Official Movie Discussion

[Sandro 251]

Considering the lack of lines, what did you think of Hardy's performance by the way?

 

I personally loved it. The depth and range Hardy has an actor from films like Inception/TDKR to carrying Locke (a highly amazing indy) and now a very low script role like this. He doesn't just sell the action, he sells the damaged character so well with so few words. Not an easy role to nail, but he does it.

 

If the rumors are true and he ends up as the next Bond post Craig, I think I'll be in heaven. Just need to find a director for the post Craig Bond after Mendes. The fan boy in me hopes that Nolan can finally land a Bond role. Him and Hardy together again in Bond? Dear god would that be magical. 

 

It falls in line with all the Mad Max movies. Dialogue has always been sparse, they convey the story and what these characters are thinking through other means. In the case of Hardy's Max, this is a version of the character who had not spoken in so long he had forgotten the sound of his own voice. I loved seeing how he changed from doing nothing but grunting and making motions (like the feral animal he had become) to speaking more and more as he got more used to his surroundings. The fact he was able to convey so much with so little shouldn't have surprised it, I mean, this is the same guy that showed more range than many actors with half his face covered when he was Bane.

 

You could see that what he was trying to do with the character is show that he was basically a wild animal. When they find the Vuvalini, everyone climbs out of the war rig to meet the new people. Max starts to climb out, looks around, and then goes back into and closes the door. He's this wild dog that has sort of been tamed by Furiosa, and he's fine talking to her, or the wives, or Nux, but doesn't want to talk to this new group of people. (Highlight for spoilers) Like you said, he absolutely sells the character and makes it all believable, which is so damn important in these movies because Max isn't really the star of these movies. He is the vehicle that transports us to these crazy stories in this crazy world and allows us to experience it through him.

 

I've felt Hardy's sequence with the mountain hospital in Inception was his audition for Bond for years. I think he would've been perfect if they carried the tone of Casino Royale forward, but I'm not as sure about it now that they're bringing more of the classic Bond elements back.

[Devise 4,475]

Just watched Birdman finally.

 

I loved it. I know some on here didn't as much but man is it fucking fantastic. I figured it'd be right up my alley, given my history of loving black comedies but man is it great. Keaton is fantastic, as is the whole cast. Cinematography is of course top notch. Generally pretty wry with it's wit there are also a few great serious emotional moments as well. Great stuff honestly. 

[Sandro 251]

Mad Max is up to $219 million at the box office. The budget was $150 million. I'm very happy about this, hopefully the film has some legs and keeps earning. It's a god damn miracle that this movie is as incredible as it is and it deserves all the monies.

[Devise 4,475]

Mad Max is up to $219 million at the box office. The budget was $150 million. I'm very happy about this, hopefully the film has some legs and keeps earning. It's a god damn miracle that this movie is as incredible as it is and it deserves all the monies.

 

I'm about 80 percent confirmed going to see it again on Sunday. Certain movies I just don't bother rewatching out of theaters, so I try to get them as much as in theaters as possible. Mad Max certainly deserves two times! 

[Sandro 251]

I'm about 80 percent confirmed going to see it again on Sunday. Certain movies I just don't bother rewatching out of theaters, so I try to get them as much as in theaters as possible. Mad Max certainly deserves two times! 

 

If I can find some time, I'm going for round three on the weekend. It's up to $233 million last I saw now, hopefully it can keep earning. Apparently they spent $100M on marketing in addition to the $150M production budget. I just want the movie to break even and I'll be very happy.

[Kesler 1,514]

Watched Mad Max, it wasnt amazing, it was good imo. Loved the (pretty much) non stop action.

[Sandro 251]

Watched Mad Max, it wasnt amazing, it was good imo. Loved the (pretty much) non stop action.

 

You have failed at life.

[Devise 4,475]

You have failed at life.

I mean let's not overrate it here. It is an amazing action movie and does a lot to push the genre. It's also a great theatre experience. But it still isn't like an absolute master class in film or something.

