Aja on 13/6/2008 at 06:23
The thing is, the originals are almost always more tedious than fun. I enjoyed Grindhouse, for example, but I don't for a second want to go back and rent actual old grindhouse films. The Bollywood/kungfu/godzilla clips that get thrown around the internet as pure comedy have always been a chore to watch. Sure, you get a laugh or two from some unintentionally bad translation or cheap special effect, but the novelty wears off quickly, and what you're left with is complete trash.
Italian Spiderman is genuinely entertaining, though, and far more intelligent than its source material. I'll be tuning in regularly.
And as long as we're on the subject, Scots: you have provided us with some fantastic material over the years. People ask me "how do you find such funny internet material?" and I always say, oh, you know, just in my travels but secretly I am thinking IT WAS SCOTS TAFFER
Mr.Duck on 13/6/2008 at 07:55
It's not for porn searching? :(
Damn...
*Clicks on links for Italian Spider-Man then*
Scots Taffer on 13/6/2008 at 08:11
Quote Posted by Aja
The thing is, the originals are almost
always more tedious than fun.
...
And as long as we're on the subject, Scots: you have provided us with some fantastic material over the years. People ask me "how do you find such funny internet material?" and I always say, oh, you know, just in my travels but secretly I am thinking IT WAS SCOTS TAFFER
Exactly true, which is why it's great when you have people distilling it down to the core essentials of what makes it great - the Grindhouse comparison is apt, I had thought of it myself earlier.
And as for the rest...
swoon. <3
Vernon on 13/6/2008 at 14:41
Sorry Scots I was in a bad mood and being a cunt. So I'm glad you ignored me.
btw my first comment was about the prevalence of the media having editorial about what is online - ie channel seven going 'olol look what those crazy online kids are up to' in a really, really sad attempt to chase ratings and show that they are down with kids and deny that television is an utterly dead format (especially with 1:3 advertising) and then slamming youtube/myspace etc for being the cause of all the ills in the world
ps i'll just be getting my coat
Stitch on 13/6/2008 at 15:40
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Since I don't
see your second point as being self-evident I guess it renders my issue with your first point moot, but honestly I don't see this as being so ridiculously OH LOOK WE'RE APING THIS SHIT HOW GOOD IS THIS, I just see it as being ridiculous (just like the original material) good natured humour.
Actually, I think the rampant misogyny also kind of ruins the "good natured humor" angle. I understand that's the entire point of the joke (he says "respect women" and then punches them, I get it) but it just strikes me as lazy and ultimately disruptive. I don't have an issue with taboo humor--this is me talking, for god's sake--but Italian Spiderman just doesn't pull it off.
Italian Spiderman falls in this weird middle ground for me where nothing works. It's too self-aware to succeed on the same level as the source material but then doesn't push things enough to achieve absurdist humor. The intentional jokes aren't all that funny and destroy the fake unintentional humor.
The production, however, is fantastic.
SubJeff on 13/6/2008 at 17:02
I'm with Aja and Scots on this. The original funnies are often just funny at particular points with the rest of it being a trawl.
Italian Spiderman is far from all good, given (and for some of the reasons you state Stitch - that extended mugging bit was indeed lame), but because it's so short the good is compressed in a nice burst, and when it hits good (the entire black jack scene for example) it's gold.
Angel Dust on 20/6/2008 at 02:52
I got to say I'm with Stitch on this one, although not quite as strongly. It has some mildly amusing moments but it's too obviously nudge-nudge wink-wink with too much mugging to work for me. I think they should have played it straighter like the Grindhouse 'Machete' trailer which, while definitely a parody, has actor performances which could translate directly to a real cheap action flick. The humour then comes from the ridiculous script which is all the more funnier since the actors appear to be taking it seriously. You can then kind of have the best of both worlds, the 'unintentional' humour and a tighter focus.
On a side note, since my exposure to Italian film has been limited to Fellini, de Sica and Argento maybe I'm just lacking the necessary inside knowledge of Italian action-adventure films? Anyone care to point out some definitive examples of the genre?
Brian T on 25/6/2008 at 19:46
I don't know if the makers were being ironic but the fact that they thought "Hmmmm" needed a subtitle acually made me laugh out loud.
demagogue on 26/6/2008 at 08:41
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
maybe I'm just lacking the necessary inside knowledge of Italian action-adventure films?
In case you didn't catch it from the YouTube comments, this was made as a uni project by students in Adelaide. (The dialog is entirely in English if you watch their lips; the voiceover is Italian.) They already released it as a full length film months ago, but broke it up into chapters for YouTube releases ... a good idea for just the reason SE mentioned.
Edit: I should have known it was (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1741416#post1741416) already mentioned in this thread, and probably common knowledge anyway ... nevermind.
Edit 2: We're at the halfway point. Things are looking bad for IS.
