Ty Watches "Digger"

I'm going to postpone my NBA countdown 1 day because I saw "Digger" on Saturday and I have some thoughts. I wrote about how excited I was to go and see the movie last Friday, and man am I happy that I went to watch it in a theater. This review will be as spoiler free as possible because I truly think that if you have any feelings on seeing this movie, you should know as little as you can going in, and you should go watch it in a theater.

This is a movie that should be seen with a crowd, and then have some conversation with said crowd afterwards, just like my father and I did on Saturday. I loved this movie. I was all in from pretty much the first scene. I love it when Tom Cruise does something different with an established director. Alejandro Innaritu is an Oscar winning director. He has won multiple, for "Birdman" and "The Revenant", both movies which I like. I like "Birdman" more, but both are worth checking out. So having him on board, and getting Cruise to sign on was a home run. It reminds me of Cruise working with Paul Thomas Anderson on "Magnolia". That was something different and unique for Cruise, and he nailed it. I don't like Oliver Stone, but he has made a few decent movies. One such movie is "Born On The Fourth of July". Cruise makes that movie worth watching with one of his best performances. "Eyes Wide Shut" is up and down, but Cruise and Nicole Kidman do some great stuff, and I like to think that some of that is due to Stanley Kubrick's direction. I guess what I'm saying is, I prefer when Cruise isn't doing action movies. I like his acting in something like "Digger". When he takes a chance he usually hits, and this performance was a total knockout for me. I fully think he deserves to be nominated for this role. He is that good. I could not take my eyes off this performance. And when he wasn't on screen, I found myself waiting for him to get back in the scene. He is incredible in this role.

The supporting actors do some great work too. I thought John Goodman was the funniest person in the whole movie. He makes a proclamation halfway through the movie that made me cackle out loud, and it fully locked me in to the movie even more. The stuff between him and his wife is quite funny, and kind of depressing. I thought Riz Ahmed did some really solid work as a scientist. Ahmed is becoming more and more reliable for me as an actor. When he shows up in something I have found that I tend to enjoy the movie and his performance. He is also very funny, and the voice of reason in this movie. Sandra Huller is really solid in a smaller role. She has just got on my radar as of late, but I am becoming even more of a fan with each new performance I see of hers. And Jesse Plemons almost steals the show from Cruise. He may have the smallest "lead" role in the movie, but he owns his screen time. He is such a great actor and I appreciate that he continues to take on weird and wild roles in every movie he is cast in.

"Digger" is going to spark lots of reactions from people. There are going to be people like me that love this movie. I will sing the praises of "Digger" to anyone that will listen. I didn't know how I was going to feel about this movie going in, but going in fully blind and not knowing anything, like I said before, was the way to go. To experience this movie now knowing a thing is the only way you should watch it. But there are going to be people that despise this movie. I know RD may be more on this side. The movie takes swing after swing, and for some viewers those swings will not connect. The twists come out of nowhere. And they really change the trajectory of what you have been watching. I can see why that may turn away some viewers. But for me, I was all in on "Digger". I adored it. I will watch it many more times just to see what I may have missed before.

Go check it out and decide for yourself, just like the new ads are saying. But go see it with people, in a theater. That's the best way to get the full experience. "Digger" rules. 

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Is "Digger" Bad? I'll See for Myself

I am finally going to see the movie "Digger" tomorrow. I mentioned on the podcast that I will be doing a review on Monday, and today is just about my excitement in going to see this in the theater.

I have not been this excited to see a movie in a long, long time. I mentioned on the pod that this may be the height since I saw "The Simpsons" movie years ago. And it has nothing to do with my familiarity or fandom of the subject material. I'm a rabid "Simpsons" fan. I always have been. That excitement came from seeing it on the big screen and hoping they would do the show justice. And they did. I actually saw that movie two days in a row because of my excitement. The feelings for "Digger" are totally different.

I have successfully missed any spoilers for this movie to this point. I know that they're some twists, but I have no clue what they could be. "Digger" could have some musical elements to it, it could be music free. I know that I love the cast. I am an Innaritu fan. I like when Tom Cruise goes against the grain and plays some kind of wild character. I like when he takes chances. This movie has everything going for me as a fan of going to the theater. But there's also all the negative stuff that has simply fueled my passion for wanting to see this movie.

RD was the first person to stoke the flames for me. He saw it last weekend and he texted me that he thought it was not a good movie. This didn't deter me. He sent some subsequent texts as well, but those kind of made me want to see it more and more. Then I saw some stuff on the internet saying that it could be the biggest flop ever. These quotes and blurbs only made me want to give my money to the movie to try and save it some money. Then I saw how the campaigning for the movie changed. They started to show negative reviews, then Cruise in character saying, "f those people", and then the new trailer telling the viewer to decide for themselves.

