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Would you be interested in discussing story titles and how they are neglected part of storytelling in general. As a writer I can honestly say there was a time where I just came a story after the main character and nowadays I make sure my story titles are unique and avoid using the names of characters.
Sad, I expect that someone who reviews movies would have courtesy to not advertise shit games (as it is a similar medium) for any money, I dont mind ads but this is just sad
The thing that impressed me the most was the sound design. The fact that gunshots were loud and startling was fantastic. A film that depicts firearms sound signature realistically. When people were shooting, it WAS the loudest thing on screen. No normal ear friendly conversations, guns are loud. It made them loud.
@@Prophetofthe8thLegion What are you talking about?? You understand that is was still hearing safe right? It doesn't leave you with hearing loss or a ringing. Just the sound itself was an actual gunshot. Not some overlayed pop pop you get in every action film. And in contrast to everything else on screen, it was the loudest part. Like it should be, I highly doubt any production studio would release a film that literally hurts you. Any volume issue is going to be the theater itself. I myself saw it in IMAX and was amazing.
@@caseywrable everyone in the city wouldn't be ready for winter, in a matter of fact no one would be ready for winter especially when you consider where everyone gets their food and groceries
@@caseywrablein almost every civil conflict in history, cities may become sites of battle but they are still less likely to fall into "half the town lynches the other half and then fall into cannibalism" than villages, small towns, or even worse, modern suburbia where there is zero social cohesion and infrastructure. Those sparsely populated towns are prime pickings for marauding armies, or become brigand strongholds, and are hard for any stabilising force to restore peace and some semblance of the law
@@bengirard1984google says it released in Canada on the 8th (yesterday) There are usually a number of advanced screenings before its wide release, which would the 11th
I remember watching it hesitantly because my friend suggested it, while thinking it's going to be some kind of sob story. But I was literally clenching my fists and biting down my jaw hard when the last scenes of descending into trauma happened, like when the mother gets shocked, girl gets mentally dissociated while selling her body,Jared and his friend scenes. One of the movies that changed my perspective towards cinema as a art more than entertainment. Gta 4 is a similar game that changed my perspectives on video games bring more than just entertainment. @@alhusseinfarah4194
The character change makes more sense if you view it as 3 concurrent coming of age stories. You basically have 4 characters who are in different parts of their 'war journalism' careers. -Cailee Spaney (Jessie) has just started her career as a war journalist. -Wagner Moura (Joel) is in his prime. The job is exciting to him. He comes off as an adrenaline junkie, he is going the extra mile to get that shot that will make a name for himself. -Kirsten Dundst's character (Lee) essentially is at the end of her prime. She's made a name for herself, photographing conflict and has basically seen it all, but the this has taken a heavy toll on her. -Stephen McKinley (Sammy) is past his prime. He really has no place being in a war zone. He's too old to keep up but his passion for the career has kept him going past the stopping point. He isn't invincible like he was when he was younger. He can no longer hide the fact that he values his own life and those around him. This impairs his abilities as a war journalist as they need to be very stoic and cold in order to operate in this environment. *****Spoilers***** *********** *********** *********** *********** The toll of the career has basically worn Lee down to her limit. She is trying to hold face and maintain her presence, but the cracks are starting to show. Her and Joel both experience some extreme trauma within the film. Joel being in his prime is able to overcome it. Lee on the otherhand is at the end of her rope and finally just breaks down. At the start of the film, she implies, heartlessly, that if Jessie were to die, she'd photograph it. When Sammie is killed, she photographs him, but then deletes the photo. She can't keep up the stoicism required to be a war journalist any longer and she has developed into a parallel of Sammie. This happens right as they are thrust into the most intense combat. She is unable to function to her full potential as a journalist. She starts having a mental breakdown while in the middle of a battle. During this time, Jessie is starting to develope more into Joel. She has been through hell, but she feels alive. She's starting to hit her stride. She's excited to be in these situations and takes the risks needed to get the good shots. This nearly gets her killed, but Lee, now unshackled for the morbid stoicism of being a war-journalist saves her rather than taking a photo of her demise. This parallels to how Sammie saved the group earlier. Something he wouldn't have been able to do if he was still a cold blooded war journalist, as he'd have been in the same situation himself. Lee would likely have developed into a character very similar to Sammie if she hadn't gotten killed. Joel gets the big shot, he's going to make a name for himself, much like Lee had done when she documented the ANTIFA massacre (I think I recall this being her big scoop, but i could be misremembering). Jessie is now hooked on war-journalism. She will likely now develope into a character more similar to Joel. She captures a photo of Lee as she dies and is able to heartlessly move on even though she saved her life. It basically shows 4 different stages and evolutions of being a war journalist with the backdrop being an American civil war. Lee wasn't really acting out of character, it's more that her character 'came of age' at a really bad/(good?) time. I really feel like the short coming was not developing Sammie's character enough. I think if they had done more to establish how he got to where he is then drew parallels to how that same thing is happening to Lee, it would have made it more obvious what was happening to her, and it wouldn't be misinterpreted as being out of character.
Are you a writer by any chance? It's really impressive how you're able to dissect these characters while also being able to articulate it such that it's easy to understand for the laymen. Just finished the movie a few hours ago and reading your take has added an extra dimension to the film for me.
I probably shouldn't have read all of that as I haven't seen the movie yet (yes I saw the spoiler warning) but I was too curious. That being said this is an excellent analysis and honestly it might enhance my viewing of the film whenever I get around to seeing it. Thank you for taking the time to share!
I'm more impressed we got a movie that looks incredible and didn't cost a ridiculous amount at a lean 50mil. This and Godzilla Minus One showing the major studios are suffering a serious bloat problem
$200 million plus movies also have expensive casts. Just think of the last Avengers movies and what those actors cost before one frame was shot. I'm guessing Kirsten didn't break the bank.
@thecodebrief Clearly on Chris's part. Not sure if you mean the new expansion is tied to the movie release, which I would guess is less likely at least in terms of the studio paying for it.
I know which character you are vaguely talking about and I feel the photo they deleted, the car window, was an indication that everything had become too much for them to bear; too close to home. Notice how everything went downhill for that character after that; they were having panic attacks, crying, disconnected, etc. I do not think it was a betrayal of their character development because early in the movie, that character had flashbacks that seemed to foreshadow the mental fragility. Also, there was mention of "What's eating at you?" or "What's on your mind?" by their colleagues leading up to that. There was so much that made complete sense the second time I watched it. For instance, the President's speech in the beginning is completely different knowing what happens in the movie.
I thought he was talking about the young girl car hopping out of the window and triggering that most disturbing sequence that followed. He even used “goes out of the window literally.”
Ooh this character? I didn’t think it was a betrayal of anything and it felt natural. Ultimately reviews are always subjective I guess In a perfect world, reviewers would watch films twice Once for the ride, 2nd time to review and accept the film for what it is, then you can contrast if it works
Honestly it was overkill with the helicopter and I found myself rooting for the underdog soldier at the gate fighting back against overwhelming odds. It was like 10 soldiers vs every one 😂 Sadly I didn’t see it on IMAX but on Cinemark XD with THX Certification. I do wanna see it on IMAX just for the action scenes
I find it ridiculous that the controversy surrounding this movie is because people wanted the movie to side with their specific political party and instead they didn’t side with any at all, like isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t it good that this movie wasn’t pro this or pro that? I mean this is a movie guys, not the news network that you watch
Its centrist nonsense. Just read some of the director's quotes about how he views the disputes over governance. He claims that its just two different views of how to govern, as if Republican policy doesn't directly affect the lives of LGBTQ+ people, as if Republican policy doesn't make life harder for the impoverished. Its mealy mouthed " war and divisiveness are bad" with very little real criticism going on.
@@raoulduke2924if you blame the republicans than your already falling for the trap and your being manipulated. The republican and democrats are really no different. Both controlled by an elite.
E o capitão Nascimento virou zumbi 🤣 no meu ver parece uma mistura de Tropa de elite + the walkind dead no filme do tropa de elite o capitão Nascimento treina seu sucessor a líder de esquadrão pois queria se aposentar no meio só que isso no meio de um apocalipse zumbi 🤣🤦🤡🤭 na minha impressão americanos são meio malucos e frios mais a medida que vamos conhecendo tudo melhora abraço 👍🇧🇷😎
Having nothing political to say doesn’t mean having nothing to say at all. I dont understand the people saying this movie “says nothing.” It has plenty to say from an anti-war lens, particularly the gross desensitisation and callousness that comes from choosing to constantly take in real-life horrific violence.
@@wembychan What? I got around the accusation that anyone who doesn't like it doesn't understand it. So I'm an idiot because I think it's poorly executed? It looks like it was shot with a handycam. You have people having a conversation with a sniper team in the middle of a standoff. The military lets them tag along while they are involved in firefights. I can go on. It's a terrible movie.
RE: the character "betrayal" It was a psychological response to successfully passing the torch. They felt comfortable enough to feel something, because they fully trusted another person to document. At least that's how I read it.
