Point Break or Bad Boys 2?
July 21, 2013 5:04 PM Subscribe
Apparently is only on the 5 disc edition.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:09 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:09 PM on July 21, 2013
I... Have not seen a lot of films, really. Interesting selection.
I hope they don't do the Shamalamadimgding thing on the commentary track.
posted by Artw at 5:11 PM on July 21, 2013
I hope they don't do the Shamalamadimgding thing on the commentary track.
posted by Artw at 5:11 PM on July 21, 2013
I haven't even seen Point Break.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2013
I got in a passionate argument with some other Wright/Pegg/Frost fans at the Worlds End Pub Crawl about which was better, Shaun or Fuzz. It was open bar, so I'm not sure we figured out who was right (spoiler: I am and Fuzz I'd better)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:27 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:27 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
You're wrong and Shaun is better.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [13 favorites]
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [13 favorites]
I'd go Fuzz, but really it's a toss up. The answer is probably Spaced.
posted by Artw at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
Dogs can't look up.
posted by Artw at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie. And I never did.
I'm not a big fan of gore and the only part(s) of Fuzz I hated were the gore, but I still think Shaun is about 1000x better. It's perfect in every way, while Fuzz was kind of forgettable.
posted by DU at 5:31 PM on July 21, 2013 [8 favorites]
I'm not a big fan of gore and the only part(s) of Fuzz I hated were the gore, but I still think Shaun is about 1000x better. It's perfect in every way, while Fuzz was kind of forgettable.
posted by DU at 5:31 PM on July 21, 2013 [8 favorites]
I'm kind of interested in doing a triple feature of the three ventriloquist dummy horror movies that QT mentions.
Also, Shaun is better.
posted by painquale at 5:35 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, Shaun is better.
posted by painquale at 5:35 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
On the off chance that somebody clicked this FPP but wasn't sure whether to see The World's End, you should see The World's End. It is very funny, but also very heartfelt and is also one of the best action movies of the year.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
I don't understand how someone could love any Edgar Wright movie and not also at least appreciate POINT BREAK.
posted by incessant at 5:46 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by incessant at 5:46 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Both Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are fine, fine films. But Point Break is a work of sublime genius and deep in your hearts you all know it.
posted by AndrewStephens at 5:51 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by AndrewStephens at 5:51 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Based on mainly anecdotal evidence from among friends of mine, the dividing line between people who liked Shaun of the Dead over Hot Fuzz seems entirely to be based on the number of viewings.
1-3 viewings: Shaun was preferred
3+ viewings: Hot Fuzz was preferred.
And I think this is fairly true -- for me, Hot Fuzz didn't grab me the first time (as a matter of fact, I didn't watch it a second time for about 4 years), but I have found it more rewarding for repeat viewing than Shaun.
I'm in the USA, so I can't see TWE for a few more weeks (por favor, I'm trying to reasonably avoid major spoilers), so here's hoping it grabs me like Shaun and pays off over the long term like Hot Fuzz...
posted by chimaera at 5:52 PM on July 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
1-3 viewings: Shaun was preferred
3+ viewings: Hot Fuzz was preferred.
And I think this is fairly true -- for me, Hot Fuzz didn't grab me the first time (as a matter of fact, I didn't watch it a second time for about 4 years), but I have found it more rewarding for repeat viewing than Shaun.
I'm in the USA, so I can't see TWE for a few more weeks (por favor, I'm trying to reasonably avoid major spoilers), so here's hoping it grabs me like Shaun and pays off over the long term like Hot Fuzz...
posted by chimaera at 5:52 PM on July 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
"You're cold because all of the blood is running out of your body, Roach. You're gonna be dead soon. I hope it was worth it."
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 5:52 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 5:52 PM on July 21, 2013
I haven't even seen Point Break.
Well, between jumping and jerking off, I guess we know which one you've been doing.
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie.
And there goes the final nail in the coffin of my respect for you, sir.
As to "which is better," I prefer Hot Fuzz, but I think it probably depends a lot on which genre of movies they're lampooning you tend to enjoy more. For me, it is obviously those dumb-verging-on-genius action movies. I personally thought Shaun of the Dead was rather forgettable and have no particular desire to watch it again, whereas for me Hot Fuzz will live forever.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 5:53 PM on July 21, 2013
Well, between jumping and jerking off, I guess we know which one you've been doing.
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie.
And there goes the final nail in the coffin of my respect for you, sir.
