“Crimes”? What did Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson get sentenced for? Doesn’t Joe Rogan have one of the most popular podcasts in the world? TBH, that Michael Cera proposal was just as much a shallow caricature as how you describe Nicolas Cage’s character.
I will say that they really fumbled the third act, but everything before that I was really enjoying and I found it interesting how his near affair is what caused everyone’s dreams of him to turn so violent
Interesting. I took it as his rage against his ex-colleague plagiarizing his idea "Antelligence" for her research paper that turned the dreams dark. I'm not saying either of us is right or wrong, that's just how I took it. 🤷
I thought that was the only interesting part of the movie, how his life affected peoples dreams like the hive mind ants he studied. They didn’t go into that at all, could have been cool if he realized what was happening and used it to make a comeback and gave us a law of attraction kind of message. They totally ditched it for a weak ass social commentary though.
Hi, I found the movie extremely moving, and I wouldn't even call it a comedy though I realize most people do consider it as such. But I have a perspective that you don't have. I am a man of a similar age to Nicholas Cage and his character. For me, the movie's deepest point is about what to do with masculinity as you become older and are faced with both your declining physical and mental capacity, and the realization that the dreams you've deferred will never come to be. Appearing in other people's dreams is a beautiful metaphor for how we are helpless to how other people perceive us. The funniest scene for me was the "affair" if you could call it such, because the two don't know or care about each other at all. They are both working out their own fantasies. And yes, after this scene the dreams become violent. Violence is one way to reassert one's masculinity. You see this in the recital/thumb scene. He has no plan. He has only a sense of entitlement. I agree his character is not "likeable" but he is relatable in a way because as I get older I sometimes fail to do it gracefully. He always fails, so in that way he becomes a kind of icon for me, a totem? of that failure, which I find cathartic. The ending was not romantic. It is all in his head. He floats away the same way his daughter does at the beginning of the movie. in fact, I would suggest Cage at the end of the movie is the mysterious thing that falls into the pool at the beginning of the movie, bringing it full circle. What comes down must go up, or vice vers
the stuff about cancel culture and ending up in France, etc, adds the layer of the contemporary to the timeless theme of aging. we are always in public, we are generally ignored, we are constantly seen but utterly lost ... as far as the gen z bracelet stuff, for me that was about how capitalism offers us a sad plastic version of the power we once had. it says it will give you the power to go into other people's dreams but actually it only lets the corporation into your dreams
@@nowculturezineDo you remember when Nic Cage originally became famous online, and got a reputation for being an insane, possibly dangerous man? Based solely on out-of-context clips of his more intense purposes? _That's_ what it's getting at here. Not "cancel culture," but what happened to Nick Cage
This one came and went before I had an opportunity to see it. The vibes I got from the trailer were Great Value Charlie Kaufmann or Spike Jonze. Nic Cage looked like he was giving an interesting performance tho. Now that all the A24 films are ending up on Max, I'll catch up with it later. Loved the end of the video. Please check out Godzilla Minus One. It's a banger.
i completely agree with Jake. i really wanted to love this movie and i was severely underwhelmed, i wanted more dreams, less cancel culture, i would’ve liked to see Nicolas Cage gain some sort of autonomy within the dreams. i didn’t think the cancel culture metaphor landed for me at all, the shift to nightmares felt like it should’ve been more gradual, he should’ve done something worse to make them feel earned
I don't think this film was trying to speak about cancel culture really at all, that's one small element to it. To me it was truly a Jungian exploration of the shadow, as well as collective unconscious. Paul's timidness is so powerful, his shadow self manifests in people's dreams. When he gets angry over the ant article (antelligence also being a metaphor here) the dreams turn into nightmares. It isn't until he finally takes charge at his daughter's play does his ego come to terms with his shadow and he stops being in people's dreams. So I enjoyed it as an exploration of Jungian ideas and I enjoyed the narrative arc of Paul. That said, I will agree that I feel like this is Dollar Store Kaufman and wish it really would've been written by him.
