Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
+4
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Monster Hunter sure is a silly movie, and I mean that in the best of ways. It has Tony Jaa, dragons, bugs, diabloses, and of course, cats.
4 Palicoes out of 5, it really does go pure anime, right down to having Ron Perlman wielding elemental weapons and modern day military trying to take on a dragon.
I didn't expect a stealth Drakengard adaptation, W.S. Anderson, but I'll take it.
Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
Turns out The Rock makes up 1/3 of all Asian leads in Hollywood movies. I know he is prolific, but he isn't that prolific.
It also counts Hailee Steinfeld, who's main qualification is that she is has a Filipino Great-Grandparent. I mean, no offense, but I think the Asian/Pacific Islander community in the USA should be able to do slightly better than that.
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
I'll watch Snake Eyes just for Samara Weaving. Over the last few years since she appeared with The Babysitter & Mayhem, and then had her breakout with Ready or Not, she's been my favorite female actor in Hollywood.
Not only is she she steeping herself in the horror comedy genre, she's branching out into action more recently with Guns Akimbo and now this GI Joe prequel.
I may be ignorant to the female actor scene, but it feels she's charting a unique course in her career and I'm here for it.
She carried the mediocre Guns Akimbo on her fucking back.
Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
Also, Snake Eyes is a white man so he'd have to do his literally for the role in question. That's why he was played by a white actor in both young and adult roles in he last G.I. Joe films, despite the fact he's covered head to toe as an adult and he says no lines. Hollywood needs more roles for Asan leads which aren't martial art based.
+8
Options
KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
Hey now, there's also Mortal Kombat out right now for films with Asian leads. Oh, wait...
Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
Hey now, there's also Mortal Kombat out right now for films with Asian leads. Oh, wait...
And it's not like they don't exist; The Expanse shows you can find damn good Asian actors just fine. The major films just don't bother.
While I enjoyed Sleeping dogs its derivative of so many hong kong movies, is it really necessary to make a movie out of it? It'd be like making a GTA movie.
Also sad about Charles, he's got one of my favorite lines in a movie, from "So I married an Axe Murderer"
"No its one of my favorite things."
Preacher on
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
I'm watching US Marshals because I'm in a hotel in Augusta, Georgia for work and it's what's on, and the scene where Wesley Snipes jumps off the building and swings over to the train, waving to a glowering Tommy Lee Jones as he makes his escape just happened, and I realized, he's on a moving train he can't climb down from on an elevated platform that he can't get off of until it stops at its predetermined stop at its predetermined time. All Tommy Lee Jones had to do was radio the cops and be like "Hey, go to the next stop, this guy picked the worst escape vehicle ever" but instead, just more glowering.
+3
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BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
I'm watching US Marshals because I'm in a hotel in Augusta, Georgia for work and it's what's on, and the scene where Wesley Snipes jumps off the building and swings over to the train, waving to a glowering Tommy Lee Jones as he makes his escape just happened, and I realized, he's on a moving train he can't climb down from on an elevated platform that he can't get off of until it stops at its predetermined stop at its predetermined time. All Tommy Lee Jones had to do was radio the cops and be like "Hey, go to the next stop, this guy picked the worst escape vehicle ever" but instead, just more glowering.
US Marshals was a lame follow up to the Fugitive.
Though I did learn you can pick handcuffs with stolen sunglasses!
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
American director Ramin Bahrani's first feature film, set in New York about a former musician from Pakistan who grinds as a pushcart cafe worker. It's defined by its urban toil, its Bicycle Thief-like dependence on simple machinery on the poverty line.
Bahrani's direction is focused and unfussy, catching midtown New York convincingly. Its visual motif of Ahmad, the main character, manually pulling his cart on the side of the road in the early A.M. as taxicabs and trucks pass him carries a unique power. Bahrani's observational style is able to capture moments of private introspection and also that broader, anonymous but interconnected aura that big city life usually casts on its workers.
