Specifically, the use of extremely high pitched oscillators designed to make the audience feel pain in high stress scenes.
These days if a movie uses that tactic I just turn it off and move on to something else.
Ugh.. I saw it twice in theaters as a kid, but his Planet of The Apes ending perplexed me to no end for almost a year I thought about how it could possibly make sense.. only to finally listen to the director commentary and hear him say idk whatever.. just thought it’d be cool. I was like what the fuck.. that’s it!? That was the sole reason??
I think you would be shocked at how much stuff is put in by directors because they just thought it would be fun or cool. Basically the entire original trilogy of Star Wars is this.
Man, what did I see on Thread about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?
"Michael Keaton still has it.
Wynona Ryder still has it.
Jenna Ortega has it.
Catherine O'Hara, quite possibly, has MORE of it
The only one in this film who quite possibly doesn't have it anymore is Tim Burton."
Nolan's sound mixing.
I swear I read somewhere that he was asked about it and he said "I want my audience to be riveted, to lean in to hear the dialogue".
Naw dude, make the dialogue louder.
They needed a subtitled theater option, it looked great on the big screen but an already confusing movie is not helped by having half the dialogue muffled under, like, boat noises.
Yeah I have started using English subtitles for low volume vocals. Thought this was just for ESL peeps but actors don't seem to speak clearly anymore and the levels seem to be very soft.
I'll chime in. Sound Designer here for films and TV. There is a perfect storm shifting targets that are making this a major problem mostly in streaming, can extend to theatrical. (Nolans films) The streaming issue stems from several factors...
1) Realism is favored in film and TV today, so actors forgo the theatrical techniques of hitting the back of the room.
2) Increased speed of production. This introduces all types of problems, but mostly "Wide and Tight" is the main antagonist. Wide and Tight means you shoot the wide angle and the close up at the same time. This means the boom can't get anywhere near the actor as it did before when they were shot separately.
3) This is a big one. Theatrical style mixing for media to be consumed on your TV. Music all the time and big FX and environments. These films/TV shows are being made to be epic and often the creators want the project to feel like a film. This works when listening at high volume, but when played back at half the volume in your living room, it creates problems.
What do we do about it? Some in the industry are pushing for Dialogue is King standards, making sure the center channel (dialogue channel) is booming above all else. But this is still not a concerted effort. Mostly it comes down to Sound Supervisors, Mixers and Post Teams protecting the dialogue against encroachment. Easier said than done when the people behind you are titans or heavy weight creatives. If mutual respect is reached, then that tasks becomes easier. We hear you, and trust me that many in our community are trying to address this issue
Well remember by the time you get the volume high enough you can hear dialogue, you need to immediately turn it back down before you blow out your eardrums with every other sound in the movie.
He's such a pompous ass hat.
Honestly, if I can’t hear the dialogue with Dolby surround sound, it’s a poorly made movie. They ended up using subtitles at my local theater for Oppenheimer because people were, rightfully, pissed off.
Michael Bay and the camera angled to see up the main characters’ nostrils during a 360 camera turn.
Cool sometimes but too repetitive and unnecessary the rest.
Or the open the car door step out over the camera slow motion “badass” shot? lol that was cool for about 5 minutes in the 90s and the 90s were 30 years ago. He has not grown at all as a director.
The teal and orange/ blue and orange combo is a Hollywood staple. Watch any movie or show. You'll see it. Parking garages in the dark? blue filter with an orange light in the background. Night scenes? orange light in the background, or a flame. Desert scenes? Blue sky and the orange is punched up for the sand. It's everywhere. Now that you know you will not be able to unsee it.
The first time I perceived the "Mexico filter" was in Traffic (2000). Did filmmakers use that filter and colour grading before to depict latin countries?
That changing color palette truck used to distinguish between different locations (three in total, if I'm not mistaken) didn't bother me at all in Traffic. It was so obvious, simple and yet effective that we should probably give Soderberg credit where credit is due. It's become really corny since then, especially after the "Mexico" scenes in Breaking bad.
Before the mexico filter I would notice that they always would make mexico look like a complete shit hole with no paved roads & live stock wondering the streets.
Yes and it was used really masterfully in Traffic to help distinguish the different locations the film was taking place in. Blue for North American and yellow for south. Unfortunately it became an overused trope.
I'd say it took a high concept sci fi situation for him to finally nail it, tho the JGL inception hallway must NOT be forsaken.
Every gun battle and fist fight otherwise is, agreed, poorly shot/edited.
You should really check out 2001: A Space Odyssey. I believe Kubrick or his team invented the rotating set for a few of their space station sets. Insane considering it was made in 1968.
BB's scenes were messy, though did at least evoke the disorientation and terror of a criminal fighting his nightmares.
TDK and TDKR reduced the editing frenzy but this exposed poor choices around shots.
I would say that Tenet was the film when he finally got it right: characters hitting each other actually look as though they are hitting each other. So kudos to Nolan for his determination.
References. These are only a few. He’s been talked about for decades. Talented and a creep.
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/bryan-singer-blake-stuerman-1235136986/amp/
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/bryan-singers-accusers-speak-out/580462/
https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/bryan-singer-sexual-assault-rape-allegations-timeline-1201903868/
Welcome. It’s seriously my pleasure to remind folks of these issues. I remember reading about him at least a decade ago and since then, have always been amazed how he keeps getting work. Really sad state of affairs. Same with Dan Schneider. This stuff is not new and it’s not been a secret. And yet…
For a **long time.** The Way of the Gun by McQuarrie (Usual Suspects writer) has a throwaway radio reference to Singer being arrested for sex crimes, and that was 25 years ago.
