Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, November 4th 2016) Movie • Page 2

Oh, I wasn't trying to be dismissive. Just offering up the idea that there are movies that definitely fit within the "lets examine every frame and find the hidden meaning" and then there are ones that are just what they are on face value.

 

I guess I just assume that war movies will generally be racist/ xenophobic, I was pleasantly surprised how well Silence handled the Japanese

 

But that's my point. All movies can be examined to their fullest degree. From Synechdoche, New York to Citizen Kane to Spider-Man 2 to Do the Right Thing to Anchorman to Silence to Showgirls to 12 Angry Men to Black Narcissus to Obvious Child to Moonlight to Saturday Night Fever to the Sandlot to the Godfather to every single other film ever made, there are things all these films are attempting, they are all saying something, utilizing the same medium. So the discussion of exactly what they're doing, how, and to what degree they're profound or derivative, or if they succeed or fail, is always fair.

And, if Hacksaw Ridge is truly one of the best films of the year, as you and the Oscars think, then it is absolutely one of the films that should be thought about and discussed for what it's trying to do and what we get out of it and where it succeeds or fails.

 

Exactly. Even Inglorious Basterds gave its Nazis humanity, and then proceeded to double down on reveling in violence against them anyway. It's part of its brilliance.

 

I guess everyone just has different aspects they look for. For me, the cinematography, the acting, the story flow, the action scenes, the character motivations and such are what made me think it's one of the best of the year. I don't look too much into hidden themes or "what does this scene mean the director is trying to say about this subject?" because its always a possibility its just there to serve the story.

I always appreciate when you Morrissey dive deep into films like Silence and Take Shelter, but I don't think it's needed for every movie. Again, not a diss, it's just my outlook and I was simply responding honestly to your "I'm surprised I haven't seen much discussion" about those topics.

 

That's all fair. Just a note: thematics aren't hidden. Thematics are why films are made, why stories are told. Almost 100% of the time, directors make movies to say something. Every film has a message, or attempts to have one, whatever anyone else gets out of it. If a movie is pure story, purely cinematography or acting or other surface details, and lacks any thematic depth or resonance, then its empty, and that's personally unfulfilling as an artistic experience to me. And again, it's completely fine if you don't want to talk about that sort of thing and your outlook on viewing movies and your experience with a movie is different than others. Absolutely fine. But you keep saying that deeper examination and thought is not "needed for every movie". I have to reiterate, those discussions can exist for every film. Every single one. It's fine if that's not your bag, but it is for many others.

 

What about Napoleon Dynamite?

But seriously, these conversations make me feel like such movie noob lol. When I have conversations outside of here, I'm the one getting told I'm examining everything too much when all I'm doing is talking about the emotion of a certain scene or the acting in another or the character motivation in another. Then I come here and you guys take it to another level completely.

 

Napoleon Dynamite is a wonderful movie about friendship and being an outsider.

 

Just finished this. Thought it was really good. That first battle scene was insane.

 

Just watched this last night and it was fantastic. Usually I hate movies over 2 hours long because they can't keep me interested but I loved this the whole way through

 

I finally saw this and I liked it a lot. Very good story.

 

Yeah, now that it's on HBO I've caught it a few times and it still holds up.

 

Went to one of the local parks on Saturday and discovered a Desmond Doss statue/memorial. I knew he was from Chattanooga, but somehow never knew this was here: