Category Archives: The Room

Top 10: Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Favorite Movies

Also, footballs should not be thrown on roofs.

Movies get a lot wrong. And when I say a lot I mean a lot

Jumping off of my piece from the other day, what you make of those mistakes is up to you. I try to avoid them because while they are probably better to know, they can also ruin the movie. However, they can also be hilarious depending on how wrong they are. I decided to do some research on IMDB, and I compiled ten of my favorite mistakes, and another list of five “mistakes.” Did I just ruin your favorite movie for you? Well good, it’s ruined for me, too. Let’s bond over sadness. 

Read the list below: 

21 Jump Street-  In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that if a cop neglects to read your Miranda rights, that is not necessarily grounds for release from charges. So the cops’ mistake at the beginning is not accurate.” (IMDB)

Casablanca: There was never any such thing as a “letter of transit.” (IMDB)

Django Unchained: “Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) uses the word “motherfucker” four times throughout the film, This is a linguistic anachronism as the word didn’t exist until the WWI era (the Oxford English dictionary lists the earliest use in 1918).” (IMDB)

No Country for Old Men: “In the scene where Anton is chasing Llewelyn through the streets at night, a modern day Dominos Pizza sign can be seen in the background.” (IMDB) [Note: I would pay lots of money for a scene where Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem eat Domino's together while in character.]

The Big Lebowski: “The first sex offender laws, like those which would require Jesus Quintana to notify his neighbors of his paedophilic record, weren’t implemented in California until 1996.” (IMDB)

The Room: “Johnny claims that he couldn’t cash a check because it was “out of state.” However, it is entirely possible to cash an out of state check. Johnny, a banker, should know this.” (IMDB)

The Room: “Mark asks Lisa “what’s going on” with “the candles [and] the music”, but neither music nor candles are present.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “Primae noctis has never been used in the entire history of the British Isles.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “In reality most of the Irish fought against Wallace.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “At the funeral of Wallace’s father, the child Murron plucks a thistle, the national flower of Scotland, and gives it to the boy Wallace. This is both physically impossible (every species of thistle in the British Isles is so prickly and so tough-stemmed that you could only wrench one from its stem wearing protective gloves) and symbolically absurd (the toughness and prickliness of the thistle is its whole point as a symbol of Scottishness).” (IMDB) [Note: I really wanted to put "Braveheart" in its place. And I guess "The Room" needed to be, too.]

And Five “Mistakes”

Elysium: There are actually no machines that exist in real life that can cure both cancer and paralyzed legs. 

Inception: When traveling through other people’s dreams, people do not actually yell confusing lines of exposition at each other. 

Inglourious Basterds: Hitler was not actually shot hundreds of times in the face by a man named the Bear Jew. In fact, Bears are legally not allowed to be Jewish.

Taxi Driver: Robert De Niro is not actually a taxi driver. He is, in fact, a very talented actor. 

There Will Be Blood: In one scene, Daniel Plainview tells Eli Sunday that he is going to bury him underground. In fact, the practice of burying the dead underground did not exist until Warren G. Harding passed it into international law on July 17, 1923. Before that, bodies were stacked up in wheelbarrows, similar to what is seen in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” 

What are some of your favorite mistakes in movies? 

Birdemic: The Movie That Could Make You Hate Movies

I’m that kind of guy who enjoys watching terrible movies. They can have the ability to both help you appreciate good movies, and entertain in a way that few good movies ever could. Mostly, it will be because they are just plain laughably awful.
But tonight I witnessed the bad movie to end all bad movies. This was not just ordinary horrible movie. This was not an example of someone putting something together quickly with terrible results. No, this was the work of a master, someone with good intentions who failed so miserably. This was “Birdemic: Shock and Terror.”
Few words can describe what I witnessed for that 90 minute duration time. The first thought I had though, once the film ended, was this: I want to smash this television set with a baseball bat. Yes, I still had a great time watching “Birdemic.” Yes, at parts I laughed so hard I could barely breath. But it just left such a bad aftertaste. Right now, I could be writing my review of the masterful “Animal Kingdom,” but I feel I am committing a good act of public service by writing about “Birdemic” first.
For starters, here is a brief premise of “Birdemic”: a successful, young software salesman meets the girl of his dreams, and then all the birds in the world get angry about how humans treat the environment (I’m not joking) and start killing everyone.
The entire film is shot with a camera that seems to have even worse quality then the average phone. Meanwhile, the transitions and horrible sound quality make it seem like this film was edited on a version of iMovie from the 90s.
Now, director James Nguyen definitely went into this project with the best intentions. However, good intentions don’t make a good movie. And if you want to make a good parable on the evils of global warming, you shouldn’t include long monologues which are the equivalent of science class lectures. You also shouldn’t include a plot about birds who get angry over environmental issues. If you want something about Angry Birds that actually makes sense, you might as well just play this game.
Not every great filmmaker needed film school (Quentin Tarantino), but they all at least tried to understand what a good movie was before they made one themselves. Nguyen meanwhile directs as if he’s never watched a film in his life. This is literally the worst edited film I’ve ever seen. Most of its running time consists of people driving nowhere, with some snippets of plot in between. Having a little bit of downtime in a film is never a bad thing. Having that downtime take over your entire film, on the other hand, is absolutely unbearable. Oh, and did I mention the birds poop fireballs? That’s the only way to explain the film’s subpar (that’s the nicest way to describe them) special effects.
Now, here is the movie’s absolute worst offense. When I think of bad movies, I obviously think of “The Room.” Somehow, “Birdemic” did the impossible and manages to be even worse than “The Room.” “Birdemic” makes “The Room” look like it actually had a sensible plot and sense of direction. Most of the green screens used in “The Room” looked more realistic than the actual backdrops seen in “Birdemic.” Tommy Wiseau, you have finally met your match.
I haven’t seen every bad movie ever made. I haven’t seen “Troll 2″ or “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” and I have yet to finish “Freddy Got Fingered.” However, I can safely say this: “Birdemic” is the worst made movie I have ever seen. Still, I advise you to see it. Even though it may intensify your urge to break your TV and yell at inanimate objects, just so you can truly understand the limit of awfulness, and how to cross it.
Get a preview of the awfulness here.

