Special Edition Podcast
Show Notes
Josh Flanagan, Conor Kilpatrick, and Ron Richards went to go see Jonah Hex and well, it’s important to remember that this movie has nothing to do with the excellent comic books about Jonah Hex being published today. What did they think about the movie? Well, let’s just say there were some… issues.
Running Time: 00:25:02
Music:
“Oblivion”
Mastodon
Hey look! It’s a new movie starring Megan Fox!
What’s that you say? The titular character is actually the one with his back to us and who we can barely see, and not the pretty girl who is actually lit? Huh. Doesn’t say much about the studio’s confidence in this property and its marketability, does it?
Regardless! It’s time to strap your gatling guns to your horse and mosey on down to the picture show for Jonah Hex!
If you’ve hung around here at all you know that Josh and I are big fans of the comic book (and Ron will read it if Darwyn Cooke draws an issue… he’ll even admit to enjoying it!) so we are eager… interested… curious about this one. I’m looking forward to Jonah Hex. I’m a big western fan and I’m always happy to support one at the box office, even if Jonah Hex somehow ends up with the ability to raise the dead and bake kickass pies.
But if Jonah ends up playing his skin flap like a mouth harp, all bets are off as to which comic book film will be considered the greatest ever. I’m just sayin’. Look out The Dark Knight.
The iFanboys will be going to see this one as soon as possible — some more reluctantly than others — so we can bring you a Special Edition this Sunday.
Are you going to see it? Of course you are! So let’s talk about it!
If you haven’t seen the movie yet be forewarned — there be SPOILERS ahoy! So don’t scroll down any further if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.
Subscribe
Get Involved
Doing the podcast is fun and all, but let's be honest, listening to the 2 of us talk to each other can get repetitive, so we look to you, the iFanboy listeners to participate in the podcast! "How can I get in on the fun?" you may ask yourself, well here's how:
- E-Mail us at contact@ifanboy.com with any questions, comments or anything that may be on your mind.
Please don't forget to leave your name and where you're writing from and each week, we'll pick the best e-mails to include on the podcast!
Gatling! One T!
Ha, but seriously the previews for this all look awful. I have the first trade and a few random issues here and there, but nothing with this occult/magic element. Is there some big story I’m missing with his having magic powers?
There have been stories here and there all through the current series about supernatural stuff happening to/around Jonah, but never, as far as I know, has he had any sort of powers or magic know-how. Other than being a badass, of course.
Either it will be good, or it will be bad and the podcast will be fun.
Went to the midnight showing of this and only got to see the first few mins. The projector was so zoomed in it was like watching a fight scene in Transformers, so I left. Of the few mins I did see I had no idea what was going on cause you have that "wait, did I miss something or are they trying to explain this to me with really bad story telling?".
I did finally get to see the Scott Pilgrim trailer on the big screen though. Yet again, it was messed up and the sides were all scrunched in. Seeing that on the big screen makes the movie look 10 times crazier, I really hope it doesn’t become tiresome after a while.
You’re going to that thing? You’re braver than I thought.
Heading out to see this in a double feature with Toy Story 3 this morning.
I’m usually ok for seeing seemingly disastrous movies, but I’m a bit hesitant to go to this one just yet. It doesn’t bode well when you’re marketing the supporting actress more than the main actor. Toy Story 3 has me more stoked than this, but that’s probably more because I’m a Pixar guy.
Is Megan Fox’s waist actually made of a bread stick or have they done some over zealous photoshopping? I think I know which!!!
I am going to go see Jonah Hex. I am a recent convert to the series. I jumped on with issue 50 and haven’t looked back since then. I like seeing how a director interprets something I already have an image of in my head. Here is hoping that it isn’t too bad.
What’s this I hear about kickass pies?
I just finished reading a number of reviews…..kind words were few and far between. I may give this a shot when it comes out on video, but after watching the trailers I don’t think I can watch this sober.
80 minutes, this is a short movie….much like rise of the silver surfer,lets hope its better then that was though.
Not out til September over here in the UK 🙁
This is what we get for bragging about getting Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2 early.
