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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/18/2008 11:07:19 AM
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miasma
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"I'm wondering if anyone suspected that Tropic Thunder is possibly the first Hollywood movie to lampoon..."
I'm not, because it isn't.
quote:
We thought we got over the "black face" but there are people who don't care about history at all.
Or there are those who don't think it should be hidden and shameful; it is what it is.
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RE: don't go - 8/18/2008 1:16:40 PM
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revolushellz
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dtrees1
It is very disturbing to me that Crosswalk would even be remotely involved in recommending this movie. I was raised in a very liberal household and became a Christian later in life. Suffice to say, I am not easily "offended". Admittedly, I knew this movie wouldn't be "clean" by any means, but I was convinced that it would the "funniest-of-the year" and I could overlook the rest. I was wrong. It was impossible to overlook the rest. The movie opens with a spoof rap video that is worse than the real thing. One scene involves Jack Black (a heroin addict) graphically describing his fellatio method to anyone who would release him from being tied to a tree in a desperate detox attempt. Robert Downey's character is the only reason to see this movie, but it is not good enough to actually see the movie. It is so overwhelmingly crude and profane that it cannot be excused as satire, even though it is. It is meant to make money. I'm sorry I paid my money to see it.
You hit the nail on the head! I was not expecting that and I can honestly say that I don't want to see another rated R movie again. I felt horrible when i came out...ugh
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/18/2008 9:27:09 PM
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dtrees1
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Kath,
I was merely responding to the movie review that Crosswalk has placed on their site.
Darrell
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/18/2008 9:31:26 PM
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dtrees1
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The ad says "Find out more in our review" in the revolving ads at the top left of the home page.
Crosswalk Tropic Thunder review
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/19/2008 11:56:45 AM
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I_Walk_Alone
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I hope to be able to see this movie soon. The comedy is right up my alley. Then comes Hamlet 2. I have always been a big fan of South Park, so this one will not dissapoint me.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/19/2008 4:52:57 PM
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miasma
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This movie was terribly inconsequential. Most assuredly not worth the price of gas and a ticket.
It opens fairly strongly; as a fervent admirer of the intensely subtle art of satire and parody, I got a few chuckles out of it.
The skewering of the genre, the movie business, celebreality, etc.
After about 15 minutes, it starts scattering and loses focus. Joke ratio declines sharply. Not to derail from the OP, but as offered, don't get offended at something you haven't seen.
There's nothing offensive about Robert Downey Jr.'s performance (and for a lot of the duration of it there is an A-A character who protests it/gives him a hard time for it).
As for the "retard" schtick, the only person who comes out looking bad is Ben Stiller's character (and the Academy), not the mentally retarded.
With all of the outright gross injustices going on in the world, getting miffed over this hare-brained movie is the last place one's protest energy should be directed on.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/20/2008 12:01:55 AM
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captainfraulein
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I am going to see it as I understand Robert Downey Jr. lapses into an Australian accent from his fake American black accent in the movie. That alone sans any Jack Black (who just kills me) will slay me.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/20/2008 9:16:37 AM
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miasma
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quote:
Downey Jr. lapses into an Australian accent
His character in the movie is Australian.
****************SPOILER*****************
And he doesn't "lapse," he has a "heart to heart" and decides he's not the " guy who plays other guys," takes off his wig and finishes the movie as his character (the Australian).
"Stiller got the idea for Thunder more than 20 years ago while shooting a small part in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Empire of the Sun. He's continued to develop the script as his own star has risen, which makes taking on his brethren all the richer — watch for cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire — and all the more perilous.
For starters, Hollywood satires have a rocky box office record. And then there's that little issue of a white guy playing a black guy. Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans. ''I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,'' Stiller explains. ''I had no idea how people would respond to it.'' He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans."
Man, twenty years, and this was all he could come up with...
