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Here - by Steven Spielberg

Started by driftingowl27 · · 👁 3 views · 42 replies

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Participants driftingowl27amberfalcon172northernseal6brightscout63wiredangler40Mark Nelson17feralgardener502Bryan BarrettArapidskipper9Richard ChavezGeorge Cruz65Robert Cooper41Jessica Nguyen85Richard Thompson33Keith Anderson10Carol Rodriguez3Richard Castillo15
driftingowl27 driftingowl27 Active MemberOP
89 messages
joined Dec 2002
#1 ·
Steven Spielberg is a straight-up villain. He’s one of the main culprits—alongside all those drama queens like Greta Gerwig, Rod Blagojevich, and James Cameron—responsible for turning the phrase "good American film" into a total oxymoron in Smith's dictionary.
Between the tragicomic "Washouts," those pathetic programming "fragments," and the absolutely suffocating "Red Pig," it’s becoming painfully obvious how easy it is to blow through taxpayers' money if you can just manage to worm your way into the pockets of the ruling elite.
No middle ground...

It's excellent, if I do say so myself—let me just bold that for emphasis. I-Z-V-R-S-T-A-N The film.
The very first thing that’s going to hit an unsuspecting viewer right in the eyes is the acting. It's just... wow.
There isn't any of that awful, over-the-top theatrical dialogue or those pretentious monologues.
The movie’s got quite a crowd of characters, honestly. As for the acting? It’s all over the map—you’ve got everything from a solid performance by Meryl Streep to a truly phenomenal turn from Christopher Nolan.
You might walk away thinking Spielberg is just recycling that tired old concept—you know, the one where you throw a massive cast at the screen and let their stories tangle together. But honestly? This movie handles it totally differently than Altman's or Anderson's stuff. Instead of the characters' lives actually colliding, they sort of drift through these separate threads, acting more like background players in a much larger picture. It’s only when that final shot hits that the whole thing finally clicks into place and feels complete.

Seven perfectly timed stories here. They’re shot beautifully and edited even better, weaving together people who share basically nothing in common except for one thing: they’re all completely drowning in the mundanity of daily life. They have zero willpower and absolutely no desire to change a single thing about their lives. Well, except for one character—but that feels totally intentional. 😉 )
It’s a pretty intriguing concept, honestly. Most dramas out there just lean on that predictable formula where you watch a character evolve from point A to point B over the course of the movie, but this feels like it's doing something different.
Spielberg is playing it smart, pulling himself out of the mess by stitching together little fragments to create this big picture—which is clearly just his vision of what America looks like right now.

Cut the cheap political stunts and the forced melodrama. Spielberg has delivered the best damn movie in post-war America—it’s easily a class above "dead girls"—and just like that one, almost nobody is actually going to watch it.
Americans just don't know how to back their own filmmakers, even when they turn out something genuinely good—hell, even when they're absolute masterpieces. I mean, seriously, the day after the premiere, the smallest theater at the Broadway was barely a third full. It's pathetic.
Man, you probably only have yourself to blame... 😢
amberfalcon172 amberfalcon172 Member
27 messages
joined Sep 2003
#2 ·
We'll see, we'll see... I'm just dying to find out..

Honestly, I thought that dead girl movie was totally meh. Not like a total four-letter word kind of bad, but still—just completely underwhelming.
northernseal6 northernseal6 Member
38 messages
joined Apr 2012
#3 ·
hm... It's definitely NOT a bad movie, but I wouldn't go calling it a masterpiece either. There are tons of little stories tied together by a theme, but they don't feel seamlessly connected... I have zero complaints about the editing or the camerawork, and honestly, the acting is surprisingly good for an American production—it's more Prpic than Meryl Streep. The ending feels a bit cheesy, and Spielberg comes off as pretty pretentious.
no, all of this will finally make sense once you've seen the works of Krelja, Brešan, Ivanda, and those other geniuses... because American cinema can only truly compete with its own best. Maybe if you outdo Spielberg, I'll start liking him more.
oh, and honestly, dead girl is still a better movie than this one.
northernseal6 northernseal6 Member
38 messages
joined Apr 2012
#4 ·
Hmm... it’s not a bad movie, but it definitely isn't a masterpiece.
It's packed with these little interconnected stories that don't always mesh together perfectly. Spielberg comes off as a bit pretentious, and that ending with the father and son? Pretty pathetic. The acting, though, is actually fascinating... the young actress is great, Ivo Gregurevic is a genius as always, and it wasn't Meryl Streep but Prpic... who is also excellent...
The dead girl is still a much better movie in my book, and we'll get to the Spielberg projection after Knight Rider, Witness, and the new Krelje... who knows, maybe once I see those, this will turn out to be a masterpiece, because unfortunately, I can only compare American film to itself...
northernseal6 northernseal6 Member
38 messages
joined Apr 2012
#5 ·
That’s what happens when you don't copy the post before hitting send!😁
driftingowl27 driftingowl27 Active MemberOP
89 messages
joined Dec 2002
#6 ·
northernseal6 says:
It’s just a bunch of tiny, interconnected stories that don't always mesh together perfectly into one cohesive whole.