The movie isn't about cancel culture, it's about dealing with sudden and unwanted internet fame and judgement, and what happens when the entire planet turns its eye on you and feels you owe it everything. The performance was him channeling what he felt when he went insanely viral online and videos of his crazier performances and how it all kind of blew up suddenly-he's mentioned that he has been holding onto that experience until he could find a role that it would be useful for, and this was finally it. The reason his performance is so incredible is because of it being _genuinely authentic_ (The same authenticity as with Pig, in fact! And as with Massive Talent, although ironically enough that's been by far his most difficult role to play, due to the nuance needed.)
I totally agree with Jake. The movie entirely abandoned any notion of a narrative underpinning. Reminded me more of "Landscape with Invisible Hand" more than anything, where we're shown this situation that clearly wants to explore a moral impetus, yet it foregoes that to just plainly turn the mirror on society without actually trying to say anything. I expected more of a nightmare version of "Adaptation.".
Totally agree. Wasn’t expecting much going into this one. Saying that as a huge Nick cage fan. I thought it was just going to be like an episode of Rick and Morty inter dimensional cable starting Nick cage, or everything everywhere all at once in its randomness for the sake of being random. The whole theme I thought they were going for was a parallel between his life and work with ants and hive minds, but they totally dumped that for a poor attempt at a social commentary.
The dream ads was literally in a Futurama episode 20 years ago. Also the whole movie I was thinking why doesn't he shave his beard or do something to not get recognized
This is a really interesting debate, I think I’m on Nadia’s side this time but there are interesting points all around. The movie was definitely good and insightful I thought, didn’t go for it as much as I expected though
though I haven't seen the film, I feel like I can relate to jake's feelings a bit more, esp when the correlation was drawn with black mirror. i think black mirror has great concepts, but have often felt frustrated bc the interesting hook/premise just kind of sits there and doesn't evolve, most of the time and i end up feeling frustrated bc i assumed there'd be more substance behind the concept than there typically turns out to be. it's a bit flat, like: i'm going to ask a really intriguing question and then throw up a smorgasboard of ideas and hope that you can cook an answer out of it. and even if you can't, i expect the smorgasboard to be respected bc it takes creativity to be 'weird'.. anyway, idk. sounds like the writing didn't pick a lane and they left it up to the actors and production to make up for it.
Watched the movie, don't know what to think about it so im here Since you guys brought up Charlie Kaufman, his "Im thinking of ending things" is my favorite movie. Im curious about your thoughts on that
Wow Americans really make everything about politics. I thought the movie was about metaphysics and materialism vs dualism. I exploration of consciousness in a world obsessed with materialism. Not that I didn’t get the ‘cancel culture’ part of the movie. I thought it to be more of the framing (because it’s set in Modern day America) rather then the heart of the film.
If (like Jake) you don't think cancel culture is a real problem, then yes, the film's message might rub you the wrong way. But most people do think it's a real problem and that people are increasingly getting harassed and maligned by online mobs for doing little to nothing wrong.
I agree with Jake - just thinking about this movie makes me mad because of how much it blundered an incredible concept
Women always wanna argue with us about dream scenarios! Fellas, am I wrong?!
“Crimes”? What did Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson get sentenced for? Doesn’t Joe Rogan have one of the most popular podcasts in the world?
TBH, that Michael Cera proposal was just as much a shallow caricature as how you describe Nicolas Cage’s character.
Renard trying not to defend the worst people challenge (impossible)
@@stream_runner1975 Lord help any lemming who still thinks those 3 are "the worst people".
@@Wired4Life2 "worst" is obviously a bit of hyperbole, but you do have a laughably predictable tendency to keep defending so many pieces of garbage.
@@stream_runner1975 Lord help any lemming who still thinks those 3 are "pieces of garbage".
