IMDb / Wiki
http://s3.foxmovies.com/foxmovies/pr...main-stage.jpg
And what the hell, some more posters:
[]
Printable View
IMDb / Wiki
http://s3.foxmovies.com/foxmovies/pr...main-stage.jpg
And what the hell, some more posters:
[]
It's a mixed bag, but a pretty consistently fascinating one, and one that's always gorgeous to be in the middle of. Genuinely one of, if not the best looking digitally shot films I've seen to date. It's a bit too long (2 hours, 26 minutes) but more because it feels like it has a few too many threads early that are only there to feel like misdirects that could've been cut, not because it's not well-paced, and it's so intelligently crafted, which makes it all the more confusing when its dialogue and plotting leans on the dumb and cliche side here and there.
There's a lot of great stuff in it, and a lot of confusingly weak, by-the-numbers stuff in it. It also feels like this is a project devised by Gore Verbinski realizing he'd never get to make his Bioshock movie while he sat at home binge-watching Bryan Fuller's Hannibal series and an array of '70s and '80s horror, since it's a weird blend of those and about twenty other things. The comparisons to Shutter Island are likely going to be frequent, since DeHaan always has that slight resemblance to a young Leo, and it's a movie with a character having to sneak around a facility yelling that he's not there for the reasons they want him to be.
But since we're seeing the Verbinski whose last three films are At World's End, Rango, and The Lone Ranger, anyone who's seen all of those will not be surprised at just how much he swings for the fences of absurdity and visual inventiveness. It's just a shame that his storytelling (like in the latter two) don't take the same subversive risks.
It's well worth watching even if it doesn't feel like it quite hits its full potential. It's spellbinding when it works and genuinely disheartening when it doesn't.
Taking a stab because I think the trailer spoiled something...
[]
Yes or no?
I'll say this, I think the first trailer they released is perfect, but I now realize it does show a lot.
But at the same time, providing unexpected storytelling twists and turns are not where this movie thrives. It's much more in its haunting production design, creeping dread, and the atmosphere it implements through those to allow the story to go wherever it wants within that space.
You can see almost everything coming in some sense (I did) but still be happy it went those places and enjoy it (I also did).
I can only assume this was a february release because the studio wasn't sure what to do with it. There's a lot of effort and strong crafting, more than just a horror movie. It's moreso a mystery with some icky elements.
Some things go unanswered [], but overall its satisfying and nice to look at.
I give it a reluctant Nay because I love the visual orgasms, the faint shades of Lovecraft and the fact that it's an original screenplay in a big budget Horror movie, something that's becoming very unusual. But for every good moment there were also lame plot twists and weak spots. It's also way too long for what it has to offer in terms of substance.
I gave this a 6.5/10 so I guess that is a weak yey? I wanted to like this film...anyways review can be found here: https://madman731.wordpress.com/2018...ore-verbinski/
I love Gore Verbinski as a big budget spectacle director, but he's all wrong for this, his style amplifying all the aesthetic/plot surfaces without ever really getting under the skin as it should for this kind of story, which makes its 2.5 runtime feel even longer. Give it to him again on a visual level though, as he manages with cinematographer Bojan Bazelli to make the sickly green color palette here absolutely pop, somehow both inviting and menacing. 5/10
From my Letterboxd account:
67/100
Basically Shutter Island with the melancholy replaced by a rather touching devotion to plain weirdness and the occasional diversion into campy silliness. (Especially the goddamn last 15 minutes.) Verbinski shoots the hell out of this thing, with this and The Ring, he's proven to have a strong eye and command of atmosphere... now all he needs is something to say.
Trans your last sentence is exactly what I said.
Edit: not in this thread, but irl after I watched the movie.