Master Rebound
Before I watched this I was almost ready to use the headline “All Master-ed Out” but then wait, whoa…hold up. This one has sex, audacity. energy, menace, flicking tongues, cops, fisticuffs. Forget the Piss Christ one-sheet that half-smothered interest and those “jeez, uhm, I think I need to see it again” Music Box reviews. The Master is back to urgent, bracing, necessary.
That aside, the apparent decision by the Weinstein Co. and Paul Thomas Anderson to blow off the Telluride Film Festival (8.30 through 9.3) is a highly bothersome thing, if not a tiny bit tragic. It’s been said that for the second year in a row that this much-loved Rocky Mountain festival feels a little light in the loafers. It needs at least one cold-cocking power hitter from the auteurist ranks, and the absence of both The Master and Terrence Malick‘s To The Wonder is being felt and meditated upon, let me tell you.
I haven’t been tracking your Master headlines Jeff, but have you gotten around to using “Master of My Domain” yet?
Here, here, chin up, mate. At the very least, it will be best looking, best acted, and one of the best written movies of the year. Could be too long and focus on characters you never want to see again, but c’mon, read that 2nd sentence again.
Before I watched this I was almost ready to use the headline “All Master-ed Out” but then wait, whoa…hold up. This one has sex, audacity. energy, menace, flicking tongues, cops, fisticuffs. Forget the Piss Christ one-sheet that half-smothered interest and those “jeez, uhm, I think I need to see it again” Music Box reviews. The Master is back to urgent, bracing, necessary.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 14, 2012 at 6:20 AM
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 7, 2012 at 6:20 AM
I’m wondering what it is that Joaquin Phoenix’s character does on this movie to keep body and soul together? Does he have any gumption or resources of his own, or is he on the Philly dole the whole time? Does he buy his own meals? Does he crash in a Philly-furnished room with a single bed? These are questions on my mind.
What is a Philly-furnished room? I’m from Philly, and I have no idea what this reference is.
One of those beds that goes into the wall, like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon? It’s not like Phoenix needs anything to live a comfortable life; there were no flat screen TVs, BluRays, Ipads, expresso machines etc. back then. You were on your own.
Reminds me sort of the A Serious Man trailer and the one trailer for Shame when all you hear is heavy breathing.
Joaquin Phoenix doing that little beat on the windows or whatever is sublime. As if his documentary was prep for the hell he would put his mind and soul through for this film.
What is a Philly-furnished room? I’m from Philly, and I have no idea what this reference is.
>>>>
Philly Seymour Hoffman
Philly=Phillip Hoffman.
Jeff is wondering whether Phoenix is just an empty passive vehicle for us to witness the antics of PSH.
Or else Jeff means that there arePhiladelphia Eagles posters on the walls.
Or I guess you could, you know, see the movie yourself and make up your own mind.
But that’s not the HE WAY is it? All must be predigested and notions preconceived.
Too bad you won’t get to see it at any early press screenings. You’ll have to line up with the rest of the schlubs.
PTA has not disappointed me yet.
I don’t care about one-sheets or trailers. I will be in line opening weekend.
I really hope he is adapting Inherent Vice next.
A Murphy Bed is a North American term for a wall bed, pull-down bed or fold-down bed. It was invented by William Lawrence Murphy around 1918.
The correct spelling and terminology is a “Phily Flat.”
“Git yerself some gumption, son.”
That shot in the I lost my ship clip was insane. Insane. Thought Blood was a real letdown, hoping this one delivers.
Jesus Christ.
…What Glenn just said.
That shot in the I lost my ship clip was insane. Insane. Thought Blood was a real letdown, hoping this one delivers.
>>>>
That’s not in the final film.
Philly = Wells “pet name” for PSH. He thinks they’re best buds.
Anyone who thinks TWBB was a “real letdown” must be either insane or have the worst taste ever.
I’m still reeling from seeing this last week in London. Does anyone now when it is opening internationally? I’m in Europe until the new year. This thing has stayed with me for days. Gotta see it again.
“At the very least, it will be best looking, best acted, and one of the best written movies of the year.”
It will almost certainly be one of the best looking and best acted movies of the year, but whether it’s one of the best written remains to be seen. I don’t think Anderson hasn’t worked off a fully coherent and mature script since Boogie Nights. (Although I haven’t seen Punch Drunk, so maybe that’s an exception.)
