Hobo With a Shotgun (Rutger Hauer!)

[Morris Schæffer]

Check out this violent trailer:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/46372

[chrisnu]

:cool: I also remember the original trailer being fairly awesome. I'll see it...

[number8]

Damn. That looks amazing. I am way more excited for that than Machete.

[Henry Gale]

Looks way better than it has any reason to. At first I thought it was stretching it that even an unofficial Grindhouse trailer was getting made into feature film, but now, actually realizing it's striving to be more than just a one-joke-trailer idea turned into a couple of hours; I'm quite impressed with what I see.

[Spinal]

Brilliant casting. It's amazing how well Hauer sells that silliness.

[baby doll]

I'm excited to see it, less because I think it'll be good than because I went to film school with Eisener.

[Irish]

Hauer is one guy I think can pull this off. Maybe. I hope they go for a black comedy Robocop kind of thing with it.

Here's the movie I'd pay to see: Hauer versus Shatner, barechested and bumfight style under an LA freeway beating the hell out of one another for 90 minutes.

[megladon8]

Now THAT is a superhero movie I can get behind.

Oh man.

>>>>> Machete.

[Rowland]

Eisener made a short titled Treevenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaiv7kAXBzM) that I found irritating, but at the very least has some audacious gore effects.

[Bosco B Thug]

Eisener made a short titled Treevenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaiv7kAXBzM) that I found irritating, but at the very least has some audacious gore effects.
Oh my God from the makers of Treevenge. Of course.

[Sxottlan]

I'm in.

[MacGuffin]

I'm in.

Me too, it looks terrific.

[BuffaloWilder]

That monologue. Oh my god, that monologue.

http://captionsearch.com/pix/jiqd2154kr.jpg

[MacGuffin]

I wonder if this is going to get a wide release.

[Ezee E]

Might as well greenlight the Rob Zombie werewolf movie with Nic Cage.

Skip Feast.

[Winston*]

Might as well greenlight the Rob Zombie werewolf movie with Nic Cage.

Skip Feast.

"Don't" was by far the best one.

[baby doll]

So, I saw the trailer when I went to see Machete. I'm still probably going to see this, but I have to say, I wasn't crazy about the trailer. Where are the laughs? Also, knowing Eisener, he's probably not very cognizant of the film's political implications, and judging by the trailer, this looks like it's to the right of Death Wish--which might be fine if it doesn't take itself too seriously. So, who knows?

[Irish]

this looks like it's to the right of Death Wish

I think you're right, and for this reason I think the movie is going to embraced by the young-male-closet-fascist crowd. The same group who gets stiff when they read Ayn Rand and gleefully missed the more obvious & nasty subtexts in movies like Fight Club, 300, and Kick-Ass.

[baby doll]

I think you're right, and for this reason I think the movie is going to embraced by the young-male-closet-fascist crowd. The same group who gets stiff when they read Ayn Rand and gleefully missed the more obvious & nasty subtexts in movies like Fight Club, 300, and Kick-Ass.Then again, there's always the possibility that the film's apocalyptic vision of a society overrun by crime and filth (and therefore, in desperate need of a Travis Bickle-like vigilante to clean it up--albeit one who is himself an outsider to society Ã* la Ethan in The Searcher) will just be so over-the-top and ridiculous that it becomes a parody of the vigilante mythology.

[megladon8]

I get the feeling that the film's questionable and (I imagine) contradictory morals are kind of the point.

It's supposed to be sleazy, grindhouse trash.

[number8]

I've been wondering if I could ever get away with making an incredibly racist and misogynistic movie and call it an intentional throwback.

[MacGuffin]

I've been wondering if I could ever get away with making an incredibly racist and misogynistic movie and call it an intentional throwback.

Ugh, please don't ever try. A throwback is not necessary since the original "incredibly racist and misogynistic movie" is bad enough.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/4374/fightforyourlife.jpg

[number8]

Haha, I love that movie.

[Irish]

Ugh, please don't ever try. A throwback is not necessary since the original "incredibly racist and misogynistic movie" is bad enough.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/4374/fightforyourlife.jpg

Okaaaay .. that's the second wtf for the day (the first involved photos of a young asian man rolling around with a santa-claus like hobo).

:lol:

[Irish]

Then again, there's always the possibility that the film's apocalyptic vision of a society overrun by crime and filth (and therefore, in desperate need of a Travis Bickle-like vigilante to clean it up--albeit one who is himself an outsider to society Ã* la Ethan in The Searcher) will just be so over-the-top and ridiculous that it becomes a parody of the vigilante mythology.

I hope so. Something like Robocop springs to mind. Or even American Psycho.

Both brutally violent but with a helluva lot of laugh out loud satire.

[megladon8]

I hope so. Something like Robocop springs to mind. Or even American Psycho.

Both brutally violent but with a helluva lot of laugh out loud satire.


You're quickly becoming one of my favorite posters.

(Assuming of course you're saying that you like both Robocop and American Psycho)

[Irish]

You're quickly becoming one of my favorite posters.

(Assuming of course you're saying that you like both Robocop and American Psycho)

Thanks =)

And yes -- I like both of them, probably American Psycho a little bit more. AP was what Stone's Wall Street should have been, but Stone ended up glorifying guys like Gordon Gekko. AP throws a chainsaw at Gekko's face and then cackles about it. Rare to see such a smart movie with such excessive action and visuals.

