View Poll Results: BLADE RUNNER 2049

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  • Yay

    32 88.89%
  • Nay

    4 11.11%
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Thread: Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve)

  1. #26
    Better than the original, which is bizarrely overrated by so many - the well-designed, oppressive atmosphere does little to mitigate the turgid themes and dull main storyline. If anything, the sequel actually makes the original a little more interesting in retrospect by pretending like the original plot actually mattered in some way. 2049 has some wonderful sequences and some moments where its deliberate rhythm works, but the languid pacing becomes self-conscious at times, mistaking time with weight (e.g., the "threesome scene" is brilliantly conceived, but goes on way, way, way too long; both Leto scenes stop the film cold). Towards the end, the plot starts to shake itself apart, but up until then, it is a much more successful attempt at atmosphericism than its forebear.
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  2. #27
    Kung Fu Hippie Watashi's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    I guess I just have to confess that the central themes of these films just aren't terribly compelling to me. To Villeneuve's credit, this film feels very much in the spirit of the first. I believe in the continuity that has been created. However, just like the first, good lord is it dramatically inert. The visuals are appealing and inventive. The characters are relentlessly dull. And it is next to impossible to care at all about this particular protagonist's journey. Who's real? Who's not? Who cares?
    Aren't these themes like 90% of sci-fi anyways? Why doesn't it work here?
    Sure why not?

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  3. #28
    Not a praying man Melville's Avatar
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    I thought this was magnificent. It's a singular visual and aural spectacle that creates a distinct world, and with its long takes and silences and measured editing, it lets us inhabit that world. Though "lets" isn't the right word. The design is almost oppressive, from the roaring electric score to the monolithic architecture to the constant rain, snow, and haze that makes the atmosphere feel heavy and omnipresent.

    That design is perfect for this world where humanity is commodified and human connections are eroded. But I was more interested in how the world feels almost post-apocalyptic and post-reality, like a world that's been left behind. Only the past seems real, and the people -- obviously the replicants most of all -- are living off scraps of reality, cobbling together their humanity from invented memories, from holograms of Elvis or artificial lovers. [
    ] There's definitely something interesting in how the grandiose symbols of sexuality, from the giant nude statues to equally giant nude holograms, show people yearning for something raw and real but getting it in an obviously artificial form.

    I also found it more affecting than the original (though neither one is particularly emotional). K's arc and search for companionship and humanity provide a nice emotional core. With his minimalist performance, Gosling does a great job of showing how K feels like there's something missing inside him, how he holds himself away from a world he doesn't feel a proper part of, [
    ] The sex scene was a beautiful way of playing with layers of reality and artifice and intimacy, even if it was similar to the scene from Her, and [
    ]

    I also loved Luv's last line: "I'm the best one."
    I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?

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  4. #29
    Yeah, I was all kinds of impressed. Wow.

  5. #30
    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    [
    ]
    [
    ]

  6. #31
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Watashi (view post)
    Aren't these themes like 90% of sci-fi anyways? Why doesn't it work here?
    Yes, perhaps that's the problem. It just seems like a tired premise. Westworld did this stuff to death. I'm tired of playing the game with writers of "guess who's real and who isn't". In this film, the protagonist's struggle shifts to something even more inconsequential (to me): was I born or created? And my answer is: what difference does it make if the character in question has no discernible personality? This film bored me because I couldn't envision what was worth fighting for in this universe. What is the best case scenario? Where is the "Brazil"?
    Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
    The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
    Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
    Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
    Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
    Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
    Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
    Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
    Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
    Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***

  7. #32
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    I lied, I have a third spoiler complaint.

    [
    ]
    I will say that "SEQUEL" came more into my mind when Gosling [
    ].
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  8. #33
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    It's a little similar to Dunkirk in that it's visually and aurally owerpowering, and that's a huge part of the experience, but it isn't particularly tense or emotionally resonating.

    So there's a lotta love there, but also some admiration, but I wish it was all love. Nevertheless, to be applauded. This is far more than most folks could have expected.
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  9. #34
    Second star to the right [ETM]'s Avatar
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    I found it both tense and emotionally resonating.

