Uncommon Opinions

[Majingir]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

About 10 years ago a friend of mine used to take photos of food for the big fast food companies around here. McDonald's , Burger King , and Wendy's all used plastic food in their photo ads. All the burgers and sandwiches were made of plastic. That's why they always look so perfect.

I'm sure they were disappointed after agreeing to be paid in the very food they took pictures of lol.

[Blzer]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

I was thinking about this when making a post in another thread just a bit ago.

Jordan Peele reminds me a lot of Taylor Swift when it comes to fan and critical acclaim, and I think is pretty overrated as a result of that.

Let me clarify a few points first:

1. I'm not comparing Jordan Peele to Taylor Swift by quality or my liking to either of them, and I don't think there is a single member on OS who prefers Swift over Peele by any factor whatsoever.
2. I like Peele... I love his comedy, and I think he has a good eye for film that the thriller/horror genre can absolutely take advantage of, and I will continue to watch anything that he puts out because of that.
3. None of this is actually Jordan Peele's fault. It's the way that audience members decide to give him this unnecessarily. I'm sure if given the opportunity, he would speak humbly about his success. That being said, this once again isn't actually about Peele & Swift, but about how people eat up his cinematic contributions.
4. I'm only talking about two specific things that I think he gets put higher up than others in the filmmaking business, and I simply think they are the wrong reasons.

The two things I'm talking about have to do with his "clues" he puts in his films, and his shift from comedy to horror.

Rant/breakdown:

Spoiler

When I watch or hear a review about Get Out or Us, the intricacies of his genius that are noted always involve foreshadowing and symbolism. Clues, if you will. His films are ready for YouTube channels to make an "Everything you missed" video. A lot of them also aren't all that subtle (like "still up for debate" or "still yet unseen by the masses") but he lays them out aplenty, which is no crime in itself and in fact is often preferred, but I think he gets a lot of credit for things that other directors do all of the time. Other directors actually just do it more subtly. Hell, when Christopher Nolan put a character in a movie named Dr. Mann, everyone was like: "Ooooh, his name is 'Mann' and he turns out to be a 'bad guy' so it's like 'man is evil'. We get it Nolan, now go sit in a corner and think about what you did." But if Peele did it? People would want to get on his knees for him.

Basically, I think that the next time we see a movie of his, we are expecting to look around the screen and find clues, symbols, or pick up on things that the characters say or do that allude to some sort of imagery that he's trying to tell us. This is absolutely no different than what Taylor Swift does in her songs and music videos, even though they drop clues about two completely different things. She does it about relationships, changes in her life, etc. People eat this stuff up: every song and lyric is ready for dissection, and that's what gives her music some sort of hype. Apparently she is also the only person in music that does this. /s

BOTTOM LINE: Remove these aspects, and there is very little left for audiences to eat up. Decent story, fun twist, some societal impact (more on that at the bottom) and still a good watch... but fans and critics are overvaluing his films based on "clues" alone.

The second thing that I also believe to absolutely be true isn't just limited to Peele, but the fact that he can shift from comedy to serious on a dime I think lends to how surprising it feels to others that they give them a higher nod as a result. Look at when actors like Adam Sandler or Jonah Hill take on a serious role, and we all (including myself) remark how exceptional their performances were. While it may be absolutely true, I feel like we wouldn't say the same thing if it was just another role for an often-serious actor. Hell, this is true for me when I just had that frickin' long beard and shaved it off: if I came to my class clean-shaven from Day 1, my students wouldn't say a thing about my age; once I shaved it, there were nothing but exclamatory statements about how young I look, I have a baby face, etc.

By contrast, I think Peele is getting too much praise for doing something that, while creative in the writing process, is not a masterful delivery by any means. I truly do feel that people are blinded by the shock value of him being ale to put something out that is not meant for us to laugh, and a decent execution is enough for people to go bonkers over it. As a parallel, Taylor Swift was "country" (or something like that), and her shift to pop likely did the same thing for a lot of people. They realized there was more there and that she had this multidimensional aspect to her music and persona. Hell, she changes herself up every single album, so it's just this way of bringing people in wondering how she can radically shift again and be impressed by the fact to the point that it somehow also is a factor in her music prowess.

