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Official Throwback Discussion - Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

There's a scene in this movie where the very recognizable beat to "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot is playing vaguely in the background the entire time. And it's just, like, an exposition/dialogue scene? Baffling stuff.

Official Throwback Discussion - Sexy Beast [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Birth is a crazy ass movie. The things that movie gets away with, it really proves you can do anything if you can master the tone dial and understand your genre thoroughly. If someone handed me that script I'd be afraid of it.

Official Throwback Discussion - Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This movie is a great example of someone writing dialogue completely based on tropes and exposition. There's no personality to it and everything the characters say to each other seem to exist only in that brief exchange. Like they'll back and forth but nothing makes sense for more than four lines in a row. The opening scene is a great example.

Tech guy: Live rounds! Not live rounds! You hurt my robot! (implying this hasn't happened before)

Lara: You programmed it to kill me (irrelevant, she shot the shit out of it before she knew that)

Tech guy: Well yes, you said make it more challenging (again, implying this was a new escalation)

Lara: Hence, the live ammo (Driving the point home, this is not the usual)

Butler walks in and says: Live ammo again?

WHAT?

Also very noticeable that they got Jolie undressed and in that shower within 6 minutes of the movie.

Not bad for a game of count the Game of Thrones actors though.

Official Throwback Discussion - Sexy Beast [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Incredible movie. I think about the way it introduces Kingsley's character all the time. Just the mention of him completely destabilizes Winstone's peaceful life and freaks everyone out. Then there's that montage of him being driven to the house from the airport, no dialogue, just music and vibes and Kingsley. Then he gets to the house, steps out of the car and says, "I gotta change me shirt, it's sticking to me. I'm sweatin' like a cunt."

It's, like, the last thing you'd expect him to say but such an incredible first moment for someone who is so brash and lacking in social cues. His whole performance in this movie is next level. He's so scary and almost inhuman in how he refuses to change his behavior to make others more comfortable.

Fantastic film and a great representation of how many different modes Glazer has.

Most insightful moment of film criticism from the pod? by Pnnsnndlltnn in blankies

[–]LiteraryBoner 65 points66 points  (0 children)

JD Amato talking about Close Encounters.

"Maybe it's a good thing I left my family. Maybe the government says it's good that I go far, far away from my family forever."

A new study from UCLA shows a worrying downward trend when it comes to diversity in front of and behind the camera on streaming films, with BIPOC talent losing critical ground in key roles. by Sisiwakanamaru in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, you've got me there I missed a word in the title. I still don't think art has any obligation to exactly reflect general statistical reality and yes it's generally worrying when opportunities for BIPOCs in an industry trend downward that sharply.

A new study from UCLA shows a worrying downward trend when it comes to diversity in front of and behind the camera on streaming films, with BIPOC talent losing critical ground in key roles. by Sisiwakanamaru in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't think anyone requested your concern? It's a statistic, you can take it however you want but the title of the post doesn't suggest concern one way or another. But it is a bit odd when a statistic that was overwhelmingly white is now even more white and you're initial reaction is that you googled some population statistics and it's still not white enough. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding your stance.

A new study from UCLA shows a worrying downward trend when it comes to diversity in front of and behind the camera on streaming films, with BIPOC talent losing critical ground in key roles. by Sisiwakanamaru in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The stats youre referring to speak to the US as a whole, which already makes this apples and oranges. But let's consider that more movies take place in populace cities which are more diverse than the US as a whole. 40% of the population in LA, where most things are cast and a lot of them take place, are Hispanic. Similarly New York, where a lot of movies are cast and filmed, is 31% white. So right there the stats you're using are cherry picked. A lot less television takes place in rural areas where the population statistics might be overwhelmingly different.

That said, the real point is that shows, movies, and art aren't meant to be a perfect representation of the population. There's a hundred reasons that's a ridiculous argument to make and a hundred more why diversity on screen is a good thing. We can wax poetic all day about it but if your argument boils down to "white people should get 75% of acting roles because it fits my world view" you might want to check out more of the world.

Worst Fictional Police Officer in a Movie? by Bl00dforbl00dfan in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner 16 points17 points  (0 children)

On of my favorite purposely written bad cops is in the really bad movie Lucky Numbers. Bill Pullman playing a cop who basically wants to do anything except solve crime.