[BuffaloWilder]

You know, this seems like it's actually trying to be a little more than it's one-note origins. Even though it's gory, gory trailer, there's an unexpected, bold impression to some of the images, here. And, it doesn't really seem like this is a film that will begin by idolizing its hero - he's out there with the rest of the garbage, just like everyone else, which seems to be one of the points of the small snippets of monologue we got at the beginning. I mean, guys - he is a hobo with a shotgun.

[Acapelli]

That monologue. Oh my god, that monologue.

http://captionsearch.com/pix/jiqd2154kr.jpg
i don't understand why there's a picture of rich boy in this post

[number8]

It's a meme.

[number8]

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dat-ass

[Spinal]

That's lame even by internet meme standards.

[Acapelli]

oh. great

[MadMan]

I think you're right, and for this reason I think the movie is going to embraced by the young-male-closet-fascist crowd. The same group who gets stiff when they read Ayn Rand and gleefully missed the more obvious & nasty subtexts in movies like Fight Club, 300, and Kick-Ass.What if you enjoyed Fight Club, 300, and Kick-Ass but got all of the nasty subtext? Also, I'm not a fascist, and I've never read any Ayn Rand. I'm a young male, though, so there's that I suppose :P


"Don't" was by far the best one.Nah, I think Machete was, and I'd put Thanksgiving ahead of Don't as well. All the fake trailers were amazing, though.


Might as well greenlight the Rob Zombie werewolf movie with Nic Cage.

Skip Feast.That trailer was awesome. I'd love to see Nic Cage hamming it up in a Rob Zombie movie. With Nazi werewolf women.

And yes Hobo With a Shotgun looks gory and entertaining. Hauer is a great choice to star in something that will be even more over the top than Machete was.


I hope so. Something like Robocop springs to mind. Or even American Psycho.

Both brutally violent but with a helluva lot of laugh out loud satire.Both of those are damn good movies. American Psycho especially, which is a favorite of mine.

[Irish]

What if you enjoyed Fight Club, 300, and Kick-Ass but got all of the nasty subtext? Also, I'm not a fascist, and I've never read any Ayn Rand. I'm a young male, though, so there's that I suppose :P
Ehhhhhhhh .. my argument is going to insult you by default, so apologies on that, but here it is:

If you got the nasty subtexts in those movies, it's impossible to enjoy them.

[number8]

I think Ayn Rand and Fight Club are in direct conflict of each other, considering the latter's socialist anti-property message.

[Irish]

I think Ayn Rand and Fight Club are in direct conflict of each other, considering the latter's socialist anti-property message.

Annnnnnnd now I gotta insult you too. Fight Club doesn't have a socialist message at all (there's a difference between socialism and anti-corporatism).

Fight Club (like 300) is pure fascism through and through. (And I mean fascism in the classical sense of that word, not the Adolf-I'm-invoking-Godwin's-Law-to-fuck-with-you-on-the-internet sense of that word).

[number8]

That's not what I was referring to. That's the anti-property side of it. It may not be out-and-out socialism, but it's essentially about the total deconstruction of traditional masculinity and the reconciliation of conflicting identities, two things that are so not objectivist.

[megladon8]

Ehhhhhhhh .. my argument is going to insult you by default, so apologies on that, but here it is:

If you got the nasty subtexts in those movies, it's impossible to enjoy them.


I don't understand this at all.

[MadMan]

Ehhhhhhhh .. my argument is going to insult you by default, so apologies on that, but here it is:

If you got the nasty subtexts in those movies, it's impossible to enjoy them.I'm not easily insultable or easily offended, heh. I enjoy those movies despite their nasty subtexts. Maybe that's a reflection on my personality, or the fact that sometimes I find violence entertaining. *Shrug*

I'm not so sure that Fight Club is really fascist, either. Sure there's Tyler Durden existing as the sterotypical "Strong Man," but as number8 noted the group is rather anti-property. You could make an argument that they're more of "Going back to nature/caveman Darwinism, survival of the fittest" mentality more than anything else. Oh and you could actually argue that Durden's group is communist, since they are in favor of destroying the ruling capitalist system and overthrowing those in charge of it. Thus resulting in a classless society. So I agree with number8, really.

[number8]

So I agree with number8, really.

Yeah, but you enjoyed 300, you fucking fascist.

[MadMan]

Yeah, but you enjoyed 300, you fucking fascist.Heh. I hate communists, and I'm a big fan of Dirty Harry and Death Wish. But I'm no fascist. One of these days I'll commit to some form of ideology.

[megladon8]

I don't understand how disagreeing with a film's politics makes it impossible to enjoy it.

[MadMan]

I don't understand how disagreeing with a film's politics makes it impossible to enjoy it.I can see why it would, but I'm not one of those people. I'll watch a movie no matter what its politics are, and if I like it I don't think that means I'm of those political leanings. Hell I'm sure even Barty, a strict libertarian, has enjoyed movies that were the complete opposite of his political philosophy.

[number8]

I find it hard to enjoy a movie if I feel it seriously advocates a philosophy/politics I strongly disagree with. Probably more so if it pretends to package it such as mindless entertainment, as 300 did when it favorably portrayed pro-war sentiments, xenophobia and eugenics, while conveniently claiming it to be purely fantasy. When you do something like that, the film itself is either irresponsible or dishonest, two things I dislike in films.