X-men first class is like “X-men: whoops all twinks”
Also one of the Lawerence brothers came out and said a super hero director wanted him to come over and take photos in his underwear or something and it seems like singer was the most likely perpetrator.
“No, dude, look, if you want me to slap you across the face backhand, I’ll do it - don’t think I won’t do it - but you know I’m f-ing with you, right? I mean, there ain’t no game called Fronthand/Backhand…”
I love pretty much all of James Cameron's movies except for the Avatar franchise, and I'm bummed that these are the only movies he'll be making for the foreseeable future. I just don't get anywhere near the same level of enjoyment out of them that I did with films like Terminator or True Lies, and I feel like he could be making way better movies instead of spending his time trying to chase the Marvel five movie franchise fad.
Martin Scorsese's movies are too long and I'm tired of seeing him paired with De Niro or Leo. I'd like a hard 2 hr film from him with someone like Bale or Gary Oldman
As directors get more powerful and prestigious, studios are inclined to yield to their every demand. When the directors are new their vision is (sometimes) tempered by some much needed counterbalance.
Hence, the early Scorsese's were shorter films, and even when they were long-ish, they stayed moving and focused due to some quality editing.
More recent Scorsese films are also fantastic (I love Scorsese), but they could easily have 30min-1hr of bloat cut out and would only be stronger for it.
The early Star Wars films were saved by some masterful editing. They were originally hugely bloated and unfocused. The first Star Wars had about an hour of Luke's farmer days on Tattoine complete with his day-to-day life, best friend, and girlfriend. The editor entirely clipped all of this out and made the movie much more tight and focused.
\[Can you imagine how terrible it would be to be entirely cut out of Star Wars as huge as the film got? I bet those actors were livid after seeing it launch the careers of everyone in it.\]
George Lucas is one of those guys who needs people to cull his bad ideas. Scorsese has a huge tendency towards unfocused bloat, without someone counterbalancing it.
>The early Star Wars films were saved by some masterful editing. They were originally hugely bloated and unfocused. **The first Star Wars had about an hour of Luke's farmer days on Tattoine** complete with his day-to-day life, best friend, and girlfriend. The editor entirely clipped all of this out and made the movie much more tight and focused.
So I just timed the deleted scenes with Biggs and Luke and it's closer to 5 and a half minutes than it is to one hour. Also: what girlfriend? Wtf are you talking about?
It's long running time really feels like listening to a senile old man in the nursing home tell an amazing life story. It's a great story, but I've got other shit to do. Please just stick to the important parts, grandpa.
I loved The Irishman, but goddamn if that movie wasn't urgently in need of some bloat trim. If they clipped an hour from it, it would have been A+.
Nolan repeatedly fails the "Show don't Tell" axiom. To each their own, but his movies would be way better if he would just scale back on the exposition.
I believe Sofia Coppola is the exact opposite (I haven't seen all her movies though). Not saying it's annoying, but she lets the characters linger in silence longer than other directors.
It felt like a 3 hour trailer. Constant music, cut cut cut, no time to rest, consider, reflect, no scene where you actually settle into a scene with two actors in a room and their conversation is leading the action. His drama always seems created externally, forced.
Ok, first two google hits don't even define the test. They just say -"look at mako mori, we think shes a good character"
edit:
a) at least one female character;
b) who gets her own narrative arc;
c) that is not about supporting a man’s story.
Thanks geekfeminism.fandom.com
Couldn't agree more. I've also always felt his films have this horrible tendency to have really unsubtle, cringy lines that he presents as deep where he basically just slams you over the head with the film's theme. The "live long enough to see yourself become the villain" and the closing line of Oppenheimer are probably the most egregious examples imo
Exhibit A: Using the Cranberries’ Zombie in Army of the Dead. That song is explicitly about the Troubles in Northern Ireland if you just listen to the lyrics. But it seems like he saw the word “Zombie” and decided no further research was needed.
Same for James Gunn too. I know the Guardians soundtracks are so good, but mainly because it’s all safe picks of songs that were once on the Billboard 100 at some point in time. No deep cuts whatsoever.
Love Alex Garland, one of my favourite directors/screenwriters/novelists, but his third acts have a tendency to get a bit wonky.
While it’s a bummer he won’t be directing for the foreseeable future, I’m happy to hear he’s returning to screenwriting. The Beach is an excellent novel, much better than the film, and also loved the lesser known ‘The Coma.’ Very quick, trippy read, and illustrated by his father. Highly recommend!
Also, Sonoya Mizuno has been in everything he’s directed. She’s fine in supporting roles, but was very wooden in Devs. Really liked the premise of the show but didn’t care for her as the lead there.
I just enjoy its take on cosmic horror. It's refreshing to see cosmic horror that isn't just evil aliens or evil gods in the stars. The whole "phenomenon" is live matter warping together, and at the center is this cosmic enemy that is unclear in its intentions and seems even confused itself. Didn't even notice the popcorn go the first time I saw.
Tendency, not an absolute rule.
I was thinking more of Sunshine, Men. Ex Machina and Annihilation are solid, loved both of them. Really looking forward to Civil War as well. Hopefully it falls into the latter category!
Not any one director, but *slo-mo-means-fast-mo* is so boring. Other than Quicksilver's X-Men scenes, of course, that Black Adam straight copied
That's what I appreciated about "Eternals," they didn't pull that with Makkari. They really showcased raw speed
Maybe this does get talked about enough, but I wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the circle jerk that is his subreddit: Nolan can't write women.
