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Christopher Nolan - Appreciation Thread

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  • UnivexUnivex
    Posts: 6,709
    Couldn't agree more, @Pierce2Daniel. The only thing I didn't like and you did was the score. But on everything else, you mirrored my feelings.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    When a director gets too much power, you get Tenet.

    Copyright Pierce2Daniel 2020. All rights reserved.
  • BonSimonLeBon_1BonSimonLeBon_1
    Posts: 2,436
    Univex wrote: »
    Couldn't agree more, @Pierce2Daniel. The only thing I didn't like and you did was the score. But on everything else, you mirrored my feelings.

    My feelings also, loved the score but it was overused. Wasn't necessary to have it playing over every dialogue scene, after awhile it felt like it was been used as a crutch for the lack of characterisation.
  • JoshBaker007JoshBaker007
    Posts: 38
    *taps microphone* um, I loved Tenet. The ending was confusing at first but it took me about half an hour after leaving the cinema to figure it out. I don't think thats the films fault. My only criticism is that in the second half the film kind of stops to deliver a lot of exposition, like when their in the van and Robert Pattinson explains the grandfather paradox. Maybe if he was saying it in the middle of something exciting it would've registered more to a wider audience. Apart from that I loved it, and I actually prefer it to Dunkirk; Tenet was incredibly inventive, fun and well made imo
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    It got glowing reviews in one of the local newspapers. The headline was
    "Impressive mindfuckery"

    Not that I care much about that, but I aim to see it tomorrow.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    ‘Tenet’ Now Cruising To $40M+ Overseas Opening – International Box Office

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

    This is actually good.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    matt_u wrote: »
    ‘Tenet’ Now Cruising To $40M+ Overseas Opening – International Box Office

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

    This is actually good.

    Hopefully it can keep this up in the next few weekends.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    All bets are off when it comes to the box office, that's for sure. I wonder if that means certain films will have legs in a way they couldn't have had pre-pandemic.

    "It's the only movie out to see!"
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Tenet is now the 10th highest grossing movie of the year, with $53.000.000.



    ~O)
  • RoadphillRoadphill United Kingdom
    Posts: 984
    Good film, but not one of Nolan's best.
    I feel like it collapsed under its own weight a little in the second half.

    Still, another action movie with a brain. Something Nolan seems to have a monopoly on.
  • vittoriacolonavittoriacolona Canada
    Posts: 25
    I saw it here in Canada on Wednesday. It was enjoyable. I think some of the ideas should have been more well 'cooked'. For example I would have used it as war between two powers instead of a Russian Oligarch. And Sator needed a better motivation, I also didn't like the fact that too much of it came across as a re-tread of BBC's the Nightmanager. That being said the use of Time was interesting. Still it was enjoyable and I would give it an A.
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    When a director gets too much power, you get Tenet.

    Copyright Pierce2Daniel 2020. All rights reserved.

    Which I am eternally grateful for. If it wasn't for Nolan's clout and the fact that he tends to deliver. If it hadn't been for that we would have had to wait until summer of 2021. I have never been over enthused by all his films. I will never accuse him of wasting my time or insulting my intelligence.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,540
    The Closed Cities Of 'Tenet' Are A Real Relic Of The Soviet Union And Beyond
    https://esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a33829417/closed-cities-tenet-true-story/

    How 'Tenet' Uses Time Inversion To Touch The Future And Flip The Past
    https://esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a32943259/time-inversion-explained-tenet/

    A couple of interesting reads for anyone wanting some more background on closed cities and entropy.
  • outlawgeniusoutlawgenius
    edited September 2020 Posts: 70
    I saw it last night, and I don't think I've ever been more impressed and disappointed, simultaneously, with a movie. I admit that I appreciate the audacity and sheer brass balls to come up with the underlying concept and try to work it out on screen, and there were moments of pure cinema brilliance where I looked over at my partner (who was on her phone for a lot of it because she doesn't care for Nolan anyway) to be like 'Are you f*cking seeing this?'...

