SimplyScripts Discussion Board
Blog Home - Produced Movie Script Library - TV Scripts - Unproduced Scripts - Contact - Site Map
ScriptSearch
Welcome, Guest.
It is March 28th, 2024, 6:01pm
Please login or register.
Was Portal Recent Posts Home Help Calendar Search Register Login
Please do read the guidelines that govern behavior on the discussion board. It will make for a much more pleasant experience for everyone. A word about SimplyScripts and Censorship


Produced Script Database (Updated!)
One Week Challenge - Who Wrote What and Writers' Choice.


Scripts studios are posting for award consideration

Short Script of the Day | Featured Script of the Month | Featured Short Scripts Available for Production
Submit Your Script

How do I get my film's link and banner here?
All screenplays on the simplyscripts.com and simplyscripts.net domain are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. This screenplaymay not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
Forum Login
Username: Create a new Account
Password:     Forgot Password

SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Reviews    Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  ›  Us (2019) Moderators: Nixon
Users Browsing Forum
No Members and 10 Guests

 Pages: 1, 2, 3 : All
Recommend Print
  Author    Us (2019)  (currently 2400 views)
James McClung
Posted: March 22nd, 2019, 10:00pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients



Location
Washington, D.C.
Posts
3293
Posts Per Day
0.49
I mean, does it need an introduction? Let's try for a logline instead; I need the practice, and this film is certainly not lacking in hype:

A Santa Cruz beach vacation hits a typhoon of terror when Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) and her family confront a group of insidious doppelgängers.

...it's serviceable, right? If not, here's the trailer:



Like I said, no intro required. Y'all have probably heard of this one by now. On with the review. I'll try to keep it short and spoiler-free (EDIT: too late; no luck there on the short front).

Let's start with Jordan Peele. I've gone back and forth thinking that, even in the context of his genuine talents, unique style, and unprecedented dark horse ascendance to reputed horror visionary, he's been a little overhyped. I haven't decided that just yet, but I'm pretty confident that, at the end of the day, he's the star of the show when it comes to Us.

No sophomore slump for this dude. Us maintains Peele's signature auteur style but is distinct from his debut (Get Out) and way more ambitious. This is what you hope in a second film, isn't it?

In particular, Peele has especially upped his craft on the directing front. The Santa Cruz amusement park/boardwalk setting is rife with cinematic opportunities, and none are lost on this guy. So many strange and diverse compositions and vibes across the board, ranging from serene, idyllic, carnivalesque, cold, hellish. In particular, there's a very thoughtful, creative use of reflective surfaces (glass, mirrors, etc.) consistent throughout as a motif for the concept of "the double." There are also a number of visual clues, references, and subtext in relation to the plot/themes of the film, which are subtle enough where you have to pay attention but not so obscure that you have to watch the film 10 times and read some essays to catch them all. In a sense, the film's very viewer-friendly in that you could watch it on autopilot and more or less take in the plot (not recommended) but there would be many a reward for those who rewatch.

Peele's also produced a much more overt horror movie this time around. If you're a Tarantino fan, you should especially enjoy how the plot evolves through a number of subgenre incarnations, e.g. slasher, home invasion, gothic, zombies (kinda), surreal, etc. If you're a nerd in general, you might have a fun time spotting the various directorial influences. One scene reminded me of Michael Haneke, which surprises me since Peele strikes me as more of a traditionalist/on the "classy" side of the horror front (Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, etc.).

The cast is superb all around. I mean, I suppose it's obvious, but I do want to stress the significance that all of the actors had to play two roles directly opposite each other. This means that during filming, they would've had no acting partners to play off of as far as their respective doubles and would've had to shoot the same exact scenes in their entire not once but twice (this is days of filmmaking, people). This isn't my personal extrapolation; it's been confirmed by Peele and co. in interviews. I mean, it's far out just thinking about the hard work mentally and physically these actors would've had to put in and pull it off.

Nyong'o is the star of the film (onscreen). Her performance (that is, both of them, collectively) is wild, out there, and unique. I couldn't have anticipated so much range even based on her previous work. This feels like a breakthrough performance, not the latest from an established actor.

