Movies Mayberry Movie Club Week 1: Rampage (2009)

[Pizza Werewolf]

I am not a fan of this camerawork, thats for sure.

 

[Pizza Werewolf]

I could of sworn the Rock was in Rampage......

Im 50 minutes in, I wish I was watching that other movie.
Actually you know what Im gonna put that on instead.

 

[Tufts]

You might notice I said men, because this isn't a problem with women about 99% of the time.

 

[Tufts]

I got a real Fight Club type vibe when Brad Pitt was telling Ed Norton a similar line of thought.

I also got this vibe, and when they showed Evan's video, where he had cleaned up and was wearing a nice shirt, he looked A LOT like Brad Pitt.

 

[Tufts]

So by the time he got around to framing is buddy and getting away with the cash he had my support. Is that bad?

 

[Tufts]

Was it ok to root for Patrick Bateman?

 

[Tufts]

The foam guy was not cut out for customer service and is no great loss to the coffee world. I didn't get a good look at the last cup he made. Bill said something to the effect of Jesus Christ (I think). Whatever it was it sounded like the dude still didn't add enough foam. If it were me that foam would have been an inch above the rim of the cup!

 

[Tufts]

With the Chicken Den waitress I wondered if her death was part of his plan to frame Evan. Bill was the one calming things down while Evan was looking to make a scene. So maybe the idea was when Evan turns up dead for her co-workers to say that's the guy who was pissed at her the other day. Or I'm overthinking it and he shot her for spilling soda on him. But he certainly seemed to go out of his way to kill her.

I buy what you are selling. It wasn't personal with her, it was part of the Evan trail. The only personal one was the barrista. I also caught him saying that they saw his face. Although it made me nervous when they called him a dickhead as he was leaving. I would have not been saying anything at that point.

 

[Tufts]

That said, I think it was trying to make some larger point, or provide some thought provoking take on the psychology of modern mass murderers. To me, though, it was about just another pussy ass, whiney, millennial who can’t hack life. “Oh no, the coffee bean guy didn’t get my order right”. “Woe is me, the Chicken Den girl wasn’t competent”. “My parents dote on me but also want me to do stuff!”. Waaahhh. Pussies. The Joker with body armor.

Agreed. As mentioned above, this is very much a male pattern of behavior that makes zero sense to me as a woman, and I would hope makes zero sense to the more civilized humans out there, regardless of gender. I guess I was hoping to learn something from watching this film. Maybe the lesson is that there is nothing to learn, and some people are just horrible, sociopathic murderers. I kept wondering what it would feel like to be his parents or his friends. Dead, I guess.

 

[MusterX]

Agreed. As mentioned above, this is very much a male pattern of behavior that makes zero sense to me as a woman, and I would hope makes zero sense to the more civilized humans out there, regardless of gender. I guess I was hoping to learn something from watching this film. Maybe the lesson is that there is nothing to learn, and some people are just horrible, sociopathic murderers. I kept wondering what it would feel like to be his parents or his friends. Dead, I guess.

Testosterone is part of the problem. Its considered a PED in MMA but occurs naturally in the male body. Its likely a tactic to protect the tribe from Sabertooth tigers. The problem in the modern setting is if you get someone who is mentally imbalanced, and who also is male, well, it could turn violent.

 

[Tufts]

Here are my thoughts in usual stream of consciousness style....

I usually agree with working out as a good way to get your demons out. Old boy looks like he might need some lithium though. And he lives at home. LOL. What a peepsqueek. He is smaller than his parents. Was this done on purpose? is that why he is so salty. He needs lithium and some Tom Cruise heels.

He was also clearly uncomfortable with his parents and their sexual banter at breakfast. Good on them for still getting it on. Bad on them to not see that their relationship seems to exclude their kid. You get the sense they did their best, but had no idea what they were doing or who he was. The vibe was careless coddling. This does not feel inaccurate. I saw my cousin struggle with belonging with my aunt and uncle his whole life. They were so tight, there wasn't room for anyone else. Combine this with the requests that he get a life, and poor baby must have felt so excluded.