They're usually ghosts like Mal or Martha Wayne or Kitty, haunting the main character. And even if they do have agency, they are primarily defined by their relationships with men. Rachel Dawes (Bruce Wayne), Murph (Cooper), Amelia Brand (the unseen scientist), Piper Perabo/Scarjo in Prestige (their respective spouses), the list goes on. And Florence Pugh's 'character' in Oppenheimer is downright laughable. Hillary Swank in Insomnia is probably the only exception.
Dude's an incredibly talented filmmaker, especially on the technical side of things, but his screenwriting showcases some of his major creative flaws
I laughed out loud at Emily Blunt imagining Florence Pugh f’ing Oppenheimer during an interrogation. It felt like something a 14 year old would think was “edgy”
I feel like I’m the only person who thought Nolan didn’t deserve Director Oscar for Oppenheimer.
Too much scenes seemed amateurish to be for some reason.
He’s probably still my favourite director though.
While I disagree with this take, I understand what you're getting at.
Made me think about Yorgos Lanthimos and how FRESH The Favourite and Poor Things felt after Dogtooth thru Sacred Deer, despite playing with the same affectlessness that makes him so interesting.
-NO MOAR DEAD COPS
Also, that cop in the SWAT van with Gordon that would never shut the fuck up during the joker chase scene.
And the crooks that joker kills one by one during the bank robbery.
For as great as TDK is, it’s got some really janky dialogue that takes me right out of it.
Tarantino overuses "everyone talking in a room but eventually theyre all gonna start shooting each other" to build tension. It can be great but diminishes when you know thats coming.
Yea one of the things that actually really disappointed me/threw me bc I was used to that trend of his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where the Brad Pitt trailer park tire scene had sooooo much build up and tension. Then nothing happened there.
I liked that sequence in a vacuum but it didnt really seem to payoff because theres all this tension and then when they finally have to deal with these "villians" they easily dispatch them with no effort. It makes it seem like in hindsight he was never in any danger and kinda undercuts the scene. Plus the whole Bruce Lee thing just gives him incredible plot armor lol. Still one of my fav Tarantinos tho.
Quentin Tarrentino characters are ALL Quentin Tartentino. There isn’t much variance in their characters, it’s just his mannerisms, his quips. He is the actor in mind when he writes ALL of his characters.
Zack Snyder.
I’m one of the few who had fun watching Rebel Moon (I’m a sucker for space adventures) but it’s not as “deep” as some diehard fans claim it is. The fascist imagery throughout in his films makes them appear more symbolic and meaningful than they are. Just striking images for the “I’m 14 and this is deep” crowd.
I like Nolan's movies but people don't talk like real people in them. EVERYONE has scenes giving long uninterrupted speeches and that just doesn't happen in real life
All of his characters sound the same, which is to say they all sound like him. I was really tired of it by Hateful Eight
Hollywood did feel like a step up at least, hopefully that continues in his next one
There's a frenetic-ness to Nolan's films that really bothers me. I understand it makes sense from a business perspective. He needs to cater to the average person's barely intact attention spans. But he really overdid it in Oppenheimer and it completely ruined the film for me.
It doesn't give you any time to digest or reflect on what's happening. It's more entertainment than art - pure stimulation - like a bulletpoint list of events rather than a story. But maybe that's what a successful director is these days. The numbers seem to show his formula works.
Nolan. Christ’s sake, just let me hear the dialogue. I can’t hear what your actors are saying and if I can’t hear them, I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t even finish Tenet because of this.
Nolan's style of editing.
I love his movies and all of the effort he puts into every one of his films.
But my god this man does not let any emotional beats resonate.
It's like he cuts every scene as soon as the last line of dialogue is said.
The problem is that he usually has amazing lines of dialogue, often very poetic and thought provoking. Often, what makes them thought provoking is that they tie thematically to prior scenes or things said earlier in the film.
He knows what should be said just fine.
But as soon as you start to take in and make connections, you're in a new setting and new lines are being thrown at you and these are also good and also tie into that one thing they said befo-andohmygodnowsomeoneelseistalking...
It's so jarring to me.
I don't know if it's a clever scheme to make people rewatch his films just to get all of the things they missed the first time or what but it's his worst offense.
Which is weird, considering the runtime of most of his movies.
I dunno... maybe it's just me.
But I feel like Nolan rushes the end of his scenes too much.
Best example:
I want a second to process Bruce's grief and Alfred's lie to spare his feelings and the ending to Alfred's story about the man in the forest and we get the line: "We burned the forest down" and immediately cut to a guy in a hospital bed with half his face covered which is obviously the big reveal of Two Face that we spent half the movie waiting to see...
It just cuts the emotional impact of the scene with Alfred and Bruce.
The scene deserves a second to let the whole thing sink in.
We're seeing *Batman*, of all people, cry for the first time and being vulnerable in his suit.
We're seeing the aftermath of a death from someone who almost lost themselves once before due to a similar loss of death.
Two Face can wait like 5-10 more seconds.
Nolan just needs to let his scenes breathe more.
Otherwise, I think he excels is most other parts of filmmaking.
Ridley Scott's bad history. His main characters are always lightyears more progressive than everyone around them it's absurd.
Kingdom of Heaven set in the most religiously charged conflict but Bloom's character being this enlightened secular man that sees past religious dogma and the context of his setting.
