Director Dissection with Seanc and Rauldc
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
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
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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.
He's a great entertainer, but man do his films not hold up once you think about them.
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Mubi
Mubi
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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?
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
Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019
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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.
Following -
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.
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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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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?
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.
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.
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I think he makes watchable pieces of popcorn entertainment.
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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.
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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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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.
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Don't know about you guys but my favourite "Popcorn pieces" like My Cousin Vinny are masterpieces to me
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Don't know about you guys but my favourite "Popcorn pieces" like My Cousin Vinny are masterpieces to me
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All those that you've mentioned Sean seem like more than popcorn movies to me. But I haven't seen BTTF
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@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.
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.
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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.
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.
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