Superheroes Assemble, What I'm Watching, What I've Seen...
Hot Tub Time Machine 2
John Cusack opted not to return to this film that does not in any way shape or form improve on the first film, instead making me feel almost nostalgic for the first one despite its sheer stupidity because you get the sense it tried unlike this one that is so abysmal in its humor. It was as if the writer went pages and pages before realizing there had to be humor in it.
“Hot Tub Time Machine 2” picks up a few years after the first one finding big changes for the lives of the three men. Nick (Craig Robinson) and Lou (Rob Corddry) became wealthy after stealing ideas from their timeline to use at their own and Adam (John Cusack who is not in the film) became a successful novelist after writing sci-fi using their real time travel experiences as the concept. Lou’s son Jacob is still floundering, a lowly servant to the now power hungry, hedonistic Lou.
Gaining enemies at every turn, Lou is shot during a party. To save his life the men attempt to travel back in time to stop the shooting from happening but instead end up fifteen years in the future.
Deciding to work their way backwards, the guys turn their focus on the missing Adam and Gary (Jason D. Jones, “The Daily Show” who is attractive! My word, he shouldn’t be doing comedy. He has leading man looks. )
who is bitter because he was ditched by the men when they made their fateful trip in the first film.
In the future they befriend the good-natured Adam (Adam Scott), a relative of their friend Adam who helps them search for him.
Corddry and Robinson are the MVPs of this movie…if they were playing on the Bad News Bears and using the lowest baseline of achievement you can. Their comedy background helps sell this ridiculous and lazy script where the word “fuck” and gay jokes (So. Many. Gay. Jokes.) are used in place of real humor. Clark Duke who, at one point, was poised to be the next Jonah Hill or Evan Peters is like the dirty film that accumulates on top of a hot tub. Slightly better is Adam Scott who I irrationally dislike.
He is, though
His wide-eyed, naïve Adam is a refreshing change from his usually jerk characters (“Stepbrothers”, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”). I think I liked his character more for his fashion sense. He was the uber fashionisto wearing 3/4th length pants and a skirt.
HTTM2 is to me the biggest departure in tone from the original film that I can think of. Whereas this first one was a silly, but at times very heartfelt ode to Eighties film, this film is an ode to Eighties film…coarse Eighties films like “Porkys”.
~I saw “The Duff” again. It still held up to a degree. When I initially saw it the writing in some scenes was slightly discomfiting as it seemed lackluster; upon second viewing it’s painfully obvious. It’s like those end-episode life lessons that Stan or Kyle go on about in “South Park” except those are punctuated with a joke to diffuse the schmaltz. But one thing that didn’t wear thin is the sheer likeability of Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell.
In a Facebook Q&A that Mae and Robbie did on Stephen Amell’s Facebook Mae said that they were given free rein to improvise and when she couldn’t think of something funny to say she’d ask Robbie for suggestions, even texting him on his days off for lines.
Robbie Amell: more than just pecs of death!
You’ve come a long way, baby
They’re comparing Robbie to Tom Cruise. Know who else they compared to Tom Cruise? My boy from ‘Never Back Down’ Sean Faris.
He still got it!
I love his smile more than his ripped body
The entertainment website The Wrap has compared them to Hepburn and Tracy and says that the film is hysterical which I think is a stretch of Plastic Man proportions but I’m thrilled people like it.
I await the Youtube clips where fans make low-quality cam rips from the film and post only the Bianca and Wesley scenes.
Here are what critics are saying about the twosome.
Film School Rejects
The Guardian
Young Folks
New York Times
Punch Drunk Critics
Sacramento Bee
The Nerdist
*One that that irks me is that critics keep pointing out that it’s unbelievable that Mae Whitman can be seen as anyone’s “designated ugly fat friend”. As explained in the film DUFF is a catch-all term, not to be taken literally. A DUFF is just someone who is the less attractive person in their circle. Like in the circle of CW Men Jared Padalecki is the DUFF Of Rosenbaum, Welling and Ackles.
Even with Jensen’s Fu Manchu, Jared still holds DUFF status in the group
Abe Lincoln is the DUFF of Mount Rushmore. Rumor is that Leonardo DiCaprio got DUFF’d by Rihanna. Everyone thought that the pair were hooking up but apparently she’s dating friend Richie Akiva.
Rih and Richie
Richie and the squad
*I also saw “Kingsman: The Secret Service” again. Still loved it as much as I did the first go.
