Just What is Apex Mountain: Rewatchables discussion thread

Spelunker

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1) It seems remarkably obvious that Bill, Chris and Sean are all very good friends. Bill is busting balls. Yeesh.

2) Pineapple Express stunk. Gonna pass on this one.
No kidding: it's a running gag. People thinking this is actually insulting is...weird.
 

luckiestman

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No kidding: it's a running gag. People thinking this is actually insulting is...weird.

Here is something that confuses me similar to Slims first numbered item. Some will insult Billy over and over and over and then you will see them talking about someone like Zach Lowe glowingly...here is the thing, Zach Lowe absolutely adores Simmons, he loves the guy. So if Zach Lowe is so fucking smart how come he can't figure out that Simmons sucks?
 

8slim

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No kidding: it's a running gag. People thinking this is actually insulting is...weird.
It seems like a strangely large share of Simmons posts on this forum involve someone claiming a moment was "awkward" or that a co-host/guest "really pushed back" or things to that effect. And then when I listen to the moment in question it's rarely either of those things. Typically it's innocuous or obvious humor between friends.
 

Shelterdog

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Here is something that confuses me similar to Slims first numbered item. Some will insult Billy over and over and over and then you will see them talking about someone like Zach Lowe glowingly...here is the thing, Zach Lowe absolutely adores Simmons, he loves the guy. So if Zach Lowe is so fucking smart how come he can't figure out that Simmons sucks?
I don't know about Zach Lowe but there are a million reasons you could think Simmons has shitty opinions and not say so on a pod. First and foremost the job is to make an entertaining pod and crapping on the host doesn't help. Second it's a popular pod so if you're a journalist you want to get invited back and making the host look bad is not the way to do it. Third you can just-as I think Sean and especially Chris do--treat it as a fun discussion and not a formal debate or something and just enjoy the conversation.
 

SidelineCameras

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To be fair, Andy is awful and someone you can't listen to anymore because he's such a pretentious douche.

He's a host on a television podcast and he hates television. He does top ten lists at the end of the year and is like, "Here's my number 2 pick, I still have 6 episodes this season to watch. But it's the 2nd best show of the year."
This is why I don’t listen to “The Watch.” I listen to pop culture podcasts to either celebrate, explain, critically examine, and/or poke gentle fun at the content. Andy constantly sounds like he resents the project of watching television. He is not a critic as much as a whiner.
 

johnmd20

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This is why I don’t listen to “The Watch.” I listen to pop culture podcasts to either celebrate, explain, critically examine, and/or poke gentle fun at the content. Andy constantly sounds like he resents the project of watching television. He is not a critic as much as a whiner.
Same with me. The Watch used to be fun. But Andy is just angry and a drag. He doesn't watch anything and if he does watch it, he hates it. The day I quit the Watch was because of something I alluded to above. Andy ranked the best shows of the first half of the year and he didn't watch any of the shows he ranked.

I'm like, "What am I doing listening to this shit? I'm the asshole." I can get Chris Ryan on other pods, like The Big Picture.
 

Remagellan

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I still listen to The Watch, but yeah, Andy can be a bit much at times. Like on the most recent episode, he ripped this week's episode of House of the Dragon for being boring. If you want to rip it as creepy because of the foot stuff, fine. If you want to want to say you don't understand why Rhaenys didn't have her dragon incinerate the usurpers in the final scene and it's a plot armor copout, fine. But to say that episode is boring is just trolly.

That said, Andy is a fantastic interviewer. That's his true calling. He should be doing a late night show like Tomorrow, or whatever that show that followed the late late night shows was called (was it Later?) I could see him being successful in a half-hour interview show with one interview subject (or a duo like Tegan and Sara).
 

johnmd20

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That said, Andy is a fantastic interviewer. That's his true calling. He should be doing a late night show like Tomorrow, or whatever that show that followed the late late night shows was called (was it Later?) I could see him being successful in a half-hour interview show with one interview subject (or a duo like Tegan and Sara).
That would require Andy to actually have to work very hard. Which, for him, is a non-starter.

Greenwald does one interview a month. Doing a late night show is a real job.
 

