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 From the guys that brought your roofs down with Turn Down for What and made Harry Potter a farting corpse comes their second feature film. It's off to the multiverse but this timing staring Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. James Tong and Jamie Lee Curtis also show up to get wild. It's got too much for everyone and its awesome. Parental and generational struggles, difficulties of immigration, convoluted tax codes, forgotten dreams, kung fu, fanny packs, raccoons, googly eyes, butt plugs, incredible dresses: it's got it all and more with that same Swiss Army Man energy and heart. checkplease fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Apr 10, 2022 |
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Apr 10, 2022 07:03
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I cant remember the last time my jaw actively hurt from smiling and laughing and crying so much throughout one movie. Let alone one that features some of the most visually inventive action sequences ever. I anticipate this movie becoming my favorite film of all time after repeat viewings. It just rolled everything I love about movies into absolutely magnificently executed package.
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Apr 10, 2022 07:13
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Some fun links: Film maker Barry Jenkins’s thread on his love of the movie: https://twitter.com/barryjenkins/status/1511114551290302464?s=21&t=C-VOAQ90ioU-nvPk7SVwSg A note from the Daniels (directors) on making the movie: https://twitter.com/dunkwun/status/1512496772232273921?s=21&t=C-VOAQ90ioU-nvPk7SVwSg
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Apr 10, 2022 07:19
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They talk about how great Michelle Yeoh is for saying yes to the movie, which is obviously true, but I just can't imagine a version of this movie not starring her. Pretty much every other character if it was a different actor I could imagine the movie still working. It might not be as good, it might just be a little different, but it'd still be mostly the same movie. I can't imagine the movie existing without Yeoh.
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Apr 10, 2022 08:06
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Ke Huy Quan brings such a great goofy dad sincerity to his character (one of them, anyway) and I hope he decides to do more roles here and there, because this was a hell of a way to step back into feature films after 20+ years. Stephanie Hsu was fantastic too. Watching her face with every one of Evelyn's micro/macroaggressive remarks just added that extra little twist of the knife. I think the critique of the wacky humor isn't unfounded but it worked well for me to help cushion a movie that easily could have dragged itself and its audience through an emotional slog. I really liked this movie a lot; I'm still catching myself thinking about it a couple of days later. I feel like it could probably sit up there with Hot Fuzz as far as movies where almost every line of the script has a payoff, and like that movie it's adept at following its own rules. Racocouille might have been the hardest I've laughed in a few months
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Apr 10, 2022 11:00
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I feel really, really grateful to have been able to experience a movie like this.
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Apr 10, 2022 12:59
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Skwirl posted:They talk about how great Michelle Yeoh is for saying yes to the movie, which is obviously true, but I just can't imagine a version of this movie not starring her. Pretty much every other character if it was a different actor I could imagine the movie still working. It might not be as good, it might just be a little different, but it'd still be mostly the same movie. I can't imagine the movie existing without Yeoh. If IMDb trivia is to be believed, the movie was originally written for Jackie Chan.
