384: Hypnotic

[00:00:00] Now's the time to start your next adventure behind the wheel of an exciting new Toyota Hybrid.

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[00:00:10] Toyota has the one for you.

[00:00:11] Every new Toyota Hybrid comes with ToyotaCare 2-year complimentary scheduled maintenance,

[00:00:16] an exclusive hybrid battery warranty, and Toyota's legendary quality and reliability.

[00:00:22] Visit your local Toyota dealer today. Toyota, let's go places!

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[00:00:56] Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, J.D. Pardo, William Fichtner, Jackie Earl Haley.

[00:01:04] Not a huge cast really.

[00:01:06] And the synopsis is, a detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter

[00:01:10] and a secret government program.

[00:01:14] So this is one that I don't even remember when this came out.

[00:01:17] I think it was one of those that just got swept under the rug.

[00:01:20] It got pretty bad reviews.

[00:01:22] I don't think it did well financially.

[00:01:24] It was just a big dud as far as I'm aware.

[00:01:27] It really surprised me that it wasn't just put on Netflix or something.

[00:01:32] It seems like it's one of those movies that I don't know who this movie is really for.

[00:01:37] And I feel like Netflix or another streaming site probably would have been a better pick

[00:01:41] than a theatrical release.

[00:01:44] But didn't have a huge interest in seeing it.

[00:01:46] I do like Robert Rodriguez to a certain degree.

[00:01:49] I did like Elita Battle Angel recently.

[00:01:52] I don't seek his movies out right away, but I'm still curious as to what he's making.

[00:01:58] And I also like Ben Affleck overall.

[00:02:00] He definitely has a big share of misfires in his career, maybe more so than a lot of

[00:02:05] other actors.

[00:02:06] But I still typically watch what he does and I think he's made some really great movies.

[00:02:10] And I wanted to like the movie a lot.

[00:02:12] I didn't know a whole lot about it going in.

[00:02:14] I knew it was sort of sci-fi kind of thing, but that was about it.

[00:02:18] And I really wanted to like it.

[00:02:19] I was actually liking it for maybe the first act or so.

[00:02:23] But once the big twist happens, it feels like a mix between, I don't know, like Inception,

[00:02:32] Shutter Island, that sort of thing.

[00:02:34] Very Christopher Nolan in a way and really, I think very derivative of Nolan, like too

[00:02:39] much.

[00:02:41] And I think the first half where there is this mind controller of sorts, I won't go

[00:02:47] into it too much in case you haven't seen it or you want to watch it, where he's basically

[00:02:51] just able to speak to people and they're completely oblivious as to what's happening.

[00:02:57] So he kind of creates like an army and does like bank robberies and stuff.

[00:03:02] And that almost not inherently is a bad thing.

[00:03:06] It kind of felt like a supernatural episode or something.

[00:03:10] And so that was kind of interesting because I like that show and my wife and co-host loves

[00:03:14] that show.

[00:03:16] But really, when that middle point happens, I felt like the twist was like, I couldn't

[00:03:20] tell you what was really going on, why they were doing what they were doing.

[00:03:26] Like the final few minutes, I'm like, I was completely lost and maybe I missed something

[00:03:31] or I just lost interest and focus.

[00:03:33] But I felt like the plot was very, very nonsensical.

[00:03:37] And what's frustrating is I felt like the first half, the plot, while very ridiculous,

[00:03:43] I was following it along fairly well.

[00:03:45] And I liked how committed it was to explaining, all right, these mind controllers can do this.

[00:03:52] You're not able to be victimized because of this reason.

[00:03:55] And it was very committed to explaining that idea.

[00:03:58] I was like, all right, cool.

[00:03:59] I like that.

[00:04:00] I can appreciate that, even though it's so stupid.

[00:04:03] But it just went too far later on.

[00:04:06] And there's a lot of Inception visuals where the city will kind of roll up into the sky,

[00:04:12] that kind of thing, the very iconic thing from Inception.

[00:04:15] So it really wears its influences too heavily on its sleeve to where there's not much original

[00:04:21] in it.

[00:04:22] Ben Affleck is okay.

[00:04:23] I think he's better in some scenes than in others.

[00:04:26] He's a little inconsistent.

[00:04:28] And he's someone who, like when he cares, he can be fantastic.

[00:04:32] And when he doesn't, he can be such a bore.

[00:04:34] And I think Alice Braga, I see her in a lot of things.

[00:04:37] I think she's very solid always.

[00:04:39] I like some of the locations.

[00:04:41] The action is decent.

[00:04:42] The bank robbery stuff is probably the most interesting.

[00:04:46] But overall, not really a fan.

[00:04:49] I'm definitely in agreement with the majority here this time.

[00:04:53] And I feel like it's just going to get lost on a streaming site one day and not thought

[00:04:58] about much anymore, which is maybe mean to say, but I think that's how it's going to

[00:05:02] be.

[00:05:03] And probably my least favorite, Robert Rodriguez movie in quite some time.

[00:05:07] I don't think he has done a movie that I'm like five out of five masterpiece, but this

[00:05:12] is by far my least favorite that he's done in a while.

[00:05:16] So as always, let me know what you think in the comments if you're listening to this on

[00:05:19] YouTube or wherever else.

[00:05:21] I'd like to know what you think.

[00:05:23] So that one is a two out of five.

[00:05:26] Now's the time to start your next adventure behind the wheel of an exciting new Toyota

[00:05:31] Hybrid with the largest lineup of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electrified vehicles to

[00:05:36] choose from. Toyota has the one for you.

[00:05:38] Every new Toyota Hybrid comes with ToyotaCare two-year complimentary scheduled

[00:05:42] maintenance, an exclusive hybrid battery warranty and Toyota's legendary quality and

[00:05:47] reliability. Visit your local Toyota dealer today.

[00:05:51] Toyota, let's go places.

[00:05:52] See your local Toyota dealer for hybrid battery warranty details.