I watched two films this weekend, and there couldn't be a bigger budgetary discrepancy between the two.
The first was Wicked. The long awaited film adaptation of the broadway smash hit.
Look, I'm going to be up front. I have some bias against this one because back in the day I had a very serious girlfriend who was way too into this and made me listen to the soundtrack on the regular. I have some ill feelings towards her and therefore this movie.
However...
It was very cinematic in the way you hope for a big movie to be. It hit all the notes of a big budget production in terms of set design, cinematography, costume work etc.
I also think the actors chosen were quite astute picks, as they regularly embody the roles without any effort or struggle.
and yet...there are criticisms.
Grande, even though she has the aesthetic and mannerisms of the perfect G(a)linda, when you see her in closeups you may as well be looking at a robot. It's eerie and uncomfortable that she has no discernable human expression.
On the other hand, Cynthia Erivo is very human and emotional throughout, perhaps to a fault. She's sort of the bleeding heart of the story, and it doesn't always ring entirely true how angry and upset she gets...but it does serve the plot.
Which is a weird one involving animals who are losing the power to speak? I sort of enjoyed the allegory of it, but it was pretty heavy handed at times.
This takes us to the Wizard, played by Jeff Goldblum, and I think he's a masterful choice. He's aloof, cold, and a bit of a charlatan. He's perfect.
The best part of the film is the crescendo at the end when Elphaba makes her transition into the strong, yet dangerous, wicked witch. I'm not going to lie, I was bored throughout, but that ending had me welling up in tears. It's incredible filmwork, coupled with some great performances.I just hope they can follow it up with a good part 2.
But overall, it's quite long, and is really not that interesting. I think the fans of the broadway show will love it, but everyone else will be left wanting.
7.5/10
Then I followed that up with a viewing of A Real Pain; a film written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg.
This is a very, very small budget movie about two cousins who go on a holocaust tour in the spirit of their grandmother, who was a holocaust survivor, who recently passed and gave them the money to do the tour as part of her will.
This is a relatively short film, but it packs a lot of humanity into it's short run time. The tour opens up the souls of these two loving, but estranged, cousins who have to reconcile who they were and are now as people. The backdrop of traveling through Europe on a holocaust tour provides enough inflection points for these two characters to come to grips with their past and their future. There is a lot of heart in this film, and even though not a lot happens as a plot, there is still something authentic left in the viewer after watching this. A deeper sense of the human condition, or something like that. An understanding of suffering that is universal, and yet still unique to each individual.
It's a movie that doesn't beg for attention, yet the performances, especially from Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg, are really worth noting. It's a film I heartily recommend, even though it isn't life altering or earth-shattering. It's just a deeply honest and true film about people and their experience, and that is hard to find these days.
9/10.
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A little Cliff Clavenesque tidbit, the band member who delivers the line which prompts Alice's reply is Pete Friesen from Saskatoon, SK. Alice's guitar player off and on for around 5 years.
Pete: In fact, isn't "Milwaukee" an Indian name? Alice Cooper: Yes, Pete, it is. Actually, it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."
I can't even comprehend how Wicked has a 97% popcorn meter given the atrocious, overlong trailers that were an assault on the senses and not particularly captivating, outside of visuals.
I was mildly intrigued after the first trailer I saw. Each subsequent viewing and triailer made me hate everything about the movie without having watched it.
But I'll admit the real possibility that I could be wrong.
I'm rewatching Sam Raimi's Darkman. While it's fun and ridiculous and Liam Neeson is good in it... It's absolutely absurd the studio wouldn't let Bruce Campbell play the lead.
That man should have had a superstar career in the 90s. Handsome, charismatic, super funny, and a good enough actor for serious roles. He should have been everywhere like Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves were.
Last edited by AC; 11-26-2024 at 11:02 PM.
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I can't even comprehend how Wicked has a 97% popcorn meter given the atrocious, overlong trailers that were an assault on the senses and not particularly captivating, outside of visuals.
I was mildly intrigued after the first trailer I saw. Each subsequent viewing and triailer made me hate everything about the movie without having watched it.
But I'll admit the real possibility that I could be wrong.
You're not wrong. I saw it on Monday. It totally fkn sucks. Hated it.
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I just go to garbage like that so I can read posts like this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
I watched two films this weekend, and there couldn't be a bigger budgetary discrepancy between the two.
The first was Wicked. The long awaited film adaptation of the broadway smash hit.
Look, I'm going to be up front. I have some bias against this one because back in the day I had a very serious girlfriend who was way too into this and made me listen to the soundtrack on the regular. I have some ill feelings towards her and therefore this movie.
However...
It was very cinematic in the way you hope for a big movie to be. It hit all the notes of a big budget production in terms of set design, cinematography, costume work etc.
I also think the actors chosen were quite astute picks, as they regularly embody the roles without any effort or struggle.
and yet...there are criticisms.
Grande, even though she has the aesthetic and mannerisms of the perfect G(a)linda, when you see her in closeups you may as well be looking at a robot. It's eerie and uncomfortable that she has no discernable human expression.
On the other hand, Cynthia Erivo is very human and emotional throughout, perhaps to a fault. She's sort of the bleeding heart of the story, and it doesn't always ring entirely true how angry and upset she gets...but it does serve the plot.
Which is a weird one involving animals who are losing the power to speak? I sort of enjoyed the allegory of it, but it was pretty heavy handed at times.
This takes us to the Wizard, played by Jeff Goldblum, and I think he's a masterful choice. He's aloof, cold, and a bit of a charlatan. He's perfect.
The best part of the film is the crescendo at the end when Elphaba makes her transition into the strong, yet dangerous, wicked witch. I'm not going to lie, I was bored throughout, but that ending had me welling up in tears. It's incredible filmwork, coupled with some great performances.I just hope they can follow it up with a good part 2.
But overall, it's quite long, and is really not that interesting. I think the fans of the broadway show will love it, but everyone else will be left wanting.
7.5/10
...and cringe all over again.
It's a two-fer. I get to hate the movie and I get to hate people writing posts like this so I can hate those, too. As a hater, this type of movie is perfection for me.
I actually found some footage of Cali writing this review that I'd like to share:
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You guys have me all confused talking about Gladiator. Everyone knows when you are talking about Gladiator its this movie that should be what you are referring to not that silly roman movie.
I can't even comprehend how Wicked has a 97% popcorn meter given the atrocious, overlong trailers that were an assault on the senses and not particularly captivating, outside of visuals.
I was mildly intrigued after the first trailer I saw. Each subsequent viewing and triailer made me hate everything about the movie without having watched it.
But I'll admit the real possibility that I could be wrong.
When Wicked first came out, the idea of taking an existing story and "subverting" people's expectations by making the villain to be the hero or vice versa was pretty novel. Now it's been done too many times and Wicked just comes off a bit preachy.
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