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The Screen Rant editorial team is back with episode sixty-six of the Screen Rant Underground.
Join host Ben Kendrick as well as fellow SR editors Rob Keyes, Anthony Ocasio, and Kofi Outlaw – along with Saw series writer and director of The Collection, Marcus Dunstan - for a review of the final Twilight saga installment, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 plus updates on a number of video game movie adaptions including Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and more.
Screen Rant Underground is available on the iTunes Music Store, Stitcher Radio, or the Windows Phone Marketplace but if you’re not near your home computer, check out our sixty-sixth episode in the player below.
Also, Screen Rant Underground is an EXPLICIT podcast. We don’t go out of our way to say controversial things or use explicit language but it does happen – so use discretion when playing the podcast at work and around young, or sensitive, ears.
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Screen Rant Underground: Episode 66 – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
In episode 66 of the Screen Rant Underground podcast we review Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, with the help of Saw series writer and director of The Collection, Marcus Dunstan, plus give updates on a number of upcoming video game movie adaptations.
[0:00] News: Assassin’s Creed movie coming in 2014, Splinter Cell film will star Tom Hardy, and the Deus Ex adaptation has a director.
[35:52] Box Office Battle Results
[38:27] Interview: Marcus Dunstan – The Collection, God of War, and the Saw series.
[1:18:51] Review: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (read our full Breaking Dawn – Part 2 review).
[1:37:46] Breaking Dawn – Part 2 SPOILERS conversation (join in the Breaking Dawn – Part 2 spoilers discussion).
[2:02:53] Listener E-mail, Twitter Handles, and Contact Information.
[2:05:25] Game Rant News Brief: Grand Theft Auto 5 and Modern Warfare 4 rumors, Xbox 720 specs and design leaks, Halo 4 editorials, as well as Wii U console and game reviews.
Hosts: Ben Kendrick, Rob Keyes, Anthony Ocasio, and Kofi Outlaw.
Special Guest: Marcus Dunstan (@MarcusDunstan) - Check out The Collection in theaters November 30, 2012.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Next Week’s Review: Life of Pi
Last Week’s Reader Box Office Battle Winner (Skyfall Opening Weekend): Sam Howard (15 Points)
Opening this Week in Theaters (Wide):
- Life of Pi (Adventure) – 2,700
- Red Dawn (2012) (Action) – 2,600+
- Rise of the Guardians (Animation) – 3,500
Opening this Week in Theaters (Limited):
- Hitchcock (Drama) – 16
- Silver Linings Playbook (Comedy) – 420
Use the comment section below to continue our various discussions by weighing in with your own thoughts – or just to let us know what you think of the show. Also, don’t forget to vote in our weekly Screen Rant Underground poll:
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We release one episode a week every Monday and while host Ben Kendrick as well as Rob Keyes, Anthony Ocasio, and Kofi Outlaw are standard fare on the podcast, we’ve lined-up plenty of guests for future episodes.
Subscribe to the Screen Rant Underground at your online digital store of choice:
If you don’t use iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or the Zune/Windows Phone Marketplace you can still say up to date with new releases by bookmarking the Underground RSS feed – or keep an eye on the site for future Underground episode posts.
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Follow 3/4 of the Screen Rant Underground team @benkendrick, @rob_keyes, and @anthonyocasio. Also, feel free to contact us with questions and other insights at underground@screenrant.com, by adding #SRUnderground to your tweets, or leave a message on the SR Underground voicemail line at (323) 522-5455.
Music by Omarie B. Williams (@OmarieWilliams)
Edited by Justin Vactor (@Vactor)
Make sure to check out ScreenRant.com and GameRant.com for entertainment news, reviews, and editorials.
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Editor picks for the week of Life of Pi opening:
Ben:
1. Twilight
2. Rise of the Guardians
3. Skyfall
4. Life of Pi
5. Red Dawn
10. Taken 2
Kofi:
1. Guardians
2. Twilight
3. Skyfall
4. Pi
5. Red Dawn
10. Argo
Rob:
1. Rise of the Guardians
2. Twilight
3. Skyfall
4. Life of Pi
5. Lincoln
10. Taken 2
Anthony:
1.Twilight
2. Rise of the Guardians
3. Skyfall
4. Red Dawn
5. Life of Pi
10. The Well-Digger’s Daughter
Plus final weekend tallies for the weekend of Breaking Dawn – Part 1 opening:
1 Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 – $141.1M
2 Skyfall – $41.1M
3 Lincoln – $21.0M
4 Wreck-it Ralph – $18.6M
5 Flight – $8.8M
6 Argo – $4.0M
7 Taken 2 – $2.1M
8 Jab Tak Hai Jaan – $1.3M
9 Pitch Perfect – $1.3M
10 Here Comes the Boom – $1.2M
1. Breaking dawn
2. Rise of the guardians
3. Skyfall
4. Life of pi
5. Lincoln
10. Argo
I thought when the Fassbender news of him doing Assassins Creed came out they said he would be doing the character Desmond only and another actor would be doing the separate characters but I guess in a sense it make more sense for a pretty big star like Fassbender to change his look & mannerisms of each character but as far as the movie adaptation goes Assassins Creed could be a compelling story, introducing Altair’s story in first mixed with reluctant hero Desomonds makes fore interesting story, kind of part Matrix(Animus) set in a Clouds Atlas timeline with historical characters/events adding in a hidden war with Templars & Parkour mixed in with action, which makes for interesting story telling with great action and a Splinter Cell movie with Tom Hardy sounds much better then Uncharted movie with Nathan Fillion’s(shtick)….