[Sandro 251]

I mean let's not overrate it here. It is an amazing action movie and does a lot to push the genre. It's also a great theatre experience. But it still isn't like an absolute master class in film or something.

 

It depends on what you consider a master class. It's the best action movie since The Matrix, it's one of the highest rated films of all time (#10 on Rotten Tomatoes, #30 on IMDb) and I would argue it's the best movie of the year so far.

 

Of course the action and stunts are mind-blowing, but that's not all it has going for it. The world building is incredible, the plot is simple but engaging, hell, Miller sets up so much about the world in the opening shot. There's a surprising amount of character development (especially for Nux and the wives) as the film progresses as well. There's real humanity to the movie, and the amount of detail put into the cult/religion of the War Boys is insane. They may not spoon feed the story to you, but it's absolutely there. It throws things at you and expects you to keep up, and it's honestly refreshing to see a movie treat the audience like they're intelligent people. Of course it's well-acted as well, this is a cast that's headlined by Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, and Nicholas Hoult. There's very little dialogue throughout the film and the actors are able to convey so much with looks, mannerisms, grunts, etc. Hardy especially, he has his opening monologue and then what... Maybe ten lines for the remaining hour and 58 minutes? I think it's also worth mentioning that once you get Rosie Huntington-Whiteley away from Michael Bay and those god awful Transformers movies, she can act too! Amazing what having a good director can do.

 

The use of CGI to complement the practical effects was phenomenal. Check out some of the behind the scenes info on how they pulled off the stunts, or Miller's manipulation of the frame rate to achieve the desired look he wanted. It's all pretty crazy stuff. Tom Holkenborg's soundtrack is awesome and complements the film perfectly, I loved the way they integrated the drums and guitar from the Doof Wagon. The camera work and cinematography as a whole was jealous. They didn't mask the action behind close ups or shaky cam tactics like so many action movies, just gorgeous wide shots of ridiculous vehicle stunts and a tanker full of gasoline exploding in the middle of the desert.

 

So yeah. Maybe it's not Citizen Kane or The Godfather, but Fury Road is an incredible movie. Every little nuance and detail was very deliberately done the way it was, something that is only possible because Miller had been trying to get this movie made for something like 15 years.

 

EDIT: To cement these thoughts, you should have seen social media in the lead up to the 15th. People in the industry were losing their minds over it. Rian Johnson, y'know, the guy who's writing and directing Star Wars Episode VIII said "GEORGE MILLER JUST TOOK US ALL TO SCHOOL." Patton Oswalt was losing his mind over it, Jay Baruchel called it a masterpiece, and a whole bunch of other people were getting retweeted and showing up in my feed just showering praise on it.

 

While I'm sure a host of other stuff will get all the award recognition at the end of the year, I guarantee that Mad Max: Fury Road will end up being viewed as the most important film of 2015 in addition to being one of the best. Up-and-coming filmmakers are going to be citing Fury Road as one of their biggest inspirations 20 years from now.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Sandro

[Devise 4,475]

I don't disagree with most of your sentiments regarding the film.

 

But being a big step forward in action movies (blockbuster ones in particular) doesn't somehow make it more or less revolutionary imo. It's a big step forward because studios who make big action movies play it safe/refuse to attempt to reinvent the wheel a lot of the time. Or like Micheal Bay continually proves, don't give a shit. 

 

The film as a whole stands up very well, and is very good for the majority of reasons you listed. But in some cases it isn't like wide action non steady cam action shots are something that is only done by Miller in this movie. Or that plot hasn't been presented before with little dialogue, or in a more unique way than applied.

 

This isn't to discredit Mad Max by any means, mostly just to try to keep perspective. It's a landmark movie in a year that really needed something to keep pushing things forward. It'll be remembered well. But if someone goes and see's it and responds with "it's good, but I don't get all the hype" that is fine. Expectations. Part of the reason Mad Max hits so hard for people like you and me (most likely) is that it wasn't expected to do what it did. Expectations can make or break good movies imo. It can turn something good into something great, and turn something good into something average because you expected more. 

[Kesler 1,514]

You have failed at life.

shutup.