Went to a sneak preview last night. I’ll say this: it wasn’t as bad as Ghost Rider. Brolin was the best part of the film. Although now that Josh pointed out the whole big-head thing, I can’t NOT see it. I could have done without the supernatural additions to the film and would have preferred a straight-up western. Malkovich phoned it in. Megan Fox was… pretty? Given all the production problems this film had, I’m surprised it got made at all. If you’re really curious, I would wait and rent this one.
The only thing I really need to know about this movie is, what’s the ratio of screen time between Michael Fassbender and Megan Fox? Anyone?
GIANT head. Tiny tiny shoulders.
So far the reviews have been awful. 12% at Rotten Tomatoes right now. Plus Newsarama had the worst time seeing it claiming:
‘This film, along with Losers and Kick-Ass, will show Marvel/DC to stop making films with their B-level characters.’
Ouch.
@TNC That doesn’t even make any sense. What do these films have in common, besides being based on comics? (Which the average audience doesn’t even know, except possibly in the case of Kick-Ass.)
This is by no means a great film. But I had more fun watching it than Iron Man 2. It’s very much like the Hellboy adaptations, where it resembles the original comic only slightly, but uses the same ingredients to have a bit of fun. I had a yabba dabba do time.
@ohcaroline – I think the point the Newsarama review TNC is quoting is getting at is that due to the commercial bombing of both Losers and Kick-Ass, and what will surely be the bombing of Jonah Hex, Marvel and DC should stop making B-Level characters into movies. A pretty dumb statement, as Iron Man was certainly not an A-Lister when a certain blockbuster hit a few years ago, never mind Marvel had nothing to do with Kick-Ass as it’s creator owned and was independently financed and had nothing to do with Marvel Studios. I think Jonah might have done better being released either earlier this year or waited until early next year as it’s opening the same weekend as Toy Story 3, which everyone is going to see, and it really doesn’t scream summer blockbuster unless it opened on a quieter weekend. Still, it won’t stop them from making B-Characters into movies, what it should do is show they need to put more effort into them rather than putting out drivel (although I quite enjoyed The Losers, especially considering I went in with low expectations).
I don’t know about you guys. but I can’t wait for the sequel… "Hex In The City".
@ohcaroline/CGPO: Actually you’re both wrong! Newsarama ment that because all three (still a possibility with Hex) bombing; it will sadly make DC/Marvel stop doing films about B-level characters. It’s not like they don’t want to see it happen, but the rumors of those future Marvel films (they think) will never come to pass because of these bombs.
Wow I made an error, sorry.
I ment: "It’s not like they want to see it happen". The way I originally put it still made them look like jerks.
@TNC — That’s possible but it’s not like Hex and Losers even scan as ‘comic book movies’ to the public. They’re not superhero movies and that’s what people think comic book movies are.
Yeesh, you guys are gluttons for punishment, going to see this.
Uhm, err, hope you have a good time, somehow?
Hex deserves such a better movie than this (probably is).
Making it a vehicle for Megan Fox just adds insult to injury.
Oh well, at least Hex was in one of the best Batman:TAS episodes.
I can’t wait to hear the podcast for this.
@ TNC – Yeah, I agree with ohcaroline, Hex and Losers aren’t superheroes, so I don’t think it will affect things. Add to that, that recently Marvel’s movie plan post-Avengers is to promote some of the smaller characters, including Antman, I don’t think those recent box office bombs will affect it. These aren’t the first, nor will they be the last. It’s when the major characters no longer bring in money that studios might be wary of doing the no-name characters, unless they decide those no-names are the best to develop because of the lower costs they could put in. Either way, anyone thinking this is the end of B-Character movies is an idiot.
@CGPO/Ohcaroline: Well I don’t think this will be the case either. This year seems to be an experiment for film companies and the big two in comics. They probably wanted to test out and see how smaller, lesser known comic properties can handle to mainstream audiences. Obviously the first three attempts this year hasn’t really panned out. (With KickAss enjoying a small amount of cult status)
I do think it will make the studios and Marvel/DC to look closer at how they make these films now. So if Marvel does a Luke Cage film, or DC does Aquaman (we can only hope) they will look at these films in 2010 and realize what is the right and wrong things to do.
