The reason the score in Nightcrawler sounded so positive is because it was based of Louis' perspective; he honestly believe what he was doing was beautiful art when it was actually horrible in the eyes of a person who isn't a sociopath.
I was hoping for a Marvel Nightcrawler and Cartoon Network Birdman movie. What I got were two original, intelligent, critically acclaimed films. Stop crushing my dreams, Hollywood!
Jake Gyllenhaal is present in every scene in Nightcrawler. There is not a single scene without him present. Cool direction for a movie about a sociopath.
It makes sense because the movie is basically his characters version of a rags to riches story and it's all his perspective. I disagree with jay not liking the score, the whimsical music when he moved the body I always assumed was internalized. Like that psychopath was happy and excited for what he was doing and how it'll help his career.
The thing about Nightcrawler's score is that it, like the rest of the movie, is from Gyllenhaal's character's point of view. It sounds saccharine and dramatic because that's how his character sees what he's doing. That's why the soundtrack made me uncomfortable, honestly; you watch his character be an absolute scumbag, manipulating people to his own ends, and then you hear Forest Gump music. I thought the dissonance worked really well.
+ZPM7 But isn't that weird to have the music be from the perception of the crazy main character? The main character isn't relatable to an audience member because he is batshit insane. And the music should be telling the audience that he is batshit insane.
@@N8oRMusic It's not, it just hides it's cuts very sharply, which in my opinion is no less of an achievement. On the other hand, if you're looking for a real one-take film, Russian Arc is just that, with 2000+ actors and pretty elaborate ballroom choreography. Would suggest.
The music for Nightcrawler is fantastic. Everything fit perfectly and was memorable. The score is supposed to fit with what Jake's character is thinking, it gives insight into the character. It was really brilliantly done.
7d7e7f7 Agreed. JNH is a fantastic composer. Among my favorites of his works are _King Kong_, _Michael Clayton_, and _Signs_. (In fact, score is the only saving grace for _Signs_, IMO). Why wouldn't he list those films.
+7d7e7f7 That's exactly my thoughts. The score didn't fit, but in a very good way. It seemed like it was meant to clash, which made me 10x more uncomfortable than if they had gone with a Gone Girl/Drive-esque score. Because then the film, and by extension Lou, would've known what he was doing was wrong. But with the music siding with Lou and his actions, it makes you feel way more disturbed, and it works out beautifully.
2014 was a damn fine year for movies. Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Imitation Game, Nightcrawler, Birdman, Boyhood. Great stuff, in fact I don't think I've EVER enjoyed so many movies in the same year.
Mysterious Coconut 2016 was fantastic!!! It's nice to see that an indie like Arrival managed to appear as a big studio blockbuster. Hear me out, but if you're looking for the Mad Max Fury Road of this year... La La Land is for you! This isn't because it's the best movie of the year (though it really is). La La Land is similar because of it's technical achievements and how glued to the screen people have gotten. Everything on the screen is incredibly thought out and choreographed from the choice of color, the clothes, and the huge sense of scale in the musical numbers. No film this year came close to giving me the theater experience I had with La La Land. Not to mention it's story deals with things so universal, it'll strike a cord with everyone, I think.
@Luigi Nastro nope unfortunately 😔, after that huge snub that year I've never watched the Oscars again. Literally the only reason he wasn't nominated is because he refused to ass kiss the academy & do the campaign bullshit. It should be based on performance alone but unfortunately isn't.
Mike's criticism of the score "clashing" with the tone of the movie is really interesting, because I noticed it too. About half-way through the movie, I was thinking to myself, "This soundtrack is kind of bland. I don't think I like it." And then when it got to the part that Mike mentioned (with the sappy, sentimental music) my opinion totally changed. I realised that the clash in the soundtrack was very intentional. If you consider the film a dark comedy instead of a thriller, it totally works. The music shows you how Jake Gyllenhaal's character feels. When he breaks into that first crime scene, the music is beautiful and uplifting whereas most movies dealing with this subject matter would've misguidedly made it tense, and therefore cheesy.
This is exactly what I was thinking. This film is not in the tone that mike suggesting, but the other side, trying to make it into the "the guy that ready to snap growing into a success" kind of screenplay. And you can get that from the interview with the screen writer.
@@jorschachblatant1934 It's been a while so I dont entirely remember, but I'm pretty sure that in the beginning when he beats up the security guard and steals his watch there was little to no music. Basically just soft ambiance, like those sorts of shenanigans are everyday life for the character and holds no importance. That really sets the mood for the rest of the movie. I could also be going senile and cant remember shit. But I think that's what happens.
@@jorschachblatant1934 It's a movie in which people do shit, similar to that other movie in which people do shit, but different shit. I hope that helped.
The guy who plays Jake Gyllenhaal's assistant, Riz Ahmed, is a very gifted actor. He's excellent in Chris Morris' "Four Lions," a tragic black comedy that's well worth seeing.
Bro, he gave a career-defining performance in venom. Have you seen venom? Venom is a masterpiece. Have you heard eminem's magnum opus venom? Venuuuuuuum
there's an element of that in it definitely. it feels very critical of many aspects of american culture. but it seems focused on showing us the mind of a psychopath with no morality. if I had to take my best guess at what the movie's themes are, it is a dark message that people like lou bloom are the ones who rise to the top in america. However, its not something that's unique to america, not in the slightest. That's just everywhere.
