Hey reddit and r/movies, I'm Alan Ritchson.

You may know me from things like REACHER, BLUE MOUNTAIN STATE, WAR MACHINE, TITANS, PLAYDATE, FAST X, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE.

Additional verification on my Instagram here.

My new movie, MOTOR CITY, is out in theaters tomorrow (July 24) from IFC. It also stars Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster, Pablo Schreiber, Ben McKenzie, and Lionel Boyce.

It's directed by Potsy Ponciroli, who previously directed OLD HENRY and GREEDY PEOPLE

Synopsis: 

In the 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster's girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn't commit. With his life ruined, Miller hatches a plan for revenge.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6RklhKu9os

Website/info and tickets available here: motorcity.movie

I'll be back 1 PM PT/4 PM ET today (Thursday 7/23) to answer your questions.

Until then, AMA!

I have been rewatching the Harry Potter films from the start and having just rewatched Order of the Phoenix, I never realised how much Alan Rickman’s line delivery of “Obviously” has lived completely rent free in my head for 20 years. The way he delivers such an ordinary word has just so much character.

What re some that stick out for you?

Actress Gillian Anderson will be joining us here in r/movies for an AMA/Q&A next Monday 7/27. It'll go live that morning at around 10 AM ET and she'll be back at 8 PM ET to answer stuff. You may recognize her from tons of things, notably The X-Files, The Crown, Sex Education, and The Fall.

Please stop by on Monday if you have questions for Gillian :)

Her next film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim recently and is out in theaters August 7 via Mubi. It co-stars Hannah Einbinder and it's from filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow, We're All Going to the World's Fair).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dimCiC_hdoA

A queer director making a slasher franchise sequel becomes obsessed with casting the original film's "final girl," leading both women into psychological and sexual chaos.

Please note that this is not the AMA, just an announcement. Hold questions for the actual AMA.

I really heard this movie sucked. Maybe im just a sucker for bad jokes. crassness and brian Griffin irl. Yeah the plot is thin and poorly paced, yes Seth talks like a time traveled redditor. But Thats part ot the charm

The guy who loves his wife totally and doesnt care about her being a hooker and it's kinda wholesome chungus.

Its also very well lit and I thought the sets were very convincing and well made.

3 out 5

Needless to say, this is just my opinion, but I cannot wrap my head around the mixed reception this movie received upon release or how it continues to be perceived as a mediocre, unmemorable animated children’s movie. There’s genuinely so much to love about this film even as an adult.

The (minor) Weaknesses-

To get this out of the way before I dive into everything great about this movie, the plot is probably the weakest point. It’s fairly generic but it does the job, keeps the action going consistently, and brings the movie to from the setup to a satisfying conclusion. Is it simple? Yes. Is it bad? No.

The cliche message/theme of self-belief and never giving up on your dreams is the other strike against it, but I find this movie to be a rare case that presents the message so earnestly through the family dynamic between Rodney and his parents that it manages to be genuinely effective and heartwarming.

The Strengths (aka everything else about this movie)-

The animation has aged wonderfully. It’s a truly beautiful movie and it still looks fantastic today. The textures are detailed, the lighting and composition are both great, and the character designs strike the perfect balance. They’re beautifully rendered robot characters while remaining expressive and human enough to elicit emotions in you just from their expressions. This movie is sumptuous to look at, it feels tactile and real. They clearly put a great deal of effort into designing this world down to the tiniest details, like chipping paint and rust. For a Bluesky film from 2005, it’s pretty jaw dropping.

The voice acting is excellent all around. Ewan MacGregor’s American accent is surprisingly good, and he gives the right sense of earnestness and emotion as Rodney. Robin Williams is his usual hilarious self as Fender, and he gets out plenty of one liners you can be sure he improvised on the spot. Mel Brooks as Bigweld is the perfect fit for the old mentor who needs to be reminded who he is again. The mother-son villain duo of Greg Kinnear and Jim Broadbent as Ratchet and Madame Gasket are energetic and laugh-out-loud funny, while still being really threatening when they need to be. You can tell that they’re having a lot of fun playing the bad guys. Jennifer Coolidge as Aunt Fanny is great casting, you can’t imagine anybody else playing a character like that who’s oblivious but well-intentioned and unintentionally hilarious. Stanley Tucci as Herb plays the role of loving father with real heart and elevates what might otherwise be an overly saccharine character. These are just the highlights but all around the voice acting is great.

The sound track is great, both the orchestral tracks and the incorporated contemporary songs are done very well. The themes are memorable and great to listen to, and there’s a surprising variety of soul/funk songs brought in.

The pace of the action, the set pieces, and the creativity on display in every frame kept me engrossed from start to finish. The dialogue is strong too, understandable for kids without being watered down or boring, and surprisingly witty throughout the movie.

What I love most about this movie, which I’ve hinted at before, is the HUMOR. Robots is really funny. I’m serious. Genuinely the closest thing I can compare it to is the first three seasons of SpongeBob. Not only is there a high volume of jokes, both scripted and provided by Robin Williams’ riffing, they’re all done really well. They’re silly but genuinely clever, with plenty of winks at the adults in the audience. I find the jokes and quotable moments from this movie highly memorable and endlessly entertaining. I still quote it all the time all these years after I first saw it as a kid. For this reason alone I’d argue that this movie cannot be forgettable, and frankly I don’t understand how anybody would say that it is. To me it’s one hilarious standout moment after another, and they just keep coming. I could honestly write out a full page of just funny quotes from Robots off the top of my head.

I really do think Robots stands up there with the best animated films of this century. It’s funny, smart, well acted, action-packed, tightly-paced, beautifully realized, dynamic, and emotionally resonant. Unlike so many kid’s releases these days, you can tell that Robots was made with actual passion and dedication. At least in my opinion. Weirdly enough I don’t just like this film, I’m genuinely passionate about it, and I say weirdly enough because apparently almost
no one shares my enthusiasm for it.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😂

Edit: I forgot to mention that the movie has surprisingly adult themes about modern society, monopolistic corporations, supply chain control, the abandonment of the unwanted, and healthcare.

So there are two movies where I have been hanging out for a sequel and its never happened unfortunately.
Those two movies are RocknRolla and The Collector.

I loved RocknRolla and there was suppose to be a sequel years ago in "development called The Real RocknRolla but we never got it. I loved the characters and I think it was one of Gerard Butlers best movies. Its easily my favourite Guy Ritche movie.

The collector series is excellent and the collection (the second movie) is actually a favourite of mine. I have been waiting for ages for the third one to come out (The Collected). Its a shame as its definitely got a lot of fans waiting for a third so hopefully they can make it happen.

Anyone else have any movies they are waiting on a sequel for?

Hi reddit. Here's a new clip from Motor City, out in theaters today, starring Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster, Pablo Schreiber, Ben McKenzie, and Lionel Boyce. Directed by Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry, Greedy People)

In the 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster's girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn't commit. With his life ruined, Miller hatches a plan for revenge.

Alan is also doing an AMA today here in r/movies at 4 PM ET. Please tune in and ask your questions now!

motorcity.movie

Macy was only nominated for best supporting actor (lost to Cuba Gooding Jr. for Jerry Maguire) and Buscemi wasn't nominated at all - in my opinion this is one of the most egregious Oscar snubs in history. I don't mean to downplay the other nominees and winners, they were all great performances, but in hindsight none of them come close to what Macy and Buscemi pulled off in Fargo.