[Irish]

but it's essentially about the total deconstruction of traditional masculinity
On the surface the movie replaces one ideal of masculinity with another. Few people I know who adore FC ever reflect too deeply on the ridiculousness of Brad Pitt mocking a male supermodel's masculinity.

At it's heart, it's an ugly piece of work, speaking out of both sides of its mouth. It's a movie about the dangers of conformity that goes ahead and tells every insecure man exactly what they want to hear about personal empowerment and gender identity.

But the movie doesn't encourage you toward anything that benefits you or society or culture. No, the movie's message is about benefitting the uber Durden, and conforming to him, his idea of what a man 'should' be. That's a fascist, cultist kind of message.

So yeah: A story about the dangers of conformity that wickedly urges you to conform. And the yokels fell for it, and formed their own little fight clubs in their backyards and in parks and highschool football fields.


and the reconciliation of conflicting identities
Like this line but not entirely sure of what you're going for with it.


two things that are so not objectivist.
There isn't a far leap between Howard Roarke and Tyler Durden. Both of them are faux-Nietzschean uberman seeking to dominate the people around them (and the people around them includes, well, everybody).

[Irish]

I don't understand how disagreeing with a film's politics makes it impossible to enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against politics or opinions. Hell, I love it when a film takes a stance, has an worldview and an opionion and I hate it when they cop out and don't.

But I think there's a difference in presentation. Take Dirty Harry and Death Wish. Both of them are 'right' films but ... Dirty Harry has a point of view while DW is just exploitative, violent, nihilistic trash.

[Irish]

Oh and you could actually argue that Durden's group is communist, since they are in favor of destroying the ruling capitalist system and overthrowing those in charge of it. Thus resulting in a classless society. So I agree with number8, really.

Not at all. Durden's society is definitely not classless. It goes:

Durden -> His monkeys -> every other man -> women.

[number8]

Oh, so there's the disconnect. See, I actually believe that the movie is actively ridiculing and preaching against Tyler Durden, concluding that his attractiveness is ultimately self-destructive. I understand that many, if not most, take the exact opposite message, but that's their problem, not the film's. I don't even see how it could urge anyone to conform when Project Mayhem itself is an obvious portrayal of anti-conformist irony, which the film highlights by cranking up the group's absurdity.

It exploits a very common insecurity in male masculinity, which is totally fair. It has a character with a split personality acting as both protagonist and antagonist because the conflict of the film is the male primitive urge vs society's emasculation. The neat thing about the twist has always been the fact that we're seeing these two sides at odds, only to discover that it's the same person after all and that the true solution is in reconciliation, not rebellion.

[Irish]

Oh, so there's the disconnect. See, I actually believe that the movie is actively ridiculing and preaching against Tyler Durden, concluding that his attractiveness is ultimately self-destructive. I understand that many, if not most, take the exact opposite message, but that's their problem, not the film's.
Awesome post and well thought out (and fuck me I'm still outta rep).

This goes back to what I was saying about the movie speaking out of both sides of its mouth. It says all this stuff about gender identity and emasculation but then presents them through two of the most charismatic male actors working today.

When I think of Durden I think of Gordon Gekko. There's another ugly alleged anti-hero who's about all the wrong things but incredibly charismatic while doing them.

But the way they're presented in those stories -- they're not the anti-heroes. There are little to no repercussions for their actions. The film celebrates them and their world to excess. They don't warn about dangers, they celebrate them. They are, despite the filmmaker's protestations, the heroes of those films.

A young kid walks out of FC or WS aspiring to become Tyler Durden or Gorden Gekko. You can argue that's the kid's fault, his problem that he misunderstood the movie. But is it? Because the filmmakers intentionally put together a specific message and presentation there.

The kid didn't understand anything. In fact, he understood the movie's real message perfectly.

And man it's an ugly fucking message.

Edit: Similar to Tony Montana and Scarface.

[Irish]

Kinda shorthanding my posts because I'm pressed for time today, but thanks all for this stuff. Great discussion!

[number8]

I see what you mean and I think that's the basic trapping of any anti-hero, but Tyler Durden is specifically meant to be extremely charismatic so as to be convincing in his initial viewpoints. Isn't that the whole point? He's not so much an anti-hero as he is the trickster archetype. He's a handsome rogue who can fuck like a god and kick the shit out of anybody. It's part of the film's criticism of the base male desire to have someone like that as a role model, and the rest of the film clearly illustrates why that's a very stupid idea.

[MadMan]

Not at all. Durden's society is definitely not classless. It goes:

Durden -> His monkeys -> every other man -> women.Every group has a structure, and that really doesn't strike me as an actual class structure. Seeing as all of the monkeys are equal. In the end, Durden is aiming for the end of weath as being the measure of people. That's still rather communist/socialist.

[Qrazy]

Does anyone else read the title 'Hobo with a Shotgun' to the tune of 'Heroes in a half shell'?

[baby doll]

Does anyone else read the title 'Hobo with a Shotgun' to the tune of 'Heroes in a half shell'?Eisener did actually once tell me that his favorite movie was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[Qrazy]

Eisener did actually once tell me that his favorite movie was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Really?