    But all of that was counterbalanced by the fact that I couldn't understand a good half of the dialogue (I'm advising my friends to wait until they can watch it at home with subtitles on), both because the sound mixing was atrocious and also because it was too clever by a half. I have a damn PhD and I was struggling to comprehend plot points, until I finally decided to just 'feel it' and try and enjoy the final battle scene as best I could. As soon as the screen went black, we were out of our seats heading to our dinner reservation, and agreed that since nobody else in the theater had worn masks like we had been doing, it wasn't worth risking our health for that movie.

    The best part of the movie was finally seeing the NTTD trailer on a big screen. The second best part was Robert Pattinson, who was an absolute joy and infinitely more engaging than JDW, but that doesn't mean I want Pattinson as Bond; he's just a bit too smarmy which works for a lot of roles but not for 007.
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,409
    Any word on the soundtrack? Something that @antovolk could help with? I think I love that opening track during the Opera siege, 'Rainy Night in Tallinn.' It's so exhilarating! It made my whole chair vibrate in the cinema and got my nerves jangling. I just couldn't stop smiling.

    I think Ludwig's work here may actually surpass Zimmer's in previous Nolan collaborations. I definitely cannot wait to hear the score properly. I can only find these snippets online currently.....



    I will see Tenet again.....It's just a shame that the actual stakes doesn't feel as 'real' as the action. Nolan is clearly a talented man and a terrific filmmaker. However, he's no writer. He needs to hire someone to make his ideas work on the page.

    Get him and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a room together (you might actually get a decent female character in one of his films finally) and get them to write Bond 26. Then we can get R-Patz as 007

    Egx3eu7XYAESrGW?format=jpg&name=large
  • jobojobo
    edited September 2020 Posts: 7,507
    I saw the film yesterday. And I no doubt concur that there are significantly issues there with the story. It's not only the fact that you have to concentrate 110% for two and a half to understand the plot (if you let your mind wander for two minutes, you're lost) and that everything going on is either action or plot exposition. It is also the fact that whenever time travel and manipulation of the past becomes a significant element to the plot, the whole narrative becomes a complete mess. It is not only the "grandpa" paradox that was raised in the film, the entire film, and basically every action by the characters, becomes a paradox in itself...
  • M_BlaiseM_Blaise
    Posts: 348
    I haven't seen Tenet but reading about it makes me grateful for storytelling like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Mad Max Fury Road.
  • MalloryMallory
    Posts: 2,165
    Hot take: Tenet would be a better film if the time element wasnt in it.
  • 007InAction007InAction Australia
    Posts: 2,534
    Mallory wrote: »
    Hot take: Tenet would be a better film if the time element wasnt in it.

    No time to Tenet ? :)>-
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Sad to say I was incredibly underwhelmed by the film. The trio of lead performances were very strong (Washington, Pattinson, Debicki) and I thought the soundtrack was certainly inventive enough (I liked the distorted, inverted feel it took on at times, like when they steal the fire truck and you can hear the fire siren being slipped into the track) but for a film so long, it certainly blows through exposition scene after exposition scene until we get to a few set pieces that were mostly spoiled by the trailers and certainly aren't exciting enough (sans the finale - the assault on the closed city was great and I also felt that's when Nolan incorporated the fun ideas one could have with inversion the best). I can only be hit over the head with these details so many times before I start to scoff. Toss in award-winning lines like Debicki's realization that the end of the world means her son dying, too, as if that wasn't hammered home numerous times already, and I can't help but face palm.

    Of course, the sound editing and overly booming score doesn't help when you're trying to catch essential details about the plot - it's even worse when even the characters seem to be telling the audience "don't think about this too hard because there are no answers." The film simply didn't hit or wow or stun me the same way Inception did at all, and another wonky Russian accent and performance from Branagh was disappointing; for a film that threatens the literal end of the world and history, they could've gone with someone a bit more threatening and imposing. Still, I enjoyed it more than Dunkirk but the film, for me, felt convoluted just for the sake of it. Too much exposition and confusion, not enough excitement.

