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Reviews: "Maps to the Stars," "Everly," "Serena" and "The Salvation"

2/28/2015

41 Comments

 
Brad reviews David Cronenberg's new film "Maps to the Stars," the Salma Hayek action film "Everly," Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the long delayed "Serena," and the Mads Mikkelsen/Jeffrey Dean Morgan western "The Salvation."
41 Comments
Adam Mosher
2/28/2015 01:35:59 pm

Hey Brad, great vlog. So, how were you able to view The Salvation? Found the other three movies on all available On Demand services. Can't seem to find the one I REALLY want to see other than Everly (Even though Serena sounds like something I just HAVE to see now). So, any suggestions would be of great help. Thanks. :D

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tar
2/28/2015 01:52:25 pm

Mads Mikkelson, Jeffery Dean Morgan, and Eva Green? Good to watch after playing RDR? Western? Alright, you've sold me.

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Craig
2/28/2015 02:33:22 pm

So the kid in Maps to the Stars was just "How can we make Wesley from To Catch a Yeti even more unlikable?"

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The Hand of Onan
2/28/2015 02:51:42 pm

re Map. Cronenberg is in his 70s, Canadian and never a big player. He can attract the actors, but not the budgets. That's why it looks cheap

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Dr.Cthuhlu
3/1/2015 12:05:10 am

The movies "Made For TV" quality probably has to do more with the fact that it's a Canadian production

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Trikucian
3/1/2015 05:02:30 pm

Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how many big budget blockbuster movies are made in Canada with a Canadian crew and executive? It being made in Canada by Canadians has nothing to do with why it's picture quality is low. It has everything to do with budget, the type of camera they used, how they shot it (angles and shots and whatnot), and how the movie was edited together.

Maggie
2/28/2015 03:44:26 pm

About Serena. I went to the same college that Ron Rash (the author of Serena) teaches at, so my class literature class had to read it. The book was godawful and just as batshit insane as the movie. We had to listened to him and he basically said that he wrote the book because he had a vision of a "strong mountain woman on a horse with an exotic eagle on her arm" and wrote the story around that.

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Traffic
2/28/2015 04:38:37 pm

It's odd how, although we never see them together, the way Brad talks, it seems like Brad and Matthew are really good friends.

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Some Dude
2/28/2015 04:44:00 pm

Mads Mikelsen and Eva Green - I'm SO in. Mikkelsen has a great trackrecord and Eva Green herself can make mediocre films watchable - so what can go wrong?

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Bloodied
2/28/2015 05:49:08 pm

I'll be honest, The Salvation had me at Eric Cantona showing up. Good to see the acting career of everyone's favourite kung-fu philosopher ex-footballer is going well.

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grmpf
3/1/2015 06:28:12 am

Are you British/French and you actually followed his career first-hand or did you learn of his existence from Kevin Smith?

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Bloodied
3/2/2015 06:46:11 am

British, and I grew up worshipping King Eric as he flicked up his collar leading Man Utd to glory. Had no idea Smith had talked about him until you mentioned it here. Will definitely have to give that episode a listen.

Idiot from Scandinavia
2/28/2015 06:47:20 pm

Mads Mikkelsen's first name is pronounced without the "d" (silent d). Just pronounce "Mas".

And yeah I liked that movie too. Though the CGI-fire was horrible to watch. One should think that starting a real fire would be cheaper. And I am speaking of one of the last scenes in the movie, where we see fires in the distance. It is in the desert. They could easily have made a real fire. But I guess the local fire department didnt like that. But the rest of the movie is good.

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brynden rivers
3/1/2015 08:04:36 am

are you a dane?

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Idiot from Scandinavia
3/1/2015 06:06:16 pm

Yes.

And on that note, Mads Mikkelsen mostly plays the good guy in Danish movies and TV, while playing a villian in Hollywood. But I guess the european accent makes great villians ;-)

brynden rivers
3/2/2015 02:15:48 am

cool that makes two of us then.

the_underdog
2/28/2015 07:46:58 pm

As far as I have heard, the Original Cut for "Serena" was about 4 hours long. But then the producers butchered it down to 110 minutes.
That might explain why this movie is such a confusing mess. Because this film's director Susanne Bier is actually very talented. I recommend checking out her movie "In A Better World".

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grmpf
3/1/2015 07:54:44 am

I read something similar, because after seeing it was directed by Susanne Bier while listening to Brad talk about what a trainwreck it was, I was like "what the fuck happened?!" and just HAD to look into it a little bit. Even before that, from listening to him describe how everything just happens without any lead-up, I was already thinking "yeah, they probably edited this beyond her control."