As to "which is better," I prefer Hot Fuzz, but I think it probably depends a lot on which genre of movies they're lampooning you tend to enjoy more. For me, it is obviously those dumb-verging-on-genius action movies. I personally thought Shaun of the Dead was rather forgettable and have no particular desire to watch it again, whereas for me Hot Fuzz will live forever.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 5:53 PM on July 21, 2013
World's End doesn't open here for another month or so. (and I'm sure that it'll play in exactly one small theater for a week around here)
posted by octothorpe at 5:53 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by octothorpe at 5:53 PM on July 21, 2013
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie.
Meanwhile, I liked Point Break enough to continue giving Keanu Reeves chances for another decade. Alas!
posted by mannequito at 5:57 PM on July 21, 2013
Meanwhile, I liked Point Break enough to continue giving Keanu Reeves chances for another decade. Alas!
posted by mannequito at 5:57 PM on July 21, 2013
Whoa.
posted by Artw at 6:00 PM on July 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:00 PM on July 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
Man, Thumbsucker bought Keanu unlimited chances with me forever.
posted by neuromodulator at 6:03 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by neuromodulator at 6:03 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Point Break is one of those movies that I've never seen all the way through but I've seen parts of it a half dozen times on cable. I can't say that I can recall much about it other than the skydiving scene.
posted by octothorpe at 6:05 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by octothorpe at 6:05 PM on July 21, 2013
I love Point Break to death, but I can understand if others can't really see its special genius. It's got a kind of weird earnestness to it that gives it a kind of transcendence.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 6:06 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 6:06 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now. Point Beak? Seriously?
posted by DU at 6:13 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by DU at 6:13 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have a soft spot for Shaun of the Dead. It isn't based on the film's merits though (which are, for the record, extensive) - I used a cinema screening of Shaun to monitor the deterioration of my eyesight when I got funnel web venom in my eye in a lab experiment gone wrong ("and that's why you ALWAYS wear safety glasses"). It definitely distracted me from the whole "does the eye contain enough blood vessels to carry funnel web venom to the heart" issue. AND it definitely did more good than a subsequent trip to the emergency room.
Back to the topic at hand though... as stated earlier, Spaced is clearly the pivotal work.
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 6:17 PM on July 21, 2013 [18 favorites]
Back to the topic at hand though... as stated earlier, Spaced is clearly the pivotal work.
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 6:17 PM on July 21, 2013 [18 favorites]
Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now. Point Beak? Seriously?
I can't even...
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 6:18 PM on July 21, 2013
I can't even...
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 6:18 PM on July 21, 2013
I used a cinema screening of Shaun to monitor the deterioration of my eyesight when I got funnel web venom in my eye in a lab experiment gone wrong
There are so many things to say with this statement that I'm kind of speechless.
posted by ashbury at 6:20 PM on July 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
There are so many things to say with this statement that I'm kind of speechless.
posted by ashbury at 6:20 PM on July 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
Saw the trailer for World's End yesterday. Really hope it isn't just a Shaun retread.
posted by fungible at 6:21 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by fungible at 6:21 PM on July 21, 2013
I used a cinema screening of Shaun to monitor the deterioration of my eyesight when I got funnel web venom in my eye in a lab experiment gone wrong
/looks at DVD of Hot Fuzz, contemplates means to one-up this.
posted by Artw at 6:22 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
/looks at DVD of Hot Fuzz, contemplates means to one-up this.
posted by Artw at 6:22 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Point Beak of course was a terrible movie. I mean, birds robbing banks!?
posted by mannequito at 6:22 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 6:22 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
/it's not easy.
posted by Artw at 6:23 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 6:23 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now. Point Beak? Seriously?
Here's the thing about Point Break -- it's not one of these shitty action movies we get today that are clearly made by a committee of old guys who used to like good action movies but feel like their 13-year-old grandnephews with ADHD are the target market. No, PB is great because it was made by people who clearly love action movies but are intensely aware of how ridiculous they are, but who Do. Not. Fucking. Care. No, sir, they are going to make the MOST ridiculous fucking action movie you have ever seen, and they are not going to fucking wink at you while they're doing it, and you are going to sit right goddammit there in your seat and goddammit enjoy this ridiculousness with your giant popcorn and swimming pool of Cherry Coke, so fucking deal with it and oh by the way SURFING SKYDIVING SHOOTING.
Patrick Swayze was a goddamn master of this kind of thing, and the world is a lesser place for him not doing it anymore.
posted by Etrigan at 6:27 PM on July 21, 2013 [35 favorites]
Here's the thing about Point Break -- it's not one of these shitty action movies we get today that are clearly made by a committee of old guys who used to like good action movies but feel like their 13-year-old grandnephews with ADHD are the target market. No, PB is great because it was made by people who clearly love action movies but are intensely aware of how ridiculous they are, but who Do. Not. Fucking. Care. No, sir, they are going to make the MOST ridiculous fucking action movie you have ever seen, and they are not going to fucking wink at you while they're doing it, and you are going to sit right goddammit there in your seat and goddammit enjoy this ridiculousness with your giant popcorn and swimming pool of Cherry Coke, so fucking deal with it and oh by the way SURFING SKYDIVING SHOOTING.