If it what I'm thinking, I took it as, it was a point of utter cracking...super powerful, I was horrified and upset seeing them like that. But I like that take too
Yeah you can clearly tell for the back half her heart wasn't in it anymore and they literally already set up that she was willing to put herself in danger to help Jessie and that other guy in the scene with Jesse Plemons earlier in the movie
In my reading, this film talks about the LACK OF EMPATHY regarding war. It is evident with journalists: Lee, experienced and successful, appears cruel when she photographs horrific scenes of violence. Meanwhile, Jessie, young and inexperienced, is affected by the war scenes. The idea of the narrative is to reverse the roles. To show how, as the film progresses, Lee becomes more empathetic and Jessie becomes colder. In the end, Jessie takes the iconic photos while Lee freaks out and is shot - a moment, in fact, photographed by Jessie. Going off script, the message for me as a viewer is: we are Jessie and Lee at the same time. Wars happen all the time, all over the world. At first, like Jessie, we were shocked, but eventually we got used to the horrific scenes of violence. We got used to war. We got colder. But we are also Lee. Our lack of empathy has a certain limit. How long can we endure it? And would we be able to handle it when it was with someone close to us? Lee has photographed countless people in deplorable situations, however, her breakdown came after seeing her colleagues in the same type of situation. Then, we come to the true meta of the film: you, Americans, bring war to the whole world. There are countries, right now, in situations IDENTICAL to those shown in the film. Do you care? Of course youu don't. It's not NY or Washington. For you, and for me, "war" is that thing that appears in the news.
The California Texas alliance is just crazy enough to be brilliant in its concept. Yes I know Blue and Red but (as a Californian) we have much in common. We are independent self governing states that do what we think is best for our interest, common or otherwise. Whether environmental, gun control or border politics we do as we see fit for our own best interests. Once a third term president or other power attempts to stifle that I feel common ground would be found. The combined economic, populous and military resources of the two states would be a force to be reckoned with on any stage.
It's possible that after they put Trump in jail to rig another election, that the maga movement in California and Texas would form the Western Forces Patriot Milita to close the borders.
I thought about this too. For the record, I live in Texas, and due to the politics of it all, I had one of those choke and spray out my beverage moments when I heard Texas and California "working together" in this war. Yeah right 🤨
It's a brilliant move. It made me happy there wasn't any politics or current day's nutty topics mentioned at all. This is what immersion and escapism is.
That’s what I’m saying, I feel like people’s positive or negative opinions of this movie aren’t being determined by the quality of the movie, it’s like they’re determining it based on what political side they’re on
Not sure the movie is for me but glad to see Kirsten Dunst getting some love. I hadn't seen her in anything for years and then last year I binged through Fargo and she was amazing in season 2.
@@LuisSierra42Hadn't heard of that but lol looked at the cast there and thought "Wow Jesse Plemons is also in that, why are they in everything together" might have something to do with them being married huh...
Im hearing alot of folks talk about how a civil war might be a "fun" or "good" thing. I did mission trips all over West Africa in the 90's. Ive been to and spent time in places where the system has completely broken down. I still have nightmares about what I saw almost 30 years ago.
People romanticize dystopian and post-apocalyptic settings because they think it gives them the best chance to reinvent themselves as heroes in a world where hierarchical structures have collapsed and everyone is equally destitute. The truth (and the irony) is that such a world allows sociopaths and psychopaths to quickly seize positions of power and dominate those around them (usually through the use of extreme violence).
Well, there is a theory that in the future the States of South of USA and the States of North Mexico will unite to form a new country, if they do not accept it, the way would be weapons, with civil war existing in both countries.
I definetly see what you're saying, but I don't think world building was what this film was about. You weren't really supposed to side with either "side", as in the end theyre both two halves of a bad whole. World building the sides more would have led to inherent biases within them, and I think keeping them vague helps more with the message the movie was trying to get across.
@@Nova-fh2etnot really. They just pick up movies that get a buzz at festivals and they also have produced some amazing movies. There are not many that I haven’t enjoyed.
You're obviously with the Libertarian party. If your candidate would win the election and become president...it would be worse the a civil war. We would have a national PURGE just like in the movies 🎥
I love the the part where Kirsten Dunst’s character reveals that her mentor was Frank West and tells Cailee Spaeny’s character she’s covered wars, ya know.
It really captures what its like to be in the middle of gun battles. Some of the journalists get a real buzz out of it. The scenes with Jesse Plemons are riveting. The final gun battle is handled really well. Kirsten Dunst's reaction to what's going on gives it a whole other level that I have never seen before in that type of sequence.
I saw it. I enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much order was still present, and how little crime was depicted. I would imagine that there would be a whole lot more fragmentation and disorder. There were examples of communities setting up aid stations, and policing their streets. That seems more likely to be the exception rather than the norm. I guess I was left feeling as though this movie was toothless, it didn't go far enough to depict what a true breakdown of services would be like. Empty shelves, empty gas tanks, the starvation of multitudes. When communication stops, we have no credit, no commerce, no transportation. Except for the government, and that would be busy fighting. I think it would look a lot worse.
Good review as usual, although I believe that the arcs of both main characters Lee and Jessie perfectly fit the themes of the movie. Giving no spoilers, both arcs are foreshadowed by earlier scenes, like Jessie’s increasing recklessness and feeling “more alive” but less detached in getting the photos; and Lee’s full realization that all the times she thought her foreign war shots were a “warning” back home were ultimately futile as they did not stop the second American civil war… Lee and Jessie are so haunting to me when all is said and done…
A review like this is exactly why I love your reviews Chris. You care about the same things I do while being a realist that some things have to make money. Plan on seeing the film with my wife here in the next couple of weeks and Austin, will report back.
@@Tomy_YonUnfortunately not yet. I couldn’t do SXSW nor the early screening bc I’m filming but I have tickets for the 12th for an IMAX screening here in ATL. Mann I just hope I made the cut
I will say that the I felt that the shift in the character you mention was actually really interesting. One thing I noticed was Garland started shooting some POV shots from their perspective where the focus was off with the light splitting into red, green, and blue around edges. I took that as a sign that they were cracking under the pressure especially after that moment where they pointed out how they were still failing to process that this war was happening in the US rather than all the various counties they had visited. That shift to cracking under the pressure at the 11th hour felt very real to me especially as a photojournalist who has built a career as someone who lives as this silent observer. This crack I believed was foreshadowed by the memories flashes seen in the early part of the movie. War is Hell, and I thought it really humanized the idea that as much as we can try to be impartial observers we still have to live with the impact of what we see/choose to do. Even when you believe the best/safest thing to do is to not intervene or "take a side" that doesn't stop us from the effects of the horrors of war
As a recommendation for your next 'Feature Presentation', I think you should talk about Apocalypse Now. It's my, personal, all-time favorite movie. It's very similar to Civil War in that it shows some borderline horrific events hidden behind a war film. Some of the shots and imagery are branded into my subconsciousness. It's a beautifully haunting movie that I'm sure you've seen, just never talked about.
It didn't dawn on me the similarities of Civil War to Apocalypse Now until a random dude next to me pointed it out. I think years from now this movie will be remembered as the Apocalypse now of this generation.
Contagion didn’t predict the future. That virus killed 1 out of 3 people…. with our pandemic, > 2% even showed symptoms and even less died. Not remotely comparable. Btw, it’s still out there. But the world moves on
My wife is a nurse and had never seen contagion. We watched it together in may 2020. She was amazed how much of it was what she was being told to do at that time.
Stuckmann thinks he knows more about writing and consistent character choices than Alex Garland lol. Notes from Melanie is so incredibly inconsistent. Someone needs to remind him about zods snapped neck.
making movies is hard, just like flying an airplane. thats why when my pilot crashes and burns i wont say anything bad (ill scream in panic while plummeting to the ground) edit:damn guys, sarcasm
This movie depicts a US Civil War where California and Texas are on the same side? I guess that's good so from the start you know you're in an alternate reality.
@@mrconfusion87well if there’s one thing the entire country can probably agree on is: we don’t want a fkn dictatorship. That’s an easy stance to go against.
@@BB-ed4omIt never says, that's kind of the point. It's about you deciding without the overall context if some choices and sacrifices are worth it. You don't know who is "wrong" we just know Cali and Texas are siding together because they're mad at the government. It could be for a lot of reasons.
I honestly liked the movie, I was secretly rooting for the 10 guys defending the gate against overwhelming odds. Some scenes took me by surprise but then I realized the movie was rated R.
I saw this yesterday and it was a shocking movie to me, like the road trip through hell. The sound design was insanely good, especially the gunfire was so loud it almost felt like gunfire was happening in the cinema. It's one of those film were I just had to sit a while afterwards and take it all in. A few people walked out during the film as well.
@@mattcollins3591 I don't think people were expecting it to be so raw, you know? There's a lot of real war going on in the world, a lot of images of real people in the news, so it would have been safer to make more of an action movie. There's a lot of real war/protests footage in between in the beginning of the film.
I have always appreciated the fact that your reviews are spoiler-free. Even on the rare occasions when you do a review with spoilers, you have a spoiler-free counterpart and both are clearly labeled. Thank you.