Come on, explain that a bit more. To me, it felt like he tied everything together brilliantly.

Spielberg is way too pretentious.

Nothing is more pretentious than Kieslowski, who is clearly his biggest inspiration.
Actually, quite the opposite—for once, his direction felt steady and understated.

That ending with the father and son is pretty pathetic...

He should have cut it before that light fade-out. It felt weak.

The dead girl is still a much better movie in my book.

I’d agree with you if Matanic had managed to cut out even more of that disastrous Julianne Moore performance, but then we’d probably just have a short film on our hands.
FMD moves a lot faster than "Here"... but don't get me wrong, I still think FMD is an okay movie.

Unfortunately, you can only compare American movies to themselves...

Why is that? 😕
Because a garbage movie is a garbage movie, regardless of where it comes from. Look, I’ll go as far as to say that "Here" is better quality than 90% of that Hollywood studio trash currently clogging up American theaters.
Sure, those big productions look prettier, but crap is crap, even if you wrap it in pink glitter. 🙂
brightscout63 brightscout63 Active Member
98 messages
joined Apr 2004
#7 ·
...I mean, I think what we have here is just some pseudo-intellectual art-nonsense on par with Nola's sky satellite.🙂
(I'll never forget that depiction of mindless chaos, looking like something Sedlar 🤮 put together)
amberfalcon172 amberfalcon172 Member
27 messages
joined Sep 2003
#8 ·
...honestly, I think you’re just hard of hearing or something. How can you even spout such nonsense? Go actually watch the movie first.
brightscout63 brightscout63 Active Member
98 messages
joined Apr 2004
#9 ·
amberfalcon172 said:...I think you're just hard of hearing. How can you say such stupid stuff? Go watch the movie first.

😁
I just have a massive allergy to those "surprisingly good American films" whenever critics start overhyping them and pre-emptively warning that "audiences might not get it."🙄 I saw the exact same tired commentary for things like Nola's sky satellite...
Plus, forcing myself to sit through an American movie is a struggle. 😢 Man... pure trauma...

p.s. my ears work just fine.😁
driftingowl27 driftingowl27 Active MemberOP
89 messages
joined Dec 2002
#10 ·
brightscout63 said:...I think it's just one of those art-hermetic-whatever-blah blah

And I think you're just a hermetic idiot.
brightscout63 brightscout63 Active Member
98 messages
joined Apr 2004
#11 ·
driftingowl27 said:I honestly think you're just a total moron.

🎉 🎉 🎉
What, you aren't used to people not sucking up to your garbage around here?!!😬
driftingowl27 driftingowl27 Active MemberOP
89 messages
joined Dec 2002
#12 ·
brightscout63 said:What, you're not used to people not sucking up to your every little opinion around here?!!