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Apr 10, 2022 14:32
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Dredging a couple posts from genchat about the writing, which I thought was really great. Hand Knit posted:I've basically been thinking non-stop about how well set up the auditor's trophy fight was. Like the fight itself is already a wonderfully ridiculous piece of Jackie Chan martial arts, but it was so perfectly set up with jokes that hit fully on their own: Chewbacca posted:100% although for me the gag that both landed the hardest and was also structured so perfectly it'd make my college screenwriting professors weep is Raccoonatooie Terrifying Effigies posted:The way the goddamn hotdog finger universe kept getting meaningfully worked into the plot
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Apr 10, 2022 14:37
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EEAAO was such a disappointment for me. I'm on board with the Daniels, I loved Swiss Army Man and The Ballad of Dick Long and especially loved Interesting Ball (a short that you really should watch if you liked EEAAO), but this was just tedious. Imagine if Swiss Army Man had an hour long prologue that was like, "Okay, let me explain what a corpse is, let me explain what farting is, now let me explain the plot of Jurassic Park..." That's the first act of EEAAO, just an endless explanation of the movie's own premise. Ironically, Evelyn was right: just pause and take five minutes to explain everything properly or pace out the explaining bits more effectively instead of having an hour of exposition interrupted randomly. What's worse is that several of the science fictional concepts of the movie are deliberately made confusing to seem more interesting than they actually are. Take the Everything Bagel. The movie is quick to insist that it's NOT a black hole, it's actually something much more mysterious and sinister, but, like, it's totally just a black hole. It sucks things in and destroys them, the very essence of a sci-fi black hole. The only thing that makes it unique is its on the nose theming (being stressed out by the tedium of everyday life is like getting sucked into a hole of despair) that makes for a kind of bridge between the cosmic multiverse story and the family story. Similarly, the "Chaos" concept is a flimsy way of tying the A and B stories together. Chaos is the malaise that both Evelyn and Joy feel (and maybe everyone feels less acutely), but it's also, like, a physical force that is making everything in the multiverse bad? It's not clear whether you're even supposed to buy this crap. The structure of the movie feels like it was more of a restriction than a platform for the story. It's a super conventional three act structure, with the three acts even labelled for you (although the third act begins way before the third chapter card appears). What's annoying about it is that huge emotional and tonal shifts occur between the three acts, less because it's earned and more because, well, it's an act change and it's time to change the tone. Act Two begins when Evelyn gains Jobu's multiversal consciousness and adopts her nihilism, a monumental change in philosophy that happens literally instantaneously. One minute Evelyn will do anything to save her family and the next she's stabbing her husband. Not that stabbing her husband really matters, because in the next act change he's fine, ready to give a heartwarming speech about staying positive and goofing off to fight away negative emotions that puts Evelyn back on track. Suicidal nihilism is easy come, easy go, I guess.
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Apr 10, 2022 16:13
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Great points about the writing and the setups. They really were executed so well. And then with the hot dog hands into playing piano and performing other tasks with feet: a simple statement of adapting and overcoming the challenges of life. Also, the the movie universe versions of Ke and Michelle Yeoh made their own interesting drama. Really made me want to see both of them in an actual quiet drama like that.
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Apr 10, 2022 16:16
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Hand Knit posted:Dredging a couple posts from genchat about the writing, which I thought was really great. When they first introduce the teppanyaki universe there is a quick shot of the racoon tail coming out of the back of the other chef's hat.
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Apr 10, 2022 17:52
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As a first/second generation immigrant story, it was hokey. The multiverse storyline is supposed to lend the small family story a sense of universality, but both came out way undercooked, especially for a film of this length, which I felt nearly every minute of. The film cutting back and forth to the extended In the Mood for Love scene where the husband ends with a monologue about how 'being ceaselessly cheerful/optimistic is actually not lame, but very brave and cool,' was a microcosm of the film for me, and I could not wait for this movie to end long before that point. The execution/production value overall was very good and imaginative though. Shout outs to the throwback design of the alpha-verse van/headquarters.
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Apr 10, 2022 18:42
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It’s a long movie, but it’s always having such fun that I never noticed the time. One feature I liked about the multiverse aspect is how mundane most of the universes were for Evelyn. She had her movie star one yeah, but that’s the only one where she was “important” and famous. In the other ones she was a good sign spinner, a teppanyaki chef, a laundry mat owner again with hot dog fingers, or went blind. Even the singer was probably localized to just China for an old style. It was a nice way to use the sci fi device to stress the idea of not mattering what you become in your life.
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Apr 10, 2022 19:05
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Absolutely perfect, definitely one of my favs of all time I don't even think there's one scene I would have cut, and I remember looking at the runtime when it was first announced (even with the hype) and being like "okay but does it Really have to be almost 2.5 hours?" Turns out: yeah!
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Apr 10, 2022 19:07
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I definitely felt the length of the finale bury also I had to piss really bad so I might not on a rewatch.
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Apr 10, 2022 19:36
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Great movie. Hit unexpectedly close to home ona few fronts (I too am secretly controlled by a raccoon). Gotta admire the sheer confidence of the Daniels to pull something like this off and for all the actors to commit as they did (and it's lovely to see James Hong still spry and kicking). Definitely want to see it again. It did feel long but I never tired of it.
