PIXELS the movie...seriously?

[Emperor Megas]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CYMC5b8KLE

Seriously?

I didn't notice it posted anywhere here, and I know how Internet time works, so am I the last here to see the trailer for this horrible looking film? O_O

[Greg2600]

Was discussed last year. I think the concept is kind of funny in a goofy/quirky way, but the combination of Adam Sandler and Kevin James is totally unbearable.

http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?171986-The-mother-of-all-bad-video-game-movies-is-coming&highlight=Sandler

[Emperor Megas]

Urgh, this looks just god awful. I don't even mean in an intentional way, either.:-/

[retroguy]

Yeah, I saw the trailer this morning and...it looks bad. Despite my personal loathing for Adam Sandler (sorry, but he's just not funny and he's kind of a jerk), I'll probably see it anyway but go into it with the same mindset as when I saw Battleship. I knew going in Battleship would be awful and it was, but it's the kind of awesome badness you just have to see to believe and I often tell people it's one of the greatest bad movies of all time. I expect no less here.

[kai123]

It would be a cool concept if I didn't already see this on Futurama. I know it was mentioned in the other thread but I feel like this will be a terrible version of something I have already seen. I won't watch it just because I haven't enjoyed a Adam Sandler movie in a long time.

[Tanooki]

Yeah, I saw the trailer this morning and...it looks bad. Despite my personal loathing for Adam Sandler (sorry, but he's just not funny and he's kind of a jerk), I'll probably see it anyway but go into it with the same mindset as when I saw Battleship. I knew going in Battleship would be awful and it was, but it's the kind of awesome badness you just have to see to believe and I often tell people it's one of the greatest bad movies of all time. I expect no less here.

I looked upon Battleship as many would have also looked upon any Godzilla movie for the decades. You know it's crap. You know it's completely out there. You know the effects or lack thereof are a driving part of the entertainment value because you go in knowing all these things and derive pleasure from the dude in the rubber monster suit, or how a retired battleship could take down advanced aliens and their tech. It's not keeping expectations low, you go in it expecting to enjoy it for the mindless fun it is and has been panned for.

[Niku-Sama]

Futurama episode with the scary door much?

[FieryReign]

Do people still think Adam Sandler is funny? He wore out his welcome years ago. And hey look, his buddy Kevin James is in it too. Another comedian who gets laughs because he's fat...

I have to admit, I did chuckle when I seen that cgi Pacman plowing through the streets in the trailer.

[celerystalker]

I always want to like something like this, but it so often just sucks that it gets hard to get enthused. I think for me there's just a frustration with people who aren't truly fans of games trying to make money off of their popularity or use them to enhance an image. It's like when a celebrity gets interviewed and name drops Madden or Call of Duty or Galaga to seem like they're in tune with the video game crowd. I don't want to be so pessimistic, but Sandler and James... so, what's Rob Schneider's role? Conversely, I really liked the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, which left many of its references subtle for fans instead of seeming like one big, "Remember this one? How about this one?" which always reeks of a combination of insecurity and pandering. In Scott Pilgrim, they didn't care if you were aware of games like Clash at Demonhead or Crash 'n the Boys. They were there for fans to enjoy the call out, but the story wasn't built around the viewer getting the joke or reference. This movie just screams, "Hey, remember Pac-Man? We've got Donkey Kong, too! Hey, get this... there are invaders... from space? Get it? Space Invaders? Yeah, we remember the most well-known arcade games too! Stay tuned, because I bet we can work in Ms. Pac-Man too! Who will save us? I bet it would take some kind of masterful chief of sorts..."

[Tanooki]

Do people still think Adam Sandler is funny? He wore out his welcome years ago. And hey look, his buddy Kevin James is in it too. Another comedian who gets laughs because he's fat...

I have to admit, I did chuckle when I seen that cgi Pacman plowing through the streets in the trailer.

Sandler gets credit for one small bit alone very recently. A part 2 to the happy gilmore bob barker beat down. A short done for Comedy Central for their night of comedians.

4min~ long, just enjoy it -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b54pmFhzfDg

[Jorpho]

Clearly someone saw Wreck-It Ralph – or rather, the amount of money Wreck-It Ralph pulled in – and decided they could not leave well enough alone. I thought Wreck-It Ralph seemed like it was based off a concept that would have seemed way cool on the playground twenty-five years ago; much the same can be said here.

Did you see the original short? It's actually pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6cLgwomo

[retroguy]

Well, Wreck It Ralph was a reworking of an earlier idea they had called Reboot Ralph and apparently it had been pitched to Disney several times going back to the eighties before they finally said yes. So there ya go.

[Tanooki]

Hah wow I remember that pixels short from awhile back and it was pretty entertaining. I'm not sure what to think about this movie though. Probably end up like the Wizard, terrible, not so terrible to kids and super fanboys, and ultimately a nice running advertisement for various characters.

