Baby Driver

Started by RegularKarate, March 15, 2017, 10:58:47 AM

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Tortuga

Quote from: Drenk on November 06, 2017, 10:18:08 AM
They drive to a place while a song plays. They go out. They come back in. They're chased while a song plays. Or maybe I have a hard time finding any virtuosity in a car chase after Fury Road, a movie that had virtuosity and that was able to develop characters during the action.

It isn't so much about the action, necessarily, for me. More about details like the color pattern of the spinning clothes in the laundromat (it's also on 3:08 in the video above), small rhythms and "synchronities" that aren't always drawing a lot of attention to themselves but are somehow satisfying to the eyes and brain. It's a different kind of enjoyment than one gets from any sequence from Mad Max (though I get the comparison). It's more of a collage-like or kaleidoscopic experience, like Busby Berkely stuff or old slapstick (hence my agreement with the Tati comparison probably).

Anyway, I won't force anyone to acknowledge this as any sort of milestone in filmmaking. I for one was pleasantly surprised.

Jeremy Blackman

I'm confused by the intensity of the response to this movie, honestly. It's not super ambitious and seems pretty honest about its shallowness. I fully acknowledge all its shortcomings, but somehow the film satisfied me in exactly the ways I needed and nothing more. Maybe I was in just the right mood.

modage

I'm fine with it. I think the only real pushback comes in response to the rapturous critical response like this is the only glass of water in the desert, when really it's not all that different from bonehead blockbusters like F&F, and in a world where Fury Road exists, why settle?
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

jenkins

you guys: Fury Road was 2 years ago. you just trying to crack me up?

waiting for the criticism that's more interesting than this video

Quote from: jenkins on November 06, 2017, 10:25:53 AM
Quote from: jenkins on November 05, 2017, 02:07:56 PM


pete

I don't know how to have interesting critiques for a movie that isn't very interesting.
I think now we're seeing the limits of a system of filmmaking where the director leaves most of the hard work up to the second unit. I guess the car scenes are somewhat effective, but to me they look like every other car scene. you can probably set the Nick Fury car chase from Avengers to music and get the same gimmick going. I don't necessarily have a problem with that except the film really wants you to be impressed with its car scenes.

also, most of that one guy listening to music stuff seems to have come from just one source:


re: the video Jenkins linked - there seems to be this whole genre of video essays where instead of using the text to inspire some interesting insights or critical analysis (a la I don't know - Every Frame a Painting?), they just show film clips and describe what's happening on screen with big passionate words. for example, the essay pretends Introversion hasn't already been fetishized to death in cinema and pop culture past and current, and also does not acknowledge or recognize the bad acting coming from the lead - instead it pretty much describes the lead's performance the same way his agent probably does.

and I guess that's what bugs me in general about this film and the film of Wright? It reminds me of Pacific Rim, where a charismatic filmmaker is very generous with what happens behind the scenes - and the fans/ pop culture media in turn parrot the filmmaker's talking points - like he's the first filmmaker to set action scene to music or to cut to the beat of the music. (Del Toro shared sketches and referenced monster movies he watched growing up and in turn his fans treated the film like no other film has referenced monster films or has had creature design done before). I dunno, I wish this film was better because I want original work to succeed and as someone who's very interested in reviving the action genre myself I want this film to do well and to create that demand, but it's just not there and what's frustrating is the film's fans are just kinda Bernie-broing their way through the discourse, insisting on the sanctity of their leader and refuse to have any convo about the its criticism especially the ones they can't/ dont know how to defend.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

jenkins

the essay references a book on the topic of introversion. it references an entire book on it.

like in his Knight of Cups video he references Kierkegaard. and in his Paterson video he references DFW.

and then, to ask him to make it clearer that he's discussing a historical topic?

not sure i follow that thought path. and the thought path of the final paragraph is unrelated to this conversation and thoughts i've had about the movie. but i'm sorry to hear about it, if that helps.

as for the first statement, the opening sentence, "I don't know how to have interesting critiques for a movie that isn't very interesting." what kind of intro is that anyway?

what the video discusses was the movie's emotional spine. the video did a good job of examining these inner mechanics which are not explicitly mentioned by the movie nor related to Edgar Wright's production notes.

now, the spontaneous, vagrantly unrelated criticisms which have been prompted by the video? that's why this movie is different from other movies you guys mentioned, and i'm perfectly okay with it.

Drenk

It's a video about introversion, but the links with the movie are weak because the movie is weak on the subject of introversion—it's all surface level and that's why it doesn't make a very pertinent video to watch. What's interesting about the book he comments is unrelated to most of what the actual images of the movie are showing.
Ascension.

Something Spanish

I really enjoyed this one, too, as far as summer fare goes. It's no Fury Road, but it definitely delivered on cool action comedy in spades. It's actually playing at a local art house theatre down here in Miami on 35mm so I'll probably plunk down some cash for that.

jenkins

Quote from: Drenk on November 06, 2017, 06:49:10 PM
It's a video about introversion, but the links with the movie are weak because the movie is weak on the subject of introversion—it's all surface level and that's why it doesn't make a very pertinent video to watch. What's interesting about the book he comments is unrelated to most of what the actual images of the movie are showing.

the video is in full corroboration with my initial statements about Baby Driver, and i just don't think it's quite necessary to quote me from then. i think we all remember, which remembrance is perhaps detrimental to this movie, which happens to me every time, although also i'm paranoid and other people fuck shit up too.

it's absolutely true and within my character to further support the hated, so you're throwing gasoline into the fire my friends

modage

We definitely don't all remember.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

jenkins

Quote from: jenkins on July 01, 2017, 01:24:11 AM
for example, most of the other criminals put Baby down. they call him retarded. they do this casually. it's how they talk. multiple people do this in different ways. Kevin Space like: stfu. John Hamm don't seem to mind so we all think he's the good guy, and everybody has been hilariously pissed about that

Baby, he can't explain himself to these people. the New Yorker call hims boring. again: everyone wants to put Baby down.

but Baby ain't having it. Baby ain't being put down by the put downs. he's got other problems indeed. no one cares about them indeed.

he's got one girl who understands him. she wants to head out with him.

you guys are hilarious and kisses to all the haters. the hate is gonna die out like that, live it up while you can.

it's this movie which will last.