I though the beginning was a great way to set the whole film up. Not even a shady construction foreman would hire him because he's so scummy, but as soon as he picks up a camera and gets footage, the news station immediately picks him up. This just further reinforces the movie's point about the state of news in america. Not even a construction worker would work this horrible person, but the media clamours for him.
Well construction workers are honest, hardworking people who literally build the world you live in, why would they want a scrawny creep working for them?
I thought one of the RLM people recut it and added an unnecessary pop song to make fun of it but apparently the trailer house who made it had no idea what to market the film as.
I loved Nightcrawler. I loved that the film didn't get too dark or shocking. It was like all of the suspense of a slasher film but with a much more subtle darkness. American Psycho minus the murder. Lou's super strange behavior makes you so sure that he's going to flip out so you're just tense the whole time. I kept thinking "oh boy, he's going to start making his own news" and I was so sure he'd start killing people in order to have something to film. The fact that this film was so surprising in it's plot and storyline was refreshing and exciting. Great chase scenes, amazing performances, and unique plot and tone made this movie awesome.
Ok i just watched both these movies, they are both fantastic. However i have been researching a few peoples reviews of Nightcrawler, and something has greatly frustrated me. A lot of people have said they would prefer the movie if David Fincher or Nicolas Winding Refn had directed it. This is sooooo lazy. David Fincher is a fantastic director sure, but he always delivers the same thing. This movie although reminiscent of movies like Drive or Zodiac, this is different and different in a way i don't believe a director like Fincher or refn could have done. Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this movie, without him this movie doesn't exist. Jake Gyllenhall gives the best performance of his life, but that performance was originally written by Gilroy and then perfected by Gyllenhaal and Gilroy. Lets not wish away new diverse film makers by wishing all films to fit into neat little packages we are accustomed to already seeing. This is a Masterful piece of work, Lets celebrate the arrival of an incredible first time writer and director.
I think the fact that Refn didn't direct is a blessing in disguise. Nightcrawler feels more like it's own masterpiece. If Refn directed, people probably would've thought it was just a Drive sequel.
For some reason, I can no longer watch the videos on the site. At least not the ones that are hosted by blip. I have no idea why. It started a couple of weeks ago. I have no ad block or anything like that, and I can't find anyone who can tell me what the problem is. Now I have to wait till their reviews make it to youtube. :(
slingshotmcoy I thought that at first too but I went to go see it cause it still sounded really interesting and I really loved it. Jake Gyllenhaal's performance made that movie.
MasterOfCookies8 Just search "Nightcrawler trailer" on TH-cam. I think the trailer they showed wasn't the first result of the search, but... go ahead, it's a goddamn trailer, why is it so hard to find?
I think the score in Nightcrawler was purposefully ironic and it definitely had a lot of dark comedy, I see it more like American Psycho than Taxi Driver in tone and themes
I love James Newton Howard. He did the scores for "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", "Treasure Planet", and "Peter Pan", some of my favorite movies of all time.
And the point of the character of Lou was that he WAS scripty. Lou is a sociopath, and doesn't know or like interacting with people, so all of his dialogue was meant to come out as scripty, strange, and forced.
"That's because the house is filled with air! That's why we're taping up the windows, you... FUCK!!" is probably the best line I've ever heard in any of Red Letter Media's... media.
I'm very surprised at Mike's reaction. The music was genius, the shock was there even without gratuitous violence, and the whole thing comes off like American Psycho without trying too hard. It was great
I love watching movies like Birdman and Nightcrawler and paying attention to things like the soundtrack and the lighting and all. It really makes the experience that much better.
Speaking of the composer of the Nightcrawler score, he also did: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Sixth Sense, Primal Fear, Falling Down & about 100 other movies... so he's done good and bad... :)
I think both the score and scripty sounding dialogue in Nightcrawler worked perfectly in their own way, and I think both were intentional. The music is kind of offputting but it made me even more uncomfortable, sort of a more subtle and effective version of something like classical music playing over horrific violence. Everything the main character said seemed very well rehearsed, yet rushed and poorly delivered, and that exact way of speaking remained consistent throughout the movie only getting more urgent and less practiced as the subject matter demanded it.
I interpreted the ending of Birdman that Michael Keaton's character removing the bandages (which symbolizes his Birdman mask) represents that he is no longer known as Birdman, but as the crazy motherfucker who did that crazy thing on stage. Then we see him jump out the window, it's not suicide it's him "flying high" once again. Great movie, Alejandro G. Iñárritu should win best director for one of the best technically brilliant films ever directed in recent history.
I believe the kiss in Birdman was making fun of the audience and Hollywood. Fitting in with the "explosions, aren't you happy now, this is what Hollywood is and what the audience wants" theme through the movie. I felt they were making fun of the 'need' of having a lesbian kiss in a movies and in movie trailers. It felt out of place because it was meant to feel out of place. It was another statement on Hollywood.
I love the music because it sticks out in Nightcrawler. It's like the music that's playing in the main characters head, cuz he believes in what he's doing, he's the hero, therefore the music. Why say all music is not noticable in movies and that's bad - then not putting the effort in to think about the noticable music in a movie and what it says.
Another great episode guys! I actually enjoyed the NIGHTCRAWLER score, inasmuch I felt it was reflecting the protagonist's psyche. In his mind, this is a rags-to-riches story, and the traditional "heroic" score is what he'd use if we was directing his own biopic. It's also, as you mentioned, kind of a black comedy, and the juxtaposition of the soaring music with the twisted subject matter is part of that.
I have to agree with Nightcrawler as a movie doesn't stand up to movies like Taxi Driver. But i do feel Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar for his role and I've never been a fan of him.