I think that’s fan speculation. I don’t think that’s been said by Ubisoft.
Ben, you should have put the option “Really?” in the poll.
Haha. I was thinking of a 6th option but, while fun, I tend to think those skew the poll (which are, admittedly, already skewed).
Rise of the Guardians
Breaking Dawn – Part 2
Skyfall
Life of Pi
Red Dawn
10-Pitch Perfect
You guys seem reeeeeeeeeally too lenient on Twilight, but its your podcast.
Cody – Did you actually see this one? I KEEP hearing that same thing in the written review too (that I was too lenient). The Twilight films have a lot of problems (and are definitely not for everyone) but this is a lot more accessible and surprisingly entertaining.
This line from the written review sums up my feelings: “There are still a number of unintentionally humorous exchanges and awkward visuals (especially CGI baby Renesmee) that undercut the quality of the filmmaking – even if the final film itself delivers a worthwhile experience for its intended audience.”
That said, I don’t think anyone is recommending that naysayers see the movie – we just are at a point where lambasting Twilight sounds like a broken record. So, instead, we tried to focus on specific things instead of rolling our eyes at the larger franchise.
I try to watch them…but even on tv I find it hard…
okay…..but still. You of all people were hard on project x (1/5) and it delivered fanservice (to party goers) but that didnt seem to alter your view of it and some of the fanservice of twilight that draws crowds of female fans are young hot dudes how is that different than say putting topless women in your film or say the lewd shot of females in a michael bay transformers films.
And when you compare twilight to other book based series such as harry potter or hunger games that try their hardest with acting, translating story concept and logic and cg effects I mean…..cmon.
But its your decision. I can see how it could be cliche now or something that goes without saying but there are people in the reviews singing praise of the film like its the greatest film of all time award worthy flawless film perfection and I just wanna hear some counter negativity.
Hard counter negativity.
I don’t think that’s true – no one was calling it the greatest film of all time/award worthy in our reviews. I think ever single person that said anything good about it prefaced those comments by saying it was still a very flawed film.
Still, and I don’t mean disrespect when I say this, as the person who sat down and watched the film – I didn’t feel like any of those “hard” criticisms would have been entertaining to listen to. We tend to gravitate toward talking about the things that stood out to us as interesting to discuss (not forcing the conversation into a certain mold). That’s why we have written reviews on the site – to try and handle a more balanced look at the quality of the film.
As for Project X, Kofi really enjoyed that film for the exact reasons you mentioned (appealing to viewers who wanted to experience the craziest party in history or reminisce on their own crazy party moments). However, for me, I didn’t personally think that was entertaining as someone who wasn’t in one of those two camps.
Reviews across the board have asserted that this Twlight film is more entertaining and accessible than prior ones – with many people who were dragged to the film by friends coming out claiming that they actually were entertained. As a result, I still don’t think my 3/5 review or this positive-leaning podcast conversation are really that off-the-mark.
I get why some people don’t like Twilight (and I would say the podcast team largely agrees) but our jobs at Screen Rant is to look at what is in front of us and this film is better than anti-Twilight moviegoers are going to assume. I know some listeners may have come to hear us tear the film apart (especially since we have been critical of fan-favorites like Skyfall and Dark Knight Rises) but I, personally, think we’d have been pandering if we’d gone down that road.
We love our listeners, and value you guys and the time you spend listening to us but, from time to time, we’ve had to disagree. Some listeners have come to admit that we might not have been as harsh on The Dark Knight Rises as we might have seen (now that the excitement has worn off) – conversely, I think when all the anti-Twlight hate has simmered down again, some listeners will watch this film and be surprised when they enjoy it.
Darn you ben your so reasonable and gentlemanly.
Ha! No, I mean, it’s all subjective. I’m just trying to share my reasoning – doesn’t mean I have a valid argument!
1 – Breaking Dawn
2 – Rise of The Guardians
3 – Skyfall
4 – Life of Pi
5 – Red Dawn
10 – Taken 2
Out of curiosity, why did you choose to review Twilight? Did someone lose a bet?
