Entourage

Frankie5Angels · 24-06-2015 1:27pm

Saw this Monday. I enjoyed it for what it was: a bit of banter/escapism.

Agree with the posts about some of the plot holes and must admit I rolled my eyes at the off-again, on-again romance between E and Sloan. The bit with Turtle and Rousey was just thrown in for the craic, no real follow through. The cameos were pretty much all pointless and overdone. The main story was a bit crappy too - they could have made yer man in to a complete creep rather than just a spoiled brat.

That said, I wasn't expecting much, just some shenanigans from the lads and a few bits of gratuitous nudity. Glad I went to see it, enjoyed it and would probably watch it again on DVD (though not as much as I'd re-watch the show).

Edit: Just watched that Kermode review out of interest, following a few comments on here. Reinforced my thinking on never watching/listening to critics. What a gowl.

Sleepy · 24-06-2015 3:59pm

Of course Kermode was going to hate this. The man loathed Sex and the City and Entourage is the just the male version of that slice of consumerist porn. The key difference between the two IMO is that Entourage is more honest about being just that whereas SATC always felt like it was trying to tell women how to be "empowered independent girls" whilst chasing their sugar daddies :rolleyes:

LuckyLloyd · 25-06-2015 11:25am

Frankie5Angels wrote: »

Edit: Just watched that Kermode review out of interest, following a few comments on here. Reinforced my thinking on never watching/listening to critics. What a gowl.

I think critics have never been less relevant than they are today due to the increased accessibility of media. With recommender systems and the likes of Netflix / Spotify and the consumption of media via facebook / twitter people can easily disappear inside their own world and exist within a bubble they are comfortable in. There is no skin in the game as a consumer anymore. For a €20 cinema pass / €7 Netflix subscription and €10 Spotify Premium you have legitimate access to a wealth of content that could have cost you hundreds of euro to acquire 15 year's ago. And that's if you have any interest in acquiring content legitimately.

The Kermode review posted in this thread is speaking to a particular bubble also. He is playing to his ever diminishing audience but it is a very disconnected and unrealistic view. If that's the road he wants to go down, cool, but it certainly doesn't make me feel that I'm missing out by ignoring his content.

25-06-2015 11:57am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think critics have never been less relevant than they are today due to the increased accessibility of media. With recommender systems and the likes of Netflix / Spotify and the consumption of media via facebook / twitter people can easily disappear inside their own world and exist within a bubble they are comfortable in. There is no skin in the game as a consumer anymore. For a €20 cinema pass / €7 Netflix subscription and €10 Spotify Premium you have legitimate access to a wealth of content that could have cost you hundreds of euro to acquire 15 year's ago. And that's if you have any interest in acquiring content legitimately.

The Kermode review posted in this thread is speaking to a particular bubble also. He is playing to his ever diminishing audience but it is a very disconnected and unrealistic view. If that's the road he wants to go down, cool, but it certainly doesn't make me feel that I'm missing out by ignoring his content.

The problem with Kermode is that he's now less a critic than he is a persona. He's playing a role and pandering to his audience and his rants are part and parcel of that. I find sites such as letterboxd to be a far greater source of critique as you great a much broader range of voices and opinion.

D'Agger · 25-06-2015 12:21pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think critics have never been less relevant than they are today due to the increased accessibility of media. With recommender systems and the likes of Netflix / Spotify and the consumption of media via facebook / twitter people can easily disappear inside their own world and exist within a bubble they are comfortable in. There is no skin in the game as a consumer anymore. For a €20 cinema pass / €7 Netflix subscription and €10 Spotify Premium you have legitimate access to a wealth of content that could have cost you hundreds of euro to acquire 15 year's ago. And that's if you have any interest in acquiring content legitimately.

The Kermode review posted in this thread is speaking to a particular bubble also. He is playing to his ever diminishing audience but it is a very disconnected and unrealistic view. If that's the road he wants to go down, cool, but it certainly doesn't make me feel that I'm missing out by ignoring his content.

Deleted User wrote: »

The problem with Kermode is that he's now less a critic than he is a persona. He's playing a role and pandering to his audience and his rants are part and parcel of that. I find sites such as letterboxd to be a far greater source of critique as you great a much broader range of voices and opinion.

Both very solid points & whilst not wanting to take the thread OT & about Kermode I think it's worth pointing out how I value Kermodes critiques.

I used to listen to Kermodes full podcast but stopped because unfortunately I wasn't getting to see half the movies being reviewed, I mainly wanted to hear about the ones I'd seen or the interviews with cast/directors etc.