Only just recently got turned onto RLM, & I am now officially on the hype train until the end because these geniuses found a way to squeeze in Corey Feldman's "Ascension Millennium" music video. RLM BLESS
I stopped watching 10 minutes in, went and watched nightcrawler, now I'm back to finish. Maybe it's just that I was looking for it because of what mike and jay said, but I noticed traits of a sociopath almost right from the get-go.
James Newton Howard has produced one of my all time favourite soundtracks, "The Egg Travels" from Disney's "Dinosaur". He is as competent as they come so I'm sure the score is that way for a good reason.
If Mike and Jay had just said up front that Birdman was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, it would have saved me 20 minutes. I don't think that man has directed a bad film in his life.
Loved Nightcrawler! It was just an amazing and creepy film! Birdman was a real surprise. I came in knowing nothing at all about it except the title and it was quite a thing.
As far as the score for Nightcrawler goes, I thought the point of what Mike calls a "traditional Hollywood score" was to put some sort of dissonance on the scene. The uplifting, go-getting, pulling up by the bootstraps type of message I think the score was trying to get across contrasted with the terrifying reality of the subject matter. The score was not from the audience's point of view; it was from the perspective of the main character. He sees himself as a hero and an up and coming business man, and that's what I feel the score achieves.
Years ago, way after Tim Burton's Batman, I once spotted Michael Keaton in a Pizza joint in St Louis with his entire family... I was young and foolish, so I ran up to his table and shouted, "OMG, you're BATMAN!". It was a clear interruption of a very normal family pizza night, and he just looked at me and said very wisely, "I know; you are interrupting our dinner." and he raised his hand and ushered me away from his family and dinner. I was humiliated, but I deserved it. Of course I'll never forget that moment, and over time, of course I realized how bizarre it must be to be a famous movie star and have your entire life twisted around like that. Then I saw Birdman and it all sorta made more sense to me. Of course Michael Keaton is awesome in his many roles... and we as humans love our entertainment... but it's definitely NOT COOL to be star-struck and intrusive like my young and stoopid-ass antics. I guess we all fall into that, but it's better to just respect their talents, than obsess over their stardom. Sorry for interrupting your family dinner Michael Keaton. Just thought I'd share.
When I was 8 or 9 I remember seeing Brian Dennehy at a restaurant in Santa Fe and was so excited to see him I went over and sat down at the table with him and all the people he was with (friends? family? who knows it was over 30 years ago!) and I remember almost immediately realizing I'd fucked up and then got back up and slunk back over to our table. Nobody said anything or acknowledged me, I wonder if they just thought I sat at the wrong table lol
Nightcrawler was super well done. Impressive acting, directing, screenplay. Super memorable. I'll also say that I thought the lack of cinematic flare (at times) helped ground the premise itself, if that makes any sense. It's like seeing a car crash in real life, vs in a Michael Bay movie, except in this case, Louis (Jake) is then trying to add that drama or chaos to the toned down "realness", to add value to the footage.
What made Nightcrawler so great for me wasn't actually Gyllenhaal's performance. It was the direction. Almost every scene was just perfectly shot for what it was. And I mean this in stark contrast to how movies are usually shot nowadays. Most modern movies go for a style that I would call 'bombastic'. This however was much much more subdued when it comes to the camerawork. Everything felt sooo real and tangible! Just lots of POV shots, ground level, out of cars, from a distance, interesting camera angles instead of crazy close-ups and fly-by cameras.
The music you are describing is the LA guitar sound. Very clean, lots of reverb, sounds almost acoustic if it wasn't for how clear it sounds. The music is specific to the area. You can find good examples of it in Veronica Mars and Vampire: The Masquerade.
The Nightcrawler poster you showed was in German =D Great Episode as always, love the michigan lake storyline, just stay like this forever. You're the best and I don't just mean Mike and Jay. Jesse, Jack, Rich, Josh, Colin and everyone else involved in any way are the best.
I kept anticipating Gyllenhall's character would get his comeuppance by the end of the film somehow, but he actually pulled through, which was pretty cool, hehe.
That music though, I couldn't agree more. The MC is a fucking psychopath and the score is written like he's a programming prodigy that just created a new startup.
I personally probably preferred Nightcrawler to Drive. Drive was great, it had a great soundtrack, but it was a pretty by the numbers story. Lone wolf badass starts to care about female or child or both who wind up in danger and he saves them type of deal. Nightcrawler on the other hand did leave me guessing, I honestly thought the story would culminate in his reckless sociopathic actions causing his downfall, but they took my expectation and flipped it on its head by having Jake's character come out ontop in every element.
I feel like the score was intentionally off. Like it was heroic music playing in Jake's head and not music that really fit the scene. The problem is that it was too jarring and just brought me out of the movie more than once and got me thinking about 'the movie' rather than being involved in the story. Pretty much the opposite of what a good score should do. I like what they tries to do but it didn't work.
The score bugged me at first but then I started thinking about it from the perspective of Jake's character and it fell in place really nicely. From the outside, it makes no sense that the score is so triumphant and positive at times, but if you think about it from his perspective, it actually works quite well. No idea if that was intentional but hey, it works for me.
The music was brilliant. It was to romanticize Lou's inflated, narcissistic, psychopathic delusion of himself. The accident scene was designed to make himself look like a superhero. The music was completely sarcastic and ironic by design.
just came from the theater, birdman is fantastic! the director's other movies are also really great, if you have not seen them, then i highly recommend doing so - that man is worth his weight in gold.