Then again if Scott Pilgrim turns out any good then maybe it starts to get good for lesser known comic films. Also…..it probably will sell well either way (no matter if it’s good or bad) because everyone who loves the books will see it more then once. Not a complaint mind you, but that will probably happen.
This was a fun movie and Megan Fox is worth the price of admission! Fast movie too!
Might end up seeing this will a couple friends. I’m hopeful. I won’t hate the film or praise it until I see it. But the 80 minute running times does make me raise an eyebrow.
Saw it, didn’t much like it. Felt like a lot of studio interference. The acting, especially Brolin, was decent considering what they had to work with.
Is Megan Fox Talula Black in this?
From the reviews (no, I’m not going to fork over the dough to see this in the theaters) it sounds like this movie will be forgettable like Constantine was. And it’s too bad b/c great characters like Hex would translate well to film.
One wonders how they would be presented in the hands of smaller, "indie" studios instead of the big boys. If there’s a lesson here I think it’s that these "B-list" comic character movies shouldn’t be run through the same Hollywood machine that the "A-lister’s" do (from writing to casting to marketing).
Not Awful but the lack of creativity held it back. The gadgets and mystical elements were very suttle and didnt drag it down like i thought they would. Its a good day time escape for a couple of hours. I’ve seen worse
So, Paul, how WAS Toy Story 3?
@TNC – Kick-Ass has NOTHING to do with Marvel. Marvel isn’t experimenting anything. You won’t see them "experiment" with smaller properties until after the Avengers movie. Kick-Ass is creator-owned, and was financed independently, and had absolutely nothing to do with Marvel. While Kick-Ass was a great movie, it’s not surprising it didn’t do well. Unknown property (besides those who read the comic), while a great director, a relatively unknown one to American audiences (do people really know he did Layer Cake and Stardust outside of the geek community?), and no real big name actors (Nic Cage doesn’t count). Properties that unknown need something to draw audiences in, and unfortunately the promise of lots of violence wasn’t enough. Never mind there’s been a bunch of small superhero movie bombs over the years, see the Punisher movies, and yet still they’re getting made. As for DC experimenting, The Losers and Jonah Hex aren’t superhero properties, they’re just trying to make some quick bucks off of their smaller licences. Green Lantern is going to be a big one to watch to see whether WB commits to more DC movies or just sticks with Batman and Superman ones.
So did Hex at least shoot alot of people?
I understand the problems people had with the movie, but just like The Losers, I had fun watching it and loved seeing one of my favorite characters on screen. Even though there were those supernatural elements, they still stayed true to the characterization of Hex, and that’s what I like to see. I do totally agree with everyone wishing they could have just made a straight-up western with Hex, but that’s not what we got and I’m still OK with it because I just saw one of the coolest comic book characters come to life in a new medium for the character. I’ll buy it on DVD when it comes out, too.
8th place with only 5 million. Whoever at Warner who hired the director of "Horton Hears a Who!" for this should be fired.
I’m assuming this surprises no one…
They put it out the same weekend as Toy Story 3, were they really expecting it to place high? I have a feeling they hired the Horton Hears a Who director because they weren’t expecting much from this property. I’m more sad that DC especially hasn’t put much effort into their smaller movies (Constantine, Losers – while enjoyable,could have been better, Jonah Hex), like proper directors, better scripts and sometimes better actors (ie. Keanu Reeves as Constantine? What were they thinking?). I could care less if it bombs at the box office, odds are a good film finds a second life on DVD anyway. Heck that’s why Kevin Smith still has a career, DVD sales.
@CGPO – Hopefully now that Geoff Johns has some power on the film side of things, he’ll help to ensure some really good quality films, including the smaller properties as you mentioned. Time will tell, I guess.
I love to support westerns in the theaters but I’m skipping this one. I’ve read only one issue of the comic and it wasn’t bad but this movie looks god awful.