I follow his youtube channel which, thankfully, puts snips from the show regarding certain movies up, so I can pick and choose what I listen to. With that said, I go to certain movies and think to myself - I can't wait to hear what Kermode thought of that. Movies like Interstellar, Ex Machina etc - good movies that he might point out flaws or praise aspects of a movie that I didn't notice on first viewing - it's essentially why I use the films forum on boards - to hear others perspectives. I just happen to think Kermode is consistent in his critiques and is somebody who's tastes I would align myself with

With all that said - I don't care what Kermode has said about this movie - I know what this movie was, I know its pitfalls & I can't align my views with Kermode because I spent a number of years following this show & simply looking forward to seeing it finish up on the silver screen. To that end, I don't think Kermodes review is worth dwelling on.

e_e · 25-06-2015 1:50pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think critics have never been less relevant than they are today due to the increased accessibility of media.

Could not disagree more and I think this argument only works if you're just treating criticism as fairly shallow "this is bad/ok/good" consumer advice. That's not to mention the literally hundreds of films every year that would not even get a foot in the door if not for being championed by critics in publications (both on and offline) such as Sight & Sound. Hell film festivals and independent cinemas are often based purely around what has gotten good critical buzz elsewhere.

Critics will always be needed, not because anybody can watch a movie and make glib assessments like "good story, solid performances" but because we need people to analyse a medium in personal, deep and learned ways. When I read about a film I'm not interested in what Joe Blogs who only sees about 5 new movies a year has to say, I want to hear from somebody who has real knowledge of the medium that can relate it to their own worldview. Film culture would be so much more limited and empty without people there to challenge it and argue passionately for something better.

LuckyLloyd · 25-06-2015 2:41pm

e_e wrote: »

Could not disagree more and I think this argument only works if you're just treating criticism as fairly shallow "this is bad/ok/good" consumer advice. That's not to mention the literally hundreds of films every year that would not even get a foot in the door if not for being championed by critics in publications (both on and offline) such as Sight & Sound. Hell film festivals and independent cinemas are often based purely around what has gotten good critical buzz elsewhere.

Critics will always be needed, not because anybody can watch a movie and make glib assessments like "good story, solid performances" but because we need people to analyse a medium in personal, deep and learned ways. When I read about a film I'm not interested in what Joe Blogs who only sees about 5 new movies a year has to say, I want to hear from somebody who has real knowledge of the medium that can relate it to their own worldview. Film culture would be so much more limited and empty without people there to challenge it and argue passionately for something better.

You can want it; you can see value to it; but rightly or wrongly the general populace are consuming less and less criticism. When I was a kid Barry Norman and Dave Fanning reviewed the films of the day in a fairly thoughtful manner and I would have eagerly awaited Friday's Irish Times and studied the culture section of the Sunday Times, etc. Being entrenched inside a bubble of 'high culture' reading critical treatises that fail to reach outside that bubble is a sure path to irrelevancy.

In this instance, the decision to do a piece that appeals to those who think Entourage and celebrity culture is silly and would never dream of watching the movie to begin with is a cool and very self satisfying exercise no doubt, but it's not really engaging with anybody or anything.

If art is for everyone, criticism that is for a tiny minority is a bad road to embark upon.

johnny_ultimate · 25-06-2015 3:16pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You can want it; you can see value to it; but rightly or wrongly the general populace are consuming less and less criticism. When I was a kid Barry Norman and Dave Fanning reviewed the films of the day in a fairly thoughtful manner and I would have eagerly awaited Friday's Irish Times and studied the culture section of the Sunday Times, etc. Being entrenched inside a bubble of 'high culture' reading critical treatises that fail to reach outside that bubble is a sure path to irrelevancy.

In this instance, the decision to do a piece that appeals to those who think Entourage and celebrity culture is silly and would never dream of watching the movie to begin with is a cool and very self satisfying exercise no doubt, but it's not really engaging with anybody or anything.

If art is for everyone, criticism that is for a tiny minority is a bad road to embark upon.

God, it pains me to defend elitism, but can't agree with your post at all. For better or worse, people are consuming media less and less critically. Now, obviously those into academic and in-depth formal critical analysis are always going to be a minority, and that's always been the way. It would be preposterous to expect everybody to be coldly analysisng the mise en scene of Entourage. But I think as mainstream cinema becomes more and more commercialised and commodified (not that it always hasn't been), there's a real need, even if it's just from a small minority, to keep fighting the good fight of cinema as art. To engage with it on a deep, thorough, and personal level. It's regrettable if that creates a bubble effect, but it seems a sadly inevitable consequence of the way cultural consumption is in 2015.