Patrick Swayze was a goddamn master of this kind of thing, and the world is a lesser place for him not doing it anymore.
posted by Etrigan at 6:27 PM on July 21, 2013 [35 favorites]
So I guess your answer is....both.
posted by DU at 6:31 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by DU at 6:31 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
One thing usually discounted in these discussions is the importance of Edgar Wright. Because I saw Paul opening night and let me tell you, it was no Shaun OR Fuzz.
posted by sleeping bear at 6:37 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by sleeping bear at 6:37 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
I think that if Fuzz came out first it would not have generated enough buzz to get the green light to do Shaun. So in that respect Shaun is better.
posted by ishrinkmajeans at 6:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ishrinkmajeans at 6:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
One thing usually discounted in these discussions is the importance of Edgar Wright. Because I saw Paul opening night and let me tell you, it was no Shaun OR Fuzz.
It was... Okay? Not bad but not great.
posted by Artw at 6:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
It was... Okay? Not bad but not great.
posted by Artw at 6:40 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'd track this down before bothering with Paul if you're that desperate for Nick Frost action and you've seen Spaced already.
posted by Artw at 6:42 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Artw at 6:42 PM on July 21, 2013
One thing usually discounted in these discussions is the importance of Edgar Wright. Because I saw Paul opening night and let me tell you, it was no Shaun OR Fuzz.
Oh, absolutley. Scott Pilgrim was genius, and I honestly think that he's one of the most talented action directors currently working. He frames his action scenes clearly, with few cuts, and always stages them in interesting ways. As time goes on he'll be recognized as being as good as John McTiernan or Kathleen Bigelow.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:53 PM on July 21, 2013
Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now. Point Beak? Seriously?
oh no people like a thing that you don't like
someone alert the authorities
posted by elizardbits at 6:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
oh no people like a thing that you don't like
someone alert the authorities
posted by elizardbits at 6:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
If you don't like Point Break, you probably don't like Road House either. And we're probably not going to get along real well, unless you're my wife. Which you are not.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:00 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:00 PM on July 21, 2013
Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now.
Here's the thing about Point Break...
So I guess your answer is....both.
No, my answer is "Neither." There are plenty of people who unabashedly love stuff but are keenly aware of its ridiculousness. They couch it in "guilty pleasure" or hide bodice-rippers from their co-workers at lunch, but they don't love them ironically or because they're not mainstream. They just love them, warts and all, especially when they're being done earnestly by creators who also love them, warts and all.
You may call it irony or hipsterism, but really, it's just another flavor of geekism.
posted by Etrigan at 7:02 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Here's the thing about Point Break...
So I guess your answer is....both.
No, my answer is "Neither." There are plenty of people who unabashedly love stuff but are keenly aware of its ridiculousness. They couch it in "guilty pleasure" or hide bodice-rippers from their co-workers at lunch, but they don't love them ironically or because they're not mainstream. They just love them, warts and all, especially when they're being done earnestly by creators who also love them, warts and all.
You may call it irony or hipsterism, but really, it's just another flavor of geekism.
posted by Etrigan at 7:02 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Point Break is sort of the 80s version of Pacific Rim where it's obvious they love their genre and have a deep respect for it and because of that recognize how silly some of its tropes are, so they're able to take it seriously without cheesy over the top reverence.
Also if you haven't seen Point Break Live!, I feel bad for you.
That said, I saw Bad Boys 2 in a big screen screening a few months back and it is still amazing.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:08 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also if you haven't seen Point Break Live!, I feel bad for you.
That said, I saw Bad Boys 2 in a big screen screening a few months back and it is still amazing.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:08 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Bad Boys 2 is probably the most racist mainstream movie, but the bit where they invade Cuba tips it over to sublimely crazy.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:11 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:11 PM on July 21, 2013
Part of my deep, deep enthusiasm for Point Break stems from the fact that I had not actually seen it until my former girlfriend's coworker announced that for his birthday he wanted to go see Point Break Live, so we figured we ought to watch it before we went. So, the night before, we sat down and popped it in. My reaction is probably best summed up by the expression of the guy on the right in the final two panels of this comic. Then, the next night we went to PBL, which was the most sublime live theater experience of my entire life, which just cemented the thing firmly in my lizard brain, where it will forever stay, world without end, amen.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 7:13 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 7:13 PM on July 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
I got funnel web venom in my eye
you cannot make a statement like that without MOAR DETAILS
posted by lalochezia at 7:37 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
you cannot make a statement like that without MOAR DETAILS
posted by lalochezia at 7:37 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've seen 25 of the 190 movies listed. Point Break is one of them.
