All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

[upnorthkid]

Yes. Just seems kinda odd that they feel the need to fight SO damn hard to convince people that this movie is "epic". Why all the games?

seem pretty odd we're fighting so hard to scream woke about 2 people who have like 8 mins of screentime in a movie while not even remotely discussing their acting within said movie

 

[GophersInIowa]

We watched The Crash documentary on netflix last night. It was ok, I'm familiar with the story and think they left a lot out. Should have been a 3 part series.

But man, do the Shirilla parents look bad. Their daughter can do no wrong in their eyes.

 

[Ope3]

Yes. Just seems kinda odd that they feel the need to fight SO damn hard to convince people that this movie is "epic". Why all the games?

Since this has devolved into stories about the movie instead of "recommending" it based on our own opinions here's another take.

Variety must be playing games with this epic. They are putting out content that fans are actually scalping tix to see The Odyssey and being scammed by said opportunists.

‘I’ve Been Scammed Left and Right’: Demand for ‘Odyssey’ Tickets Gives Rise to Sketchy Scalpers

'The Odyssey' is only playing on one Imax 70mm screen in New York City, and sold out shows have brought out aggressive scalpers and scammers.

variety.com

Must be really really fantastic or Variety has some ulterior motive.

 

[Plausible Deniability]

seem pretty odd we're fighting so hard to scream woke about 2 people who have like 8 mins of screentime in a movie while not even remotely discussing their acting within said movie

Well, others wouldn't answer the simple question so I'll throw it out there again;

Particularly in light of what you said here, why do you suppose Nolan casted Ellen Page in the role of a fearsome 6'-4 Greek warrior killing machine? Or a ugly woman in the role of Helen of Troy that isn't at all consistent with what is described in the classic literature for which the film is about?

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for; multiple people rushing to ATTACK anyone who dare criticize the film. I will do my homework next time to see if there's an application one needs to fill out in order to offer opinions on movies in this thread.... about movies

 

[Slim Tubby]

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for.

The fact that you're completely oblivious and utterly unaware of how pathetic this statement makes you look is the real comedy here, am I right?

 

[GopherPoke]

Well, others wouldn't answer the simple question so I'll throw it out there again;

Particularly in light of what you said here, why do you suppose Nolan casted Ellen Page in the role of a fearsome 6'-4 Greek warrior killing machine? Or a ugly woman in the role of Helen of Troy that isn't at all consistent with what is described in the classic literature for which the film is about?

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for; multiple people rushing to ATTACK anyone who dare criticize the film. I will do my homework next time to see if there's an application one needs to fill out in order to offer opinions on movies in this thread.... about movies

I'm curious why you think Lupita Nyong'o is ugly. We all have our tastes, but ugly? Come on.

 

[upnorthkid]

Well, others wouldn't answer the simple question so I'll throw it out there again;

Particularly in light of what you said here, why do you suppose Nolan casted Ellen Page in the role of a fearsome 6'-4 Greek warrior killing machine? Or a ugly woman in the role of Helen of Troy that isn't at all consistent with what is described in the classic literature for which the film is about?

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for; multiple people rushing to ATTACK anyone who dare criticize the film. I will do my homework next time to see if there's an application one needs to fill out in order to offer opinions on movies in this thread.... about movies

i don't really care who they cast in any role. I care about their performance in said role. Sinon isn't in the Odyssey, which again is a myth. His character is never physically described. Helen of Troy is not a real person. She's described as white armed (meaning she didn't labor). ancient greek descriptions of eye color and hair color don't have modern translations that are direct 1:1. Turns out her eyes range in various writings as being anything from dark to blue. Again, probably because she's not a real person. According to Nolan: 'The strength and the poise were so important to the character of Helen. And Lupita makes it look effortless. I'm sure there's a tremendous amount of discipline and training that goes into projecting that kind of poise and feeling the emotion bubbling beneath the character, the layers of the character right there underneath,' he said. Calling the actress 'an incredible person to work with,' the director added, 'I was absolutely desperate for her to do the part.' Seems like a reasonable reason.

what color were greek statues historically that you see portrayed everywhere? They are not white marble but richly colored and painted but we display them in literally everything as white marble despite that not being remotely accurate. Same as we give characters in "time pieces" names we think fit with the time period with no actual regard to if they are.

This perception that we knew what any of these people in a mythology looked like with any degree of accuracy is ridiculous. Unless you're going to cast an entirely Greek cast, why are we not complaining just as loudly about Damon, speaking in American accents/dialogue, etc.?

Or you could, like, try watching it and actually evaluating the performances and cinematography? One big gripe I've heard is the sound mixing, which is a notorious Nolan bugaboo.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Well, others wouldn't answer the simple question so I'll throw it out there again;

Particularly in light of what you said here, why do you suppose Nolan casted Ellen Page in the role of a fearsome 6'-4 Greek warrior killing machine?

I think it's pointless to try to have a real conversation with you but I'll give it a try anyways. Sinon in Greek mythology was not a large killing machine at all. There's nothing that indicates he was large or imposing, and certainly not 6-4. Sinon was a spy, someone that did not stand out. Page actually fits the role pretty well. You thinking Sinon was some larger than life warrior means you're listening to the wrong people that are feeding you nonsense.

Or a ugly woman in the role of Helen of Troy that isn't at all consistent with what is described in the classic literature for which the film is about?

There is never specific physical characteristics given of her. You thinking this woman is ugly is your opinion. Eartha Kitt portrayed Helen of Troy back in 1950. There's a wide range of women over the years that have played her. The idea that she was the most beautiful woman in the world is much more a modern times idea. Matt Damon doesn't look Greek either.