    The reactions to the movie are puzzling to me... It's like it, like the original, lives in a dimension that so many of us find appealing and love to visit, in all the minute detail, yet it does absolutely nothing for others. I mean, even when I logically pick it apart as if I wasn't invested in it, I simply cannot get myself to care about the flaws because they seem so petty compared to the whole. In any other movie they would be dealbreakers, but not here.

  10. #35
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Has anyone seen this on 3D? I usually avoid it but I'm going with friends and they want to see it that way. I guess it was shot with 3D in mind.

  11. #36
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    3d was nice but i had a killer screen and imax too. Dont kill the moment by opting for a merely decent screen. May as well opt for 2d then.
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  12. #37

  13. #38
    Sunrise, Sunset Wryan's Avatar
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    Thought this was great. Effects work and sound design/score were quite impressive--wonderfully subtle in the former and just oppressively showy enough in the latter. The role Gosling was born for considering his manner, tho mileage clearly varies on that account. Ford was very good, perhaps the best he's been in a while. Luv was pretty terrifying. Thought it built nicely on the story and themes of the original, which I like quite a bit. The sync love scene left me agape, as did much of film due to its quiet, heavy impact. Not sure if [
    ] or why [
    ], but I'm not too worried about it.

    Also, I think I fell in love with Carla Juri in this movie. Jesus.
    "How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"

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  14. #39
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    That's the other thing- it wasn't just K that had those memories, it was all replicants. Remember when the hooker saw the wooden horse on the nightstand?
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  15. #40
    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    That's the other thing- it wasn't just K that had those memories, it was all replicants. Remember when the hooker saw the wooden horse on the nightstand?
    I don't know if all, but a bunch of replicants did. [
    ]

  16. #41
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Philip J. Fry (view post)
    I don't know if all, but a bunch of replicants did. [
    ]
    Or it was a way to unite them all for [
    ]
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  17. #42
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Wryan (view post)
    Also, I think I fell in love with Carla Juri in this movie. Jesus.
    Probably one of the better examples of a character looking totally believable as [
    ]
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  18. #43
    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    Or it was a way to unite them all for [
    ]
    I dunno. She didn't seem very aware of it.

  19. #44
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Grouchy (view post)
    Has anyone seen this on 3D? I usually avoid it but I'm going with friends and they want to see it that way. I guess it was shot with 3D in mind.
    I did see it in 3D, 2.40:1 ratio the first time and liked the experience of that quite a bit. There are some problematic aspects in it, especially when dealing with the over-busyness of certain elements such as water or explosive debris, but otherwise I think it's a really engrossing conversion that really pulls you into the atmosphere, endless depth and rich detail of its world. I also really liked how it visually clarified some of the more geographically complicated areas, and then even something like the Vegas live show, with its lights and holograms, was an especially strong sequence. But then there's subtle, consistent things like really making [character-nature spoiler] [
    ] That in particular is something that I think really improves the film in 3D that isn't as consistently noticeable in the 2D version.

    But speaking of which, I saw then saw the film in laser-projected IMAX 2D, with the ratio expanded to 1.90:1 throughout, and I found it even more stellar.

    Not to mention I think the film itself might've played even better for me the second time, having things more narratively clarified, with many of its ideas completely overarching in my mind from the beginning rather than just later on and in retrospect. Gosling's journey in particular, and his interactions with certain characters along the way, all play so differently knowing where it starts and ends. Though I did love the mystery of it the first time, and being right along with him in with certain beliefs about who he was.

    It was also a significantly more emotional film for me the second time around. Particularly from the moment where [
    ]

    So yeah, I like this lots, and some misgivings I had about it after the first time have largely fallen away, particularly my mildly recurring feelings of finding Villeneuve's work to be a touch too cold and dry, though sometimes intentionally, sometimes in ways that work against it (Arrival being the big exception for me, with it having enveloped me and reducing me to tears every time I've seen it). Just see this movie in the biggest, brightest, loudest theatre you can, in whatever amount of dimensions, and you'll be as aesthetically engrossed by it as anything in recent memory. And if you already have, then I can also vouch for it being a remarkable experience upon almost immediate re-watch.
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  20. #45
    Body Double Devlin's Avatar
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    I liked this, but didn't love it. There was a lot to admire and appreciate, but I didn't leave the theater with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. I have a feeling, though, that my opinion of it may improve with future viewings. That's certainly what happened with the original film. In fact, it took about my fifth viewing of Blade Runner (and my first of The Final Cut) for me to really see it for the brilliant work it is. I liked the new film more with my first experience than I did with my first experience with the original, but that may be an extension of how I now perceive the first film. Overall, well worth the cinema going experience and a thoughtful engaging science fiction film, of which we get very little these days.
    One side note; I felt a sense of quiet reflection within the audience, as if everyone was absorbed by the film. Very rarely do I feel that kind of cohesiveness with what was a very packed theater.

