I’m not exactly what kind of point I’m trying to make with my observation about Battle: Los Angeles. After doing a quick visual inventory, I think a lot of people came to the same conclusions about it being an Independence Day / Black Hawk Down / District 9 mash-up. For most people, that doesn’t matter.
In truth, I talked to a lot of people who saw Battle: Los Angeles over the weekend and freely acknowledge where it liberally borrows from other sources but they admit being entertained by it all the same.
I don’t know. Maybe it is good. Usually Aaron Eckhart in a movie is a sign of pedigree. Michelle Rodriguez, on the other hand? Well, that kind of neutralizes things a little.
To me, Battle: Los Angeles looks like a more expensive version of that turkey of a movie Skyline, that came out last November. Bigger names, more explosions and a little more polish in the FX department.
One thing is for sure… people REALLY want to see Los Angeles destroyed by an alien invasion. I guess in a post 9/11 world, disaster movies set in New York City are still verboten.
Did you see Battle: Los Angeles over the weekend? If so, be thinking about the comments you’d like to share below in a little bit. But first, some business…
On Saturday, I posted an idea to the Theater Hopper Facebook page about potentially hosting some kind of “show” using Netflix streaming. If you don’t have the service, essentially Netflix allows you and a group of your friends to watch the same movie at the same time.
Logistically, I didn’t know how it works. I don’t know for certain if Netflix will allow people who use different formats of their service – be it X-Box 360, the PS3, Nintendo’s Wii or web-enabled Blu-ray players – to all meet in the same digital space. I also don’t know how many people can view the same movie at the same time.
But the idea proved to be a popular one. Many people expressed immediate interest. So I think it’s worth exploring.
I was told by one user that Netflix DOES discriminate by platform and limits the viewing party by 6 to 8 people. So that means if you have a PS3, you’ll unfortunately be left out of the loop because that’s a piece of technology that I don’t have.
However, I *do* have an X-Box 360 and a Wii. So, if I end up doing some kind of viewing party, it’ll be through one of those two interfaces.
Since the viewing party will be limited, I’m not sure how I will pick and choose which people can participate. I imagine there will be some kind of sign-up form announcing the date and time and it will be first come, first served. If someone drops out or doesn’t show up, I would probably take to Twitter or Facebook to let people know there’s an opening.
I guess what’s really holding me back from pulling the trigger on this is figuring out what the show will actually be. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible NOT do to a direct rip-off of Mystery Science Theater 3000. How do I do a show like this without drawing a direct comparison and (ultimately) failing?
Because let me tell you right now – there will be NO preparation beforehand. Any comments I would make during the film would be completely off the cuff and probably more annoying than funny.
And that’s the other thing… How do you pick a movie that’s entertaining to watch, but not so engrossing that people get annoyed with you butting in every few minutes?
Like I said, I’m not entirely sure what the logistics look like. But I think the idea has merit and people seem interested, so I thought I would bat it around for a little bit and see what everyone else’s thoughts were.
Leave your comments about the Netflix part idea (or Battle: Los Angeles) below. I’d love to hear what you have to say!
It looks like Sony Pictures decided to make a mash-up of Independence Day, Black Hawk Down and District 9.
Do you really think that's an original reaction?
My 15 year-old cousin said the same thing a week ago.
Your response to a movie that you think looks derivative is to make a completely derivative observation?
And your only response to my criticism is to criticize my response?
Truly we are through the looking glass...
Wow. So, I wrote a super-long review of Battle: LA, then hit submit and it screwed up…
Boo.
In a nutshell, I watched it last night. It’s not as good as any of those three movies, but it’s still worth a guy’s night. I’m happy my wife didn’t come because it’s pretty much just a mindless action movie with that weird “we’re Marines, gosh darn it” thing blended in. I still liked it, even though I laughed out loud at a few of the lines (deservedly).
Also, if you need a test dummy for the Netflix thing, just let me know! 😀
Thought BLA was kick ass. It didn’t really muck around with a lot of unnecessary characters or sub plots. Does get bogged down in the unavoidable stuff (the explaining what happened on the previous mission, etc)
Overall it is an uber patriotic, fast paced, well done action movie.