[celerystalker]

I really like the Wizard. Aside from its errors and obvious product placement, I really feel like the kid who played Jimmy nailed his part as a traumatized child. It made my wife cry. Christian Slater was decent there as well... it's not some perfect achievement, but there's a nice little story there with some solid performances. Normally I'd just admit that I fall into the nostalgic fanboy camp, but the reactions of other people I've shown it to as adults indicate to me that it's more than that.

I'd never seen that short before. Interesting.

[retroguy]

I agree. The Wizard's no masterpiece, but I see it as a perfectly good story with decent performances and the blatant product placement was likely an unavoidable byproduct given the plot. They could have easily done the same movie with the same story without shilling the Power Glove or the tip line, but Nintendo probably offered the studio a boatload of money to promote those things and in Hollywood more than anywhere else, money talks.

[Tanooki]

Eh the Wizard is fine, it's just not good or great. Ate it up as a kid I did.


I just saw a TV spot run for this movie. The father of Pac-Man is in the clip, they warn him not to approach pac-man, but he says that's my boy I gave birth to him. He's like son, please, calm down trying to reach out -- and Pac-Man bites his forearm/hand and it goes pixely. He runs off upset going 'kill him.'

[Nz17]

The father of Pac-Man is in the clip

And it actually is the real Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man. You can see a photo of him from 2010 here in this Wired article (http://www.wired.com/2010/05/pac-man-30-years/) for comparison.

[Tanooki]

Oh I knew it was, I've seen him enough times, younger version though which I thought was an awesome touch.

[Bughuntertf]

The concept seems neat but the execution looks poor and I'm sure that there were a few things I was supposed to laugh at but I didn't find them funny. At the very best we'll get an average, maybe slightly above mediocre movie, at the worst, we'll get something absolutely terrible. At least the actors seem good - and you can't really go wrong with Peter Dinklage - so there's that. Even with Adam Sandler whom I've never heard of until now and not hearing good things about anyways. I'll probably see it anyway but I wouldn't go in expecting excellence.

[Jorpho]

What came to mind watching the trailer was actually the Super Mario Bros. movie, which I finally saw for the first time just a little while ago. (The Nostalgia Critic was doing a live riffing.) I have the impression of a mishmash of creative ideas halfheartedly thrown together and suffering from a desperate lack of proper planning – and probably a general ignorance of the source material on the part of most of the people involved.


Even with Adam Sandler whom I've never heard of until nowWait, what? Really? How? He is prolific and his movies are generally acknowledged as terrible. Are you young, or do you not follow movies much or something?

[Flashback2012]

Who ya gonna call? Pac-Busters!!

That's the first thing that came to mind for me when I saw the trailer scene where they're facing down Pac-Man with the colored Mini Coopers. I'm a HUGE Pac-Man fan but I've no desire to see this. :moon:

[Wraith Storm]

I'm actually looking forward to the movie.

I don't think it will be a technically great film, but I do think it will be an entertaining one. The Street Fighter movie was horrible, but I still enjoyed the film. I'm a huge Van Damme fan and even though most of the cast was way off they seemed like they were having a blast making the movie and that enthusiasm makes me smile every time I watch it.

I am surprised to hear all the Sandler hate, however. He has undoubtedly made his share of crap, but he has also made a lot of good stuff too. I think pixels will be just a fun movie. The premise has the potential to be much more, but I think they are just doing something that will be fun to get a few friends together and rent it on a weekend.

[bb_hood]

Gotta say this looks pretty bad. Nothing I hate more than long, drawn-out movie trailers that slowly flash text.
Adam Sandler does suck. This movie would be 1,000 times better if it starred Zap Rowsdower instead of Sandler.

[Tanooki]

Agreed the Sandler hate is a bit much. I'm mean you have to be in denial to say the guy is wonderful with his track record, but there are those moments either being goofy with Happy Gilmore or a serious role or two that got love (I never liked those few) at the time, but he's got more crap than quality. I don't write him off though because even some of the mediocre level comedies are better than most the crap they do pass for a comedy these days like with that played out dumbass Vaughn doing the same tired lines in every movie since after Dodgeball.

I don't want to say I have hope for the movie, but I think it'll have some cult amusement value like Super Mario Bros does and the Wizard, but not like Wreck it Ralph's level by any means.

[Atarileaf]

No this doesn't look very good and considering Adam Sandler seems to want to corner the "Razzie" market I'm not expecting more than a groaner with perhaps a cheap chuckle or two.

The real video game based movie I wanna see, and have higher hopes for is "Ready Player One"

[Gamevet]

Sandler's last movie bombed hard. My wife talked me into seeing that horrible movie. Terry Crews was about the only thing funny in Blended.

I'm expecting this movie to be on DVD/Blu-Ray within a month of being in theaters.

[Tanooki]

Never heard of Ready Player One I don't think, at least as far as a movie version goes but I read the book summary on the wikipedia and that looks far more interesting than Pixels for sure.

[Atarileaf]

Never heard of Ready Player One I don't think, at least as far as a movie version goes but I read the book summary on the wikipedia and that looks far more interesting than Pixels for sure.

I highly recommend the book, one of my favorite sci-fi novels in quite a long time.

