Author: Lena

Categories
Back Seat Book Club Shows

Back Seat Book Club – Book Two: Fight Club

Author:  Chuck Palahniuk

Publication Date:  8/17/1996

W. W. Norton

Plot summary –The main character/narrator is the protagonist, a jet-lagged automotive product recall specialist who struggles with insomnia.  He finds a measure of relief by attending several support groups for seriously ill people.  In one of the groups he meets Marla Singer, a woman who attends these support groups for similar reasons, but she is a reminder that he is a fake in these groups.  Soon after, the narrator meets the mysterious Tyler Durden.  After a consensual fist-fight in the parking lot of a bar, they move in together and soon begin an underground fighting club.  This blossoms into anti-consumerist ideas and a second underground group, this one more violent/destructive at its core.  When the narrator sets out to find Tyler, who seems to have gone missing, he is confronted with the reality that there is no Tyler Durden… that Tyler is a personality created during his periods of insomnia.

Quick thoughts –

  • Some of the hosts might not be terribly enthusiastic about this one.
  • Chapter 6 was the original short story… worth reading.
  • Scott wants to compare it to The Stranger (Camus) or anything by Sartre, but it can’t be done.
  • It’s a cult of personality, especially when recruiting for Project Mayhem.
  • If you’re watching the movie… don’t eat brownie mix, or anything, during the liposuction scene.  You’re welcome.
  • Things start to come alive when the narrator begins to realize who Tyler Durden is.
  • Forced edgy, forced clever, but it doesn’t quite work on paper.  The transfer to film worked better.
  • Scott’s scary tales of insomnia.
  • There is a lack of a cohesive world; everything revolves around the narrator, but there were some bright spots of descriptive visualization.
  • Marla Singer – real person or another personality?
  • We make A LOT of comparisons to the film… get used to it.
  • The main character is deeply flawed, but not “deep.”
  • A satire of anti-consumerism?
  • Space monkeys.
  • Soap, as your buried heroes and washing society clean.  Also it’s feeding them their own kids.
  • Working class people taught that they’ll have a level of success, but they learn that it’s just not true.
  • When the narrator is flying around the country looking for himself/Tyler, he’s put up obstacles that keep him from finding what/who he is looking for but there isn’t much sympathy for the narrator.
  • The themes ring true, but the characters do not.
  • It’s an anarchist movement with a surprisingly large number of rules.
  • The parts of the story that are meant to be edgy, come off more as self-consciously edgy or childish.
  • Comments on Fight Clubs started up after the book/movie.
  • Who is this book really meant for?
  • Brief discussion on how the movie ending deviates from the book ending.
  • This is our final stand against consumerism.

How everything you ever love will reject you or die. Everything you ever create will be thrown away. Everything you’re proud of will end up as trash. – Fight Club

 

Your hosts for this episode:

  • Lena
  • Scott
  • Paul

This episode was recorded 9/27/2012

 

 

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Announcement

Weekend Box Office: Oct 26-Oct 28

#1 Argo from Warner Bros. rose from #2 to #1 with a gross of $12.1 million (-26.5%) in 2,855 theaters (-392).  Total gross to date is $60.5 million.  Budget was $44.5 million.

#2 Cloud Atlas from Warner Bros. opened at #2 with a gross of $9.6 million in 2,008 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#3 Hotel Transylvania from Sony/Columbia rose from #4 to #3 with a gross of $9.4 million (-27.4%) in 3,276 theaters (+262).  Total gross to date is $130.4 million.  Budget was $85 million.

#4 Paranormal Activity 4 from Paramount fell from #1 to #4 with a gross of $8.5 million (-70.7%) in 3,412 theaters.  Total gross to date is $42.5 million.  Budget was $5 million.

#5 Silent Hill: Revelation 3D from Open Road Films opened at #5 with a gross of $8 million in 2,933 theaters.  Budget was $20 million.

#6 Taken 2 from 20th Century Fox fell from #3 to #6 with a gross of $7.7 million (-41.8%) in 2,995 theaters (-494).  Total gross to date is $117.1 million.  Budget was $45 million.

#7 Here Comes the Boom from Sony/Columbia held at #7 with a gross of $5.2 million (-38%) in 2,491 theaters (-523).  Total gross to date is $30.3 million.  Budget was unknown.

