Director Dissection with Seanc and Rauldc

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I think I pretty much agree with Daniel, while not disagreeing with any of you either (not that Daniel did). I also think its a bit weird that us five are in the same boat (roughly) concerning Nolan, since if I'm correct we were all born in the early 90s (I was 93). It seems that we were at the perfect age to enjoy Nolan and I think we all did, but he quickly became the one we grew out of first. Not saying Nolan is someone to grow out of to his fans BTW, I just think that's what happened.

Overall I like Nolan and The Dark Knight is still among my favourite movies. How I'd rank the ones I've seen:

1.The Dark Knight
2.Memento
3.Batman Begins
4.TDKR
5.Inception
6.Insomnia



Finished here. It's been fun.
The biggest shortcoming of Nolan coincides with the exposition argument. He doesn't abide by the "show don't tell" rule of filmmaking. if characters aren't spouting expository dialogue then they are spouting the themes of the film or talking about how they are feeling. He's a very weak visual storyteller and never believes in his audience.That's why his films come off as so "cold" and "sterile". They aren't characters, they're walking pieces of expository dialogue.



Gangster Rap is Shakespeare for the Future
He's a great entertainer, but man do his films not hold up once you think about them.
See that's where I disagree, Nolan makes pretty boring movies. The exposition bores me and his color palette is so limited and dull that he's very rarely interesting visually. I'd be fine with him if I found his movies fun, but I don't.
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Mubi



Do you guys think I am being fair in saying the exposition complaint comes mainly from these two films or do you see it in Memento and the Batman films?
All of his films.

But to be perfectly clear: I don't mind the kind of exposition you're referring to. Inception is actually my favorite Nolan film. This may be a problem for other people with Nolan, but it's not one of mine (I do have a problem with all the plotholes that often occur during his expositions and distract me from enjoying the story, but that's something entirely different).
I think the unsubtleness of Nolan lies in how he handles the "themes" of his films. Nothing is ever implied. You can't have a discussion about Nolan's films, except for the one or two discussions that he wants you to have, which I think unnecessarily confines many of his films.
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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019



Finished here. It's been fun.
See that's where I disagree, Nolan makes pretty boring movies. The exposition bores me and his color palette is so limited and dull that he's very rarely interesting visually. I'd be fine with him if I found his movies fun, but I don't.
His color palette really is very dull and drab, great point there. Me finding his films entertaining is really damning him with faint praise. I think he makes watchable pieces of popcorn entertainment. Nothing more. Here's how I'd rate the films atm:

Following
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Memento

Batman Begins

The Prestige

The Dark Knight
-
Inception

The Dark Knight Rises

Interstellar
-



his color palette is so limited and dull that he's very rarely interesting visually.
This I completely agree with. Not necessarily that he is completely uninteresting visually like Bluedeed, but that visually he hasn't really distinguished himself from other CGI directors at all. Maybe its just me, but if I was shown ten distorted images two of them being Nolan ones I doubt I would be able to tell, and I'd venture a guess that most Nolan fans wouldn't be able to either.



See that's where I disagree, Nolan makes pretty boring movies. The exposition bores me and his color palette is so limited and dull that he's very rarely interesting visually. I'd be fine with him if I found his movies fun, but I don't.
Yeah, Nolan is a weak visual director. I think his movies are pretty conventional when it comes to cinematography in general. Even in Interstellar, which I find to be his most beautiful film by far, the shot compositions come off as lazy and uninspired.



Do you guys think I am being fair in saying the exposition complaint comes mainly from these two films or do you see it in Memento and the Batman films?
All of his films.

But to be perfectly clear: I don't mind the kind of exposition you're referring to. Inception is actually my favorite Nolan film. This may be a problem for other people with Nolan, but it's not one of mine (I do have a problem with all the plotholes that often occur during his expositions and distract me from enjoying the story, but that's something entirely different).
I think the unsubtleness of Nolan lies in how he handles the "themes" of his films. Nothing is ever implied. You can't have a discussion about Nolan's films, except for the one or two discussions that he wants you to have, which I think unnecessarily confines many of his films.
Yeah, I can see what you are saying here. His movies are very focused, there certainly isn't a lot of wiggle room. I think maybe I am not as far off as some of you guys as you think. The difference is, I seem to be able to enjoy the aspects of his story telling that I really like. Which is the action and the world building.