Mike, you hack, the score for Nightcrawler works because it’s NOT AGGRESSIVE. Our lead takes care of the sociopathic elements the film wants us to feel, but since he’s our protagonist, we need those optimistic & go-getter vibes that surround him. It’s like telling an actor they’re a villain, so here’s your evil theme; you would never do that.
![ค้างคืนโรงเก็บกระสวยอวกาศร้างกลางทะเลทราย [Around The World Ep. 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E5bWZQhABJE/mqdefault.jpg)
The reason the score in Nightcrawler sounded so positive is because it was based of Louis' perspective; he honestly believe what he was doing was beautiful art when it was actually horrible in the eyes of a person who isn't a sociopath.
The score was so opposite from what was actually in the movie that it felt intentional instead of just cheesy. I liked it.
@Descartes' Apparition you watched the movie??
Descartes' Apparition lmao yeah go watch the movie bud
I just left a comment saying this exact thing. Glad to know I wasn't the only one that thought that's what they were trying to portray
@@stephengrigg5988 Great film.
I was hoping for a Marvel Nightcrawler and Cartoon Network Birdman movie. What I got were two original, intelligent, critically acclaimed films. Stop crushing my dreams, Hollywood!
This
TobiasMakesNoise Ah, the good old "This" reply. The most cringe worthy reply to anything on the internet.
eastendthug *tips fedora*
eastendthug
No that goes to anyone who says "Lulz so random" unironically.
eastendthug Yeah you said mate. Well that and " 'nuff said " are just the worst things I can see in a fucking forum. Ughh...
Jake Gyllenhaal is present in every scene in Nightcrawler. There is not a single scene without him present.
Cool direction for a movie about a sociopath.
+Queqs I suppose it adds to extremity of his character, we're never given a break from him.
Fast forward 4 years to Joker
Raj Prabhu joker was lame tbh
It makes sense because the movie is basically his characters version of a rags to riches story and it's all his perspective. I disagree with jay not liking the score, the whimsical music when he moved the body I always assumed was internalized. Like that psychopath was happy and excited for what he was doing and how it'll help his career.
@@FirstnameLastname-gs3ow he's all bar one scene of that movie though. The crime alley scene. Which kinda goes against the entire film
The thing about Nightcrawler's score is that it, like the rest of the movie, is from Gyllenhaal's character's point of view. It sounds saccharine and dramatic because that's how his character sees what he's doing. That's why the soundtrack made me uncomfortable, honestly; you watch his character be an absolute scumbag, manipulating people to his own ends, and then you hear Forest Gump music. I thought the dissonance worked really well.
+ZPM7 But isn't that weird to have the music be from the perception of the crazy main character? The main character isn't relatable to an audience member because he is batshit insane. And the music should be telling the audience that he is batshit insane.
If you need music cues to know that the character is batshit insane I question your sanity.
Joel Hassig
I've seen some f'd up movies
Serbian Film?
I agree with you 100%
"That's why we're taping up the windows, you ffffffFFFUCK!"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think that's the best one I've ever heard from Mike, and I've heard a lot.
no he doesn't
Nightcrawler is my favorite standalone X-Men movie to date. It's amazing what they can come up with when they ditch the source material altogether!
It would be great if you did the Birdman review in one continuous take.
subkontrabasklarinet or 40
It would be great if, for the Nightcrawler review, they got Robert Elswit to shoot it.
Or just have Rich walk in front of the camera before and after every edit
@@N8oRMusic It's not, it just hides it's cuts very sharply, which in my opinion is no less of an achievement. On the other hand, if you're looking for a real one-take film, Russian Arc is just that, with 2000+ actors and pretty elaborate ballroom choreography. Would suggest.
The music for Nightcrawler is fantastic. Everything fit perfectly and was memorable. The score is supposed to fit with what Jake's character is thinking, it gives insight into the character. It was really brilliantly done.
7d7e7f7
Agreed. JNH is a fantastic composer. Among my favorites of his works are _King Kong_, _Michael Clayton_, and _Signs_. (In fact, score is the only saving grace for _Signs_, IMO). Why wouldn't he list those films.
+7d7e7f7 That's exactly my thoughts. The score didn't fit, but in a very good way. It seemed like it was meant to clash, which made me 10x more uncomfortable than if they had gone with a Gone Girl/Drive-esque score. Because then the film, and by extension Lou, would've known what he was doing was wrong. But with the music siding with Lou and his actions, it makes you feel way more disturbed, and it works out beautifully.
Arthur Hakhverdian how dare you say that about signs? TAKE THAT BACK!
So, you're saying it was stylistically designed to be that way?
2014 was a damn fine year for movies.
Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Imitation Game, Nightcrawler, Birdman, Boyhood.
Great stuff, in fact I don't think I've EVER enjoyed so many movies in the same year.
ttv0 I did hear it took them twelve years, can you imagine spending twelve years shooting a movie?
Twelve years!
did u say 12 years??? Wow it must be good! 12 years, twelve whole yaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrssssssssss
Mysterious Coconut 2016 was elevated purely because of arrival, nocturnal animals and especially the handmaiden
Mysterious Coconut 2016 was fantastic!!! It's nice to see that an indie like Arrival managed to appear as a big studio blockbuster. Hear me out, but if you're looking for the Mad Max Fury Road of this year... La La Land is for you! This isn't because it's the best movie of the year (though it really is). La La Land is similar because of it's technical achievements and how glued to the screen people have gotten. Everything on the screen is incredibly thought out and choreographed from the choice of color, the clothes, and the huge sense of scale in the musical numbers. No film this year came close to giving me the theater experience I had with La La Land. Not to mention it's story deals with things so universal, it'll strike a cord with everyone, I think.