#8 Alex Cross from Summit Entertainment fell from #5 to #8 with a gross of $5.1 million (-55%) in 2,541 theaters (+2).  Total gross to date is $19.5 million.  Budget was $35 million.

#9 Sinister from Summit Entertainment fell from #6 to #9 with a gross of $5 million (-43.3%) in 2,347 theaters (-195).  Total gross to date is $39.4 million.  Budget was $3 million.

#10 Fun Size from Paramount opened at #10 with a gross of $4.1 million in 3,014 theaters.  Budget was $14 million.

#11 Pitch Perfect from Universal fell from #8 to #11 with a gross of $3.9 million (-41.6%) in 1,999 theaters (-661).  Total gross to date is $51.3 million.  Budget was $17 million.

#12 Frankenweenie from Buena Vista fell from #9 to #12 with a gross of $2.5 million (-43.3%) in 1,738 theaters (-624).  Total gross to date is $31.8 million.  Budget was $39 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $81.2 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 07 Shows

BSP Episode 247: The Cabin in the Woods

Release date:  3/9/2012

Lionsgate

Directed by

  • Drew Goddard

Produced by

  • Joss Whedon

Written by

  • Drew Goddard
  • Joss Whedon

Cast

Kristen Connolly

  • Dana Polk

Chris Hemsworth

  • Curt Vaughan

Fran Kranz

  • Marty Mikalski

Richard Jenkins

  • Gary Sitterson

Bradley Whitford

  • Steve Hadley

The hosts review:

  • Deuce watched it five times within a week… ‘nuff said.
  • David’s reasons that this movie worked:  1 – Thor, pre-Thor, even!  2 – He likes a movie where he can SEE the monster, and this was utterly satisfied.  3 – There were heroes, not people making stupid choices in the face of danger.
  • The ultimate choice… do you kill one person to save the world or do you let the world end?
  • Special kudos to the Japanese school children!
  • Scooby Doo… yes, I think everyone thought that, too.
  • The cup bong was the amazing!
  • Stereotypical behavior via chemical enhancements… and not the kind you’re thinking about.  Well, a little bit but not all of it.
  • Why did they only bring one dirt bike?  Five people, one dirt bike?
  • If you were in the basement, what item would you have picked up?  The puzzle ball?  The conch?  The diary?  The necklace?   The music box?
  • Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain.
  • Tony reads a list of monsters/evil and their origins.
  • Merman!  Messy to clean up, though.
  • An interesting twist would have been in Marty was the virgin.
  • Cabin in the Sexist Woods.
  • It’s a great movie with a full plot and not contrived.  It lifted the veil off of all horror movies.
Trivial bits ‘n pieces:

In the scene where Jules kisses the wolf head on the wall, the wolf’s tongue is covered in powdered sugar to give it a dusty look and to make the scene tolerable for the actress.

Fran Kranz (Marty) received extensive prop and behavior training in order to capture the stoner persona.  He received a two-hour joint rolling session and a separate bong lighting session from expert consultants.

On the white board in the control room, when the staff is taking bets on the victims’ potential killers, both “Deadites” as well as “Angry Molesting Tree” are listed.  These are obvious references to The Evil Dead films which also feature a cabin in the woods.

Immediately after an early previous screening with Fan Q&A, the first question Director Drew Goddard was asked was, “Will there be a sequel?”  To which he responded, “Have you seen the ending to my movie?”

Your Producers for this episode were:

  • Tony
  • Darrell
  • Melina
  • Tony/Deuce
  • David

This episode was recorded: 10/24/2012

 

Note: The audio on this one is a bit iffy.  Totally my fault and should be corrected in the next episode. – Tony

 

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Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #110

Picks:

Lena

  1. Argo
  2. Silent Hill 2: Revelation 3D
  3. Fun Size
  4. Cloud Atlas
  5. Chasing Mavericks

Scott

  1. Paranormal Activity 4
  2. Silent Hill 2: Revelation 3D
  3. Chasing Mavericks
  4. Fun Size
  5. Argo

Jeff

  1. Argo
  2. Hotel Transylvania
  3. Silent Hill 2: Revelation 3D
  4. Paranormal Activity 4
  5. Cloud Atlas
There are no other movies in wide release this weekend.