Just saw this and I think most reviewers are missing things to an extent. First, for people who are REALLY that concerned with the political messaging, it gives you enough context to gather that the president is a tyrant (regardless of party) and two large states with divergent politics join up despite their differences (CA / TX). Also the things we see make the idea of this conflict unfathomably terrifying. No glorification and no pandering either. Garland handles the politics subtly CAUSE ITS NOT THE POINT. The film is most compelling and emotionally impactful by studying its characters as war photographers. A thrilling, twisted artistry that bites when showcasing the trauma involved. Finally, the action was nuts and the sound design was brilliantly horrifying.
So why have a white guy killing all the foreigners and dumping them in a pit? Why not blacks doing it to whites? That part really had nothing to do with the civil war itself so why put it in there? It's obvious the politics of the film maker.
Considering the current state of the world and how mainstream audience has become disillusioned with Superhero movies, this movie could be the underdog of 2024...
Loved a movie that doesn’t spoon out what the ‘right way’ of something major going on, but it’s these people who are experiencing ALL the everythings as they appear!
THIS! In true Alex Garland fashion it subverts your expectations but NOT in a way it feels like a cop out! And it goes out of its way to avoid explicit partisanship! If there is any political message coming out of the film, it is do NOT take your liberties for granted and RESIST tyrants in your midst (REGARDLESS of the political colors they sport)!
Yeah such a disrespectful scene. Hey thanks for saving my life…only a day before I was puking my guts when you,,,saved my life the 3rd time - like Kirsten kept saving her life and this brat took no notes. Ps…she’s fired
@findyoufilms not really. She listened to her hero's lessons; harden yourself and don't think about it. She got involved in saving the girls life and it got her killed. They switched places mentally
@@seff6533 I was asking Stuck but ok, yes, i agree with you i understood the key shift, and don’t have a problem with it. The end certainly made me on the fence for a day or two.
A24 is a mixed bag. Sometimes, they release a masterpiece like Everything Everywhere All At Once and sometimes give us an utterly irredeemable turd like Spring Breakers.
@@Elatenl oh, I know, but their name means something to the consumer and that's rare nowadays. Even if they don't FUND everything, they certainly know how to pick who to publish!
I do not live in the US but was born and raised there. I saw the trailer for this in the cinema where I live. The entire audience seemed confused at the idea of it. I actually had a shiver down my spine. I don't want to see this movie until it seems a little less likely to happen.
I will say the end had the biggest impact. To see people laying down their lives and knowing it is over then seeing a shell of a powerful man as he is will stay with me. To see, as an Australian, an office we see daily as a sign of power and peace was impactful.
Loved the movie, especially and most importantly for keeping it under 2 hours: 1h 49m in fact, for that alone it deserves an Oscar. Then secondly, beautifully shot, for a film about photojournalism, it’s a mesmerisingly beautiful display of photography. I think the strange editing choices and sudden cuts, which is not too dissimilar from other A24 movies keeps it sweet n short and interesting. I really appreciate it. Soundtrack was fantastic and I like that it’s ambiguous. It’s just about the group trying to get the ultimate interview and shot. It’s not for everyone, but I was so happy to get an A24 on IMAX.
I just googled the release date and no matter how many times I reload it, Chrome is trying and convince me the movie came out on the first of january 1AD.
I think that odd character moment can be explained by the effect that another character was having on them. They were being reminded of themselves at a younger age and that explains why they do what they do in the last moment. They were being "woken up" ' from their stoic trance, in a way.
Wagner Moura was giving me strong Pedro Pascal vibes in this movie, so much so that I had to look up if they were related in some way. His name being "Joel" in this movie only made the connection stronger to me lol
I don't know if it's the safest route to tell a story. Nightcrawler tells the story that photo journalists can manipulate a scene before taking photos or video to make the story more intriguing and therefore more valuable to whoever gets the exclusive.
@@ametora1231Absolutely. Far better movie. It understood that it had to come off as surreal and a dark comedy or you wouldn't buy into it. This movie has too much implausibility to be taken seriously.
I enjoyed that particular part you're talking about. It demonstrated that although they were journalists they had something in common with the soldiers, they were there to do a mission, they would deal with their emotions afterwards.
Loved this movie so much. Really captured the horrors of war and the audio production was QUALITY! Audio was mixed so firefights and military vehicles were loud as hell. It was really immersive in IMAX.
@@benmcfee so therefore it cant be Garlands masterpiece since he didn’t direct it. That would be like calling Blade Runner Hampton Fanchers Masterpiece. Um no thats Ridley Scotts masterpiece
I really hated it. I didn't like not knowing what caused the war. It was nothing but shootings & photo journalists taking pictures. U can tell they wanted to make this movie as apolitical as possible but it just ended up making it bad in my opinion.
This movie was extremely disappointing. The premise behind the movie (upcoming American Civil War) is a very interesting topic with great potential for a controversial film. However, Garland is a coward and chooses to uses journalists as an unbiased spectator of the conflict instead of making the film about the conflict itself - which would have been so much more interesting (and he could still remain unbiased in such a film and just present both sides of the conflict). Not to mention, there is little information as to how/why there is a Civil War and why California & Texas (two states at opposite ends of the political spectrum) would ever form an alliance, be able to field a military and take over the entire country. I get the film is about journalists but that's why the film is not that interesting. Also, in reality, we all know journalists would be taking a side in such a conflict.
I feel this movie might bomb bc people are sick of being afraid of this kinda thing actually happening/the general toxic division that is sewn everywhere you look already. Very prescient. Too prescient maybe.
The question “what kind of American?” from the trailer is literally so memorable, the film does not attempt to address that question from different perspectives, which I felt was a huge let down and missed opportunity
I was just really confused about the tone and message with this movie, at one point it felt like it was making light of the events taking place and next scene it was a very heavy dark feeling and that’s what this movie missed for me a clear tone and message that it was trying to convey. Is it not so serious or very serious? It wasn’t really clear
This movie was absolute dogwater. 1 star. Politics aside....The characters have no backstory, so you don't care about any of them. Unrealistic. No back story. Drawn out scenes for no reason. It's just stupid. Someone needa to make a real Civil War movie.
The writer/director is English. I just saw it, and OK I'm not that well versed in US politics, but I couldn't tell if the president was "red team" or "blue team" and I think that was pretty deliberate. There are moments where I (and the protagonists) weren't sure what "side" someone was fighter for.
@@boggers If you were from here you'd be able to pick up on the subtle shots thrown towards a particular party. It's not even very obvious to someone who does live in the US that doesn't mess with politics at all, which is actually the majority of people in this country.
@@fabolousjada5070 Yeah, that wasn't lost on me, for arguments sake let's assume the painted nails guys were antifa and the red glasses were boogaloo boys... What I meant was that to me it is not clear what side they are on within the context of the film, I knew the groups, but didn't know whether those groups were meant to be Loyalist, Western Forces, Florida Alliance or the other one - the film deliberately makes that unclear, I think. The fictional division that Garland makes, from my perspective, runs perpendicular to the actual divide in the US today.
The great Brazilian actor Wagner Moura was great in this, kinda weird you mention Jesse Plemons who was 5 minutes on the movie, but didn't mention Wagner Moura, at all.
Ben Sailsbury and Geoff Barrow who did the score were actually going to record the score for Dredd, but Alex Garland went with Paul Leonard Morgan at the last minute.They released the soundtrack later as DROKK ( Garland and Barrow are huge Judge Dredd/2000AD fans). I'm 99% sure this is Garlands loose prequel about the end of democracy of America, before the fascistic Judge system took over. If you know 2000AD/Judge Dredd lore, you can see it!
As a recommendation for your next ''Feature presentation'', i would suggest Watchmen (the Director's Cut especially). Given how much of a wasteland the current landscape of Superhero has been, Watchmen has aged pretty well in my eyes and that's despite me not being a fan of Zack Snyder. Even Christopher Nolan said that it was ahead of it's time and it would have been even better if it was released Post-Avengers.
the movie was literally so faithful until it decided to change the ending of the comic so that it no longer makes sense or is impactful. just read the comic smh
@@TheAmericanPrometheus the Ultimate Cut is decent but my issue is that the Black Freighter animated short pads the runtime, feels like a distraction from the main story of the film and ruins the pacing imo.
It's sad that this movie looks like it's the most grounded/down to Earth/based in reality film to come out in a while. I watched Godzilla x Kong as a way to escape reality for a little while and just have fun, but 'Civil War' looks like more of a warning than a form of entertainment. I'll probably watch it eventually, but I usually have to be in a certain mood to watch a movie with a serious tone like this and I usually prefer those in the privacy of my own home instead of being in a movie theater. Much respect for A24 though -- love their outside the box approach to most films.
As a writer yourself, I was wondering your thoughts on "Sunshine." It was also written by Alex Garland and I think it's his crowning achievement. Trying super hard to be my favorite movie ever. The other being "Brick". Both are just so singular. I find Garlands writing to be the standout over Boyles direction, as magnificent as it is. Sunshine is way headier. But the themes man. So good.
was in it today at 3:30pm - the IMAX was EMPTY, not even 10 people in and that in the middle of Vienna movie is a masterPEACE imo in all my years i watched thousands of movies - never saw any like this i was thinking about the char-shift you mentioned and had to think, just 2 chars come into mind - but cant share that opionen at all one of that shifts surprised totally, yes - but can somehow relate and get the point of why it put like that to other "shift" developed and made completely sense to me also for me there is a clear message, not as the real "Team A" or "Team B" are the badies or "goodies", but the message is frightening and the movie made an absolute astonishing job in get you this feeling deep down for me the movie managed to put you right into "the action" which was satisfying and scary at the same time
The president being in the White House during a civil war... There's many stupid things in this movie but if you're a fellow military vet, this is one hell of a comedy.