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for; multiple people rushing to ATTACK anyone who dare criticize the film.

Hilarious. You haven't seen the film and your sole criticisms are based on two very minor characters (and characters you clearly know little about). People are attacking you for your stupidity and clear lack of knowledge on the subject, not for being critical of a film. If you had actually watched the film and were even just slightly unbiased, and you criticized the film for things actually important, the "attack" would be minimal.

I will do my homework next time

Please do because you clearly know nothing about Greek mythology.

 

[Ope3]

I'll back off here since I already MORE than got the response I was looking for; multiple people rushing to ATTACK anyone who dare criticize the film. I will do my homework next time to see if there's an application one needs to fill out in order to offer opinions on movies in this thread.... about movies

Here's a hint...no application needed, just try watching the movie first.

Is the title of the thread too ambiguous for you?

All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread​

If you wanted a discussion about a movie because the preview did not float your boat and wanted to make a statement about about a differing political viewpoint then a thread of it's own in a different Forum seems logical.

Full disclosure, I had zero idea the casting of this film had any remote qualms from a political point of view prior to your appearance in this thread. I presume Nolan wants to put out a good product as are most of his works and he's going to work with whomever seems up to the task and gets along with. Plain and simple.

I was going to see this film anyway, in due time. Nolan's too good to pass up the chance to see his work on a big screen. Now I am really eager.

 

[Ope3]

Or you could, like, try watching it and actually evaluating the performances and cinematography? One big gripe I've heard is the sound mixing, which is a notorious Nolan bugaboo.

I assume part of that has been the challenges of filming in IMAX with the noise of the camera? For this they appear to have invented a new camera to assist with sound reduction.

First film ever 100% in IMAX.

 

[coolhandgopher]

Yes. Just seems kinda odd that they feel the need to fight SO damn hard to convince people that this movie is "epic". Why all the games?

I suspect you already know all about this phenomenon, and if you don’t, your obtuseness is even more staggering, but review bombing has common themes and Rotten Tomatoes is just trying to combat a bunch of choads jumping online to sink a film or TV show for their own agendas. And do a little work-take a look at those half-star reviews and see how many are written by first time reviewers; of course, they might be your role models seeing as how you jumped into this thread for the first time to trash a movie you haven’t seen nor intend to see, complaining about the casting of well established actors, several of whom have worked with the director before.

List of review-bombing incidents - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[upnorthkid]

I assume part of that has been the challenges of filming in IMAX with the noise of the camera? For this they appear to have invented a new camera to assist with sound reduction.

First film ever 100% in IMAX.

interesting. did not know this nor about the challenges of filming in IMAX. Will have to do some reading about this

 

[Ope3]

interesting. did not know this nor about the challenges of filming in IMAX. Will have to do some reading about this

The 100% IMAX aspect (first feature film) is enough to intrigue me to pony up $15-$20 see it, even if it sucks.

------

Why Christopher Nolan shot "The Odyssey" entirely on IMAX film

Correspondent Scott Pelley and director Christopher Nolan visited FotoKem, the last motion picture lab in the world that makes 70mm prints, to see finishing touches being made to "The Odyssey," the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film.

www.cbsnews.com

From the article:

But there are severe technical limitations that come with shooting IMAX film. Each camera magazine only allows between two and half to three minutes of continuous shooting before it needs to be reloaded. Another hurdle: the cameras that shoot with the film are loud while in operation, which can interfere with the recording of the actors' dialogue on set.

Nolan's team and IMAX worked together to create a special housing for the camera to muffle the sound of its operation.

"It's a really loud camera. So for intimate scenes… that would've been impossible in IMAX up until, you know, a year ago," Damon told Pelley. "Camera's just much too loud. The audio… would never work."

 

[coolhandgopher]

This doesn’t fit new movie releases, and it’s certainly not “movies everyone has seen”, but l have been catching up on movies I haven’t seen that are a bit older as I traveled across the globe and have been dealing with jet lag:

The Intouchables-I have noticed this French movie from 2011 listed very high on IMDB’s Top 250 and finally found it on this flight. Based on a true story, it was very enjoyable, even if the plot was as predictable from the jump. This has a lot to do with the main characters and the supporting cast is strong too. Definitely worth a watch, great feel good movie.

The Housemaid-okay this is really recent and it fits very nicely into the “from hell” category recently featured on Bill Simmons’ Rewatchables. A solid airplane movie and Amanda Seyfried carries the movie as the mentally imbalanced wife. I didn’t really buy Sydney Sweeney in the role of The Housemaid—the charisma was lacking from her.

Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare-I’m a sucker for Guy Ritchie movies and yes, the historical inaccuracies to this WWII British ship heist scream out at you without doing any research, but man, this fun and a great antidote for jet lag. I loved the dialogue, the action scenes, the predictable premise and it
compelled me to research up Operation Postmaster (Wiki it if you aren’t familiar) and it is an incredible tale from WWII.

Equalizer 3-I chased this with the previous movie ; another wonderful movie to keep you awake. I really have enjoyed Denzel’s whole run with The Equalizer franchise.

Insomnia-With Christopher Nolan in the headlines, I realized I had never watched Insomnia; if my memory serves it came out around the time of One Hour Photo and I think I merged the two movies in my mind. Watching this movie while waking up in the middle of the night is a bit bemusing and I found it pretty compelling and interesting to watch given how Nolan’s directing arc has evolved. Robin Williams is the revelation here, of course, as Pacino was definitely in later career Pacino mode.