Winston Duke is the runner-up and gets the most laughs in his protagonist role as Gabe Wilson. I actually think he has a fairly important role in the film as far as balancing the tone. His character is one of those dudes that just has to make a joke all the time, even when it's inappropriate. He just can't help himself and tends to default to humor when he's in an uncomfortable position. There are many jokes and gags almost exclusively involving Duke during overt horror and dramatic sequences, and because his character/performance, they feel appropriate and grounded in reality where they could've easily felt like the director forcing the humor (although there were many exceptions for me, personally).

Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex deserve their own shoutouts as the Wilson children. They're impressive as far as child actors go and had a difficult job to do as far as adult actors go. A personal shoutout to Tim Heidecker as Gabe's douchebag friend, Josh. Big fan of his Tim & Eric projects (a convert, really), so it was a lot of fun to see him in such a high-profile film and in a more grounded, inherently plot-centric role.

I do have some issues with the film, including some major ones. I won't say much on them and will forego the ones related to the plot, which I've opted to keep silent on in general in the interest of avoiding spoilers. I will say, though, that the plot has a ton of plates spinning and there was many a moment where I was either confused or thought the writing had blundered significantly somehow where perhaps it may or may not have. I do think humor was occasionally used inappropriately and often at the expense of horror/dramatic moments. Sometimes, it wasn't humor per se but some element of the direction, acting, music, etc. (definitely the music half the time) was a little too self-conscious and/or overblown where it seemed more like a parody of a horror movie (I have to wonder if some of this isn't just Peele's style, in which case I'll have to concede a difference of taste). The film also has some significant political undertones, and there were a few moments for me that felt too on-the-nose on that front.

There's a lot more I could say about the film. Not a lot more I want to write (been here a while). Waiting for some pals to see it so we can talk about it one on one. Did want to share my thoughts here, though, in the interest of some discussion and also getting back into writing in general. Used to write reviews like this all the time. Can't believe I didn't burn out sooner.

Overall, I'd recommend the film. I preferred Get Out, which I didn't expect, but fans of Peele shouldn't be (too) disappointed. Let me know what you guys thought or any expectations you might have if you haven't seen it yet. If you made it to the end of my review, I say thankya (Dark Tower anyone?). Perhaps you have some suggestions for me as far as not rambling on so much.



Revision History (3 edits; 1 reasons shown)
James McClung  -  March 24th, 2019, 12:45am
Logged
Private Message
Demento
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 8:48am Report to Moderator
Been Around



Posts
946
Posts Per Day
0.25
I didn't like it. I've always thought doppelgangers were a cool concept, however, I thought the concept behind this movie was kinda dumb and made little sense.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 1 - 31
Grandma Bear
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 10:39am Report to Moderator
Administrator



Location
The Swamp...
Posts
7961
Posts Per Day
1.36
I haven't seen it yet, but when I looked up films in my city, it said about this film that it was a thriller comedy. That sort of turned me off. Is it really a comedy too?


Logged
Private Message Reply: 2 - 31
Demento
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 10:55am Report to Moderator
Been Around



Posts
946
Posts Per Day
0.25

Quoted from Grandma Bear
I haven't seen it yet, but when I looked up films in my city, it said about this film that it was a thriller comedy. That sort of turned me off. Is it really a comedy too?


No. It has some forced jokes but it's a pure Thriller-Horror.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 3 - 31
James McClung
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 11:45am Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients



Location
Washington, D.C.
Posts
3293
Posts Per Day
0.49
There’s definitely some comedy in there. I think Peele just can’t help himself. Horror is the front-and-center genre, for sure, but if comedy in your horror really turns you off, this ain’t for you. I definitely prefer my horror comedy-free, but I knew what I was getting into in this case. The scenes that bothered me the most seemed like they were trying for horror but came off super goofy.

I tried to enjoy this on its own terms. My review hopefully reflects that. I wouldn’t recommend it on the grounds of a proper horror cut, but I found it entertaining in and of itself.