Um, what exactly was immature about TWBB, sir?
Punch Drunk Love hasn’t really been discussed by anyone since it was released. I remember it came off the back of Magnolia so people were stoked, but then it sort of faded away and since TWBB was such a tremendous return to form, nobody has talked about PDL in any depth since 2002.
Jesus, Glenn…shooting your mouth again, endless blather. Brevity, my son…brevity!
I’m talking “best written” as in the shit spoken effing crackles like Rice Krispies. (Sorry, I’m not a writer.) I’m not talking Robert McKee, 3-act structure, where a seed planted on page 38 necessarily sprouts right before the credits and Michael Caine cries in his cappuccino along the Arno.
Eloi: IMO, TWBB was ANYTHING but a “return to form” for PTA. In fact, I consider it to be one of the greatest shifts in the history of movies. HE could’ve stuck to his wheelhouse (profane R-rated drams) like peers like QT (stuck in exploits forever and ever) Wes Anderson (never gonna break his tired, played out, exhausted visual formula) but, no, he chose to create an epic, a film that was not only a marvel to behold but one that has become an instant classic. No, sir, this is anything but a return to form. TWBB is a declaration that he is taking no prisoners and doing as he pleases. Rovert Altman would be pleased as punch.
Watcher: To clarify, I meant a return to form as in in it was a return to his usual high standards, which I think slipped a bit with PDL. Not that he returned to his previous style of filmmaking, because as you say it was a pretty bold shift in his approach.
Eloi: Thanks. Good to know.
It’s not as though DullboyGray had any intellectual currency going on this board anyway, but calling TWBB a disappointment is as silly and indefensible a notion as could be imagined.
I’d prefer TWBB to have tighter editing which apparent from reports The Master has. The editor from PDL co-edited The Master and I suspect she’s not sentimental about keeping the small stuff.
TWBB was just a weak movie. It had some good moments and good sequences, but the third act was abominable. And the end scene in the bowling alley is ridiculously awful with some of Day Lewis’ worst acting.
It just doesn’t hold together as a movie. It has an uninvolving story and a really stupid device with the whole twin thing that is barely mentioned. It’s just goofy.
But you guys keep drinking PTA’s Kool-Aid sperm. I, on the other hand, will keep a level head and call them as I see them. TWBB was a mediocre effort.
STOP comparing new movies to what is out right now. If you compare TWBB to all the movies that ever came out it’s not even in a top 100, not even close. But critics these days, as well as moron message board cretins, only think of films compared to what is currently out. And yes, by that metric, TWBB is a good film. But when taken in the context of the history of Hollywood, it’s a decidedly weak entry into the filmic canon.
Magnolia was the last good movie PTA made. Hopefully The Master will be a return to form. Eager for PTA to make a good film again.
PTA’s a strange taste — I much preferred Punch-Drunk Love to Magnolia. I thought TWBB was a masterpiece, on par with the likes of Mulholland Drive, Zodiac, No Country, Inglourious Bastards, Memento, Eternal Sunshine all vying for the best American flick of the ’00s.
I think the only film of his that is unanimously beloved is probably Boogie Nights. The Master more than likely won’t be replacing that in terms of populist adoration.
Raising Kaned, you’re out of your mind, none of those flicks on there even belong in the top twenty of movies of the aughts, except for maybe No Country, and even that is a stretch.
Miami Vice is the best film of the 00′s, bar none.
Miami Vice is the best film of the 00′s, bar none.
Your sense of humor is fearless.
cyanic, it’s my fault you have no taste?
You can tell Duluoz is a good critic because he uses the word “just” a lot. TWBB is “just a weak movie” that “just doesn’t hold together.” Glad you cleared that up. Oh, and just when your analysis can’t get any more profound, you call that one scene abominable — nice work. Adjectives, who would’ve thought?
My taste is lovely, thank you.
In other news, Duluoz thinks Whitesnake is the greatest musical act of the last thirty years.
No, that would be Daft Punk
Miami Vice was awesome. “I’m a fiend for mojitos.”
The best picture of the decade, however, was The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.
Jesse James was extraordinary.
However, those with taste know that “The Fountain” towers over the rest as the best film of last decade.
Can’t argue with either Assassination of Jesse James or The Fountain. Two of the very best of the decade.