Porco-Dio FIlm boyhood was butt
I just skip the reviews to follow the awesome main story.
True
@@eljuro92 False
@@MacetazzOpina blows marijuana smoke through your screen
@@sameash3153 licks your tongue through your earholes
These were 2 of the best movies to come out in YEARS. It was a joke that Gyllenhaal didn't get nominated.
@Luigi Nastro nope unfortunately 😔, after that huge snub that year I've never watched the Oscars again. Literally the only reason he wasn't nominated is because he refused to ass kiss the academy & do the campaign bullshit. It should be based on performance alone but unfortunately isn't.
I thought Birdman was just another mediocre DC movie and Nightcrawler was another mediocre X-Men movie. I'm glad I was wrong on both counts.
Sean O'Reilly I was hoping for Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, so i was quite disappointed.
Birdman's Hanna Barbera, you uncultured fuq.
Mike's criticism of the score "clashing" with the tone of the movie is really interesting, because I noticed it too. About half-way through the movie, I was thinking to myself, "This soundtrack is kind of bland. I don't think I like it." And then when it got to the part that Mike mentioned (with the sappy, sentimental music) my opinion totally changed.
I realised that the clash in the soundtrack was very intentional. If you consider the film a dark comedy instead of a thriller, it totally works. The music shows you how Jake Gyllenhaal's character feels. When he breaks into that first crime scene, the music is beautiful and uplifting whereas most movies dealing with this subject matter would've misguidedly made it tense, and therefore cheesy.
Yeah it’s definitely not a dark comedy but you’re on the right track forsure
This is exactly what I was thinking. This film is not in the tone that mike suggesting, but the other side, trying to make it into the "the guy that ready to snap growing into a success" kind of screenplay. And you can get that from the interview with the screen writer.
@@jorschachblatant1934 It's been a while so I dont entirely remember, but I'm pretty sure that in the beginning when he beats up the security guard and steals his watch there was little to no music. Basically just soft ambiance, like those sorts of shenanigans are everyday life for the character and holds no importance. That really sets the mood for the rest of the movie.
I could also be going senile and cant remember shit. But I think that's what happens.
@@SirNilzey Well... I certainly cannot remember shit about this film...
@@jorschachblatant1934 It's a movie in which people do shit, similar to that other movie in which people do shit, but different shit.
I hope that helped.
Kinda funny looking back on Birdman now that Keaton has been cast as the Vulture in an upcoming Marvel movie.
I loved the score in Nightcrawler. Really makes you feel the character's sense of heroism--how he felt about himself. Really unsettling.
best intro in ages
The guy who plays Jake Gyllenhaal's assistant, Riz Ahmed, is a very gifted actor. He's excellent in Chris Morris' "Four Lions," a tragic black comedy that's well worth seeing.
Bro, he gave a career-defining performance in venom. Have you seen venom? Venom is a masterpiece. Have you heard eminem's magnum opus venom? Venuuuuuuum
Holy shit, didn't even know that was him and I've seen both movies several times.
Nightcrawler is like a grim parody of the American dream. It has all the beats of a rags to riches story, but it's dark.
It’s Dark.
there's an element of that in it definitely. it feels very critical of many aspects of american culture. but it seems focused on showing us the mind of a psychopath with no morality. if I had to take my best guess at what the movie's themes are, it is a dark message that people like lou bloom are the ones who rise to the top in america. However, its not something that's unique to america, not in the slightest. That's just everywhere.
I though the beginning was a great way to set the whole film up. Not even a shady construction foreman would hire him because he's so scummy, but as soon as he picks up a camera and gets footage, the news station immediately picks him up. This just further reinforces the movie's point about the state of news in america. Not even a construction worker would work this horrible person, but the media clamours for him.
Well construction workers are honest, hardworking people who literally build the world you live in, why would they want a scrawny creep working for them?
Don't think Mike realized in Nightcrawler the score was supposed to be made up of stuff you would hear on News Channels (and that's why I liked it!)
That nightcrawler trailer at the start is horrible at reflecting what the film actually is. Good job marketing exects'
I thought one of the RLM people recut it and added an unnecessary pop song to make fun of it but apparently the trailer house who made it had no idea what to market the film as.
Kevin Maryles Yeah, its a damn shame too. Most people would have just dismissed the film, thinking it was some sort of shitty comedy film.
Kevin Maryles unnecessary pop song 😂
@@oxxenchillero the whole wiping out the minus from the A- is brimming with cringe
@@frankmerker630 studios sure have a way with trailers
I loved Nightcrawler. I loved that the film didn't get too dark or shocking. It was like all of the suspense of a slasher film but with a much more subtle darkness. American Psycho minus the murder. Lou's super strange behavior makes you so sure that he's going to flip out so you're just tense the whole time. I kept thinking "oh boy, he's going to start making his own news" and I was so sure he'd start killing people in order to have something to film. The fact that this film was so surprising in it's plot and storyline was refreshing and exciting. Great chase scenes, amazing performances, and unique plot and tone made this movie awesome.
Ok i just watched both these movies, they are both fantastic.
However i have been researching a few peoples reviews of Nightcrawler, and something has greatly frustrated me.
A lot of people have said they would prefer the movie if David Fincher or Nicolas Winding Refn had directed it. This is sooooo lazy. David Fincher is a fantastic director sure, but he always delivers the same thing. This movie although reminiscent of movies like Drive or Zodiac, this is different and different in a way i don't believe a director like Fincher or refn could have done.
Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this movie, without him this movie doesn't exist. Jake Gyllenhall gives the best performance of his life, but that performance was originally written by Gilroy and then perfected by Gyllenhaal and Gilroy.
Lets not wish away new diverse film makers by wishing all films to fit into neat little packages we are accustomed to already seeing.
This is a Masterful piece of work, Lets celebrate the arrival of an incredible first time writer and director.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
100% agree
true that bro true that
I think the fact that Refn didn't direct is a blessing in disguise. Nightcrawler feels more like it's own masterpiece. If Refn directed, people probably would've thought it was just a Drive sequel.
Spot on, I know I’m late but that’s what happens in quarantine
Everytime I see a new video come out I get so happy. Then I realize I've already watched it on your site because I'm impatient.
God damn it.
For some reason, I can no longer watch the videos on the site. At least not the ones that are hosted by blip. I have no idea why. It started a couple of weeks ago. I have no ad block or anything like that, and I can't find anyone who can tell me what the problem is. Now I have to wait till their reviews make it to youtube. :(
huntejt yeah, a couple of years ago i tried to watch Amazing Spiderman review on the site and it crashed my PC, so i stick to the TH-cam versions.
Thats right gents, you heard him... Jay's a top, its finally settled
You were following the controversy. Were you hoping for top?
No homo
Lol is he REALLY gay? I’ve been wondering
@@ezekel.4656 No, it's just a running joke.
Wow, was that actually a trailer for Nightcrawler? Jesus
Yea it's a pretty shitty trailer
slingshotmcoy
I thought that at first too but I went to go see it cause it still sounded really interesting and I really loved it. Jake Gyllenhaal's performance made that movie.
Eidlones It was kinda awesome in my opinion.
Curtis Louthan Link to the trailer?
MasterOfCookies8 Just search "Nightcrawler trailer" on TH-cam. I think the trailer they showed wasn't the first result of the search, but... go ahead, it's a goddamn trailer, why is it so hard to find?
I think the score in Nightcrawler was purposefully ironic and it definitely had a lot of dark comedy, I see it more like American Psycho than Taxi Driver in tone and themes
Good to see where OceanGate got its sub design
Watching this and realizing that both of the main characters for each film eventually became the MCU Spider-Man villains.
30:18 pretty much described Michael Keatons role in Homecoming
You have to wonder if it was a very conscious decision to cast Keaton as Vulture, i.e., a bird man.
Spider-man villains, specifically. Two of the best, as well.
I love James Newton Howard. He did the scores for "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", "Treasure Planet", and "Peter Pan", some of my favorite movies of all time.
Birdman, fighter of the nightcrawlerman
aaaaaaaaaaaah
I like the higher blue levels in the video. Because underwater!
just watched both Nightcrawler and Birdman back to back, then I came across this video... mind=blown
If you watch these videos in reverse order the goofy plot segments get even better.
And the point of the character of Lou was that he WAS scripty. Lou is a sociopath, and doesn't know or like interacting with people, so all of his dialogue was meant to come out as scripty, strange, and forced.
He didn't say the dialogue was scripty, he said the beats of the story were. He said the dialogue was spot on. Did you even watch the video?
The score made Nightcrawler, the clash made it amazing ! Having beautiful music next to horrible speeches and images makes them stand out.
James Newton Howard has done some of my favorite soundtracks, like Waterworld, King Kong, Blood Diamond, Batman Begins, Alive, even The Tourist.
Same.. It kinda pisses me off that they blatantly ignored all of his great scores
"That's because the house is filled with air! That's why we're taping up the windows, you... FUCK!!" is probably the best line I've ever heard in any of Red Letter Media's... media.
I'm very surprised at Mike's reaction. The music was genius, the shock was there even without gratuitous violence, and the whole thing comes off like American Psycho without trying too hard. It was great
Also the fact that he named all of the bad movies that James newton howard did as if those were the only movies he scored seemed a bit manipulative
I love watching movies like Birdman and Nightcrawler and paying attention to things like the soundtrack and the lighting and all. It really makes the experience that much better.
Speaking of the composer of the Nightcrawler score, he also did:
Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Sixth Sense, Primal Fear, Falling Down & about 100 other movies... so he's done good and bad... :)
I think both the score and scripty sounding dialogue in Nightcrawler worked perfectly in their own way, and I think both were intentional. The music is kind of offputting but it made me even more uncomfortable, sort of a more subtle and effective version of something like classical music playing over horrific violence. Everything the main character said seemed very well rehearsed, yet rushed and poorly delivered, and that exact way of speaking remained consistent throughout the movie only getting more urgent and less practiced as the subject matter demanded it.
I interpreted the ending of Birdman that Michael Keaton's character removing the bandages (which symbolizes his Birdman mask) represents that he is no longer known as Birdman, but as the crazy motherfucker who did that crazy thing on stage. Then we see him jump out the window, it's not suicide it's him "flying high" once again. Great movie, Alejandro G. Iñárritu should win best director for one of the best technically brilliant films ever directed in recent history.
Joe Blo That's kinda what I thought too.
The story of the film was uninteresting, but yay, it was stylistic and different.
I believe the kiss in Birdman was making fun of the audience and Hollywood. Fitting in with the "explosions, aren't you happy now, this is what Hollywood is and what the audience wants" theme through the movie. I felt they were making fun of the 'need' of having a lesbian kiss in a movies and in movie trailers. It felt out of place because it was meant to feel out of place. It was another statement on Hollywood.