Logged
Private Message Reply: 4 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 12:58pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32
I wish the movie was as good as the review is written!

This was hugely disappointing. It’s like a sophomore Kubrick.

Peele should be commended for his ambition, but you need the bandwidth to realise it. He is talented, no doubt, but simply doesn’t have the skillset to achieve what he wants.

This film desperately wants to be powerful and challenging. It’s fails, and pretty miserably, for me. Kubrick couldn’t have made The Shining so early in his career; I think Peele is hungover from the success of the far better Get Out, and has believed his own hype.

This guy is more Richard Kelly than what he is aiming for.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 5 - 31
Demento
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 2:55pm Report to Moderator
Been Around



Posts
946
Posts Per Day
0.25
These kinda movies shouldn't be explained in 90% of the cases. A lot of horror comes off super silly when you try to explain it.

Just leave it ambiguous. I found the explanation for the doppelgängers ridiculous.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 6 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 9:07pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32

Quoted from Demento
These kinda movies shouldn't be explained in 90% of the cases. A lot of horror comes off super silly when you try to explain it.

Just leave it ambiguous. I found the explanation for the doppelgängers ridiculous.


It was suprising to see Jason Blum attached to this, because this is a guy who is a prototype for what a producer should be.

That said, when you see Written, Produced & Directed by, you know there is potential for an uneven film.

That to me suggests Peele took too much control, and as we are seeing with some of the Netflix titles, it is not bad to have an excellent producer there to save the 'creative' from their own extravagances. Giving too much control is bad. Unless, of course, you're dealing with an actual genius, like Kubrick.

Much as James addressed in his first post, there is cause for concern Peele has been given a status he has not earned.

This isn't a terrible film; it's just a film with too much regard for itself, with a largely sycophantic professional reviewer class toeing the line. The disparity between critic score and audience score on RT is not down to the audience being dumb (as no doubt some critics will assume), but because an audience is almost always the best barometer, IMO.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 7 - 31
Heretic
Posted: March 25th, 2019, 10:47pm Report to Moderator
January Project Group



Location
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posts
2023
Posts Per Day
0.28
I was lukewarm on this, but it looked real good and had real good performances, and that was enough for a fun night at the movies. Not as scary or as funny -- or as good -- as Get out, but I enjoyed it well enough.

Definitely agree with most of the criticisms above, and especially that this seemed like a movie where one person had too much creative control.

Great soundtrack.
Logged Offline
Site Private Message Reply: 8 - 31
Demento
Posted: March 26th, 2019, 2:33pm Report to Moderator
Been Around



Posts
946
Posts Per Day
0.25

Quoted from Andrew
It was suprising to see Jason Blum attached to this, because this is a guy who is a prototype for what a producer should be.

That said, when you see Written, Produced & Directed by, you know there is potential for an uneven film.

That to me suggests Peele took too much control, and as we are seeing with some of the Netflix titles, it is not bad to have an excellent producer there to save the 'creative' from their own extravagances. Giving too much control is bad. Unless, of course, you're dealing with an actual genius, like Kubrick.

Much as James addressed in his first post, there is cause for concern Peele has been given a status he has not earned.

This isn't a terrible film; it's just a film with too much regard for itself, with a largely sycophantic professional reviewer class toeing the line. The disparity between critic score and audience score on RT is not down to the audience being dumb (as no doubt some critics will assume), but because an audience is almost always the best barometer, IMO.


Given that this movie had a 20 mil dollar budget and was essentially made by Peele's production company, I think Jason Blum's part was to secure distribution with Universal because his company has a deal with Universal for the distribution of his own films.

But, I would imagine that he gave Peele freedom on Get Out, because that's his model, give the filmmaker 4-5 mil and as long as they come under budget, they can have creative freedom. After the huge success of Get Out, critically, financially, plus an Oscar, I think he could have done whatever he wanted and no one would have questioned him. After the opening weekend for Us, I doubt anyone will try to do so in his next attempt. What's interesting is that Blum's philosophy is that movies should more or less have an explanation.

