r/discussingfilm

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at Social Reckoning is Aaron Sorkin’s directing.

However, I don’t think Aaron Sorkin is a bad director.

I just think he had an impossible task when he was assigned to direct the sequel to a film directed by one of the greatest visual storyteller of our.

Imagine if Jurassic Park: The Lost World was directed by David Koepp. It just wouldn’t be that good.

If you compare Rob Reiner’s “A Few Good Men” to Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago Seven,” you’ll notice that both movies were written by Sorkin, but Reiner directed “A Few Good Men” while Sorkin wrote and directed “The Trial of the Chicago Seven.” Surprisingly, neither movie is widely criticized, and the transition between the two movies is visually seamless because it’s clear that Rob Reiner was a skilled director of court dramas and didn’t do a lot of visual spectacle.

As in: A Director makes a Meta-Commentary about a film-genre, he actually abhorrs.

All the aspects of the film receiving criticism are so exaggeratedly done, that I'm sure a director knows it:

Action-sequences are very repetitive? Yes!
Film ending with no conclusion at all? Yes!
Weird and silly looking aliens talking about something very epic and cryptic? Yes!
Characters are clichéd and interchangeable? Yes!
Silly unnecessary Mid-Credits-Scene? Yes!
Characters learning, that the aliens are not evil at all but still shooting them anyway? Yes!
Constant gratuitous shooting and explosions? Yes!

It's first half is fun and it's second half seems to willingly tell you, that the aspects you enjoyed about the first half are silly and empty. Then overdoing them so much, that we realize, how absurdly over the top it all is. Immersion is lost by hyperemphasis on entertainment-mainstream-movie archetypes.

I realize, that if that is true, it would be the most expensive elaborate prank in cinema history. But could that be the case?

Also: It's funny how much of this interpretation weighs on the director's name in the credits:

Would it say Haneke, von Trier or so... Meta-Commentary! Bay, Emmerich? Serious!

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this!

I have finally put my hat in the Digger discourse. Dig dig dig. I'm so glad Tom Cruise has joined forces with another auteur in his catalog. The discourse surrounding Digger has heavily centered on the massive $150–180 million budget, and how big of a creative and financial risk this has been for everybody involved. Along, with critics lambasting it for the lack of "humor" and self-indulgent tendencies both stylistically and politically. It certainly has a lot to say about current politics, overconsumption, power, and environmental catastrophe. Digger has safely divided fans and critics alike.

Having seen it, I lean FOR Digger. I adored it. I was especially interested in how the film uses its absurdist humor and Cruise’s larger-than-life performance to explore a world that feels increasingly farcical. It lets out all the current frustrations about where we are going and sums it up in an entertaining, loud fashion. I don't know how else one can encapsulate what we're all feeling. What stuck with me most, though, was how it illustrates the complicated relationship with creating art, especially political art, when you don't have power to change the things you're criticizing. The feeling of powerlessness that comes with watching the world fall apart.

I wrote a review exploring why I think the film’s ambition and messiness are part of what make it so interesting.

I’d genuinely love to hear what other people think. Does Digger earn its swings, or does its ambition get the better of it? And what do you think the film says about the place of original, auteur-driven movies in Hollywood today? I'm sure you all have thoughts LOL.

I don't want to self-promote, but if you want to an extended version of my thoughts feel free to request my Substack review and I'd be happy to send it over.

I thought Jurassic World was the silliest film ever but I'm half way through Fallen Kingdom and how did this even get made? It is terrible in every single way. What an absolute mess, not scary, not funny, just ridiculous.

When i was growing up, my Dad would watch Hard Rain almost every other week. I genuinely don't think he remembered anything beyond the main plot. It became a running joke in the family.

Years later I find myself watching films like (but mainly) unstoppable. I'm a huge Denzel fan in general but the man vs machine or non-human force seems to get me every time.

My questions are, do you amazing people have similar stories and, more importantly, do you have any suggestions for me to scratch that itch? Some previous digging led me to Train to Busan, which is awesome, but not quite what I want.

Idiotic directors must be dreaming turn this into movie. Near future people may boycott movies