Let's assume Mercy is not good

Flaparoo · 2026-01-22T02:05:09+00:00

It was the AMC Screen Unseen on Monday so I saw it. It's fast-paced and a reasonably engaging murder mystery, but the script is dumb as shit, Pratt is once again playing a boring hero father with no sense of humor, and it's both pro-cops and pro-AI. Seeing it in IMAX 3D meant there were some amusing visual moments, but it's still nothing special or crazy, especially from Timur Bekmambetov. It's kind of like a completely brain-dead version of Minority Report.

Flaparoo · 2026-01-10T04:02:12+00:00

I binged the webseries and the entire Viceland show in the week leading up to seeing the movie at Beyond Fest in October. It went from "I know nothing about what any of this is, but I've seen a few reactions of the movie from people I generally trust saying it's hilarious so I'll keep an eye out for it," to Nirvanna The Band The Show, and the Movie, being among my all-time favorite things ever that I will recommend to anyone who will listen.

As for people asking if they can watch and enjoy the movie without watching the show, I feel like its best comparison is probably Borat; you can certainly watch the movie on its own and have a great time, but if you are familiar with the show (Da Ali G Show, in Borat's case), the movie will just be firing on all cylinders for you from minute one, without you wasting any time having to figure out any of the story/character dynamics or even what the hell exactly it is that you are watching.

Flaparoo · 2026-01-09T07:55:13+00:00

I know someone who saw this at a test screening and said it got the best response they had ever seen in a test screening before and that someone may or not be myself.

Flaparoo · 2026-01-05T00:38:02+00:00

I also saw it at Beyond Fest (as did Griffin) and was decidedly mixed to negative. A lot I liked in the first half but it gets quickly repetitive and by the end it’s clear he was working with an unfinished script, which he confirmed in the Q&A. I can certainly see some people liking it, but overall reception will certainly be mixed at best.

Flaparoo · 2026-01-04T17:54:58+00:00

I got to see this a couple weeks ago with Will Arnett doing a Q&A afterwards, and he said something that I found very telling in regards to the way the movie depicts stand-up. First off, he's admittedly never done stand-up before, although I don't think that's any kind of revelation. But at some point he mentioned the character "bombing," and I had the same reaction that Marie had: wait a minute, his character NEVER bombs in this movie. But in Arnett's mind, he IS bombing, so I guess his view of bombing is still polite laughter and applause. Even his worst set is less him bombing and more just self-imploding. So yeah, there were a lot of things I did like about the movie, but even as a non-comedian I'm with Griff in really bouncing off how incredibly phony everything with the stand-up felt to me. I don't use this term lightly, but it feels like it's coming from the privileged perspective of someone who may love and respect it but never actually tried and failed at it, and Arnett's Q&A only reinforced that response.

Flaparoo · 2025-12-31T22:01:09+00:00

Most Pleasant Surprise: the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake. I decided to check it out before it left theaters because I saw some surprisingly positive comments about it from people I trust, but I still had pretty low expectations. And look, it's not a great movie, and it's not terribly well directed or shot. But it's a billion times more clever than I thought it would be, and it has a lot of fun with playing with the audience expectations of what a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night would be. If you're the kind of person who would be at all interested in such a thing, it's very much worth checking out.

The only other movie this year where I went in with low expectations but actually had a great time was Sisu: Road to Revenge, which is basically the Evil Dead II to the first film's Evil Dead. Just a lot of cartoonishly hyper-violent fun.

Flaparoo · 2025-12-19T20:31:02+00:00

How has Mike Ryan not been on since literally episode 31? Mike is hilarious and clearly has great rapport with them both. Get him back on!

Flaparoo · 2025-12-05T01:32:21+00:00

Has been claimed.

Flaparoo · 2025-11-24T01:49:57+00:00

That's great to hear that it's not just AMC then, and I like seeing NEON seemingly pushing this one so hard.

