Not as extreme as the case in the OP, but I’m often surprised how “meh” a reaction Don’t Look Up got. Maybe people think it was heavy handed? Too on the nose? I don’t know but most folks seem to think it was at best merely “okay”.
For me, I place it next to Idiocracy as one of the most prescient films about what is in store for us. I think after this last election day, it seems even more prescient. On top of that, it is legitimately funny with really good performances, especially from Jennifer Lawrence.
I’ve gone over it again and again and again in my head and I still can’t make sense of it. He’s a three-star general. He works at the Pentagon. Why would he charge us for free snacks?
This part had me absolutely rolling. I loved that movie.
I loved Jonah Hill in that movie so much
I tried watching that. But the wilful idiocy and mocking scene at the start just invoked such a rage in me i knew i was gonna stroke out if i kept going
I couldn’t watch it, not because it wasn’t good but because I was constantly getting unbelievably depressed about how accurately it mirrors the world today. Every scene had me thinking “this would be funny if it wasn’t exactly how it would actually pan out.” I think it might be hilarious a few decades after this all blows over but right now it hits way too close to home.
Or, in the Homerian fashion, ‘It’s Funny Coz It’s True’, really not in some cases, but laughter may help some people cope. Agreed. I also hate prattfall comedy for similar reasons, empathy, self-reflection, rational fear, those things…
a few decades after this all blows over
Up. You mean blows up.
Yeah, in my case this one was too close to home for me to love it. 10 or 20 years ago I probably would’ve felt differently. Similar for Idiocracy, I don’t think I’d feel the same way about it if it came out today. Kinda chilling when I think about that, honestly.
Welcome to Costco; I love you.
I like money though
Shut up im trying to watch ouch my balls!
I could go for a Starbucks
Now I know everybody’s shit is emotional right now…
Yeah, I’d call it heavy handed. It felt like it was a message first. Not as bad as the Daily Wire stuff, but going down that road. Even if I agree with the message, it felt contrived.
Just my two cents though.
Agreed. It came across as preachy instead of entertaining, but it seemed like it was trying really hard to be entertaining.
That’s what I saw on reddit only for a week later to see someone argue that it’s not about climate change because it’s literally about a meteor.
So there you go, you probably weren’t the target audience
it makes sense to me. if the movie was supposed to be about climate change, why wouldn’t they make it about climate change?
is that something people do? make a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification?
@affiliate @kameecoding It’s called an allegory, it can make what’s being compared to easier to accept or understand
It suffers from the “Reality is Unrealistic” trope. Seems so on the nose and heavy handed, yet is literally exactly how it would happen (and is arguably already happening).
In hindsight its kind of understatement.
Being so on the nose, to me, is part of the joke.
So obvious its blinding, and unrealistic. Just like reality lol.
Spot on. This thread got me to rewatch it tonight and I gotta say, it hits even harder this close to the election. Almost painfully plausible.
It’s not a true story, but it is a very high fidelity representation of reality.
I really liked that movie. Great example for me, too.
I just loved the pacing of Don’t Look Up so much. Just constant subversion of expectations that I really enjoyed
It’s been a long time I got as visceral of a feeling as I got when watching that film and Leo’s character’s meltdown as the impending doom is happening an noone seems to be giving a fuck
Too fucking relatable and more every day.
It’s one of the least forgettable movie I’ve seen in a while (it’s a good thing) and the concept is just so good because it’s idiotic but at the same time completely true
Super Mario Bros (1993) is this movie for me … it’s weird as hell and it’s adherence to the source material is … iffy at best … but god damn if it wasn’t a fun ride!
Then you read about how everyone hated the directors so much they literally got drunk on set and openly wore custom made shirts with slogans about how bad the directors were AND Bob Haskins was in a cast for most of it for an injury on set and it gets even more fascinating! The Directors poured hot coffee on people and just openly belittled everyone. It’s insane!
I love this movie. It’s gloriously cheesy and fun. I can see the poor ratings overall, but for 90s kids who were just pumped to see their favorite game on the big screen, this was an amazing moment in cinema.
yes, this is my answer as well! as much of a nightmare the filming process was for everyone i think it’s a legitimately good movie, not even “so bad it’s good”. it’s utterly bonkers & the production design is absolutely off the chain and i love it.
i feel like it’s much harder when you finish a movie, and you hate it, and then find out it’s one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time.
this was my experience watching taxi driver. to this day, i have not been able to find a single other person who disliked that movie as much as i did
I watched Last Action Hero a few years ago for the first time, and it honestly didn’t even feel that dated. It held up!
