Controversial Cinema-Related Opinions

[BRoswell]

Oh man. I feel like he's made some good movies mixed in with the shit stuff you're probably thinking of. Not always easy watches of course, but Dancer in the Dark & Melancholia (part. the latter) are def. worth watching. I thought Melancholia was really well done.

Agreed. Melancholia in particular was quite good. I went into it knowing next to nothing about the plot and was very pleasantly surprised.

Only Noe film I've seen was Irreversible. It was very hard to watch, multiple people left the theater, etc. But I've never seen anything like that movie. It has stuck with me ever since. Worth seeing for sure b/c its a uniquely horrifying movie, and the visuals are stunning as said.

Yeah, Irreversible is not for the faint of heart, but it's not really meant to be a passive experience. Everything about the film (and all of Noe's films) is designed to provoke, including the music and the cinematography. Some people just aren't looking for that kind of experience.

[eversonpoe]

Stories aren't always about likable characters and redemption and "the message" though. If that's all you're interested in, cool, but that's only a portion of the stories that can be told. I haven't liked every film Noe has done, but I respect that he's not interested in black and white, good guys and bad guys storytelling. I'm not opposed to that kind of storytelling, but it's not something I can solely subsist on. After a while, that sort of thing starts to feel fake. As wild as his films can be, they're incredibly grounded in human behavior and the choices/mistakes people make.

And reality is way more horrific than anything in his films.

i don't think that's quite what i meant...i'm fine with provocation, fine with studies of human behavior, and i'm fine with a lack of black & white / good people & bad people. i'm also more than fine with discomfort & heavy subject matter. i'm a huge david lynch fan, my favorite show is hannibal, and i've read plenty of books that are along the lines of what we're talking about. but something about noe's films (from what i have gleaned) makes me extremely uncomfortable, but not in an intriguing way, just in a way that makes me feel disgusted.

[BRoswell]

i don't think that's quite what i meant...i'm fine with provocation, fine with studies of human behavior, and i'm fine with a lack of black & white / good people & bad people. i'm also more than fine with discomfort & heavy subject matter. i'm a huge david lynch fan, my favorite show is hannibal, and i've read plenty of books that are along the lines of what we're talking about. but something about noe's films (from what i have gleaned) makes me extremely uncomfortable, but not in an intriguing way, just in a way that makes me feel disgusted.

If you're into all that, then I don't really see why his films would be so hard to stomach.

[eversonpoe]

If you're into all that, then I don't really see why his films would be so hard to stomach.

right? idunno.

anyway, no judgement at all on anyone who enjoys (is that the right word?) his films! glad we got to discuss this a bit because i don't know anyone in real life who has seen any of his work.

[Jinsai]

i have never seen a gaspar noe film, and i will never see one. i have read the synopses of all of them, i've read articles and reviews about them, and for the life of me, i cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to such horrific films. .

Enter the Void is a trek through some traumatizing realness, and it's one of the better movies I've seen from the past decade.

[BRoswell]

Enter the Void is a trek through some traumatizing realness, and it's one of the better movies I've seen from the past decade.

I'd say Enter The Void, as flawed as it is at times, shows that there's more to his work than just depravity for depravity's sake.

[r_z]

The Watchmen movie is not as bad as its reputation, especially in its "uncut" or "director's cut" forms. The plot might be a bit muddled and hard to follow, but the performances are mostly great, so are the special effects.

Also, I didn't know Roger Ebert gave it 4/4.

[Bachy]

Not only do I feel that Nacho Libre is far superior to Napoleon Dynamite, I also feel the latter was greatly overrated and could never stand that film.

[Magnetic]

I thought it showcased quite a bit of how boring yet random it is growing up in small town/ middle-of-nowhere can be, which I did appreciate. However, I still agree it's highly overrated.

[onthewall2983]

Yeah, rewatching it now (in segments). Cal actually was a bastard. I didn't remember a lot of the movie.

Never knew why the film needed a villain, unless it was to make Leo that much more the heartthrob. Replace his character with Rose's father who still has conflicts with Jack, but is more heroic towards the end as the you-know-what sinks.

[WorzelG]

James Cameron went right up his own arse with Titanic in my opinion, I thought the romantic storyline was almost an insult to the people who died, like the story is too boring without this Dicaprio / Winslet shit, if it’s on tv we only put it on half way through, to my mind the most moving thing in the film is when the band plays one more song. I think it should have been done like disaster films of old with the focus on a few main characters
After this, I never saw Avatar and have no interest in it, and now he’s doing about a million Avatar sequels, why??