 

Our picks for Back Seat Indie Box Office:

Lena – The Loneliest Planet

Scott – Pusher

Jeff – Orchestra of Exiles

 

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Announcement

Weekend Box Office: Oct 19-Oct 21

#1 Paranormal Activity 4 from Paramount opened at #1 with a gross of $29 million in 3,412 theaters.  Budget was $5 million.

#2 Argo from Warner Bros. held at #2 with a gross of $16.4 million (-15.5%) in 3,247 theaters (+15).  Total gross to date is $43 million.  Budget was $44.5 million.

#3 Taken 2 from 20th Century Fox fell from #1 to #3 with a gross of $13.3 million (-39.4%) in 3,489 theaters (-217).  Total gross to date is $105.8 million.  Budget was $45 million.

#4 Hotel Transylvania from Sony/Columbia held at #4 with a gross of $13 million (-24.6%) in 3,014 theaters (-361).  Total gross to date is $118.5 million.  Budget was $85 million.

#5 Alex Cross from Summit Entertainment opened at #5 with a gross of $11.4 million in 2,539 theaters.  Budget was $35 million.

#6 Sinister from Summit Entertainment fell from #3 to #6 with a gross of $8.8 million (-51%) in 2,542 (+15) theaters.  Total gross to date is $31.7 million.  Budget was $3 million.

#7 Here Comes the Boom from Sony/Columbia fell from #5 to #7 with a gross of $8.4 million (-28.9%) in 3,014 theaters.  Total gross to date is $23.1 million.  Budget was unknown.

#8 Pitch Perfect from Universal fell from #6 to #8 with a gross of $6.8 million (-27.1%) in 2,660 theaters (-127).  Total gross to date is $45.5 million.  Budget was $17 million.

#9 Frankenweenie from Buena Vista fell from #7 to #9 with a gross of $4.3 million (-38.6%) in 2,362 theaters (-643).  Total gross to date is $28.2 million.  Budget was $39 million.

#10 Looper from TriStar fell from #8 to #10 with a gross of $4.2 million (-32.2%) in 2,223 theaters (-382).  Total gross to date is $57.8 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#11 Seven Psychopaths from CBS Films fell from #9 to #11 with a gross of $3.3 million (-21.6) in 1,480 theaters.  Total gross to date is $9.1 million.  Budget was $15 million.

#12 The Perks of Being a Wallflower from Summit Entertainment fell from #11 to #12 with a gross of $2.2 million (+0.1%) in 745 theaters (+19).  Total gross to date is $9.1 million.  Budget was unknown.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $121 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #109

Picks:

Jeff, Tony

  1. Paranormal Activity 4
  2. Alex Cross
  3. Argo
  4. Taken 2
  5. Hotel Transylvania

Lena

  1. Paranormal Activity 4
  2. Argo
  3. Taken 2
  4. Hotel Transylvania
  5. Alex Cross

Scott

  1. Paranormal Activity 4
  2. Argo
  3. Alex Cross
  4. Taken 2
  5. Hotel Transylvania

The hosts are starting a side-game we’re calling Back Seat Indie Box Office (unless we can think of something cooler).  One guess for the movie with the highest average dollars per theater.

  • Jonathan, Tony – The Sessions
  • Scott – Brooklyn Castle
  • Lena – Hating Breitbart
  • Jeff – The Flat

This weekend Scott (and Sam from Back Seat Quickies fame) will be participating in a 24-hour video game marathon to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.  There’s still time to give!  Check out the website and give until it hurts so good!  www.extra-life.org

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Announcement

Weekend Box Office: Oct 12-Oct 14

#1 Taken 2 from 20th Century Fox held at #1 with a gross of $21.9 million (-55.8%) in 3,706 theaters (+45).  Total gross to date is $86.1 million.  Budget was $45 million.

#2 Argo from Warner Bros. opened at #2 with a gross of $19.5 million in 3,232 theaters.  Budget was $44.5 million.

#3 Sinister from Summit Entertainment opened at #3 with a gross of $18 million in 2,527 theaters.  Budget was $3 million.

#4 Hotel Transylvania from Sony/Columbia fell from #2 to #4 with a gross of $17.2 million (-36.3%) in 3,375 theaters (+23).  Total gross to date is $102.1 million.  Budget was $85 million.

#5 Here Comes the Boom from Sony/Columbia opened at #5 with a gross of $11.8 million in 3,014 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#6 Pitch Perfect from Universal fell from #3 to #6 with a gross of $9.3 million (-37.6%) in 2,787 theaters (+17).  Total gross to date is $36 million.  Budget was $17 million.

