Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - No More Heroes'esque film

Title edited.  Being vague is one thing, misleading another.

Razakin wrote:

Too bad that this film has Cera in it, for some odd reason I just can't stand seeing him on films, so probably won't be seeing this, unless there will be Ceraless Edition made just for me.

I hear a lot of hate for Cera. Why is that?

Idolores wrote:

I hear a lot of hate for Cera. Why is that?

I just can't stand his face or acting, both make me want to punch someone or something. Some shrink can tell me why's that.

I loved Arrested Development and thought he was great in it, but for some reason I just don't find him terribly appealing in movies.  Not sure why (probably the rest of the AD ensemble not being with him?).

Bernhardt wrote:

You can toss swords and bounty hunters into ANY film, and suddenly make it instantly cool.

Stepmom.

Just got back from the screening we had in Edmonton, and while it's a hilarious adaptation and faithful to the spirit of the comics, as with most comic book to movie adaptations, something gets lost in the shuffle. 

Love all the VGM bits and gaming references, and I'd say Kieran Culkin and Ellen Wong get all the great bits as Wallace Wells and Knives Chau.

The ending of the movie is a bit of a mess, and it IS different than the book ending (which I preferred, but only because it fleshes out the characters more).  This could probably be a three or four hour movie if it wanted to be, but the quick pace keeps it snappy.

All in all I enjoyed it.

SonicPanda wrote:

As for the movie, I dunno. On paper, it sounds fun, but what they've shown in TV ads seems pretty bad. Is it better than that, those who've seen it?

The TV ads are just teases, and I will admit I was a bit wary at first as well, but if you like the Scott Pilgrim world, you'll enjoy the movie.  (at least I think so anyways)

Last edited by James O (Aug 12, 2010)

Idolores wrote:

I hear a lot of hate for Cera. Why is that?

Personally, I've never heard of the guy, but after reading the comics and seeing the trailers, he just doesn't feel right as Scott Pilgrim somehow.

Angela wrote:

James O wrote:

The TV ads are just teases, and I will admit I was a bit wary at first as well, but if you like the Scott Pilgrim world, you'll enjoy the movie.  (at least I think so anyways)

And what of those who aren't familiar with the comic?  Is it enjoyable enough to stand on its own?

I'm on target for a weekend viewing, along with The Other Guys and The Expendables.  Should be quite the battle royale.

As long as you can enjoy a silly comic book to movie type of flick, and you can get the theme, you'll laugh.

Last edited by James O (Aug 12, 2010)

Checked out the movie today.  To be honest, it took a while for it to hook me in; it suffers from a slow start that's kept only moderately amusing by the offbeat jokes and slick but not necessarily revelatory use of graphical and textual overlays.  I've never read the comic, but I suspect fans will get more joy out of these beginning sequences as they get to experience the introduction of these characters made flesh.

But then The League of Evil Exes make their debut (something like a good twenty to thirty minutes in), and the movie suddenly kicks into high gear.  The juxtaposition between these manic, kinetically-charged battles, and the story's strangely potent theme of love that ultimately propels said battles, really elevate the film.  All seven exes get their chance to shine, and each chew up the scenery in grand fashion.  Well, most of them, anyway; I'd argue that..... the Katayanagi twins didn't get as much in the way of backstory as the others did.  It's not just about the slick graphical effects during these confrontations - the actual fight choreography is well shot and inventive.  My favorites?  Definitely the battle with..... Brandon Routh's Todd Ingram (Superman turned vegan?  Wild.), and Mae Whitman's Roxy Ritcher.  (Dude!  They're fighting Katara!!)  Cast-wise, the power trio of Culkin, Ellen Wong, and Jason Schwartzman can't be beat.  Awesome performances, these.

And of course, spotting all the specific video game references is a big part of the fun.  I'm probably missing a shit-ton, but here are the ones that come to mind:

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-Enemies exploding into high-scoring gold coins.
-The use of A Link to the Past's "Title" theme in a number of places, as well the arranged version of series staple "The Goddess Appears".
-Ha, the Final Fantasy battle theme bass line.  He said "Final Fantasy II", didn't he?  Does that mean Final Fantasy IV, then?  A moot point anyway, since the original battle theme bass line was established in FFI.
-Puck-Man.  I mean Pac-Man.
-Besides the obvious Street Fighter vibe, they went out of their way to showcase a 'Reversal'.
-The Soul Calibur-esque duel between Ramona and Roxy was my favorite throwback.  Ivy's snake sword was an obvious call, though the oversized hammer looked like something Astaroth or Rock could've wielded.
-Sex "Bob-omb".  Super Mario Bros. 2, obviously.
-I head Ramona mention Subspace.  Another SMB2 reference?
-Envy's band name based on the old NES title Clash at Demonhead.
-The Katayanagi twins.  Double Dragon?
-Chaos Theater.  Earthbound!

