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Neither J.K Simmons nor Miles Teller were likeable in Whiplash but I enjoyed that movie. I guess due to the story and how it was told. It is rare that I will enjoy a movie where the lead(s) have no redeeming qualities. In the case of Uncut Gems I thought the whole story was a mess . If it were in a theater we would have walked out and I've never done that before.
Yes it would. I'm trying to think of examples. I didnt love Goodfellas. Never watched scarface. Skipped the godfather. I probably just havent watched all that many.
Yes it would. I'm trying to think of examples. I didnt love Goodfellas. Never watched scarface. Skipped the godfather. I probably just havent watched all that many.
I hear you. I just think it's interesting that I see this statement about not liking movies where the characters or very few of them have any redeeming qualities. Then at the same time movies like Goodfellas, Heat, Wolf of Wall Street, etc.. people seem to liked around here.
I see the same common attributes in all of his films except BN:
Great cast and performances, an initially interesting scenario which leads into overlong, unhappiness and misery. And a soundtrack that adds to the misery. By then end of his films, any happiness and positive feelings are sucked out. Not every film has to have a happy ending, but they don't all have to be miserable either.
But many critics and fans will remark about how great his films are.
I see a one dimensional director who specializes in a type of film that doesn't appeal to me at all, though others obviously feel differently.
I see the same common attributes in all of his films except BN:
Great cast and performances, an initially interesting scenario which leads into overlong, unhappiness and misery. And a soundtrack that adds to the misery. By then end of his films, any happiness and positive feelings are sucked out. Not every film has to have a happy ending, but they don't all have to be miserable either.
But many critics and fans will remark about how great his films are.
I see a one dimensional director who specializes in a type of film that doesn't appeal to me at all, though others obviously feel differently.
PTA is a real mystery for me. I love Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood. Punch Drunk Love, The Master and Inherent Vice were borderline awful IMO. I just didn't get them at all.
I see the same common attributes in all of his films except BN:
Great cast and performances, an initially interesting scenario which leads into overlong, unhappiness and misery. And a soundtrack that adds to the misery. By then end of his films, any happiness and positive feelings are sucked out. Not every film has to have a happy ending, but they don't all have to be miserable either.
But many critics and fans will remark about how great his films are.
I see a one dimensional director who specializes in a type of film that doesn't appeal to me at all, though others obviously feel differently.
So for BN is it because there are boobies, or is there just enough happiness in the last scene that it didn't rub you the wrong way like the others? The bolded pretty much happens in Boogie Nights at the end. I am a fanboy, but I get that people aren't into his movies.
PTA is a real mystery for me. I love Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood. Punch Drunk Love, The Master and Inherent Vice were borderline awful IMO. I just didn't get them at all.
I get the other two, but The Master being on this list surprises me as I think it's right in the same vein as the ones you listed that you love. IMO one of the best movies of the last decade. I need to revisit Inherent Vice again. I also need to rewatch Hard Eight. I think it's on either NF or Prime.
So far Punch Drunk is the only one that didn't click with me.
I get it though - how you describe your feelings on PTA is how I feel about the Coens.
I get the other two, but The Master being on this list surprises me as I think it's right in the same vein as the ones you listed that you love. IMO one of the best movies of the last decade. I need to revisit Inherent Vice again. I also need to rewatch Hard Eight. I think it's on either NF or Prime.
So far Punch Drunk is the only one that didn't click with me.
I get it though - how you describe your feelings on PTA is how I feel about the Coens.
So for BN is it because there are boobies, or is there just enough happiness in the last scene that it didn't rub you the wrong way like the others? The bolded pretty much happens in Boogie Nights at the end. I am a fanboy, but I get that people aren't into his movies.
Very fair points. I find stories like that interesting, so it doesn't effect me the way it seems to other people. I figure not everybody's story is happy, so movies should reflect that.
On "likeability", i'm noticing more and more - especially among the streaming service movies - that films are asking me to identify with people i have no wish nor desire to engage. The FFAppers who didnt like TLBMISF, their main prob was in following the lead where he took them and i found the same problem with recent @krista4 favorite The Souvenir. If i'd hit it on my own i wouldnta lasted 10 mins, but i stuck with it til about halfway because i trust K4s judgement. Didn't identify (half generational, half she kinda chose her way into her problem set), movie never left the assumption that i should identify and ended up irritating me away. I've found this as often as not in PTA films and that has been mostly along the line of him not developing characters enough for me to accept where he goes with them.
It's mostly generational for me. It's the same in music - "this is me" bands with no interest in what came before nor their own place in music (esp egregious when they're derivative) - same in standup - where i'm supposed to do the work of identifying with the performer's voice and life journey before i can find them entertaining - so it's no surprise to see the phenomenon encroaching upon film. It shouldn't, it's lazy, it just shouldn't, but it is.