[Substance242]

1. Star Wars
I wish there was a version without all that infantile beeps and cute animals, very annoying.

2. Witcher
Read all the books, love them. Games - not interested. TV - not interested, looks awful.

[eversonpoe]

1. Star Wars
I wish there was a version without all that infantile beeps and cute animals, very annoying.

but star wars without those things isn't star wars. part of what makes it what it is is its sense of humor and lightheartedness amidst tragedy and other extremely heavy things. is there sometimes too much humor that is shoehorned in? for sure, and mostly in the special editions of a new hope and return of the jedi with all that added bullshit.

if you take the humor out of lord of the rings, it's just any run-of-the-mill fantasy epic. same thing with star wars; it would become a generic fantasy in space.

but that's also just my opinion.

[muad'nin]

I'd say Enter The Void, as flawed as it is at times, shows that there's more to his work than just depravity for depravity's sake.

I re-watched this for the first time in a few years, a few days ago. It is such a stunning film. Beautiful at times. Jarring. Devastating. Unpleasant, as well. Suffice to say, it’s certainly still an emotionally confusing experience for me.

But I’m glad it exists.

Also features Coil and Throbbing Gristle, so yay?

[GulDukat]

Never knew why the film needed a villain, unless it was to make Leo that much more the heartthrob. Replace his character with Rose's father who still has conflicts with Jack, but is more heroic towards the end as the you-know-what sinks.

Billy Zane was a great villain for the movie, classic baddie for an over-the-top melodrama. I love Titanic. Yeah, the plot is super predictable and the characters are one-dimensional, but the cast is superb and the movie just looks so good it doesn't matter.

[Ruined]

Agreed. Melancholia in particular was quite good. I went into it knowing next to nothing about the plot and was very pleasantly surprised.



Yeah, Irreversible is not for the faint of heart, but it's not really meant to be a passive experience. Everything about the film (and all of Noe's films) is designed to provoke, including the music and the cinematography. Some people just aren't looking for that kind of experience.

Aside from the visuals, the droning soundscape by Thomas Bangalter was just as disturbing. IDK, it's like he found frequencies that made me physically ill.

[WorzelG]

I’m strangely glad that the director who STOLE the Oscar from David Fincher in 2011 now has a cat-ostrophic flop on his hands. I haven’t seen it but everything I’ve seen of Cats is just hideous and more scary and sinister than clowns - quite a feat

[eversonpoe]

I’m strangely glad that the director who STOLE the Oscar from David Fincher in 2011 now has a cat-ostrophic flop on his hands. I haven’t seen it but everything I’ve seen of Cats is just hideous and more scary and sinister than clowns - quite a feat

[WorzelG]

ha, yes I saw that in a NIN thread, read it and it inspired this general post about Tom Hooper. I wonder if Cats will become a cult classic because how they persuaded so many famous people to appear in it is beyond me.

[Magnetic]

Thank you for sharing this. I laughed so hard.

[GulDukat]

Godfather III was pretty good.

[SM Rollinger]

Godfather III was pretty good.

It's been a long time since I've seen it, maybe I'll have to go back and give it another shot.

[marodi]

To Live and Die in L.A. > Heat

[fillow]

Of course Godfather III is good. Being not-as-good as I and II doesn't make it bad.

[GulDukat]

Of course Godfather III is good. Being not-as-good as I and II doesn't make it bad.

Love this scene, around the 2:50 mark:

[cahernandez]

ha, yes I saw that in a NIN thread, read it and it inspired this general post about Tom Hooper. I wonder if Cats will become a cult classic because how they persuaded so many famous people to appear in it is beyond me.

First things first: Why the hell did you do this?
As a masochistic connoisseur of bad cinema, I knew since the Cats trailer came out that I needed to see this hideous disaster, in a theater, and very high.

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2020/01...s-and-saw-cats

[theimage13]

I don't know if this is actually a controversial opinion or not, but holy fuck was Once Upon A Time in Hollywood boring as all get out. Tried watching it with my dad recently and for the first time in my life he gave up on it part way through and just shrugged. And yet it cleaned up at the awards last night....why??

[GulDukat]

I don't know if this is actually a controversial opinion or not, but holy fuck was Once Upon A Time in Hollywood boring as all get out. Tried watching it with my dad recently and for the first time in my life he gave up on it part way through and just shrugged. And yet it cleaned up at the awards last night....why??

It is a slow burn, but no time was wasted, IMHO. I loved sucking up the visuals, dialog, music, etc. Great film, but I have heard others echo what you say.

[GulDukat]

American Hustle was overrated.

[bobbie solo]

No arugument there. So is Silver Linings Playbook for that matter. In fact, that movie is kinda trash depending how you look at it.