|
Post by Viced on Apr 12, 2022 19:47:05 GMT
This has a decent amount going for it... Michelle Yeoh giving it her all, some wonderful moments of humanity and connection, parts of the action being well done, a few unique ideas... but it's hard for me to overlook the fact that it's one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen in my life.
I actually loved the normal life dynamic of the first 15 minutes or so, before it gets bogged down by the metaverse nonsense. Would've gladly enjoyed a 90 minute version of that.
some lady in the theater loudly told her friend "this is the worst movie I've ever seen" during a quiet moment when the two rocks were talking to each other... which makes me wonder just how long this'll last as the highest rated film on Letterboxd and when the detractors will rise up.
sorry to get the discussion started on a sour note... but at least I got it started!
|
|
Archie
Based
Eraserhead son or Inland Empire daughter?
Posts: 3,544
Likes: 4,240
Member is Online
|
Post by Archie on Apr 12, 2022 20:01:25 GMT
Everything about this looks extremely unappealing to me and I despise this multiverse baloney. Should I even bother?
|
|
|
Post by sterlingarcher86 on Apr 13, 2022 2:15:12 GMT
It’s Rick and Morty meets Jackie Chan meets Kung Fu Hustle. If that’s not for you I get it but I had a blast. I’m sitting here giggling about things I couldn’t even begin to explain to my roommate who is looking at me funny because she didn’t see it.
|
|
|
Post by mikediastavrone96 on Apr 13, 2022 2:58:20 GMT
I absolutely adored it through and through. I've been weary of this recent deluge of multiverse content (only Into the Spider-Verse seemed to scratch the surface of that premise's potential), but this really mines it for a great amount of absurd laughs and genuinely moving philosophical content. Felt like the best of Albert Camus and Kurt Vonnegut for a modern, fractured media existence. Throw in some kung fu, a talking raccoon, and hot dog fingers for good measure and you've got a movie that already feels decade-defining.
|
|
|
Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 16, 2022 0:28:28 GMT
I absolutely adored it through and through. I've been weary of this recent deluge of multiverse content (only Into the Spider-Verse seemed to scratch the surface of that premise's potential), but this really mines it for a great amount of absurd laughs and genuinely moving philosophical content. Felt like the best of Albert Camus and Kurt Vonnegut for a modern, fractured media existence. Throw in some kung fu, a talking raccoon, and hot dog fingers for good measure and you've got a movie that already feels decade-defining. And rocks
|
|
|
Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Apr 16, 2022 21:49:38 GMT
A bit too overhyped but still mostly enjoyable. Did think it dragged on a bit too much though.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Apr 16, 2022 23:28:14 GMT
Admirably ambitious ... and inevitably confusing. I'm all here for a Michelle Yeoh action vehicle & Ke Huy Quan comeback, and the film works best when it's about the two of them. We have the proper context for their relationship, the performances are stellar, and all of the emotional payoff lands. It's less successful as a mother-daughter story to me. Stephanie Hsu is good but the character is confusing to me...to the point that I wasn't quite sure what I was meant to be feeling in its (final!) emotional climax that clearly expects me to cry. Maybe that's just a natural byproduct of the relentlessness of the movie. It's sort of magical for the first half - as long as you're on its wavelength of juvenilia (I mostly was) - but it quickly becomes tiresome and tedious in the second half as it just goes on and on, muddying its emotional stakes the more it wants us to be invested in them. Classic sophomore (and sophomoric) feature eagerness and audaciousness of throwing every conceivable idea at the canvas and not really caring about what sticks and what doesn't. I could see this growing on me like a Wachowski or sinking like an Edgar Wright. Also weird to me that the film never resolves Evelyn's homophobia or anti-Semitism. Not that the character isn't allowed to have those flaws, but it's weird how the movie just seemingly brushes those things off for a character we're supposed to be completely sympathetic towards! As a side note...I was thrilled to see this guy pop up. Hope he enjoys the 2 mill:
|
|
|
Post by finniussnrub on Apr 17, 2022 10:46:10 GMT
Also weird to me that the film never resolves Evelyn's homophobia You mean like say a climactic scene where Evelyn gets over her prejudice, grows as a person, accepts her daughter, and her girlfriend, by introducing the latter as such to her father.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Apr 17, 2022 14:40:35 GMT
Also weird to me that the film never resolves Evelyn's homophobia You mean like say a climactic scene where Evelyn gets over her prejudice, grows as a person, accepts her daughter, and her girlfriend, by introducing the latter as such to her father. Right, but when that scene happens Joy is still offended and storms out of the laundromat. Then when their conflict actually is resolved it's not exactly clear what's changed. This is what I mean when I say the emotional stakes at this point in the film are really muddled and confusing.
|
|
|
Post by finniussnrub on Apr 17, 2022 14:42:08 GMT
You mean like say a climactic scene where Evelyn gets over her prejudice, grows as a person, accepts her daughter, and her girlfriend, by introducing the latter as such to her father. Right, but when that scene happens Joy is still offended and storms out of the laundromat. Then when their conflict actually is resolved it's not exactly clear what's changed. This is what I mean when I say the emotional stakes at this point in the film are really muddled and confusing. I mean I felt that was to clearly show that the daughter wasn't buying it in the moment (since within the scene it would have come out of left field), but was clearly genuine from ours and Evelyn's perspective.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Apr 17, 2022 14:47:16 GMT
Right, but when that scene happens Joy is still offended and storms out of the laundromat. Then when their conflict actually is resolved it's not exactly clear what's changed. This is what I mean when I say the emotional stakes at this point in the film are really muddled and confusing. I mean I felt that was to clearly show that the daughter wasn't buying it in the moment ( since within the scene it would have come out of left field), but was clearly genuine from ours and Evelyn's perspective. But it kind of felt out of left field to me! Maybe I was just too fatigued by the movie's sensory overload, but I felt completely lost by Evelyn's arc at this point and wasn't sure what the movie had done to earn that moment.
|
|
|
Post by finniussnrub on Apr 17, 2022 14:48:57 GMT
I mean I felt that was to clearly show that the daughter wasn't buying it in the moment ( since within the scene it would have come out of left field), but was clearly genuine from ours and Evelyn's perspective. But it kind of felt out of left field to me! Maybe I was just too fatigued by the movie's sensory overload, but I felt completely lost by Evelyn's arc at this point and wasn't sure what the movie had done to earn that moment. Well regardless of your feelings of the film's overall effectiveness they did address that particular aspect of the character.
|
|
|
Post by Mattsby on Apr 21, 2022 3:42:10 GMT
We love goofy kung-fu b-movie fun. The Daniels do not, apparently. There’s a definite reading here that they use Michelle Yeoh and her career as an example of wrong - her past of kung fu as a pretext to pitch their vain, boring, cloying message: Love is the answer. And even that, what almost looks like a beautiful family theme, ultimately feels marginalized and grossly phony bc the movie is so desperately straining for “meaning” which I must put in quotes bc “Nothing matters, but with a big hug” is about as interesting as a seventh grader’s AIM Away Message.
Not only is my reference dated but so are the generational stereotypes and the world-ending motivation of the movie: the daughter’s shame of sexuality. I think the air goes out of the movie when she’s introduced as the overlording yet utterly threatless villain - that the 20 minute mark? Btw, ever see Saving Face (2004) about a Chinese-American lesbian, shunted by her distracted mother who struggles to shed her own father’s outmoded, traditional ways. It’s a better example of the mother-daughter dynamic having complexity and what feels like honesty at least.
Well, what’d you expect from a movie with hot dog digits, sex toy superpowers, raccoon hats and evil bagels? ...You might ask. I’d say I’ve seen Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark’s movies and I know what goofy, clever verve looks like. This ain’t it. We’ve seen the Daniels brand of absurd in SNL shorts for decades; the five jokes here (give or take a joke) aren’t remotely funny to begin with, and the replaying and repeating of the jokes, trying them for MEANING, does not assuage the laughless matter. “Just be a rock” scene was one of the deadest tones I’ve ever felt in a full-house audience.
