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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 13, 2024 2:16:27 GMT
Did you dislike the way that the underrated well acted lesbian noir with a botched ending of Eileen (2023) fell flat in that 3rd act? Well let me tell you the 3rd act letdown of Eileen is fucking Chinatown by comparison to this overrated well acted lesbian noir that mistakes gruesome for great and overheatedness for hotness....... For 2/3rds a fun, exciting horror-noir mix of Coens, Bound and Jim Thompson with a huge hint of The Incredible Hulk (not kidding) and "fantasy" elements .....this movie is extremely well made by Rose Glass and as well played as it can be in its preposterous machinations by a game cast.......... BUTIt's not enough....it doesn't satisfy...........or arc particularly well.........a scene in the 3rd act is laughable, headscratching, genuinely shocking that nobody said "Wait this is ridiculous" and not noir btw..........and........as of right now on the basis of these last 2 examples ........noir is fucking dead and can't stick the landings 6 / 10 ......or something.......shrug 91% on RT.........alrighty then.......  |
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Post by urbanpatrician on Mar 13, 2024 2:18:45 GMT
I remember you were ready to lay this on the mantelpiece of great works by a female director. I guess it fell short.
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Archie
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Eraserhead son or Inland Empire daughter?
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Post by Archie on Mar 13, 2024 2:19:21 GMT
Dang, I'm sorry man. This must have been a devastating watch after Saint Maud. |
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dazed
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Post by dazed on Mar 13, 2024 12:49:31 GMT
is it true that the trailers for this have been massively misleading? cause i’ve dug all of them up until now.
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Mar 13, 2024 12:55:04 GMT
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 13, 2024 13:03:51 GMT
is it true that the trailers for this have been massively misleading? cause i’ve dug all of them up until now. I thought the first 2 acts were just fine and surprising but what the trailers downplay imo is those David Banner / Hulk / Roid Rage aspects and then by extension "fantasy" or magical realism for lack of a better word.......and those elements reach preposterous levels in the 3rd act........ Shame really....... |
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Mar 13, 2024 13:20:58 GMT
is it true that the trailers for this have been massively misleading? cause i’ve dug all of them up until now. I thought the first 2 acts were just fine and surprising but what the trailers downplay imo is those David Banner / Hulk / Roid Rage aspects and then by extension "fantasy" or magical realism for lack of a better word.......and those elements reach preposterous levels in the 3rd act........ Sounds like Poor Things if it wasn't as well-realized as it was. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 15, 2024 19:58:48 GMT
Um, that's in the first 2/3rds I guess because in act 3 he was probably just crying, saying "wtf,why?" and banging his head on the floor 
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Post by countjohn on Mar 16, 2024 2:30:21 GMT
Some people are going to have Pac's issue with the "magical realism" ending. But I think the key thing to remember is what you see on screen isn't supposed to be what literally happens. I also think it sets it up and leads into it pretty well. Anyway, Katy O'Brian is a star and that's the main thing to like about this. She needs her own action franchise ASAP. Harris is really good too. Usually not a Stewart fan as many know but the character was supposed to be bored and non emotive this time so it worked. Well directed (some of the best editing you'll see all year and uses tight camera angles well to build tension) and I liked all the gallows humor too. Outside of the aforementioned surrealism at the end I'm not sure what there isn't to like here. Could honestly see this being my favorite of the year since the strike has reportedly taken out a lot of things that were supposed to come out. As a side note this movie had quite graphic sex scenes that were also integral to the characters and the movie wouldn't really be the same without them. Have no problem with graphic sex if it matters and isn't gratuitous. So no, I'm not a puritan or a prude. Um, that's in the first 2/3rds I guess because in act 3 he was probably just crying, saying "wtf,why?" and banging his head on the floor
Was so worried I was going to be in there with a bunch of lesbians and they'd be side eyeing me but fortunately it was a fairly mixed screening. |
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Post by countjohn on Mar 16, 2024 2:31:28 GMT
I thought the first 2 acts were just fine and surprising but what the trailers downplay imo is those David Banner / Hulk / Roid Rage aspects and then by extension "fantasy" or magical realism for lack of a better word.......and those elements reach preposterous levels in the 3rd act........ Sounds like Poor Things if it wasn't as well-realized as it was. I don't think that's even possible. |
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Post by finniussnrub on Mar 16, 2024 2:48:15 GMT
Mostly liked it, sex scenes aren't that graphic (only a true prude would think that), but hated the big swing ending, which is setup with other moments of imagined reality bending, however that doesn't change the fact that it looks REALLY DUMB.
