There are a lot of reasons I personally like this movie (in no particular order).
I like seeing well known actors in movies that are not well known. Mark does a really good job althought it is pretty obvious he did not do the singing. And, yes, I have a thing for Jen.
I did play in cover bands on and off for 20 years and I know a lot of things from personal experience. Not the beeing-a-star-part but the egos of musicians. I always chuckle when Chris tells the guitarist he doesn´t play it right. That is straight out of life.
I have been, and still are, a metalhead by heart myself and back then I would have killed for that hair ;-) The soundtrack is really good and creates a fitting atmosphere.
But I really think it is a good movie. I like how the story kind of goes in a circle. Everytime the singer is thrown out there already is someone wanting the part. You don´t see that you´re replaceable until it is you that is replaced. I think this still is an important massage, even more so today with all this casting shows still going on.
The movie shows the rock star life in a bit of a exaggerated way. Puts it a bit over the top to make a point. But those things did happen with some bands. I don´t mind the love story and I don´t think it takes to much time. It is essential in bringing Chris back because it grounds him in real life. And I personally enjoyed the end when he finally does his thing. I know it´s cool when someone comes to you and says he liked your cover. But nothing beats someone telling you they like your own song.
What is a Woman is an entertaining and thought-provoking documentary centered around the titular question of "what is a woman."
The production style and interview angle reminded me a lot of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has interest about the topic of transgenderism. That's it, that's the review.
That being said, this is obviously going to be a polarizing documentary - without a doubt that is the intention. I would remind people to be ever mindful of ad hominems, and poisoning the well (which I have already seen pertaining to this). Not liking someone is not a counterpoint to their position. At no point did I ever see the documentary as mean spirited or bigoted. With Matt Walsh asking simple questions of people - either academics, people on the street or an African tribe - it did have the feel of interviews one would see on The Daily Show, but this seemed to be due to the interviewee's hesitation or inability to answer.
The most interesting moment for me was when the topic of Alfred Kinsey, and John Money came up; the former, of course, being a big name, but the latter I had never heard of. I would have liked to hear much more about them.
As already stated, What is a Woman is going to upset some people, but I hope, if nothing else, it reminds everyone that the danger is not with what people can say, but with what people cannot say. How we grow and learn is by listening to each other. If this documentary had been what some people may fear it is - that is to say, a transphobic smear piece - I could still watch it and entertain its ideas without accepting them.
Post script: Just because I'm me, I have to mention that there is a moment in here where a goat's throat is slit. It was an unnecessary addition to the documentary.
What is a woman? You are either Male, Female or Hermaphrodite the rest is made up. You either have a penis or a vagina... If you cut of your penis and take hormones you are still a male with a cut off penis that's taking female hormones. Two of the chromosomes (the X and the Y chromosome) determine your sex as male or female when you are born. They are called sex chromosomes: Females have 2 X chromosomes. Males have 1 X and 1 Y chromosome. If there are extra chromosomes its very rare and a defect. What is this clown world? You can't argue with facts...
I have nothing against transgenders but let's keep it real! It's the same when I would identify myself as a male cat while you clearly see a human female. And I can't expect anyone to change reality and enter my imaginary delusional bubble and call me a male cat. Just because you feel like something doesn't make it reality. Just like Martina Big isn't a black woman, Dennis Avner isn't a tiger and Rodrigo Alves isn't a Ken Doll. But again if you are a male and you really want to live your life as a female go do what makes you happy! Live your life as a transgender! But don't claim to be something you are not just because you feel like it.
I really wanted to quote this:
Matt: "I want to understand reality and get to the truth."
Professor Dr. Patrick Grzanka: Yea, I'm really uncomfortable with that language "getting to the truth" because that sounds deeply transphobic to me and if you keep going we are going to stop the interview. The word truth is condescending and rude"
I enjoyed it but it might be unsettling for viewers who haven't haven't read the book. You really have to think about this movie as a play based on Sorkin's accounts.
