Ready Player One (2018) FILM Discussion

[filmmusic 1,829]

On 13/2/2018 at 11:17 PM, Stefancos said:

What's bad about it? It's nice. Clearly modeled on 80's posters.

Too busy.

[crumbs 14,316]

15 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

 

 

Probably the first trailer where I've actually wished Williams had scored the movie. I feel slightly robbed, considering he's been available since November. ANYWAY!

 

Silvestri will do a fine job. I just hope it's more Silvestri of the Abyss, Predator, Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her, Castaway, etc. age, and less of a Danny Elfman doing Justice League situation -- a talented composer lowering his colours to the mediocrity of modern film scoring).

[Holko 9,526]

I've seen some people on twitter say they're disappointed becasue they loved the book and it's not very faithful to it. That may be good, other sources I trust more said the book was horrible.

[Bilbo 3,709]

It was 81% on RT last night. I’d be happy with that! 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Thilvethtri ith the new Williamth.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

3 hours ago, Bilbo said:

It was 81% on RT last night. I’d be happy with that! 

 

The Disney Star Wars and Marvel funny book movies get 99%. The latest sci-fi/fantasy popcorn flick from SS barely above 80%...

[Bilbo 3,709]

26 minutes ago, Philippe Roaché said:

 

The Disney Star Wars and Marvel funny book movies get 99%. The latest sci-fi/fantasy popcorn flick from SS barely above 80%...

 

The critics obviously get to see different versions of these MCU things because the ones I've seen were mundane cookie cutter crap. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Spielberg likes his light pink and baby blue neon in his modern science fiction epics.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

 

No score but plenty of practical stuff

[crocodile 8,016]

On 3/20/2018 at 5:15 AM, Holko said:

I've seen some people on twitter say they're disappointed becasue they loved the book and it's not very faithful to it. That may be good, other sources I trust more said the book was horrible.

Blame the book author. He co-wrote the script.

 

Karol

[Brundlefly 2,385]

On 16.2.2018 at 1:38 PM, crumbs said:

Silvestri will do a fine job. I just hope it's more Silvestri of the Abyss, Predator, Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her, Castaway, etc. age, and less of a Danny Elfman doing Justice League situation -- a talented composer lowering his colours to the mediocrity of modern film scoring).

Not with Spielberg as director. He'd rather awake the 80s' genius of Silvestri.

[Jay 37,364]

So Thor, tell us a bit about the film.  What's it like?

[crocodile 8,016]

15 minutes ago, Jay said:

So Thor, tell us a bit about the film.  What's it like?

Bit weightless. It has no ambitions of being anything more than what you'd expect. But it also wasn't as bad as I expected, especially in the second half.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

That... doesn't tell me anything.

Can you elaborate?  Like, describe what the actual film is like and does?

[mstrox 6,651]

AV Club had a pretty thorough spoiler-free review today, Jay - worth checking out

[Jay 37,364]

Sure, but I was interested in Karol's thoughts.

 

 

Speaking of AVClub, this article is pretty funny/interesting/sad

 

https://film.avclub.com/the-justice-league-blu-ray-is-a-bizarre-exercise-in-hid-1824111076

[crocodile 8,016]

You don't really get to know anything about the main character so it's hard to care about him. They sort of jump straight into heavy exposition. That is why the first half is bit flat and uninteresting. And that is why it's hard to buy the "love story" as well. It's very corsory storytelling which is bit shocking for Spielberg at this stage of his career.

 

It's a very basic game video game-like story so if you're expecting anything more than what you'd expect from the trailer you're infor a disappointment. But the second half gets entertaining in a very undemanding way. 

 

The numerous references are there, of course,but they mostly flash by so quick that it's hard to take in everything on first viewing. They mostly don't matter anyway since it's all in the background.

 

The score is actually quite good but nothing outstanding, as expected. The film isn't that heavily scored. There are quite a few songs.

 

Overall doesn't feel like a Spielberg film.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

Perfect, thanks for that!

 

I might check it out in theaters, I dunno.  Hard to say no to seeing a new Spielberg film in theaters, but I waited for home video for Bridge of Spies, too.  If Williams scored it, I'd be there.

 

How much of the film is real actors on a real set vs entirely CGI / motion capture parts?

[crocodile 8,016]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

Perfect, thanks for that!

 

I might check it out in theaters, I dunno.  Hard to say no to seeing a new Spielberg film in theaters, but I waited for home video for Bridge of Spies, too.  If Williams scored it, I'd be there.

 

How much of the film is real actors on a real set vs entirely CGI / motion capture parts?

Kind of half-half, maybe bit more in the virtual world.

 

I want to say that I didn't hate it. Just realised about halfway through that it simply doesn't aspire to be anything more than it advertises. Which is fine, I guess, but probably below Spielberg.