It's a shame then, that the writing and performances don't always align with the quiet strength of his visuals. The plot and character development aren't reliably supported by the performances, with some unconvincing line readings and moments of personal tragedy that fall flat. The drama feels especially contrived not just because it isn't handled believably, but because this isn't a very plot-focused film otherwise. One gets the sense that it could have leaned into its minor interactions and urban atmosphere without feeling the need to explain or build dramatics out of its character's circumstance, and be a stronger film for it.
Talking of Criterion, in August they're releasing Kore-eda's wonderful After Life. Anyone who only came to Kore-eda relatively late should check out this gem. I think it may still be my favourite film of his.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
I'm watching US Marshals because I'm in a hotel in Augusta, Georgia for work and it's what's on, and the scene where Wesley Snipes jumps off the building and swings over to the train, waving to a glowering Tommy Lee Jones as he makes his escape just happened, and I realized, he's on a moving train he can't climb down from on an elevated platform that he can't get off of until it stops at its predetermined stop at its predetermined time. All Tommy Lee Jones had to do was radio the cops and be like "Hey, go to the next stop, this guy picked the worst escape vehicle ever" but instead, just more glowering.
US Marshals was a lame follow up to the Fugitive.
Though I did learn you can pick handcuffs with stolen sunglasses!
I can't tell if you're serious. There's hundreds of YouTube videos of pretty much the handcuffs cops use being picked and shimmed with just about any arbitrary bit of metal or sturdy plastic you can think of.
Marginally skilled person gets handcuffs open is asking for a shockingly small degree of suspension of disbelief for a movie.
They moistly come out at night, moistly.
0
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
I'm watching US Marshals because I'm in a hotel in Augusta, Georgia for work and it's what's on, and the scene where Wesley Snipes jumps off the building and swings over to the train, waving to a glowering Tommy Lee Jones as he makes his escape just happened, and I realized, he's on a moving train he can't climb down from on an elevated platform that he can't get off of until it stops at its predetermined stop at its predetermined time. All Tommy Lee Jones had to do was radio the cops and be like "Hey, go to the next stop, this guy picked the worst escape vehicle ever" but instead, just more glowering.
If the elevated trains in NYC are anything like the elevated trains in Chicago, the next stop is way too close for cops to possibly have the next station covered before the train arrives. Especially since every officer in the area just converged at the stop where Snipes mounted the train.
I doubt it would actually happen fast enough in real life, but maybe TLJ manages to contact the transit authority or whoever controls the trains and get it stopped before it reaches the next station (again, I don't believe for a second this actually happens fast enough in reality). Snipes still gets down and gets away before enough cops have the area covered to matter.
Ketar on
0
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Charles Grodin had a soft, warm way of elevating anything he was in. He could play any kind of role, but there was always this gleam in his eye that let you know he was having a lot of fun with it. There were few better straight-men comics, but he had range; he also starred in thrillers, he sang, and he was on first-name basis with several prominent Muppets.
Didn't even know they were making a new GI Joe movie/series
[SNIP]
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
Turns out The Rock makes up 1/3 of all Asian leads in Hollywood movies. I know he is prolific, but he isn't that prolific.
It also counts Hailee Steinfeld, who's main qualification is that she is has a Filipino Great-Grandparent. I mean, no offense, but I think the Asian/Pacific Islander community in the USA should be able to do slightly better than that.
That's a flawed study though - they didn't include one of the most prolific block buster actors, Scarlett Johansson.
Spiral: From the Book of SAW is a flawed, but enjoyable SAW side story.
Also, better than Wrath of Man, holy shit I am still bitter about that being utter trash.
This movie can be seen solo without any confusion as it really has no connection to SAW aside from a reference to the dead Jigsaw Killer and there being elaborate traps involved, this also being the first film to not have Tobin Bell in it at all (aside from a few photos during the investigation) and I think it suffered a bit for it. Jigsaw has been dead since the 3rd movie, but they've always managed to sneak him into the sequels in flashback and while that wouldn't have worked here, I think having the killer's voiced distorted to sound like John Kramer would have allowed Bell to reprise his role in a small way. It's a shame that didn't happen.
Chris Rock is alright here, but his performance is a bit uneven as his most used expression is one of wincing his eyes to seem serious at anytime he isn't cracking jokes. The upside to Chris Rock are his comedic "buddy cop" moments where his comedy background shines through and doesn't feel shoehorned in just because Chris Rock is a funny dude.