.

I laughed when I learned he was 23 and was salty over having to pay bills. I also patted myself on the back for choosing to teach other people's kids, and not have any of my own. My direct quote was: This is why you don't have kids.

His car adds to the smallness of his life. The coffee scene was a set up for later and shows the irrationality behind having to work 30 minutes to pay for a coffee, as well as the illogical thinking behind believing he merits a $4.50 coffee. I know this sounds elitist, but don't we make certain assumptions about what we should spend money on when we are financially challenged. It is almost like $4.50 coffee is normal and expected in today's society. He is entitled to it.

.

.

Chicken Den - "This is America. This is what we eat. 4 piece combo $10.70." At this rate there is no coming out ahead financially.

"How’s your day? Perfect. Sunshine and rainbows." The usual drudge and fake banter. Customer service is an issue in this film. Folks just seem to hate their lives.

"Salad prolly has bugs crawling all over it" - Shows the disconnect with reality in our food supply and expectations. Heathy food would come in contact with bugs. Non-healthy food looks perfect as a result of sprays etc, and while it would be bug free, it would not be good for you.

And then we are introduced to Evan's words and Bill's call to action. "The world needs change? What kinda change? Who is going to do it? Leavers v takers. Co-existers v ppl in Ferraris."

And I am left wondering: What is so fucking hard about your life you spoiled little brat.

More uncomfortable breakfast banter. He is 15m late for breakfast. Mom is conciliatory. Bill says he is gonna be proactive and fill out college apps. Mom asks who kidnapped our son? and says she is proud. He says: You guys kicked my lil tushy. This whole exchange is:

Noone knows each other in that family. MOm: "My lil boy is growing up. It’s out of love we kick ur lil bum. Bye baby. Bye honey. "

He gets dressed up in his little cockroach outfit and is Standing on a stool while posing in his mirror in outfit ....

Seems like the director continuously draws our attention to his height, which leads me to have mean thoughts like: Will he fit in his wee car?

Is it a coincidence that he drives a tiny piece of crap but chooses a heavy old what-I-would-call-a -typically-American-car for his attack?

And now the rampage....

I was uncomfortable watching the glee on his face as his plan played out. I felt weird watching this as entertainment when it actually happens so much IRL. Heavy breathing in sound track effective in building mood and framing his reactions.

Makes me sad.

Maple leaf blew by. This was filmed in Canada, which is in itself ironic.

Bingo place. The elderly don’t see him. Metaphor for society where the elderly have nothing left but Bingo. They are numb and dumb in their own mundanity.

"You don’t need my help at all" - thoughts on this? I don't see how he thought he was helping anyone.

More rampaging and then he wraps it all up by meeting Evan.
"Why should I stay? I’m going to fucking kill you. Love you man."
"I made you the martyr you always wanted to be."

I found this film original. I did not find any answers to why these things happen. Bill spouted a little pop psychology towards the end that seemed to emulate Evan's beliefs. But they rang hollow and empty: Let's clean the world so the rest of us can sustain a lil bit of life. I’ll help you out and I will cleanse."

At what point does this jackass suffer from lack?

How I feel about Bill and his ilk?

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

"You don’t need my help at all" - thoughts on this? I don't see how he thought he was helping anyone.

Delusions of grandeur. I bet a lot of shooters think they're doing something profound. The Christchurch guy with his manifesto comes to mind. The kid that shot up the church in Charleston though he was gonna start a much needed race war.

In Bill's case he fancies himself striking a blow against consumerism, the wealth gap, and humanity destroying the Earth.

 

[Mr. 4K]

Lol imagine if this film dropped today. They’d try to cancel that shit with the swiftness of Mercury.

 

[sickc0d3r]

Here are my thoughts in usual stream of consciousness style....

I usually agree with working out as a good way to get your demons out. Old boy looks like he might need some lithium though. And he lives at home. LOL. What a peepsqueek. He is smaller than his parents. Was this done on purpose? is that why he is so salty. He needs lithium and some Tom Cruise heels.

