The Wachowskis Returning to Sci-Fi with Jupiter Ascending - Part 1

[BatLobster]

The Netflix series could be a nice "safety net" for The Wachos. Here's hoping.

 

[Rocketman]

Some of you have spent weeks on here, full of enthusiasm and trepidation for this movie to fail.

It's bizarre and irrational.

Agreed. I loved this movie and give it a 9/10, and I'm not even bothering to post consistently in this thread because it's overrun with haters. Like 90% of SHH, lol.

 

[max314]

There is [embarrassment] when [a low budget] is force upon you imo. M. Night, like the Wachowskis doesn't want to do this kind of fair.

Firstly, it can be restrictive. But it doesn't have to be embarrassing.

Secondly, you can't speak about what they want to do.

The Wachowskis were trying to finance a $20 million project (The Matrix cost $60 million), but no-one would touch it because it was too "out there".

But Warner Bros. happily approached the Wachowskis with $175 million and said, "Got any more sci-fi?"

So let's not pretend to know how these people are thinking without some evidence first.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Firstly, it can be restrictive. But it doesn't have to be embarrassing.

Secondly, you can't speak about what they want to do.

The Wachowskis were trying to finance a $20 million project (The Matrix cost $60 million), but no-one would touch it because it was too "out there".

But Warner Bros. happily approached the Wachowskis with $175 million and said, "Got any more sci-fi?"

So let's not pretend to know how these people are thinking without some evidence first.

I think them saying farewell to these kinds of budgets and films was evidence enough. Didn't they say something about how these were the kind of films they always wanted to make? Come on.

And if you were once a big time director, and your failings both critically and at the box office force certain levels of projects on you, yes it is an embarrassing. There is a reason M Night has become a laughing stock. There is a reason people have fallen out of love with the Wachowskis. You can talk about them being divisive all you want. But they made one of the most beloved films of the last 20 years, and now they can't give tickets away. The majority of critics see no merit to their work.

 

[Nemeres]

The Netflix series could be a nice "safety net" for The Wachos. Here's hoping.

It could be a better home for them, yep.

 

[chamber-music]

I only thought The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were good.

Signs was stupid. Aliens being vulnerable to water so invading a planet with a surface made up of 70% water is just dumb.

 

[max314]

Didn't they say something about how [big budget films] were the kind of films they always wanted to make? Come on.

I can't speak for Shyamalan, but the Wachowskis say they have written tons of scripts of all shapes and sizes, and that what they consider to be some of their best writing work hasn't even been produced yet.

The blockbuster scene appears to be just one aspect of their ambition, for which they are grateful for having achieved for two decades.

And if you were once a big time director, and your failings both critically and at the box office force certain levels of projects on you, yes it is an embarrassing.

Again, I can't speak for Shyamalan any more than you can, but the Wachowskis said from the beginning that they knew they were on borrowed time with their mainstream experiments.

They said they were happy to fail as long as they failed "their way" and not by doing it the studio's way – a mantra they've lived by since they were told to turn one of the protagonists into a man on Bound.

I'm actually excited to see what they might produce away from the creative chokehold of the Hollywood blockbuster scene.

There is a reason people have fallen out of love with the Wachowskis.

Yeah: they refuse to make The Matrix again.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

They couldn't make "The Matrix" again if they tried. Those quality filmmaking sensibilities left them a long time ago.

 

[max314]

I beg to differ.

Post-Matrix, the Wachowskis had the guts to make two "anti-sequels" that refused to re-hash the formula of their beloved original, wrote the best and most socially relevant graphic novel adaptation in history, made a work of cinematic cubism that has fast become a cult classic, have weaved multiple genres together to tell a story that exists between the stories, and have just recently attempted to make Tolkein in space.

Their films may not have connected with yourself and with many others, but my opinion is that they are not only capable, but they have a freakish talent that is equalled only by their bravery.

But that's me.

 

[DA_Champion]

More or less.

Like you, I never bothered with After Earth; I got the feeling Shyamalan was just Will Smith's gun-for-hire.

Unlike you, I never watched The Last Airbender series. I found the film adaptation to be intermittently interesting, but somewhat slack in its narrative tension.

Lady in The Water was engaging in its low-key approach, and I remember being struck by certain images (e.g. the demonic dog). I also remember feeling somewhat ambiguous towards the resolution of the film, and I've actually wanted to revisit the movie to see how I like it a second time.

The Happening is the closest thing I've seen to a complete disaster. And yet, the film's last reel (i.e. the old woman in the house) ranks among Shyamalan's best work in what is arguably his worst film.

On a more positive note, you can call The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village modern masterpieces, and I won't bat an eyelid.

I don't know what's going on behind the scenes of Shyamalan's films, but I've heard a lot of reports and rumours about studio meddling and the like. Hopefully, The Visit will prove that to be true, and maybe we can get another big budget Shyamalan blockbuster that actually delivers on all the promise he has as one of Hollywood's best talents.

You should watch The Last Airbender series. It is original and wonderful.

 

[max314]

My cousins are huge fans of the series.

Apparently, the imprisoned Earthbenders hurling a mere handful of stones at their Fire Nation captors was, like, sacrilege or something.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

My cousins are huge fans of the series.

Apparently, the imprisoned Earthbenders hurling a mere handful of stones at their Fire Nation captors was, like, sacrilege or something.