[Sandro 251]

shutup.

 

No thanks.

[Kesler 1,514]

No thanks.

k cool kid that seems to know everything about everything. 

 

Saying that I have "failed at life" when you dont even know me is pathetic. Because of a fucking two sentence review on a moie I watched, you said that? Wow I would love to hear your analysis on someones life that is a failure. But still you should not be capable of determining whether someone has failed at life.

[Sandro 251]

k cool kid that seems to know everything about everything. 

 

Saying that I have "failed at life" when you dont even know me is pathetic. Because of a fucking two sentence review on a moie I watched, you said that? Wow I would love to hear your analysis on someones life that is a failure. But still you should not be capable of determining whether someone has failed at life.

 

You're taking a joke and blowing it way out of proportion.

[Devise 4,475]

Watched Interstellar again today. Only my second viewing, first out of theater. While it certainly is a theater experience bar none, it still holds up well outside of. I still found it to be pretty great, and a good emotional film. Certainly the most emotionally gripping from Nolan, granted most of his stuff is darker/colder anyways. 

[Phil 5,119]

I saw Mad Max. I'd give it 8/10.

 

I fucking love the action scenes and non-stop adrenaline that is very reminiscent of Borderlands.

 

 

However, my biggest problem with the film is that, as a stand-alone film called MAD MAX - he's basically just along for the ride. The best part of themovie was defintely the opening where he just rekts shit everywhere. After that - he almost literally take a back seat. 

 

Mad Maxime woulda been a better title. 

 

Actually if they just changed the title, I'da given it 8.5 or 9  stars ahaha. 

[Kesler 1,514]

Yeah he defeated definitely was not the main character.

[Phil 5,119]

I also saw Chappie this weekend - which I thoroughly enjoyed

[Kesler 1,514]

I also saw Chappie this weekend - which I thoroughly enjoyed

that movie was really weird

[Sandro 251]

I saw Mad Max. I'd give it 8/10.

 

I fucking love the action scenes and non-stop adrenaline that is very reminiscent of Borderlands.

 

 

However, my biggest problem with the film is that, as a stand-alone film called MAD MAX - he's basically just along for the ride. The best part of themovie was defintely the opening where he just rekts shit everywhere. After that - he almost literally take a back seat. 

 

Mad Maxime woulda been a better title. 

 

Actually if they just changed the title, I'da given it 8.5 or 9  stars ahaha. 

 

Max hasn't been the main character since the first film, he's purely the vehicle through which we witness the world he lives in. I have absolutely no issue with him sharing the lead with Charlize Theron's Furiosa.

 

P.S. Borderlands is basically Mad Max the video game, not the other way around.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Sandro

[Victor 10,946]

If the rumors are true and he ends up as the next Bond post Craig, I think I'll be in heaven. Just need to find a director for the post Craig Bond after Mendes. The fan boy in me hopes that Nolan can finally land a Bond role. Him and Hardy together again in Bond? Dear god would that be magical.

Can we also have Tom Hiddleston as a villain?

[Higgins 3,618]

Watched Enemy last night. It is a strange psychological thriller movie, but it's something different and has some pretty deep themes. It's probably not for everyone. 7/10.

 

 

I'm searching for more thrillers so if anyone has any recommendations, let me know some

[Kendrick 4,741]

Gone Girl - 6/10

 

Anyone who has seen this can probably understand what I am about to say. This story has way too many holes in it that Amy Dunne did not seem to cover up. It basically threatens the audiences intelligence. I love David Fincher movies (Zodiac, Fight Club etc.) but this is his second worst movie of all tie (1st would be The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). I don't recommend watching this if you think you're in for a good drama/mystery. I rated it 6/10 because the plot does have some great starting points.

[Higgins 3,618]

Everyone in this thread rated Nightcrawler 9/10. I'd have to agree, I watched it last night, definitely recommend it. Great representation of media in America tbh

 

 

My second Gyllenhaal movie in a row, I'm going to make the trifecta tonight and watch Prisoners.

[Kesler 1,514]

Prisoners best movie of 2014(?).