[baby doll]

Really?I am absolutely dead serious.

[transmogrifier]

Oh, so there's the disconnect. See, I actually believe that the movie is actively ridiculing and preaching against Tyler Durden, concluding that his attractiveness is ultimately self-destructive. I understand that many, if not most, take the exact opposite message, but that's their problem, not the film's. I don't even see how it could urge anyone to conform when Project Mayhem itself is an obvious portrayal of anti-conformist irony, which the film highlights by cranking up the group's absurdity.

It exploits a very common insecurity in male masculinity, which is totally fair. It has a character with a split personality acting as both protagonist and antagonist because the conflict of the film is the male primitive urge vs society's emasculation. The neat thing about the twist has always been the fact that we're seeing these two sides at odds, only to discover that it's the same person after all and that the true solution is in reconciliation, not rebellion.

Exactly. I honestly cannot quite comprehend how anyone could come away from the movie thinking that it actually advocates the Space Monkeys.

[Qrazy]

Awesome post and well thought out (and fuck me I'm still outta rep).

This goes back to what I was saying about the movie speaking out of both sides of its mouth. It says all this stuff about gender identity and emasculation but then presents them through two of the most charismatic male actors working today.

When I think of Durden I think of Gordon Gekko. There's another ugly alleged anti-hero who's about all the wrong things but incredibly charismatic while doing them.

But the way they're presented in those stories -- they're not the anti-heroes. There are little to no repercussions for their actions. The film celebrates them and their world to excess. They don't warn about dangers, they celebrate them. They are, despite the filmmaker's protestations, the heroes of those films.

A young kid walks out of FC or WS aspiring to become Tyler Durden or Gorden Gekko. You can argue that's the kid's fault, his problem that he misunderstood the movie. But is it? Because the filmmakers intentionally put together a specific message and presentation there.

The kid didn't understand anything. In fact, he understood the movie's real message perfectly.

And man it's an ugly fucking message.

Edit: Similar to Tony Montana and Scarface.

Fight Club is Rated R, kids should not be watching this movie. It is a film for cognizant adults who can reflect more fully upon it's content. The message of the film is quite clear imo, the repercussion for Durden by the end is he is rejected by the protagonist and dies. This world is not fully celebrated. You can see the seams in Durden's world early on. The lye on the hand, Bob's death, 'I wanted to destroy something beautiful', etc. In order to successfully comment upon the ultimately wrong-headed ideology that generates fight clubs, the film must first create and revel in that ideology. This is the core of what the film is about, it is the split personality under examination.

Step 1 - Problem: 'I'm sick of my meaningless and tedious existence.'
Step 2 - Solution: 'Anarchy. Violence. Destroy the world around you.'
Step 3 - Problem: 'That was a terrible solution, I'm not worse off than I ever was.'
Step 4 - Solution: 'Generate your own meaning. Understand. Love.'

If the power, self-esteem and visceral 'joy' generated by the fight clubs is not initially felt then the commentary about anarchy doesn't function as successfully. It is important that Durden and the fight clubs be seductive (ditto Gecko). The film is in a certain thematic sense almost a remake of A Clockwork Orange. Personally I think both of those films successfully skirt the line between excess and commenting upon that excess. And they do so in a way that is thoughtful and engaging but not patronizing (Haneke). However, I do understand your perspective, I have had similar reactions about other films (that is to say I feel the visceral experience does not match up tonally with the thematic content), certain war films especially. But this film isn't fascist and one can grasp it's subtext and still enjoy it.

[number8]

I think we've had this discussion before... Should a film be faulted if the audience takes the wrong message than intended? A social commentary film will always have to balance between being so subtle as to be misconstrued and being so clear that it comes across as preachy.

That's why I think popcorn films tend to be more dangerous. Films like Fight Club, even if you don't get it, it's obviously about something and invites discussion and scrutiny. Films like 300 hide behind the guise of "it's just fun, don't think about it," thus encouraging the suppression of criticism of its messages.

[MadMan]

Huh Qrazy, having recently seen A Clockwork Orange I think you have a point about Fight Club being a loose remake of sorts. I should really read the books that both movies were based on-I have a feeling they further flesh out what the movie adaptations covered.

[Grouchy]

That's why I think popcorn films tend to be more dangerous. Films like Fight Club, even if you don't get it, it's obviously about something and invites discussion and scrutiny. Films like 300 hide behind the guise of "it's just fun, don't think about it," thus encouraging the suppression of criticism of its messages.
I agree with this.

I also feel it's a film's obligation to present a worldview or a temptation to the audience as seductive as it is for the characters. I've read this kind of argument before with films such as Goodfellas, complaining that it makes the Mob world look really cool and attractive. I think that's exactly as it should be, since that's what drives the protagonist to it. And that's exactly how I feel about Fight Club and Wall Street.

However, I'm gonna leave Scarface out of it. I love it, but it's not a serious film and it's much closer to what number8 is saying about 300. Tony Montana is an anti-hero only because other people are even worse than he is.

[Dukefrukem]

I think we've had this discussion before... Should a film be faulted if the audience takes the wrong message than intended? A social commentary film will always have to balance between being so subtle as to be misconstrued and being so clear that it comes across as preachy.

