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What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

post #1 of 33
11/18/08 at 11:03pm
Thread Starter 
I was really surprised to not see anything about this movie here. I just finished watching the Blu-ray and it was fantastic from beginning to end. I won't spoil it except to say it's a laugh riot and to expect the unexpected. There are big names, cameos and surprises galore. There is some mild gore, so beware, but it's done in a comedic way so it's rather tolerable.

Anyway, the Blu-ray is killer both video- and audio-wise. The transfer is flat-out excellent. Is it gonna look like Wall-E? No, but in my book, it's easily a 4.5/5. The lush greens of the jungle pop and you can see really the detail in the close-ups of the actors' faces that are covered in dirt and grime. The Dolby TrueHD audio too is quite good. There are sound effects galore and plenty of gunfire, explosions and helicopter blades "whupping." I'd say the only thing that got me was that in the BIG set explosions, there could be a tad more low bass, but that's just nitpicky...there's plenty of good stuff to go around.

If you can appreciate a spoof of Hollywood actors, rap stars, war movies and flat-out (yet potty-mouth) hilarity, check this one out.
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post #2 of 33
11/19/08 at 5:14am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

My Disk is still on the way, seen it in the theater and loved it, wonder what the "Director's Version" adds?
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post #3 of 33
11/19/08 at 8:33am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

The commentary with Stiller, Black and Downey is hoot, especially when Downey keeps slipping "into character".
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post #4 of 33
11/19/08 at 8:52am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I think Pat is still working on the review. Paramount screeners used to come out about two weeks before street and this one came out only a few days before street. Ben Stiller and Paramout executives screened the directors cut for us when we were at Paramount a few weeks ago for the HTF national meet.
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post #5 of 33
11/19/08 at 11:41am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Sounds like I may need to put this on my rental queue. Didn't know anything about this one before.

On 2nd thought, maybe this deserves a blind buy from the nearby street vendor, if they have any. Just took a peek at Roger Ebert's review (and the fairly high rating for a comedy on RottenTomatoes.com), and this sounds very promising.

_Man_
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post #6 of 33
11/19/08 at 11:59am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I'm going to pick it up blind, based on the positive reviews I read this summer. Heard great things about it.
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post #7 of 33
11/19/08 at 12:09pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

BTW, is this one seamlessly branched between Director's Cut and theatrical version? OR is it only the DC?

_Man_
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post #8 of 33
11/19/08 at 12:10pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I haven't seen this new director's cut yet, but I did catch it in theaters over the summer.

To anyone considering a blind buy, if I may offer my two cents: don't. The movie is well-worth seeing, but I think it's really one of those that's worth seeing first. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it a lot in theaters, but I felt that it ran too long and kinda ran out of steam before the end. The director's cut I think is 20 minutes longer, so for a movie that was already too long (in my opinion) to begin with... I liked the movie, but it was one of those where I enjoyed it, I laughed as I watched it (pretty hard at a couple of spots) but it's also one of those films where now that I've seen it, I don't think I'll ever need to watch it again.

Just my opinion, but I think this is one of those films that some people might not think is worth re-watching. I don't regret seeing it and I enjoyed it, but I probably would have felt it was a wasted purchase if I had bought it sight unseen. I went with some friends and family and they had the same feeling, for the most part... very funny, hysterical in certain moments, but not really one of those we'd want to re-watch a bunch of times or own.

And while I wouldn't recommend buying this movie blind, I'd absolutely recommend seeing it.
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post #9 of 33
11/19/08 at 12:19pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

On the other hand it's the kind of movie that get funnier each time you watch it.
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post #10 of 33
11/19/08 at 12:30pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

This is one of those movies that will become a comedy classic. Hilarious on all levels.
I would have bought it by now but as of November I'm not allowed to buy my own Blurays as "Christmas and birthday are just around the corner"
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post #11 of 33
11/19/08 at 12:33pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Adam and Josh,

Would you guys mind thumb-wrestling so I can decide whether to blind-buy this?