  21. #46
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    Heads up to anyone who hasn't seen this yet---Roger Deakins suggest seeing it in 2D widescreen, not 3D.

    "My preferred version is the standard 2D widescreen version. A problem I have with some viewing systems is their use of silvered screens. The image projected on a silvered screen lacks saturation as well as density as it falls off from a hot spot in the center of vision."

    - https://www.rogerdeakins.com/film-ta...-or-3d/page-1/
    - http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/bla...apher-anti-3d/

  22. #47
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    Ah thanks, Irish. I had that link from Deakins' site Ctrl+C'd and everything to add to my post, but went off on a tangent and forgot.

    The most interesting and uniquely encouraging thing there is Deakins saying he personally supervised and approved every available version of it. He also echoed my longtime dissatisfaction of IMAX's DMR, and that he didn't include it for this film (or Skyfall back in 2012, which I didn't see in the format).

    He understandably may not prefer the 3D version, but he did a damn good job letting it be really saturated and bright, especially without it being overly blown out.
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    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
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    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
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  23. #48
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    Before Harrison Ford appears, this is shaping up in my mind as a seminal sci-fi work. I find K's arc so consistently gripping and haunting, and the existential questions around him, although nothing new, are singularly matched by Villeneuve's measured tour through all the otherworldly melancholic, gorgeously grim aesthetics. The sterile oppressiveness of K's workplace and Wallace's headquarter, the LA neighborhood that becomes even more compressive and commodified than the orignal, and the rotted, forgotten margins where his investigation takes place -- these surroundings drift oh so deliberately around our protagonist, giving an intimate sense into his succumbed feeling of being both "more human than human" and less than. Haven't expected Gosling to deliver one of his best performances here, but he's so perfect for the material and this world, an immaculate, unresisting being that nevertheless hides a quivering of wanting something more (per his quasi-disturbing connection with Joi). That quivering intensifies as the investigation reveals that he may be right, be singled out, to want more, and it reaches a fearsome, supremely acted apex in the scene where he discovers the place of his dream, his whole reality now quivering uncertainly along with him.

    And then Harrison Ford shows up and, strangely not dissimilar to what happens with The Force Awakens, drags along a baggage of franchise connectivity with him. As in the former case, Ford himself is good, slipping into his old role seamlessly and affectingly, and his material is intriguing. But even more so in this case, the character's material brings a different kind of register and sensibility, not exactly worse but entirely more conventional. So Deckard's story feels like it eats up the place of K's arc instead of meshing with it, and that story even clashes with the portentous pacing previously perfect for K's journey, but now too languished for something more mainstream.

    The filmmaking still remains sensational and there are some brilliant bits -- like how the film takes a wrecking ball to our "chosen one" narrative assumptiion regarding K -- but Blade Runner 2049's third act transforms a singularly executed existential arc into something bigger, not neccessarily better. Thankfully that arc is still self-contained, and I am definitely hooked into seeing what happens next, but I feel deprived of an all-timer sci-fi film. 8/10
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  24. #49
    Second star to the right [ETM]'s Avatar
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    I've seen it in 3D on a silvered screen, and there are definite flaws. Our screen made all dark scenes with backlighting sort of reflecting - as if the lit parts reflected on a plane in front of the screen. Thankfully not many were problematic.

  25. #50
    Director bac0n's Avatar
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    Just got back from seeing it in IMAX. Wow. I'm speechless. You could take just about every shot, frame it, and put it on a wall. They nailed the atmosphere of Bladerunner perfectly, and yeah, I agree with Duke in that they could have throttled back the BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPs just a little bit.

    Aside from that, this is the type of movie that got me into Sci-fi in the first place, and I haven't enjoyed a sci-fi movie as I did this since, at least Interstellar, probably longer. Can't wait to see it again. And again... And again...
    Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)

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