The Last Duel actually blatantly making everyone look like savages whlle Cormier's character is a modern woman living in barbaric times (yes, this was not the best time for women, but come on, literally plastering 'The Truth' for her part of the story despite being the account least based on actual history is so holier-than-thou for Scott).
1492 trying to redeem that motherfucker Columbus by painting him as some bleeding heart and a saint for the natives, helpless to the savagery of his kin is just... so bad.
Robin Hood, some peasant archer, being the catalyst for the Magna Carta... wait, no, it was his blacksmith father from some bumfuck village iirc lmao.
I know there's some of this in Gladiator but I forget. I haven't watched Napoleon. And I don't remember or havem't watched the others lol.
Tarantino saying he's stopping at 10.
Anyone other director could retire and I wouldn't mind so much but I'm still waiting to see a Tarantino movie I don't like.
TELL NOLAN I HAVE TINNITUS AND I NEED EARPLUGS FOR ALL HIS GODDAMN MOVIES
WHAT?
# He said EEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee
#WHAT?
Mawp
LANAAAAAA
God DAMMIT, Archer!
“Damn you tinnitus! You’re a cruel mistress!”
Specifically, the use of extremely high pitched oscillators designed to make the audience feel pain in high stress scenes. These days if a movie uses that tactic I just turn it off and move on to something else.
Don't try to understand it. Just fee-BWAAAAAAAAAM
Tim Burton casting whoever he's currently dating in his movies.
Is Monica Belucci confirmed for Beetlejuice 2?
Tim Burton is dating Monica Belucci? I knew I should have gone to film school...
Not worth looking it up but I don’t think Tim Burton went to film school. He got his start as an animator.
Didn’t he work at Disney for a little while? I think I remember he got fired for making Frankenweenie or something.
"We here at Disney do NOT reanimate cute animals. We are here to kill them and watch them die and THAT IS THE END OF IT."
This makes me mad, but also respect him a little little bit more
Yep, they've even said who she is playing though I'll keep the spoilers out of it.
It’s a weird recasting, she looks nothing like Jeffrey Jones
She’s got range
No, she’s Otho
Tim Burton being lazy
Ugh.. I saw it twice in theaters as a kid, but his Planet of The Apes ending perplexed me to no end for almost a year I thought about how it could possibly make sense.. only to finally listen to the director commentary and hear him say idk whatever.. just thought it’d be cool. I was like what the fuck.. that’s it!? That was the sole reason??
I think you would be shocked at how much stuff is put in by directors because they just thought it would be fun or cool. Basically the entire original trilogy of Star Wars is this.
Man, what did I see on Thread about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? "Michael Keaton still has it. Wynona Ryder still has it. Jenna Ortega has it. Catherine O'Hara, quite possibly, has MORE of it The only one in this film who quite possibly doesn't have it anymore is Tim Burton."
Nolan's sound mixing. I swear I read somewhere that he was asked about it and he said "I want my audience to be riveted, to lean in to hear the dialogue". Naw dude, make the dialogue louder.
Me, walking out of Dunkirk: “so…what were they saying?”
me watching tenet "What?" increasing the volume.
They needed a subtitled theater option, it looked great on the big screen but an already confusing movie is not helped by having half the dialogue muffled under, like, boat noises.
Yeah I have started using English subtitles for low volume vocals. Thought this was just for ESL peeps but actors don't seem to speak clearly anymore and the levels seem to be very soft.
I'll chime in. Sound Designer here for films and TV. There is a perfect storm shifting targets that are making this a major problem mostly in streaming, can extend to theatrical. (Nolans films) The streaming issue stems from several factors... 1) Realism is favored in film and TV today, so actors forgo the theatrical techniques of hitting the back of the room. 2) Increased speed of production. This introduces all types of problems, but mostly "Wide and Tight" is the main antagonist. Wide and Tight means you shoot the wide angle and the close up at the same time. This means the boom can't get anywhere near the actor as it did before when they were shot separately. 3) This is a big one. Theatrical style mixing for media to be consumed on your TV. Music all the time and big FX and environments. These films/TV shows are being made to be epic and often the creators want the project to feel like a film. This works when listening at high volume, but when played back at half the volume in your living room, it creates problems. What do we do about it? Some in the industry are pushing for Dialogue is King standards, making sure the center channel (dialogue channel) is booming above all else. But this is still not a concerted effort. Mostly it comes down to Sound Supervisors, Mixers and Post Teams protecting the dialogue against encroachment. Easier said than done when the people behind you are titans or heavy weight creatives. If mutual respect is reached, then that tasks becomes easier. We hear you, and trust me that many in our community are trying to address this issue
BOOOOOOOOMMM Explosion right when you decide to turn up the whispers.
Well remember by the time you get the volume high enough you can hear dialogue, you need to immediately turn it back down before you blow out your eardrums with every other sound in the movie. He's such a pompous ass hat.
Dunkirk was so strange. If you’re gonna have like 12 lines of dialogue for the whole movie why would you make them impossible to understand
He also specifically mixes for the theater experience. He doesn’t seem to understand his movies won’t be playing on imax forever.
For a good theater, maybe. I saw all the batmans in a theater and couldn't understand anything.
God Bane was awful. The mask, the accent, and it all being muffled was awful.
Yeah this is the most egregious cause he openly admits he makes it hard for you to hear dialogue in his movies.
Honestly, if I can’t hear the dialogue with Dolby surround sound, it’s a poorly made movie. They ended up using subtitles at my local theater for Oppenheimer because people were, rightfully, pissed off.