You may have heard Samuel Jackson is in the movie, but he only has a slim 5ish minutes of screen time, one scene of which he sports a hilariously bad mustache. He elevates the few scenes he's in and I would have liked to have him had at least one more interaction with Chris Rock (plays his son) to give a little more believability to Rock's worried reaction when he goes missing.
The rest of the cast does workmanlike, generic acting. Nothing special.
The traps are varied, but there's something missing here as they are all dealt with pretty quickly and without aplomb. I think if they had added one more it might have made me come around. Unfortunately, less traps means more sleepy procedural (aside from Rock's introduction scene) scenes.
The twist ending was okay, but it's over-exposited instead of giving us a few quick cuts showing us why the killer did what they did (which they kind of do afterwards/during the exposition) and it kinda robs it of the "oh shit" moments that the SAW series is known for.
Ultimately, I think this would have made an exceptional direct-to-dvd movie, but as a theatrical film, it falls short.
C+
A definitive ranking of the SAW franchise:
1) SAW 2
2) SAW
3) SAW 6
4) SAW 4
5) SAW (The video game - the plot is canon in the series)
6) SAW 5
7) Jigsaw
8) SAW 2: Flesh & Blood (video game - canon)
9) Spiral: From the Book of SAW
10) SAW 3
11) SAW 3D: The Final Chapter
---
Let's try not beating a dead horse about "torture porn" and how it's garbage. The SAW series legit has the best plot of any long-running horror series and I think it's pretty great. Don't be a dismissive butt-head.
TehSpectre on
+4
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
There was another trap that had to be cut - apparently it was gruesome enough that there was no way to leave it in without getting hit with an NC-17.
As a side effect, one character who was supposed to die actually survived to the end of the movie. I didn't see any confirmation on which one, and there are 2-3 possibilities I can think of.
The twist ending was way too predictable, but I liked the motivations behind everything. I don't think working Jigsaw in would have really added anything, and I'd probably give it a B-, but we're largely on the same page.
I did not like the Pulp Fiction reference. Maybe if it was just shown in passing once, but the way they kept focusing on that logo over and over again felt like the director thought it was much more clever than it actually was.
There was another trap that had to be cut - apparently it was gruesome enough that there was no way to leave it in without getting hit with an NC-17.
As a side effect, one character who was supposed to die actually survived to the end of the movie. I didn't see any confirmation on which one, and there are 2-3 possibilities I can think of.
The twist ending was way too predictable, but I liked the motivations behind everything. I don't think working Jigsaw in would have really added anything, and I'd probably give it a B-, but we're largely on the same page.
I did not like the Pulp Fiction reference. Maybe if it was just shown in passing once, but the way they kept focusing on that logo over and over again felt like the director thought it was much more clever than it actually was.
There was an extremely antagonistic cop that just kinda vanished from the movie during the 3rd act and is directly called out by Rock as being dirty multiple times in the film. Guessing it was him.
Spiral: From the Book of SAW is a flawed, but enjoyable SAW side story.
Also, better than Wrath of Man, holy shit I am still bitter about that being utter trash.
This movie can be seen solo without any confusion as it really has no connection to SAW aside from a reference to the dead Jigsaw Killer and there being elaborate traps involved, this also being the first film to not have Tobin Bell in it at all (aside from a few photos during the investigation) and I think it suffered a bit for it. Jigsaw has been dead since the 3rd movie, but they've always managed to sneak him into the sequels in flashback and while that wouldn't have worked here, I think having the killer's voiced distorted to sound like John Kramer would have allowed Bell to reprise his role in a small way. It's a shame that didn't happen.
Chris Rock is alright here, but his performance is a bit uneven as his most used expression is one of wincing his eyes to seem serious at anytime he isn't cracking jokes. The upside to Chris Rock are his comedic "buddy cop" moments where his comedy background shines through and doesn't feel shoehorned in just because Chris Rock is a funny dude.
