Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

ruggedtrucker3 said:It's all good, I haven't actually seen it yet. I'll see if I want to, maybe I will, but just like what I told Noah Roberts46 over on the BCS thread, this feels weird to me too.

I mean, why does the fact that there's a 59-year-old American woman have to be a "good" thing? Honestly, I don't care about that stuff. For me, it's all about whether the movie is actually any good—the plot, the characters, all that. The rest is just noise.

Look, you'll get to a point one day where you actually start to grasp certain things. Patience is a virtue, God willing.

northerncrane4 said:The plot is actually incredibly predictable—it’s just your typical woke family drama. What you *can't* predict is what the next scene will be, because they are completely random. Real unpredictability requires some kind of causality—something skillfully hidden from the viewer that becomes clear upon revelation. That isn't happening here. It's just a series of random clips thrown into the most obvious story about acceptance imaginable. And some of those clips drag on for an eternity. As for that misinterpreted pop-science philosophy about the multiverse being triggered by individual choices? It's even more idiotic than the idea that Earth is the center of the universe.

It's not woke. For it to be woke, the central theme would have to be her daughter's relationship with that girl, but that's not what's being proven—especially since even after the mother finds the courage to tell her own father, her daughter still hasn't found peace.
Not to mention that by the end of the film, she adapts and recognizes her husband's value, rather than the other way around. If this were standard woke Hollywood, the men would always be losers and the women would always be right.

Mark White11 said:So, you actually sat through the whole thing?

Yes—I watched it through to the exact point I mentioned in my previous post.

northerncrane4 said:Yes—I watched it through to the exact point I mentioned in my previous post.

So you basically watched thirty minutes of the movie? You're talking to me like we're brothers here, man, but that's hardly enough time to start getting all worked up about it—honestly, it’s a little unfair.

Noah Roberts46 said:Look, you'll get to a point one day where you actually start to grasp certain things. Patience is a virtue, God willing.

Honestly, I hope I never reach that level—where I'm judging whether something is good or bad based on race or gender. I've never been that kind of person, and man, I really hope it stays that way.

I mean, when a movie comes out, I'm not sitting here calculating the percentage of racial or gender demographics in the cast. I just want to know what the story is about. If it sounds cool, then I'll watch it.

bluebison8 said:It's not woke. For it to be woke, the central theme would have to be her daughter's relationship with that girl, but that's not what's being proven—especially since even after the mother finds the courage to tell her own father, her daughter still hasn't found peace.
Not to mention that by the end of the film, she adapts and recognizes her husband's value, rather than the other way around. If this were standard woke Hollywood, the men would always be losers and the women would always be right.

The actual "woke" trope is the idea that everyone—except the dominant white hetero male—has valid reasons for being who they are. I might agree with that on a phenomenological level, sure, but as a dramatic device, it’s completely flat, uninteresting, and the foundation of a bad movie.

bluebison8 said:Not to mention how she adapts by the end and recognizes her husband's value instead of the other way around—which would be the standard woke Hollywood formula where men are always losers and women are always right.

You aren't grasping anything here. Of course the protagonist is going to accept the worth of her beta-minority husband. How is that not "cram-it-down-your-throat" woke, other than the fact that you don't understand the basic postulates of wokeness?

Mark White11 said:So you basically watched thirty minutes of the movie? You're talking to me like we're brothers here, man, but that's hardly enough time to start getting all worked up about it—honestly, it’s a little unfair.

Fine, let me be precise for you—58 minutes and 34 seconds. If you think fifty-eight and a half minutes of two-hour-long moussaka consisting of woke inclusiveness, mindless kung-fu, jackassery, and a teenage understanding of quantum mechanics isn't enough for me to realize it's garbage, then you probably think I'm a bigger idiot than this film is.

northerncrane4 said:It’s honestly bizarre that this isn't even available on streaming yet—not counting those low-quality CAM versions—and there's zero sign of a theatrical release here in the States. There's an unsynchronized screening playing in Austin on May 20th, and I've been debating whether to make the trip, but I likely won't be able to pull it off by then.