The movement benders perform are key. It is martial arts, with elements. The way it was handled in the movie, it was like they never watched the show. The Earth benders prison is a perfect example of this.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

The cardiovascular strength of the movie Benders must be through the roof. They perform such physically demanding dances for so unrewarding effects.

 

[dark_b]

7/10

 

[Schlosser85]

So, um...I actually found this enjoyable.

It's no masterpiece, it has some goofy ideas and narrative is ridiculously convoluted (with the way the Abraxas siblings keep paying various factions, and people within factions, to steal Jupiter from each other, you need some flow chart to keep it straight who's taking her to who at any given point), but it's entertaining and visually spectacular. Loved the visuals, especially the waterfall city where the Abraxas sister lived.

For all the complaining about Kunis and Tatum's casting, I actually didn't have a huge problem with either of them. Kunis was bland, and had weak reactions to everything around her, and you could definitely see how a stronger actress could have done more with the character, but she wasn't like, glaringly terrible, to me.

Tatum, I really had no problem with. I thought he was perfectly fine.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Eddie Redmayne camped it up to about 11.

It was nice to see Sean Bean get to play a non-villain, and survive a movie (!), even if he's just "the gruff mentor"/Mr. Exposition.

 

[Loki882]

My cousins are huge fans of the series.

Apparently, the imprisoned Earthbenders hurling a mere handful of stones at their Fire Nation captors was, like, sacrilege or something.

Well yeah, when ONE Earthbender on the show can create a freaking tsunami out of Earth, or move mountains, or take out like an entire battalion of Fire Nation grunts, then six or seven Earthbenders needing to work together in order to move a rock so small that I could have just picked it up and threw it farther, doesn't seem all that impressive. Also the "martial arts" aspect of it, which is REALLY damn important on the show, was completely bungled in the movie.

And then there's the matter of the Firenation imprisoning a bunch of Earthbenders in a ROCK QUARRY. I don't know who's dumber, the Fire Nation for doing that, or the Earth Benders for not realizing that literally EVERYTHING around them can be used as a potential weapon. In the show, they were imprisoned on a metal ship (they cant bend metal) in the middle of the ocean, which makes TONS more sense as a prison for Earthbenders.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I am seriously thinking of seeing this today just judge for myself. So... Brass tacks from people who DON'T like it, is it at least worth a view? Is the spectacle worth the price of admission?

 

[terry78]

Visually it looks excellent. Only hardcore sci-fi nerds will say the look is derivative.

 

[Pittman4Two]

I am seriously thinking of seeing this today just judge for myself. So... Brass tacks from people who DON'T like it, is it at least worth a view? Is the spectacle worth the price of admission?

Just send me the $10 through paypal. You'll thank me later.

 

[max314]

I am seriously thinking of seeing this today just judge for myself.

It'll be the most under-rated blockbuster of 2015.

I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was mainly for the comedy (the bulk of which was delivered by Chris Pratt).

Jupiter Ascending has its share of comedy/character moments, but I think it also has a more interesting story, a fascinating universe, eye-popping visuals, cool character designs, and has the best action scenes I've seen in similarly sized blockbusters recently.

Admittedly, the climax isn't as "clean" as it could be (there is no "We are Groot!" or "He is the One!" moment), but it is a perfectly satisfying ending to a rollicking rollercoaster ride.

There were some flicker issues during the action scenes in 3D, but the slower "beauty" shots were just jaw-dropping. So there is that to consider.

If you simply catch it on TV, you'll probably be kicking yourself that you missed your only chance to see it on the largest possible canvas

That's my two cents.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I liked Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean (my favorite actor) and the general universe that was created. Though I hated Jupiter herself and her entire story.

 

[Quasimod0]

Just saw this. What an awful movie. The movie kinda just drops you into the middle of a universe of things going on, and not very interesting things. It wasn't as user-friendly as something like Guardians. None of the characters were great, imo. The romance was forced. The plot was fairly boring.
The action scenes were neat, but because you don't care too much for the characters, they don't matter very much.
The movie needed what Star Wars and Guardians had in droves; memorable characters. There was not a single character in this film with even half the charm of a Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot, or Chewbacca. It was missing that spark that Star Wars, Guardians, and even Star Trek have.
Why on earth will studios throw tons of money into making crap like this, but we still don't have a Mass Effect or Halo movie.
On the plus side, this movie did have Sean Bean. He did pretty good.
4.5/10

 

[Mr.T]

I really wish this looked good... I want to like the Wachowski's but they've done nothing I care for since The Matrix. Well there was V For Vendetta but they didn't direct that one.

Going to toss my hat in with Spidey regarding not wanting WW as a period piece as well.

The Wachowski's didn't direct V for Vendetta? I loved that movie.
The Matrix is one of my favorite movies of all time.

I've read several posts regarding the "hate bandwagon" but I swear, the very 1st time I saw the trailers for this film, Channing Tatum just seemed so out of place. I guess the closest comparison I can come up with is Matt Damon's Mann character in Interstellar. It just hit me like an unexpected speedbump....

 

[dark_b]

more SHH members watched 50 shades of Grey than JA. look JA is bad but how dare you. its a weird big budget scifi movie. just pay the ticket and watch it for the action.

you also get an alien with an elephant head. his name is Nesh and he is happy flying into action.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I'm so glad this awful movie didn't screw Redmayne out of a much-deserved Oscar.