He was also clearly uncomfortable with his parents and their sexual banter at breakfast. Good on them for still getting it on. Bad on them to not see that their relationship seems to exclude their kid. You get the sense they did their best, but had no idea what they were doing or who he was. The vibe was careless coddling. This does not feel inaccurate. I saw my cousin struggle with belonging with my aunt and uncle his whole life. They were so tight, there wasn't room for anyone else. Combine this with the requests that he get a life, and poor baby must have felt so excluded.

.

I laughed when I learned he was 23 and was salty over having to pay bills. I also patted myself on the back for choosing to teach other people's kids, and not have any of my own. My direct quote was: This is why you don't have kids.

His car adds to the smallness of his life. The coffee scene was a set up for later and shows the irrationality behind having to work 30 minutes to pay for a coffee, as well as the illogical thinking behind believing he merits a $4.50 coffee. I know this sounds elitist, but don't we make certain assumptions about what we should spend money on when we are financially challenged. It is almost like $4.50 coffee is normal and expected in today's society. He is entitled to it.

.

.

Chicken Den - "This is America. This is what we eat. 4 piece combo $10.70." At this rate there is no coming out ahead financially.

"How’s your day? Perfect. Sunshine and rainbows." The usual drudge and fake banter. Customer service is an issue in this film. Folks just seem to hate their lives.

"Salad prolly has bugs crawling all over it" - Shows the disconnect with reality in our food supply and expectations. Heathy food would come in contact with bugs. Non-healthy food looks perfect as a result of sprays etc, and while it would be bug free, it would not be good for you.

And then we are introduced to Evan's words and Bill's call to action. "The world needs change? What kinda change? Who is going to do it? Leavers v takers. Co-existers v ppl in Ferraris."

And I am left wondering: What is so fucking hard about your life you spoiled little brat.

More uncomfortable breakfast banter. He is 15m late for breakfast. Mom is conciliatory. Bill says he is gonna be proactive and fill out college apps. Mom asks who kidnapped our son? and says she is proud. He says: You guys kicked my lil tushy. This whole exchange is:

Noone knows each other in that family. MOm: "My lil boy is growing up. It’s out of love we kick ur lil bum. Bye baby. Bye honey. "

He gets dressed up in his little cockroach outfit and is Standing on a stool while posing in his mirror in outfit ....

Seems like the director continuously draws our attention to his height, which leads me to have mean thoughts like: Will he fit in his wee car?

Is it a coincidence that he drives a tiny piece of crap but chooses a heavy old what-I-would-call-a -typically-American-car for his attack?

And now the rampage....

I was uncomfortable watching the glee on his face as his plan played out. I felt weird watching this as entertainment when it actually happens so much IRL. Heavy breathing in sound track effective in building mood and framing his reactions.

Makes me sad.

Maple leaf blew by. This was filmed in Canada, which is in itself ironic.

Bingo place. The elderly don’t see him. Metaphor for society where the elderly have nothing left but Bingo. They are numb and dumb in their own mundanity.

"You don’t need my help at all" - thoughts on this? I don't see how he thought he was helping anyone.

More rampaging and then he wraps it all up by meeting Evan.
"Why should I stay? I’m going to fucking kill you. Love you man."
"I made you the martyr you always wanted to be."

I found this film original. I did not find any answers to why these things happen. Bill spouted a little pop psychology towards the end that seemed to emulate Evan's beliefs. But they rang hollow and empty: Let's clean the world so the rest of us can sustain a lil bit of life. I’ll help you out and I will cleanse."

At what point does this jackass suffer from lack?

How I feel about Bill and his ilk?

Cam’t respond properly right now, but I had to at lest reply. I feel like a panhandler because this entire post is full of gold.

Really quickly, two things… first, I think the line “You people don’t nee my help at all” could simply mean he sees them as already dead.

Second-and kind of tied to the first-someone correct me if I am wrong, but all of the dialogue was improvised. From that standpoint, the bits you mentioned and everything else was just extremely impressive, imo. Great job by the actors. Every goddamn one of them, even the chicks in the hair salon that got wasted after she was like “what a dick”. They all got A’s in improv, methinks.

