Review - ANTEBELLUM (2020)
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- čas přidán 24. 01. 2021
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Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz's all-or-nothing feature debut wants to be a mind-bender, a stomach-turner and an ass-kicker all at the same time; so it's not exactly a shock that - apart from a stunning backwards-in-heels acting decathalon of a lead turn by Janelle Monae - the overall effect becomes exhaustion - Zábava
Was going along with the movie, until the twist. At that point, my brain was overloaded with questions about how such a operation could possibly ever work. The actors did a good job. Everything was shot well. But, when a paranormal explanation makes more sense than the actual plot, you didn’t stick the landing-you face planted.
You should try suspension of disbelief. Inept law enforcement and large scale conspiracies are common tropes in movies.
@@DPGrupa - the plot twist shattered the suspension of disbelief. The amount of people this would involve and the money it would take would get red flagged, post 9/11. If this had somehow been a paranormal thing, then logic needn’t apply. It wasn’t. So logic does apply and absolutely shreds this premise.
@@DetroitAlan01 Any action movie has more unrealistic setup than this one and thank all the good in the world that those movies are not about paranormal activity.
Yes, the number of people involved might raise red flags, but again, cinema would be poorer if covert large scale criminal activities would be considered impossible.
@@DPGrupa What was the name of that McConaughey movie where you are informed 3/4 in it's actually a video game being rewritten from fishing simulator into murder fantasy? Serenity? This is that style of a twist. It actively undermines the entire premise and goes from "shitty B movie that's enjoyable, because how cliche it is" to "shitty B movie". It's literally The Village: IN DIXIE STATE! and just like The Village, immensely stupid, a twist for the sake of a twist.
Suspension of disbelieve is what you have when the plot starts. Then the twist comes and all that you are left with is eye-rolling.
@@Myrth1 This movie is the opposite case. You expect some dream logic, but there is nothing paranormal happening. A better analogy would be 2009 Sherlock Holmes, which seems like a "Sherlock solves paranormal mysteries", but it turns out to be "Sherlock solves clever crimes".
Clearly they should cast Janelle Monáe in something with Janel Moloney just to be confusing.
Leaving this comment because Bob needs all the help he can get with the algorithm god of media prosperity.
"Put her in all the things." Love it!
I liked your description at the end. It tried a thing, it was interesting but didn't really stick the landing. I give it kudos for trying though.
I get the appeal of a movie made like a magic trick, I really do. The moment when you make all the pieces come together and turn into something you never expected, but that on reflection couldn't have led anywhere else, is one of the strongest things cinema can do. And it makes a lot of good films into great films. But even though the part everyone remembers and celebrates in those films is the moment the magic trick comes together, the reason the trick can make them great films is because they were already good films, and with the trick they're still good - like a masterful magic trick, even when you know the game you can enjoy the sheer artistry of the execution. This is a magic trick that forgot to be a film first, and there is a reason magic tricks don't go two hours long.
For the algorithm
For the algorithm.
All hail the algorithm.
For the algorithm!
For the Omnissiah
Yawl realize it's technically a heuristic?
why couldn't they just adapt octavia butler's 'kindred' instead of trying to pull a weird shayamalan at the end :(
Welcome to weekend course of script writing, today we will cover how easily you can turn your movie on its head and make it interesting by introducing a twist to the plot. First, you need to...
If you ever wonder why something has terrible script, there are 4 options:
- source material is shit and the script writer does his best to salvage it, but it's unsalvagable
- legal reasons forbid fixing bad script into a good one and thus a film is made based on shit-tier script, becuase they have to
- it was overdoctored by entire committee of people and nobody had a single idea what to do with it
- it was written by an incompetent hack out of his depth
And this is the last option. It's two guys who only ever did prior shorts (where twists are usually a punchline) writing a full-fledged movie, without realising it's not just about extending the story from 10 minutes to 100, but it has to make sense now, not being a short.
Anyone who wants to know the spoiler and hasn't already gone to wikipedia to find out hit the read more button.
It's the village by M. Night Shyamalan done against slave era south instead of puritan era north. That's the twist.
January 6th 2021, Washington DC, USA
Antebellum: "Caaaaaalllllllled iiiiittttttt."
That is DARK humor.
A lot of black critics DID NOT like this movie, mostly saying "it leans too hard on torture porn to distract you from the illogical plot and the catharsis that comes at the end doesn't feel good enough to counteract how miserable the first act makes you" and yeah. I could totally see how being a black person in 2020 could sour that concept for you.
From memory, that was also the critique of Soldier Blue - but that was an awfully long time ago
"you're going to be tortured by white guys using alt right slang.
JM: *drools* "where do I sign, where do I sign!?"
Nice Audre Lorde reference.