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Apr 10, 2022 20:00
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Splint Chesthair posted:If IMDb trivia is to be believed, the movie was originally written for Jackie Chan. Yeah, I love Jackie Chan, but I just don't think he has Yeoh's acting chops. I did wonder if the Quan part was originally written for Chan. The director's mention getting the script "mostly there" in their letter about the film, so maybe the dad was the focus more than the mom, and then they got Yeoh and thought "oh gently caress, this changes everything."
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Apr 10, 2022 20:01
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Skwirl posted:Yeah, I love Jackie Chan, but I just don't think he has Yeoh's acting chops. I did wonder if the Quan part was originally written for Chan. The director's mention getting the script "mostly there" in their letter about the film, so maybe the dad was the focus more than the mom, and then they got Yeoh and thought "oh gently caress, this changes everything." The imdb trivia says they did a gender-swap on the script once they got Yeoh. But I'm not so sure about all that. I do think they invited complaints about the runtime by waiting until the last 10 minutes to introduce the final title card. As soon as the second one appears about halfway through the movie, you're doing the math in your head based on what you've already seen. At least, I did. The title cards didn't seem necessary as a whole. And yeah, anyone who has a problem with unflappable optimism is probably going to have a bad time with this one. I'll just say that as someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, being able to see the good in life despite knowing everything is enviable because the alternative loving sucks.
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Apr 10, 2022 20:15
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I can believe how devastating it felt to watch hotdog hands Deidrie struggle to save her marriage. Also goddamn I cannot watch someone give themselves a papercut.
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Apr 10, 2022 22:59
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Jonas Albrecht posted:I can believe how devastating it felt to watch hotdog hands Deidrie struggle to save her marriage. Lol yeah everyone was turning away from the screen during that part. Amazing out of violence we see this is the one that we feel.
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Apr 11, 2022 01:14
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A fun quote from one of the Daniels Twitter: “This film and all of us who worked on it are a product of our time. We learned VFX from Video Copilot. We learned shot design from Every Frame A Painting. The Martial Club (fight choreo) are youtubers with no formal training, and learned everything from watching HK movies.” Cool seeing how film YouTube and internet is creating new gen of film makers.
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Apr 11, 2022 01:15
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The big security guard and the other guy fighting yeoh with things stuffed up their butts are the martial arts brothers team and they definitely deserve more jobs https://instagram.com/briandemonwolf?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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Apr 11, 2022 01:26
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Oh wow that’s a hilarious cameo for them. Amazing choreography job they did too.
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Apr 11, 2022 01:34
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Jonas Albrecht posted:Also goddamn I cannot watch someone give themselves a papercut. Yeah, that was rough. When I saw District 9, there was a smallish reaction from the audience when Wikus was pulling his fingernails out and a larger one when he was drill-pressing his hand, but the big reaction was to Wikus eating cat food. The paper cuts was the cat food moment of this movie, it got a huge reaction out of the audience at my screening.
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Apr 11, 2022 01:49
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Just got out of the movie and it rules I had to spend like 20 minutes answering my wife’s questions after it was over but that’s ok. She totally didn’t get that the guy from the martial arts/movie star version was her husband from the regular universe for one
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Apr 11, 2022 02:14
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Another aspect they occurred to me is how nicely the Deirdre, the tax auditor’s story evolves. When we first meet her she brags about being auditor of the month many times. All of us audience laughs. And look at the shape of those trophies! Her job seems to be a joke. But more than that, Deirdre becomes an antagonist. An alt universe version of her is shown to be a monster killing people and then trying to kill our Evelyn before she learns to fight. But as the movie unfolds and we learn more about the multiverse, we see that Iike all of Evelyn’s alts, there is nothing mundane about being an auditor or teppanyaki chef or sign spinner. And importantly, we see that Deirdre is just another person with their own failed dreams (divorced) trying to make the best out of life. And she not a monster at all, she’s quite understanding and forgiving of these people that just won’t fill out the right tax forms over and over again. So we root for all of her versions, especially hot dog hands, to find happiness also. Jamie Lee Curtis selling it all too. A
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Apr 11, 2022 02:25
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This was one of the best movies I think I've seen in many years. What an absolute treat to watch.