Thanks in advance!

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post #12 of 33
11/19/08 at 1:01pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman
Adam and Josh, Would you guys mind thumb-wrestling so I can decide whether to blind-buy this?

One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war...

Probably more useful if I just explained why I didn't think I'd want to own it, and maybe that will help one way or the other. I hope it's not giving anything away to say that Tropic Thunder is a comedy that's making fun of the film industry, and it uses a "movie within a movie"-type plot to do that, with that fake movie being a war film. I don't want to really give anything away; I thought this was one film harmed by trailers giving away too many funny bits, and I don't want to make that mistake here. I thought the middle portion of the film started to drag.. a lot. In that, "OK, I get the joke, what's next?" kind of way. I feel like Ben Stiller more or less plays the same character in most of his films, and this film is no exception--and I'm not a real big fan of that character, the "not-the-brightest-guy-in-the-room-by-a-longshot, act like a rude and insensitive tough guy in that fake macho voice" schtick that he does. It worked for this particular movie, but it started getting old by the end.

And while I'm not too squeamish, for whatever reason as I was watching Tropic Thunder it felt unusually violent to me. Now, I understand that was the point, and that certainly led to some very funny moments in the film, but the violence rubbed me in a certain way where even though it was funny, there was nothing about it that made me want to watch it again.

Remember in the 80s and 90s when it seemed like there were a bunch of 90 minute comedies being made? I feel like there was a great 90 minute movie hidden somewhere within the film's bloated 107 minute theatrical run time. This new director's cut runs about 120 minutes, which seems like a lot for this particular feature. I like long films, but sometimes less is more, and when a lot of the film is dependent on jokes and performances that are essentially one-note, there's a limit to how much you can get out of it... and I feel like they just stretched it out too much.

I will say that Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious, and the scenes he was in I would find more rewatchable than the film as a whole. It's a good movie and one worth watching. Maybe it is a film that gets funnier each time, but there was nothing about it that seemed that way to me when I saw it. If anything, I felt that the best jokes had all been used in the numerous trailers and TV spots that were out there, so I had already seen the best parts of the movie countless times before I even got to see the full thing.

But that's my two cents, and you might feel totally different. Whether you end up renting it or buying it, I'm curious what you end up thinking about it!
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post #13 of 33
11/19/08 at 1:03pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich
On the other hand it's the kind of movie that get funnier each time you watch it.

You mean like "the Exorcist?"
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post #14 of 33
11/19/08 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

What I like about this thread that differs from many of the other "review/worth a blind buy?" threads out there is that there is a healthy debate going on but everyone involved is very respectful of the others' opinion. WOW, how refreshing!

First things first, I have no idea what was added for the Director's Cut, but I do know there's no seamless branching; it's all one cut. Where I will agree with Josh (who's been good enough to express himself yet not crap all over the people that DID like it...good job, Josh!) is that I too felt like it lost some steam towards the end. Keep in mind this cut is 120 minutes, so in hindsight, I do feel like it could have used some judicious editing to tighten things up a bit. That being said, while I would like to have seen the theatrical cut first followed by the Director's Cut, I didn't get that chance and I thoroughly enjoyed the cut I did see.

Where my opinion differs is that I feel like this certainly is one of those films that will get funnier with each viewing. While I was just trying to keep up, I'm sure there's plenty of jokes I missed that will reveal themselves upon subsequent viewings. Yeah, so what if some of them are one-note lines...some of my favorite movies have one-note lines and I watch them over and over to this day. I also don't agree that a lot of the lines were used in the commercials and trailers, presuming of course that I saw the same ones Josh did...there's PLENTY of material that was unmined.

As for the violence, it's so completely over the top and worked into the comedy well enough to where, even though I am somewhat squeamish, it never once bothered me.