When I saw the trailer for the film, I said to myself, I have to watch this to see what's the twist, how they will go about this. Then I saw the movie and it had this silly, illogical, pulled out of nowhere explanation, that I was deflated and slightly annoyed. Just leave it be, don't explain where these doppelgangers came from.

Revision History (1 edits)
Demento  -  March 26th, 2019, 4:45pm
Logged
Private Message Reply: 9 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 6:08am Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32

Quoted from Demento


Given that this movie had a 20 mil dollar budget and was essentially made by Peele's production company, I think Jason Blum's part was to secure distribution with Universal because his company has a deal with Universal for the distribution of his own films.

But, I would imagine that he gave Peele freedom on Get Out, because that's his model, give the filmmaker 4-5 mil and as long as they come under budget, they can have creative freedom. After the huge success of Get Out, critically, financially, plus an Oscar, I think he could have done whatever he wanted and no one would have questioned him. After the opening weekend for Us, I doubt anyone will try to do so in his next attempt. What's interesting is that Blum's philosophy is that movies should more or less have an explanation.

When I saw the trailer for the film, I said to myself, I have to watch this to see what's the twist, how they will go about this. Then I saw the movie and it had this silly, illogical, pulled out of nowhere explanation, that I was deflated and slightly annoyed. Just leave it be, don't explain where these doppelgangers came from.


Interesting take. I worked pre prod on a movie called I Miss You Already, and the director, Catherine Hardwicke, talked about how Blum is utterly obsessive about cost savings; even on the personal level. Live what you preach. She told a tale of how he would book multiple coach seats to lay out, rarther than buying business / first; of course, you could argue why not just buy one coach seat if you're about saving cost (!), but this is Hollywood, after all.

What he has done in the past few years - including branching out from horror - is nothing short of spectacular. My understanding was that he cedes creative control artistically, but shepherds the project commercially, i.e. posing the question constantly in terms of how they may play out with the audience, and, as you say, managing cost to maximise returns.

Peele is unquestionably talented, but hype can consume everyone. I'd prefer to see him do something stripped back to develop his skillset next. Us would've been so much more effective had he made it with the experience of a few films under his belt. Still, it's a huge commercial and critical success, so I may just have called this one wrong (I don't think so!), but that's the beauty of film. So much is perspective and opinion-based.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 10 - 31
James McClung
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 1:46pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients



Location
Washington, D.C.
Posts
3293
Posts Per Day
0.49
Interesting discussion. I'm surprised by the negative comments, honestly. If I expected a negative reaction from anyone, it was definitely me. I've got many a good thing to say about Peele, but I'd never make some of the insane leaps some are making in regards to his status as a horror filmmaker specifically (. I also wasn't nearly as crazy about Get Out as others, so I was surprised to find I actually prefer that film to this one.

RE: creative control, I have no doubt Peele got final cut and had Blum's full confidence. I'd be surprised if the two didn't share an open discourse throughout the making of the film. As such, the flaws of the film seem to fall on Peele as much as the strengths, so he has to own them along with everything else. I don't know that I agree he shouldn't have had as much control, though, keeping in mind that can definitely have an adverse effect on the final product.

I agree on the explanation of the doppelgangers. I don't know that it's entirely functional in and of itself, and it definitely doesn't work to the effect Peele has described in interviews. I would've preferred many of the elements to be scaled back and/or restructured.

Andrew, would you care to elaborate more on some of your specific gripes with the film? I think you've made some good points, but they've been mostly broad strokes thus far (not a criticism).



Revision History (1 edits)
James McClung  -  March 27th, 2019, 2:16pm
Logged
Private Message Reply: 11 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 2:47pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32
It felt more like an anthology of short films badly linked together. After the very opening with little Lupita, it just drifted through to the home invasion. It wasn't entertaining. What did we really learn about the characters? I am all for meandering, dialogue-driven explorations of situations and characters, but if you're going to do that, you need Tarantino-esque chops to get by. Peele doesn't have that range in his writing.

The home invasion itself was fun. That was until the tethered versions started to engage with the family; Lupita's tethered voice was painful (her performance was largely mediocre), and offputting. Of course, that's personal preference.

There were some scattered moments in the segment that worked well; the tethered daughter taking out the car guy; the speedboat.

As the story then starts to broaden out to the wider outbreak of the tethered, it starts to lose any sense of cohesion. I actually liked the ending, conceptually, but it felt tacked on. The rest of the movie does not feel like it is building to that moment.

The stakes are low outside the family, which begs the question why bother bringing in the supporting family?

They are deliberately set up as a counter to our main family; that is the purpose of them. Look at this annoying mother who never shuts up; the awful daughters. There's no depth to them. If you're going to introduce this secondary thread, it should have consequence to the story. Take them out, and nothing changes in the main narrative.

Then in closing, we are introduced to the purpose of the tethered, but there has been no real tension for that created (they tried to do it via the news report); instead of bringing in the secondary family and wasting all that time, they could've used it to explore the macro, and fully integrate the ending. It would've made for a more satisfying, cohesive film.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 12 - 31
James McClung
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 5:59pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients



Location
Washington, D.C.
Posts
3293
Posts Per Day
0.49
Appreciate it, man. I thought the first act up to and including the Tethered engaging with the family was the most effective. Not many gripes other than some tonal choices and individual lines of dialogue I didn't care for. The film starts to lose focus and go off the rails for me around the time the other Tethered (outside of the family) are introduced. At that point, it becomes much more of a traditional survival horror (across various incarnations), and much of the intrigue is sidelined until the final act, which is clunky in and of itself.


Logged
Private Message Reply: 13 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 6:28pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32
Ahh, we're not a million miles away, then. I've reviewed it more harshly due to the near uniform high praise it has had, too.

In recent times, I'd say a bedfellow to this would be Cabin in the Woods. Where that movie was - at least to memory - largely savaged, this one is celebrated, but I realised the majority of the criticisms I've given this could easily be levelled at Cabin in the Woods, which I adored.

Sometimes the chemistry is just not there.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 14 - 31
Zack
Posted: March 27th, 2019, 7:46pm Report to Moderator
January Project Group



Location
Erlanger, KY
Posts
4487
Posts Per Day
0.69

Quoted from Andrew


In recent times, I'd say a bedfellow to this would be Cabin in the Woods. Where that movie was - at least to memory - largely savaged, this one is celebrated, but I realised the majority of the criticisms I've given this could easily be levelled at Cabin in the Woods, which I adored.

Sometimes the chemistry is just not there.


Cabin in the Woods received almost universal praise. Deservedly so, if I do say so myself. Haven't seen Us yet, but hopefully will get a chance this weekend.

Logged
Private Message Reply: 15 - 31
Andrew
Posted: March 28th, 2019, 12:06pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Posts
1791
Posts Per Day
0.32

Quoted from Zack


Cabin in the Woods received almost universal praise. Deservedly so, if I do say so myself. Haven't seen Us yet, but hopefully will get a chance this weekend.



You're quite right. Not sure what I was remembering, then. Although I've just had a look at RT, and there's a disparity between critics and audience reviews, so maybe that's what I'm remembering (friends not liking it). It also contradicts my earlier point about audiences knowing best, but hey ho.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 16 - 31
Zack
Posted: March 28th, 2019, 12:11pm Report to Moderator
January Project Group



Location
Erlanger, KY
Posts
4487
Posts Per Day
0.69

Quoted from Andrew


You're quite right. Not sure what I was remembering, then. Although I've just had a look at RT, and there's a disparity between critics and audience reviews, so maybe that's what I'm remembering (friends not liking it). It also contradicts my earlier point about audiences knowing best, but hey ho.


Yeah, I saw it with a group of friends and most of them HATED it. It definitely seemed to split audience members more so than mainstream critics.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 17 - 31
James McClung
Posted: March 28th, 2019, 1:03pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients



Location
Washington, D.C.
Posts
3293
Posts Per Day
0.49
I definitely hated Cabin in the Woods. It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I have the same reservations now that I did back then. Namely, I felt like it was made by people who don't like horror and fixated on deconstructing uninteresting tropes that make horror movies bad. I also can't stand meta horror or Josh Whedon in general. There were scenes I liked, and craft-wise, it could be pretty sound for all I know (I don't remember). Overall, though, it struck me as super snarky, pretentious, and disingenuous.