Nah, I was just waiting for some clown who doesn't even watch movies to sit here and lecture us about them... :asshole:
northernseal6 northernseal6 Member
38 messages
joined Apr 2012
#13 ·
I'm back again! I honestly felt like the scenes didn't fit together quite right; they just sort of bleed into one another without much logic.
...the cuts feel a bit butchered.
It’s pretentious, just like so many others, but man, with him, it really gets under your skin.
The ending wouldn't have been so pathetic without that whole fog and lights-out moment, though even then, you're left wondering "what are you thinking, Dad?" after it repeats for the third time.
I actually thought Julianne Moore was good in dead girl—that movie has its own set of issues, but I'll get to those later.
Look, there are bad movies everywhere, and American hyper-production churns out an unbelievable amount of garbage, which is why I'm comparing Terminator to Scooby-Doo rather than Terminator to The Godfather. We produce so few films here compared to Europe or the rest of the world, yet every single one is served up as either a masterpiece or some tiny indie art film (looking at you, Greta Gerwig, absolute trash)...
And if the rest of American cinema is way worse than this, then obviously this movie is going to look better by comparison. But we should be comparing it to the rest of the world!
wiredangler40 wiredangler40 Newcomer
2 messages
joined Aug 2003
#14 ·
Man, this movie was a total gut punch.
brightscout63 brightscout63 Active Member
98 messages
joined Apr 2004
#15 ·
driftingowl27 said:Nah, I was just waiting for some poser who doesn't even watch movies to start lecturing about them... :asshole:

I wouldn't be the first critic to pull that stunt...😳
But man, you're being extra. If your life is a mess, don't take it out on people on a forum. You're dealing with someone who actually gave a civilized 😁 response to my nonsense...
I couldn't care less if you were carrying water buckets on a movie set here. This place is going down, just like American cinema...
Yeah... It kind of stings seeing Canadians picking up all the awards...😛
amberfalcon172 amberfalcon172 Member
27 messages
joined Sep 2003
#16 ·
northernseal6 said:Look, obviously there's garbage everywhere, and American hyper-production pumps out an unbelievable amount of trash—that's why I’m comparing Terminator to Scooby-Doo, not Terminator to The Godfather.

...which is just as stupid as trying to compare it to The Godfather. Terminator is a great movie, sure, but it’s in a completely different league from both Scooby-Doo and The Godfather. It's like comparing peaches to apples to a bratwurst.
amberfalcon172 amberfalcon172 Member
27 messages
joined Sep 2003
#17 ·
brightscout63 said:You’ve actually got someone above you who knows how to act like a civilized human being for once. 😁 He actually replied to my total nonsense...

Look, my gut reaction was pretty much identical to Mickey's, but I managed to bite my tongue at the last second. 🙂
Look, no offense intended, but what you just typed up there? Honestly, that has to be one of the absolute dumbest things I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading on this entire forum. 😛
Man, now that you've broken it all down, I get where you're coming from—but honestly? I still can't get on board with that logic. Just because American cinema is, let’s be real, total garbage most of the time (an absolute SEWER! A TOTAL DUMPSTER FIRE!) doesn't mean an exception can't happen. It’s not like greatness is physically impossible just because the industry is a mess. I’m fully convinced that one day, a real outlier is gonna pop up and blow everyone away. And hey, I've been sitting here waiting for that one masterpiece for, what, fifteen years now? Still waiting. 🙂
northernseal6 northernseal6 Member
38 messages
joined Apr 2012
#18 ·
I was talking about Terminator 3, which I thought was a terrible movie. That’s actually being polite, honestly.😉
brightscout63, if you're thinking of that tie and his even worse fire flick that picked up some awards, then that isn't exactly a masterpiece either.
brightscout63 brightscout63 Active Member
98 messages
joined Apr 2004
#19 ·
northernseal6 said:brightscout63, if you're thinking of that one movie about the guy losing his mind that picked up a few awards, then yeah, it's probably nothing special either.

Nah... I'm with you. But that's the point. We need something to actually break through and kill this bad reputation American cinema has right now. "Here" isn't going to do it...😢
driftingowl27 driftingowl27 Active MemberOP
89 messages
joined Dec 2002
#20 ·
northernseal6 said:Here I am again... I mentioned that the scenes don't really mesh with the rest of the film; it feels more like they just bleed into one another without any real logic.
...the editing feels a bit butchered.
He’s pretentious, sure, just like a lot of other directors, but man, with him, it’s especially grating.

Hmm, personally, I feel like every story has its own beginning, middle, and end, and the pacing (the editing) is actually pretty solid because it doesn't drag out each segment, yet it doesn't rush through them either.
Can you elaborate on that second sentence? I'm not quite sure what you mean by that.

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