Christopher Nolan - Appreciation Thread

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  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    And again, IMO, van Hoytema is the most overrated cinematographer in the business

    You can call the DP of Her, Ad Astra, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Let the Right One In and Dunkirk overrated all you bloody want. It will reflect on you, not him.

    LOL indeed.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Fans still salty over his color palette in SP?
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited August 2020 Posts: 15,718
    Tenet is opening at number 1 in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, Taiwan to encouraging numbers.

    Tenet is however tanking in South Korea, which was expected to be one of its biggest markets. The $15 million opening is now down to $6 million/$7 million. And there is now a real possibility that South Korean cinemas nation-wide may be ordered to shut down due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    https://deadline.com/2020/08/tenet-christopher-nolan-the-eight-hundred-imax-china-international-box-office-1203024679/

    Tenet's South Korean release, which was expected to earn $15 million, is officially a disaster.

    South Korea has reduced the allowed capacity per showing, and upcoming releases are now being delayed (Mulan and The New Mutants are pushed back by 1 week).

    The per-screen-average for Tenet is also starting to tank, from $623 last Saturday to $271 yesterday (a drop of over 55% within a week).

    South Korea was expected to be one of the biggest markets for Tenet.

    https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/tenet-box-office-korea-coronavirus-surges-1234752014/
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    This film is basically a magic trick without the prestige.
  • edited August 2020 Posts: 4,409
    This movie is why I almost wished God existed, so that I can thank him/her for making it unlikely that Nolan will ever direct Bond. Spielberg was a missed opportunity, Nolan is a welcome blessing.

    The bloke is really bad at characterisation and any sense of sensuality. Two essential things that Bond really needs. Who wants to see a modest, sexless Bond film? No one. That’s who.

    I don't think Tenet rules Nolan out from doing a Bond film...In fact, it may help. It's destined to be Nolan's least critically acclaimed and financially successful film. He'll need a 'come back.' Perhaps that could be Bond?

    Also, beforehand Nolan would have expected creative freedom and total impunity from the Broccoli's. In the wake of Tenet, I can imagine he'll need his wings clipped. Perhaps working with EON is what he needs.

    Because, speaking frankly, Nolan is a great director but he's no writer. His scripts are exposition-heavy and his characters lifeless cyphers. If they could get a writer; such as Krysty Wilson-Cairns (who has worked with top-tier names like Sam Mendes, Edgar Wright and Taikia Waititi) then it may reign in his worst excesses.

    Basically, Nolan needs someone to simplify his stories. I shouldn't need to go on Wikipedia after to read the plot to actually work out what happened.

    If Nolan did Bond, we could get Tom Hardy or (even better) Robert Pattinson...

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    James-Bond-Batman-and-Tenet-s-Robert-Pattinson-could-replace-Daniel-Craig-1328640.webp?r=1598622003161

    Univex wrote: »
    Also, this was Thunderball 2.0, or 3.0 if you're anal about it. A villain on a yacht with a girl under his thumb and a "radioactive/nuclear" world menacing plot? How original.

    +1
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  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    The sequences shot in Italy screams Bond and they are actually pretty cool.

    Anyway, a Bond film written only by Nolan would've been a disaster, but with someone else penning it... well, that's another story.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited August 2020 Posts: 5,970
    @Pierce2Daniel I agree that there’s still a chance for Nolan, but I think it’s too late for Tom or Rob. They have their own franchises now, so I’d say they’re both off the table.

    Maybe Aaron-Taylor? I quite enjoyed the small amount of screentime he had, and is certainly in a good place career-wise.

    But that’s a conversation for a different page :)
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Maybe Aaron-Taylor? I quite enjoyed the small amount of screentime he had, and is certainly in a good place career-wise.

    He's really been improving lately, ever since his brilliant performance in Nocturnal Animals. As you said, he was good in Tenet, despite paper-thin characterization.

  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Fans still salty over his color palette in SP?

    Yes, the worst movie ever.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited August 2020 Posts: 5,970
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Maybe Aaron-Taylor? I quite enjoyed the small amount of screentime he had, and is certainly in a good place career-wise.
    ...despite paper-thin characterization.
    Unfortunately that was the case for most in this film, which is a shame considering the acting talent Nolan got :/
  • marketto007marketto007 Brazil
    Posts: 3,277
    Watched yesterday. Loved it. It's big, it's complex, and it's loud, very loud.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Well fellas, I have to make a new reservation. Next week! :-c
  • Posts: 2,165
    Fans still salty over his color palette in SP?

    Spectre is a good looking movie save for the awful sepia filter over the opening Mexico sequence, which should have been bright and full of colour. It was shot on 35mm with the aim of having “a slightly hazier, more romantic feel” and it definitely does have that.

    PTS aide I have no real issue with the way SP looks.

    Also, Deakins does an in depth interview with Hoytema on his Team Deakins podcast, and if youre interested in that sort of thing, its a really good discussion.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Mallory wrote: »
    Fans still salty over his color palette in SP?

    Spectre is a good looking movie save for the awful sepia filter over the opening Mexico sequence, which should have been bright and full of colour. It was shot on 35mm with the aim of having “a slightly hazier, more romantic feel” and it definitely does have that.

    PTS aide I have no real issue with the way SP looks.

    Also, Deakins does an in depth interview with Hoytema on his Team Deakins podcast, and if youre interested in that sort of thing, its a really good discussion.

    His work cannot be called all bad because he used the sepia filter in one film you don't like, my friend.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited August 2020 Posts: 5,970
    I personally find the cinematography in Spectre weighs down the scope, and was more akin to his work on Tinker Tailor, whereas his cinematography in Tenet was one of my favourite things about the film.
  • Posts: 6,709
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    And again, IMO, van Hoytema is the most overrated cinematographer in the business

    You can call the DP of Her, Ad Astra, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Let the Right One In and Dunkirk overrated all you bloody want. It will reflect on you, not him.

    LOL indeed.

    Granted, those films looked great. I guess it just seems he's a pony that found his trick as of late. Those yellowish hues that just uniformize everything are awful. Where is that guy who did Her and Ad Astra? Come to think of it, maybe it has something to do with production design as well. His palettes and contrasts usually work better in certain already exotic contexts. If the context is on the real side of things, it just tones it further down. An opinion of course. You know, I know Hoytema, spoke with him once in Prague. Nice guy, I have nothing against him, but there are brilliant cinematographers out there, he's not the only god in the block.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Tenet going towards a $3 million opening 5-day weekend in Germany.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Nolan must work with Pfister again. :-?
  • edited August 2020 Posts: 6,709
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Nolan must work with Pfister again. :-?

    Yes, yes, absolutely! Insomnia, Inception and The Prestige looked amazing.

    BTW, I've never said van Hoytema's work was bad. I said he was overrated. Very big difference there. I think he has some phenomenal work. I don't think he is the best cinematographer there is. Oh well, same can be said about Nolan, I guess.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Univex wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Nolan must work with Pfister again. :-?

    Yes, yes, absolutely! Insomnia, Inception and The Prestige looked amazing.

    The Prestige is an underrated masterpiece.

    And it's the film that made me fall in love with Scarlett. ;-)
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217
    I think Pfister is still licking his wounds after his directorial debut bombed so hard.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    I didn't understand Interstellar...this probably results in much much more confusion with this new movie. Anyway, I want to see this.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    I think Pfister is still licking his wounds after his directorial debut bombed so hard.

    I haven't seen it yet, but the reviews from those who did aren't encouraging.
  • Posts: 6,709
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Univex wrote: »
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Nolan must work with Pfister again. :-?

    Yes, yes, absolutely! Insomnia, Inception and The Prestige looked amazing.

    The Prestige is an underrated masterpiece.

    And it's the film that made me fall in love with Scarlett. ;-)

    Yep, my feelings exactly. About the film and Scarlett ;-)
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    I think Pfister is still licking his wounds after his directorial debut bombed so hard.

    He’s always come off incredibly smug from
    what I’ve seen. Enough that he’s stubborn enough to not look back on working as a DOP and just get any gig he can possibly get as a director, which has so far only been TV episodes. I’m sure if he wanted, he could hop right back on as a DOP but he’d probably perceive that as “giving into defeat”.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    I think Pfister is still licking his wounds after his directorial debut bombed so hard.

    He’s always come off incredibly smug from
    what I’ve seen. Enough that he’s stubborn enough to not look back on working as a DOP and just get any gig he can possibly get as a director, which has so far only been TV episodes. I’m sure if he wanted, he could hop right back on as a DOP but he’d probably perceive that as “giving into defeat”.

    Let's give him a little push. ;-)
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217
    I think Pfister is still licking his wounds after his directorial debut bombed so hard.

    He’s always come off incredibly smug from
    what I’ve seen. Enough that he’s stubborn enough to not look back on working as a DOP and just get any gig he can possibly get as a director, which has so far only been TV episodes. I’m sure if he wanted, he could hop right back on as a DOP but he’d probably perceive that as “giving into defeat”.

    I've heard of him being a bit of a dick, alright. I've spoken with two cinematographers who have mentioned that Pfister has made rather needlessly nasty remarks about their work. Maybe he's transcended beyond his own CV in his head.

    He is a good DoP himself, but I don't think of him as a Grade A name despite his work with Nolan.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Very much agreed.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,540
    For anyone struggling to work out what happened, Total Film has a great break of what went down.
  • edited August 2020 Posts: 4,409
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    For anyone struggling to work out what happened, Total Film has a great break of what went down.

    Very helpful! Thank you! Even reading that hurt my head and I've seen the film!

    Tenet is the perfect example of Christopher Nolan getting way too much power from the studio. Clearly the 'time travelling James Bond' pitch is a very interesting one. However, the execution is appalling. The storytelling is woeful, and the dialogue is dull (at least the parts I heard). I did adore the score though. Also, JDW is an action star waiting to happen - just not as The Protagonist.



    However, you can't make a film like Tenet which is built for four-quadrant appeal with a $200m budget and make the film so indecipherable!

    I'm a Nolan fan, but I when I see a dud, I'll call it a dud. Whilst the Nolan acolytes will line up to praise this film, audiences will roundly reject it. Take my word for it. If this is meant to be the film to get audiences back to cinemas, then you're better off staying home and getting a Netflix subscription. They're even streaming Inception at the moment! Inception did the high-concept balancing act so much more artfully and was a wholly better constructed film.

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    Tenet is a $200m turkey, destined to be Nolan's Heaven's Gate. Which is a tragedy as the concept had so much promise.
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