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Apr 11, 2022 02:28
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checkplease posted:Another aspect they occurred to me is how nicely the Deirdre, the tax auditor’s story evolves. When we first meet her she brags about being auditor of the month many times. All of us audience laughs. And look at the shape of those trophies! Her job seems to be a joke. But more than that, Deirdre becomes an antagonist. An alt universe version of her is shown to be a monster killing people and then trying to kill our Evelyn before she learns to fight. She also smonks wheat and is happy to share
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Apr 11, 2022 03:23
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jamie lee curtis is the one person in the movie where the credits rolled and i was like wait what the gently caress
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Apr 11, 2022 03:27
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i just realised Quan (Waymond) is also short round it's been a night and i still have that shot of Hsu (Joy) doing the palm up in the golfing dress vividly in my mind
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Apr 11, 2022 03:39
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Like obviously Michele Yeoh dd a ridiculously amazing job and deserves an oscar for killing it in a way only she could have, but I was also super impressed w Ke Huy Quan, like, whenever he switched to alpha mode, the total transformation of his confidence and body language and voice was SO good. I took his glasses coming off as meant to be like a Clark Kent/Superman thing, but like, man, it was suuuch a good Clark Kent/Superman contrast. The fanny pack fight was also stupendously choreographed, loved all the Jackie Chan mannerisms he had there.
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Apr 11, 2022 03:42
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FAT BATMAN posted:Like obviously Michele Yeoh dd a ridiculously amazing job and deserves an oscar for killing it in a way only she could have, but I was also super impressed w Ke Huy Quan, like, whenever he switched to alpha mode, the total transformation of his confidence and body language and voice was SO good. I took his glasses coming off as meant to be like a Clark Kent/Superman thing, but like, man, it was suuuch a good Clark Kent/Superman contrast. The fanny pack fight was also stupendously choreographed, loved all the Jackie Chan mannerisms he had there. Quan has talked about how he hired DiCaprio's body language/movement coach for the role. Apparently the task was to associate each of the three Waymonds with a different animal, study and learn to move like that animal, and then translate those movements back to the characters. Alpha Waymond is an eagle. CEO Waymond is a fox. And regular Waymond is, of course, a squirrel.
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Apr 11, 2022 04:07
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Seriously one of the best movies I've seen in like 5 years. I was amazed at how many styles and genres it managed to pull off.
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Apr 11, 2022 04:12
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I found myself teary eyed during the entire movie. It feels like this film was made specifically for me and the emotional/mental/philosophical journey I went on a few years ago. Probably in my top 5 movies of all time.
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Apr 11, 2022 05:02
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Also just realized that one is the directors, Daniel Scheinert, played the IRS district manager that later gets gagged and spanked by Michelle Yeoh
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Apr 11, 2022 05:55
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checkplease posted:Also just realized that one is the directors, Daniel Scheinert, played the IRS district manager that later gets gagged and spanked by Michelle Yeoh Did he do it for the joke or is it like when Salma Hayek stepped on QT in From Dusk til Dawn.
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Apr 11, 2022 07:32
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Skwirl posted:Did he do it for the joke or is it like when Salma Hayek stepped on QT in From Dusk til Dawn. yes
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Apr 11, 2022 13:30
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ElectricSheep posted:Ke Huy Quan brings such a great goofy dad sincerity to his character (one of them, anyway) and I hope he decides to do more roles here and there, because this was a hell of a way to step back into feature films after 20+ years. Jonas Albrecht posted:Also goddamn I cannot watch someone give themselves a papercut.
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Apr 11, 2022 14:03
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From A24s Twitter:  
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Apr 11, 2022 23:53
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checkplease posted:Also just realized that one is the directors, Daniel Scheinert, played the IRS district manager that later gets gagged and spanked by Michelle Yeoh He also was all the hotdog hand apes because they only had the like one suit. So they just moved him around the set and composited it together.
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Apr 12, 2022 00:09
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