I don't think I need to see the rest.
Shaun is better.
Now, about this funnel web venom?
posted by RainyJay at 7:40 PM on July 21, 2013
I don't think I need to see the rest.
Shaun is better.
Now, about this funnel web venom?
posted by RainyJay at 7:40 PM on July 21, 2013
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie. And I never did.
I am going to make a nice big ol' mess of delicious meatball sandwiches and you WILL BE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY OF THEM
posted by MidAtlantic at 7:46 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am going to make a nice big ol' mess of delicious meatball sandwiches and you WILL BE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY OF THEM
posted by MidAtlantic at 7:46 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I liked Hot Fuzz better mainly because, while I saw a lot of genius in Shaun, there were points at which it dragged. A bit. Also Fuzz motivated me to see Bad Boys 2, which has made my entire life worthwhile, specifically chase scenes featuring violent Rastas in large slow-moving vehicles, leaving a wake of destruction. If you don't think there's any Bad Boys in Pacific Rim, think again.
For the record, fwiw, I have only seen the four movies mentioned in this comment once each.
posted by janey47 at 7:48 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
For the record, fwiw, I have only seen the four movies mentioned in this comment once each.
posted by janey47 at 7:48 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Half of Hot Fuzz comes from giallo (the black gloved killer) and The Wicker Man
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:58 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:58 PM on July 21, 2013
I need to rewatch Shaun and Hot Fuzz. Neither made a particularly good impression on me, and while taste is obviously subjective there has to be something I'm missing, considering how well-regarded they are in general and by people whose opinions I respect and tastes I share. The only lasting sense I have of either is Genre Pastiche + Treacly Sentimentalism, and that I wished the Black Books crew had gone on to make movies instead. Also, Nick Frost inspires an odd anger in me. If anyone had links to any particularly good writing on the movies or Wright/Pegg that may help change my mind, I'd really like to read them.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:18 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:18 PM on July 21, 2013
For those playing at home, the guy who says Narp, Rory McCann, is the actor who plays the Hound in Game of Thrones.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:52 PM on July 21, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by ocherdraco at 8:52 PM on July 21, 2013 [6 favorites]
My favorite pointless detail in Hot Fuzz is how one of Bill Bailey's twin characters reads Iain Banks and one of them reads Iain M Banks.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 8:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [28 favorites]
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 8:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [28 favorites]
Yarp.
posted by Artw at 8:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 8:54 PM on July 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I tell you.... Miracle Whip!
.....damn wrong thread, got my varrible selection recognition matrix mixed up again...
posted by edgeways at 9:04 PM on July 21, 2013
.....damn wrong thread, got my varrible selection recognition matrix mixed up again...
posted by edgeways at 9:04 PM on July 21, 2013
I loved Shaun of the Dead right away. I felt like Hot Fuzz was paced oddly, it just sort of goes crazy out of nowhere. It was entertaining but I felt like Shaun worked better as a movie.
As for Point Break, I could try to explain it to you; but to quote accomplished thespian Anthony Kiedis, "that. Would be. A waste. Of time"
posted by Hoopo at 9:05 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
As for Point Break, I could try to explain it to you; but to quote accomplished thespian Anthony Kiedis, "that. Would be. A waste. Of time"
posted by Hoopo at 9:05 PM on July 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
As requested: how Shaun of the Dead helped me assess my envenomation incident...
A few years ago, while I was working on the Australian funnel web spider (the deadliest spider of them all) I decided to do a side project on funnel web spider venom (a project that - for reasons that will become clear - was never completed, but that I might actually do some day now that I think about it). The protocol for obtaining funnel web spider venom was to tease the spider until it got very cross. A cross funnel web spider will have venom oozing from it's chelicerae (i.e. fangs). If you're very lucky, it will strike the ground so hard that the impact will bounce it back up into a somersault and you end up with a pissed off, acrobatic spider that's bouncing off the walls of its petri dish.
SO... my PhD supervisor and I are - obviously - quite excited about this whole process. So excited that we forget to put on safety glasses. We both got to tease the spider, and then my supervisor would suck the venom up into a glass pasteur pipette, and decant it into a vial that I was holding. You can see where this is going. The pipette filled with funnel web spider venom shattered and glass and venom sprayed up. I felt... something. It wasn't painful per se, but I was extremely aware that I had a left eye and that it didn't feel at all right. Cue 15 minutes of flushing my eye out with water.