The critic (or, I'd argue, 'reviewer') as trend-setter has become less relevant, yes - from social media to letterboxd to review aggregators, there has never been more places to go for recommendations or answers to the question 'should I watch it?'. But beyond that is when the role of the critic has and always will be essential. I love that I can watch The Look of Silence and go home to find a thorough, insightful few thousand words about it in Sight & Sound. I am endlessly grateful that David Bordwell was on hand to help guide me through the formal and structural puzzle that was Goodbye to Language, and enhance my appreciation for it. I just don't get that from Twitter, or message boards, or having a chat with friends after the film. If I imagine a world without serious criticism, it's an altogether worse place to be a film fan. If that's elitist, well then **** it, I'm an elitist.

For the record, I don't have a whole lot of time for Mark Kermode :pac:

So, eh, Entourage...

e_e · 25-06-2015 4:29pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

If art is for everyone, criticism that is for a tiny minority is a bad road to embark upon.

Why should it be for a tiny minority? It's not like a good reviewer can't relay information to the reader in an accessible and engaging way, not to mention we have the internet with literally thousands of films at our fingertips to watch and refer to. If anything there's even less of an excuse to be so complacent and lazy with what we choose to watch and share with others.

ricero · 25-06-2015 6:18pm

Saw it last night and it was decent. Turtles storyline was pointless and the E and Sloan saga was done to death so I groaned when I saw that again.

Johnny drama owns this film. He was fantastic as was Ari which is no suprise.

LuckyLloyd · 26-06-2015 9:19am

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

So, eh, Entourage...

As I said in my first post in this thread, it's so lightweight it might blow away in the wind. There isn't a huge amount to discuss about the film itself really. Discussing Kermode's review and criticism is a far more interesting topic.

It might be easy to misunderstand me. I like criticism and am interested in film as an art form. The type of criticism that picks up on and discusses what colour signposts danger in Jaws (to take a very simple example) is important, I agree. But the type of self serving pandering demonstrated in the Kermode review in this instance isn't in anyway valuable as far as I'm concerned.

Entourage knows what it is. It's a simple tv show / movie that taps into the interests of a particular audience and generally hits the mark in terms of what they're looking for - some light escapism. To use a review of this movie as an opportunity / excuse to have a rant is woefully misplaced in my view and the great reviewers down through the years would have had the discipline to label this as a lightweight exercise with elements of poor execution and move on.

Think about the entourage fan going to see the film this weekend who stumbles upon that Kermode review. Do you think he'll go back for another Kermode review in the future? Is he likely to conclude after watching it that 'critics are a waste of time'?

Why should it be for a tiny minority? It's not like a good reviewer can't relay information to the reader in an accessible and engaging way, not to mention we have the internet with literally thousands of films at our fingertips to watch and refer to. If anything there's even less of an excuse to be so complacent and lazy with what we choose to watch and share with others.

It shouldn't or it doesn't have to be, but this type of review from Kermode is aimed at a certain type of audience and is exclusionary to anyone going to Entourage (a film doing decently well at the box office). It's drawing a battle line where there doesn't need to be one. I like good films and I like to watch movies critically. But part of being an active viewer is realising when something is achieving its objectives and part of avoiding elitism is realising that the spectrum of pop culture interests is very broad and people are different.

Anyway, all I'm really trying to say is that anything that entrenches you in the bunker is a bad thing - and that can be applied to many walks of life, not just film criticism.

nasty_crash · 26-06-2015 3:02pm

I have just seen this forum and read down through it and god it makes for heavy reading.... everyone is making good points - but i think some people can make up their mind about a movie in the first 10 seconds and its done... which doesnt give the fairest reflection of the movie

But on a personal note - Seen it last Saturday - i've watched every episode recently so i was familar with everything! Whilst there was problems with the movie as i will list but I really enjoyed it and i would watch it again.

I watch entourage for the craic - the idea of 2000-2010 Z listers lifestyles - going out - i like the cameos - relationships etc - i know that Entourage will never make me actually think - and thats why i like it! Its comfort TV so dont expect to be thought provoking!

