Machete vs. The Expendables

[Savant Crime]

I rather enjoyed both reviews, and this article. Honestly, if you read/watch reviews to tell you what to think about movies, you deserve what you get; if you read/watch them to confirm your opinion, you've no right to be indignant when the reviewer disagrees; and if you read/watch them for entertainment, then listening to someone rail against a credo with legitimate points is about as entertaining as it gets.

Yes, reviews "should" be objective, but that's not really possible. People have opinions, and all judgments are, at their core, opinions. Asking a critic to leave their opinions out of a review will leave you with no review at all.

Good work, Bob. I applaud you.

 

[loophole92]

Hmm... why is context important to Machete but not The Expendables? I'd hate for you to be inconsistent, Bo.

 

[StriderShinryu]

And yet, out of the two movies, I'd much rather see The Expendables again *shrug*

 

[ragingasian36]

Machete vs. The Expendables

It's a B-movie shootout between Rodriguez and Stallone.

Read Full Article

You are a genius. I want you to know that. Don't let the rest of those assholes get to you when they complain that you called them idiots. You have every right to feel the basic human emotion of anger and more so to blame those who deserve it. Good work this week Bob!

why would you quote that? i have to agree with your point but you've really weakened it by being the one to express it.

to moviebob, good article. now just go and replace the audio from the actual expendables video with his and the bitching at you will be completely undeserved.

 

[Irridium]

Machete vs. The Expendables

It's a B-movie shootout between Rodriguez and Stallone.

Read Full Article

You are a genius. I want you to know that. Don't let the rest of those assholes get to you when they complain that you called them idiots. You have every right to feel the basic human emotion of anger and more so to blame those who deserve it. Good work this week Bob!

People are idiots because they decided to go to a movie with every action star ever over a movie with Micheal Cera?

Alright then.

 

[SideburnsPuppy]

Why would he use the large intestine? The small one is longer.

 

[Savant Crime]

Why would he use the large intestine? The small one is longer.

Yes, but they're sort of attached...

 

[CptShiv]

My only gripe is: How was the AA-12 from Expendables not the iconic kill? (or series of kills?) Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but how is an automatic, 32 round mag shotgun not awesome?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

With the distance travelled, I'm guessing both got some action

Anyway, He covers the Expendables thing because so many people wouldn't let it go. I imagine this is the end of it, even if people carry on this week.

 

[CptShiv]

My only gripe is: How was the AA-12 from Expendables not the iconic kill? (or series of kills?) Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but how is an automatic, 32 round mag shotgun not awesome?

Awesome it may be, one awesome kill cannot redeem an entire movie. The point is that a movie is better and usually more memorable if it has some substance to it. Example: Audience will be excited to watch characters shoot each other, but the audience will be much more engaged and interested if they care about those characters or the reason that fight is happening.

I agree with you fully, I just can't fathom how the AA-12 wasn't the coolest part of the movie to bob.

 

[MB202]

Ask George Carlin

Well I can't now! D:

And aren't we still avoiding the point people made that it wasn't so much the negative review of the film that got people pissed off, but rather making fun of, demonizing, and overgeneralizing the people who wanted to go see the film, not once but twice? In two different reviews?

I get you're point, and I fully understand why you hated the movie, but saying those things about people who wanted to go see it and/or liked it for what it was, that was going overboard, and to top it all off, using your "fratboy impression" in your Piranhas 3D & Centurion review to represent the people who called you out on it just struck me as a bit immature and lame, especially after you tried to prop up Piranhas 3D for the blood and for naked lesbian sex in 3D. I'm likely the only one to say this, but that's NOT much of a good reason for me to see it over The Expendables.

Comparing it with Machete, on the other hand, was a much better way of explaining the flaws of the movie while propping up anotheryou want people to see. And wait, they downgraded Jet Lee to a comic relief that can't win a fight without assistance? What the freaking Hell?! That freaking blows, man! Not only is that completely unfair, but it's kind of racist in a sense, that Asian martial artist who can kick all sorts of ass without using weapons is less of a threat than the big, beefy douchebags that are pretty much interchangeable with each other?!

Well, whatever, you still kind of own an apology to the guys you ridiculed, but you've made your other point clear.