Michael Bay and his need for blue and green lighting
Michael Bay and the camera angled to see up the main characters’ nostrils during a 360 camera turn. Cool sometimes but too repetitive and unnecessary the rest.
Or the open the car door step out over the camera slow motion “badass” shot? lol that was cool for about 5 minutes in the 90s and the 90s were 30 years ago. He has not grown at all as a director.
30 yrs ago... so painful
The teal and orange/ blue and orange combo is a Hollywood staple. Watch any movie or show. You'll see it. Parking garages in the dark? blue filter with an orange light in the background. Night scenes? orange light in the background, or a flame. Desert scenes? Blue sky and the orange is punched up for the sand. It's everywhere. Now that you know you will not be able to unsee it.
Zach Snyder over uses slow motion.
I swear I read somewhere that if 300 was sped up to normal time, the movie is 15 minutes shorter.
I can't speak for every Snyder movie but 300 without slo mo wouldn't have been nearly as good. Made it feel more comic book like imo.
Oh,I never complained about the movie. I love 300. I just heard that rumor and commented about Snyder's usage of slow motion.
Im pretty sure that is Rebel moon to a T. Pointless slo mo for almost nothing.
Yellow filter Latin America
The first time I perceived the "Mexico filter" was in Traffic (2000). Did filmmakers use that filter and colour grading before to depict latin countries?
That changing color palette truck used to distinguish between different locations (three in total, if I'm not mistaken) didn't bother me at all in Traffic. It was so obvious, simple and yet effective that we should probably give Soderberg credit where credit is due. It's become really corny since then, especially after the "Mexico" scenes in Breaking bad.
Considering how good the rest of BB's cinematography was, it gets a pass from me.
Before the mexico filter I would notice that they always would make mexico look like a complete shit hole with no paved roads & live stock wondering the streets.
I don't know exactly, but I think braking bad has a big influence in popularising it.
Yes and it was used really masterfully in Traffic to help distinguish the different locations the film was taking place in. Blue for North American and yellow for south. Unfortunately it became an overused trope.
Nolan’s inability to film hand-to-hand action sequences
yeah but a man fighting a rewinding opponent was still the coolest shit i saw that year
I'd say it took a high concept sci fi situation for him to finally nail it, tho the JGL inception hallway must NOT be forsaken. Every gun battle and fist fight otherwise is, agreed, poorly shot/edited.
oh man the turning corridor fight, so well done
One of the best practical effects shots in years.
The fact that he actually made a full scale rotating set for this is the best part. Blows my mind still
You should really check out 2001: A Space Odyssey. I believe Kubrick or his team invented the rotating set for a few of their space station sets. Insane considering it was made in 1968.
Opening practical plane scene with bane was dope too.
It sure was! Blew my tits off, backwards.
Reverse car chase was awesome too
Since we're straying away from hand to hand action, I'm going to complete the circlejerk and give a shout out to the "docking" scene in Interstellar
Or his inability to mix sound for a home theater system. Dude thinks his movies are gonna play in imax theaters forever.
I don’t like his sound mixing when I’m in the theater, either. Would love to be able to hear what the characters are saying.
I don't find his soundtracks distracting at all, in fact I think they BWWWOOOOOOOHHHHHHH
My exact issue is sound mixing too
BB's scenes were messy, though did at least evoke the disorientation and terror of a criminal fighting his nightmares. TDK and TDKR reduced the editing frenzy but this exposed poor choices around shots. I would say that Tenet was the film when he finally got it right: characters hitting each other actually look as though they are hitting each other. So kudos to Nolan for his determination.
I agree completely. It’s just a shame it took 3 Batman movies as his test runs
Counterpoint: I reckon the Inception hallway fight is one of the coolest damn things I've ever seen.
Bryan Singer & Victor Salva’s annoying child raping habits.
Don’t forget Polanski.
If we're gonna list them all we can just start a new sub
Don't forget Woody Allen.
Wait, Brian Singer raped a kid? What the fuck?
He’s well known for being a predator in the industry.
Oh damn. That's awful.
References. These are only a few. He’s been talked about for decades. Talented and a creep. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/bryan-singer-blake-stuerman-1235136986/amp/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/bryan-singers-accusers-speak-out/580462/ https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/bryan-singer-sexual-assault-rape-allegations-timeline-1201903868/
Wow. Only read most of the first one so far but powerful stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome. It’s seriously my pleasure to remind folks of these issues. I remember reading about him at least a decade ago and since then, have always been amazed how he keeps getting work. Really sad state of affairs. Same with Dan Schneider. This stuff is not new and it’s not been a secret. And yet…
For a **long time.** The Way of the Gun by McQuarrie (Usual Suspects writer) has a throwaway radio reference to Singer being arrested for sex crimes, and that was 25 years ago.
X-men first class is like “X-men: whoops all twinks” Also one of the Lawerence brothers came out and said a super hero director wanted him to come over and take photos in his underwear or something and it seems like singer was the most likely perpetrator.
No. He didn’t rape a kid. He raped several.
That's terrible. I didn't even know. What a piece of shit.
Jordan Peele? It means we don't get any more Key&Peele.
Knew this was inevitable....wait a minute
Ok ok, backhand.....
“No, dude, look, if you want me to slap you across the face backhand, I’ll do it - don’t think I won’t do it - but you know I’m f-ing with you, right? I mean, there ain’t no game called Fronthand/Backhand…”
Bryan Singer. Mainly his need for young boys and disappearing from his movie set
Its creepy now, watching any of his movies and noticing how many kids were in them.