You may have heard Samuel Jackson is in the movie, but he only has a slim 5ish minutes of screen time, one seen of which he sports a hilariously bad mustache. He elevates the few scenes he's in and I would have liked to have him had at least one more interaction with Chris Rock (plays his son) to give a little more believability to Rock's worried reaction when he goes missing.
The rest of the cast does workmanlike, generic acting. Nothing special.
The traps are varied, but there's something missing here as they are all dealt with pretty quickly and without aplomb. I think if they had added one more it might have made me come around. Unfortunately, less traps means more sleepy procedural (aside from Rock's introduction scene) scenes.
The twist ending was okay, but it's over-exposited instead of giving us a few quick cuts showing us why the killer did what they did (which they kind of do afterwards/during the exposition) and it kinda robs it of the "oh shit" moments that the SAW series is known for.
Ultimately, I think this would have made an exceptional direct-to-dvd movie, but as a theatrical film, it falls short.
C+
A definitive ranking of the SAW franchise:
1) SAW 2
2) SAW
3) SAW 6
4) SAW 4
5) SAW (The video game - the plot is canon in the series)
6) SAW 5
7) Jigsaw
8) SAW 2: Flesh & Blood (video game - canon)
9) Spiral: From the Book of SAW
10) SAW 3
11) SAW 3D: The Final Chapter
---
Let's try not beating a dead horse about "torture porn" and how it's garbage. The SAW series legit has the best plot of any long-running horror series and I think it's pretty great. Don't be a dismissive butt-head.
I'm watching US Marshals because I'm in a hotel in Augusta, Georgia for work and it's what's on, and the scene where Wesley Snipes jumps off the building and swings over to the train, waving to a glowering Tommy Lee Jones as he makes his escape just happened, and I realized, he's on a moving train he can't climb down from on an elevated platform that he can't get off of until it stops at its predetermined stop at its predetermined time. All Tommy Lee Jones had to do was radio the cops and be like "Hey, go to the next stop, this guy picked the worst escape vehicle ever" but instead, just more glowering.
US Marshals was a lame follow up to the Fugitive.
Though I did learn you can pick handcuffs with stolen sunglasses!
I can't tell if you're serious. There's hundreds of YouTube videos of pretty much the handcuffs cops use being picked and shimmed with just about any arbitrary bit of metal or sturdy plastic you can think of.
Marginally skilled person gets handcuffs open is asking for a shockingly small degree of suspension of disbelief for a movie.
I was joking. The movie uses that Downey Jr and Snipes both do the same "trick" to go "Oh man they are both CIA!" as opposed to you know two men who know how to get out of handcuffs.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
There was another trap that had to be cut - apparently it was gruesome enough that there was no way to leave it in without getting hit with an NC-17.
As a side effect, one character who was supposed to die actually survived to the end of the movie. I didn't see any confirmation on which one, and there are 2-3 possibilities I can think of.
The twist ending was way too predictable, but I liked the motivations behind everything. I don't think working Jigsaw in would have really added anything, and I'd probably give it a B-, but we're largely on the same page.
I did not like the Pulp Fiction reference. Maybe if it was just shown in passing once, but the way they kept focusing on that logo over and over again felt like the director thought it was much more clever than it actually was.
There was an extremely antagonistic cop that just kinda vanished from the movie during the 3rd act and is directly called out by Rock as being dirty multiple times in the film. Guessing it was him.
FWIW I think two traps got cut, as Fitch's partner Kraus also disappears in the middle, and there's a super obvious cut scene early on where Drury wouldn't fit.
When Marcus is exploring the villain lair, after his awesome "you wanna play games?" line, there's an abrupt cut to him suddenly being spooked, with blood on his hand. There's a trap scene cut there, and it's too early for Drury, as he's still in the movie after that point IIRC?
Similarly at the end, after Zeke leaves the glass throwing trap, there's another abrupt cut where he's exploring the lair. I think a second one goes there, or he was at least meant to find the one that Marcus did earlier.
Oh brilliant
+1
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
Posts
Henry Golding?
Isn't he far too good for a Snake Eyes movie?
Not in Hollywood. He has to compete with all the Chrises and all those young white guys with weird names.
Really just all the white guys.