Ugh this seems like such a dishonestly kind review, the little girl was terrible and her character was so disgusting that I was hoping she eventually caught a stray lol Kirsten was one note and I blame direction because she is always amazing. None of the characters were likable or well developed, was so annoyed by the end of this movie!
I agree on several points. I went into the movietheater yesterday thinking I probably was in for a zombie-ish postapocalypse type of thing but without zombies. I was thoroughly corrected, let's just say. Breathlessly so. Because in addition to all the other things being said, it's also a very stunning and beautiful movie, visually speaking and in the sheer scope of what is not shown or told but only suggested. Also, there _are_ tiny hints here and there bubbling forth a little opinion. There was the initial shootout between a group of unknowns, maybe national guardsmen under government banner, and what is clearly a squad of boogaloo boys - or heavily inspired by that group. And that guy in the end, the unshaven president. That sure do look like Steve Bannon. I mean. I wasn't fooled into thinking he had been offered the role. But I did feel some strong associations.
I thought it was just ok, A lot of incoherence in the movie. The moment Jesse became daring, I knew someone was gonna die. Also, no one acts so daring when gun fire pours. Even military are scared, it's just that they're trained to engage despite their fear, they get training. So when this young girl acts so reckless, to me that's just not believable. So when the main death occurs, the way other protagonists act is not believable given that on previous deaths they were so shocked and leave the body of the person like a ragdoll doesn't make sense.
I am so hyped about seeing this movie. I've waited a long time and I am one who avoids any trailers after the first one is released if it is something I decide to see.
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Sick hoodie where’d ya get it
Would you be interested in discussing story titles and how they are neglected part of storytelling in general.
As a writer I can honestly say there was a time where I just came a story after the main character and nowadays I make sure my story titles are unique and avoid using the names of characters.
The shilling never ends 😂
Sad, I expect that someone who reviews movies would have courtesy to not advertise shit games (as it is a similar medium) for any money, I dont mind ads but this is just sad
@@dafque3465 Chris has entered full lolcow here. Been a long build up but it's certain now.
The thing that impressed me the most was the sound design. The fact that gunshots were loud and startling was fantastic. A film that depicts firearms sound signature realistically. When people were shooting, it WAS the loudest thing on screen. No normal ear friendly conversations, guns are loud. It made them loud.
Glad somebody else noticed that. I jumped a few times and the cinema sounded like a gun range a few times.
Agreed. This movie needs to be seen in a theater just for the sound design alone. Incredible work.
I’m pretty sure that shit is actually illegal.
@@Prophetofthe8thLegion What are you talking about??
You understand that is was still hearing safe right? It doesn't leave you with hearing loss or a ringing. Just the sound itself was an actual gunshot. Not some overlayed pop pop you get in every action film. And in contrast to everything else on screen, it was the loudest part. Like it should be, I highly doubt any production studio would release a film that literally hurts you. Any volume issue is going to be the theater itself. I myself saw it in IMAX and was amazing.
Except the gunshots still sound fake. Zero zip no peripheral contact, no differentiation between round types.
“Small towns have the most disturbing scenes.” Well, if we learned anything from Walking Dead, it’s not the zombies we have to be afraid of.
Cities were/would be far more dangerous.
When the grid goes down a lot of people are going to die when winter hits no one's ever ready
That’s funny. I’m pretty sure that cities would be a living nightmare before small towns fall into madness.
@@caseywrable everyone in the city wouldn't be ready for winter, in a matter of fact no one would be ready for winter especially when you consider where everyone gets their food and groceries
@@caseywrablein almost every civil conflict in history, cities may become sites of battle but they are still less likely to fall into "half the town lynches the other half and then fall into cannibalism" than villages, small towns, or even worse, modern suburbia where there is zero social cohesion and infrastructure. Those sparsely populated towns are prime pickings for marauding armies, or become brigand strongholds, and are hard for any stabilising force to restore peace and some semblance of the law
Perfect timing, just saw it last night. The whole audience here in Montreal laughed at Canadian money being worth a lot.
Montrealer here! What's up! So for real? That's freaking funny hahaha Can't wait to see it actually.
How could you see it if it is scheduled to begin on April 11th?
It happens when your nighbour country has instability. See Brazil and Argentina, for example. Argentina had a lot stronger economy before.
@@bengirard1984google says it released in Canada on the 8th (yesterday)
There are usually a number of advanced screenings before its wide release, which would the 11th
Lol, as a Canadian, that's hilarious, and where did you get to see it early?
'admire but never want to see again' - ah, the requiem for a dream category
I guess I am the minor cuz I want to see it again!! Lol
@@killer92173unless you have dementia, why would you want to watch Requiem again? Lol
@@killer92173 It really triggered my anxiety I'm not. balanced enough to see that again lol.
I remember watching it hesitantly because my friend suggested it, while thinking it's going to be some kind of sob story. But I was literally clenching my fists and biting down my jaw hard when the last scenes of descending into trauma happened, like when the mother gets shocked, girl gets mentally dissociated while selling her body,Jared and his friend scenes.
One of the movies that changed my perspective towards cinema as a art more than entertainment.
Gta 4 is a similar game that changed my perspectives on video games bring more than just entertainment.
@@alhusseinfarah4194
@johnkoepke4807 I was talking about Civil War...
The character change makes more sense if you view it as 3 concurrent coming of age stories.
You basically have 4 characters who are in different parts of their 'war journalism' careers.
-Cailee Spaney (Jessie) has just started her career as a war journalist.
-Wagner Moura (Joel) is in his prime. The job is exciting to him. He comes off as an adrenaline junkie, he is going the extra mile to get that shot that will make a name for himself.
-Kirsten Dundst's character (Lee) essentially is at the end of her prime. She's made a name for herself, photographing conflict and has basically seen it all, but the this has taken a heavy toll on her.
-Stephen McKinley (Sammy) is past his prime. He really has no place being in a war zone. He's too old to keep up but his passion for the career has kept him going past the stopping point. He isn't invincible like he was when he was younger. He can no longer hide the fact that he values his own life and those around him. This impairs his abilities as a war journalist as they need to be very stoic and cold in order to operate in this environment.
*****Spoilers*****
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The toll of the career has basically worn Lee down to her limit. She is trying to hold face and maintain her presence, but the cracks are starting to show.
Her and Joel both experience some extreme trauma within the film. Joel being in his prime is able to overcome it. Lee on the otherhand is at the end of her rope and finally just breaks down. At the start of the film, she implies, heartlessly, that if Jessie were to die, she'd photograph it. When Sammie is killed, she photographs him, but then deletes the photo. She can't keep up the stoicism required to be a war journalist any longer and she has developed into a parallel of Sammie. This happens right as they are thrust into the most intense combat. She is unable to function to her full potential as a journalist. She starts having a mental breakdown while in the middle of a battle.
During this time, Jessie is starting to develope more into Joel. She has been through hell, but she feels alive. She's starting to hit her stride. She's excited to be in these situations and takes the risks needed to get the good shots.
This nearly gets her killed, but Lee, now unshackled for the morbid stoicism of being a war-journalist saves her rather than taking a photo of her demise. This parallels to how Sammie saved the group earlier. Something he wouldn't have been able to do if he was still a cold blooded war journalist, as he'd have been in the same situation himself.
Lee would likely have developed into a character very similar to Sammie if she hadn't gotten killed. Joel gets the big shot, he's going to make a name for himself, much like Lee had done when she documented the ANTIFA massacre (I think I recall this being her big scoop, but i could be misremembering). Jessie is now hooked on war-journalism. She will likely now develope into a character more similar to Joel. She captures a photo of Lee as she dies and is able to heartlessly move on even though she saved her life.
It basically shows 4 different stages and evolutions of being a war journalist with the backdrop being an American civil war. Lee wasn't really acting out of character, it's more that her character 'came of age' at a really bad/(good?) time.
I really feel like the short coming was not developing Sammie's character enough. I think if they had done more to establish how he got to where he is then drew parallels to how that same thing is happening to Lee, it would have made it more obvious what was happening to her, and it wouldn't be misinterpreted as being out of character.
Are you a writer by any chance? It's really impressive how you're able to dissect these characters while also being able to articulate it such that it's easy to understand for the laymen. Just finished the movie a few hours ago and reading your take has added an extra dimension to the film for me.
I probably shouldn't have read all of that as I haven't seen the movie yet (yes I saw the spoiler warning) but I was too curious. That being said this is an excellent analysis and honestly it might enhance my viewing of the film whenever I get around to seeing it. Thank you for taking the time to share!
Very very well said
Nicely said.
I totally agree with this analysis and it's almost strange Chris didn't see this character development
I'm more impressed we got a movie that looks incredible and didn't cost a ridiculous amount at a lean 50mil. This and Godzilla Minus One showing the major studios are suffering a serious bloat problem
The creator too, shot for £80mil, been some serious fx companies on the make
@@issyjas3309 oh yes forgot about the creator. Keep meaning to watch it.