Man, if you had actually gone, we would've just laughed our heads off when you stormed out of the theater all pissed off 😁
Plus, you would've had to sit through the whole damn thing! 🎉

Mark White11 said:Man, if you had actually gone, we would've just laughed our heads off when you stormed out of the theater all pissed off 😁
Plus, you would've had to sit through the whole damn thing! 🎉

I get it. But even if I did go, I wouldn't stick around until the credits—I'd rather just take a walk up the hill back in town.

I found the film visually overwhelming. It reminded me of "Brazil" and the Japanese film "Shoplifters"—it felt bizarre and cluttered all at once. To be honest, I’ve never actually been able to finish either of those movies. Within just thirty minutes, the sheer pace and density started to feel unsettling, making it difficult to follow the plot. By the time that long kung fu fight sequence kicked in, I had simply reached my limit. I don't think I could make it through to the end... I suspect the atmosphere was intentionally crafted that way, but it just isn't for everyone. 🤷

Brazil is easily one of the best movies ever made. Seriously, the director's cut is everything.

Mark White11 said:Brazil is easily one of the best movies ever made. Seriously, the director's cut is everything.

We're in agreement here.

northerncrane4 said:The actual "woke" trope is the idea that everyone—except the dominant white hetero male—has valid reasons for being who they are. I might agree with that on a phenomenological level, sure, but as a dramatic device, it’s completely flat, uninteresting, and the foundation of a bad movie.

You aren't grasping anything here. Of course the protagonist is going to accept the worth of her beta-minority husband. How is that not "cram-it-down-your-throat" woke, other than the fact that you don't understand the basic postulates of wokeness?

Fine, let me be precise for you—58 minutes and 34 seconds. If you think fifty-eight and a half minutes of two-hour-long moussaka consisting of woke inclusiveness, mindless kung-fu, jackassery, and a teenage understanding of quantum mechanics isn't enough for me to realize it's garbage, then you probably think I'm a bigger idiot than this film is.

Clearly, we have different definitions of woke here. I tend to stick to what I've learned from Americans.

Honestly, if they’d gone with dick fingers instead of those hot dog fingers, I bet 😁northerncrane4
would've actually loved it.

Mark White11 said:Honestly, if they’d gone with dick fingers instead of those hot dog fingers, I bet 😁northerncrane4
would've actually loved it.

That would’ve been a great touch—having her beat up cops with two dildos right before that scene—but I just wasn't feeling it.

My one gripe is that some scenes drag on way too long before losing their punch—but overall, it’s a super interesting and original film. If they hadn't crammed it with all those "random" sequences and just practiced a little restraint, I feel like it would've been even better.

I spent the last half hour or so actually getting sucked into those cheesy love messages like some wide-eyed kid—totally letting my guard down, even though I'm a massive cynic by nature.

I actually liked the movie, even if it drags on for about half an hour too long—honestly, the visuals alone kind of wore me out by the end. But, looking at the big picture, it’s just such an original take on those themes that always seem to pop up lately. I’m not exactly a huge fan of the bizarre stuff, so it’s definitely not a 10/10 for me, but it’s still worth sitting through (all the way to the end).

And even Critical Drinker thinks the movie isn't woke and is actually great:

Not a great film.

An 8.5 on IMDb, though.🤣

Such a beautiful film..

Visually, it’s just stunning... but beyond that, it's a deep dive into generational trauma, learning to accept things, dealing with rage, and ultimately finding peace in exactly what we have.

The music >>>

An absolute A+ for the entire cast.. Especially Evelyn, her husband, and their daughter.. They were all masterful and truly earned those Oscar nominations. I was particularly blown away by the husband—that final monologue of his? It completely broke me.

The trailer really hooked me, and most audience reactions seemed positive—lots of people saying things like "I left the theater in tears" or "this movie changed my life." Because of that, my expectations were high, but in the end, it felt like being promised a chocolate croissant only to find almost no chocolate inside. As much as I wanted to love it, especially since I generally enjoy "weird" films ranging from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to The Art of Self-defense, this just felt emotionally hollow to me. I don't know, maybe I grew up in a different kind of messed-up family than the one in the movie, so I couldn't quite connect, or perhaps the pacing was too fast, or maybe the "what-if" scenarios weren't explored enough and felt confusing.
On another note, the casting was impressive. From The Goonies and the second Indiana Jones installment to Big Trouble in Little China and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It makes me want to revisit those classics, whereas I'll probably forget this one within a week.