So, like all the other Asian male leads, he ends up getting typecast into a ninja because there's no way in hell an Asian guy is going to win in that casting situation against those types of numbers. Coincidentally, the other film with an Asian male lead is...let's see...Shang-Chi. Which I'm actually excited to see. But stuff like this is why I'd really appreciate a film with an Asian lead that wasn't martial-arts related.
4 Palicoes out of 5, it really does go pure anime, right down to having Ron Perlman wielding elemental weapons and modern day military trying to take on a dragon.
I didn't expect a stealth Drakengard adaptation, W.S. Anderson, but I'll take it.
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Sorry to be the one to tell you but Saint Bernards don't generally live to be over 29 years old.
Relevant link to a study just released about this very issue:
https://ew.com/movies/api-movie-study-stereotypes-leads-dwayne-johnson/
Turns out The Rock makes up 1/3 of all Asian leads in Hollywood movies. I know he is prolific, but he isn't that prolific.
It also counts Hailee Steinfeld, who's main qualification is that she is has a Filipino Great-Grandparent. I mean, no offense, but I think the Asian/Pacific Islander community in the USA should be able to do slightly better than that.
Not only is she she steeping herself in the horror comedy genre, she's branching out into action more recently with Guns Akimbo and now this GI Joe prequel.
I may be ignorant to the female actor scene, but it feels she's charting a unique course in her career and I'm here for it.
She carried the mediocre Guns Akimbo on her fucking back.
I mean
When you're in the same family as Hugo, it's probably difficult not to be
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
Also, Snake Eyes is a white man so he'd have to do his literally for the role in question. That's why he was played by a white actor in both young and adult roles in he last G.I. Joe films, despite the fact he's covered head to toe as an adult and he says no lines. Hollywood needs more roles for Asan leads which aren't martial art based.
Hey now, there's also Mortal Kombat out right now for films with Asian leads. Oh, wait...
And it's not like they don't exist; The Expanse shows you can find damn good Asian actors just fine. The major films just don't bother.
Although it's gonna be a pain in the ass getting it approved by the PRC and President XI in China.
"This is what Hong Kong used to be like. It was Bad. Now it is much better."
Also sad about Charles, he's got one of my favorite lines in a movie, from "So I married an Axe Murderer"
"No its one of my favorite things."
pleasepaypreacher.net
Not Groden, but anytime i think of that movie I immediately gravitate to:
"We've got a piper down!"
~ Buckaroo Banzai
US Marshals was a lame follow up to the Fugitive.
Though I did learn you can pick handcuffs with stolen sunglasses!
pleasepaypreacher.net
So I Married an Ax Murderer is just a perfect little movie.
American director Ramin Bahrani's first feature film, set in New York about a former musician from Pakistan who grinds as a pushcart cafe worker. It's defined by its urban toil, its Bicycle Thief-like dependence on simple machinery on the poverty line.
Bahrani's direction is focused and unfussy, catching midtown New York convincingly. Its visual motif of Ahmad, the main character, manually pulling his cart on the side of the road in the early A.M. as taxicabs and trucks pass him carries a unique power. Bahrani's observational style is able to capture moments of private introspection and also that broader, anonymous but interconnected aura that big city life usually casts on its workers.
It's a shame then, that the writing and performances don't always align with the quiet strength of his visuals. The plot and character development aren't reliably supported by the performances, with some unconvincing line readings and moments of personal tragedy that fall flat. The drama feels especially contrived not just because it isn't handled believably, but because this isn't a very plot-focused film otherwise. One gets the sense that it could have leaned into its minor interactions and urban atmosphere without feeling the need to explain or build dramatics out of its character's circumstance, and be a stronger film for it.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
I can't tell if you're serious. There's hundreds of YouTube videos of pretty much the handcuffs cops use being picked and shimmed with just about any arbitrary bit of metal or sturdy plastic you can think of.
Marginally skilled person gets handcuffs open is asking for a shockingly small degree of suspension of disbelief for a movie.
If the elevated trains in NYC are anything like the elevated trains in Chicago, the next stop is way too close for cops to possibly have the next station covered before the train arrives. Especially since every officer in the area just converged at the stop where Snipes mounted the train.
