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Post by Slinger on Nov 12, 2023 17:53:04 GMT
David Fincher's new film The Killer is utterly unremarkable, facile, and a complete waste of time. Remarkable in that he couldn't find anything more interesting than this to make. 10 minutes or so of Tilda Swinton is the only worthwhile thing in the entire film. Interesting. I was sorely tempted by that one. Now, not so much. |
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Post by Tim on Nov 13, 2023 11:22:13 GMT
It's a dreadful pile of steaming poo Paul - apart as Jules says, the very brief scene with Tilda Swinton, which is tight, tense and very stylish. The rest . . . well there is no rest, the story is non existent.
I was bored with it at about 10 minutes in, it starts well and promises much . . . it was really good until it wasn't!
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2023 11:41:01 GMT
The 355
An obvious vehicle for four top rated actresses* to strut their stuff. Quite watchable thriller action if very far fetched, but we've seen all this over and over again in different guises.
*Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong'o.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 14, 2023 15:34:08 GMT
It's a dreadful pile of steaming poo Paul - apart as Jules says, the very brief scene with Tilda Swinton, which is tight, tense and very stylish. The rest . . . well there is no rest, the story is non existent.
I was bored with it at about 10 minutes in, it starts well and promises much . . . it was really good until it wasn't!
I get what Fincher is trying to do - the film's tone, style and plot is meant to follow the "mundanity" and complete detachment of the hitman. That doesn't mean it's an interesting or enlightening film though. It's neither, it's as boring as he is. |
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Post by rfan8312 on Nov 14, 2023 16:52:47 GMT
Did you see Zodiac, Jules? If so did you have any opinion on it? Another Fincher film.
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Post by Slinger on Nov 14, 2023 17:03:27 GMT
Did you see Zodiac, Jules? If so did you have any opinion on it? Another Fincher film. Sorry to butt in, but I thought Zodiac was an excellent movie. |
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Post by rfan8312 on Nov 14, 2023 17:35:08 GMT
Hell no Paul its not butting in we are all friends chatting it up before the holidays.
Same regarding Zodiac. I always thought it was good then recently listened to the Blank Check podcast and realized that it's considered by some a masterpiece. So I rented it again and made it halfway on Sunday and will finish the rest this weekend. It's an impressive film.
Man that film has some rough and creepy moments and the pod revealed that some of the scenes are quite genius in how they are set up by Fincher.
And apparently Fincher was dead serious about getting some details exactly right (like the kid wearing so many layers of clothing on a summer night which may be why he survived that opening murder scene) and even making sure to shoot in as many locations where things took place as possible.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 14, 2023 18:10:37 GMT
I, too, thought Zodiac was an excellent film.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 14, 2023 18:16:36 GMT
Did you see Zodiac, Jules? If so did you have any opinion on it? Another Fincher film. Amazing film, absolutely loved it! Was recommended to me by someone here, can't remember ... |
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Post by rfan8312 on Nov 15, 2023 4:24:16 GMT
Not sure how much you guys are into podcasts but this one I've listened to for ages called Blank Check...it's always fun and always funny but when they get down to the movie talk it's pretty great.
Zodiac episode is really interesting.
Robert Downey Jr.'s quote about working with David Fincher lol "“I think I’m the perfect person to work for (Fincher) because I understand gulags”.
At one point RDJ legitimately got annoyed with how many takes Fincher required for one piece of simple dialog. Fincher pulled RDJ over to a monitor and had him view all 20 of his takes and asked "what do you think man do we got it?" To which RDJ replied "oh wow you're right we don't have it".
So Fincher turned to the entire crew and told them that he felt it was fine but that RDJ isn't satisfied with it yet so let's do another 10 takes lol.
On another episode of Blank Check an actor was saying that on movie sets sometimes they are there for 14 hours but for some crew members, for example wardrobe, they still have another hour of putting away costumes, and then still have the commute home and then have to be back there in 5 hours.
Thanks for checking out the 'Blank Check' TED Talk.
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Post by Tim on Nov 16, 2023 10:10:10 GMT
Did you see Zodiac, Jules? If so did you have any opinion on it? Another Fincher film. Zodiac was the last excellent film he made for me - he's made 3 outstanding films IMO, Se7en, Fight Club and Zodiac . . his other films since then I found ranged from poor to okay. Fincher is a fantastic filmmaker when it comes to style, his dark tones and shot composition is often in a league of it's own, his use of de-saturated colours and the camera creates a very certain mood which used to really fit the narrative - he could create a tension that completely pulled you in and have you on the edge of your seat.
My issue with a lot of his films since those 3 have been the story, the tension created in Se7en is quite something, it's a very tight script, very little exposition and a superbly paced unfolding of the story . . . comparing this to The Killer really illustrates what it lacks and that is the story, it's incredibly weak, so weak that I completely lost any interest in the characters and when that set in I just got bored and started to look for flaws. If a film lacks a credible or engaging story it's pretty much game over for me, however gorgeous it looks and The Killer does look gorgeous.
