2. "I don't know. I think this movie was...not good. " In response to Reply # 0 Wed Feb-13-19 10:28 AM by Buddy_Gilapagos
Great Camera Work and Great Acting, and it was building towards something big...but it felt like nothing happened. And I watched Roma this weekend and loved that so I don't have anything against nothing happening in films but this was all anti-climatic.
It felt like a Soderbergh heist movie with no heist.
Great acting though. I loved everyone in it. Even the ball player.
My other critique is it should have had more hip-hop.
********** "Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
I also felt like scenes/events were butted up next to each other. Like, we weren't given a breath in between scenes. Then...where was the music?
I applaud them for filming this with the iPhone6. Working in video production, I'm always telling people the camera doesn't matter. This reinforces that. Although...I felt some of the highlights were blown out.
11. "The arguement can be made that it isnt that fleshed out" In response to Reply # 2
But I think that's what I liked about it most.
As soon as Ray realized they were trying to push him out of the agency I saw exactly where the movie was going (the trailer/preview that Netflix forces on you told me little to nothing about the movie, which is why I watched it).
I like that conversations are had between people that you really dont know who they are at first (funny meeting you here Bill...head of waste management..why would I...the city planner have a drink with you in front of the entire city council...I HATE that shit)..so it requires you to put things together...to pay attention.
I like how the "bible" at the end is really the point of the whole movie...yeah, it feels a little anti-climatic, but it's like watching the Meryl Strep movie "Doubt" and (spoiler), the bombshell is "I HAVE DOUBT"..dramatic music stab...fade to black...roll credits.
It's a business movie...about the business of basketball..I loved it.
9. "no, this movie moves SUPER fast" In response to Reply # 5
It's kind of the danger sometimes with these movies that are obviously written like a play. This movie is as dense with ideas as Glengarry Glen Ross but it has so many more interiors, exteriors and puzzle pieces to pull apart and put back together that it just kinda decides to be an idea dump early on and never lets up. It needed 20 minutes more screen time or 20% more focus on Erick and Ray at the expense of the NBA/NBAPA lawyers. Didn't completely make the argument Ray should've been in rooms with those two so often anyway.
10. "I don't think it was ever explained what happened to the cousin " In response to Reply # 5
I guess suicide was implied?
The client was mad because he believed teams wouldn't fuck with him if he went along with the plan. I don't think he really left him in a bad position but it did put the pressure on the owners to get the deal done.
I think I'll probably have to rewatch it again to catch everything, too.
7. "Is Zach Quinto that LARGE? lol" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Feb-13-19 11:38 AM by Nodima
His scene with Holland made Quinto look like an Absolute Unit®. Is he bulking up (or weight loading) for some other role? That blew my mind. Bill Duke towered over Holland later in the movie too.
I like the script and the energetic stage-acting style they went for, but like I said above the camera made a lot of the scenes have this sort of uncanny valley feel I'm sure was intentional but I found distracting at the end of the day. That stageplay feel also sort of distracts from the bigness of what this conversation is; I feel like this kind of topic would need more of an HBO political thriller kind of ensemble to really get a feel for the topic.
But as straight up entertainment? It's Soderbergh, so you know. I enjoyed every moment of it.
I enjoyed this film about as much as I enjoyed Blindspotting -- my favorite film from last year. Andre Holland absolutely killed it. Zazie, killed it. The client felt so believable, in his portrayal of that kind of ball player. I did not at all care that there wasn't much (any?) music. I hate that hollywood films use music to tell you how to feel instead of letting the scene or the acting speak for itself. I did feel like we were being set up for a climax that did not come in the way we thought it would, it felt like there would be a big showdown with the league or something, but I didn't at all mind that it didn't play out like that. It didn't need to and I was more than satisfied with the conclusion. It's the film to beat in 2019 for me so far.
--
"You can't beat white people. You can only knock them out."
14. "Was this kind of prophetic?" In response to Reply # 0
Or at least really on to something? I've just realized that I've been watching a lot of basketball youtuber one on ones, even though I would've sworn that's not something I'd be into. Granted, these aren't NBA superstars, or even d-leaguers, but they are very good basketball players making a living outside of any league.
---- I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.