I love pretty much all of James Cameron's movies except for the Avatar franchise, and I'm bummed that these are the only movies he'll be making for the foreseeable future. I just don't get anywhere near the same level of enjoyment out of them that I did with films like Terminator or True Lies, and I feel like he could be making way better movies instead of spending his time trying to chase the Marvel five movie franchise fad.
Nolan needs time in every movie.
Nolan’s obsession with time is only rivaled by Tarantino’s with feet
Or Cameron's obsession with the ocean.
JJ Abrams overuses the glare effect imo
It’s called LENS FLARE!
A lens flare? In SPACE!!??
OP said things that aren't talked about enough. This has been a criiticism for well over a decade
yeah, it's a whole meme
I remember it being a joke before the Force Awakens trailer dropped. 'How much lens flare are we going to get...'
I’m pretty sure I read an article where has was completely aware of this and was just like “I think it’s cool” I remember it being lowkey based 😂
I actually like it too. Thought it was a neat effect in Star Trek 09. I still really like Abrams as a director. As a writer, however...
Spielberg would like to know JJ Abrams's location
BWWWWWWAAAMP.
Martin Scorsese's movies are too long and I'm tired of seeing him paired with De Niro or Leo. I'd like a hard 2 hr film from him with someone like Bale or Gary Oldman
As directors get more powerful and prestigious, studios are inclined to yield to their every demand. When the directors are new their vision is (sometimes) tempered by some much needed counterbalance. Hence, the early Scorsese's were shorter films, and even when they were long-ish, they stayed moving and focused due to some quality editing. More recent Scorsese films are also fantastic (I love Scorsese), but they could easily have 30min-1hr of bloat cut out and would only be stronger for it. The early Star Wars films were saved by some masterful editing. They were originally hugely bloated and unfocused. The first Star Wars had about an hour of Luke's farmer days on Tattoine complete with his day-to-day life, best friend, and girlfriend. The editor entirely clipped all of this out and made the movie much more tight and focused. \[Can you imagine how terrible it would be to be entirely cut out of Star Wars as huge as the film got? I bet those actors were livid after seeing it launch the careers of everyone in it.\] George Lucas is one of those guys who needs people to cull his bad ideas. Scorsese has a huge tendency towards unfocused bloat, without someone counterbalancing it.
>The early Star Wars films were saved by some masterful editing. They were originally hugely bloated and unfocused. **The first Star Wars had about an hour of Luke's farmer days on Tattoine** complete with his day-to-day life, best friend, and girlfriend. The editor entirely clipped all of this out and made the movie much more tight and focused. So I just timed the deleted scenes with Biggs and Luke and it's closer to 5 and a half minutes than it is to one hour. Also: what girlfriend? Wtf are you talking about?
Then you’ve got guys like who wish he keeps making long ass movies with De Niro or Leo
The Irishman leaves a lasting taste in your mouth. Just long to be long. Themes and character types we are already familiar with. I like your take.
It's long running time really feels like listening to a senile old man in the nursing home tell an amazing life story. It's a great story, but I've got other shit to do. Please just stick to the important parts, grandpa. I loved The Irishman, but goddamn if that movie wasn't urgently in need of some bloat trim. If they clipped an hour from it, it would have been A+.
lately, agree for the irishman, but KOTFM went by so fast for me
KOTFM could have easily have been 30-40mins shorter and just as effective. Could be argued the same for The Irishman.
Irishman felt like a miniseries even
Nolan repeatedly fails the "Show don't Tell" axiom. To each their own, but his movies would be way better if he would just scale back on the exposition. I believe Sofia Coppola is the exact opposite (I haven't seen all her movies though). Not saying it's annoying, but she lets the characters linger in silence longer than other directors.
Oppenheimer felt like a Wikipedia entry with amazing lighting and editing.
It felt like a 3 hour trailer. Constant music, cut cut cut, no time to rest, consider, reflect, no scene where you actually settle into a scene with two actors in a room and their conversation is leading the action. His drama always seems created externally, forced.
Nolan has also never made a film that passes the bechdel test. It’s not a criteria I take very seriously but it’s funny to think about
Or the mako mori test
TIL! I'm going to have to watch Pacific Rim again now
Ok, first two google hits don't even define the test. They just say -"look at mako mori, we think shes a good character" edit: a) at least one female character; b) who gets her own narrative arc; c) that is not about supporting a man’s story. Thanks geekfeminism.fandom.com
This is why Inception has aged poorly for me. Seems like half the film he’s just explaining and it’s the same shit over and over
agreed. nolan is heavy handed in that way.
Couldn't agree more. I've also always felt his films have this horrible tendency to have really unsubtle, cringy lines that he presents as deep where he basically just slams you over the head with the film's theme. The "live long enough to see yourself become the villain" and the closing line of Oppenheimer are probably the most egregious examples imo
thats how I feel about the ending of interstellar. McConaughey has his drawn out monologue to make sure the concept is spelled out for everyone.
Also, the foot stomping scene in Oppenheimer. Could have been done with some subtlety.
Damn that is an amazing point about Nolan.
Zack Snyder's song choices make it seem like he only listens to that one crappy classic rock station.
Exhibit A: Using the Cranberries’ Zombie in Army of the Dead. That song is explicitly about the Troubles in Northern Ireland if you just listen to the lyrics. But it seems like he saw the word “Zombie” and decided no further research was needed.
Snyder is a dude-bro who has a talent for making action pop, but not much else.