I will say that they really fumbled the third act, but everything before that I was really enjoying and I found it interesting how his near affair is what caused everyone’s dreams of him to turn so violent
Interesting. I took it as his rage against his ex-colleague plagiarizing his idea "Antelligence" for her research paper that turned the dreams dark. I'm not saying either of us is right or wrong, that's just how I took it. 🤷
I thought that was the only interesting part of the movie, how his life affected peoples dreams like the hive mind ants he studied. They didn’t go into that at all, could have been cool if he realized what was happening and used it to make a comeback and gave us a law of attraction kind of message. They totally ditched it for a weak ass social commentary though.
Another marriage falls victim to Nicolas Cage
Another Nicolas Cage falls victim to marriage
Hi, I found the movie extremely moving, and I wouldn't even call it a comedy though I realize most people do consider it as such. But I have a perspective that you don't have. I am a man of a similar age to Nicholas Cage and his character. For me, the movie's deepest point is about what to do with masculinity as you become older and are faced with both your declining physical and mental capacity, and the realization that the dreams you've deferred will never come to be. Appearing in other people's dreams is a beautiful metaphor for how we are helpless to how other people perceive us. The funniest scene for me was the "affair" if you could call it such, because the two don't know or care about each other at all. They are both working out their own fantasies. And yes, after this scene the dreams become violent. Violence is one way to reassert one's masculinity. You see this in the recital/thumb scene. He has no plan. He has only a sense of entitlement. I agree his character is not "likeable" but he is relatable in a way because as I get older I sometimes fail to do it gracefully. He always fails, so in that way he becomes a kind of icon for me, a totem? of that failure, which I find cathartic. The ending was not romantic. It is all in his head. He floats away the same way his daughter does at the beginning of the movie. in fact, I would suggest Cage at the end of the movie is the mysterious thing that falls into the pool at the beginning of the movie, bringing it full circle. What comes down must go up, or vice vers
the stuff about cancel culture and ending up in France, etc, adds the layer of the contemporary to the timeless theme of aging. we are always in public, we are generally ignored, we are constantly seen but utterly lost ... as far as the gen z bracelet stuff, for me that was about how capitalism offers us a sad plastic version of the power we once had. it says it will give you the power to go into other people's dreams but actually it only lets the corporation into your dreams
Aggression isn't the only way though, assertiveness (aggressives more humble and mature cousin) is the way to go
@@codypower4298 i agree. aggression is usually a problem
nice take a out perception
@@nowculturezineDo you remember when Nic Cage originally became famous online, and got a reputation for being an insane, possibly dangerous man? Based solely on out-of-context clips of his more intense purposes?
_That's_ what it's getting at here. Not "cancel culture," but what happened to Nick Cage
This one came and went before I had an opportunity to see it. The vibes I got from the trailer were Great Value Charlie Kaufmann or Spike Jonze. Nic Cage looked like he was giving an interesting performance tho. Now that all the A24 films are ending up on Max, I'll catch up with it later.
Loved the end of the video. Please check out Godzilla Minus One. It's a banger.
i completely agree with Jake. i really wanted to love this movie and i was severely underwhelmed, i wanted more dreams, less cancel culture, i would’ve liked to see Nicolas Cage gain some sort of autonomy within the dreams. i didn’t think the cancel culture metaphor landed for me at all, the shift to nightmares felt like it should’ve been more gradual, he should’ve done something worse to make them feel earned
I really enjoyed this conversation. As someone who personally loved this movie, I can hear both of their points and agree. Very good discussion!
I kinda agree with Jake. I got more out of it than you Jake, but I don’t see myself revisiting this one ever. Some great editing moments though!
I don't think this film was trying to speak about cancel culture really at all, that's one small element to it. To me it was truly a Jungian exploration of the shadow, as well as collective unconscious. Paul's timidness is so powerful, his shadow self manifests in people's dreams. When he gets angry over the ant article (antelligence also being a metaphor here) the dreams turn into nightmares. It isn't until he finally takes charge at his daughter's play does his ego come to terms with his shadow and he stops being in people's dreams. So I enjoyed it as an exploration of Jungian ideas and I enjoyed the narrative arc of Paul. That said, I will agree that I feel like this is Dollar Store Kaufman and wish it really would've been written by him.