That's why I think popcorn films tend to be more dangerous. Films like Fight Club, even if you don't get it, it's obviously about something and invites discussion and scrutiny. Films like 300 hide behind the guise of "it's just fun, don't think about it," thus encouraging the suppression of criticism of its messages.

300 had a message?

[number8]

We... We just talked about this for the past 2 pages.

[Dukefrukem]

We... We just talked about this for the past 2 pages.

Oh yeh- Favorably portrayed pro-war sentiments, xenophobia and eugenics, while conveniently claiming it to be purely fantasy. Of course. :|

[number8]

But more importantly, does the hobo have a shotgun?

[MadMan]

But more importantly, does the hobo have a shotgun?But of course. He's locked, loaded, and ready to go.

[baby doll]

But more importantly, does the hobo have a shotgun?Of course, it's the phallic symbol by which a powerless individual (i.e., a hobo) comes into a position of power, thereby upsetting the status quo, which is seen to be thoroughly corrupt (the power of the crime bosses that the hobo blasts).

[number8]

I think the pedo Santa Claus is meant to be a representation of socialist programs, charity at the cost of sacrificing morality, and the hobo shooting him with a shotgun must be the proletariat fighting against handouts to assert their individual capability.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I think the pedo Santa Claus is meant to be a representation of socialist programs, charity at the cost of sacrificing morality, and the hobo shooting him with a shotgun must be the proletariat fighting against handouts to assert their individual capability.

Indeed, one must always buttress pulp entertainment with complex sociopolitical context; it is not allowed for them to simply rejoice in their perversity.

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/hobowithashotgunpostersmall.jp g

[baby doll]

I like how the American Apparel girl just looks bored.

[MadMan]

I approve. Rutger Hauer's face on that poster makes him appear to be a deranged Santa Claus, only one armed with a pump action.

[KK2.0]

finally watched the trailer for this... awesome!

what was the consensus on Machete? For me it had a few moments, but Rodriguez ran out of ideas fast, and i couldn't believe how lame the showdown between Machete and Steven Seagal turned out.

[Grouchy]

finally watched the trailer for this... awesome!

what was the consensus on Machete? For me it had a few moments, but Rodriguez ran out of ideas fast, and i couldn't believe how lame the showdown between Machete and Steven Seagal turned out.
Yeah, I really didn't like Machete. I laughed, but Rodriguez didn't came up with even a half-decent story and since there was not a single moment or character to take seriously, the film didn't have any weight at all. Seagal's role was also very lame.

In the same way that Tarantino has evolved and changed as a filmmaker, Rodriguez seems stuck in arrested development.

[Dukefrukem]

I knew would be over the top, but it's so over the top it doesn't end up being entertaining. There's a character that acts like a Stiffler knockoff. For a second I almost thought it was Sean W Scott.

[megladon8]

I knew would be over the top, but it's so over the top it doesn't end up being entertaining. There's a character that acts like a Stiffler knockoff. For a second I almost thought it was Sean W Scott.


Yeah, my friend and I commented on this a few times. He was so much like Stiffler it was uncanny.

[baby doll]

There's a character that acts like a Stiffler knockoff. For a second I almost thought it was Sean W Scott.Even though I haven't seen the movie, I know the guy you're talking about. I mean, I've literally met him. The guy's been in like a billion student films, and he's never given a good performance. No matter how lousy the material is, he always finds away to sink below it. I can't figure out why people keep using him. I guess there just aren't that many actors in Halifax, so once you get enough credits to get into the union, it's pretty much a guarantee that whenever a big film production does come to town, you'll get some small part in it.

[Dukefrukem]

Even though I haven't seen the movie, I know the guy you're talking about. I mean, I've literally met him. The guy's been in like a billion student films, and he's never given a good performance. No matter how lousy the material is, he always finds away to sink below it. I can't figure out why people keep using him. I guess there just aren't that many actors in Halifax, so once you get enough credits to get into the union, it's pretty much a guarantee that whenever a big film production does come to town, you'll get some small part in it.

I googled his name and apparently he started off as a model?

[baby doll]

I googled his name and apparently he started off as a model?That might account for his wooden acting.

[Sxottlan]

Even though it just came out on disc, I was able to see this in a packed theater tonight.

This was pure bliss!

[baby doll]

Yeah, my friend and I commented on this a few times. He was so much like Stiffler it was uncanny.Okay, so it turns out that I was thinking of some one else, who actually looks like Stiffler (I mean, identical), but has no sense of humor or charisma.

[MadMan]

So far I've really enjoyed the two movies based off of the fake trailers (Machete, Hobo With a Shotgun). I dug "Hobo" more because its grindhouse style of film making felt more real, although comparing the two movies is a bit difficult. Machete was as much a spoof of grindhouse style movies as it was a homage, where as Hobo's humor derived from some of the truly messed up and batshit crazy things that were happening.
That and the fact that Hobo is more of a child of the Troma movies from the 70s and 80s; with the amazing techno driven soundtrack and characters such as The Duke and The Plague this works as a seemingly lost movie from the 1980s. Which is why the entire movie is a blast, even if certain elements don't work. Oh and Hauer was excellent-the extras on the DVD laid out how much of a good sport he was, and that he even did some of the stunts himself. That's cool.
Not gonna lie: I would love a movie about The Plague. Sure they're murderous psychotic bastards, but well they were, um, entertaining? Cool? Probably not the right words, but they stick in this case.

