Gamer (From the directors of Crank 1 & 2!)

[EvilShoe]

Formerly known as "Game".
http://totallyhollywoodhunksnews.com/Picture/Game/Game_TeaserPoster.jpg

Set in a future-world where humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player (Butler) from a game called "Slayers" looks to regain his independence while taking down the game's mastermind (Hall).
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9krkPmztVLU&fmt=18)

I will see this.

[Skitch]

Gerard Butler and Crank directors? Seat meet ass.

[Dukefrukem]

Meh. I dunno about this.

[EvilShoe]

Meh. I dunno about this.
Et tu, Duke?

[Sven]

Looks absolutely incredible.

[Dukefrukem]

Et tu, Duke?

This feels very forced to me. A kid controlling a soldiers...? I have a hard time believing this will work. I loved Crank and have yet to see Crank 2, so that's not enough to win me over.

[Ivan Drago]

I read "From the directors of Crank 1 and 2!" in the thread title and was sold.

[eternity]

Crank is the only thing these guys will ever do okay with. Did anyone see Pathology? That movie was unbearably terrible.

One trick ponies, Taylor and Neveldine are.

[Rowland]

Crank is the only thing these guys will ever do okay with. Did anyone see Pathology? That movie was unbearably terrible.

One trick ponies, Taylor and Neveldine are.They only wrote Pathology. I agree that the movie was pretty bad, but I felt it was the direction that really took it down a notch. The script called for a lighter touch, while the director played it all in this really dark, heavy pitch that clashed with the absurdly OTT script excesses. I suspect it could have been a passable guilty pleasure if Taylor and Neveldine had taken filmmaking duties.

[number8]

It's an okay trailer. Explains the plot (which really didn't need explaining at all), but I much prefer the more energetic Italian trailer that was leaked a couple of months ago:

http://io9.com/5184433/italian-game-trailer-shows-who-pulls-gerard-butlers-strings

[Acapelli]

It's an okay trailer. Explains the plot (which really didn't need explaining at all), but I much prefer the more energetic Italian trailer that was leaked a couple of months ago:

http://io9.com/5184433/italian-game-trailer-shows-who-pulls-gerard-butlers-strings
this is much better than the other trailer

i'll probably be seeing this. its basically death race, but as a videogame instead of a race, which is fine with me since death race blew

[Dukefrukem]

That trailer makes the movie look fantastic. But too late, I already saw the crap within.

[KK2.0]

a strong B-movie vibe from this one.

[megladon8]

When it said "Michael C. Hall", the short clip of him they played right after looked like he was doing a musical number.

I so hope that happens.

[Lasse]

I don't see any reason not to check this one out.

[Sycophant]

Yes, plz.

[Ezee E]

Just saw the preview, and I'm with Sven, this looks incredible actually.

[megladon8]

Rated R for frenetic sequences of strong brutal violence throughout, sexual content, nudity and language


Yesssssssssssss.

[Sxottlan]

An obnoxious movie.

A few interesting ideas, but the directors seem more interested in grossing us out with disgusting people and their behaviour, especially when it comes to women. Note the way the camera lasciviously coasts up and down the body of a fat invalid controlling the hero's wife. You see, people who play video games all day and live online are fat slobs. Revelatory.

Action scenes are cut to ribbons to hide how cheap-looking the production values were.

The only remotely well done scene is at the end with a bizarre dance number. Perhaps the directors should try a musical next.

Still, Gamer is slightly better than the abomination unto the Lord known as Crank.

[BuffaloWilder]

So, you can answer the question that's been nagging at us all for a while:

was Michael C. Hall performing a musical number?

[Sxottlan]

So, you can answer the question that's been nagging at us all for a while:

was Michael C. Hall performing a musical number?

Yes. Although I couldn't tell if he was dubbed or really singing it or if it was Frank Sinatra singing "I've Got You Under my Skin."

[Sven]

Still, Gamer is slightly better than the abomination unto the Lord known as Crank.

It will be a masterpiece.

[Sycophant]

Yes. Although I couldn't tell if he was dubbed or really singing it or if it was Frank Sinatra singing "I've Got You Under my Skin."

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Gonna be processing this one for a while yet.