    Also, I know spoilers are allowed but I'll still try to cover these up just in case, but did anyone else feel the:
    Bigger "twists" were too obviously choreographed? As soon as The Protagonist was saved during the opera siege opening, I instantly thought "Well that has to be Pattinson's character, or perhaps it's even Washington saving himself? No sense in hiding the person's face unless it's a big reveal," and voila, we get both of those moments. It was sealed for me once Pattinson's Neal first steps in (officially) and seems to know so many little details, gleefully, about The Protagonist and his drinking habits (or lack thereof). Not that any of this weakens the story or anything, but when most of this isn't revealed until the closing few minutes, it's a shame they took so long to reveal something that felt rather obvious. For a film so shrouded in mystery and demanded to be seen in cinemas, I didn't walk out feeling as impressed or wowed by what unfolded as I did with his previous Inception. The films feel so similar that it's impossible not to compare them to some degree.

    I did think the cinematography was great, at least, and once again shows that Hoyte van Hoytema is one talented man, I'll just never get over his choices in SP, as bad as they were (subjective or not). Most of these scenes were very beautiful and the entire closed city sequence is going to look insane on 4K, I'm sure. In fact, that whole sequence is the big highlight for me. If the rest of the film was on the same level, I would've enjoyed it much more.

    Definitely not the epic, mind-blowing sci-fi thriller I was hoping for but surely not the worst thing I've seen from Nolan (that'd be more reserved for The Dark Knight Rises or his Insomnia remake). I'd give it a 3/5. Sorry for the scattered thoughts. It's really not a film you see once or twice and walk away having remembered most of it.
  • outlawgeniusoutlawgenius
    Posts: 70
    I agree with all of what you write @Creasy47, and you make a good point about the
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Bigger "twists" were too obviously choreographed? As soon as The Protagonist was saved during the opera siege opening, I instantly thought "Well that has to be Pattinson's character, or perhaps it's even Washington saving himself? No sense in hiding the person's face unless it's a big reveal," and voila, we get both of those moments. It was sealed for me once Pattinson's Neal first steps in (officially) and seems to know so many little details, gleefully, about The Protagonist and his drinking habits (or lack thereof). Not that any of this weakens the story or anything, but when most of this isn't revealed until the closing few minutes, it's a shame they took so long to reveal something that felt rather obvious. For a film so shrouded in mystery and demanded to be seen in cinemas, I didn't walk out feeling as impressed or wowed by what unfolded as I did with his previous Inception. The films feel so similar that it's impossible not to compare them to some degree.

    Let's just say that when I got to the end, I didn't feel that absolute rush of 'Oh my god I must watch this again right now!' that I felt the first time I watched The Prestige. That remains, hands down, one of my most favourite movie moments.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Neither did I. I was surprised at not feeling like I absolutely required another viewing of it ASAP the same way I did with Inception. It didn't really feel like there was much I was missing out on.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Neither did I. I was surprised at not feeling like I absolutely required another viewing of it ASAP the same way I did with Inception. It didn't really feel like there was much I was missing out on.

    https://inception.davepedu.com/

    Inception is a masterpiece.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    JamesCraig wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Neither did I. I was surprised at not feeling like I absolutely required another viewing of it ASAP the same way I did with Inception. It didn't really feel like there was much I was missing out on.

    https://inception.davepedu.com/

    Inception is a masterpiece.

    I've not seen it in many years now, to the point that it'd probably feel like a very fresh experience if I did watch it again soon, which I need to do to see how it holds up and to appreciate how much better it is in a lot of ways compared to this one - in my opinion, anyway.
  • antovolkantovolk
    Posts: 3,164
    Pierce2Daniel wrote: »
    Any word on the soundtrack? Something that @antovolk could help with? I think I love that opening track during the Opera siege, 'Rainy Night in Tallinn.' It's so exhilarating! It made my whole chair vibrate in the cinema and got my nerves jangling. I just couldn't stop smiling.

    I think Ludwig's work here may actually surpass Zimmer's in previous Nolan collaborations. I definitely cannot wait to hear the score properly. I can only find these snippets online currently.....



