That took like five minutes at most to type/think of. Anything to rebut the cult of normalcy that dominates our "culture". Speaking of that, go read some of Bronze Age Pervert's stuff if you're so inclined. He might be a fascist, but he can definitely write.

Just go read his stuff on Israel and paganism.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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This movie seems like pure, unadulterated Oscar bait.

Cooper is a good actor, but he comes off as very pretentious to me, and very desperate for an Oscar. Can't really put my finger on why.

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I used to REALLY want an Oscar. Then I discovered you can make obscene amounts of money making crappy movies. Here is what I think of movie awards now. Behold! my best picture nominees:

Do you get treated differently by the uppity Hollywood types when they find out the kind of films you make?

Sea Speed said:

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Do you get treated differently by the uppity Hollywood types when they find out the kind of films you make?

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Not really. I produce mostly out of Atlanta now so the only time I interact with them is when they have to do one of my movies for a payday. And they thank me for it.

This was a fun watch because every time Bradley Cooper gets too serious or pretentious, Emma brings him back down.

Now streaming...

"One of the finest films of the year." Don’t miss MAESTRO, starring Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper, now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/alw1FRqT6w

— Netflix (@netflix) December 20, 2023

Here is some interesting perspective of things that may not have been portrayed accurately in the film.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leonard-bernstein-maestro-tommy-cothran_n_65776e50e4b09724b4352994?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral

(pleas forgive that it came from Huff Post)

Ryan the Temp said:

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Here is some interesting perspective of things that may not have been portrayed accurately in the film.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leonard-bernstein-maestro-tommy-cothran_n_65776e50e4b09724b4352994?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral

(pleas forgive that it came from Huff Post)

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The tag line alone:

Quote:

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I learned more about the real Leonard Bernstein in one afternoon ... than I learned from seeing 'Maestro.'

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Yeah, no *****

That is an interesting article though.

Streamed at home with my wife. We really enjoyed it. And I had to turn on subtitles to understand all the dialog.

- Regular guy movie watcher

Watched it last night on Netflix with my brother who is in town for Christmas. We had been eagerly awaiting this movie as we both grew up studying classical music and he is still very active in the NYC arts scene.

While I would've preferred a different kind of story that gave a look into his musical journey vs his romantic life, I appreciated the angles of his relationships.

I guess to me it didn't come off pretentious and Oscar campy to me, because Bernstein was already an over the top flamboyant type.

We were both very impressed with the Mahler Resurrection Symphony scene, Bradley Cooper was spot on with his conducting and definitely channeled Bernstein!

Not sure if spoiler tags are needed, but just in case. These two scenes were incredible:
Felicia watching from wings as it transitions from b/w to color
The argument with the Snoopy balloon passing by

Watched this the other night. I loved the direction and cinematography. Which was my main problem with it. The movie was more interested in being a directorial flex than telling a story.
It was light on plot, not much actually happens, and we don't learn much at all about Bernstein. The movie was trying so hard to not be a cookie cutter biopic that it ignored drama and conflict to show us a series of scenes that didn't amount to much combined.

That said it was well very acted. I didn't expect the end to take that turn and it was hard to watch having lived it with my dad.

Agree with a lot of what Quad Dog says above me, but also reading that the movie was intended to be framed through a journey of the relationship between Leonard and Felicia, I can understand the lack of buildup of his life and story. Call it an injustice we haven't learned more about his life or whatever, it definitely left me googling for answers to fill in blanks as I went.

That said, once I got past that and tried not to hold that against Cooper or the production team for the movie they were making, I found it extremely well done. This is one of those movies you won't watch twice, but you appreciate most every scene you see.

8.2/10. Deserving of the Oscar nominations though not sure it's deserving of any wins. Glad I watched.

Bunk Moreland said:

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Agree with a lot of what Quad Dog says above me, but also reading that the movie was intended to be framed through a journey of the relationship between Leonard and Felicia, I can understand the lack of buildup of his life and story. Call it an injustice we haven't learned more about his life or whatever, it definitely left me googling for answers to fill in blanks as I went.

That said, once I got past that and tried not to hold that against Cooper or the production team for the movie they were making, I found it extremely well done. This is one of those movies you won't watch twice, but you appreciate most every scene you see.

8.2/10. Deserving of the Oscar nominations though not sure it's deserving of any wins. Glad I watched.

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An example of my complaints: Their big fight at Thanksgiving is beautifully shot and acted, and so is their reconciliation after the performance in the church. But the conflict between the two characters is resolved off screen with no apparent effort or change from either character.

Agree completely. Cooper uses the skip ahead feature too much at times for sure.

Cooper directing Cooper as the Maestro who in reality is the director has a funky ouroboros thing going for it, even if it does the subject of the flick no favors. .

You wanted him to do WHAT? https://t.co/YkaVxWUOq4

— Maggie Lovitt (@maggieofthetown) February 21, 2024

I'd say it's officially time for Cooper to quit doing interviews for a while, even if one could argue some of this was taken out of context.

Either way, I'm so glad this awards season is almost over…

Bradley Cooper says he struggled to connect with his daughter when she was born but eventually grew to adore her.

“First 8 months, I don’t even know if I really love the kid. It’s dope. I’m watching this thing morph… Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if… pic.twitter.com/k8gejjAXUZ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 29, 2024

Talking to Dax Shepard, Bradley Cooper revealed that he likes being fully naked at home — and his daughter is totally cool with it too. https://t.co/YcpTCk0YoP

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) February 29, 2024

"First 8 months, I don't even know if I really love the kid. It's dope. I'm watching this thing morph… Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if someone came in with a gun?"


This is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard. Why would you ever think saying this out loud was a good idea?

It's insane. There's absolutely no reason to say that out loud, and absolutely no reason we should know that about him.

Bradley Cooper has always given me weird vibes.

Honestly this makes me like the movie a bit more. Too many celebs and other public figures are expected to be these wholesome, relatable people that so few naturally are. I mean all he did on that bland and corporate pod was express doubt and insecurity that he's since overcome.

I'm not a "shut up and dribble" type person - celebrates can say whatever the hell they want - but it's worth taking a step back and remembering that this all in service of/the lead up to a corporate ceremony where trophies are handed out to people for art. We're somehow in month FOUR of an exhausting, mind-numbing awards circuit, and the fact that I now know that Cooper didn't love his kid when she was first born, or walks around naked in front of her, proves that this sh*t has simply gone on way too long, and has grown completely pointless. Whether or not Cooper is "wholesome" or "relatable" is beside the point. We simply don't need to hear from these people as much as we have.

Sure, most of the press is ridiculous and low-effort and the oscars have always been fake, even when they had more relevance. But as I'm sure you can tell, I would just never fit in the Hollywood milieu, if I had a desire to work within it in the first place. Not because I'm "better" than them, just despise playing all of those games. And honestly maybe this will surprise people who know my deal, but I was incredibly turned off by how dismissive so many of them were (and I guess still are) of marvel or dc stuff. I mean I've never had much of an interest myself and yeah those projects eventually grew turgid, but I'll admit to liking a few of them that really do almost feel like great rollercoasters. (Can't believe so many **** on Marty when he said this as an observation, not a critique. Just goes to show how much more brittle and anxious and wrongheaded so many have become due to like post 2014 social media.)