Eddington

[todd-parker]

For those who thought James Gunn's 'Superman' was too political, there's a new movie out just for you.

Ari Aster (Director of 'Hereditary' and 'The Strange Thing About the Johnsons') takes us back to the halcyon days of late 2020 where a mayor (Pedro Pascal) and sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) battle it out over Covid mask mandates, conspiracy theories, and Black Lives Matter protests in small-town New Mexico. This film definitely has flaws - some might be critical of the non-focused story and underuse of some characters, but I can't say that I wasn't fully engaged for the entire 2-and-a-half-hour runtime - the third act definitely scores with some WTF moments.

https://www.villagevoice.com/review-edd ... -mask-era/

[Dicktar2023]

I have mixed feelings about Aster's work, so I was on the fence about whether to see it. Then someone compared it to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO. Now I'm thinking I'll wait until it streams.

[MikoTython]

Very much on board w/ Aster's work till 'Beau Is Afraid', which to me was just shysse.

But I'll def. give this one a chance.

[MikoTython]

If you can get to it, maybe using a 'free' article, there is a cool video rundown by Ari Aster on his various films - quite amusing/interesting :

https://www.vanityfair.com/

[MikoTython]

To be concise, it blew. (Yet another) shambolic interminable indulgence w/ ham-handed acting (yet again) featuring the slouching, mumbling Joaquin Phoenix, whose very respectably-sized schmeckle got a full airing, if you hung around long enough to catch it. Whatever Aster had going on, craft-wise, writing-wise, directing-wise, in the first few films seems to have evaporated.

Hope that wasn't too harsh.

[3dender]

To be concise, it blew. (Yet another) shambolic interminable indulgence w/ ham-handed acting (yet again) featuring the slouching, mumbling Joaquin Phoenix, whose very respectably-sized schmeckle got a full airing, if you hung around long enough to catch it. Whatever Aster had going on, craft-wise, writing-wise, directing-wise, in the first few films seems to have evaporated.

Hope that wasn't too harsh.

After watching Beau is Afraid and seeing the previews/press circuit for this one, I am pretty confident diagnosing Aster with the post-Midsommar sniffing of too many of his own farts.

[MikoTython]

To be concise, it blew. (Yet another) shambolic interminable indulgence w/ ham-handed acting (yet again) featuring the slouching, mumbling Joaquin Phoenix, whose very respectably-sized schmeckle got a full airing, if you hung around long enough to catch it. Whatever Aster had going on, craft-wise, writing-wise, directing-wise, in the first few films seems to have evaporated.

Hope that wasn't too harsh.

After watching Beau is Afraid and seeing the previews/press circuit for this one, I am pretty confident diagnosing Aster with the post-Midsommar sniffing of too many of his own farts.

Didn't read any reviews before spending my 37 bucks. My bad. Having trawled through a few now, it appears many of these folks are trying to invest the film with insights, qualities it doesn't actually possess. The Guardian reviewer, though, isn't fooled - at all :

"Ari Aster now worryingly creates a losing streak with this bafflingly dull movie, a laborious and weirdly self-important satire which makes a heavy, flavourless meal of some uninteresting and unoriginal thoughts – on the Covid lockdown, online conspiracy theories, social polarisation, Black Lives Matter, liberal-white privilege and guns.
...
it all feels secondhand – ... There is no accumulation of drama or tension or intellectual revelation and the setpiece shootout is ultimately valueless. What exactly is it saying that we didn’t know already? The wait for Aster to recover his directorial form goes on."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/m ... -his-stars

[Ronnie Dobbs]

I thought this movie was pretty freaking great. Haven’t seen Beau is Afraid or Midsommar yet, though.

[3dender]

Finally caught up to this, agree with Miko 100%.

It's like a Scary Movie style send-up but just of political discourse for the last decade. It's just as broad, obvious, shallow and boring.

Aster really needs to go back to straight horror, he doesn't have the range for this cutesy psychological borderline stuff.

[Dicktar2023]

I saw it a few months ago and I remember thinking for the first half "this isn't bad..."

Then there is a big turn in the plot and I thought "ok, so this is a little bad, but it's not terrible."

Then it got terrible. The finale is so silly and in such poor taste, Aster seems like he's satirizing something, but it's not clear what.

That said...I thought Joaquin Phoenix's fate in the end was pretty funny. So many ideas like that were inspired enough that I think there might have been a good movie here. But like so many of the modern auteurs who can threaten to start a streaming series if movie studios don't give him everything he wants, Aster apparently filmed the first draft of his screenplay.

[3dender]

I saw it a few months ago and I remember thinking for the first half "this isn't bad..."

Then there is a big turn in the plot and I thought "ok, so this is a little bad, but it's not terrible."

Then it got terrible. The finale is so silly and in such poor taste, Aster seems like he's satirizing something, but it's not clear what.

That said...I thought Joaquin Phoenix's fate in the end was pretty funny. So many ideas like that were inspired enough that I think there might have been a good movie here. But like so many of the modern auteurs who can threaten to start a streaming series if movie studios don't give him everything he wants, Aster apparently filmed the first draft of his screenplay.

Definitely felt 1st drafty. Most of these filmmakers badly need either writing partners or better editors.