Ok so issues that i had
- Didnt like the start to link back to the tv show - thought it was a lil bit weak
- Sloan and E was all too familiar - its been said above in previous posts so dont need to repeat
- What about the Wedding?
- Not enough time with Ari & Llyod on screen
- Wrapped up too fast
- could have got someone hotter than emily ratajkowski
- I dont like Adriene Grenier and i never have - if someone else was cast instead of him i think i would have like vinny more - think he is the weakest character

Loved
- Ronda and Turtle (un-imaginable yes - but fun)
- Worth of Turtle - one of the best jokes in throughout it
- Ari is gold - would watch a movie of just him
- Drama is exactly that and is brilliant - just cant help but love him haha
- i think the cameos are awesome
- the car

Yes im probably stupid for liking it but i knew what to expect - and when i seen it last week there seemed to be a lot of people who agreed with me with loads of laughs throughout. Here's to a second movie (wont happen) or HBO or someother station bringing the boys back!!

I understand why people who didnt see the show could be confused as it didnt go back over character development really - with the exception of the 2 min piers morgan thing

Carlos Orange · 26-06-2015 3:09pm

nasty_crash wrote: »

- What about the Wedding?

Did you leave straight after the credits started? There was an after the credits scene a la Marvel.

nasty_crash · 26-06-2015 3:28pm

psinno wrote: »

Did you leave straight after the credits started? There was an after the credits scene a la Marvel.

seriously???

dammit

Frankie5Angels · 26-06-2015 3:31pm

ricero wrote: »

Saw it last night and it was decent. Turtles storyline was pointless and the E and Sloan saga was done to death so I groaned when I saw that again.

Johnny drama owns this film. He was fantastic as was Ari which is no suprise.

I actually couldn't stand Drama for a lot of the series, but liked him in the film for some reason and was happy with his ending. Don't get me wrong, he has some great scenes and one-liners in the series (playing Brooke Shields' brother in the MOTW - "he's hard" :pac:), but he's thick as two planks and completely OTT. I just didn't appreciate that for some reason.

I'm gonna be bashed for not liking him, aren't I?

evil_seed · 27-06-2015 11:11am

I went to see this last night with my gf and her sister. I've seen all the show and I loved it, my gf has seen most of the show and loved it, her sis has seen none of the show and really enjoyed it. She thinks if she saw the show she'd have loved it too. I think as a stand alone movie it's very entertaining but you do need the history of the show to fall back on to know who the guys are and what their traits are. Ari and Drama stole the show

Theboinkmaster · 27-06-2015 7:13pm

Saw entire series about 3x and love it but the film was very weak, lack of story and plot line really let it down. Really was just a bunch of scenes re-used from the series with too many meaningless cameos. 2/5 for me.

Callanutd · 03-07-2015 2:35pm

Loved the show so I loved the film. It made me really miss the series. I loved all the cameos and the nods and winks to the show. Its not a movie to see as a stand alone movie, if you hadnt seen the show I think you will miss most of the best bits!

delly · 05-07-2015 12:47am

Just back from a viewing and as someone who doesn't take to many opportunities to visit the cinema, this was a must see. I've watched the full series at least three times so am happy to report that the movie did not disappoint. Yes a lot of the plot is a rehash of the series, but the series itself did that from season to season, at least they didn't do the E and Vince falling out storyline! There is nothing new here or exceptional in terms of cinematic greatness, but if you love seeing the life they lead and their reliance on each other, then you'll be happy.

Regarding the Kermode review, I'm a listener for the last 10 years or so and enjoy a good rant, although I was surprised at how much he blew his top. He has strong views on movies that have such misogynistic traits, combined with such vacuous lifestyles, then it probably should have been expected considering there was no life lesson at the end of it. The series has not just been about living that lifestyle, but it has been living it with your crew of lifelong friends. You would like to think that if you had been lucky enough to be in that position, that you would do the same thing, but I don't think you can get that from the short running time of the film. If the series is an unknown before watching, then your enjoyment will be limited imho.

I still would have liked that Ari spin-off

TrustedApple · 01-08-2015 4:04pm

Just watched the film there. I went into it as a huge fan of the TV show i remember watching it when it 1st started back on RTE2 10 years ago as a 13 year old. Have every season on DVD and have watched it maybe 5 or 6 times and pick up new things every time i watch it.

But i felt the film was quite week and not much of a plot at all in it compare to the TV show i felt it was just 90 min dragged on tv epp with loads of cameos. But being honest i wouldint mind a Hyde film at all as that looked like the best thing to come out from the film.

But Drama to me was the best part of film from getting

His **** video and his cartoon basically being a bomb

he just keeps on getting unlucky to this

Winning a Golden Globe

even from the tv show i always wonted him to do well as i think he is the must likeable person out of the lot of them.