On "likeability", i'm noticing more and more - especially among the streaming service movies - that films are asking me to identify with people i have no wish nor desire to engage. The FFAppers who didnt like TLBMISF, their main prob was in following the lead where he took them and i found the same problem with recent @krista4 favorite The Souvenir. If i'd hit it on my own i wouldnta lasted 10 mins, but i stuck with it til about halfway because i trust K4s judgement. Didn't identify (half generational, half she kinda chose her way into her problem set), movie never left the assumption that i should identify and ended up irritating me away. I've found this as often as not in PTA films and that has been mostly along the line of him not developing characters enough for me to accept where he goes with them.
It's mostly generational for me. It's the same in music - "this is me" bands with no interest in what came before nor their own place in music (esp egregious when they're derivative) - same in standup - where i'm supposed to do the work of identifying with the performer's voice and life journey before i can find them entertaining - so it's no surprise to see the phenomenon encroaching upon film. It shouldn't, it's lazy, it just shouldn't, but it is.
I appreciate your giving the movie a shot based on my recommendation! I've really wanted to hear someone else's input. My working hypothesis was that it might be a movie that only a woman or a highly perceptive and empathetic man might find relatable. Since I think you're highly perceptive and empathetic, I guess I might rule out the latter. To me, the movie was haunting in its familiarity for me and nearly all of the women I know, in terms of how women's instincts are to defer and to make themselves small, and that fighting those inclinations is a huge part of our development, which many of us never fully realize. I found a perfectly wrought coming-of-age story from a female perspective, as it was so close to my own experiences and those of my friends. I don't see a lot of female coming-of-age stories that I find realistic or relatable, and I loved that this one didn't end up with some epiphany, but instead was a gradual development to...a better place, still not perfect in the least.
I also did not dislike either of the main characters and was pleased that the boyfriend was not set up as a villain, but, just as the female lead, was flawed but loving and doing the best he could given the addiction he was dealing with. And I found both of those actors simply mesmerizing, absolute perfection in their performances.
I guess what I'm concluding, unsurprisingly, it might be a movie relatable almost exclusively by women.
This is the part that has haunted me since watching:
When he robs her house, and she confronts him but somehow ends up apologizing to him instead. The way that shook out was true to how these sorts of conversations can lead to women up giving in and deferring to their partners.
I appreciate your giving the movie a shot based on my recommendation! I've really wanted to hear someone else's input. My working hypothesis was that it might be a movie that only a woman or a highly perceptive and empathetic man might find relatable. Since I think you're highly perceptive and empathetic, I guess I might rule out the latter. To me, the movie was haunting in its familiarity for me and nearly all of the women I know, in terms of how women's instincts are to defer and to make themselves small, and that fighting those inclinations is a huge part of our development, which many of us never fully realize. I found a perfectly wrought coming-of-age story from a female perspective, as it was so close to my own experiences and those of my friends. I don't see a lot of female coming-of-age stories that I find realistic or relatable, and I loved that this one didn't end up with some epiphany, but instead was a gradual development to...a better place, still not perfect in the least.
I also did not dislike either of the main characters and was pleased that the boyfriend was not set up as a villain, but, just as the female lead, was flawed but loving and doing the best he could given the addiction he was dealing with. And I found both of those actors simply mesmerizing, absolute perfection in their performances.
I guess what I'm concluding, unsurprisingly, it might be a movie relatable almost exclusively by women.
This is the part that has haunted me since watching:
When he robs her house, and she confronts him but somehow ends up apologizing to him instead. The way that shook out was true to how these sorts of conversations can lead to women up giving in and deferring to their partners.
Yeah, i was following on the basis that i might discover more about young women's approach to sculpting a life without the old pre-conceptions and such, but i was ending up so disappointed that this is how little a woman might carve out from her advantages now. That's her right, sure, but it pushes me away. And that disappoints me further, because old men dont get to be friends with young women and i hate not knowing their hearts anymore. I'll probably try again - for instance, it took me three tries to tolerate the beautifully played but entirely repulsive leads in The Master long enough to get to the end - but i'm not hopeful.
Wife wanted to see Downhill with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, so we saw it last night. We both agreed afterward that it was one of the worst movies we’ve seen in recent memory.
Wife wanted to see Downhill with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, so we saw it last night. We both agreed afterward that it was one of the worst movies we’ve seen in recent memory.
I checked Rotten Tomatoes after we got home and the critic rating is 41%, but the audience rating is only 11%.
One of the only things I liked about the movie were the mountain/skiing shots. They were breathtakingly gorgeous. I so want to go skiing in the Alps someday.