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Of the comic book movies I've seen this year, Kick-Ass still takes the top spot, but Scott takes down Stark with a 64-hit combo.  It's an enjoyable movie once you manage to get into its groove..... and when it eventually hits its stride.  I wouldn't say no to a repeat viewing, if just to capture more references, and I'm genuinely interested in checking out the comic now.

Last edited by Angela (Aug 13, 2010)

Haven't read anybody else's thoughts on this yet - want to get my own down while it's still fresh in my mind.

This movie pretty much encapsulates everything that's about being in our age group...video-games, music, being 20-something, and in love...for all your older types out there, I'm sure it offers nostalgic value of what being young used to be to you...

What they dress up with humor, swords, and martial arts, really is at its core, a morality tale - put simply, don't treat women like dirt. That's what I got out of it, anyway. They just didn't use Katherine Heigl to deliver it. Or Julia Roberts. Or...you get the picture.

Honestly, I think the film appeals to both sexes, although, if you're gamer chick, or you like indie or punk music, you're probably more to get the deal than if you're friggin' Barbie.

The screening I attended was a pretty well-balanced audience, between guys and girls, but mostly younger people, from high school, to post-college.

...

As for the movie itself,

-Words appearing, spelling out sound effects, never gets old.

-Words appearing, and labeling things when you already know what they are, or what's going on; example, though not from the movie, a close-up of a kitty cat in a scene, and the word "Cat" being off to the side, and pointing to the cat.

-Words appearing, and pointing to something that WASN'T obvious. Example from the movie The word "Pee" pointing to a guy's crotch, when you otherwise wouldn't have been able to tell he'd wet himself; although, the guy DOES look at his crotch after the message appears!

-Pee jokes. Always funny. There were at least four of them.

-Knives Chau. Every expression and response this girl made, was just priceless. Between her being excited about Sex Bob-omb's performance (jump, squeal like a schoolgirl, and SPEED LINES!) and her face turning into an emoticon were highlights.

-Julie Powers being pissed off, and being bleeped once between each comma in a sentence, and her being called on it by Scott, that was priceless. "If it helps at all, I'm pissed off for you."

-Broken Social Scene "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl." (Find sample here: http://www.amazon.com/Forgot-People-Bro … amp;sr=1-4)

The scene in which it plays, After Scott defeats The Katayanagi Twins, and he's approached by Knives (she's a seventeen year-old girl!) VERY appropriate use of the song. That's all I can say 'bout that. The fact they even used it, hits close to home for me. When a movie uses some of your favorite artists or songs, when they're not even particularly well-known, it lets you know you're on the same wavelength! Broken Social Scene for the win!

-I can't help thinking that this movie really WAS inspired specifically by No More Heroes. I want to watch interviews and behind-the-scenes for this movie. I want to hear what they all have to say!

-I think the same guy who played Second Evil Ex #2 played the jock guy in some American Pie or Teen Movie sequel; I forget which one, but they play it on either MTV or Comedy Central practically every weekend...forgot to look up the guy's name...

-Kieran Culkin who played Scott's gay roommate; are we talkin' the same Culkin as McCauley Culkin? I can see a resemblance. His character's jaded, disaffected position on life in general, priceless.

-In general, the comedic timing on part of all the actors was just spot-on, and love how they keep the frequency up on it, too; some characters (Scott's older sister!) had me laughing at least once every line they made!

-Movies are a visual medium. The more visual gags you can slip in, the more you take advantage of that; some many movies these days, they could just as easily be radio dramas, because they only really make use of speech (practically every other "Romantic" "Comedy" ever). This movie was very successful with visual gags. Yes.

-I think they expected you to have seen the trailers a bit much, before seeing the movie; I think they were pretty quick about laying it on about having to defeat 7 evil exes. "Oh, yeah, I have 7 evil exes, and you need to defeat all of them." "Hey, wait, what?" (Gets hit in the face by one of them appearing on the scene). I guess the brevity and casualness of delivering that bit of info is a part of the comedy and humor; if not, it's sloppily executed.

-Seeing a movie, set in Winter, during the Summer. That kind of scenario always messes with my perception of time and season. I should think this movie would be doing better at the box office if it had been released during a better time of the year, like, I don't know, around Thanksgiving or Christmas? Y'know, so we have other movies to see around that time of year, as opposed to the usual trash about dysfunctional families that're actually supposed to be comedies?

-Other than that, EXPLODING INTO COINS!!

-"We are Sex Bob-Omb...we're here to think about death, and be sad, and stuff..."

Last edited by Bernhardt (Aug 27, 2010)

Finally got a chance to see this movie and I loved it! Definitely a worthwhile outing and I suspect I'll be going back to see it again shortly. It's a real shame that it hasn't done better at the box office. I especially loved the film's style and all the references. I wonder how many I missed. XD