Nolan isn't my favorite director, I certainly enjoy directors who are more character and dialogue focused. I do like him though, and will continue to be interested in what he does next. I think maybe the fact that he seems to be so well liked by a lot of people diminishes his films in the eyes of some. Maybe not, I don't know. It just seems like a lot of us are saying the same thing about him. I don't think anyone is saying he is a perfect director.



Master of My Domain
I think he makes watchable pieces of popcorn entertainment.
Yep, this is exactly what Nolan does, and what he should keep doing as a filmmaker. I have never expected him to create a masterpiece. All I want is him to keep making mainstream popcorn movie that at least has some need for actual thinking while watching. I'm an anti-Nolan guy because I hate the fact that people are ranking him alongside legendary directors, but he is a decent filmmaker. Memento is actually one of my favorites.



Nolan isn't my favorite director, I certainly enjoy directors who are more character and dialogue focused. I do like him though, and will continue to be interested in what he does next. I think maybe the fact that he seems to be so well liked by a lot of people diminishes his films in the eyes of some. Maybe not, I don't know. It just seems like a lot of us are saying the same thing about him. I don't think anyone is saying he is a perfect director.
I think people are actually probably being kinder to him than they would want to be because he's so well liked.



See that's where I disagree, Nolan makes pretty boring movies. The exposition bores me and his color palette is so limited and dull that he's very rarely interesting visually. I'd be fine with him if I found his movies fun, but I don't.
Yeah, Nolan is a weak visual director. I think his movies are pretty conventional when it comes to cinematography in general. Even in Interstellar, which I find to be his most beautiful film by far, the shot compositions come off as lazy and uninspired.
Okay, I made a mistake. Here I totally disagree. I think his movies are great visually. Yeah, I am not going to him for naturalistic landscapes, but I love the look of his worlds. I think he creates some of the best set pieces for action films I can think of.



Nolan isn't my favorite director, I certainly enjoy directors who are more character and dialogue focused. I do like him though, and will continue to be interested in what he does next. I think maybe the fact that he seems to be so well liked by a lot of people diminishes his films in the eyes of some. Maybe not, I don't know. It just seems like a lot of us are saying the same thing about him. I don't think anyone is saying he is a perfect director.
I think people are actually probably being kinder to him than they would want to be because he's so well liked.
Look at the post above you.



Don't know about you guys but my favourite "Popcorn pieces" like My Cousin Vinny are masterpieces to me
I am with you, and I have one of those from Nolan. Back To The Future, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Star Wars, E.T. It shouldn't be a bad thing to love some popcorn entertainment and consider them masterpieces. There is room for masterpieces of all kinds. I am actually getting to where I don't like the word. It is starting to feel like it is killing subjectivety.



@Seanc:
It goes both ways, I guess. People are also almost always including additional compliments in their posts about him or his films because they don't want to come across as overly negative and therefore too detached from the other people. They feel like they need to prove that they get the appeal of his films before criticizing them. This isn't always the case, but I do see it happening pretty regularly.



Finished here. It's been fun.
I am with you, and I have one of those from Nolan. Back To The Future, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Star Wars, E.T. It shouldn't be a bad thing to love some popcorn entertainment and consider them masterpieces. There is room for masterpieces of all kinds. I am actually getting to where I don't like the word. It is starting to feel like it is killing subjectivety.
Those films you mentioned are actually great,great films. I think labeling them popcorn films is undermining them a bit. I don't think those are the type of films Nolans going for, in all honesty I have no idea what he's going for. His films are too grim and serious to be taken as just popcorn films, but they're too idiotic and poorly written to be taken as serious films.



Okay, I made a mistake. Here I totally disagree. I think his movies are great visually. Yeah, I am not going to him for naturalistic landscapes, but I love the look of his worlds. I think he creates some of the best set pieces for action films I can think of.
How are Nolan's films visually great? With maybe the exception of Interstellar or Insomnia, they all look the same and feel the same. I'm not saying he's as bad as teal and orange, but he's definitely not a director I would consider visually great. I think Ryan Gosling's directorial debut is visually more striking than most of Nolan's films.