At this point, you're probably thinking, OK, we're still about 50/50, but what put it over the top for me was the quality of the transfer and the sound...they are both top notch. It's the type of film that you can put on for your buddies that may not be as fortunate as you (the reader of this post) to be on the cutting edge of home theater technology to show off just how good Blu-ray looks over DVD (and hopefully prompt them to get on board) AND you can do so with a funny as hell comedy to get that point across.
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post #15 of 33
11/19/08 at 2:51pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Reda
I was really surprised to not see anything about this movie here. I just finished watching the Blu-ray and it was fantastic from beginning to end. I won't spoil it except to say it's a laugh riot and to expect the unexpected. There are big names, cameos and surprises galore. There is some mild gore, so beware, but it's done in a comedic way so it's rather tolerable.
.


Mild gore
there are things in the unrated long cut, not sure it's a dir cut, that is
extreme gore.
blood and guts, in a true literal way.
somebody is... Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
blown to bits
and i was totally shocked by it.
After the shock wore off in a few seconds the scene was a
riot in the context of what was going on.

I laughed out loud, hard several times.

I wouldnt say it should be a blind buy but it is well worth a look.
Downey was the movie as far as i was concerned, he was just great.

also one of the extra features is a reel of film of just
Downey and Stiller performing a small scene over and over,
and it' a treat to see this piece of filming.
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post #16 of 33
11/19/08 at 3:05pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I had heard things about it.. both good and bad.. I was concern about the subplot on the disabled.. I was not offended by that.. I knew that where making fun of the way that hollywood does it.. then it was no problem.. I should also warn that this movie is very strong in use the bad langauge.. more so from a war movie.. this is not a movie for the kids. I didn't mind the profanity. but some people might. I want to buy it.. I did rent it from blockbuster. I would compare it to hot fuzz.. making fun of stuff.. that is actually better then the real movies that they are basing it on. if you have seen alot of war movies.. then you will probably get alot of the jokes.

Jacob
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post #17 of 33
11/19/08 at 3:19pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

This was a Hollywood satire using a fake war movie as the device.
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post #18 of 33
11/19/08 at 9:47pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3465883
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post #19 of 33
11/19/08 at 11:19pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Just got done watching TT and I absolutely loved it. All of the performances were great, but Downey Jr., McConaghey and Cruise absolutely stole the show. The movie had everything I love: politically incorrect humor, tons of foul language, graphic violence and explosions. Not your normal cocktail for a comedy, but it works. In fact, it works so well I can't wait to watch it again. The amazing picture and sound featured on the Blu-Ray are just icing on the cake.
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post #20 of 33
11/20/08 at 5:18am
Thread Starter 

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBat
I should also warn that this movie is very strong in use the bad langauge.. more so from a war movie.. this is not a movie for the kids. I didn't mind the profanity. but some people might.

With all due respect, it's an unrated film...I would hope people wouldn't blindly play it for their kids without first checking it out!
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post #21 of 33
11/20/08 at 5:22am
Thread Starter 

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
Mild gore
there are things in the unrated long cut, not sure it's a dir cut, that is
extreme gore.
blood and guts, in a true literal way.
somebody is... Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
blown to bits
and i was totally shocked by it.
After the shock wore off in a few seconds the scene was a
riot in the context of what was going on.

OK, OK, Tony, you're right...it's a tad extreme. Seriously though, I guess I downplayed it due to the context it was in and how it was treated during and post-gore. You are right though, it could be a bit much for those that are even more squeamish than I am.
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post #22 of 33
11/20/08 at 7:48am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Yeah that scene is the only "WTF" moment I had while watching it, and upon now my 3rd viewing last night (once in the theater, once at Paramount w/ my fellow HTF'ers, and now on Blu) it still makes me a bit squeamish.

But the rest is a hoot! It does, for me, get funnier each time I watch it. And turn on the subtitles if you don't catch everything RD Jr says. He's genius! Everyone in our apartment takes turns quoting his lines, especially the "Never go full..." diatribe.