Tommy Wiseau: Persistence is Everything

Tommy Wiseau is the auteur no one ever asked for, and the one no one ever wants to go away. Not because he actually displays any sort of artistic merit, but because he is just always here.

For those of you unfamiliar, Tommy Wiseau came out of nowhere and released a movie called “The Room.” Like any enduring cinematic classic, “The Room” was largely ignored upon initial release. Years later, it gained much popularity and a huge cult following once audiences started to realize it was one of the most awful, laughably implausible movies ever made.
“The Room” looks like it was shot for six dollars, despite having a budget of $6 million, and the dialogue sounds like it was created by someone who does not have any understanding at all of the English language.
Today, “Room” lovers were given another reason to live: Wiseau plans to release “The Room” in 3D. Yes, that means the horrifyingly long sex scenes will be given an extra dimension. Here’s an upgrade no one asked for, but we will (somewhat) thankfully be receiving. Wiseau also plans to release the film in Blu-Ray. To that he might say, “oh, hi technology!”
Now, as someone who has openly railed against 3D on various occasions, I am strangely excited for this. As an unapologetic “Room” fan, I am always excited to see what shocking heights of awfulness Wiseau is capable of. We saw another glance of what other possible stories he could produce, when the vampire short film “The House that Drips Blood on Alex” was released online earlier this year.
Not only will “The Room” be treated to two new formats, but Wiseau also plans to release a clothing line. That’s right; he’s even taking over the garment industry now. I have a good feeling that the 3D won’t look so great, the Blu-Ray features will just make the movie even more confusing, and his clothes will likely lack a basic necessity like buttons, or fabric.
Yet, despite the complete lack of talent, it is almost impossible to ever hate this man. Why? Because when the world tells him he’s as bad as Ed Wood, he doesn’t back down. When people tell him he can’t speak English, he just keeps speaking. He will never give up his unique, eccentric personality. There is nothing Tommy Wiseau can’t do right, but that doesn’t mean he is going to ever stop doing it. And that is why “The Room” is a cinematic masterpiece, and Tommy Wiseau is its auteur. Bring on the 3D.
Tommy Wiseau The Room You are tearing me apart Lisa
For More Information on Wiseau’s Latest Developments, Read On
And of course…

The Room: When Bad Movie Means Great Cinema

I know, I too often gripe about bad films, and how they are relentlessly tearing apart the fabric of good, intelligent, filmmaking.

Having said that, “The Room,” a disaster of a film, might just be one of the most rewarding film watching experiences you’ll ever have. Why is it that I’m recommending such a bad film? Quite simply, it achieves the rare feat of being so bad that its actually good.
Before delving into details, it helps to have some background on the making of the film. It was the first (and to date, only) feature made by Tommy Wiseau, who also wrote and stars in the film. “The Room” had a $6 million dollar budget. Apparently, Wiseau raised most of that money selling leather jackets. It also looks like more money was put into the opening credits than in the entire story itself. In reality, much of the budget was spent on a ridiculous billboard campaign.
I can’t say this for a fact, but it seems almost evident that the film’s editor was asleep throughout production and the studio executives who let it be made were likely on crack. Among its many problems, “The Room” contains so many scenes that have absolutely no value to the film. There are characters and important situations that are brought up and then never mentioned again. The dialogue is cliche and incredibly straightforward. In fact, Wiseau can’t even figure out how to use cliches properly (for instance, the placing of “love is blind”). The acting is emotionless and artificial. The camera is usually shaky and there are way too many unnecessary cuts to stock images of the San Francisco skyline.
I should be listing all these criticisms in a very angry tone. However, I feel a delighted one makes much more sense. That’s because “The Room” is the midnight movie of our generation to remember. The 1950s might’ve had Ed Wood and “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” but we have Tommy Wiseau and “The Room.”
There is no doubt you’ll enjoy the film so much because you’ll be laughing at it. Sometimes, that’s what can make an extremely bad drama an extremely bad thing. Usually, a film is bad because it turns out to be the opposite of what it intended. For example, “Gigli” was supposed to be a dark comedy. Instead, it turned out to be a dark drama. “The Room” is meant to be a tragedy “with the passion of Tennessee Williams.” Instead, its a passionless laughfest.
Still, what truly makes the room a cult classic is the eccentricity behind the auteur himself, Tommy Wiseau. In one scene, he tries to emulate James Dean by proclaiming “You’re tearing me apart Lisa!” In a later scene he destroys his bedroom bit by bit, a scene that is so clearly inspired by the destruction of Susan Alexander Kane’s bedroom during the climax of “Citizen Kane.” Of course, Wiseau’s thick, French accent sounds nothing like Dean, and the destruction of the bedroom scene is nowhere near as heartbreaking as the way Orson Welles filmed it. In both instances, they are flat out hilarious.
Could this be why in a way “The Room” is more than just a flat out bad movie. Despite how horribly made it is, it’s so hard to hate because it feels inspired. You can sense the filmmaker was striving to show his unique vision but ultimately failed at it, much to the delight of audiences across America. All of this is more than can be said for a film like, say, “New Moon,” which is thrown together in too quick a time for the sole purpose of commercial success.
I don’t think this post can really do “The Room” justice. You’re just going to have to rent it yourself or better yet, get to a midnight screening.
Here are a few great sample clips: