The Sword and Laser discussion

Just watched Snowpiercer last night on Netflix. I looked for a thread on here, but didn't see any, so figured I'd start one. I'm going start mostly spoiler free, but if the discussion goes there we can edit the topic.

I liked this movie a lot, but like a lot of older written sci fi it's about the ideas, not the practicality. If you think at all about the practicality of the situation, you will see plot hole after plot hole glaring back at you, so just go with it. I don't know if this based on anything, or an original screen play, but it had the feel of an obscure 50's pulp short story. I also liked that they held off on letting you know why the lead character is brooding so hard until near the end. The acting was often a bit over the top (think Mad Max), but I think it sort of felt right in this movie.

This movie isn't for everybody, it gets a bit bloody at times, and it is mostly an action movie, but if you're OK with that sort of thing, and you can suspend your disbelief through the plot, I think it can be an enjoyable film.


What have others thought ?

I, too, watched it last night on Netflix.

At first I was thinking "Meh" because it was so over-the-top and clearly it was more about the metaphor than the actual idea... and then it turned very, very dark. By the time we got to Chris Evans' confession, I was thinking, "Did not expect that. This is grim." I wonder if the metaphor is more about the choices we're making now rather than what we have to do when the world ends? I couldn't tell if the ending undercut the message or reinforced it, but by that time it was 3 am and I was too tired to ponder any more.

Definitely better than I expected going in and what the first hour would have led me to suspect.

Snowpiercer was reportedly in a battle between the director and studio about cutting certain parts of it. I'm guessing the stuff the Weinsteins wanted to cut out was all the best stuff with Evans' character. Without that, the movie is a D at best.

It is based on a French graphic novel.
I liked it a lot too. It reminded me of Terry Gilliams movies. You have to just accept the absurdities and go with it.

Yes, it has a bit of Terry Gilliam feel to it. I would also say "Dark City" is in the same class of movie.

I also liked the confession speech, it almost had a bit of theatrical Shakesperianess to it. In thinking about it, this would make an interesting adaptation to a stage play.

The metaphor is a bit heavy handed, but like you said it twists a bit at the end, it's almost a counterpoint to the "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" tale.

On a bit of a side note, the iPad app still stinks. I could have sworn I started this thread in the movies folder, but it shows up in the general one. Argh. If a moderator wants to move it, or leave it here, I'm fine either way.

I watched this movie without knowing what the story was about and because it had high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. It did get intense and violent but overall it was an interesting movie. Reminded me of the walking dead a little bit in what people do to survive (chris evans's confession) and the Hunger Games (district 12 vs The Capital)..

I'm still annoyed I rented it on DVD when it was coming to streaming so soon. I thought it was a good, but not great movie.

It was a lot darker than I was expecting, that's for sure.

Hey! Moved this thread to the TV / Movies / Video games discussions! :)

Thanks Veronica. Next time I start a thread I'll use the web interface.

Heh. I didn't even notice it wasn't there already.

/modfail

Rob wrote: "I'm still annoyed I rented it on DVD when it was coming to streaming so soon."

I remember my cousin being so mad that Breaking Away was shown on TV only a couple weeks after it was released at the movies. These days it's not as big a surprise that films are available in multiple formats, but back then we were all shocked by that.

I loved this movie! A surprising hit for me. A lot over the top in many places and Evans acting during the big reveal was meh. But overall awesome. Wasn't quite sure how or when they had time to build tracks that crossed oceans though

I loved this movie so much that it's my top movie for 2014 and that's out of 31 so far. The layers, the message about capitalism... I don't care if it has plot holes. It's a Big Idea movie and I love movies that make you think. And all the symbolism! I'm trying to be vague here since I'm on the mobile app and I can't spoiler tag anything.

Watched it last night on Netflix. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I even liked the ending with the nebulous outcome for mankind.

Besides Chris Evans, some great actors - Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton (awesome in her part), and other great character actors.

Like many of the best French Graphic novels, some of the characters we very quirky and influenced by Moebius (Jean Giraud).

I hadn't heard of this one before seeing this thread, so I sat down and watched it last night. I thought it was pretty good, but my wife hated it (too gory). It had a certain graphic-novel feel about it, that's for sure. The acting was very good, (view spoiler)[ especially in the "revelation" scenes outside of the last gate and in the engine room. (hide spoiler)] I'd definitely watch it again. I'm not a big fan of Tilda Swinton, but she definitely took her role to heart.