I doubt it would actually happen fast enough in real life, but maybe TLJ manages to contact the transit authority or whoever controls the trains and get it stopped before it reaches the next station (again, I don't believe for a second this actually happens fast enough in reality). Snipes still gets down and gets away before enough cops have the area covered to matter.
May we all lead a life so rich.
That's a flawed study though - they didn't include one of the most prolific block buster actors, Scarlett Johansson.
Spiral: From the Book of SAW is a flawed, but enjoyable SAW side story.
Also, better than Wrath of Man, holy shit I am still bitter about that being utter trash.
This movie can be seen solo without any confusion as it really has no connection to SAW aside from a reference to the dead Jigsaw Killer and there being elaborate traps involved, this also being the first film to not have Tobin Bell in it at all (aside from a few photos during the investigation) and I think it suffered a bit for it. Jigsaw has been dead since the 3rd movie, but they've always managed to sneak him into the sequels in flashback and while that wouldn't have worked here, I think having the killer's voiced distorted to sound like John Kramer would have allowed Bell to reprise his role in a small way. It's a shame that didn't happen.
Chris Rock is alright here, but his performance is a bit uneven as his most used expression is one of wincing his eyes to seem serious at anytime he isn't cracking jokes. The upside to Chris Rock are his comedic "buddy cop" moments where his comedy background shines through and doesn't feel shoehorned in just because Chris Rock is a funny dude.
You may have heard Samuel Jackson is in the movie, but he only has a slim 5ish minutes of screen time, one scene of which he sports a hilariously bad mustache. He elevates the few scenes he's in and I would have liked to have him had at least one more interaction with Chris Rock (plays his son) to give a little more believability to Rock's worried reaction when he goes missing.
The rest of the cast does workmanlike, generic acting. Nothing special.
The traps are varied, but there's something missing here as they are all dealt with pretty quickly and without aplomb. I think if they had added one more it might have made me come around. Unfortunately, less traps means more sleepy procedural (aside from Rock's introduction scene) scenes.
The twist ending was okay, but it's over-exposited instead of giving us a few quick cuts showing us why the killer did what they did (which they kind of do afterwards/during the exposition) and it kinda robs it of the "oh shit" moments that the SAW series is known for.
Ultimately, I think this would have made an exceptional direct-to-dvd movie, but as a theatrical film, it falls short.
C+
A definitive ranking of the SAW franchise:
1) SAW 2
2) SAW
3) SAW 6
4) SAW 4
5) SAW (The video game - the plot is canon in the series)
6) SAW 5
7) Jigsaw
8) SAW 2: Flesh & Blood (video game - canon)
9) Spiral: From the Book of SAW
10) SAW 3
11) SAW 3D: The Final Chapter
---
Let's try not beating a dead horse about "torture porn" and how it's garbage. The SAW series legit has the best plot of any long-running horror series and I think it's pretty great. Don't be a dismissive butt-head.
As a side effect, one character who was supposed to die actually survived to the end of the movie. I didn't see any confirmation on which one, and there are 2-3 possibilities I can think of.
The twist ending was way too predictable, but I liked the motivations behind everything. I don't think working Jigsaw in would have really added anything, and I'd probably give it a B-, but we're largely on the same page.
I did not like the Pulp Fiction reference. Maybe if it was just shown in passing once, but the way they kept focusing on that logo over and over again felt like the director thought it was much more clever than it actually was.
I mean two things can be true :P
I was joking. The movie uses that Downey Jr and Snipes both do the same "trick" to go "Oh man they are both CIA!" as opposed to you know two men who know how to get out of handcuffs.
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Did you feel like a dolphin that doesn't know the taste of melted snow?
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I wrote my thesis in college on Hudson Hawk.
It is legitimately my favorite movie.
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FWIW I think two traps got cut, as Fitch's partner Kraus also disappears in the middle, and there's a super obvious cut scene early on where Drury wouldn't fit.
Similarly at the end, after Zeke leaves the glass throwing trap, there's another abrupt cut where he's exploring the lair. I think a second one goes there, or he was at least meant to find the one that Marcus did earlier.
Can somebody kill her already? Anybody?