McWeeny on Binder
“Mike Binder‘s an interesting filmmaker,” AICN’s Drew McWeeny wrote two days ago. “As far as I can tell, he’s not chasing any trends. He’s not trying to make the next giantsupermegablock- buster. He’s just a guy who seems to be honing a personal voice, film after film, getting better as he does. He’s never become a hipster fave like Wes Anderson or [Paul Thomas Anderson], and he’s never achieved the pop culture significance of Woody Allen in the early days.
“But he manages to keep getting funding and he manages to keep making fairly personal films the way he wants to. I admire that. And, in a happy coincidence, I also like his movie.”
When you’re looking to the writer of two godawful Masters of Horror episodes as your voice of support for Reign Over Me, it’s time to get a new line of work, Jeffey. How about garbageman? I think you’d do well at that, since you seem to love trash so much.
I wish I could say I liked Reign — it’s a major misfire IMHO. But I did love Upside of Anger, and I find Binder interesting enough that I’ll track down Man About Town on DVD.
I don’t think it’s possible at this point for anyone to have the “pop-culture significance of Woody Allen in the early days” — the culture is different, movie marketing is different.
Reign had a higher per-screen average than 1994′s Airheads, in which Sandler played a supporting role.
It had the highest per-screen average of every movie on around 1500 screens, and better than some with 2000 or more, so can it guys. Jesus, if success were a dollar amount, Norbit has changed the course of history.
You know how critics/pundits/nerds are always saying that M. Night Shyamalan needs to stop writing and direct someone else’s work, or work with a co-writer, or something like that? Yo, MIKE BINDER. At least M. Night has several really good scripts to his credit. I haven’t seen Man About Town, but both Upside of Anger and Reign Over Me had excellent lead performances and an interesting premise and a heart in the right place, but a mess of a script at the center. I’m not talking about cheesy Hollywood “three-act” stuff — I’m talking about just plain bad sitcom writing. Reign is a little better because those Sandler/Cheadle scenes are really damn good, and Binder’s actual direction, especially around the NYC streets, is very nice. But that courtroom bit at the end? Awful! Wasn’t this basically a scene out of Big Daddy??
The ideas for his movies and characters are usually pretty great. But I really think he needs to get a co-writer on board to says stuff to him like, “hey, do you think maybe every woman in this movie is coming off as crazy or a nag?” or “do you think you might be playing for cheap laughs here?”
Moises, I was only joking. Reign’s per screen average is/was very good.
It’s just that the comparisons to Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison yesterday were a little ridiculous.
Lesterg, welcome to Hollywood Elsewhere. Statistics are all 78% misleading.
j/k, I know you’ve been here for a while
Screw that damn Mike Binder. What an A****Hole..
Reign Over ME. In theatres now!
There are some directors whose work I have to be “talked” into seeing (great trailers, great reviews, great word-of-mouth). And then there are some directors I will check out regardless and Binder is one of those. I didn’t like Reign nearly as much as Upside of Anger, but I’ll still check out Man About Town and whatever else he does.
And Jesse, you’re right. M Night has some good scripts to his credit, but he always stays within a certain comfort zone of ideas, never venturing outside. After the Village and Lady in the Water, he has lost a lot of good will and slipped into the first category of directors.
p.Vice, by your own standard, no comments on this board (except Mike Binder’s) have any merit. After all, as far as I know, none of us have written or directed and high quality feature films. And anyway, a wrtier’s work does not necessarily reflect their taste. If everyone could just instantly write to the level of the films they like best, the world would be overflwoing with William Goldmans and Paddy Chayefskys. Also, while Moriarty’s first MOH script was a dull Andrew Kevin Walker knock-off (in my opinion), I thought his second script was quite original and entertaining (though John Carpenter was a little lazy and/or ill-equipped in the execution). Give the guy some credit.
ROM is good, very good actually. Mike Binder must be doing something right, because reviews are very mixed; which usually makes me want to see a film that so polarizes people. My 19 year-old daughter, who has – I think – awful tastes in popular culture loved it.
Dont forget that Binder did ‘Mind of a Married Man’, which was crap.
Only good thing to come out of that was that hot British blonde chick.
Seeing it tonight Mike, DGA. Sorry, no B.O.
Seeing it tonight Mike, DGA. Sorry, no B.O.
For Mike–
Hope you write a larger role for yourself in your next film. Really liked your performance in UPSIDE OF ANGER.
I liked Reign Over Me a lot. Its didn’t give tidy, clean answers to the problems the characters were going through, and life is exactly like that. Good times, and I can recommend it to many.
it had enough of the audience by the balls to satisfy them, but it didn’t blow me away
it had enough of the audience by the balls to satisfy them, but it didn’t blow me away
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