THE MASTER

All of the above.

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Hofstadter
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THE MASTER

Post by Hofstadter »

See it. I'll keep this spoiler (and mostly plot in general)-free - I'll try to keep it to discussion of the more cinematic elements. Not quite as immediately knock-you-on-your-ass-powerful as There Will Be Blood, but still quite awesome. Some moments bordered on silly, and others certainly crossed into self-indulgence, but... some were utterly sublime. The thing I found most incredible about it was the sheer length of shots - some shots would start out completely static, eventually building to movement within the frame... and then the camera starts tracking the movement for an extended period of time... and then the movement within the frame stops, but the camera keeps moving.... these epicly long shots lull you into a sort of hypnosis as you move through what you feel like should be multiple cuts. It gives the film this surreal quality - you are under its spell, and then all of a sudden you wake up, for one reason or another, in a completely new environment and scene. I found I kept asking myself, "Well how did I get here?" Can I mentally trace the arc the camera took? The characters? What's going on? Was that 10 cuts, or none? This new color palette... I feel like it was a brilliant way of inducing the watcher to feel some of what the characters are feeling.

I think a word that might capture where the movie succeeded and were it tripped up might be "subtlety." When it had some of that, it was beautiful - when it lost some of that, I think it completely takes the viewer out of it and borders on silly cliche - on the other hand it could have gone completely in that direction and taken an almost psychological horror movie vibe (which it had in one or two moments) - that would have been completely sick - the hints of that were really exciting to think about as a viewer. But yeah, the moments were Joaquin Phoenix just barely loses his grip on the role are mainly where this happens - like I said, it just borders on being a little bit silly.

Also, the water... the swirling, blue, oceanic water just was mesmerizing on the big screen in 70 mm.

And Johnny Greenwood's score... saved the movie in a few places, propelled it to new heights in others - particularly the first sequence. Classic PT Anderson/Greenwood - those two guys sure know how to open a movie.

I have to admit, hadn't smoked in a few weeks (school - senior year has begun! woohoo!), so I was quite... gone... when I saw the film, but I still loved it. I will most likely be seeing it again when I am a little bit more... in this plane... so to speak.

Also, a more subdued line that almost went completely unnoticed - it was just slipped in, just a little hint, but I found it incredibly powerful - was the following: "Your memory is uninvited."

I will leave that seed of a thought planted in your head as you go to see it!
jack white
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Re: THE MASTER

Post by jack white »

aye well i found There Will Be Blood to be one of my favourite cinema trips of recent times, prob ever. i loved it from the first time i watched it in the cinema & have watched it over & over since.

however, while i am excited to see The Watcher i do recognise it won't have the raw material to draw upon, i.e. the use of landscape & iconic imagery, which helped gigantify (huh?) the presence of There Will Be Blood.
i suspect it'll be more like something inbetween There Will Be Bloods grandiose scope & the almost claustrophobic Punch Drunk Love/Magnolia complete w/that brooding swagger & great ensemble cast that's typified his films since Sydney.

i guess you could say i'm going in w/high expectations.


criminally it's not out here til November.
will just give me more time to hype it out of proportion in my mind & be left sorely disappointed when i eventually do see it. really looking forward to that part even more than the film!!
gonna burn brightly
for a while
Hofstadter
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Re: THE MASTER

Post by Hofstadter »

jack white wrote:i am excited to see The Watcher
Oh that sounds interesting! What is it? :lol: Just kiddin' round.

jack white wrote:aye well i found There Will Be Blood to be one of my favourite cinema trips of recent times, prob ever.
I think the "gusher" scene might be the most powerful/epic scene in the past 10 years of cinema (even taking into account Lord of the Rings...) and definitely that I've ever seen. Will never forget the way my mouth just hung open in awe the first time I saw it (and pretty much every time subsequent to that as well....).
jack white wrote:claustrophobic
This word certainly captures the ambiance of much of the Master quite well.
jack white
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Re: THE MASTER

Post by jack white »

Lol wtf why do I keep calling it the watcher?! That's like the 4th time I've done that. My brain is melting.
gonna burn brightly
for a while
jack white
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Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Tralfamadore

Re: THE MASTER

Post by jack white »

saw this this evening.

it's by turns unforgivably boring as hell & eviscerating & brilliant.


in it's exploration of scientology/cultism it's terrific. i do have a fascination w/religion & it's demonic impact on the mind so in that regards it was right up my street. tho it was quite one dimensions, one note, in regard to it. it took a lot from scientology history thru to present day & it was fun to spot the references & the excavation of it's behaviour (& other cults/religions for that matter, tho scientology is without doubt the intended target).

in terms of the oedipal strand that runs thru his films i am left w/the impression PTA is belabouring the point somewhat. he really must have had a fucked-up relationship w/his father. & he seems unable to break that influence, or, more damning, that plot device. the relationship follows a similar trajectory & ends in much the same was as the father/son relationships in There Will Be Blood. it's not a very happy place. he seems unwilling to embrace the joys of life, the small flashes of happiness are completely drowned by meanness & corruption.

it is more low-key than There Will Be Blood but shares a lot of strands. & again women are by & large relegated to the sidelines. as an allegory for the American dream its truisms & judgements are consistent w/his previous work, a sad lie full of damaged victims..

i also don't know if jonny greenwoods score had the same impact. well actually, i think it fitted much better than There Will be Blood, it's just how it was juxtaposed w/the previous films bombast that made it more effective then. this time it is more subtle.

there are some great moments, some great lines & it looks fantastic. it is interesting & definitely food for thought.
joaquin phoenix is absolutely amazing. he looks incredible.
gonna burn brightly
for a while
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