Afterwards my supervisor told me that there was very little vascular tissue in your eye so it was highly unlikely that any venom would make it to my heart. He said I probably didn't need to go to hospital. I was 24. I was more than a little traumatised. I did what any rational person would do. I figured the real risk was to the sight in my left eye, so I really needed to continually assess whether my sight was deteriorating. On the way home I stopped at the local cinema, bought a ticket to Shaun of the Dead, and watched the entire film with an eye (ah yes, you see what I did there) to detecting changes in vision between my left and right eyes.
It turns out that there IS actually enough vascular tissue in your eye to carry funnel web venom to your heart. Not enough to need anti-venom, but enough to make your heart do very strange things and enough to make you go a very strange colour. A trip to the emergency room ensued.
The next day a trip to the opthomologist revealed that the venom had acted like a strong acid/ alkaline and burned a hole in the iris, just missing the pupil (no glass cuts thankfully!). Long-term, the sight in my left eye is a bit worse than it should be. I also get "spider eye": if I'm tired or stressed or jetlagged, my spider eye goes incredibly red, hot and bloodshot for about 24 hours. It's not the most spectacular spidey-super-power of them all, but I'm happy enough to have it :)
Shaun of the Dead: THE definitive opthamological treatment for spider envenomation incidents.
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 9:06 PM on July 21, 2013 [210 favorites]
A few years ago, while I was working on the Australian funnel web spider (the deadliest spider of them all) I decided to do a side project on funnel web spider venom (a project that - for reasons that will become clear - was never completed, but that I might actually do some day now that I think about it). The protocol for obtaining funnel web spider venom was to tease the spider until it got very cross. A cross funnel web spider will have venom oozing from it's chelicerae (i.e. fangs). If you're very lucky, it will strike the ground so hard that the impact will bounce it back up into a somersault and you end up with a pissed off, acrobatic spider that's bouncing off the walls of its petri dish.
SO... my PhD supervisor and I are - obviously - quite excited about this whole process. So excited that we forget to put on safety glasses. We both got to tease the spider, and then my supervisor would suck the venom up into a glass pasteur pipette, and decant it into a vial that I was holding. You can see where this is going. The pipette filled with funnel web spider venom shattered and glass and venom sprayed up. I felt... something. It wasn't painful per se, but I was extremely aware that I had a left eye and that it didn't feel at all right. Cue 15 minutes of flushing my eye out with water.
Afterwards my supervisor told me that there was very little vascular tissue in your eye so it was highly unlikely that any venom would make it to my heart. He said I probably didn't need to go to hospital. I was 24. I was more than a little traumatised. I did what any rational person would do. I figured the real risk was to the sight in my left eye, so I really needed to continually assess whether my sight was deteriorating. On the way home I stopped at the local cinema, bought a ticket to Shaun of the Dead, and watched the entire film with an eye (ah yes, you see what I did there) to detecting changes in vision between my left and right eyes.
It turns out that there IS actually enough vascular tissue in your eye to carry funnel web venom to your heart. Not enough to need anti-venom, but enough to make your heart do very strange things and enough to make you go a very strange colour. A trip to the emergency room ensued.
The next day a trip to the opthomologist revealed that the venom had acted like a strong acid/ alkaline and burned a hole in the iris, just missing the pupil (no glass cuts thankfully!). Long-term, the sight in my left eye is a bit worse than it should be. I also get "spider eye": if I'm tired or stressed or jetlagged, my spider eye goes incredibly red, hot and bloodshot for about 24 hours. It's not the most spectacular spidey-super-power of them all, but I'm happy enough to have it :)
Shaun of the Dead: THE definitive opthamological treatment for spider envenomation incidents.
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 9:06 PM on July 21, 2013 [210 favorites]
Anyway, on topic.
it was made by people who clearly love action movies but are intensely aware of how ridiculous they are, but who Do. Not. Fucking. Care.
I see similar thing written here and there for many different movies. And to me it all just comes down to the last 5 words in that sentence.
posted by edgeways at 9:08 PM on July 21, 2013
it was made by people who clearly love action movies but are intensely aware of how ridiculous they are, but who Do. Not. Fucking. Care.
I see similar thing written here and there for many different movies. And to me it all just comes down to the last 5 words in that sentence.
posted by edgeways at 9:08 PM on July 21, 2013
Point Break? I am no hipster unless a 50+ year old suburban dad can be a hipster, but Point Break is a very watchable movie. Entertaining in a surrealistic way.