And sure enough, it turns out it's another example of Hollywood getting an acclaimed foreign director to direct a movie, but not trusting them enough, ending up reworking the whole thing and fucking it up beyond recognition. See also what they did to Oliver Hirschbiegel's (The Experiment, Downfall) vision of The Invasion.

On the other hand though, I'm not sure a 4-hour Susanne Bier movie, hell, a 4-hour anyone's movie, would've been exactly great either, so I dunno...

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brynden rivers
3/1/2015 09:33:49 am

ah no i wouldn't call susanne talented. every single movie of hers is melodramatic as fuck. lars von trier said it best when he called them vacuous pieces of shit

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Marc
3/1/2015 01:19:04 am

You should do your Top 20 favorite movies of all time. You don´t have to rank them.

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egg mcmuffin
3/1/2015 03:58:14 am

The screenwriter's name on Serena is Christopher Kyle so it's obvious Bradley Cooper thought this was the story of American Sniper and didn't realize until it was too late that he had said yes to the wrong movie.

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BarryTheMasterOfSandwich
3/1/2015 06:39:14 am

As someone who likes movies about terrible people, I am intrigued by Maps to the Stars.

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Nephilim
3/1/2015 09:00:18 am

You'll like it.
I did. Unlikable people fascinate me as much as I detest them.

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CMY187
3/1/2015 11:20:56 am

Haven't seen any of David Corenberg's movies, actually. The movies he makes don't seem to be the kind that are my taste. I'd give them a watch one day, though.
Not a big Salma Hayek fan, but I might check out Everly armed with the foreknowledge that it is really just dumb fun. Also might give Salvation a chance even though I'm not a Western fan (although I love Django Unchained).
Of the four movies you reviewed here, Serena is the only one I heard of until then, and I still want to watch it now; from what I heard of it, it isn't good and the makers of the film were clearly banking primarily on the star power of Cooper and Lawrence to sell it (like Cold Comes The Night did with Bryan Cranston; he's the only reason to see that movie).
In fact, everything you said about Serena only makes me want to see it more. If nothing else, it has Jennifer Lawrence playing a ruthless bitch, and that's enough to make me want to see it.

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The Viewer
3/1/2015 05:08:16 pm

Really Brad, no references to Brazil? Granted, Jonathan Pryce's role isn't all that great in the western, but still...

By the way, if you want more revenge movies, Tommy "Tiny" Lister has his latest B-movie action revenge flick out. It's called American Justice. Not a great movie, but still... a curiosity.

On an unrelated note, any chance of a Snobcast about the Oscars with Sarah?

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The Viewer
3/1/2015 05:10:04 pm

REQUEST FOR BRAD: Since SyFy's mini-series remake of 12 Monkeys is out, how about a podcast on that like you did with From Dusk til Dawn?

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Peter
3/2/2015 10:48:57 am

“… No matter how much you‘d be prepared for a movie to be really bad, you can still just be shocked by what you’re seeing.”

Good stuff, man.

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Modwis
3/2/2015 09:27:36 pm

Nice reviews. For some reason I really want White Castle now...

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Anders
3/2/2015 10:45:30 pm

Is that meowing I hear in the background?

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Oliver Smith
3/3/2015 10:10:08 pm

Is films like Maps to the Stars the reason you don't like Bojack Horseman on Netflix

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Brad
3/4/2015 12:19:24 am

Never seen it.

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Adam Mosher
3/4/2015 03:15:13 pm

So Brad, how were you able to view The Salvation? Did you see it in a theater, online? How?

Oliver Smith
3/4/2015 03:35:42 pm

Have any plans to? If so which would you think would be the easiest to sit through?

Oliver Smith
3/5/2015 12:13:01 pm

Apparently I learn that Maps to the Stars is suppose to be a satirical drama much the Bojack was and after seeing the show it' didn't feel satirical enough be considered a satire and seeing your view on this movie I guessing you didn't find it as funny either.

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Oliver Smith
3/5/2015 01:32:35 pm

I know these characters are supposed to be unlikable but they have to be at least engaging for us to follow. Take Alex from Clockwork Orange for example, weather it would be the Stanley Kubrick film version or the Anthony Burgess novel version he is one of the most despised human beings in the planet and yet he is so enthralling because of his character.

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Just Sum Guy
3/12/2015 10:11:58 am

I'm a little late to the party on this but I think Serena deserves the same approach Team Snob took toward Saving Christmas.

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matt
3/13/2015 11:45:15 am

Brad - in the book Serena, I think the George character has his son, Jacob, before he meets Serena. Once Serena goes power hungry and starts trying to kill his illegitimate family, she finds out George is protecting them. She intentionally tricks George and leaves him to die in the woods. Many years later Serena is murdered by Jacob. The book isn't great but it sure sounds like they butchered the film.

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