So the two extremes don’t work - the forced weirdness is better suited to the Daniels popularly chaotic music videos where we can forgive a five minute runtime, and its tsk-tsk’ing “lessons” offer enough platitudes to float a hackneyed yacht. Satire? Not remotely. It even fails to say anything on its ripped influences, Matrix/Marvel….. that it’s Russo bros produced sort of winks to Marvel but those movies at least succeed in giving their multiverse the feeling of vastness. The Daniels don’t make sense of it.
Cast keeps it up. I enjoyed Jamie Lee Curtis who totally commits…. seeing legend James Hong… Yeoh is pretty good, quite game for it….. but it’s Ke Huy Quan who is the movie’s saving grace imo. It’s a delightful perf and a winning comeback; his casting itself works a little like magic and gives the themes/multiverses its only interesting touch.
To sum up: what the legendary kung-fu queen Angela Mao said in one of her amazing movies, “Such a small bet. Hardly worth my time.” 5/10.
|
|
|
Post by mikediastavrone96 on May 4, 2022 5:05:55 GMT
Seen this three times in theaters now, each time bringing along different people. It's my favorite movie so far this decade, can't imagine it being topped anytime soon.
|
|
|
Post by mikediastavrone96 on May 4, 2022 5:25:10 GMT
You mean like say a climactic scene where Evelyn gets over her prejudice, grows as a person, accepts her daughter, and her girlfriend, by introducing the latter as such to her father. Right, but when that scene happens Joy is still offended and storms out of the laundromat. Then when their conflict actually is resolved it's not exactly clear what's changed. This is what I mean when I say the emotional stakes at this point in the film are really muddled and confusing. Joy throughout much of the third act is ready to kill herself. Her crushing sense of inadequacy caused by never feeling good enough for her mother and her exposure to the vastness of the multiverse made her recognize what, to paraphrase herself, a small piece of shit she is. Everything in life is insignificant against the vastness of everything else, nothing matters. Joy recognizes Evelyn trying to make amends and re-instill hope into her and rejects it, she's already knee-deep in existential despair. What changes is the emotional catharsis she receives from her mother - the recognition that even though they could be anywhere and nothing matters, her mother still chooses to be here with her. With no inherent meaning, they are free to create their own and they choose each other.
|
|
|
Post by JangoB on May 17, 2022 19:17:30 GMT
I kinda sorta almost liked it but all the readymade-for-internet-adoration bits like the sausage fingers, the bagel, the rocks, the Wong Kar-Wai imitation and so on just felt a bit too cutesy and calculated to me. I've always had a little bit of a pet peeve about movies actively trying to be cult flicks. They just tend to feel a bit phony/unfunny when it comes to those types of moments and this one was no exception. I did laugh at the raccoon stuff though.
With that said, I did feel an emotional connection with the characters and found myself caring for their plight. Could that be another reason why all those foolish jokes bother me a bit - because I felt that the story worked well enough without them? Probably. If the movie took a bit of a more serious path, it actually would've been perfectly fine imo. I understand why all that meme stuff was included (you gotta admit that the strategy worked - look at all the hype and love for it!) but to me the emotional skeleton of the story is what ended up mattering. Not all the noise around it. And that skeleton stands particularly strong because of the three central performances. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan (SO great to see him back - always loved the guy in Temple of Doom, screw the haters!) and Stephanie Hsu are indeed very good.
|
|
Film Socialism
Based
99.9999% of rock is crap
Posts: 2,553
Likes: 1,386
|
Post by Film Socialism on May 17, 2022 19:30:34 GMT
first half of this was so reddit i felt physically ill and the second half was really great. strange one to talk about but i like it and i'm glad something like this which genuinely feels a bit experimental is making waves
|
|
|
Post by notacrook on May 19, 2022 13:57:38 GMT
God, this was one of the best cinema experiences I've ever had. Screening was packed, and you could just feel everyone's joyful bafflement - a love for a film hasn't felt that palpable since I saw Parasite, also at a packed showing.