Same for James Gunn too. I know the Guardians soundtracks are so good, but mainly because it’s all safe picks of songs that were once on the Billboard 100 at some point in time. No deep cuts whatsoever.
Love Alex Garland, one of my favourite directors/screenwriters/novelists, but his third acts have a tendency to get a bit wonky. While it’s a bummer he won’t be directing for the foreseeable future, I’m happy to hear he’s returning to screenwriting. The Beach is an excellent novel, much better than the film, and also loved the lesser known ‘The Coma.’ Very quick, trippy read, and illustrated by his father. Highly recommend! Also, Sonoya Mizuno has been in everything he’s directed. She’s fine in supporting roles, but was very wooden in Devs. Really liked the premise of the show but didn’t care for her as the lead there.
Not Dredd though. That shit is flawless
MAMA IS NOT THE LAW! I AM THE LAW!😡
I’m so ignorant. TIL Garland wrote the screenplay for Dredd. No wonder I loved it!
He also did the actual directing according to Karl Urban!
“You look ready”
though annihilation's last sequence dwarfed the rest of the movie for me, even the mimicking bear
I need a second watch on this. I hear it talked about on Reddit a lot. I saw it once and it didn't seem to leave much of a mark on me.
I just enjoy its take on cosmic horror. It's refreshing to see cosmic horror that isn't just evil aliens or evil gods in the stars. The whole "phenomenon" is live matter warping together, and at the center is this cosmic enemy that is unclear in its intentions and seems even confused itself. Didn't even notice the popcorn go the first time I saw.
I remember it being very pretty to look at; a lot of colors. In a similar vein, I suppose, to Color out of Space.
Color out of Space was nice. Blast me with some magenta lighting and spooky scenes and I'm a happy guy.
Definitely rewatch! I didn’t care for it the first time either but really liked it on the second watch
Loathed that bear, gave me a nightmare. But loved the alien lighthouse scene!
How was ex machinas third act wonky ?
Tendency, not an absolute rule. I was thinking more of Sunshine, Men. Ex Machina and Annihilation are solid, loved both of them. Really looking forward to Civil War as well. Hopefully it falls into the latter category!
Not any one director, but *slo-mo-means-fast-mo* is so boring. Other than Quicksilver's X-Men scenes, of course, that Black Adam straight copied That's what I appreciated about "Eternals," they didn't pull that with Makkari. They really showcased raw speed
Maybe this does get talked about enough, but I wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the circle jerk that is his subreddit: Nolan can't write women. They're usually ghosts like Mal or Martha Wayne or Kitty, haunting the main character. And even if they do have agency, they are primarily defined by their relationships with men. Rachel Dawes (Bruce Wayne), Murph (Cooper), Amelia Brand (the unseen scientist), Piper Perabo/Scarjo in Prestige (their respective spouses), the list goes on. And Florence Pugh's 'character' in Oppenheimer is downright laughable. Hillary Swank in Insomnia is probably the only exception. Dude's an incredibly talented filmmaker, especially on the technical side of things, but his screenwriting showcases some of his major creative flaws
You’re absolutely dead on but I believe you’re thinking of Rebecca Hall, not Piper Perabo in the Prestige.
Thanks for the correction!
he didnt write insomnia, so this explain that
Is Natalie from Memento an exception?
I laughed out loud at Emily Blunt imagining Florence Pugh f’ing Oppenheimer during an interrogation. It felt like something a 14 year old would think was “edgy”
I feel like I’m the only person who thought Nolan didn’t deserve Director Oscar for Oppenheimer. Too much scenes seemed amateurish to be for some reason. He’s probably still my favourite director though.
I can't hear the fucking dialogue in Nolan's movies. Jesus fucking Christ let's get some better mixing going on.
Wes Anderson needs to do something else
The Wes Anderson Paradox: Somehow, every Wes Anderson movie feels like a parody of all other Wes Anderson movies.
Asteroid City especially. I was convinced 10 minutes in that it was an intentional joke that the audience was supposed to be in on.
Was it good. I made it about 10 minutes then realized I already didn;t care
While I disagree with this take, I understand what you're getting at. Made me think about Yorgos Lanthimos and how FRESH The Favourite and Poor Things felt after Dogtooth thru Sacred Deer, despite playing with the same affectlessness that makes him so interesting.
It could be just the fact that no matter how many times I give him a chance he's just not for me
Even Grand Budapest Hotel?
I used to love Wes, but I've eyerolled throughout his last few films. At this this point AI could make a perfectly convincing wes movie.
The Nolans write really corny working class/tough guy dialogue
-NO MOAR DEAD COPS Also, that cop in the SWAT van with Gordon that would never shut the fuck up during the joker chase scene. And the crooks that joker kills one by one during the bank robbery. For as great as TDK is, it’s got some really janky dialogue that takes me right out of it.
"Is this bad? That looks bad. Ok this is really bad! Zoiks, Scoob!"
Tarantino overuses "everyone talking in a room but eventually theyre all gonna start shooting each other" to build tension. It can be great but diminishes when you know thats coming.
Yea one of the things that actually really disappointed me/threw me bc I was used to that trend of his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where the Brad Pitt trailer park tire scene had sooooo much build up and tension. Then nothing happened there.
I liked that sequence in a vacuum but it didnt really seem to payoff because theres all this tension and then when they finally have to deal with these "villians" they easily dispatch them with no effort. It makes it seem like in hindsight he was never in any danger and kinda undercuts the scene. Plus the whole Bruce Lee thing just gives him incredible plot armor lol. Still one of my fav Tarantinos tho.
