Neill Blomkamp’s next project... ELYSIUM?

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Hey Jacobed how was the final fight? Was the best action towards the end or was the heist the high point?
 
I am proud to say that I have avoided every single piece of footage related to this movie so far. As soon as I sensed that they are displaying a trailer for Elysium in my Pac Rim Imax showing, I felt the silly need to look way down to my crotch and cover my ears from the shattering Imax surround sound. Uncomfortable looks and gestures thrown at me (even in the dimness) will be well compensated for when I watch it for the first time, I'm sure.
 
really didn't like that Film.com review, and i say this as someone who has no problem with the other negative reactions or caveats so far, but it's like he got so caught up in how much the political aspect of the movie bugged him, he didn't bother trying to fully appreciate all the other things about the movie that were worth appreciating. and what blockbuster this summer didn't have heavy-handed storytelling? and, in fact, most blockbusters in general tend to...it's not a big deal to me as long as the film works effectively enough as a cool action flick. and yet the critical circle jerk has already settled on "heavy-handed" as the one major negative to keep throwing Elysium's way, over and over and over...and i'm not saying that's not a valid criticism, just that i get tired of critics towing a party line, and also that i feel like maybe Elysium is getting more points deducted for its heavy-handedness than other movies would because it contains some sociopolitical elements or maybe because of higher expectations. take the Slant review, they seem to desperately want the film to be great and actually have a lot of great things to say about it, but because the character arcs don't take as many risks as they'd like--risks you wouldn't find in 99% of most summer blockbusters, btw, but because this is from the director of District 9 it's like they were hoping for more moral ambiguity--they end up giving it a 2.5 out of 4 and RT counts it as "rotten."
 
Might be divided this time around.
 
Persona said:
really didn't like that Film.com review, and i say this as someone who has no problem with the other negative reactions or caveats so far, but it's like he got so caught up in how much the political aspect of the movie bugged him, he didn't bother trying to fully appreciate all the other things about the movie that were worth appreciating. and what blockbuster this summer didn't have heavy-handed storytelling? and, in fact, most blockbusters in general tend to...it's not a big deal to me as long as the film works effectively enough as a cool action flick. and yet the critical circle jerk has already settled on "heavy-handed" as the one major negative to keep throwing Elysium's way, over and over and over...and i'm not saying that's not a valid criticism, just that i get tired of critics towing a party line, and also that i feel like maybe Elysium is getting more points deducted for its heavy-handedness than other movies would because it contains some sociopolitical elements or maybe because of higher expectations. take the Slant review, they seem to desperately want the film to be great and actually have a lot of great things to say about it, but because the character arcs don't take as many risks as they'd like--risks you wouldn't find in 99% of most summer blockbusters, btw, but because this is from the director of District 9 it's like they were hoping for more moral ambiguity--they end up giving it a 2.5 out of 4 and RT counts it as "rotten."
Click to expand...


Funny you should say that because this review uses "heavy handed" as well 6/10: http://susangranger.com/?p=7245

I'm spotting a heavy handed theme too.
 
yeah, it's frustrating for me because i like to read reviews on both sides but so often one early review might use the term "heavy handed" and then you see it regurgitated over and over again in subsequent negative reviews or parts of reviews. and the same thing happens on the positive side, as reviewers laud Elysium's visuals but only a few of the reviews pick up on other aspects they'd like to praise. for a group of people that like to harp on the lack of originality in current film, movie critics sure are an unoriginal lot, by and large. but i keep reading in hopes of finding those reviews with some true, distinct insight, positive or negative, that i can have intellectual discourse with in terms of how my own opinion of the film interacts with theirs.
 
Persona said:
yeah, it's frustrating for me because i like to read reviews on both sides but so often one early review might use the term "heavy handed" and then you see it regurgitated over and over again in subsequent negative reviews or parts of reviews. and the same thing happens on the positive side, as reviewers laud Elysium's visuals but only a few of the reviews pick up on other aspects they'd like to praise. for a group of people that like to harp on the lack of originality in current film, movie critics sure are an unoriginal lot, by and large. but i keep reading in hopes of finding those reviews with some true, distinct insight, positive or negative, that i can have intellectual discourse with in terms of how my own opinion of the film interacts with theirs.
Click to expand...