This is one of those we'll screen fairly often. Not to the level of This Is Spinal Tap (which we re-watch every year or two), but will certainly get replayed in my home, especially when we have friends and family over who haven't seen it!
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post #23 of 33
11/20/08 at 1:56pm

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Reda
OK, OK, Tony, you're right...it's a tad extreme. Seriously though, I guess I downplayed it due to the context it was in and how it was treated during and post-gore. You are right though, it could be a bit much for those that are even more squeamish than I am.


see, it's just corn syrup...
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post #24 of 33
11/21/08 at 9:02am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Hmmm... Well, the nearby street vendor has it for $20 -- they are getting popular new releases fairly quickly lately -- and that means I can watch it over the weekend vs doing the "short wait" from Blockbuster after I mail disc 1 of Firefly back to them today on our one-at-a-time plan (and don't know if TT will be available for my next rental).

Considering all the love shown for it (including from the critics it seems) that's not often shown for comedies, this does seem like it's worthy of a blind buy (at $20). Since I haven't even seen more than bits of one trailer, I guess I can just treat it as though I'm going to see it in the theater w/ the wife and get to keep it for repeat viewings (w/ whomever) w/ the option to sell it, if I don't like it enough (and just treat it as a ~$5 rental in that case).

Alright, y'all sold me on it -- even Josh's tempered praise for it (considering nobody else seems to dislike the movie) certainly speaks well for it. And I'm sure this easily beats watching SNL on most Saturday nights -- plus I could probably use more solid comedies in my collection. Just wish though that they had included both versions on this release.

Thanks, guys!

_Man_
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post #25 of 33
11/21/08 at 10:23am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I look forward to hearing what you think of it.
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post #26 of 33
11/21/08 at 10:40am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Man:

I think you have reached a new saturation point for rationalization per amount of words in a single post!

Hope you enjoy it! I can't weigh in because I haven't seen it.
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post #27 of 33
11/21/08 at 10:48am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

I'm convinced to buy by all of you being convinced to buy...

Even though I'm not much of a BS fan (Ben Stiller, that is).

[My "policy" is not to buy comedies on BD. But action-comedies (with lots of visual/sound goodies) are a distinct exception. This and Bond (except CR) and Ahnode flicks fit into this sub-genre, for example.]
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post #28 of 33
11/21/08 at 11:03am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Man:

I think you have reached a new saturation point for rationalization per amount of words in a single post!

Hope you enjoy it! I can't weigh in because I haven't seen it.

Hahaha. Unfortunately, while I was spending time and words rationalizing this blind buy, the street vendor sold out of the half dozen or so copies they still had just a couple hours earlier. So the blind buy will have to wait until next week (assuming I don't change my mind and just give it a rent first).

One other thing about blind buy vs rent first in general. I find it harder to justify the higher new/recent release prices after I've already rented it, so there's that to consider also.

_Man_
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post #29 of 33
11/21/08 at 11:08am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong
Hahaha. Unfortunately, while I was spending time and words rationalizing this blind buy, the street vendor sold out of the half dozen or so copies they still had just a couple hours earlier. So the blind buy will have to wait until next week (assuming I don't change my mind and just give it a rent first).

He who hesitates...

My mama always told me if you see something you want, get it right then...because it won't be there when you get back.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong
One other thing about blind buy vs rent first in general. I find it harder to justify the higher new/recent release prices after I've already rented it, so there's that to consider also.

An actual instance of throwing good money after bad.

The rationalizations continue.
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post #30 of 33
11/21/08 at 11:26am

Re: What, no love for "Tropic Thunder"???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
He who hesitates...

My mama always told me if you see something you want, get it right then...because it won't be there when you get back.

Hahaha. Wish I did hesitate (for one more day) on my buy-back-into-the-(stock)-market (w/ my 401K) on Wednesday though. Really didn't think there would be 2 consecutive days of big drops at this point unless there was more bad news to be expected before market close yesterday. Oh well...

_Man_
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