Entertainment
Sponsored by

***FIRST MAN (Ryan Gosling, dir.Damien Chazelle)

68,211 Views | 533 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by TexAggie5432
Zombie Jon Snow
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TCTTS • 9:38p, 10/21/18
AG
Well in most cases the 2nd week film is nearly a flop even if it is critically acclaimed.

Capt. Phillips - is the exception did very well of course.

Whiplash - critically acclaimed but did not do very well until realy after Oscar announcements only made $13 million total (granted it was a $3.3 million budget)

Steve Jobs - tanked $17 million BO on $30 million budget

The Accountant - $86 million not bad, but little word of mouth and no international to speak of

The Florida Project - I've literally never heard of this movie, made $5 million

First Man - only 30 million so far on $59 million budget.


And October is traditionally a low BO month - the best Octobers ever were like $700-750 million which is well below most months best or even most months top 10. In fact it's 2nd worst only to September which is mostly just summer movies still hanging on. October is still much worse than Feb-Apr for example.

I get they are trying to make something of October but it ain't working very well.

Anyway.... still seems like a mostly dead zone to me. It does seem to be the earliest oscar buzz worthy films though. And those first week releases have done pretty well.

Reply Quote
Brian Earl Spilner
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:39p, 10/21/18
AG
Agree, I find myself getting excited for October movies now.
Reply Quote
1
Brian Earl Spilner
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:41p, 10/21/18
AG
Quote:
I get they are trying to make something of October but it ain't working very well.


Sure as hell worked well this year. (Except for this movie, ironically.)
Reply Quote
1
mallen
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to aTmAg • 10:01p, 10/21/18
AG
aTmAg said:
The lead character is not boring. He lived one of the most exciting lives of all time. This movie is boring. That is the problem.

You seem insanely obsessed discussing a movie you thought was boring as hell.
Reply Quote
8
1 edit
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to mallen • 10:05p, 10/21/18
AG
mallen said:
aTmAg said:
The lead character is not boring. He lived one of the most exciting lives of all time. This movie is boring. That is the problem.

You seem insanely obsessed discussing a movie you thought was boring as hell.
That's because I'm into engineering, space, and am a big fan of Armstrong. I'm pissed that this movie screwed it up so bad, that it will probably be 50 years before somebody tries to make a movie that does his life justice.
Reply Quote
2
Bunk Moreland
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to aTmAg • 10:07p, 10/21/18
aTmAg said:
mallen said:
aTmAg said:
The lead character is not boring. He lived one of the most exciting lives of all time. This movie is boring. That is the problem.

You seem insanely obsessed discussing a movie you thought was boring as hell.
That's because I'm into engineering, space, and am a big fan of Armstrong. I'm pissed that this movie screwed it up so bad, that it will probably be 50 years before somebody tries to make a movie that does his life justice.


Hmm, his family and biographer all say the movie got it right, and here we are again with you being upset it wasn't the movie you wanted.
Reply Quote
12
Bruce Almighty
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
10:31p, 10/21/18
AG
Reply Quote
2
1 edit
TCTTS
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 12:58a, 10/22/18
AG
Not arguing box office (though I forgot to include Venom in this year's October group, which obviously set records), I was merely disputing the notion that it's not a "big" month in terms big name releases. Studios treat October with high regard, and it's certainly not at all the dumping ground that January, August, and September are. I would almost consider it a "gamble" month in a weird way. It's where studios place big, buzzed about releases that may or may not make a killing at the box office. Some hit, some don't, but I consistently find it to be one of the most interesting release months of the year, if only because some of my favorite movies of the past decade have come out in October... Michael Clayton, A Serious Man, The Social Network, Whiplash, Gone Girl, Steve Jobs, Blade Runner 2049, A Star is Born, etc. I was hoping First Man would follow suit, and it did in many ways, but not quite like those others have. Anyway, I think we're basically on the same page, just clarifying.
Reply Quote
4 edits
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Bunk Moreland • 7:32a, 10/22/18
AG
Bunk Moreland said:
aTmAg said:
mallen said:
aTmAg said:
The lead character is not boring. He lived one of the most exciting lives of all time. This movie is boring. That is the problem.