Love watching your reviews every Saturday
sorry Jake but you whiffed it on this one - your wife's commentary got it right
lol - “what if youre mom was your phone?” is like the most black mirror line ever
The movie isn't about cancel culture, it's about dealing with sudden and unwanted internet fame and judgement, and what happens when the entire planet turns its eye on you and feels you owe it everything.
The performance was him channeling what he felt when he went insanely viral online and videos of his crazier performances and how it all kind of blew up suddenly-he's mentioned that he has been holding onto that experience until he could find a role that it would be useful for, and this was finally it.
The reason his performance is so incredible is because of it being _genuinely authentic_
(The same authenticity as with Pig, in fact! And as with Massive Talent, although ironically enough that's been by far his most difficult role to play, due to the nuance needed.)
I totally agree with Jake. The movie entirely abandoned any notion of a narrative underpinning. Reminded me more of "Landscape with Invisible Hand" more than anything, where we're shown this situation that clearly wants to explore a moral impetus, yet it foregoes that to just plainly turn the mirror on society without actually trying to say anything. I expected more of a nightmare version of "Adaptation.".
im on board with Jake on this one
p.s. I had the same conversation with a friend who tried to correlate DS to Beau Is Afraid, ha.
Totally agree. Wasn’t expecting much going into this one. Saying that as a huge Nick cage fan. I thought it was just going to be like an episode of Rick and Morty inter dimensional cable starting Nick cage, or everything everywhere all at once in its randomness for the sake of being random. The whole theme I thought they were going for was a parallel between his life and work with ants and hive minds, but they totally dumped that for a poor attempt at a social commentary.
i loved the first half of this movie, but i think the ending fizzled out and lost its pace
The dream ads was literally in a Futurama episode 20 years ago. Also the whole movie I was thinking why doesn't he shave his beard or do something to not get recognized
This is a really interesting debate, I think I’m on Nadia’s side this time but there are interesting points all around. The movie was definitely good and insightful I thought, didn’t go for it as much as I expected though
though I haven't seen the film, I feel like I can relate to jake's feelings a bit more, esp when the correlation was drawn with black mirror. i think black mirror has great concepts, but have often felt frustrated bc the interesting hook/premise just kind of sits there and doesn't evolve, most of the time and i end up feeling frustrated bc i assumed there'd be more substance behind the concept than there typically turns out to be. it's a bit flat, like: i'm going to ask a really intriguing question and then throw up a smorgasboard of ideas and hope that you can cook an answer out of it. and even if you can't, i expect the smorgasboard to be respected bc it takes creativity to be 'weird'..
anyway, idk. sounds like the writing didn't pick a lane and they left it up to the actors and production to make up for it.
Watched the movie, don't know what to think about it so im here
Since you guys brought up Charlie Kaufman, his "Im thinking of ending things" is my favorite movie. Im curious about your thoughts on that
valid points were made by both of the carrying team
my bar was low hut i loved it
I see both points! Love your reviews!
I feel like both of you were leaning too far into politocal commentary. I don't think the movie was trying to make any sort of political statement.
Wow Americans really make everything about politics.
I thought the movie was about metaphysics and materialism vs dualism. I exploration of consciousness in a world obsessed with materialism.
Not that I didn’t get the ‘cancel culture’ part of the movie. I thought it to be more of the framing (because it’s set in Modern day America) rather then the heart of the film.
Tár-ception
This film sounds like a Ben Shapiro's type of "entertainment".
If (like Jake) you don't think cancel culture is a real problem, then yes, the film's message might rub you the wrong way. But most people do think it's a real problem and that people are increasingly getting harassed and maligned by online mobs for doing little to nothing wrong.
Like the point makes sense I get it completely, but it’s just not very interesting, it doesn’t feel like I’d gain any insight from a rewatch.
10:08 the look every man gives when he asks his woman how her day was and she responds