[Ezee E]

Three pages, and only two posts of discussion about the movie?

How come so many people got excited for this, only for no one to watch it?

It's extremely bizarre. Basically like Planet Terror but worse acting and more over the top, with the art direction of Natural Born Killers. I haven't decided if I like it or not yet.

[baby doll]

Three pages, and only two posts of discussion about the movie?

How come so many people got excited for this, only for no one to watch it?

It's extremely bizarre. Basically like Planet Terror but worse acting and more over the top, with the art direction of Natural Born Killers. I haven't decided if I like it or not yet.Well, I was a little reluctant to weigh in on the film seeing as I used to know Eisener. (Actually, we were never that close; I'm not even among his 18,000 Facebook friends.) But yeah, this was pretty terrible. I liked it well enough as a two-minute fake trailer on YouTube, but as a feature, it's monotonous, often disgusting, and worst of all, not funny. Apparently Eisener thinks that simply putting a 1980s car in the frame is hilarious unto itself. Not only is the film utterly pointless, it's totally devoid of inspiration (it doesn't go anywhere with its premise, which is fairly lame to begin with), and it isn't even well crafted (it has perhaps the most hideous looking mise en scène this side of early John Waters). I mean, Eisener seems like a nice enough guy, but this is just a depressingly bad movie.

[Ezee E]

Well, I was a little reluctant to weigh in on the film seeing as I used to know Eisener. (Actually, we were never that close; I'm not even among his 18,000 Facebook friends.) But yeah, this was pretty terrible. I liked it well enough as a two-minute fake trailer on YouTube, but as a feature, it's monotonous, often disgusting, and worst of all, not funny. Apparently Eisener thinks that simply putting a 1980s car in the frame is hilarious unto itself. Not only is the film utterly pointless, it's totally devoid of inspiration (it doesn't go anywhere with its premise, which is fairly lame to begin with), and it isn't even well crafted (it has perhaps the most hideous looking mise en scène this side of early John Waters). I mean, Eisener seems like a nice enough guy, but this is just a depressingly bad movie.
Yeah, I think I might side with you on this one, except I didn't think it was shot horribly. I just think it was ridiculously (intentional) overdone. It managed to create its own city, but it seemed like something in Back to the Future 2's future world.

The villains are just outright annoying. Hauer's effective, and wasting his talent amongst these other people.

Although it's suppose to be that way, right?

[baby doll]

Yeah, I think I might side with you on this one, except I didn't think it was shot horribly. I just think it was ridiculously (intentional) overdone. It managed to create its own city, but it seemed like something in Back to the Future 2's future world.

The villains are just outright annoying. Hauer's effective, and wasting his talent amongst these other people.

Although it's suppose to be that way, right?Regarding the look of the film, it seemed like Eisener had one idea about setting (make everything look equally dingy) and one idea about lighting (I've gotta fever and the only cure is more coloured gels on the lights), which only adds to the feeling of monotony.

[Irish]

Not only is the film utterly pointless, it's totally devoid of inspiration (it doesn't go anywhere with its premise, which is fairly lame to begin with), and it isn't even well crafted (it has perhaps the most hideous looking mise en scène this side of early John Waters).

You don't strike me as a grindhouse kind of guy. What exactly were you expecting from a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun?

[baby doll]

You don't strike me as a grindhouse kind of guy. What exactly were you expecting from a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun?For what it's worth, I liked Machete, which was actually funny.

[number8]

Three pages, and only two posts of discussion about the movie?

How come so many people got excited for this, only for no one to watch it?

Huh. Apparently I never posted my review. Well, here it is:

http://www.justpressplay.net/reviews/7785-hobo-with-a-shotgun.html

I loved it.

[Rowland]

I posted this in the 2011 Database thread:

"Hobo with a Shotgun - mild yay

Essentially a Troma film, only with a bit more wit, a striking visual design, and a genuinely compelling lead presence courtesy of Hauer to almost anchor what is otherwise a deluge of archness. It's still largely an abrasive, shrill, groan-worthy, numbing experience that's about half as clever as it thinks it is, but that almost feels appropriate. So it's about as good as I can imagine a Troma-like film being before it no longer ceases to resemble one, which may be damning with faint praise but so be it. The hospital sequence is legitimately badass though, I'll give it that."

And in response to Boner:

"Yeah, Hobo wouldn't work without Hauer, a genuine casting coup whose dignified performance amidst all the primary lighting schemes, splatter effects, and intentionally shrill overacting is the film's most striking special effect. I agree as well that beyond Hauer, Eisner's chief accomplishment is his visual world-building; if only more low-budget features were as boldly and playfully realized. My response would have been more enthusiastic had I not found so much of it abrasive, one-note, and plainly calculated in its schlocky parade of vulgarities and grotesqueries, but I recognize that this is kinda what it was going for, and also that this very quality renders scenes like the aforementioned bear story and the maternity ward speech all the more weirdly affecting in context."

[Rowland]

For what it's worth, I liked Machete, which was actually funny.I preferred Machete as well.

[number8]

I preferred this to Machete.

