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Mute (2018, Duncan Jones new film)

Started by Small Man Big Horse, February 23, 2018, 01:22:21 PM

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Small Man Big Horse

I was sure there was a thread about this but a quick search hasn't brought anything up. Anyhow, after the massive flop that was Warcraft Jones has been given another chance to make an expensive looking sci-fi film, which is once again set in the Moon universe. I was really looking forward to it for that reason alone, but early reviews suggest he's fucked it up.

The AV Club's headline is "Mute is a flabbergasting futuristic dud from the director of Moon and Warcraft" - https://www.avclub.com/mute-is-a-flabbergasting-futuristic-dud-from-the-direct-1823219985 whist Variety have gone with "Though undeniably dazzling in the visual department, 'Moon' director Duncan Jones' gimmicky future noir has nothing interesting to say" - http://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/mute-review-netflix-1202708702/

I'm still planning to watch it because I'm stupid, but now with all new low low expectations.

Edit: According to The Guardian "Duncan Jones's sci-fi thriller is a Netflix disaster. The Moon director has delivered a catastrophically misjudged riff on Blade Runner with an astoundingly dull performance from Alexander Skårsgard" - https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/23/mute-review-netflix-duncan-jones-sci-fi - Yeesh!

Wet Blanket

Soon as I heard it wasn't getting a cinema release I knew it would be a bomb. Disappointing, as I thought Moon and Source Code were both fantastic.

bgmnts

Moon was mostly great because Sam Rockwell is amazing. I highly doubted Jones as a talent.

Serge

This sounds like the film he was talking about as the follow-up to 'Moon' at the time of that film's release, with its Berlin setting and music from his dad's Berlin Trilogy. I guess the fact it's only coming now, nearly a decade later, is another sign that it's been a difficult movie to get to grips with. The reviews are seriously shocking.

Bad Ambassador

Quote from: Wet Blanket on February 23, 2018, 01:26:07 PM
Soon as I heard it wasn't getting a cinema release I knew it would be a bomb.

On the other hand, Alex Garland's Annihilation is going straight to Netflix next month after a cinema release in the US from today, and so far its had rave reviews.

phantom_power

Quote from: Wet Blanket on February 23, 2018, 01:26:07 PM
Soon as I heard it wasn't getting a cinema release I knew it would be a bomb. Disappointing, as I thought Moon and Source Code were both fantastic.

He was commissioned by Netflix so it was never going to get a theatrical release. I really don't think that is an indicator of quality. That last Adam Sandler film wasn't released in cinemas and got rave reviews, and Annihilation is getting great reviews as said above.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: phantom_power on February 23, 2018, 03:04:55 PM
He was commissioned by Netflix so it was never going to get a theatrical release. I really don't think that is an indicator of quality. That last Adam Sandler film wasn't released in cinemas and got rave reviews, and Annihilation is getting great reviews as said above.

Yeah – whilst Amazon lets films that it distributes, have some kind of cinema release, Netflix is online only.

Re: Sandler – a big reason Netflix signed him up was how popular his films were on Netflix, not matter how much the critics slate them. The earlier films he did for them (three?) got absolutely panned critically, but suspect that they delivered what Netflix wanted. 

Old Nehamkin

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on February 23, 2018, 01:22:21 PM
Anyhow, after the massive flop that was Warcraft Jones has been given another chance to make an expensive looking sci-fi film, which is once again set in the Moon universe.

Warcraft made back nearly three times its budget, so I don't think "massive flop" is quite fair.

Bad Ambassador

Quote from: Old Nehamkin on February 23, 2018, 03:37:42 PM
Warcraft made back nearly three times its budget, so I don't think "massive flop" is quite fair.

Nearly half its gross came from China, however, which gives a much smaller cut of takings to studios. In the US, from which the studio gets the biggest slice, it was a disaster.

Ignatius_S

Warcraft was heavily backed by Chinese money, which meant it could leverage more money out of the Chinese market than it had been an entirely American film. A lot of the coverage about its finances was using how things work for the latter.

Although the film was a commercial failure, it wouldn't has been as great as often touted and realistically, there have been bigger flops.

I think I've posted previously about this film (and others) and how nebulous film financing is, and how difficult it is to get a genuine sense from the outside about how films do.

Small Man Big Horse

Right, seen it now, and um, yeah, it's a giant mess of a film, but I do think the critics have been overly harsh. It's certainly got a lot wrong with it, from segments of the script to the acting department, and yet due to the choices Jones has made I can't deny it's a very memorable film, and Spoiler: much of the ridiculous final twenty minutes made me laugh in disbelief. Half of the film is all about Alexander Skarsgard's bland search for his missing horny girlfriend, but the rest of the time we follow Paul Rudd's far more enjoyable dodgy surgeon, which livens up the film no end, especially when the two storylines link together in unusual ways and places. It all looks pretty stunning and if it wasn't for some terrible acting (say hello Misfit's Robert Sheehan!) and cringeworthy dialogue I don't think it'd be receiving the mauling that it has. Though the ending seems to be what most critics dislike about it: Spoiler: With the Guardian claiming it's "One of the more unexpected and staggeringly mishandled depictions of pedophilia in recent memory." But I don't know if I agree with that, and for me it led to a really disturbing couple of scenes that I wasn't expecting from the film at all. And then it has a cutesy happy ending, which is laughable, but eh, better than the rapey alternative I suppose.