Then RD called me the other night and he said something that pushed me even harder to find a time to go watch this movie. He reiterated that he did not like the movie, but he thought that I may love it. I saw some people online who I tend to agree with their movie reviews saying how much they liked the movie. I like weird movies that take big shots. I love "Hot Rod". "Southland Tales" is a movie I still think about on a daily basis. David Lynch's early movies seem to be devisive, and those are my favorite of his. I like the new "Star Wars" movies. "Cloud Atlas" is one of the coolest and most unique movies I've ever watched. I'm not that tough on movies that seem similar, or at least have similar views on the internet, like "Digger". I wanted to see this movie from the very first teaser that simply showed a silhouette of Cruise with a shovel. I got even more on board when I saw it was Innaritu's next movie. Hell, he made "Birdman", so he will always hold a place as one of my favorite directors. I cannot wait to see his take on climate change. I'm sure it will be explained much better than whatever the hell Adam McKay was trying to do with "Don't Look Up", another movie I don’t totally hate like some other people do. But this feeling I currently have in my body, this push of joy and excitement hasn't been around for a movie for me in awhile. I had something close to this with "Friendship", and that movie rules. But there haven't been too many other movies that have given me this feeling. Sure, I wanted to see "Primetime", I am stoked for "You Can See Everything", "Everything Everywhere All At Once" got my juices flowing, and I still have yet to see "the Odyssey", but I still have hopes to see it in a theater soon. But this feeling I have for "Digger" is different.

Like I said at the top, I'll have an actual review on Monday. Today I just wanted to kind of take you through my current thought process and my feelings of excitement knowing that I will be watching it in a theater tomorrow. I cannot wait. 

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late Than Never on "Minority Report"

I've clearly been in a movie watching mood lately, and that has meant a good amount of reviews, and today is no different. During this movie watching buffet, I watched "Minority Report". Let’s discuss.

RD has talked about this movie since it came out. He has always been a fan. I don't know why I never saw it until yesterday. I think I had some weird issue with Colin Farrell, and I maybe had an issue with another Phillip K Dick short story being made into a movie. I also always seem to hesitate when it comes to Tom Cruise movies. I like some stuff he does, but the whole Sciencetology thing and his off screen persona has always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But, I had time, I remembered the things RD has said about this movie and I usually enjoy Steven Spielberg directed movies.

"Minority Report" is awesome. Having never seen this movie before, the story and graphics and acting all totally hold up. The direction and acting is top notch as well. What intrigued me most about this movie was the idea of a pre-crime unit within the police. I'm not the biggest fan of the police, but this idea of being able to stop murders before they happen was thought provoking to me. I also really like the way the actors in the movie are constantly questioning if this is a good or bad thing too. That shows me that they have a good story to go off, and that the writers of the movie appreciate and pay good homage to the source material. I like that the precogs would see these things, say some of the things that are said during the crime and that they give you the name of the perpetrator and victim. Cruise is great as the chief of this unit. He is clearly great at his job, but he also has issues. He uses future drugs. He has some demons he needs to fight. But when he is on the job he is legit. The first scene, where his unit stops a potential crime, was awesome to watch. I knew they were going to stop it, but I was on the edge of my seat while I watched. Colin Farrell plays the new young gun in the crew that has a ton of questions. He does a fine job here. It proves my point that, when given proper direction and well written dialogue, he can do some solid work. That is why his current career is so rewarding for me as a fan. He is good here too. When he got shot, I was stunned. And even though I was supposed to look at him as the bad guy in the beginning, I felt kind of bad for him. He was just trying to do his job. He may have been too much of a go-getter, but he was simply doing his job. Max Von Sydow was wonderful too. He had such a great turn as the bad guy. There were moments when he would let his anger slip and that was always unsettling. I knew he was up to something, and when that turned out to be true, I felt like Max Von Sydow did his work as an actor. I grew to despise him all the way to the end. There are other actors in this movie, but let's not get it twisted, this is Cruise's movie through and through, and he does a bang up job throughout. There's a reason he is a legit movie star. When he fully gives in and lets go and lets the professionals he is working with do their jobs, he puts out great work like this.

"Minority Report" is a great sci-fi movie. I wished I had seen it sooner, but at least I finally found the time to watch it yesterday. I definitely recommend checking it out. It's awesome. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Let's Revisit "Tropic Thunder"

About a week ago my wife and I watched "Tropic Thunder" for the first time in years. Let’s discuss.

Right off the bat, this movie is hilarious. I loved it the first time I watched it, I remember watching it several times afterward and loving it and I laughed just as hard watching it this most recent time. It is a very funny, very well written movie. It is filled with jokes. It is like watching an episode of "30 Rock". There are jokes seemingly every thirty seconds to a minute. The cast is stellar and they all do such a good job portraying different types of actors/musicians. Jack Black is awesome, Ben Stiller is perfect, Brandon T Jackson has some of the best lines, Jay Baruchel is great as the young up and comer and Robert Downey Jr is superb. He should've been nominated for an Oscar. Even guys with smaller roles, like Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Danny McBride shine. This movie is filled with great actors and they are all up to the task. The movie holds up.