 

I sort of forgot about it almost immediately after.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

It does seem like an odd film for him to have chosen, especially over much more interesting projects like the Cortez one, the kidnapping one, or even Robopocalypse

[crocodile 8,016]

Sadly, it felt to me like Spielberg trying desperately to be young again and do his best to appeal to today's kids. Unfortunately, it feels very much like what it is - an older guy trying to tell his dad joke to a young audience. A similar sensation I had while watching The BFG actually (in a fairy tale genre). Think he should stick to his dramas. It would have been a suitable project for all the Spielberg-wannabes...J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton...or Zemeckis even. It feels very much like that last one actually... because of Silvestri.

 

That main theme is in the film quite a lot actually. The score is very...Silvestri. He's always reliable but never really crosses the "amazing" threshold. Not in a way that some of his colleagues do anyway. It's a solid score and it probably makes a decent album. If you like his work overall you'll like this one. But don't expect wonders.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

I kinda feel like Spielberg was into this until The Post came along, then he spend way more attention and energy on that until he eventually had to circle back to complete this.

I am interested to see if he starts shooting another film this year from all his potential candidates.

[crocodile 8,016]

It seems to me Spielberg gets bored very quickly anyway. Every film of his (probably ever since Minority Report) feels bit undercooked.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

Other than Tintin, I'd say I agree

[crocodile 8,016]

Yeah, Tintin was an exception. But that is probably largely because it felt like an improvement over Crystal Skull. It had that sense of fun and swashbuckling fun that the last Indy was lacking.

 

Karol - absolutely dreading Indy 5

[Jay 37,364]

I can't imagine any scenario where Indy 5 turns out to be a good film

[Bespin 8,483]

Bermuda Triangle.

 

If Indy 5 is not about that, I will be disapointed... Oh wait a minute, I will be disapointed no matter what!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

57 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

I might check it out in theaters, I dunno.  Hard to say no to seeing a new Spielberg film in theaters, but I waited for home video for Bridge of Spies, too.  If Williams scored it, I'd be there.

 

This is now the fourth Spielberg film in a row, That I haven't seen, in any form, and I don't plan on watching WEST SIDE STORY, IJ5, or that kidnapping flick.

It's probably a generational thing, but I'll stick with his 70s/80s output, with occasional forays into 2002, and 2005.

[Jay 37,364]

Why not check out Tintin, Lincoln, and the BFG, even just once time?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

I've seen TINTIN, and LINCOLN. I appreciate both, but I like neither.

I'll get around to BFG, eventually.

[karelm 2,913]

On 3/20/2018 at 1:30 AM, Bilbo said:

It was 81% on RT last night. I’d be happy with that! 

It's 84% right now on RT.  I haven't seen it and probably won't for some time but I heard it referenced to this generation's "hook".  Sort of a lot of eye candy but somewhat hollow though Hook also had a fantastic score.  I like Silvestri so I should see this in the theater just don't have time unless word is its great.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

10 hours ago, Richard said:

I've seen TINTIN, and LINCOLN. I appreciate both, but I like neither.

I'll get around to BFG, eventually.

 

I was very satisfied with TinTin. What didn't you like about it?

 

(Less satisfied with the BFG and haven't seen Lincoln yet.)

[Thor 7,504]

13 hours ago, Jay said:

So Thor, tell us a bit about the film.  What's it like?

 

I'm saving up energy to write both a film and soundtrack review, so I'm hesitant to 'drain' myself on a messageboard.

 

But I liked the film as is. The Oasis world was less 'wild' and CGI Hell than I had expected. Spielberg manages to take the tempo down at strategic points. The real-world stuff was great; wish there were more of it. The 80s tone in the way the story was told and ended, was endearing. The score was great -- although I had expected more quotes, like Kamen's IRON GIANT.

 

My only issue is that Spielberg himself drowns a bit in the visuals and tempo. Less 'auteur' stamps than we're used to. It could almost have been directed by anyone, even if there ARE "Spielberg faces", the Kaminski backlight etc. here and there.

 

So I'm a bit torn on the evaluation.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

12 hours ago, Jay said:

I can't imagine any scenario where Indy 5 turns out to be a good film

If they learned from Indy 4 (plus got their borderline-retarded "aliens", "nuking the fridge" and "groin Tarzan" out of their system),

maybe this time they could focus on something that DOES fit with the character of Indiana Jones people like.

There is hope yet. 

 

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I was very satisfied with TinTin. What didn't you like about it?

Good question! I found Tintin to be one of the most adventurous, entertaining and creative films in a long, long time.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

2 minutes ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

If they learned from Indy 4 (plus got their borderline-retarded "aliens", "nuking the fridge" and "groin Tarzan" out of their system),

maybe this time they could focus on something that DOES fit with the character of Indiana Jones people like.