@@treknobabble1701 it’s a decent watch, amazed it’s made for £80mil when you see rom coms asking for that kind of budget
@@treknobabble1701it’s not good. It looks nice but the story and characters are really dull
$200 million plus movies also have expensive casts. Just think of the last Avengers movies and what those actors cost before one frame was shot. I'm guessing Kirsten didn't break the bank.
This is the funniest subject matter - advertiser combo ever
Probably intentional tbh
For real
Was very funny but also so wooden/scripted it feels unintentional. Probably couldve had at least a little fun with it but its whatever
@@PantsaBear Maybe he just didn´t feel like making a joke out of it
@thecodebrief Clearly on Chris's part. Not sure if you mean the new expansion is tied to the movie release, which I would guess is less likely at least in terms of the studio paying for it.
I know which character you are vaguely talking about and I feel the photo they deleted, the car window, was an indication that everything had become too much for them to bear; too close to home. Notice how everything went downhill for that character after that; they were having panic attacks, crying, disconnected, etc. I do not think it was a betrayal of their character development because early in the movie, that character had flashbacks that seemed to foreshadow the mental fragility. Also, there was mention of "What's eating at you?" or "What's on your mind?" by their colleagues leading up to that.
There was so much that made complete sense the second time I watched it. For instance, the President's speech in the beginning is completely different knowing what happens in the movie.
Spot on
I felt the same way about that character
@@JS121 me too
I agree, there were little signs pointing to that character's moment. The deleted photo was huge.
I thought he was talking about the young girl car hopping out of the window and triggering that most disturbing sequence that followed. He even used “goes out of the window literally.”
Ooh this character? I didn’t think it was a betrayal of anything and it felt natural.
Ultimately reviews are always subjective I guess
In a perfect world, reviewers would watch films twice
Once for the ride, 2nd time to review and accept the film for what it is, then you can contrast if it works
The last 20 minutes really brought the whole movie together for me , the sound design in IMAX for that was absolutely insane
Honestly it was overkill with the helicopter and I found myself rooting for the underdog soldier at the gate fighting back against overwhelming odds. It was like 10 soldiers vs every one 😂
Sadly I didn’t see it on IMAX but on Cinemark XD with THX Certification.
I do wanna see it on IMAX just for the action scenes
It was actually crappy
@@ET2carbon sounds like you need an otolaryngologist
Still sucked.
@@DefenestrateYourself ok
I find it ridiculous that the controversy surrounding this movie is because people wanted the movie to side with their specific political party and instead they didn’t side with any at all, like isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t it good that this movie wasn’t pro this or pro that? I mean this is a movie guys, not the news network that you watch
It's funny how movies are less biased than the news nowadays
It seems silly to make a move about a future American Civil War then trying your best to make it apolitical.
It is leftist biased throughout. It is not a political the president is clearly trump.
Its centrist nonsense. Just read some of the director's quotes about how he views the disputes over governance. He claims that its just two different views of how to govern, as if Republican policy doesn't directly affect the lives of LGBTQ+ people, as if Republican policy doesn't make life harder for the impoverished. Its mealy mouthed " war and divisiveness are bad" with very little real criticism going on.
@@raoulduke2924if you blame the republicans than your already falling for the trap and your being manipulated. The republican and democrats are really no different. Both controlled by an elite.
I'm glad to see that Mary Jane finally got her Photo Journalist job!
E o capitão Nascimento virou zumbi 🤣 no meu ver parece uma mistura de Tropa de elite + the walkind dead no filme do tropa de elite o capitão Nascimento treina seu sucessor a líder de esquadrão pois queria se aposentar no meio só que isso no meio de um apocalipse zumbi 🤣🤦🤡🤭 na minha impressão americanos são meio malucos e frios mais a medida que vamos conhecendo tudo melhora abraço 👍🇧🇷😎
Having nothing political to say doesn’t mean having nothing to say at all. I dont understand the people saying this movie “says nothing.” It has plenty to say from an anti-war lens, particularly the gross desensitisation and callousness that comes from choosing to constantly take in real-life horrific violence.
This feels so obvious it hurts that so many people are missing the point.
Maybe it says that but it's still a painfully boring and shitty movie with piss poor dialogue.
@@MS-ii1svidiot take
@@wembychan What? I got around the accusation that anyone who doesn't like it doesn't understand it. So I'm an idiot because I think it's poorly executed? It looks like it was shot with a handycam. You have people having a conversation with a sniper team in the middle of a standoff. The military lets them tag along while they are involved in firefights. I can go on. It's a terrible movie.
RE: the character "betrayal"
It was a psychological response to successfully passing the torch. They felt comfortable enough to feel something, because they fully trusted another person to document. At least that's how I read it.
If it what I'm thinking, I took it as, it was a point of utter cracking...super powerful, I was horrified and upset seeing them like that. But I like that take too
Yeah you can clearly tell for the back half her heart wasn't in it anymore and they literally already set up that she was willing to put herself in danger to help Jessie and that other guy in the scene with Jesse Plemons earlier in the movie
It didn’t not make sense
Yeah, Chris missed this one. I was completely onboard with her losing her way. It happened slowly over many scenes. He just missed it
@@damunzy someone on Reddit mentioned how by that scene they had basically switched attitude/roles. On some annilhation shit.
In my reading, this film talks about the LACK OF EMPATHY regarding war.
It is evident with journalists:
Lee, experienced and successful, appears cruel when she photographs horrific scenes of violence.
Meanwhile, Jessie, young and inexperienced, is affected by the war scenes.
The idea of the narrative is to reverse the roles. To show how, as the film progresses, Lee becomes more empathetic and Jessie becomes colder.
In the end, Jessie takes the iconic photos while Lee freaks out and is shot - a moment, in fact, photographed by Jessie.
Going off script, the message for me as a viewer is: we are Jessie and Lee at the same time.
Wars happen all the time, all over the world. At first, like Jessie, we were shocked, but eventually we got used to the horrific scenes of violence. We got used to war. We got colder.
But we are also Lee. Our lack of empathy has a certain limit. How long can we endure it? And would we be able to handle it when it was with someone close to us?
Lee has photographed countless people in deplorable situations, however, her breakdown came after seeing her colleagues in the same type of situation.
Then, we come to the true meta of the film: you, Americans, bring war to the whole world. There are countries, right now, in situations IDENTICAL to those shown in the film. Do you care? Of course youu don't. It's not NY or Washington.
For you, and for me, "war" is that thing that appears in the news.
Yeah that's what i got from it too, the cynicism. The way she didn't even seem to care that her hero was killed in the end
The California Texas alliance is just crazy enough to be brilliant in its concept. Yes I know Blue and Red but (as a Californian) we have much in common. We are independent self governing states that do what we think is best for our interest, common or otherwise. Whether environmental, gun control or border politics we do as we see fit for our own best interests. Once a third term president or other power attempts to stifle that I feel common ground would be found. The combined economic, populous and military resources of the two states would be a force to be reckoned with on any stage.
It's possible that after they put Trump in jail to rig another election, that the maga movement in California and Texas would form the Western Forces Patriot Milita to close the borders.
Texas doesn't want any Unification with the People's Republic of California.....Oil and Water. If anything, these 2 States will be against each other
I thought about this too. For the record, I live in Texas, and due to the politics of it all, I had one of those choke and spray out my beverage moments when I heard Texas and California "working together" in this war. Yeah right 🤨
well that and almost half of calis pop is red or third party there’s no red vs blue states it’s city vs country always has been
@@shap7296Yeup, just like Oregon.
when godzilla made an appearance… I was like holy hell this is awesome
I think you watched Godzilla X Kong 😂
@@Makemsayahlex nani
Spoilers!!! Tf?
What side did he choose? Or was he still team japan
@@Azav312 Godzilla showed up with those samurai mechs from Red Alert 3 to help usher the US factions into the Coalition of the Rising Sun.
The fact that people in the comments want a movie to take a side is exactly the point of the movie
All every negative review I've read, this is always the main reason. It's irritating. I can't wait !
It's a brilliant move. It made me happy there wasn't any politics or current day's nutty topics mentioned at all. This is what immersion and escapism is.
FENCE SITTER
That’s what I’m saying, I feel like people’s positive or negative opinions of this movie aren’t being determined by the quality of the movie, it’s like they’re determining it based on what political side they’re on
Its blatantly obvious who is destroying the country, "taking sides" isn't necessary.
Not sure the movie is for me but glad to see Kirsten Dunst getting some love. I hadn't seen her in anything for years and then last year I binged through Fargo and she was amazing in season 2.
She was in the oscar nominated power of the dog, just a few years ago
She got her first Oscar nomination for The Power Of The Dog. So that's cool and I do think her Fargo season is still the best one
@@LuisSierra42Hadn't heard of that but lol looked at the cast there and thought "Wow Jesse Plemons is also in that, why are they in everything together" might have something to do with them being married huh...
@@mrcheesemunch Yeah, they are also together in Fargo S3
She was in hidden figures recently - good movie but she wasn’t a lead.
Im hearing alot of folks talk about how a civil war might be a "fun" or "good" thing. I did mission trips all over West Africa in the 90's. Ive been to and spent time in places where the system has completely broken down. I still have nightmares about what I saw almost 30 years ago.