Some of the better movies, I have seen so far this year:
Tangerine- not a subject I was especially interested in (trans hookers) but I loved Florida Project (same director) so I gave it a shot and it really was worth it. What a surprisingly funny, sad and moving movie. It was filmed entirely on an iphone with non-actors so it has a very documentary feel. It's not for everyone, but it's a clear indicator Sean Barker is an incredible young filmmaker.
Vikings- Watched this since Douglas passed and my expectations were low. When these big technicolor 50s-60s epics are bad, they are awful. This one was good. It was far more brutal and violent than I would have expected from a big studio movie in 58. This one holds up.
Harry and Tonto- mostly famous as the movie for which Art Carney won Best Actor over Pacino for Godfather 2 and Jack for Chinatown. Hot take, but it wasn't a bad decision. A big blustery performance like Pacino gave doesn't mean it was the best. Carney is far more understated but is able to carry the movie, delivering all the needed emotions without embellishment. Also, this is a good movie. It's rare we get movies about aging and this has to be near the top.
I enjoyed it and I'm not a car guy. Was entertaining although I had some problems with Bales' accent. Overall I felt it was time well spent unlike the 45 minutes I wasted on Uncut Gems.
Watched two high school movies last night that I know have been mentioned on here before.
The Edge of Seventeen (Netflix)- Absolutely loved this movie. I don't even recall hearing about it other than in this thread on FBG, so thanks to whomever recommended it. I thought Woody Harrelson stole the show, but the whole movie was really well done. 4.5/5
Booksmart (Hulu) - Entertaining and had plenty of funny bits, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Edge of Seventeen. 3.5/5
Watched two high school movies last night that I know have been mentioned on here before.
The Edge of Seventeen (Netflix)- Absolutely loved this movie. I don't even recall hearing about it other than in this thread on FBG, so thanks to whomever recommended it. I thought Woody Harrelson stole the show, but the whole movie was really well done. 4.5/5
Booksmart (Hulu) - Entertaining and had plenty of funny bits, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Edge of Seventeen. 3.5/5
Watched "JoJo Rabbit" last night. While not exactly a revelation, it was still enjoyable. Plenty of fun, absurdist moments in it to get past some of the more creaky points in the film.
I don’t think the message was everyone was awful. I don’t think I would qualify anyone in the movie as a truly awful person. The poor family were opportunistic and manipulative, the wealthy family was shallow and gullible, the maid and husband were desperate but they were all people doing whatever was necessary to provide for themselves. The poor people were feeding off of the wealthy family but they also were doing their jobs. The wealthy family were using the poor people to do all the menial tasks they didn’t want to do but they also were paying them for it. All sides used the others for status. Obviously the symbolism in the upstairs, downstairs was there. I like that in sending it’s message about the problems of class in society and capitalism, it didn’t take the predictable route of making the rich family clearly bad or the poor family so sympathetic.
I think it’s a movie that will be talked about and watched for decades as movie people are absolutely head over heels about it in a way I haven’t seen in awhile.
Knives Out was fine but not close to the level one would expect with the high ratings. I'd give it a 6.5/10 maybe 7. Started slow but understandable, I guess, as they have to build the characters. Was decent after the first 45 minutes, or so but not much humour. I chuckled a few times but thought there would be more funny scenes. Ana de Armas is beautiful so there's that. Glad I didn't bother to go see it at the theatre.
I don’t think the message was everyone was awful. I don’t think I would qualify anyone in the movie as a truly awful person. The poor family were opportunistic and manipulative, the wealthy family was shallow and gullible, the maid and husband were desperate but they were all people doing whatever was necessary to provide for themselves. The poor people were feeding off of the wealthy family but they also were doing their jobs. The wealthy family were using the poor people to do all the menial tasks they didn’t want to do but they also were paying them for it. All sides used the others for status. Obviously the symbolism in the upstairs, downstairs was there. I like that in sending it’s message about the problems of class in society and capitalism, it didn’t take the predictable route of making the rich family clearly bad or the poor family so sympathetic.
I think it’s a movie that will be talked about and watched for decades as movie people are absolutely head over heels about it in a way I haven’t seen in awhile.
I wouldn’t say awful. They do some bad things for sure, all the people who aren’t the wealthy family do in this movie. Like the mom says, “they are nice because they are rich.” It’s easier to be nice and good when you are well off and have status. When one is near the bottom, struggling for food, living in filth then there is a lot less room to be nice. Also it may try to call into question just how nice the rich family actually is in the grand scheme. Superficially they are but they don’t ever take the time to think about how the system that keeps them living a fairytale life also keeps their countrymen down. The flood scene being a great example of that.
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