No interest in seeing this in the theater. Every comment on this film by those that have seen is negative. Maybe a netflix rental when it comes out on DVD. Maybe.
I actually really liked Punisher War Zone b/c I thought that it was so faithful to the Punisher MAX series & it was so over the top with the acting & the action just like the Punisher MAX series. I mean I understand why you guys don’t like the movie, but I just do not agree with you guys at how bad it was b/c this definitely beats Punisher with Thomas Jane in Tampa Bay anytime for me. Also there is no way i’m gonna see Jonah Hex, there’s nothing for me in this movie at all!
I want to thank you guys for the movie review podcast. I was about to go out and see this movie. I already had a bad feel about this when I read that the guys who wrote/directed Gamer and the Crank movies had written it. Add that with a director who’s only other movie is 2008 Horton Hears a Who. That spelled trouble. I will say that luckily for me I work at a video store and can rent this for free when it comes out on DVD. Maybe I should the next eighty minutes read my Jonah Hex trades again.
I forgot the guys who did Crank wrote this film. Shame, cause those films are awesome and this film shouldn’t reflect their career.
i saw crank 2 the other night, holy shit.
The Mastodon score (what we heard of it) was the best part, and Josh Brolin had one good line (the one about the horse). That’s about it, a huge wasted opportunity especially with that cast.
Also the Neveldine and Taylor script wasn’t used other than the opening part which I think is a shame since they are going to be blamed for this mess.
And no way is Punisher War Zone worse than this movie, PWZ was at least fun, and had some funny moments even if unintentionally so.
@malpractice: There was nothing fun about PUNISHER WAR ZONE. And nothing as good as the opening scene in JONAH HEX.
And the worst actor in jONAH HEX would have blown everyone off the screen in PUNISHER.
Idk Conor that scene where the Punisher shot the guy on the rooftops with a rocket? Or when he blew off Pitsy’s face as soon as he grabbed the little girl? Moments like those were pretty fun in the movie.
@SpiderTitan: I’m glad you enjoyed them.
What were Conor’s thoughts on Iron Man 2 afterall?
@Gabe: You didn’t listen to the show, did you?
(I still haven’t seen it.)
There were a couple good scenes in PWZ and Ray Stevenson was a great Punisher, but the movie stunk. I found myself fast forward through most of the movie to the "good" stuff. So…..I barely watched the movie is what I’m sayin’. The shotgun blast to the mobster’s face was hilarious, though.
It was hard to hear the podcast over all the cackaling laffter….
Thanks for suffering on behalf of all of us.
I knew this movie was going to be shit, but I hoped it would be good.
So how many issues of the comic do you think we have left . . . ?
I wonder if the fact that Josh Brolin is in production on another straight up Western had an affect the decision to go all supernatural in this one based on a comic?
Now, was it an original soundtrack by Mastodon, or were they just using Mastodon’s songs?
Either way, and I say this as a Mastodon enthusiast, it can’t top their best song in a movie ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vf3VzVbrXU
I agree that when they had Fox’s character that Hex would have shot. I felt like there wasn’t enough scenes of him taking on 30 guys by himself and still standing afterwards unscathed. Even though there were at least what? 3 scenes like that 😛
@amblastoff: I don’t mean to go off topic but….I know! Wasn’t it great!? 🙂
ONE OF THE BEST MOVIE PODCASTS YOU GUYS HAVE DONE!!!!
Nice one, lads. Your mocking laughter is the only fit response for this steaming pile.
My biggest takeaway from all this is that the podcast is 1/3rd the length of the movie.
Is it bad that I had no intention on seeing this movie, but now that I know it’s 80 minutes of utter crap, I kind of want to? I’d of course have to do it in a free yet completely 100%-legal-but-not-really-at-all way.
a tenner says green lantern movie is guna suck.
I didn’t think this was as bad as everyone said. I am barely familiar with the comic character, so it wasn’t like they were ruining Batman or something. The acting was not great, but the effects were good, and it had decent actions. I went in with low expectations and it was better than I expected. Too short, though.