1
in other words the critics are saying: more Avatar, less Expendables

2

"the Stallone picture — with its hard-charging, take-no-prisoners patriotism unbothered by the vagaries of the real world (it takes place in a fictional country, for starters) and its caricature of freedom-hating enemies (”We will kill this American disease,” as the TV spot enticed us) — planted itself squarely in the old-school genre."

 Okay I'm definitely checking this movie out.    

3

Honestly, no matter what the message, "The Expendables" was terrible.  I went in expected it to be a bad but fun movie.  It was just bad.

I wish I had those 2 hours back.

Grim

4

why does Grim hate America?

5 As a long time conservative, I know that I always let my bettrpers decide what type of entertainment I enjoy. Patriotism is solo overrated. Give me a nice metrosexual star with real feelings discussing shoes and handbags any day. And make the women a little less attractive (I know, they are icky anyway) like they always do with that Sex in NYC show!! Now that is what makes fabulous entertainment

6 Actually I am off to see this today. Guys smoking cigars and drinking whiskey in a bar! What would nanny Bloomburg say. Must get his nipples all twisty.

7 The Expendables was awesome. The End.

Stupid cocksucking movie critics wouldn't know a good film if it dick slapped them in the face.

8 Fuck you all, I rule you!

9 there are times i consider ending it all because this racist kkkountry can never live up to the utopia that is cameron's pandora.

10 Yeah, it's such a weird development, but nowadays when critics turn on a film, I can't help but wonder if there isn't some political angle. 

For example, I'm now suspicious that "Inception," which went from anticipatory darling before it was released to mediocre craphole after it was released, might have qualities that appeal to a center-right perspective.

Certainly the "Dark Knight" backlash, such as it was, began only after a few people noticed that the film was basically sympathetic to the George W. Bush school of terrorist fighting.

11

I took my mother and sister to see The Expendables on Friday.  3 women - and we all loved it.  The movie was nothing but what you'd expect.  Men, testosterone, explosions, gun fights, knife fights, punches, good vs. evil, etc.  Just good fun.

12 Saw it last night. One of the best Stallone movies in long time. Really liked it a lot.

13 Fully automatic shotgun. 'Nuff said.

14 darn, I meant this to be in draft until later.

15

Syriana!  Jeebus, I wonder what makes people produce and star in propaganda for our enemies?

Yeah, I'm talking about you, Clooney, you piece of shit.

16

Muh mugh ah, eh oool oo. 

Too soon? 

17 Oh, and my brother-in-law took my 2 sons to the showing just before my wife and I saw it. Big thumbs up from all of us. The kid selling tickets said it was the biggest seller all day.

18 kick

19 I was watching the overnight ABC News last night and they had some chick review The Expendables. Her review consisted of showing a clip of Stallone et al killing some bad guys and then the camera cutting back to her making a face that was the equivalent of a little kid making a yuck face. She then let us know that we would get plenty of that kind of senseless violence and in her esteemed opinion meant the movie was only worth 2 out of 5 popcorns (yes they used bags of popcorn). Her contempt for it couldn't have been clearer.

20 "When times are confusing, we want movies to reflect that confusion, and even to make sense of it. But we probably donÂ’t want to pretend that confusion doesnÂ’t exist."

Probably not...but then again, if movies about heroes with unqualified moral compasses (like the aforementioned Iron Man) are dead, explain "Lord of the Rings"' success a mere few months after 9/11.

21 The critics line about how in uncertain times audiences want movies that reflect and honor that uncertainty shows complete cluelessness about human nature, or maybe just me.  I'd guess though, that I'm not the only one for whom more uncertainty is entirely unappealing.  Yes, I realize life is ambiguous, and that's exactly why it's nice to be able to sit down for a couple of hours knowing that I can cheer unreservedly for the good guys since I can tell who they are for a change.

22 I hate movie critics.  (Although I did have a soft spot for Siskel--I think because he pissed Ebert off so much, and the bitterness Ebert harbored towards him was palpable).  So if one of those losers recommends a film, I usually refuse to go see it.  They really do think they are so much more esoteric and smarter than the unwashed masses.