I caught the midnight show of Battle: LA last Thursday, and generally enjoyed myself. Characters were wafer thin and the dialogue truly left no cliche behind, but as a straight, popcorn action movie, it worked pretty well. It’s basically one long action sequence, and I’m entirely OK with that.
Watch a few episodes of MST3k (Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the uninitiated) for some ideas. Good places to start are B-movies and “It’s So Bad It’s Good” movies.
It’s funny how “Derivative, stupid and unecessary” also applies perfectly to Cars 2… 😉
I saw Battle LA over the weekend, really liked it. It definitely takes elements from Independence Day / Black Hawk Down / District 9, as you said, but the end result is one big action movie that doesn’t feel as stupid as Transformers 2. I did have a problem with the camera work though… it’s often up close, and really shaky. I’m sure it’ll be fine when watching at home on a TV, but on a big screen, it can be a little bit much.
Touche on the Cars 2 dig. Touche…
My best description of Battle: LA is this first brief paragraph:
It is an incredibly real, intense war battle movie that will provide cliches left and right, but always keep you interested, on the edge of your seat, and in the end you will care enough for the main characters that you are engaged and hope for their best interest. The action is grade A and the FX are very believable. What more can you want from this sort of film?
Additionaly, I saw it with my girlfriend and we both loved it. There was one point where a joke was made, and the audience laughed, and we both then realised we hadn’t breathed in about 30 minutes. It’s not Independence Day, but it is an amazing ride that I recommend if you are interested in seeing a gritty, realistic war movie. To any who many complain about the camera work, or being confused at what was going on, I say this: think about how much you, as a character in a battle with aliens, would know about what is going on, and what you’d be seeing. I think you’d find the camera work supports that greatly.
Hey, I don’t mind being in the middle of the action, but it’d be nice if I didn’t come out of a movie with a headache! I didn’t in the end, but early on in the movie, I certainly thought it’d happen.
Btw, I totally agree with your description. For the type of movie, it was great. A great blend of many movies. Will likely purchase this one on Blu-ray when it comes out.
Yeah, I saw Battle LA with a friend over the weekend and pretty much echo what’s already been said. It was predictable, cliche, and a gigantic recruitment film for the US Marine Corps, but if you like seeing aliens blowed up good it’s a fun time.
This strip made me smile. It’s not the funniest joke you’ve done, but you took a fairly prosaic topic, and a fairly run-of-the-mill sci fi action movie, and crafted a surprisingly multi-tiered gag out of it. I find that amusing.
Nice title in particular. And that line in panel 3? Perfect antimetabole. 🙂
Thanks by your compliments.
I think I was struck by the number of reversals Zack Galafanakis did in his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live this week and wanted to try something similar.
This is just an idea, but have you considered basing the show around the unscripted aspect? I don’t think there’s going to be a way for you to avoid the MST3k comparison, so I just wouldn’t worry about it. That was a scripted show with a professional budget, and this idea sounds more like watching a movie with friends – you just do a running commentary. Sure, some of the jokes won’t be that funny (least that’s the case with me in that kind of setting), but that’s not really the point, is it? It’s about enjoying a movie and talking and laughing, and it doesn’t have to be a bad movie or one you don’t like for you to be able to poke fun at it. If you can throw some comments out occasionally that would be interesting to fans of the film, fans of film, or just fans in particular, all the better.
You might even consider letting the “audience” participate, but I would encourage you lay down some ground rules and procedure first. I wouldn’t know the particulars of how you would do that, of course, and how you would do the show (record it as a podcast, maybe? so you have the participating audience, and then the listening audience), so this probably wasn’t that helpful at all.
The show would be COMPLETELY unscripted. There would be no way I would have time to prepare.
You’ve characterized it correctly… this would be more like sitting around and watching a movie with a friend. Albeit a friend who won’t shut up, but a friend you don’t mind listening to because he’s slightly more entertaining than the movie you’ve agreed to watch. 🙂
How, exactly, would I let the audience participate? I don’t know enough about the Netflix interface on XBOX Live to do that.
I have no idea how it works either, to be honest. I assumed that if it’s got some sort of group watch setup, they probably have something that works with Live or another service, but I really have no idea. Maybe you should do a test run, and see what exactly group watching entails?
