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“Us” - Jordan Peele

Pancho

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Drew

Drew 2,510

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Man I know it's a thing to like, totally be contrarian about movies/shows/stuff 99% of people like...but I really don't get it.  Get Out was good.  I don't know if it's great, and it was probably overhyped, but it was definitely good.

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52-80

52-80 19,213

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3 hours ago, Drew said:

Man I know it's a thing to like, totally be contrarian about movies/shows/stuff 99% of people like...but I really don't get it.  Get Out was good.  I don't know if it's great, and it was probably overhyped, but it was definitely good.

twist wasnt particularly surprising, the movie wasnt enthralling, it wasnt creepy, it wasnt funny... wasnt poignant.  felt like one of those failed stephen king made-for-tv adaptation

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Helobious

Helobious 9,464

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2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

twist wasnt particularly surprising, the movie wasnt enthralling, it wasnt creepy, it wasnt funny... wasnt poignant.  felt like one of those failed stephen king made-for-tv adaptation

I disagree with all of this, as do most people who saw it. So who is right? 

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wutang75

wutang75 449

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I loved Get Out - I’m a huge horror movie fan and thought it was one of the more interesting thrillers I’d seen in awhile. One of those movies that I rewatched a few times with friends that hadn’t seen it. I think consensus was that it was pretty great all around. To each his own.

 

Everyone is looking for a huge “twist”. I’m ok with originality and a solid story that might bring something to the table that hasn’t been done to death.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

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Continental Op

Continental Op 3,934

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It's getting annoying that any horror movie that isn't Paranormal Activity Jump Scare Festival Part 16 and has some intellectual heft to it winds up getting labelled by critics as THE NEXT GREAT HORROR MASTERPIECE.  Us isn't a masterpiece but it's entertaining as hell.  I don't think it hung together as well as Get Out but I am OK with everything not being neatly tied up.  I'd recommend going in as cold as possible because I went back and watched one of the trailers and it might have tipped me off to something I didn't see coming.  

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ajax

ajax 2,620

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26 minutes ago, Continental Op said:

It's getting annoying that any horror movie that isn't Paranormal Activity Jump Scare Festival Part 16 and has some intellectual heft to it winds up getting labelled by critics as THE NEXT GREAT HORROR MASTERPIECE.  Us isn't a masterpiece but it's entertaining as hell.  I don't think it hung together as well as Get Out but I am OK with everything not being neatly tied up.  I'd recommend going in as cold as possible because I went back and watched one of the trailers and it might have tipped me off to something I didn't see coming.  

You could say the Suspiria remake was not jump-scare central and was definitely weighty, and it got nowhere with the critics.

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ajax

ajax 2,620

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9 minutes ago, Continental Op said:

Man, that was a bad movie. 

I haven't seen it. The critics hated it but some critics I trust, such as Red Letter Media, loved it. They praised the shit out of it. I want to see it now because their video on it was interesting. 

Anyway, I will probably see Us this weekend even though I initially said I was out.

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Red Five

Red Five 40,879

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Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, ajax said:

I haven't seen it. The critics hated it but some critics I trust, such as Red Letter Media, loved it. They praised the shit out of it. I want to see it now because their video on it was interesting. 

Anyway, I will probably see Us this weekend even though I initially said I was out.

We're all talking about the same movie right? Us? It's at 95% on RT. 

Edit: I re-read the last few posts and we are not all talking about the same movie. Carry on. 

Edited by Red Five
lack of caffeine
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Helobious

Helobious 9,464

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1 hour ago, Red Five said:

 

  Hide contents

Opening the movie with the "there are abandoned tunnels everywhere underneath us" text was probably a mistake. "Oh, so that's where they're going to come from". Kind of took some of the surprise away.

 

Spoiler

I don't think where they actually came from was meant to be that big of a surprise, or all that important. Didn't ruin the movie for me by any means. 

 

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deech

deech 2,291

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I agree.  Movie tried to hard.  It was still entertaining and well-acted as hell.   Cinematography and Music were great.  But when you get home and read an article about it that explains some things it helps clearly, but it also means someone wrote the article and I read the article because the in-movie explanation was too muddled.