23 The critics are pretty reliable, as long as you are a contrarian.  One certainly wonders what will pass through Clooneys mind, besides possibly a bullet, if the jihadis win.

24 I will see this film.

But first you will blow me.

25 You see .. movies like Syriana are designed to be a metaphor for reality.
The George Clooney character is supposed to represent the US .. bumbling about .. till he ultimately helps to kill the King .. via a US missile. The US, you see, is bad on multiple dimensions, with multiple metaphors.

Frankly, it was boring beyond belief

The good news ...

Syriana Box office:
Production Budget: $50 million
Domestic Total Gross: $50,824,620
Domestic Profit $824,620

... They probably won't make another

26 oh for God's sakes Comics couldn't be more in the bag for the leftoids if they tried.....

1) DC killed off former Objectivist Vic Sage and replaced him with the newly lesbian Renee Montoya as 'The Question" who had an underground following of conservatives

2)Marvel killed captain America because W got reeelected, luckily "we got him back" as "Super-Soldier" a government friendly ass-kicking wild man.....if we take back things in '12 look for Steve to realize he can't back the government anymore and go "nomad".

3)"Winter Soldier" the resurrected Bucky barnes(cap's sidekick)was essentially a giant "screw you" during campaign '04 WRT jean keri's alliance with the organization.  Dude was a cold war hitman for Ivan but he wound up with the captain America job by default.....used a gun to go after "the real enemy tax protestors"

4)the entire Civil War storyline that caricatured the WoT.....

yeah the film TDK was pro-slef-defense but at the end of the day the industry couldn't be any more for jugears if they worked for acorn.

27 caution that you shouldn't let your boys read superhero comics...

They got nothing on the Three Stooges. More of my friends were banned from the Stooges than any comic book fantasy hero.

28 One of the best Stallone movies in long time.

Better than Oscar???

29

I always read movie reviews, especially if it's something I think I want to see. Usually Rotten Tomatoes so I can see a variety of opinions. Sure, many critics have a political axe to grind- but good critics know how movies are made or should be made, they know what works and what doesn't and why, and they simply love movies. Without reading critics' opinions, I probably would have never bothered to see  Rashomon or Paths of Glory or Sunset Boulevard. I'm glad I did see those and many more critics' picks.

I also trust popular word-of-mouth to recommend a movie. Just to walk in to a movie without reading or hearing anything about it is a likely waste of time and money.

30 9 there are times i consider ending it all because this racist kkkountry can never live up to the utopia that is cameron's pandora.

Posted by: @ebertchicago at August 16, 2010 01:49 PM (w9BEi)

Please do consider it, Roger! We don't much care for you, and there's always the possibility that you'd be reincarnated as a Na'Vi with a magic dildo-tail. A win-win for everybody!

31 Well, 2500 Yahoo user reviews have it at an A-.   (When a movie is a real dog sometimes the user reviews seem to be hidden for a few days in getting released.)  After a few days the "!!!WOW BEST FILM EVAH!!!" comments get pummeled into statistical noise and you can read a few realistic user reviews to see if it is worthwhile.

32 32 America,

//shatner voice

where's


YOUR

compassion?

seriously if overpopulation is such a problem and we really need to "reduce our carbon footprint" maybe all the utopians can finish their logical conundrum

33 Psychologists (who are, let's face it, critics of the mind) caution that you shouldn't let your boys read superhero comics oops, probably shouldn't have bought them that .22 either - my bad. I guess old school bugs, johnny quest, schoolhouse rock, and for f--- sake Tom & Jerry have completely ruined them. Shit, bad daddy.

34 why did this post die on the frontpage?

35 nm....my firefox was wobbly

36 Better than Oscar???

That movie is awesome!  I could have sworn I was the only one who had ever seen it though.

37

And On That Note: Psychologists (who are, let's face it, critics of the mind) caution that you shouldn't let your boys read superhero comics

 

This kind of thing has been a pet peeve of mine ever since my son hit the first grade.  There is an active campaign in our public schools, intended or not, to pussify boys.  In fact, his useless scrunt of teacher wanted to drug my son.  It wasn't in order to improve his acedemic performance, but rather to make him more compliant and...well...less boyish.