I was on a date with a gal once who wanted to play some game where she would ask me one word answer questions. First one out of her mouth is, "Swayze?" "Of course," I say without hesitation. "Roadhouse?" "Only twenty times." I reply. She smiled, said, "Game over." and ordered another drink. Needless to say the rest of the evening went well.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:11 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I was on a date with a gal once who wanted to play some game where she would ask me one word answer questions. First one out of her mouth is, "Swayze?" "Of course," I say without hesitation. "Roadhouse?" "Only twenty times." I reply. She smiled, said, "Game over." and ordered another drink. Needless to say the rest of the evening went well.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:11 PM on July 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
There's one other piece of Cornetto Trilogy media I want to link, but I can't find it on Edgar Wright's blog. It's a letter back from the British film classification board he got when he asked how many times he could use the word 'c*nt' in The World's End while still getting the rating he wanted. He read out the entire letter at the Sydney Q&A event, and it was very detailed and had lines about how the word should be limited to 3 uses, and the use was worse if directed at somebody of a lower status or used 'forcefully or violently'. It reminded me strongly of an old MeTa thread, and Wright said he'd put it on his blog but he hasn't yet.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 9:12 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 9:12 PM on July 21, 2013
So how do you tease a spider? This is vital information.
posted by squinty at 9:46 PM on July 21, 2013
posted by squinty at 9:46 PM on July 21, 2013
I am going to make a nice big ol' mess of delicious meatball sandwiches and you WILL BE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY OF THEM
I'll take two!
TWO!
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 9:47 PM on July 21, 2013
I'll take two!
TWO!
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 9:47 PM on July 21, 2013
So how do you tease a spider?Tell it Point Break wasn't very good.
posted by fullerine at 10:39 PM on July 21, 2013 [22 favorites]
Spin it a web of lies?
posted by longbaugh at 12:04 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by longbaugh at 12:04 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'll endorse Point Break, too. I remembered it as being much sillier and pointless, although the bank robbery sequences were entertaining and sort of surreal. When I went back to it recently I found a solid action movie with an interesting dynamic between the male protagonists (an early "bro" movie, I suppose). Good grief, it's Katherine Bigelow, whose recent output has been absolutely stunning. She was no slouch then, either, it's just that she was working in a much more popular entertainment mode.
Have to address this, though:
James Bond films
(filmed around the world "with Sony money" and therefore not "British" anymore; some starring Hot Fuzz's Timothy Dalton)
Sheesh, both of these guys ought to be smart enough to know that neither Cubby Broccoli nor Harry Saltzman were British, and MGM is, of course, a Hollywood studio. The movies have almost without exception been filmed at Pinewood, and Skyfall was filmed on the Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli 007 Stage at Pinewood (originally built for the supertanker/submarine set for The Spy Who Loved Me). And they've gone "all over the world" since Dr. No (mid-series, a rough standard of three international locations). So, huh?
posted by dhartung at 1:19 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Have to address this, though:
James Bond films
(filmed around the world "with Sony money" and therefore not "British" anymore; some starring Hot Fuzz's Timothy Dalton)
Sheesh, both of these guys ought to be smart enough to know that neither Cubby Broccoli nor Harry Saltzman were British, and MGM is, of course, a Hollywood studio. The movies have almost without exception been filmed at Pinewood, and Skyfall was filmed on the Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli 007 Stage at Pinewood (originally built for the supertanker/submarine set for The Spy Who Loved Me). And they've gone "all over the world" since Dr. No (mid-series, a rough standard of three international locations). So, huh?
posted by dhartung at 1:19 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
I did what any rational person would do.
The thing is, many of us are of the opinion that what a rational person would do is stay as far away from spiders as humanly possible, particularly poisonous ones. But then, as I'm not especially rational at the best of times and, far from being an actual scientist, make Nick Frost's character in Shaun look like a workaholic overachiever, am probably not most qualified to comment.
(But if you do want to tease a spider, the best way is to refer to it as an insect. They hate that. "I'm not a fucking insect!" they shriek. "Count the fucking legs, you stupid mammal!".
Doesn't annoy scorpions, strangely, but then if a serious chunk of my body was dedicated to being a poison delivery system, I'd probably be relaxed about that sort of thing, too.)
posted by Grangousier at 1:37 AM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
The thing is, many of us are of the opinion that what a rational person would do is stay as far away from spiders as humanly possible, particularly poisonous ones. But then, as I'm not especially rational at the best of times and, far from being an actual scientist, make Nick Frost's character in Shaun look like a workaholic overachiever, am probably not most qualified to comment.
(But if you do want to tease a spider, the best way is to refer to it as an insect. They hate that. "I'm not a fucking insect!" they shriek. "Count the fucking legs, you stupid mammal!".