I love the music because it sticks out in Nightcrawler. It's like the music that's playing in the main characters head, cuz he believes in what he's doing, he's the hero, therefore the music.
Why say all music is not noticable in movies and that's bad - then not putting the effort in to think about the noticable music in a movie and what it says.
Jeez, is it almost Fuck You, It's January time again? Time sure does fly.
*cocks shotgun* i'll go first
I thought the score to Nightcrawler became a character of its own, which is a pretty rare, special thing.
You fellas have amazing insights! Love Half In The Bag!
I had to look up that Nightcrawler trailer because I couldn’t believe they used backseat freestyle for a slow depressing thriller
Birdman is a stellar movie. pure awesome.
I love revisiting all these RLM videos. Plus I loved these movies!
Another great episode guys! I actually enjoyed the NIGHTCRAWLER score, inasmuch I felt it was reflecting the protagonist's psyche. In his mind, this is a rags-to-riches story, and the traditional "heroic" score is what he'd use if we was directing his own biopic. It's also, as you mentioned, kind of a black comedy, and the juxtaposition of the soaring music with the twisted subject matter is part of that.
The film's score is also often indistinguishable from the kind of music played by exploitative TV news shows.
There's no way jay would be a top tbh
@@CarbonWaterCalcium V A L I D
Gay
Maybe he's just a power bottom...
"He turns out to be a sociopath."
Doesn't he murder a cop in like the first minute?
Security guard but yeah
um sweaty, murdering cops is a good thing know y'know
I'd love seeing Jake Gyllenhaal play the Joker, he got that subtle insanity to him...
Kameratyp Dechangeman was right. You are fucking everywhere
2020 Phoenix takes the Oscar for his portrayal in Joker.
The only review where you'll hear the reviewer say; "I wanted to feel horribly uncomfortable and disgusting and dirty watching this movie."
Ebert on North
That Nightcrawler trailer did it absolutely no justice
Jake gyllenhall was brillant in this movie. You like and hate this character so much, its magnetizing
I have to agree with Nightcrawler as a movie doesn't stand up to movies like Taxi Driver. But i do feel Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar for his role and I've never been a fan of him.
Only just recently got turned onto RLM, & I am now officially on the hype train until the end because these geniuses found a way to squeeze in Corey Feldman's "Ascension Millennium" music video. RLM BLESS
I stopped watching 10 minutes in, went and watched nightcrawler, now I'm back to finish. Maybe it's just that I was looking for it because of what mike and jay said, but I noticed traits of a sociopath almost right from the get-go.
eh, no, you're most definitely correct on that. he's an absolute socio-psychopath
+Rob Mckennie Absolutely agree with you. He attacks a security guard within the first three minutes.
+Rob Mckennie Yea, the character is definitely detached. Unfeeling user and abuser of people to gain from their plight. Total sociopathy.
James Newton Howard has produced one of my all time favourite soundtracks, "The Egg Travels" from Disney's "Dinosaur". He is as competent as they come so I'm sure the score is that way for a good reason.
Early Bird man gets the Nightcrawler
I'm surprised you guys didn't talk about the mirrors in Birdman!
I can't believe there was a 10 Years After cover in this video. I love that band, the original track still makes me cry.
Birdman is an actual masterpiece.
100% Agree!!
One of the greatest things in life is these skits in the beginning and Mike screaming dirty words
If Mike and Jay had just said up front that Birdman was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, it would have saved me 20 minutes. I don't think that man has directed a bad film in his life.
Jay Jimenez all those are good movies...
Nightcrawler and Birdman are my second-favorite and favorite 2014 films I've seen, respectively.
Loved Nightcrawler! It was just an amazing and creepy film!
Birdman was a real surprise. I came in knowing nothing at all about it except the title and it was quite a thing.
The light blue tint to represent them being underwater is such a neat touch.
As far as the score for Nightcrawler goes, I thought the point of what Mike calls a "traditional Hollywood score" was to put some sort of dissonance on the scene. The uplifting, go-getting, pulling up by the bootstraps type of message I think the score was trying to get across contrasted with the terrifying reality of the subject matter. The score was not from the audience's point of view; it was from the perspective of the main character. He sees himself as a hero and an up and coming business man, and that's what I feel the score achieves.
What a coincidence! I rented both of these movies from Red Box and watched 'em the same weekend, about seven years ago.
Years ago, way after Tim Burton's Batman, I once spotted Michael Keaton in a Pizza joint in St Louis with his entire family... I was young and foolish, so I ran up to his table and shouted, "OMG, you're BATMAN!". It was a clear interruption of a very normal family pizza night, and he just looked at me and said very wisely, "I know; you are interrupting our dinner." and he raised his hand and ushered me away from his family and dinner. I was humiliated, but I deserved it.
Of course I'll never forget that moment, and over time, of course I realized how bizarre it must be to be a famous movie star and have your entire life twisted around like that. Then I saw Birdman and it all sorta made more sense to me. Of course Michael Keaton is awesome in his many roles... and we as humans love our entertainment... but it's definitely NOT COOL to be star-struck and intrusive like my young and stoopid-ass antics. I guess we all fall into that, but it's better to just respect their talents, than obsess over their stardom.
Sorry for interrupting your family dinner Michael Keaton.
Just thought I'd share.