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Post by countjohn on Mar 16, 2024 2:59:18 GMT
sex scenes aren't that graphic (only a true prude would think that) "True prudes" are social conservatives and those awkward asexual zoomer kids who want no nudity in movies whatsoever and for sex scenes to "fade to black" like it's still the 50's. There's no ceiling on how graphic I think something can be (even unsimulated in a narrative film) as long as it has a reason to be there. |
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Mar 16, 2024 9:33:05 GMT
Sounds like Poor Things if it wasn't as well-realized as it was. I don't think that's even possible. I don't think Poor Things is near-perfect, but I am happy that it works to the extent it does (It's provocotive - even negativity - instead of confusing, it's never boring, the P&C design are immersive minus the sky and some extreme long shots, etc.), considering the the themes it's going for. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 16, 2024 11:48:05 GMT
Another problem with this movie - besides that "ending" not set up from Stewart's POV particularly well either imo - I know why people say it's set up - but not convincingly (ymmv) is that a relatively innocent person is killed - - the annoying Stewart fangirl - now THAT scene is great and shocking but doesn't mesh with that ending........it doesn't mesh with a "happy ending" and us rooting for them both .......and of course it's not noir........like you can say "it breaks all the rules of "noir".......but I'mmina just say from a dramatic POV it doesn't work and it expects you to pull for protagonists just because they're protagonists..... |
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Post by countjohn on Mar 16, 2024 15:43:18 GMT
Another problem with this movie - besides that "ending" not set up from Stewart's POV particularly well either imo - I know why people say it's set up - but not convincingly (ymmv) is that a relatively innocent person is killed - - the annoying Stewart fangirl - now THAT scene is great and shocking but doesn't mesh with that ending........it doesn't mesh with a "happy ending" and us rooting for them both .......and of course it's not noir........like you can say "it breaks all the rules of "noir".......but I'mmina just say from a dramatic POV it doesn't work and it expects you to pull for protagonists just because they're protagonists..... I didn't have a problem with that because she was that annoying and had such bad teeth. She also does try to blackmail Stewart. Obviously you still wouldn't kill her in real life but I think based on "movie rules" it works just fine |
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 16, 2024 16:10:50 GMT
Another problem with this movie - besides that "ending" not set up from Stewart's POV particularly well either imo - I know why people say it's set up - but not convincingly (ymmv) is that a relatively innocent person is killed - - the annoying Stewart fangirl - now THAT scene is great and shocking but doesn't mesh with that ending........it doesn't mesh with a "happy ending" and us rooting for them both .......and of course it's not noir........like you can say "it breaks all the rules of "noir".......but I'mmina just say from a dramatic POV it doesn't work and it expects you to pull for protagonists just because they're protagonists..... I didn't have a problem with that because she was that annoying and had such bad teeth. She also does try to blackmail Stewart. Obviously you still wouldn't kill her in real life but I think based on "movie rules" it works just fine See, I don't think the movie rule works because because they end as a couple....there's no deep fatality or finalism in her death .......ie they end up together......like that's a noir no-no to me.......she can toitally die  ....but ..Jackie should die too - or at least Lou can't win....it's' "unearned happy noir" imo............. it reminded me of Saltburn in a way actually in the "moral stakes" are merely relativism.......not absolute.......and I mean that as criticism not a plus....but yeah - totally on the teeth......  |
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Post by countjohn on Mar 16, 2024 20:47:25 GMT
I didn't have a problem with that because she was that annoying and had such bad teeth. She also does try to blackmail Stewart. Obviously you still wouldn't kill her in real life but I think based on "movie rules" it works just fine See, I don't think the movie rule works because because they end as a couple....there's no deep fatality or finalism in her death .......ie they end up together......like that's a noir no-no to me.......she can toitally die ....but ..Jackie should die too - or at least Lou can't win....it's' "unearned happy noir" imo............. it reminded me of Saltburn in a way actually in the "moral stakes" are merely relativism.......not absolute.......and I mean that as criticism not a plus....but yeah - totally on the teeth...... I didn't notice this myself but someone on Reddit pointed out that Stewart kept the last cigarette for an "emergency" and then starts smoking it when she's burying the last body as the credits roll. If you think about it it's unlikely they're going to get away with it, especially with Harris gone. The idea was to dump the bodies into his reservoir so it would look like he did it, but with his dying, obviously in a murder, the two of them will be the only suspects and likely blamed for all of it. The movie doesn't really dwell on it though, it's going for a subtler version of Thelma and Louise's driving off a cliff ending. Still agree it's not noir although I don't know that that's what it was going for. |
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Post by mhynson27 on Mar 17, 2024 0:24:47 GMT
sex scenes aren't that graphic (only a true prude would think that) "True prudes" are social conservatives and those awkward asexual zoomer kids who want no nudity in movies whatsoever and for sex scenes to "fade to black" like it's still the 50's. There's no ceiling on how graphic I think something can be (even unsimulated in a narrative film) as long as it has a reason to be there. No need to call out Ryan like that. |
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Post by stephen on Mar 17, 2024 0:58:10 GMT
Rose Glass in her Refn era. Unfortunately, it's the bad parts of Too Old to Die Young era . I think it takes some major artistic swings, but much like Jackie's steroid use, I do think Glass overdoes it here. Katy O'Brian is a revelation here, giving a terrific exercise in exuding barely-contained rage and trauma through minimalism, which is one of the Refn-isms that I think works best here. I could see O'Brian as a distaff counterpart to the Mikkelsen/Gosling characters in that oeuvre, and I hope to see her in more films. And Clint Mansell is working at a nice peak here. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the movie fails to live up to its promise. Kristen Stewart is back to her old bad habits here; her Lou is a dead-eyed bore with no chemistry with O'Brian, and her storyline feels like an aborted Nocturnal Animals sequel. Jena Malone is criminally wasted here; she would've absolutely crushed the Lou role and to see her sidelined this way is unforgivable (especially with that really awful Eraserhead-esque makeup on her face at the end that made me think she was going to sing "In Heaven, Everything Is Fine" at any moment). Dave Franco is very much Doing A Thing and I appreciated his scuzziness but he's gone too soon. And no one loves Ed Harris more than me, but this is the first time I've really seen his age and made me think he's too old for be intimidating. (I will say that Anna Baryshnikov is trying for something here in playing a Jena Malone role from a decade ago, and the poor girl goes through the fucking wringer, and she got the biggest laughs from the audience.) There's seeds of promise sewn throughout but this is such a downgrade from Saint Maud, and it's a real shame. |
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....but ..Jackie should die too - or at least Lou can't win....it's' "unearned happy noir" imo............. it reminded me of Saltburn in a way actually in the "moral stakes" are merely relativism.......not absolute.......and I mean that as criticism not a plus....but yeah - totally on the teeth...... 