All a bit of an oddity then, but one I don't regret watching. 6/10

Wet Blanket

Quote from: Ignatius_S on February 23, 2018, 03:31:17 PM
Yeah – whilst Amazon lets films that it distributes, have some kind of cinema release, Netflix is online only.

Re: Sandler – a big reason Netflix signed him up was how popular his films were on Netflix, not matter how much the critics slate them. The earlier films he did for them (three?) got absolutely panned critically, but suspect that they delivered what Netflix wanted.

Ah, I thought it was like Amazon, who fair-play to them put Neon Demon on the big screen. No matter how much money they throw at it, straight-to-Netflix sounds like straight-to-video to me. But I suppose I'm a bit of a big screen apologist. If a film turns out to be really good seems a shame it won't see cinema distribution. 

phantom_power

I think that is a perception a lot of people have and will change over time. With the size and resolution of TVs available now the gap between cinema and home viewing is getting narrower.

Dr Syntax Head

Quote from: bgmnts on February 23, 2018, 01:29:01 PM
Moon was mostly great because Sam Rockwell is amazing. I highly doubted Jones as a talent.

Agreed. Rockwell was what made that film go from an OK see once sci fi to a really emotionally affecting film.

amputeeporn

Quote from: Bad Ambassador on February 23, 2018, 02:01:14 PM
On the other hand, Alex Garland's Annihilation is going straight to Netflix next month after a cinema release in the US from today, and so far its had rave reviews.

Infuriating this, as it's apparently a botched power play from a distributor who demanded changes to the ending and, when he was refused, yanked the Uk cinema release in a fit of hubris. Same dude responsible for Terminator Genisys so maybe he should stick to that.

All this despite it receiving raves everywhere and being based on really fun and interesting source material in Jeff Vandermeer's novel. Would have loved to see it on the big screen.

kidsick5000

Maybe it's just my region but sadly, Mute isn't even getting an above the fold promotion. Pretty much no promotion at all.
You have to scroll to find it.

But I'll still give it a go. I have a lot of time for Mr Jones

Viero_Berlotti

Yes, I found it odd that Netflix didn't seem to be promoting it on the day of release when I logged on yesterday. I'm a UK subscriber but I'm currently in Spain. You don't need to use a VPN for Netflix anymore when abroad but I assume that I'm logged on as UK Netflix and not Spanish.

I think the poor reviews and fact it's been released just after the Bladerunner sequel and the same time as Altered Carbon means Mute will likely be perceived as another average sci-if film with flying cars.


Straight Faced Customer

I guess this is his Southland Tales? Pity.

I never really got the fuss for Moon, but I liked Source Code.

SavageHedgehog

Jones has served as a good reminder that a promising start can sometimes be just that. I kind of liked Warcraft for being naff in a now rather old-fashioned, slightly nostalgic way (it had a hint of one of Cannon's more expensive films), but I thought Mark Kermode was pushing it when suggested he could still see Jones' stamp (a stamp of all of two previous films) on it.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Yes, I'm not sure Jones is much of an auteur - any more than Marc Webb, Colin Trevorrow or any of those other indie style newcomers who get called up to the big leagues after only one or two films. I persevered through Warcraft, but it was pretty rubbish. All the same, I am disappointed to hear that Mute is a bit of a dud. The straight-to-video label isn't a sign of quality, one way or the other, these days.

From Ghost in the Shell onward, it's been a disappointing year for cyberpunk.

Straight Faced Customer

Thinking the same. Hasn't it been the only 'year' of cyberpunk in quite some time though? Before Ghost etc, we had Looper back in 2012, some Black Mirror episodes...am I forgetting anything?

Even Looper got mixed reviews.

EDIT: There was Snowpiercer, too, but Schweinstein made sure that never got a proper release. Another one bites the dust...

kidsick5000

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on February 24, 2018, 01:16:55 PM
Yes, I'm not sure Jones is much of an auteur - any more than Marc Webb, Colin Trevorrow or any of those other indie style newcomers who get called up to the big leagues after only one or two films. I persevered through Warcraft, but it was pretty rubbish. All the same, I am disappointed to hear that Mute is a bit of a dud. The straight-to-video label isn't a sign of quality, one way or the other, these days.

From Ghost in the Shell onward, it's been a disappointing year for cyberpunk.

