Movies

Just finished this and I wanted to like it so much more than I did.

Even though it was visually well put together, had a great cast who turned in some good performances, and it had carny themes that I often quite enjoy, overall the story did nothing for me. I place that almost exclusively on Bradley Cooper's shoulders as he was the element that did not work for me in this film. I've liked him in a lot of movies, but this role just didn't fit him imo.
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Hemotep said:
Just finished this and I wanted to like it so much more than I did.

Even though it was visually well put together, had a great cast who turned in some good performances, and it had carny themes that I often quite enjoy, overall the story did nothing for me. I place that almost exclusively on Bradley Cooper's shoulders as he was the element that did not work for me in this film. I've liked him in a lot of movies, but this role just didn't fit him imo.
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Yeah, I agree it that was cool to look at, and I enjoyed the first part of the film, but I was confused about what the intent was overall in the end. I feel like Guillermo del Toro often tries in his films to mix sweetness/humanity with horror/grotesque evil, and it never really clicks for me.
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
DeCaprio was originally slated for the Cooper character btw. I thought it was meh tbh. I get the same vibe from Death On The Nile.
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I didn't know that. DiCaprio would have been great I'm sure, but tbh I think the kind of performance Cooper gave was more in line with the tone the film was going for than what Leo would have done. Different actors have different strengths and Cooper did great at communicating the air of someone who gets a thrill from manipulating others but knows deep down he's just as vulnerable. I feel like DiCaprio might have played it with a bit too much confidence.
 
I liked the new Nightmare Alley too! Was recently able to catch the original before it fell off Criterion Channel, so it's interesting to see the changes GDT and team made. Overall, they stayed pretty true to the original, but I liked a lot of the subtle updates/additions. And the visuals are great, as expected of Del Toro.

I think the original captured the tension of Stan's arc a bit better. Dr. Ritter is easily the best character in both iterations, and Cate Blanchett is on fire here. And those set pieces. Characteristically indulgent for GDT.

After all 2.5 hours, I honestly feel this new production could/should have been a limited miniseries. I actually wanted more. Wouldn't have minded diving more into the drama/dynamics of the carnival and individual acts. And perhaps a bit more pending dread a la HBO's prematurely axed Carnivale. One of the best oppressive carny atmospheres ever put to screen.
 
EvanBenner said:
I liked the new Nightmare Alley too! Was recently able to catch the original before it fell off Criterion Channel, so it's interesting to see the changes GDT and team made. Overall, they stayed pretty true to the original, but I liked a lot of the subtle updates/additions. And the visuals are great, as expected of Del Toro.

I think the original captured the tension of Stan's arc a bit better. Dr. Ritter is easily the best character in both iterations, and Cate Blanchett is on fire here. And those set pieces. Characteristically indulgent for GDT.

After all 2.5 hours, I honestly feel this new production could/should have been a limited miniseries. I actually wanted more. Wouldn't have minded diving more into the drama/dynamics of the carnival and individual acts. And perhaps a bit more pending dread a la HBO's prematurely axed Carnivale. One of the best oppressive carny atmospheres ever put to screen.
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I loved Carnivale! And definitely enjoyed the carnival aspect in the first half of this movie too. I could have watched more of that. I always love Cate Blanchett and would have liked more character development of her too. The idea of a miniseries might have worked better for it than the film, which felt long and rushed at the same time.
 
gaporter said:
I didn't know that. DiCaprio would have been great I'm sure, but tbh I think the kind of performance Cooper gave was more in line with the tone the film was going for than what Leo would have done. Different actors have different strengths and Cooper did great at communicating the air of someone who gets a thrill from manipulating others but knows deep down he's just as vulnerable. I feel like DiCaprio might have played it with a bit too much confidence.
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I believe part of the reason he pulled out was he wanted the character to be more likable. I feel like few do a semi-scumbag better than Cooper and based on GDT’s consistent relationship with Ron Perlman (another great scumbag actor) I feel like Cooper works more for his movies than Leo. I do want to check out the noir version they are doing of this tho. Feel like black and white works well for this movie
 
I couldn't get in to Nightmare Alley. It's my least favorite season of American Horror Story.

I often wonder if I'd feel the same about certain movies watching them in a theater. Nightmare Alley, The French Dispatch, The Power of the Dog, Dune. They all have the pieces. I dunno.

That makes me wonder if critical reception of film has shifted in the past two years.
 
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Hhabelt said:
I often wonder if I'd feel the same about certain movies watching them in a theater. Nightmare Alley, The French Dispatch, The Power of the Dog, Dune. They all have the pieces. I dunno.

That makes me wonder if critical reception of film has shifted in the past two years.
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I mean, Dune definitely has a whole different level of impact in the theater, but I didn’t think being in the theater added quite as much for french dispatch or nightmare alley. I can’t comment on Power of the Dog (still need to watch that one).

But yeah, Dune was relentlessly exhilarating in the theater. I think it would have been fine at home but not nearly as intense.

I’m not sure that I understand the meaning of your last statement though about critical reception - do you mean since critics are more likely streaming these films at home rather than going to theaters since March of 2020?
 
Ericj32 said:
I mean, Dune definitely has a whole different level of impact in the theater, but I didn’t think being in the theater added quite as much for french dispatch or nightmare alley. I can’t comment on Power of the Dog (still need to watch that one).

But yeah, Dune was relentlessly exhilarating in the theater. I think it would have been fine at home but not nearly as intense.
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Sure, that's part of it. And a theater has less distraction. And it's a shared experience. And I get Reese's Pieces (not important).

It's probably a me thing, but I wonder if I'd still be bored with those movies at the theater. I'll throw Eternals in that group as well.

Ericj32 said:
I’m not sure that I understand the meaning of your last statement though about critical reception - do you mean since critics are more likely streaming these films at home rather than going to theaters since March of 2020?
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I think I'm just curious to know if ratings are up or down lately and if so, can that shift be attributed to less theatergoing. I'm probably on to nothing.
 
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