What about using Skype? See I could have my laptop with a headset on and still watch the movie on my Wii
That’s an idea.
The only problem is getting your movie synced at the same time with the other systems.
Mind you, MST3k didn’t have -much- of a professional budget, but still.
I don’t have a comment on BLA as I have no interest to see it.
But I do have a comment on the Netflix idea. I *think* when you do a group viewing on the 360, you can either chat via text messages or via the headsets. Not sure about the text message thingy, but it would make sense with the headsets, like what you experience when playing a game online.
The only problem that you would run into, I would think, is people talking either over you or over each other. Since they can’t see the other people, it would be hard to tell when someone was going to talk, ya know?
Also, I think that the sign-up sheet thing would be good. Another thing you could add to that is the title of the movie. That way, people know in advance what movie is coming up and if they are interested or not. For instance, I can’t do extremely violent/bloody/horror movies, so 300 would not interest me, but a fantasy movie, like LOTR, I would be all over that.
If you need someone to test it with, I would gladly sacrifice myself for the sake of the Theater Hopper community. 😉
Talking over each other is a concern. As the “host,” I’m hoping there’s an option to mute people or turn on people’s mics when I want to.
If not and the system is limited by 6 or 8 people, maybe it won’t be that much of an issue?
I’m going to see it this week and I don’t think I’ll mind to much if it’s nonstop action. I suffered through Skyline and had heard early on that B:LA was the better of the two.
As for the military clichés, I was in the military for 10 years and dreaded each popular military movie that came out in theaters. All of the catchy phrases used in the movies would invariably find their ways into the vocabularies of the senior enlisted personnel. Don’t judge movies too harshly for using clichés, the real military uses them as well.
REALLY long review here: http://www.halforums.com/xenforo/threads/battle-los-angeles-a-review-with-spoilers.25105/
In a nutshell, in case you don’t want to flip to another site…
It’s better than I expected. Yes, the characters were right out of “Tom Cliche’s Guide to Making Movies” but they were well acted. Solid 2.5-3 stars.
Nah, more than anything from a New Yorker perspective we just like to see LA get theirs 🙂
Oh, and the aliens look like the mechanic droids from Episode I, just bigger.
Battle LA was like a Captain America movie with machine guns and aliens. I loved it,saw it twice.
Disaster movies involving New York are verboten? Did you SEE Cloverfield?
I haven’t seen Battle: Los Angeles yet, although I want to. I’ll probably wait till it comes out on DVD, though, since there are a BUNCH of other movies coming out now that take precedence (I am so psyched for Paul tomorrow I can hardly stand it).
Also, I really liked your strip over at Hijinks Ensue. Star Trek references FTW.
Ohhhhh yeahhh! Cloverfield!
I did see it, but I kind of… immediately offloaded it from my memory.
Thanks for the compliments on the Hijinks Ensue strip. We’ve been watching old episodes of ST: TNG lately, so it’s kind of top of mind. 😉
Heard lots of complaints about Battle:LA.. went to see it anyway. Not sure what people were whining about, I mean, was someone expecting an alien invasion version of Inception? It’s an alien invasion movie. Aliens invade, Marines fight, stuff gets blown up. You take your brain out for a couple hours and have a good time. It’s not that difficult.
I have to agree with the complaints about the “shaky cam” though. I find it annoying when they use it too much. I’m not sure what the deal is with the shaky cam but I don’t understand why filmmakers can’t see that it actually detracts from the movie instead of adding to it. The camera is supposed to film the action not be the action.
I don’t have a problem with alien invasion movies – even DUMB alien invasion movies.
But there’s just too much about Battle: Los Angeles that is ascetically similar to other movies. It’s distracting.
You’ll notice that even the dumbest alien invasion movies at least do something visually distinctive. Independence Day comes to mind. Those giant ship? Such an obvious approach, but no one had really done it before. And that’s why people remember it.
For a comic that started out with an Austin Powers joke, you’ve come a long way baby. Thanks for not being an anti-military elitist d-bag from this marine. P.S. Any possibility of seeing Scurvy Joe again?
Anti-military? Never in a million years.
I’m not down with war, but I respect the hell out of anyone willing to defend my right to make stupid jokes about movies in my free time.
Thanks for your service.