just crap to me and i am quite interested in the raid, thanks for a good review

How many times has Bob reviewed other movies without feeling compelled to explain why he reviewed it, and not a different movie that released the same weekend? Several. Yes, AP is a mainstream movie that many would expect him to review, but on a site such as the escapist, I don't think that Bob's regular audience would have held it against him that he chose to review Raid instead of AP. I think many of us would have inferred "The Raid seems much more Bob's bag."

I enjoyed the original AP. The only character that was a douche was Stiffler. Everyone else either reminded me of myself (Jim, Finch, and Kevin, each on their own way), or guys I knew (Chris Klein) that were the jock/athlete, yet managed to not be an abrasive douche. I envied Chris Klein's character because he had a great physique, and in my mind must have been "getting all kinds of action." I didn't hate the guy. My nerdy self wanted to BE Chris Klein. I wanted to look like Chris Klein, and be good at sports like Chris Klein. But you know what I didn't do? I didn't let me envy drive me to hate/loathe/despise Chris Klein's character.

Everything that I know about Bob, I know from his videos and here's what I've gathered:

- In the Sherlock Holmes review Bobs said that Holmes is a man that loves proving how much smarter he is than everyone, so as you might have guess, Bob "loves him some Sherlock Holmes"

- In the Scream 4 review Bob, quite bitterly, states that he used to be the guy that was "cool and interesting" because he knew all of the movie tropes: "he knew movies crazy good. Name a movie, he'd seen it. Have a trivia question, he'd answer it. He was "the movie guy." Sure, it wasn't much a talent. It was something. It was his. But then one day there came a horrible decade called "the 90s." And in the 6th year of the horrible decade, something happened that would change this boy's life forever. Thanks to scream, every jackass with a VCR learned how to talk about cliche, genre formula, and other stuff only movie geeks used to care about. And that little boy from earlier, he could no longer use, or even admit to possessing what used to be "his special skill" without having to hear the cringe inducing response: "kid! you sound just like that guy what was in scream, yo!" But hey, it's not like I've got an ax to grind or anything."

In the 90s, Scream was released, and Bob's single, unique talent was **** on by it. People began associating him and his intellect with Jamie kennedy's character from the movie. After that, Bob's talents were no longer deemed "unique" in his mind. He became less of a "mystic sorcerer," and more of "party trick."

- In "Jennifer's Body" he admits that film geeks only like to crap all over marginally talented, hot actresses like Megan Fox because they're using them as proxy punching bags for all the girls that wouldn't sleep with them in high school, but so???

- In Chronicle he says "Part of me wants to give it some grief for going the "bullied kid goes nutzoid" route...but was I rooting for the "villain" when it came down to it? Do you have to ask?"

From this I gather that Bob not only thinks he's smarter than most, but he enjoys showing (off?) his intelligence (Sherlock Holmes). He had found his niche, enjoyed showing it (off?) by telling people about the nuances of movies, answering their trivia questions etc (Scream). Then Scream was released and ruined his special ability. Now he hates everything about the decade (1990s) that gave us the movie that made people fail to realize how much smarter than them he is. He continues to hold a grudge against the pretty girls that wouldn't give him the time of day (Jennifer's body).

With his intellect I would think that Bob would put reason, logic, equality, fairness, and justice above anger, angst, jealously, hatred and petty revenge, but I really don't think that given the opportunity, he would (Chronicle). I believe that he wanted to give the movie Chronicle grief for going the "bullied kid goes nuts" route but he didn't, because he himself dreams of being able to go nuts on the audience that he feels films like AP are aimed toward.

When I watched the original AP I thought "man! I wish I had a bunch of friends that I could share such an adventure with." I tried to have that kind of relationship with my friends and they called me out on "watching too much American Pie." I was awkward like Jim, hopelessly romantic like Kevin, and tried to act aristocratic like Finch. AP was one of the funniest movies that I saw at the time. But I was in my late teens.

Bob, I read a quote that I try to reflect on whenever possible:

"We are products of our past. But we don't have to be prisoners of it."

 

[tdylan]

Does Anyone recall Bob's Green Lantern review in which he cut the opening music short because "the intro takes time and we have A LOT of ground to cover," or something to that effect? So he cuts the intro on his Green Lantern review short in order to make time for a lengthy review, but spends over minute not only harping on why he doesn't like AP, but taking satisfaction in disappointing those that he thinks were hoping he reviewed it?

 

[MB202]

I like that you actually SAW movies that they knew you were going to hate, because at least then, you could give them the chance to surprise you, and also, when you see for yourself that it DOES such, the only thing anyone can call you out on is simply having a different opinion that yours.

 

[MarsProbe]

humm a movie about a group of friends drinking, going to parties, and getting laid. yea i guess if you didn't do any of that in high school i can see why you'd hate american pie. that being said i never loved the movies but didn't find the to be god awful or at least to the point i'd complain about them for 2 minutes in a 4:44 minute show.

Funnile enough, I didn't do any of those things in high school (saved it for uni, mostly, where I was when American Pie came out) but still managed to enjoy American Pie. Hell, I wasn't even in the "cool crowd" in high school - we did spend our breaktimes discussing scientific equations and our plans for Quake DM levels.

I'm sure if Bob was a teen now, he'd probably be ranting about how inane and deplorable he thinks The Inbetweeners is.

 

[deadlinejon]

Bob, You had better at least mention Cabin in the Woods this week.

 

[tehweave]

"Bob hates: [generic comedy sequel]. Reviews: [generic martial arts movie] instead."

Am I right?

 

[Sougo]

Good job! Quickly telling us what not to see and why, and giving better options is a much better way of doing the show.

 

[axlryder]

How can you say there's no memorable action sequences in the Transformers movies?

The freeway chase in Dark of the Moon
The forest fight in Revenge of the Fallen
The Qatar fight in Transformers

and those were just at the top of my head.

Say what you will about Michael Bay, but the man can film a great action scene.

I think you missed the point of what he said.

The actions scenes themselves were memorable, just not what was happening in them. I kinda agree with him. The second matrix movie had the same problem with the highway scene. Put simply , because it was such a long scene on a large scale, it was hard to picture where everyone was in relation to each other.

The opposite would be the hallway scene at the end of Repo Men, small scale, one location, easier to remember each individual stab and where it happened.

Or Old Boy. That hallway scene one of the best damn action bits I've ever seen in a film.