Doesn't annoy scorpions, strangely, but then if a serious chunk of my body was dedicated to being a poison delivery system, I'd probably be relaxed about that sort of thing, too.)
posted by Grangousier at 1:37 AM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
you probably don't like Road House either. And we're probably not going to get along real well, unless...you're Kelly Lynch?
posted by pxe2000 at 5:11 AM on July 22, 2013
I definitely prefer Hot Fuzz, particularly because I keep discovering things about it like the fact that Bill Bailey played the twins which I definitely should have known. Nobody tells me nothin', said in exactly that accent, is one of my favourite things to quote in life.
posted by h00py at 5:54 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by h00py at 5:54 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you've lived in rural Britain.... well Hot Fuzz is basically a documentary
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:09 AM on July 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:09 AM on July 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
I s'pose.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 6:16 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 6:16 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Which isn't to say that I don't love 'Sean'. I do love it and 'Spaced' too. They should all be very proud of themselves.
posted by h00py at 6:29 AM on July 22, 2013
posted by h00py at 6:29 AM on July 22, 2013
DU: "Either I missed the irony in that idiotic movie the first time around or I'm being trolled by hipsters now. Point Beak? Seriously?"
Hello! It's 100% pure adrenaline!
posted by Chrysostom at 6:51 AM on July 22, 2013
Hello! It's 100% pure adrenaline!
posted by Chrysostom at 6:51 AM on July 22, 2013
Shaun is an entertainment of modest ambition but almost perfect execution. Hot Fuzz has a number of good jokes and scenes by many of the same players, but is mess at any bigger level. Caddyshack vs. a contemporaneous episode of SNL?
posted by MattD at 6:55 AM on July 22, 2013
posted by MattD at 6:55 AM on July 22, 2013
I was 24. I was more than a little traumatised. I did what any rational person would do.
You were teasing a poisonous spider and collecting its venom on purpose, obviously rationality was never a part of the equation.
awesome story.
posted by Think_Long at 7:13 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
You were teasing a poisonous spider and collecting its venom on purpose, obviously rationality was never a part of the equation.
awesome story.
posted by Think_Long at 7:13 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you stop Shaun of the Dead right after they meet their doppelgangers (or even when the zombie stepfather turns off the car stereo) there's no contest. As it is, it's a toss up. Hot Fuzz is more even, but it's never as brilliant.
posted by bleep-blop at 7:50 AM on July 22, 2013
posted by bleep-blop at 7:50 AM on July 22, 2013
I have not seen Shaun of the Dead, largely because I saw Hot Fuzz based on a lot of "bestest most perfect movie ever!!!11!" kind of hype and just ended up shrugging my shoulders at it. I found it wholly unremarkable.
I do like Spaced, though.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:58 AM on July 22, 2013
I do like Spaced, though.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:58 AM on July 22, 2013
Site appears to be down...I'm guessing other movies were mentioned as well?
Firmly on the record as a Huge Bad Boys 2 fan.So much so that I still can't figure out why other people don't like it. They try and explain why it's no good, but then I watch it again and it's still awesome, so they must be wrong.
posted by billyfleetwood at 8:13 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Firmly on the record as a Huge Bad Boys 2 fan.So much so that I still can't figure out why other people don't like it. They try and explain why it's no good, but then I watch it again and it's still awesome, so they must be wrong.
posted by billyfleetwood at 8:13 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
So how do you tease a spider? This is vital information.
WELL...
If it is an Australian funnel web spider you puff a little bit of air on the spider's "face" (i.e. eyes and chelicerae). That's generally enough to get the venom flowing. You might even nudge the spider gently with a blunt plastic pipette. That'll get male spiders doing their little backflips.
For the vast majority of other spiders (i.e. the ones that aren't as tetchy as the notoriously grumpy Australian funnel web) there are a range of other methods of obtaining venom. The "Teasing Protocol" is a funnel web special.
So don't try (any of) this at home kids.
AND just to make this more relevant to the OP. Spiders have long belonged to the Pegg/Spaced canon...
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 8:40 AM on July 22, 2013 [7 favorites]
WELL...
If it is an Australian funnel web spider you puff a little bit of air on the spider's "face" (i.e. eyes and chelicerae). That's generally enough to get the venom flowing. You might even nudge the spider gently with a blunt plastic pipette. That'll get male spiders doing their little backflips.
For the vast majority of other spiders (i.e. the ones that aren't as tetchy as the notoriously grumpy Australian funnel web) there are a range of other methods of obtaining venom. The "Teasing Protocol" is a funnel web special.
So don't try (any of) this at home kids.
AND just to make this more relevant to the OP. Spiders have long belonged to the Pegg/Spaced canon...
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 8:40 AM on July 22, 2013 [7 favorites]
Point Beak of course was a terrible movie. I mean, birds robbing banks!?
