MovieChat Forums > Computer Chess (2013) Discussion > Great film

Great film

posted 11 years ago by rs-61
22 replies | jump to latest

It tricks you into thinking it's a real documentary. Filled with humor, I suppose especially appealing to chess players, to see two competitors chatting over the chessboard instead of intently staring at the board in silence while waiting for their machines to come up with a move, to see the perplexity as one of the machines keeps trying to commit suicide...
the characters are perfect, they start evolving into a science fiction situation with intimations of the computers starting to really think. Most of all it's the overall irony and originality of the whole project that is so captivating.

[–] NicolasCagematch 11 years ago

Why do you suppose this isn't this doing better than a "6" right now?

http://www.buyoutofamerica.com/

[–] rs-61 11 years ago

Obviously because the IMDb rating system is bullsit. It calculates votes only from voters who have voted for other films at least 80 times. If you haven't voted 80 times your vote simply doesn't count.

[–] NicolasCagematch 11 years ago

Where did you read that?

http://www.buyoutofamerica.com/

[–] rs-61 11 years ago

Check out IMDb rating system on Google. It's kept a secret but it's been found out that what i wrote is true even tho it may be 60 votes or 100 , they only consider votes from subscribers who have voted a lot. It's a stupid system.

[–] Yellowman88 11 years ago

This is a good movie if you play chess. even better if you played it competitively.

Highest ELO i got was 1730 back when i was in college and had a bit more free time.

[–] cheekygeek-234-218770 9 years ago

I find it hilarious (after watching this movie) that the first Message Board thread I should click on is complaining about the validity of the algorithm that IMDb uses to come up with a rating system.

I also find it humorous that any humans (whatever they think of this movie) should be interested in what the "collective" thinks by being concerned with the IMDb rating (which is calculated by some algorithm involving averages) in the first place? Do you need your opinion validated before you will accept it as your own opinion?

This is a thought provoking movie. I'm not sure I get the film maker's message (totally) but it doesn't matter. It makes you think about things in a different way, and for that I applaud it.

[–] randomlynx 11 years ago

I should vote more :P

[–] buff-29 11 years ago

I guess that IMDB is weighting the votes of those who have voted before to weaken the influence of flacks and shills hired to praise a client's movie. A dreary item like this gets what it deserves, instead of a bunch of "great film" ratings from hired hands. Can anyone who has actually seen this poor thing imagine anyone anywhere calling it great? Mildly amusing if you are passionate about the subject, maybe. I was bored and annoyed most of the time, but it was cool inside.

[–] randomlynx 11 years ago

Saw the film last night, I would not describe it as great but it was good and a good deal was enjoyable. There were some subtleties I probably missed while watching it, it might be one of those films that is more enjoyable after a second viewing.

[–] maratonrunner 10 years ago

because other people may not find it that great. please accept other opinions.

I am a dedicated chess player myself and I found the part involving chess to be watchable and this part could have gotten 7. if it was all about chess.
I talked to others who found it painfully to watch all parts that was of topic in regards to chess.
why do the viewer care about the other seminar that is also in the hotel.
or the man who tries to get a room.
many discussions not related to chess lead to no point at all.

I welcome the nudity at the end of the movie but why is there suddenly a robot in the movie? Is it his next movie now he covered computer chess. next movie may be history of computer sex?
all in all I think 6 is too high a vote for this movie.
one thing more is this really comedy?

[–] mike_bike_kite 10 years ago

I don't think you need to be a chess player to love the film but you do need to enjoy slightly weird films. It obviously couldn't just be about computer chess else it's audience would be nil but it was move about people who find it difficult communicating all being shoved together.

Things I loved:
* genius nerds each incapable of communicating all shoved together in a small hotel
* the character desperate for a room
* the nerdy girl liking the nerdy boy but getting nowhere
* the nerdy boy getting weird sexual advances from all corners
* the encounter (?) group as a foil to the chess tournament
* the conspiracy guys
* the winner with his crown all alone
* the old style black and white filming
* I didn't understand the prostitute at the very end but I liked it nevertheless as it just felt right

Computer dating would be an interesting film - perhaps discussing the concept, trying different algorithms and having the film punctuated by the dates themselves. Some characters could obviously reappear.

[–] Cinefilodough 11 years ago

Was not great nor close to it in my opinion. Was cute here, funny there...I would say it accomplished something with no budget by non-professional actors, without that caveat it kind of just lays flat. The third act is a mess. I love surrealism and twists and turns but this seemed like just pointless experimentation without any even vague sense of direction. Like I doubt it was even meaningful or the product of authentic feeling by the creative end, just a bunch of stuff.

[–] randomlynx 11 years ago

Yeah I mean it could have been fantastic if it had a stronger storyline riding under the surface - like how the chess programs were turning into artificial intelligence or that the other group in the hotel had a parallel reason for being there at the same time, more personal growth for the one geeky character (forgot his name), they might have even explained the cats in a more bizarre fashion because. That last chess duel at the end I was hoping for a bigger payoff, it's not like that program dominated the competition - maybe that character could have been going through an emotional breakdown which could contribute to his poor performance.
Instead some of the more interesting ideas felt a bit tacked on and unfortunately too short to fully enjoy.

And what was the deal with the prostitute at the end? I laughed when she first made an appearance with Papageorge but reappearing at the end was completely out of place and felt weird for the sake of being weird as if they knew they needed one last shock to tie it all up, maybe if they'd had that character exposed to drugs first we could play as a bad trip.

[–] bravo11 11 years ago

Not only a computer, but I also contemplated suicide during the film... went zoom over my head. Well, the theater's a/c was nice...

[–] randomlynx 11 years ago

If you want a film to commit suicide to then I'd suggest Adam Sandler's Going Overboard. I don't know anyone who has watched a whole viewing of the film... they probably ceased to exist upon reaching the credits uninterrupted.

[–] OrestMercator 10 years ago

Yeah, it's *beep* brilliant. Astonishing, mind-blowing, thrilling stuff. Never seen anything like it. Best movie of 2013, by a long shot.

[–] rs-61 10 years ago

of course to non chess players it may be something that they just "don't get".

[–] OrestMercator 10 years ago

If so, I call BS. I'm a non-chess player. I mean I've played a few times, I know some of the rules and the names of the pieces and basically how they move, but that's about it. Otherwise I have very little knowledge of and even less interest in it. (Not a diss; I think it's interesting just not for me.)

The movie's not about chess (or computers or motels or self-help), nor is the brilliance of it. Among other things it's a brilliant use of chess as metaphor, which is essentially what film is. That said, I can only imagine that a person who knows the ins and outs of chess might get something different or even more layered from the movie than what I did. If so, that's awesome.

[–] rs-61 10 years ago

I guess it's not knowing chess as much as being familiar with chess tournaments. the stark contrast with a normal tournament and the way the computer one was depicted was absolutely brilliant-the human opponents friendly chatting as their machines thought about their moves. Of course these days computers are much much quicker...and if I might add a stupid question, you saw the use of chess as a metaphor for what exactly?

[–] OrestMercator 10 years ago

Not a stupid question at all. How we navigate through life.

[–] rs-61 10 years ago

OK,...not an easy or light metaphor....if you are referring to the use of computers in the film then it's more about modern life....

[–] Oskiros-Arg 10 years ago

Yes... I agree ..!!

Oscar
Hablo mejor español :)