You seem insanely obsessed discussing a movie you thought was boring as hell.
That's because I'm into engineering, space, and am a big fan of Armstrong. I'm pissed that this movie screwed it up so bad, that it will probably be 50 years before somebody tries to make a movie that does his life justice.


Hmm, his family and biographer all say the movie got it right, and here we are again with you being upset it wasn't the movie you wanted.
Hmmm, I'm talking about the fact that they spent so much time focusing on parts of his life that nobody (other than the family) cares about. Meanwhile they ignored many aspects of his professional life that was among the most exciting of all time. Hell, Armstrong's life prior to X-15 was movie worthy of itself. It was also lost on Chazelle and company why the space program riveted the nation in the first place. It's like somebody making a movie about George Washington, dedicating 70% of the movie to him running his farm and pretended his motivation was the loss of their daughter Patsy.

As soon as I heard that it was going to be about his private personal voyage or whatever, I knew it was going to bomb. Of course everybody here called me an idiot, saying "it's not about the space program! It's about aspects of his life that people don't know about!" To which I correctly predicted that it was going to suck. The producers/director are getting what they deserve, but Neil Armstrong didn't, and that's a shame.
Reply Quote
2
1 edit
TCTTS
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:09p, 10/22/18
AG
Reply Quote
double aught
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
6:37p, 10/22/18
AG
Saw it today. Well made. Maybe not quite as good as I was hoping, but still liked it. Maybe my expectations were too high.

It was more emotional than I was expecting. I didn't know the story of Karen going in. Having a four year old daughter myself, that whole aspect was rough.

I told my wife we should go see this instead of A Star is Born, because I thought that one might be too sad for her. That might have been a mistake.
Reply Quote
1
1 edit
PDEMDHC
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
6:41p, 10/22/18
AG
I heard a review about it on the radio. The only real knock they had was how boring Armstrong really is and how well Gosling portrayed him.

Heard a few clips from the movie and wanted to fall asleep at the well. I'm guessing this is part of the reason for the flop.
Reply Quote
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to PDEMDHC • 6:49p, 10/22/18
AG
PDEMDHC said:
I heard a review about it on the radio. The only real knock they had was how boring Armstrong really is and how well Gosling portrayed him.

Heard a few clips from the movie and wanted to fall asleep at the well. I'm guessing this is part of the reason for the flop.
He was one of the most beloved professors at the University of Cincinnati where he taught for nearly a decade. Boring people don't earn that sort of reputation.
Reply Quote
Topher17
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:48p, 10/22/18
AG
Saw this last night and went in with little knowledge of the movie and no expectations, and I really enjoyed it. I was glad it wasn't just another movie about the space program. I thought it was well done and Gosling did a great job.
Funny enough, two others at work today saw it over the weekend as well and said they really liked it as well.
Reply Quote
4
schmendeler
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Topher17 • 9:50p, 10/22/18
AG
I think people would like it if they saw it. It's just kind of weird that it landed with a thud.
Reply Quote
2
Zombie Jon Snow
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to schmendeler • 10:36p, 10/22/18
AG
schmendeler said:
I think people would like it if they saw it. It's just kind of weird that it landed with a thud.

i saw it and t was pretty meh..... no political issue with it for me either, saw that as just artistic expression and not anti American. the film just kinda sucked - some good stuff, more bad stuff, very dry.

And I love space and NASA stuff usually.


Reply Quote
Brian Earl Spilner
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:46a, 10/23/18
AG
Reply Quote
2
schmendeler
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 9:49a, 10/23/18
AG
No flag planting?
Reply Quote
6
Bunk Moreland
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 10:16a, 10/23/18
verifiable proof that Neil was not boring. Shenanigans on the moon is the least boring thing of all time. What else did this movie not get right?
Reply Quote
2
Belton Ag
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Bunk Moreland • 11:13a, 10/23/18
AG
Bunk Moreland said:
verifiable proof that Neil was not boring. Shenanigans on the moon is the least boring thing of all time. What else did this movie not get right?
Really should have included some of his lectures at University of Cincinnati in the film. That would have jazzed up audiences and not been boring at all.
Reply Quote
7
Hogties
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:31a, 10/23/18
AG
Saw the movie and it will say it was OK. I was really excited about this movie but it just didn't hit me like I hoped it would. After about the 20th close up, I found myself looking away from the screen every time they had a super closeup of Ryan Gosling's face or his wife's face getting all angsts. Oh Jeez more of this.

I used to work at JSC and met many astronauts, including John Young (that guy was The Man). I had such high hopes.

My thoughts about this movie was that it was a missed opportunity. What makes the moon landing such an amazing feat was not that Neil overcame a crushing personal loss and still achieved, but that he and all the other astronauts were doing it with a bare minimum of computing power in an environment that was completely unknown and they were supported by people with slide rules for Christ's sake. That's the story of achievement that makes Neil's story compelling. It's the whole program that was amazing.

Certainly there were some good space sequences, but they just made me want to know more and more about the techical achievement and why the things worked or didn't.

I want someone to make a movie that would live up to the First Man IMAX preview clip that got me so excited. That would be an amazing movie.
Reply Quote
schmendeler
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Hogties • 11:32a, 10/23/18
AG
Hogties said:
Saw the movie and it will say it was OK. I was really excited about this movie but it just didn't hit me like I hoped it would. After about the 20th close up, I found myself looking away from the screen every time they had a super closeup of Ryan Gosling's face or his wife's face getting all angsts. Oh Jeez more of this.

I used to work at JSC and met many astronauts, including John Young (that guy was The Man). I had such high hopes.

My thoughts about this movie was that it was a missed opportunity. What makes the moon landing such an amazing feat was not that Neil overcame a crushing personal loss and still achieved, but that he and all the other astronauts were doing it with a bare minimum of computing power in an environment that was completely unknown and they were supported by people with slide rules for Christ's sake. That's the story of achievement that makes Neil's story compelling. It's the whole program that was amazing.

Certainly there were some good space sequences, but they just made me want to know more and more about the techical achievement and why the things worked or didn't.

I want someone to make a movie that would live up to the First Man IMAX preview clip that got me so excited. That would be an amazing movie.
we need an Apollo movie written by Andy Weir.
Reply Quote
2
Cinco Ranch Aggie
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
2:16p, 10/23/18
AG
I finally got around to seeing this. I will start out with a couple of thoughts that are seemingly mutually exclusive - (1) the lack of the flag planting did not bother me and (2) the lack of the flag planting did bother me.

Behind door number 1, I recognize this movie as more of a biopic than anything else, so in that vein, with the background of the daughter Karen, I get where the focus was. This was a movie about a man who overcame a great personal loss, and there is quite a moment of silence while on the moon, completely silent, a man with his thoughts and feelings toward the loss of his daughter.

Behind door number 2, this is a movie with a backdrop of the first manned mission to land on the moon. I cannot recall any big theatrical movies that have covered July 20, 1969. That should have been an awe-inspiring moment, a moment portrayed on cinema screens that should have generated a whole lot of pride. For me, it was rather a big ball of meh. It felt almost anti-climatic, since this was a movie about a man, not about a historic event. I did get a big emotional punch with the words "The Eagle has landed" but the other, more well known I'd think, statement, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for Mankind" ... he might as well have said he left the shower water running or something.

I would have liked to have seen more on the surface of the moon. We get that one shot of Buzz bouncing away from the lander and a shot of scooping up some moon dirt.

I am a lifelong aviation nut (aviation defined as the type of airplanes that drop bombs on people or shoot other airplanes down, not people movers). I did enjoy the X-15 sequence, as well as that prototype moon lander that Armstrong damn near died in.