You know, I've heard "Antebellum" used in reference to Confederate/Slavery-era Southern USA, but I never actually knew what it meant...
Comes from Latin. "ante=before" and "bellum=war" Before the Civil War.
In history circles, "Antebellum" means _just before the Civil War_ and "prewar" means _just before WW2_ even though those two words actually mean the same thing. It's just that "antebellum" was how they were more likely to say it in the 1860s, and it's convenient shorthand.
Janelle monet makes everything better that it would have been
Cool video!
My every thought encapsulated and as a black man I didnt think anyone else would notice
Janelle Monae went through all of this from actual white people she met, but she was more mad at black men on election day last year. There's an antagonistic element to my race that isn't usually highlighted. And often the more successful among us are people who accept mistreatment the most.
I have no money, so I give you algorithm food instead.
Saw this movie didn't hate it but if I was making it I would have excised a lot of the gratuitous torture and rape moments, dumped the mystery entirely and reworked the structure to where act 2 is act 1
It would still be bad. Consider the following: the director-script writer duo who made it come from short film and music video background. For them having a twist into the story is the entire point, because that's how you wrap up a short film, you ad a twist at the end. This is their first full lenght film and it shows. Because it's still structured like a short film. Just reshuffling it and cutting down the "shocking" content (welcome to short movie territory again) would simply made it into a drab thriller, making it forgotten week after premier, assuming it would ever get one. Instead, it's the classic case of people being fascinated by how ungodly bad a movie is instead, offering it free marketing by acknowledging the stupidity of the plot and horrible execution of the twist.
tl;dr it's unsalvagable
yea another movie I let pass me by that I shouldn't have
You actually did the good thing letting this one pass. It's bad. Bob is doing his very best to pretend it isn't, but it's really damn bad. Unless torture porn is your thing (because this is what this movie really is) or are into cheap knock-offs of Jordan Peele - no fucking reason to watch it, other than by accident. And since you didn't saw it by accident and I doubt you qualify for either of the niche groups that this could appeal to, stay the fuck away. The poor ratings from both critics and viewers are more than justified. And that all without even mentioning the twist, which makes you think that the one from "Serenity" (the McConaughey one) was a smart and well-done one.
Bob, please review the demon slayer movie
Honestly I found the twist to be really stupid and it has A TON of plot holes that it raises.
Also this movie wants to be Get Out, mixed with 12 Years A Slave, mixed with Hostel, mixed with The Village, only it’s somehow dumber than all of those films.
I love most of those movies (the Village sucked) but none of those movies go together at all
Honestly I forgot about this until Bob's re-released review dropped today. I only remember that Darren Mooney of The Escapist wasn't a fan. (As you can see here: www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/antebellum-demonstrates-that-a-good-twist-doesnt-make-a-good-movie/)
yeah same for me. i for one hand have a very good track record listening to bobs tips but the other reviews of antebellum are....bad
@@HieronymusHeim Think about this advice whatever you like, but one of the rules of the thumb when it comes to Bob reviews is this: if this has non-white leads, Bob instantly bumps the final rating by +2. It was always his thing all the waaaay back and I don't mind, I simply live with this. If the movie is good, then you won't even notice the "bonus", because it's simply a good movie and got its high rating anyway. If it's a bad movie that somehow still breaks 5/10, it's solely due to that bonus. And this is precisely why this, a movie that literally everyone is giving 3/10 and 4/10 got 6/10 here. Substract that Bob's bonus and you're in 4/10.
F the algorithm!
While I can appreciate your take, Bob, this review from a few months ago brought up better points on what didn't work about this movie: czcams.com/video/Ji9iiySn2lY/video.html
Nudity still sells in movies. There’s a reason the 50 shades franchise had a trilogy
Are we sure that wasn't because of not nudity, but fetishism?
@@LupineShadowOmega either way you can find shit like that on pornhub or xvideos. Fifty Shades took that content and a shitty storyline and made a billion dollar franchise. They just prove you can put porn on a screen a people will pay with enough hype behind it
@@JayJayJerrell Yeah, but most of the people interested in 50 Shades tends to skew toward women and older women at that.
Its the same audience as Romance Novels and you aren't likely to get Fabio on Pornhub.
I agree with you, but I like to point out that its less about naked people and more about catering to an under served audience. Basically romance but a bit spicey. And that going for outsider audiences, is an art and not a science.
First?
Jesus this movie was bad... like I wanted to like it and expected a paranormal twist... but what I got was utter shit!!! WTF was this movie?!!!!
Two guys who make short movies were given a chance to make full feature. So they did, but it's still structured like a short. Hence the obligatory twist. In short movies, those work as "oh wow" moments and then the short almost instantly ends. In full feature, you end up with Shyamalan-esque twist.
For the algorithm