He Said/He Said is basically going to be duelling reviews of movies and anything else that comes into our collective head. What separates us from other similar reviews, you may ask? Well, a superfluity of awesome, first of all. Also the fact that, spelling corrections aside, we'll do it live in chat form. We'll try to bring the funny, but the conversation goes where it goes, and if we devolve into a screaming match, it will usually be because Scofe just won't do the sensible thing and agree with me.
We begin with each of us writing a short bio for the other. Here's Scofe's bio for me:
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Nerdlinger is his fear of heights. “He must be terrified”, I find myself thinking, “or why else would he be so short?” I don’t know how many times when looking for him, I’ve had to turn my gaze down. It’s really sad, and I feel sorry for him, much like we all feel for the little people of the world.
Fortunately, I can’t think of anything else pathetic to say about him. What most impresses me is Nerdlinger's fount of knowledge about movies, comics, and the history of soft-core porn. In the words of Morgan O’Mally, “my boy’s wicked smart.” Pick anything showing on Turner Classic Movies and Jeremy can immediately name the actors. Mention any comic book writer or artist and he’ll list their previous works. Show him a picture of Shannon Tweed or Krista Allen, and he’ll convince you that penetration is overrated.
We’ve known each other for over ten years, and even spent a few of them as roommates. I can honestly say that I drove him nuts. Simply put, I was not the easiest person to live with. Nerdlinger has always been one to keep his cool. The man never gets upset. Even when his stubby little legs fail to clear the curb, and he crashes to the sidewalk like a floundering child. He always cracks me up when he does this. The poor little bastard.
Anyways, he’s my best friend and always will be. My BFF, or if I may, my BFUOD (Best Friend Until One of Us is Dead). I look forward to our discussions of movies we see each week, both good and bad, and find comfort in knowing that despite how angry I get due to that asshole behind me in the theatre who won’t shut the fuck up, Nerdlinger will be there to calm me down and keep me out of the emergency room.
And here's my bio for Scofe:
No one knows exactly where Scofe came from. There are rumours, of course. Some say he is some sort of android loaded with pop culture knowledge and a bizarre sense of humour. Some say he was sent to us as the only interesting man from a boring future. Some say he is the product of the forbidden love between a ninja and a unicorn. Some even say he's just an ordinary guy with an incredible brain and a walloping set of neuroses.
All I know is that he is taller than me, and if he thinks he can get away with that sort of shit, he is sadly mistaken. I've known him for over a decade, and while he has always knocked me out with his jokes, his warped view of the world, and his brilliant observations, he still insists on being taller than me. He also, even though he is only slightly older than me, can be described as a curmudgeon. If he had a yard, and a hose, he would spray that hose at kids who came too close while shaking his fist and grumbling.
Misanthropy aside, he is a loyal man, and he's been a great friend to me. When it comes to movies, or music, or TV, he's the guy whose views I completely respect, even when they're fucking retarded. But he should really knock off that tall shit.
Nerdlinger: Hey. So, you just want to leap into it?
Scofe: Only if we can Quantum Leap.
Nerdlinger: Which is weird, because I kept thinking of that show as I watched Source Code. Every time he looked in the mirror and saw that dude's face, I thought Dean Stockwell was going to show up.
Scofe: Ziggy!
Nerdlinger: Ohhhhhhhh boy.
Scofe: Ha ha!
Nerdlinger: So, what did you think?
Scofe: Overall, I really liked it. It delivered all that I was hoping. I was never disappointed, I was kept guessing what would happen next (for the most part, as I never like to try and figure a movie out as I'm watching it), and it made me think.
Nerdlinger: Interesting, because I was slightly disappointed. Maybe because I figured out a big twist early on, maybe because I thought the romantic subplot didn't quite add up for me. Still enjoyed it for the most part, though.
Scofe: I agree with the romantic sub plot. I get that she had a crush on him, but I have no idea why he fell for her.
Nerdlinger: She may have been captivated, as I was, by Jake's impeccably groomed facial hair. Seriously, does he have some sort of attachment on a special razor?
Scofe: It's too bad she didn't see his facial hair, she was always seeing Sean or whatever his name was.
Nerdlinger: I thought that the concept was well done. It was really refreshing to see an original concept. Living in an age of comic book films and novel adaptations and remakes as fodder for blockbusters, it's almost rare to see a fresh idea.
Scofe: Agreed. One thing that bothered me, was how he was in the tank with his guts hanging out. How can his body survive in that state?
Nerdlinger: It's technology....we don't have to explain that? Also, he saved everybody on the train.....except Sean, right? I mean he let that guy die and took over his life. So, Colter was kind of a douche in that regard.
Scofe: Ha! But, how was he to save Sean? That wasn't possible. Plus, it felt to me that he was continuing living in a dream reality that he could interact with, but it wasn't really "real".
Nerdlinger: See, I thought, with that phone call he made to Goodwin, he was proving that they did create an alternate reality, one where the train didn't explode. That's why he was still alive in the tank in that reality.
Scofe: Yeah, I guess he did create an alternate reality, but you could also say he created an alternate reality every time he jumped back into Sean's body. So, he created like 10 alternate realities and continued to exist in the last one. And his original reality remained unaffected, other than he helped prevent the dirty bomb from exploding.
Nerdlinger: And in every alternate one he created, that Sean guy stayed dead.....so that's kind of a dick move.
Scofe: I didn't find that at all. He used Sean's body to save everyone on the train. A small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. Anyways, I really liked Vera Farmiga, although I wasn't convinced that she would disobey orders. And I liked Jeffrey Wright's choice to play the Dr. as kinda eccentric.
Nerdlinger: I liked Wright too, and I thought his character choices were good, but I did think making him so uncaring was a tad clichéd. In a movie this smart, they could have kept him as an obstacle without making him so unfeeling.
Scofe: I guess you could say it was the easy way to go.
Nerdlinger: As for Farmiga, I completely bought into her choice; she was a soldier, and there's a code fellow soldiers have to each other.
Scofe: Yeah, but to risk being court-martialed or something? To risk her career. She had no problem doing it until he actually complained, so she only had a problem with it because he did. Boom!
Nerdlinger: Yeah, I guess if you have no problem hooking up a half-man to a half-assed time machine, then why a few hours of whining would matter is sort of questionable.
Scofe: Anything else to add?
Nerdlinger: Just that director Duncan Jones has a very strong career ahead of him; with Moon and now this, he's a big talent….And he was originally named Zowie Bowie.
Scofe: Moon was a much better movie though, so it will be interesting to see what he does next. Ooh, I also remember reacting to the music during the opening credits. It reminded me of a 60's suspense movie.
Nerdlinger: Like a Hitchcock film....I thought that too!
Scofe: Totally. Is the 60's the right period?
Nerdlinger: Sure. It really reminded me of later 50's Hitch, but close enough.
Scofe: Clichéd "bomber" too. "The world is a bad place and I need to teach it a lesson".
Nerdlinger: Yeah, but I did like how nerdy he looked. It would have been easy to cast someone with a little edge, but he had no edge to his look at all. Anyway, wanna do Hanna next week?
Scofe: Don't be gross.
Nerdlinger: Ha!
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