Probably because nobody has take the genre beyond having the visuals of Blade Runner and the plot of Matrix Revolution as described by the architect.
And quite often, the visuals are placed above story.

Quote from: Straight Faced Customer on February 24, 2018, 01:29:59 PM
EDIT: There was Snowpiercer

I really enjoyed that but while it was a decent twist on the formula it's one that didn't quite stand up to applying logic to the backstory.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on February 24, 2018, 03:15:13 PM
I really enjoyed that but while it was a decent twist on the formula it's one that didn't quite stand up to applying logic to the backstory.

I was very fond of it as well but now it's to be made in to a tv series and I'm not convinced it'll work at all. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6156584/

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on February 24, 2018, 03:49:25 PM
I was very fond of it as well but now it's to be made in to a tv series and I'm not convinced it'll work at all. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6156584/

Oof! That's a tough nut to crack. Especially since it's a finite story that hinges on a twist.
If they were to introduce more of the daily dramas of different departments on the train, for some reason I picture The Bureau on the back of a truck.

Admittedly, the challenge of the notion makes my mind race. It's such a restrictive situation to create a story from - both in the scenario of the train and the definitive end of the film.

To avoid the film's conclusion, you run the risk of it being a dark take on the Love Boat

It's already proved too much for one showrunner
http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/snowpiercer/37809/snowpiercer-tv-show-news

Glebe


Custard

First twenty minutes I thought it wasn't too shabby, and the Aldi looking Blade Runner world was actually pretty well done on such a small budget. But then it suddenly dips in quality, and I started finding it distinctly average and boring.

I don't think it helps that we're barely introduced to his lady before she is kidnapped, or that she wasn't all that interesting or likeable to begin with.

Saarsguard is clearly doing his best with a thankless role, but he just doesn't have the presence or charisma to actually make you care.

The peado stuff was vomit inducing, especially blokey taking pics of the little girl from behind. Leave it ahhht

The ending, as SMBH says, is almost funny in it's shitness. Another modern film with four different endings, simply because the director can't choose one.

Really wanted to like it, as I love Moon and enjoyed Source Code, but yep, sadly, it's a bit of a misfire

amputeeporn

A weird and interesting mess.

Jesus, directing today must be a hard game. Years and years to get anything off the ground (and therefore learn your craft), and if you do have some early luck, you'll be given a franchise, a shitload of money and a studio breathing down your neck. Can easily see how his father's passing would affect the guy, too. Dad's this visionary, throw out the rules genius and you just made a Warcraft that everyone hated...

Easy to see how you'd try to put everything on red and go all auteur, but I guess this is what happens when you follow those impulses without having built the muscle to pull it off?

bgmnts

Quote from: amputeeporn on February 25, 2018, 12:16:37 AM
A weird and interesting mess.

Jesus, directing today must be a hard game. Years and years to get anything off the ground (and therefore learn your craft), and if you do have some early luck, you'll be given a franchise, a shitload of money and a studio breathing down your neck. Can easily see how his father's passing would affect the guy, too. Dad's this visionary, throw out the rules genius and you just made a Warcraft that everyone hated...

Easy to see how you'd try to put everything on red and go all auteur, but I guess this is what happens when you follow those impulses without having built the muscle to pull it off?


Eh. Lots of indie filmmakers do the whole guerrilla film-making thing. Pretty cheap and easy.

amputeeporn

Quote from: bgmnts on February 25, 2018, 12:18:27 AM

Eh. Lots of indie filmmakers do the whole guerrilla film-making thing. Pretty cheap and easy.

Sure, Sean Baker shot (the amazing) Tangerine on iPhone. Apparently lives broke, with his parents, and maxed out credit cards etc just to film that. I don't know - I think it seems like a very difficult job (to make art, but to very strict deadlines and budgets) but also be a leader/boss of a crew and guide the vision.

Noah Baumbach is now contracted to Netflix for his movies I believe, and it sounds like a good deal - although one even he admits is a kind of defeat. But at least he can write a script, get the cash and go and film the things regularly and build his backlist/reputation/experience.

bgmnts

Quote from: amputeeporn on February 25, 2018, 12:25:39 AM
Sure, Sean Baker shot (the amazing) Tangerine on iPhone. Apparently lives broke, with his parents, and maxed out credit cards etc just to film that. I don't know - I think it seems like a very difficult job (to make art, but to very strict deadlines and budgets) but also be a leader/boss of a crew and guide the vision.

Noah Baumbach is now contracted to Netflix for his movies I believe, and it sounds like a good deal - although one even he admits is a kind of defeat. But at least he can write a script, get the cash and go and film the things regularly and build his backlist/reputation/experience.

Don't forget Blair Witch Project and Gareth Edward's Monsters. Edward went straight from little low budget thing to fucking Star Wars!


But yeah, you've got to be a bit mental and very dedicated to make films.