Scott Pilgrim VS The World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim VS The World

- Next time, don’t date the girl with eleven evil ex-boyfriends.
- It’s seven.
- Oh, well, that’s not that bad.

The Stats

The Director:  Edgar Wright
The Cast:  Michael Cera, Allison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson
The Release Date: 2010
The Runtime: 112 Minutes

The Plot

Scott Pilgrim plays bass for the excellently named band Sex Bob-Omb. After being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, he finds what he thinks is love with a high school junior, Knives Chau (complete with school girl uniform.) At a party, however, Scott meets and falls in love with Ramona Flowers, leading to a break-up with Knives as he tries to woo the multi-hair-colored Ramona. After successfully getting Ramona to fall for him, he is sucker punched (literally and figuratively) by her past. Seems like Ramona has 7 Evil Exes that have banded together to destroy Scott Pilgrim. Now Scott has to beat all 7 Evil Exes in battle, avoid a jealous Knives, deal with bumping into his own Evil Ex on top of trying to “make it” with his band.

The Lowdown

Let’s put it out there. This movie TANKED. Out of it’s $60 Million budget it only made $30 Mil at the box office. Which is a real shame. Maybe it was because the concept was just too quirky, or maybe it was because critics didn’t get what the movie was going for… or hell, maybe people are just sick of Michael Cera. Whatever the reason, the movie lost money. But the lack of Box Office numbers is not proportionate to the entertainment value of the film.

First off, it’s Edgar Wright directing. The guy gave us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz… he’s a director that knows exactly how to blend kick-ass action with belly-hurting comedy. Pilgrim‘s It’s not as funny as those two epics, but it’s still pretty amusing. And besides, what it lacks in comedy, it more than makes up for in just plain awesome fight scenes. The creators of this movie clearly love their old school video games. Each Evil Ex that Scott has take on has his (or her) own “level” in the movie. And after each defeat, the Ex explodes into gold coins that Scott collects. No, seriously. The movie is an odd, yet effective blend of comedy, action film, comic book and video game.

From the entertaining-as-hell fight scenes, to the geek references… from the cool video-game “feel”, to the surprise cameos, Scott Pilgrim is a fun ride. Rent it!

FORCED PERSPECTIVE, Ep.12 – The Chronicle of John Carter

The dynamic duo is BACK! With the films of 2011 firmly behind them after the Oscars, join SportsGuy515 and Adolfo as they review a few of the major releases of 2012 so far: The Grey, Chronicle, Project X, John Carter, and Friends With Kids. Plus, an endorsement from Mr. Eddie, recent Blu-Ray purchases, Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, why the MPAA ratings board is completely useless, and more! STREAM/DOWNLOAD NOW!


(*NOW with commercial breaks featuring vintage movie trailers and assorted wackyness*)

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch

We’re not gonna get rid of anybody! We’re gonna stick together, just like it used to be! When you side with a man, you stay with him! And if you can’t do that, you’re like some animal, you’re finished! *We’re* finished! All of us!

The Stats

The Director:  Sam Peckinpah
The Cast:  William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmund O’Brien
Release Date:  1969

The Plot

An aging band of outlaws look for one last big score, but when one of their own gets captured by a corrupt Mexican general, they have to decide what’s more important: money or loyalty.

The Lowdown:

Don’t let the fact that this is an “old” western fool you.  This movie is fucking awesome.  You want violence?  This movie pushed the limits of what you could show in movies.  In 1969, the “R” rating was practically a brand new way of rating movies, and brother, did this film take advantage of it.

Violence.  Hookers. Gun fights. Swearing.  It’s got it all.

If you’re a fan of John Woo movies, you owe it to yourself to watch The Wild Bunch.  Woo was heavily inspired by Sam Peckinpah, and you can tell easily with this film… especially the action sequences.  Peckinpah has a way of shooting violence as if it’s a symphony.  There’s a kind of poetry to blood squirting out of a Mexican’s chest.

Yeah, it’s a western. But it ain’t your daddy’s western.  The Wild Bunch, quite frankly, are a band of degenerate outlaws.  They booze it up, whore it up and shoot it up.  When a big score goes bad, they decide on one final big score.  There’s a catch though when one of their gets captured by General Mapache over a personal vendetta.  The four gunslingers can just take their money and walk away.  But instead, loyalty trumps all.  The shot of these four bad asses marching into town to get their friend back sends chills up your spine.  You just KNOW that some serious shit is about to go down.  And boy does it ever as the Wild Bunch damn near take out half of Mexico.

Hell, this film is worth watching for the last 10 minutes alone.  The gunfight between the Wild Bunch and the Mexican army is one of the most violent and kick ass action sequences ever filmed… especially when you consider that it’s 40 years old at this point.

Watch this movie.