#7 Frankenweenie from Buena Vista fell from #5 to #7 with a gross of $7.1 million (-38.2%) in 3,005 theaters.  Total gross to date is $22.1 million.  Budget was $39 million.

#8 Looper from TriStar fell from #4 to #8 with a gross of $6.2 million (-48.8%) in 2,605 theaters (-388).  Total gross to date is $51.3 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#9 Seven Psychopaths from CBS Films opened at #9 with a gross of $4.2 million in 1,480 theaters.  Budget was $15 million.

#10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower from Summit Entertainment rose from #11 to #10 with a gross of $2.2 million (+37.3%) in 726 theaters (+505).  Total gross to date is $6.1 million.  Budget was unknown.

#11 Atlas Shrugged: Part II from Atlas Distribution opened at #11 with a gross of $1.74 million in 1,012 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#12 End of Watch from Open Road Films fell from #6 to #12 with a gross of $1.7 million (-57.5%) in 1,551 theaters (-819).  Total gross to date is $36.4 million.  Budget was $7 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $120.7 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Announcement

Weekend Box Office: Oct 5-Oct 7

#1 Taken 2 from 20th Century Fox opened at #1 with a gross of $49.5 million in 3,661 theaters.  Budget was $45 million.

#2 Hotel Transylvania from Sony/Columbia fell from #1 to #2 with a gross of $27.1 million (-36.4%) in 3,352 theaters (+3).  Total gross to date is $76.7 million.  Budget was $85 million.

#3 Pitch Perfect from Universal rose from #6 to #3 with a gross of $14.8 million (+188.3%) in 2,770 theaters (+2,435).  Total gross to date is $21.7 million.  Budget was $17 million.

#4 Looper from TriStar fell from #2 to #4 with a gross of $12.1 million (-41.8%) in 2,993 theaters (+1).  Total gross to date is $40.2 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#5 Frankenweenie from Buena Vista opened at #5 with a gross of $11.4 million in 3,005 theaters.  Budget was $39 million.

#6 End of Watch from Open Road Films fell from #3 to #6 with a gross of $4 million (-48.7%) in 2,370 theaters (-410).  Total gross to date is $32.6 million.  Budget was $7 million.

#7 Trouble with the Curve from Warner Bros. fell from #4 to #7 with a gross of $3.8 million (-47.4%) in 3,003 theaters (-209).  Total gross to date is $29.7 million.  Budget was unknown.

#8 House at the End of the Street from Relativity fell from #5 to #8 with a gross of $3.75 million (-47.3%) in 2,720 theaters (-363).  Total gross to date is $27.6 million.  Budget was $10 million.

#9 The Master from Weinstein Company held at #9 with a gross of $1.9 million (-30.5%) in 864 theaters (+8).  Total gross to date is $12.3 million.  Budget was unknown.

#10 Finding Nemo (3D) from Buena Vista fell from #7 to #10 with a gross of $1.6 million (-59.7%) in 1,746 theaters (-893).  Total gross to date is $39 million.  Budget was unknown.

#11 The Perks of Being a Wallflower from Summit Entertainment rose from #13 to #11 with a gross of $1.56 million (+41.9%) in 221 theaters (+119).  Total gross to date is $3.3 million.  Budget was unknown.

#12 Resident Evil: Retribution from Sony/Columbia fell from #8 to #12 with a gross of $1.2 million (-61.2%) in 1,361 theaters (-1,020).  Total gross to date is $41 million.  Budget was $65 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $132.7 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 07 Shows

BSP Episode 244: The Dark Knight Rises

Sausage Fest 3 is next weekend!  We’ve reached out first goal of exceeding last year’s pre-event donations and there’s a rumor that Tony might shave his head if we hit $2,000 before October 13th.  Check out sausagefeststl.com to donate and check out the perk levels!

 

Release date:  7/20/2012

Warner Bros.

