In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's Reviews

I had heard of this movie, and it's reputation, but I only recently learned this was a Spike Lee feature. Combine Spike Lee's more caustic attitude with certain other film makers and the fact he made movies like Do the Right Thing and Malcom X, I developed a very morbid curiosity as to why this was made and it's execution.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Saw Bamboozled when it was released but don't remember a thing about it except for black face.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

I was never interested in this movie and your review reinforces that. Good looking out.....Homeslice!

This is a movie about two people who quite frankly… are addicted to porn. But both in a different way and different kinds, but both lead to both characters having unrealistic expectation when it comes to relationships.

Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character, Jon, is addicted to porn in the sense that most of us think of porn addiction. He is a lothario (think Quagmire from Family Guy but less extreme). He is a bartender, he likes to party with his boys in the clubs, and he has a different girl every week. In addition to that, he spends an awful lot of time on porn sites. It is an everyday sort of thing for him, he is a chronic masturbator, and he enjoys porn more than actual sex. Which is odd since this is a guy who is very successful in picking up ladies. But when he leaves the lady he just had sex with in the middle of the night to watch porn while she is still asleep, you know the guy has a problem.

Then we have Scarlett Johansson’s character, Barbara; young, professional, and an absolute bombshell. She is addicted to another kind of porn… female porn. In this case chick flicks and romantic comedies. This kind of porn is very different from “porn” porn in that it is not sexually explicit. Now for some, porn does not need to be sexually explicit or even needs to be wank material. It just needs to fulfill some kind of fantasy and stimulating. And stimulating it is. When Jon and Babs go to see a romance flick, it shows the same effects on Babs, the way PornHub does on Jon. In fact it is shot in the exact same way. So for Jon, he has unrealistic expectations of sex, while Babs has unrealistic expectations about a relationship.

Now I am sure most everybody watches, or has watched some form of porn in their lives. For some it is a Jenna Jameson feature, for some it could be a Harley Quinn romance novel. Me? I am a gun nut so my porn tends to be something like Red Dawn, a Romero zombie movie, Tremors, or the Walking Dead comic book series. Prepper porn if you will; only my kind of porn does not require tissues afterwards, if you know what I mean. But that is a different story. Anyways, here is the thing; there is a thing called moderation. Something these two crazy kids have not learned. Both not only have obsessions with the material, it seems to be all they look at. The porn is not the issue; the issue is they like it too much to the point that it has warped their perceptions of reality. Whenever Jon is on the internet, he is looking at porn. Whenever Babs is watching a movie, it is a chick flick. Each is engulfed in their habits, and their relationship suffers because of it. Babs catches Jon spanking it to porn, he gets in trouble, and he has to watch porn on the sly. Babs has her own problems though. She is dating a guy, who she really likes, but instead of liking Jon for who he is, she is trying to change him. In fact in one scene when they first start dating (and before they have even start having sex) she literally gets off on the idea of Jon going to night classes and getting his degree. She also makes a few other comments that show that she is far more interested in being with a guy depicted in one of her movies or a cheesy romance novel then being with Jon. And the movie examines not only their relationship, but also the problems that porn addiction can cause. Only it is done with lots of sex jokes, foul language, and quite a bit of nudity.

Now I thought it was a very good flick. It is very aware of the Hollywood formula for a traditional romantic comedy, and while it does follow the formula in certain ways, it does go out of its way to break the formula. I will not spoil a lot of the how; you will just have to see it for yourself. The sexual humor for this movie is rampant a plenty, making it feel more like Chasing Amy then say, Kate and Leopold. Don Jon is a movie set in Jersey (just like most of Kevin Smith’s work), it is filled with lots of sex talk and humor (though not as raw), and this movie focuses on themes that do not come up in normal romantic comedies. After all, you never heard this much talk about cum in Titanic. In addition to the frank sex humor, the movie does have a lot of heart to it. You could tell that a lot of thought and effort was put into the writing. All of that credit going to Joseph Gordon Levitt who wrote and directed this feature. To top it off, there is what I like to call a “Silent Bob moment” in the movie. Where a character who has no lines for most of the movie finally speaks towards the end, and what that person has to say has great importance, wisdom, and meaning.

If you are a hard core Meg Ryan fan you might want to skip this movie. If you are offended easily by cum jokes, you might want to pass too. If you want to see an original movie with a very moving ending, I say you can give this a try.

Thanks for your thoughts on this, GS. It sounds like something I'd enjoy.

Is the non-porn porn concept common in the US? I only ask because over here it is, but you explained it in a way which made me think you felt the need to.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

With regards to calling romantic comedies and cheesy romance novels being refered to as female porn, yeah I have heard that before. Now the prepper porn thing that is my creation. lol

Watched this last week but didn't write any thing about it. It had a few chuckles but I didn't connect at all. The Jersey Shore connection was pretty grating at times and the themes just didn't resonate thank God. Not a horrible flick but forgettable for me.

It feels as if everything gets described as porn over here for the last couple of years. Car porn, property porn, food porn, etc and the schedules are choc-a-bloc with these programmes. I don't mind the programmes as much as I do the phrase "___ porn" as a description. Well, with the exception of Nigella's programmes anyway. As much as I love them, it almost feels like an appropriate phrase sometimes with her stuff.

I'll just link this rather than embed it.

Oh My!

