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Ben Wheatley's Free Fire.

Started by Glebe, September 10, 2016, 02:28:01 AM

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Glebe


I feel a bit of a sham starting this topic, as I still haven't seen High Rise ffs, but anyway... what do you reckon? It's getting mixed reviews (The Guardian gave it two stars), but it looks like it could be fun (if unoriginal), but also potentially sub-Tarantino gubbins. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese!

imitationleather

I've long thought Ben Wheatley might be quite over-rated (Kill List being the only film by him that flirts with being decent, although it has numerous flaws), but with High Rise he crossed over from over-rated to just a bit shit. Seriously, that's one of the worst films I've seen for a long old time. I guess the poster for this is alright, though. It'll look nice hung up in people's kitchens.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: imitationleather on September 11, 2016, 10:34:47 AM
I've long thought Ben Wheatley might be quite over-rated (Kill List being the only film by him that flirts with being decent, although it has numerous flaws), but with High Rise he crossed over from over-rated to just a bit shit. Seriously, that's one of the worst films I've seen for a long old time. I guess the poster for this is alright, though. It'll look nice hung up in people's kitchens.

I'm with you.  I liked Sightseers a fair bit, but I think that was more down to the writers/performers than anything Ladies And Gentelmen It's Ben Wheatley added to it.  A Field In England is cringey student film pants, and I turned High Rise off within the first hour.  I think people got a bit excited that there was a new English filmmaker whose name was even worth remembering, but sadly it was a false alarm.

Still hoping he has a genuinely great film in him, but it looks less and less likely as time goes on.

imitationleather

I class him with Shane Meadows as a director that people are willing to overlook how flawed pretty much everything he does is because they're so desperate for a decent new British film-maker to be about.

Serge

'High-Rise' is my film of the year - I admit to never having read the book - and 'A Field In England' is one of my favourites of all time. This looks like a reasonably mainstream move on his part - although I note that Wheatley favourite Michael Smiley makes an appearance - but I have faith that he will do something interesting with it. Murphy is always worth watching, and it's the first I've heard of Sharlto Copley since the A-Team movie tanked (I presume he has been in other stuff, though nothing that's registered with me for whatever reason.)

checkoutgirl

Ben Wheatley is not a very good director and quite possibly a sight worse still. It's time to admit it. Kill List I liked and A Field in England even more so but maybe they were blips in an overall trend of mediocrity and I'm big enough to admit that. I'm surprised people still want to work with him rather than someone like Robert Eggers.

I saw High Rise in a cinema but I won't be making that mistake again with a Wheatley film. I can slag off his films from now on after ripping them off the internet for free.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: imitationleather on September 11, 2016, 11:23:42 AM
I class him with Shane Meadows as a director that people are willing to overlook how flawed pretty much everything he does is because they're so desperate for a decent new British film-maker to be about.

I agree, although I think Meadows is better than Wheatley. I'd take Winterbottom over the pair of them though.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: Serge on September 11, 2016, 11:52:13 AM
it's the first I've heard of Sharlto Copley since the A-Team movie tanked (I presume he has been in other stuff, though nothing that's registered with me for whatever reason.)

He had a nice villain turn in Elysium in 2013, punching Matt Damon in the face. High Rise film of the year? Bloody hell.

imitationleather

Quote from: checkoutgirl on September 11, 2016, 12:24:38 PM
I agree, although I think Meadows is better than Wheatley. I'd take Winterbottom over the pair of them though.

I've not seen any Winterbottom films since The Look of Love, which was a bit of a lame attempt to recreate 24 Hour Party People. What I do like about him, however, is that he does at least try interesting things with his films. Everyday was a good concept for a film, but it was hobbled by the fact that the kids in it barely aged at all over the five years it was filmed. I dunno if they were smoking twenty Bensons a day or something but it really rendered the whole premise of filming them growing up pointless.

Basically I just hate everything.

phantom_power

Quote from: imitationleather on September 11, 2016, 11:23:42 AM
I class him with Shane Meadows as a director that people are willing to overlook how flawed pretty much everything he does is because they're so desperate for a decent new British film-maker to be about.