When I was 8 or 9 I remember seeing Brian Dennehy at a restaurant in Santa Fe and was so excited to see him I went over and sat down at the table with him and all the people he was with (friends? family? who knows it was over 30 years ago!) and I remember almost immediately realizing I'd fucked up and then got back up and slunk back over to our table. Nobody said anything or acknowledged me, I wonder if they just thought I sat at the wrong table lol
Nightcrawler was super well done. Impressive acting, directing, screenplay. Super memorable. I'll also say that I thought the lack of cinematic flare (at times) helped ground the premise itself, if that makes any sense. It's like seeing a car crash in real life, vs in a Michael Bay movie, except in this case, Louis (Jake) is then trying to add that drama or chaos to the toned down "realness", to add value to the footage.
"Hey, you just wanna talk about movies instead?"
lol
What made Nightcrawler so great for me wasn't actually Gyllenhaal's performance. It was the direction. Almost every scene was just perfectly shot for what it was. And I mean this in stark contrast to how movies are usually shot nowadays. Most modern movies go for a style that I would call 'bombastic'. This however was much much more subdued when it comes to the camerawork. Everything felt sooo real and tangible! Just lots of POV shots, ground level, out of cars, from a distance, interesting camera angles instead of crazy close-ups and fly-by cameras.
The music you are describing is the LA guitar sound. Very clean, lots of reverb, sounds almost acoustic if it wasn't for how clear it sounds. The music is specific to the area. You can find good examples of it in Veronica Mars and Vampire: The Masquerade.
Yeah even death metal bands are starting to adopt that post rock, shoegaze, ambient sound, (Deaf Heaven).
Its still a bad soundtrack,, Drive was in L.A and it had fantastic music even if it wasn't "LA guitar sound"
That's a matter of taste. I love the both of those styles. The Veronica Mars guitar and the John Carpenter style synth.
God damn it, I love you two.
The Nightcrawler poster you showed was in German =D Great Episode as always, love the michigan lake storyline, just stay like this forever. You're the best and I don't just mean Mike and Jay. Jesse, Jack, Rich, Josh, Colin and everyone else involved in any way are the best.
LOVED LOVED Birdman! Keaton was FANTASTIC!!!
I kept anticipating Gyllenhall's character would get his comeuppance by the end of the film somehow, but he actually pulled through, which was pretty cool, hehe.
Watching Nightcrawler in HDR after seeing this. Great movie. Great actor.
All the comments seem to be talking about Nightcrawler. It seems like few people watched Birdman :(
because birdman is garbage and nightcrawler is not garbage.
XDEADheadEDX I don't know about that
XDEADheadEDX I guess I could liken Birdman to your opinion and life then.
that profile pic is hawt, what is it?
Joh1002mm Rosario + Vampire :)
2 of the BEST movies i watched in the past decade!
GOOD movies? What is this, a science fiction show?
That music though, I couldn't agree more. The MC is a fucking psychopath and the score is written like he's a programming prodigy that just created a new startup.
"Oh No! I'm a top, clearly" 😂😂
I personally probably preferred Nightcrawler to Drive.
Drive was great, it had a great soundtrack, but it was a pretty by the numbers story. Lone wolf badass starts to care about female or child or both who wind up in danger and he saves them type of deal.
Nightcrawler on the other hand did leave me guessing, I honestly thought the story would culminate in his reckless sociopathic actions causing his downfall, but they took my expectation and flipped it on its head by having Jake's character come out ontop in every element.
100% agree. Nightcrawler is better than Drive. Drive is a great movie though, but it doesn't say anything profound.
I thought it was building up to Jake deciding to build the "perfect crime scene" and becoming a serial killer who films his own deeds.
I thought the Nightcarwler score was amazing
I liked the score too. It wasn't the usual score for this kind of movie and it made me uncertain about what was coming next. Very clever.
I liked the distorted guitar effects. The tinkling piano parts were out of place.
Leon! Sorry, I have nothing to say I was just impressed by your username.
I thought the score was great and really subversively implemented.
I feel like the score was intentionally off. Like it was heroic music playing in Jake's head and not music that really fit the scene. The problem is that it was too jarring and just brought me out of the movie more than once and got me thinking about 'the movie' rather than being involved in the story. Pretty much the opposite of what a good score should do. I like what they tries to do but it didn't work.
The score bugged me at first but then I started thinking about it from the perspective of Jake's character and it fell in place really nicely. From the outside, it makes no sense that the score is so triumphant and positive at times, but if you think about it from his perspective, it actually works quite well.
No idea if that was intentional but hey, it works for me.
RedLetterMedia please do a mr plinketts review of birdamn. this masterpiece needs to be analyzed
The 1/2 in the Bag series is just getting better.
The music was brilliant. It was to romanticize Lou's inflated, narcissistic, psychopathic delusion of himself. The accident scene was designed to make himself look like a superhero. The music was completely sarcastic and ironic by design.
just came from the theater, birdman is fantastic! the director's other movies are also really great, if you have not seen them, then i highly recommend doing so - that man is worth his weight in gold.
Birdman is absolutely stunning, clever, emotional and inspiring.
Can't wait to watch this, the two last movies i saw was Nightcrawler and Birdman!
"You...ffffuck!!!"
Channeling Plinkett there a bit, Mike lmao
Wow I really wanna be best friends with Mike and Jay. Mike's music critique was so on point, and Drive is so dope.
Mike, you hack, the score for Nightcrawler works because it’s NOT AGGRESSIVE. Our lead takes care of the sociopathic elements the film wants us to feel, but since he’s our protagonist, we need those optimistic & go-getter vibes that surround him. It’s like telling an actor they’re a villain, so here’s your evil theme; you would never do that.