Who did not see Mary Poppins when they were a kid? Okay I actually first saw it a week ago, but that is beside the point. Point is for the vast majority of people growing up Mary Poppins was a childhood icon and a beloved memory. This is a movie that seeks those people as a target audience. Saving Mr. Banks is a movie that focuses on the creation of the Mary Poppins movie in the 60’s. It is not a tale of how the movie was made behind the scenes of filming, and more focuses on the creative process. In particular the compromise needed between two people with a creative vision.

The film focuses on two people. The it focuses primarily on author PL Travers played by the always delightful Emma Thompson. Emma plays Miss Travers as someone very stern, very proper, and more than a little ridged. PL Travers as the film opens is short on funds. Royalties for her books have dried up, and she has not written any new books as of late. As of this time she needs money, and is at the point where she is in a situation where she might actually have to sign over film rights in order to keep her home.

Secondly is naturally Walt Disney played by the ever charismatic Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is one of those actors it is very hard to hate. You may hate some of his movies, some of his characters, his politics, whatever. But hard to find someone who flat out HATES Tom Hanks period. Hanks brings that certain good natured appeal to the role of Walt Disney, helping bring to life the man who created Mickey Mouse and constructed the happiest place on Earth. Walt is shown to be not only the nicest guy in show biz, but a man of determination since he has been hounding for the rights to make a Mary Poppins film adaptation for 20 years. But this is not a greedy cash grab by any sorts. Walt’s daughters were big fans of the Mary Poppins books, and Walt made a promise to the kids to bring Mary Poppins to life on screen. In addition he understands the opposite side of the coin, one where the creator cherishes their creation, and does not want to see it ruined or taken away. So it is up to Walt and his creative team of Don DaGradi (co script writer) and the musical duo the Sherman Brothers to try and warm Miss Travers up to the idea of putting her character Mary Poppins into a Disney style musical. And anyone who has seen the movie Mary Poppins knows that involves dancing penguins, lots of made up words, and Dick Van Dyke with a lousy Cockney accent.

The film is primarily set in the 1960’s in LA where Miss Travers deals with Walt and company. But as the film actually opens and continues to revisit a young PL Travers (birth name Helen Goff) in Australia. Her father Travers Goff (played very well by Colin Farrell) is a failed banker trying one last time to get his life in line. They move from Queensland to Allora so he can try one last time to take a job running a bank. Travers Goff is a very loving and doting father. In addition he is a dreamer, and passes on a sense of childlike whimsy and imagination onto his young daughters. Mr. Goff however is also under loads of stress at work, and he suffers from alcoholism. The longer Miss Travers stays in LA, the more she is visited by memories of her past and of her father; memories that include lots of love and whimsy, but sadly also lots of pain and anguish.

The majority of the film however is still set in 1961 in Los Angeles. And you get to watch Miss Travers… blossom if you will. She starts off unyielding and stubborn but slowly begins to open up. From being very stern against the ideas of the Sherman Brothers, to slowly being won over. All starting with the inclusion of a rewritten ending to the film with "Let's Go Fly a Kite". My favorite scene in the film is at the end when Miss Travers is at the film’s premier in LA (do I really need to say spoilers?), and you watch her reactions to the film as it is being shown on screen. You she her disapproval when she sees Dick Van Dyke dancing with cartoon penguins, but then you see her burst into tears during Mr Bank’s long walk to the bank when you know he is about to lose his job. It not only shows the power that film has on the viewer, but also shows Miss Travers connection to her original source material.

And yes you know how the movie will end, but much like a Disney theme park you really are coming to see this movie for the ride. You want to know how this movie got made, even if this is a dramatization of the actual events. As such you know they are going to take liberties, add characters, and certain events will be in the movie that did not happen in reality. If you go in knowing this however, you will have a very good time. This is especially a good film for those who love the movie Mary Poppins. Whether you loved the film growing up or the film managed to warm your cynical heart when you first saw it last week at the ripe age of 28 (*ahem*). Either way to those who love the Disney classic, you will enjoy Saving Mr. Banks and come to understand the meaning of the title by the end of the film. Defiantly worth a watch.

I hadn't heard about that movie. A movie about the people who made the Mary Poppins movie happen? Starring Tom Hanks and Paul Giamatti? It sounds dreadful (not because of Paul Giamatti). The poster looks dreadful. You went to see this? And you gave it ? Lord....

Come for Emma and Tom Hanks! They had marvelous chemistry!

I think it's a family film. Anyways, you can't go wrong with Tom Hanks! Absolutely not. That man can be Walt Disney or whoever he wants to, just like that.

I've heard plenty of good things about this film so far, so this rating doesn't surprise me.

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Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake!
-Daniel, There Will Be Blood

Not if that chemistry doesn't make them spontaneously combust.

You must not have seen ... I can't even remember what it's called, it was so bad ... that one with Julia Roberts, let me look it up ... he took college courses....

Larry F-ing Crowne.

Me thinks you need to check out Mazes and Monsters. That was an... interesting early performance of his. Before Bossom Buddies even.

Great review. On the watch list and looking forward to it.

Oh, I have no problem with Tom Hanks. But is he doing anything of interest lately? Not to me, at least.

Define your interest lol.

Saving Mr. Banks is not a movie I had interest in, but you've got me curious now.

I was wondering about your Meg Ryan comment in the Don Jon review. My guess is that you're saying she goes against her goodie goodie image here; is that right?

I was saying that Don Jon goes against the romantic comedy formula that is seen in Meg Ryan movies.