< Message edited by miasma -- 8/20/2008 10:42:37 AM >
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/20/2008 11:05:30 AM
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babbred
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I have no intention of seeing it because it sounds way too vulgar for me. In regards to the satire, that's a difficult issue. I don't necessarily have a problem with it because I can understand the intent behind it. However, since I work with special needs children in school, I can't bear to see anything that makes fun of them, even if it is only supposed to be satire.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/20/2008 4:58:54 PM
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dtrees1
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i'm not looking to start a boycott of the movie. that's not worth anyone's effort. the issue is Crosswalk's approval of it as a Christian website. there is no honor or value in satirizing a generally morally corrupt culture like Hollywood in a generally morally corrupt way. recognizing the subtlety of satire is of no spiritual value. Downey's character and some of the sight gags work. EVERY other character in this movie spews profanity and vulgarity and tastelessness in large doses. Crosswalk doesn't appear to be doing a good job of judging or editing content.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/20/2008 6:59:39 PM
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babbred
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Just read CW's review. I was very, very disappointed in it.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/21/2008 10:25:59 AM
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captainfraulein
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The review tells it like it is...and advises you. I don't see the review pushing people to go.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/21/2008 10:53:06 AM
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stellaluna
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The reviewer thought it was funny, but I don't see anything that says "Go see this movie!"
And anyway, do you really want CW telling you what to watch?
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 9:44:51 AM
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miasma
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Well, I certainly don't want to accumulate evidence and make my own decision about something.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 10:02:36 AM
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babbred
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I rarely see movies anymore precisely because I accumulate evidence and make up my mind by reading movie reviews. And most secular reviews I read say things like "This was great" or "This was terrible, don't waste your money." In fact, just the other day I was reading a secular review of some movie and the author was saying how lousy a movie it was. That implicity says that you shouldn't be wasting your time or money with it.
What I object to are passages like this:
quote:
Tropic Thunder, a new comedy from director and star Ben Stiller, is profane, crude and politically incorrect. It’s also uproariously funny—the year’s best comedy—and has a winning performance from Robert Downey Jr.
"Jesus Christ Superstar" was hilarious in its over-to-top 70's way of presenting the Bible. That didn't mean I found it less offensive.
quote:
Will Christians enjoy it? The movie is full of foul language and uses the Lord’s name irreverently. But its target is not God, or Christians.
Oh, gee. We can use the name of the Lord in vain all day long, but as long as we're not making fun of God, He won't mind what do do. I'm sure He appreciates the distinction. 
We can also swear as often as we want, and talk about sex crudely as long as it's funny! No wonder this country has gone to pot.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 10:25:09 AM
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captainfraulein
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Have you ever sat through a movie that makes fun of Christians like "Saved"?
Shows only Christians who are stuck up rigid people?
I think that was the author's point about Tropic Thunder, it does not have that problem.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 10:33:01 AM
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babbred
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No, I haven't.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 2:02:07 PM
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gaylel1
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I cannot wait to read Plugged In's review of this movie.
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RE: Tropic Thunder - 8/22/2008 2:46:04 PM
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babbred
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I was wondering, too, so I looked it up.
quote:
Portnoy is tied to a tree in nothing but his briefs. He's half-crazy, dying for a drug fix, and during the throes of his delirium, he begs the others to set him free and graphically details the oral sex he will perform for that favor.
That sounds funny. 
I won't bother to mention the profanity, since I'm not sure how far CW will let me go. Here's a summary, though.
quote:
Profanity flows deeper and wider than the Mekong River. Not even counting the profanity-laced soundtrack, there are upwards of 100 f-words and 50 s-words leading the foul language pack.
Just what I want--to sit for two hours being bombarded with swearing. And that doesn't begin to cover the rest of the swearing that PI talks about.
The conclusion is worth quoting at length.
quote:
Conclusion
Offensive, vulgar, coarse, profane, obscene ...
At what point did these kinds of adjectives become so acceptably mundane when discussing a mainstream comedy? I'm not sure, but Ben Stiller has certainly been a big part of making it happen, from There's Something About Mary a decade ago, to The Heartbreak Kid last year and now Tropic Thunder, which he wrote, directed and stars in.
Here he takes satirical aim at the Hollywood dream-machine—skewering narcissistic actors, pompous directors and tyrannical producers. He starts with a creative idea, adds in a number of unexpected cameos and actually generates a few laughs with some of his quirky humor.
....
Gross, smutty, churlish, low-minded ...
But those moments are sucked into a whirlpool of thick profanity, lewd dialogue, offensive gags (that sometimes revolve around racial issues and the mentally handicapped) and totally repugnant blood-and-guts imagery. The result is a protracted Monty Python-meets-Quentin Tarantino skit so pumped up with Hollywood-formula steroids that it can't help but explode in an apoplectic jumble.
Ugly, vile, rude, raw ...
For which we must laboriously lengthen an already very long list of negatively descriptive adjectives.
[all italics in the original]
Plugged In
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