After watching it, my wife and I had a long talk trying to decide if this movie could be made today. "Tropic Thunder" came out in 2008, thirteen years ago. A lot has changed since then. We have gone through some shit as a country. There have been some major things that have happened, and the world is not a better place. We are currently living in a pandemic, which hasn't happened for 100 years. The former "administration" is to blame for a lot of it. The new administration is doing their best to try and get back to "normal", but they have their work cut out for them. So when looking back at this movie, and after a few weeks of thought, I do not think this movie would be able to get made today.

I have already said that Robert Downey Jr is exceptional in this movie. He takes on the role of the super committed actor to the next level. He is simply perfect. He is also in black face for most of this movie. Now, they make a very clear joke of this very early on in the movie. They point out that he is such a committed actor that he had his skin dyed for the role. And when shooting the movie, the back and forth between RDJ and Jackson is some of the funniest stuff in the whole movie. It is comedy gold. I do think "Tropic Thunder" does a good job of showing how utterly absurd and crazy some actors can be, but something like black face has been, and always will be, very, very, very wrong. It is disrespectful and not cool. There is also the whole backstory of Stiller's character doing a movie called "Simple Jack". "Simple Jack" is about a mentally handicapped man, and Stiller plays the part for laughs. And it works. Hell, the whole conversation between him and RDJ talking about the movie is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a movie. But I cringed watching him do the "Simple Jack" stuff. I laughed, but every laugh was met with me or my wife or both of us kind of feeling bad for laughing at the scenes with "Simple Jack". Again, the role is played for laughs, it is in this movie to show how ridiculous some actors take some of their roles, but it is so very offensive. It is wrong. It is tough to watch and you feel bad for laughing after you do. Everything else in the movie is okay. Jackson's backstory of being gay is not offensive at all, and it ends very happily for him. Baruchel is funny the whole time. Jack Black is goofy and silly and awesome. All the stuff with Tom Cruise is very funny. Danny McBride has some great one liners. But if this movie was to be made today they would have to take away two of the biggest jokes in the whole thing. It cannot be done. But that may be a good thing. I am not mad at it at all in fact.

"Tropic Thunder" should stay in the early 2000's. I'm over all the remakes and reboots. "Tropic Thunder" will always be a movie I will laugh at when I watch it, but there is absolutely no way it could, nor should it be made now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Advent Calendar of Great Holiday Movies: Day 12 "Eyes Wide Shut"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a great movie associated with the holiday season. Many will be awesome, some will be extra awesome. Enjoy.

Day 12: “Eyes Wide Shut”

Opened Doors: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11

The holiday season can be quite busy for married couples. Many times we need to visit our parents, and with a married couple that is at least two sets of parents. If the couple has children, there is a number of school activities that must be attended. Within their own lives, married couples have numerous work gatherings, and parties thrown by their friends. With the constant need to be somewhere, or doing something, a married couple rarely finds time for themselves. Oh, and sex together is almost definitely out of the question.

In the summer of 1999 Stanley Kubrick’s last film “Eyes Wide Shut” opened in theaters. The legendary director had passed away a few months prior to film’s release. The production of “Eyes Wide Shut” was at four hundred days, a record that has still not been broken. The movie was a moderate success and has gone on as a curiosity for some, and part of a film student’s curriculum for others.

The plot of “Eyes Wide Shut” is fairly simple, and nonsensical. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the Hollywood power couple of 1999, starred in the film as a married couple. Kidman’s character tells Cruise about a fantasy she has about having sex with a Navy man they met last year. Cruise is not happy about his wife’s fantasy, so he decides to go out on the town and be a little naughty. He almost kisses a prostitute, gets embarrassed and threatened by a secret society at an orgy, and identifies the body of a woman his friend was having sex with earlier in the film. Along the way we meet old friends who play piano at the orgy, a costume shop owner who sells his daughter into prostitution, and old friends who have sex with junkies that assure Cruise that everything is a okay. In the end, while shopping, Kidman tells Cruise there is only on thing left for them to do. With that “Eyes Wide Shut” ends with a one word exclamation. And this all takes place around Christmas.

It is hard to find time to be alone, and intimate, with one’s partner during the holidays. We all have much to do, in a very little time. We have school / church pageants. The shopping can take up morning, noon, and night. We might also find ourselves having to deal with the aftermath of an angry society of orgy havers. No matter how busy we are, couples should find the time to be together. To misquote Nicole Kidman at the end of ‘Eyes Wide Shut”, there is only one thing left for couples to do this holiday season and that is to cuddle.

RD

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Looking for a good Christmas tune that has some sadness behind it? Check out Tina S write about “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.