When we refused, the hopeless skank essentially wrote him off and ignored him for the remainder of the year.  As a result, I advise any parent of young kids to consider home schooling or a private or parochial education. 

38

Syriana ---> Sillyassa
what a schlock movie

I watch the box office take to see if I want to view a movie. 'The People' are my best indicators. I finally even got the DVD of Dances With Smurfs and the family and I enjoyed it despite the silly meme that corporations are bad. Besides we've seen all sorts of entertaining movies with that dumbass underlying idea - think "Aliens" (the second in the series) as well as "Alien: Resurrection" where the military is 'bad'.

Too bad Mel Gibson "won't make another movie in Hollywood" after that critical disaster, "The Passion". Of course he won't make another movie after stuffing his mattress with the hundreds of millions in profit it made. ha ha ha

Critics have been pimping for crappy foreign films and schlocky metrosexual heros who are 'sensitive' along with whoring for bunny huggers and fern fondlers for decades. Nothing but a bunch of ankle biters. Best if left alone and ignored.

39

Wow that science daily article is a heap of 24 karat crap.

Boys seem better adjusted when they resist internalizing "macho" images, according to a researcher who also presented at APA's convention.

The measure of 'better adjusted'?

Researcher Carlos Santos, PhD, of Arizona State University, examined 426 middle school boys' ability to resist being emotionally stoic, autonomous and physically tough

WTF? Ability to resist good qualities? Huh?

So at the end of the day what this guy is saying is, boys seem less macho when they act less macho. Wow. Brilliant tautology.

40 explain "Lord of the Rings"' success a mere few months after 9/11

The guy that played Gandalf (Ian McKellan?) had a really wimpy explanation for all of the action in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, nothing to do with good fighting evil. I would try to look it up, but it would just irritate me and I don't want to spoil my morning.

41

I love the way they keep talking about boy's emotional and relationship "health", where health is never explicitly defined but can be intuitively understood to mean - behaving the way I think you should and valuing what I tell you to.

In fact, autonomy is one of those 'unhealthy' habits they want to teach boys to 'resist'.

The results show that being able to resist internalizing these macho images -- especially aggression and autonomy -- declines as boys transition into adolescence and this decline puts their mental health at risk

Can't have that.

42 I'm still pissed about what they did to Annie. That movie deserved at least the same amount of respect that they gave to Tron.  Damned heartless orphan-hating bastards.

43

One of the best Stallone movies in long time.

Isn't it the only Stallone movie in a long time?  Or maybe I just haven't been to the movies in a long tiem.

44

Good flick.  The odd thing is that The Expendables isn't really a "conservative" movie.  It's not really political.  The problem is that the left has politicized EVERYTHING, including gender/masculinity/femininity.  The Expendables doesn't fit their narrative of politicized masculinity (and I'm sure is sexist somehow because of that), so now we all get to act like there's a political significance to what is really just an action movie... a glorious, gory, brutal, explosion-riddled action movie. 

45 I wish Stallone wasn't in it.  He is an anti-gun POS that makes his living off gun movies. (Google Stallone and Guns or anti gun)He is all in favor of the chosen ones having guns. And having the common mans taken away... Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.  Just another hollywood liberal that can't get clooneys roles.

46

The best box office action/conservative movies consistently outdo their "cultural" counterparts.  You can total up all the anti-war movie box office totals and they still won't measure up to one Dark Knight, 300, Iron Man, Blackhawk Down, We Were Soldiers, etc.

In The Valley of Elah-$6.8M; Redacted-$.06M; Rendition-$9.7M; Lions for Lambs: $15.0M; Home of the Brave: $.04M.

Expendables: $34.8M (and counting); Red Dawn (84): $38.4M; 300: $210.6M; Dark Knight: $533.3M; Blackhawk Down: $108.6M:  We Were Soldiers: $78.1M.

It's like night and day.

47

why does Grim hate America?