Because Twilight would be fun to talk about. Lincoln would have been interesting but less entertaining to listen to – especially with Marcus guesting.
There’s more fun to be had discussing Twilight, but it’s also the biggest movie in the world this weekend.
Fun podcast! I actually made the same comparison coming out of the theater after seeing Breaking Dawn 2. It felt like it turned into some crazy superhero movie with all these X-Men type powers and action scenes. Ben’s review, as well as the other podcaster’s thoughts, were spot on. It was just entertaining to watch and wasn’t something I expected. And like the podcast mentioned, I was surprised at the emotion a few scenes sparked like with the some of the brutal death scenes. I didn’t have an emotional investment with any characters so it was weird that it could still make you feel shocked at a few scenes. So yeah, wasn’t expecting it to be as entertaining as it was when compared to the other entries in the franchise, but I think going in with low expectations certainly helped haha.
And on another note I’m pretty excited for the Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell movies to get off the ground. I think when studios realize how great a video game movie can be when faithfully adapted, they’re going to be much more willing to give control to the creators. There’s so many games out there with great stories to tell and would look mind blowing on screen. Hopefully if Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell are successful we’ll see studios ease up on their control and let quality adaptions get made by the people who actually know what the hell they’re doing.
Boogoo –
Thanks for the kind words. Glad your feelings were similar and, yah, I’m sure my own low expectations played a role in my overall enjoyment.
Thanks for the comment, boogoo, I’m with you on the video games.
Box office battle
1 twilight breaking dawn part 2
2. Rise of the guardians
3. Skyfall
4. Red dawn
5. Life of pi
10. Pitch perfect
1. Breakind Dawn
2. Skyfall
3. Rise of the guardians
4. Life of Pi
5. Red Dawn
10. Taken 2
AAWW, no big Marvel news. But still great podcast guys. Hopefully Hollywood can start pumping out good video game movies. Not a big fan of Splintercell but Deus Ex would make a great film. But Assassin’s Creed, I’m in! Love Assassin’s Creed! God of War would be awesome even though Kratos is in some ways a horrible character. I still want Halo and Mortal Kombat! As for Twilight, meh, good ridence.
Box Office Battle
1.Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part II
2.Rise of the Guardians
3.Skyfall
4.Red Dawn
5.Life of Pi
10.Taken 2
Assassin’s Creed is definitely the one I’m most interested in. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays one out. Halo too, I really enjoyed the “Forward Unto Dawn” web series – by the final two episodes, it was pretty epic.
Give it time, friend.
I promise I’ll have plenty of Marvel news to share in the near future
1 Breaking Dawn Part 2
2 Skyfall
3 Rise Of The Guardians
4 Life Of Pi
5 Red Dawn
10 Pitch Perfect
LETS GET A GEARS OF WAR MOVIE GOING SOON!!
I’m in!
Perfect!
Bear with me I came up with these on the top of my head just now! haha Just a idea
Chris Evans to play Baird
Ron Perlman to play Marcus
Terry Crews to play Cole
Amaury Nolasco to play Dom
I really hope they come out with a movie sometime!
Awesome podcast guys. i know i say it every week but i love listenng to you guys.
i am most excited for AC movie. i think fassbender can deliver the role of desmond who i think he will ultimately play but i hope he plays at least altair. and maybe connor as well. i think ezio needs to be of italian ethnicity. but AC is probably one of my favorite sagas of videogames ever.although i grew up playing splinter cell and am invested in his story but i am very happy and looking forward to tom hardy.hes got the physicality and persona of what sam fischer needs to be.
as far as breaking dawn goes. im gonna say i enjoyed it and i liked it. ive been a fan of series cuz i liked the books and yeah the movie is a pretty solid film. i personally think that breaking dawn part 1 and 2 should be stand alone films cuz they were done so much better then the predecessors. i think the battle was pretty well done and the cgi on the wolves was good all other cgi was pretty off and i kept expecting the baby to say something about etrade lol but ben i thought your review was spot on for me.
i didnt really think bout this as a origin for superheroes is a awesome thought.
box office battle
1.breaking dawn
2. rise of the guardians
3 skyfall
4 red dawn
5 life of pi
10.taken 2
I thought the review of Breaking Dawn 2 was very fair. It’s my second favorite behind Eclipse.
I was a huge fan of the Saw movies, but I felt that the final one was not very good. It looked like they put 2 movies into 1.
1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
2 Life of Pi
3 Rise of the Guardians
4 Skyfall
5 Silver Linings Playbook
10 Argo
1BREAKKNG DAWN
2 RISE OF GUARDIANS
3. Life OF PI
4. SKYFALL
5. LINCOLN
10 ARGO