[deleted] - Mother! (2017) Discussion

[–] Kazak (2007) 7 years ago

Right. The brain dead masses prefer excessive exposition to metaphor and interpretation. When's the next Marvel?

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I like indie films and have enjoyed movies that are metaphorical and/or open to interpretation, but IMHO, this movie was a waste of my time and money. I went into it not knowing anything other than it is supposed to be an allegory. It was below average until the dinner scene, at which point it just tanked big time. I turned to my friend and asked, "is this movie EVER going to end???" When I went home, I flipped through a number of reviews, which were mixed. One review summed it up nicely for me: the movie is self-indulgent and pretentious.

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[–] CraigJamesReview (1472) 7 years ago

This was art house stuff. It's also messy art house stuff though so i'm not saying it's a good movie.

I'm trying to go for an engaging, funny youtube channel so, if you have the time, take a look. Hope you enjoy what you see. Thanks in advance. A review of the movie here- https://youtu.be/NVoWkfpcMs8

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[–] LetThemEatCake (2717) 7 years ago

and still aronovsky will keep on making movies, unfortunately.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

And you are still commenting on them Marie. At least those movies give you the opportunity to give your opinion. Without them, what would you do? Powder your wig for the ninety-ninth time?

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[–] Drmccormack (743) 7 years ago

Did you see this movie? Did you like it? I'm pretty disappointed to read all these negative things on here. This looked promising in the previews. I was hoping for a good movie. The cast is great.

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[–] Nicko's Nose (1651) 7 years ago

"I was hoping for a good movie"

Well, why not judge it for yourself, genius?

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[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

Plenty of great movies were released to highly mixed, divisive, or overly negative backlash. It's not even a new thing.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

So true. It may find its audience in years to come.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

I would be interested to know what crap Jordan likes. This movie was crazy and shocking. People need to stop going to see Annabelle and see something like this. Annabelle is predictable, this wasn't.

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[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

I liked Annabelle...and I liked this. Doesn't have to be either/or. I'm sure there are people that hated both as well.

I liked them for different reasons. Annabelle was a solid but conventional horror movie, which I will always be a fan of. Predictable? Perhaps a bit but that doesn't make it bad just as being unpredictable doesn't necessarily make something good. If you went to an ice cream shop and they gave you a cone full of manure its something you wouldn't predict but it sure wasn't something you'd like and you probably wouldn't try any of their other stores.

Mother was a completely different animal. It did seem to drag at times but still I couldn't look away. No idea if any inspiration was taken from Roman Polanski but I felt much of the same vibe as I felt watching Repulsion and to a lesser degree Rosemary's Baby (both of which I love). I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending but the journey there was enthralling enough that even a less than satisfactory ending only slightly diminishes my experience with this film.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

I thought Annabelle was predictable and uninspired. It was like so many other horror movies. It wasn't even scary. Mother sort of gave me a panic attack when all those people were in their house. Yes, I see the movie somewhat reminiscent of Polanski and even reminded me of the surreal riot scene at the end of The Day of the Locust. Oh btw, what about the ending didn't you like?

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[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

I'm honestly still not sure how I feel about the ending but (SPOILER ALERT)I think I was expecting an ending somehow grounded in reality. Particularly that Jennifer Lawrence's character was an agoraphobic simply descending into madness (aside from the front porch she doesn't leave the house until the baby is taken from her so I was convinced she was suffering from agoraphobia and also a near crippling case of jealousy whenever her husband shows attention to anyone other than her). Now I realize that may be the predictable outcome, but I would've been fine with that because I was so taken in with the feeling of uneasiness created by the performances throughout. Unless I know going in that the movie is a supernatural thriller I generally prefer an explanation grounded in reality (like the way the old Scooby-doo cartoons used to end).

So most likely my dissatisfaction with the ending is probably just because I guessed wrong...I'm petty like that haha. Honestly I'm still digesting the ending (i.e. My slow brain is still making sense of it) and I may feel better or worse about it in a week.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

A lot of people get dissatisfied when their expectations aren't met. That happened to me with parts of Twin Peaks, but after digesting it, I actually like all of what happened with that show. I am not sure why people do that though, I mean, isn't it better to be surprised than have everything you expected to happen actually happen.

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[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

I guess it depends on what the surprise ends up being. A twist ending can make a good movie great if you didn't see the twist coming. The Prestige does a marvelous job of hiding the twist in plain sight throughout and when you're hit with it at the end, the movie as a whole gels perfectly and that movie becomes a truly special experience (if The Prestige doesn't work for you insert some other movie that gave you that "aha" feeling).

With Mother, regardless of whether or not the ending grows on me anymore, it's not an ending that gave me that "aha" moment that gelled the rest of the movie and made it special. That type of twist is getting harder and harder to pull off so I'll give them credit for going completely unique with Mother. And it's also not to say the ending is not thought provoking or bad, just that for me, the ending didn't do anything to push what I consider to be a very good movie up to that next level.

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[–] Kazak (2007) 7 years ago

Too Late (film) has the best twist in plain sight I can recall in recent memory. Mother! doesn't really have a twist, the end is straightforwardly shown at the very beginning. More of a loop than a twist.

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[–] Dalovlee (40) 7 years ago

of course it bombed. and it might not have flopped so poorly had Jennifer Lawrence not pissed off millions of potential people who would have gone to see it out of curiosity..but she made sure with her stupid political comments that potential viewers turn away. That's a factor in marketing and promoting a film not to piss off people who might pay to see your film. She is box office poison..but Hollywood is in denial, so they will have to see at least 2 more stand alone films of hers flop.