I just adored this. One of those films where you just have to go with it, with no cynicism or questioning. At times genuinely hilarious and gloriously silly, and others deeply moving in a way I really didn't expect. Just profoundly powerful all-round. This feels like something to celebrate.
|
|
|
Post by MsMovieStar on Jun 19, 2022 21:02:51 GMT
Oh honeys, who's seen this? This is pure genius! 10/10 It's like House of Flying Daggers meets Christopher Nolan meets Spike Jonze. This has to be the best movie of 2022.
|
|
|
Post by stabcaesar on Nov 19, 2022 6:47:35 GMT
Saw this on a flight. I too hate the multiverse fad but the cast really saved it, and some of the humour really hit me. Yeoh and Quan in particular were absolutely outstanding in it, and Jamie Lee Curtis is always a delight.
|
|
Barbie
Full Member
Posts: 821
Likes: 513
|
Post by Barbie on Nov 28, 2022 17:09:32 GMT
The way this movie is being hyped on social media is tokenization sorry. If the main cast wasn’t Asian, I doubt people would be hyping this Le Reddit humor movie like it’s one of the greatest of all time. It was a chore to sit through except for the emotional scene between Evelyn and her daughter. Other than that, it’s not for me at all.
I don’t get why Michelle Yeoh deserves a best actress win or even a nomination. I just don’t think her performance was anything to marvel at personally. I like her performance more in Crazy Rich Asians. But I know if Yeoh doesn’t win, the SJWs on Twitter will have a field day so the Academy should prob just give it to her to avoid being called racist
|
|
|
Post by FallenWarrior on Dec 11, 2022 9:17:00 GMT
Fucking loved everything about this film
|
|
|
Post by mhynson27 on Dec 11, 2022 13:28:45 GMT
Pertaining to something Viced said in the OP. While it isn't #1, this is still incredibly high on the all time Letterboxd list (#13).
|
|
|
Post by countjohn on Jan 7, 2023 7:13:24 GMT
Agree with the OP that the opening of this was good and I would have watched a whole dramedy just about those characters hanging out at the laundromat. It's a good cast, Yeoh and Curtis are pros and Jenny Slate is funny. But so much of the runtime gets devoured by multiverse exposition dumps, drawn out action, and the silly cutaways that they can't spend as much time just on the characters as they should. I'm not entirely opposed to "come for the x, stay for the y" type movies, but the emphasis needs to be on what we're staying for, and that's not the case here.
Just wasn't invested in some of the emotional stakes either. Like, were they actually wanting me to take the raccoon and sausage fingers shit seriously at the end of the movie? And obviously I get why Yeoh cared about her daughter and wanted to save her but as a viewer she was just a "everything is shit" reddit troll who wanted to drag everyone else down with her. You've got to care about other people for me to care about you.
|
|
Archie
Based
Eraserhead son or Inland Empire daughter?
Posts: 3,544
Likes: 4,240
Member is Online
|
Post by Archie on Jan 25, 2023 17:50:14 GMT
Everything about this looks extremely unappealing to me and I despise this multiverse baloney. Should I even bother? Finally watched this, and I have to admit that I mostly liked it. First half is a complete blast thanks to the legend AlphaWaymond. I'm now beyond satisfied with the Ke Huy Quan sweep. Yeoh, Curtis, and Hong are dynamite as well. Second half is where it kinda falls apart. The whole Jobu Tupaki thing doesn't work for me. I completely agree with DeepArcher. The mother-daughter relationship resolution is extremely murky and I didn't feel most of the big emotional payoffs. Also, some of the scenes drag like crazy. The final confrontation between Yeoh and Hsu felt like 6 hours.
|
|