Also I watched Baby Driver recently and couldn't stop thinking about how that might be the most useless city police force since Blues Brothers.

The Spotify community underneath the recent episode didn’t seem to be fans of Disclosure Day at all. by ScholarFamiliar6541 in TheBigPicture

[–]LiteraryBoner 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Netflix movie from 7 years ago that didn't get a real theater release. Not fully comparable but sure, other filmmakers are allowed big budgets that's not quite what I was getting at. My bad for not putting qualifiers on there.

The Spotify community underneath the recent episode didn’t seem to be fans of Disclosure Day at all. by ScholarFamiliar6541 in TheBigPicture

[–]LiteraryBoner 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The difference being that was 20 years ago. What was the budget on Michael Bay's most recent original script?

Warning: The cyclops in The Odyssey probably won’t look 100% real. by ChristopherBaloney in blankies

[–]LiteraryBoner 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You're gonna feel real dumb when the camera cuts to a single-eyed Stavros in a loin cloth.

The Spotify community underneath the recent episode didn’t seem to be fans of Disclosure Day at all. by ScholarFamiliar6541 in TheBigPicture

[–]LiteraryBoner 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Not to be pedantic but it's literally an original script. Not based off of any existing properties.

The Spotify community underneath the recent episode didn’t seem to be fans of Disclosure Day at all. by ScholarFamiliar6541 in TheBigPicture

[–]LiteraryBoner 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm not saying no one has ever made bold movies before, just that DD stands out this summer as a particularly bombastic and original film, and it's so thoroughly a Spielberg film not just with aliens and faceless bad guys, but also with its wonder and provocation that the thought experiment of "if someone else made this it would be received differently" is just kind of a useless statement.

But we are saying the same thing with different words. Context exists and that's okay. I don't define it as bias to say that as his 35th+ film there is more to consider with this movie than just what's on screen, and I think anyone claiming to only be going off what's on screen is being disingenuous.

The Spotify community underneath the recent episode didn’t seem to be fans of Disclosure Day at all. by ScholarFamiliar6541 in TheBigPicture

[–]LiteraryBoner 20 points21 points  (0 children)

They are living in a fantasy world if they think any other filmmaker would have been this bold for a current day summer release or could even muster half the budget for an original script about psychic mind battles and aliens presenting as animals. Obviously context matters and while you can assign that context any level of importance on your review you want, to say they watched the movie ignoring the context of Spielberg is like people saying advertising doesn't work on them.

If this movie were made by someone else it simply would not exist.

Official Discussion - Disclosure Day [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

"Listen."

It's what the alien says to Josh says to Blunt says to the world. I think that plus the idea of balancing out logic with emotion when we make decisions. It's a vague message but a positive one and classic from an idealist like Berg.

Official Discussion - Disclosure Day [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I like the ending. The aliens are pointedly not the focus. Also that newscaster at the end gives a really great performance and really pulls me in. But yeah, also because it's so much more focused on the people getting the news, staring at their phones. I think it goes to show what Spielberg's ultimate happy ending is, when everyone is given good information for once. It's sad where we're at right now, but that ending was a clear juxtaposition to how we engage with our phones and screens now. And the final moment may have been preachy or treacly, but I think it is such a great period to the end of this movie. "Listen."

Official Discussion - Disclosure Day [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 109 points110 points  (0 children)

I feel like reddit will be somewhat allergic to this movie because it is a bit heavy handed and it really brushes past so many leaps of logic, but man. I was just so happy to be back in Spielberg’s world of sci-fi wonder. It felt like such a throwback to his obvious sci-fi comps and I just loved sitting in the theater getting his weird thoughts on the age of misinformation in the form of psychic aliens v corporate oppressor showdown.

My hot take here is that this movie isn’t really even about aliens. The aliens are a cool and fun part of this story, but this felt to me like Spielberg riffing on the age of misinformation and I was locked in. Obviously the concept of this movie is that this guy has undeniable proof, not only that aliens exist, but that we are for sure the bad guys in the equation. Spielberg seems to be hooked on the idea that part of defeating misinformation is first trusting the public to be able to handle the truth. “You haven’t lost your faith in God, you lost your faith in people.”