There is hope yet. 

 

Getting Lucas out of the system would be a good start. After all, he's the one who insisted on the alien MacGuffin.

[Thor 7,504]

3 minutes ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

Good question! I found Tintin to be one of the most adventurous, entertaining and creative films in a long, long time.

 

It's a good film, but the virtual cinematography goes haywire! Should have been toned down a bit. Same goes for RPO, I think.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

3 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Getting Lucas out of the system would be a good start. After all, he's the one who insisted on the alien MacGuffin.

I'm not convinced of the whole "Lucas is evil" crusade,

but indeed his insistence against Spielberg's and Ford's wishes to have "aliens" in that film certainly did NOT do it any favours.

For all I know, Spielberg literally figured "if there MUST be stupid aliens, I might as well make this film so stupid it becomes 'so bad it is good'!".

(That didn't work, by the way...)

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

3 minutes ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

I'm not convinced of the whole "Lucas is evil" crusade,

but indeed his insistence against Spielberg's and Ford's wishes to have "aliens" in that film certainly did NOT do it any favours.

For all I know, Spielberg literally figured "if there MUST be stupid aliens, I might as well make this film so stupid it becomes 'so bad it is good'!".

(That didn't work, by the way...)

 

I'm not categorically against Lucas, and I think it would be interesting to see him have another go at Star Wars, like an Obi-Wan standalone film.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

14 hours ago, Jay said:

I kinda feel like Spielberg was into this until The Post came along, then he spend way more attention and energy on that until he eventually had to circle back to complete this.

I am interested to see if he starts shooting another film this year from all his potential candidates.

 

It feels like when he shot JP, then left post to Lucas to make Schindler's List. You make a fun, adventurous film, but focus your main attention on a piece of pretentious oscar bait. Not necessarily saying SL is pretentious, as I've never seen it; just that I care more about the existence of JP.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

The dinosaurs in SL are awesome.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Dinosaurs are more entertaining than the Holocaust!

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I'm not categorically against Lucas, and I think it would be interesting to see him have another go at Star Wars, like an Obi-Wan standalone film.

 

Really? After all that great direction he gave McGregor on the prequels?

 

Are you sure?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,533]

1 hour ago, Richard Penna said:

 

It feels like when he shot JP, then left post to Lucas to make Schindler's List. You make a fun, adventurous film, but focus your main attention on a piece of pretentious oscar bait. Not necessarily saying SL is pretentious, as I've never seen it; just that I care more about the existence of JP.

 

I hear what you're saying, @Richard Penna, but JURASSIC PARK/SCHINDLER'S LIST was a two-picture deal.

He had to shoot SL in March, to get an authentic "winter" feeling.

I see no problem with going from a summer blockbuster, to December Oscar bait, and Lucas doing post on JP certainty didn't do Universal any harm, in 1993: 15 Oscar nods, 10 awards, from just two movies, and the biggest film in history. It was a win/win.

[John 2,032]

4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'm not categorically against Lucas, and I think it would be interesting to see him have another go at Star Wars, like an Obi-Wan standalone film.

 

No. He made three of the worst sci-fi movies of all time, after making one of the best. He is far past his prime.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

39 minutes ago, Muad'Dib said:

 

Really? After all that great direction he gave McGregor on the prequels?

 

Are you sure?

 

If they dial back on the use of bluescreen and get a producer who dares to challenge Lucas, it could be good.

[Tom 4,658]

4 hours ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

I'm not convinced of the whole "Lucas is evil" crusade,

He is not evil, but he clearly no longer has a sense of what makes a good movie. 

 

17 minutes ago, John said:

 

No. He made three of the worst sci-fi movies of all time, after making one of the best. He is far past his prime.

Well, fortunately for him, Johnson has ensured Lucas has not made the worst SW movie of all time (or at least, "to date"). 

[crocodile 8,016]

6 minutes ago, Tom said:

Johnson has ensured Lucas has not made the worst SW movie of all time (or at least, "to date"). 

...

 

Karol

[John 2,032]

14 minutes ago, Tom said:

Well, fortunately for him, Johnson has ensured Lucas has not made the worst SW movie of all time (or at least, "to date"). 

 

I'm sorry, but there is no way TLJ is worse than the prequels. Yes, TLJ wasn't great, but... come on. The prequels were garbage. A weird meme subculture blossomed because of how ridiculously terrible they are.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The prequels at least have tighter editing and greater focus. Makes them stronger.

[crocodile 8,016]

8 minutes ago, Margo Channing said:

The prequels at least have tighter editing and greater focus. Makes them stronger.

Think you could still trim them down by at least 6 and a half hours.

 

Karol