BOTTOM LINE: If he entered the celebrity realm as a horror director and not as a comedian, the lack of any sort of shock value will desensitize us to his work. He's good, but by contrast from what we're used to seeing him create we think in those terms first and foremost, and in essence it overrates his production.

Unrelated to Taylor, I know he'll also attract a big part of the black community like Ryan Coogler does in his films, so the fact that he's hitting a larger audience instead of just whitewashing his films will always allow people to speak louder. That has nothing to do with what I was saying above, but could also speak to why he perceived high acclaim.

Feel free to disagree, that's why it's in this thread. I just want to re-remind everyone that I do like the two films he's put out so far (seen them both twice, but won't be looking to buy them) and do look forward to see what he puts out next. I'm not enthralled, though.

[Caulfield]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

Damn, Blzer, the only way you could top that is to find a connection Katy Perry to Keegan-Michael Key lol

[Caulfield]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

- Beer tastes like piss

sorry to dredge up an old post but I've heard this a lot over the years and while I agree 99% are horrible, I want to know how beer taste became associated with the taste of pee. Maybe its because some (Corona, Heineken, in particular) do taste like sweat. so, does sweat taste like pee?

[l3ulvl]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

so if he entered the field as a horror filmmaker, then shifted to comedy, we'd have to Peele back the layers?

I know that doesn't make sense, but it also didn't take 10,000 words

sorry

[kehlis]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

sorry to dredge up an old post but I've heard this a lot over the years and while I agree 99% are horrible, I want to know how beer taste became associated with the taste of pee. Maybe its because some (Corona, Heineken, in particular) do taste like sweat. so, does sweat taste like pee?

How does everyone seem to know what pee tastes like?

[Speedy]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

...............

[l3ulvl]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

How does everyone seem to know what pee tastes like?

[Blzer]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

Don't think this would actually be uncommon, but want to get your opinions... I still don't think it's too late for an Italian Job sequel to happen. Wahlberg, Statham, and Theron are still very much action blockbuster stars, Seth Green and Mos Def still have some relevancy, and I'm sure Edward Norton's character could be revived somehow if they wanted to go that route.

What was the sequel going to be called? The Brazilian Job? I don't think they should let that up yet.

[Caulfield]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

Look at the amount of years between movies like Wall Street and Bladerunner and their sequels so I guess its possible ther could be a sequel. Hollyweird is notorious with a reputation as a town out of ideas and remakes and sequels get overdone in a lot of peoples mind. I dont truly believe it though I have been known myself to say it. I think the truth is sometimes producers would rather gamble on a known commodity rather than a fresh idea. It might even be more likely Italian Job gets another remake before the Brazilian Job gets made. Long story short, I'd still say its an uncommon opinion even if there are others that think it'll happen. For the record over 60 years between Bambi and Bambi II, so you might be old and senile by the time Italian Job gets a treatment

[SmashMan]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

...there was a Bambi II?

[dubcity]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

...there was a Bambi II?

Just google "disney sequels direct to video." It's pretty funny.

[Caulfield]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

...there was a Bambi II?

Just google "disney sequels direct to video." It's pretty funny.

what's disheartening is learning Disney tried to make a buck off a sequel to Old Yeller.
I mean, this is like doing a sequel to Thelma & Louise

[Caulfield]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

I'm getting old, cant remember if I already said this, if I have, I'll say it again: I like nightmares, even the ones that seem especially real. its like getting to watch a free movie. some of my best ideas come from nightmares (dreams in general too, for that matter).

[Blzer]

Re: Uncommon Opinions

I'm getting old, cant remember if I already said this, if I have, I'll say it again: I like nightmares, even the ones that seem especially real. its like getting to watch a free movie. some of my best ideas come from nightmares (dreams in general too, for that matter).

I always joke by saying: "I like nightmares because when I wake up then I realize it was all just a dream, whereas if I wake up from a good dream then I am saddened that's all it was."

I prefer good dreams still, regardless.