That said, I can understand why people like it. I can even understand why it's still popular today. I think where it's polarizing, it comes down to the essence of what the filmmakers intended to achieve, not flaws that may or may not have arisen on the way there.


Logged
Private Message Reply: 18 - 31
Heretic
Posted: March 28th, 2019, 1:06pm Report to Moderator
January Project Group



Location
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posts
2023
Posts Per Day
0.28

Quoted from Zack
Yeah, I saw it with a group of friends and most of them HATED it. It definitely seemed to split audience members more so than mainstream critics.


I think this often happens with movies like Cabin and Us, especially in the Rotten Tomatoes era -- ambition and originality are enough for pretty much every critic to give at least a mild, qualified thumbs up, which then leads to a high rating in aggregate (which, of course, is why aggregated ratings are stupid, but anyway). When you critique films for a living and you come to Us after a parade of Conjuring spinoff sequels and movies called "The Haunting/Taking/Exorcism of Some Lady," it just makes you happy to see something different and unexpected. Of course that new/fresh experience is something you want more of, so you'll give an at least mildly positive review. For a lot of regular audiences, who pick and choose a small number of movies a year, the point isn't whether a movie is ambitious or fresh so much as that it delivers a fun, engrossing, complete experience that justifies the enormous ticket cost and the half hour of advertisements you sat through.

Critics are there for a job; seeing an ambitious failure costs them nothing. Not so for audiences.
Logged Offline
Site Private Message Reply: 19 - 31
Zombie Sean
Posted: March 29th, 2019, 9:29am Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Location
Colorado
Posts
1547
Posts Per Day
0.23

Quoted from James McClung
I definitely hated Cabin in the Woods. It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I have the same reservations now that I did back then. Namely, I felt like it was made by people who don't like horror and fixated on deconstructing uninteresting tropes that make horror movies bad. I also can't stand meta horror or Josh Whedon in general. There were scenes I liked, and craft-wise, it could be pretty sound for all I know (I don't remember). Overall, though, it struck me as super snarky, pretentious, and disingenuous.

That said, I can understand why people like it. I can even understand why it's still popular today. I think where it's polarizing, it comes down to the essence of what the filmmakers intended to achieve, not flaws that may or may not have arisen on the way there.


Finally, someone who agrees with me that Cabin in the Woods was not a great film, and that Joss Whedon shouldn't be a screenwriter/director/whatever. That movie was marketed as a horror film when in actuality it was marketed as a comedy making fun of horror movies, and not like in a "Scary Movie" way. More of like a "Hey, horror isn't good and let's point out all of the reasons why!" kind of way. But, of course, that's just all my opinion  

Anyway, I saw US last night. I fell asleep during it. Probably didn't help that I had a couple drinks in me, but from what I remember seeing, it was nothing groundbreaking. I should watch it again, but I can't guarantee that I'll like it anymore than the first round. Jordan Peele needs to stop calling his films horror and just stick with the term thriller, because there's nothing scary about this film nor Get Out.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 20 - 31
Kirsten
Posted: April 30th, 2019, 8:34pm Report to Moderator
January Project Group


Giving up is not an option....

Location
Kiwi in Ohio
Posts
373
Posts Per Day
0.13
Oh good, I'm not alone in being unimpressed with this.


"Turn that off, our friend has just been killed in a fatal sunlight accident!"....

'What we do in the Shadows.'
Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 21 - 31
Warren
Posted: April 30th, 2019, 8:41pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


A man who has taught his mind to misbehave

Location
Sydney, Australia
Posts
3897
Posts Per Day
1.36
This was utter trash, I can't believe I paid to see it at the cinema.


Logged
Private Message Reply: 22 - 31
Dreamscale
Posted: June 26th, 2019, 5:45pm Report to Moderator
Guest User



Finally got around to seeing this, and I'm completely stumped and baffled at the positive reviews, the praise, and the WWBO of $255 Million.

