Anthony Alberts

Host

Saturday Summer Movie Session

Jul 12, 2014·14 visitors

Robert Willis

Cohost

Stage· 55 messages

Jul 12, 2014

Join Anthony and Robert as they tawk about this week's new releases and discuss the state of the summer movie season.

Anthony Alberts · 2:00 PM

Good morning Robert. I got my cup of coffee all set to go. You ready for a fun one?

Robert Willis · 2:00 PM

Always fun when talking movies with you, Tony!

Anthony Alberts · 2:00 PM

You always struck me as a "I go for the popcorn" typeof guy.

Robert Willis · 2:00 PM

Are you calling me fat? LOL!

Anthony Alberts · 2:01 PM

Not at all!

Robert Willis · 2:01 PM

You do have a point. I'm a popcorn movie type of guy, which is why I went and saw "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" yesterday.

Anthony Alberts · 2:01 PM

You, me and a ton of other people, I bet. What did you think?

Robert Willis · 2:02 PM

I liked it a lot, probably more so than any of the other tent pole movies this summer.

Anthony Alberts · 2:03 PM

I think they did an amazing job. The advances in filmmaking have taken this series a very long way from the rubber faced movies of the late 60's and early '70's.

Robert Willis · 2:03 PM

Andy Serkis is amazing. It is his performance, as well as many other unheralded stop motion actors that make Dawn of the Planet of the Apes such a great movie.

Anthony Alberts · 2:04 PM

The reviews have all be very favorable, and I was kind of surprised there wasn't more of a blowback against Gary Oldman.

Robert Willis · 2:04 PM

??? Why would there have been?

Anthony Alberts · 2:04 PM

Did you not hear about his controversial interview in Playboy magazine?

Robert Willis · 2:05 PM

There's interviews in Playboy? ;-) What did he say?

Anthony Alberts · 2:05 PM

Well, the point he was trying to make was that liberals in Hollywood can get away with saying anything but conservatives get vilified. What it ended up sounding like was him defending anti-Semitism.

Robert Willis · 2:05 PM

Yikes! That can't be good for business.

Anthony Alberts · 2:06 PM

Kind of my point. It seems like it had no effect on the popularity of the movie.

Anthony Alberts · 2:06 PM

And ironically he kind of proved his own point by the way peopel attacked his comment out of context.

Robert Willis · 2:07 PM

I just goes to show that people will try to create a controversy even when one isn't there. How long ago did this happen?

Anthony Alberts · 2:07 PM

Maybe two weeks ago?

Robert Willis · 2:07 PM

See? I never even heard of it, and it's already faded.

Anthony Alberts · 2:08 PM

The other point to it is that anyone who has followed Gary Oldman's career should know that he is uncontroversial.

Robert Willis · 2:08 PM

To say the least! He's one of my favorites. I love him in "The Professional"

Anthony Alberts · 2:08 PM

Did you love him in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?"

Robert Willis · 2:09 PM

As much as I could. The human characters weren't as developed as the apes, but I'd watch him go grocery shopping, so I'm biased.

Robert Willis · 2:10 PM

I know you want to get on to the indie movie of the week, but one last question about "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." Box office take?

Anthony Alberts · 2:10 PM

i think we get our second $100 million weekend debut of the summer. It is getting very good reviews and there isn't anything big opening against it.

Robert Willis · 2:10 PM

It seems like it's been a soft summer for the movies.

Anthony Alberts · 2:11 PM

That's only a perception. It's actually the fourth biggest summer in the last ten years. The problems are that some highly anticipated movies-"Tammy" for one_didn't open as big as expected, and last year had the newest Avengers, which set a high bar.

Robert Willis · 2:12 PM

Fair enough. Okay, enough ten poles. What was the second half of your double feature.

Anthony Alberts · 2:12 PM

I actually made it a triple.

Robert Willis · 2:12 PM

Wow! You are dedicated. Couldn't make up your mind?

Anthony Alberts · 2:13 PM

"Land Ho" just seemed like toofunny an idea to pass up.

Robert Willis · 2:13 PM

It that the one with the actor who isn't an actor?

Anthony Alberts · 2:13 PM

An eye surgeon from Kentucky!

Robert Willis · 2:13 PM

That's an interesting mid-life crisis choice, going from doctor to actor.

Anthony Alberts · 2:14 PM

More like late in life crisis. "Land Ho" is about two guys in their sixties, former brothers in law, who patch up their differences by taking a road trip to Iceland.

Robert Willis · 2:14 PM

And who says Hollywood has run out of original ideas! Any good?

Anthony Alberts · 2:15 PM

Very funny, a little touching, a little deep, and a beautiful travelogue for Iceland.

Robert Willis · 2:15 PM

What was the other movie you saw?

Anthony Alberts · 2:16 PM

:Life Itself" a moving portrait of Roger Ebert filmed at the very end of his life. Very powerful.

Robert Willis · 2:16 PM

I bet! I'm interested in seeing that as soon as it comes to a theater near me.

Anthony Alberts · 2:17 PM

The sheer number of people who go on camera to say what an influence he had on their careers is amazing.

Robert Willis · 2:17 PM

Well, Roger Ebert was influential in making all types of movies more popular and introducing lesser known films to the mainstream.

Anthony Alberts · 2:18 PM

That's just one of the many things that make this movie so powerful. The director's first film was "Hoop Dreams" that Roger Ebert personally championed and named the best movie of the year when it came out.

Robert Willis · 2:18 PM

Wow!

Anthony Alberts · 2:18 PM

I know right?

Robert Willis · 2:18 PM

Isn't "Life Itself" the name of Roger Ebert's autobiography?

Anthony Alberts · 2:19 PM

Yes. The original plan was to make the book into a movie, but when his cancer took a severe turn for the worse, they changed the format.

Robert Willis · 2:20 PM

Death will have a way of chaning your plans. After all that, I'm guessing you're done with movies for the weekend.

Anthony Alberts · 2:20 PM

I wish. I need to take my mom to see the new Diane Keaton/Michael Douglas movie "And So It Goes."

Robert Willis · 2:21 PM

You are just a glutton for punishment! Good luck with that.

Anthony Alberts · 2:21 PM

Thanks. See you next week to tawk more summer movies?

Robert Willis · 2:21 PM

You bet. And in honor of Roger Ebert, I'll even save you a seat on the aisle.

Anthony Alberts · 2:21 PM

Thanks Bob!