People romanticize dystopian and post-apocalyptic settings because they think it gives them the best chance to reinvent themselves as heroes in a world where hierarchical structures have collapsed and everyone is equally destitute. The truth (and the irony) is that such a world allows sociopaths and psychopaths to quickly seize positions of power and dominate those around them (usually through the use of extreme violence).
“Civil War” is fun just like 9/11 and pandemic dystopia were fun.
cool story bro
those people must lead really dull and sad lives to literally want a CIVIL WAR to happen to "get the blood pumping", JFC......
Who told you this??
I enjoyed it. My only complaint is I wanted more world building. I want to know why the WF formed, what lead up to the war, how it began ect
tyrannical president broke constitution and bombed US citizens
Well, there is a theory that in the future the States of South of USA and the States of North Mexico will unite to form a new country, if they do not accept it, the way would be weapons, with civil war existing in both countries.
I definetly see what you're saying, but I don't think world building was what this film was about. You weren't really supposed to side with either "side", as in the end theyre both two halves of a bad whole. World building the sides more would have led to inherent biases within them, and I think keeping them vague helps more with the message the movie was trying to get across.
Plemons is ALWAYS playing the most DIABOLICAL Dude. (I keep forgetting yall take everything literally... I know he's not always bad)
Except when he's in a movie or show with Dunst
😊
@@travisspazz1624 isn't he with dunst in this movie? 👀
@@drex5160 the example isn't airtight.
He was pretty loveable in Fargo Season 2.
In Fargo he plays a dunce
"We never learn what started the civil war."
- 3rd Term President
FDR
JFK
Jfk?
The plot sounds like a documentary about our future not long from now.
he should have asked the FBI. oh. wait.
A24 knows how to make Hollywood better even greater than before.
Same
me too
A24 has some gems but is way too much pretentious bullshit as well
A24 is OK. I like very few movies from it
@@Nova-fh2etnot really. They just pick up movies that get a buzz at festivals and they also have produced some amazing movies. There are not many that I haven’t enjoyed.
Just saw this, and idk about you guys but my theater has the volume turned up to like 300% the gun fights were hella loud
I think that was an deliberate choice for the movie, rather than just your theatre.
@@Angel-od1bt I thought maybe that was the case, but I thought I was the only one
@@Angel-od1bt no, cinema hall managers are just that incompetent for years already and one of the many reasons I don't go to cinema anymore 😁
@@dicekolev5360still the shots were suppose to be loud, the fighting scenes were supposed to be to make you uncomfortable
@@dicekolev5360 so if you don’t go to the cinema, you don’t know what you’re talking about then.
Civil War: Happened
Journalist: I missed the part where that's my problem.
Ha. You win comment of the day 👏👏
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🤣🤣🤣
I'm gonna put a dirt in your eye.
You're obviously with the Libertarian party. If your candidate would win the election and become president...it would be worse the a civil war. We would have a national PURGE just like in the movies 🎥
it really is the year of cailee spaeny - priscilla, civil war and then the upcoming alien film?? girl is a star
Yes she is
Alien film or a film about aliens? Like, within the Alien franchise?
@@deanharstad5404Alien franchise
priscilla was last year
@@jonathansalazar1174 Oh cool. I hope it’s good.
I love the the part where Kirsten Dunst’s character reveals that her mentor was Frank West and tells Cailee Spaeny’s character she’s covered wars, ya know.
10/10 meme
It really captures what its like to be in the middle of gun battles. Some of the journalists get a real buzz out of it. The scenes with Jesse Plemons are riveting. The final gun battle is handled really well. Kirsten Dunst's reaction to what's going on gives it a whole other level that I have never seen before in that type of sequence.
Journalists don't go into the middle of firefights. They stage footage with guys shooting over a wall or around a corner at nothing.
I saw it. I enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much order was still present, and how little crime was depicted. I would imagine that there would be a whole lot more fragmentation and disorder. There were examples of communities setting up aid stations, and policing their streets. That seems more likely to be the exception rather than the norm. I guess I was left feeling as though this movie was toothless, it didn't go far enough to depict what a true breakdown of services would be like. Empty shelves, empty gas tanks, the starvation of multitudes. When communication stops, we have no credit, no commerce, no transportation. Except for the government, and that would be busy fighting. I think it would look a lot worse.
If you enjoyed this piece of crap, I think you would enjoy a good movie it much more.
@@sudoPrivileges Did you just say that you watched a piece of crap for 2 hours? That's kind of strange. You must really be a dedicated poop watcher. 💩
@@sudoPrivileges I don't remember asking for your opinion on my opinion.
Good review as usual, although I believe that the arcs of both main characters Lee and Jessie perfectly fit the themes of the movie. Giving no spoilers, both arcs are foreshadowed by earlier scenes, like Jessie’s increasing recklessness and feeling “more alive” but less detached in getting the photos; and Lee’s full realization that all the times she thought her foreign war shots were a “warning” back home were ultimately futile as they did not stop the second American civil war…
Lee and Jessie are so haunting to me when all is said and done…
A review like this is exactly why I love your reviews Chris. You care about the same things I do while being a realist that some things have to make money. Plan on seeing the film with my wife here in the next couple of weeks and Austin, will report back.
Why is everyone leaving out 'Devs' when mentioning Garland's work? It is just as brilliant as everything else he's done.
It's not a film
I had a small role in this one! Just hoping I made the cut and nice review!!
You didn't see it yet? 😊
@@Tomy_YonUnfortunately not yet. I couldn’t do SXSW nor the early screening bc I’m filming but I have tickets for the 12th for an IMAX screening here in ATL. Mann I just hope I made the cut
What was your part?
@@JessMatney 🤞
@@obe_595I was a checkpoint soldier. Just one scene not a ton of dialog 10 or so lines
I love that scene that Kirsten Dunst says 'Go get then tiger'
I prefer the part where she said " You'll be sorry for this, Jo March!!"
Also when President Nick Offerman was hanging upside down from his web and she kisses him.
The upside down kiss scene was awesome
“Go get, them..” not then 🙄
I will say that the I felt that the shift in the character you mention was actually really interesting. One thing I noticed was Garland started shooting some POV shots from their perspective where the focus was off with the light splitting into red, green, and blue around edges. I took that as a sign that they were cracking under the pressure especially after that moment where they pointed out how they were still failing to process that this war was happening in the US rather than all the various counties they had visited. That shift to cracking under the pressure at the 11th hour felt very real to me especially as a photojournalist who has built a career as someone who lives as this silent observer. This crack I believed was foreshadowed by the memories flashes seen in the early part of the movie. War is Hell, and I thought it really humanized the idea that as much as we can try to be impartial observers we still have to live with the impact of what we see/choose to do. Even when you believe the best/safest thing to do is to not intervene or "take a side" that doesn't stop us from the effects of the horrors of war
As a recommendation for your next 'Feature Presentation', I think you should talk about Apocalypse Now. It's my, personal, all-time favorite movie. It's very similar to Civil War in that it shows some borderline horrific events hidden behind a war film. Some of the shots and imagery are branded into my subconsciousness. It's a beautifully haunting movie that I'm sure you've seen, just never talked about.
Full metal jacket too, surprisingly pretty disturbing
It didn't dawn on me the similarities of Civil War to Apocalypse Now until a random dude next to me pointed it out. I think years from now this movie will be remembered as the Apocalypse now of this generation.
Rides of the valkyries remains one of the best scene in history of cinema
@@MK384
I don’t think so because Apocalypse Now actually had something to say about the Vietnam War and the disillusionment of American doctrine.
I hope this Movie doesn’t end up like Contagion where it inadvertently predicts the future
Contagion didn’t predict the future. That virus killed 1 out of 3 people…. with our pandemic, > 2% even showed symptoms and even less died. Not remotely comparable.
Btw, it’s still out there. But the world moves on
My wife is a nurse and had never seen contagion. We watched it together in may 2020. She was amazed how much of it was what she was being told to do at that time.
Lol they aren't predictions.. they're letting us know what they have planned. 😂
@@TwistedReality13 it’s called expertise in what could happen
call predictive programing dude.
Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura. That's all I need.
Should've added Tobey Maguire
Mary Jane and Pablo Escobar
Mary Jane and Death
You don’t need much do you?
All you need is two mediocre actors huh?
I think "that" character deleting "that" photo, was the signifier of the start of their change in the movie from that point onwards
Stuckmann thinks he knows more about writing and consistent character choices than Alex Garland lol. Notes from Melanie is so incredibly inconsistent. Someone needs to remind him about zods snapped neck.
Deleting photos as a journalist is a HUGE no no. Pretty significant
Chris Stuckman 2020 reviews: I give this move a B+
Chris Stuckman 2024 reviews: Its a Movie
Yeah I started watching other movie reviewers
he made a movie so now he does not want to critique them because of the work that goes into them even if they are not a good movie
@@brianschmeltzer7623 yeah that makes me not wanna watch. He’s gone soft
@@youfillmylifewithjello6661 damn straight and is too hypocritical on his takes on movies especially MCU movies
making movies is hard, just like flying an airplane. thats why when my pilot crashes and burns i wont say anything bad (ill scream in panic while plummeting to the ground)
edit:damn guys, sarcasm
Honestly I'm glad this is a a-24 film because id rather a natural side flim instead of picking one side over the other.