 

[Zer]

I only noticed this was an Uwe Boll film with the opening credits (Despite having voted for it), and so it was the first time I'd seen one of his movies. I know he's a pretty infamous director and I've seen bits and pieces of his work, and while it didn't exactly impress me Boll himself seems very likeable and the kind of guy I can root for.

I thought this film was fun. Brendan Fletcher as Bill deserves most of the credit for that. Despite everything I thought he was pretty likeable. He's an engaging talker and presence. His parents were really good at selling him as an everyday deadbeat but someone one who can carry a conversation and maintain fairly positive relationships. Someone who can blend into society more or less.

The sociopathic killer side to him felt forced to me because Boll only gives a surface level look at his beliefs and preparation and training and the dude doesn't have serious problems, he's arguing with baristas and shit. But it doesn't matter because any excuse for an infinite ammo rampage and we're not taking the violence seriously.

Plus Boll not going balls deep into the motives means it doesn't get bogged in politics. There's a little Tyler Durden and Bill gets some edgelord comments in but I kind of enjoyed this. I liked the dude playing Evan. He's a good talker and works well with Bill, and I got a nostalgia pop just from his Fight Club shtick.

I thought it was engaging all the way through and I liked the twist at the end putting aside the unlikeliness of it. The shaky cam was a little overused. I was wondering if this was a fuck you to someone who'd said Boll uses too much shaky cam. But the film builds decent momentum, I thought the actors were all fine and worked well together, and it manages to keep the main character in a zone of likeability even though he's a bit of an edgelord and obviously a mass-murderer too. With all that said I'm pleasantly surprised with my first Boll film, I was expecting something far worse

 

[Zer]

"You don’t need my help at all" - thoughts on this? I don't see how he thought he was helping anyone.

I figured he was saying he didn't need to kill them, because to him they're already dead

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

The shaky cam was a little overused. I was wondering if this was a fuck you to someone who'd said Boll uses too much shaky cam.

That was a criticism in a few reviews I saw. It sorta bothered me a little at first but then I stopped noticing it. To me it added to the grittiness more than it distracted.

 

[sickc0d3r]

I honestly didn’t notice the shaky cam thing at all, and I usually find it annoying. Could be the liquor I was sipping on had a counteracting effect.

 

[Peteyandjia]

I remember this movie being such a fun discovery some 5 or 6 years back, because at the time Uwe Boll was such a (deservedly so) running joke as one of the worst hack directors of all time.

So it was absolutely shocking when I watched this at the time, & found he had made a strangely compelling, student-film vibe, stripped-down enjoyable movie. It mostly works because he keeps it so simple, & the few times it doesn’t work is when he tries to make it any more complicated than that.

It’s also a testament to what an amazing chemistry happens onscreen when a director & an actor really gel. Uwe Boll found the perfect vessel for this simple nihilist tale, & he basically just plays the lead actor like he’s controlling the lead character in a GTA game. And credit due to the actor’s charisma, ability, & just overall perfect casting, he actually does so effectively for the entirety of the film.

Which is another thing, it doesn’t drag. The movie sets up, gets in & out, just long enough to do its job & be done before you can get sick of it. An impressive feat that far better directors often fumble in either direction, but Uwe, god bless that nut, he somehow hits it well & scores here. In fact, in the context of how truly shitty he is ( @Zer , go watch HOUSE OF THE DEAD (2003) if you want to see an example of what everyone’s talking about regarding Uwe Boll — it’s hysterical diahrrea in movie form), then RAMPAGE actually registers as one of the most impressive turnarounds in cinema history. It’s like if one of those village idiots on American Idol who has no idea they can’t sing, & are aired only to be mocked by the world, suddenly belted out a kinda catchy tune, in key. Surprisingly good, albeit simple, fun movie.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I thought of another movie where the lead character is a terrible person and gets away with his crimes. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Great film! One thing with that was they gave Henry some morality when he killed Otis for being a sister raper. But then he kills Becky so...