[Ezee E]

"Yeah, Hobo wouldn't work without Hauer, a genuine casting coup whose dignified performance amidst all the primary lighting schemes, splatter effects, and intentionally shrill overacting is the film's most striking special effect. I agree as well that beyond Hauer, Eisner's chief accomplishment is his visual world-building; if only more low-budget features were as boldly and playfully realized. My response would have been more enthusiastic had I not found so much of it abrasive, one-note, and plainly calculated in its schlocky parade of vulgarities and grotesqueries, but I recognize that this is kinda what it was going for, and also that this very quality renders scenes like the aforementioned bear story and the maternity ward speech all the more weirdly affecting in context."

This is pretty much how I feel to a t.

[MadMan]

I'd also like to point out that the two evil brothers were hilarious in a really awful/terrible way. "Its a beautiful day for a skate rape!" is a line that shouldn't be funny to me, but it is.

[Dukefrukem]

streaming on netflix

[Ivan Drago]

I don't know whether to call this awesome, or so awesome that it was too awesome.

Regardless, it was everything I thought it would be.

[Boner M]

I preferred this to Machete.
Vastly.

[Ivan Drago]

Vastly.

Agreed. It's what Machete should've been.

[Spun Lepton]

This was easily the best to come out of that whole Grindhouse fiasco, and I include Planet Terror and Death Proof in that statement. Much better than Machete, too.

Lightning pace, gaudy over-saturated colors give it that comic-book feel, hilarious overacting. Loved it. Hauer was shockingly good, a strange note of pathos in an otherwise crazy flick, but somehow it worked. I loved The Plague. God damn, the character design on those two was fantastic. And their voices! I may actually buy this on DVD.

[megladon8]

I loved the totally random dungeon tentacles.

[MadMan]

I liked that in the Plague hideout they had pictures of Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, etc, all with their faces having X's on them.

Which is another reason why I would go see a spin-off featuring The Plague. Also when the hell is Eli Roth going to make Thanksgiving? So long as it stars Michael Biehen as the sheriff and is as wonderful gory and disturbing as the fake trailer suggested, it could very well be his best movie.

[Sxottlan]

I liked that in the Plague hideout they had pictures of Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, etc, all with their faces having X's on them.

Which is another reason why I would go see a spin-off featuring The Plague.

I'd see it. Just to answer the mystery of...

Why the hell were they fighting a massive squid in their basement?


Also when the hell is Eli Roth going to make Thanksgiving? So long as it stars Michael Biehn as the sheriff.

His reaction to the blood was the funniest thing in all of Grindhouse.

[MadMan]

I'd see it. Just to answer the mystery of...

Why the hell were they fighting a massive squid in their basement?It was just something really random, I think. But yes more of that, heh.


His reaction to the blood was the funniest thing in all of Grindhouse.Absolutely. "Its blood." "Son of a bitch."

[dreamdead]

This was cringe-worthy throughout. It cranks the excess to 11 at the start of the film, and so it has nothing to escalate the tension for the latter two acts. The vulgarity is so overloaded that it can't go anywhere interesting, and Abby's stereotypical character lacks any real pathos. Hauer's speech to the babies is almost entertainingly over-the-top, but the whole tone of the film fails, in my mind.

I liked the absurdity of the dungeon tentacles and the Hobo's random assertions that Abby will be a teacher, but otherwise a miscalculation on tone and script for me. More than anything else, it was boring. Sad for a film of its kind.

[EyesWideOpen]

This was cringe-worthy throughout. It cranks the excess to 11 at the start of the film, and so it has nothing to escalate the tension for the latter two acts. The vulgarity is so overloaded that it can't go anywhere interesting, and Abby's stereotypical character lacks any real pathos. Hauer's speech to the babies is almost entertainingly over-the-top, but the whole tone of the film fails, in my mind.

I liked the absurdity of the dungeon tentacles and the Hobo's random assertions that Abby will be a teacher, but otherwise a miscalculation on tone and script for me. More than anything else, it was boring. Sad for a film of its kind.

Yes. A film like this should not be boring.

[Raiders]

This was cringe-worthy throughout. It cranks the excess to 11 at the start of the film, and so it has nothing to escalate the tension for the latter two acts. The vulgarity is so overloaded that it can't go anywhere interesting, and Abby's stereotypical character lacks any real pathos. Hauer's speech to the babies is almost entertainingly over-the-top, but the whole tone of the film fails, in my mind.

I liked the absurdity of the dungeon tentacles and the Hobo's random assertions that Abby will be a teacher, but otherwise a miscalculation on tone and script for me. More than anything else, it was boring. Sad for a film of its kind.

Yes yes yes. The dialogue in particular was just atrocious.

[MadMan]

Boring? This movie? I think I saw a different movie than you folks did.

[baby doll]

Yes. A film like this should not be boring.Isn't that true of every kind of movie?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Jason Eisener should skip making urban nightmare pictures and go straight into fantasy. He's so close with this film already, which offers knights in armor, public executions, fantasy creatures, and one insanely brilliant moment where a man about to die gets a brief glimpse of the Hell that waits for him. Instead, placing the story in this garish no-man's-land keeps the film grasping for its identity. Rutger Hauer helps anchor the flighty material as the titular, nameless knight-errant, but so much is constantly happening, and at such a loud, abrasive level, that Jason Eisener has to crush taboos (like killing a school bus full of children) just to achieve dramatic punctuation. To be fair, any other plot point would get lose in the cacophony.