This movie depicts a US Civil War where California and Texas are on the same side? I guess that's good so from the start you know you're in an alternate reality.
It is Alex Garland's metaphorical way of saying the film is NOT intended to be a partisan film!
@@mrconfusion87well if there’s one thing the entire country can probably agree on is: we don’t want a fkn dictatorship. That’s an easy stance to go against.
@@imanoldurango8213is that what it’s about?
@@BB-ed4omIt never says, that's kind of the point. It's about you deciding without the overall context if some choices and sacrifices are worth it. You don't know who is "wrong" we just know Cali and Texas are siding together because they're mad at the government. It could be for a lot of reasons.
California and Texas are more similar than you think. Both big gun states
Watched the movie yesterday in IMAX. Walked out of the theater thoroughly shaken - absolutely engrossing and terrifying film.
kapitol007???
@kapitol007 Not all of us live in the US, you doofus
I honestly liked the movie, I was secretly rooting for the 10 guys defending the gate against overwhelming odds.
Some scenes took me by surprise but then I realized the movie was rated R.
I think they did develop that character’s turn somewhat with the use of flashbacks.
I watched this movie as a photographer… visually stunning , gritty , beautiful framing and color grading
Chris grew up with Civil War
Tell that to Bucky's snapped arm
Shut up.
@@Evan-nx9ng lol
That's racist
It's a dead joke. Dead
I saw this yesterday and it was a shocking movie to me, like the road trip through hell. The sound design was insanely good, especially the gunfire was so loud it almost felt like gunfire was happening in the cinema. It's one of those film were I just had to sit a while afterwards and take it all in. A few people walked out during the film as well.
Why? I mean, I know it’s gritty, raw and violent.. but what were people expecting from a movie called “civil war”?
@@mattcollins3591Uncivil
Does it take sides politically the way they portray things? That’s my biggest fear.
@@skoolynugenator1802it’s entire objective is to not have any political leaning. It really doesn’t have anything to do with that.
@@mattcollins3591 I don't think people were expecting it to be so raw, you know? There's a lot of real war going on in the world, a lot of images of real people in the news, so it would have been safer to make more of an action movie. There's a lot of real war/protests footage in between in the beginning of the film.
This looks like the kind of movie that'll be really fun now and really depressing in about five years when it becomes accurate.
Kind of like Idiocracy
Nothing about this movie is fun. It feels very real.
If Trump takes office this will be our future unfortunately.
Israel.Gaza ?
Like Contagion?
I have always appreciated the fact that your reviews are spoiler-free. Even on the rare occasions when you do a review with spoilers, you have a spoiler-free counterpart and both are clearly labeled. Thank you.
Just saw this and I think most reviewers are missing things to an extent. First, for people who are REALLY that concerned with the political messaging, it gives you enough context to gather that the president is a tyrant (regardless of party) and two large states with divergent politics join up despite their differences (CA / TX). Also the things we see make the idea of this conflict unfathomably terrifying. No glorification and no pandering either. Garland handles the politics subtly CAUSE ITS NOT THE POINT. The film is most compelling and emotionally impactful by studying its characters as war photographers. A thrilling, twisted artistry that bites when showcasing the trauma involved. Finally, the action was nuts and the sound design was brilliantly horrifying.
So why have a white guy killing all the foreigners and dumping them in a pit? Why not blacks doing it to whites? That part really had nothing to do with the civil war itself so why put it in there? It's obvious the politics of the film maker.
Considering the current state of the world and how mainstream audience has become disillusioned with Superhero movies, this movie could be the underdog of 2024...
yea nope it just disguised itself. the heroes work for reuters. the liberal overlord of mainstream media
Loved a movie that doesn’t spoon out what the ‘right way’ of something major going on, but it’s these people who are experiencing ALL the everythings as they appear!
THIS! In true Alex Garland fashion it subverts your expectations but NOT in a way it feels like a cop out! And it goes out of its way to avoid explicit partisanship! If there is any political message coming out of the film, it is do NOT take your liberties for granted and RESIST tyrants in your midst (REGARDLESS of the political colors they sport)!
"I love the way the movie doesn't shame me for having opinions I should be ashamed about", yes, yes, we know
The most horrific road film? How about The Road?
As soon as he said that I was like what this is worse than The Road?
Wizard Of Oz
I haven't seen The Road yet. But I imagine this is just as bleak if not bleaker.
Think of Civil War as a spiritual prequel to The Road.
I haven't managed to finish that movie yet. The "shoes and basement" scene, simply killed me inside.
Were you talking about when Spainee’s character just got up and walked away from her dead hero?
What a dumb scene lmao
Yeah such a disrespectful scene. Hey thanks for saving my life…only a day before I was puking my guts when you,,,saved my life the 3rd time - like Kirsten kept saving her life and this brat took no notes. Ps…she’s fired
@@findyoufilms I guess the message was supposed to be like Neal McCauly, you know, be prepared to walk away in 30 seconds!
@findyoufilms not really. She listened to her hero's lessons; harden yourself and don't think about it. She got involved in saving the girls life and it got her killed. They switched places mentally
@@seff6533 I was asking Stuck but ok, yes, i agree with you i understood the key shift, and don’t have a problem with it. The end certainly made me on the fence for a day or two.
The video starts at 1:41
A24 rocks. I watched Saint Maude recently and adored it. They keep making hits!
A24 is a mixed bag. Sometimes, they release a masterpiece like Everything Everywhere All At Once and sometimes give us an utterly irredeemable turd like Spring Breakers.
@@waverlyking6045love both of those movies 😄
@@Elatenl oh, I know, but their name means something to the consumer and that's rare nowadays. Even if they don't FUND everything, they certainly know how to pick who to publish!
I’d recommend checking out Love Lies Bleeding too, which’s really good. It’s from the same director as Saint Maude, and it just dropped last month.
@@amirgarcia547 second this
I do not live in the US but was born and raised there. I saw the trailer for this in the cinema where I live. The entire audience seemed confused at the idea of it. I actually had a shiver down my spine. I don't want to see this movie until it seems a little less likely to happen.
Civil war won’t happen in the US. There’s a reason why it only happens in third world countries nowadays.
"The most horrific road trip movie I have ever seen."
Fuck me, that subgenre includes Book of Eli and The Road.
Book of Eli wasn't horrific, not in a slightest, but a good movie nonetheless.
What was scary about book off Eli, it's an action film
I think the Road is darker in comparison.
I will say the end had the biggest impact. To see people laying down their lives and knowing it is over then seeing a shell of a powerful man as he is will stay with me. To see, as an Australian, an office we see daily as a sign of power and peace was impactful.
Loved the movie, especially and most importantly for keeping it under 2 hours: 1h 49m in fact, for that alone it deserves an Oscar. Then secondly, beautifully shot, for a film about photojournalism, it’s a mesmerisingly beautiful display of photography. I think the strange editing choices and sudden cuts, which is not too dissimilar from other A24 movies keeps it sweet n short and interesting. I really appreciate it. Soundtrack was fantastic and I like that it’s ambiguous. It’s just about the group trying to get the ultimate interview and shot. It’s not for everyone, but I was so happy to get an A24 on IMAX.
I just googled the release date and no matter how many times I reload it, Chrome is trying and convince me the movie came out on the first of january 1AD.
28 Days Later is one of my favorite zombie movies and Ex Machina is phenomenal. I can't wait to watch this movie!
Please Review Late night with the devil. It's definitely going to be one of your favourite horror in years 👿😉
He won’t review it
@@TexasFireMedicwhy
Maybe it's because there's no screening near where he lives.
Jeremy Jahns reviewed it yesterday. And this is right up Chris's alley surely we can all see him wearing the T shirt. 😊🤣
I think that odd character moment can be explained by the effect that another character was having on them. They were being reminded of themselves at a younger age and that explains why they do what they do in the last moment. They were being "woken up" ' from their stoic trance, in a way.
Wagner Moura was giving me strong Pedro Pascal vibes in this movie, so much so that I had to look up if they were related in some way. His name being "Joel" in this movie only made the connection stronger to me lol
One of the few recent times a non-matinee movie audience was 95% quiet. I miss that.
Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny are excellent combo, i hope that someday Sofia Coppola could make a movie starring both of them
Cailee Spaeny rocks! She's gonna be a name you will hear about for many years to come!
@@mrconfusion87 I hope so, she's really talented and very well spoken in interviews. I wish her the best
I don't know if it's the safest route to tell a story. Nightcrawler tells the story that photo journalists can manipulate a scene before taking photos or video to make the story more intriguing and therefore more valuable to whoever gets the exclusive.
That film was a very clever exploration of incentive structures in media.
Nightcrawler was a much more interesting and better film than Civil War was.
@@ametora1231apples and oranges
@@ametora1231Absolutely. Far better movie. It understood that it had to come off as surreal and a dark comedy or you wouldn't buy into it. This movie has too much implausibility to be taken seriously.
I enjoyed that particular part you're talking about. It demonstrated that although they were journalists they had something in common with the soldiers, they were there to do a mission, they would deal with their emotions afterwards.
