I’d argue that it’s not really Zegler’s fault… Not that there’s anything special about her performance, but there isn’t really anything wrong with it, either.
What’s not her fault? The article isn’t about her performance in the film, it’s about the pushback and resulting pile-on from conservatives to her casting and public comments prior to release.
I watched ‘Internal Affairs’ (1990). Quite a strange film that seems to be following some pretty typical story beats for the first half but gets weirder and less coherent as it goes on. Richard Gere always struck me as a somewhat unlikeable actor because he played these really smarmy leading man roles but after watching this I realised that his inability to deliver convincing emotions actually works perfectly when he is playing a villain. I really liked Andy García in this too, he comes across as a lot more genuine and emotionally sincere which further enhances Gere’s performance.
This article is not actually suggesting Gen Z find YouTubers or whatever more entertaining than films and TV series, as the replies seem to have (mis)understood. This is about Gen Z finding social media figures more trustworthy and relatable than Hollywood stars and social media advertising being more influential than advertising on TV, which are not particularly surprising or interesting insights. Similarly, social media being a more affordable form of entertainment compared to streaming is not a new talking point.
Not sure why you’re being mass downvoted, this is objectively true. Making even slightly controversial public statements in today’s world, particularly within the entertainment industry, makes it very easy for people to publish ragebait articles and videos about you and your work. Algorithmic social media rewards anger and hate, so there is a clear financial incentive driving this. If you are a professional working in this industry you owe it to yourself and your work to not rock the boat unless you have a very good reason to do so. Not everything has to be some kind of deep cultural moment with an inspiring social message behind it.
You’ll realise pretty quickly if you watch the film. Ruffalo’s character definitely makes some unflattering allusions to a certain US political figure, and many people are very easily triggered these days by any form of political satire.
I would not be surprised at all if a large portion of the negative reviews are from right wingers who took offence to the Ruffalo character.
Yes, I 100% agree about that bug execution scene. That was the “riot” scene I referred to, where her little character arc seemed to peak like there was about to be this big mask-off Starship Troopers moment. And then they just did nothing with it. So weird.
Yes I think it’s a much more impactful film if you watch it totally blind. It’s a shame you didn’t get to experience that.
The biggest flaw was how underdeveloped Kai was. She was set up in act 1, had a lot of screen time in act 2, then completely disappeared from existence for the entire last act except for one brief “oh yeah, here’s Kai” shot at the end.
I totally forgot about this! I completely agree, it was so bizarre how much screen time and development her character received in the middle of the film for it to ultimately lead nowhere. I thought for sure she was going to be setup as either a new love interest (with a twist where his previous lover turns on him) or setup as a new villain but they did neither. She didn’t even influence the plot in a sidekick role, she was just totally absent following the riot scene. I wonder if something was cut because it seemed like big inconsistency.
The only thing there I’d really agree with is the pacing, which is only an issue in the final third of the film. Your other complaints are sort of just about Bong Joon-ho’s style, most of his films are like that. I’m surprised you found them problematic considering he was one of the reasons why you went to see the film.
And to be honest I’m not really interested in watching someone else’s review of the film. If you want to discuss it then you should put the effort into articulating your thoughts here.
I agree with the others, I think this is a unusually negative take. However, the fact that you haven’t really explained your criticisms in any sort of detail makes it very difficult to determine whether you actually have a point or if you are the stereotypical 1 star rage reviewer on IMDB. I thought the film had its flaws, so I would be willing to hear more detailed reasoning from you.
Wow, I looked this up after reading your comment. What a sad situation.
I think this is a pretty good take, in line with other forms of effective protest. I don’t actually believe that most pirates are genuine protestors, though. They are just people who don’t want to pay but feel guilty about it, so instead of just admitting that they don’t want to pay they perform some moral gymnastics to rationalise their behaviour and keep the cognitive dissonance at bay. The average pirate’s train of thought goes something like this “you didn’t give me exactly what I wanted so now I am morally entitled to everything of yours for free until I decide otherwise”.
It’s the story of a loser nobody with no plans, no hope and no future finding meaning and happiness in his life. In a very roundabout and fucked up way. If you enjoy stories about hapless protagonists failing upwards then you’ll enjoy this.
I love Bernard Herrmann’s score for ‘Vertigo’. It’s one of the great mystery film soundtracks, filled with so much suspense and intrigue.
Yeah it’s pretty funny. Most of these are just “it’s overrated” complaints, which is not the same as a film being iredeemably bad. Feels like a lot of these people just hate being exposed to opinions that differ from their own, so over time these overrated films have morphed into a 1/10 atrocity in their head despite none of their issues with them actually reflecting that level of hatred. You could definitely make a compelling argument for many of these films being good, and the only reason these people wouldn’t be convinced is because of their aforementioned personality flaw.
This thread is crazy, so many hot takes in here!
One of the worst I’ve ever seen is the Korean film ‘Stray Dogs’ (2014). There is so much unnecessary sexual violence towards women in this film and almost none of it has any relevance to the story. It’s not like a rape revenge thing either where the victim eventually comes out on top - in this film the victim is a blind woman who cannot even defend herself with a knife she is given. The supposed protagonist of the film rapes his wife at the beginning and then engages in voyeurism for much of the film while this poor blind woman is raped every single night by the entire town. When he finally decides to do something about it he is absolutely fucking hopeless, as are the townspeople attempting to stop him. It is so misogynistic and poorly written, I have no idea why anyone agreed to be in it. Anyone who enjoyed this film should go on some kind of watch list.
I saw Mickey 17 at my local cinema. Overall it was a good experience, the other cinema-goers were quiet and respectful so we could all enjoy the film properly (doesn’t always happen). The film itself was great for about two thirds and then pretty mediocre in the final third, but overall it was worth seeing for some classic Bong Joon-ho comedy.
“My favorite season — and I feel like I can say this objectively — is Season 1.” He’s picking up steam here, sounding tickled by his own admission. “I happen to be in that one, so I thought that was incredible, incredible television and a great series. I watched it weekly, like everyone else, on Sunday night, and that was an event for me. And I got to sit back and enjoy that. I loved the water cooler talk on Monday morning. Even though I made it, I sort of forgot what was going to happen next. It was one of the great events in TV.”
I think this might be one of the only times I’ve seen an actor not only admit that they watched something they were in, but actually watched it as everyone else would watch it. Like he was a fan of the TV show he helped create and already knew everything about. Kinda weird but it’s cool that he can enjoy it in that way, a lot of actors seem to either hate watching themselves played back or just don’t see the value in reliving a project for a second time.
They are objectively controversial positions, though. It doesn’t matter how much you agree with them, others clearly do not and it has led to heated public debate. That is literally the definition of controversial:
The so-called “liberal democracy” in which she lives is currently being run by the “authoritarian strongman” whose mission is seemingly to disrupt and dismantle many of those “founding values”. So again, reality is quite different to how you are presenting it. Calling the article garbage because it stated basic facts instead of subscribing to your fantasy land interpretation of current events is very silly.