LOL, I don't, I just hated this movie.  The story was bad, the acting was bad, and the fight scenes were bad.  The camera work was so bad I couldn't tell who was kicking whose ass.  Part of that was to cover up the fact that Stallone is so old.  Watching Stallone fighting was bad and watching him run was pathetic.  The plastic surgery disaster he calls a face doesn't help.  Stallone needs to talk to Eastwood about how to play the grizzled old veteran.

On the flip side, Stallone's truck was awesome.

Grim

48 The commutard critics don't really want to see "moral ambiguity" for the stated purpose of complexity and story-telling - otherwise in critically acclaimed films you would expect to see morally ambiguous portrayals of big business, high-ranking Generals, Catholic Bishops or, say, the South in the Civil War.  All or substantially all of these characters are portrayed to be what the Left believes them to be - unmitigated villains and caricatures of evil incarnate.  See "Michael Clayton," where a pharmaceutical company is depicted as a terrorist organization planting car bombs to kill its critics and adversaries.
    

49 American Psychological Association's model male.

50

Part of that was to cover up the fact that Stallone is so old.  Watching Stallone fighting was bad and watching him run was pathetic. 

I thought the last Rambo wasn't all that bad.

51

Plus, Bruce Willis is in this. I think.

And Randy 'The Natural' Couture.

And that Jason Statham guy.

How can it be bad? TRICK QUESTION, NUMBNUTS! It can't!

52 I'll see it twice, watch it on PPV, then buy the DVD.

53

But critics do know that based on their opinions and reviews they can enjoy an influence over what kind of films get made.

Kind of reminds one of academic tenure as well.  By ignoring conservative voices, they influence education in a powerful way. 

Just call me Captain Obvious today.

54 Critics can be useful in sifting through movie choices. Just watch for what they talk about. If they talk about the elements of filmmaking, then their politics is stealthy and may be irrelevant. If all they talk about is the message, favored or disliked, then step carefully it could be dreck anyway. Besides being liberals critics are city dwellers who have never been near traditionally patriotic things like guns, the Military, or spy agencies. Shooting a weapon would make most of them pee their pants and faint. If that happens, play some Fellini films and they'll wake right up.

55 Greetings: Due to the government-mandated analog-to-digital TV signal conversion a while back, I lost a couple of network transmissions (ABC & CBS) but started receiving a bunch of Asian oriented stations. One that I now watch somewhat regularly is KBS World, which originates in South Korea. They have a bunch of English-subtitled programs which I truly enjoy for most of the reasons you delineate in your piece. The programs support the basic human concepts of duty, respect, honor, family, country. Even the South Korean media celebrities seem to support their nation's military draft and do their service. I think that critics are often trapped in the "art vs entertainment" vortex. Most Americans seem to prefer the latter; the critics the former. Different needs, different deeds. What you wrote about "Syriana" is what I've felt about "foreign" films since I first went to a Fellini film back in the '60s.

56 I have to go see this. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to go see it with. To those who have seen it - would it be too rough to take a 16-year-old girl to? She's definitely not a chick-flick type, and she likes to watch stuff explode.

57 play some Fellini films and they'll wake right up.

I don't see Fellini as Left-wing, really.  One of the more common interpretations of La Dolce Vita is that it is an exploration of the emptiness that one experiences from indulging in sin - particularly the seven deadly sins as understood in traditional Catholicism.  I think it's pretty much a given that Leftists don't really accept any idea of personal sin, and would find such commentary "moralistic." 

58 To those who have seen it - would it be too rough to take a 16-year-old girl to? She's definitely not a chick-flick type, and she likes to watch stuff explode.

Posted by: AngelEm at August 17, 2010 11:53 AM (I2Yog)

I figure it could go one of two ways.  Either she'll like it and you'll know she's a keeper, or else she'll be a little more desensitized to violence when it's over, which is good for her.  Win-win.  Since she likes to see 'splosions, I figure she'll like it.

59 "I figure it could go one of two ways. Either she'll like it and you'll know she's a keeper, or else she'll be a little more desensitized to violence when it's over, which is good for her. Win-win. Since she likes to see 'splosions, I figure she'll like it. Posted by: Reactionary at August 17, 2010 12:03 PM (xUM1Q)" Well, she loved Iron Man (1&2), the Transformers movies, loves horror, and a fellow moron told me recently that Hit Girl is like what my kids would be, only with saltier language, so.... I should probably see Kick Ass, too, if I'm going to get comments like that.