Samuel L. Jackson’s take as Valetine, while still inspired (I love the idea that he chose to fashion his billionaire villain after Russell Simmons who, along with Jay Z and Mark Zukerberg, are the new faces of wealth. No longer should wealthy people be portrayed as older, white males) he should have left Simmons’ trademark lisp alone. It’s a distracting character trait that lends nothing to role. And what’s funny is that there are people who don’t know who Russell Simmons is so they were offended because they thought Jackson was playing a stereotypical lisping gay man.
One thing that didn’t make the film because director Matthew Vaughn would think it would confuse the audience is that there’s a scene where Colin Firth’s Harry Hart is making breakfast for Taron Egerton’s Eggsy and Eggsy walks in wearing a tank top. Vaughn says the scene could be construed as implying that it was the morning after a night of loving. Which Vaughn should not have worried about because there’s already 18 such fics on Ao3 right nao! With more fanart (a lot of anime style, oddly enough) than that.
It’s about time for a true intergenerational pairing.
Who’d turn their nose up at this?
*”Kingsman: The Secret Service” is being charged with being misogynistic because there are only two women in the film with only one having much to do and also for an ending scene. An interviewer asked Egertons’ co-star Sophie Cookson about misogyny and Taron pulled a “not all men’.
It’s great that Taron wants to point that men are also seeking change in representation for women but IMO it seems that people think those sentiments carry more weight when it comes from a men because the sense seems to be if a woman says it she’s just imaging things, but when a man says it people think “it must be true if a man!” Same with feminism. Now reporters ask male celebrities if they’re feminists. I personally don’t care if Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Tom Hardy or Joss Whedon are feminists, their voices and opinions shouldn’t trump what women have been saying all along.
~Talking about intergenerational pairing a show I love right now is UK’s E4’s “Cucumber”. Created by the original “Queer as Folk” creator and man who brought back “Doctor Who” Russell T. Davies; “Cucumber” is just one of a trio of shows that he created and are airing as interconnected series titled “Cucumber”, “Banana” and “Tofu”
and an additional short titled “Screwdriver” which deals with the 15-year old nephew and 12-year old niece of Henry and the pressure kids are under regarding the sexual behavior of kids and how they navigate sex and body image in the digital age.
“Cucumber” stars Vincent Franklin (“The Office” original flavor) as Henry Best a 46-year old man who breaks up with Lance (Cyril Nyri, “Law & Order UK), his boyfriend of nine years after Lance
proposes to him because Henry yearns for one last passionate experience… preferably with a hot, younger guy.
Henry moves in with his nineteen-year old gay coworker, the sweet, yet prone to melodrama, Dean (newcomer Fisayo Akinade) and Dean’s twenty-four year old roommate; the blond, beautiful and blistering Freddie (Freddie Fox, “The Riot Club”) who is disgusted by the thought of Henry fantasizing about him.
As Henry lusts after Freddie, his Dream Boy, he prepares to re-enter and navigate today’s dating world as a middle-aged gay man.
The men of “Cucumber”
The stories in “Banana” bisects the stories in the preceding episode of “Cucumber”. For example in “Cucumber”s second episode Henry comes home to a party and finds everyone centered around Dean’s friend Scotty (Leticia Wright) as she “stalks the love of her life”, a married straight woman.
In the proceeding episode of “Banana” we get the story of how Scotty meets this woman and the scene at the party from “Cucumber” is played out from another angle.
Even though self-contained “Cucumber” introduces a lot of characters and cast don’t always get to interact. Hence “Cucumber” actor Con O’Neill (who plays Cliff, Henry’s bedraggled best friend) reaching out to episode 4 guest star Rufus Hound.
Unlike “Cucumber” whose stories are sustained arcs, each episode of “Banana” is self-contained and the series will deal with different couples per episode.
It’s because it’s a complete story “Banana” has the opportunity to be more heartfelt (ep 2 Scotty’s story is as beautiful and complete a story as any feature film length movie) and giving the characters more life.
I thought I loved “Banana” more than “Cucumber” because the characters in “Cucumber” are a divisive bunch.
Not a satisfied viewer
But as weeks goes by I realize I love “Cucumber” more because there are people who are venal and selfish and do horrible things and embarrasses themselves in grand fashion (many people dislike Henry’s desperation over Freddie and Lance’s chasing after a straight, slightly homophobic coworker) and I don’t think that needs to be shied away from. Even people who are just the worst can be interesting or have another side to them. I like that “Cucumber” honors that.
I know people who hated the characters on ‘Seinfeld” because they felt those characters were awful people who spent episode after episode ruining the lives of whoever they came in contact. Terrible acting characters ≠ terrible show. If people think the characters of “Cucumber” are awful they must really wanted to burn the characters of “Oz” alive. Those were people who did the absolute worst things imaginable (feeding broken glass to people? Purposely injecting someone with an HIV infected needle. Bashing someone’s head in with a barbell after that person gave the other a blowjob-textbook definition of rude, that one.)
If there is a character on “Cucumber” that I feel the most distaste for it’s Freddie. Played by Freddie Fox who played a slightly less conceited character in “Pride”
The only time he wasn’t shading someone was when he was being dolled up by the kids
I can understand the vain Freddie, he who thinks he’s gods gift to the world, feeling that Henry isn’t worthy of him, that he pre-emptively rejects Henry in such a cruel, cutting way that it felt like emotional abuse; but it seems that Freddie doesn’t like anyone . He referred to Dean as an idiot and treats him with almost as much disdain for Henry. He gives Ice Queen a whole new meaning.
Fox, who is a male Tilda Swinton, is perfectly cast for the role. Someone described him as bloodless and I found that fitting. Freddie, both the character and actor, convey an impenetrable demeanor.
He smiles sometimes I guess
I don’t find him attractive but he made for a very fetching Marilyn/Peter Robinsonf in the TV movie “Worried About the Boy”, a biopic about Boy George starring Fox’s friend Douglas Booth as Boy George.
Freddie as Marilyn
Douglas as Boy George
The men with Boy
The real Marilyn and Boy
Marilyn and Gavin Rossdale. He claims that they had an affair and he was the love of his life and everyone believes it’s just a lie so that former(?) drug addict and famewhore Marilyn can still keep his name in the press.
Quick shots
*As I was finishing another great episode of “Cucumber” and getting ready for “Banana” Zack Snyder
strolled onto Twitter like,
By posting an image of Jason Momoa as Aquaman!
I wasted an hour fangurling online. It took me forever to get through “Banana” and “The Vampire Diaries”.
*Momoa’s casting is old news but with so long until the release of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and the other DC titles it’s good to get some news out there since Marvel is continuing with their cinematic juggernauts.
Grounded no more!
It was announced that Spiderman is going home..or at least visiting Marvel as Sony has agreed to a partnership with Marvel/Fox to allow SpiderMan inclusion into the Marvel cinematic’verse. While there has been no word on which film will introduce the web slinger it is known that Spidey will once again be recast. People are hoping Tobey Maguire returns to the character, but there’s hopes that they’ll use Miles Morales’ SpiderMan
Scuttlebutt is that some of the names being floated around for Spidey is “Teen Wolf”s Dylan O’Brien
now, now Dylan it’s not *that* funny
and Logan Lerman who I hope doesn’t go to Marvel but DC because if there’s ever a live-action Robin/Tim Drake or Superboy/Conner Kent it’s Logan.
*”X-Men: Apocalypse” casting is underway and just as with “Days of Future Past”, new dad Bryan Singer is announcing his cast over Twitter instead of via magazines and press releases. Joining “Apocalypse” is Sophie Turner of “Game of Thrones”, Alexandra Shipp who played Aaliyah in the televised biopic on her life and Ty Sheridan of the upcoming ‘Scouts vs. Zombies” playing the younger versions of Jean Grey, Storm and Cyclops.
Sheridan acts opposite DC’s future Flash Ezra Miller in “The Stanford Prison Experiment”.
At Sundance
This dude
Stills
Ezra will finally be seen in the long gestating “Madame Bovary” starring Mia Wasikowska and white!Tom Hardy Logan Marshall-Green.
And Kodi Smit-McPhee has been announced as playing Nightcrawler, originally played by Alan Cumming.
Kodi with his “The Road” costar Viggo Mortensen
All Grown Up
*Literally. Is he 6'5? It looks like he's been put through a pasta extruder.
*Deadpool has escaped from development hell. Ryan Reynolds posted another pictures teasing his return to the role that he played in “Wolverine: Origins”.
Joining Reynolds will be Morena Baccarin who is currently recurring on FOX’s “Gotham” as Dr. Leslie Thompkins.
Joining “Gotham” for at least one episode is no other than former “Heroes” star Milo Ventipygmalion!
Milo will play a characterization of the comic character Ogre.
*The Justice League film has a new Rick Flagg. Joel Kinnaman of “Robocop” and AMC’s “The Killing” replaces Tom Hardy as Flagg.
Just because you have ink doesn’t make you equal to Tom
~An Oldie, but a Goodie. That awkward moment when swimmer Tom Daley getting caught staring at a contestant .
Subtle, Tom. Subtle
The Kents are so encouraging
Zod is on a mission
In my case it was my grandfather defending me. I was the baby of the grandkids for the longest
Marky Mark, Ladies and Gents