[celerystalker]

Ready Player One was a fun read. A lot of its fun hinged on references, but they at least were integral to the story, and its post-apocalyptic vision in relation to online activity is at least a little provacative. It's definitely a good time, and it feels likea love letter to Ernest Cline's youth, and is warmer for it.

[Bughuntertf]

Wait, what? Really? How? He is prolific and his movies are generally acknowledged as terrible. Are you young, or do you not follow movies much or something?

Pop culture doesn't interest me much. That said it's probably a mixture of both, leaning towards the latter.

[Atarileaf]

If "The Cobbler" is an indication, the quality of Adam Sandler movies is not really improving.

[Nz17]

That was weird. I was going to write a reply to this thread asking, "So did anyone watch this movie?" But then I found out the movie isn't out yet! Pixels won't premiere until the 24th of July this year. The movie is already completed, so I think it is lame that they are waiting until the middle of summer to release it. Yeah, yeah, I know: they're trying to maximize ticket sales by releasing the movie during the lucrative summer timeframe. But nonetheless, I don't like waiting and I think it is lame to delay it when it is done.

It's bad enough when video games get delayed, but that usually happens because development is behind schedule. That is unless you are Ubisoft and the game is for the Wii U. ;-P

So, Pixels... the movie posters look really nice (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/rg3639712512). There are four of them, each one featuring a different city and video game character. You can see they reference Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man.

[HardcoreOtaku]

The real video game based movie I wanna see, and have higher hopes for is "Ready Player One"
Yes, this has the potential to be amazing. Will be directed by Steven Spielberg.

[Haoie]

The lowest common geek denominator market, no doubt.

[Nz17]

From Rotten Tomatoes:

"Critics Consensus: Much like the worst arcade games from the era that inspired it, Pixels has little replay value and is hardly worth a quarter."

Only 19% of critics liked it. Ouch. But it probably deserves it.

[Tanooki]

It's an Adam Sandler movie. You either love it or hate it, but usually movie reviewer types tend to hate stuff like that and his bad sense of humor even less. I think it'll fall into the rubber monster loving type category where it will have a following because it's just so bad, it's good to laugh at for the wrong reasons.

[JeremiahJT]

I saw the movie today and I enjoyed it. I am not saying it is a great movie, but I definitely do not regret buying the tickets.

To those that have seen the movie, where was Breakout? I read Breakout was in the movie but I did not see it. I believe the Taj Mahal scene was Arkanoid.

Oh yeah. Spoiler alert.

[MASTERWEEDO]

I saw it and I enjoyed it.

[Tanooki]

Not really a spoiler alert, it's part of the movie trailer.

I haven't seen it, don't plan on paying to either, but I think most the hatred is probably misplaced butt hurt gamers and snob movie reviewers who tend to butt kiss award level stuff and other foofoo. It's Sandler, clearly not a piece of art by any means, but I'm sure it's brainless fun with some humor involved (toilet and otherwise.)

[The 1 2 P]

Nintendo actually licensed Donkey Kong to appear in this movie? They can't be that desperate for money these days.

[Haoie]

It's superflopping, so you can all sleep a little easier.

[Tanooki]

I wouldn't go that far, cost $88M to get out there, and $110M in ticket sales so far. It wasn't a winner, but that's not a loser either as it got its money back before going to home disc/streaming to do so.

[wizardofwor1975]

I'm not sure if I'll watch PIXELS. I'm not really an Adam Sandler fan. I thought he had his moments back in the day as Opera Man on SNL but that was back in '92-'95. The last movie I saw him in that I liked was Anger Management but I have no doubt whatsoever that was because of Jack Nicholson. But then again if the kids wanna see it... I guess its Netflixable.

http://snl.wikia.com/wiki/Opera_Man

[The 1 2 P]

I'll watch it because eventually I watch all video game movies, even the many many bad ones. But I won't pick it up unless I find it at a yard sale or Goodwill.

[Tanooki]

Opera Man was some good stuff. Personally I'm mixed on Sandler. I find some of it funny, and some of it not. I have no interest in seeing him try and muddle his way through a drama at all. The last one of his I liked was Grown Ups, but before that, I'm really not sure, maybe that christmas cartoon. I did like the earlier stuff like Happy Gilmore, Mr Deeds and stuff in between like Big Daddy as it was stupid stupid humor. I always caught the stuff on tv, never would pay for it in a theater.

[drunk3nj3sus]

Watched this the other week, I thought it was pretty good for what it was. Didn't really have much Sandlers typical stuff except his friend being the costar and the dwarf which I thought they could have done a way better job on his character. Reviewers always bash comedies, & especially Adam Sandler ones so looking up reviews is pretty worthless. If Sandler wasn't involved the movie probably wouldn't be trashed so much imo it's one of the better video game/alien movies.

[Graham Mitchell]

I enjoyed it. I don't get what all the hate was about. The pixelated characters looked cool and have this neatly glow to them. It was fun to spot all the different characters in the chaotic battle on the street.

It won't light the world on fire, but if you like classic games, you might enjoy it.