Or they don't see them as flaws, or they accept the flaws because there are enough good things in his films. There doesn't need to be any desperation there. There doesn't need to be an ulterior motive for you to flush out if people like things you don't

Glebe

Quote from: Serge on September 11, 2016, 11:52:13 AM'High-Rise' is my film of the year - I admit to never having read the book - and 'A Field In England' is one of my favourites of all time. This looks like a reasonably mainstream move on his part - although I note that Wheatley favourite Michael Smiley makes an appearance - but I have faith that he will do something interesting with it. Murphy is always worth watching, and it's the first I've heard of Sharlto Copley since the A-Team movie tanked (I presume he has been in other stuff, though nothing that's registered with me for whatever reason.)

Besides High Rise, I've not seen Down Terrace or Sightseers as yet (also, he directed a segment of horror anthology The ABC's of Death, apparently)... I enjoyed (if that's the right word) Kill List, though it wears some of it's influences on it's sleeve... I liked A Field in England too, although I feel like I need to give it a second look.

Skip Bittman

High Rise was terrible. Maybe if it was made 30 years ago it'd be impressive, but it had such a smug quality to it without communicating much of anything.

I hated "A Field in England." It looked so cheap and ugly, bad video quality with the saturation turned down. If you want to make a b&w film, shoot b&w film. That's why b&w film looks so nice, because it's b&w film and captures light and contrast ratios differently than just color video with saturation lowered.

I suppose his Doctor Who episodes were directed competently. The new Michael Winterbottom! Able to deliver... competent enough episodes of a tv show.

He does have some pretty superb posters, tho! Nice to see that kind of thing again instead of Photoshopped floating heads.

Bad Ambassador

Copley's also been in Europa Report, Open Grave, the Oldboy remake, Malificent, Chappie, Hardcore Henry, upcoming John Krasinski-directed The Hollars and Powers, a series for Sony's PlayStation Network, that's aired over here on 5USA.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

He's a pastiche-merchant. Kill List and Sightseers are enjoyable enough, but if you're aware of everything he's ripping off then their impact is diminished. He clearly has good taste in films, and I identify with his obsession with that weird, unsettling, '70s/early '80s "hauntology" vibe, but I'd rather watch films by someone who has something to say beyond mere emulation.

High Rise bored me to distraction, it's such an empty film, and A Field in England resembles an over-extended League of Gentlemen parody of early '70s folk-horror cinema.

I'm sure I'd enjoy chatting with him about films and television over a pint or two, but I tend to ask for more from film-makers than idle fantasies such as that.

Puce Moment

Very much looking forward to this - I do love how divisive he has become, as he jumps around different genres and tonal registers. This looks to be a full-blooded thriller comedy which doesn't interest me much at all. I'm hoping that it does that Reservoir Dogs thing of dropping humour in judiciously - but this does look to be far broader than that with a proper comedy tone as seen in Sightseers.

Interesting that people so often sole credit Wheatley with a film like High-Rise, when Amy Jump is the screenwriter and editor. I guess that goes some way to helping us see how auteur theory gained so much ground.

Shit Good Nose

I've not seen High Rise, but have all the others.  They are all, without exception, patchy.  Kill List is probably his most consistently good film and, unlike all of his others, doesn't try to juggle uncomfortably with different disparate genres.


Anyone know if he's still looking to remake Sorcerer?

imitationleather

I know this isn't exactly an original view, but A Field in England would be vastly improved without that fucking trip sequence. Just diabolical. I couldn't believe a seasoned director was actually passing off something as lame and hackneyed as that. Student film bollocks is the right description.

