| HAS ANYONE ELSE BEEN AVOIDING "MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS"? (245 views) | AUTHOR /
DATE |
| I've been a big fan of WKW's work for years - still am (four copies of "2046" prove THAT!) but for some reason I've had less-than-no desire to see "My Blueberry Nights." I don't think it's because it's in English. I saw the trailer and thought: "Oh, 'Chungking Express' for the unenlightened." Normally, this would be a GOOD thing, since Chungking Express is my favorite WKW film - but after watching his segment in "Eros" and then the trailer for THIS, it looks like he's just gone into a kind of mode of imitating, or repeating himself. In other words, all that marvelous visual stuff in the earlier films is in danger of becoming a gimmick. I hope not!
So, ahem... how IS "My Blueberry Nights"? | PGW
9/25/2008 6:28 AM |
| #2 | I want to watch it, but the fact that Norah Jones is cast as the star throws me off. She's a singer not an actress and WKW needs exceptional talent since his films are so involving on an emotional level. I think his actors need to really get 100% into their roles to pull it off. | YoMama
9/25/2008 1:38 PM |
| #3 | I totally agree. Nora Jones is in no way the star of this film. although I have not seen the film, I would not thanks to Ms. Jones.(FTG) | Marshall H. Lawson
9/25/2008 4:07 PM |
| #4 | MBN isn't a great movie. Still, better than most of the stuff released in theatres these days. If you like WKW's work, see it, by all means. But don't expect much. Gotta give WKW credit. For a 1st American film, not to bad. | City On Fire
9/26/2008 3:50 AM |
| #5 | It's vintage WKW. Norah Jones and the rest of the cast are actually decent. It's not surprising that WKW made a Western film. Sofia Coppola has been making Western WKW films for a while. | Apix1
9/26/2008 7:28 PM |
| #6 | "She's a singer not an actress"
Yes, but the same thing could have been said about Faye Wong in "Chungking Express," and she steals the movie :-).
| PGW
9/26/2008 9:56 PM |
| #7 | I don't care if Mr. Jones is the greatest undiscovered acting talent of this or any other generation. For me, she will continue to go undiscovered. Oh, and she should stop what she calls singing too. Hugs and kisses! - the Bottle Kids | the Bottle Kids!
9/27/2008 6:56 PM |
| #8 | I have been avoiding it for the simple fact that the director is absolutely horrible. As I have said before elsewhere on this site, he falls prey to what I call "arthouse syndrome", the notion that dense, muddled and often incomprehensible plots and pacing so slow and boring it is almost catatonic are somehow praiseworthy virtues to be magnified by absurd camera angles and self-consciously arty, gimmicky "look at me, aren't I a brilliant director" lighting and color schemes.
But the worst part is the conceit of many of his admirers, who insist any negative criticism of his films can only come from people too stupid to grasp the supposed subtleties behind his snore-inducing, ego-driven, supremely pretensious vanity pieces.
Believe me, the worst part of this film is not Norah Jones. Get back to me when "WKW" does something more entertaining than watching paint dry. | MS10197
9/30/2008 2:30 PM |
| #9 | You know... you've got a point there.
All those critics are wrong. All those books written about WKW... nonsense. The awards? He probably bought them. And those millions of people who consider films like "Chungking Express," "In The Mood For Love" and "2046" to be masterpieces - dolts, one and all.
LOL.
I'll look forward to your review of the next Chucky movie, since that's obviously more your speed.
| PGW
10/1/2008 8:58 AM |
| #10 | In the Mood for Love was gorgeous, but painfully boring. | TheDenizen
10/1/2008 9:11 AM |
| #11 | I agree. It is visually pleasing but really never goes anywhere. I think I have to watch it again or something. WKW movies are a hit or miss with me. But when they're good, they're GREAT. | City On Fire
10/1/2008 12:51 PM |
| #12 | Comment#9 perfectly makes my last point for me. If I had a nickel for every genius who told me the mere act of watching Wong Kar Wai's supremely boring movies was proof of a transcendent intelligence, I would be a freakin millioinaire. The hilarious quote about a Chucky movie being more my speed is proof-positive of the arrogance associated with arthouse goers.
Hey PGW, sitting through a Wong Kar Wai movie does not make you brilliant, it only makes you a masochist. | MS10197
10/1/2008 2:33 PM |
| #13 | Okay guys, clearly we're all pretty divided on this subject! Let's just make sure things stay friendly here. There's room for the lovers and the haters. :)
I personally am split 50/50. I think "Chungking Express" is brilliant, but I have to admit WKW's other films just don't quite do it for me. I wish they did, but they just don't.
And while we're off the subject, I liked the "Child's Play" movies until they started naming them instead of numbering them. :) | Choco
10/1/2008 2:55 PM |
| #14 | There is room here for both the lovers and haters of Wong Kar Wai, but why is it that his lovers insist anyone who dislikes his movies or criticizes them negatively must be mentally defective? Go read the reviews for Ashes of Time. Quite a few of the positive reviews state that if you don't like the film, it is because it must be beyond your level of comprehension and you are quite simply too stupid to grasp it. Never mind the fact it is muddled and boring.
| MS10197
10/1/2008 3:13 PM |
| #15 | I realize that must feel dismissive. But surely you can relate to feeling such a strong connection to a film that it's almost inconceivable that someone else could disagree. Right? I think people just get a bit carried away, that's all. It all stems from a passion for these films, that's all. Just wanted to make sure we keep things friendly here, on both sides. :) | Choco
10/1/2008 4:02 PM |
| #16 | Yes, I have strong feelings about many films, but I have never been arrogant enough to think "Gee, if he hates it, it must be because he is a total idiot." Silly me, I like to be entertained when I watch a movie, not reassured I am a sophisticated genius because I had the fortitude to sit through a catatonically paced, inscrutable arthouse piece of junk directed by someone who feels gimmicky framing and lighting schemes are acceptable substitutes for comprehensible plots and believable dialogue.
But I do recognize the need to keep it civil, so I will no longer insult the impeccably-refined cosmopolitans who would never dare sully themselves by watching a Child's Play movie. | MS10197
10/1/2008 7:10 PM |
| #17 | Speaking for myself, I don't think you're an "idiot" for not liking WKW's films (although, I do admit, I get a certain amount of pleasure of imagining your reaction to something like "Goodbye, Dragon Inn"). Art films aren't everyone's tastes – fine. I have no problem with that. On most nights, they're not MY choice, either.
On the other hand, it's not well reasoned to come into this with the belief that people who enjoy the films are all, somehow, deluded elitists, because that's simply wrong. In fact, many viewers find that his films do NOT have "incomprehensible plots" and are anything but "slow and boring" (yes, even "Ashes of Time"). | PGW
10/1/2008 8:10 PM |
| #18 | Have you seen 2046? Perhaps the most boring "movie" ever committed to celluloid. Seriously, I painted my bathroom just to see if watching the paint dry was more exciting, and it was.
| MS10197
10/1/2008 10:13 PM |
| #19 | Wow, tell us what you REALLY think! :) | Choco
10/1/2008 10:44 PM |
| #20 | Since, as I mentioned earlier, I happen to own four copies of "2046," I think it's a reasonable bet that a) I have seen it, and b) I don't find it boring.
Of course, since YOU find it boring, it must, by definition, be acknowledged to be the most awful, pretentious, meaningless, intellectually insulting drivel ever committed to celluloid.
| PGW
10/2/2008 4:39 AM |
| #21 | Okay guys, let's let the WKW feud drop now. :) | Choco
10/2/2008 10:42 AM |