O.......M.......G!!!!!!!!

This was absolutely terrible.  This was absolutely ludicrous.  Just shockingly weak on every single level.

The amazing thing is how so many peeps, including Peele, himself, take this so seriously.  I'm still shaking my head in disbelief at how utterly stupid this story and plot are.

I could seriously go on for literally hours about all the redorkulous plot points, but fuck it, I'm not going to waste my time, as they should be so damn apparent.

Grade - F
Logged
e-mail Reply: 23 - 31
ReaperCreeper
Posted: August 22nd, 2019, 12:45pm Report to Moderator
Been Around



Location
Wisconsin
Posts
974
Posts Per Day
0.15
Lots of negativity towards this movie on here. Surprising. I actually liked it quite a lot, even though it did feel as though it was quite a ways up its own ass on occasion. Not sure if I'd change my mind on it had I paid to see it in the cinema though (I borrowed it from the library.) It's as mainstream and clean as the genre gets, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for me.
Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 24 - 31
DustinBowcot
Posted: August 22nd, 2019, 3:22pm Report to Moderator
Guest User



Why did the dopplegangers wear masks to begin with? Never seen this and not going to. I hate those stupid masks.
Logged
e-mail Reply: 25 - 31
Scar Tissue Films
Posted: February 22nd, 2020, 5:19pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3382
Posts Per Day
0.63
Absolute trash.

I couldn't believe what I was watching.
Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 26 - 31
Grandma Bear
Posted: February 22nd, 2020, 6:14pm Report to Moderator
Administrator



Location
The Swamp...
Posts
7961
Posts Per Day
1.36

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films
Absolute trash.

I couldn't believe what I was watching.


I ditto that.


Logged
Private Message Reply: 27 - 31
Colkurtz8
Posted: February 22nd, 2020, 10:19pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer



Location
--> Over There
Posts
1731
Posts Per Day
0.30
I was really with this for the first two thirds...then it completely falls off a cliff when we get the "explanation" for what's really going. It just doesn't hold up at all. Too many questions and "Wait, what?" moments.

Having said that, there is some good ideas in here and undeniable craft. I would never call total garbage.

Nice to see Tim Heidecker get a substantial role in a big film too.

I give this: 3 regular bags of popcorn, 2 large cokes and 1 rubber figurine of Tim that expands when you put it in water.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 28 - 31
SAC
Posted: February 22nd, 2020, 11:09pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


… but some dreams do

Location
Upstate NY
Posts
3201
Posts Per Day
0.79
Haven't seen this, but I did read the screenplay -- reluctantly. I thought it'd be stupid so I stayed away, but when I finally did come back to it I thought it was actually pretty decent, story-wise, that is. I expect horror to be ridiculous any way it's presented, so I kinda let that fly here. Interesting premise, creepy and good action towards the end. Did not jibe with the explanation of who the dopplegangers were, but hey, that's horror for ya.


Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 29 - 31
Scar Tissue Films
Posted: February 22nd, 2020, 11:43pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3382
Posts Per Day
0.63
The idea is fine, the execution is literally laughable.

I don't think I've ever seen another film that is so inconsistent in it's own logic.

Not a thing in the whole film makes sense when compared to another part.

It was like a random amateur script had been filmed by a top crew.
Logged Offline
Private Message Reply: 30 - 31
Dreamscale
Posted: February 25th, 2020, 1:56pm Report to Moderator
Guest User



It's jawdroppingly terrible.

But for me, the really shocking thing about this, is the praise it received.  "The Emperor's New Suit" is on full display here with all the idiots saying how great this is.

It's very sad, to me.
Logged
e-mail Reply: 31 - 31
 Pages: 1, 2, 3 : All
Recommend Print

Locked Board Board Index    Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  [ previous | next ] Switch to:
Was Portal Recent Posts Home Help Calendar Search Register Login

Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post polls
You may not post attachments
HTML is on
Blah Code is on
Smilies are on


Powered by E-Blah Platinum 9.71B © 2001-2006