The Social Chair

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Andy also has the resentment. Bill sold the Ringer for 100 million bucks while Andy's show was a truly bad TV show from top to bottom, despite a stellar cast.
I'm sure Andy's upset his show didn't work out but I don't think the former is true. Andy's buddy Chris Ryan had equity in the Ringer and I'm sure he was happy for all of them.

Now Jason Concepcion I could see being envious of the pay day that Rubin, Ryan, and Fennessey got because he was instrumental in building the Ringer brand from day 1.
 

Shelterdog

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I'm sure Andy's upset his show didn't work out but I don't think the former is true. Andy's buddy Chris Ryan had equity in the Ringer and I'm sure he was happy for all of them.

Now Jason Concepcion I could see being envious of the pay day that Rubin, Ryan, and Fennessey got because he was instrumental in building the Ringer brand from day 1.
Andy may or may not be jealous/resentful, but from a distance life seems to be working out pretty well for him--he made the jump to the creative side, he's developing shows, grabbing dinner at Noma, and seems overall just to busy to spend a lot of time on a podcast.
 

allstonite

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I am watching this movie now. It is decidedly not a movie for me. It wastes Danny McBride and Gary Cole, which I didn't think was possible.
I’m glad you’re at least giving it a shot instead of disliking it without actually watching…but you’re wrong especially about Cole. He rules in that movie, as does everyone else
 

Remagellan

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I’m glad you’re at least giving it a shot instead of disliking it without actually watching…but you’re wrong especially about Cole. He rules in that movie, as does everyone else
I can't dislike something without watching it. I can dismiss it, but I can't dislike it since I would have no basis for any opinion of it. As for the rest, we'll have to agree to disagree. This movie underserves a number of talented people in it in favor of a lot of senseless violence. But I look forward to listening to Craig and his crew talk about why they found it so entertaining
 

johnmd20

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I can't dislike something without watching it. I can dismiss it, but I can't dislike it since I would have no basis for any opinion of it. As for the rest, we'll have to agree to disagree. This movie underserves a number of talented people in it in favor of a lot of senseless violence. But I look forward to listening to Craig and his crew talk about why they found it so entertaining
They were young when it came out.

Pineapple Express is ok, at best.(the last half hour is really a slog) And then the genre died with Your Highness three years later, which is a truly bad movie.
 

The Filthy One

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I finally finished the Glengarry episode, and I have a humble request of all future episodes of the show, which is please stop talking about which character Leonardo Dicaprio could have played. I thought that might end with Bill not hosting the last few episodes, but apparently not. Leonardo Dicaprio as Ricky Roma? Huh?
 

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Classic moment capturing the show. Listening to the Miami Vice (the movie) rewatchables (I'm doing a Mann watch/rewatch), and the question comes up is it Collin Farrell's Apex Mountain.

CR: IS this Farrell''s Apex Mountain
BS:It is yes. What do you have.
CR: In Bruges.
(pause)
BS. Ok.
(pause)
BS: Yeah Miami Vice is Farell's Apex mountain.

It wasn't weird or awkward or anything but a fun reminder that a critical darling like In Bruges just aint hitting the Simmons playlist.
 

luckiestman

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Classic moment capturing the show. Listening to the Miami Vice (the movie) rewatchables (I'm doing a Mann watch/rewatch), and the question comes up is it Collin Farrell's Apex Mountain.

CR: IS this Farrell''s Apex Mountain
BS:It is yes. What do you have.
CR: In Bruges.
(pause)
BS. Ok.
(pause)
BS: Yeah Miami Vice is Farell's Apex mountain.

It wasn't weird or awkward or anything but a fun reminder that a critical darling like In Bruges just aint hitting the Simmons playlist.
I prefer Vice but the best fight scene in either movie is the “you don’t know karate” scene.
 

Spelunker

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Not realizing that there is 'subtle' class commentary in The Edge- a movie about an older billionaire and a younger, social-climbing photographer trapped in the wild, centered around the fear and discovery of the latter having an affair with the former's much younger wife, where like half the dialogue is about money and class- until the 5th or so viewing is peak Simmons.
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Haven't seen Pineapple Express in forever, but thoroughly enjoyed the episode. It's been said here before, but Craig is a real talent -- I find him a better host for a Rewatchables than Chris Ryan. CR is A+++ as the 2nd guy, but when he hosts he loses his magic and is way too focused on getting through the categories and kills any momentum before it gets a chance to build.
I liked the episode, but I definitely connect with the BS/CR/SF core more than the kids. It cracked me up when they referred to the Jackee vehicle as "some 80s sitcom named Two Hundred Twenty-Seven." Also, I can't remember if it came up in Picking Nits or Aging Poorly, but I couldn't believe these guys found it implausible that someone being served could possibly misdirect their anger at a process server. Isn't that the job pretty much?
 

