d2cheer

I mean who gives a shit what this movie was rated by critics, it was a POS and it appears that is what he was going for and dumb as fuck.

He can quit now. His track record and whining does not help.

Osiris3657

The scene with the creature giving birth to various forms of itself was so fucked up. Loved it

IBJoel

To my knowledge, Garland has 2 well-regarded films and then this. And what whining (not saying it didn't happen, just never heard about it, if you could link me)?

RichC2

Garland was whining that he didn't like directing very much and wanted to go back to just writing. It didn't really seem whiney though, he just doesn't like it.

I'm surprised d2cheer chose to go see this in theaters

rocket1312

Before Men he directed two very good films and wrote the screenplays for another handful of good to great ones. He also created, wrote and directed the tv show Devs, which I haven't seen, but was well regarded critically. His "track record" speaks for itself.

Perkinsun Dzees

He was also (unofficially) credited as being the director of Dredd by its star, Karl Urban.

Karl Urban Claims Alex Garland Actually Directed ‘Dredd,’ Not Pete Travis

“A huge part of the success of ‘Dredd’ is in fact due to Alex Garland and what a lot of people don’t realize is that Alex Garland actually directed that movie,” Urban said.

asianxcore

Finally saw this last night.

Enjoyed the film a bit more as a slab of Folk Horror, than a layered commentary on generational toxic masculinity and misogyny.

Absolutely wonderful performances from Jessie Buckley & Rory Kinnear.

dsa_shea

Why do some people get so pissed off when toxic masculinity and misogyny are pointed out? I'm still looking forward to seeing this.

asianxcore

Who said I was pissed off about it? If anything, it was one of the biggest draws for me.

My comment is more that it doesn't quite say anything new or nuanced regarding the subject matter.

rocket1312

I heard an interview where Garland came right out and said that he was trying to make something with a message that was blunt and to the point. He wasn't interested in nuance or complexity and kind of mocked intellectuals and their aversion to simple ideas.

asianxcore

I might have read an interview with him that mentioned the same thing.

He shared that he viewed Ex Machina (2014) as an intellectual film and that he believed that Men (2022) was not.

d2cheer

I got to see it for free from a work promo...I have started to inch my way back to going to them. Saw Top Gun recently as well and it was fucking fantastic.

TheBang

Well, not my favorite Garland film, but it was interesting. And when I went into the theater that day, I certainly did not expect to see what I saw at the end. I was in the theater by myself, so I let loose with some loud exclamations, especially at the end.

If Garland decides to stop directing, it will be a shame, because his stuff is certainly different. At least hopefully he'll continue writing in any case.

Throwing Copper

July 19 at home. So I guess this got a 60-day window.

Hokeyboy

Good, not great. Ambitious and overreaching, but I'll take a noble failure over competent predictability any day.

The Green Man (British pagan fertility god) giving "birth" to each iteration of Rory Kinnear and then finally her husband, all to the annoyed contempt of Jessie Buckley, drove the message home succinctly. Her relief at her pregnant friend showing up (reinforcing the Sheela Na Gig imagery from earlier) was a bit hamfisted and unnecessary, but there you have it.

It was a very male take on toxic masculinity. The Male Birthing Sequence was meta-mansplaining at its best. Or worst.

JeffTheAlpaca

I found it interesting though had no idea what is was really about or the deeper meaning of the story.

Dan

I enjoyed it. Maybe the point of it all was a little too obvious, but it worked.

However, I thought of this clip a lot while watching it. Kind of distracting

Brian T

Likewise really enjoyed this. Yes, the point was obvious, yes, Garland intended it that way, etc etc., but I thought it was still a unique, eerie take on the concept, and visually arresting.

(My brain keeps wanting Garland's films to be set in some kind of off-kilter 'cinematic universe' where he'll eventually reveal really obscure connections between them a la the Moorhead/Benson movies. I'm sure that's just because they feel very much of a kind to me, and not because there's any actual connective tissue.)

story

I watched this late last night when I should have been in bed. I think I liked it. Is that a weird sentence to write? I appreciated the tone, the pacing, the cinematography, the themes, the acting, the weirdness. I'm left thinking about it, but less in a "Wow, that's an amazing way to say what it's trying to say!" and more of a "Well, I'm curious if there's an essay about what it's specifically trying to say!" I get the vibe I'm missing some cultural and folklore imagery and legend that inform this piece, and I'll get around to looking it up. But I'm not hard-pressed to go look for it right after the movie. That may say a bit about how I liked it. I think.

Abob Teff

Just noticed it is up on Showtime (Paramount+) . . . will probably watch it later tonight. Been waiting on this one!

Abob Teff

Well, that was a movie.

Beautiful. It was utterly gorgeous in its cinematography and visual storytelling.

I’m with story that I wish this had leaned a little more into the folklore aspect (since BrianT mentioned Benson and Moorehead, I’ll say “ala Spring”) and provided us with some inroads to the mythology.

As for the ending … I saw it coming as soon as she drove the knife into the Naked/Green Man’s arm and recognized the wound. She “created” that iteration of the Green Man by singing into the tunnel and he imprinted on her like the baby he was. He was a part of her husband who … well, more on that in a second.

As for the meaning/purpose, it seems Garland has said “don’t overthink it, it is what it is.” I have a take that I have not read or heard (listened to a few podcasts after watching it): Harper was pregnant. It wasn’t just her husband’s death haunting her. It was the life that would be with her forever.

The only thing I really didn’t understand was why her husband was a different man. It kind of shot the point in the foot.

story

I'm probably watching The Big Short sometime this month because I haven't seen it yet. Wanna order pizzas and watch it together over the phone in our pajamas?

whotony

The opening looks like a skull.

I love Annihilation maybe I should take a look at Men

TheBang

Whatever else you might think of Alex Garland's movies, they're never not interesting. I'll watch whatever he writes or directs.

whotony

His next movie?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17279496/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Didn’t see a topic for it yet.