Quote of the day:up:
 
BlackFox said:
Oh yeah I hear you, the way RT works is odd, I know reviews get to say if they think it is rotten or fresh but some site can score a 3/5 and say fresh and another 3/5 and say rotten, so its highly subjective and open to interpretation and manipulation.

And I would never judge going to watch it at the cinema from a review, thats just mad, unless maybe every single person panned it, critics and fans. But there are very films that bad.
Click to expand...

Right. I'll use Thor & MoS as the example:
Thor... 77%... Average score... 6.7
MoS... 56%... Average score... 6.2

The percentage is what always gets featured prominently when it should really be the actual score. IMDb (mess that those message boards are) is usually a better indication of how the audience and critics feel about a movie.
 
Drew McWeeny's (Moriarty's) review for HitFix: http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captur...-neill-blomkamps-smart-and-unsubtle-elysium/2

it's a good review and a positive one, B+. he basically just said that he wishes the film had taken more of a moment to breathe near the end and that the pacing wasn't so relentless. that could be a positive for some, though, in terms of an action flick that just gets more and more intense and doesn't let up.

i dunno what Rotten Tomatoes is doing right now with this movie, i really need to stop paying attention to it, but i can't seem to help myself. Elysium is currently sitting at 50% and i've already been seeing a bunch of people on Twitter jumping to rash conclusions because of that, but two of the 5 rottens are essentially 3 out of 5s, (Susan Granger's 6/10, Slant's 2.5 out 4), none of the negative reviews are outright pans, and, meanwhile, there are several positive reviews out there like IGN's and HitFix's which RT still hasn't added though they've added all the negative ones they could right away. i don't get it. i'm not conspiracy theorizing here, i'm just befuddled why they added Granger's review as soon as she put it up today but have not added Moriarty's which went up about the same time or IGN's from yesterday, not to mention the Shmoes Know review (but maybe that one's excluded because it's a video review). the RT score of 6.9 is obviously a lot more telling than the Rotten Percentage, but it'd also help if they include all the positive reviews if they're gonna include all of the mixed/negative ones.
 
So this is Man of Steel all over again.
 
Snagged a free Elysium shirt this weekend at Con-tamination in St. Louis. I am quite excited for this movie.
 
Cool. What does the shirt look like? The Art of Elysium book just shipped to me from amazon. Not sure if I should look at it before Thursday nite.
 
in a mild shocker, Anthony Lane at the oft-snooty New Yorker dug it: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2013/08/12/130812crci_cinema_lane

Forbes thought it was visually amazing and had some good ideas but didn't like the script/dialogue or final act: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...w-elysium-dazzles-the-eyes-betrays-the-brain/

JoBlo thinks it's a very worthy follow-up to D9: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/review-elysium

emphasizing again the visuals (calling it the best in that dept. since Avatar) Eric Kohn at Indiewire contrasts the film with other blockbusters this summer and thinks Elysium compares quite favorably: http://www.indiewire.com/article/how-elysium-critiques-every-other-blockbuster-released-this-summer
 
I never realized how much of an average fanboy-ish vibe Blomkamp had until I saw him interviewed. He sounds like somebody you would have roomed with in college and ****.
 
Octoberist said:
Did I mentioned to you guys that I've seen Elysium last year. August I think.

I liked...but the third act needed work. Tons of work. Hopefully they fixed it during the reshoots in Dec. Let's say there's a plot beat that makes you HATE Matt Damon's character. PM me if you want details. Hopefully I'll get back to you since I"ll be at Comic Con tomm. Plus the last fight scene had shakey camera galore. Again, I hope they fixed that too.

I give it a B minus. Creative and tangible world, but very light on the characters. And more Kruger wouldn't hurt either.
Click to expand...

from the excellent LA Times piece that just dropped:

Blomkamp’s desire to control his creative fate was challenged when one scene featuring Damon’s character played poorly with early audiences. Ultimately he took two days to reshoot the scene. “The film that happens in theaters — the right calls were made,” he said. “That’s the director’s cut.”

hopefully that means your major quibble was addressed. though, apparently, it may have cost some points with some of the reviews (like Slant's) that wanted more shades of grey and moral ambiguity. regardless, sounds like Neill is genuinely glad they changed it.
 
If they changed the plot point I'm thinking that is from the script, I'll be kinda disappointed. I'll see how it plays Thursday night, can't wait.
 
Damn I guess US gets this a lot earlier than UK?
 
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