Loved this movie so much. Really captured the horrors of war and the audio production was QUALITY! Audio was mixed so firefights and military vehicles were loud as hell. It was really immersive in IMAX.
Dredd and Sunshine were his masterpieces. I hope this is good too.
Ex machina
Sunshine was Boyle
@@RossLeeson he wrote it
_Sunshine_ was directed by Danny Boyle, but it _was_ written by Alex Garland.
@@benmcfee so therefore it cant be Garlands masterpiece since he didn’t direct it. That would be like calling Blade Runner Hampton Fanchers Masterpiece. Um no thats Ridley Scotts masterpiece
Just FYI, The Older Millennial on TikTok copied this review almost word for word on his page. Looks like he’s just copying your content
As a Canadian, I died at the Canadian exchange rate in this movie 😂😂
R.I.P. 😂
I really hated it. I didn't like not knowing what caused the war. It was nothing but shootings & photo journalists taking pictures. U can tell they wanted to make this movie as apolitical as possible but it just ended up making it bad in my opinion.
This movie was extremely disappointing. The premise behind the movie (upcoming American Civil War) is a very interesting topic with great potential for a controversial film. However, Garland is a coward and chooses to uses journalists as an unbiased spectator of the conflict instead of making the film about the conflict itself - which would have been so much more interesting (and he could still remain unbiased in such a film and just present both sides of the conflict). Not to mention, there is little information as to how/why there is a Civil War and why California & Texas (two states at opposite ends of the political spectrum) would ever form an alliance, be able to field a military and take over the entire country. I get the film is about journalists but that's why the film is not that interesting. Also, in reality, we all know journalists would be taking a side in such a conflict.
I feel this movie might bomb bc people are sick of being afraid of this kinda thing actually happening/the general toxic division that is sewn everywhere you look already.
Very prescient. Too prescient maybe.
Yup
I'm happy to hear this movie doesnt pick a side. I wouldnt want an alt left/alt right preachy hollywood crap like Crash.
The question “what kind of American?” from the trailer is literally so memorable, the film does not attempt to address that question from different perspectives, which I felt was a huge let down and missed opportunity
The movie did address that question through the people the protagonists meet on their road trip.
This movie didn’t even feel dystopian. It felt very modern, very now, very today 😟
I was just really confused about the tone and message with this movie, at one point it felt like it was making light of the events taking place and next scene it was a very heavy dark feeling and that’s what this movie missed for me a clear tone and message that it was trying to convey. Is it not so serious or very serious? It wasn’t really clear
This movie was absolute dogwater. 1 star.
Politics aside....The characters have no backstory, so you don't care about any of them.
Unrealistic.
No back story.
Drawn out scenes for no reason.
It's just stupid. Someone needa to make a real Civil War movie.
So a civil war movie with no political biases coming out of Hollywood? I’ve got to see this.
The writer/director is English. I just saw it, and OK I'm not that well versed in US politics, but I couldn't tell if the president was "red team" or "blue team" and I think that was pretty deliberate. There are moments where I (and the protagonists) weren't sure what "side" someone was fighter for.
@@boggers If you were from here you'd be able to pick up on the subtle shots thrown towards a particular party. It's not even very obvious to someone who does live in the US that doesn't mess with politics at all, which is actually the majority of people in this country.
@@azikkiilol, if you're referring to Trump's party, then that's kinda telling about the real life people who you strongly associate with that
Oh yeah ? Notice the brutes wear red glasses the other guy has painted nails and make up on?
@@fabolousjada5070 Yeah, that wasn't lost on me, for arguments sake let's assume the painted nails guys were antifa and the red glasses were boogaloo boys... What I meant was that to me it is not clear what side they are on within the context of the film, I knew the groups, but didn't know whether those groups were meant to be Loyalist, Western Forces, Florida Alliance or the other one - the film deliberately makes that unclear, I think. The fictional division that Garland makes, from my perspective, runs perpendicular to the actual divide in the US today.
00:19 I feel like that’s the same abandoned highway they used in The Walking Dead season 2.
If it was filmed in Georgia then yeh most likely its the exact same set piece esp with the cars??
It is!!! They were both filmed in Atlanta
The great Brazilian actor Wagner Moura was great in this, kinda weird you mention Jesse Plemons who was 5 minutes on the movie, but didn't mention Wagner Moura, at all.
He was the only entertaining part of the movie.
Ben Sailsbury and Geoff Barrow who did the score were actually going to record the score for Dredd, but Alex Garland went with Paul Leonard Morgan at the last minute.They released the soundtrack later as DROKK ( Garland and Barrow are huge Judge Dredd/2000AD fans). I'm 99% sure this is Garlands loose prequel about the end of democracy of America, before the fascistic Judge system took over. If you know 2000AD/Judge Dredd lore, you can see it!
Photo Journalists, makes me want to watch bang bang club again, as harrowing as that could be.
As a recommendation for your next ''Feature presentation'', i would suggest Watchmen (the Director's Cut especially). Given how much of a wasteland the current landscape of Superhero has been, Watchmen has aged pretty well in my eyes and that's despite me not being a fan of Zack Snyder. Even Christopher Nolan said that it was ahead of it's time and it would have been even better if it was released Post-Avengers.
Still a better comic.
the movie was literally so faithful until it decided to change the ending of the comic so that it no longer makes sense or is impactful. just read the comic smh
Ultimate Cut > Director's Cut
@@TheAmericanPrometheus the Ultimate Cut is decent but my issue is that the Black Freighter animated short pads the runtime, feels like a distraction from the main story of the film and ruins the pacing imo.
@@TheAmericanPrometheus COMIC >>>> all that shit
It's sad that this movie looks like it's the most grounded/down to Earth/based in reality film to come out in a while. I watched Godzilla x Kong as a way to escape reality for a little while and just have fun, but 'Civil War' looks like more of a warning than a form of entertainment. I'll probably watch it eventually, but I usually have to be in a certain mood to watch a movie with a serious tone like this and I usually prefer those in the privacy of my own home instead of being in a movie theater. Much respect for A24 though -- love their outside the box approach to most films.
As a writer yourself, I was wondering your thoughts on "Sunshine." It was also written by Alex Garland and I think it's his crowning achievement. Trying super hard to be my favorite movie ever. The other being "Brick". Both are just so singular. I find Garlands writing to be the standout over Boyles direction, as magnificent as it is. Sunshine is way headier. But the themes man. So good.
Ex Machina is in my top 5 movies of all time.
was in it today at 3:30pm - the IMAX was EMPTY, not even 10 people in and that in the middle of Vienna
movie is a masterPEACE imo
in all my years i watched thousands of movies - never saw any like this
i was thinking about the char-shift you mentioned and had to think, just 2 chars come into mind - but cant share that opionen at all
one of that shifts surprised totally, yes - but can somehow relate and get the point of why it put like that
to other "shift" developed and made completely sense to me
also for me there is a clear message, not as the real "Team A" or "Team B" are the badies or "goodies", but the message is frightening and the movie made an absolute astonishing job in get you this feeling deep down for me
the movie managed to put you right into "the action" which was satisfying and scary at the same time
“The most horrific road trip movie I’ve ever seen” that is such a good way to describe this movie 😂
Saw it last night. Fantastic film.
The president being in the White House during a civil war...
There's many stupid things in this movie but if you're a fellow military vet, this is one hell of a comedy.
Ugh this seems like such a dishonestly kind review, the little girl was terrible and her character was so disgusting that I was hoping she eventually caught a stray lol Kirsten was one note and I blame direction because she is always amazing. None of the characters were likable or well developed, was so annoyed by the end of this movie!
I agree on several points. I went into the movietheater yesterday thinking I probably was in for a zombie-ish postapocalypse type of thing but without zombies. I was thoroughly corrected, let's just say. Breathlessly so. Because in addition to all the other things being said, it's also a very stunning and beautiful movie, visually speaking and in the sheer scope of what is not shown or told but only suggested. Also, there _are_ tiny hints here and there bubbling forth a little opinion. There was the initial shootout between a group of unknowns, maybe national guardsmen under government banner, and what is clearly a squad of boogaloo boys - or heavily inspired by that group. And that guy in the end, the unshaven president. That sure do look like Steve Bannon. I mean. I wasn't fooled into thinking he had been offered the role. But I did feel some strong associations.
I thought it was just ok,
A lot of incoherence in the movie.
The moment Jesse became daring, I knew someone was gonna die. Also, no one acts so daring when gun fire pours. Even military are scared, it's just that they're trained to engage despite their fear, they get training. So when this young girl acts so reckless, to me that's just not believable.
So when the main death occurs, the way other protagonists act is not believable given that on previous deaths they were so shocked and leave the body of the person like a ragdoll doesn't make sense.
You know this through what, experience?
@@connorjennett7635 Yeah
Moura is so underrated
Chris didn't even mentioned him =(
Brazil even when it's on the map it still not really ...
he was so good in Narcos, even with his portuñol accent (lol), hope this means he gets more work in Hollywood
I am so hyped about seeing this movie. I've waited a long time and I am one who avoids any trailers after the first one is released if it is something I decide to see.
Don't Andy Ngo has been credited for his role in stealing archival footage.
I just came back from the movies and watching your review for the first time. I had the same problem with the movie, I feel heard and understood