Elysium (NEW BLOMKAMP!)

[jenkins]

it's extremely amazing when the technicality of the production is matched by its writing. the tech of the writing -- crucial. the idea being exposed, ok, good idea. writing out an idea is paperwork. the expression of the idea and the form it takes and the way it touches those who see it, that's art

flannery o'connor put it -- a writer can do anything he can get away with, but nobody ever got away with much

[picolas]

i don't think it's stupid to send a bunch of illegal ships to elysium. this is where i think we have different opinions on the logic of the film. one of those ships actually made it. they don't want to live on elysium they just want to lie on that magic bed for a little bit, and that was achieved wasn't it? that makes it worth the risk.

but that was the ONLY person who made it, out of hundreds. maybe a couple more did, i'm not sure.. it was shown like it was a very special, rare occurance. from a ship flying perspective, your best-case scenario is getting arrested. at least a 66% chance of death. they must be getting paid millions.

i'm left wondering after the film if what didn't make sense is really the fault of the film's logic or just a reflection of illogical situations in our own world.

good point

the fault the film has is not giving a convincingly complex picture of the future world where these kinds of decisions (sending illegal ships to elysium) would make sense. if you take the whole thing as a giant allegory for a real life political (global) situation, then it's just as logical as District 9 was.

i think i agree. the difference with D9 is that blom and sharlto managed to create a fascinating character and story and those things took focus, turning the obvious allegory into a backdrop. here, no one is interesting enough to make the movie not about the allegory. blomkamp has repeatedly stated he's not interested in the 'message' of the movie. he just wants to tell an entertaining story. that made sense with D9. here, he fails at the story part.

it's not as good as District 9 because it aims too high, and no one really wanted to comment too much on that film's literal geopolitical connotations, the best we got were some irate Nigerians that no one gave a shit about.

i think people were more excited by the super dynamic storytelling and effects and characters in D9 than anything else. at least i was.

i wonder if the cynicism against the film lies purely in its execution, or more against its heart-on-its-sleeve Heal The World message. i wonder if we give more credit to impenetrable shit like INLAND EMPIRE or Upsteam Color (which is great but aesthetically grating, and come on the performances were sometimes worse than Jodie Foster). I wonder if movies that are so well made, technically, as Elysium are somehow treated more harshly for having their ideas so clearly exposed.. because there is nowhere to hide when your film doesn't look like total shit.

i don't think it's a great movie aesthetically, either. it's visually stunning yes, but the sound and score are unnerving, the pace/tempo is misguided, and most of the performances are unwatchable. i think you're onto something with movies that hide their ideas and thus appear more profound on the surface, however i'd also argue that ideas in great art can feel more hidden because they're not 100% clear to the artist, who is discovering them along with us. that may be because they're more interested in the characters/story, like the coens, or in the way a movie can feel, like carruth, or they're just fascinated by something that can't be put into words until the movie exists (if then).

i wonder if sometimes we hate things because they communicate imperfection in an imperfect way, when ambiguity is not shown clearly. i can forgive things like that. flaws in films are sometimes as lovable as flaws in the real world.

i wish i could forgive elysium and just enjoy it. i kept trying. very occasionally it worked. like the slo-mo forcefield shield, or even ironically with damon's animal questions. the problems are just too many and too distracting for me to say this is any good.

[Lottery]

Finally caught this. Didn't expect it to live up to the monumental D9 expectations but even when those were dampened, I was still expecting something a little more (story drove off the bridge at some point). But I had a lot of fun. And I will forever love Sharlto Copley it seems.

Anyway, Neill Blomkamp easily has the coolest gadgets, gizmos and guns in his films. Great production design.

[Garam]

I went to Dublin and didn't have a place to stay until late that night, and i'd been awake for 3 days straight. It was way too damp and uncomfortable to keep sleeping in the park so I went to the cinema to see this, stay somewhere dark and warm for a couple of hours.

My situation made it worse but even if I was tuxed up with a well-paying job i'd have thought it was fucking horrible. About 50 minutes in i tried sleeping but couldn't cause of the obnoxious SFX and the constant flashing seeping through my eyelids. I ended up finding a discreet corner in a library to try to nap but couldn't because I still had a throbbing headache from this piece of shit.

But yeah, the robots looked cool.