I’ll never not like Waterworld
Waterworld is fine. It just gets ragged on because of its insane budget and the lackluster results for said budget. But if you don’t care about that and just watch a movie, it’s a decent movie.
The Simpsons joke where the tie in video game needs 40 quarters is still funny though.
Is that simply a reference to it going over budget? I never got that joke.
The movie was infamously over budget. It basically doubled from its initial budget and was for the time a record expensive movie to make. All of that for a final product that was fine but not really showing all that money on screen. It was the topic of many late night show jokes and such.
What was the reason it went so overboard with the budget?
Storm trashed the key giant expensive set
I watched it at release time. And the scene where Kevin Kostner run through his boat activating various sail and gadget to escape the bad guy is still engraved in my memory as the most badass thing ever. Was obsessed about the revelation of him having gills too.
All that because it was heavily inspired of one of my favorite Sci-fi series: The Pandora Sequence by F. Herbert (where the 2 last book are on a water planet, where human evolved for this world)
NB: the second book in the series was the source material for a more successful movie “Avatar” by Cameron. In the “Jesus incident” the planet is hostile to human, and there is a magical plant controlling it named “avata”… just to name a few similarity … they are endless
I feel exactly the same way! I was a huge book nerd in the 80s and Frank Herbert was some core sci-fi exposure for me.
Yep. Great movie, watched it in cinema and a few times later. Still don’t understand how people didn’t like it.
Like most, I totally disagree. However, it had such great potential.
I feel the same about Valerian. The imagery was pure eye candy and then I watched it, so looking forward to a great flick, and what I got was… Valerian.
The setting and design in Valerian is fantastic. The opening sequence really is among the best in film. Shame about the plot and main characters.
The plot was bad, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie close to how bad the romantic chemistry was between the main characters. There was negative chemistry, in fact they felt more like brother and sister which just made the whole thing creepy.
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“'Cause she’s my friend.” Will always have my respect for not phoning it in and just cashing the check.
It’s definitely a spectacle.
F you and Saint Joe Hazelwood. I love sails.
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I loved The Chronicles of Riddick! It’s bombastic space opera, of which we have much too little that isn’t Star Wars tripe, and Vin Diesel is perfect in this role.
In 2006, a movie was released in which an evil AI is defeated by Shia LeBouf.
The evil AI’s plan? Kill the president!
Why does the AI want to kill the president? he has too much unchecked power and bombed village of innocent people in the middle east and the AI told him not to because it could not confirm if there was actually a terrorist there.
How does Shia LeBouf defeat the evil AI? Opening fire at the capitol to cause a panic.
The war in Iraq was ramping up at the time, how was there not rioting at screenings? How is this not a controversial movie?
The acting is not great, but it deserves better than 27% on Rotten Tomatoes when the message of the film is the government does bad stuff and should be persecuted for it
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For me it was Alice in Wonderland (2010). I really enjoyed the whole “I do six impossible things before breakfast” thing. I was also really drunk when I watched it.
The butterfly effect.
I saw it when I was rather young but I thought it was pretty good, apparently people thought it’s edgy.
Should watch it again now and see if it holds up.
Joker 2. Laughing my ass of to all the people complaining about how it ruined the image of the joker for them.
Hey man like what you like. Most reviews are done by people who are WAAAAY to into cinema.
The Thing.
Critically panned when it came out, and my favorite horror movie of all time. Of course critics feel differently now, but far after its following grew.
I’ve been watching old classics that I’ve never seen like the shining or predator.
I couldn’t believe how good The Thing was, just how the story structure developed and the ending giving the perfect existential dread.
I’d like to mention Harbinger Down.
It is made by the practical special effects company originally hired for the 2011 prequel, who were then fired and replaced with a CGI company. They were so disgruntled they made their own off-brand The Thing movie to show off what they got. The plot is kind of meh, but the effects are amazing for fans of The Thing.
The thing is a genre defining masterpiece! I can’t believe the critics didn’t realize that in the '80s.
Oh, same. Absolute favorite.
Van Wilder
Soundtrack is incredible, it’s one of Tara Reid’s best roles, the cast is absolutely stacked, and IMO it’s basically Deadpool without the costume. It’s Ryan Reynolds best movie to date, and if he doesn’t return for a second (the sequel doesn’t exist) his career afterwards is ultimately pointless.
Both Pacific Rim movies!
Conan the Destroyer. I absolutely love it and won’t apologize for it.