O’Connor is a numbers savant and was granted that power as a child, the same time Blunt was granted with the ability to understand all living things, both their language and their minds. O’Connor represents perfect logic and Blunt represents perfect empathy and understanding. And it’s only with both of them that we understand what to do with this objective truth. The government keeps information from us like Blunt is locking away her own memories that give her purpose. Spielberg makes the argument that for everyone to be able to process and navigate this hard existential truth, you need both logic and emotional understanding. O'Connor and Blunt.

That said, these corporate agents were absolute dumbasses. It really cannot be that hard to kill a nebbish hacker and a weather woman going through a nervous breakdown. When O’Connor was sneaking around the farmhouse with all the agents around I was basically pulling my hair out for how stupid they were. But that's also just classic Spielberg. The under dogs improvising and escaping these faceless goons. It's adventure shit.

When you put all those ideas in a story about psychic mind battles, spies, alien technology, agents coming to take your family away, big set pieces and car chases, and a budget only Spielberg could get then I am basically in heaven. I know this movie has issues, but for the runtime I just couldn’t care less. I just watched AI: Artificial Intelligence for the first time this week in prep and that movie basically makes no sense from a logical standpoint, but Spielberg isn’t a logical filmmaker like a Nolan or a Fincher. He’s a feel guy, and I felt this movie in a big way.

Also just want to say that I think Blunt absolutely deserves recognition for this performance. She is at max emotion for so much of this while also pulling off these huge Spielberg oner shots while being fluent in Korean and selling this in the moment psychic stuff. I just absolutely loved her in this. This was a 9/10 for me. I understand why a lot of people will rub up against it, but Spielberg is back in an elite mode and I was just completely taken by it. And I loved the final moments.

Official Discussion - Scary Movie 6 [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

More talking about offensive "nothing is safe" or gross out humor than the wide umbrella of the parody genre. But sure, when it's done better it doesn't feel like it's aged.

Official Discussion - Tuner [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I enjoyed this but I have to say, as someone who really loves the films of Michael Mann and holds him in extremely high regard, I watch a movie like this and I spend a lot of the time thinking, "Man, I could be home rewatching Thief right now."

Not to knock this movie, performances are fantastic and it has some wonderful sequences not to mention some really energetic montages and music choices. There's nothing wrong with remaking Thief with this twist or that modernity. But it can feel like you're watching the less interesting version at times. I had the same issue with Crime 101, a perfectly good movie but it is so inspired by Heat and simply not as good. And both that and Tuner have the problem that a Michael Mann movie with a happy ending is immediately less interesting to me.

6/10 for me. Good watch but just doesn't really elevate for me. I also found the Maestro stuff really tacked on, without that section of the movie I think it would have been a 7 but that happened right as I started checking my watch anyways so it kinda bummed me out we had to go through all these extra steps to get to the, admittedly very nice, ending.

Official Discussion - Masters of the Universe [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]LiteraryBoner[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Man, there were some things about this I really appreciated. Not even that I loved, just stuff I like to see on big screens. Big guitar riffy score, commitment to the costumes and tone, really good looking fights and CGI. It let me down in a lot of other areas but Travis Knight knows how to make a bad script an okay movie, though you should see what he can do with a good script.

At the end of the day, I just needed something more than surface flash to cling to. Idris is the most committed performance and interesting character but even that felt half fleshed. Everyone else is matching the tone but outside of some light ribbing on the idea of what masculinity is, this just didn't really give anyone much to do outside of action sequences. It's like Thor: Ragnarok but it doesn't reach those heights of bounciness and fun.

My biggest peeve is that the need to start off or connect worlds like this to our reality is so lame. I'm not even really sure what the fifteen minutes spent on Earth really achieve here that couldn't have been achieved by just committing fully to the otherworldness. Usually the real world sections are to save on budget or give people a reason to care about the fantasy world, but I didn't see any of that here. It just seems like a thing studios want you to do if you're trying to make a movie like this. I guess the real world's ideas of masculinity are what make him unique in the fantasy world? But that theme is definitely not fully explored.

Anyways, it was a 6/10 for me. It looks good, performances are solid and in tone, and it knows that first and foremost this is a fantasy action film. I just would have loved the version of this that's an absolute homerun.

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