    I will see Tenet again.....It's just a shame that the actual stakes doesn't feel as 'real' as the action. Nolan is clearly a talented man and a terrific filmmaker. However, he's no writer. He needs to hire someone to make his ideas work on the page.

    Get him and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a room together (you might actually get a decent female character in one of his films finally) and get them to write Bond 26. Then we can get R-Patz as 007

    Egx3eu7XYAESrGW?format=jpg&name=large

    Out tomorrow...
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Cool to see some familiar surroundings in this.
  • antovolkantovolk
    Posts: 3,164
    Now I’ve seen this properly (had really really bad sound issues last time so first, serious serious hats off to the Troubadour Meridian Water Drive-In in London for *nailing* the sound, dialogue and music as clear as it can be over radio - even fixing some of original cinema mix’s much reported issues. Just quality of everything, *this* is the place to go if you aren’t, like me, ready for indoor cinema at this time)... this isn’t Nolan’s masterpiece. But it certainly is the *most* Nolan. It’s a hell of an unwieldy beast. Less Bond but more...Mission Impossible Fallout - it’s relentless. As mentioned first time there’s something in the way it doesn’t unleash the timey wimey madness right away but it gradually builds, the inversion is almost a character in itself, before it goes all out nuts.

    He lulls us into an old school almost by the numbers but slick and very Nolan still spy thriller before pulling the rug under us almost. The world building in this also, we’ve seen elements of this with Inception and Interstellar and odds of sequels/prequels/inverquels are nil but the world of Tenet is one I really hope Nolan allows further canonised exploration of - maybe comics? So much more to explore here. There’s a certain self awareness to it all, people say Nolan’s made the film people stereotype him for and he did! On purpose, knowingly.

    The cast is absolutely impeccable here, JDW and Pattinson are just dynamite and carry this entire thing, Washington especially. Of course there’s a certain element of wish they were in it more with Caine, Taylor Johnson, Poésy etc but they were great as they are. Ultimately and I don’t think that’s a bad thing, they’re all chess pieces in this massive game that Nolan’s laying out, the fate of the world. Can we talk about Dimple Kapadia as the absolute MVP though, what a fresh-feeling and charismatic twist on an M-type figure. In fact there’s something in the way Nolan plays with all those Bond/spy tropes with the right balance of freshness, self awareness and straightheadedness.


    The one IMO weakness is how much the themes for the first time end up taking a backseat. There’s always been something thematic driving the high concept - eg returning to family in Inception - but here that aspect felt like a box tick mention. But appropriate for the spy genre? After all, this is a save the world story, with the biggest stakes for a Nolan film yet. The scale of this is just jaw dropping, especially knowing how much was shot and executed for real. And Ludwig’s score, my god. Relentless, it’s very evocative of Nolan’s new more experimental and visceral blockbuster stage of filmmaking he’s come into with Dunkirk and now this. The detail and the intricacies of it, while carrying an incredible energy throughout and feeling fresh. And I really appreciated the Bondian touches - the guitar, the synergy with Travis Scott’s song...


    Looking forward to diving even more with the screenplay, home release and..one day...when this is closer to over...IMAX 70mm...
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,820
    Very much enjoyed your assessment @antovolk.

    My turn will come Friday. Unless I choose to see it Thursday, plus Friday.
  • BonSimonLeBon_1BonSimonLeBon_1
    Posts: 2,436
    Mallory wrote: »
    Hot take: Tenet would be a better film if the time element wasnt in it.

    Funny, I was thinking the same thing when watching it in the cinema.
  • imranbecksimranbecks Singapore
    Posts: 984
    Movie was confusing. I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time... The whole time inversion thingy wasn't explained clearly and just felt rushed. And it got even more confusing as the movie went on.....
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    edited September 2020 Posts: 2,540
    Christopher Nolan’s Use of Sound on ‘Tenet’ Infuriates Some, Inspires Others
    https://variety.com/2020/artisans/news/christopher-nolan-tenet-sound-problems-audio-mix-1234755898
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