Eh, it was better than Pint Break, I mean there's not even any bank robberies they all just sit in a pub for two hours, chatting.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:42 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Eh, it was better than Pint Break, I mean there's not even any bank robberies they all just sit in a pub for two hours, chatting.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:42 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Point Break is what made me vow to never again see a Patrick Swayze movie. And I never did.
So you've never seen Donnie Darko? I think he might redeem himself in your eyes if you give that a viewing (then again this is coming from someone who's seen Road House far too many times).
posted by tetsuo at 10:54 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
So you've never seen Donnie Darko? I think he might redeem himself in your eyes if you give that a viewing (then again this is coming from someone who's seen Road House far too many times).
posted by tetsuo at 10:54 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yup tetsuo, Swayze as Jim Cunningham, motivational speaker in Donnie Darko was perfect:
Jim Cunningham: Son... Do you see this?
Donnie: Right?
Jim Cunningham: This is an anger prisoner. A textbook example.
Donnie: Anger prisoner.
Jim Cunningham: Do you see the fear, people? This boy is scared to death of the truth. Son, it breaks my heart to say this, but I believe you are a very troubled and confused young man. I believe you are searching for the answers in all the wrong places.
Donnie: You're right, actually. I am pretty... I'm pretty troubled and I'm pretty confused, but I... And I'm afraid. Really, really afraid. Really afraid. But I-I think you're the fucking Antichrist.
posted by HyperBlue at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Jim Cunningham: Son... Do you see this?
Donnie: Right?
Jim Cunningham: This is an anger prisoner. A textbook example.
Donnie: Anger prisoner.
Jim Cunningham: Do you see the fear, people? This boy is scared to death of the truth. Son, it breaks my heart to say this, but I believe you are a very troubled and confused young man. I believe you are searching for the answers in all the wrong places.
Donnie: You're right, actually. I am pretty... I'm pretty troubled and I'm pretty confused, but I... And I'm afraid. Really, really afraid. Really afraid. But I-I think you're the fucking Antichrist.
posted by HyperBlue at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you've lived in rural Britain.... well Hot Fuzz is basically a documentary
Whereas if you've lived in suburban London...
Shaun all the way for me. It is so tightly written, there are practically no throwaway lines -- everything is either a setup or a payoff. ("COCK IT".)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:40 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
Whereas if you've lived in suburban London...
Shaun all the way for me. It is so tightly written, there are practically no throwaway lines -- everything is either a setup or a payoff. ("COCK IT".)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:40 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
If you've lived in rural Britain.... well Hot Fuzz is basically a documentary
Whereas if you've lived in suburban London...
I think that's very true. They're both *perfect* caricatures of their settings. I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead much more when I rewatched it after living in London for a while, but I grew up in a sleepy little village and Hot Fuzz absolutely slew me on the first viewing. It's not about the plot, it's about the atmosphere they capture.
posted by metaBugs at 9:22 AM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Whereas if you've lived in suburban London...
I think that's very true. They're both *perfect* caricatures of their settings. I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead much more when I rewatched it after living in London for a while, but I grew up in a sleepy little village and Hot Fuzz absolutely slew me on the first viewing. It's not about the plot, it's about the atmosphere they capture.
posted by metaBugs at 9:22 AM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Choosing between Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz is like choosing between cake and pie: they are both deliciously wonderful, and the correct answer is always "why not both?"
posted by ashirys at 10:39 AM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ashirys at 10:39 AM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
No, [Point Break] is great because it was made by people who clearly love action movies but are intensely aware of how ridiculous they are, but who Do. Not. Fucking. Care. No, sir, they are going to make the MOST ridiculous fucking action movie you have ever seen, and they are not going to fucking wink at you while they're doing it, and you are going to sit right goddammit there in your seat and goddammit enjoy this ridiculousness with your giant popcorn and swimming pool of Cherry Coke, so fucking deal with it and oh by the way SURFING SKYDIVING SHOOTING.
This is how I feel about Pacific Rim, even when Gypsy Danger pretty much pulls a move out of Sharknado. Twice.
posted by maryr at 2:34 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is how I feel about Pacific Rim, even when Gypsy Danger pretty much pulls a move out of Sharknado. Twice.
posted by maryr at 2:34 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm watching the end of Hot Fuzz on tv right now! I haven't seen it since I caught a sneak preview, which they offered after free previews of Bad Boys 2, Point Break, and one other movie I forget. I'm looking forward to World's End.
posted by Pronoiac at 3:19 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Pronoiac at 3:19 PM on July 25, 2013
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posted by painquale at 5:08 PM on July 21, 2013