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The Debbies...err the Oscars

1.36.25.19

Posted on April 10, 2021 at 05:11:08
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I have seen 5 of the 8 and Bill's not wrong. All 5 I have seen I would never want to watch again. A great film should be one I would want to see again.

 

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"Nomadland:" a quiet film that rewards the viewer, posted on April 18, 2021 at 08:35:57
tinear
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willing to open his mind to a different lifestyle, to people who choose it, and who, maddeningly, don't fit into neat little pigeonholes.
Frances McDormand is amazing, simply amazing. In a film populated by mostly amateur actors, she matches their genuineness and vulnerability without resorting to those Hollywood standard acting gimmicks, i.e. nervous eye-movements, exaggerated facial expressions, hand gesturing, etc.

What motivates a person voluntarily to choose to live a life devoid of all the materialistic comforts of modern day life? And to do so without comfort of family or close friends? We not only gain insight into the motivations of Fern, but also of a group of other characters, each one interesting and individual.

Cinematography: not, again, the typical Hollywood wide-angle "Wow!" type; rather, the grandeur of the West as you might experience it, its vast expanses of nature, unburdened of visual human impact, its majesty to a large part held in its very quietude and complexity--- like this film.

 

RE: "Nomadland:" a quiet film that rewards the viewer, posted on April 18, 2021 at 18:30:29
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What motivates a person voluntarily to choose to live a life devoid of all the materialistic comforts of modern day life?

But they don't - they use smartphones and laptops and printers and laundry facilities etc. My parents lived in a fifth wheel for a year traveling across the US and Canada. So do tens of thousands of people. Not sure it is movie worthy and scenes of sunsets and roads is not my idea of great cinematography.

Slow and quiet with nothing happening doesn't make it good. But hey whatever floats your boat.

 

Certainly a movie for our age group -nt, posted on April 18, 2021 at 08:57:49
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I'd say good for any age group! Compassion, understanding---, posted on April 18, 2021 at 16:13:48
tinear
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these shouldn't be alien to any human. That the film covers a difficult subject without descending into melodrama is a tribute to good writing, editing, and--- acting!

 

I don't get Nomadland, posted on April 13, 2021 at 21:52:39
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This is the favorite to win Best picture.

Personally, I found it to be a slog to watch.

It's look-at-your-watch boring in terms of pacing. Long extended shots of mountains and roads I guess are "deep thinking" moments?

I have read critics who salivate over it but I am not sure what the point of it is. They say it is a movie that could only be made in America because there are no safety nets in the USA so all of these people are quasi-homeless. Okay so it's a social commentary on the lack of government support but then that is undercut by the fact that the lead character Fern is offered helps several times by friends and family to give her a fresh start. She chooses life on the road instead and veers away from getting back on track.

So the movie is not about getting back on track or a failed system because she turns all the help down. Therefore, is it about preferring to live this nomadic life? If so, okay, but everyone in Nomadland seems one degree or two from a kind of misery. So misery is still the better option? Uggh.

These sorts of movies always seem to be movies that are vanity projects where everyone is trying so hard to win an oscar. It basically meanders around and allows the audience to experience Nomadic life for near 2 hours watching a millionaire actress pretend to be poor for those 2 hours?

Don't get me wrong I don't mind movies where you don't have all the answers or know the protagonist's motivations - but there should be something in here to hang onto. Perhaps a thing called a plot or at least a theme that makes some sense.

This would not be the first time I disliked a movie and liked it 5 years later. The closest film in recent years to Nomadland in pace and "feel" has been Roma. But I liked Roma a helluva lot more than this.

This just seems like a slice in time following a woman wandering around. And we are supposed to sit and be amazed. So far I don't get it. And because it's probably aimed at Liberal do-gooder bleeding hearts like me - I must have missed something.

Like Bill - This is a movie so torturously boring where someone needs to Wake me so I can be Woke.

 

Call me a Philistine but I didn't like it either, posted on May 30, 2021 at 15:05:26
Jay Buridan
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I watched through to the end hoping to hear the punch line, but it bored me to death. My favorite nomads are Harry and Lloyd in 'Dumb and Dumber' and almost any Laurel and Hardy comedy.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

Aristotle noted , posted on May 31, 2021 at 22:25:52
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The 6 elements of a Tragedy (a play or today a film)

And he noted that the 6 elements of a play had an order of importance.

1) Plot (The plot is composed of "clearly defined problems for characters to solve." Plot is to be differentiated from Story which is a chronological detailing of events that happened on and off stage. Events happening off stage are introduced through exposition (narrative dialogue). The playwright must create a plot that is both credible and astonishing).

2) Character (Characters provide the motivations (reasons) for the events of the plot. "Vivid characters" face and overcome "obstacles that we can recognize." They provide the vehicle for conflict.

3) Theme (The examination of "patterns of life" can be didactic or just a slice of life).

4) Language (Dramatic dialogue consists of two parts: narrative and dramatic

5) Rhythm (Mood - how all the elements come together)

6) Spectacle - Everything that is seen or heard on stage. Actors,sets, costumes, lights and sound. NOTE: All plays have spectacle—some emphasize spectacle more than others.


So once established we can arguably see where Nomadland falls down because it is bottom of the list heavy and week in the most important top three categories. Fern is the same at the end of the film as she was at the beginning - there is no real character arc or growth at all - it's well-acted but completely one-dimensional. There is no plot to move it along. She is just camping and we follow along and listen to stories from other people camping - there is no actual plot.