Now I did not for one moment find the movie to be boring, as others here have stated. The wife thing was necessary given that they were doing a biopic on this man, Neil Armstrong. She did become annoying, certainly, but this is the movie they made, not the movie I wish they had made.

Overall, this was decent, worth watching but not re-watching.
Reply Quote
Brian Earl Spilner
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Hogties • 2:43p, 10/23/18
AG
Quote:
What makes the moon landing such an amazing feat was not that Neil overcame a crushing personal loss and still achieved, but that he and all the other astronauts were doing it with a bare minimum of computing power in an environment that was completely unknown and they were supported by people with slide rules for Christ's sake.
You're looking for a documentary.
Reply Quote
2
Hogties
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 2:46p, 10/23/18
AG
Brian Earl Spilner said:
Quote:
What makes the moon landing such an amazing feat was not that Neil overcame a crushing personal loss and still achieved, but that he and all the other astronauts were doing it with a bare minimum of computing power in an environment that was completely unknown and they were supported by people with slide rules for Christ's sake.
You're looking for a documentary.


Apollo 13 wasn't a documentary and it was far superior. Hell I was doing my NASA gig when that came out and my boss closed the office and took us all to see the Apollo 13 because it was so inspiring.

This movie was This is Us in Space.
Reply Quote
3
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Hogties • 2:50p, 10/23/18
AG
Hogties said:
Brian Earl Spilner said:
Quote:
What makes the moon landing such an amazing feat was not that Neil overcame a crushing personal loss and still achieved, but that he and all the other astronauts were doing it with a bare minimum of computing power in an environment that was completely unknown and they were supported by people with slide rules for Christ's sake.
You're looking for a documentary.


Apollo 13 wasn't a documentary and it was far superior. Hell I was doing my NASA gig when that came out and my boss closed the office and took us all to see the Apollo 13 because it was so inspiring.

This movie was This is Us in Space.
Agreed. It was a huge wasted opportunity.
Reply Quote
1
Brian Earl Spilner
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
2:52p, 10/23/18
AG
If this movie was called Apollo 11, I would agree with the above.

That said, I totally understand it not being everyone's cup of tea.
Reply Quote
6
1 edit
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 3:20p, 10/23/18
AG
Brian Earl Spilner said:
If this movie was called Apollo 11, I would agree with the above.

That said, I totally understand it not being everyone's cup of tea.
The movie was called "First Man" and not "First Man and His Nagging Wife".

His characterization of it being "This is Us in Space" is perfect.
Reply Quote
schmendeler
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
3:31p, 10/23/18
AG
I don't get the nagging wife complaint. she was amazingly supportive the entire time. the only time she got on his ass was sorely needed, imo. he was going to potentially go off and die and he was going to do so without saying anything to his two young boys? she deserves admiration for that.
Reply Quote
12
1 edit
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to schmendeler • 3:48p, 10/23/18
AG
schmendeler said:
I don't get the nagging wife complaint. she was amazingly supportive the entire time. the only time she got on his ass was sorely needed, imo. he was going to potentially go off and die and he was going to do so without saying anything to his two young boys? she deserves admiration for that.
It was more than that, she seemed pissed that he wasn't outwardly emotional about Karen dying, she called the NASA brass a bunch of boys, crap like that.

Perhaps all of that is accurate, but that's not my point. I don't give a rats ass about her half of the story because it is boring. I don't care about "shattering the wife waiting at home" stereotype. I wish they cut all that crap out and spend more time on Neil Armstrong and what made his life so compelling. Not what makes him like the rest of us.
Reply Quote
1
TCTTS
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to schmendeler • 4:00p, 10/23/18
AG
In 100% agreement. Foy not only gave a fantastic performance, but I didn't find her character "nagging" at all. She's the one who gave Neil the encouragement/go-ahead to move the family to Houston ("It'll be an adventure."). She loved her husband unconditionally, supported him without fail in his endeavors, and gave his ass the kicking it needed when he needed it. She was a strong, supportive, and captivating female lead, one who gave me a perspective I hadn't really ever considered before.