E is well just boring E in the film just like the tv show.

I would give it 6 out 10 as with all the bad reviews i wasn't expecting much and i got that. 90 mins of something that i know i wont watch again when i re watch the tv show in a few years time as there is notting that really adds to the story. Its just same old same old.

OU812 · 03-08-2015 1:43am

Just finished watching this. They really blew it. They should have done a final season with this storyline & a few others & left on a high. This just seemed to be an exercise in "how can we get (big star) into it".

Awful movie. If I ever watch the series again & I REALLY loved it... this doesn't exist.

wylie · 03-08-2015 1:43am

****

dreamers75 · 03-08-2015 2:00am

Like the last 2 seasons its all about Ari.

terrible movie unless Piven is in a scene and he is brilliant.

Jon Stark · 04-08-2015 1:41pm

I haven't watched the series so went into this as a newb.

I have to say I liked it, certainly not the turkey it has been made out to be. A few thoughts anyway:

I didn't really "get" Johnny Drama, it just felt like pure ham and over the top.

On the other end of the spectrum you have Ari Gold who indeed stole the show for me. I haven't seen Piven in much but he carried this film.

The cameos didn't bother me, I particularly enjoyed

Neeson's and Wahlberg's, while Busey being thrown in there was so bizarre I had to laugh.

Finally on Kermode, you kind of have to take him with a pinch of salt, but one of his points had merit. I didn't like how Osmont's character's motivation basically boiled down to being a "gowl" as someone put it earlier and being jealous of the beautiful people. It truly has to be one of the most air headed and vacuous climaxes I have ever witnessed.

All the same though it didn't bother me much in the main, as it was clear to me from the beginning that it wasn't something to be taken super seriously.

OU812 · 04-08-2015 1:55pm

Jon Stark wrote: »

I haven't watched the series so went into this as a newb.

I have to say I liked it, certainly not the turkey it has been made out to be. A few thoughts anyway:

I didn't really "get" Johnny Drama, it just felt like pure ham and over the top.

Ok, do yourself a favour and watch it from season one. It starts off great and gets better. I used to say the worst thing about it was each episode was only 24 mins.

You'll also get Drama, I can understand coming in cold to the character.

PrettyBoy · 09-08-2015 10:49am

Watched this the other night - I'm a fan of the series (the first few seasons anyway) but this was without a doubt one of the worst film I've seen in recent years. There was no story, the acting was piss poor, the dialogue was atrocious and the main and supporting characters were deplorable.

The movie consists of nothing more than watching the main actors in flash cars, private jets, yachts and helicopters going from pointless cameo to pointless cameo. I agree with the previous poster that noted that the show has not aged well at all.

Both Turtles and E's "storylines" were particularly tedious and Vince was barely featured in the movie at all. There was no plot, no jokes, no character development of any kind - it was like watching MTV Cribs for an hour and a half.

Complete and utter drivel.

Avoid.

I should coco! · 09-08-2015 11:13am

^ Sums up my thoughts on it.

As a fan of the show it was a disappointed. The tedious elements have been listed already.

Zero substance. Bad story. Disjointed.

OU812 · 09-08-2015 11:15am

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Vince was barely featured in the movie at all.

Vince was never supposed to appear in the TV series at all. You'd hear him speak off camera or get the odd out of focus shot or from behind etc, but it was supposed to be about the "Entourage".

There was a rumour at the time of the series ending that they wanted to spin it off to a show about Ari called "The Agent".

Personally that would have been a much better option, more interesting storylines with plenty of scope for cameos & recurring irregular appearances from the other cast.

ziedth · 09-08-2015 4:02pm

OU812 wrote: »

Vince was never supposed to appear in the TV series at all. You'd hear him speak off camera or get the odd out of focus shot or from behind etc, but it was supposed to be about the "Entourage".

There was a rumour at the time of the series ending that they wanted to spin it off to a show about Ari called "The Agent".

Personally that would have been a much better option, more interesting storylines with plenty of scope for cameos & recurring irregular appearances from the other cast.

I'm really surprised they didn't go down this route as most people would agree that Ari was the best part of the show certainly the poorer final two seasons.

I didn't hate the film as much as others but i really liked the first few seasons so i possibly had a certain amount of Bias.

Guy:Incognito · 09-08-2015 7:57pm

PrettyBoy wrote: »

no character development of any kind .

After 8 seasons of a tv show, how much further were you expecting the characters to develop in a follow up movie?

Entourage

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