The theme fails as I noted because it's not clear what the theme is. Is it anti-consumerism, is it a commentary on an unjust American system that has no safety nets? If it is any of this it is unclear.

So it pretty much fails on the first three points.

The arthouse crowd tends to gravitate to the stuff that doesn't matter all that much = spectacle. Camera work and cinematography. Nomadland gives us some sunsets and land shots and "see this is the life not living in a city."

Maybe that intertwines with the theme. Perhaps the main takeaway is that we have all been duped to chase consumer goods and it is better to just buy a camper van and live smaller. I can appreciate the sentiment of this lifestyle but not so much as a movie. It probably would have been better served as an outright documentary on nomadic life.

The problem is there is no plot or character arc and no real theme. It's far too long. And the look of the film isn't special. It's not like you are looking at Lawrence of Arabia or the English Patient in terms of cinematography. So even on spectacle, it isn't exactly industry-shaking.

This review kind of sums it up "Nomadland travels to the land of nothing and leaves you with nothing to take away from it."

https://reeltalker.com/2021/04/18/nomadland-review-epic-snoozefest-and-endless-search-for-a-story-that-got-me-heated/

I actually liked it a bit more than the above would suggest but it's not a movie I'd really want to re-watch and I doubt it will be an oscar-winning film that anyone will be talking about in 10 years (or perhaps even next year).

 

Yeah, and Aristotle had seen some good plays in Athens, posted on June 1, 2021 at 14:54:45
Jay Buridan
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Nothing remotely as sedate as Nomadland, though. Or rather sedating :(

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

+ 1 ^, posted on April 21, 2021 at 22:15:01
Road Warrior
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----------------------

"E Burres Stigano?"


 

I'm not sure you need to get it, posted on April 17, 2021 at 11:05:13
tunenut
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As long as I've been watching movies, the "road movie" has been a genre. And these are not generally plot driven. Most often, they have young protagonists who hit the road, meet people, have some adventures, learn some life lessons. And that's it. If you like the people, the scenery, if you like their little journey, you enjoy the movie. Otherwise you don't.

I would say this is firmly in that tradition, although the people are older. If there is a theme, it is loss, loss of family through aging and death, loss of community through economic change, loss of home.

And she hits the road and she meets a bunch of people whom I found interesting, and she sees some scenery which I found quite lovely.

I enjoyed this quite a bit and would be quite happy to see such a small and quiet story win best picture. And I more or less choked on Promising Young Woman. So to each their own.

 

+1. nt, posted on April 18, 2021 at 10:21:54
tinear
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s

 

Agree PYW should've been called Entrapment 2, posted on April 17, 2021 at 18:00:31
Des
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I thought it was Meh--left it be after halfway

Des

 

RE: Agree PYW should've been called Entrapment 2, posted on April 18, 2021 at 18:33:36
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PYW was okay - I don't think it's best picture nomination worthy. But considering some of the other choices it seems at home.

It's basically the Brett Kavanaugh story the way it should have ended if there was any justice.



 

RE: I don't get Nomadland, posted on April 14, 2021 at 00:47:56
violinist3
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I saw it almost the same way, except that I felt little bit for the characters. They all seemed to believe in that dream that they are in a quest for adventure and the beauty of nature, maybe unrealistically so. They seemed in denial of the harsh realities of living on the road. Maybe for some of them, this is their last chance to see the wonders of nature with the meager assets they have; some sort of a last chance desperate grab at a dream.

 

RE: I don't get Nomadland, posted on April 14, 2021 at 17:58:17
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I suppose that is a way to look at it but I recall my parents in a fifth wheel traveling across the US. I just don't think it's movie-worthy let alone best-picture-worthy.

The reviewers rave about the cinematography but I did;t think it was particularly memorable either.

So far I'd probably pick Judas and the Black Messiah or Promising Young Woman.

The latter is a revenge story of sorts and Carey Mulligan was so good in The Dig that as a combined performance I'd like to see her win - she won't.

Judas and the Black Messiah has weird editing issues although it was solid.

Mank is okay - mediocre

Trial of the Chicago 7 seems more like a TV movie and bettered by almost any episode of the West Wing.

They all just seem, as maher points out" It used to be "Look what good movies we make," but now it's "look what good people we are"



 

Maher's a little harsh. Films reflect the society, mostly. It's hard to, posted on April 16, 2021 at 14:35:32
tinear
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forget this is the wealthiest, by far, society. Since his rant didn't mention films he enjoyed in years past, it's just another angry guy. That said, American filmmaking in general has suffered for years: budgets are blown on blockbusters that people continue to find fascinating--- through 10 sequels/prequels--- as the characters become less real and the FX becomes more and more dominant.

I guess Maher should stick to blockbusters...

 

RE: Maher's a little harsh. Films reflect the society, mostly. It's hard to, posted on April 16, 2021 at 17:35:10
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He said he didn't want Godzilla vs Kong either. Maybe you missed the point on this one?

He lambasted Hollywood in the video.

 

I think you missed the point of film, in general, if you agree with Maher's rant. nt, posted on April 18, 2021 at 08:24:54
tinear
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d

 

RE: The Debbies...err the Oscars, posted on April 11, 2021 at 11:51:56
Mike B.
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I have only seen two of them. So far he is correct. I guess I have more depressing hours ahead of me if I chose to view the others.


 

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