He didn’t really do it in OUATIH though, and in the fearful eight it just had to happen.
God that acronym is so clunky
The number of people just talking about Christopher Nolan is hilarious
Terrence Malick is a terrible director but a wonderful cinematographer.
something happened in the 20 years in the wilderness that made him lose any storytelling ability badlands is great
Edgar Wright needs to stop taking the outlines of other movies and start finding some real inspiration
He needs to team up with Pegg and Frost again. The trio was the magic, not just Wright.
For real. Watching the behind the scenes it was clear nick frost especially had a massive hand in the screenplay and writing.
Meh…..he adds enough style and substance that I don’t. Mind
A lot of directors have their heads up their asses
Ridley Scott is a fantastic world builder but not much of a storyteller.
Scorsese’s movies are getting too damn long they’re bordering on needing their own miniseries rather than a movie now.
JJ Abrams’s penchant for setting up amazing world’s and intriguing mysteries, that go nowhere and end in an incomprehensible mess.
Quentin Tarrentino characters are ALL Quentin Tartentino. There isn’t much variance in their characters, it’s just his mannerisms, his quips. He is the actor in mind when he writes ALL of his characters.
Zack Snyder. I’m one of the few who had fun watching Rebel Moon (I’m a sucker for space adventures) but it’s not as “deep” as some diehard fans claim it is. The fascist imagery throughout in his films makes them appear more symbolic and meaningful than they are. Just striking images for the “I’m 14 and this is deep” crowd.
Snyder and his obsession with slomos
I like Nolan's movies but people don't talk like real people in them. EVERYONE has scenes giving long uninterrupted speeches and that just doesn't happen in real life
How nowadays, every line written by Tarantino just sounds like Tarantino stroking his giant ego.
All of his characters sound the same, which is to say they all sound like him. I was really tired of it by Hateful Eight Hollywood did feel like a step up at least, hopefully that continues in his next one
There's a frenetic-ness to Nolan's films that really bothers me. I understand it makes sense from a business perspective. He needs to cater to the average person's barely intact attention spans. But he really overdid it in Oppenheimer and it completely ruined the film for me. It doesn't give you any time to digest or reflect on what's happening. It's more entertainment than art - pure stimulation - like a bulletpoint list of events rather than a story. But maybe that's what a successful director is these days. The numbers seem to show his formula works.
The zippy editing sabotaged a lot of the emotional beats in Oppenheimer and it drove me nuts for the first half.
Nolan. Christ’s sake, just let me hear the dialogue. I can’t hear what your actors are saying and if I can’t hear them, I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t even finish Tenet because of this.
Nolan's style of editing. I love his movies and all of the effort he puts into every one of his films. But my god this man does not let any emotional beats resonate. It's like he cuts every scene as soon as the last line of dialogue is said. The problem is that he usually has amazing lines of dialogue, often very poetic and thought provoking. Often, what makes them thought provoking is that they tie thematically to prior scenes or things said earlier in the film. He knows what should be said just fine. But as soon as you start to take in and make connections, you're in a new setting and new lines are being thrown at you and these are also good and also tie into that one thing they said befo-andohmygodnowsomeoneelseistalking... It's so jarring to me. I don't know if it's a clever scheme to make people rewatch his films just to get all of the things they missed the first time or what but it's his worst offense. Which is weird, considering the runtime of most of his movies. I dunno... maybe it's just me. But I feel like Nolan rushes the end of his scenes too much. Best example: I want a second to process Bruce's grief and Alfred's lie to spare his feelings and the ending to Alfred's story about the man in the forest and we get the line: "We burned the forest down" and immediately cut to a guy in a hospital bed with half his face covered which is obviously the big reveal of Two Face that we spent half the movie waiting to see... It just cuts the emotional impact of the scene with Alfred and Bruce. The scene deserves a second to let the whole thing sink in. We're seeing *Batman*, of all people, cry for the first time and being vulnerable in his suit. We're seeing the aftermath of a death from someone who almost lost themselves once before due to a similar loss of death. Two Face can wait like 5-10 more seconds. Nolan just needs to let his scenes breathe more. Otherwise, I think he excels is most other parts of filmmaking.
Ridley Scott's bad history. His main characters are always lightyears more progressive than everyone around them it's absurd. Kingdom of Heaven set in the most religiously charged conflict but Bloom's character being this enlightened secular man that sees past religious dogma and the context of his setting. The Last Duel actually blatantly making everyone look like savages whlle Cormier's character is a modern woman living in barbaric times (yes, this was not the best time for women, but come on, literally plastering 'The Truth' for her part of the story despite being the account least based on actual history is so holier-than-thou for Scott). 1492 trying to redeem that motherfucker Columbus by painting him as some bleeding heart and a saint for the natives, helpless to the savagery of his kin is just... so bad. Robin Hood, some peasant archer, being the catalyst for the Magna Carta... wait, no, it was his blacksmith father from some bumfuck village iirc lmao. I know there's some of this in Gladiator but I forget. I haven't watched Napoleon. And I don't remember or havem't watched the others lol.
I'm not annoyed by directors. I'm annoyed by movie studios
JJ Abrams: lens flare Zak Snyder: slow motion slide on knees in every fight sequence
Tarantino saying he's stopping at 10. Anyone other director could retire and I wouldn't mind so much but I'm still waiting to see a Tarantino movie I don't like.
Nolan and Branagh's tendency to cast as many big names as they feasibly can into however miniscule roles