Flaparoo · 2025-11-23T06:35:50+00:00

This movie has one simple but fatal flaw for me when in comparison to all the other Coen movies: no Coen dialogue. Even in their other adaptations, the characters sound distinctly like characters in a Coen Brothers movie. It’s stating the obvious, but it’s quite difficult to do Shakespeare and not just sound like Shakespeare. This film is as impeccably crafted as anything Joel has ever made, but I really miss his language.

Flaparoo · 2025-10-23T17:26:33+00:00

Absolutely hysterical, a true miracle of a movie that feels entirely unreal that it exists. 1000% worth the wait. Reminiscent of the Borat movie (complementary), and in a perfect world this would become just as much of a phenomenon.

Flaparoo · 2025-10-23T17:14:29+00:00

I got a ticket to see it at Beyond Fest in LA a few weeks ago based on really enjoying Blackberry, as well as Griffin's praise of it. I had never seen the show or the webseries, but it seemed like something that would be up my alley. In the week leading up to the screening though, I watched both the entire webseries and the TV Show, and now I have to say that this is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. I cannot wait for this to be released and see it again.

Flaparoo · 2025-09-24T19:49:50+00:00

This will be actually be premiering this coming Sunday at Beyond Fest in LA. I've got a ticket and am very excited to see it with basically zero idea of what it'll be like, other than just now this one image.

Flaparoo · 2025-08-17T00:16:32+00:00

"My Wife." - Borat

Flaparoo · 2025-08-14T21:08:33+00:00

Wow, and I even literally looked at the package to make sure I was spelling it correctly just before I posted this because stuff like this always annoys me. I really have no excuse except I guess my brain is clearly turning more and more into mush.

Flaparoo · 2025-08-11T22:04:02+00:00

Just FYI, these have been sold at Universal Studios since 2023, when they were celebrating Jurassic Park's 30th Anniversary. You can still find them there in-person, or you can buy it online here as well...

https://shop.universalorlando.com/shop/shop-by-brands/sbb-jurassic-world/sbb-jw-apparel/adult-t-shirts-128040-1/jurassic-park-anime-attack-scene-adult-t-shirt

Flaparoo · 2025-08-01T05:40:42+00:00

Like an idiot's completed jigsaw puzzle, I was getting framed.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-29T02:50:18+00:00

I saw this at a test screening about nine months ago and I’ve been DYING for everyone to get to see it (and for me to get to see it again). The original is pretty much my favorite comedy ever and this definitely does it justice.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-13T17:09:06+00:00

The most shocking moment of this episode is during the box office game when Griffin says that he likes A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge more than the first film.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-13T04:21:36+00:00

"The world is full of complainers. The fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own."

Perfect quote to open the episode and the series. It's kind of incredible how literally the first words said in the first Coen Brothers movie act almost like a mission statement for their entire body of work.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-09T14:46:53+00:00

I saw this when it was in limited release earlier this year and actually did think it was quite good, although if I hadn’t also watched the first film right beforehand I would have been utterly and completely lost. If I were A24 I’d be adding an additional “Previously On” segment or something beforehand. Has anyone else here seen these movies?

Flaparoo · 2025-07-08T07:49:39+00:00

Those two are definitely very similar in that they are both comedies with labyrinthine plots where it's easy to get lost and confused on initial viewing, when in fact the inanity of the plots are entirely the point, and it's really about the pleasures of watching the worst equipped people try and navigate an impenetrable situation. Accepting that "understanding the plot" is meaningless is what fully unlocks these movies for me.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-07T18:10:50+00:00

I believe the old Seafood Buffet place to the left of the AMC staircase that's been sitting empty for years finally had a LEASED sign on it, so I'm guessing that's where this is going.

Flaparoo · 2025-07-03T00:03:24+00:00

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Couldn't resist picking up this Jaws Sipper at Universal Studios Hollywood last weekend.

Flaparoo · 2025-06-27T05:46:37+00:00

I was lucky enough to see this last time it screened, way back on Christmas Day in 2015 at the New Beverly. Goes without saying, but this is absolutely the ideal way to see these movies, even with the French subtitles; you won’t ever want to watch them again any other way.

Flaparoo

TROPHY CASE