Ready Player One (2018)

All non-Nolan related film, tv, and streaming discussions.
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ArmandFancypants wrote:
April 1st, 2018, 4:16 am
Did Spielberg do that or did the character of Halliday do that? It's reflective of how the character engages with various texts and how people worship at that altar.

I am slightly disappointed though that there is no comment on the idea that much of what Halliday loves could be regarded as "pap" - that would have been a more fun angle for the villain. Beyond being a corporate stooge fed intel on (ugh) 80s pop culture he could have been a real snob
I largely agree with you in terms of Nolan but I think that sentiment is still not only there but is very much the point. He (or she) who is victorious in Halliday's Easter Egg Hunt won't be the one who's merely downloaded every wikipedia page and obsessed endlessly over meaningful details.

RP1----Spielberg's movie, not the book which I suspect I'd hate----is about the meaning beyond or underneath the "pop-culture facts" that really matters, not the facts themselves or empty trivia. Likewise, Spielberg is probably a lot more interested in audiences that connect to the theme of paternal strife explored in much of his work than he is the guy who can name the number of cars in Sugarland Express. Or the audience member who is "illuminated", to use the turn-key phrase dropped throughout Last Crusade, by the sometimes overlooked moral investigations laced through his historical work. There's a powerful sense of an artist trying to connect with an audience to be understood and appreciated on a human level, the same human level that the characters themselves learn to celebrate in Ready Player One, is the thesis here. And for me, a very powerful thesis it is.

Shameless conjecture, but perhaps making Ready Player One his most personal movie in many years. A film that explores the social and emotional purpose of art in an increasingly isolated and lonely world, all while exploring his own legacy, yearning for an audience who will most embrace and appreciate it, before humbly handing that legacy over to who it was always meant for----his viewers.


-Vader

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ArmandFancypants wrote:
April 1st, 2018, 4:16 am
Did Spielberg do that or did the character of Halliday do that? It's reflective of how the character engages with various texts and how people worship at that altar.

I am slightly disappointed though that there is no comment on the idea that much of what Halliday loves could be regarded as "pap" - that would have been a more fun angle for the villain. Beyond being a corporate stooge fed intel on (ugh) 80s pop culture he could have been a real snob
The character did that, and director presented it in a fluff manner, therefore both are ‘guilty’ so to speak. I’m talking both text and presentation and I certainly wouldn’t be as blunt if both were presented in a more classy way.

But apparently I can’t say I disliked it or what? Ended up disliking rap in the process, which is just the most ridiculous leap.

That one sequence aside, the worst offenders were 90s racial stereotypes (felt like watching old TMNT movies) and the fact that none of the cameos were actually cameos - all of the backdrop characters were simply mmo skinjobs, so you have Harley and Tracer with zero personality. They’re just... there, thousands of generic avatars. Then you have Iron Giant used as a simple op tool, mixed with T2? Just no.

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Is anyone doing a poll on here for user ratings of the film? Seems like it is a bit dismissive. Put me down for an A. Loved it, many of the moments were classic Spielberg and I felt like this could have been a film he made in the 1980s, and that's a huge compliment.

Very much looking forward to catching this again, hopefully in IMAX next.

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My wife and I both really enjoyed RP1..turned out better than originally expected..a little cgi heavy but overall a really enjoyable film..nice to see that spielberg can still churn this type of movie..actually enjoyed this a lot more than the last jedi..8.8/10 :clap:

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Debuted with 181 M globally.£

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Master Virgo wrote:
April 1st, 2018, 1:44 pm
Debuted with 181 M globally.£
Is that good? Not sure what the forecasts were for this and what number it needs to get to overall to be a financial success.

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It's really good, but it'll need real legs. Expensive movie, 175m.


-Vader

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Well I am seeing this Tuesday. I hope it has legs.

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The lukewarm reactions remind me of Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street. Many loved it and said it proves Scorsese hasn't lost a step. Others were less enthusiastic and said it was a film filled with excesses.

Pretty much what I'm hearing with Ready Player One. I happen to really enjoy both.

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Skyab23 wrote:
April 1st, 2018, 9:29 pm
The lukewarm reactions remind me of Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street. Many loved it and said it proves Scorsese hasn't lost a step. Others were less enthusiastic and said it was a film filled with excesses.

Pretty much what I'm hearing with Ready Player One. I happen to really enjoy both.
Ready Player One is no Wolf of Wall Street. Not even close.

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