It's a shame as I was really looking forward to The Killer, as it promised so much, but for me it totally missed the mark. I won't say what they are as it could be considered a spoiler, but a few things happen in the first 10 minutes that just don't fit the story of the central character, they aren't believable if we are to be convinced by who he is, so at the point I started to switch off. If I had been watching at home I would have probably given up.
To be fair though I'm quite critical as a movie goer and I don't watch that many mainstream films. I see about 4 to 5 films a week at the cinema as I volunteer at a BFI affiliated venue, which specialises in independent and world cinema - I often see films I like more than once too, so my tastes are probably quite different to most here. When I'm not watching films at the cinema, I also watch films at home as I have a projector. I don't have a television, so films are pretty much it for me, I also don't watch any kind of long form TV drama. So to add some balance I guess if you do enjoy a more mainstream style of entertainment and enjoy Netflix style made for TV drama, The Killer might be right up your alley as that's it's target audience . . . it's a Netflix film made to be seen on a TV - I don't fit that description as I don't have Netflix, only BFI Player and MUBI.
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Post by Slinger on Nov 16, 2023 13:52:13 GMT
If I were banished to a desert island and allowed to take a big box of films with me, those three Fincher offerings would most definitely be included, Tim. I've read a few reviews of The Killer, which seemed to start out gushing with praise immediately after release to the one I read yesterday, headed (and I'm paraphrasing) " Maybe the lead character in David Fincher's "The Killer" is meant to be that boring". Without my having seen it, I wonder, could Fincher actually be saying " murder and murderers are usually quite mundane, and not like the movies," almost mimicking/updating Cinéma Vérité in fact? Or maybe I'm just being too arty-farty about the whole thing?  |
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Post by Tim on Nov 20, 2023 12:46:45 GMT
If I were banished to a desert island and allowed to take a big box of films with me, those three Fincher offerings would most definitely be included, Tim. I've read a few reviews of The Killer, which seemed to start out gushing with praise immediately after release to the one I read yesterday, headed (and I'm paraphrasing) " Maybe the lead character in David Fincher's "The Killer" is meant to be that boring". Without my having seen it, I wonder, could Fincher actually be saying " murder and murderers are usually quite mundane, and not like the movies," almost mimicking/updating Cinéma Vérité in fact? Or maybe I'm just being too arty-farty about the whole thing?
I've seen quite a few reviews on The Killer now, the majority of which rate it highly - they are predominantly American reviewers so don't know if that's a factor.
I think you should watch it Slinger and I would be interested in your view, especially as you like my three favourite Fincher films?
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Post by MartinT on Nov 20, 2023 13:53:31 GMT
especially as you like my three favourite Fincher films? I loved all three, too. I couldn't even give you a favourite, they were all excellent. |
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Post by Slinger on Nov 20, 2023 14:26:31 GMT
I might have to toss "Alien 3" (all of the "Alien" films in fact) into my movie box too. He didn't make too bad a job of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" either, and the cast was stellar. I'd still go with the original (Swedish) trilogy though.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 20, 2023 15:16:51 GMT
Alien 3 was awful. The only good GWTDT films are the Swedish ones.
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Post by Slinger on Nov 20, 2023 15:27:52 GMT
Alien 3 was awful. The only good GWTDT films are the Swedish ones. Did you forget to start that post with "In my opinion..."?  |
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 20, 2023 17:06:53 GMT
Martin speaks the accepted and unmitigated truth.
All I remember about Alien 3 is how dreadful Pete Postlethwaite is.
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Post by Tim on Nov 20, 2023 19:28:49 GMT
Alien 3 was awful. The only good GWTDT films are the Swedish ones. Did you forget to start that post with "In my opinion..."? Nah . . . . on this very rare occasion, I have to say Martin is 100% correct  |
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Post by rfan8312 on Nov 26, 2023 3:26:48 GMT
I saw Napoleon lol
Unfortunately it isn't good. I had to check IMDB to see how this film is classified. Action, adventure, biography.
It feels more like a romantic comedy about two hapless goofs trying to conceive a child interspersed with large scale battle scenes showing the horrors of war. Unfortunately Joaquin Phoenix was not right for this role. He is Napoleon without any fire in his belly and he never once disappears into his character. His character does not come across in any way other than "Hey its Joaquin Phoenix wishing he could take a nap".
My best takeaway is Vanessa Kirby. She is a miracle. I fell in love with her in the small low budget Sci-fi film 'Kill Command' which is a really cool film that developed a bit of a following. Next I saw her in the new Mission Impossible and without effort or overdoing it (in fact she underplays it) she is menacing nearly smoldering. I can see now that one day she will be given a role in which her performance will be downright chilling to witness.
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