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

"of course it bombed. and it might not have flopped so poorly had Jennifer Lawrence not pissed off millions of potential people who would have gone to see it out of curiosity. . ."

What an utter moron. There isn't a single person who was going to see this movie who would have changed their mind because of her Trump comments. The reason it is flopping is that the public are mostly morons who don't like thinking movies that challenge them. But that's okay--many movies that bored the public have gone on to be respected masterpieces, and my guess is that this is the fate mother! will end up enjoying.

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[–] Dalovlee (40) 7 years ago

It's not moronic at all. If you go to Twitter and read the posters tweets under all the promotion for Mother you would see many people were offended by her political comments. I didn't say it flopped only because of that but it was sweetness for those who she did piss off. How do you know what drove people not to go see it..Are you a mind reader. If Jennifer Lawrence is the Hollywood IT girl, who has legions of fans they would have shown up to support this film. People saw the directors previous movies so clearly his genre of film making has an audience. So don't try to pass it off as people don't want to have their mind's challenged. She is box office poison.

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

"If you go to Twitter and read the posters tweets under all the promotion for Mother you would see many people were offended by her political comments."

That you would think social media responses are an objective measure of anything basically advertises your utter idiocy. Sorry, cupcake, but mother! is an art house movie that was never going to have wide appeal regardless of her popularity as an actress, and there isn't a single knuckle-dragging Trump supporter who would have been interested in it from the beginning.

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[–] Dalovlee (40) 7 years ago

and what is your scientific proof..because you deem the public doesn't like thinking movies? yet the public liked his previous films immensely. So you're just reaching. How would the public know the film unless they viewed it firsthand. They were repelled by her. You can call me all the names in the book but your excuses don't add up. She's box office poison. And people are no longer interested in seeing her. By all accounts her name alone should have pulled people in to see this film after all she is this supposed great thespian..that in itself would be reason for them to want to see her in this art house film. Also let's forget the knuckle draggers..where were all the none knuckle draggers like yourself who love art house films why didn't it do well?

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

Excuse me, clueless idiot, but there is simply no evidence that the movie flopped because of her. In fact, even bad reviews for the film cite her performance as one of the most attractive things about the movie, and she is already in the discussion as a likely Oscar nominee. The public simply has no interest in art house horror films when a blockbuster like It is part of the competition, especially when even good reviews warn viewers that the movie is hard to watch and not for everyone. His previous films didn't generate this kind of talk.

Go ahead--entertain your idiotic fantasies based on the fact that you look at social media generated by fellow morons who already think like you. The adults in the room have no time for such circle-jerks.

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[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Not to mention the number one movie in the box office the past two weeks is It, which had Stephen King pretty vocal in bashing the president leading up to it's release. Put in that perspective and it becomes really silly to think that Lawrence's political comments made any real impact on this film's box office.

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

That's an excellent point, Markdown474. I feel silly for not having thought about it myself!

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[–] Dalovlee (40) 7 years ago

By your logic mate there's no evidence that people put off from her didn't effect it being a flop/ You have no proof either. She's box office poisoned. There's always an excuse when her films tank. Face it she had a good run but audiences are not compelled to see her and then her gobby diarrhea of the mouth stuck a fork in this film. Again you want to ignore that the director has done art house films that drew critical acclaim reviews ergo he has an audiences. But she is repellent. This art house film with a budget of $30 mill. Stop kidding yourself. It's a flop because no one wants to see her... I bet if another actress Natalie Portman was in it... it would have done reasonably better. Or Brie Larson. She tank in another film that wasn't art house Passengers and her lead was on a winning streak. Best she gets plopped in a franchise where she claim success off of being in something that was established. No one would expect this film to beat IT..(different demographic of audience) it didn't even do decent.... it bombed. Again where were all the art house film lovers who showed up for this director's other films?

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

I note with great satisfaction and no surprise that you still have absolutely no evidence to back up your bullshit.

General audiences don't care about the politics of artists the way you idiotic right wingers do. "It" was a huge hit and guess what--Stephen King has been bashing Trump far more loudly and publicly than Lawrence ever has. By your, um "logic", that movie should have flopped. Remember, your entire thesis is based on the idea that she is box office "poison" because of her politics. Oops.

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[–] Barclays (960) 7 years ago

Arthouse? You call that art? It was garbage.

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[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

"Arthouse? You call that art? It was garbage."

Get back to me in a few decades when the critical consensus among those who love film is that it is a masterpiece.

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[–] Barclays (960) 7 years ago

Keep dreaming.
This movie is like when a child who is a bad artist draws a picture that only makes sense to herself, tries to describe her drawing to someone else as the thing that looks like a tree is really a spaceship and those things that look like flowers are really alien beings that have invaded earth. That thing that looks like a sun is actually the aliens space station.

And as the parent you are supposed to pat the child on the head, smile and tell the child that their work is a masterpiece. Then the parent uses deceptive marketing in order to lure hard working patrons into paying look at such pretentious waste of money.

If I wanna see allegories about creation, chaos and the human condition I'll wait for season 2 of Westworld which is a better representation of the same themes and allegories depicted in Mother!
If I wanna see how man's activities have a negative impact on mother nature, I'll watch Al Gore's compelling documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

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[–] Nicko's Nose (1651) 7 years ago

and why is that funny exactly?

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[–] Barclays (960) 7 years ago

This movie was terrible. I really don't care what all the metaphors were supposed to be. It was done terribly. I'm not sure that I even want to see another Aronofski film.

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