Directed by

  • Christopher Nolan

Produced by

  • Emma Thomas
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Charles Rovan

Screenplay by

  • Jonathan Nolan
  • Christopher Nolan

Story by

  • Christopher Nolan
  • David S. Goyer

Based on

  • characters by Bob Kane

 

Cast

Christian Bale

  • Bruce Wayne

Gary Oldman

  • Commissioner Gordon

Tom Hardy

  • Bane

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

  • John Blake

Anne Hathaway

  • Selina Kyle

Michael Caine

  • Alfred Pennyworth

The hosts review:

Quick and dirty to start things off… all the hosts liked it.  They drift off for a few minutes to the Avengers, whether one was better than the other, possible future Avenger projects and general TV commentary.  David thought it wasn’t as good as The Dark Knight, but Deuce disagreed.  Tony didn’t really get the full effect of the movie until a few days after seeing it, mostly because some of the timelines in the story were compressed and some weren’t.  He brought up Bruce Wayne’s time in prison as a prime example.  David thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Black character was unnecessary; not because of bad acting, but just the character in general.  The argument was that Blake is the young character who will carry on the story.

Deuce said that The Dark Knight Rises should be viewed (and reviewed) as a trilogy, not just as a stand-alone film.  What follows is an in-depth discussion about whether Christian Bale is fat or muscular… and the best part is that there isn’t one single female partaking in this discussion!

Tony thought that Bane’s plans shouldn’t have worked and, more than that, both of his plans were terrible (he also thought that The Joker’s plans shouldn’t have worked, either).  Deuce compared the three movies of the trilogy, likening the 1st and 3rd to Bond-type films with gadgets, terrorists and espionage, except that in The Dark Knight Rises, it takes you half way between a superhero film and a Bond-type film.  They also get into a discussion as to whether Superman and Batman can exist at the same time and place.

David thought that every character in the movie rose to the challenge except Batman… everyone else disagreed.  Deuce brought up that part of the story of this film is that Batman can’t be Batman forever.  Tony said that Wayne’s biggest challenge was breaking out of prison.  Part of Wayne’s “rise” is going from a state of action to inaction, rising above vengeance to live as a person and not a superhero, and that’s where the disagreements come in.  In the end, Wayne is comfortable enough to be able to walk away from (rise above) Batman.

Beginning the discussion of acting performances, David thought that Christian Bale was good, but not in the film very much.  Darrell thought that the two best performances came from Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway, but there was a little bit of disagreement with Tom Hardy because his face is covered throughout the movie.  Two other fantastic performances, according to David and Tony agreed, were from Michael Caine and Gary Oldman.

Talking about the three movies as a whole, they thought up that The Dark Knight was more about the characters.  Each movie had its own set of flaws, but each one is entertaining as a whole and on its own.  They said that it was a credit to Christopher Nolan that he was able to elevate each movie.

They loved the Bane character – he wasn’t a thug, he was as intelligent as Batman.  They also agreed on the Catwoman character – well played, especially because they put a lot of focus on Selina Kyle and not just Catwoman.  Regarding the women in all three movies, they were all in agreement that Katie Holmes was the least talented.  They also liked Marion Cotillard’s Miranda character.  They thought SPOILER REDACTED.

Trivial bits ‘n pieces:

Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A number of Pittsburgh Steelers played football players, as well as a former Steelers Coach and the mayor of Pittsburgh.

Tom Hardy described Bane as an absolute terrorist: “He’s brutal, but also incredibly clinical in the fact that he has a result-based and oriented fighting style. The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed… it’s nasty. It’s not about fighting, it’s about carnage!”

Hardy said he based his voice for Bane on Bartley Gorman (1944-2002), an Irish Traveller who was the undefeated Bare-knuckle boxing champion of the United Kingdom.

This movie brought together a number of actors from “Inception” – Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy.

Nolan said that this film’s theme deals with “Pain”. For Batman Begins, it was “Fear”, and The Dark Knight was “Chaos”.

 

Your Producers for this episode were:

  • Tony
  • Tony/Deuce
  • Darrell
  • David

This episode was recorded: 10/3/2012

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Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #107

Picks:

Tony:

  1. Taken 2
  2. Hotel Transylvania
  3. Frankenweenie
  4. Looper
  5. Pitch Perfect (wide release)

Jeff

  1. Taken 2
  2. Hotel Transylvania
  3. Pitch Perfect
  4. Looper
  5. Frankenweenie

Lena, Scott

  1. Taken 2
  2. Hotel Transylvania
  3. Pitch Perfect
  4. Frankenweenie
  5. Looper

Next weekend is Sausage Fest 3!  We’re more than halfway to our pre-event goal.  Go to our website, www. sausagefeststl.com, and see how you can donate, see what our perks are, see how you can help!

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