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mdleast

mdleast 8,298

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https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-us-box-office-jordan-peele-20190324-story.html

The sole new wide release this weekend, Universal's "Us" came in first place at the box office with $70.3 million, nearly doubling analysts' projections of $35 million to $45 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

The result breaks opening records for an original horror movie, an original R-rated film and for a live-action original film since "Avatar" opened with $77 million in 2009. It is also the third best horror opening of all time after 2017's "It" ($123.4 million) and last year's "Halloween" sequel ($76.2 million).


Also this has an excellent write up about the ending of the movie:

https://shadowandact.com/the-ending-of-us-explained-review

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ajax

ajax 2,620

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1 hour ago, Fozzz said:

I thought this was stylish and well shot but ultimately unfulfilling.  The deeper themes and social commentary were muddled to the point of absurdity.  

Agreed. I liked the movie but I was expecting more. 

There are lots of clues about the boy possibly being switched out too.

Regardless, Peele pretty much solidified himself as an A list director.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52,548

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17 hours ago, mdleast said:

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-us-box-office-jordan-peele-20190324-story.html
 

 


Also this has an excellent write up about the ending of the movie:

https://shadowandact.com/the-ending-of-us-explained-review
 

 

That’s like reading a review of the wizard of oz that spends half its time talking about Bryant and the gold standard. 

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utxmike05

utxmike05 1,828

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On 3/23/2019 at 10:13 PM, GabrielsHorn said:

Saw it and don’t know if I liked or didn’t like it. The message of the film is muddied to say the least, but the acting, cinematography and music were all really well done. 

Think the movie really fell flat on its explanation for what was happening. 

Kinda where I am as well.  I've been reading reviews and discussing with my friend I saw it with.  And the nerd in me wants to know more about the tethered and how/wtf/wth....some of my questions are probably irrelevant to the overall theme, but still some holes (as in any movie).  Pretty cool original story though and well filmed.

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BigBenBamboozle

BigBenBamboozle 1,957

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2 hours ago, C-Man said:

Really? I don't do scary movies at all and the trailer makes it look like nightmare fuel. I really liked Get Out FWIW -- I'll dig this?

Similar to Get Out, Peele has a way of undercutting the tension with tons of moments of comedy in this.  You could argue it actually does a disservice to what could have been a deeply chilling second act.  It is tense at times, but not scary like The Strangers or the final sequences of Hereditary. 

2 hours ago, lateshow said:

Jason Whitlock said it tried to hard to preach to us and was not enjoyable. So, there's that....

I can see where this comes from, but I actually think two things are competing in the film:

Spoiler

Firstly, the themes of an underclass in American society that isn't represented, but is directly connected to the "ruling" class, which I think was a bit on-the-nose with all of the heavy-handedness.  It was kinda preachy. (Did it bother anyone that there were two inexplicable exposition dumps by "Red" to basically explain the central tension?)

But secondly, there was an awesome layer of this "nature vs nurture" duality that intentionally played with audience expectations.  When you're watching the movie, you think "Adelaide's" experience as a child has shouldered her with trauma that has followed her her whole life, which the character describes as a shadow.  This informs her not wanting to visit the Santa Clara beach, her panic over losing Jason, etc.  But then the ending twist inverts your viewing of the movie once the credits roll: all of that perceived trauma was really guilt and wanting to avoid having to confront her sacrificing of Red's existence to move into the real world and avoid the pain of her existence.  This brings about the central tension that, unlike the heavy-handed class motifs, works really well.  "Adelaide" was able to unlearn her trauma and become a part of society and raise a family, while "Red" was "nurtured" into becoming a monster. 

So who was really the monster?  Who was the protagonist?  

 

Edited by BigBenBamboozle
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ajax

ajax 2,620

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16 minutes ago, BigBenBamboozle said:

 

  Hide contents

(Did it bother anyone that there were two inexplicable exposition dumps by "Red" to basically explain the central tension?)

 

Man, that really bothered me. They were long and drawn out. I felt like I was in a history lecture. That particular bit is lazy writing and it violates one of the central tenets of screenwriting - dialogue is for character and not for conveying information.

Edited by ajax
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achooloco

achooloco 1,072

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Not scary, but ok thriller. Peele doesn’t make anything scary, but they are thrillers so that is nice to know going forward. 

The comedy parts I liked; again, it’s just his style/M.O.

didnt really think it was preachy social wise. The movie can stand on its own without adding social meaning to it. That stuff is there, I guess, if you want to see it but you can ignore it too and just try to make sense of the story as told. I’d give it a solid 6/6.5. Nothing great but not horrible either.