Leather

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Classic moment capturing the show. Listening to the Miami Vice (the movie) rewatchables (I'm doing a Mann watch/rewatch), and the question comes up is it Collin Farrell's Apex Mountain.

CR: IS this Farrell''s Apex Mountain
BS:It is yes. What do you have.
CR: In Bruges.
(pause)
BS. Ok.
(pause)
BS: Yeah Miami Vice is Farell's Apex mountain.

It wasn't weird or awkward or anything but a fun reminder that a critical darling like In Bruges just aint hitting the Simmons playlist.
Yeah. Just shit-balling, but:

If Apex Mountain means "The point at which you have the most clout", it would have to be right when he was signed to Alexander. He gets top billing amongst a bunch of A/B list actors (Jolie at the height of her fame, Kilmer, Hopkins...) for a massive-budget, big-director, movie epic.

But it underperformed at the box office relative to its budget. So he gets *second billing* under Jaime Foxx for Miami Vice, a movie which made 60% less at the box office than Alexander!

But he did yet *another* big budget shitty movie in Total Recall, which was actually a box office success! But Simmons ignores that one because he didn't like it.
 

The Filthy One

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I liked the episode, but I definitely connect with the BS/CR/SF core more than the kids. It cracked me up when they referred to the Jackee vehicle as "some 80s sitcom named Two Hundred Twenty-Seven." Also, I can't remember if it came up in Picking Nits or Aging Poorly, but I couldn't believe these guys found it implausible that someone being served could possibly misdirect their anger at a process server. Isn't that the job pretty much?
Yeah, that was incredible. Different generation. Also one of them couldn't remember the name of the diner they used to go to hung over and it turned out to be Denny's. Incredible. I found that episode challenging because I couldn't differentiate their voices (I don't listen to the fantasy podcast they're on).
 

Shelterdog

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Yeah. Just shit-balling, but:

If Apex Mountain means "The point at which you have the most clout", it would have to be right when he was signed to Alexander. He gets top billing amongst a bunch of A/B list actors (Jolie at the height of her fame, Kilmer, Hopkins...) for a massive-budget, big-director, movie epic.

But it underperformed at the box office relative to its budget. So he gets *second billing* under Jaime Foxx for Miami Vice, a movie which made 60% less at the box office than Alexander!

But he did yet *another* big budget shitty movie in Total Recall, which was actually a box office success! But Simmons ignores that one because he didn't like it.
Stop being such a lawyer. Apex Mountain means whatever they want it to mean. It's not a hard concept but Chris just wants to take the moment where the person did their coolest work and Bill just wants to pick the moment when he thinks the movie star was most likely to be on the cover of GQ.
 

Leather

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Stop being such a lawyer. Apex Mountain means whatever they want it to mean. It's not a hard concept but Chris just wants to take the moment where the person did their coolest work and Bill just wants to pick the moment when he thinks the movie star was most likely to be on the cover of GQ.
I don't even think they are that consistent. Chris Ryan picked Glengarry, Glen Ross as Pacino's Apex Mountain. That's fucking dumb and doesn't even fit that criteria.
 

Remagellan

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Classic moment capturing the show. Listening to the Miami Vice (the movie) rewatchables (I'm doing a Mann watch/rewatch), and the question comes up is it Collin Farrell's Apex Mountain.

CR: IS this Farrell''s Apex Mountain
BS:It is yes. What do you have.
CR: In Bruges.
(pause)
BS. Ok.
(pause)
BS: Yeah Miami Vice is Farell's Apex mountain.

It wasn't weird or awkward or anything but a fun reminder that a critical darling like In Bruges just aint hitting the Simmons playlist.
The sad thing is if he ever happened into In Bruges and wound up watching a good bit of it, he'd be quoting it and coming around to Chris' position. That depends of course on what definition of Apex Mountain he happens to be using at the moment.
 

