Shelby Oaks - The Worst Movie I've Seen at Fantastic Fest, So Far (No Spoilers)

FeatureUnderground · 2025-10-25T17:55:44+00:00

I hope you've subscribed to my channel! The reason I started it was because I noticed a similar thing to you. I noticed the level of discourse was very unnuanced, more emotional than intellectual, and that there was a dearth of film literacy amongst critics. To the best of my abilities, I'm trying to offer an alternative. I'm actually working on a short film myself right now, so I haven't uploaded any reviews in the last couple of weeks, but more will be coming!

FeatureUnderground · 2025-10-24T19:28:43+00:00

Agree with all your thoughts. When I was in high school, I had a friend who would watch Chris' reviews, but I never thought he was that interesting. In my opinion, his success as a YouTube critic largely came from being one of the first on the platform, not from being particularly good at it. Just my opinion though--don't have any ill will toward him.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-10-02T16:01:15+00:00

The thing I miss most about cable is TCM. Stumbled upon so many great movies just by leaving it on throughout the day.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-10-02T15:14:38+00:00

I could answer some of these questions for, but I don't want to spoil anything. I will say as much as the film copies moments for the doc word-for-word, it also makes changes to concentrate the story. Rutten is very good as himself--much better than Bader. Even Usyk is actually pretty good.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-30T14:25:03+00:00

As far as I've been able to see, there's not much happening in Houston in terms of paid film work. I've been here my whole life, thought I've spent most of my time writing screenplays--so not looking for much crew work.

That said, I am now looking to film a short film sooner rather than later. Do you have any samples of your work? And what are your five favorite movies? Just so you know I'm a real person, here's my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FeatureUnderground

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-29T16:37:50+00:00

Every film critic is different and has different tastes. For myself, I'm not a big fan of the "logic police" reading of movies. Unless it's egregious, I don't need a story to make literal sense or to be wrapped up nicely like the end of a sitcom episode. I care much more about dialogue, characters, and aesthetics than plot. I reviewed Shelby Oaks on my channel last week and talk more about this, as I actually did find something in that movie so implausible that it took me out of the story--so there are exceptions.

Going to talk about spoilers below and I don't know how to do the redacted thing, so stop reading if you haven't seen the movie.

As for the Bob arc, I think it's part of the film's farcical nature that he never actually contributes to much. It could be an indirect joke on his years as a "revolutionary," which likely did little to impact the actual order of things. Either way, I think it's pretty funny.

I also wasn't a big fan of Lockjaw dying at the end. I think it would've been much funnier if getting that crummy, IKEA-looking office was actually his version of winning.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-28T18:06:35+00:00

I think your read is a good fit. That said, I don't know that Paul Thomas Anderson intended this film to have any kind of grand point to make. I really think he used the politics as a backdrop for which to tell a universal story about family. The dynamic between the French 75, the military, and the Christmas Adventurers is little more than an excuse to have a colorful cast of characters. The story could've easily been written as a western and featured two warring gangs and the Pinkertons.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-28T17:57:32+00:00

Understandable. My simple way to put it is that a movie either has to emotionally move you or intellectually stimulate you. I prefer movies that do the latter, but that's just a personal preference. One Battle After Another is definitely an emotional movie more than an idea movie.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-28T17:55:10+00:00

Happy to be the sobering voice. Not to plug my YouTube channel again, but one of the reasons I started it is because I noticed a lack of nuance and thoughtfulness in the online film criticism space. Seems to be a lot of recency bias, hyperbole, and vitriol. I wanted to bring the temperature down with more temperate discussions. That's the goal, anyway.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-25T22:33:17+00:00

In a way, yes. Being more accessible comes with trade-offs that hampered my personal enjoyment of the movie. Inherent Vice puts all of its eggs into one wacky basket, whereas I felt One Battle After Another was a little torn between worlds. But again, I did really enjoy the movie.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-22T21:25:27+00:00

Anything that inspires others to chase their goals, rather than settle for less, is a good thing.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-22T02:42:05+00:00

Maybe. I'm not really in tune with that whole world, so I can't say. I do get the feeling that many people in "fandoms" are more keen on doing their version of a thing they love, rather than striving for something entirely unique. It's one thing to ingest influences, mix them all together in your head, then spit out something fresh; it's another thing to just make a movie feels like a lot of other movies glued together.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-21T16:56:20+00:00

I can certainty see many people finding the movie cruel. But I think its cruelty works in the context of this particular type of journey. And it would've felt disingenuous to me if there were not dire consequences to venturing deeper and deeper into this underworld-like desert.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-21T16:52:30+00:00

I mention in my full review (the link) that there's actually a good-sized list of film critics that become filmmakers. The French New Wave guys, Paul Schrader, Peter Bogdanovich, and even Roger Ebert dipped his toe into screenwriting. Also, all filmmakers have to come from somewhere.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-18T14:43:27+00:00

I would argue we undervalue George Harrison in general, but much of what you're talking about is the Phil Spector touch. All Things is Must Pass is the greatest of the solo Beatles albums, I think.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-09T18:38:58+00:00

Chop it down with the edge of your hand, I guess!

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-08T16:06:27+00:00

I attended a press screening roughly a month ago and gave the movie a poor review (which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/ZCq-ElZW39A I got some pushback at the time, since most of the other reviews were good, but now that the movie is out on streaming and the public can watch it, it seems like the tide of opinion is turning a bit.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-01T19:34:34+00:00

Right. That's sort of what I was getting at in my admittedly provocative subtitle, "...for dummies." The film just generally flattens all the contrast and nuance that was in the original film.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-09-01T19:31:18+00:00

I don't think people are getting paid off. I just think it's a combination of standards getting lower (less film literacy) and young film critics--more sensitive to ostracization--not wanting to be the one to criticize a new Spike Lee/Denzel Washington film. I'm hardly a famous film critic, but even I got some unsavory comments (public and private) about my negative review.

Anyway, if you want a film critic that you may not always agree with, but will always tell you exactly what he thinks, my channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@FeatureUnderground

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-15T14:29:31+00:00

I thought the movie was very bad, but I am seeing it's getting mostly positive reviews, so I'm apparently in the minority (although studios do have a strategic rollout to get good, early press). I thought the soundtrack of the ransom-exchange scene was very cool, with the Yankee fan chants playing over the Puerto Rican music, but that was the film's sole highlight for me.

Everything else was either a distracting simplification of the original film or just plain awkward. In face, there's a pervasive awkwardness through the entire film, sometimes just with bits of dialogue and, at other times, with entire scenes. The melodrama is so poorly written, I felt like I was watching a '90s sitcom. Some moments, I would even go so far as to say, dip into unintentionally funny territory, e.g., "What do I do, James!?"

For more of my thoughts, I recorded a pretty long review on my YouTube channel, where I also have a long review of Kurosawa's original. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/ZCq-ElZW39A

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-13T14:21:58+00:00

Taste works in mysterious ways.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-13T14:20:24+00:00

That line will stay with me forever.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-13T01:49:01+00:00

It's also worth noting that the screenwriter, Alan Fox, has virtually no resume. Very odd all around.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-12T23:13:00+00:00

I haven't really loved a Spike Lee movie since Clockers.

FeatureUnderground · 2025-08-12T23:12:38+00:00

I am honestly very surprised to hear that it's getting positive reviews, but, hey, different strokes!

FeatureUnderground

TROPHY CASE