How do I do a hidden text? Want to add a comment about Lupita’s acting but don’t want to spoil anything.

 

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12,639

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On 3/23/2019 at 10:13 PM, GabrielsHorn said:

The message of the film is muddied to say the least

That's kind of the point. I don't know that it's an all-time great movie or anything, but it is absolutely an all-time great story. It is a complete rendering of the Romantic era horror motif, the duality themes found in Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, etc. If the "message" were clear, there wouldn't be any need for conversation, and the whole point of "Us" is the conversations it starts. You can't follow any particular philosophical rabbits down their holes without running into barriers with this movie, and that's the sign of a well crafted story -- you should be able to argue about it passionately, and still not be any more "right" than somebody who thinks the opposite.

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BigBenBamboozle

BigBenBamboozle 1,957

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4 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

That's kind of the point. I don't know that it's an all-time great movie or anything, but it is absolutely an all-time great story. It is a complete rendering of the Romantic era horror motif, the duality themes found in Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, etc. If the "message" were clear, there wouldn't be any need for conversation, and the whole point of "Us" is the conversations it starts. You can't follow any particular philosophical rabbits down their holes without running into barriers with this movie, and that's the sign of a well crafted story -- you should be able to argue about it passionately, and still not be any more "right" than somebody who thinks the opposite.

The duality themes were absolutely *packed* in this film with Easter eggs aplenty. 

Spoiler

The VHS tapes (C.H.U.D, Goonies, The Man With Two Brains), the Thriller shirt (were the Michael we follow is actually the antagonist of the video), the Jaws shirt (lurking under the surface), Jeremiah 11:11, "tethered", mirrors, the "bird's eye" shot of the family on the beach with their shadows stretching out, the real spider revealing itself under the fake spider, all the reds of "Adelaide" while her family is all blues, the single red frisbee over the towel's blue dots, masks, an actual set of Shining-esk twins, scissors, the board game "Guess Who?" in the closet Jason hides in, etc etc etc

That Jordan Peele can make a movie. 

 

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Patrick Bateman

Patrick Bateman 3,918

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Based on the buzz, I expected more.  I think Peele understands the movie he wants to make and the metaphors and societal references he's making but the story is thin.  He takes a lot form Hitchcock and Serling (obviously), but this felt like a Twilight Zone that Serling would have had wrapped up in 40 minutes.  It's not scary.... in fact, the scary stuff is so ridiculous as to be comedic.  The intended comedic notes were hit or miss, there's not tenseness to it until very late and the "twist" was seen from a mile away.  There's some very good moments and stuff to like but ultimately it was just an okay movie.  I came out thinking it sucked but after thinking for a few days, I liked it a little more upon consideration.  It's not as good as Get Out, which didn't take itself as seriously but was also a bit overrated.  Peele has a lot of talent, that is evident, but I don't feel he's quite got there.  Making the statements he wants to make while tying it all together in an enjoyable viewing experience.  I think he'll get better and better though....

 

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JimmyJames

JimmyJames 12,271

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17 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Based on the buzz, I expected more.  I think Peele understands the movie he wants to make and the metaphors and societal references he's making but the story is thin.  He takes a lot form Hitchcock and Serling (obviously), but this felt like a Twilight Zone that Serling would have had wrapped up in 40 minutes.  It's not scary.... in fact, the scary stuff is so ridiculous as to be comedic.  The intended comedic notes were hit or miss, there's not tenseness to it until very late and the "twist" was seen from a mile away.  There's some very good moments and stuff to like but ultimately it was just an okay movie.  I came out thinking it sucked but after thinking for a few days, I liked it a little more upon consideration.  It's not as good as Get Out, which didn't take itself as seriously but was also a bit overrated.  Peele has a lot of talent, that is evident, but I don't feel he's quite got there.  Making the statements he wants to make while tying it all together in an enjoyable viewing experience.  I think he'll get better and better though....

 

Saw it yesterday. This is basically my take except I didn’t see the twist from a mile away but that’s just because I’m a dumbass when it comes to stuff like that. 

However upon reflection, I did think about it a lot more because even though it references all sorts of ‘80s horror movies, the themes from the shining are the most prevalent and obviously intentional. 

Twins, mirrors, America, Americans, erasure of native Americans, blood red wave, unseen owners, people being left behind, overlooking the past, disintegration of American society and family. It’s all in there. 

Obviously Peele is no Kubrick but it’s an interesting movie. 

 

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