C+

[number8]

Has anyone else besides me seen Treevenge before seeing Hobo with a Shotgun?

[Rowland]

Has anyone else besides me seen Treevenge before seeing Hobo with a Shotgun?Yeah, I kinda hated it. Could'a used Hauer.

[Spinal]

Turned it off when they started incinerating school kids. Fuck you, movie.

[Dukefrukem]

Turned it off when they started incinerating school kids. Fuck you, movie.

Yeh I wanted to at that point, but I rarely turn off movies/walk out of movies. I hate this movie so much.

[megladon8]

I maintain that this is the best of the bunch of "Grindhouse" movies to come out.

It's also the only one that even comes close to actually being a "grindhouse movie" - at least the type that Rodriguez and Tarantino so lovingly tried (and failed miserably) to recreate with Grindhouse.

[Spun Lepton]

Maybe it's because I don't have children, but I wasn't as offended by the schoolbus scene. Although I knew it would push a lot of people's buttons.

If you thought that scene was bad, don't watch Treevenge.

[number8]

If you thought that scene was bad, don't watch Treevenge.

Haha, I was gonna say the same. At least in Hobo, the kids were mutilated somewhat offscreen.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Maybe it's because I don't have children, but I wasn't as offended by the schoolbus scene. Although I knew it would push a lot of people's buttons.

If you thought that scene was bad, don't watch Treevenge.

I just thought it was so obviously transparent. "Fuck your bourgeois notions, children just died!"

[Spun Lepton]

I just thought it was so obviously transparent. "Fuck your bourgeois notions, children just died!"

Even that sentiment seems a little more high-brow than Hobo aims for.

[Spinal]

It's not as if I had seen anything of worth up to that point, so the decision was easy.

[Spun Lepton]

It's not as if I had seen anything of worth up to that point, so the decision was easy.

:pritch:

[Raiders]

It was a wise decision indeed. The film is never anything better than utter shit.

[EyesWideOpen]

It was a wise decision indeed. The film is never anything better than utter shit.

:pritch:

[MadMan]

Haters gonna hate....

[Spun Lepton]

Folks rage-quitting this movie would likely have a heart-attack during Ichi the Killer.

[number8]

Folks rage-quitting this movie would likely have a heart-attack during Ichi the Killer.

Eh, I don't think that's fair to say. Spinal loved Antichrist, after all.

[Raiders]

Folks rage-quitting this movie would likely have a heart-attack during Ichi the Killer.

I've seen both and this was far more cringe-worthy and painful to sit through.

[Russ]

Folks rage-quitting this movie would likely have a heart-attack during Ichi the Killer.
Yeah, if you want to make this work, replace Ichi the Killer with A Serbian Film.

[Bosco B Thug]

Yeah, if you want to make this work, replace Ichi the Killer with A Serbian Film. I thought I was never going to see A Serbian Film because Netflix refuses to carry it, but hey it's on YouTube! Not exactly in a rush to see it, though, so I hope it lasts on there... it was just uploaded...

[Russ]

I thought I was never going to see A Serbian Film because Netflix refuses to carry it, but hey it's on YouTube! Not exactly in a rush to see it, though, so I hope it lasts on there... it was just uploaded...
Huh. And it looks like the uncut version, too. I can guarantee that wont stay up for very long.

[Spinal]

It wasn't the content, so much as the flippancy. I can sit through disturbing stuff. I didn't feel like this film, inept as it was, had earned the right to go there. I was annoyed more than I was disturbed.

[Spinal]

And to answer the inevitable "what were you expecting?" question, I thought I'd give the movie a try because of Rutger Hauer.

[D_Davis]

Yeah, if you want to make this work, replace Ichi the Killer with A Serbian Film.

Both of those movies have something to say beyond their extreme genre conventions - they're subversive.

Is Hobo With a Shotgun?

[MadMan]

Wait, Hobo With a Shotgun was supposed to be say something? To me it was just a grindhouse style, overly violent and somewhat funny but disturbing movie with Rutger Haeur killing lots of people. A throwback to the 80s, when a movie like Cobra with Stallone slaughtering gang members was actually released in theaters. Not exactly the highest level of art, but more entertaining than bomblastic CGI infused blockbusters such as Transformers.

[Spinal]

The film is definitely trying to say something, however inarticulately. There is the feeling that the world is an irredeemable mess and that someone needs to stand up and take care of the bad people by whatever means necessary so that the rest of us can live our lives.

Now, I'll concede there's probably an intended level of dark humor with the level of exaggeration that the film goes to. So, how committed the film actually is to its own perspective is a question better answered by those who made it through the whole thing.

[dreamdead]

It is a film celebrating an infantile nihilism, unable to fathom any innocence whatsoever in the world, and thus indifferent to the harshest deaths. However, that worldview, like Spinal is basically saying, is so monotonous that there's no purpose to the affair. It's meaningless art, money shot after money shot to such an extent that it becomes numbing, and lacks any subversive quality to render it meaningful.

A wink-wink isn't needed so much as some form of understanding that ten year olds didn't write this; that is to say, that it does something interesting with these caricatures (hooker with a heart of gold, a wanderer without a name,). This film never does anything--it doesn't build upon its premise, but assumes that its title alone can sustain goodwill. When you can make me believe Frank Miller's film of The Spirit is superior to another film, you've gone off the rail.