60 Didi this post slip into another dimension for a while?

61 Saw Expendables. It was Awesome. The last 25 mins or so is basically non stop ass kicking. Tunnel fight is INSANE!

62 @28 Agreed . . . there are still some good writers working in comics these days (I'm a big fan of Chuck Dixon's GI Joe) but for the most part, it's tripped and fallen on its over-inclusive ass. I was pissed as hell when they killed off the Question: Renee Montoya is a decent character, but a poor replacement for Vic Sage.

And anybody else remember the Captain America vs. Tea Party fuckup a while back?

As for the critics, I'm convinced that they're allergic to actually enjoying themselves. None of them seem capable of just kicking back with a cold drink and having fun at a movie; it's gotta be about message, societal impact, yadda yadda ya.

On the other hand, Hollywood's heavily politicized Leftwards movies are almost universally crap at the box office. So they can whine about stuff like "Expendables" all they want, but money talks.

63 It was an awesome flick. I'm just surprised at the conservative love for the movie, considering the major plot revelation (who's actually behind it all)--wouldn't that normally qualify for Paulite conspiracy theory derision? Anywho, go see it, it's great.

64 Speaking of comics and lefties, you would not believe what kind of metrosexuals are the most popular comic book writers.

For example, this is the hipster douchebag who writes Captain America and decided that Cap had to die rather than support America.

65 On Fandango this weekend, the "Critics" rating was 28/100, the audience rating was about 80/100.

Reminds me of a local film critic, I used to always just assume that if they loved it, I'd hate it, and vice-versa.

Rotten Tomatoes 2/5, IMDB 4/5

I've never found RT to reflect anything in particular for me.

And John S is making me nervous, I hate Hollywood's need to throw in some pat, stereotypical twist that you saw coming 10 billion miles away so they can sleep at night after making an action movie - i.e. the last few minutes of The Kingdom, or the obligatory "corporate villain" even when it makes no sense whatsoever.

66 PS The metrosexual art-school douches started taking over comics in the 90s, and ever since they've been dragging the idea of a hero down.

It's all anti-heroes, doubt over certainty, feet of clay, yadda yadda yadda. They love doubt and degredation because it's morally paralyzing, and if there's one thing a metrosexual art-school douche fears, it's moral judgment.

67 68 Kensington,

I particularly like how Cap was thinking he'd be like ghandi rather than say MLK on that run.

68 2)Marvel killed captain America because W got reeelected, luckily "we got him back" as "Super-Soldier" a government friendly ass-kicking wild man.....if we take back things in '12 look for Steve to realize he can't back the government anymore and go "nomad".


I'm confused.

69 72 Palin Steele,

pick up a comic book or google "the Death of Captain America"

work in "Civil War"

They killed Cap after Dubya got reelected, brought back Bucky Barnes as "winter soldier" all this was a gigantic "fuck you" to anyone not on Kos or HuffPo that read the comics....

now Steve Rogers has been reborn(we"chose wisely" after all) but they've kept Bucky as captain America and Steve Rogers is "super soldier"....

one of the post-50s tropes about captain America was he was a servant to the American ideal not the US government anymore....so in the '60s he resigned the job and became "nomad'....

stay confused...it's easier and i hope you are a PS sock I can't handle weapons grade stupid when I have a head cold.

70 No, No, No, No and No.

Superheros are just macho enough. If your dad/uncle/brother/older cousin isn't your hero or isn't a hero at all, YOU NEED SUPERHEROS more than the kid next to you.

We're making boys into young men here. If you want society to teach them the right way, you get 'lord of the flies' on an endless loop.

The kids MUST be taught and taught well. There is too much at stake.

71 sven, you need to read this to get the palin steele joke.

72

Here has on-line sunglasses wholesale house.
Price preferential benefit, fine quality.
Quickly rushes to purchase the cheap sunglasses!