You're thrown right into the action so you might feel like you're missing a bit of context. The thing about the book is that it is focused on some of the key people of the financial crisis, not the crisis itself. The movie embraces that and goes even further by removing a lot of the explaining that you find in the book, probably because it would have been really awkward to put in the mouths of people you expect to be extremely knowledgeable.
The result is an interesting, if sometimes overly dramatic, look at the players of the crisis and the way a system that we view as very impersonal and rigid is shaped by the people in it.
It's good at giving you a sense of the timeline of the events, a good start if you want to get more in depth about the thing.
If you've been studying on the crisis, you won't learn anything new, but you'll probably enjoy seeing the movie. Because, if nothing else, watching the movie make Cox look like an absolute fool and Paulson almost lose it ("You guys are like the gang that can't shoot straight") was as satisfying as reading about it for the first time.
I've seen this movie 3 times now and have a ticket purchased for Wednesday night again in the Dome. I LOVE IT. Favorite movie of the year and well on it's way to one of my faves of all time. The music wonderful, the cinematography is gorgeous, the script is hilarious and everything just keeps moving. I love every single scene. I think it has the chance to be the fourth movie ever to win Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actress and Actor. Man, is this amazing!!!! See immediately then buy the soundtrack!!!!
UPDATE: Saw it for the 6th time yesterday at the Chinese Theater in IMAX. I. Still. Love. This. Movie. !!!!!!
UPDATE: Took my fam to see it the other night for #7. Still great!
UPDATE: Saw this last night at the Hollywood Bowl, making it my 8th time on the big screen. And I gotta say, my friend and I had an epic epic nightmare of a battle making it to the show and we were 20 minutes into movie when we got there but this movie is so special and spectacular it got us out of our funk instantly. Love it! Then I went home and watched it on blu-ray to hear the commentary man oh man I love this movie. Okay done with updates now that it's on home vid.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
First off, I haven't played the game 'Alone in the Dark' and this is the first Uwe Boll film I've ever seen. From the reviews I've read, the scathing criticism of Boll I've heard and all the message boards on IMDb, my expectations were way low. Game adaptations are inherently bad, the only exceptions I can think of are 'Mortal Kombat' and the 'Resident Evil' movies (yes, I like Paul W.S. Anderson too).
I'm a Christian Slater fan, for starters, and now I'm a Uwe Boll fan too. I reckon, as B-grade movie directors go, the guy's got talent. He handles the sex scene very well (without it being fifteen minutes long and featuring an inordinate amount of nudity and fading in and out all the time) and the film was fastly paced and tight. The visual effects were also amazingly well-done for such a film, the creatures (I forget what they're called) especially.
I could overlook the problems with the script and the acting, but only because 'Alone in the Dark' is so suspenseful and genuinely interesting at times. There's never a dull nor slow moment to be found. I reckon 2/10 is rather harsh. I've seen worse films than this; much worse. While it may not sit well with gamers, 'Alone in the Dark' is one of the better B-grade horror films I've seen in years, just as long as you don't take it seriously.
Well...
Instead of reading reviews, the best thing to do is just go and watch it
I didn't find it REALLY good, but I enjoyed it nonetheless !
the main problem (sorry) are the actors... especially Jennifer Lawrence ! Don't go watch it if you want a serious SF movie !
I didn't count the number of times there were "sexy" shots on her body, but at the end I was like "come on ! Not again !"
Also for physics friends, the director made quite a good job ! Of course, there are some flaws but there is a lot of actual physical content, so the ship, the technology and everything is not pure imagination (or wandering).
also I'm still wondering some things, like why is there only a single medical pod or bartender for 5200+ people ? Why there is still a need for propulsion when you keep at 50% of light speed ? What a glass preventing humans from being roasted by a fusion reactor is made of ? How strong Chris Pratt really is to make an amount of force equivalent to the force with which he got ejected by the energy of that reactor, simply by throwing a door ?
Finally, the music is fair and the design is good, the only big problem here is too much romance but hey, that's what people want now ¯_(ツ)_/¯