[BuffaloWilder]

Trailer reveals a movie that, while it doesn't look even the slightest bit original in terms of plot or concept, actually looks a fair bit more visually interesting than the Crank films. I particularly like the shots of the club bathed in pink lighting with the girls housed in giant back-and-forth balls., as well as what looked like a well-shot chase sequence that might be hampered by a glum color palette. And of course, Michael C. Hall in a musical number.

Now, I really am dissapoint.

I am very dissapoint, son.

[Ivan Drago]

I can't risk seeing this, or any Neveldine/Taylor movie on caffeine withdrawal.

:downs energy shot followed by Coke:

Aaaand I'm out.

[Ivan Drago]

Has a different drive than the Crank movies (darker too), but still fun.

Should be noted: Neveldine and Taylor's idea for a rave is absolutely insane.

[Ezee E]

Surprised more haven't seen this. After I settle down from Telluride, I'll check this out. Still looking forward to it.

[Skitch]

The first half hour I thought this was going to be a train wreck...than it got better till the end. Enjoyable, but nothing to freak out about.

[Dukefrukem]

I agree it was enjoyable. A bit weird at some points but a fun ride as expected. What I didn't like was the fast cut to shots occurring so often. I think it gave me a headache.

[Morris Schæffer]

I know I should stay far away from this, but:

a) I'm an avid gamer.
b) I can't deny that Neveldine & Taylor have found a somewhat original angle.
c) I'm a huge fan of Michael C. Hall.

So we'll see.

[Sycophant]

The friend I saw this with told me he had a one-word movie review. And that was "loud." As I'm still trying to sort this movie out in my head, I'm beginning to wonder if that's about the extent of my feelings as well.

There are some great images. Its pace is more or less engaging. Michael C. Hall does amusing things. There are some interesting enough ideas underneath all the rubble, but there's a lot of rubble.

It's not worthless, but it ain't no Crank either. Kinda pains me to say it, but Gerard Butler aint no Jason Statham either.

[Sycophant]

Interestingly enough, I noticed that Neveldine & Taylor were both credited as primary camera operators. "A" and "B" cam, I believe.

[B-side]

Now, I really am dissapoint.

I am very dissapoint, son.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9422/son1az5.jpg

[Ivan Drago]

Kinda pains me to say it, but Gerard Butler aint no Jason Statham either.

Yeah, I like both but Statham > Butler.

[Ezee E]

I find Gerard Butler pretty boring actually.

[number8]

Interestingly enough, I noticed that Neveldine & Taylor were both credited as primary camera operators. "A" and "B" cam, I believe.

They did that in the Crank movies, as well.

[Sycophant]

They did that in the Crank movies, as well.

Ah, cool. I had missed that.

[Derek]

Surprised more haven't seen this. After I settle down from Telluride, I'll check this out. Still looking forward to it.

Could be the 19% on RottenTomatoes...

Check your brain at the door! :pritch:

[Watashi]

Could be the 19% on RottenTomatoes...

Check your brain at the door! :pritch:
Just like Transformers 2, huh? ;)

[BuffaloWilder]

Yes.

[BuffaloWilder]

Okay, so. Brief thoughts on Gamer.

It's better than Crank 2. That much is certain. Visually, it's garishly bland - too much high contrast, everywhere. It looks like a bad TV commercial from the late nineties, most of the time. There's a shot early on where Butler's character is talking to John Leguizamo in the desert prison, and it almost looked like Leguizamo's skin was about to start glowing. However, there are some genuinely nice shots, sprinkled here and there. They've learned to shoot a kind-of well done chase sequence that is - yes, I called it - hampered by the film's glum color palette. And, the dance number may be the best scene in the film - although, it's interrupted by something, I don't know what it was. Just a weird series of flashy images with loud noises in the background for a second or two that are never mentioned again.

The first twenty minutes of the film are like that, however. A bunch of stuff is thrown at the screen, and the filmmakers seem to expect us to assemble it into a coherent whole. Luckily, it begins to make more sense as the film goes on, but not by much. Obviously, it's ultra-conventional. Death Race in a videogame, and so on. Nothing much interesting is done with it - there's an attempt at...some kind of social satire, but it's both too fleeting and too easy. The directors take great joy in showing us close-ups of sweaty, naked fat people. I do not share their enthusiasm, and as it didn't really come out to anything, I have resolved to track them down, punch them both in the face, and get my money back.

Michael C. Hall steals the film in the same way that Joan Allen stole Death Race, last year.

[Dukefrukem]

Now that I think about it. I did enjoy Hall's character.