Leather

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It's two guys (Anthony Hopkins, Alex Baldwin) chased by a bear through Alaska. That's probably all you really need to know.
 

Leather

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Nitpick re: Simmons’ suggestion that the NBA lockout was the first time ordinary people began hating on rich people; ummm…. Ordinary people have always hated on rich people. But even accepting the notion that it began in the 90s, the 1995 Baseball strike was famously covered as “Millionaires vs. Billionaires” and fan support for both plummeted.

Also, Trump was not cool in the 1990s. Again, even accepting the idea that Trump was ever “cool”, it was in the 80s with Art of the Deal and shit. He was a bankrupt has-been in the 90s and a joke in the 2000s until fucking The Apprentice brought him back and introduced him to a new generation as some genius rich guy.
 

luckiestman

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Also, Trump was not cool in the 1990s. Again, even accepting the idea that Trump was ever “cool”, it was in the 80s with Art of the Deal and shit. He was a bankrupt has-been in the 90s and a joke in the 2000s until fucking The Apprentice brought him back and introduced him to a new generation as some genius rich guy.
I agree with you though I think it was Van that said Trump was cool not Bill.
 

Shelterdog

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Literature: not Bill’s strong suit. Probably good because I don’t want to hear that LeBron’s the decision made him the 21st century Lizzie Bennet or Adrian Dantley is the nba’s Jane Eyre (not much to look at at first but has a hidden beauty that grows as you observe the more. Oh and has a giant keister).
 

allstonite

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New theme month (from the folks who brought us Fucked up family February) coming for November and it is……he won’t tell us.

His refusal to announce anything ahead of time is something that makes me so frustrated and then I feel stupid for getting so frustrated over something so dumb
 

Leather

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New theme month (from the folks who brought us Fucked up family February) coming for November and it is……he won’t tell us.

His refusal to announce anything ahead of time is something that makes me so frustrated and then I feel stupid for getting so frustrated over something so dumb
Any guesses? He made a crack about Deep Throat being "not that far off", so I wonder if it will be like Bad Relationship movies or something and he'll do, like, War of the Roses.
 

8slim

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New theme month (from the folks who brought us Fucked up family February) coming for November and it is……he won’t tell us.

His refusal to announce anything ahead of time is something that makes me so frustrated and then I feel stupid for getting so frustrated over something so dumb
Wait, he’s back on the pod?! I thought he was quitting?! /sarcasm
 

Spelunker

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New theme month (from the folks who brought us Fucked up family February) coming for November and it is……he won’t tell us.

His refusal to announce anything ahead of time is something that makes me so frustrated and then I feel stupid for getting so frustrated over something so dumb
I find it annoying because I often want to, you know, rewatch the movie.

So I don't listen to the pod for a few days often until I can get around to it, especially if it's something that I haven't seen in ages (or at all).
 

Shelterdog

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Ok I will accept no criticism of Simmons in this month of rewatchables. We've all been saying "watch something that wasn't in perma rotation on TBS/TNT during the late 90s" and shit, he's doing it.
 
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johnmd20

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I find it annoying because I often want to, you know, rewatch the movie.

So I don't listen to the pod for a few days often until I can get around to it, especially if it's something that I haven't seen in ages (or at all).
He doesn't want people to watch the movie and have it fresh in their minds because it will make Simmons look dumber.

And then by the time you listen to the podcast, you probably don't want to bother watching he movie after.
 

The Filthy One

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I'm excited to hear the takes on American Gigolo, and in general, this era of movies. I really loved the most recent season of "You Must Remember This" (though it takes some time to get past Karina Longworth's vocal mannerisms) which covered "Erotic 80s." The American Gigolo episode of that was great, so the bar is high for this group.
 

Spelunker

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Bill's vibe is very much Gigolo but not Cat People or The Hunger. Still, we should get Risky Business in this run.
Maybe, but I don't think so. Simmons said the movies were all in a 16 month period, so I think they'll all be 80/81. We know that two are Gigolo and Blow Out, so there are two more coming. We know Cruising is out, but I'd expect Body Heat to be one. Maybe Postman for the other?

Edit: good call on Dressed to Kill - that's likely the 4th.
 
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Spelunker

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Sleazy Sleek Sexy Sultry Early 80s Month. They're, uh, still workshopping it.

And sorry folks, Cruising has been confirmed to be out.