This thread has basically turned into a documentary wish list for middle aged dudes, without any consideration as to how movies actually get financed. The moon sequence was stunning and damn near perfect for what it was. You want to see astronauts bouncing and digging around more on the moon? Watch a documentary. You want to know more about the trip itself to the moon, or the all the details of the testing and trials and tribulations before hand? Root for another mini-series. You want to know more about Armstrong teaching classes and being chummy with students? Read a book.

But every suggestion I've read so far would have made this movie more boring, not less. I agree that it had its flaws, but I think those flaws were rooted in its base concept, not the execution. It was probably best simply to not make a two-hour movie solely focused on Neil Armstrong. Either give him a mini-series, or somehow broaden the scope of the story to be more of an ensemble, which would have been challenging in its own right, if not more so, considering the two-hour timespan.

But doing a two-hour movie about just Neil Armstrong, and, say, minimizing Armstrong's family makes absolutely no sense, because then you risk alienating the female audience. Granted, it hardly attracted them as is, but even fewer would have shown up without the wife/family aspect. Not to mention the fact that there's no way this movie even gets the financing it needs without a female lead in the first place. That's just basic Hollywood economics.

In other words, some of you are wishing for something that literally couldn't have been made. The choices were: A) what we got, or B) a mini-series, which has basically already been done. There's really no in-between or alt-version of this movie that a studio ever would have taken a chance on. Personally, I'm thankful for what we got, and definitely understand and agree with certain frustrations, but wishing for and complaining that we didn't get what would have amounted to a scripted documentary is pointless.
Reply Quote
7
4 edits
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:32p, 10/23/18
AG
That is rich coming from a guy who's been batting nearly 0 on movie recommendations and obviously thought this movie was going to do much better (and even bashed me for predicting these flaws).

Perhaps they should have listened to middle aged dudes, since what they did here clearly didn't work. Movies like the Right Stuff and Apollo 13 were resoundingly successful. So clearly Americans like the topic and there exists recipes of success. There is no excuse for this movie to bomb like it is. The idea that this movie was executed perfectly and that everybody else is wrong is as conceited an opinion I've seen on this board.
Reply Quote
1
TCTTS
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:36p, 10/23/18
AG
^ Because I've blocked him, I'm sure when someone inevitably quotes him, I'll not only see just how much he twisted my words, but just how ill-informed and biased his rebuttal is. I literally don't even need to read it at this point.
Reply Quote
6
Belton Ag
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:58p, 10/23/18
AG
You alluded to the middle-aged dudes, but the primary audience for a NASA related movie about Neil Armstrong or the Apollo 11 mission is going to be mostly 30-75 year old American white men. I don't think Ryan Gosling and Chazelle rate really high for that audience to be honest, and the flag controversy didn't exactly help, even if it's not what sunk the movie.

From my understanding the movie was originally going to be directed by Clint Eastwood, I'm willing to bet he would have had demographic turn out.
Reply Quote
2
aTmAg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Belton Ag • 5:20p, 10/23/18
AG
Belton Ag said:
You alluded to the middle-aged dudes, but the primary audience for a NASA related movie about Neil Armstrong or the Apollo 11 mission is going to be mostly 30-75 year old American white men. I don't think Ryan Gosling and Chazelle rate really high for that audience to be honest, and the flag controversy didn't exactly help, even if it's not what sunk the movie.

From my understanding the movie was originally going to be directed by Clint Eastwood, I'm willing to bet he would have had demographic turn out.
Clint Eastwood would have better understood what was compelling to Americans during the Apollo era, what it was like to be alive during that time, and all of that. I don't think the flag thing was an intentional political statement, but it shows that Chazelle really didn't understand the times. Chazelle seemed to go out of his way to answer boring questions that nobody was asking.
Reply Quote
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.