 

[Dectilon]

This really is one of those articles you should've co-written with a reviewer that loved The Expendables. I think that would've been far more interesting since, as has been stated, your dislike for the film really shines through in its segments. Not defending the movie (haven't seen it), and Machete does sound interesting, I just think this format for discussion was a mistake.

 

[maninahat]

I would hesitate to compare them. They're both action movies, but whereas Stallone is going for the 80s action flick style , Rodriguez is going for grindhouse exploitation style. Hence the differences in the portrayal of graphic violence.

Saying that, I disagree with MovieBob's suggestion that The Expendables lacked memorable or violent kills. What about Lundgren's opening "warning shot", that strafing run, or that incredible shotgun? It is that kind of excessive, over-the-top action that made the picture reminiscent of Commando, or Predator.

Bob is definitely right about each action hero lacking proper screen time and characterisation. Jet and that other guy I don't recognise got a really lousy deal.

 

[SirPumpkinLongshanks]

I don't agree that people are a-holes that voiced their opinion and outrage over being called idiots. And to be honest that's not all he said to get people upset, it was an abusive thing to say and was unnecessary for a movie review. I want you to stop a moment and look at any other movie critic/reviewer articles to see if they attacked the audience of the movie. The audience does not deserve his ire.

Yes they do. How often do you hear people whining about the same ol', same ol' in cinema? You hear the audience clamoring something novel, something original... And when they get it they go see a second rate action movie instead. The same thing happens with games, the same thing happens with books and music, and the message the consumer sends is that they prefer something safe to something new. That their dollars say something different than their mouths is indeed idiotic and getting outraged over something minor like a movie critic insulting them does not help their case. If they really don't like it then they should say their peace and walk away. The fact that many of them are still here watching his videos indicates that they have nothing better to do with themselves than be insulted by a critic they no longer respect. Movie Bob can't rob them of their dignity because they've already given it away.

Also, I don't get why people say other critics don't do this. Have you ever watched Siskel and Ebert, or Ebert and Roeper? Have you ever read the man's column? Right there you have a prominent critic who has taken everyone to task at some point in his career. Lots of other critics do the same exact thing. Criticism isn't purely objective; it can't be when you're dealing with art. Good criticism balances objectivity with subjectivity and tells you how likely you are to enjoy the movie based on your relationship with the critic. When subjectivity is eliminated from the equation criticism fails because it's the human element that makes it worthwhile.

 

[RTR]

So basically Bob is using Machete and The Expendables as this year's equivalent to his compare/contrast of Transformers and 2012 from last year, the only difference being that Transformers wasn't protected as much as Expendables. Good read.

 

[RTR]

This sums up WHY I could give a fuck less about Stallone's eg- I mean, The Expendables. In two weeks I would have forgotten about the damn thing, if that (I had Metroid: Other M anyway) due to Machet's INSANE beats. It's quite clear that Stallone's talent as an action director is severely limited at best; trying the shaky-cam thing in a movie like this doesn't work unless you know what the hell you're doing. Plus Stallone's writing peaked at First Blood and his considerable talents just continued to atrophy (which is mostly his own damn fault, the fool). Now that Bob (and hopefully EVERYONE ELSE) has gotten this out of their system we can move on to more constructive things...like plowing through various types of aliens.

Agreed

 

[Wuvlycuddles]

Bob, I'm starting to think you don't know how to let go. For as much as you seem to HATE The Expendables, you sure do talk a lot about it.

Ever heard the phrase "beating a dead horse"? Everyone else has moved on to other movies, maybe you should too.

I don't blame him to be honest, i think any true fan of the dodgy piles of crap (but inexplicably entertaining) 80's action films would feel the same way. When i first heard about the expendables i had high hopes and was expecting a team of old fart action heroes (where the hell was Carl Weathers?) taking on some cheesy bad guy in some stupid balls out ultra violent action scenes with a ton of nods and references to those crappy movies i (inexplicably) love so much.

I'm STILL annoyed by it because i KNOW it could have been so much better, why do you think people still rage about the Star Wars prequels? Well, rage might not be the right word, i'm not angry, just very disappointed.

Anyway, back on topic, i am going to see machete this afternoon, so i'll see if Movie Bobs arguements over how much better it is prove true.