I'm sure I said this in the thread about the actual film, but High Rise would have been better if it jettisoned all the characters (who were terrible) and attempt at plot (which made no sense - and I've actually read the book) and was just 90 minutes of footage of the buildings, because it looked great.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: Puce Moment on September 12, 2016, 12:55:50 PM
Interesting that people so often sole credit Wheatley with a film like High-Rise,

It's quicker to say "Ben Wheatley" than "Ben Wheatley and screenwriter Amy Jump". Innit?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Brie Larson just won an Oscar. It's something of a tradition for a thesp's follow up film to be a load of toss.

Puce Moment

Quote from: checkoutgirl on September 12, 2016, 04:28:26 PMIt's quicker to say "Ben Wheatley" than "Ben Wheatley and screenwriter Amy Jump". Innit?

You're right. I do the same with Sonny & Cher.[nb]screenwriter and editor[/nb]

DukeDeMondo

What about Ideal? Does nobody like that? I can't remember if it was very good or it wasn't but I know a lot of folk talk about it in hushed tones.

phantom_power

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on September 12, 2016, 04:48:58 PM
Brie Larson just won an Oscar. It's something of a tradition for a thesp's follow up film to be a load of toss.

I imagine statistically that isn't true. The flops just stand out more. It seems to be getting decent reviews

BlodwynPig

What a bummer of s thread. And you ain't wrong. Kill List still makes my top10 but it's been diminishing returns since.

Actually id be happy just with 40hours of kill list type otherness

Bad Ambassador

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on September 12, 2016, 04:48:58 PM
Brie Larson just won an Oscar. It's something of a tradition for a thesp's follow up film to be a load of toss.

Mark Rylance's next film was The BFG - a massive flop - and his next are Dunkirk and Ready Player One. Interesting to see if the curse continues.

Pepotamo1985

Well, I hated High Rise, and despite some...high praise from people whose opinions respect (including two posters in this thread) I haven't gotten it together to watch it again since I caught it. I absolutely love Kill List though, and much of that is due to Wheatley, so he retains some goodwill from me. Only a few minute grains, but some nonetheless.

What imitationleather says is correct though (and I believe Puce Moment picked up on this theme in the High Rise thread) - Wheatley gets a lot of goodwill by token of being a UK-based director who makes films that don't feature gangsters and aren't going straight to the Tesco bargain bin

Pissant

He's making films too fast.  If the second half of High Rise was actually a sharper, condensed version of Free Fire, I might still think he's a genius.  He kind of still is but the wife thing bothers me.  I've not heard of this sort of spousal script/direct/edit thing before and maybe it's putting too much pressure on them to work together and, radioactively, they're then trying too consciously to be fresh. 

Of course I'm basing all this on a film I haven't even seen yet.  And people I don't know.  And, basically, I should just shut my fucking mouth.  It all worked out okay with Kill List and that's his biggest hit.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Pepotamo1985 on September 13, 2016, 12:21:20 PMWheatley gets a lot of goodwill by token of being a UK-based director who makes films that don't feature gangsters and aren't going straight to the Tesco bargain bin

Well, Kill List sort of features gangsters I suppose.  It really did remind me of a Nick Love film gone a bit spliffy, much as I liked it (and maybe that was partly down to the protagonist being him off The Football Factory).

He's boring as pigshit in interviews.  Talk of "genius" is hilariously hyperbolic.  He's mostly competent and made a couple of good films, calm down.  He might make something really amazing, but I don't think it's happened yet.

Puce Moment

Well, Down Terrace is basically a gangster film, and so is Free Fire, so although he isn't like the rest of the UK gangster shit film directors, he certainly enjoys the genre.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Puce Moment on September 13, 2016, 10:33:35 PM
Well, Down Terrace is basically a gangster film, and so is Free Fire, so although he isn't like the rest of the UK gangster shit film directors, he certainly enjoys the genre.

Down Terrace is a gangster film, yes, but in a 1930s semi-detached two up-two down.

Puce Moment

Quote from: BlodwynPig on September 13, 2016, 10:49:08 PMDown Terrace is a gangster film, yes, but in a 1930s semi-detached two up-two down.

Yep, absolutely. He certainly knows how to make his concepts affordable - I think that has gone a long way to getting his stuff made.