Why am I loving movies that so many people hate? I thought this film was great! And I thought The Master was flat out amazing! What's happening here?
Am I becoming some film snob, hipster, or pseudo-intellectual??
Because I genuinely really liked both of these movies.
I mean I completely understand why people would hate this movie and The Master, I'm just surprised so many people do.
What's happening?
Someone explain it to me.
If you don't watch a lot of movies, Transformers is awesome.
If you do watch a lot of movies, it's kinda meh.
To continue to satisfy your movie itch you may have to explore things that intellectually stimulate you on some level.
So say you read short stories with a moral, then you move onto deeper stories and thoughts, the next thing you know you are reading philosophy.
When you were at the short story level, philosophy would bore you to tears. At the philosophy level you still can enjoy a short story.
Expecting others at the short story level to share your enthusiasm of philosophy is often problematic. They won't understand your meaning quite often and will accuse you of elitism if you highlight any difference or use the technical term ignorant to show they have not been exposed to a great many things, for example.
So Chang's magical sword break's immersion and seems highly fake at the novice level. At the enthusiast's level we see that the director is imparting something magical to the character because we better understand the "visual grammar" (real term) that the director is using in the movie.
[edit: not to say this actually is not a mistake. that's entirely possible of course. Sometimes these mistakes are caught and left in because they are interesting. So in that sense bothe the novice and enthusiast are correct but for differing reasons.]
Incidentally it is this visual grammar that allows the tale to unfold (and character development to occur) even in the presence of sparse, stilted, or missing dialogue.
Time has no enemy, save man.
Time has no enemy. Save man!
u def have good taste. dnt let anyone tell you other.
shareYou are a hipster!!!
shareIt's difficult when you don't belong to a group or fit in. I also love mainstream movies, AND art/world cinema movies (especially Asian). Problem is very few does. So if I tell an artmovie fan that I like, say, Riddick movies, Diehard, Bridesmaids etc, they frown upon you. And if I tell a mainstream guy I like Only god forgives, Rust and bone, the Isle, Kiewlowskies etc, they sneer at you.
Now add this to: I absolutely hate a lot of mainstream movies as they're beyond stupid. And I absolutely hate a lot of art movies as they're snobby and pretentious, this is more problematic really, not liking the toprated ones. Like, Haneke's movies for instance, never liked them. So I'm in middle ground, when an art movie gets top rating I usually stay away cause it's often overhyped and overworked, and when another Transformers movie comes I run the other way. It's all about taste. But I'm incredibly openminded and judgemental at the same time, lol. It's not easy being a fan of so much, and avoid stuff too. Hey if you like artmovies you're supposed to like all the highly regarded ones aren't you? I'm Swedish so I must love Ingmar Bergman. Yes I've seen six of his movies. They're horrible. There, I've said it.
Wish more folks were openminded about movies though. Nowadays, when I see the top lists of the "year's best movies" I feel really say cause I see how much they've missed, they live a poorer life. Who said Lawless btw? Loved that too! Some real good movies from usa this year, surprisingly, Lawless, Mud, Seven Psychopaths, this one (well, danish sort of), Cloud Atlas, Place beyond the Pines
You have your own tastes is what it means. Frankly it does not matter what films you like or what film you don't like. There exists no film that everyone likes or everyone dislikes. Never let anyone take away the joy a film gives you. Although I would say this is more hated than the Master given The Masters critical praise and imdb rating. You are not a snob, unless you talk down to people who do not like/like certain films. Hipsters only do it ironically and pseudo-intellectuals are just being pretentious, which from your comment you are not.
PS: The Master is an amazing film and is imo PTA's best work and my favorite film from last year.
HI F-ING YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2013 Rankings imdb.com/list/2-zx4cThbEY/
I can't believed you compared The Master to this film. This film was well shot, well acted, but poorly written. I'm a big refn fan and I was pretty disappointed by this. Refn is better than this. The dialogue killed it.
The Master was received pretty well by audiences and outstanding by critics. The dialogue was light years ahead of this unintentional comedy.
You're not a writer Fink, you're a goddamn write off
Relax, man. You simply have an opinion. That's what matters. Liking art-house film or any film for that matter that most others detest doesn't make you any of the aforementioned names (snob,hipster,etc.). If you start criticizing other people who don't share your tastes or trying to convince people your opinion is the only one that counts THEN you become a snob. Don't pay any mind to haters who try to convince you your opinion of anything in life is wrong.
shareI can't say I loved the entire movie, but there is a lot to love: the cinematography; the retired detective; the theme of eternal revenge (one seeks revenge, as the survivor[s] seek revenge, whereupon the survivors of THEIR vengeance seek revenge, etc). I can't say I cared for the pacing, or the under acting of Gosling.
I understand what Refn was going for, but with a tighter pace and some more emotion, this would have been excellent. Even so, I'd still watch this over MULHOLLAND DRIVE or any later Lynch... yeesh, talk about boring and pretentious.
You're only a pseudo-intellectual if you simply parrot what other people have said without doing your own thinking which of course is what 99% of people do.
People like that will never get a film like this, it's way, way over their heads so don't worry about it - I stopped taking a film's score from IMDB as being meaningful a long time ago as the chav masses have now swamped what used to be a reliable site, I now prefer to look at films that, on Rotten Tomatoes, has a high critical score and a lower chav/user score, that's usually the best indicator of a quality movie, especially anything remotely arty like this ...
As a rule I trust amateur movie reviews much more than those of the jaundiced professional critics who for a living have to sit down to watch dozens of films every week. Aside from the hit or miss Hollywood formulas, movie buffs these days are spoiled for choice. There is at least one new movie per month that will suit even the most discriminating taste. Some of us like mainly action, others favour melodramas and light comedy, a few go for slow moving talking heads and lack of plot in many of the ‘arty; movies usually screened at Cannes or Venice; often too obviously politically correct or icon breaking and possibly offensive. When the majority of those who have taken the trouble to write a full review on this site can a movie it is probably not worth watching even if the professionals sing its praises. What really arouses my curiosity is when the IMdb reviewers are split down the middle, either hating or loving the movie as in Only God Forgives. Then I really have to see it.
Thanks for your comment, more intelligent and polite than most on these message boards.